Restitution
or an
Explanation
of Several
Principal Points of the Law;

How it has been fulfilled by Christ,
and will reach its Perfect Consummation in His Great Day,
according to the Teachings of the Old and New Testament Scriptures

Compiled in Twenty-Five Chapters

BY
HENRY FUNK

A Teacher of the Old and New Testament in the Church of the Believers,
commonly called Anabaptists or Mennonites

“I thank thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.” Matt. 11:25, 26.

Originally Published in Philadelphia, A. D. 1763, by Henry Funk’s Surviving Children

Translated from the German into the English language by Abram B. Kolb,
and printed at the office of the Mennonite Publishing Company, Elkhart, Indiana, 1915

PUBLISHERS’ PREFACE

Bishop Henry Funk was born in Europe, either in Holland or in the Palatinate. He emigrated to America in 1717,* and settled at Indian Creek, Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1760. He was ordained to the ministry in the Franconia congregation of the Mennonite Church, and later ordained to the office of Bishop, in which office he served the church for many years.

Henry Funk, together with Diehlman Kolb, also a member of the congregation over which Henry Funk was overseer, was appointed by the Mennonite Church to supervise the translation of the “Maertyrer-Spiegel, oder der blutige Schauplatz” from the Dutch language into the German. This book consisted of a folio volume of 1,514 pages, and was no doubt the largest book printed in this country during the Colonial period. It was published in 1748-9.

Henry Funk was the author of two religious books, one entitled “Spiegel der Taufe,” which was translated and published in English many years ago; the other, “Restitution, oder eine Erklaerung einiger Hauptpunkte des Gesetzes,” was published after his death, in 1763, and reprinted in Switzerland. in 1844. A third edition was published in Lancaster, Pa., in 1862, and a recent translation of this work is herewith published and presented to the public in the English language, not for selfish gain, nor to secure thereby the praise and honor of men, but with a sincere desire to promote the glory of God, to establish and build up his Kingdom on earth, and to make manifest the eternal truth and teachings of his word, that thereby men may be led from darkness into his marvelous light and converted from the power of Satan unto God.

THE PUBLISHERS.

Elkhart, Indiana, July 2, 1915

*His son, Christian Funk, in a little book published by him, states that his father emigrated to America in 1719. But other records prove that he must have come to America as early as 1717.

PREFACE

The following chapters are written to show that Christ is the Beginning and the End, Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, and that by him everything was made in the beginning, that through him the law is fulfilled, and that by him all things will be perfectly consummated in the last day.

1. Of God, that he is one God, in his Omnipotence and Omniscience, from everlasting to everlasting.
2. Of the creation of the world, the heavens and the earth, with all that is in them.
3. Of Lucifer and his pride and subtlety, and what befell him afterward.
4. Of the fall of man, and of Lucifer, and the great misery which ensued; also of the great love of God to man in this calamity.
5. Of the promises regarding the redemption of man through Christ, as shown in many different ways, Gen. 3 to Gen. 49 inclusive.
6. Of the bondage of the children of Israel in Egypt, and of the paschal lamb provided for the deliverance of Israel, and of the fulfillment of the figure by Christ.
7. Of the exodus from Egypt, and its spiritual fulfillment by Christ.
8. Of the fulfillment of the law as contained in the ten commandments.
9. Of the tabernacle of Moses, the priestly office, vestments and offerings.
10. That in Christ the figure of the tabernacle of Moses is fulfilled, as shown by abundant scriptural testimony.
11. That the priestly office and the sacrifices in the temple are fulfilled in Christ.
12. Of the high priestly office of Christ and his followers; of Christ’s gracious free-will offering, its efficacy and power.
13. Of the fire from God for the sacrifice.
14. Of the clean beasts used for the sacrifice and for food in Israel.
15. Of ceremonial cleansing by means of the lamb and the turtle dove, and the fulfillment of these symbols in Christ.
16. Of leprosy, its spiritual signification, how there may be cleansing from leprosy of sin through Christ.
17. Of cleansing from leprosy.
18. Of those afflicted with boils (Lev. 15).
19. Of the great Sabbath and how it is to be observed.
20. Of Easter, or the Passover; how Christ kept it, and how his saints are to keep it.
21. Of the feast of Pentecost, how it is to be kept spiritually (Lev. 23:14).
22. Of the third feast, the atonement, and feast of tabernacles (Ex. 23:14; 34:23).
23. Of the sabbatical year, how properly observed, and how fulfilled in Christ (Lev. 25:8).
24. Of the year of jubilee or release, and how fulfilled in Christ (Lev. 25:8).
25. Of the final consummation by Christ on his great day (Rev. 10:7).

The foregoing references and the following chapters contain some thoughts in explanation of the law of Moses, from the beginning of the world until the time of the fulfillment of all things through Christ on the last day, by whom the law was fulfilled and by whom all things will be finished.

The chapters which follow are not set forth in the style of language written and spoken by men of letters, or in the phraseology of the learned men of this world, nevertheless this work has been done in faith and hope, by the grace of God and the Holy Spirit, by a human instrument who is considered as of low degree, and who considers himself of inferior ability. Yet it has pleased God to reveal his mysteries to men of low estate, as Jesus says (Matt. 11:25, 26). Christ did not choose his disciples from among the wise of this world, but rather from among men of low degree, such as fishermen, to whom he entrusted the mysteries and messages of his gospel, and who, in turn, made them known by the Spirit of God. The reader is therefore admonished not to despise the teachings and writings of humble people because of their lowly condition, but to give them due consideration, and see if they agree with the word and Spirit of God.

Inasmuch as people in these last times are so much divided in their opinions and conceptions of divine things, and since through the wisdom of this world everything is made to appear so obscure or even vague and dark, no writing can be presented that will please men, or about which there will not be much for them to deride. And because men are found who speak derisively of the Old and New Testament, there will no doubt be found those who will deride this work and writing; but a man must not falter in his work for God because of derision; for if by teaching or writing even only one man is brought into the light of God, the work has been well done, and the greater the number of people who are enlightened, the better it is. Hence I believe that whoever reads these chapters impartially and with reason and reflection, will find light therein. May the Lord bestow his grace and blessing.

In the first place, concerning God it can be seen that there is one eternal, almighty God, from everlasting, and now called Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and beside him there is none other, neither before nor after him, and that from this one God the existence of two orders of being originated, namely that of the angels and mankind; also that God through God through Christ in the beginning made all things in six days, namely heaven and earth and all that is therein. Also concerning Lucifer and his fall, and the miserable fall of man and his punishment, and how God immediately made a promise concerning the redemption, and repeated again and again to the end of the Book of Genesis. Then, concerning the Passover Lamb and the exodus from Egypt, also concerning the ten commandments and the tabernacle of Moses, the priestly office and sacrifices and the animals prescribed for the sacrifices; also concerning leprosy and ceremonial purifications; concerning boils, the sabbath, Passover, Pentecost and the feast of tabernacles, the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee, and the final consummation through Christ at the last day.

If, however, in these chapters something should appear which someone might not understand or agree with, he is admonished to examine the testimonies of the scripture references; and if he can then still not understand it thus, it will probably be best for him to leave it as it is, to him who understands it thus; for it is well known that men differ widely in their gifts of understanding. We know, moreover, that the wise builders, in building the tabernacle of Moses, did not make all the vessels or parts of one kind of material, nor of one size or shape, but each one according to God’s will. But when all the utensils and vessels and parts were brought together, each one fitted into its place on and in the tabernacle. This tabernacle was a type of the church of God. From this one can conclude that the everlasting tabernacle and church of God in the eternal kingdom will not be assembled from one kind of people or church on earth, nor be gathered from those having a particular manner of life and conversation and shade of opinion into one flock and church of God. Jesus says: “Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven, and from all nations, and kindred, and people and tongues, and shall stand before the throne and before the Lamb” (Matt. 8:11; Rev. 7:9). But the tabernacle of Moses had to be constructed of good material, no matter what kind of material was used, and it had to be prepared according to God’s will. But understand that while they were of all nations, they were only of those people who were drawn of God (John 6:44, 65), and prepared by the wise Master Builder, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as God desires all such people, whether of one blood, or of many kinds, and gathered from the various conditions and walks of life, each will be in harmony and conformity with the other in the tabernacle of the heavenly kingdom, of which Moses was shown the proportions and dimensions on Mount Sinai. By this similitude men should understand that one shall not judge the other because of a difference of understanding and form in the matter of things ceremonial. The matter should be left with God, and committed to him, and especially when it can be seen that the character of a renewed man reveals itself in repentance and reformation, in love and peace, in obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ. Even if the understanding and attitude on any point are not in exact accord with the opinion of another it is often of minor importance if only there is evident the nature and the Spirit of Christ. In the time of the apostles the Jewish part of the congregation of the believers had a conviction that it was necessary to observe circumcision and the law in general, while the believers who came from heathendom had the mind and disposition not to observe circumcision and the ceremonial law. Both had been taught and had believed through the Spirit of God, and both were Christian members of the body of Christ.

We also see in Revelation (chapters 1, 4, 12, 13 and 20) that John writes of seven spirits and candlesticks, and of seven stars in his right hand. The seven spirits and the seven candlesticks are the seven churches in Asia, and the seven stars are the seven teachers of the seven churches, and these seven spirits and candlesticks are about the throne and about the Lord Jesus Christ. The seven teachers in his hand, and these seven churches and seven teachers differed to some extent in understanding, life and conversation, as may be seen in the second and third chapters, and yet were at the same time before the Lord and in his hand. So, although they had different shortcomings among them, and the Lord likewise censured each teacher and church according to and because of their own errors and admonished them to repentance and amendment of life, they yet belonged to him. But the church at Smyrna and the church at Philadelphia the Lord found still faithful, and he admonished them to be steadfast.

Thus we see that there was a difference of understanding, life and walk of the teachers and churches, yet the Lord did not set forth one teacher with his church as alone righteous, nor did he point the other teachers and churches to one particular minister and church as an example to follow in mode of thinking, life and conversation, and call upon them to repent. The Lord admonished each one in his respective place and calling to repentance and steadfastness to keep his commandments.

This principle, I believe, still holds good before the Lord, namely that each man in his relation to God should repent and remain steadfast to the Lord in his commandments, and not judge and condemn another — who knows which one is closest to the Lord? — so that no one may through idle judging fall into condemnation before the Lord.

But since every man has a calling, as the Lord declares: “Turn unto me all ye ends of the earth and be ye save” yet many people do not give heed to their calling, and many do not know how to give heed to their calling. Many think they have given heed to their calling, but when looked at rightly, there is yet much lacking in all, so that it is necessary to edify one another out of God’s holy word with voice and pen, with life and conversation, impelled by the Spirit of God. With this purpose in view these and the following thoughts are gathered and set down from God’s holy word of the Spirit, and in which, I believe, every man may find something that he needs, in the knowledge of God, in the comforting promises of the redemption of man through the blood of the Lamb, as to how we are to conform ourselves through faith in repentance and amendment of life unto a pure vessel for the church and the tabernacle of God and the priestly office, and to a pure, living sacrifice; also on the thoughts presented regarding the clean and the unclean creatures, as well as on the leprosy and putridity of sin and how one should keep oneself pure; also how one should keep the sabbath in the spirit of true devotion, as also the annual feasts and the sabbatical year, also what these celebrations and feast days signify to us and how all things are fulfilled in Christ, and shall be finally consummated in Christ when he shall finish all things in his great day. Of these and like things the reader may find in the following chapters something for his instruction in the divine life unto the eternal kingdom. Even though the contents may not fully accord with the views of all, yet it is believable that all who are concerned about the welfare of their souls will find something therein that will be profitable to them when rightly taken and considered. Therefore prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good. Let each one take from these pages what is profitable to him in his life unto salvation, and let the rest serve a like good purpose for others. For it is believed that these writings are free from prejudice and are profitable for all men; to one, this point; to another, another point. For example, it would not be wise or proper for a certain man with whose system a certain kind of food or drink does not agree, though the food may in itself be good, to throw away or treat as refuse such food as he cannot eat, for such food might be given to another with whose system it agrees, so that everyone, without wasting or throwing away anything may enjoy and partake of that which is clean and good and nourishing. But if there should be some poison in food or drink that would be injurious to man. It may well be thrown away and not given to another.

The same should be done with instruction and writings that are intended for food, for the soul. It is hoped that in the following chapters no poison may be found that would be hurtful to the life of the soul. Even though some sharp and fatal dagger points of truth against the human will and nature are presented herein, they are all directed only at the carnal man, to show how he should humble himself, repent, die unto sin, be crucified in his carnal nature, and under the cross of Christ follow on until death, which death leads men, by the merits of Christ Jesus, in Christ, unto life eternal, where, there will be everlasting life and joy.

Thus this work is performed to the glory of God, and for the benefit of mankind, in love and in the fear of the Lord, and not for the sake of gaining honor, money or wealth, but rather because in his soul the writer felt called to the work. It has been done and brought thus far by the blessing of God. The work has not been done in the spirit of frowardness or with worldly wisdom, for I confess that I am an uneducated and forgetful mortal, but it is believed rather that these chapters have been brought forth by the impulse and working of the Spirit. I wish herewith that they may be considered and lived in the Spirit by myself and by all who read them, to the glory of God alone. Amen.

CHAPTER 1
Concerning God

Concerning God, concerning Christ who is the Mighty God, and Everlasting Father (Isa. 9), the true God, and everlasting life (John 20) ; the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty, by whom the world and all things were made, and without whom nothing was made that was made (John 1:3); whose name was declared in the beginning (Gen. 4:26); who was with Moses in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:4); who in God delivered the law and the word of prophecy unto the holy men of God, through the Holy Spirit, through whom will be restored that which God declared through the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Of him it is proposed to write here, if the Lord will, and will grant his blessing to the writing of the same, according as by the grace of God it may be in the mind of the Spirit, and which cannot be accomplished without the help of the Lord. To God be all the glory.

It is the purpose to write here on several chief items or articles of the law, and how Jesus Christ in his sacrifice for the salvation of mankind fulfilled the law, and that what still remains he will fulfill in all its completeness at the last great day, and will then with his own angels and men enter into rest and be subject to God and rest forever with God in perfect rest, and then, as the one true High Priest be with his own who also in the rest prepared by God, live with Christ forever and ever in great happiness and glory. Regarding these items I hope more may be found in this work, yet each one in its proper place as will follow.

To God be all the glory. He is one eternal God, beside whom there is no other (Deut. 4:35; 6:4; 32:39; Isa. 43:10). “Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” “I, even I am the Lord, and beside me there is no savior.” Jesus says: “I and my Father are one’’ (John 10:30). “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?” “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” “The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:9, 10), that is, the power and Spirit of God. “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24; Gen. 1:2). This is the one indivisible God from everlasting; a God who fills heaven and earth (Jer. 23: 24), a God who has neither beginning of days nor end of life. This is the one God by and through whom all things were made that are in heaven and earth, and without whom not anything was made that is made (John 1:1-3), for heaven and earth and all that is in them was made by him (Gen. 1 and 2).

This one God is an incomprehensible and unsearchable God from everlasting, before anything else was; for all things have their origin in and through God, so that Christ is the beginning of all things, as he is also the finisher of all things made by him.

But inasmuch as God is the eternal wisdom himself and knows all things from everlasting to everlasting, and how it will be in eternity, he, in his unsearchable wisdom knew how to create heaven and earth and all things therein. Moreover in his wisdom he knew full well what would afterward befall this creation, so he first chose his own divine power, Jesus Christ, his own Son, by whom he made all things (John 1:3) and placed him over all things and gave him all power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18; 11:27), and appointed him to be the Judge at the last day.

According to the holy scripture and the mind of the Holy Spirit, Father, Son and Holy Spirit were from eternity, in one Spirit and existence, and beside him there is no other God or existence; therefore he is rightly called one God, for in him is life, and in this God Jesus Christ had his life, his beginning and there-from has gone forth and has been from everlasting (Mic. 5:2).

Thus Jesus is the first of all things, the first to go forth of all that God made and still makes in heaven and on earth and all that in them is; for in the beginning all things were made by Christ, and likewise all things will be finished by him.

Since no other God existed, or life, beside the one living God, one can readily understand that the angels and spirits and lives of angels and of men from everlasting have their origin from the Spirit of God, by his power, and were kept in and by his power until the time when heaven and earth and all that is therein were created. Thus heaven and earth and all that is in them have their origin from God, for it is believable that in the wisdom of God it had been foreordained by God from everlasting to make heaven and earth and all the hosts therein, which was accomplished in the creation, when God by his word completed the world and all visible things out of nothing, since all things were made out of nothing (Heb. 11:4).

CHAPTER 2
The Creation

In his wisdom God is unsearchable, as Paul writes: “O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counsellor?’’ (Rom. 11:33, 34). For God is the only God who has done all things according to his wise counsel. In his wise counsel he chose and ordained men (as well as angels) to his praise before the foundations of the world were laid. Note this, therefore, that we find in the canonical books of holy scripture nothing before the creation of the world (so far as I know) but of God alone, nothing regarding his abode, nor of heaven and earth, nor of any creature, nor of any divinely created beings, human or angelic, but alone of God as a Spirit, called Father, Son and Holy Ghost. “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the word of his mouth” (Psa. 33: 7). As there was no place of abode for this great host, he first made an abiding place for this vast host. Of this Moses and the prophets and the gospel give written evidence, and of which more will be written. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and all that he made was very good. Thus was completed heaven and earth, with all the hosts therein. The first day he made heaven. On the second day he made the firmament (Gen. 1:7, 8), and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament heaven. On the third day God placed the lights — the sun, moon and stars — in the firmament or the heavens. This heaven must not be understood as meaning the first heaven which God created on the first day; for the heaven of the second day is a firmament in the midst of the waters, which constitute the firmament or the heaven. Of this heaven in which the lights are, Jesus says (Matt. 24:29) that the sun shall be darkened and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, which shall be at the coming of the Lord in his great day. Of this day Peter writes (2 Pet. 3:7, 10) that the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with a fervent heat. Understand, the firmament called the heavens in which the lights are placed belong to this world, and will therefore serve as a fire of perdition to the ungodly in the day of the Lord (verse 7) when the earth shall turn to brimstone and the waters thereof shall be turned into burning pitch, and the land shall become burning pitch, that shall not be quenched night nor day (Isa. 34:9, 10), as Jesus also teaches (Mark 9:44, 46, 48).

Let us return now to a consideration of the heaven which God made on the first day. This is a glorious work of creation, a delightful habitation, which God created first of all, to be his throne, residence and place (Isa. 4:6) for all eternity. This heaven was created as an abiding place for angels, there to minister unto God (Dan. 7:10). This heaven was the kingdom which God through Christ created from the beginning of the world for saved mankind (Matt. 25:34), where the saved of earth and the angels shall be brought together into one fold (John 10:16). This is the heaven from which Jesus went forth from the throne and place of God his Father, and came down into the world to redeem mankind, and to this heaven he has again ascended to his Father to sit in his throne (Rev. 5: 6). This heaven will not pass away, but will be made new (renovated) into a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness shall dwell (Isa. 65:17; 66:22). “We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Pet. 3:13), which kingdom shall remain forever, and all this made, established and perfected by Christ. Thus was completed the heavens and the earth with all the hosts thereof. By the host on earth is understood primarily the human family; by heavenly host is meant the angels, and these hosts are created to serve God — mankind on earth and the angels in heaven.

Of the angels Moses does not write when or on what day of the creation they were created, but he makes it sufficiently clear that they were made in the six days as the whole host of heaven (Gen. 2:1). The words of the mighty angel: “He who created heaven and the things that therein are” (Rev. 10:7), shows that the angels were created at the time when heaven was created, which was the first day. This angelic host in heaven is a mighty army of which Daniel writes (Dan. 7: 9, 10), when he saw the Ancient of Days on his throne with thousand thousands ministering unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand standing before him. John saw the Lord seated upon a white horse, and the armies which were in heaven followed him (Rev. 19:14). These scripture passages show sufficiently that this host which together with heaven was created in the six days, are the angels of God, and so much the more, since the creation of the world is the first instance where the Bible speaks of time, and before which time nothing is known of time or what might have been made prior to that time.

Christ’s going forth was before; but from eternity to eternity is not time; for Christ has neither beginning of days, nor end of life (Heb. 7:3). The angels, however, were created, as David testifies: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth” (Psa. 33:6). Thus the angels were originally created by God by the breath of his mouth, by the Word, which is Christ. That the angels were created by Christ is shown by the Lord (Job 40:15-24), where the Lord calls Lucifer the mighty behemoth. “Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee.” He is the beginning or chief of the ways of God (verse 19); he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. Thus Christ is the beginning or chief of the ways of God, by whom all things are made, so that Lucifer also was made by him. This Christ attacks or approaches him with the breath of his mouth; he is Lucifer’s chief or beginning and will also make an end of his tyrannical rule when he shall cast him and his host into the lake of fire. Hence God made the angels through Christ. “Thou makest thine angels spirits, thy ministers a flaming fire” (Psa. 104:4). He “maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire” (Heb. 1:7). “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Heb. 1:14). Hence the angels are created and sent forth to serve God and to minister unto mankind.

God also created the earth on the first day as his footstool (Acts 7:49), and as a dwelling place for man. When the earth had been made, God by the word adorned it beautifully for the benefit of man, first with light, then with many lights which illuminate day and night, and he made a great difference between the water above the firmament and the waters upon the earth, and ordained waters upon the earth to be within certain confines, where they should remain. God provided the earth with all sorts of grass and herbs, with all kinds of fruitful trees, each one after its kind, and God saw his work that it was good. God supplied the waters with all kinds of fishes great and small; he also created all manner of living creatures large and small, according to their names, until the sixth day. When all things had now been prepared for man’s use, God in his divinity, that is, with Christ, said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and said unto them. Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Gen. 1:26-28, 31). Then was the world in a beautiful condition, and man in the most glorious image of God. But from the writing in the first chapter it is not known in what manner man was made. Therefore Moses repeated the fact in the second chapter, describing how man was made, and how Eve was made for him. This must be understood as having taken place on the sixth day, for through Christ God’s work progresses rapidly. For heaven and earth and all that is therein was made in six days. Thus also Adam and Eve, by whom God by his blessing created the whole human race upon earth, were made on the sixth day, as the holy scripture testifies that the whole human race are the children of Adam and Eve; for “God hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on the face of the earth; and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26).

The Lord God formed man out of the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life: and man became a living soul. And the Lord God said: “It is not good that man should be alone: I will make a helpmeet for him. And the Lord God brought before Adam every living creature that he had made, to see what he would call them; and whatever name Adam gave every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all. But for Adam there was not found a helpmeet for him, for it was not ordained of God that Adam should have a beast for a helpmeet and companion. Adam, in the image of God was so pure and superior that outside of his own flesh and blood and bone no creature could please him for a companion. So the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. But of the rib which God the Lord had taken from man he made a woman, and brought her unto the man. Then Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.” Therefore shall a man leave his father, and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.

Thus it is seen how Eve was made by God through Christ, and that she acknowledged Adam in the image of God as his bone and his flesh, for they were both made in the same image with this one difference — male and female. And in this same likeness were ordained or created by God the whole human family on earth in the blessing through the word that they should multiply and replenish the earth (Gen. 1:26, 28).

If man had remained in this state, so would their seed with which God blessed them have been an elect or choice increase and replenishment of the earth, a holy host of God in the image, life and breath of God; and in this glorious state mankind would have had God’s word and power, namely Jesus Christ, by whom all things were made, for an eternal King, and under this King man would have had peace and rest. But inasmuch as they did not retain the image of the righteousness of God, the human family fell into numerous dissensions and troubles, and with it, death, of which more will be written elsewhere.

CHAPTER 3
Lucifer and His Pride, Etc.

After the Lord God had made heaven and earth and all things therein in six days, he rested on the seventh day from all his works. With this all his labor entered into rest, and especially the two hosts, the angelic host in heaven and mankind in Paradise or the garden of Eden. These were of the spirit of Adam and of God, and are to have part in the heavenly rest with God.

Now there was at the same time a spirit or an angel among, the angelic host who is called by Christ a prince of this world (John 14:30), and by Isaiah a bright morning star, and “Lucifer, son of the morning” (Isa. 14:12). He could not brook or look pleasantly upon the rest which God and all his hosts in heaven and earth were enjoying. This angel Lucifer, according to the declaration of scripture, at once began a disturbance in heaven, and accused the angels before God. More than this, he created a division among the angels in heaven, drawing a part of the angels to himself. Because of this he became so proud and haughty that he became ambitious for the highest place, as comprehended in these words: He thought in his heart, “I will ascend into heaven (as the most exalted position) and exalt my throne above the stars of God.” Understand, the angels are ministering spirits of God; for he maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire. Thus also among the believers the ministers are called stars (Heb. 1: 7, 14; Psa. 104:4; Rev. 1:16, 20; Dan. 12:3). This Lucifer sought to exalt his position above the stars (angels and ministers of God), so as to supersede them. “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.” By “in the sides of the north” must be understood the depths of this world. The word congregation may also mean tabernacle or sanctuary, as seen in Num. 12:4, 5; 16:19, 42, the place where the congregation meet for worship. This proud prince wanted to place his throne upon the holy mount that he might dominate the sanctuary, and at the same time rule also over the sides of the north, that is, over this world, which, as compared to the brightness of the heavenly realm is as night. In order that he might dominate the congregation and the world, as well as day and night, light and darkness, and do with them as he pleased, this proud Lucifer said: “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” The heights of the (or highest) clouds, does not refer to the material clouds which bear moisture over the earth, but the heights of the clouds of God, which are the throne and seat of God, in which God accompanied Israel from Egypt through the wilderness, in which cloud he also came upon Mount Sinai, and in which cloud Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9), as he will also reappear on earth in clouds and on the throne of his glory (Matt. 24: 30; 25 : 31).

Above this glorious cloud throne of God, Lucifer sought to ascend and be equal to or like the Most High. It is discernible from these scripture passages that Lucifer wanted to be a step higher than God, as expressed in the words: “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,” which place belongs to God alone. He wanted to ascend above the heights of the clouds, which are the throne of God; that is, he wanted to be above the throne of God, and in his heart be above God. Lucifer also in his arrogance undertook to belittle or nullify God’s word, as though it were not true that man would die if he ate of the forbidden fruit, and as though God were by his prohibition withholding from man great privileges and benefits. Of this more will be written in the chapter on the Fall of Man. Lucifer was going to exalt himself so far above God in the beginning when he wanted to be like God, that God should not do anything without the consent of Lucifer. It is readily understood that this prince, thinking in his heart that he was lord in heaven and would rule over the whole angelic host, would cause strife or war to begin in heaven. Michael, a mighty angel, a prince among the angels, fought with his angels against Lucifer the dragon, and the dragon with his angels fought against Michael and did not prevail, nor was there place found for them any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil, and Satan, who deceiveth the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. The heavenly host rejoiced because their accuser was cast out, but they said: “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth, and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time until he should be condemned and cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 12:7-9; 20:10).

And since this dragon Lucifer is cast upon the earth he continues his former wickedness on earth among mankind and through mankind just as he did in the beginning through the serpent. In the beginning he transformed himself into the serpent, and through the serpent — to the destruction of mankind — he spoke arrogant words in which there was nothing but sin. He does the same on earth now through men, and as he in the beginning chose the serpent as a creature, beautiful, gentle, wise and prudent above other simple creatures, and through which he was able to conduct his deceptive conversation very adroitly and wisely, so he still continues to do in this world. He transforms himself in many ways, and principally into the form of affable carnally minded worldly wise people, through whom he can give expression to his deceptions and pride together with all his perverse errors and his lies in plausible and persuasively cunning words to the great mass of simple minded humanity as if his words were the truth. In this way he leads many thousands of people astray. Through the highly respected among men, the affable, handsome, educated, wise people of this world Satan accomplishes his work in this world, and through such human agencies Lucifer becomes the traducer and accuser of the children and ministers of God on earth. In this way the dragon, the old serpent, has, ever since the beginning, persecuted, scattered, imprisoned, and by means of the scaffold, fire, water and the sword, together with all other means, instruments and agencies, tortured and murdered many thousands of servants and children of God.

Through such worldly wise learned men the enemy of mankind has moreover perverted the entire divine order of things, together with the word of God, and substituted therefore the ordinances, traditions and confusions of men by the spirit of pride, and made the earth an abomination of desolation (Matt. 24:15).

CHAPTER 4
The Fall of Man and of Lucifer

After man had been created by God in so glorious a state of being in the image of God, and in this image had dominion over the earth, over the fish in the sea, over the fowls of the air, and over every living thing upon earth, and the angel Lucifer, or the dragon, the accuser of angels and the enemy of man, saw man in his glorious state and his dominion over the garden of Eden and the whole earth, and all that was upon it, this proud usurper who wished to dominate everything, sought to deprive man of his glorious state and dominion over the earth. So he came to man with subtlety, lies and murderous intent, without mercy (John 8:44), in order to bring man under his power and dominion. By accomplishing his wicked purpose, everything was made desolate like a desert land. The enemy came in the form of the cunning, convincing serpent to Eve with deceptive, flattering, plausible words, and said to her: “Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” And the woman said unto the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” The enemy pretended to resent this and made the commands of God to appear a falsification, and said to the woman: “Ye shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

These acceptable, deceptive words gained the ear of the woman, so that she became desirous of looking at the tree, and it looked to her as a tree whose fruit it would be desirable to eat, and delightful to see, and altogether desirable because it would make one wise. She took of the fruit and ate, and gave also to her husband, and he ate. “And the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked?’ In this way and place man fell into misery and was overcome by the enemy. The robe of the image of God was stripped from him. So far as the life of righteousness and holiness and purity in Christ Jesus was concerned, man was dead, for this life had departed from him, like the soul departs from the body. There the human species, Adam and Eve, fell as the conquered are struck to the ground, and beside them all their seed that was born of Adam, with which Adam was blessed (Gen. 1:28). This fell upon all mankind, all nations and races. All were overcome by the enemy of man in the strife, and in sin struck to the ground. Here was misery upon misery. Moreover the natural material man who had been taken from the dust of the earth was afflicted with much bodily distress, trouble, fear, anxiety and pain, which had come upon him, and as is still his lot; for when he was overcome, and the life and robe of righteousness and holiness and purity had departed from him and was gone, and he had lost his beautiful form and state and his body had shrunk into inferiority and weakness, and was painted and tainted with the hue of death, man fell into distress and fear, and Adam and Eve sought to cover their shame with fig-leaves. They hid themselves in the garden among the trees, from the face of God who was walking in the garden.

But nothing can be hidden from the all-knowing, all-seeing God. He well knew the mischief that had been done by the proud enemy of man and of angels, who had sought to accuse the angels before God and to rule over them (Rev. 12), and above all this, had through pride overcome and murdered man together with all his seed. God knew also that through this fall the submission of the earthly creatures was in part destroyed and changed, and that henceforth they would not be so completely under the dominion of man. The all-merciful God now appeared in the garden in the midst of this calamity to note the harm done (Gen. 3:9). And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, “Where art thou?” And he said, “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.” And God said, “Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” And Adam said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” And the Lord God said unto the woman, “What is this that thou hast done?” And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat” (Gen. 3:9-13). There the haughty Lucifer, who had become an accuser of angels before God, and now also accused God before men, fell into the fierce disfavor of Almighty God (Gen. 3:14), for he spoke as if God had not told the truth, when he declared that Adam and Eve should die if they ate of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, but had withheld from man much wisdom, knowledge and greatness in his prohibition regarding the beautiful tree in the midst of the garden. By this means Lucifer brought man into the greatest calamity, as has already been stated.

Then the Lord God, the Conqueror of all foes, said to the proud Lucifer, dragon or serpent: “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” Thus the proud enemy was dashed to earth by the King of kings; the king of Babylon was cast down, and descended into hell (Isa. 14: 4-23). Hell from beneath trembled for him at his coming (verse 9). “Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols (or exalted, haughty speech) with which thou hast deceived us; the worm is spread under thee, and worms cover thee.” “Thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit” (verse 19). Thus the Almighty cast down the enemy upon earth with all his angels into hell, where God cursed him and said, “Upon thy belly shalt thou go . . . . all the days of thy life,” as much as to say that the enemy or dragon should nevermore again rise up or ascend to heaven, but that he must lie prone upon his body in the depths of hell all the days of his life and eat the dust of the earth or the food of hell. Thus was the prince of this world (John 14:30) overcome, and lay prone upon the earth in sin, and had taken the human race under him in captivity, and led them into many sins and idolatry, in order thereby to keep them away from God; nor was there any one among the whole human race who was able to succor the human race from the power of the dragon. The enemy determined to keep man forever captive in his power, so that the human race might nevermore come under the grace of God in heaven. God saw and knew all this, and as he did not desire the human race to remain forever under the power of the dragon, therefore God said to the serpent, the old dragon: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel’ (Gen. 3:15). God here speaks of Jesus, the Savior and Redeemer, who should come and crush the serpent’s head, deprive the dragon of his power, and again free the captives (Adam and Eve and their seed) from sin, and in due time restore mankind to heavenly purity (Matt. 13:43).

At the time when Adam and Eve were overcome by the enemy or devil, they were in great fear. In the righteous judgment of God they deserved to be punished by God. “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and thy conception; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee” (Gen. 3:16). This punishment has been her portion to this day.

“And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return to the ground; for out of it wast thou taken” (Gen. 3:17-19). This was laid as a punishment upon man by God, but the love of God was present to ameliorate man’s punishment. For God made coats of skins for them and clothed them as a comfort to them by showing them in figure or symbol that he would in fullness of time through the promised Savior, as already stated clothe them once more with the robe of righteousness.

But to the serpent or dragon, which is the devil, no comfort was vouchsafed. To him it was said that he should go on his belly and eat the dust of the earth all the days of his life, and that beside all this his head should be crushed, and he with his angels should be bound with chains of darkness, bound with everlasting fetters, and be cast into hell (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6) unto the judgment of the great day, to be thenceforth tormented forever and ever. The devils knew this full well, as may be seen Matt. 28:29; Rev. 12:2. Of this punishment more will be said in another place, as this work progresses by the grace of God.

Let us consider further the fall and misery of man. In the midst of the garden of Eden was a tree of life (Gen. 3:22), and the Lord said: “Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”; the Lord sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to protect the way to the tree of life (Gen. 3:22, 24).

Here man in his misery was taken out of the beautiful garden after his downfall, and like one that was dead was put upon the ground or earth, whence the old dragon with his angels had also been cast, as it were, into a hell, and this became a prison and a hell to man, because of the depth of sin, in which he suffered manifold agonies and discomforts of life and body, because he could no longer come to the tree of life to obtain life. If God’s love, mercy and promise had not been extended unto man, the human race would have remained captive forever with the dragon in the depths of the hell of earth, and, in the last day, in the judgment, would have been cast with the devil and his angels into the lake of fire, where the beast and the false prophets, death and hell, and all the ungodly shall be brought together and be tormented forever and ever (Rev. 20:10,14,15).

1. The earth is called a hell, as may be seen Isa. 7:11.* Satan is cast down to hell (2 Pet. 2:4; Isa. 14:11), and it is clear, from Isa. 14:12, that Lucifer is cast, beaten or crushed to the earth (Rev. 12:9, 12, which passage tells us that Satan with his angels was cast upon earth. See also Isa. 14:19, which says (German version) that he went down to the stone heaps of hell; as a carcass crushed under foot. Thus it can be seen that the earth is to Satan a hell, upon which he still goes about as a roaring lion, and he is punished with an insatiable disposition or desire for sin and the souls of men who are not obedient to God, to turn them away from God and bring them into the kingdom of darkness and destruction, and to torment and murder man as far as God suffers him, even in this time, as may be seen in the experiences of Job and Jesus and his followers. *The German rendering of Isa. 7:11 is: “Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; whether it be in hell beneath, or in the heights above.” — (Tr.)

2. The grave, into which those who have died in the body are laid, is called a hell (Psa. 16:10; Acts 2: 27, 31).

3. The region and place to which the ungodly go when they depart from this life, is called a hell (Luke 16:23; Isa. 5:14).

But in the beginning God through Christ created all things right and good, all for the benefit of man, and man was placed by God as a ruler over all created things on earth, that he should have dominion over them; and if man had remained in the image of God in his first glorious state, all things would have remained subject to him and served for his benefit, well-being, joy and glory. But through the pride of Lucifer, and through the sin of Adam and Eve, all creation was devastated as a desert land that has been made desolate by an enemy, and has been changed from its mild, kindly, generous nature in which God created it. On this matter God said to Adam: “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.”

Thus was man and his seed put forth upon the earth, and all the creatures that had been created for the well-being of man became a pest and a misery and cause of manifold suffering to him, as is our experience even to this day. In sorrow the people had to sustain themselves, and in the sweat of their faces eat their bread. The beasts of the earth which had been subject to man became wild. Some fled toward the wilderness, others turned against man in threatening attitudes, as if they would tear him to pieces; the fish in the sea would no longer be ruled by man. They fled to the depths. The birds under heaven took to flight in the air. All was a plague and a pest to man. If he desired any of the creatures for his needs or benefits he had to secure them with infinite trouble and danger. The sun, also, and the elements, which mark the seasons and indicate summer and winter and served for the wellbeing of man and beast, were so much changed that they brought manifold discomforts and sufferings; the sun began to shine down on man with pitiless heat, so that men had to hide from its burning rays (Gen. 18:1; Jon. 4:8); the wintry elements began, according to the will of God, to oppress the earth with their might of cold, so that in many regions men could no longer protect or preserve themselves against the cold. They had to call fire to their aid. Wind, snow and rain came mightily upon the earth; now too much, and again too sparsely. All this served as a cross and calamity to the human body in this that it produced various kinds and forms of bodily suffering.

Thus man was upon this earth as in a hell, in manifold sufferings and discomforts as regards the material or outward part. So far as the inner or spiritual part was concerned, man was as one dead, a captive in the hands of the enemy, tormented in many ways by the enemy to sin more and more. Thus the whole human race by the fall through sin sank into the depths of misery, so that they could no longer help themselves; and inasmuch as the mischief had been done by the angel Lucifer, there was also among the other angels not one who could repair the mischief done by Lucifer and so help man out of his misery. Mankind had through sin become so securely barred and sealed with Satan under sin that there was no one in heaven or on earth, that is, neither among angels nor among men (Rev. 5:3), who could break the seal and the bars of sin and make a separation between Satan and mankind. This was a truly deplorable condition, so that John and all the men of God might well have reason to weep.

But the love of God toward man was not yet exhausted. He vouchsafed his loving kindness in many ways with promises that he would again redeem and rescue man from sin and the power of Satan, under which mankind was held captive, and this should be done through Christ, by whom man was created. For God had promised, in loving mercy, to make enmity between the woman and the serpent, and between her seed and the seed of the serpent, the devil and sin, and make a division between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. The seed of the woman is the human race (Gen. 1:28; 4:1, 25). The serpent is the old dragon, the devil and Satan. His seed is sin and the ungodly who are born of Satan, the murderer, as seen Rev. 12:9; John 8:44; 3:8. Hereunto is Christ promised that he would free mankind from the devil and of the sin of Adam and Eve, and bring about peace and eternal salvation to mankind (Eph. 1:20; 2:14; Heb. 9:12). Regarding this redemption God in his love has given beautiful promises and examples in the law and the prophets, and that all believers should, in the image of God, be again glorified in heavenly glory in the eternal kingdom. Of this more will be found in its proper place.

CHAPTER 5
Promises and Types Pointing to Christ in the Book of Genesis

The God of love, who could and would not keep his love hidden from poor humanity, gave many promises and types — of which several will be shown from the book of Genesis — that he would again redeem man from the power of Satan. When in the beginning, God, through the Word, which is God (John 1:1-3), performed his creative work, he created man in the image of God; male and female, in the holiness, righteousness and purity of Jesus Christ, so that man was surrounded with the image and brightness of God (Heb. 1:3). Thus Christ became the first life, holiness, righteousness and purity or glory of man in the image of God, and likewise Christ shall be the last who shall glorify man, who shall be the life, holiness and righteousness unto and in his eternal kingdom, according to Phil. 3: 21. He will glorify our corruptible body, so that it shall be like unto his glorified body (John 11:25; 14:6; 1:4). Jesus is the life and the light of men. Jesus is holy, and makes holy (Rev. 4:8; Eph. 5:26). The name of Jesus is: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jer. 23:6). The Lord Jesus will be the everlasting light of saved mankind and will illumine everything in the holy city (Isa. 60:19, 20; Rev. 21:23). For this blessed life man was created, and when man was deprived of this glorious life and robe of righteousness (Rev. 19:8), God for man’s comfort again gave promises and types that man should again be clothed with the life and robe of righteousness.

1. In Gen. 3:15 God gave a distinct promise of Christ, as to how he should bruise the serpent’s head, that redemption might be brought about, as already shown in Chapter 4. This has been in part fulfilled in his sufferings on the cross (Isa. 53; Matt. 26:27), so that man in his inner or spiritual life, the soul, has been redeemed by Christ from the power of Satan and the sin of Adam, and has again unbarred the door and opened the way to the tree of life, which is Christ, so that henceforth every one that believes with true and honest heart on Jesus Christ, the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20), shall partake of the life of Christ as a child of God (John 1:12; 3:15, 16, 36; 5:26; 6:47; 10:28; 11:25; Gal. 3:26).

2. God made coats of skins for Adam and Eve, and clothed them, at which, no doubt, Adam and Eve greatly rejoiced in their deplorable condition; in the first place, because they saw the divine love and kindness which God showed to them, in this that God himself clothed them with coats of skins, so that their material bodies and their nakedness were covered, and their bodies were protected to some extent from the heat and cold and moisture. This was a great consolation to them; for they saw that God clothed the outward man whose inward body had been struck down helpless by the murderer (John 8:44; Luke 10:30), and that God would also according to his promise, as pointed out above, have mercy on the inner man, and clothe him also with the coat of the spiritual skin; that is, with the life, the holiness and righteousness of Jesus Christ, of which inward body man had, because of sin, been made naked by the serpent’s guile. Thus in the fullness of time, for the consolation of man, this was fulfilled through Jesus Christ, the true God. He himself restored the robe of the soul — the inward man — and clothed mankind, thereby covering the shame of sin to protect the redeemed from the fearful heat and suffering of everlasting perdition in the lake of fire. In Jesus is found the robe of souls; in Christ life, holiness and righteousness has been restored to man, as seen in John 1:4. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” “As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself” (John 5:26). Jesus is the Holy One. Jesus is Righteousness. His name is called: “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jer. 23:6), and by true faith in Jesus, the Lord will clothe the believers therewith. See John 3:15, 16, 36. “Whosoever believeth in Jesus shall have everlasting life.” “He that believeth on the Son (Jesus) hath life” (John 11:25). “Though he were dead, yet shall he live.” Through faith in Jesus’ name man is sanctified in and through Jesus. “I am the Lord, your Holy One” (Isa. 43:15). “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Jesus is the truth. “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth” (John 17:19). “Ye are sanctified, ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11), Jesus, “that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” (Eph. 5: 26), that is, his church, the believers. Man is justified by faith. “Ye are sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 6:11). In Rom. 3 and 4 we see how the believer is justified in Christ, and not by the works of the law. Therefore consider the matter well. The first human creatures, Adam and Eve, were clothed in their outward bodies by God himself with coats of skins, and the inward man is clothed upon by Jesus Christ, the true God, with life, holiness and righteousness. And when the almighty and great God shall again appear in his great day, then will he glorify in one body the outward and inward man of all his own, with his own absolute purity and heavenly joy. He “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Phil. 3 : 21). “We know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him” (John 3:2). What joy and glory will then be the portion of the glorified! “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard; neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor. 2:9), because man will then again be clothed by Christ and restored into the first image, wherein and whereto man was created by Christ in the beginning in the image of God and adorned or clothed with the life, holiness and righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

Thus it can be understood that Jesus, in God, was, in the beginning, the Creator, life and glory of man, and in the last day will be the restorer and finisher of redeemed mankind, when he shall say: Come unto me, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning” (Matt. 25). Thus it can be plainly understood that Jesus truly spoke the everlasting truth: “I am the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Of this, the Lord willing, more shall be said elsewhere.

3. We read (Gen. 4:26) that to Seth was born Enos. About this time men began to speak of or call upon the name of the Lord. What Lord’s name they called upon is clear enough, namely upon the mighty name of the almighty Lord of lords. Through whom this name was preached or called upon is plain, namely through the Spirit of God, as can be seen Gen. 6: 3, where God declares that “my Spirit shall not always strive with man.” By whom the name of the Lord was called upon or preached by the Spirit of God is seen in Gen. 6:8. namely by the children of God, and by those who found favor with God. But what was preached about the name of the Lord is not plainly stated here by Moses, yet elsewhere the Lord’s word makes it plain enough, namely that the people should fear God, love him, and in humility be subject and obedient to him, according to the word which was spoken in the name of the Lord by the Spirit and servant of God, and if they did so it should be well with them, as seen Lev. 26:3; Deut. 28:1. But if the people would not be disciplined or governed by the word and Spirit of God, they were to be punished, as seen in Gen. 6:7; Lev. 26:24; Deut. 28:15.

Thus it may be readily believed that God in his love had people call upon the name of the Lord through his Spirit in the time of Seth, that the people should be saved by the Lord from the death into which they, with their father Adam had fallen, and that all who believed this should obtain forgiveness of sins, eternal life and the everlasting kingdom. This must have been a great consolation to those who believed in the name of the Lord in the time of Seth, and help did come to them after a long time — not far from 3,500 years afterward (Psa. 22:5; Micah 7:18, 19). For this purpose Jesus came into the world, namely to fulfill and restore that of which all the prophets had prophesied. “To him give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

That in the name of Jesus forgiveness of sins, life everlasting and salvation is obtained, is shown in many places throughout the entire New Testament (John 1:12; 3:16; 3:36; 16:23). “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it unto you” (John 16: 23). “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me” (John 17:11). “And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:11). “Be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). “In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). “His name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong” (Acts 3:16). “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men (but the name of Jesus) whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Thus in God Christ has been, in Spirit, word and name, the beginning of the promised redemption unto salvation from the beginning, and in his own body and blood he has wrought it perfectly, as may be seen in Isa. 53 and in many other places. What is yet to be done in the matter of salvation, Jesus will do when he shall come again in his glory, so that in Jesus there is and ever will remain the beginning and the end of all things.

4. It is declared in Gen. 6 that man no longer desired to be disciplined by the Spirit of God, so that God therefore declared that he would destroy man. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generations, and begat three sons — Shem, Ham and Japheth. “And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with the lower, second and third stories shalt thou make it. And behold, I, even I do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven, and everything that is in the earth shall die. But thou shalt come into the ark; thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives, with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort, shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee: they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind; of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female; and take thou of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it unto thee.” Thus did Noah “according to all that God commanded him.” “And it rained forty days and forty nights.”

Regarding this ark and all that was on and in it, there is much to meditate. Here God’s love and his desire for the salvation of man through Christ is shown. In the first place the whole world may be taken to be represented by this ark; the lower story the first era of the world; from Adam to the flood; the middle story of the ark, the second era of the world, from the flood to Christ in the flesh; the third or upper story, in which was the window, from Christ to the end of the world.

By the dimensions of the ark which God gave Noah may be understood the fact that from the beginning of the world God established bounds, time and purposes as regards the time each era of the world should continue. The fact that but one door was made in the ark points to Christ as the one and only way and door for and of this world, because the world was made by him. And as all the people and all creatures had to enter the ark by this one door, so also mankind was created by Christ, as are also all creatures, and came into the ark of this world. That the ark could have but one window, up in the third story, through which light entered into the ark and gave light to the upper, middle and lower stories (for no light could come into the ark otherwise), plainly prefigures the light of God that shines through Christ. “God is the light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Jesus said: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:9). “That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). And since the window was in the upper part or story of the ark, it is believable that there was more light in the upper story than there was in the middle; and more in the middle than there was in the lower. So also according, to that which the holy scripture indicates, the light of the comforting gospel of salvation through Christ shone from the beginning into the first or antedeluvian era of the world in the preaching of the name of the Lord through the Spirit of God, and that those who believed on it obtained grace of God, as did Noah and others before him.’

In the second era the light of Jesus Christ shone somewhat more clearly, through Noah, Abraham and Melchisedek, through Moses, the law and the prophets. Finally Jesus, the true Light, came into the flesh and appeared in person in the flesh under the law, so that the light in the third era of the world shone brightly upon all who believed in it. And when the world will come to an end the light will shine in its full glory, and those who walked in the light here shall be glorified in the perfect light, so that they shall shine as the stars in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. 13:43).

In the second place the love of God was made manifest by the ark, in this that God took into the ark of all sorts or species of animals, so that they might be preserved from the destruction of all flesh. The words, “every living thing of all flesh” (Gen. 6:19) points to the “every creature” (Mark 16:15) of all the human races since all on earth spring from one blood, and the light of salvation through Christ shall shine upon all generations of mankind, and has been fulfilled by Christ. “Therefore . . . by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life” (Rom. 5:18). “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). “He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2), “by him reconciling all things unto himself” (Col. 1:20).

In the third place the ark points to the universal church of God. As God wanted living creatures of all kinds under heaven in the ark, so he also desires that all men under heaven should be saved. “Who will have all men to be saved” (Tim. 2:4). Hence the Lord says: “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth” (Isa. 45:22). “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). God desires all mankind to come unto him into the ark and church of his covenant, that all may be preserved from the fearful destruction of this world. As the ark had three stories or floors so that all the creatures in the ark were preserved, so also God had in the three eras of the world his believers in the church of the covenant of his blood, by which he redeemed them, and he will also preserve them in the ark of his church, whose Head he is, from the fearful destruction of the ungodly (Eph. 5:23; 1 Cor. 12:12). And in the last day of the Lord, by his angels, he will gather all his own from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other, or from the beginning to the end, and lead them all, young and old, into his fold, which is the heavenly ark of his eternal kingdom (Matt. 24: 31). Because Jesus has the keys, he locked the door behind Noah (Gen. 7:16), so that neither the ungodly nor any other plague could now reach Noah in the ark any more. So also, when the Lord shall have gathered his own in his kingdom, he will shut the door behind his own, so that when the torment of the ungodly begins, neither the devils nor ungodly men, nor any other tribulation, with which the devils and the ungodly are tormented can ever enter the abode of the saved in the ark of the eternal kingdom; for where the Lord shuts the door, no man can open it; neither the devil, nor hell, nor the false prophets, nor ungodly men can ever unfasten the bars of the Lord. Hence the godly will suffer no further tribulation from contact with evil, but will rejoice forever with the unspeakable joy which Jesus has prepared for and bestowed upon them, for Jesus is in all things Alpha and Omega.

In the fifth place, God spoke with Abraham (Gen. 12:3), saying: “In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” This promise was a comfort to Abraham and to all who feared God, that the nations should be redeemed from the sin into which all mankind had fallen with and through Adam. This promise was fulfilled in Christ, as indicated above in the figure of the second story of the ark, and of which more will follow later. According to verse 8 Abraham also began to call upon or proclaim the name of the Lord. It is believable that he proclaimed the salvation of the Lord, that in the name of the Lord should be fulfilled that which has been mentioned of the name of the Lord in connection with Gen. 4:26.

In the sixth place, Gen. 14 gives us a prefigure of Christ in Abraham when he hastened after the enemies who had taken his brother Lot captive, and overcame the enemies and rescued his brother from the power of these enemies. Following this victory, Melchisedek, a priest of the Most High God, brought forth bread and wine, and blessed Abraham of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth. This Melchisedek is described (Heb. 7:3) as being without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God. This figure is fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus, the promised spiritual seed of Abraham, hastened in the flesh after the spiritual enemy of souls, the devil and sin, to rescue his brethren from the power of the enemy, the devil and sin. And as Jesus won the victory in and with flesh and blood, so also, as the true High Priest, gave his servants and apostles bread and wine in memory of his body and blood wherewith he overcame the enemy on the cross.

In Heb. 7:2 the name Melchisedek is interpreted as meaning King of righteousness, also King of Salem, which is, King of peace, Melchisedek is fulfilled in Christ. Jesus is the King of righteousness personified; Jesus is the King of Salem, that is, of the heavenly, peaceful Jerusalem. Jesus is, according to the flesh, without father, without mother, without descent, for Jesus is not of the substance of flesh. As Word, Spirit and Power he came down from the Father into the flesh and became flesh (John 1:1-14; Matt. 1:18-20; Luke 1:35). Jesus was before the world existed (John 17:5) ; for the world was made by him; therefore his generation is not counted, for Jesus has neither beginning of days, nor end of life. Thus Abraham’s battle with the enemies of his brother, and the priestly office and state of Melchisedek are perfectly fulfilled and set forth in Jesus. To Jesus alone be glory.

In the seventh place, concerning circumcision as mentioned Gen. 17, God enjoined upon Abraham the circumcision of all male children, and whatever male child was not circumcised on the eighth day was to be cut off from his people. Abraham accepted this commandment and circumcised himself and his son Ishmael and all the males in his house in the same day that God had given him the commandment. And Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised himself, “and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith” (Rom. 4:11). Thus the circumcision of the flesh was a figure of the circumcision of the heart, with which Abraham was circumcised by faith in obedience unto God, which was counted unto him for righteousness (Rom. 4:9). So Abraham was first circumcised after the inward man with the spiritual circumcision of the heart in the laying aside of sin. Jesus came in order to establish the true circumcision, which is the fulfillment of the circumcision of Abraham. In Josh. 5:2 it is recorded that the Lord said unto Joshua: “Make thee sharp knives (or knives of flints) and circumcise again the children of Israel”; for in their journey through the wilderness Israel had not been circumcised, hence circumcision with knives of flint had to be performed, as is recorded also in Ex. 4:25: “Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son.”

Consider now the circumcision by Christ. Jesus is the spiritual Stone and Rock (Dan. 2:35; Matt. 7:24; Isa. 28:16; 1 Pet. 2:4-8), so that the circumsion of the heart may be accomplished which pierces the soul and spirit of men. This is the circumcision by Christ, “which is in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Rom. 2:29); in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.

Abraham, the father of all the faithful, had two circumcisions: — the circumcision of the heart by faith and the circumcision of the flesh on his body. The circumcision of the heart was made by Christ in the spirit. He cut in pieces the sin of Adam which lay upon his heart and soul, and in his own body and blood on the cross offered it up and made atonement; “by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24). This was not done to Abraham of old, but to the household and infant children, therefore Jesus has so abundantly promised the children the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18 and 19).

The circumcision in the flesh, it was told Abraham, should be made on the eighth day after the male child’s birth, and whatever child was not circumcised on the eighth day was to be cut off from among his people. Therefore let us consider carefully how circumcision should be fulfilled in Christ in the case of every human being that has come to the years of accountability. When a person grows out of the blessed state of childhood, it is plainly to be seen that the heart and flesh of man are always inclined to sin and to the work of sin. Now God does not desire that man remain always in this evil work, for God gave man but six days in which to work, and on the seventh he was to rest; whoever did more than this was to receive bodily punishment. So when man goes on in the works of sin, and God causes man to be called by the word of his Spirit that he should depart from the works of sin, the six days of that man are finished; God then calls man to the sabbath that he should depart from the works of sin. If a man believes God’s word and leaves off his sinful works, he then enters into the rest of the seventh day or sabbath, by faith, for man has before him the eighth day, when he must lay hand to himself and circumcise himself, even as Abraham did. But of what shall man circumcise himself, or what shall the circumcision be? He must circumcise the evil desires in his heart and the members of his body from the evil works in which he has been engaged for six days. But with what shall he be thus circumcised? With the sharp knife of the Rock Christ Jesus, through faith in his name, in which is the purification and forgiveness of sin. Thus was circumcision given to Abraham, and completely fulfilled and established in and by the Lord Jesus, so that in this also Jesus is the beginning and the end. And inasmuch as the outward circumcision of the law in the flesh is ended through Christ, there is no longer any virtue in it, as may be seen Gal. 5:2, 3: “If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.” But the circumcision of Christ is profitable in every way. It brings life, forgiveness of sins, righteousness, the everlasting kingdom and eternal salvation.

In the eighth place, let us consider Isaac as a type of Christ. In Gen. 22, God called Abraham: “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest . . . and offer him up for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” Abraham rose up early in the morning, and went forth with his son Isaac. Abraham took the wood and laid it upon Isaac his son, while he took the fire and the knife in his own hand. When they came upon Mount Moriah, he built an altar and laid the wood thereon, and bound his son Isaac and laid him upon the altar upon the wood, then seized the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to Abraham and said: “Lay not thine hand upon the lad . . . for now I know that thou fearest God”’ (Gen. 22:12).

This historical incident regarding Isaac was perfectly fulfilled in Christ. Isaac had very patiently gone in love with his father, bearing the wood for his offering. Jesus went with his Father, for the Father was with him and in him. “The Father is in me, and I in him. The words that I speak . . . I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10). “Thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee” (John 17:21), “I am not alone, because the Father is with me” (John 16:32).

Jesus went in love, bearing the wood of the cross for his offering. “God is love, and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). God was in Christ. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). It is also recorded in Heb. 11:17 that Isaac was offered up by faith; yet Isaac did not suffer. So also God, who was a Spirit, and was Spirit and love in Christ, did not suffer, but the flesh and blood of Christ suffered. The word which was Spirit and power proceeded from the Father (Matt. 1:18-20; Luke 1:35) and entered into flesh, in Mary, and became flesh and man (John 1:14). Herein Jesus became like his brethren, the believing children of Abraham, except that he had no sin. In this spiritual and yet natural flesh, body and blood Jesus suffered and made his sacrifice according to the Father’s will.

God said to Abraham (Gen. 22): “Because thou hast . . . not withheld thy son, thine only son; that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.” In Gen. 22:16, 17, God says this regarding the natural seed of Abraham’s flesh, which is called Israel, that they were to possess the land and the gates of their enemies and by the Lord’s almighty power Israel did enter the land and possessed or captured the gates of his enemies. God said further to Abraham: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 22:18). Paul writes (Gal. 3:16): “He saith not, and to seeds, as of many, but as of one; and in thy seed, which is Christ.” This was the spiritual seed of Abraham, which in Spirit and power was in and with Abraham, and whose name Abraham called upon and proclaimed.

Isaac was a promised son of Abraham in the flesh, and his seed possessed the land of Canaan and the gates of his enemies. In the spiritual sense Jesus is the promised Son of Abraham, the King of kings, who has prepared the spiritual Canaan and the spiritual gates of heaven for man, and placed his spiritual brethren, the believing children of Abraham therein, and overcame their spiritual enemy, the devil and sin, and opened and possessed the spiritual gates of heaven. And this blessing passed upon all nations, for through Jesus the sin of Adam was paid for all mankind, so that now all mankind may, by true faith in Jesus, in his name obtain forgiveness for their own actual sins. Of this more will be said under the title: The Passover Lamb.

In the ninth place (Gen. 16:5), it is recorded that Hagar bore Abraham a son, whom he called Ishmael, and in Gen. 17:20: “And behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget; and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac which Sarah shall bear unto thee.” Of these two sons Paul writes (Gal. 4:22): “Abraham had two sons; the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the free woman was by promise.” These words are significant, for they represent the two covenants; one from Mount Sinai; which gendereth to bondage, which is Hagar. But the Jerusalem, which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all. “So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free” (Gal. 4:31).

Let us consider this matter carefully. Abraham was a type of Christ, and to him two sons were born after his will. The one was after the flesh, the other after the Spirit. Hagar represents or signifies Mount Sinai; of her was born Ishmael, who was an austere wild man (Gen. 16:12); his hand was against every man, and every man’s hand was against him. This Ishmael represents or typifies the law, which God gave to Moses for Israel on Mount Sinai. The law was austere, with many commandments, and whoever did not keep them according to the flesh was to be punished with death in the flesh. Thus the law was against every man in the matter of sin, because it revealed sin to everyone, and every man was against the law, in the breaking of the law and because it was so stern in judgment.

Ishmael also was of significance as regards Isaac and his seed, Israel. From Ishmael came twelve princes, just as from Isaac came twelve tribes or princes. But Ishmael and his tribe were no longer counted in the inheritance of Abraham, but Abraham’s inheritance passed to Isaac and his seed. Hagar, who is counted according to the flesh, despised Sarah, who is reckoned according to the Spirit (Gen. 16:4). Ishmael became a mocker at the time Isaac was weaned (Gen. 21:8, 9). Thus Ishmael who is accounted in the flesh, was a mocker of Isaac, and persecuted Isaac, who was born after the Spirit (Gal. 4:29). It was said to Abraham: ‘‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even Isaac” (Gal. 4:22; Gen. 21:10, 12).

Abraham was a figure of God, and Sarah was his wife and his own, and was therefore called the free woman. Of this free woman Isaac was born. Isaac was the heir; to him Abraham gave all his property (Gen. 24:36; 25:5). Isaac was a loving, obedient son to Abraham, as has been indicated in the reference to the offering of Isaac, and it is again seen in this twenty-fourth chapter how Isaac yielded entirely to his father’s will, and according to his father’s will had a wife brought to him from his father’s people. When Eliezar, the servant, brought him a wife from his father’s people, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, he received her according to his father’s will without any objection, and led her into his mother’s chamber, and she became his wife.

Isaac was plainly a type of Christ. Jesus Christ of the Father and Holy Ghost is the true promised seed of Abraham, come from God the Father into the flesh. There the Word became flesh like unto man in all things except sin. This spiritual Isaac was born of the Virgin Mary. He is the eternal Son of God, a beloved Son of his Father, who did his Father’s will, and was obedient unto him even unto death on the cross; “wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things, on earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus is the Lord, to the glory of the Father” (Phil. 2:8-10). Of this Jesus God himself bears witness (Matt. 3:17; 17:5): “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” Jesus says (Matt. 28:18): “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Jesus is the true heir of God his Father; God has delivered all things to him. “All things are delivered to me of my Father” (Luke 10:22). “Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into his hands” (John 13:3; 5:27). “All things that the Father hath are mine” (John 16:15).

As Abraham’s bondwoman Hagar and his first son, Ishmael, signified the first covenant which came from God on Mount Sinai (Ex. 19 and 20), and also represents the people of Israel, which comprised the twelve tribes, and Ishmael also twelve tribes, much more does Sarah with her son Isaac, the son of the free woman, represent or prefigure the second covenant which came from God in the spiritual Mount Sinai, the spiritual Jerusalem, namely Jesus Christ, his holy gospel, the spiritual congregation of the believing seed of Abraham, built upon the foundation of the twelve apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone (Eph. 2: 20). “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles” (Rev. 21:14).

But like as Sarah and Isaac and the twelve tribes of Israel were far above Hagar and Ishmael and his twelve princes, so also the free woman, the second testament, Jesus Christ, his holy gospel and his church are far superior to the first covenant of the law, Sarah and Isaac, and the tribes of Israel according to the flesh. Although both testaments were of God, just as the two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, were of Abraham, and both were blessed of God to become great nations, nevertheless it was decreed that Hagar with her son should be cast out, for Ishmael was not to be an heir with Isaac, The law and Israel existed for a long period under the priesthood with many ceremonies and sacrifices, and outward sanctification, but they could not thereby attain unto righteousness and complete sonship and inheritance of God, for the law and its ceremonies were a service and a figure pointing to Christ, all of which were to be fulfilled in Christ. But when Christ came he was made subject to the law “to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:5). Jesus came to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17), and in the fulfilling of the law by Jesus the figures of the law came to an end; for “the law worketh wrath” (Rom. 4:15). The law was stern and visited in judgment unto death, but Christ came to redeem us from the curse of the law that worketh death. Christ brought about the fulfillment of the law, by establishing righteousness and the love of God instead of the law, as seen Matt. 5:21-48). In the suffering and death of Christ all things were fulfilled (John 19: 28, 30), for “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth” (Rom. 10:4). Moreover Moses says (Deut. 18:15): “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him shall ye hearken.” Thus Moses directed the Israelites from the law to give heed to Jesus and his gospel; for that is the complete fulfillment of the law; for “by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Gal. 2:16; 3:11). That no man is justified before God by the law is evident; but in Jesus all are justified who believe in him according to the gospel. And while the law of Moses was ordained unto death, the gospel of Jesus Christ was ordained unto life. And while the law reveals sin, Jesus is the forgiveness and hiding away of sin. And while the law of sin came to wound souls, Jesus came to heal wounded souls. As good is far above evil, so also Jesus with his gospel is far above Moses with the law. Hence the law of Moses which consisted of types and figures must necessarily give way before Jesus and his gospel, just as Ishmael had to give way before Isaac, although both came from one father. Hence God’s plans are so arranged that in Jesus all things must have their beginning and their end, because the law has its end in Jesus Christ. We should therefore believe in Jesus and obey the word of his gospel; for Jesus has all that his Father has, and those who do the will of his Father are the children of God (Gal. 3:26). “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matt. 12:50), and to such Jesus will give all that his Father has, his eternal kingdom (Matt. 25). Hence Jesus is the complete fulfillment of the antetype Isaac, as already shown.

In the tenth place, we read in Gen. 49 that when Jacob was old and about to die, he called his sons to him to bless them. When he came to Judah he said: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah till Shiloh come” (Gen. 49:10). Jacob here prophesied of the sceptre of the natural, temporal kingdom of Israel or Judah that should not depart until Shiloh the Hero should come. This Shiloh or Hero was Jesus, who should bind “his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice Vine,” who should wash his garments in wine, and clothes in the blood of grapes (Gen. 49:10, 11).

If anyone should think that these words are spoken of Judah, that he should be so glorious in his kingdom that he could bind his foal to the vine and his ass’s colt to the choice vines and wash his clothes in wine, let it be remembered that the ass and the colt were unbound by the disciples of Jesus, and Jesus rode thereon. “Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat: loose him and bring him. And if any man say, Why do ye this? Say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. And they went their way and found the colt tied by the door without, in a place where two ways met; they loose him.” A vine may have stood there outside the door, as is customary in grape countries, to which the colt was bound, according to Jacob’s prophecy.

But more is comprehended in this passage. Jesus is the mighty Hero who came to cause the natural foal of Judah to be loosed and brought to him, that he might ride it, and afterward bind the foal to the vine, and the ass’s colt to the choice vine. Jesus’ foal and colt, vine and choice vine have a spiritual signification. Of one of the sons of Jacob, who was the seed of Abraham, Jacob prophesied: “Issachar is a strong ass, couching down between two burdens; and he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant, and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant to tributes” (Gen. 49:14, 15). In Issachar is pointed out the seed of Abraham who in the law, by the Spirit of God, had seen the divine rest and the pleasant promised land. They had encamped on the borders between the divinely promised land and the heathen in the earthly land of promise which lay at the parting of the ways in the heavenly land of promise. There the seed of Abraham was bound to the law, there they had given their shoulders like strong asses to bear the law, which revealed sin unto them, and under which they became servants to tribute, so that they had to sacrifice much for sin, without being able to become free from sin, until the promised Shiloh came, which is Jesus. He unbound his foal, the believing children of Abraham, out at the parting of the ways, from the law of sin by his body and blood on the cross. This Shiloh bound the believers to the Vine (John 15) and the sons of this believing foal to the choice Vine, that is, to his kingdom, as he teaches (Matt. 18 and 19) : “Suffer the children to come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” These are the colts upon which no man has ridden, and which have not yet consciously felt the burden of the law of sin. This Shiloh, of whom Jacob prophesied, did not free only the seed of Abraham from the law of sin, but the heathen also from the law of the sin of Adam and from the law of idolatry and sin of the heathen, that henceforth all heathen might by faith in Jesus be freed from all their sins by Jesus and in his name. This Shiloh of whom Jacob prophesied, would wash his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of grapes. This wine points to the blood of Jesus, as the following words indicate: “He shall wash his clothes in the blood of grapes.” This is the blood of the members of Jesus; for Jesus gave his disciples wine instead of his blood (Matt. 26:28). In this wine or blood Jesus washed his clothes and garments. These clothes and garments signify his church in the midst of which Jesus stands, as stated in Rev. 1:13, 20; 2:1: “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks (I saw) one like unto the Son of man.” “The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches,” which he has washed with his blood (Rev. 1:5; Eph. 5:26; John 17:14).

“His eyes shall be red with wine (German, redder than wine), and his teeth white with milk (German, whiter than milk)” (Gen. 49:12). “His eyes were red as a flame of fire.” This Shiloh with his brilliant eyes sees every hidden thing in the hearts and reins of men, and inasmuch as he cannot behold wickedness nor look upon iniquity with his pure, clear eyes; therefore he forgives his believers with his bright and shining eyes, and in their repentance and reformation he forgives them all their sins, even the hidden sins of the heart, whether they are conscious or unconscious of them, through the blood shed upon the cross, so that he sees nothing unclean in his people with his discerning eyes. Likewise from his mouth with its white teeth nothing impure can come forth to his believers; but there shall come forth the great joy and glory of the children of God.

Consider carefully then the prophecy of Jacob (or Israel), and how it pointed to Jesus, and in Jesus was fulfilled and established.

CHAPTER 6
The Passover Lamb. Its Types Pointing to Christ
Their Fulfillment by Christ. From the Book of Exodus

In the Book of Exodus there are excellent types and figures of man’s galling bondage under the devil and sin and of his perfect redemption by Christ.

In the first chapter of the Book of Exodus we see how king Pharaoh sorely oppressed the children of Israel, the seed of Abraham after the flesh, with heavy burdens, with the building of cities, making of bricks and all kinds of drudgery in the fields, and the merciless imposition of all kinds of tasks upon the children of Israel, and how the Egyptians afflicted the Israelites more and more as the latter increased in number, until finally Pharaoh began to have the infant sons of the children of Israel killed and drowned, thinking thereby to keep Israel in his power. This galling bondage of ,the children of Israel represents the human race under the spiritual Pharaoh, under the devil and sin, under which mankind was in the galling bondage of death, spiritually, and beside which the enemy unmercifully overburdened mankind with galling service in sin and wickedness, with bloodshed and idolatry, and how the enemy increased the burden as the servants of sin increased, and how, when a child and servant of God was born, the enemy commanded him to be killed by his servants, thinking thereby to keep mankind in his power, and under which tyranny the human race was kept for about 4,000 years until finally the Redeemer Jesus came (Isa. 44:6).

Chapter 2 records the birth of Moses and his providential preservation in his father’s house for about three months, and how, when his parents were unable to keep him hidden any longer, they laid him in an ark and placed it in the water, and the daughter of Pharaoh had him taken out of the water and brought him up as her own son in the house of Pharaoh, and that afterward he was obliged to flee because of the help he had rendered one of his brethren, and that he fled into Midian and herded the sheep, all of which points to Christ.

At the time when Jesus was to be born there was also, a period of oppression. The enemy sought through his servant Herod to put to death all the royal seed of Abraham, thinking thereby to keep Israel in his power. At this time Jesus came into the flesh and was born of Mary. When Herod heard that a king had been born in Bethlehem, “he sent forth and slew all the (male) children that were in Bethlehem . . . from two years old and under” (Matt. 2:16), thinking that among those killed would be the king. But by God’s providence the young King was taken by Joseph and Mary to Egypt. From thence he came back into Israel, to Nazareth, where he remained for about thirty years, until the time when he should come forth to do good to the seed of Abraham, and to all those who believe in him, and redeem the human race from the power of the enemy.

In the third chapter of Exodus it is recorded that Moses tended the sheep in the wilderness at the mountain of God, Horeb, “and the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush.” And the Lord spoke with Moses out of the fire, saying: “I have surely seen the affliction of my people, which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry, by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows, and am come down to deliver them from the hands of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land into a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex. 3:1-8). “Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come before me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people . . . out of Egypt” (Ex. 3:9, 10). And the Lord said to Moses: “I will be with thee . . . and I will stretch out my hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders,” as seen farther on and into the fourth chapter. The Lord further said to Moses: “Go, and I will be thy mouth” (Ex. 4:12),

Moses went, first to the people of Israel, and afterward to Pharaoh with Aaron, and said to him: “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.” And Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice? . . . I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go” (Ex. 5:1, 2). Pharaoh now began to oppress the people more. Afterward God caused Pharaoh to see ten signs through the agency of Moses and Aaron. The first was that of the serpents; the second, blood; the third, frogs; the fourth, lice; the fifth, flies; the sixth, murrain; the seventh, boils and blains; the eighth, hail and fire; the ninth, locusts; the tenth, darkness. Under these plagues Egypt suffered immense loss, but Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, so that he would not let Israel go.

This account of the calling of Moses, and of the miracles which the Lord did through Moses in Egypt to Pharaoh and his people, continues from the third to the tenth chapter.

Let us here think of Jesus’ calling, of his miracles. But as Spirit is superior to flesh, and the son is above the servant, so Jesus is far superior to Moses. Jesus was subject to his parents until his thirtieth year (Luke 2:41-51; 3:23). But when John the Baptist came and preached the baptism of repentance, and Jesus was rendering the service of love to his parents, as Moses did to Jethro, the fiery love of God called. God is love, and this love called to Jesus from within, so that he arose and came to John at the Jordan to be baptized of him. Jesus was entirely willing for his Father’s sake to do that whereunto he was ordained, and he came and was baptized. After he was baptized the Spirit of God descended upon him and a voice spoke from heaven: “This is my beloved Son” (Matt. 3:13-17). “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness,” and there he was tempted for forty days by the devil. Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and began to preach: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As if he would say: Repent, prepare yourselves for emigration; you shall soon be delivered and led out of the Egypt of sin, away from the spiritual Pharaoh, that is, from the devil and sin.

But now the wicked hearts of the high priests were afflicted by the devil with more grievous bondage in sin, and they began to murmur against Jesus, as Israel did against Moses (Ex. 5 : 6-21). But Jesus began with mighty signs and wonders to show the people that he was Christ the Savior, God’s Son, sent from God, and that the human race would be redeemed by him from the power of the devil. Jesus not only confirmed his calling, like Moses, with miracles, but with many miracles he proved his office and gospel. Nor were the miracles of Jesus like those performed by Moses. The miracles of Moses were terrible visitations, directed toward the punishment and destruction of men. The miracles of Jesus were benevolent, tending to love and peace, and to the well-being of the bodies and souls of men, as is abundantly shown in the gospel. The more Jesus showed kindness toward those who believed, the more was he hated and persecuted by the enemy, the spiritual Pharaoh and his servants.

Likewise, as the miracles of Moses served the purpose of bodily deliverance for the Israelites, and at the same time served to the destruction of the Egyptians, Pharaoh and his servants, so the benevolent miracles of Jesus served the believers to the salvation of their souls, while they also served to the further punishment and destruction of the devil, his servants and sin.

Moses came in the flesh to deliver Israel in the flesh by the hand of the Lord under the blood of the natural paschal lamb. Jesus came in the Spirit to deliver the souls of men by the spiritual Paschal Lamb with his own body and blood. Thus far the Mosaic types and figures pointing to Christ. For an account of their fulfillment by Christ on the cross, read Luke from Chapter 3 to Chapter 22.

Note the eleventh chapter of Exodus. The Lord said to Moses: “I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth on his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts” (Ex. 11:5).

In the twelfth chapter the Lord through Moses told Israel how they should prepare themselves for their departure after the death of the firstborn in Egypt. The Lord said: “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month, they shall take unto them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house. . . . Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats; and ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, and . . . shalt kill it in the evening. And they shall take the blood, and strike it on the two side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall not eat the flesh raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. Ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning, and that which remaineth of it . . . ye shall burn with fire.” They were to eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, nor were they to carry any of the flesh out of the house, nor break any of the bones. “Ye shall eat it with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and ye shall eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s passover.” “And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord, throughout your generations . . . forever.”

Moses said to Israel: “Kill the passover, and . . . take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin, and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood . . . he will pass over the door and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses.” The children of Israel did as the Lord had commanded, and at midnight the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh down to the firstborn of the slave in the dungeon and the firstborn of all beasts.” “‘And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. He called for Moses and Aaron by night and said: ‘‘Rise up and get you forth from among my people; both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord as ye have said.” “Also take your flocks and herds as ye have said.” “And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people that they might send them out in haste, for they said, We be all dead men.”

Thus the children of Israel departed with all their possessions, and the silver and golden vessels and the clothes which the Egyptians had lent them. The children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 on foot that were men, beside the children. Thus, by the slaying of the firstborn by the Lord, and by the blood of the lamb they were saved on this night, and the whole host, with all that they had, moved in one day out of the land of Egypt and were delivered from the land where they had been in bondage. And inasmuch as the Lord had slain all the firstborn in Egypt and preserved all the firstborn in Israel by the blood of the land, the Lord said to Moses: “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn . . . among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast; it is mine.” Moses also took the bones of Joseph with him. This extract, as seen above, is from the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth chapters. Through the Lord the departure of Israel in the flesh was accomplished. This figure is fulfilled in the Spirit by Christ.

Here will follow the manner in which the figurative passover lamb and the departure from Egypt was fulfilled in and by Christ. Jesus is the Lord of lords, and he came into this world, ordained and sent by his Father for the purpose of delivering and leading the human race out of the Egypt of sin, out of the bondage of the devil and sin in which man was held in such rigorous captivity that no one but Jesus could deliver them. Jesus is the true Lamb. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29; Rev. 5:6; Isa. 53).

Jesus confirmed his calling with many benevolent signs and wonders, but the people were so heavily burdened with sin that because of the oppressive servitude in sin, to which they are driven by the enemy, the devil, they could not believe Jesus, nor believe that he was the Christ who would deliver and lead them out of the power of the enemy and of sin. As the passover season came, at which time the figurative lamb was slain, so also the true Passover Lamb, Jesus, who was without any blemish, was to be slain at this time. Jesus, the chosen Lamb, prepared himself for the sacrifice, and kept the figurative passover with his disciples and finished it, after which he at once substituted for it the true passover with bread and wine in memory of the sacrifice of the body and blood of the true Passover Lamb. After this Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives into the Garden of Gethsemane, and there prayed three times. After this Jesus was led away by the multitude of high priests and scribes and was brought to the court of the high priest Caiaphas in Jerusalem, where they sought opportune ways by which they might slay the Passover Lamb. Early in the morning they brought the Lamb to the slaughter (Isa. 53), into the judgment hall before Pilate, and requested Pilate to crucify Jesus. When Pilate finally acceded to the wishes of the Jews, the Lamb was slain in the following manner: They took him and plaited a crown of thorns, and set it upon his head, placed a scarlet robe upon him, put a reed into his right hand, and bowed their knees before him in mock obeisance, saying: “Hail, king of the Jews!” and spit upon him. Then they took the reed and smote him on the head with it, so that the thorns penetrated into his head, that the blood ran down. Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him till the blood ran down in streams as from furrows. See Psa. 129: “The plowers have plowed upon my back; they have made long their furrows.” In these furrows the blood ran. Then they took Jesus and laid the cross or slaughtering block upon him and went out with him to the place of execution, or place of a skull. There they crucified him upon his slaughtering-block (Matt. 27:28-50; Mark 15: 15-37; John 19:1-30). Thus they pierced his hands and his feet (Psa. 22:16). There the blood of the Lamb was shed; there was the whole Lamb, “his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof” (Ex. 12:9), so that nothing remained, offered upon the cross, roasted in the fire of tribulation and seasoned with the bitter herbs. They gave him gall for meat and vinegar to drink (Psa. 69:21; Matt. 27:34; Mark 15:23; John 19:29). There was the Lamb, free from the leaven of malice and wickedness, as it always was; for it was always full of the unleavened bread of love. While Jesus hung suffering upon the cross and the high priests and people stood about, making wry faces at him, mocking him, saying: “Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days; if thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross, and we will believe” — in the face of these revilings Jesus prayed: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The malefactor on the cross prayed to him and said: “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” Jesus replied: “This day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42). So Christ was full of love even unto death, for God was in him (2 Cor. 5:19; John 16:32). The words of the prophets were likewise fulfilled in and by Jesus, as has already been shown in part and will be further shown. (See Psa. 22:1-22; 69:2-22; Isa. 50:5, 7; Chap. 53; 63:1-6; Zech. 11:12, 13; 13:7). When these prophesies had been fulfilled, Jesus cried: “It is finished!” bowed his head and gave up the ghost (John 19: 30). “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost” (Matt. 27:50). All this was followed by fearful phenomena, and great signs, showing that the enemy had been overcome, and that the human race had been redeemed from Satan and the sin of Adam. For when Jesus in his body, and by his blood and death conquered the devil and sin there were wonderful evidences that Jesus had conquered. The vail of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom, the earth quaked, the rocks were rent asunder, the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city and appeared unto many (Matt. 27:51-53).

In order to arrive at an explanation of these signs, let us consider first the figurative passover lamb. Through the blood of the figurative passover lamb were originally preserved and protected all of the firstborn of the seed of Abraham, as well as the firstborn of all cattle, so that the destroying angel could do them no harm. Likewise through Jesus, the Lamb of God, the firstborn, Adam and Eve, together with all mankind were preserved, so that the destroying angel Lucifer was unable to kill them.

That which constitutes the original first birth of man is life, which was breathed and born into man by God, so that man became a living soul. But when the murderer Lucifer killed and deprived man of this life, the life of Jesus, which is the life of living souls, did not die, but was preserved in Jesus (John 1:4), until the time when it was restored again by Christ (Rom. 5:18; 2 Tim. 1:10). This is the first birth which was implanted in man by God, and was preserved in the Lamb of God from the destroying angel Lucifer.

By the true offering of the Lamb, the body and blood on the lintels and door posts the Lord destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt, from the king’s son down to the son of the maidservant who sat at her mill, and all the firstborn of beasts (Ex. 12:29, 30), so that there was not a house among the Egyptians in which there was not a dead body found. The Lord, the Author of all things, did this, and afterward fulfilled in its reality all that was accomplished in the figure, as will be shown.

By the true offering of the Lamb, the body and blood of Christ, the first birth, which mankind, Eve and Adam, brought forth through the suggestion of the serpent, was put to death. Of the very firstborn which God begat in man, mention has already been made. But this first birth which was brought forth at the instigation of the serpent is sin and death, as James declares: “When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (Jas. 1:15).

This birth occurred when the serpent said: “Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” With these words, “Yea, hath God said?” the serpent tried to make Eve imagine that it might not be so, as if she might not have understood the words. But Eve maintained her ground and said: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” Then the serpent adopted a crooked, smooth method with the woman and said: “Ye shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good from evil.” Then desire was conceived in Eve. She looked at the tree, and saw that it was pleasant to the eye. Then lust brought forth sin. Eve plucked off fruit and ate, and gave her husband also. Then sin brought forth death. Thus sin and death were the firstborn which Adam and Eve brought forth, and from this birth great misery and suffering ensued. For by this birth of sin and death man was conquered, captured and bound and taken into the enemy’s kingdom, where mankind was burdened and afflicted by sin and with the sin of death, the same as Israel in Egypt. Thus man, with all his seed or generation was bound with the bands of sin and death by the mighty destroying angel Lucifer, so that no one among men nor among angels in heaven was mighty enough to loosen the strong bands of sin and death, except alone the Lamb of God (John 1:29; Rev. 5:5, 6), who was ordained thereto before the foundations of the world were laid (1 Pet. 1:20). By the sacrifice of the body of this Lamb on the cross the first birth of Adam and Eve was conquered, namely sin and death, and the bands of sin which the enemy had tied were loosed; the enemy’s head was bruised, and the debt of sin was paid with his body and blood (Isa. 53:4; 1 Pet. 2:24), and the whole human race, which had been overcome by the enemy through the sin of Adam, was redeemed by the blood of Christ and his death on the cross, from Pharaoh, Satan, from the bands of sin and the death that came upon Adam, as seen in Rom. 5 and in many other passages. The way to heaven was opened to mankind, and the life that had been lost in Adam was restored by the death of Jesus, as will be shown.

1. In the figurative passover the figurative Israel was released and driven out by the figurative Pharaoh by the slaying of the firstborn. This took place amid the wildest commotion in Egypt, in the darkness of night (Ex. 12.)

At the time when the true sacrifice of the perfect Lamb, Jesus, took place, the sun was completely darkened over all the land from the sixth to the ninth hour. Over all the land means over all the world. In this night of darkness the Lord slew the firstborn throughout the entire Egypt of sin, throughout the entire realm of the Pharaoh Lucifer, that is, among all the races of mankind. He slew the sin of Adam which had fallen upon all men. This slaughter the Lord accomplished himself with his own body and blood on the cross. By the slaying of this firstborn the spiritual Israel was again freed from the spiritual Pharaoh, and this also took place amid great commotion, and was accomplished about the ninth hour (Matt. 27).

2. When Jesus gave up the ghost the vail of the temple was rent into two parts, from the top to the bottom. This signifies that by the suffering and death of Christ the middle wall of partition, sin, which had separated mankind from God, was broken in two, and the vail before the holy of holies was torn, so that Jesus entered into the holy place by his own blood (Heb. 9:11-28), so that now the human race has free access by faith, through Christ, into the holy place, that is, by the Christ-life, into heaven. Hence man is to depart with the spiritual Moses out of the Egypt of sin toward the heavenly Canaan, as the figurative Israel journeyed with the figurative Moses toward the figurative Canaan.

3. The earth quaked and the rocks were rent. This signifies that there was great commotion in the realm of Satan when his head was crushed and his power was taken from him. The rent rocks signify that the strongholds and fortresses and fetters which may be compared to the rocks, and in which the human race was bound, were in and by the suffering and death of Christ loosed and opened up, and this through Christ. The captives of the mighty giant were delivered, and the prey of the terrible were taken away (Isa. 49:25), and Jesus went before them, leading forth the captives as his sheep (John 10:3, 4), taking with him the prey of the mighty and by his blood delivering the captive out of the pit wherein was no water (Zech. 9:11).

4. “The graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” When Israel departed from Egypt the bones of Joseph who had long before fallen asleep, were taken along (Ex. 13:19). Thus Jesus also, when he with his body and blood slew the firstborn, the sin of Adam, and paid the great debt which rested upon all mankind, his salvation extended to those who had long before (I write here) fallen asleep in faith in God, in love and fear. For when Jesus gave up the ghost on the cross the graves were opened, proving that salvation extended to those who had long before fallen asleep, and that the saints rose up after the resurrection of Christ, and appeared in the holy city, shows that by the sacrifice and death of Christ there is a complete redemption of soul and body, so that even the bodies of the saints are delivered from the miseries of earth after they have fallen asleep, and enter the holy city of heaven, as will be pointed out elsewhere, so that not much will be said here regarding the body; only so much, that the bodies of the saints are atoned for and redeemed unto eternal glory, and that when Jesus shall come again in his glorified body he will permit the bodies of the saints to enjoy fully the benefits of the sacrifice of Jesus, in glory, joy, and immortality. Of this more will be said in the chapter on the Second Coming of Christ.

5. As the sin of Adam and Eve passed upon all men, because all had sinned, much more did the life of righteousness extend to all mankind (Rom. 5:12-19). And as in the keeping of the figurative passover all the firstborn among the Egyptians were slain by the Lord, from the king’s son down to the son of the maidservant, together with all the firstborn among cattle, much more was the firstborn, the sin of Adam, slain in the keeping of the true passover on the cross.

The firstborn among the Egyptians are understood to signify the patriarchs and God-fearing believers and Israelites’ firstborn of the sin of Adam. The firstborn of the Egyptian cattle are understood to mean the firstborn sin of the unbelievers or heathen. Paul speaks of this in writing to the Colossians (1:20), “that in him should all fullness dwell,” and that by him all things should be reconciled to himself, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. Paul here mentions all things in earth and all things in heaven. Hence salvation extended to all mankind in earth and in heaven, to all the holy patriarchs and prophets who had long ago fallen asleep and gone to rest in hope; but their hopes were fulfilled only in the suffering and death of Christ, as already shown. Additional testimony is given 2 Cor. 5:19; 1 John 2:2.

As after the keeping of the figurative passover the Lord led the host of the children of Israel with all they possessed of cattle and goods, out of Egypt, out of Pharaoh’s realm with a mighty hand and a strong arm toward the promised land, so also by and through the true passover the Lord led the whole human race with all the goods that they possessed out of the sin of Adam, out of the realm of the Pharaoh Lucifer to salvation. Thus the Lord has atoned for and paid the sin of Adam, and led the human race out of the sin of Adam toward the heavenly Canaan, so that there remains no condemnation against them of the sin of Adam, and man has now no more reason to complain of the sin of Adam, but only of his own actual sins, as the Lord says (Ezek. 18:1-3) : “What mean ye that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.” According to these words the Lord does not want the believing, spiritual Israelites to say that the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge, or, in other words, that the fathers have sinned, and the children have partaken of their sins. The Lord wants nothing of this, because he has paid the sins of the fathers with the best possession, his body and blood; for the Lord says: “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezek. 18:4). Hence it is established that no one will be condemned to death on account of the sins of the fathers, but alone because of their own, actual sins. So many people become partakers of the condemnation of death, because they believe not on the Son of God, and in his name do not turn away from their evil ways and do good, and do not seek their salvation in Jesus Christ alone, but often choose ways of their own in which they seek their salvation, but which universally serves rather to their condemnation than to their salvation.

6. In Ex. 13 the Lord says: “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb of the children of Israel, both of man and of beast; it is mine.” The firstborn is the Lord’s. From the time on when the Lord slew the firstborn in Egypt, he sanctified them unto himself, and chose them for his own. In Num. 3:13; 8:17, and in Lev. 12:6, it is declared that the firstborn shall make atonement at a certain time with a lamb and a pigeon or dove, which signifies the true Lamb Jesus and the dove of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:16). That the mother with the son or the daughter make atonement, signifies that the mother of the human race with son and daughter should be redeemed from the uncleanness with which the mother together with the son and daughter were made unclean in the firstborn of the sin of Adam.

Through the Lord Jesus the firstborn of sin was slain, and the uncleanness from the birth of sin in the mother, in the sons and in the daughters shall be redeemed and cleansed.

With the slaying of the firstborn in Egypt the Lord chose all the firstborn in Israel as his own, also the firstborn among all cattle, both of the clean and of the unclean beasts; the unclean, such as the firstborn of the ass, was to be redeemed with a lamb (Ex. 34:20). How much more, then, in the true commonwealth, of God, where God has slain the firstborn, the sin of Adam, among all mankind, as above shown, has the Lord chosen the firstborn of men as heirs of his kingdom, which firstborn of men now are, (1) : Man has been regenerated and redeemed by Jesus, the living Word, from the kingdom of sin and death into the kingdom of the righteousness of the life of Christ (Rom. 5:17, 18). Hence man is born out of Adam’s sin and death into life and light through Christ, and this justified life has come upon all mankind (verse 18). All men are born of flesh into the world as infants, and are flesh and blood. But into this tabernacle of flesh there was breathed in the beginning a living soul by God. Through the sin of Adam this living soul passed into death, and lay therein until the time of Christ. He came, regenerated the dead soul, and brought back life to the soul. When man is born into the world in the flesh he brings with him the light of life which Jesus has implanted in us by his death on the cross. Hence it is clear, according to Ezek. 18: 20. as mentioned above, that a child is not to bear the sins and iniquities of the patriarchs nor the fathers, but if the child sins, then only shall he die. Inasmuch as no command is given to an ignorant infant, it does not commit a transgression, and therefore has no sin. Hence such a child is in the state of the firstborn as God created us, and is regenerated by Christ; and so long as a child lives in this state it remains in the condition of the firstborn. These firstborn the Lord Jesus took into his arms as children and heirs of his kingdom. See Matt. 19:13, 15; Mark 10:14-16; Luke 18:15-17. “And there were brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray, and the disciples rebuked those that brought them. But Jesus called them unto him and said , Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” “Verily , I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no wise enter therein.” And he took them up in his arms and laid his hands on them and blessed them. “The disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily, I say unto you, Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me” (Matt. 18:1-5). Thus we see how dearly Jesus loves the little children in their firstborn state, and that they are heirs of his kingdom.

So also the Lord chose the firstborn of all beasts, both clean and unclean, that belonged to Israel, for his own. Consider carefully that as by the offense of Adam, judgment came upon all men unto condemnation, even so by the righteousness of Jesus Christ the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. Hence Jesus chose all the firstborn, because the life of Jesus has come upon all men.

But when a man comes to the years of accountability, and of the knowledge of speech, the lust in the flesh is present, and lust easily conceives sin, and sin will then bring forth death. Then man dies on account of his own sins, and it is time that the spiritually dead man is awakened by the voice of the word of the Lord, and by faith becomes a child of God (John 5:24, 25), the firstfruits of his creatures (Jas. 1:18), for the firstborn to the service of God in his congregation and people (Lev. 3:12, 13, 40, 41; Chap. 4).

These, then, are the spiritual priests and Levites, chosen for service and work in the spiritual tabernacle and church of Christ, to journey with the spiritual Moses, Jesus Christ, out of Egypt toward the heavenly kingdom. So you, beloved reader, may see in these writings what the figurative passover lamb signified and how it was fulfilled in the true Paschal Lamb, Jesus Christ, and that Jesus is the Author and Source of human life, and after the sin of death also became the Restorer of the life of man unto salvation.

So much concerning the Passover Lamb, so that you may see that the ransom was paid by Christ (Isa. 28:22; Rom. 9:28). For the Lord Jesus paid the ransom himself with his own body and blood, not for Israel alone, but also for all the rest, for all the Gentiles also; therefore Christ is called in the scriptures the comfort and Savior of the Gentiles.

CHAPTER 7
Departure from Egypt. From the Book of Exodus

In the twelfth chapter of the Book of Exodus it is recorded that after the Lord had slain all the firstborn in Egypt, and Israel was free of his enemies by the work of the Lord, they went forth, 600,000 men (not counting women and children, and who are not to be counted), with their cattle and all their possessions, and with them a mixed multitude.

The Lord did not lead Israel in a straight course toward the promised land, so that they should not get into a battle at once, and because of fear of the enemy turn at once and go back to Egypt, for he did not want them in Egypt any more. He led them toward the wilderness, and the Lord moved before them like a Father and shepherd, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night, so that he could lead them in the right direction.

This figure was fulfilled when Jesus on the cross slew the firstborn of sin and paid the ransom with his own body and blood. As man had, by the sin of Adam, fallen into death, even so man, by Christ’s sacrifice unto death, and his resurrection, was raised up again. By sin man became subject to the death of the body, and from death to the grave, and in the grave to decay, so that he would return to the dust from whence he was taken. Since it was the purpose of God through Christ to raise again both the material and spiritual body of man from the death of Adam’s sin, Christ, when the sacrifice was finished, fell asleep the same as any human body falls asleep in death, and was laid in the grave. From this sleep he arose, incorruptible, on the third day that by his death and resurrection he might again deliver man from mortality, out of the grave of corruption into the kingdom of immortality and life. Of this restoration of the body, however, I hope to write in another chapter.

That the body, by the death and resurrection of Christ, has come to the inheritance of the resurrection and immortality, is attested by the resurrection of Christ; for when Jesus died on the cross, the graves were opened, and when Jesus arose, the bodies also arose, after him, and appeared in the holy city (Matt. 27:52).

But to return to the exodus. The Lord moved before Israel, by day in a pillar of cloud and by night in a pillar of fire, that he might lead them in the right way, and to show them when and where they were to encamp, and when and where they were to move forward (Ex. 40:36).

The Egyptians hastened after them to overtake them, but the Lord passed between the two hosts in a cloud that made it so dark that the Egyptians could not find their way to the Israelites. The Lord led the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry land. The enemy followed after them into the sea, where the Lord caused them to be drowned, so that not one escaped (Ex, 14:28). When Israel had been delivered from the Egyptians, and the Egyptians lay dead along the beach, Moses and all Israel sang a song of thanksgiving unto the Lord for all the benefits which the Lord had bestowed upon Israel.

Consider this matter well in Christ. When Jesus had completed the redemption with his body and Spirit on earth, it was not his will that the spiritually delivered Israel should remain longer in spiritual Egypt under the figurative Pharaoh, Lucifer and his hosts, to worship God in Egypt. The Lord desires his people, the believers, to depart out of Egypt, as may be seen in Isa. 48:20; Jer. 51:6, 45; Rev. 18:4: Matt. 16:6, 12. “Come out of her, my people.” “Be ye separate from them.” “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” The Lord does not desire service amid such surroundings, but he does desire to be served in the land and place which he has chosen, that is, in his word, in his temple, in his vineyard, his church. Toward this place the Lord goes before mankind and he desires that all men might follow him as he goes forward, by day in a pillar of cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire. Understand, in the day of salvation, the acceptable day of grace and redemption wrought by Christ, of which Paul writes (2 Cor. 6:2). In this accepted time and day of grace the Lord desires all men to follow him. By clouds understand, in Spirit, pillars in the form of the Spirit, of which Paul speaks (Gal. 5:16-22). Understand night to mean the time when the sins of wicked people from the enemy — crosses, tribulations and persecutions — come upon the believers (Matt. 10). Then the believers are to follow Jesus in the pillar of fire. Understand the pillar of fire to mean the fervent love of God. “God is a fire” (Deut. 4:24). “God is love” (1 John 4:16). “God is light” (John 8:12). Therein the followers of Jesus agree to walk in the night of tribulation through the Red Sea, through the wilderness of this world and its worldly people, through the Jordan, through the baptism of bloodshed and suffering, into the heavenly Canaan, where Jesus, the Leader, has gone before and obtained eternal redemption for us (Heb. 9:12-24), and afterward came in the clouds of the Spirit to lead his people from evil men, in the ways of his commandments into his church and temple, into his vineyard, which is the territory of the believing Israelites.

On the journey of the figurative exodus of Israel there were, because of disobedience, many stages and camping places, which can be more concisely told in the chapter on the Consummation by Christ.

In the spiritual exodus let Christ take the place, in the Spirit, of Moses and Aaron, and in place of the elders in Israel put the apostles, and in the place of the people in general together with the “mixed multitude” and all the cattle that belonged to Israel, put the Jewish people and all the Gentile races, as has been pointed out in connection with the ransom and redemption, and that just as the sin of Adam passed upon all mankind, so also did the righteousness of the life of Christ. Let us further carefully consider the teaching of the Holy Spirit whereby men are led out of the life of sin, as taking the place of the wanderings of Israel, and the commands of the Spirit as taking the place of the camp of Israel, and the Spirit in place of the Lord who led Israel out of Egypt, and we shall comprehend the spiritual exodus.

In Acts 1:4 the Lord commanded his disciples not to depart from Jerusalem until they had been endued with power from on high. “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them: and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4). This can be comprehended as the spiritual exodus, as the journeying of the Spirit. When the Holy Ghost of the Lord came from heaven and encamped upon the apostles, there was a great commotion, for the Spirit would not long remain inactive in the camp of the apostles, but at once resumed his journey, and through the apostles taught all people of every nation; for thousands dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews out of every nation under heaven, a great multitude. The word of the Spirit proclaimed its teaching through the apostles to the multitude of people how Jesus of Nazareth, the man of God had been taken, and by wicked hands had been crucified and slain, and that God had raised him up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (verse 36). This was the second journey of the Spirit, and he made his second abiding place or camp among many of the people, so that by the entrance of the Spirit they were moved in their hearts to believe that Jesus was Christ and Son of God, whom they had crucified. Now, when the faith of the Spirit, that Jesus was the Christ, had made his abiding place and camp in their hearts, the spiritual Pharaoh with his hosts of sin came forth from their hearts, so that they were filled with fear, and cried or called to the apostles of the Spirit: “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” as if they would say: “We have sinned so deeply, our enemies of sin are so many, they tried to get us into their power!” Then the Spirit of the Lord broke forth for the third time and spoke through the spirit of the apostles: “Repent, and be ye baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Then the Spirit made his third abiding place and camp among those who had received the word gladly, and gladly departed from the company of wicked men. These accepted, the word of the Spirit, rose up and were baptized, and the Spirit led those that were baptized to be of one heart and mind. This was the fourth encampment. Then the believers rejoiced greatly that they had been delivered from their enemies, the spiritual Pharaoh, by the Red Sea, i.e., the red blood of Christ, through faith in his name, whereupon they had received the baptism of water in the name of Christ, for the forgiveness of sins. Understand this encampment at the Red Sea, out of which they had come, to mean: out of sin; and that they saw by faith that all their enemies who had terrified them, to mean their sins, which had been swallowed up in the Red Sea, and were dead along the shore.

In this fourth encampment the believing children held the passover feast of the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Cor. 5:8), in memory of their departure and redemption from their sins through Christ. They were together continually, “and, breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God” (Acts 2:42, 46, 47). The Lord delivered them by the pillar of fire, i.e. by the fire of his fervent love, in the dark night of sin, and early in the morning permitted them to reach the shore, i.e. in the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2). In this encampment, when it became light, the spiritual Israel, the church of Christ was together, and they were of one accord, and gave to all men as everyone had need.

When Moses had sung the song of praise with Israel (Ex. 15), they were not yet in the land toward which they were bound, but the Lord led them from the Red Sea out into the wilderness of Shur, and they went three days in the wilderness, without finding any water, when they came to Marah; but they could not drink the waters of Marah because they were bitter. Then this figurative people murmured against Moses and said: “What shall we drink?” The Lord showed Moses a tree, which he cast into the waters, and they became sweet.

This was fulfilled in Christ when Jesus was baptized (Matt. 3). After that the Spirit of God came upon him, and Jesus was led of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. With this devil in the wilderness no water of life was to be found. Then Jesus came into the land of Israel, that may well be called Marah, for the reason that Jesus and his predecessors, the prophets, and his followers were given so many bitter waters to drink. Jesus, however, who was himself the sweet tree of life, drank the bitter waters unto his death on the cross. This is the way along which the pillar of cloud, which is the Spirit of God, led his believers, if they have been baptized by faith in Jesus Christ, have put on Christ, and have become members of his body, his church, to the praise of God (Gal. 3:26, 27 ; 1 Cor. 12:13). They are then not yet in the land into which they shall come, but are still in the camp by the Red Sea, where they were baptized and where they are happy in the praise of God. Then the Spirit leads them into the wilderness. This wilderness is that wilderness where men through their own actual sin are rendered spiritually desolate, sins and vices of all kinds, more than can be thought of, open and secret, just as the wilderness is overgrown with weeds, thorns and thickets of all kinds and wild trees. In such a wilderness the believing children of Israel have to wander here, when they come to Marah where the bitter waters are, which are bitter for flesh and blood to drink. These waters are: crosses, tribulations, contempt, persecution, deprivation of that which the body needs, and even of life itself. These bitter waters the believers are given to drink at Marah in the wilderness at the hands of evil men. These bitter waters the apostles and all the believers, an innumerable host, have drunk in the wilderness. But they had the tree of life, Jesus Christ, whose Spirit and power made the bitter waters sweet, so that they could continue steadfastly and joyfully to drink it, like thirsty souls pressing toward the everlasting kingdom, and have with Christ, their Leader, come through the desert into the eternal kingdom, into the praise and service of God (Rev. 7:9-17).

“And Israel came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water and three score and ten palm trees, and they encamped there by the waters” (Ex. 15: 27). This was a good place for Israel to live. They had water to drink out of the well and shade under the trees by the waters. But they could not remain; they had to journey continually in the wilderness, as the Lord went before them in the cloud. So Jesus in the Spirit goes before the believers. When they come to Marah where there is tribulation, he leads them to Elim, where are the twelve wells of water or foundations of the apostles, which are full of the water of the river that flows forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb, which is the water of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as Jesus says (John 7:37, 38): “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits” (Rev. 22:2). Along the river and foundation of the gospel stand seventy trees or disciples sent out by the Lord Jesus (Luke 10:1), whom he sent out two by two.

Consider this point carefully. When the believing Israelite comes from Marah to Elim to the foundation of the twelve apostles and prophets, which foundation is Jesus, and drinks the spiritual water that flows from Jesus, and sees how many holy men, like palm trees by the waters of Jesse, stand upon the ground and foundation of Jesus, who have borne and still bear their fruits of faith (Rev. 7:9, 10, 15), it makes the believers zealous to continue their journey of faith until they shall reach the heavenly Elim, God the Father, who is the source of all spiritual fountains. This figure of the journey in Elim was fulfilled by Christ, in this that he has entered the heavenly Elim to God, where it is lovely and pleasant to dwell.

In Ex. 16:1 we read that “they took their journey from Elim, and all the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai.” Here they had no bread, and God gave them meat in the evening, and bread in the morning to the full, that they might know that the Lord is their God. This figure is fulfilled in Christ. He came into the wilderness of Sin of this world. He gave his flesh to the spiritual Israelites to eat in the evening (Luke 22:19). This flesh of Jesus, which his disciples ate in the evening (Luke 22:19), became bread in the morning, when the light of Jesus shines, which illuminates the spiritual day. Jesus is the living bread come down from heaven; whosoever eats this bread shall have eternal life (John 6:63). And this is the bread of God, which the believing Israelites are to eat until they enter the heavenly kingdom. This flesh and this manna or bread was a special creation and work of God, and prefigured Christ. Moses writes (Num. 11:31): “There went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea.” It is not easy to comprehend that these quails came from the substance of the natural quails, inasmuch as the birds which are called quails do not inhabit the sea nor propagate there, but on dry land, so that the quails which Israel received were a special creation of God. David writes of this when he says: “He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea” (Psa. 78:27). It is plain that flesh does not come as a substance in rain, neither do the birds or quails, therefore it was a special work or mystery of God. The Lord gave them bread from heaven, which lay upon the ground like hoar frost, it was called manna, and looked like coriander seed, and the color was like bdellium (Num. 11:7).

This manna fell as a dew upon the ground. “He commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, and rained down manna for them to eat, and gave them of the corn of heaven. Man did eat angel’s food” (Psa. 78:23-25). From these passages it is amply to be seen that this bread which the Lord gave Israel was not of the seed of the natural bread of the earth, but that God gave it to Israel from above, without the earth, without human effort or labor. This is a wonderful figure of Christ, the true bread of heaven, and which is fulfilled and confirmed in Christ. Jesus said, “My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven . . . and it giveth life to the world” (John 6:32, 33). Jesus is this bread; he came from heaven, as he says, “I am the bread of life, come down from heaven. I am the living bread; whosoever eateth of this bread hath eternal life.” “I came forth from the Father, and am come unto the world; again, I leave the world and go to the Father” (John 16:28). The manner in which Jesus came into the world is described by Luke (1:35), where the angel said to Mary: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” “Mary . . . was found with child of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 1:18). “That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 1:20). Hence it is entirely different from man that is born of the substance of Adam; for the Word which was God was made flesh. It was conceived in Mary and became flesh (John 1). Hence Jesus is not from below, from the earth. He is not of the outward, earthly flesh, substance or seed of Adam, but Jesus is from above, from God, as indicated above. And now, if the bread and meat which God gave Israel came from above, and is also called a spiritual meat by Paul; how much more is Jesus, who is the true manna from heaven that came down from heaven, the spiritual holy meat, which the spiritual, believing Israelites partake by faith! And since Jesus the Word and Spirit is from everlasting, he has also brought with him the Word and Spirit from above, from his Father (John 6:54, 55, 56, 63). The pure gospel, which is Spirit and life, is the pure bread of heaven, which “proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). This is the word and bread which came by the mouth of Jesus, the meat of the spiritual Israelites until they come unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher, in the heavenly Canaan, and then partake of the fruits of the heavenly Canaan, the heavenly joy which Jesus has restored to mankind.

In Ex. 17:1 we read that “all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin . . . and pitched in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink.” “And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel, and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the mount in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so,” and the Lord, who stood upon the rock, gave the people and their cattle an abundance of water. In Psa. 105:41 we read: “He opened the rock and the waters rushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.” This water is called by Paul (1 Cor. 10:5) a spiritual water out of a spiritual Rock, and “that Rock was Christ.” Because the Lord provided it in the desert wilderness out of the hard rock in an unusual manner that his great name might therefore be hallowed, this water was called a spiritual water, a plain figure pointing to Christ, which was fulfilled in Christ as follows: —

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the true spiritual Rock. “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone” (Isa. 28:16). “The stone . . . became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Dan. 2:35). Regarding this Rock read Matt. 7:24; 21:42; 1 Pet. 2:4. Of this Rock the Lord gives the true spiritual Israel wherever they are, throughout the whole world in the time of drought, so that they, with all that belong to them, may drink. This water, from the holy Rock Jesus, is the Holy Spirit. “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring’’ (Isa. 44:3). “It shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy . . . and also upon the servants and the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:28, 29). “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness” (Ezek. 36:25), and I will put my Spirit within you” (verse 27).

These foregoing figures and prophecies are fulfilled in Christ, and are still being fulfilled. Of this fulfillment John the Baptist spoke (Matt. 3:11): “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” Jesus testifies to this (Acts 1:5): “John baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence.” In Acts 2 is recorded the fulfillment of this outpouring by Christ. The water of the Holy Spirit came from the Lord, from heaven, like a rushing mighty wind, and the sound filled all the house where they were sitting, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, through which the disciples of Jesus became so quickened that they, like enthusiasts, with tongues of fire, began to speak of Jesus, how that he was the Christ and had risen from the dead, and admonished the people to repent and believe in Jesus, that he is the Christ; this Jesus whom they (the Jews) had crucified, and who had now poured out upon them the Holy Ghost, which they now saw and heard. And all the Jews and Gentiles who believed the word of the Spirit were pricked in their hearts, so that they were deeply moved to say: “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” The Holy Ghost replied through Peter: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you. in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” “They that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”

Here a spiritual Israel departed; they drank the water out of the spiritual Rock that was with them, which Rock was Christ. Of this water Jesus says: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.” “He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water’’ (John 7: 37, 38). This he said however of the Spirit. The spiritual water is clear as crystal, and flows out of the throne of God and the Lamb (Rev. 22:11; Ezek. 47). This scriptural water is the Holy Spirit, sent from the Father, the Son into the world. This Spirit is the seal of the believers, an earnest of their inheritance until their redemption (Eph. 1:13, 14). Through this Spirit the believer becomes strengthened to fight against the devil and his host; by drinking of this spiritual water the believers receive spiritual strength to draw nigh unto Sinai, where God dwells, that is, toward heaven, to hear the voice of God and do his will.

While Israel was encamped at Rephidim, before they came to Sinai, Amalek or the king of Amalek came and fought with Israel, and Joshua was sent out with the hosts of Israel to fight Amalek, and Moses went up to the top of the hill and lifted up his hands toward God; and as long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed, but when Moses let down his hands, Amalek prevailed. Joshua, however, discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said: “I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven” (Ex. 17:8-14).

So with the believers, the spiritual Israel, when they drink the spiritual water that comes from Jesus, a spiritual Amalek is soon at hand — the devil with his host — who rises up against and wages a spiritual and carnal combat with them to see how he can best get a foothold, in order to drive the believers away from the spiritual Rock Jesus and bring them into unbelief, that he may again give them to drink of the sinful waters of the doctrines of men and feed them with idolatry and traditions that he may keep them in his kingdom and be a ruler among them.

But the believers have a strong defense, a wall of fire before them (Zeck. 2:5), and a host with horses and chariots of fire round about them (2 Kings 6:17). If the believers hold to the true bread of heaven and the river of life for their substance, and arm themselves with the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17), and withal lift up their hands and hearts to God, they will easily overcome the spiritual Amalek and become more than conquerors. But the believers then have not won the victory in their own strength, but through the Lord, whose bread they eat and whose water they drink, and with whose weapons they are armed. Through him the believers conquer. All things are overcome through Jesus. Without Jesus all is lost in the strife with the devil, and if man in the strife against the devil and sin ascribes his victory to himself, he is already in the net of pride, and is in danger of being overcome of the devil in the spiritual warfare, so that he cannot come unto Sinai to God; for it has already been seen that when Moses let his hands sink down, Amalek prevailed. So also now, when man allows heart and hand, that is, his work, to sink away from God and no longer ascribes the honor and power to God, but attributes it rather to his own honor, power and wisdom, the devil will, overcome him quickly enough, for Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End of all the steadfast believers. Under him the believers are to remain and to him attribute the honor.

The nineteenth chapter records that Israel departed from Rephidim and came the same day to the wilderness of Sinai, and encamped before the mount. “And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord said: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar people unto me; ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Go unto the people, and sanctify them, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day, for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai, and thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it. Whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death, or crushed. . . . And Moses brought forth the people to meet with God, and they stood at the nether part of the mount,” but the people durst not break through the bounds unto the Lord. And the Lord came down upon the mount in fire, and the whole mount quaked greatly, and the trumpet’s voice sounded long, and waxed louder and louder. Moses spake, and God answered him by a loud voice. When the Lord had come down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mount, he called Moses up to the top of the mount, and Moses went up. Consider these facts well, and how they have been and are being established and fulfilled by Christ.

In the first place, the Lord is the almighty God who lives in heaven above. He led Israel to Mount Sinai. Moses was a type of God, a god to Aaron and to Israel (Ex. 4:16). This visible, tangible god to Aaron was asked with the mouth of Aaron to ascend the Mount, and to this Moses God gave the law, the tables of stone, the ten commandments, together with instructions regarding the building of the tabernacle. Moses gave all these according to the command of the Lord to his mouth, Aaron, so that Aaron as high priest might declare or teach it to the people of Israel and attend to the tabernacle.

Mount Sinai signifies the law (Gal. 4:21-31). And this law of Moses, which is called a bondage (Gal. 4:24), reveals sin; for the law of God which God first gave to Adam in the garden of Eden (Gen. 2:16) was restrictive or limited by sin, because of the serpent’s guile, so that because of it man could no longer come to God in the heights of heaven. This law and all that belongs to it God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai as an instructor or monitor to point out sin and redemption with many mysteries of God. This law is called Mount Sinai “and answereth to Jerusalem that now is.” When Moses received this law from God, bounds or restrictions were placed round about the mount by man so that no one excepting Moses and Aaron might pass over these bounds to Mount Sinai to God. If even one had passed over these bounds God said that he would die or be dashed to pieces by God.

These bounds about Mount Sinai signify or represent the sin of Adam and Eve, and this sin passed upon all men. This sin constituted a partition wall or fence (Eph. 2:14) between God and men, which came into existence through transgression of the law (Col. 2:14). This law and sin were a wall of partition, so that because of or through the law and sin no one might or could come to God except those who were divinely chosen and called unto this privilege, as were Moses and Aaron.

Inasmuch as God had given a law to Adam, which was transgressed, so that thereupon sin and death passed upon all men, it was God’s righteous judgment that no one should, because of sin, come unto God by the law. To this fact Mount Sinai and the bounds set about the mount serve as a figure between God and man. As little as Israel should, because of the bounds set about the mount, be permitted or able to come up to God, so little could men, because of sin, attain full salvation by the law and come to God; for Paul writes (Rom. 3:20) : “By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified.” “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:4). “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse” (Gal. 3:10). But “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (or through the high priests became a condemned criminal on the cross unto death for us) (Gal. 3:13). Matt. 27:3 shows us that Jesus was condemned to death that he might pay the sin which separated God and man, and thus he fulfilled or satisfied the law. The law was right and good, and was given by the Lord himself out of his mouth to man in the garden of Eden, but by the deception of Lucifer it was transgressed, and so the law worked death to man, although it was given to him for the preservation of life, and because the law which had been given to men to minister unto life, but worked death, therefore because of sin man could no longer come into the kingdom of God, unto God, by the law, as indicated above in the reference to Mount Sinai.

In the fullness of time Jesus came to re-establish or restore the moral law given to Adam and what was lost by the sin which Adam committed by transgression of that law, and to fulfill the ceremonial law given to Moses, that mankind might again come to life, to the kingdom, to God.

Jesus came, in the flesh, humble, small and weak (Luke 2:7), and in the Spirit great and almighty, as a great mountain (Dan. 2:35), which filled the whole earth. This is the spiritual Mount Sinai of which God is the Head. The head of Christ is God (1 Cor. 11:3). Of this spiritual mountain God speaks through Christ in intimate love: “The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10). Again God speaks of the spiritual mount, Sinai, the comforting gospel of God’s kingdom of eternal life, and says: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls; for my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30). Note carefully the difference: Whosoever touched the figurative Mount Sinai was to die; but whoever came to the spiritual Mount Sinai and touched it in faith was healed (Matt. 9:21, 22). Of this latter mount God says: “Look unto me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth” (Isa. 45:22). God not only asks men to come unto the spiritual Mount and be saved, but also that they should eat thereof that they might have eternal life: “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 16:54). Jesus cries: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his body shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37, 38). Consider well how kind, how loving, how wholesome, how life-giving, how inspiriting this Mount, Jesus, is! So also God, through Christ, proclaimed in his loving kindness a loving, health-giving, living, inspiriting gospel unto eternal life. Nor is there any bound or fence placed about his spiritual Mount Sinai, which indicated the sin of Adam; for Jesus paid the sin of Adam with his own body on the cross, as already shown in Chapter VI. of this book. Instead of the enclosure surrounding the figurative Sinai, which indicated death because of sin — forgiveness of sin and eternal life surrounds the spiritual Sinai, as may be seen in the case of the palsied man who was brought to Jesus, and Jesus said, when he saw their faith : ‘‘Man, thy sins are forgiven thee” (Luke 6:20). Peter said: “To him give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43). To accomplish this, Jesus, the spiritual Mount Sinai, had to be lifted up, as Jesus says: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:14, 15). God’s voice says of Jesus: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 17:5). “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life” (John 3:36). “Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:26). With such kindly love God speaks of Jesus in his word, showing how man may come to Jesus, the spiritual Mount Sinai and have forgiveness and eternal life, and then, in this redemption, in life, by the grace of God in Christ ascend unhindered the spiritual Mount Sinai to God in heaven.

Thus, dear reader, you can see the great difference between the figurative and the spiritual Mount Sinai, which latter was restored and fulfilled. Note further that it is the one true God who speaks of both the figurative and the spiritual Sinai; both signify the righteousness of God.

Mount Sinai signifies the law, and the bounds or enclosure, sin to the condemnation of death. This sin and death through the serpent’s guile, through the law which God gave to Adam became his inheritance, and because of these bounds and the law no one could come unto the Lord. Therefore the Lord, as a mighty, jealous God, came down upon Mount Sinai in a manner terrible to men, with thunders and lightnings and fires, so that the mount was on fire and burned in the midst of the heavens (Deut. 4:11), and with piercing and ever-increasing sound of the trumpet, God spoke with a loud voice, so that the people were terrified and fled and stood afar off, and said to Moses: ‘‘Speak thou with us, and we will hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Deut. 19:18; 20:19). God in his perfect righteousness revealed himself in great austerity to Israel who was encompassed with sin unto death, and filled them with fear, so that they might not sin any more.

This serves as a figure pointing to the great day of the Lord when he shall come a second time in his divinely righteous judgment with many thousands of holy angels. “A fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him” (Psa. 50:3). “A fire devoureth before them, and behind them a. flame burneth” (Joel 2:3). “And the Lord shall utter his voice (of thunder) before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word; for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” (Joel 2:11). “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10). “All that are in their graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth” (John 5:28, 29; Acts 17:31). The Lord will confront them with their faith when he shall have awakened them out of death. The unbelievers will be horrified with fear when they shall hear the word of the Lord, which they have so often transgressed, and which has become to them a law of sin, of death unto damnation. Among those of all nations of the earth who are under the law of sin there will be shrieking and mourning, when they shall see the Son of Man coming with power and great glory (Matt. 24:30), with fire and tempest, with the quaking and dissolution of the earth, with the mighty sound of a trumpet, and with terrific thunderings (Joel 2:11), and after the thunder a mighty army of the Lord, who shall execute his word, This mighty army is probably the Lord’s word which the Lord has so often proclaimed to mankind, and which men would neither believe nor receive, but in their unbelief rejected and transgressed it, so that it became sin and condemnation unto them, although the word of the Lord is not sin, even as Jesus who did no sin and yet was made a curse for us (Gal. 3:13), and so, for sin, condemned sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:3), and offered our sins with his own body on the tree and ascended without sin to his Father (Isa. 53). And as the law came from God without sin, and yet through the transgression of man became sin to him, even though it was given to gender unto life; so also the gospel of Christ that is given man for his eternal life and well-being, will, when transgressed and rejected by unbelieving man, gender unto death in man and to his great despair on the great day of the Lord.

Consider this well, dear reader. As many ordinances in the word of the Lord as have been transgressed by man, just so many transgressed ordinances and commands will arise in the mighty army of the Lord on the last day like mighty warriors and attack that man with accusations. They will appear like horses and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. They shall run like mighty men, they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every man on his ways, and they shall not break the ranks; neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk everyone in his path; and when they fall upon the sword they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall; they “shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief, and nothing shall escape them (Joel 2:3-9).

This mighty army of the Lord, understand, will climb the walls of the city of this world; they will break through the defenses of the ecclesiastics of this world who now dominate everything and yet pretend to be ministers. They will enter into the houses of this world’s traditions and man-made ordinances; they will enter in at the windows of worldly wisdom and into the heart of man with such power that no one shall be able to hide from or withstand this mighty army of God; neither the mighty in this world who have the world subject to them, nor the ecclesiastics who pride themselves on having the spiritual weapons and therewith teach and rule kings and rulers; nor the judges who tyrannize over the ecclesiastics and the worldly; nor the wise or the princes of this world who claim to know and teach the course, power and influence of the terrestrial bodies, sun, moon and stars. There will be no respect of person in the last day, no matter what station in life the individual may occupy; for with God there is no respect of person (1 Pet. 1:17). As many rules of the word as a man in his unbelief has transgressed and has thereby sinned, so many words of the Lord will rise as mighty warriors, and without anything to restrict them will face their transgressor and judge or condemn him. Then will be fulfilled the word of Jesus: “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). And his words of judgment will cut so deeply that it will reveal to every sinner all his sins in his heart that they will be forced to confess in anguish and fear with their own mouths, all that they have done (Luke 19:20, 21). Then will be fulfilled what Jesus said in Matt. 12:36: “I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment.” Then also will be fulfilled the words of Jesus (Luke 19:22): “Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee,” and Matt. 12:37: “By thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Moreover the words of Jesus (John 5:30) will be fulfilled: “As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just.” So then the sinners by the confession of their own mouths will be set upon the left hand and cast into the unquenchable fire, “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48).

Consider well how the fire, tempest, thunder, and the terror of the people of Israel was of the Lord upon the figurative Mount Sinai, and prefigures the last day, and how it will be fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ and his divine word on the last day; for Jesus is the Beginning and the End. And while the figurative Mount Sinai and its enclosure became such a terrifying type of the last day, it also indicates that after the last day no one shall be able to ascend unto God by the law of the condemnation of sin and death. There is, therefore, great reason for turning now in the time of grace toward the spiritual Mount Sinai, Jesus, in order to be preserved from the great anguish and terror and not fall into the great misery where rescue is impossible.

It has already been shown in this chapter how lovingly God speaks of the spiritual Mount Sinai and invites people to come thereunto, and how eternal life exists there and how it is obtained by and how fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Regarding this, observe: When a man comes to Jesus, the spiritual Rock or Mount which fills the whole world, he, by faith in Jesus, obtains forgiveness of sins and eternal life, and is then a child of God. Now, when the believer is baptized, he puts on Christ and is saved (Gal. 3:27). “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). The believer is then made a partaker of the spiritual gifts, as Peter says by the Holy Spirit: “‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:3). When the believer has received the gift of the Holy Ghost, he is able then, through this gift, to observe the rules of the commandments of God. Among these gifts of the Holy Ghost are faith, love and hope — these three are the greatest rules of the commandments of God; but the greatest among these is love (1 Cor. 13:13). After these come mercy, kindness, meekness, patience, peace and all the others that are comprehended in the words: “If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23).

If the believer then is diligent in the keeping of the commandments of God, so that the Father and the Son, or the Spirit of the Father and of the Son makes his abode with him, then man becomes a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in him (1 Cor. 3:16). Hereby the believer is then sealed unto the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30) ; “in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1: 13, 14).

When man, by the grace of God, reaches the point where he is sealed with the seal of redemption into the day of the Lord and has obtained the earnest of the heir to the possession of the eternal kingdom, there is no danger for him when the great day of the Lord shall come; for how could divine love permit such a man to come short and appear in misery and anguish of soul at the great day of the Lord, that is, those who have come to Jesus and have obtained forgiveness of their sins, and by faith have obtained the life of Jesus within and have put on Christ, and the Spirit of God dwells in them and have the Holy Ghost as a seal and an earnest unto their redemption and heirship of the eternal kingdom? Understand, the above named divine attributes which have been bestowed upon the believers do not permit the believers to fall into torment, for although the believers who on that great day are still alive in the temporal body may, in the nature of things, be somewhat frightened when Jesus shall appear as a flash of lightning with a great noise with the sound of a trumpet, thunder and tempest, yet I believe it will be of short duration, for they shall then be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye; and this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality (1 Cor. 15:51, 52), and they shall be caught up together in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall be forever with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17). Think what a horrible, fearful day the day of the Lord will be to unbelievers, to their utter defeat, horror, ignominy and fearful agony of suffering, as already spoken of. At the same time the day of the Lord will be a great day for the Lord Jesus and his believers and saints, when the Lord Jesus shall appear in his glory with thousands of angels, and shall sit in his exalted judgment-seat and throne! Oh, what a great day will be revealed then! It will truly be a great day for the believers and saints! And those, then, whose bodies have long ago decayed, been burnt, drowned, torn by wild beasts for the Lord’s sake, shall be awakened out of their graves, will receive from the Lord a glorified body, from the seed of their own bodies (John 5:28; 1 Cor. 15), and the souls who have rested in the hands of God, in Abraham’s bosom, in Paradise (Deut. 33:3; Sir. 3:1; Luke 16:21, 22, 43), shall then come forth again at the command of the Lord with the virtues in which they lived in this world in their mortal bodies, with life, with the seal and earnest of the Holy Spirit, and be reunited with their bodies into one, standing forth as new restored beings by Christ, with quickened body and soul, and then be gathered by their angels (Matt. 18:10, 24, 31), and brought to meet the Lord to see him in his glory. Then the saints will be set aflame by God with unspeakable joy, so that at the sight of the Lord and his glory young and old and whatever they are, will cry out: “Hosanna to the Son of the Almighty God! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest to the eternal King of Israel! Behold our God, in whom we hoped, cometh! He will redeem us.”

A figure of this is to be seen Matt. 21:9-15; Isa. 25:9. Then will the believers bring unto the Lord their fruits of the word of the Lord whose commandments they observed, and by which they lived, and with great joy tell how much they have gained therewith. And the Lord shall say to each of them: “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will make thee ruler over many things; enter into the joy of thy Lord” (Matt. 25:23). Then the bodies of the saints will be glorified, so that they will be like the glorified body of the Lord, so that they will be like him (Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3: 21). “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 13:43). Oh, what a happy day the day of the Lord will be to those who are saved, for they shall, by the grace of the Lord Jesus, have finished their journey to the heavenly Canaan through the spiritual Mount Sinai, and ascend unto God in heaven, and all through Jesus, the Author and Finisher. God give us grace and blessing thereunto.

CHAPTER 8
The Fulfillment of the Law by Christ

In the twentieth chapter of Exodus we read that the Lord gave Moses the tables of stone which contained the commandments. This was a figure of Christ, who is the true table of stone out of the rock of the Holy Spirit, sent of God from heaven. In this table is graven the divine word of God which God spake through Christ (John 14), which word was God (John 1:1), by whom all things were made that are made, by whom also the table was made and the ten commandments engraved thereon, and by whom also they were fulfilled in God. The first commandment is: And God spake all these words; “I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me.”

That there is no other God beside the Lord God is shown Deut. 4:35-39. God made it known from heaven that the Lord alone is God and no other; that the Lord is the one God in heaven above and on earth beneath, and that there is no other. “Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord” (Deut. 6:4). “Know therefore, that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God” (Deut. 7:9). “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me” (Deut. 32:39). In 2 Sam. 7:22, David says: “Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God; for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee.” “That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else” (1 Kings 8: 60). “I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior” (Isa. 43:3). “I, even I am the Lord; and beside me there is no savior” (verse 11). “Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and his redeemed, the Lord of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God” (Isa. 44:6). “Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone: and that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself” (Isa. 44:24). “I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me” (Isa. 45:5). “Surely God is in thee, and there is none else. Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior” (Isa. 45:14, 15). “Have not I, the Lord, told it, and there is no God else beside me: a just God, and a Savior; there is none beside me” (Isa. 45: 21). (See also Isa. 46:9; 47:4; 48:12, 17). “I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no God but me: for there is no Savior beside me” (Hos. 13:4). “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). “It is the same God which worketh all in all” (1 Cor. 12:6). Thus God, who is a Spirit, testifies by his word with weighty testimony that the Lord is the only God; that he is the Savior, the Redeemer, the King of Israel, the first and the last, by whom heaven and earth are spread abroad without any help, and that we shall acknowledge and confess no other God and Savior but him.

Jesus did not come into the world to destroy the testimonies in the law and the prophets that there is but one God. “I am not come to destroy . . . but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17). Testimony from the scripture will follow, showing that Jesus is the only God, Savior and Redeemer, by whom the foregoing testimonies are fulfilled.

God speaks in the Spirit through the prophet Isaiah of Jesus, that he is the Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, of the increase of whose government and peace there shall be no end, and that he will establish it with judgment and justice forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this (Isa. 9:6, 7). John testifies (John 1:1): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God and that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus testifies: “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me. he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake . . . that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14: 7-11, 13). “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). “That ye may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him” (John 10:38). “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). “For in him (Christ) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9).

This being so, hear what is said of the Holy Spirit; for God is a Spirit (John 4:24). John the Baptist “saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him” (Matt. 3:16). “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness” (Matt. 4:1). “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me” (Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:1-18). Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, with God; and through the Holy Spirit in God the Father Jesus did the works and cast out devils (Matt. 12:28). The Pharisees had reviled him, calling him a devil, Beelzebub, the prince of devils (Matt. 12:24). But no, it was the Holy Spirit in God the Father who did the work in the Son Jesus Christ, as shown above, so that all the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in Jesus. The fullness and fulfillment of the Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, as one, only God, in one Person, and this one Person, the true God, is Jesus, as John writes: “We know that we are of God”; and: “We know that the Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:19, 20).

Thus we can meditate upon how the first commandment is fulfilled in Christ, that there is one God, and that the believers in Jesus are to confess but one God and worship this one God by the Son in his name, that in the only Jesus Christ, the true God, they may have and preserve eternal life. God grant his grace. Amen.

The second commandment is: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them ; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generations of them that hate me, and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Ex. 20:4-6).

When man had been overcome by the enemy, and thereby the image of the God of righteousness, holiness and purity had died and was uncovered, and they could no longer have the presence of God, there still remained in man a tendency toward or trace of an image of God, so that men always liked to have before their eyes something that they could serve and worship instead of their God, and from whom they imagined they had received and might still receive benefits. But in order that men might not return to the image of the true God, the enemy suggested all kinds of images of all kinds of creatures, from which they imagined they had received some benefit from anything and everything that had a name. Both Old and New Testaments show in many places that the heathen had set up many forms of worship by means of images or idols, which they served and worshipped, such as the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon, stars, men and other creatures of the earth. Unto whatever thing that could be named, from which they imagined they had received some benefit, they set up an image and a form of worship, as is also seen even in Israel (Ex. 32; Judg. 7; 1 Kings 12). But the true God did not desire such things of his people; therefore he commanded Israel not to make any kind of image, whether of things above, on, or under the earth; they were not to worship them or serve them, for he is a mighty and jealous God.

Because man, the image of God, was stripped of righteousness, holiness and purity, God gave him comfort and promise regarding the true image of God, that mankind should be therein redeemed. This image was re-established and restored in Christ. This image is not the work of men. It was not prepared of gold, silver, or precious stones. This image is called in the Wisdom of Solomon (7:26) “the brightness of the everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of his goodness,” and God has prepared this image. “A body hast thou prepared for me” (Heb. 10:5); for Jesus is the true image of God and the brightness of God. He is “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15; 2 Cor. 4:5). He is “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins” (Heb. 1:3).

In this image and brightness of God through Christ, God has from the beginning shown mankind all manner of benefits and love, and redeemed man from sin and death and from the power of the devil, and this out of pure love, with his own body and blood, that all who truly believe in him shall be made partakers of his image, of his grace, of his eternal kingdom; for on this account Jesus, the image and brightness of God, came into the flesh in this world, that man might have a living, holy image, one that could help out of all their distresses and troubles all those who turn to him and call upon the Father in his name. For this purpose Jesus came into this world. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:14).

People have, from their childhood up, a liking for beautiful pictures, yet these pictures are dead and of no benefit. Now God desires to turn this innate tendency altogether toward his image and brightness, Jesus Christ, who has been exalted, and by faith look upon him in the Spirit, and honor and praise him as the King of kings, be faithful and obedient unto him with full purpose and power of heart, that by faith, in constantly looking upon him, his image may be stamped upon them, and they may partake of his brightness and eternal life, for in Jesus is accomplished the restoration and fulfillment of the image of God in man. Therefore believers as well as all men shall not have any image of any kind made by man in Jesus’ stead, nor shall they honor and worship any man instead of God; for God is to be adored and worshipped alone through Christ and in his name; for Jesus is the one High Priest, Advocate, and Redeemer for sin (1 John 2:12; Heb. 2:17; 5:2). This High Priest shall be beheld by faith as the true God, the image and brightness of the Father forever. Amen.

The third commandment is: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain (German, miszbrauchen, misuse or abuse); for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

Lev. 19:12 the Lord says: “Ye shall not swear by my name falsely; nor shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.” It was customary among the Jews that when they wanted to testify to something, it was to be done in the name of the Lord, and what they testified in the name of the Lord was then to be the truth. If it was not the truth, they had misused and profaned the name of God, and those who misused or took his name in vain were not to remain unpunished. Since Jesus is the fulfillment of the law, the third commandment likewise is fulfilled in him. Thus the name of God is fulfilled in Jesus; for God through Isaiah says of Jesus that his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Gen. 17:1; Matt. 28:18). The name of the Almighty God is: “The Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:3); “King of kings, and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16); “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jer. 23:6). He has many names: Savior, Redeemer, Light, Truth, Salvation, and in the fulfillment of his name Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in whose exalted name there is forgiveness of sins.* ‘‘To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name, whosoever believeth in him, shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43), and by faith in his name man becomes a child of God (John 1:12; Gal. 3:16). “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” By faith in this exalted name there is everlasting life. “Whosoever believeth in him hath everlasting life” (John 3:15). By faith in his name we are saved (John 3:17; Acts 4:12). And, lastly, by the person of the one, true God, who bears this exalted, perfect, mighty name the saints shall be led into the everlasting kingdom (Matt. 25:34).

* “Thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). — Tr.

Because man obtains forgiveness of sins, the life of Christ and Sonship in the family of God, together with eternal life, through this exalted name, how carefully should men heed the third commandment, that they take not the name of the great God in vain, or cast this precious treasure before swine. (Matt. 7:6).

We are, however, commanded to use the name of the Lord. “Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 28:19). “Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord” (Acts 10:48).

“Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17). Herewith the apostle desires that all godly works of which he makes mention before, be done in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Consider well to whom this name is to be applied. Jesus showed his benefactions toward those who believed on him, that he might help them, as may be seen Matt. 4:24; 8:2, 5, 10, 29; 9:2, 18, 22, 28; 12:13,21; 15:28; 20:30; Luke 7 : 47, 50; 5:20; 8:41; 17:13, 19; 18:42; John 2:5; 4:50, 53; 5:7; 9:7. In these testimonies and others we see that Jesus performed his benefactions according to desire, faith and obedience, that he might show his power, whereby the name of the Lord God might be praised, and thereby show the people an example, that they might use the name of the Lord where there was a heartfelt desire, faith and obedience to his commandments. Thus did the apostles. They used the name of the Lord according to their desires in faith unto obedience, as may be seen in Acts 2. When they had spoken of the name of the Lord by the Holy Spirit, they did many signs and wonders (verse 43) in his name. And in Acts 3:6, 16, Peter said: “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. . . . And he leaping up, stood, and walked . . . praising God.” “And his name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong; . . . yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all” (Chap. 4: 30). The apostles prayed God to stretch forth his hand and heal, “that signs and wonders may be done by the name of the Holy Child Jesus.” In Chap. 5:14, 16, we read that more and more “believers were added to the Lord . . . insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them . . . and they were healed everyone.” In Acts 9: 34, Peter said: “Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole. Arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.” Likewise verse 40, “Thus the apostles performed signs and wonders in the name which they had preached, so that the name of the Lord was made known, and the word of the Spirit had free course.”

Furthermore, the apostles used the name of the Lord according to the command of the Lord (Matt. 28:19), and according to the command of the Holy Spirit by Peter (Acts 2:38), and baptized those who believed in the Lord Jesus, in the name of the Lord as members of the body of Christ, as children of God by faith in God, as may be seen by the following references: Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38-41; 8:12, 13, 37, 38; 9:17, 18; 10:44, 48; 16:15, 33, 34; 19:4, 5; Rom. 6:3, 8; 2 Cor. 3:6, 12, 13; Gal. 3: 26, 27; 1 Pet. 3:21. While the command was to baptize in the name of the Lord, nevertheless the foregoing scripture references show that the applicants for baptism were to be first instructed, and believe on the Lord Jesus, in his name, for then the name of the Lord can be appropriated by the believing applicant for baptism to his benefit in baptism, for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16). Consider carefully: The washing away of sin in baptism consists in the name of the Lord, in faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, by which he washes the believers of their sins. “Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Rev. 1:5). David also prays: “Purge me with hyssop; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psa. 51:7).

Since the name of the Lord is so precious that it is not to be used vainly, as the third commandment teaches, everyone who undertakes to baptize has reason to exercise great care in this part of the rite where the precious name is to be used, that he does not misuse it contrary to the command of Christ; that he does not use the exalted name in baptism in the case of people who have not been instructed, or who because of the ignorance of childhood as yet know nothing of sin, and cannot be instructed, and by instruction cannot be made to believe, so that they can confess Jesus as the Son of God, much less repent and turn away from sin, because they have not yet committed sin that is counted or reckoned against them as sin, neither shall those who baptize use the exalted name in vain with those of mature age who outwardly may say they believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but deny him in their works, in this that they continue to live in sin, like ungodly people; for with such people it is to be believed that the exalted name has frequently been taken in vain in so-called Christianity.

The name of God is sadly misused by those who enter into matrimony, in case they have beforehand lived long with each other, like unbelievers, in unchastity and have committed fornication together, and are already bound together in the flesh and afterward are to be given to each other in the name of the Lord by those who should jealously guard the name. That is truly taking the name of the Lord in vain when used with adulterers. And what shall we say regarding the misuse of the name of the Lord in connection with the memorial service called the communion? Still more is the name of the Lord taken in vain by those who use it in the practice of casting spells (charming, pow-wowing, fortune-telling, divination, etc. — Tr.), and the administration of the legal oath, or in conjuration, like the magicians do.

Furthermore it is very common in so-called Christendom for men to use the exalted name with every earthly thing, even the most insignificant thing, so that little heed and no obedience is given to the third commandment.

But the true believers should guard against all such light misuse of the name of the Lord as mentioned above, for it will not remain unpunished; for what the mouth of the Lord promises, the Spirit of the Lord will fulfill.

The fourth commandment: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gate. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Thus the Lord commanded Israel to hallow the seventh day from all their labor in memory of the fact that the Lord created all things , that he rested on the seventh day from all his labors, and hallowed it, and whoever did any work on the seventh day was to die, as seen Ex. 35 : 2; Num. 15 : 32-36. They found a man gathering sticks on the sabbath day. The Lord said they should stone him. “Thus saith the Lord, Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work; but hallow ye the sabbath day” (Jer. 17:21, 22, 27). “Verily, my sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you . . . that ye might know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you” (Ex. 31:13; Ezek. 20:12).

This sabbath was strictly enjoined upon the people and was a figure and shadow pointing to Christ. “Which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ” (Col. 2:17). “The Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath day” (Matt. 12:8). Jesus Christ is the establishment and fulfillment of the spiritual sabbath; for Jesus is the beginning and the end, therefore he is also the beginning of the sabbath, for by Jesus all things were made (John 1:3) that were made. Hence also the rest day was instituted or ordained and kept in God and was enjoined upon Israel to keep. So the sabbath is also fulfilled and restored in Jesus.

When the Lord God had made all things he rested on the seventh day , and since man was made in the image of God and was adorned with the image of God, man was right and good , and without any sin, and if man had remained in this state , he would have rested with God. But because man so soon transgressed God’s word, he at the same time was overtaken with unrest in body and soul. Hence God commanded him to rest on the seventh day. Man could not, however, return to his first or Edenic rest in body and soul , yet this rest day was to man a figure that a rest of both body and soul was awaiting mankind (Heb. 4:4, 11).

But this sabbath or rest day for the soul had to be fulfilled by Jesus; and afterward also for the glorified body, when all things shall be fulfilled and restored. Of this more will be seen under the subject of feasts and the year of Jubilee.

Jesus went forth from the Father and came into the world, into the flesh, that he might by his flesh take away the enmity — the sin of the transgression of the law — and by his blood redeem man from the sin of Adam which had brought so much unrest and trouble to body and soul that man could not obtain rest (1 John 4:2; Eph. 5:16). He came, and by the gospel proclaimed the peace of the kingdom of God; and by his suffering and death and resurrection, and by his gospel, the rest was to be found the rest for the soul (Matt. 11:29), and was obtained by coming to Jesus. This Jesus offered up sin, which was the enemy of the soul, by the sacrifice of his own body on the tree (Isa. 53; 1 Pet. 2:24). In this Jesus there is rest for the soul, the spiritual eternal sabbath that has no end; in Jesus this sabbath must be obtained.

But how can this sabbath be obtained in Jesus, since he himself has ascended to heaven? Understand this matter rightly. By faith we receive Jesus, and by faith in Jesus we must make an end of the service of sin, our own sinful works, and turn away from them, and by faith in Jesus do the works meet for repentance; then the believer enters into the rest of soul, then the believer enters upon the spiritual sabbath of the soul in Jesus, which Jesus has wrought in his own body on the tree; then the believer is in the day of salvation and in the day of light (2 Cor. 6:2; John 8:12; 11:9). This is then the spiritual sabbath day for the soul of the believers, in which they shall rest and hallow in both body and soul from the works of sin. And this sabbath day shall be hallowed in the praise of God in his word, by a holy life, in the wedding garment of the Spirit (Rev. 19:7, 8; Jer. 17:21). Then shall the believers not carry any burden of sin through the gates of Jerusalem, nor out of their houses on the holy sabbath.

Consider well the holy sabbath as fulfilled in Christ, the keeping of which does not consist in the performance of useful temporal labor for the benefit of men (John 9:6, 14; Col. 2:16), but the keeping of the sabbath by the believers in Israel consists in rest from the works of sin; and even if the believer through weakness or in ignorance does a work of sin and then comes in his sorrow and calls upon God through Christ, Jesus is the propitiation for sin (1 John 2:12). But if any one, after he has come to a knowledge of the truth, of faith, has received forgiveness of sins, has entered into the spiritual sabbath, the rest of the soul, and afterward resorts again to unbelief, to the works and the burden of sin, and with knowledge and purpose wants to bear the burden of sin on the spiritual sabbath and desecrates it, the punishment of eternal death awaits him (Matt. 12:24, 32; John 8:21, 24; Gal. 5:19, 21; Heb. 6:4, 6; 10:26-30; Rev. 21:8; 22:15).

But the true believers shall hallow the fulfilled sabbath of the Lord, and not knowingly or willfully sin against the command of the Lord, either in the outward or in the inward man, that is, either in word or work, does not bear any burden or do any work of sin, that the holy soul-sabbath obtained in Jesus be desecrated and thereupon body and soul sink into eternal distress and they become partakers of the plagues and death referred to in the scripture references just given. The believers must strive to live holy in body and soul, that body and soul may obtain the future sabbath restored by Christ in the everlasting kingdom, of which more may be read. Consider well, therefore, the fulfillment of the sabbath by Christ and keep it as far as lies in your power, and you will then observe the temporal rest day on the part of your son and daughter, man-servants and maid-servants, cattle and strangers, that you do not make them overwork, nor deprive them of necessary bodily rest.

The fifth commandment: “Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” (Ex. 20:12).

God gave Israel this commandment that everyone should honor his natural father and mother. But why? Because a child comes of father and mother, who by God’s creation in Adam are one flesh (Gen. 1:27, 28). In what shall a child honor father and mother? In obedience, helpfulness and deed. Since, according to God’s decree, the birth entails great pain upon the mother (Gen. 3:16-20), and its bringing up requires much labor and sorrow, therefore a child should obey father and mother and honor them by holding to that which is good in father and mother and keep from evil, remembering the good that father and mother have done him in bringing him up thus far. In return for this the child is in duty bound to do good to his parents both with word and deed, as far as he is able; with love and kindness, with food and drink; by visiting them and caring for them and sparing the tired old arms and limbs in their old age. This is the right kind of honor which children should show to father and mother, the kind which Jesus had in mind (Matt. 15:4, 6). The scribes had taught the people that if the means with which they were to honor father and mother and thereby do them good were given for an offering, and they should say: “It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me,” they would be doing right and be free from condemnation. Thus no one honored father and mother in deed; the scribes themselves taking care of all honor or gift that was of any use or benefit, leaving only empty words of honor for father and mother. They instructed the children that if they would say to their parents, when they (the children) made any gifts to scribes and priests: “It is a gift,” or an offering to God, all would be well and they would be free of condemnation. But Christ’s command to the scribes in regard to their teaching is: “Ye suffer him no more to do aught for his father or his mother; making the word of God of none effect through your tradition”* (Mark 7:12).

* The translator here gives a liberal rendering of the author’s text, adding more of the scripture passage of Mark 7: 22, in order, as he humbly hopes, to make the Savior’s meaning, as well as the author’s intent, more clear. The author’s purpose is to show, as did the Savior, the selfishness, wickedness, rapacity, duplicity and hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees by their misinterpretation of the fifth commandment. — Tr.

In this day the really helpful things that conduce to the honoring of father and mother are seldom done. But the present-day scribes and honor-seeking men have established a system of honoring father and mother aside from the word of God by their mode of address. The children are to honor father and mother by addressing them “Ihr and “Euer”** (Nom. Sing., Sie, Ihr, or Du, corresponding to you or thou; Poss. Sing., Ihr, Euer or Dein, corresponding to your, thy or thine. — Tr.), but from this kind of honor father and mother derive no benefit; and therefore it is not the helpful kind of honor which the fifth commandment enjoins upon children, and for obedience to which long life is promised.

** The polite style of addressing strangers or superiors or those outside of the family in the German language is “Sie” or “Ihr” instead of “Du” or “Dein,” which latter form corresponds etymologically with the old English form of thou or thine, as still used by a portion of the religious society of Friends or Quakers. In family life, or where the relation makes it allowable-the pronoun “Du” is generally used, except in cases where extreme family etiquette demands the use of the term “Sie” when a child addresses his parents. — Tr.

Whosoever will not honor father and mother, let him hear what is promised him and how he is counted with the ungodly: “Cursed be he that setteth light by (or has slight regard for) his father, or his mother” (Deut. 27:16). “In thee have they set light by father and mother” (Ezek. 22: 7). “The eye that mocketh his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it” (Prov. 30:17). “He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach” (German, a disgraceful and accursed child), (Prov. 19:26). “Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.” Hence there is good reason for heeding carefully the fifth commandment, for it is not abrogated by Jesus, but fulfilled (Matt. 5:17).

Jesus Christ is the perfect fulfillment of the fifth commandment. After being from all eternity with the Father and God (John 1:1, 2), he, according to the providence of God, in the fullness of time, according to the Father’s will, went forth from the Father (1 Pet. 1:20), in order to do the perfect will of God. “Lo, I come to do thy will, O God” (Heb. 10:7-9). Jesus came to honor his Father: “I honor my Father” (John 8:49). Jesus came to pray to his Father (Luke 11:1). Jesus makes his prayer entirely subject to the Father’s will: “Not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39). Jesus thanks and praises his Father: “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth” (Matt. 11:25). “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me” (John 11:41). Jesus did at all times what pleased his Father (John 8:29). Jesus obeyed his Father’s commands, and continued in his love (John 15:10). Jesus says: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34). “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself” (John 10:17, 18). Jesus gave his body and blood on the cross, according to his Father’s will as an offering and a ransom for the sins of mankind. Jesus was obedient to his Father unto death, even the death of the cross (Isa. 53; 1 Pet. 2:24); “wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:8-11). Jesus also honored his foster-father and Mary, his mother; in this that he was subject unto them (Luke 2:51).

The believers shall, according to the example of Jesus Christ, be obedient to the heavenly Father, who is a Spirit, and by whom they are born again, and honor and love him, as Jesus teaches: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself” (Matt. 22:37). Honoring and loving God consists in keeping his commandments and doing what is pleasing to him. “If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). So the believers must, for the Father’s sake, do all that is in their power to honor their heavenly Father with all their goods and possessions, life and blood. Honoring the heavenly Father perfectly means to give up all visible things for his name’s sake, and if the Lord permits the enemy to take it away from his believing followers, the believers shall, for the glory of God, willingly leave it, that they may take it again (Matt. 19:27, 29), and then live eternally in the everlasting Father’s kingdom where there shall be fullness of joy forever. Amen.

The sixth commandment: “Thou shalt not kill” (Ex. 20:13). God speaks these words himself. This commandment means that we shall not kill human beings nor shed human blood; for God will avenge it. Why? In the first place, because man is wonderfully made by God, in the image of God; therefore man is not to injure or destroy the image of God. In the second place, inasmuch as the whole human race is of one flesh and blood from Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:23). they are to show kindness one to another in the flesh and not kill one another. In the third place, the Lord has reserved vengeance unto himself, for he will punish in due time (Deut. 32:35: Heb. 10:30; Rom. 12:19). “Therefore men should leave vengeance to God, and not avenge things.” themselves, for God will in due time avenge all

Why then did God in the law permit men to avenge themselves of one another? (Ex. 21:23). Because of sin. Inasmuch as man through sin was overcome by the enemy (Gen. 3) and was held in captivity by the murderer (John 8:44), God well knew that men would do the murderer’s will, and shed human blood. But that evil blight not gain complete ascendancy, God commanded (Ex. 21:24): “‘Eye for eye; tooth for tooth; hand for hand; foot for foot,” so that the ungodly were punished for their wicked life according to their deeds. Thus also did the men of God punish the wicked, as was the case with Abraham (Gen. 14:15), and with Samuel (1 Sam. 15:33), and with David on many occasions. Hence, because the Jews were under sin and under the law, they also administered the punishment prescribed by the law of sin, as was permitted and commanded in the law because of sin.

But when Jesus came into the world, in order that he might restore and fulfill all things, that is, the law, he also restored and fulfilled the sixth commandment, which had been graven by him on the tables of stone and given to Moses, that no one should kill. Thus Jesus taught his apostles, and it applies to all true believers. “Ye have heard that it hath been said: An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; but I say unto you, that ye resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also” (Matt. 5:38-40). “Ye have heard that it hath been said. Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies; bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matt. 5:43, 44).

The apostle writes in the same strain in Rom. 12:17, 21; 1 Thess. 5:15; also Peter in 1 Pet. 3:9. According to all these testimonies Jesus does not want his believers to return evil for evil, nor that they violate the sixth commandment by killing, not even in self-defense, as seen in Matt. 26:52. When Jesus was taken at the peril of his life, Peter drew his sword, but Jesus said to him: “Put up again thy sword into his place; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” The Lord Jesus speaks likewise in Rev. 13:10: “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity; he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.” Jesus did not come to condemn or to kill the sinners (John 10:16-19), nor does he want his believers to condemn or kill anyone. In this respect Jesus teaches a beautiful lesson in John 10, where he calls his believing followers “sheep,” and in Isa. 40:11, “lambs” It is well known that sheep and lambs have no disposition to kill or persecute the wolves or any other of their enemies, and when sheep and lambs no longer know how to escape they allow themselves to be caught and killed by their enemies or wolves. So also the believing sheep and lambs shall follow the defenseless Lamb Jesus, who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not” (1 Pet. 2:23), as may be seen in his suffering on the cross, and in Isa. 53:7.

But among the sheep are found goats (German, “rams”), which in bodily form are like the sheep, but are vengeful and will butt and fight man and beast. So also among the believers there are found goats who quarrel and fight in all vengefulness and yet they claim to be believers. Jesus says, however (Matt. 25), that the goats shall be separated from the sheep and shall be turned into eternal perdition. Now, although Jesus is the Lord of lords, yet he condemns or kills no one, or even commanded to be killed, but on the contrary restored the sixth commandment; therefore he desires his believers to follow him as his sheep and lambs and not kill anyone. As the sheep and lambs in the natural world kill and persecute no one, so also the believing sheep and lambs of Jesus kill no one, but rather suffer themselves to be persecuted and killed, as has been the fate of many thousands who have been killed like defenseless sheep. Thus it can be understood that this sixth commandment must be kept if one would be a follower of Christ.

The seventh commandment: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Neither a husband nor a wife shall have carnal intimacy with another person. Whoever does so, commits adultery. God does not want human beings to live like cattle. Why? Is it not by this carnal intimacy that the human race is to be propagated?

Let it be understood that God created man a far nobler being than all other earthly creatures, namely, with his hands, in the image of God; male and female created he them (Gen. 1:27; Matt. 19:4), so that there shall be one man and one woman, and these shall hold to each other. God pronounced his blessing upon this monogamous union, that they twain shall be as one flesh, that they shall be fruitful and multiply in the flesh, and that such wedded people, two persons, husband and wife in and as one flesh shall outside of themselves maintain virtuous relations with all others; for where such persons have intrigues with others it is called adultery and fornication by the holy scriptures, and such shall not enter into the kingdom of God. See Mal. 3:5; Gal. 5:19; Rev. 21:8. Why then do we find in the old covenant that some men had more than one wife, as for example Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon? Note that God says (Deut. 24:1; Matt. 19:8), that because of Israel’s hardness of heart he gave them permission on account of any dislike to part from their wives and to take another. God permitted this in order to prevent greater sins, such as bickerings and an evil, quarrelsome life, beside adultery.

With the divine permission to take more wives, God saw another thing. For when Adam and Eve fell, sin, through the enemy, permeated the whole human body, and Lamech, one of Cain’s descendants, through the impulse of Satan, contrary to the divine order, took two wives. Afterward sin gained the ascendancy in the sons of God and inflamed them, so that in their fleshly lust they looked upon the fair daughters of men, “and they took them wives of all which they chose” (Gen. 6:2), and which was the cause of the destruction of the ante-deluvian world.

Inasmuch as God is the personification and perfection of wisdom and alone foreknows things, he also knew that Israel would be a carnally minded people; so, in order to prevent greater harm, he permitted polygamy, as seen in a number of instances, so that the land might not, through fleshly lust, be filled with immorality, lewdness, fornication and adultery, as was the case in the wilderness of Shittim, where Israel began to commit fornication with the daughters of Moab, so that the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he caused the leaders to be hung, so that in one day 24,000 people were put to death in Israel (Num. 25:1-9).

Jesus came to restore and fulfill all things. He restored matrimony (Matt. 19:14) to the plane of monogamy, and declared that such a union was to be one flesh, that these, joined together by God. should not be separated, thereby restoring and fulfilling the seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

Just what constitutes adultery is shown by Jesus in Matt. 5:27, 28. “Whosoever shall put away his wife . . . committeth adultery” (Matt. 19:9). But Jesus fulfills this commandment more strictly according to Matt. 5:27, 28: “Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Since, then, according to the truth of the gospel, such may not enter the kingdom of God, believing married men and women must in this respect keep their eyes and desires away from all others, so that there will be no adultery in eye or heart, and withal hide and keep away their nakedness together with all allurements from all others, so that actual adultery in the flesh be not committed. Likewise all free, unmarried people must give due heed to the seventh commandment, that in this respect they keep aloof in eye, heart, thoughts and flesh from all married people, that they may not fall into fornication and adultery and thereby into perdition. But inasmuch as there is implanted in man an instinct or function by which the human race is perpetuated, marriage among believers has not been abrogated by Christ, but simply restored to its first state (Matt. 19:4), and if, by following these natural instincts, a man is bound to a wife, Paul says (1 Cor. 7:27) that he shall not seek to be loosed. A man may in the fear of the Lord, marry; and a woman, widow or virgin, is “at liberty to be married to whom she will, only in the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:39). Paul says that “to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife” (1 Cor. 7:2). In order to avoid falling into mortal sin God ordained ways and means in matrimony, as already shown (Gen. 1:27); for God shall judge fornicators and adulterers.

Let therefore every believer in Jesus, who by faith hopes to have been born in Christ, and into his life, or who has any hope to obtain any share in the kingdom of heaven, heed well the seventh commandment, for if a man falls into adultery or fornication he crucifies afresh the life of Jesus which was born in him. Jesus was born of a virgin; and lived a virginal life, fulfilling the commandment in every respect. Hence he does not want any of his followers to fall into the immorality of adultery and fornication, but desires that they follow him as obedient children of God. God give us grace to do right.

The eighth commandment: “Thou shalt not steal.” To steal means for one to take that which has been entrusted to another. Whether it be done openly or secretly, by wicked means, with cunning or deception, by force or unfair means, all is comprehended under the word stealing, and this shall not be done. Whoever does it is liable to punishment. “He that stealeth a man shall surely be put to death” (Ex. 21:16). Whoever stole an ox or a sheep was to “restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep” (Ex. 22:1; Deut. 24:7). Thieves cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:10).

If it is such a great sin for one to steal or take anything from another, why was this done under the old covenant and not punished? The people under the old covenant were so deprived of everything by Satan, the murderer and thief, and so held in the captivity of sin that if men, by the will of the enemy, stole something and the matter was not too grave, or the act too flagrant, God sometimes overlooked it, for God understood well the captivity in which the people were held. But because of this the eighth commandment is not abrogated for the believers, but is restored and fulfilled by Jesus.

Since Jesus by his body and blood has redeemed man from the power of the murderer and thief so far as the sin of Adam is concerned, Jesus does not desire his believers to obey or follow thieves and murderers (John 10:8-10). “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy,” and this is not done by the natural sheep, much less can the believing sheep of Christ Jesus steal, or kill; nor is it their nature, neither can they have that disposition, if they wish to enter the kingdom of heaven with their Shepherd Jesus. The name of Jesus is: “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jer. 23:6). He never cheated anyone, nor did anyone a wrong, “neither was any guile found in his mouth” (1 Pet. 2: 22). Therefore Jesus wants his believers to follow him in righteousness and not steal or do wrong to anyone, but to do as he taught them. “Whatsoever therefore ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets” (Matt. 7 :12). “Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely” (Luke 3:14). “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you” (Matt. 20:25, 26). “Let him that stole, steal no more” (Eph. 4:28). “That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter, because that the Lord is the avenger of all such” (1 Thess. 4:6). “There is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate . . . nor thieves, nor covetous . . . nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:7-10). The Lord will bring calamity upon the house of the thief, and “shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof” (Zech. 5:4).

Since such a heavy penalty is placed upon the transgression of the eighth commandment: “Thou shalt not steal,” the believers, who would enter the kingdom of heaven have reason to heed this commandment well that they do not defraud nor deprive any one of his possessions, and then with the unrighteous remain out of the kingdom of heaven with the father of thieves, who is called the devil. May God preserve us all from this calamity.

9. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” To bear false witness means to speak the untruth about another, or to carry about false reports regarding others. All this is comprehended under the term “false witness” or “lying,” and according to holy writ was punishable as follows:

God gave rules and commands for all cases. “Thou shalt not raise a false report; put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness” (Ex. 23:1). “If a false witness rise up against any man, to testify against him that which is wrong, then . . . the judges shall make diligent inquisition; and behold, if the witness be a false witness and hath testified falsely against his brother, then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother” (Deut. 19:16, 19). “A false witness shall not be unpunished; and he that speaketh lies shall perish” (Prov. 19:9). In the First Book of Kings, Chap. 31, we see that Jezebel in Ahab’s name set two sons of Belial to bear false witness against Naboth, saying that he had blasphemed God and the king, and that upon this false witness they carried out Naboth and stoned him to death. But according to the word of the Lord, Ahab’s blood was afterward licked up by dogs in the place where Naboth had been stoned, and the dogs devoured Jezebel (1 Kings 21: 1-23).

In the story of Susanna likewise can be seen how the two false witnesses had to die. In the passion of Christ we also see how the Jews set up false witnesses, and that many false testimonies were given against Jesus. But what befell the Jews may be seen in the prophecy of Jesus, in the destruction of Jerusalem, where the Jews were so horribly put to death. Thus it is seen how false witnesses were often fearfully punished. Since then such a heavy penalty rests upon false testimonies and lies, how is it that under the old covenant in several instances the crime was passed over and not punished?

The people were in the captivity of the enemy, the liar, in the sin of Adam. Nor is it any wonder that they were incited to his service by the old liar (John 8:44) to say things that were very like the untruth. If the case was not too flagrant, God at times overlooked it, so that punishment did not follow promptly. But on this account the ninth commandment was not annulled, but was restored and perfectly fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the everlasting truth (John 14:6), and he fulfilled the ninth commandment perfectly. Jesus never gave false witness; he never spoke the untruth, nor did deceptive words ever pass his lips. Jesus wants his believers likewise to keep this commandment, and never let false testimony or a lie pass their lips consciously or willfully. The believers are to follow Jesus in truth, and the truth shall make them free (John 8:32; 18:37; 2 John 4). “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 4). It is so with everyone who loves the ten commandments of God. He will love the truth and speak the truth with his neighbor and with all men in all things; for all liars shall have their portion without the city, in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone forever and ever (Rev. 21:8; 22:15) ; but truth shall make the believers free (John 8:32, 35). “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Jesus is the truth and the fulfillment of the truth ; therefore we are to hold steadfastly to the truth and not depart from it; for the truth shall stand when all visible things on earth shall fall and pass away, and it will remain forever.

10. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.”

God forbade the coveting of all that belongs to the neighbor; for lust or covetousness is the beginning of man’s destruction (Jas. 1:5). “When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” This is seen in the case of Eve, the mother of us all. When, by the enticement of the serpent, lust was conceived (Gen. 3:6), she looked at the tree which was beautiful to behold and its fruit delightful to partake of. She took off some of the fruit, ate it, and gave her husband also. Then sin was brought forth and death followed. “And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting flesh, fish, and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, onions and garlic” (Num. 11:4, 5). “And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the Lord punished them with a great plague, so that many died” (verse 33).

When Achan, contrary to the command of God, coveted the “goodly Babylonish garment . . . and a wedge of gold,” and tried to hide them, sin was born in him, and death followed (Josh. 7:21, 25). Therefore every man has reason for being careful that no covetous feelings rise up within him, against God’s will, for what belongs to his neighbor; for when the evil desire for the neighbor’s house or possessions arises and grows strong, it will not cease until it has brought forth sin and death. This is seen in the case of Ahab who began to covet the vineyard of Naboth, his neighbor, and he secured possession of it by craft and murder, but it brought about the death of both Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 21). 2 Sam. 11:2 records the fact that one evening, when David rose from his couch and walked about on the roof of the royal residence he saw a woman washing herself. He coveted the woman and had her brought to him. He allowed lust to govern him, committed adultery with her, and afterward put her husband Uriah to death by the sword of the Ammonites: but the result of it all was great misery for David (2 Sam. 12:10, 11; 16:21, 22).

When the two false judges coveted their neighbor’s wife, the God-fearing, beautiful Susanna, and sought to have their pleasure with her, but could not carry out their iniquitous intentions, they falsely accused Susanna and had her condemned to death. But God caused the matter to take such a turn through the investigation of Daniel that the two judges, because of their wicked lust, lost their lives.

Neither is a man to covet his neighbor’s manservant nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his neighbor’s; for when the desire for a neighbor’s possessions has conceived and grows, it seeks in every way to do that neighbor injury by disguised or fraudulent actions, deceptions, lies and injustice, with cunning hypocrisy, by theft, and robbery, by murder and bloodshed, in order to obtain his neighbor’s property, and which has cost thousands of people their lives. Covetousness has brought forth a vast amount of sin and death in the flesh, but how much more in the soul; for such covetous people with such works cannot, according to the declaration of God’s word, enter into the kingdom of God. Therefore we should heed carefully the tenth commandment: “Thou shalt not covet,” looking earnestly unto Jesus who has fulfilled the commandment, in whom no fault or any unkindness toward his neighbor could be found. Therefore he calls to his believers to follow him; that they may, with and by him enter into his eternal kingdom. Therefore, beloved reader, take the ten commandments that are engraved and written with the finger of God, to heart, and they will point to God and his eternal kingdom.

CHAPTER 9
The Tabernacle of Moses, and the Priestly Office, Garments and Offerings

In Ex. 25 God gave Moses a commandment to build a costly tabernacle. Of this tabernacle God showed Moses a pattern in the Mount (verse 40) and said to Moses: “Look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the Mount.”

Of the building of this tabernacle, as well as regarding the priests and their priestly garments, Ex. 25 to 40 gives a full and detailed account, as well as more minutely in other places, as also of the building of the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 6; 2 Chron. 3). How the offerings were to be made in the tabernacle and temple can also be read in the scriptures just referred to. In Ex. 25 the Lord speaks with Moses, instructing him to tell the people of Israel that they should give a free-will offering of gold, silver and brass, and of all the best things they had, and make for him (God) a sanctuary so that he might dwell among them.

1. Moses had to make an ark of shittim wood: “Two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without . . . and thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee” (Ex. 25:10-16).

2. “Thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold, two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, . . . in the two ends of the mercy seat, one cherub on one end, and the other cherub on the other end, . . . and the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat, and their faces shall look one to another, toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above the ark; and in the ark . . . the testimony.”

3. “Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood ; two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, . . . and thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons, and covers, and bowls, to cover withal, and thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.”

4. “Thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold, and six branches shall come out of the sides of it, three . . . out of the one side, and three . . . out of the other side, . . . and the tongs thereof, and the snuff dishes thereof shall be of pure gold And look that thou make them after the pattern, which was showed thee in the Mount.”

5. He also made an altar of shittim wood to burn incense upon; a cubit in length and a cubit in breadth, foursquare, and two cubits high, with horns of shittim wood, and overlaid, top, sides and horns thereof with pure gold, and a crown of gold round about, and the oil of holy ointment after the art of the apothecary.

6. The manner in which the costly parts and pieces were to be put into the ark is described in Ex. 26:1-30, showing how costly it had to be made, with curtains, coverings, loops, taches, silver feet, with rails and bars, and all overlaid with gold.

This then was the tabernacle, that was filled with the glory of the Lord (Ex. 40:34). The interior was to be divided into two parts (Ex. 26: 31-35) by a costly curtain or vail, with cherubims, and hung upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold, and hooks of gold by which the vail was held, and four sockets of silver. This vail separated the holy place from the most holy place. The most holy place occupied one third of the space of the tabernacle, as seen in the description of the temple (2 Chron. 3: 3-8). The temple was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide, from which twenty cubits were taken off, making a space twenty cubits square for the holy of holies or most holy place, in which, as the apostle Paul writes (Heb. 9:4), was the golden censer, which Moses mentions briefly (Ex. 30:35, 36), where he speaks of the ingredients used for the incense in the most holy place and put before the testimony in the tabernacle. Into this most holy place was put the ark in which lay the testimony (Ex. 40:20) and the manna. According to Ex. 16:31, 34, Aaron was commanded to take a pot and put therein an omer full of manna, and preserve it as a testimony to future generations of the way in which God had fed Israel in the wilderness. The Lord also said to Moses (Num. 17:10): “Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony to be kept for a token.” Upon the ark was placed the mercy seat, and on the mercy seat the cherubims, which covered the mercy seat and reached to the walls or partition where there was a curtain or vail, as seen Ex. 40:20, 21. This was the most holy place, into which no one was to enter except the high priest alone, once every year, and that not without blood (Heb. 9:7; Ex. 30:10). “Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements; it is most holy unto the Lord” (Ex. 30:10). “Speak unto Aaron, thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat which is upon the ark, that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat” (Lev. 16:2). This inner most holy place was separated by a vail, and outside of the vail was a space twice the size of the most holy place. In this larger space, in the corner toward the north, was placed the table containing the shewbread and all that belonged to it. In the south corner opposite this table was the candlestick with the lights thereon. In the middle of the sanctuary, between the table and the candlestick, was placed the golden altar of incense and the curtain was hung in the door. Into this enclosure in the tabernacle the priests entered to burn the incense morning and evening, and to trim the lamps, as seen Ex. 40: 2-5; 22: 30; 6:9.

A space or enclosure had also to be built in front of and round about the tabernacle. This space in front of the temple was called a porch (Ex. 27:9; 28:9; 1 Kings 6:3).

Moses also was commanded to make an altar of shittim wood (accacia), five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and the furniture and utensils for the same; also a brass laver with a brass pedestal in which the priests performed their ablutions, and this was to be set between the tabernacle and the altar of burnt offering. This altar was to stand before the door of the tabernacle (Ex. 38:18, 20; 38:8; 40:7, 29, 31). This was prepared before the door of the tabernacle at the entrance to the sanctuary and stood in the court or porch. Solomon had a molten sea twelve cubits in diameter placed upon the backs of twelve brazen oxen in which the priests could perform their ablutions; also ten basins or lavers, five on the right hand and five on the left; also ten tables, five on the right and five on the left. The molten sea was set in the right corner toward the south. All these and other things were set into the outer court (2 Chron. 4:2-10). Here the priests offered up the sacrifices on the altar of burnt offering. Into this court also the kings entered to worship God, also the common people could enter this part of the temple to worship God and hear his word (1 Kings 8: 22) ; for it was proclaimed there at that time and later, as seen in Luke 2:26 and many other places. Solomon also made two tall costly pillars of brass which he set before the court of the temple. The one on the right side was called Jachim, and the one on the left, Boas. Between these was the door of or entrance to the temple. Thus were the tabernacle and the temple furnished and finished.

God further said to Moses: “Take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, and Adab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for beauty . . . and these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and robe, and a broidered coat, and a mitre, and a girdle” (Ex. 28:1-4). (1) “They shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet and fine twined linen.” (2) “The curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.” (3) “And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.” These were held by fastenings on the shoulders of the ephod, and Aaron was to carry them on his shoulders before the Lord for a memorial. (4) “And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work, after the work of the ephod (i.e., of like material). . . . Foursquare it shall be, being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.” Upon each of the twelve precious stones set into the breastplate was engraved the name of one of the twelve children (or tribes) of Israel; “twelve according to their names.” This breastplate was attached to the ephod by golden chains fastened to two gold rings placed one at each end or side of the breastplate. “And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and Thummim (meaning lights and perfections), and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord.” (5) “Thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue (German, all of yellow silk), and beneath, upon the hem of it, thou shalt make pomegranates; . . . and bells of gold between them . . . upon the hem of the robe round about. And it shall be upon Aaron to minister, and his sound shall be heard when he goeth unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not.” (6) “And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it like the gravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre, upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts that they may be accepted before the Lord.” (7) “And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework. And for Aaron’s sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” (8) “And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness, from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach. And they shall be upon Aaron and upon his sons when they come into the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place, that they bear not iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever unto him, and his sons after him.”

Thus a glorious, costly garb was prepared for Aaron and his sons, in which they were to minister unto God in the holy place, that they might not die (Ex. 28:43). Beside the priests who had been sanctified thereunto, no one was to go into the holy place to burn incense, as seen 2 Chron. 26:16, 21.

The manner in which Aaron and his sons were sanctified and consecrated for the sanctuary and the altar of burnt offering is recorded in Ex 29:1-37. The manner in which Aaron was to enter the most holy place and approach the mercy seat is recorded in Lev. 16: 2, 12, 15. The manner in which Aaron was to enter daily into the court of the sanctuary where were placed the altar of incense, table and candlesticks, to dress and light the lamps, morning and evening and burn sweet incense upon the altar, is described in Ex. 30:6-10. “Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifices, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon. And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering; once in a year shall he make atonement upon it.”

Of the manner in which the various kinds of sacrifices were to be made upon the altar of burnt offerings before the door of the sanctuary in the court, we learn in Lev. chapters 1 to 10, and in many other places. How many countless thousands of sacrifices were offered there! And all these pointed to Jesus Christ. Of the fulfillment of this, more will be said in its proper place.

CHAPTER 10
The Tabernacle of Moses Begun by, and Fulfilled in Jesus

Jesus Christ is the first and the last, the beginning and the end, and the fulfilling of the law, and by Christ all things were made that are made, in heaven and on earth (John 1:1-3; Col. 1: 16, 17). He was before all things, and all things are by him. He showed Moses a pattern on the mount (Ex. 25:40). “See that thou make it according to the pattern which I showed thee on the mount (This pattern was a picture of the spiritual temple of God, Jesus Christ, as well as of the everlasting kingdom, which exists in Jesus Christ. “And I saw no temple therein; for the Lord Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it” (Rev. 21:22). That Jesus is a temple is seen John 2: 19-21. But he here spoke of the temple of his body. Hence the true temple of the children of God consists and exists in Jesus Christ; for Jesus is the fulfillment of the figurative tabernacle and temple just as Jesus was also the author and designer of that one which Moses saw upon the mount and according to which he was to build and fashion, and after which the believers are to pattern in all they do in the spiritual temples of their bodies (1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6: 16) ; “that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Eph. 3: 17).

In Christ Jesus exists the ark of the covenant, which was adorned without and within with the heavenly gold of the pure love of God, and in whom God was, and he in God (John 14: 10, 11). In this Ark of the Covenant, Jesus, lie the heavenly testimonies of God. “I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me, beareth witness of me” (John 8: 14, 18). From this heavenly Ark of the Covenant Jesus Christ went forth, by the Holy Spirit, the testimony of the law and the prophets, as well as of all. holy men of God who by the Holy Spirit testified of God and his name.

The figurative ark of the Testimonies of God was placed in the holy of holies, where the high priest entered but once a year. But Jesus has come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands and entered in once into the holy place (Heb. 9:11, 12). In this tabernacle is the spiritual Ark of God, in which lies the Testimony of God’s Word. To this Ark Jesus has opened the way, and to this Ark Jesus desires all men to come and accept the Testimony of the holy of holies, and the bodies, hearts and souls of all who come in the true love of the Spirit and take the Testimony of the gospel of Jesus and keep it, will become spiritual tabernacles and spiritual arks in which the Testimony of God lies, and in which Father, Son and Holy Ghost will dwell (John 14: 17, 23, 26; 17:21,23; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6: 19). And when man becomes a spiritual sanctuary and the dwelling place of God and the Testimony of the word of God lies in the ark of his heart, then the Mercy Seat, full of mercy, will be set upon him, and the figurative ark will be fulfilled in the believers by Jesus Christ. The Mercy Seat was as long and as wide as the ark, so that they fitted together, and it was of pure gold. Jesus Christ is the pure, transparent, clear Mercy Seat, upon the Testimony of God in the most holy place, full of grace and love, in God, by whom God from the beginning has offered all grace and love (Gen. 3: 15) ; “for thou hast found favor with God” (Luke 1:30); “and the grace of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40, 52); “and of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1: 16). “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17):

This divine grace Paul offered many times to the believers, in his epistles: “By whom we have received grace and apostleship” (Rom. 1:5). “Grace be unto you. I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God, which is given you by Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:3, 4). “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you” (1 Cor. 16:23). “Grace be with you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 1:2). “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” (Gal. 6: 18). “To the saints . . . and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:2). This grace Paul wished for the saints and faithful who had the Testimony of God within them from Jesus Christ, from whom the believers receive grace upon the testimony of Jesus Christ in the ark of the heart and soul redeemed by Christ. By the Spirit of God in Christ Jesus the testimony of the word of God, which is Spirit and life, come upon men and into men (John 6; Acts 2) ; for Jesus is the spiritual Ark with God’s testimony therein, as already stated; and by the Spirit of Jesus the ark, or the body, soul and spirit of the believer is filled; for the Mercy Seat is as long and as broad as the ark in which is the testimony of God, so that the Mercy Seat covers all and protects the Testimony in the Ark as well as the ark itself. Then the believer has Jesus the Mercy Seat, as well as mercy, over him, by which all believers have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace in time of need.” In Jesus we find grace, mercy and forgiveness of sins. When Jesus was upon earth all who sincerely asked him for mercy obtained it. The believers likewise, as mercy seats, are to dispense grace, mercy, forgiveness of sins to all who ask these things of them with sincere hearts, so far as men have power to forgive, as Jesus has taught his disciples (Matt. 6:12, 14): “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” “Forbear one another, and forgive one another. If any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Col. 3:13). This is what believers are to do, that Christ may fulfill his grace perfectly in us, for Christ is the fulfillment of all things.

The two cherubims at the two ends of the Mercy Seat with their outstretched wings covering the Mercy Seat and reaching to the walls or partitions of the holy place, their faces being inclined toward the Mercy Seat, one facing the other (Ex. 25:18, 20; 2 Kings 6:27), have their fulfillment in Jesus.

In the figurative cherubims which covered the Mercy Seat and filled the holy place, understand them to represent the Father and the Son, who from the beginning had their faces turned toward the Mercy Seat, that is, toward grace and redemption by Jesus Christ, and which in the fullness of time was fulfilled by Christ in the united Father and Son. Understand, spiritual cherubim is a living, moving, acting being in the eternal kingdom of God.

Let us consider the spiritual figure of the spiritual cherubims of the eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ. “I . . . am come from heaven” (John 6:50, 51, 58), “in the spirit and power of the Almighty” (Matt. 1:18, 20; Luke 1:35), “into the flesh” (1 John 4:2, 3), “and the Word was made flesh” (John 1: 14), “and took upon him the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:7). In this glorious figure or holy person of God the holy cherubims were revealed; for in the body and flesh of Jesus, which was the Word and God, is revealed the life that is eternal, radiant, holy heavenly Cherubim. When Jesus had been baptized, the Spirit of God came as God upon him, a spiritual heavenly cherubim, and these cherubims possessed the Mercy Seat, as noted above. “A pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeded out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev. 22: 1). This signifies the Spirit of the Word, the Father and the Son, and the wings of the cherubims which covered the Mercy Seat and filled the holy place likewise signify the Spirit which proceedeth from the Father and the Son “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24). “God was in Christ” (2 Cor. 5:19). “In Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). Jesus teaches (John 10:30): “I and the Father are one.” “Ye believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14: 1). “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” “The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:9, 10). “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things” (John 14:26). “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me” (John 15:26). “He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” “All things that the Father hath are mine” (John 16: 14, 15). This Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, as though sent from one. Again, these two cherubims can be spiritually comprehended as signifying the two covenants, the Father’s and the Son’s. In the old covenant, God, in the eyes of the one only God, in the Word, which was God (John 1: 1, 2, 4), in the life of the one God, the Father arid the Son, looked upon the Mercy Seat upon the redemption of man (Isa. 53). The two wings, two cherubims, two Spirits are in and proceed from one, fill the figurative sanctuary, the saints of God and the prophets, and point with the wings of the Spirit to the Mercy Seat of the redemption of man by Jesus Christ.

In the cherubim of the New Testament, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, one sees in the Spirit the fulfillment of the cherubims of the Old and New Testament and the grace and redemption of man toward which the wings of the spiritual Cherubims have pointed. In this Jesus was God, and he was God (3 John 1; Isa. 9); “for God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself’’ (2 Cor. 5: 19); “for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). This “Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). From him are extended the wings of the spiritual cherubim . . . the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, to cover the grace wrought by Jesus Christ, and to fill the holy place of the believing souls who are sanctified by Christ. In this sanctuary God will dwell in the Spirit (John 17: 19; Eph. 5:26). “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God?” (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19). Then, if a man has and preserves the testimony of God within him, the Father and the Son will dwell in him, and then he has the Spirit of the Father and the Son (Rom. 8:9, 10). Thus Christ is in the believer, in the spiritual temple, a spiritual cherubim with spiritual wings, lives, moves and acts in the spiritual being to protect and cover the testimony of God and the Mercy Seat with his merits, and hence the law has been fulfilled in Christ.

In Christ is fulfilled also the figure of the censer which held the precious ointment of incense, which stood before the testimony of God, and the like of which was not to be made by anyone under penalty of being cut off from his people (Ex. 30:35, 36); for this confection, ointment compound or incense prefigured Christ. In Christ exists this holy incense, which the wise men of the east acknowledged, and presented him with frankincense and myrrh (Matt. 2: 11). “Sweet smelling savor”, or delicious aroma or perfume in a man does not consist merely in ointment or the fragrant perfumes of the material world; but this is a sweet smelling savor when a person has the testimony of a saintly life and of kind deeds toward mankind. For this incense Christ is the Golden Censer in which is contained the most precious of all incense in the sanctuary, in heaven and on earth, therefore no other incense so precious can be made. It cannot be imitated or duplicated. If anyone should try to prepare such incense, and in his saintly life and good deeds among men should consider himself as the equal of Christ, he would fail sadly; such a man might, in his pride, easily fare as did Lucifer; he would be cut off and cast out from among the people of God.

That Jesus is the Golden Censer is possible enough; and that “that holy thing” is in him is shown in Matt. 3: 16, 17: “And John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him, and lo, a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Such praise and esteem may not be accorded any other man; for by Jesus all things are made (John 1). Jesus is Lord of Lords, and King of kings (Rev 19:16), and his kingdom endureth forever. This everlasting King so far humbled himself in his life of blessedness as to do his Father’s will (John 34), and did good to all men who believed in him, and by his body, suffering, death, and shedding of blood redeemed the human race from the sin and death of Adam, which no other being could do. And Christ is still High Priest, Savior and Propitiator for the individual, actual sins of all who turn unto him in faith, repentance and reformation of life. He will give them rest or relief from all their sins (Matt. 1: 28). This great work lies in the province of Jesus alone, in whom the censer of the law is fulfilled. For in Jesus, the spiritual Censer, dwelled the Spirit of God as God, by whom all good was done through Christ (John 14:10). Of this Spirit Christ also poured out upon his apostles (Acts 2: 2, 33) so that they were filled with the Holy Ghost. This Spirit is called an unction (ointment) by John in his first epistle (2: 20, 27). This healing, health-giving ointment taught the apostles, and what this ointment taught is true. By means of this ointment the apostles became as a sweet smelling savor by obedience to God, by saintliness of life, and by good deeds to men. With this spiritual ointment of the spiritual Censer are believers to be filled that they may partake of the fragrance of Jesus the Censer together with the incense, by obedience to God, by a saintly life and by good deeds to men, so that, to the praise of God, the believers may enter into the sanctuary, that is, into heaven, that Christ may in all things be the Author and Finisher, for no one can or shall be made the equal of Christ, as has been already stated.

Ex. 16:33, 34 and Heb. 9:4 declare that in the sanctuary there was preserved as a memorial an omer of manna or bread from heaven in a golden vessel. This figure is also fulfilled in Christ; for Jesus the true, spiritual golden vessel is crowned as a golden King. Him the wise men of the east worshipped and presented him with gold as they would a king.

In Jesus is found the true bread of heaven. Jesus says (John 6:32, 63): “My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” Jesus said: “I am that bread of life . . . This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh.” When the Jews disagreed among themselves saying: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them: “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Of this same bread Jesus says: “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). This bread is in Jesus, for he is himself the living Word (John 1: 1-14). So then the golden vessel in the sanctuary, together with the manna therein, is fulfilled in Christ, and is in the perfect sanctuary — heaven — where are found the perfect testimonies of God. And all who eat the bread, that is, the flesh and blood of Jesus, that was and is spirit and life, eat and drink in truth, and shall also by the truth, which is Jesus enter into the sanctuary, that is, into heaven, unto the testimonies of God, and there have eternal joy, and thus all things will be fulfilled in Christ.

We read further in Num. 17:7-10 that Aaron’s rod which was placed with the twelve rods in the tabernacle of the congregation, before the testimony, budded, blossomed, and brought forth almonds during the night, and afterward was preserved in the sanctuary before the testimony as a memorial or memento. By this fruitful rod of Aaron the high priestly office is confirmed in Aaron, a type of Christ, and is fulfilled in Christ.

The Lord had chosen Aaron out of the tribe of Levi of the twelve tribes of Israel for the figurative office of high priest, and therefore among all the twelve others Aaron’s rod alone budded, and hence he was placed as high priest and mediator by the numerous sacrifices, before the people. These sacrifices in themselves could not, however, fully atone for sin, either for the sins of the priest or for the sins of the people, but merely foreshadowed or prefigured Christ, who alone is worthy of the full and complete office of spiritual High Priest and Mediator or Atonement for all races. No one can rob him of this honor.

Jesus was foreordained High Priest before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times (1 Pet. 1: 20). When, because of the sin of Adam and Eve all races of mankind lay like dead, withered branches before the testimony and face of God, Christ as a live branch, yet in appearance to men like a dead branch, as seen in the figure of Aaron’s rod, spiritually budded, and blossomed and bore almonds or fruit of love, so that he was also promised a Savior, Redeemer, Propitiator, and High Priest (Gen. 3: 15), as comprehended in the words: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Jesus was then promised as a tender plant, as a green root, shoot or twig out of the dry ground (Isa. 9:1; 53:2; Rev. 22: 16). But Jesus, the green, blossoming, fruitful rod, was preserved in the sanctuary before the testimony and face of God until the time when he should come forth from Mary (Luke 1:35), that he might enter upon his high priestly office, in which he, by his body and blood, suffering and death, offered up a holy burnt offering for the redemption of the human race, whereby all figurative sacrifices were both ended and finished, and the promise of redemption was fulfilled. All the figurative sacrifices were not sufficient to accomplish the fulfillment of the promise; they were but a remembrance or reminder of sin (Heb. 10:3); but by one offering Jesus “perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10: 14). The promise of atonement for sin was promised to come through Jesus, and therefore the figurative sacrifice was inadequate to make atonement for any one. The sacrifice of Jesus alone perfectly fulfilled the price of ransom and forgiveness of sin. Thus the figurative high priestly office with its ceremonial offerings was perfectly fulfilled and brought to an end by Jesus, for “Christ is the end of the law” (Rom. 10:4). And although Jesus after his passion or suffering was laid in the grave, as a dead, withered shoot or rod, he rose on the third day as a green shoot or spring, blossoming into the fruit of life, and ascended, and sitteth at the right hand of God, and is “a High Priest of God forever after the order of Melchisedec” (Heb. 6:20; 7: 17, 21). “But this man, because he continued forever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:24). This High Priest is Jesus, far higher than Aaron, for Aaron’s high priestly office had to be fulfilled by Jesus.

Further we see in Lev. 16: 2-16 that when Aaron was about to enter the holy place he had to come with a young bullock as a sin-offering for himself, and with a lamb as a burnt offering for the people, and the blood of this sin-offering he had to bring into the holy of holies and sprinkle the blood with his finger eastward before the Mercy Seat seven times, and this to atone for the sins of the people every year, and this figure was fulfilled in Christ; for Jesus, by his own blood, entered in once into the holy place, and obtained eternal redemption for us. “Now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:12-26). Thus Jesus with his holy sacrifice entered into the holy of holies. By the effusion of the blood of the ram of sin-offering for the people which had to be taken into the holy of holies it is shown that the believers in Christ shall, by the shedding of their blood, their suffering and death, enter, by the shedding of the High Priest’s blood, into the Mercy Seat, to the holy of holies, that is, heaven. So then Jesus is in this matter the perfect fulfillment. To him be the praise.

We also read in Lev. 16:12, 13 that in making his offering Aaron was to take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar and a hand full of sweet incense crushed fine and lay it on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense might cover the Mercy Seat that was upon the testimony; thus the holy of holies and what was in it was filled with the odor of the sweet incense.

Jesus is the spiritual High Priest. From him the odor of the spiritual sweet incense ascends, namely, the perfect prayer to the Father (Matt. 6:9; Luke 6: 12; John 17:9-20): “I pray for them; . . . neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:1, 2. “He maketh intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25), and for his enemies: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23: 34). And since Jesus is an advocate the Father desires to be worshipped and petitioned by the believers, through his Son and in his name, that the sweet incense may come to the Father by the Son. And since Jesus is the Propitiator and has reopened the sealed book (Rev. 5:8, 9), therefore the sweet incense, the prayers of the saints, are due him. Moreover to Jesus alone is due the praise and sweet incense of the redemption which he has purchased with his blood out of all nations, tongues and tribes. Therefore the four beasts rendered praise and honor to the Lamb, and with the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. And many thousand times ten thousands of angels said with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea said: Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever, and the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him, that liveth forever and ever” (Rev. 5:8, 9, 12-14). “And lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindred, and people and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God (Rev. 7:9-11).

So much then as regards the holy of holies, which contained the ark of the covenant, the testimony of God, the Mercy Seat, the cherubim’s, the censer, the manna, Aaron’s rod, the blood of the sacrifice, the censer with the fire and sweet incense upon it, together with the smoke of the incense which covered the Mercy Seat. All this was a type or allegorical representation of heaven, where are the mercy seat of God and the Lamb and all the holy testimonies and the perpetual budding, blossoming fruit-bearing High Priest, and the everlasting manna, and the censer and incense of which he is worthy, which ascends above the throne in everlasting honor, thanksgiving and praise, and worship, as already noted, in a manner indescribable. There has Jesus gone on before, and calls upon all, especially the believers, to follow him.

When Aaron was to enter the holy of holies he had to pass through the tabernacle; for there was no other entrance to the holy of holies except through the vail. This signifies Jesus’ flesh” (Heb. 10: 20). Jesus also says: “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10: 7). “I am the way . . . no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6). Thus Jesus is the fulfillment of the door and the way into the holy of holies or heaven, in the tabernacle, of which tabernacle more will follow,

Next to the kingdom of heaven, the holy of holies, the interior of the holy of holies prefigures the church of Jesus Christ. Of this Jesus is the Beginning and the Fulfillment; for this purpose Jesus came into the world, preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4: 17), and chose disciples or apostles as builders for the spiritual tabernacle or church, and by which means he then, by the powers of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2) founded and established a spiritual tabernacle which is his church, in which is placed the golden table of incense and the candlestick with all that belongs thereto. This church Jesus obtained and bought with his own blood (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 1:19). This church is called his body, and his bride. (1 Cor. 12: 13, 27; Eph. 5:23-32; John 3:29).

We see in Ex. 40:22 that the table had to be placed in the tabernacle in the north angle outside, and in front of the vail, upon which bread was prepared and placed thereon before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. There were also dishes, and spoons, and bowls, and covers for this table for use in connection with the service (Ex. 37: 16). Of all this Jesus is the fulfillment in the spiritual tabernacle of his church. In Jesus the believers who are in the tabernacle (in the church) not made with hands (Heb. 8:2) but built by God, have a table of the Lord of which they are partakers (1 Cor. 10:21). Of this table speaks Psa. 23:5. And as there had to be figurative bread at all times upon the figurative table in the figurative tabernacle, much more is there at all times spiritual bread before the Lord upon the spiritual table in the spiritual tabernacle as well as a spiritual drink, which the Lord desires the believers, as priests that have been washed, to eat and drink (Rev. 1:5, 6), as Jesus himself ordained and inaugurated (Matt. 26: 26, 27); when he gave his disciples bread, saying: “Take, eat; this is my body”, and afterward took the cup, saying: “Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” This is to be done and observed in the tabernacle of the church of the believers, which constitutes the body of Christ, on and at the table of their Lord in commemoration of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus, until Jesus shall come again from heaven to take his own of earth into his kingdom, the heavenly holy of holies; that is, so long as this tabernacle or church of Jesus Christ continues on earth, the table of the Lord with bread and wine shall be prepared and used, the same as the figurative bread on the table in the tabernacle had to be prepared continually as long as the tabernacle remained.

Consider the matter well. The believer who enters the tabernacle or church of Jesus is to submit himself entirely to Christ as his own, as regards both the inward or spiritual and the outward or natural body. Likewise both the inward and the outward man shall partake of food from Jesus’ table of the Lord. The inward there partakes of Jesus’ flesh and blood: “I am the bread of life” (John 6: 48). “For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (6: 55). “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). This bread or meat is the bread of which Jesus speaks: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). This spiritual meat and spiritual drink the believers are to partake of in the inward man at the Lord’s table; while in the outward man the believers partake of the natural bread and wine which Jesus gave his disciples as emblems of his body and blood; for at that time Jesus’ body was as yet wholly unscathed. The bread and wine are called the communion of the body and blood of Christ, a bread and a cup of blessing (1 Cor. 10:6). If the bread in the figurative tabernacle was holy, how much more are the bread and wine holy which are brought to the Lord’s table, as emblems of the holy body and blood of Jesus, which then is partaken as sacred by the sanctified and cleansed believers in the church or tabernacle of Jesus (Eph. 5:26) which was diligently done in the primitive church of Christ (Acts 2:42, 47; 20:7, 11), and is still to be observed until the believers shall be gathered in a body from the temporal church into the eternal church with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, there to partake of the meat and drink of everlasting joy (Matt. 8:11; Luke 22:30). And although the Lord’s table in the tabernacle was placed in the comer or side toward the north (representing midnight), the candlestick was also placed into the tabernacle but on the opposite side toward the south (representing noon). This signifies that even though the believers have and eat at the Lord’s table toward the north, that is, in affliction for Jesus’ sake (Zach. 12:10), and in crosses and sufferings for Jesus and his word’s sake, when according to the body things look sorrowful, gloomy and dark, the believers have a candlestick, the light of Jesus, from the south to illumine and gladden the heart, so that the darkness and gloom of affliction becomes bright and light. In this light the believer, in the gloom of the cross, enters into the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Of this more under the subject, the light of Jesus.

The figure of the candlestick placed opposite the table or the angle or side toward the south with seven lamps and their utensils, is fulfilled in Jesus and the tabernacle of his church. Jesus said: “I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:4, 5). “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). And as this light never goes out, so also the figurative light upon the figurative candlestick in the figurative tabernacle was to bum day and night, and had to be trimmed twice each day by the priest (Ex. 27:21; Lev. 24: 3). Now as the light of the sun is brightest and strongest at noon, even so in Jesus is the brightest, clearest, highest, strongest light, a Light that is indescribable, and which warms, gladdens, and illuminates the believing heart in the sanctuary. By this Light the apostles were enlightened, and many others besides, so that they illuminated the earth as bright stars and lights, in faith, in love, in godly life, walk and works in Jesus Christ, which John saw (Rev. 1: 12-20) as seven golden candlesticks, seven stars, in the midst of which Jesus stood holding them in his glory, his face shining as the brightness of the noonday sun, and it may be taken that he prepared the lamps with the oil or ointment of the Holy Spirit and lighted them with the fire of the Holy Spirit, because he is the High Priest of the spiritual tabernacle which God erected (Heb. 8:2) and in which God will dwell in Spirit (1 Cor. 6: 19; 2 Cor. 6:16).

Aaron and his sons were commanded to put the purest oil into the lamps, and put them in order morning and evening, so that the light would keep burning day and night (Ex. 27: 20, 21). How much more is Jesus the High Priest, who is daily in the sanctuary with his own (Matt. 28: 20) and prepares them with the pure oil of the Spirit and trims them with the spiritual snuffers, that they may shine brightly, and with the snuff-dish of love removes the waste or core of sin, that his saints may let their lights shine as those put in order by the High Priest and lit by the Lord, so that men may see their good works and glorify their Father in heaven (Matt. 5: 14). This light, lit by the High Priest, is to burn day and night in the sanctuary of the spiritual tabernacle of the church of Jesus Christ; by day when we can live and walk in security under the grace and protection of God, we are to let our lights shine in all good works, where it redounds to the glory of God and the welfare of man, that by the light men may see that Jesus dwells in light, in the sanctuary; in the evening, when gloom and darkness threaten, in persecution, crosses and tribulations, Jesus, the High Priest, wants the light upon the candlestick to shine more brightly, that the light may overcome and dispel the darkness and gloom of the night of tribulation and affliction and death, and illumine the tabernacle of the church of Jesus Christ, in the interior, inward, eternal kingdom, that all may be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and that people may see and know that the light of Jesus is the true Light which he has kindled in his church to cheer his believers and light the way for them into the everlasting kingdom, to the praise of God, that, when the Lord shall appear in his glory, his believers, with their lamps filled with the oil of God, and burning with the light of the life of God, may, like the wise virgins, meet their Lord, and by the Lord be led into everlasting joy, where they shall praise God eternally, with the everlasting incense of praise and all that is included therein.

“And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail: and he burned sweet incense thereon, as the Lord commanded Moses” (Ex. 40:26, 27). Thus the altar of incense stood before the Mercy Seat with only the vail between. The altar of incense also stood between the table and the candlestick. No strange incense was to be offered thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering, nor drink-offering (Ex. 30:9. 10). Once a year only was Aaron to make an atonement upon the horns of the altar with the blood and the sin-offering of atonement, for this was the most holy unto the Lord (Ex. 30:9, 10). Moreover Aaron was commanded to burn sweet incense thereon every morning and evening (Ex. 30: 7, 8). Of the blood of the sin-offering with which an atonement had to be made upon the horns of the altar, we read in Lev. 16: 3-19 that Aaron had first, after proper preparation as regards washing and apparel, to take of the blood of the sin-offering into the holy of holies and sprinkle it with his finger upon the Mercy Seat eastward seven times. When that was done Aaron had to go out of the holy of holies and do the same thing in the tabernacle (verses 16-19), and when he went out to the altar that is before the Lord, he was to make an atonement for it and take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about and sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. This he was to “do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness” (Ex. 26: 16). So the tabernacle and all that was therein was cleansed and atoned for annually with the blood of the sin-offering. This atonement was fulfilled by the High Priest Jesus, with the offering of his own body and blood. “But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands; that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place”, before the Testimony and the Mercy Seat, and with his bloody hands sprinkled and atoned for our sins (Heb. 9:11, 12). And with the same blood of the offering of atonement in the outer part of the tabernacle on the altar of incense which stands before the Lord, he made atonement with his bloodstained fingers on the cross. Thus Jesus at once made one atonement for all, whether of things on earth or in heaven (Col. 1: 20); so making peace by the blood on his cross by himself, “for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10: 14). We are now no longer to offer the blood of bulls and calves and goats in the tabernacle of the church of Christ, and the more, because on the altar of sweet incense in the tabernacle no burnt offering, nor meat-offering, nor drink-offering was to be offered or kindled, as was the case on the altar of burnt offering which stood before the tabernacle, and this as a figure to show that in the church of Christ the offerings were not to be kindled with fire to make atonement for sin; for the believers were to recognize no other offering but the offering of the body and blood of Christ as an atonement for sin and a sweet incense with which Jesus offered up incense before the Mercy Seat of God. The figurative incense (Ex. 30:34) which had to be prepared from costly spices, is now fulfilled in Christ. He prepared an incense from the best of all virtues that will remain forever before the testimony of God. No incense can or may be made like unto this (Ex. 30:38). Whoever makes such incense (in order to make himself like, or the equal of Christ) shall be cast out from among his people. That no strange incense was to be offered upon this altar, is also fulfilled in Christ. He offered no strange incense of idols, but he brought before the Lord the precious incense that was ordained from eternity.

Among the ingredients used in the incense brought by Jesus are (1), Jesus did at all times what pleased the Father, even unto the most fearful suffering and death (John 8: 29). In this he showed all manner of kindness and benevolence to mankind, and made atonement for all things in heaven and on earth (Col. 1:20). In this service Jesus humbled himself (Matt. 26:29); he fell upon his face and prayed to the Father. In this service he also did good to his enemies. He restored the ear of the High Priest’s servant, and prayed for him (Luke 22:51; 23:24). In this service moreover Jesus commended himself into the hands of his Father and gave up the ghost (Luke 23:46).

Thus Jesus went with his blood and with the sweet fragrance of his sweet incense prepared from his own spices, into the holy of holies, before the Mercy Seat of the testimony of God, and before the golden altar of incense, and with his own offering which shall avail forever, fulfilled the sacrifices of types and shadows in the sanctuary, and therefore Jesus, the High Priest of the sanctuary, is worthy of all honor.

The believers as priests, follow the High Priest with all their strength, with good incense, and with the offering of their own blood in the sanctuary (Rom. 12:1). The spices with which the faithful prepare their spiritual incense, consists in always doing all they can to please the Father, by good deeds toward men , in praising God , in humbly falling down before him, and with broken hearts and contrite spirits praying to God, and in commending themselves to God’s protecting care. This incense, laid upon the golden altar before the throne, is pleasing to God (Rev. 8:3). “With such sacrifices God is well pleased.” Moreover the believing priests are to bring their blood into the holy of holies and offer it for the sake of Jesus and his testimony, and thus follow the High Priest into the holy of holies, to the praise of God. Many thousands of offerings of incense have been made in the sanctuary of the church of Jesus Christ, and they now rest under the altar in white raiment (Rev. 6:9, 11). They have the precious vail before them, and behind them the door, that is, the protection of God, so that no affliction can any more assail them in the holy of holies within the sanctuary. Let this suffice for the tabernacle. Let us .now consider the court.

Round about this tabernacle was a large enclosure or court enclosed with curtains or hangings (Ex. 27:9, 18), held up by numerous pillars. On the east side was the doorway to the court, twenty cubits in width. This court about the tabernacle could hold a large concourse of people. Into this court, before the door of the tabernacle the altar of burnt offering was placed, upon which burnt offerings and offerings of many kinds were sacrificed. Upon this altar they had first to make an offering for atonement before they were permitted to enter the tabernacle (Ex. 29).

This court about the tabernacle was of large dimensions, namely, towards the south 100 cubits; toward the north, 100 cubits; toward the west or rear, 50 cubits, and toward the east or front, 50 cubits, in the centre of which there was a doorway or entrance twenty cubits wide, across which a curtain was hung. This then constituted quite a large space all about the tabernacle, for the tabernacle was boarded upon the sides with boards of shittim or acacia wood. Each side had twenty boards, each one cubit and a half in width, and the rear six boards of the same width, which together with the tenons at each corner so that the total width including the tenons was a little more than ten cubits, and the length about thirty cubits, and this stood in the center of the court. Thus the tabernacle of the sanctuary was ten cubits high, and the outer court, five cubits high. In this outer court inside of the door or gate, before the door of the sanctuary stood the altar of burnt offerings, and between the altar and tabernacle stood the laver with water, with which the priests washed when they went into the sanctuary to minister to God (Ex 40: 29, 31). This outer court was a place of preparation where everything was made ready for the tabernacle service and the sacrifice, as seen in the temple, which in the ground plan was patterned after the tabernacle, but much larger, with porches, halls, outer courts, and houses, upper chambers and inner parlors (1 Chron. 28:11), also a molten sea, basin or kettle, table and candlestick that is not mentioned in connection with the tabernacle.

In the first place the Levites as well as the people were taught out of the law of the Word of God in the outer court of the temple or tabernacle, regarding their conduct, life and walk, and how they were to give and prepare the offering, and how they were to be adorned when going into the sanctuary. Observe carefully how all this is fulfilled in Jesus.

In connection with the outer court surrounding the sanctuary consider first the world in general with all its races. The front part of the tabernacle from which the door leads to the outer court and the door leads to the tabernacle, where the laver, the altar of burnt offering, the molten sea, the basin, the table and candlesticks stood, consider as representing Judaism or the people of Israel, who were the people of God, and were entrusted with the sacrifices and service of God: and the care of and duties connected with the tabernacle. But they could not accomplish it in its completeness. But in the fullness of time Jesus came to fulfill all these things, and accomplished perfectly as a faithful High Priest, Master-builder, Lord and King, of the outer court of this world, and coming first into the front part of the tabernacle of Judaism, appeared and came forth to his ministry, and began to teach the spiritual gospel (Matt. 4: 17) of the holiness of the kingdom of heaven, and sowed the seed of preparation for the sanctuary as the spiritual Sower (Matt. 13:3-37), and to sprinkle the spiritual water (John 4: 10, 14; 6:63; 7:37), as the spiritual Baptizer (Ezek. 36:25-27) unto repentance that the people should prepare to live holy and bring to the altar pure and clean offerings that would please God. This altar is fulfilled in Jesus, inasmuch as the sin of the people, from Adam and Eve on (and more) brought Jesus upon his altar of the body (Isa. 53: 3, 4), and as the true High Priest, offered up our sins in his body on the tree (1 Pet. 2: 24), and thus with his own offering of his own body, perfected or fulfilled his work in those who are sanctified forever (Heb. 10: 14).

In Jesus is also fulfilled the laver, for when Jesus was about to make his holy offering for the sins of mankind, he poured water into a basin (or laver, as it might be called), and washed his disciples’ feet (John 13), of which John writes in Rev. 1: 5. According to Ex. 21:22 the blood of the lamb to be offered was taken into a basin, a type of the blood of Jesus the Lamb. Therefore John writes: “He hath washed us with his blood.” If we then, by faith are washed in the basin of Jesus with his blood, we are then fitted and prepared to enter through the door (John 10:9) into the sanctuary. Beside this, John writes that Jesus “came by water and by blood” (1 John 5:6). So there is not only blood, but also water, in the basin, Jesus, with which a man, when he has been taught to believe in Jesus, is to be baptized, according to the command of Jesus “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”, in which name a man in baptism receives remission of sins (Acts 2:38). In this name the believer is saved in baptism (1 Pet. 3:21). In this name the believer puts on Christ (Gal. 3:27). In this name the believing penitent is initiated into the body or church of Christ (1 Cor. 12: 13). In this name all righteousness is fulfilled in baptism (Matt. 3: 15). Thus the believer enters from the basin which stands next the door into the sanctuary of the tabernacle, into the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood (Acts 20: 28).

Further, there was in the temple of Solomon a molten sea, bowls, candlestick, and the table, of which nothing is mentioned in connection with the outer court of the tabernacle. It will be seen that these aforementioned articles stood in the outer court, where also stood the altar of burnt offering: First, the molten sea, which signifies the pure word of the gospel of Jesus, his apostles and prophets. The water in the sea signifies the Spirit of life in the gospel. The twelve statues of the oxen upon which the molten sea stood, four on each side, signify the twelve apostles whom Jesus commanded to hear and proclaim the Spirit and life-laden gospel into the four corners, or all parts of the world, to all nations (Mark. 16: 15). Thus is fulfilled in Christ this figurative sea in which the priests washed themselves, as seen 2 Chron. 4: 1-10.

There were also ten bowls or basins in which all things pertaining or belonging to the burnt offering were to be washed; also the ten candlesticks which furnished lights for all things that they were to attend to at night; also ten tables, on which food of all kinds could be eaten that was placed thereon. It just occurs to me that with these groups of ten in every case, the Wisdom of Solomon mentions the ten commandments which God wrote with his finger, and in which ten commandments man shall wash himself for an offering unto God, and, according to the light given, walk in the ways of God, and partake of the ten commandments as bread and food for the soul. Of these the ten basins, the ten candlesticks and the ten tables were a figure. And as the ten commandments are now fulfilled in Jesus, as shown in Chapter 8 of this book, so also are these basins, candlesticks and tables fulfilled in Jesus; and the believers are to follow in the fulfillment of all the above named articles, and until they come into the tabernacle of the church of Christ, and not let that suffice, but use all diligence in applying themselves to the living of a life that is pleasing unto God, that they may pass on through the tabernacle into the holy of holies, that is, into heaven, to the throne of the Testimony; for at the suffering and death of Christ the vail of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom as a sign that now the way into the holy of holies, to the mercy seat was open, and that through Jesus all mankind has free access to the holy of holies. But man must first prepare himself by the word of the gospel, that all things be done in Christ, for Christ is the fulfillment of all things.

Let us consider the matter further. Inasmuch as the figurative temple and the tabernacle and its sacrifices are all fulfilled in Jesus, every man has abundant reason for walking in accordance with this fulfillment; for man must enter into the holies if he would live happily forever.

The world is the outer court of the eternal kingdom, just as the human body is the outer court and the tabernacle of the inward man, the soul, in which the kingdom of God is (Luke 17: 21). This kingdom in man was however devastated by the destroyer, Satan, like a desert, and lay in this condition about 4000 years until the time of Christ. When Jesus came into the outer court of this world he came first to the court of the Jews, where the above mentioned divine service and sanctuary were, and began to teach the people regarding the kingdom of God and repentance (Matt. 4). All who desire to enter the kingdom of God must in the outer court of the sanctuary first accept the teaching of Jesus, the unadulterated gospel, which consists in and contains the fulfillment of the law, and receive this gospel as food for the soul, by which the kingdom of God in man is again nourished, and built up, and prepared for an abiding place for God the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16; 6: 19), whereby man enters into the eternal kingdom (Matt. 25: 34). As Israel ate the figurative manna from heaven until they entered the figurative Canaan, so also shall the believers partake of the spiritual manna, the gospel, until they enter the heavenly Canaan, by way of the outer court or wilderness of this world. Consider this matter well. In this outer court the believer in Jesus has the spiritual table, and in the spiritual bread of heaven and the spiritual drink which he is to partake of from the Table, Jesus (John 6:32, 35, 54, 56, 63). In this bread of heaven and this drink there is eternal life, and the fountain of the Spirit flows in man as living water (John 7:38). Then the believer is a spiritual Levite, chosen and ordained to the priestly office to go forward in the service of Jesus.

Man then comes to the candlestick and the light in the outer court, that is, to him who is the Light of the world (John 8: 12). This light shows man the darkness and blackness of sin and that man must lay aside the darkness of sin and no longer walk therein.

Man next comes to the basin of repentance, in which he is to wash himself for the sacrifice, in the laying aside of sin, according to the teaching of the word of the Lord, for all things exist and consist in the Word, Jesus (John 1: 1).

Man comes next to the altar of burnt offerings, which is fulfilled in Jesus as already shown, and inasmuch as Jesus has himself made an offering for our sins in his own body and is still the faithful High Priest who will gladly be a propitiation for our sins with the Father, every believer must sacrifice his sins there, with sincere confession, upon the altar Jesus before God, and there also the body must be wholly surrendered to Jesus as a sacrifice (Rom. 12: 1), and for the sake of Jesus, his name and his word, nevermore to turn away from Jesus, but much rather to suffer, whatever of suffering may come to the body, even unto death. When a man can make this sacrifice and surrender himself to Christ on the altar of Jesus, he has come very near the door that leads to the sanctuary.

But before the door of the tabernacle (Ex. 30: 18; 40:30) is the laver, in which the priests were commanded to wash themselves when they went into the tabernacle to perform their priestly service. No man must pass this in going from the altar toward the tabernacle, if he would henceforth serve God and be faithful to him.

Therefore he must first be baptized from this laver, in the name of the Lord, as the answer or covenant of a good conscience toward God (1 Pet. 3:21), for the fulfillment of all righteousness (Matt. 3:15), for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), for the putting on of Christ (Gal. 3:27; 1 Cor. 12:13), for incorporation into the church which Jesus founded and purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28) and built up by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:41), which Jesus has sanctified and cleansed by the washing of water by the Word (Eph. 5:26). Thus man enters from the laver through Christ the Door into the sanctuary, into the tabernacle, into the church of Jesus Christ, where man then with the praise of God in heart and tongue and with the sweet incense of prayer comes unto the altar of incense, where stands the table with the shewbread, dishes and cups, where the faithful in the church eat and drink the supper upon the Lord’s table in remembrance of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus. There stands also the Candlestick Jesus, the true Light, by which Light we can see how to live and walk and serve God in the church and if the believer then in weakness wavers or errs in the service of God, there is the molten sea, which is fulfilled in Christ, still at hand, in which is the water of the Spirit and of life, where he can go and again wash himself in the water of the Spirit and of life and thereby be reconciled to God until finally, with the laying aside of this mortal life, he may by the grace of God, enter into the most holy place, heaven.

Solomon also had two massive pillars of brass made eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference, and two magnificent chapiters of brass, each four cubits high upon the top of these pillars, beautifully decorated with pomegranates (1 Chron. 7: 15-20). In 2 Chron. 4: 15-17 are described pillars thirty-five cubits in height, and the chapiter five cubits, and gorgeously decorated with wreaths of chain with a hundred pomegranates on each chain (2 Chron. 3:16). Although the pillars were very gorgeously decorated and the chains for the entrance to the sanctuary Were fastened thereto, they could not, because of their size and height, stand inside, where stood the altar with all its belongings for the service of God, yet Solomon erected these pillars before the hall, and called the one on the right side Jachin, and the one on the left, Boaz. And although these pillars were ever so beautifully decorated, tall and massive, they could not be placed inside where were placed the furniture and utensils for the service of God, unless they with their decorations, their towering height and massive strength were broken. These pillars were of brass and so strong that they could not be bent and so brought into the temple whole or in their original size and condition.

These two tall pillars signify all human greatness, namely the two states — the spiritual and the worldly, great or small, in which men in their calling exalt themselves too highly in the world in order that they may be praised and highly esteemed of men (Matt. 6: I, 2, 5, 16). But this is their sole reward, and they remain standing outside in the cruel world, before the hall or outer court of the sanctuary. In his self exaltation and self adornment man cannot attain to the place of the true materials used in the service of God, namely to the fulfillment in Christ, as already shown. Jesus teaches that whatever is highly esteemed among men is an abomination with God (Luke 10: 15), and nothing that worketh abomination shall enter the holy city (Rev. 21:27). Note carefully the assumption of exalted position and grandeur by Satan toward Eve, and that in their desire for a more exalted condition Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and died, and fell from the glorious image of the glory of God (Gen. 3). Satan also, with his angels, because of his haughty self exaltation was thrust out of heaven upon the depths of the earth (Gen. 3:14; Isa. 14; Rev. 12:9; 2 Pet. 2:4). And inasmuch as the pride and glory of Lucifer was thrust out of heaven, it will never enter again, and if man proudly haughtily seeks to exalt himself above his earthly calling, according to the flesh, he has the pride of Lucifer; for he was an instigator of pride from the beginning, and is still trying to erect the pillar or station of man with the mighty brazenness of pride as high as he can, and he decorates the chapiter above with the wreaths of chain work and nets of checker work about the sanctuary as if it were a sanctified place and condition. The station or pillar of ecclesiasticism as it is called has been raised aloft by Lucifer with the brass of pride as high as the pillars of the world, and has surrounded the chapiters above with wreaths of chain work and nets of checker work, that is, with the word of the gospel, and draped and decorated it all with pomegranates, that is, with the doctrinal traditions of men with honor and grandeur, with riches and luxury; with a desire to be highly esteemed of men, as if this pillar were a sanctuary of God. But such pillars stand outside of the temple and sanctuary of God, as a figure whereunto Solomon by divine wisdom set two lofty pillars before the temple which could not be gotten into the temple unless they were first broken off and brought into a broken, lowly condition.

It is the same with men who are set up as strong pillars by the spirit of the prince of this world before the temple and sanctuary of Jesus Christ, but they cannot enter unless these pillars of satanic pride are broken and in brokenness of spirit and contrition of spirit they humble themselves, for then only can man enter the temple, the sanctuary, and become a saint (Isa. 57:15). In order to attain to this place, look unto Jesus.

Jesus was with the Father in righteousness and great glory (John 17:5; Dan. 7:10, 14). Yet he left this great glory for the sake of man to redeem man and to lead or show the way to the most holy place. For this purpose Jesus, the King of kings, came into this world in the depths of lowliness, took upon himself the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7, 11) . . . unto the death of the cross. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.” If Jesus left the home of his glory for the sake of mankind in order to open the way for man, how much rather should man for Jesus’ sake leave the throne and glory of this world. Therefore also for Jesus’ sake man must in humility suffer the death of the cross, if by so doing he rises, by the merits of Jesus, out of this world into the sanctuary where, in the name of Jesus, as a child of God he becomes a partaker of the felicity of the everlasting kingdom. The pillar of Lucifer, the self-exaltation of man, must be laid down and humbled. If a man does not do this in due time, the Lord will do it when it will be an evil day for man, on the deathbed or at the last day when all the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of man shall be bowed down (Isa. 2: 11, 20; 5: 15), when the temples of Lucifer with all their pomp, will be swallowed up in hell. Therefore man should withdraw from the pride of this world, and fit himself for the temple and tabernacle of Jesus, and enter in, that he may through Christ be preserved from such calamity.

The temple was built upon Mount Moriah, and the foundation was laid upon the rock, as may readily be believed, and as the writers also state, and the ark and the tabernacle were also brought there (2 Chron. 6:5, 8). It is believed that Abraham offered up his son upon this mount and rock (Gen. 22:2). Upon this mount also the angel appeared unto David, and David built there upon the threshing-floor of Oman an altar unto the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and the Lord was reconciled.

This mount and rock prefigured Jesus, and was fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus Christ is the spiritual Rock upon which the temple, the church, is built by the Holy Ghost (Acts 2) ; for Jesus is the great Stone which came down from above without (human) hands (Dan. 2:35, 45). This is the Foundation-Stone of which Isaiah speaks (28: 16): “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste.” This is the living Stone, disallowed of men, but chosen of God, and precious (1 Pet. 2: 4). Upon this precious Stone are built the spiritual house, and the holy priesthood, the holy nation, the peculiar people, the people of God that is saved by grace. Thus Jesus is the fulfillment the spiritual Mountain and spiritual Stone upon which the house of God, the church of Jesus Christ is built in the last days (Isa. 2:2; Mic. 4:1). The house of God therefore has a living, precious foundation, before which all things must flee, in heaven and on earth (Rev. 20: 11). Remember that the name of the Lord is a strong tower, upon which man is built and incorporated into the house of God in baptism (1 Cor. 12:12, 13; Gal. 3:26, 27, 28; Matt. 28:19; Acts 2: 38, 41).

When the temple was built the stones were so prepared that one stone fitted upon and into another, so that no hammers or chisels were heard in building (1 Kings 6:5). It is recorded that in building, one stone was found which did not fit, so the builders had thrown it aside into the refuse, stumbling over it in going back and forth, as David mentions (Psa. 118:22). When they had built the temple . . . sixty cubits long by forty cubits wide, .until they had reached the top corner or gable or head, they had no keystone to close or finish the wall, nor could they cut and fit one, do what they would. Then they remembered the stone which they had rejected, and which was lying in their way in the dust. They brought it up, and it filled the place and space exactly, so that it became the uppermost corner-, top-, key-, or chief-stone. This stone represents Christ, and was a type or shadow of Jesus, in its place at the top or pinnacle of the temple: for Jesus is the chief Head of the spiritual temple, his bride, his church (John 3: 29, 31; 1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:23). For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ also is the head of the church, and he is the Savior of the body.

Thus Jesus is the foundation and the head of the temple, his bride and church, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the First and the Last (Rev. 22: 13), and he will preserve his own in his sanctuary, as the apple of his eye, so that the gates of hell may not prevail against them from below, nor storms, floods, rain and hail, from above, such as crosses, tribulations, persecution and death, destroy them, for Jesus is the Head, and Corner-Stone of the church: he will protect them so that when they pass through the waters of tribulation they shall not be overwhelmed, and when they pass through the fire of persecution they shall not be consumed (Isa. 43:2). Yea, he will be to them a wall of fire round about them (Zech. 2:5): for the very hairs on the heads of his own are numbered (Matt, 10: 29, 31); not even a sparrow falls to the ground unnoticed or without the Father’s will, and how much better are the believers in Christ than many sparrows, if not a hair of their heads shall fall to the ground without the Father’s will. And if God does permit the hair with body and life of the faithful to fall to the ground by torture and death, they are in the tabernacle in the church of Jesus Christ and pass, by martyrdom and death from the tabernacle by their own blood into the holy of holies, into heaven. They are followers of Christ, and shall come unto the holy martyrs, to the heavenly hosts, before the throne of God into the tabernacle of the church eternal, and from their eyes shall be wiped all the tears that have been shed for the sake of Jesus and his testimony. There will be no sorrow there, but everlasting joy forever and ever with all those who have built upon Jesus and lived and walked pleasing to God. Let us look a little farther and see upon what we are to build, for Jesus has gone to heaven.

Jesus asked: “Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said, Blessed art thou, Simon, Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father . . . And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter; and upon this Rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16: 13-18). Peter must not be looked upon as the rock upon which Jesus will build his church, but the confession which Peter made: “Thou art Christ the Son of the living God”, must be so considered. That is the Mount, the Foundation, the Rock, upon which the believers are to build, and in the confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, and in this name, upon the foundation of the confession that Jesus is the Son of God, be baptized (Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38, 41; 8:37; 10: 48). Man’s salvation is in Jesus Christ, and by faith in his name obtains salvation. See John 3: 14, 16, 18, 36). “He that believeth on the Son hath life.” “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

Therefore we are to firmly believe that by the body and blood, death and resurrection of Jesus, the salvation of man has been wrought, and build upon this foundation — that Jesus is the Son of God — with living, penitent, God-pleasing life and conversation, and with body and soul entirely surrender to God. Then will man be preserved under the foundation-stone in his name (John 17:11, 12). If we have Jesus for our foundation and head we are of his body, in his church, in his tabernacle and temple, in the hand of the Father and the Son (John 10:28, 29). There the gates of hell shall not prevail against any one.

Thus far on the subject of the figurative tabernacle and temple, and of the fulfillment of the spiritual tabernacle of Jesus by Christ, written for his church to the glory of God and the benefit of man. May God add his blessing. Amen.

CHAPTER 11
The Office of the Priesthood, of the Sacrifices in the Temple, as Fulfilled by Jesus

For the figurative tabernacle built by Moses according to divine command, God chose a high priest, namely Aaron, Moses’ brother, from the tribe of Levi (Ex. 4:14). This Aaron, together with his sons, was called to the priesthood (Ex. 28:1), and was arrayed, anointed and consecrated with sacrifices, and washed with water (Ex. 29:1-37). So Aaron became high priest in the tabernacle as God had commanded, and there was no one beside him in ministering unto God. After Aaron the office fell upon his sons, for Aaron was mortal like all men, even as the figurative tabernacle was temporal and perishable, as were all the sacrifices which served their purpose until Jesus, when they were fulfilled in Jesus, and by fulfillment were brought to an end (Rom. 10:4; Heb. 7:2, 18).

Jesus came and fulfilled the figure of the tabernacle and all that belonged thereto as well as the law, and by the fulfillment prepared and erected for himself a tabernacle, a temple or church by the Holy Spirit, as already shown. This tabernacle is called Jesus’ house (Heb. 3:6), that is, a larger, more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, which God has pitched, and not man (Heb. 8:2; 9:11) — the holy city, new Jerusalem, which John saw coming down from God, out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, . . . the tabernacle of God with men, “and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Rev. 21:2, 3). And since this tabernacle is prepared by God, a more perfect tabernacle, which shall remain forever, a house of God (2 Cor. 6:16), and since the church of Jesus Christ is a perfect spiritual tabernacle and a house of God, which is eternal, it must also have a High Priest that will remain forever.

The Lord Jesus Christ is chosen and called to be an everlasting High Priest, after the order of Melchizedek (Psa. 110:1-4), and no man can deprive Jesus of his honor, neither can any man be a High Priest beside him or be like him, and since Jesus is immortal and without end of life (Heb. 7:3, 17), no other can ever assume the office of Governor and High Priest, for the requirements of the office of High Priest are so perfectly fulfilled in the person of Jesus that no other can be found like him or be able to fill his office. Jesus has been eminently consecrated to the office of High Priest.

In the first place Jesus is the Son of God (Psa. 2:7). “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). Thus Jesus is far more than the angels, or than any one angel. Aaron and his sons were made priests without an oath, but Jesus was more effectively installed (Heb. 7:20, 21). When God desired more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, he confirmed it with an oath (Heb. 6:17), for “the Lord has sworn and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 7: 21). So Jesus was confirmed in the priesthood with an oath, and it is impossible for God to lie.

It has already been briefly shown how Aaron, the high priest, had to be consecrated by Moses (Ex. 29:1-37). All these were antitypes and were fulfilled in Jesus. Aaron had to be washed by Moses for consecration. Jesus was baptized with water by the greatest of all the prophets, John the Baptist, for the fulfillment (or putting on) of all righteousness (Matt. 3:15, 16). Aaron was clothed by Moses with a costly raiment, which raiment I shall not undertake to describe piece by piece in Jesus, for Jesus is clothed so much more gloriously by God his Father. Aaron’s raiment was of costly figurative material; Jesus’ garment is of such precious spiritual materials that the glory of this high priestly garment as worn by him on earth cannot be adequately described, much less can the glory of that be described which he wears now as a High Priest upon the throne of his Father (Dan. 7:9; Rev. 1:13, 16, 19; 11:16).

Let us note briefly Jesus’ raiment. His natural coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout (John 19:23). This coat was typical of his spiritual coat woven out of all the various divine virtues of the spiritual life of righteousness of whatever names, and comes from above from God, in which the Father and Son work (John 5:7). This garment, made out of the fine linen of righteousness (John 19:8), is worn by the King, whose name is RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jer. 23:6).

When Aaron was clothed, Moses poured ointment upon his head and anointed him. Jesus was anointed by God as God (Psa. 45:7, 8, 9; Matt. 3:16). The Spirit of God descended upon Jesus, and with this glorious garment and anointing Jesus went forth among the people, to show mankind that he, the Son of God, was the anointed High Priest of whom the men of God had spoken and written, and withal showed the people the glory of his raiment and his anointing by performing all kinds of benevolent deeds for men by the working of the Holy Spirit from above throughout; one and indivisible, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (John 14:10, 11). “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me.”

Aaron’s raiment from body to head contained many costly parts, one fastened to the other. This signifies the many divine graces of Jesus Christ, the Father and the Holy Spirit, one united to the other, with which Jesus, our High Priest, is clothed and adorned, for the glory of God and the good of men. I shall let the lover of divine things read these matters, regarding Aaron’s raiment, for himself, in Ex. 28. If he desires to meditate upon its spiritual significations, he will find them the same as pointed out above, namely, that it is fulfilled in Jesus, the High Priest. •

Aaron and his sons, moreover, had to be consecrated to the office of the perpetual priesthood with sacrifices (Ex. 29:10-35). After this they could minister in the service of the Lord. These sacrifices had to be made with a bullock, two rams, and unleavened wheat bread mixed with oil, and unleavened wheat wafers anointed with oil. Jesus was consecrated with the sacrifice of his own body and blood, which was merely typified in the sacrifices by Moses, for Aaron and his sons, and which has been fulfilled in Christ’s sacrifice.

Jesus was confirmed by God as a spiritual High Priest forever in the spiritual, perfect tabernacle of God; therefore he made such an offering for a perfect consecration. The sacrifices of Aaron and his sons were perishable; the tabernacle and the priesthood likewise were temporal. But the offering by Jesus of his body and blood is a spiritual, eternal power which came out of heaven from the Father (Luke 1:3; Matt. 1:18, 20; John 1:1, 2, 14). And by this offering which came from heaven as Spirit, power and word, and was made flesh, Jesus was fully consecrated in the offering of his body on the cross, when he had been made a little lower than the angels (Heb. 2:7, 8), but was crowned by God with glory and honor as a King and High Priest and placed over all the works of his hands, all things having been placed under him, so that he became a perfect High Priest before God in the tabernacle, and by his offering all things were reconciled unto himself, both of things in heaven and on earth, and so making peace by the blood of his cross by himself (Col. 1:20). So effectually was Jesus consecrated and inducted into the office of High Priest that it cannot be described, and by which the Aaronic office of high priest is perfectly fulfilled, so that henceforth the believer in the tabernacle of God shall acknowledge no high priest, no advocate, no savior, no redeemer but Jesus alone, the Head, High Priest, Savior, Advocate and Reconciler with the Father. Unto this High Priest, Jesus, belongs all honor alone.

Regarding the many sacrifices which were fulfilled by Christ, let it be noted that Aaron the high priest had to go once every year into the holy of holies with the blood of a bullock and of a ram, and with incense, and make an offering for himself and the people, and thereby make atonement (Lev. 16: 2-16). This offering had to be made by Aaron in the holy of holies, and with this offering of blood he also had to make atonement upon the altar before the vail in the sanctuary. All this is fulfilled in Jesus. He entered once into the holy of holies with the offering of his body and blood, there to appear in the presence of God for us (Heb. 9:24), and with this his one offering, he fulfilled the sacrifices of Aaron and brought them to an end. This one offering availed not for one year only, but forever, so that henceforth there is to be no more offering of bullocks and rams.

Aaron also had to go daily into the inner court of the tabernacle and burn sweet incense upon the altar before the mercy seat and dress and light the lamps (Ex. 30: 6, 8). This also is fulfilled in Jesus. He brought incense once before and in his suffering to the mercy seat of God to the honor of God and in prayer to God for his church, his apostles (John 17:1-26); “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23: 34). “Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit. And having said this, he gave up the ghost” (Luke 23:46).

In this his offering Jesus brought before his Father a precious incense upon the altar before the mercy seat, the like of which in its perfectness has never been brought, and it is for all those who come unto him in his tabernacle in penitent faith, whether they have hitherto been friends or foes. Thus the offering of the high priest Aaron has been fulfilled by the High Priest Jesus, and avails forever.

Aaron had to light the lamps daily. Jesus Christ, the everlasting High Priest, who is the true Light (John 1:9), came into the world. “I am the Light of the world” (John 8:12). He came, kindled himself, and in life, and walk, and in a light that was pleasing to God, walked before men — in the light, that all who come unto him may have the light of life in his tabernacle, that they may see how to walk and do the works of God, that they may not wander in darkness and error in the tabernacle of God, but that they may have the light of life which shines forever, and which was brought into fulfillment by Jesus.

God also commanded numerous offerings to be made (Lev. Chaps. 1 to 10).

The sons of Aaron, who were consecrated for this service, were to perform it for the people in general, upon the altar of burnt offerings (Lev. 1:7, 11; 2:2-5). This service the sons of Aaron performed according to the command of God, as a sweet smelling savor unto the Lord and for atonement for sin, with various offerings, but with all these they could never ‘‘make the comers thereunto perfect” (Heb. 9:9; 10:1, 4). “For it is not possible that the blood of bullocks and of goats should take away sin.” They were but a reminder of sin, and a memorial of the savor and atonement for sin by Christ.

Jesus came to fulfill all these offerings, which had been sincerely offered in a figurative way according to the law and the will of God, in this that Jesus took upon himself all the grief, sickness, and sufferings, pain, sorrows and afflictions of sin (Isa. 53:4, 5), and offered up our sins in his body upon the tree (1 Pet. 2:24), that we might be free from sin. And in this fragrant savor and atonement offering of Jesus the sacrifices of the law attained their perfect fragrance and power of reconciliation, for sin was paid for by the offering of Jesus. “I restored that which I took not away” (Psa. 69:4) Thus the figurative offerings of the law were perfectly fulfilled and brought to an end by Jesus, so that the believer need not observe a single one of them, but simply look upon the sacrifice of Jesus, and they are consecrated as sons and daughters to be kings and priests unto God, to present their own bodies and blood as a sacrifice unto God (Rom. 12:1), and prepare themselves therefore with sincere true hearts as a male without blemish in righteousness and holiness, with all their powers. Such offerings will then by the sacrifice of Jesus appear in all their perfection and in full reconciliation before the throne of God and come unto Jesus in the everlasting kingdom, and there in perfect fragrance and praise of the offering which was confirmed by Jesus, praise, honor, and glorify God with all the followers of Jesus in the everlasting kingdom forever and ever (Rev. 7:12).

CHAPTER 12
The High-Priestly Office of Jesus and His Followers

Jesus Christ is King of Salem, the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of peace, and is there installed by God as a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, in his temple or church, and no man can deprive him of the honor, as has already been stated.

The figurative office of the priesthood provided that Aaron was above all the other priests and Levites, that he, Aaron, was to take the offering for the reconciliation for himself and all the people into the holy of holies, clad in gorgeous, fine, priestly array, upon which priestly robes were two girdles, one about the waist on the outer robe, and one about the hips on the under garment (Ex. 28:8, 23).

Aaron also had to wear two onyx stones on the shoulders of his ephod, upon which were engraved the names of the twelve children or tribes of Israel (verses 9-12). Aaron was also commanded to wear a breastplate, upon which were engraved, upon four rows each of three precious stones fitted upon the breastplate, the names of the children of Israel: twelve, according to their names — and this plate had to be worn upon the heart under the ephod, and in the breastplate of judgment were put the Urim and Thummim. This had to be upon Aaron’s heart when he went in before the Lord (verse 30). He was also to wear a plate of pure gold for a frontlet upon the mitre. Upon this plate were graven the words: “HOLINESS TO THE LORD.” Aaron had to wear this when performing the duties of his office in the sanctuary.

Aaron and the priests also had the law at their command, to teach the people to serve God. Moreover, Aaron and the priests had to pass judgment, especially in cases involving uncleanness and leprosy, and to declare them clean or unclean according as uncleanness became apparent (Lev. 13:14).

All these were shadows and types of the spiritual High Priesthood, and Jesus is the fulfillment of them all. I shall not as yet undertake to describe or explain the spiritual significance of Aaron’s priestly robes piece by piece, or the office part by part, in their fulfillment by Jesus, because of its indescribable glory, as mentioned in Chapter 11. Nevertheless we might take this opportunity to point out a few of them in connection with Christ’s office.

Jesus is a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Psa. 110; Heb. 7). Of this office there might be something said here, but of the exalted reverence of his Person according to his deeds it is impossible to write, just as it is impossible for me to describe the raiment of his glory; or if it were possible to describe it, it would be impossible for the natural man to comprehend, when reading or hearing it.

In the fullness of time Jesus appeared among the Jews as a Priest in his spiritual office and in his gloriously spiritual raiment (as indicated before), and offered the shoulders of his body to bear the two onyx stones upon which were written the twelve names of the children of Israel. Consider these, however, as meaning the two tables of stone upon which God wrote the law to the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus took upon himself this law which had been given his people by God. Jesus put himself under the law to bear it, that he might redeem those that were under the law (Gal. 4:4, 5). But he took upon himself not only the tables of the law, but also the infirmities, the grief, the sorrows and transgressions and iniquities of the law (Isa. 53:4, 5, 6). All this he did in his righteousness; for he girded his loins with righteousness (Isa. 11:5), even as the priests girded themselves when they prepared to minister unto God in the sanctuary, and so Jesus, under the yoke of the law and of sin, disallowed showed himself a faithful and true High Priest; for faithfulness and truth were the girdle of his reins (or hips, — Froschauer’s translation).

Consider also in Jesus the breastplate in which the twelve names of the children of Israel were engraved. It was square, as long as broad, and upon it was the Urim and Thummim, or light and righteousness (Ex. 28:15-30), which Aaron had to bear upon his heart into the sanctuary. But Jesus bears this frontlet spiritually upon his heart in heaven. Understand, however, in this latter case the twelve names of the tribes of Israel upon the breastplate to mean the spiritual children of Abraham, the believers in Christ Jesus out of all nations, the bride and church of Christ, the holy Jerusalem come down from God, which bears the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev. 21:12). The precious breastplate upon the high priests breast prefigured these, but in Jesus we find the perfect fulfillment, in the heart of his church, where are found Light and Righteousness.

Thus did Jesus reveal himself in his office of High Priest, and came in his spiritual, glorious high priestly robes to fill his spiritual High Priest’s office, to which he had been ordained from everlasting, to offer up a holy sacrifice and bear the blood of atonement into the sanctuary before the mercy seat of God and his testimony. On this account he preached of the kingdom of God, and that he was the promised Christ, the Son of God. In order to prove that Jesus was the true High Priest for the atonement of sin, he performed all manner of miracles among the Jewish race, forgave sin, as may be abundantly seen in his gospel. But the high priests and leaders of the Jews did not recognize this exalted, divine Person in his divine office and divine robes of his glory, and because they were carnal they could not see the spiritually golden frontlet, the holy crown in which was the writing: “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” (Ex. 28:36; 39:30), upon the brow of the King of kings, and High Priest of priests. But because Jesus in his work, words, life and ways, revealed himself as such, the figurative priests and many of the Jews hated, envied, despised and reviled Jesus in and because of his works, calling him a Samaritan and a devil, as is shown in the gospel. But in all this Jesus remained faithful and steadfast in his office, and under all this reproach he earnestly prepared himself in Spirit to make his offering for the sins of the people, and to be a perfect High Priest forever. In spite of all this, the Jews seized him, and how he fared can be read Matt. 26: 47; Mark 14:15; Luke 22:23; John 18:18. They arrested him in the garden of Gethsemane, bound him, brought him into the hall of the high priest Caiaphas, where they brought false accusations against Jesus, spit in his face, struck him in the face, covered his face and struck him and mockingly said: “Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, who is he that smote thee?” From thence they brought him into the judgment hall of Pilate and accused him, but with false accusations. Jesus was next brought before Herod, as a lamb before the slaughter. Here he was asked many questions, but Jesus was silent as a lamb, and did not answer. Then he was mocked, for they put upon him a robe, such as the priest wore, but Jesus had to bear the mockery. From thence they again brought Jesus to Pilate, where they scourged him, until the blood flowed down in wales as in furrows, as David had prophesied (Psa. 129:3). Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered the whole band of soldiers, and stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it upon his head and a reed in his right hand, and bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying: “Hail, king of the Jews!” Then they spit upon him and took the reed and struck him on the head, so that no doubt the blows caused the thorns to penetrate the scalp, so that the blood trickled down. After they had mocked him, they put his own garments on him again and led him away to crucify him. And he, bearing his cross, went out to a place called Golgotha, where they crucified him, and two malefactors with him, one on the right and the other on the left. There they stretched out Jesus, until all his bones could be counted, and pierced his hands and his feet (Psa. 22:17, 18). There the body of the Lamb, Jesus — his skin and flesh, from his head to his feet — was broken. As the whole body of the passover lamb, the “head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof,” had to be used at the passover offering, much more the true, perfect Lamb, Jesus, had to be wholly used in his sacrifice for a perfect atonement for the whole human race, and his blood was shed, and flowed down his limbs to the earth as a ransom for the sin of the whole human race, from Adam and Eve, and, moreover, for the actual sins of all men, of those who in true, living faith come to Jesus. And when Jesus, the High Priest, had completed his sacrifice, he cried out and said: “Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit.” Thus he gave up the ghost and entered with the offering of his own blood into the holy place, and obtained eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12). And in testimony that the way to salvation in the holy place was again open by Jesus’ offering, and that there is entrance before us to the holy place, the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, so that now every believer can follow Jesus into the holy place.

Further, in testimony that by the offering of Christ, Satan’s head had been bruised and his power taken from him and weakened, the earth quaked or trembled, and the kingdom of Satan was in violent commotion, so that the rocks were rent to show that the bonds of Satan in which Adam and Eve were bound in sin, and which no other being could loosen, were opened by the offering of Jesus. The graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of their graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many, as an evidence that by the offering of Jesus those who in faith hoped for and trusted Jesus (Psa. 22:5) had, by the blood of Jesus, been delivered out of the pit in which there was no water, that is, where they had no sorrow or pain (Zech. 9:11).

Thus by the sacrifice of Christ the prisoners of the mighty were loosened, and the prey of the terrible was delivered (Isa. 49:25). Thus also by the sacrifice of the Lamb the sealed book which no man in heaven or on earth could open, was opened by Jesus in his sacrifice (Rev. 5:1-5), by which he reconciled all things to himself, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, so making peace through the blood of his cross (Col. 1:20).

By his sacrifice Jesus also destroyed the law of sin, which lay so heavily upon him and caused so much pain, and made an end of it by his death. “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth” (Rom. 10:4). With his sacrifice Jesus also, at enormous cost, purchased his bride, his church, from the law of sin, and by the offering of his blood he sprinkled, sealed and so established forever his comforting gospel, the new testament, that it will be easier for heaven and earth to pass away (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19; 1 Cor. 7:23). “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away” (Luke 21:33). In short: It is to be taken as truth, whoever can comprehend it, that all sincere offerings made according to the word and will of God from Abel to Christ, of whatever kind or name, are fulfilled by the offering of Jesus Christ, the perfect High Priest, and have accomplished the purpose of reconciliation by the offering of Jesus, and moreover, that all sacrifices now made by believers in Jesus, of life and blood surrendered to Jesus and offered up for the sake of Jesus and his word, or that they would rather sacrifice their lives than forsake Jesus and his word, have full power or authority through the offering of Jesus to enter the eternal kingdom. Of this sacrifice more will be seen in the proper place.

Let every sympathetic, kindly disposed reader consider well what an immeasurably exalted Person Jesus is. (Isa. 40:10, 12; 41:4.) Jesus is the Mighty God, and Everlasting Father (Isa. 9:6); a stone and a kingdom that fills all the earth (Dan. 2:35-44). So indescribable is the Person of Christ. He is also an indescribable King of kings, an indescribable High Priest, and just as indescribable are his office and the robes of his office of the High Priesthood, his offering which he bore into the most holy place, and the joy which he brought about by it, and an indescribably great number of souls have been brought from death unto life from the beginning of the world, and will be to his second coming at the end of the world. He has also purchased with his blood an indescribable church, tabernacle and temple upon earth and in heaven, which shall remain forever. In this everlasting temple Jesus is the everlasting High Priest. All this Jesus accomplished by the offering of his body and blood, by his suffering, death and resurrection; therefore every soul should draw nigh to Jesus in true, living and acting faith, and surrender body and soul to him, that he may have this glorious, highest High Priest here in time and hereafter in eternity.

Jesus, then, is the true High Priest and Propitiator of mankind. First he made propitiation for the sin of Adam and Eve, so that man has no longer to bear the sins of the father (Ezek. 18:20; 31:30). So then since through Jesus, the first born, that is, the sin of Adam and Eve, was put to death, God also gave him the first born which was originally born of God, and which died through the sin of Adam, but by the offering of Jesus was born again and brought to life. All these the Lord chose for him for the first-fruits of his possession, after he had redeemed them with his own blood. Thus, when a human being is born into the natural world, he does not bring with him the sins of his father to hang over him or his soul, as shown by the above passage in Ezekiel, but man brings with him a precious soul, purchased and redeemed by the blood of Jesus, and thereby is a first-fruit, of which the first born mentioned in Ex. 13 was a type, as shown in Chapter 6 of this book. And so long as man continues in his childhood in his first born state of soul in Christ, he is a child of God and an heir of the kingdom of God, and needs nothing of man to improve or assure his saved condition, because he has been redeemed with the best of all — the blood of Jesus, neither can any man take from him this salvation wrought by Jesus (see Matt. 18:3, 4; 19:13,15; Mark 10:13,16; Luke 18:15,17). “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” “And he took them into his arms and blessed them.” Where Jesus opens, no man can shut; and where he shuts, no man can open (Rev. 3:7). Likewise no one has power to give this life to the firstlings of God, for it is already given them by Jesus; neither has any one power to take it away from them; for the Lord, from whom they have this life, carries them as lambs in his bosom (Isa. 40:11).

Thus Jesus is the High Priest, Redeemer, Preserver of the firstlings of God, and all efforts made by man to bestow salvation upon them is misspent effort, for Jesus has done enough for them; and whosoever receives a child in the name of Jesus, receives Jesus (Matt. 18:5). If then a person receives a child in this name — as one that is redeemed by Jesus, receives Jesus as the Savior and Redeemer.

Dear reader, consider this matter well. Jesus did not promise children the kingdom of God in vain. He wrought it for them and redeemed them with his blood, by virtue of which he also recognizes them as his possession and heirs of his kingdom, and he preserves in his High Priestly office of reconciliation those in whom he has accomplished the first birth (Ex. 13:2).

When man grows up from infancy to the age of intelligent speech, desire is universally found in him, and out of these desires are born sin and death (Jas. 1:14, 15), through which man departs from redemption and the sonship of God and falls into the kingdom of sin and spiritual death, by his own actual sin, out of which man can never help or save himself. “A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven” (John 3: 27). But the High Priest sits in the throne of his glory, robed in his glorious priestly raiment and official capacity, with the breastplate of the new testament full of light, love and righteousness upon his robes, in his heart; in which he in the spirit of his wisdom speaks from heaven through his ministers (2 Cor. 5:20), and admonishes the fallen sinner through the gospel to come unto him and be reconciled to God, not according to the Mosaic law, with the offering of bulls and of rams and the like, but with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, with which God is well pleased (Psa. 51:19). In this condition shall a man come to the High Priest Jesus, in living faith, in penitence and amendment of life, in the putting away of the works of sin, and the putting on of righteousness; in short, Jesus is authorized to forgive, and is the only High Priest in and by whom alone man can be reconciled to God. If man comes to Jesus in this manner, Jesus is the merciful High Priest who longs for such souls (Matt. 11:28), that he may relieve them of their load of sins, and put upon them for his service the easy yoke of love, and receive them as Levites and priests for the first born (Num. 3:12), for service in the sanctuary of the temple of his church, of which Jesus is the High Priest, and his believers, as sons and priests, are initiated into the service of God, to work according to the commands of the gospel, and according to the law as fulfilled by Christ, which is one and the same. In this work the believers in the house of God have a Leader, Jesus, the faithful High Priest, who sitteth upon the throne of his majesty in heaven, who guards the holy possessions and the true tabernacle which God has set up, and not man (Heb. 9:1, 2). This High Priest, whose heart is full of love and power, desires to care and provide for all his believers, his sons, his priests in the house, with the best portions for the priestly office. He will make a new covenant with them: “I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people” (Heb. 8:8-10). He will clothe them with the most glorious and best robes (Ezek. 16:10-13; Luke 15:22; Rev. 19:8; Psa. 45:10-15). This house of the High Priest, his believers, his sons, his priests, are the High Priest’s bride, body and church (Psa. 45:10; Ezek. 16:8; John 3: 29; Rev. 21:9; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5: 23, 37). Such sons and daughters, Levites and priests, the High Priest will provide with his Spirit, that they may offer up holy offerings of love. “I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace, and of supplications” (Zech. 12:10). “The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. . . . For God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23, 24). To such offerings of prayer the gospel makes many appealing references that they be made in the name of Jesus, that by the High Priest they may reach God, and by the sacrifice of Jesus have full efficacy.

Inasmuch as man, in this tabernacle of flesh and blood, is encompassed by many weaknesses, so that there are many mistakes made in the service of God, and because of weakness or indifference not enough is done, the believers have a High Priest in the house of God who can have compassion for the weakness of believers, forasmuch as he also was tempted in all points, yet without sin (Heb. 5:2, 3). “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help for the hour of need” (Heb. 4:16); for Jesus is the faithful High Priest. He prays for his own (John 17; Heb. 7:25). “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1, 2). Such a great High Priest is Jesus, that all men who come to him in true faith, penitence and amendment of life, can by him and his offering, come to God.

Aaron and his sons, in their priestly office, had charge of Israel, to discover or perceive lepers, those who were clean or unclean, separate them from the camp, and after restoration or cure, to receive them again (Lev. 13:14).

Jesus, however, in his office of High Priest, is far more perfect, because he sees not only the outward uncleanness of the leprosy of sin upon the body of man, but also discerns the hidden uncleanness of the heart (Mark 7: 20, 23). Whenever such uncleanness begins in the house of God among the believers, Jesus, who seeth in secret (Matt. 6:4), gives warning through the gospel, to cleanse one’s self from such uncleanness of heart. If such warning is heeded, and the person in question by the grace of God sets to work to cleanse himself of the uncleanness of heart, with contrite, penitent heart, the High Priest, Jesus, sees it at once, and recognizes him again as clean, forgives him his sin, reconciles him with his Father, and retains him in the house of the spiritual commonwealth of Israel. But if the individual in question makes no amendment, but continues in his evil thoughts, he is separated in his evil thoughts from the spiritual gifts, so that faith, love and the peace of God are no longer active in him. If he then sees and realizes that his heart is so polluted and corrupted by sin that the divine attributes, such as faith, love and peace, and all the accompanying elements are no longer active in him, and that he is in danger of expulsion by the High Priest, and he is alarmed and amends his ways by a contrite and repentant heart, Jesus the High Priest is so tenderly susceptible in his perception that he notices it at once, and on account of the individual’s penitence, will not thrust him out of his kingdom, but will much rather forgive him and reconcile him with the Father. If, however, a man will not repent of the wickedness of his heart, the evil thoughts will find space and place to take root in him so that they will pollute everything and break out like malignant ulcers or leprosy, full of sin and wickedness, which had its beginning in Cain (Gen. 4:5, 8), and its fulfillment in Judas. Of this leprosy, wickedness and sin, which have no place in the family and kingdom of God, the scripture makes mention in Gal. 5:19-21; Rom. 1: 21-32; Rom. 2:5, 8, 9; Rev. 21:8; 22:15; 1 Cor. 5:11.

Observe then that where such leprosy of gross sins is seen in men by the all-seeing eye of God, without true repentance, they are, as mentioned above, shut out from the High Priest Jesus, out of his house and kingdom by the holy scriptures. Nevertheless if by the grace of God the leper in sin can realize and become conscious of his leprosy of sin in this temporal life, and that because of this he is shut out of the camp of God, and with king Manasseh comes to himself, and in sincere sorrow and penitence for his many sins comes to God with prayers and sighs, and with the prodigal son turns about, forsakes the herd of swine, which are the many sins and iniquities he has committed (Luke 15), and in faith turns to Jesus in repentance and in amendment of life to the Father, the offering of the body and blood of the High Priest Jesus with which he entered into the holy place, is so efficacious that it will fully atone for the actual sins of the penitent, so that he is again in mercy received by the Father as a son, and at the command of the Father is clothed with the best robe of righteousness, so that the Father with his household, that is, the angels, rejoices (Luke 15:10, 22, 23). But if a man in the conceit and wickedness of his heart will accept no mercy unto repentance through the word of the gospel by Jesus and his ministers, he, according to the word of the gospel, remains an outcast, and Jesus remains a High Priest forever, and at the last day he will make a separation between the lepers and those that are clean, between the sheep and the goats, and place the goats on the left hand outside the kingdom of God into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; but the sheep he will place at his right hand in eternal life, where there shall be joy forever and ever. Let us as children and priests of God use all diligence to reach that happy place through Jesus.

The believers in Christ, in the house and temple of the church of Jesus, are, then, children and priests of God (Gal. 3:26; Rev. 1:6). From among these the Lord chose his apostles beforehand , to teach his people (Matt . 10 :1; 28 :19 ), also bishops to feed the church of God which he purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28), and who are to be as householders in the family of God , to teach the gospel as priests and ambassadors in Christ’s stead (2 Cor. 5:20 ), of the kingdom of God unto true faith in Jesus, to the departing from sin, to a humble, penitent life and conversation and the keeping of the commandments.

The sons of Aaron as priests in the tabernacle of God also had to wear holy garments, in which they had been anointed, when they ministered unto the Lord (Ex. 28:1, 2, 42, 43; Ex. 29: 8, 9, 29, 30). The priests also had to be without bodily blemish or weakness (Lev. 21:16, 23). In this manner the priests had to be prepared and equipped faultlessly as regards body and raiment when they were to minister in the figurative tabernacle of God for themselves and for the people, nor were they to bring anything into the sanctuary except that which the Lord commanded. If they did bring anything strange they were punished (Lev. 10:1, 2).

Jesus is the fulfillment of the office of the priesthood, without blemish, adorned with the spiritual priestly robe as indicated before. He also demands that his sons, his priests in his household, which is the spiritual tabernacle and church of Christ, shall be clad in the spiritual priestly robes, which garment consists of faith, truth, righteousness, sincere love to God and neighbor; in short, a holy life and conversation pleasing to God, blameless (1 Tim. 3:2), in which they shall let their light shine (Matt. 5:14, 16), in which they shall teach the gospel of Christ, that in Christ alone salvation must be found, and for which Jesus gave his life and blood as an offering, and truly wrought an everlasting redemption (Heb. 9:12), and that outside of Christ and his sacrifice there is no way of forgiveness of sins unto salvation in the eternal kingdom (John 10:1, 2, 9; 14:4); also that in this High Priest, the crucified, self-abased Christ, his cross and self-humiliation is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:23, 24; 2:2), and that in this divine power and wisdom, true faith, the forgiveness of sins, communion with Christ and the everlasting kingdom are obtained. Jesus wants this new law and new covenant (Heb. 7:12-28) taught in the house of his church, taught by his sons and priests, and he will put it in the minds of the spiritual Israel and Judah, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be his people. “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31: 31-34). Thus shall all Israel in the church of Jesus Christ be taught and have the new covenant spiritually written in their minds and hearts, which covenant is sprinkled with blood. (1) That Jesus is the Son of the only living God (Matt. 16:16). (2) That he is in God and is God forevermore (John 1:1). “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:8, 9). (3) That by Jesus all things have been made. (4) That man must seek and obtain salvation, forgiveness of sins and eternal happiness in Jesus alone, and that aside from Jesus no salvation in the house and church of Israel will stand or avail before God (Lev. 10:1, 2). (5) That Jesus is the resurrection and the first-fruits of the resurrection (Matt. 27:53). (6) That God through Christ will judge the world (Acts 17:31), and (7) that through Jesus every one shall receive his reward according to his earthly life, whether it be good or evil (Matt. 25).

These and like laws and doctrines shall those adhere to and teach in the tabernacle and church of Christ who are set as pillars, ambassadors, shepherds and teachers, that the new members and the weak may be strengthened and edified in the household of Jesus, and that those also who stand in the outer court or in the world and who desire to be saved may, by the teaching of Christ, learn the way to salvation, that those who are yet in the gross world of sin and iniquity may be taught by this doctrine that they must be converted, that they may learn to know Jesus, that they may not in their gross life be made partakers of the most fearful punishment of damnation, but much rather that they may, by learning to know Jesus, inherit the joys of the household of the church and of the everlasting kingdom.

The sons of Aaron, moreover, had to offer many sacrifices for themselves and for the people in the figurative tabernacle.

The sons of Jesus first of all — the pillars, shepherds and teachers which Jesus has chosen, likewise have to offer many sacrifices for themselves and for the people, not figurative offerings as did Aaron’s sons, but spiritual offerings of love. Those who confess the name of the Lord shall with prayer, praise and thanks bring this offering by Christ into the holy place, to God, even as Jesus the High Priest himself did (John 17; Luke 22:41, 45); and as he admonished his disciples to do (Matt. 6:9): “After this manner pray ye.” “Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation” (Matt. 26:41). This the apostles did after the passion of Jesus (Acts 1:14, 24; 4: 24, 32; 6:4). “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” We find many instances where they prayed and praised God for themselves and for the people. It should still be so that the bishops, shepherds and teachers, by the grace of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit, should bring this oblation for themselves and for the people of the church to the throne of God for all the benefits which God in his love by his dear Son Jesus Christ has bestowed upon his people from the beginning to the present time, and for that which God through Christ has prepared for his people in the everlasting kingdom, and further still, for all mankind (inasmuch as all mankind are of one flesh in Adam, and yet know so little of God), that God would have mercy on all, so that many might yet be brought out of darkness into his marvelous light, that they might learn to know Jesus and by him be saved. These and like oblations, of love, with praise, thanksgiving and prayer to God, shall the bishops, shepherds and teachers in the temple of the church of Jesus Christ offer upon the altar of incense before the mercy-seat of God.

All members in the temple of the church of God are spiritual Levites, washed of their sins in Jesus’ blood and made kings and priests unto God and his Father (Rev. 1:5, 6). It is therefore proper that they bring all their offerings of love, according to their gifts and abilities, unto God upon the altar of incense daily, as Jesus teaches (Luke 18) that men ought always to pray and (Rom. 12:12) “continuing instant in prayer and (1 Thess. 5:7, 11) “pray without ceasing.” The early Christian church did this (Acts 2:42). “But prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him” (Acts 12:5). Paul also writes (Eph. 6:18): “Pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints, and for me.” Such offerings the believers in the temple of the church of Jesus Christ shall bring one for another to God upon the altar of incense, for the temple of God is a house of prayer (Isa. 56:7).

The Levites had no portion of the land allotted to them for an inheritance. “They shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and his inheritance” (Deut. 18:1, 2).

This signifies (1) that the spiritual Levites and priests in the household of the church of Jesus have no real territorial inheritance which they can claim, or for which they can fight, as Israel fought for his inheritance against his enemies, but that they shall deny and forsake everything for Jesus’ sake, as Jesus teaches (Matt. 10:37; 19:27, 28). “Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, but he shall receive an hundredfold, now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29, 30).

Therefore for Jesus’ sake the believers are to forsake all these things just mentioned in times of tribulation every day and hold fast to Jesus and his gospel. But inasmuch as “the earth, and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein” is the Lord’s (Psa. 24:1), and the Lord gives it for a possession to whom he will, also to his people, the believers have the liberty to possess the land in quiet and peaceful times of freedom as a gift of God, and to receive it an hundredfold, and as householders or stewards to have charge of it and maintain themselves by it, yet possess it in patience and tranquility, as Paul writes: Let “both they that have wives be as though they had none; and they that weep, as if they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world as not abusing it; for the fashion of this world passeth away” (1 Cor. 7 :29-31). The believers are not to set their hearts on perishable things, that they will not abuse time by a proud, foolish, carnal life, in gluttony and drunkenness, in avarice and penuriousness, hoarding this world’s goods as a treasure, for which thieves dig through to steal. In short, love for Jesus, for his gospel, for his church, should, according to the rights of the gospel, be at all times greater than the love for perishable things, so that for Jesus’ sake and his gospel’s the perishable things can at all times be given up for Jesus and the doctrine of his gospel. And inasmuch as the believers hold these perishable things as an offering, a gift or present from God, and possess it only as strangers and pilgrims — though one may have more than another, according to the parable in Matt. 25:14, etc. — therefore those who have much shall apply it as they have received it, namely as an offering, gift and present, in the temple of the church of Christ, so that the whole body, one from another, may receive help and sustenance, each one according to his station, whether it be an upper or prominent, or lower or humble member. This they did in the temple of the church of Christ when it was founded (Acts 2:45). They sold their property and their goods, and divided the proceeds among them all, according to their individual needs, and when some were overlooked in the daily ministrations, the apostles appointed seven discreet and spiritually minded men to attend to this matter, so that the poor widows and orphans might not be overlooked, but that they might all be cared for as members of one body. Now, if such men are to care for the poor in the church, contributions or offerings must be made for them. Moses could not build the tabernacle himself, or with his own means, but the people made voluntary contributions for the purpose (Ex. 25:1-3). In the church of Christ likewise each one is to contribute an offering, gift, and present of that with which the Lord has blessed him, as may be read Heb. 13:16, to do kindly acts and to share what you have with others, for such offerings are pleasing to God. Such offerings are commanded in many places by the law and the prophets and by Jesus in the gospel. “Sell what belongs to you and give in charity, make for yourselves purses that will not wear out (an inexhaustible treasure in heaven), for where your treasures are, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12: 33, 34). This is what Joses, surnamed Barnabas, did. He sold a farm that belonged to him, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet (Acts 4: 36, 37). Paul also wrote to the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 16:1): “Concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him Paul further writes in his second letter to the Corinthians (8:1-4): “Brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God, bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; how that, in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power I bear record, yea, and beyond their power, they were willing of themselves; praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.” With reference to the fund for your fellow-Christians, it is quite superfluous for me to say anything to you. I know, of course, your willingness to help, and I am always boasting of it to the Macedonians (Acts 9:12). “Then, the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea. Which they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul” (Acts 11:29, 30).

All such contributions of temporal goods are obligatory upon the part of the believers in the temple of the church of Christ as a gift and present of that with which the Lord has blessed them, so that the members of the church of Christ may live of it as one community. Such offerings are still due to God from the believers, until the Lord Jesus shall come again, that they may then receive the testimony: Come, ye blessed . . . inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For when I was hungry, you gave me food; when I was thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was a stranger, you took me to your homes; when I was naked, you clothed me; when I fell ill, you visited me; when I was in prison, you came to me. . . . Then will the Lord say: What you have done to these my brethren, even the least of them, you have done it unto me (Matt. 25:34-36, 40).

The believers in the temple of the church of Christ have the example of the offering of the body of the High Priest Jesus upon the cross, by which all sincere offerings of the symbols were fulfilled and made efficacious. Hence the members of the body of Jesus, of his church, present their bodies as a sacrifice (Rom. 12:1), by which all their former offerings are fulfilled, whatever they may have been, that they may receive their full portion of the sacrifice of Jesus, so that they may, by the sacrifice of Jesus and their own sacrifice, enter, through many crosses and tribulations, into the everlasting kingdom of God (Acts 14:23), and find and preserve life in the kingdom of God. “He that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it” (Matt. 10:39). Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; John 12:25). For this sacrifice of the body the believers are to prepare themselves to bow in faithful manliness beneath Jesus and his gospel in all obedience, meekness and patience, just as Isaac did to his Father Abraham (Gen. 22), so that they may as defenseless lambs follow the defenseless Lamb Jesus, that they may then, by the meek, defenseless offering, with the meek Lamb obtain one of his many crowns. “On his head were many crowns” (Rev. 19:12). “In the midst of them there was a young man, of a high stature, taller than all the rest, and upon every one of their heads he set crowns. . . . Then said I unto the angel, what young person is it that crowneth them? . . . So he answered and said unto me, It is the Son of God, whom they have confessed in the world” (2 Esdras 2: 42-47).

(Esdras is one of the apocryphal books, from which earlier writers quoted more extensively than is done at the present day. — Tr.)

He is the only High Priest, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who will gloriously adorn the offerings of all the bodies in his temple with the garland of crowns of glory, and instead of the gory body will clothe it with a beautiful white robe. “And white robes were given unto every one of them” (Rev. 6:11). “A great multitude . . . stood before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands” (Rev. 7:9). “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14). Instead of the bodies of the sacrifices in the temple of God being cast out and dishonored by men, they shall stand before the Lamb eternally in great glory and honored service. Instead of these bodies suffering hunger and thirst as they did here when they were offered up, they shall have their hunger satisfied and their thirst quenched with everlasting joy and the blessed life of the Spirit in the presence of the Lamb, so that they shall nevermore hunger and thirst for this temporal life, for they shall be forever satisfied there. And instead of the bodies of these sacrifices having much sorrow and shedding of tears, as they did here, they will be joyfully welcomed by the Lamb, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. In short, the bodies of these sacrifices shall be glorified, so that they will be fashioned like unto the glorified body of Christ. In offering their sacrifice the believers may well rejoice, if they remain steadfast, that they may thereby enter with Jesus the High Priest into the holy of holies, there to enjoy happiness and glory forever and ever.

Jesus spoke to his disciples regarding the sacrifice of the body when he said: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves The brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake; but he that endureth unto the end shall be saved” (Matt. 10:16-21). “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you” (Matt. 24:9). “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15: 20). “They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service”'(John 16:2). Jesus further says to his followers: “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me” (Luke 22:28, 29).

Jesus passed through tribulation, suffering and death into the holy place or heaven, as do also his followers, that they may also eat and drink in his kingdom and sit upon thrones. For this sacrifice of the body his apostles and all his followers, after receiving the Holy Ghost, thoroughly equipped and prepared themselves and fought as valiant soldiers for the name and gospel of Jesus, manfully contending that Jesus is the Christ, that his word is the eternal truth, and that we must enter the kingdom of God through Jesus by faith in his name. The apostles fully realized that they must enter the kingdom of God by way of the cross and suffering, and, because such great glory was promised them, as shown above, they remained steadfast in Christ. In consequence the sacrifice in the temple of the church of Christ soon began. Of those who suffered, Stephen was the first after Christ. He suffered as a meek lamb. “He kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge?’

Thus did Stephen make an offering of his body, and while being stoned he cried to God, saying: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59, 60). After him came James, the brother of John, who was killed with the sword (Acts 12:1, 2), thus making an offering by the shedding of his blood. From that time on the church of Christ was attacked many times with calumny, with persecution, with imprisonment, with torture and martyrdom, as Jesus had foretold them, so that all the apostles received the baptism and the cup of suffering and made their offering as did Christ, by giving their bodies for a sacrifice, as meek, defenseless sheep. The majority of the apostles, together with many bishops and teachers, and an innumerable host of sheep or members of the church of Christ suffered martyrdom under the Emperor Nero in the first persecution, many of them being put to death with the most horrible cruelty, of which a few forms may be mentioned here. One method was to cover the Christians with the skins of tame or wild beasts and throw them to the wild beasts. Another form of cruelty was to crucify them in various ways. A third form was to burn the soles of their feet with fagots or candles, and scourge them with sharp scourges. A fourth form was to pour lard over them and put clothes upon them that were saturated with pitch and resin and then set them on fire to serve as torches for the heathen at night. In these and similar ways the believers were treated. There were ten successive persecutions or feasts, in which a vast number were offered up.

It is manifest that the sacrifices in the figurative tabernacle and temple were innumerable up to the time of the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar, after the temple had stood about 480 years, the temple (if the time has been correctly computed) having been in use for 423 years, six months and ten days, and standing deserted and desolate for seventy years, and then remained 618 years longer. Now, dear reader, consider also the spiritual tabernacle and temple of the church of Christ and the innumerable bodies of believers that were offered therein, especially from the time of Christ, A. D. 34, to the end of the ten persecutions about A. D. 311 — a period of about 288 years. I believe it possible that within this period as many as or more bodies were brought into the temple of Jesus Christ, a number which no man can count, for as many as were taught to believe in Jesus and in the name of Jesus were baptized into his death, put on Christ (Rom. 6:3-5). And all these who had been baptized in the temple of the church of Christ were planted together into the likeness of his death. For the bodies of all those who were sincere in heart were brought into the temple of Jesus as an offering, and for this reason they are to present their bodies as a sacrifice (Rom. 12:1; 1 Pet. 2:20, 21). For in the baptismal entry into the temple of Jesus, the believers pledge themselves to remain steadfast and faithful in Christ Jesus, in the word of his gospel and in the temple of his church and in their own salvation in Jesus and not to depart there from, for the believers overcome and gain the victory by the sacrifice of the body and thereby enter into the kingdom of God (Acts 14:23).

The believers shall surrender their bodies “and the purtenance thereof ” willingly and resignedly in the temple, that they may be counted as sacrifices, and all this so that in times of peace and liberty they may by God’s grace and protection lie down to sleep in his temple in peace, believing in Jesus and his words. These also shall also be counted with the sacrificed bodies in the eyes of the Lord the same as those who have come up out of great tribulations, and have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7: 9, 14). In this matter Isaac serves as a lesson, for he submitted so meekly to be offered up, and nevertheless died at a good old age, and weary of life (Gen. 35:29), and yet is counted among the sacrifices (Gen. 22:2; Heb. 11:17). All true believers, therefore, who put on Christ, are purchased with the sacrifice and blood of Jesus and are redeemed by the sacrifice of the true firstlings of God, that is, by Jesus, as were the Levites and priests by the firstlings in Israel. Those who are thus spiritually redeemed are spiritual children of Isaac, and of Abraham, spiritual sacrifices, who, like the stars of heaven and the sands of the seashore, cannot be numbered.

In the 288 years already referred to a countless number of offerings were brought into the temple of Jesus, but not all the people were offered up in body, so that the spiritual tabernacle far supersedes the figurative tabernacle and temple in glory and in sacrifices. But Antichrist made himself felt even in the time of the apostles for destruction of the church and temple of Christ, hence he sought from time to time, in his deceptive way, to destroy the divine ordinances under the guise of a divine being, until after the tenth persecution, when the church entered into an era of great liberty. Then the enemy changed his tactics. He used the same method by which he succeeded in causing Adam and Eve to fall — covetousness — by which the first church of God which God had created in Adam after the image of God was ruined, but was again redeemed and restored by Jesus. This redeemed church the enemy again sought to ruin in the period of security and liberty, by implanting the desire for high things (Rom. 12:16), especially in the Romish church in the time of the Emperor Constantine, as history records. When he was baptized he was still a person in an exalted position of power on earth. He endowed the Roman bishop and episcopal chair with exalted power and authority, and maintained the bishop of Rome and the ecclesiastical see and invested him with authority over all other bishops and churches in the imperial domain. To this bishop they had to be subject and obedient. By this step the devil, who had hitherto not been able to do his destructive work, was now able to accomplish his evil designs, and spiritually devastated the churches. The divine ordinances and doctrines were little by little displaced by doctrines and traditions of men, so that the holy place was filled with the abomination of desolation spoken of by Jesus in Matt. 24:15. A number of the faithful beheld the desolation, and being unwilling to submit, fled and remained steadfast to Christ and his word from time to time as far as lay in their power. Like scattered sheep they sought refuge in forest and mountain wilds and caves of the earth, for it is impossible for the gates of hell to entirely overcome the church of Christ (Matt. 16:18), and the Lord has until now preserved unto himself a people of his own on earth, sometimes large and sometimes small. Inasmuch as the faithful who had surrendered their bodies as a sacrifice to Christ would have no fellowship with this desolation, they were persecuted, imprisoned and put to death by the Romish emperors and people from time to time, especially in the period between A. D. 1210-1600.

At present, however, the believers in the temple of the church of Jesus in many lands enjoy great liberty, so that on account of their faith in Jesus and the gospel they profess they need not be afraid for their temporal lives. They are, however, in great danger of being misled by the enemy into the high places and the ambitions of this world, and then by perverted doctrine and deceptive riches and gross sins to be taken captive in the kingdom of Satan, so that they are no longer available for sacrifice, but thereby much of the temple is devastated. The pomegranates and flowers already show signs of it; therefore let everyone who desires to enter into the kingdom of God be admonished in love by the gospel to abstain from the high things of this world and in humility surrender soul and body to Jesus, that the body may be fitly prepared for sacrifice, so that if it should please the Lord to make a feast of sacrifices of the bodies of the faithful in his temple, by the tribulation of death, that each one might, as a fattened sheep, be willingly resigned and prepared by faith and works for the sacrifice. If one should during times of liberty fall asleep, he would, because of his willingness and purpose nevertheless be found among the sacrifices, even as was Isaac. Of these countless numbers have already fallen asleep from the time of Christ until now. But before Christ and his saints it is an honor and a glory to become a real sacrifice in the conflict for Christ and his gospel. Of these sacrifices there has likewise been a countless number from the time of Christ until now, and in order that this fact may be more readily comprehended, something will be mentioned of this vast host, from time to time.

Arise, beloved readers, stand up briskly and cheerfully and behold the great, grand, beautiful, mighty host of which Jesus, the King of kings, is leader, leading them by his own sacrifice and their own bodily sacrifice into the eternal kingdom! Let everyone arise quickly and cheerfully, enter the ranks and follow him. We are not the first; countless numbers have gone before us in great joy. Let us rather suffer and sacrifice our bodies for the sake of Christ and his gospel, than to fall asleep in inactivity.

Jesus was the first sacrifice to enter the everlasting kingdom. By the sacrifice of Jesus, all the prophets and holy martyrs followed him by their own sacrifice into the eternal realm. Many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of their graves . . . and went into the holy city and appeared to many people (Matt. 27:52, 53). Their number is not mentioned. After them followed the apostles, at the beginning of the first persecution under the Emperor Nero, A. D. 65, and continuing about six years. In this persecution a part of the apostles — Peter, Paul, Andrew, Bartholomew, Matthew — and many other leaders or pillars of the church of Christ suffered death. This persecution is described as having been very barbarous and extending throughout the emperor’s domains. Thus the dreadful beast which because of its ferocity has no name, began in his kingdom to rend and crush the believers with his teeth of iron and nails of brass, in this persecution. The great number of victims in this bloodshed is not recorded, but it is believed that throughout the realm of the tyrant Nero, who was so barbarous that he did not even spare his next of kin, he had countless numbers put to death publicly and privately; for the killing and bloodshed were like seed that propagated the church Sebastian Franck writes that Peter baptized forty-seven persons in prison, who were executed by the sword of Nero. Thus it can be realized that in this persecution a vast number of people were offered up.

After Nero the church of Christ enjoyed a 23 year period of freedom from persecution, when the second persecution began under the Emperor Domitian A. D. 93, and continued for nearly eight years. In this persecution, writes Sebastian Franck, the Apostle John was boiled in oil, and when he came out of it unharmed he was exiled to the Isle of Patmos. This is also indicated in the Book of Revelations. The Evangelists Luke, Antipas, Timothy and others, the number of whom is not given, were offered as sacrifices.

The third persecution began under Trajan A. D. 109. Simon Cleophas, the eunuch, Ignatius and many other bishops and teachers and of the common people a countless number, so many indeed that Pliny Secundus was impelled out of mercy to write to the emperor of the vast number — countless thousands — of people that were daily put to death. At this time a mother with seven sons, one after another, went to their death cheerful and unafraid. This persecution may be called a feast, because of the countless numbers that were offered up in the temple of Jesus until the end of A. D. 164.

The fourth persecution began A. D. 166 under Marcus Aurelius Lucius Vitus. This persecution is described by Thielman van Braght in the Martyr’s Mirror. About this time began the practice of burning the poor victims to death with red hot plates of brass, to tear the flesh from the limbs with red hot pincers, to set them upon iron chairs over a slow fire, to roast them in iron vats or pans over a slow fire, to roast them on spits or gibbets, wrap them in tight nets and throw them to the wild bulls, who tossed the victims into the air. The bodies of the dead were thrown to the dogs, and guards were set to see that the bodies were not buried. This persecution was so terrible that in Lyons alone the bishop and 1,900 of the flock were put to death. One can imagine by this how many thousands were put to death in other lands and cities of the emperor until A. D. 180. Among them was the aged Polycarp and many other bishops and ministers. A spiritually glorious host was offered up. Sebastian Franck writes, however, that through the persecution of Christian blood a fearful pestilence arose with frightful wars, so that the persecution of Christians abated to some extent because some places were almost depopulated.

After the church of Christ had enjoyed a rest and quiet from persecution for about twenty-one years, the fifth persecution began under the Emperor Septimus Severus A. D. 201. The persecution raged worst in Egypt and Africa, so Eusebius and Tertullian write. Great numbers were brought out of the unknown interior of Egypt to Alexandria, where they were put to death for the name of Jesus in all kinds of ways. In this persecution many martyrs of note are mentioned who were offered up with the host of believers until the year 223.

The sixth persecution began under the Emperor Maximus A. D. 237, after the church of Christ had enjoyed peace for about fourteen years and had greatly increased in numbers. Thus it came that several thousand who had assembled in a meeting house for worship, were burnt to death. The soldiers, at the command of the emperor, piled wood round about the houses that were to be burned, and before kindling the fire the emperor caused it to be proclaimed that if any of the Christians would come out and sacrifice to the idol Jupiter they should be spared in body and life and be rewarded by the emperor. But they answered that they knew nothing of Jupiter, that they would for the sake of Christ and for his name’s glory and resurrection live and die. Of the great number of people not one came out, but they remained together, sang and praised Christ so long as they could move their tongues in the smoke and fire. This persecution lasted until A. D. 247.

The seventh persecution began under the Emperor Decius A. D. 251. This persecution was barbarous, and is described by Thielman van Braght in the Book of Martyrs. Hot tar was poured over them; they were roasted over slow fires and with many similar tortures put to death in great numbers. In short, Nicephorus writes in his fifth volume, Chapter 19, that it was as easy to count the numbers of martyrs as it would have been to count the sands of the seashore. In this persecution, Origen and other notable men were offered up; so that it is easy to understand that it was impossible to count the sacrifices of the temple of the church of Christ from A. D. 251 to A. D. 254.

The eighth persecution began under the Emperor Valerian A. D. 259. Thielman van Braght writes that Valerian spared neither old nor young, man nor woman, nor had regard for any condition or position, but put them barbarously to death in Alexandria and other places in such numbers that they could hardly be counted. They were thrown to the wild beasts, they were scourged, dispatched with the sword, burnt with fire, torn limb from limb, torn with red hot pincers, red hot nails were forced into their fingers and toes; some were suspended by their arms and weights were hung to their feet until the bodies were torn in two; others had their bodies smeared over with honey, and were then laid in the sun to be tortured to death by flies, bees and other insects; others were belabored with sticks, thrown into dungeons and left there until they perished in their misery. The number of martyrs was so great that the sacrifice of bodies in the tabernacle until A. D. 270 was countless.

The ninth persecution began in the reign of Emperor Aurelianus A. D. 273, but was not so severe, for the reason that the emperor was unable to sign the decree against the Christians, for as he was about to sign the decree that had been laid before him his hand was paralyzed, a plain evidence that God did not want it done. However, the persecution did not pass over without its fruits, for a number were martyred here and there, among them being three Christians, named Tharacus, Probus and Andropicus, who suffered horribly. For three days they were brutally tortured until they could no longer stand, in an effort to make them deny Christ, but they held out manfully in the struggle and did not deny Christ; so they were finally thrown to the wild beasts; but as these would not harm them, they were speared to death by the soldiers A. D. 290. Such faithful members and heroes of the temple of Jesus will no doubt receive beautiful crowns of glory from Jesus for their faithful sacrifice.

The tenth persecution began under the dual reign of the Emperors Diocletian and Maximillianus A. D. 302. This persecution, which is described as being the most barbarous because it raged for ten consecutive years, was world-wide, in Asia, Africa, Europe and the islands of the sea. Of this time Thielman van Braght writes in the Martyrs’ Mirror that so much blood was shed that many rivers were dyed red, and that the world had never been so decimated by wars as it was by this persecution. There was hardly a large city in the empire where there were not about 100 people put to death every day. It is known that in one month 17,000 people were put to death. They were burned, hanged, beheaded, crowded on vessels and the vessels taken out to sea and sunk; some were tied to horses’ tails and dragged along the streets and highways until they were torn and broken into pulp, then laid on beds of potsherds. They took some, forced their legs apart, tying one foot to one horse and the other to another horse, and so had them torn apart. They cut off the ears, noses, lips, hands, and the toes off the feet of many, that their torture might be prolonged. They made pointed sticks and stuck them under the nails of hands and feet, they melted lead and tin and poured it down the bare backs of the victims, etc. So we can understand that countless numbers were offered up, until the year 311, and in the year 316 about forty were offered up at Pontus, and still others up to the year 368.

Since the devil was from the beginning an accuser of angels and a seducer of men, he began at once in the beginning, even in the time of the apostles, to devastate the temple of the church of Jesus Christ, and that through the agency of those in the church itself (Acts 20:30; 1 Cor. 15:12) with all kinds of errors, as mentioned in the epistles of the apostles, but failed to accomplish all he desired. So the devil, with God’s permission, undertook to do it by the barbarous method of killing and shedding blood, in order thereby to devastate and exterminate the church, but he failed to do so by the ten persecutions. But inasmuch as he had in the meantime succeeded in implanting the seeds of errors of many kinds in some of the believers, and these seeds took root and grew, as may be seen in the description of the Romish bishops or popes and elsewhere to the time of Constantine, the enemy took the opportunity under permission of God during the time of great liberty following the ten persecutions, to devastate the church of Christ with error. He succeeded so far that his seeds of error grew rapidly, and the harvest of tares ripened in the time of Constantine and Sylvester and thereafter, and was then protected by the power of the sword, so that the desolation of which Jesus teaches in Matt. 24:15, became abundantly evident, inasmuch as exaltation, violence, and the doctrines and traditions of men gained the ascendancy, and the bishop of Rome was, at the command of the emperor, proclaimed the supreme head of the church over all other bishops and churches throughout his entire imperial realm, which served to increase the desolation. Nevertheless there were at all times found those who saw the desolation and would have nothing to do with it, but desired to hold fast by faith to Jesus. With the permission of God these were then put to death here and there by Romans and heathen, as defenseless sheep are offered up, from A. D. 368 to A. D. 1210. The defenseless followers of Jesus during this time were, however, not found in as great numbers as before, as has been shown and as will be noted hereafter.

But among the Romans and Aryans and other bodies of people who boasted the name of Christians and yet took the cruel sword to avenge themselves, it is found that they were among themselves, as well as by the heathen, in somewhat less than 900 years put to death in vast numbers because of religious differences and because of disputed territory and cities and possessions. These cannot be enumerated here under the sacrifices of Jesus Christ; neither can it be acknowledged here that they suffered as sheep for Jesus’ sake. But it can be admitted that because they in their pride and violence as wild or voracious beasts were unable to overcome and subdue the other ravenous beasts of the same kind, they had to suffer and submit because of their numerical weakness. Had they been able to overpower and subdue the others, however, they would not have suffered, much less allowed themselves to be put to death. Therefore these cannot be counted among the sacrifices of the sheep of Christ, or if they were, it would not be well to mix sheep with ravenous beasts.

Let us turn again to the defenseless sacrifices. We find in the records that in the year 1160 a burgher or citizen of Lyons, Peter Waldus or Waldo by name, was terrified by a sudden death among his associates, and resolved to do better and repent. It is to be believed that this Peter Waldo was moved by God so that he repented and began to study God’s word and to converse with his friends out of the word of the Lord. It was a new thing to them, and they therefore paid the more diligent attention to it. But the Romish ecclesiastics could not bear this, and Peter Waldo and his adherents were banished out of Lyons. Like seed that is scattered they spread rapidly and became very numerous. They took their teachings and doctrinal principles from the Bible, especially out of the canonical books, and would have nothing to do with the Romanists and all their traditions and doctrines of men, their papistic hierarchy and idolatry, their baptism of infants, oaths and the use of the sword. Regarding the principal articles of faith of these people they were, so far as I have been able to find, up to the present time, in complete accord with the (defenseless*) Anabaptists or Mennonites, as they are called. Although in minor rules subordinate to the fundamental doctrine, there may have been slight differences here and there, as is the case today. This body was known by many different names, Anabaptists, Waldenses, Albigenses, beside many other disgraceful and opprobrious terms until A. D. 1500. After John Huss’ time, there was found a body which had gone from the Waldenses to the adherents of John Huss. When after the death of Huss, his followers went so far wrong as to engage in fearful robberies, murders and bloodshed, those of the Waldenses who had gone over to the Hussites were sorely displeased, and again left the Hussites, but were not received back by the old Waldensians, because of strange things which they had imbibed from the Hussites. This small band of people however held together as a body, and are said to have called themselves by the name of the old Waldensians. It is known that these latter Waldensians took the sword to fight against infant baptism, therefore we do not here number them with the Waldensians or Anabaptists. The sacrifices or the defenseless sheep alone will be mentioned.

*The translator makes bold here to add the name “defenseless” to distinguish these people from a belligerent sect which were called Anabaptists by their religious enemies, the Papists, and by them erroneously classed with the defenseless people whose only similarity to them was that both these bodies baptized only adults, and rebaptized all who united with them. The belligerent attitude of this latter sect brought many hardships upon those non-resistant Christians who were erroneously classed with them by these ignorant, bigoted and not too discerning persecutors. — A. B. K.

In 1210 a persecution by the Romish priests against the defenseless Waldensians arose, and many of those who bore the name of Albigensians and other names mentioned were put to death. By a papal edict in the year 1210 about 180 persons were burned at the castle of Mierve. Further, in 1211, 60 persons were burnt at Casser. Later about 100 more were burnt in a tower in Casser, and in the same year 50 persons were burnt in Chestelnau and over 400 at Lavaux or Baurum. In 1210 a man was burnt alive in London. In 1210, 40 Waldensians were burnt in Paris, and in 1212 about 100 Waldensians at Strassburg, 39 in Bingen, 18 at Mayence, in 1215 some 18 were burnt at Strassburg, and several more in Toulouse. In the meantime many of the same faith here and there were put to death up to the year 1230. Then persecution grew fiercer, so that in 1232 in Toulouse alone 19 were burnt, and again in 1243 in the same city 224 Waldensians were burnt beside many more during the severe persecutions up to the year 1299. From A. D. 1300 to A. D. 1400 many severe persecutions were waged against the nonresistant Waldensians by whatever names they were known, a great number being burnt and otherwise put to death by the Romanists in Germany and elsewhere, and afterward between A. D. 1400 and A. D. 1500 there was considerable persecution in the same countries, so that of the Christians called Waldensians a great multitude following the example of the. Lamb of God were offered up as defenseless sheep.

A short time afterward, A. D. 1524, persecution was waged by the Romanists against the defenseless who were then called Baptists or Anabaptists, as the Waldensians were also called. These people who were at that time called Waldensians; were afterward called Mennonites after Menno Simons, by which name they are mostly known today*.

*In Germany, Switzerland and Holland the name Taeufer and Taufgesinnte is still applied in many cases to the Mennonites. — Tr.

This body which originates from the Waldensians, increased by God’s blessing, during the Reformation, and was at the same time subjected to fearful persecutions by the Romanists as well as by the Lutherans and Reformed, who, when they became powerful, at once adopted the Romanist methods and persecuted the defenseless, and specially longest of all in Switzerland, and it had even until recently not ceased (and has not ceased yet). *

*The reader will remember that Heinrich Funck wrote his work nearly two centuries ago, since which time persecutions, of the more violent kind at least, have ceased in the European countries. — Tr.

This nonresistant body of people, suffered many severe persecutions, by being driven from house and home, wife and children, by being robbed of temporal possessions, by imprisonment with barbarous tortures, with fire, water and the sword, unto death, by banishment into foreign countries, by starvation to death in prisons, as may be abundantly seen in the book of Martyrs, by T. J. van Braght. Among those nonresistant sacrifices were John Koch and Leonhard Keyser, the first to be burnt in 1524, and this persecution increased so much from year to year that in the year 1529 Diedrich, burgrave of Alsen alone, in obedience to the emperor’s mandate, had 350 people put to death. Matters got to such a pass that the distressed burgrave finally cried out: “What shall I do? The more I put to death, the greater the number becomes.” From this it may be imagined how many in city and in country were barbarously put to death for this persecution raged almost everywhere throughout Europe, so that many bodies of the faithful were offered up to swell the total number of the holy sacrifices (Rom. 12:1).

Thus one can understand that in the spiritual tabernacle and temple of the church of Jesus, from the time of Christ forward, a countless number of spiritual sacrifices were offered up, and of which the symbolical offerings in the tabernacle of Moses and in the symbolical temple of Solomon were but figurative types and shadows. That they were always to offer the best they had typified Christ and was fulfilled and restored by him, for Jesus is the best, and his is the most holy sacrifice, and his believing priests are the best people among men, therefore also, through Christ’s sacrifice, they have power to enter into the eternal kingdom.

These countless sacrifices of the bodies of the believers, the spiritual priests of the tabernacle of the temple, the church of Jesus Christ, who followed Christ in the sacrifice are mentioned here that they may serve to show that the spiritual tabernacle with its sacrifices is far superior to the figurative tabernacle with its figurative sacrifices, and to show moreover, that a countless, glorious, beautiful host of the most prominent and best men has already followed the Lamb Jesus and are now in a glorified and a glorious state with the Lamb, the like of which people there has never been in all the kingdoms on earth and never will be. For this reason every individual has good cause by faith to penitently surrender himself as a sacrifice in the temple of Jesus; for it is better to go with Jesus and his sheep into grief, where tribulation and death must be suffered, and the body must be offered up, than to go with the people of the world to feasts of joy and pleasure; for the joys and pleasures of this world are bound to come to an end, and afterward there will be eternal sorrow (Luke 16:23). Likewise tribulation and death in the sacrifice of the followers of Jesus soon end, and everlasting joy follows. For by tribulation, sacrifices and death we enter with Jesus into the holy of holies, that is, into heaven, where we come into fellowship with the beautiful, glorious, good, peaceful people of Jesus, there to rejoice with them forever. So much on the sacrifices of the spiritual priesthood and the benefit of the spiritual sacrifices. Beloved reader, give it your careful attention.

CHAPTER 13
The Divine Fire for the Sacrifice

After the Lord had through Moses enjoined upon Aaron and his sons the use of many of the best fruits and creatures of the earth for the sacrificial offerings, as recorded in Lev. 1: l-9, he had not given them any natural fire for the purpose. According to Lev. 9:24 ‘‘there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat.” A similar fire appeared with Abraham’s sacrifice (Gen. 15:17), also with Gideon’s offering (Judg. 6:21); Manoah’s offering (Judg. 13:20), as well as when Elijah had prepared his offering, when the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench (1 Kings 18:38).

When the temple of Solomon was built, and the ark and the tabernacle and its belongings had been brought into the temple and the sacrifices had been prepared, and Solomon had ended his prayer to the Lord, fire fell from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house (2 Chron. 5:6-8; 7:11). This was the fire of the Lord which the priests preserved upon the altar and with which they kindled the sacrifices and burned incense before the Lord. It is recorded in 2 Macc. 1:19 that when the Jews were led away captive to Persia, the priests that were then devout took the fire from the altar privily and hid it in a dry pit, and many years afterward. Nehemiah sent and had the fire brought. It had become like thick water, so Nehemiah ordered it poured upon the sacrifices, and it became a great fire that consumed the sacrifice. Thus the Lord gave the fire for the sacrifice and for the burning of incense, for ordinary fire did not please the Lord for the sacrifices, nor could anyone abide before the Lord with it. This is to be seen in the case of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, who took common (strange) fire which God had forbidden, and put it with incense into the censer. A fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord (Lev. 10:1, 2). Thus we see that the symbolical offerings had to be kindled with the fire which the Lord had provided, and which consumed the sacrifices, wood, stones, earth and water. This fire is restored and fulfilled in Christ unto the sacrifices of the bodies of the church of Jesus Christ, of which Jesus became the First and Leader.

Observe carefully with what kind of fire the spiritual sacrifices of the bodies of the temple of Jesus Christ must be kindled. It is the spiritual fire of which Moses speaks (Deut. 4: 24): “For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). The Lord revealed himself a number of times in fire. The mighty and jealous God likewise revealed himself in his fervent (fiery) love through the men of God and his prophets in many ways, showing how he would again ransom men. This fervent love has been established and fulfilled in Jesus; for Jesus who came from God (John 1:1) proceeded in his fervent love from the Father, came into the flesh, and was made flesh and man, and in this dual Personality of God-man the fervent, burning love of God was revealed, and by this burning love the body of Jesus was kindled for the sacrifice, and was consummated on the cross. With this spiritual fire of the love of God, the spiritual sacrifices of the bodies of the temple, the church of Jesus Christ, are to be kindled for a real sacrifice.

Of this fire Jesus speaks (Luke 12:49): “I am come to send (kindle) fire upon the earth; and what will I if it be already kindled?” Of this John the Baptist also spoke (Matt. 3:11), declaring that Jesus should baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire. This Holy Ghost was poured out with fire by Jesus Christ after his ascension (Acts 2) upon the bodies of the temple of his church, so that they all were filled with the Holy Spirit of burning love, so that tongues were seen on them as of burning fire. By this spirit of the burning love of God the apostles in faith, in love and in hope, for Jesus’ and his gospel’s sake gave up all for the sacrifice; their goods and possessions, their bodies and blood. This fire of love burned so strongly in them that it consumed all their temporal goods and possessions, their bodies and their blood, so that their bodies were truly offered up in the divine love. But faith, love and hope cannot be consumed in the divine fire of God’s love.

Consider carefully the matter regarding the Holy Ghost fire of God’s love. It is the divine fire from above, by which the bodies of the temple of the church of Christ are kindled in their hearts, enabling them to surrender themselves to God for the sacrifice (Rom. 12:1) in faith, love and hope, with flesh and blood and life, and all that they have.

In writing of the foundation, which is Christ, Paul says that whatever is used by those who build upon this foundation, whether it be gold, silver, precious stones, wood or hay, or straw, the quality of each man’s work will become known, for the Day will make it plain, because that Day is to be ushered in with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of every man’s work. If any man’s work, which he has built upon that foundation, still remains, he will gain a reward. If any man’s work will be burnt up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will escape, but only as one that has passed through fire. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him will God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Cor. 3:10-17).

Let all who love God consider well, how all the believers in Christ, members of the temple of God, in whom is the divine fire of love, are to build wholly upon the foundation Jesus Christ, as regards both the inward and outward man. Instead of gold, silver, and precious stones which the natural fire does not consume, let them build with their spiritual equivalent, faith, love and hope, which attributes or virtues the divine fire will not consume, but rather refines. Instead of wood, hay and stubble, which the natural fire consumes, let us consider these as representing the flesh, blood and life of the outward man, which can be consumed by the fire of tribulation, and that with the members of the temple of God in whom is the divine life. In the world the fire of tribulation is promised, even as Jesus experienced in his own flesh, blood and life, even unto death: But in that he suffered, he suffered in the flesh, but was afterward exalted at the right hand of God.

Thus, whether the believer builds the inward man upon the Foundation Stone Jesus Christ with faith, love and hope, or the outward man with flesh, blood and life and all that it includes, the Day or Time will make it known, for it will be made manifest by fire; for the divine fire of love cannot be concealed. This fire reveals itself and shows in its fervent love, with what a man has built. Then although the believers who have built upon Christ, have the promise of encountering many kinds of floods and storms in this world, yet if in the great Day of Tribulation their house will remain, they will then receive the reward, the farthing of the eternal kingdom. But if in the day of the fire of tribulation the building and work of the believer will be consumed, the fire of God’s love will nevertheless reveal that faith, love and hope have not been consumed. The believer will however suffer loss in that which. is consumed in the perishable things, flesh, blood and life and all the temporal things belonging thereto; still he shall be saved, yet as by the fire of love; all things that he had built being consumed, and then shall the believer receive a new body from the seed of his own body (1 Cor. 15:38), and this body shall be glorified or refined by the fire of God’s love, so that it shall be like the glorified body of Christ, and shall shine as the sun (Matt. 13:43; Phil. 3: 21). For this is the real fire of God’s love, by which the sacrifice of the body, the heart, the temple of God will be kindled, and by which men shall be saved; for God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29), and God is love (1 John 4:16). Whoever is in this fire and love, is in God, and God in him. Let us hear farther regarding strange fire.

It has been already mentioned that Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, brought strange fire before the Lord, for which they had to die. Inasmuch as there are many kinds of fire, one has great reason for not choosing any kind of fire by which to offer one’s self or for one’s salvation, but the above mentioned fire of God’s love. First there are the fires of flesh and blood or human nature, passion, and, love, self-sanctification, self-righteousness, such as the Pharisees had (Luke 18:9-12), and which shall not stand before God. Secondly, the fire and love of the spirit of the false prophets, such as the priests of Baal had when they cut themselves with knives and lancets till the blood gushed out upon them, thinking thereby to make their God hear (1 Kings 18:28, 40). Nevertheless all of them, about 400 in number, were seized and killed. Thirdly the fire of hell or damnation must not be chosen to offer one’s self in and by this fearful fire hope to be saved; for that is torment forever and ever, and is the second death (Rev. 20:13, 14). Of this and similar fires let the believers beware, that they choose none of them in the hope of reaching the hills of God; for we rise to God by that fire alone which comes down from God; for if the figurative offerings had to ascend in the flames of the fire that came from above, how much more the spiritual offerings by the fire from above.

So far on the subject of fire and the manner in which all offerings and sacrifices, namely the offering of prayer and praise to God, as well as the offering of alms and the offering of the material body shall be kindled and sacrificed by the fire of God’s love.

CHAPTER 14
The Clean Beasts for Sacrifice and for Food in Israel

Through Moses the Lord God gave commandments to Israel, as to what land and water animals were to be considered clean or unclean, and what the people might or might not eat (Lev. 11; Deut. 14). The clean animals were those that had cloven feet and chewed their cud. Those that did not possess one or the other of these physical characteristics were to be considered unclean, and were not to be used for food.

Of all the clean animals the Lord selected cattle, sheep and goats, all of which species have cloven hoofs and chew their cud. Of the birds he chose the turtle doves and young doves, for sacrificial purposes, and with them wheat flour, oil, incense, salt and the like. All these were shadows and types of the sacrifices of the temple of the church of Jesus Christ, and were fulfilled and established in Jesus.

Jesus Christ is the cleanest of all creatures that ever came to earth. It seems almost too humble to apply the name creature to Jesus, but inasmuch as Jesus humbled himself from above into the depths of lowliness and came into the flesh (1 John 4:2) and was made flesh (John 1:14) and became like us in all things except sin, therefore he is here called a creature of mankind. In this human creature Jesus masticated* and explained and fulfilled the word and will of God (John 8:29), always doing what pleased the Father. This constitutes spiritual mastication.

*The thought which the author wishes to present here is probably that Jesus in his humanity put the heavenly food — the gospel — into digestible condition for even the weakest , that all might understand God’s will. — Tr.

Moreover Jesus, as one person journeyed upon earth as a dual person; in his inward or spiritual being, as God; in his outward-or material being, as man. Even in the early years of his humanity, he walked inwardly, as God, in his divinity for the instruction of man in zeal and desire to hear the word of God and to inquire concerning it (Luke 2:46-49). Outwardly, in his humanity, he was subject to his foster-father Joseph, and his mother Mary (Luke 2:51). Afterward Jesus served mankind always in a dual capacity — in his divinity and his humanity. In his divinity he proclaimed to mankind the gospel of the kingdom of God unto repentance (Matt. 4:17) and forgave sins (Matt. 9:2). Outwardly, in his humanity, he healed men of all their diseases (Matt. 8:16) and fed in a material way, great multitudes of people, by the grace of God, with a little bread and a few fishes, so that they were all filled. All this he did to glorify his Father and to teach and benefit men (Matt. 14:15; John 6). Above all this Jesus in his divinity redeemed the world from sin, for God was in Christ (2 Cor. 5:19); and outwardly, in his material body of flesh, and. blood, he offered up and paid for sin on the tree, an act which no other being was able to do (1 Pet. 1:18; 2:24).

Inasmuch as Jesus so thoroughly re-masticated his Father’s word and will, and walked in a dual capacity, blameless and faultless within and without, he also became the holiest offering for sacrifice, and by him the holiest of all sacrifices was offered. This serves as a type and a lesson for the benefit of mankind, showing how we should follow Jesus as spiritual ruminants, and upon cloven feet, that we also may be qualified for the holy sacrifice.

While the Lord in the Book of Leviticus gave such definite instructions regarding clean and unclean beasts, these were, in the light of the new covenant, after all only shadows and types pointing to mankind. Not all animals were fit for sacrificial purposes, or for food for the people of God; those only of the cloven-footed order which were ruminants being declared fit for these purposes. Thus also with men who would or should be fit for sacrifice, and who would partake of the meat of the joy of God’s people in the everlasting kingdom; and he who would enter heaven must partake of the word of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the bread which came down from heaven (John 6:35-63). This bread, which is spirit and life, is not merely to pass through man as is the case with food in unclean beasts, or as is the case with the word of the gospel in unbelievers who allow it to pass in at one ear and out at the other. The believers are to take the word into the heart and keep it there, and then in thought and mind ruminate upon it and recall it, that they may by so doing learn to know the Creator who made man a dual creature, namely the outward man of flesh and blood, of the earth, and the inward man of the soul, come from above, and both dwelling in the same body; so that the word, when it is ruminated and digested, may become spirit and life in man and give him strength to do the Father’s will and keep his commandments, and thereby become fit for an offering, and food and joy to the people of God, for the joy of food for the soul will be in the kingdom of God, and if a man can enjoy this food with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God he has enough (Luke 15:7-10; Matt. 8:11).

But in order to enter into this joy one must walk with the cloven feet of the dual life, the inward and the outward part of man in one body as God created him. As the cloven are the undermost part of a creature, and upon which they walk, so also shall man in this dual being humble himself before Almighty God in deepest abasement, and will walk before God in deepest humility, both in the outward and the inward man. But now he will no longer walk loftily in the pride of Lucifer, nor in Pharisaic self-righteousness, nor in proud sanctimoniousness (Isa. 14:13; 2 Thess. 2:4; Luke 18:11; Zeph. 3:11), but he will in the inward man walk in deepest humility, as Jesus teaches: ‘‘When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, ye will say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:10). In the outward man of flesh and blood also man must humble himself, so that he will no longer walk in the loftiness of pride and haughtiness (Isa. 3:16, 32; 9:11; 1 Pet. 5:5); nor in quest of fame or greed or honor (Dan. 4:30; Acts 12:21-23), as did the scribes (Matt. 23), nor covet the gathering of earthly treasures and riches (Matt. 6), nor in wantonness and gluttony and drunkenness (Luke 21:34). A man should in such things go down into the depths of humility, so that both in the inward and outward man he walks alike humbly upon the cloven spiritual feet. Thus it can be seen that a man must ruminate upon the word of God and walk upon cloven hoofs, first, serve God both after the inward and the outward man in rumination of the word of God by the Spirit in a holy walk, in the word of truth, in faith, in love, in hope, in patience, in righteousness, in holiness, in the fear of God, in the keeping of his commandments, in doing that which pleases the Father. In this Jesus was an example, as mentioned before. Moreover man must walk in the dual life of soul and body in rumination of the word, in spirit, for his own benefit and that of others, here in time, first, that the soul may be nourished at all times with the word of the gospel by rumination in the Spirit; secondly, that the body of flesh and blood may be nourished by the blessing of God with physical labor, for it is all the Lord’s, ‘‘the earth and all that is therein (Psa. 24:1); the world and they that dwell therein.” Man is to interpret the word of the Lord God that he may learn to know that he is created a dual being, body and soul, by One who is God, and that both parts of his being are the Lord’s, and under God’s dominion, that he is preserved in these dual parts by the Lord, so that he may also learn to surrender both parts of this duality to God, and expect from God that which God sends him, whether it means to be filled or go hungry, to have joy or sorrow; whether it be to live or die.

Moreover that he may learn to be thankful with praise and thanksgiving for all that the Lord permits to come upon him, in both parts of his dual life. If a man so learns to know his life and ruminates it in the keeping of the commandments in both parts, he will without doubt become as a lamb fattened for the sacrifice, by the blessing of God fitted and prepared for a holy sacrifice, an offering that is well pleasing to God. Thus then the law will be fulfilled in Christ by the clean beasts, in his believing members, and thus they will serve as food and joy to the people of God, for by such the joy in heaven will be increased (Luke 15). Thus then will man, in his two parts in one body enter the heavenly joy of everlasting glory (Matt. 13:43; Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2). “We know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

Further, among the feathered or winged creatures the pigeons or doves were chosen for sacrifice in the temple of God, a distinct symbol of the Holy Ghost in the temple of Jesus Christ and his believers, which is fulfilled in Jesus and his believers. For when Jesus was about to enter the ministry of God, he was first baptized, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him like a dove, in which he conducted the ministry of God and finished his sacrifice in the temple of his body, so that his sacrifice of his spirit and body was finished at the same time, so that man was redeemed without and within, for God was in Christ and reconciled the world unto himself. (2 Cor. 5:19).

There were many species or kinds of birds, but only one kind, the doves, suitable for sacrifice. There are likewise many spirits (1 John 4:1, 2), but only one kind of Spirit, the Holy Ghost of God, is suitable for sacrifice in the bodies of the temple of the believers, the church of Jesus Christ; for the Spirit of God dwells in the believers. “If any man have not the Spirit of God, he is none of his” (Rom. 8:9). If a man does not belong to Christ he is not suitable for the holy sacrifice, for the Spirit of God is the motive power that influences a man and enables him to surrender willingly to the sacrifice of God, as Jesus did, and to even rejoice in Spirit that he is found worthy to suffer reproach and to be sacrificed for Jesus’ sake (Acts 5:40, 41). This Spirit of God is a seal to the believers unto the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30), that they shall in this surrender of body and spirit to Christ enter into the eternal kingdom. All this is obtained by the Spirit of God, who became the spiritual dove upon Jesus, and by whose sacrifice the world was reconciled by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Matt. 3:16, 17; 1 Cor. 5:18, 19).

Further, in Ex. 29:2, we see that the Lord chose for himself flour made of wheat for sacrificial purposes. This had to be prepared and used in a variety of ways, chief of which may be considered bread, which had to be continually upon the table of the Lord. This is fulfilled in Jesus, for Jesus, the chiefest grain of wheat, came from heaven into the flesh, and was ground by reproach, cross and suffering and death, thereby becoming the bread of God, for the nourishment of the faithful in his temple (John 6:33). Whoever eats this bread shall have eternal life, and thereby becomes a bread that will nourish or increase the joy of the angels (Luke 15:10).

The bread offerings however were always prepared without leaven, which symbol is fulfilled in Christ. Jesus in his sacrifice for the salvation and everlasting joy of mankind was entirely free of the leaven of sin and the wickedness of puffed-up pride or the spirit of vengeance. He was the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, a sweet bread of God. No honey was to be used with the bread offering (Lev. 2:11), but oil had to be poured over or used with all these oblations of loaves or wafers or cakes, as they were universally called. This symbolical oil is fulfilled in Jesus, for Jesus himself is the anointing oil of the Holy Ghost, with which his body was anointed (Matt. 3:16), so that he was filled with the Holy Ghost. So also must the believers be anointed and permeated with the oil of the Holy Ghost in the meat-offering of their bodies to the angels of God, that the Spirit of God may dwell in them (Rom. 8:11; 1 John 2: 20, 27). This oblation of bread had to be kindled with the burnt incense which figure likewise is fulfilled in Christ; for Jesus is the holiest of all incense before God and his holy angels and hosts of the saints, who also at all times render unto him the most glorious and sweetest savor of praise (Rev. 5:8-14). Jesus likewise was a precious incense, full of good works, so that the savor of his fame spread throughout all Syria (Matt. 4:23). The believers likewise are to kindle incense with their meat-offerings that the savor of their good deeds on earth may spread throughout the earth as Jesus teaches (Matt. 5:16), that the Father may be glorified, and that they may have incense to offer forever to the saints of God in praising and glorifying the everlasting God.

The meat-offerings moreover had to be sprinkled with salt. Jesus is the spiritual salt, that gives all good, spiritual things a good flavor in godly zeal and earnestness, with the fire of the Holy Ghost in well salted words, to some a savor of life, and to others a savor of death, for without this salt nothing receives its true and deserved flavor, whether it be unto life or unto death. The meat-offerings of the believing members of the body of Jesus Christ with this spiritual salt, the fire of love and peace, proclaim and practice, with earnest, zealous, well-salted words, the commands of Jesus Christ, that, having the sweet savor of the meat-offering by the earnest words of Christ, may enter unto God in the everlasting kingdom (Matt. 25:34). Everything “shall be salted with fire, and holy sacrifice shall be salted with salt. “Salt is good; but if the salt have lost its saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another” (Mark 9:49, 50). But if the salt loses its savor or saltness, that is, when the good salt in men loses its strength or virtue or disappears, then the prince of this world, Satan, comes with his salt, and salts with anger and a fiery zeal for unrighteousness, for all kinds of sin and wickedness. In the end Jesus will come with well salted words, and in righteousness will give them the reward they deserve: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). Then will the sacrifices of the bodies of the ungodly with which they in their evil minds served the flesh and the devil, be kindled with everlasting fire, for all sacrifices shall be kindled with fire, whether it be the fire of God’s anger unto eternal damnation, or the fire of God’s love unto eternal life in the everlasting kingdom. Both these fires will be inextinguishable forever according to the word of the Lord and according to his eternal justice.

Returning to the subject under consideration, let it be noted that there were many animals that were declared clean by God for food for the children of God or Israel, but not all of these were named for sacrifice in the temple or tabernacle of God. On the contrary, but few were used for sacrificial purposes, whereby they came, by sacrifice, into the sanctuary, as has already been mentioned. Thus all the creatures of earth, sea and sky were a figure or type of all the creatures of mankind, for all creatures came forth out of the elements of water and earth, by the creative word of God, but only a few of these were declared clean by God for his people and his service. Likewise all creatures of mankind are taken from the earthly element and by God through Christ were formed into the human creatures Adam and Eve, and made alive by the breath of God (Gen. 1:2), but because of sin only a part of this human creation was called the people of God. In the antediluvian world the children or race of Seth were called the children of God, the others, Cain’s posterity, were called the children of men (Gen. 6:2). In the second era of the world, after the flood, Abraham and his seed, the people of Israel, were called the people of God; all the rest were called heathens or Gentiles.

All this was established by Christ by his advent into the world, and especially by the sacrifice of his body on the cross, his death and resurrection, by which the law was fulfilled and brought to an end (Matt. 5:17; John 19:30; Rom. 10:4). Regarding the sin of Adam, Jesus died for the whole world’s sin (1 John 2:2; Col. 1:20, 22), so that through Jesus there were fulfilled the words which Ezekiel wrote by the Spirit (Ezek. 18:2-20), that the son should not bear the iniquity of the Father, but, “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Beside this all mankind has the promise through Christ, that by faith in his name, by repentance and newness of life, there is forgiveness of sins, each man for his own actual sins (Matt. 11:28; Acts 10:43). Thus, all creatures of mankind, by the sacrifice of Christ, may, by faith in his name in repentance and newness of life, become clean for the spiritual food and joy of the people of God in the eternal kingdom. Because of this the angels rejoice, for heavenly joy will be a pure, precious food in the kingdom of God. Whoever receives this food will have sufficient for all eternity of all things that are ordained for him in the providence of God.

In the fulfillment and ending of the law by Jesus the liberty was restored to the people of God to use all kinds of animal flesh for food, as it was given to Noah (Gen. 9:2-4) ; for Noah was permitted to make food for “every moving thing that liveth,” “ . . . as well as the green herb.” “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.” The Holy Ghost gave the same instruction by the apostles and elders (Acts 15: 28, 29). For this purpose Peter was shown in a vision of a vessel like a great sheet “let down to the earth, in which were all kinds of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spoke again unto him the second time, what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:11-15).

By this it is shown that through Christ God restored to man all creatures as clean creatures, and therefore fit food, as described by Paul (Rom. 14: 14): “I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean in itself.” If then, all the creatures of the natural world are restored clean by Jesus as natural food for man, how much more are all men made clean by the same means.

Consider this matter well, that by the sacrifice of Jesus all races of men, all nations, all heathens, are restored as clean creatures for a people of God, the joy of angels, and over whom the angels rejoiced (Luke 2:10, 14), when they said to the shepherds, “We bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” Good old Simeon likewise rejoiced because of him when he could say: “Mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared for all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:25-32). This same thing the Lord showed in many instances through the prophets and especially in Psa. 117: “Praise the Lord, all ye nations; praise him, all ye people.” So then God has, according to his word, which is truth, accepted all the human creation, as clean through Christ, for his service, and for the joy of heaven; and out of these clean creatures who confess Jesus as their Savior by faith , God has chosen for himself a church whose members are to surrender their bodies as a sacrifice for the sake of Jesus and his gospel’s, as noted above, and of whom many thousands have already been offered up , as has been shown in describing the persecutions. These were and are the holy creatures fit for the sacrifice and ordained thereto by God. As shown by the symbols the cattle, sheep, goats, and doves or pigeons were chosen from among the clean beasts for sacrificial purposes; yet there were many other beasts that were clean, but not used for sacrifice, but only for food, by the people of Israel. It is the same with the human creatures. Beside those who have been offered up for the name of Jesus, there is a great multitude of people who are recognized in the word of the Lord as clean and fit for the everlasting kingdom, and yet are not taken as bodily sacrifice for the name of Jesus and his gospel, so that a mighty host will be found out of all nations.

To this host belong, first, the infant children, who by the sacrifice of Jesus were cleansed from the sin of their father, so that no mortal or condemning sin of the parents rests upon them. We do not find that God gave any command to children in their ignorance that would render them unclean, until they come to the years of speech and understanding. A great number of unknowing infants are taken away by death, into the everlasting kingdom, as Jesus promised (Matt. 18: 2-5; 19:14; Mark 10:14, 15; Luke 18:16, 17): “Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of heaven as a little child, shall in no wise enter therein.”

Consider further: After the fall of Adam because of sin, it was pitiable that the children also should be captive in the land of sin and the enemy, unto the devil, of which Rachel’s lamentation was a figure, when she wept for her children (Jer. 31:15, 16). But the Lord said: “Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded; and they (thy children) shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.”

This is what the Lord Jesus did. He redeemed them out of the land of sin, of the devil, and brought them again to the border of the kingdom of God which had been prepared for them by God from the beginning (Matt. 25:34). No one can take this kingdom from the children, for it is wrought for them and in them by Jesus, as stated above.

Secondly, there are among the heathen nations of the world many people who have not the law and know nothing of Jesus and his gospel, or at least the instructions they have received is not based upon the wholesome foundation of the Spirit of God, but rather it is hidden from their eyes by the teaching of false prophets. Of this condition Paul writes: “For when the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves, thereby showing the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts meanwhile accusing, or else excusing one another, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel” (Rom. 2:14-16). This passage, and others, contains a comforting word regarding the heathen (if they have the law and the works of the law) against the day of judgment. How much more if the Gentiles have the law of the Spirit, of the gospel of Jesus in their hearts, and show by their works that they believe that there is a God, as did the Gentile centurion (Matt. 8:5-13), also the Canaanitish woman (Matt. 15:22-28), and many more instances of the faith and works of the Gentiles, as recorded in holy scripture. There are other records of the Gentiles and instances can be seen or heard of to this day of Gentiles or heathen many of whom, although they have no written law of God, yet have a law within their hearts, which shows them that there is a God, and that they shall rise again after this life and that they shall then receive a reward according as their earthly life has been; evil, if they have lived wickedly; good, if they have lived rightly. For this reason many heathen are diligently trying to do good, showing thereby that they have the law regarding their neighbor, such as love, peace, righteousness, fidelity, mercy and truth, within them, as Jesus teaches: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matt. 19:19). Love is the fulfilling of the law, and in this respect many heathen are far superior to many so-called Christians, because these latter have Christ simply upon their tongues, but not in their hearts, neither do they confess and reveal him by their works. Inasmuch as God looks upon the heart and will judge the secrets of the heart, whether it be good or evil, he will no doubt look upon the heart of the heathen in which is the law of the Spirit with the testimony of good works, and it is believable that the Lord will gather from among the heathen a great multitude of clean creatures, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, and that they shall sit down in the kingdom of heaven with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to the joy of the angels in the everlasting kingdom (Luke 15).

Observe carefully, dear reader, that many animals were fit for food for the children of Israel, but were not sacrificed, and you will then see from the two classes in the foregoing paragraph, first, regarding the children, and secondly, regarding the heathen, that the infant creature and many of the heathen are qualified for the joys of the eternal kingdom, and yet are not taken for the sacrifice for the name of Jesus and his gospel.

There are however among the Christians of the present time but few who truly walk upon cloven feet, that is, that they walk in the ways of Christ both outwardly and inwardly, in the lowliness of humility; neither are there many who chew the seed of the gospel so as to become fitted for the sake of Jesus and the gospel to suffer and be offered without resentment or retaliation. It is a deplorable fact that Christendom is made desolate by the princes of this world, that so few clean creatures are at hand who are really fitted without retaliation to suffer for Jesus’ sake, and that it is a rare thing to hear of a clean sacrifice for Jesus’ sake; but as there are so many unclean creatures one hears enough of multitudes being killed for the sake of honor and riches, lands and cities.

There were many creatures which Israel was not to eat, of which a number will be mentioned here as being typical of those people who shall not enter the joys of the kingdom because of uncleanness of heart. First, the dogs, wolves and bears, whose nature and disposition is inclined to nothing else but to devour the flesh of other creatures, to fight, to tear and kill without mercy, without ruminating, and who walk upon paws of flesh. The life of these ravenous creatures is demonstrated by evil men who walk upon paws or feet of flesh, that is, in the lust of the flesh, in a vain, arrogant life, gluttony and drunkenness, fornication and adultery, anger and strife, in robbing and stealing the possessions of their neighbors, in brawls, murdering and shedding the blood of their fellowmen. All these evil things come from an unclean heart (Mark 7:21), and they can therefore not attain to the joys of the angels if they do not in this life and time of grace become regenerate beings. Secondly, the hog has cloven feet, but is not a ruminating animal; its nature is to destroy and root up things (Psa. 80:14), and to eat all kinds of filth, to wallow in the mire, and although it washes itself in the water now and then, yet in appearance and to air intents and purposes it remains a hog, and is typical of those people who realize that their lives are of a dual nature, the inward and the outward man, in both of which they are to walk in God; but they do not ruminate the word of God, that they may be strengthened thereby after the inner and outer man; but they allow this soul food to pass through them like water passes through a tube, as if going in at one ear and out at the other, so that they receive no benefit for a godly walk, but go about in uncleanness of heart as swine are unclean of body. They have the face of their thoughts turned continually toward the earth, toward that which belongs to their neighbor, both in the inward and the outward man; in the inward; to destroy their fellowmen with scandal, that they may malevolently cast the excrement of their sins upon their fellowmen; in the outward part, they by wicked means, craftiness and deceptions seek to appropriate their neighbor’s possessions, that they may fill the belly of their avarice, whereby they fill themselves with all sorts of uncleanness of sin. After this they get to the morass of filth in which they wallow, that is, in gluttony and drunkenness, in all kinds of dissipation and whatever else is left that is sinful. If the sin of such unclean people is revealed to them they at times make some show of shame, and come and try to wash themselves and say: “I am sorry yet they say it with unclean heart, and if they do wash a little while, the heart is still unclean, sin still clings to them, as does the filth to the hogs skin. This filth of sin soon begins to itch again and they return to the moral slime pits and wallow in them, so that the saying is fulfilled in them: “The dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Pet. 2:23). Thus an unclean man remains like an unclean sow, and may not be touched; much less enter into the joys of the heavenly kingdom. But such people in their willfulness, their destructiveness in their wallowing in moral bogs and morasses, in their gluttony and drunkenness and such like dissipations get their fill, when Jesus shall place them beside the prince whom they have served here, in the lake of fire that burns with fire and brimstone forever and ever, where their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48).

So much regarding clean and unclean creatures, by which it may be seen that Jesus fulfills and confirms the law. Lev. 11 mentions many other animals, but I propose to leave the matter here, although it is to be believed that all the creatures named point to men, clean or unclean, as the case may be, and that there are many classes and conditions of men, good and bad.

CHAPTER 15
Ceremonial Purification by the Lamb and the Doves
Its Spiritual Signification and Its Fulfillment in Christ

“If a woman has conceived seed, and born a man child, then shall she be unclean seven days, according to the days of her separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the foreskin of his flesh shall be circumcised.” (The spiritual signification of circumcision was pointed out in Chapter 5.) “And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days: she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary-, until the days of her purifying are fulfilled. But if she bear a maid child, she shall be unclean two weeks . . . and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying three score and six days. And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtle dove for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, who shall offer it before the Lord, and make an atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female” (Lev. 12: 1-7).

All this we find fulfilled in Jesus. Note this that in the uncleanness of the issue of blood, in which male and female children are born, sin is pointed out.

When Adam and Eve sinned, through the serpent’s guile, by eating of the forbidden fruit, they, with all the human race, had by it fallen into the uncleanness of sin, so that they all had been born into the world by the issue of the uncleanness of the sin of Mother Eve, and of all the future mothers; for the uncleanness of sin had come upon all mankind, and there was nothing by which the mother as well as the child could be cleansed but the Lamb Jesus, by his flesh and blood, together with the dove of the Holy Ghost, that was ordained thereto and preserved until the last time, and in the last time came the Lamb (Rev. 5 :6-8) as Spirit, power and Word, which was God (John 1:1; Luke 1:35; Matt. 1: 18), come from above into the flesh and made flesh and born of the Virgin Mary; and when he was baptized in his thirtieth year and the Spirit of God descended upon him in the form of a dove and sat upon him, God, the Spirit, the Lamb and the Dove were together, by which the figurative lamb and dove were fulfilled. By this true Lamb and Spirit of God, the mother with the sons and daughters were cleansed from the original sin that had come upon them in the garden of Eden, and in which all mankind in the world had been born, but for which atonement has now been made by the Lamb and the Spirit of God (Rom. 5:18; Col. 1: 20, 22; 2 Cor. 5:18, 19). God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself from the uncleanness of original sin, so that there is now fulfilled what the Lord had long foretold by the Prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, that the son should no longer bear the iniquity of the father (Jer. 31: 29, 30; Ezek. 18:2, 20). This was accomplished by the Lamb, together with God and the Holy Spirit, and mother, sons and daughters all together were cleansed by the divine Lamb and the divine Dove, so that now “the mother shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety” (1 Tim. 2: 15)*, and the children belong to the Lord and are heirs of his kingdom (Matt. 18:2,4; 19:13, 14; Mark 10:14). “Suffer the children to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” Understand the children are the Lord’s so long as they remain in the first birth of cleansing in which Jesus has regenerated and cleansed them with his body and blood upon the cross. But when children grow up and come to years of speech and accountability, and then sin against God and his commandments, they will then die in their own sins, as may be seen Ezek. 18. If, however, they then come in true faith, confessing their own sins in penitence and amendment of life to the High Priest Jesus, Christ will reconcile and again cleanse them in the forgiveness of sins; for man’s redemption and cleansing for sin rests with Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Father and the Holy Spirit. There cleansing must be obtained, for there is no cleansing to be found elsewhere, and the lamb and the doves served hereunto as a type or shadow and was fulfilled in Jesus, the true God (Matt. 5:17; 1 John 5: 20}.

* The grammatical construction of the Authorized Version of this passage is of such a nature as to make the exact meaning somewhat obscure in the present day. Careful comparison with the Greek suggests the following rendering: “Women will find their salvation in motherhood, if they never abandon faith, love or holiness, and behave with modesty.” How true is that saying! This rendering is also more like the German text — Tr.

CHAPTER 16
Leprosy under the Law Typical of Man’s Depravity

In the thirteenth chapter of Leviticus, the Lord said unto Moses, that if any person shall have on his flesh any manner of breaking out that may have the appearance of being or of becoming a leprosy, the man or woman upon whom the symptoms of leprosy are making their appearance shall be brought to Aaron, or to one of his sons, the priests; and if the priest shall perceive according to the directions of God to Moses, that it is the plague of leprosy, he shall pronounce him unclean; but if there is not yet a fully developed leprosy, but an appearance as though the plague of leprosy were developing itself, the priest shall shut him up seven days, and if the plague in his sight be at a stay and spread not in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up seven days more; and when the priest shall look on him again, and find that the plague has disappeared and spread no further, he shall pronounce him clean. But if the plague shall appear again and spread after he has been pronounced clean by the priest, and the priest shall have looked on him the second time and see that the scab has spread abroad in the skin, then he shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy; and if the plague of leprosy have quick raw flesh in the rising, it is an old leprosy, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up; for he is unclean. But if the leprosy cover all the skin from the head even to the foot, wheresoever the priest look, he shall pronounce him that has the plague clean, because it is all turned white; for he is clean.

These and similar instructions are recorded in the above mentioned chapter, in accordance with which the priests were to pronounce the sentence, “Clean,” or. “Unclean,” upon those on whom the symptoms of leprosy made their appearance; and if one was found to be a leper, his clothes were to be rent, his head bare, and he was to put a covering upon his upper lip, and was to be pronounced utterly unclean, all the days wherein the plague should be in him; and he was not permitted to dwell among the people of Israel, but had to make his habitation without the camp or without the city.

Now sin is found to be a cause of leprosy, as may be seen in the case of Miriam (Num. 12: 10), and also of Gehazi (2 Kings 5:27), and of Azariah (2 Kings 15:5). There was, however, not any external natural remedy given to the priest for healing the leprosy; but the remedy for leprosy consisted in the man’s humbling himself and calling on God for grace and a knowledge of his will, as may be seen in the case of Aaron in behalf of Miriam (Num. 12:11), and of Naaman, etc. (2 Kings 5: 10, 14; Matt. 8:2, 3; Luke 17:13). Now, observe that leprosy among the Israelites was in the law a true type of sin among the spiritual Israelites, the believers in Christ; and this defilement from the leprosy of sin can be remedied by no other means than through Jesus Christ, who is the Physician of souls, and cleanseth from all sin.

Observe, therefore, that the spiritual leprosy of sin has its origin with Lucifer, the devil, who is a spirit and a prince of this world. He is continually seeking to defile mankind with the leprosy of sin, with which he is himself affected; and he is therefore banished from heaven to the earth (Rev. 12: 7-12). This spirit is not idle on the earth. He is continually seeking, as an unclean spirit, to prompt in or infuse into the minds of men impure and wicked thoughts, by which they become defiled. In Mark 7: 21, 22, Jesus enumerates some of these thoughts; where he says: “Out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness?’ All these and such like things defile the man, and disclose the leprosy in man’s carnal heart, and are all manifest before the eye of God.

Jesus, therefore, is the true and faithful High Priest, who well knows the corrupt nature, the leprosy in the heart, as is represented by the high priesthood pointing to Jesus. He, therefore, also in a spiritual sense looks upon man and warns him to cease from his wicked designs and wicked thoughts, as in Isaiah 1:16: “Make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine .eye”; and in Zech. 8: 17: “Let none of you imagine evil in his heart against his neighbor”; and in Matt. 9:4: “Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?” If, therefore, a man heeds these and like warnings of God the High Priest, he will lay hold upon himself, to do violence to himself, in order to overcome, crucify and expel the wicked thoughts, as the seed of the enemy in his heart, and Jesus the High Priest will look on him and purify his heart as the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (Matt, n: 12; 1 Cor. 6: 19).

But if men do not heed the warning of Jesus by his word and Spirit, to reform and turn from their wicked thoughts, it may easily happen with them as it did with Cain, when the pollution of his heart became so great as to break out in an impure leprous sin, namely the murder of his brother Abel; wherefore he and his seed was separated from the children of God. But when the children of God mingled themselves with the children of men or of Cain, God was displeased and destroyed all men, except eight, including Noah and his family, from off the earth by the flood (Gen. 4-7 chapters). Likewise many under the old dispensation were banished by God from the people of God on account of their impurity of heart and actual commission of sin, as in the case of impure leprosy.

Dear reader, consider the new covenant of the church and temple of Jesus Christ, which he has purchased with his life and blood (1 Pet. 1:19), “that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it a glorious church, not having any spot or wrinkle or any such thing; that it should be holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:26, 27). Since, therefore, the spiritual Israel, the church of believers in Jesus Christ, has been so sanctified and purified, it should also show forth such holiness and purity; so that the impurity of the leprosy of sin may have no place therein, but the impurity of the heart is known only to the all-seeing eye of the High Priest Jesus. This the ordinary, inferior priests cannot banish or exclude ; but when this impurity of the heart breaks out in actual commission of sin, the believing priests (Rev. 1:6) are commanded to consider the wrong, and to exclude and to separate it from the church of Christ (Matt. 18). All unrighteousness is sin, and a mark of sin; and there is a sin not unto death (1 John 5:17). And in case a man should sin against his brother, Jesus says: “If thy brother shall trespass against, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother” (Matt. 18: 15). Observe, if the sinner’s heart is not too much defiled with the leprous sin of pride, he, having perhaps committed his sin through weakness merely, will, no doubt, acknowledge it to his brother against whom he has sinned, will be sorry for it and ask his pardon, and in that case it should also be granted; for “if a man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death.” But if he that sinned, will not hear, it is evident that the heart is not free from impurity. He should, however, not at once be rejected as a sinner, but should be deferred a while longer, till the case may be brought before one or two others, and if he will not hear them, or acknowledge his sin, his case should be further deferred and brought before the church; and if a reformation is then found to take place in him, so that he acknowledge his sin and feels sorrow for it, he should be forgiven and released from his sin (Matt. 18: 18, 19), and a prayer offered to God for pardon. Jesus then says that the sin will then also be remitted in heaven, their prayer heard by their heavenly Father, and the sinner shall be made free from the leprosy mark of his sin.

But if any one commit a sin against his brother, however small it may be, and will not acknowledge it when admonished either the first, second or third time, it is evident that his heart is impure, and that the indications of the leprosy of the heart are breaking out and are becoming manifest in the sins that are brought to light, it may be one manner of sin in one person, another in another person, etc., according to the cause that may have occasioned the commission of sin; as, for instance, when one has defrauded his fellow-man of some worldly goods through the deceitfulness of his heart, and on being reproved, he seeks heartily to defend himself through artifice, deceit and untruth, and unrighteousness and avarice, such indications clearly manifest a leprosy of heart, and the sinner or person so affected, and thus being a defilement and offence in the church of Christ, should be excluded from the church and held as a heathen man and a publican, till he shall confess his sin, repent, and reform his life (1 Cor. 6:9).

Again, if a brother sins against another in words and, on being reproved and admonished the third time, he refuses to hear, the sin of leprosy of the heart will continue to grow and manifest itself in enmity, strife, envy, anger, contention, hatred (Gal. 5:20), by which things it is evident that the impurity of the heart is manifesting itself in sins unto death, and should be separated from the church of Christ, as Paul writes (1 Cor. 5:13).

Thirdly, in Lev. 13:7, 8, Moses writes that if anyone has been pronounced clean by the priest, and the scab again spread abroad in the skin, he shall be seen of the priest again and pronounced unclean : it is leprosy. In a spiritual sense, we understand by this that if any one that has sinned be reproved for his sin once, twice or thrice, according to God’s word: and should only by compulsion make hypocritical confession of his sins, having his heart still full of deceit, although he may be forgiven by the church, his deceitful and sinful temper, if not purified, will commonly again manifest itself in its former and other sins of like nature. When such things are seen and found to be so, such a one shall be pronounced unclean; for it is an old leprosy of sin, that is, he should be excluded from the church: for the church of Christ should be sanctified and cleansed (Eph. 5:20). In short, “unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness; indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil” (Rom. 2:8, 9). “They that do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven” (Gal. 5: 21); and what God in his word excludes from the kingdom of heaven, should also be excluded from his church, if it is known. But if it is concealed from man, God will reveal it; “for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known” (Matt. 10:26).

Fourthly, it is said (verse 47, etc.), the garments also in which the plague of leprosy is, whether it be a woolen or a linen garment, shall be seen of the priest and shut up seven days, and if the plague spread in the garment, the garment shall be burnt. But if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat disappearing, then he shall rend it out of the garment, and if the plague be departed from it, it shall be washed the second time, and it shall be clean (verses 56-58). In a spiritual sense we may consider the leprosy in the garment as an emblem of the garments of pride, an impurity which proceeds from the impurity of the heart (Mark 7:21, 22) ; for proud thoughts come from the heart, and when these begin to manifest themselves they are very apt to show it in the garments, and may thus often be known by the manner of dress; and when such impure disposition manifests itself by the dress, we may perceive that there is pride in the heart. In this case there is reason for examining the leprosy of pride, and where it is evident that a man adopts a style of garments to conform to the fashions of the proud world, it is proper to speak to him of the matter. Though he may assert that it is not from pride of heart that he wears it thus, there is no reason why the liberty to wear this garment should not be withheld from him or forbidden him, since it is the evidence of a worldly pride. Should he then, on being denied this liberty, consent to submit to such conditions in humility of heart, in love, peace and patience, and be willing to wash in the sea of meekness and humility the garment of his body on which was seen the evidence of pride, we can then see that there is a better state of heart, and that this has not altogether proceeded from an impure heart, but rather from inconsiderateness; wherefore such a person may then well be pronounced clean from the leprosy of pride, for God loves a meek and lowly heart.

But if any person, on being reproved and forbidden to wear such a leprous garment, or garments of sin, cannot show humility and patience to accept such conditions, but seeks to defend such indications of pride by all manner of excuses; we may perceive that it proceeds from an impure, proud heart; and if, according to the instruction of the law, it has been examined a second time, or according to the instructions of Jesus (Matt. 18), the person has been admonished the third time, and manifests no disposition to put away these marks of pride, but persistently continues with a proud and haughty heart to defend this appearance of pride; it is plain that the evil is growing worse, and that an impure, proud heart with a true mark of the leprosy of pride is thus coming to light; “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh”; and, according to the strict regulations of the law and the teachings of Jesus (Matt. 18:17), such a person with his proud heart, and proud deportment in dress deserves to be excluded from the church of Christ; for “God hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats” (Luke 1: 51).

“God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6). Christ teaches that “that which is highly esteemed among men, is abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16: 15).

“Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (Jas. 4:4). Consider well, therefore, that pride, haughtiness of heart and ostentatious display are banished from heaven; for these things are abomination in the sight of God and cannot, therefore, enter into heaven. Whatsoever cannot be admitted into heaven, manifestly may not be permitted to remain in the church. It is, however, to be lamented that pride and haughtiness of heart have acquired such prevalence. Well may God also complain of his church as he did of the people of Israel, saying that he would smite and punish the princes, the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel (Isa. 3:16; Zeph. 1:8). If, then, in the typical Israel, which was but a temporal nation, it was so displeasing to God, how much more displeasing is it to him in the spiritual Israel, for whom Jesus in humility suffered so bitterly on the cross. Thus far we see, as regards leprosy-marks which have not yet become perfect leprosy, how they should be examined in order to be able to decide in cases of leprosy and of sin, and to pronounce the sentence: “Clean” or “Unclean.”

Fifthly, if the plague of leprosy made its appearance on the body of any person, and was examined by the priest and found according to the word of the Lord to be a leprosy, such a person was not commanded to be shut up or examined any more, but was at once to be pronounced unclean, as a leper, and had to remain without the camp or city, till he became clean again. So in a spiritual sense, if the leprosy of an impure heart should disclose itself, and be found on examination to be a real leprosy of sin, such as fornication, or adultery, or any manner of crime, which according to the word of the Lord in the gospel, would exclude him from the kingdom of God, it is not altogether evident from the gospel that we have the liberty to tolerate such in the church for any time, and permit them to remain among the people with their sins; for such persons would be a scandal in the church of Christ. Such an example would encourage other members to commit similar offences; and some might then plead, if such a one may do so without incurring guilt, I may do the same. Thus then this leprosy of sin would spread abroad and eat as does a canker. Others again would be grieved at such sins, and would become weak and dispirited that sins should be permitted to have such dominion in the church of Christ. Such guilty lepers should, therefore, not be permitted to remain in the church of Christ, but should be dealt with as the law demands, and at once separated from the people of God, as Jesus, who fulfilled the law (Matt. 5:17), also says: “If thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off and cast them from thee; it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell-fire” (Matt. 18:8, 9). Jesus speaks this in reference to the church, which is called the body of Christ, which consists of many members (1 Cor. 12: 12-27). The church, therefore, which is the body of Christ, must pay strict regard to the teachings of Jesus, and not so unconcernedly associate with offending members, lest they become partakers of their sins, and be liable to suffer the pains of hell-fire. It is, therefore, necessary to separate such sinners from the church, as also the apostle did (1 Cor. 5), for the purification of the church, and for reproof, and a reformation in life; and if they, then repent of their sins, there is still hope that there is some good in their hearts, by which God still draws them to himself through repentance and reformation of life. But if they will not confess their sins, it is to be feared that their heart is entirely darkened and overcast with the leprosy of sin, so that they cannot come to a knowledge of the truth, but contrive and strive, in the darkness of their sins, to involve others in sin and defilement.

Moreover there are persons who, acting with great zeal, fall into errors in regard to the holy scriptures, but do not live in sensual indulgence. Such errors are to be considered according to the word of God, and if anyone is found to be in error of serious import, and, having been admonished again and again, refuses to abandon it, he should, according to Paul’s injunction (Tit. 3:10), be rejected. Jesus also teaches (Matt. 7: 15): Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing (that is, with good appearance outwardly), but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” There is reason, therefore, that such should be expelled from the church of Christ, if their character is known; for how can an enemy or a false prophet do greater injury to the church than by being permitted to remain in it and exercising a corrupt influence by his perverse life and false teachings? The church, therefore, as the body and the bride of the Lord, should be kept pure, even though but few be left in the church and be subjected to many reproaches; for it is called by Jesus “a little flock,” that must endure many reproaches and sufferings (Matt. 4: 13, 14, and Chap. 10). In excluding impure persons, therefore, from the church, no respect should be had to person, however respectable one may appear outwardly, whether false prophet, teacher, or leader, or member, old or young, wife, son, or daughter, friend or acquaintance. For whatsoever the word of the Lord excludes, we also must exclude, since we are held responsible in these things, for Jesus teaches (John 14: 23): “If a man love me he will keep my words.”

CHAPTER 17
The Cleansing of Leprosy

“And the Lord spoke unto Moses (Lev. 14), saying, This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest, and the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of the leprosy be healed in the leper,” then shall the priest command what he shall do, and what he is to bring for an offering that he may be cleansed, as shown in Chapter 14. Jesus likewise referred those whom he had cleansed from leprosy to this scripture (Matt. 8:4; Luke 17:14). Those who were declared healed of leprosy were not permitted to mingle as freely among the people at their own will, for all things were governed by rules of order, which included that of their first being examined by the priest and bringing the prescribed offering as a testimony for them that they had had leprosy, and were now healed. All these types or cases were symbolic of the leprosy of sin.

Leprosy was a diseased condition that nowhere was commanded to be treated or healed with material medicines, nor do I know of any instances recorded in the word of God that any one was cured by medical means, but alone by the Lord, by whose mercy they were healed through humiliation of heart and keeping of his commandments, as seen in the case of Miriam (Num. 12: 11-13), and of Naaman (2 Kings 5: 10-14), the leper that came to Jesus (Matt. 8: 24), and the ten lepers that came to Jesus (Luke 17: 12-14). It is to be believed that in this manner by the grace of God many were healed for which they were in duty bound to offer up a thank and praise offering in testimony that they had been leprous, but that God had healed them.

Let us consider the matter in its spiritual aspect with reference to the church of Christ. When man falls into the leprosy of sin, whether it be secretly or openly, it is manifest to the eye of God, and from him man can hide no sin with any kind of plaster or salve. No matter how fine it may be, he cannot cover or cure it. No plaster or salve known to science will help; there must be a calling unto God in Spirit with sorrow and lamentation because of the agony for the sin that has been committed. If the sin is a secret sin, hidden from men, no plaster or poultice will help. If a man lays on a plaster, thinking: “No man has seen it, no one has been offended because of my sin”; or: “It is my nature, and I cannot quit it”; or: “Necessity drove me to it,” let him remember that plaster of this kind will be of no use to heal sin. Perhaps some try to comfort themselves with the thought: “I believe in Christ, my sins have been forgiven, I am a child of God, he will not hold me to account for my sins; I am a member of the church of Christ, which is sanctified; I read the holy scripture and repeat my prescribed prayers diligently; all these things will surely hide my sins from God.” But all these natural plasters and salves which a man may get out of the natural world or his own human nature or way of thinking to cover his sins are incapable of healing the leprosy of sin; for no one but God can heal the leprosy of sin. The secret sins of the heart, as well as the actual deeds of sin, which, however, are hidden from men, will be healed by the drawing of the Father (John 6: 44), when a man is drawn by the grace of God, in the acknowledgment in humble, contrite heart, with repentance and amendment, in putting away of sin, God will draw men, if they are willing to be drawn, and God will gladly heal man of his leprosy of sin if man will with full desire of heart call upon God for forgiveness of sin before the day of judgment. To such petitioners God in his word kindly offers forgiveness of sin, even if they are secret from men. So far regarding secret sins.

But if a man is taken with open leprosy of sin, and he is separated from the congregation according to the word of God, he has no natural remedy for the healing of sin, the drawing of the Father alone can do it, for the leprosy of sin is upon the sinner in the sight of God and is manifest to the church, and since sin is of the devil (John 8:44; 1 John 3:4-12), and whosoever commits sin is of the devil, and sin separates men from God and there is a difference between the realm of the church of Christ and the realm of the sinners in the congregation of the devil, therefore the open sinner is separated from God and his church, therefore the sinner is brought into the realm of sinners which is of the devil, for sin is of the devil; and if the sinner gets into this realm there is no natural agency by which he can be delivered and cleansed from the kingdom of the devil, for God alone through Jesus Christ can deliver him. No matter what the sinner might apply, nothing would deliver him or cleanse him from the leprosy of sin; he would only waste goods in the effort, far away from his Father, and sink into the direst poverty, so that he would have nothing of the divine left (Luke 15:13-15). Then the “citizen of that country,” the devil, engages the poor wretch to herd his master’s swine or sins, so that he may lose none, as experience teaches abundantly, and in such wretched service the sinner suffers hunger for the word of the Spirit (Amos 8: 11).

When the sinner in such great poverty is drawn by God, and like the prodigal son comes to himself, and realizes the degradation of service as a swineherd, or, in other words, learns to know sin, and then by the drawing of God (John 6: 44) leaves the herd of the swine of sin and forsakes them and turns to the Father in repentance and amendment, in abstaining from sin, with a broken and contrite heart, the penitent is met by Jesus, the High Priest in the Father, who will heal and cleanse him and pronounce him cleansed of the leprosy of his sins and will again clothe him with the best robe of righteousness and receive him into the household of his people, and, with his people, will rejoice (Luke 15).

After a man, in realization and confession of his leprosy of sin, has been drawn of God to repentance and humility of life, the renunciation of sin, and so opening the way for the certain forgiveness of his sins by God and cleansing by Jesus Christ, the Lord through the law now tells those on whom the leper spots have been healed, to go to the priest, and the priest shall go out unto him (Lev. 14), and examine him to see if he is healed. The priest then had to command him to bring offerings of different kinds as prescribed by the law in testimony that he had been unclean, but was now healed and cleansed. For this he expressed his gratitude to God by the symbolic testimony of his cleansing. The cleansed leper was to wash himself and shave off all his hair, that he might again dwell among the people of Israel and journey with them.

In the fulfillment of the law by Jesus in the matter of the cleansing of leprosy, we find in Luke 17: 12-19, that at one time ten lepers called upon Jesus, crying: “Have mercy on us.” Jesus said to them: “Go show yourselves unto the priests.” As they were on their way, they were made clean. One of them, finding he was cured, came back, praising God loudly, and threw himself on his face at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done; and this man was a Samaritan. “Were not all the ten made clean?” exclaimed Jesus. “But the nine — where are they? Were there none to come back and praise God except this foreigner?” “Get up,” he said to him, “and go on thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole.”

This makes it clear that in the fulfillment of the law by Jesus in the healing of leprosy the sacrifice of a humble heart in falling down before Jesus in thankfulness to God, and giving God all the honor, is more pleasing to God than the symbolic offering which the other nine brought the priest of the law, because the entire law of types and shadows is changed into the spiritual and fulfilled by Jesus (Matt. 5:17).

The man who, drawn by God to a realization, confession, forsaking and renunciation of his sin, is healed of his leprosy of sin, when he returns in humility of heart to his Father’s house, the church of Christ, which is the house of God, the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth (1 Tim. 3:15; 1 John 2:19-23), from which house — the church — he has been separated because of sin, has far more reason to come in penitence than did the lepers under the law. For the spiritual priests of the house of the church of God there is likewise a command in the law and the doctrine of Christ. It is that in the love of God they go out to meet the penitent and examine him to see if he is healed of his leper spots of sin and has forsaken sin. If he has, it is proper that he who, drawn by God, has been healed, has forsaken sin, be told to bring his offering into the house of the church , not the symbolic offering as was required by the Mosaic law in the case of leprosy of the body , but the spiritual offering required by the cleansing of sin, namely the offering of a humble heart, the confession of sin, with repentance and sorrow for sin, the same as the prodigal son did (Luke 15: 17-21) ; and as Peter did (Luke 22:62); as David did (2 Sam. 12: 13; 1 Chron. 21: 17), and as Manassah did in his prayer ( as recorded in the apocryphal book , the Prayer of Manassah, verse 9.) With such offerings of confession of sorrow for sin these men again found grace in the sight of God and were received into the household of his people. If they of old were received, how much more under the new covenant, when Jesus so lovingly calls: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” when such penitents come, by the drawing of God, with the aforementioned offering, to the High Priest Jesus, will he lovingly receive them into the household of his church amid the rejoicings of the angels of God in heaven , that this one who had been dead in sin had been found. ”

And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When ye come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, I put the plague of leprosy into the house of the land of your possession; and he that owneth the house, shall come and tell the priest, saying: It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house, the priest shall go and see,” as is explained in this chapter (Lev. 14:33-57). This suggests that the land of Canaan and surrounding country harbored conditions tending to leprosy, in the bodies of the native inhabitants, in the clothing, and in the houses. These were, however, symbols of the leprosy of sin in the membership of the church of Christ, all of which are restored and fulfilled in Christ.

Dear reader, consider this matter well. The people of Israel and of all the countries of the Gentiles had the leprosy of sin in nature, because of transgression of God’s commandments, in idolatry, in unrighteous life and conversation, until the coming of Christ. When Jesus came, the whole world was supplied with an absolute remedy for the leprosy of sin. Jesus, who is the Original and Head of his people, the Church, instituted it in cleanness and purity. He kept his Father’s commandments, he engaged in no idolatry, did no one any wrong, was holy and pure, and so also sanctified and cleansed the Church (Eph. 5:26), for he said: “I am holy, and ye shall be holy unto me” (Lev. 20:26; 1 Pet. 1:16). God chose for himself the people of the new covenant out of all nations, Jews and Gentiles, from the four comers of the earth (Matt. 24: 14). By faith in Jesus these constitute the household of God and church of Jesus Christ, which is the spiritual Canaan, the kingdom of Jesus Christ. This separate and peculiar people from all nations, by penitent faith in Jesus, is not to do the works of the Gentiles (Lev. 18:3; 20:23). After the suffering and ascension of Jesus, this church of Christ was by the Holy Ghost disseminated and scattered abroad among the many Gentile nations until the present day, and if the head of a house in the kingdom of Christ, the spiritual Canaan upon this earth, should discover signs of leprosy of sin, i.e., offence or disobedience against God’s word, among the household of faith in his house, he should make it known, even though it were his own wife or children, that the case might be examined by the spiritual priest of the church of Christ, and if it be found to be the actual offence against or disobedience of God’s commandment, the person should be banished out of the household of the church of Christ with the uncleanness of sin into the unclean surroundings of the world. The same should be done in case that heathenish idolatry should be discovered in the household of a spiritual head of the house, as well as in case of the uncleanness of the leprosy of sin, unrighteousness, hatred, anger and strife, and other gross sins. In every case the head of the house should make it known and the affected one be put out among the unclean, and if the uncleanness rendered the whole house or household unclean, there should be no sparing, for it is far better for a housefather to save or redeem his soul than to encourage his household in sin, even though it be wife or children, or keep them in the sin of uncleanness in the name of the church of Christ, for the God of purity will not have uncleanness in the household of his church. The righteousness of God’s judgment decrees that the householder who shields his household, or has sin in common with his household with the understanding that they will not forsake one another in the uncleanness of the leprosy of sin, shall, with his household, be banished from the family of the church of Christ, without the city, into the uncleanness of hell, as is seen in the references already made to leprosy found in a house, and as will be further seen in the following references: First — “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Understand if the members of such a household live in the uncleanness of sin, and would contaminate the believers with the leprosy of sin, the faithful believer shall hate them by renouncing and forsaking the uncleanness and sins of such unclean persons, even if it should become necessary to forsake their personal presence, as seen in Num. 16:24-26: “Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs.” Read also Deut. 17:2-5; 21: 18-21; 13:6-17; Josh. 7:24. “If thy right eye, hand or foot offend thee, pluck it out, cut it off, and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish than that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matt. 5:29, 30; 18: 8, 9). “Let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican” (Matt. 18: 17). “Deliver such a one unto Satan” (1 Cor. 5:1, 5). “Put away from among yourselves that wicked person” (Ger., “Have nothing to .do with him”) (1 Cor. 5:13). “That we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men” (2 Thess. 3: 2). “We command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly (verse 6); “and if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him” (verse 14). From these testimonies it is to be seen that believers are to have nothing in common with sinners, nor with heretics who teach perverted doctrines, and that we are not to believe them nor follow them (Tit. 3:10; Matt. 7:15; 24:11; 23:24, 25).

Whoever is not willing to obey these testimonies, showing that open sinners are to be separated from the household of Jesus Christ, and that we should separate ourselves from the leprous sinners, may easily fare as did those to whom reference will here be made: Eve with the serpent ; Adam with Eve, each receiving punishment (Gen. 3:14, 19). When the sons of God mingled with the daughters of men they had to suffer punishment with them by drowning (Gen. 6:7). When Lot’s two sons-in-law would not leave Sodom they were destroyed with the Sodomites (Gen. 19: 14, 25). When the Israelites entered into infamous relations with the Moabites, 24,000 of them were put to death in one day (Num. 25: 1-9). When the Benjamites refused to deliver up the wicked young men of Gibeah to be punished (Judg. Chaps. 19, 20), the whole tribe of Benjamin, including women and children, was punished, and all but 600 men were put to death, so that in one day 25,000 Benjamites were killed and their cattle and city were burnt. When Eli neglected to punish his sons according to the word of the law, for their sins, Eli was punished with his sons, all of them being put to death on the same day (1 Sam. chapters 2 to 4). When Saul spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and the best of their sheep, lambs and cattle, and, contrary to the command of the Lord, did not utterly destroy them, the Lord’s anger was so stirred against Saul that he was rejected from being king of Israel (1 Sam. 15 : 9, 23). When David committed adultery with Uriah’s wife, and had caused Uriah to be put to death, contrary to the law, although he was king and judgment was not meted out upon his person, yet the punishment of the sword was promised, and Israel had to share the punishment of the sword with David (2 Sam. chapters 10, 11). When Ammon had ravished his sister Tamar, and he was spared by his father and the judges in Israel, the evil grew rapidly in Israel, for Absolom was so enraged that he told his young men to kill his brother Ammon while he was merry with wine (2 Sam. 13). So Ammon after all lost his life because of the sin he had committed with his sister, even though the king had spared him, and the king’s sons, with the king, suffered a fearful shock, beside all that followed afterward. Absolom fled from David, but afterward by a piece of craftiness it was arranged so that Absolom, with the permission of the king and his officers, was permitted to live in peace and liberty in Jerusalem without punishment for his sin against his brother Ammon, and finally was even allowed to come before the king without punishment for his sins. But God did not remit Absolom’s punishment; and because David and Israel spared Absolom and did not punish him for his sin against Ammon, David and Israel had to be punished with Absolom by the righteous judgment of God; for Absolom had to die, and many Israelites with him, and David, weeping, was driven from his throne, out of Jerusalem (2 Sam. chapters 14 to 18).

Thus God punishes sin, and if sin is hidden, he punishes so much more severely both the culprit and him who helped to hide his sin. This was always the case in Israel. When they had corrupt chiefs, kings and leaders, the people were quick to follow them, and they were made to sin because of or by their corrupt leaders, and were often punished severely. For when sin is not repented of with humble, contrite heart, so that God is reconciled, it will not remain uncovered. God will punish it here in time, and hereafter in eternity. And since the leprosy of sin is so contagious, and one person is infected by another, God does not utter in vain his kindly admonition in so many places: “Depart ye, depart ye, remove out of the midst of Babylon, that ye partake not of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Isa. 48:20; 52:11; Jer. 50:8; 51:6; 2 Cor. 6:17; Rev. 18:4), so that ye be not contaminated by the sins of other men, and be cast into hell with them, as Jesus warns (Matt. 5:29; 18:8, 9; 1 Cor. 5:7, 11). But if a man will not depart from them, he can easily become a partaker of their sins and must expect to be punished with them, as the above references abundantly show.

A man must also separate himself from false prophets, and not follow them; if he will not do it, he is in danger of everlasting death, as may be seen in the case of Lucifer who, through the serpent, so garbled the command of God, and Eve accepted it and thereby brought about the great fall. Because the man of God gave ear to the word of the old prophet who dealt with lies, and obeyed him, he was mangled by a lion. Isaiah teaches that those who are led by deceivers are destroyed (Isa. 9: 16). Jesus says: “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matt. 15:14). Whoever can forsake such people as mentioned above in their uncleanness, is indeed fortunate, as may be seen in the case of Noah and his family (Gen. chapters 6 and 7); of Abraham (Gen. 12); Lot (Gen. 19). If like Abraham a man forsakes the home and friendship of sinners and journeys where God commands, he will come to his Son Jesus Christ, the High Priest, to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the church of the first-born who are written in heaven (Heb. 12: 22, 23), which has been redeemed by Jesus and purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19), and which he has planted and reared by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2), and which Jesus has sanctified and cleansed with the washing of water by the word (Eph. 5: 25, 26), and in the last great day of the Lord, he will bring it, through Christ, to the perfect church, the tabernacle of God’s Son Jesus Christ, when through Jesus all believers who are prepared thereunto by the drawing of God, to a living faith in Jesus Christ, into the body of the church of Jesus Christ, shall then all be brought together into one united fold and flock of the church of Jesus Christ (John 10: 16). This will be the fulfillment of the figure of the tabernacle in which there were many posts, pillars, rails, boards and curtains, all fitting together and thus making a tabernacle. This figure was shown to Moses on the Mount in its fulfilled, perfected aspect (Ex. 25:40; Heb. 8: 5), and will be fulfilled and completed in its full perfection by Jesus, when he shall gather together all his churches and believers and those that belong to him from the four corners of the earth, from all nations into his everlasting kingdom, where they will be joined, fitted and united together with everlasting joy into one united flock, the church and body of Jesus Christ, into the tabernacle and dwelling place of God in his kingdom forever and ever. This is the best portion which man by the grace of God, through Jesus Christ, can obtain. For this great boon man should strive with all his power.

CHAPTER 18
Ulcers a Type of Spiritual Uncleanness

And the Lord spoke unto Moses and to Aaron, saying, “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, “When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.” Wherever he sat or lay, that place was unclean, and whoever touched him or the place whereon he sat or lay, was likewise unclean.” (Lev. 15).

Such exterior ulcers on the body of an Israelite were unclean and whoever contaminated himself with them had to cleanse himself, as detailed in the chapter here referred to, or else die in his uncleanness (verse 31).

Let us look carefully into the fulfillment of the law by Jesus Christ in the body of his church, in a spiritual sense. Although ulcers on the natural or physical body of a man or woman, as well as bloody flux and the natural monthly courses are to be looked upon by believers as unclean and their contaminating influences to be avoided, as taught by scripture and nature, so that the outward body be not made unclean, how much more should the believing member of the body of Christ guard against the spiritual contamination of sin, which counteracts the sanctification and cleansing wrought by Jesus in his church, as well as being inimical to the welfare of the soul wrought by Jesus.

The exterior ulcer comes from the exterior body or flesh, but the spiritual ulcers of sin come from within, from the condition of the heart (Mark 7:21), and defile the man, so that he will not be able to enter into the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19, 21). For this reason those having ulcers of sin are to be separated and avoided as unclean, that no one may be contaminated by them, or be made partakers of their sins; for nothing common or unclean can enter into the holy city. See Matt. 18:17; Rom. 2:8; 1 Cor. 5:11; 6:9; Gal. 5:19; 2 Tim. 3:14. Regarding the false doctrine of the spiritually ulcerous see Matt. 7:5, 24; 4: 24, 26; Tit. 2:10, 11; Rev. 2: 20.

If a man who is considered a member of the church of Christ falls into such a sin and is not cleansed or healed of it, by the acknowledgment of his sin, and by penitence and amendment is healed by God, it is likely to develop into a running ulcer of sin, whether separated or not, the ulcer will become worse, by the denial of sin, by non-confession of sin, by self-justification of the sin. By coming into contact with a man so diseased one may be easily contaminated:

(1). By condoning his sin or admitting him to be right in his sin, by encouraging him or supporting him in his position, in order to retain his friendship. By doing this one enters into the way of sinners, by calling darkness light, and evil good (Isa. 5: 20) and thus becoming a partaker of their sins, as did Eli with the sins of his sons (1 Sam. 3:13, 14) and suffering the penalty with the sinners.

(2) If such morally ulcerous people are retained in the church of Christ they become as leaven (1 Cor. 5:6). One comes into contact with the unclean person, and so becomes common or unclean with him in sin; another comes into contact with the unclean individual in reproving his sin and taking offence at it and thereby becomes weak in the body of the church of Christ, and so may become unclean in his love for the church because such sinners are tolerated in the church so long without being removed.

(3). If after long delay the unclean sinner is finally separated from the church, the first one who became common or unclean by that sinner will then come and stand by him, and they then will make every effort to infect with their uncleanness others who accuse them or would or should put them away; the second will make the faint-hearted claim that the matter was too long delayed, that the sinner should have been separated long before, etc., and so it can be seen that by one sinner a whole house can be contaminated. Therefore they should be separated from the body of the church of Christ for the purpose of disciplining them (1 Cor. 5:5).

(4). If such unclean sinners who have been separated and they remain in their sins so that the separation does not serve to discipline them so that they may be drawn of God to acknowledge their sins, and effect a cleansing by repentance and reformation of life, the ulcers of sin are likely to develop a chronic state in such people, and they stand in great danger of finding their place among the corrupt sinners of this world, where Satan, the prince of sin, has his dominion; for the uncleanness of sin comes from Satan (1 John 3:8). With these surroundings some become so completely enveloped with the ulcerous contamination of sin that they run from one sin into another, saying: “Oh I am now separated as a child of the world, I can do as I please; I am under no one’s authority”, and so do the will of the princes of this world. Others, who have likewise been separated because of their spiritual or moral uncleanness, do not want to be considered such gross worldings, but ulceration continues with them, and they serve the devil by complaining of and accusing those who have separated them from the church for their sins, according to the divine injunction. By their complaints in their sins they seek to contaminate others and drag them into the sin of discord by kindling dissension as far as they can, and so doing their master’s will, and herding their sins like a herd of swine, taking care not to lose any (Luke 15:15). Wherever these morally ulcerated people are or sit, or whatever they touch, it is unclean. Their lives, their going out and coming in are contaminated by sin, and if a member of the body of the church of Christ comes in contact with one so affected, he is in danger of being contaminated, as shown in the figure presented in Chapter 15, as already referred to. If a man approaches such individuals they will hold fast to their sins and will not let go of them, as if they had special privilege or authority. If that man justifies such individuals in order to retain their friendship, he is likely to be affected by their sins, so as to become a partaker of them and so becomes unclean. If, on the other hand, the person in question does not justify their life, they are likely to be roused up in their sins and show their uncleanness, their sins, by indulging in vile reproach and vituperation toward those who do condone or excuse their sins or justify them. If they are admonished not to do so, but to repent and do better, the monitor is likely to be advised by them to repent and do better himself, and be so besmeared with the filth of their sins that he likely feels almost unclean himself and will leave them with heavy heart to pacify himself by prayer, and grieving over the fact that he had anything to do with them. (I can write this from my own experience). For this reason the Lord declares through Moses that one cannot leave the bed, seat or place occupied by the one thus affected without being rendered unclean (verses 4, 6, 9). Therefore one has reason for avoiding such sinners, as already shown in Chapter 17, as well as has also been taught in the writings of Christian teachers and writers of earlier times, on the subject of the Ban, that such sinners should be avoided without respect of person, and as seen also from the following references: “Let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican’’ (Matt. 18:17). “Withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly . . . and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed” (2 Thess. 3: 6, 14). “Purge out therefore the old leaven” (1 Cor. 5:7). I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicator’s . . . with such an one not to eat” (1 Cor. 5:9, 11). Understand however, that such people who so persist in their sins that they will not acknowledge their sins, much less repent of them, should, according to the contents of the foregoing scripture references, be avoided, yet only insofar as it is not contrary or an offense to the. scripture or causing our neighbor greater offense or to sin more grievously. In this respect care must be exercised. Jesus himself went in and ate and drank with those who acknowledged and confessed their sins (Luke 19; Matt. 9), and if today a sinner leaves the swine of his sins and acknowledges and confesses them (Luke 15), one has reason for going out in the spirit of the Father to meet such a penitent, receive him and go with him and comfort him and admonish him and eat and drink with him, that he may be brought again into the parental home of the church of Christ, and especially against the time when God shall set up his everlasting tabernacle of souls from among all mankind in his eternal kingdom.

So much regarding the tabernacle of Moses, and the temple, the priest’s office and offerings, the clean beasts for the sacrifice and the unclean beasts, those afflicted with leprosy and those having running issues or ulcers, and how the Israel in the flesh was to cleanse itself of the same and have no company with the unclean. Furthermore, dear reader, note the fulfillment of the law, or spiritual restoration by Jesus and how it should be regarded and exemplified according to the holy scriptures, in the spiritual tabernacle of the church of the temple of Jesus Christ, as may be seen beginning with Chapter 9 to the end of Chapter 18 of this book, and showing how the believers should be prepared and equipped in the household of the church of Christ, and how the church of Christ should be kept pure for a dwelling place for God, which, while found in this world with many imperfections, it will be restored and established in the fullness of perfection by Jesus when he shall gather his own with glorified bodies which he shall give them in the resurrection (1 Cor. 15), and he shall then gather them with spiritual, holy, pure bodies into a purified church (John 10), tabernacle and dwelling of God, which shall remain holy and pure in everlasting joy forever and ever, and where God shall be all in all. Amen.

Here ends this chapter, which belongs to the chapter on the Tabernacle if rightly comprehended in its fulfillment in this present age and as it shall be restored in eternity.

Here follows a chapter on the sabbath, one each on three feasts and one on the sabbatic year or year of jubilee, all of which are interrelated and finally become part one of another, here in time, and also in eternity, yet, by the permission and grace of God, and the blessing of his Spirit, observations will be made on each one separately, how it is restored and fulfilled by Jesus here in time, and in eternity. It will be written in simplicity, yet in accord with the contents of holy scripture, not in the wisdom of men but by the gift of the Holy Ghost. “Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

CHAPTER 19
The Great Sabbath or Sabbatical Year

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days shall work be done; but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein; it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings” (Lev. 23:1-3).

Of this day mention was made in Chapter 8 in speaking of the fourth commandment, but it will be noted here again to show it in its proper order and relation to the feasts and the sabbatical year and year of jubilee.

When God had finished heaven and earth and all that in them is in six days, his labors were finished with rest on the seventh day, and he “rested on the seventh day, and hallowed it” (Gen. 2:1-3). This was called the great sabbath, as mentioned above. God commanded his people to rest on this day from temporal or earthly toil, as has already been shown in Chapter 8. But this has just been mentioned as the great sabbath, upon which the people were to gather together. The purpose of their coming together was, as is abundantly shown, to hallow the sabbath day to speak of God’s great wondrous works and of his law, and that all that God did in the six days was right and good, and that on the seventh day he finished his work with rest; also reminding one another how wonderfully God had made man and gave him dominion over all things on earth (Gen. 1:26) and that if man had remained in his first estate and image of God, he would have been an eternal partaker of the everlasting rest of God. Since man did not remain in this estate however, but was deceived by the old serpent, the devil, and led into sin, and through sin into untold unrest, both in his physical and spiritual life, as well as into bodily and eternal death, God, not desiring man to perish in this unrest of soul, immediately gave a promise that the head of the serpent, the devil, should be bruised (or crushed, according to the German rendering — Tr.) by him who should come between the serpent and the woman, and between the serpent’s seed and the woman’s seed. This promise had reference to Jesus, who should come down from God, and not from below (John 8:23). Moreover God commanded to rest on the seventh day from all works, as a shadow or reminder of the rest that yet remained (Heb. 4:4, 9), and on this great sabbath the people of God were to gather together that they might edify and admonish one another from the word of God to live according to the will of God, that they might become partakers of the eternal rest, of which the temporal or figurative sabbath was a shadow or type.

Jesus, who was the beginning and author of the sabbath, came to restore the sabbath in its full powers and significance, in order to restore mankind to rest of soul. He offered his own body for the sin which was committed in the garden of Eden and which fell upon all mankind and so bringing unrest of soul upon all mankind. (Isa. 53; 1 Pet. 2:24): Hence the body of the sabbath or the real sabbath was fulfilled in Christ (Col. 2:16, 17), so that now man has true sabbath rest for the soul in Christ. (1) The sin of Adam was nailed on the cross with the body of Christ (Col. 2:14), and so sin which reigned unto death was overcome, and grace, through righteousness into eternal life was enthroned by Jesus Christ for all mankind (Rom. 5:18-20), and through Jesus Christ humanity can now fully enjoy the sabbath rest of the soul. (2) If a man falls into the disquiet of sin by his own actual transgression, he can regain this sabbath rest of soul through Christ, by sincere humble penitence and amendment of life and a living faith and walk in Jesus Christ. Hereby man enters into rest (Matt. 11:29) and enjoys the sabbath of the soul which Jesus has brought and fulfilled. This however demands rest from the works of sin, and not to do them again, so that the soul may be properly prepared and spiritually adorned to appear at the holy feast of the Lord Jesus and enter into the heavenly rest of the eternal kingdom, of which subject more will be written farther on.

Although man has, by the sacrifice of Jesus, been redeemed from original sin and its consequent unrest of soul, the human body of flesh and blood remains subject to much disquietude and pain in this life from sin of Adam, together with the proneness to sin, whereby flesh and blood in this restless, oft disturbed life, can be easily drawn into sin and unrest of soul by the enticements of the devil. Nevertheless, if by the drawings of God’s Spirit, man becomes aware of his sinful works and realizes his disquietude of soul, and turns with sincere desire of spirit to Jesus the High Priest, Jesus will be the Advocate and Reconciliation for sin (1 John 2:12), and by faith in his name, will give rest unto the soul and will preserve it in. rest in the great sabbath of his body (the church).

We find that the Israel of the flesh performed labor on the sabbath of the law, such as performing the rite of circumcision of the flesh, and the slaughtering of animals for the sacrifice. Likewise when a man is reckoned as being of the spiritual Israel, the believers in Christ, and his flesh and blood then in the spiritual sabbath are enticed by the enemy, and he finds himself in an uncircumcised condition of heart, he has great reason to circumcise himself from the uncleanness of his heart on the spiritual sabbath day, that the sabbath be not desecrated, but rather that flesh and blood may be crucified together with the affections and lusts thereof and to give the body as a meat offering on this spiritual sabbath to the honor of Jesus the Author of the heavenly Sabbath, that both body and soul may, with and by Jesus and his grace, enjoy the everlasting sabbath in his eternal kingdom which Jesus opened and entered into on the spiritual sabbath of the Passover feast with his sacred body and blood, and so wrought an everlasting salvation for mankind.

In order to attain unto this rest with Jesus, we must also go with Jesus to the Passover feast of the cross of suffering on the spiritual sabbath, that under the cross through tribulation we may with Jesus enter into the kingdom of God, into everlasting joy (Matt. 10:38; Acts 14:22).

It can thus be comprehended that the symbolic sabbath was fulfilled by Jesus in the spiritual sense, and that the holy sabbath in Jesus must be kept daily in hallowing it from sin, and in a holy walk daily toward the heavenly kingdom, after the inward man in thought and mind, after the outward man in word and work, according to the demands of righteousness; for the law of the Spirit gives the believer in Christ neither time nor liberty to do the works of sin and unrighteousness. Hence those who boast of believing in Jesus, yet in purpose and will engage in the works of sin, have small promise in the holy scripture of everlasting rest, but much more of eternal distress. “Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matt. 12:32) ; “for it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, . . . if they fall away (into the works of sin}, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify unto themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” (Heb. 6:4-6; Rom. 2: 8, 9; 1 Cor. 6:8, 10; Gal. 5:10, 12). “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Heb. 10:26, 27). Therefore a man has great reason to preserve his body in the sabbath rest of the soul, that it be not moved by the enemy, to do the works of sin, and then at the judgment day body and soul suffer the everlasting distress, reproach and pain of hell, but much rather that he keep the spiritual sabbath in Jesus in body and soul, that when Jesus shall come on the last day and will restore man to his perfect state, each one receiving his own reward according to his works (Matt. 25: 34, 41; Rev. 11: 18), may then be found in the sabbath of the soul, and so in the restored body that has found rest in Christ (Matt. 11:28, 29), appear in the image of the glory of Jesus (Phil. 3:21), and then with body and soul enjoy forever and ever the everlasting rest of the eternal kingdom with Jesus and all God’s children. The believer has great reason for providing himself here in time, in the spiritual sabbath, with a spotless lamb of faith, that he may keep the feast of the passover with Jesus the Lamb of God.

CHAPTER 20
The Feast of the Passover

The Lord spoke to the children of Israel (Lev. 23:4; Deut. 16:2, 7): “These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord; seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.” So also in Num. 28:16, 17. In Deut. 16:3, the Lord speaks saying: “Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it (the feast); seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste (fear — Ger.); that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.”

Regarding the origin of the passover and its fulfillment by Jesus, mention has already been made in Chapter 6, but we will now see further how the passover should be kept on the spiritual sabbath by the believers in Jesus Christ.

The passover feast was begun by the figurative Israel by selecting a male lamb of the first year, perfect and without blemish. This lamb had to be slain in the evening at the beginning of the passover, and dealt with in strict accordance with the command of God through Moses (Ex. 12), whereby God had delivered Israel out of Egypt. God commanded the Israel of the flesh to observe the symbolical passover forever in the same manner as it was held when first instituted, in memory of the deliverance from Egypt (Ex. 12:24; Num. 9:2, 4). This passover feast became a figure or type of the perfect passover Jesus, when the perfect Paschal Lamb Jesus was sacrificed. It is proper therefore for the believers in Christ, the spiritual seed of Abraham, the followers of Christ, to believe Jesus to be the spiritually perfect Passover, and in faith confess, and in their confession to keep it in its perfect sense and significance for Jesus’ sake, and in the original way in which Jesus instituted and kept it in the body (Matt. 26:27; Mark 14:15; Luke 22: 23; John 13:18, 19)

He commanded his disciples and all believers in Jesus Christ to keep it in the same manner as he kept it. “This do in memory of me’’ (Luke 22:19; Matt. 26:17-75; 16:24, 25; 17:23; 24:9; John 15:17, 21; 16: 2, 4; Luke 24: 26-33). Whoever keeps the perfect passover in this way with Jesus, to him is promised the everlasting feast of joy, as seen Matt. 5:10-12: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The same promise is made in many places to the followers of Jesus, who with Jesus eat the passover of sorrow, and the bread of affliction. So far the reference to the spiritually fulfilled passover. Observe carefully that it is also to be kept in the spiritual sabbath, or else it might easily be desecrated by sin.

Inasmuch as Christ is the perfect fulfillment of the law (Matt. 5:17) so also was the figurative passover perfectly fulfilled by Jesus, as it should moreover be believed, confessed and observed by the believers in Christ in a spiritually sabbatic way and day, even as Christ also kept it in the sabbatic day of sinlessness. When Israel was under sore oppression under Pharaoh in Egypt, God commanded Israel to select a lamb of the first year, a male without blemish for the deliverance of the people of Israel out of Egypt, out of the bondage of Pharaoh.

After the human race had, because of the sin of Adam and Eve lain in grievous oppression of soul a long time under the spiritual Pharaoh, the devil, God, according to his promise looked down, in his endless love, and took his beloved Son, the chosen Lamb (John 1:36; Rev. 5:6) in his perfect manhood, without blemish and without sin. He came in the true spiritual sabbath of rest from all the works, of sin (John 8:46; 1 Pet. 2:22). This Lamb was kept in God and God in him (John 14:10) for the redemption of souls who were in captivity and galling bondage under the works of sin. under the spiritual Pharaoh. In due time Jesus in his sabbath rest of sinlessness proclaimed redemption by his body, and the comforting message of his kingdom to his disciples and to Israel, in preparation for the spiritual passover feast in the everlasting kingdom (Luke 22:19, 20; Matt. 4:7).

Jesus Christ is the first, the promised, the chosen Lamb ordained thereunto before the foundation of the world was laid (Rev. 22:13; Gen. 3:15; 1 Pet. 1: 20). When Jesus had come into the flesh and had almost finished his earthly course, he kept and consummated the symbolic passover with his disciples (Matt. 26: 20; Rom. 10:4), one day before the Jews ate the passover. At this time also Jesus instituted the perfect passover with bread and wine instead of the perfect passover Lamb of his flesh and blood; and he commanded this passover of bread and wine to be kept until he should come again, in memory of his broken body and shed blood, and by which the passover was perfectly fulfilled (1 Cor. 11:23, 26; John 19:30).

Jesus kept and fulfilled this passover feast in this way at the time when he instituted the memorial of his body and blood, — the perfect Paschal Lamb — with bread and wine. He became a perfect Leader to his disciples and all believers, in the perfect keeping of the passover in this that he went before them and in the washing of feet taught them the true humility and lowliness which one should show toward another with the exercise of mercy, with love and peace, and the keeping of the commandments of Christ, for the love of Christ and to the glory of the Father, and that the Father is in Jesus and Jesus in the Father; that whoever sees the Son, sees the Father also. And that the disciples might believe this he also taught them that they must suffer, and that it was sufficient for the disciple if he fared as he, the Master and Leader fared. He also prayed for his disciples, and for those who followed after them. Afterward, when Jesus had instituted the emblems of the perfect passover Lamb with bread and wine, and taught his disciples, as already mentioned, he went out in the night with his disciples to the Mount of Olives, and although Jesus is himself the Light (of day) of the world (John 8:12), yet he took upon himself the darkness of sin which was revealed by the law, and offered it, just as the symbolic passover had to be offered — between day and night. After Jesus had prayed the third time in the garden of Gethsemane, he was taken away in the dark night of the sin of the people, but on the side of Jesus in the light of Life, the love of God. Then they bound Jesus, and led him in the darkness of their sins as a blind man, but the Jews were in the night of blindness, while Jesus was the Light of Life. They brought Jesus into the hall of the high priest Caiaphas, and there began to accuse him by means of false witnesses. They covered his face and struck him with their fists, and mocking him, said: “Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?” When they had falsely accused and mocked and smitten him, they brought him at daybreak to the judgment hall of Pilate, before the heathen, as a sign that the day of salvation for Jews and Gentiles was now dawning. Jesus was falsely accused before Pilate, and derided and mocked before Herod, and in mockery and derision robed in gorgeous garments, and afterward again sent to Pilate, where he was scourged (Psa. 129:3). They platted a crown of thorns and placed it upon his head and a reed into his right hand and put a purple robe upon him, and derisively hailed him as a king. Then they took the reed out of his hand and struck him upon the head. After they had mocked him they took him and laid his cross upon him and led him out to Golgotha or the place of a skull, and there they crucified him, stretched him out, pierced his hands and his feet (Psa. 22:17, 18) and suspended him on the cross between heaven and earth. There the scribes and Jews stood gaping at him with open mouths like roaring, ravenous lions (verse 14) and mocked him in his suffering, and when in his great agony he became thirsty, they gave him vinegar mixed with gall to drink, and others mocked him, saying: “Wait, let us see if Elias will come and save him.” Jesus the Lamb was, however, in all his great suffering and cruel humiliation, full of love and desire to redeem, praying for his enemies: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And when the malefactor on the cross prayed to Jesus, saying: “Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom”, Jesus said: “Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.” In this perfect love for the salvation of man Jesus cried with a loud voice to his Father, bowed his head, and died. In this way was the perfect Lamb for the perfect Passover slain, and this perfect passover the believers in Jesus Christ should be willing to keep with him.

Jesus was led forth to the slaughter in the broad light of the natural day, and was crucified about the third hour of the day (Mark 15:25). But contrary to all natural law, the sun was darkened in the full of the moon, from the sixth until the ninth hour over all the land.

1. Consider this matter a little farther. The bright light of the natural sun, with its heat and light, which makes the day light, is a figure or type of the Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, whose light illuminates and warms the souls of this world, and enables them to continue their journey through this day of salvation, that they may then forever enjoy the brightest light of the Godhead, which enlightens eternity. And as the natural, figurative sun with its heat and light, especially at Easter time, pushes forth the natural or figurative plants of the earth into growth, so that they bring forth their fruits, each after its kind, how much more does the Everlasting Light, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, undivided give light and heat to promote the growth of the believers in soul and body, enabling them to follow Jesus, and especially at the time of the spiritually fulfilled feasts of the Passover, enabling the believers by the power of God with Jesus to keep the passover in tribulations and afflictions.

2. Consider also the moon, which is the lesser light of the earth, which illumines the light, when the sun is gone. When the sun returns the light of the moon wanes and disappears before the sunlight, although the moon retains its place and course and can be discerned in broad daylight. So we have the light and glory of the moon by night, although it exerts a powerful active influence upon the elements as it passes over the earth and water, for the moon is a large body made by God. Its influence upon the earth consists in no small degree in cooling the moisture that is in the air, and it is likewise probable that the ebb and flow of the tides are caused by the influence of the moon. This is a suggestive figure of the light and glory of the princes of darkness in this world. For as the day and sun symbolize Jesus and his light, the night and the moon symbolize Lucifer and his light of the darkness of sin; for Lucifer is a prince of this world (John 14:30; Eph. 6:12). The light and glory of this prince consist in the multitude of sins, especially along the line of vanity and pride, worldly ambition, greed for wealth and worldly pleasures and luxuries, in which particular direction every carnal being loves to excel all others in his station and calling in life, as is the case at present with the kingdoms and powers of this earth. The nations and vast multitudes of people under the influence of the prince of this world surge back and forth like water, one trying to overpower and destroy the other, first on this side, and then on the other, within the bounds of divine permission, the same as the surging tides. Nevertheless, finally, in the immutable providence of God, each one must return to the place appointed in the world, like the waters of the sea return to their place and level. But Lucifer, the prince of this world, by his power and might, sets all these carnal activities into motion, for he was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). For this Lucifer is the originator of sin, the darkness of the kingdom of this world, therefore he is a prince of this world, but is under the power of God, for Jesus Christ in God is Lord of all things in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18), and this prince of this world has no more power than God suffers him to have, as seen in Job, Chapters 1 and 2. He must obey the commands of the Lord Jesus (Matt. 4:10, 11; 8:32). But when the sin and the light of Lucifer are in the full moon of the world, that is, in the zenith of their power, the Sun of Righteousness is darkened for man, and when the kingdoms of the earth rise against each other in their full might, the moon, the light and glory of the world, turns to blood (Joel 2:31).

That in connection with the sacrifice of the perfect Passover Lamb, the body and blood of Jesus, there was darkness, or as some say, an eclipse, from the sixth to the ninth hour, contrary to all natural law, in the full of the moon, and that when Jesus died at the ninth hour in the midst of phenomenal demonstrations, the sun suddenly resumed its light, to the surprise of all, so that the heathen centurion, watching by the cross, said: “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matt. 27:54), and a heathen philosopher in Egypt is quoted as saying: “Either the Godhead is suffering, or the world is passing away.” This darkness, I say, points to several things that are worthy of note. (1) When the Lord God in the beginning made the world and all that is therein, perfect and right and good, it appeared in all its perfection of light and glory, and everything was right and good. God then said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. . . . So God created man in his own image: in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them, and blessed them” (Gen. 1:26, 27), and put them into a beautiful garden, and gave them dominion over the earth to subdue it; he also gave them dominion over the beasts of the earth, over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air. Man was in a high degree in the light and image of the righteousness of God, without suffering or pain, so that humanity at that time stood in the full light of the righteousness of God, and the world likewise and all the created things in it appeared in perfection of condition and beauty, so that humanity and all the world beside, each in its sphere and condition, appeared in the perfect light of glory.

But now a proud and haughty spirit, the angel Lucifer, who had exalted himself and had accused the angels again and again before God, was at hand. Now Adam and Eve had a command from God not to touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, nor to eat of its fruit, and that on the day they ate thereof they should die. Lucifer in the guise of a serpent came; for the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field, and said to the woman: “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” The woman replied: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” (Gen. 3:1-3). Thereupon the serpent made the word of God appear like an untruth, by saying to the woman: Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4, 5). Giving heed to such abominable lies, Eve looked upon the tree (and desire was created), took of its fruit and ate, and gave also to her husband, and he ate. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. The image and life of the righteousness of God had died, and the full brightness, glory and state in this world, the sun of the divine righteousness had turned into darkness in man, so that Adam and Eve were afraid of the presence of God, or to look upon him, and so hid themselves in the garden, because of the darkness of their sins, instigated by Lucifer. By this there was brought about a fall that included so much that it cannot be described, nor do I believe that it should be described. In this misery God came and called Adam. Adam answered: “I heard thy voice . . . and I was afraid.” God then said: “Hast thou not eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” Adam replied: “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” But the woman said: “The serpent beguiled me.” (The serpent or Lucifer was not requested to answer.) Then God said to the serpent as to Lucifer: “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” (Gen. 3:9-14). Inasmuch as man through the darkness of sin had fallen into the death of the divine life of the soul by the consent of the flesh, God’s punishment came upon man in his flesh and blood; first Eve, then Adam also, and he drove them out of the garden of Eden and put a guard before the garden, by placing there cherubims with a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. Then was the human race driven out of the garden of Eden, the sun of the life of divine righteousness became darkened to their eyes, the bodies of men had fallen from their glorious state of the purity of God, and surrounded by many pains and afflictions and subjected to temporal death (which for man in his miserable condition was really a benefit). Beside this the earth was cursed for the sake of man. The world had lost its beauty and its perfect state, the serpent, with Lucifer the devil, and the angels were cast upon the earth into the hell of darkness (Isa. 14; 4-20; Rev. 12:9, 12; 1 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). All the creatures of the earth which had been created right and good, were changed, a menace and a plague to mankind, fallen under darkness to the limit of destructive power unto the judgment of the great day, of which Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied (Jude 14). Adam and Eve, with their great descendants, were in deep misery, held captive in sin by Lucifer. The sun of righteousness had darkened to them, the world became a punishment to them; they saw the glory of this world with its glitter and pleasure, serving only to lead them into deeper sin and punishment. On this account Adam with his son Seth’s generation kept themselves in humility, but Cain’s posterity interested themselves in the glories of this world, in the building of cities, in becoming artificers in brass and iron, in the making of harps and organs. And because the children of God, the generation of Seth mingled with the children of men. in carnal pleasures and glory of this world, it served to sink them also into deeper sin and darkness, so that God’s anger was against the world in general and the world was drowned in the deluge, Noah and his family alone being preserved. Thus it can be seen that from the sin of Adam the glory of the world served to sink mankind into sin and darkness.

Let us now turn again to Jesus Christ the Son of God of whom God promised that he should bruise the head of the serpent, the devil and bring salvation life and the righteousness of God to man (Gen. 3:15) by the sacrifice of his body and blood. When this sacrifice was offered up as mentioned before and as shown in Chapter 6 of this book in speaking of the symbolic Passover Lamb, an unusual, unnatural darkening or eclipse of the sun took place from the sixth until the ninth hour. In the ninth hour when the sacrifice of the Lamb, Jesus was completed, the darkness also ended and the sun regained its light, as a token that as man had through the darkness of sin died unto the life of righteousness, this life of righteousness had to be brought back to man in darkness. (1) Jesus took upon himself the blackness of sin (Isa. 53) ; (2) Jesus was taken captive in the darkness of sin-benighted Judaism, delivered over to the Gentiles and crucified while the night of sin enveloped Jew and Gentiles alike; (3) The darkness of the sun came to an end as a sign that the darkness of the soul and body had ended with the sacrifice of Christ, and that the life and light of divine righteousness which had died in Adam was restored, as had been graciously promised to Adam, and for which the patriarchs and prophets long hoped, and was now fulfilled in the last time, in the afternoon, the ninth hour of the world’s day, when Jesus died, at the end of the sun’s darkness, indicating the end of the darkness caused by the sin of Adam, which Lucifer instigated at the time when the world was in all the fullness of its glory, like the moon at the full; for the world is in the zenith of its glory in man or in general, as the world views it, when the darkness of sin is greatest, and when the world is in the deepest gloom of sorrow in man or in a general way, then, for salvation of man and for the glory of Jesus the light of the Sun of Righteousness, Jesus Christ, is nearest at hand, and arises in the fullness of its splendor. Thus in the passion of Jesus the greatest darkness of sin enveloped the humanity of Jesus, with anguish and great pain, so that even the sun paled and darkened in sorrow, and the earth trembled and the rocks were rent, and the graves opened, and the vail of the temple was rent in twain, as may be read in Chapter 6 of this book. But herein the bright Light, the gracious Sun, the precious redemption of man, was revealed, where justification of life again came upon all men (Rom. 5:18), by which all things were reconciled unto himself, whether of things on earth or of things in heaven (Col. 1:20), and by which all men have free access to God, by following Jesus into the holy, heavenly kingdom of joy. But Jesus entered by the way of sorrow, nor is there any other way in which to follow Jesus than the way of sorrow and the cross into the kingdom of joy (Matt. 16:24; Acts 14:22).

Let us now return to the Passover. The symbolic passover was begun with a symbolic lamb, and had to be kept as a symbol. The true, perfect passover was begun and ended with the chosen, perfect, holy Lamb Jesus Christ, by which man was born again from death unto life by Jesus, the living Word (Rom. 5:18; John 1:14; Jas. 1:18). By this means moreover man was again delivered from the dominion of Satan, out of darkness and sin (Col. 1:13), and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son Jesus Christ. At this passover feast Jesus entered into the holy of holies (Heb. 9:12), and obtained an eternal redemption for us. And inasmuch as such a glorious redemption was obtained and completed for man, in this passover feast as just indicated, and as also described in Chapter 6, as well as in Chapter 12, and therefore such an indescribably great boon was brought to man by this passover feast, therefore the believers have great reason to remember, to commemorate and in their lives exemplify this feast as Jesus instituted and finished by Jesus at its consummation, that they may keep the feast with Jesus, and thereby become partakers of that which Jesus wrought with his body and blood on the cross.

Since the passover feast or the feast of Easter is a great, holy feast of the Lord, the Lord desires it to be kept sacred, not according to the manner of the law, but according to the Spirit of Jesus. Jesus kept it in the sabbath, without the work of his own sins, for he committed no sin. Therefore the believers are to free themselves from the works of sin by a true, living faith in Jesus , and wash and cleanse themselves of unrighteousness, change their raiment, that is, their lives, into holiness, that the holy feast of the Lord be kept on the sabbath day (of rest in Jesus), so that the participants may be prepared with Jesus to live and walk in the spirit of the passover, in the redeemed life, being shod with righteousness and having their loins girded with truth and love, and having the staff of salvation in their hands (Ex. 12:11), and thus be prepared as those who hasten with Jesus to eat the passover which Jesus instituted with bread and wine in commemoration of the body and blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, and which he instituted and commanded to be kept in remembrance of him (Matt. 26; Mark 14.; Luke 22; 1 Cor. 11). This is a preliminary of the spiritual passover whereby the believer enters into the passover communion of the flesh and blood of Jesus.

When Jesus has instituted the memorial service of his flesh and blood, and kept it with his disciples, a lamb had to be slain to complete the figure, not a lamb from among the sheep or goats, but the true Lamb, which was born of the Virgin Mary, God’s only Son, who, in the counsel of God, was chosen for the passover feast. Jesus willingly gave his flesh and blood as an offering for the universal redemption of the human race. The believers must follow him if they would enter into the kingdom of God.

Let all who love Jesus consider this matter well. As often as the believers keep the Lord’s supper in commemoration of the flesh and blood of Jesus with sincere hearts, they renew their fellowship with Jesus the Lamb and his precious redemption, and each time, in partaking of the emblems of bread and wine, they pledge themselves in the spiritual passover feast, to offer up a lamb to Jesus, for the sake of Jesus and his truth, as Jesus did for the salvation of mankind. And as the believers of the spiritual body of the church of Jesus, eat natural bread and drink wine in the communion of the Lamb Jesus (John 1:29; Rev. 5:6), they also should be sincerely willing to offer up a natural lamb, according to the example of Christ. This must, however, not be a lamb of the sheep or goats, but a lamb whose soul is born of God (1 John 5:1) and follows Jesus (John 10:4, 27; Isa. 40:11). The believing followers of Jesus must from the depths of their hearts surrender their own bodies, flesh and blood, and all that is comprehended therein in the passover feast as an offering unto the Lord, and remain faithful therein unto the end of life or until their voluntary offering is fulfilled in the sacrificing of their own bodies, and they enter into the everlasting kingdom, and are gathered into the arms and bosom of their Lord, the Great Shepherd (Isa. 40:11).

The figurative passover feast continued seven days; the spiritual feast has continued from the beginning of the time when Jesus instituted the memorial of the passover, the flesh and blood of the spiritual Lamb, with bread and wine, until Jesus died on the cross in pain, for then it was finished in the body of Jesus. It is the same with the passover feast of the believers. It must begin on the holy day and end on the sabbath; that is, as soon as a man learns by faith to know Jesus as the Savior and Redeemer of mankind, he shall by faith cease from the works of sin, and begin the work of the sabbath by keeping the Lord’s commands. And when according to the command of God he enters into the fellowship of the sufferings of Jesus in his flesh and blood in commemoration of which Jesus instituted the memorial service of bread and wine, so the believers are to keep fellowship with Christ in the passover, in the fellowship of suffering under the cross until the end of their lives.

In the observance of the symbolic passover no leaven was to be found in the houses of Israel, or, if found, they were to be banished out of Israel. In the spiritual Israel of the followers of Jesus, no leaven of anger, revenge, malice, craftiness and deception, or vice or iniquity of any kind, which belong to the works of sin, must be found (Gal. 5:19, 21; 1 Cor. 5). According to the word of the Lord those among whom this leaven is found (for the Lord knows all things) cannot remain in the fellowship of the passover feast of the Lamb, neither will the glory and pleasure of the worldly life fit unto the passover feast of the Lamb. Jesus was full of anguish and suffering and pain in this feast, so that his followers had no pleasure in it, for all his acquaintance stood afar off (Luke 23:49). This was fulfilled in Jesus and his acquaintances. Jesus also foretold his disciples and all his followers the following fact: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves . . . Ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake” (Matt. 10:16-22). “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. . . . Remember the word that I said unto you: The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also” (John 15:18-20). “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and they shall kill you, and you shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matt. 24:9, 13). “They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me” (John 16:2, 3). “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles, . . . it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against the parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. . . . For the disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?” (Matt. 10:16-25).

If Jesus went before with garments and body dyed with blood, how much more shall his disciples follow him thus, and keep the feast in the manner in which he did. Jesus presented the Lamb of his own body for a sacrifice; how much more should the believers offer their bodies for sacrifice (Rom. 12:1) that they may with Jesus keep the fulfilled feast as Jesus kept it. This feast is not to be kept in the Jewish manner, for the passover of the law was fulfilled in and by Christ; nor is it to be kept as many nominal Christians keep it today, for one, two or three days; for while they cease from temporal labor, and preach and hear about the suffering of Jesus; yet between suffering with Jesus and indulgence in the works of sin there is to be no fellowship, while with these the Easter tide is spent in preparation for a grand, proud display. They go to church with the evidences of pride all over their persons, and when they return to their homes they have more to say about gorgeous display and pride than they can say about the suffering of Jesus, and how we should suffer with him. After this the time is spent in excessive eating and drinking, accompanied by foolish talking and jesting, and last of all in gluttony and drunkenness, dancing, playing, in sports, fornication and adultery and gross sins of like nature, by which the kingdom of God is forfeited (Gal. 5:21). Many people serve the devil more on such occasions by making them like fairs or frolics, than by keeping them in the manner of the figurative Jews, much less in the way that Jesus and his apostles keep this feast, and as Jesus instituted, established and finished it, as has just been described. Jesus went out from the glory of his Father and lived on the bread of affliction for the sake of man’s salvation, from his birth to the end of his life upon the cross. Even though in the meantime he enjoyed days of peace, yet there was always before him the sacrifice of the Lamb at the passover feast through heavy trials, afflictions and pain, in which he fulfilled the purpose of his earthly life. It is the same with the followers of Jesus as soon as they leave the sinful pleasures of this world and by faith become regenerated children of God (1 John 5:1; Gal. 3:26). During their earthly life the children of God must eat the bread of affliction, in which they were redeemed by Jesus, and begin to keep the sabath, until they shall complete it on the day of preparation for the sabbath, even before the eternal sabbath. If by the grace of God they enjoy peace and liberty in the meantime, they should always keep the feast in mind, in which they are to be offered up for Jesus’ sake, and be equipped and keep themselves continually prepared, from the beginning of their new birth in Christ to the end of life, until they may finally be found worthy to be offered up as sacrificial lambs, and with Jesus fulfill perfectly the paschal feast of affliction. Like Jesus, the believers may even have a sincere desire for this (Luke 22:15). Jesus taught his disciples that the believers shall keep this feast amid tribulation and suffering, and he became an example to them, as shown above by many testimonies in the gospel, and as the apostles declared and did.

When Jesus began his ministry (Matt. 4:18), he saw Peter and Andrew his brother, and James and John. He called to them, saying: “Follow me”; and they left all and followed him, and so did the other apostles, and at once temptation assailed them. “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me” (Luke 22: 28, 29). Thus, in the counsel of God it was ordained that Jesus possess the kingdom amid tribulation and suffering by the sacrifice of his flesh and blood. Jesus promised the same thing to his disciples, for there is no other way into the kingdom, for Jesus is the Way and the Door (John 10:9; 14:6), and outside of this Door and Way no one can come to the Father in the kingdom. In this way and this entrance Jesus suffered so fearfully that the way and the door was completely covered with the blood which Jesus shed, so that it flowed upon the door and in the way, and all who would follow Jesus must go through this doorway, for there is no other way of entrance. Anyone who tries to enter by any other way is in danger. And even if he should succeed in getting in, he would be called a thief and would not be able to remain within (Rev. 7:14), because his robes are not washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb, and he must therefore be cast out into outer darkness, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 22:13). For this reason Jesus did not speak vainly to his disciples when he said so much about the cross and suffering. And when the apostles had been baptized with the Holy Ghost, they taught the way of suffering, as Peter writes: “For even hereunto were you called; because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps, . . . who, when he was reviled, reviled not again: when he suffered, he threatened not” (1 Pet. 2: 21-23). “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind; for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin” (1 Pet. 4:1). “Beloved, think it not strange, concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. Happy are ye, if ye be reproached for the name of Christ; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. . . . But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil doer, . . . but if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf” (1 Pet 4:12-16).

Paul taught the same thing, “confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). “I beseech you therefore, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1; 2 Tim. 3:12). The apostles not only taught this doctrine regarding the passover offering, but they exemplified and kept it by the offering of their own flesh and blood.

Let us now follow the apostles and followers of Jesus, and see how they kept the fulfilled feast of the passover as instituted by Jesus. When they had been baptized by Jesus with the Holy Ghost, they began to preach the gospel of Jesus with the power of the Spirit, with many tongues, so that there was great amazement, but there were mockers at hand who made sport of the apostles, saying: “They are full of new wine.” But the apostles were not frightened about it, so that they ceased. They only became more zealous, and showed by the power of the Spirit that this was the working of the Spirit which Jesus had poured out upon them, and when they continued to preach, a great number believed and were moved to repentance, and were baptized in the name of Jesus, so that then and there a temple, a church, a body and bride of Jesus was brought together by the Holy Spirit that became one in heart and soul. And when the apostles still continued, with signs and wonders, so that more and more believed, the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees became so angry that they laid hands on the apostles and put them under lock and key until the following morning (Acts 4:3), when they were brought before the high priest, the elders and scribes, who commanded them not to speak or teach any more in the name of Jesus (verse 18). “But Peter and John answered and said unto them Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye” (Acts 4:19). Following this they were strengthened still more by the Holy Ghost.

When the apostles still would not desist from preaching in the name of Jesus, they were cast into the common prison, but the angel of the Lord opened the door of the prison by night and led them out, that they might again preach the words of this life. They did so, and were again arrested and brought before the high priest (Acts 5:18-21), and before the council of the elders, where the apostles again spoke boldly of Jesus, that he had been ordained and exalted by God to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins, and that they and the Holy Ghost were witnesses of these things. When the council heard this they laid plans to slay the apostles, but God changed their plans through Gamaliel (verses 21, 33, 34, 40, 41). The apostles were then beaten and commanded not to speak in the name of Jesus, and were then released. The apostles, however, departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. So joyful were the apostles in this feast that they partook of the passover feast of shame, prison and stripes with pleasure in their spiritual sabbath passover.

Afterward Stephen, full of the Holy Ghost, fearlessly preached Jesus with power before the elders and scribes and leaders of the people. When he was thus filled with the Holy Ghost he looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. But they would not hear him; they stopped their ears and cast him out of the city and stoned him. Stephen kneeled down and cried with a loud voice: “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7: 59, 60). And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Thus Stephen also kept the passover feast with the sacrifice of his life. He was the first after Jesus, and he saw the glory of God unfolding before him; for when the believer is encompassed with tribulation and so gives up his body willingly to be offered up for the sake of Jesus and his gospel, he celebrates the perfect passover feast of the new covenant. In this Jesus was the first. He inaugurated it with his own flesh and blood, and wrought an unspeakably great salvation for mankind. God therefore desires also that his believers prepare themselves in trials and tribulations to offer their bodies as a paschal lamb, so that if the passover is to be celebrated in and by one or another, each one may be prepared to celebrate it in his own body as Jesus did.

The apostles gave themselves, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and according to the command of God unto the cross and tribulation to keep the passover with the lamb of their own flesh and blood, each one according to the example of their Lord Jesus. Of these James, the brother of our Lord Jesus, was the first (Acts 12:1, 2). He was put to death by the sword; and so James kept the passover of the new covenant with his own flesh and blood after the example of Jesus Christ. In like manner all of the apostles kept it, although it is recorded of John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, that he died at Ephesus; nevertheless he was fully prepared to keep the feast as ordained by Christ; for John lived through the first persecution of Nero, in which he was no doubt a great comfort to the believers in their sufferings by the anointment he had received, as his epistles indicate. Afterward, when the second persecution began under Domitian A. D. 93, or, as another says, A. D. 96, Sebastian Franck writes that John was put into a cauldron of boiling oil, out of which he emerged unharmed, when he was banished to the Isle of Patmos, of which the Book of Revelation makes plain mention. There he had Jesus and the angels for companions, and there he wrote the Revelations of Jesus Christ. Afterward he was freed from the island and taken to Ephesus, where he died. Thus was John so wonderfully preserved that Jesus’ words regarding him (John 21:22) were fulfilled: “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?” John therefore was preserved through the two persecutions, and remained in the anointing of joy of the Holy Spirit until the Lord Jesus came and took him unto himself from the earth in a peaceful sleep, after he had drunk the cup of sorrows for a long time, and for a long time had given his body as an offering, and in his perfect willingness kept the passover for a long time in the manner that Christ kept it; for there is no other way to the feast of joy except by eating the bread of affliction, to suffer and to die with Jesus that one may become a partaker of the sacrifice of the suffering, death and shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ, by which the believers enter with Jesus into the eternal kingdom.

For this reason the believing followers of Christ, in the period immediately following the death of Christ, or for about 280 years, as defenseless sheep by faith thoroughly prepared themselves with Christ to keep the passover with the sacrifice of the lambs of their own bodies, even as Jesus had given them an example. During this period there were ten great persecutions, which may well be called ten great passover feasts, in all of which it is estimated that several millions of believing followers of Jesus gave up their bodies as sacrifices for the passover of affliction, and with Jesus kept the perfected feast by offering up as lambs their own flesh and blood, thus partaking with Jesus of his passover and entering with him into the eternal paradise of his everlasting kingdom, and are now resting under the altar clothed in white robes (Rev. 6:9, 11; 7:9-17).

Sacred writ reveals the fact that there were at times long periods when the figurative passover was not kept, especially when Israel because of its sin was vanquished by its enemies, and the sanctuary was made desolate. But when Israel turned away from its sins, the Lord again delivered the people from their enemies, when they restored and cleansed the sanctuary, and on a number of occasions held great passover feasts, as seen in 2 Kings 23 and 2 Chron. chapters 30 and 35.

Regarding the spiritual lamb and passover of Jesus Christ, we find likewise that at times it was little or indifferently observed, and especially after the ten persecutions, when the Christian church enjoyed great liberty, and sin consequently stole into the church in the shape of errors of many kinds. Hideous pride and ambition gained control, and the devastating work of the sword and of bloodshed began under the nominal Christians in the time of Constantine and the Aryans, and has continued to the present time. From A. D. 311 to A. D. 1210 the keeping of the spiritual feast with spiritual lambs of Jesus Christ fell largely into disuse, especially from A. D. 368 to A. D. 1210. Although within the period mentioned, Christianity spread, nevertheless the non-resistant sheep of Jesus Christ were few in number who kept the spiritual passover feast with Jesus up to the year 1210. Then a body of people called Waldenses or Waldensians, Albigenses, Anabaptists, and others of like seemly and unseemly names, arose, who came out of Babylon, left this spiritual desolation, cleansed the sanctuary of the Lord of its Babylonian traditions of men and amended their lives in repentance and by faith set up a spiritual tabernacle and church of God. Scarcely had this been accomplished when the spiritual passover feast with spiritual lamps was held among them. Great numbers of them gave up their flesh and blood as lambs for the passover sacrifice, just as Jesus did. Then the passover began to be essentially or substantially kept again according to the example of Christ in a great number of sacrifices; so large indeed that at one time alone at Lavaur or Vaurum more than 400 persons were burnt. Similar scenes were enacted many times between 1210 and 1500.

Afterward in the time of the Reformation the non-resistant people, a church of Christ, also came into prominence and increased in Europe, and because they baptized only adults upon repentance and confession of faith, they were called Baptists or Anabaptists. When this non-resistant church of Christ had been planted, it was not long before they were called upon to partake of the feast of affliction with Christ and follow Jesus in the way of suffering, by which one enters into the holy of holies with Jesus, which, while contemptible in the eyes of worldly men, is glorious in the sight of God. In this period John Koch and Leonard Keyser were the first to prepare the passover with their own flesh and blood A. D. 1524. These were followed by many repetitions, so that in 1529 the burgrave (mayor) Dietrich (Theodore) alone caused 359 of them to be put to death in Altzen, and these grim passover feasts were kept at the time by the followers of Jesus throughout the whole imperial realm, and continued there for about 100 years, and considerably longer in Switzerland, until gradually the violence of persecution abated. How innumerably many spiritual passover lambs were sacrificed altogether, and by what means, has been more fully described in Chapter 12. Now, however, this spiritual passover which Jesus and his followers kept with their own flesh and blood is seldom kept by the churches, yet they claim to be good Christians, even though God commanded this feast to be kept as a holy feast (Lev. 23:4) and which Jesus kept sacred with the offering of his own flesh and blood and taught his disciples in so many places in the gospel to follow him in bearing the cross and drinking his cup and being baptized with the baptism of suffering and bloodshed (Matt. 20:23). The disciples obeyed the command and kept the feast, as has already been shown.

What is the reason that this feast is seldom kept now by the non-resistant people in their own flesh and blood as Jesus did?

Some declare that God’s mercy is so great toward the non-resistant churches; others think that God is so controlling the hearts of the authorities and rulers that they will not be persecutors. This may be accepted as a satisfactory answer if there is nothing else in the way to prevent the continued keeping of this spiritual feast.

However, another reason may be assigned for the present non-observance of this spiritual, passover among the non-resistant churches, no matter what name they may bear, for all of them are making the greatest effort to prevent this feast from being held in their time and in the time of their children, that is, in the sacrifice of their flesh and blood, as Jesus kept it.

To accomplish this prevention the following means are used: Christian humility is disregarded. The ways of the world are adopted in a life of pride and ambition for worldly honor and wealth in order to be like the world, and thereby avoid being despised by the world. In this time of great liberty every effort is being made to become rich in the world, by which to gain the favor of the great of this world with gifts and contributions in order to make one’s way everywhere, and so escape derision, contempt and imprisonment. Large portions of worldly possessions are taken, with gold and silver and all that is considered valuable, and therewith presents and contributions are made to kings, princes, dukes and nobles great and small, so that in many places those non-resistant people are the best subjects who furnish the most “milk.” How inconsistent it would be for the authorities to allow any injury to come to such well-fed “milch cows,” inasmuch as, in many places, in addition, these non-resistant people pay large amounts for their liberty. There are also some non-resistant churches who make an effort to elect officials or magistrates according to their own wishes and ideas, and some even seek these offices themselves and serve in them in order that they may assure not only those in our own time, but also our children, exemption from the feast of affliction as kept by Jesus, all worldly ways and means and procedure used by the world and the flesh being employed to accomplish this end, for the purpose of enjoying honor and the good things of life, forgetting, however, that all these things are a hindrance in the way that leads straight to the eternal kingdom, into which Jesus and all his true followers entered by keeping the true spiritual passover, as Jesus taught again and again, and of which the Apostle Paul speaks (Acts 14:22), when he says that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

There is, however, still another reason why this feast is so little kept today. There is too little faith in God. Too much dependence is placed upon the world. There is too little love toward God and neighbor. There is too much love of the world, too much craft, cunning and deception regarding worldly possessions, together with love of money, contention, greed, jealousy and bickering. These and similar characteristics corrupt man so that he is not fit to appear before God and offer the spiritual passover, and if men cannot make their way in this corrupt, temporal life according to their own ideas, they often imagine that to be their cross, and they presume to bear it, often, however, with impatience. But this is not the cross of Christ, but the cross of corrupt nature, which is not easily satisfied; “for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). Furthermore, Christianity in many non-resistant Christians is so small and weak that they do not like to hear each other speak of the spiritual passover feast, or that it would be well if it were kept again as Jesus and his followers kept it, even though it is the nearest direct way into the heavenly kingdom for all true believers. But inasmuch as the spiritual passover feast is also to be kept on the spiritual sabbath, the above reason is a work of sin, and stands as a barrier, a strong and thorny hedge in the way, preventing entrance to the spiritual passover which Jesus and his followers kept.

What can be done so as to make it possible to restore the spiritual passover and thereby also enter the great heavenly feast of joy? Hear what Jesus says: “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matt. 11:12). But a man must use force with himself; he must use force with his own corrupt nature, and no longer permit it to rule for evil ends, but must rather make it serve good purposes, in the natural as well as in the spiritual life, and with body and spirit tear down the works of sin like a thorn hedge and put it out of the way, and eradicate it out of the heart, that the way to the holy feast may be opened. In order to be able to come thereunto a man must make amendment within, in faith in Jesus, in love, in hope, in trust in God, in humility, in truth, in righteousness, in patience; in short, do the works of righteousness by keeping the commands of Jesus Christ, that the Spirit of the Father and of the Son may come to man and make his abode in the human heart; for by the Spirit of God man is prepared for the spiritual passover. If the believer would be partaker of the passover feast of the flesh and blood of Christ, he must also surrender body and soul to Christ as a passover sacrifice to keep the feast with him. For the keeping of this feast there is no other time set than that in which the Lord permits the believer to keep it, and the believer is sanctified for it. That is the best time, and unto which the feast of the Holy Ghost, or Pentecostal feast, is serviceable, as will be seen farther on.

Regarding the present annual observance of the communion, it serves, if observed and exemplified in the fear of God, and if the suffering and death of Jesus is taught and prayerfully meditated upon, to teach the believers to remember and to learn how the believers are to prepare and be willing with Jesus to keep the spiritual passover with their flesh and blood even as Jesus kept it. Should the believer, however, be permitted, under God’s protecting grace, to fall calmly asleep, the Lord will, through the love of God, graciously accept the will for the deed, as mentioned in Chapter 12.

CHAPTER 21
The Feast of Pentecost

The Lord God through Moses commanded Israel to keep three great feasts every year (Ex. 23: 16). Of these festivals the feast of Pentecost was the second. On the fiftieth day after the second day of the Passover Israel was commanded to keep this feast at the time of harvest, the first-fruits of labor, the feast of weeks, and the day of first-fruits (Ex. 23:16; 34:22; Lev. 23:16; Num. 28:26; Deut. 16:9-11).

Regarding this feast seven weeks or seven sabbaths after Easter, no special historical event is recorded as having occurred in Israel, as at the passover or Easter festival; nevertheless the Lord commanded Israel to keep it holy, and all males were to appear at the place which God had chosen. However, several things are to be noted in connection with this pentecostal festival: (1) It was commanded to be kept at an appointed time, fifty days or seven weeks after Easter and Passover, and all males were to appear, none of them empty handed; each one was to bring of the fruits of the land, as indicative of God’s blessing, for an offering unto the Lord. Israel was to offer a burnt offering, an offering of loaves, and an offering of sweet incense before the Lord; what was left belonged to the priests for their portion. Israel also had to bring a freewill offering of the first-fruits of the harvest, that they might therewith be joyful before the Lord, “and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place his name there. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt” (Deut. 16:9-12). All these and similar things Israel had to do at the feast of Pentecost, according to the law, which, however, is fulfilled in Jesus.

When Jesus had finished his sacrifice and thereby completed the Passover festival, and by his suffering, death and resurrection had brought again the precious redemption, in the salvation of life unto which Adam had died, as already spoken of at length in Chapters 6, 12 and 20, Jesus appeared to his disciples forty days after his resurrection and spoke with them concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3, 4). And as he was about to depart from them he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem until they had been endued with power from on high, but should wait for the promise of the Father, which they had heard from Jesus. “For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (Acts 1:5). After this Jesus was taken up into heaven, before their eyes. Following this the disciples of Jesus and other brethren and women continued together with one accord in prayer and supplication (Acts 1:14), as those who were thoroughly preparing themselves for the feast of Pentecost, which was about to be fulfilled in its spiritual significance by Jesus. When the morning of the fiftieth day, or day of Pentecost came, the disciples were all with one accord in one place (Acts 2:1). Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and filled all the house where they were sitting. Then there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire and sat upon each of them ; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with strange tongues as the Spirit prompted their utterances. There Jesus poured out the spiritual baptism (Acts 2:33), of which he had spoken to his disciples (Acts 1: 5), and of which John the Baptist likewise spoke (Matt. 3:11), saying: “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire and of which Joel said: “It shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:28, 29), “and they shall prophesy” (Acts 18).

On this feast of Pentecost Jesus sent his own from his own a rich blessing, the Holy Ghost, as the bread of eternal life (John 6: 56, 63), when they enjoyed the first-fruits of the harvest of the blessed joys of the eternal kingdom from the Father, the Holy Spirit, and with which Jesus so strengthened his own — mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, forsaken widows and fatherless, man-servants and maid-servants and strangers, who as spiritual priests and Levites, had assembled here — that they began to preach (with joy) with tongues of fire, according as the Spirit, the spiritual bread, gave them strength to speak. In this way the apostles, as the spiritual priests, make manifest to the people of Israel the spiritual significance of the burnt offering for sin, the offering made of flour, oil and incense which was fulfilled with the flesh and blood of Jesus at the feast of the Passover.

On the day of Pentecost the apostles, in the power of this spiritual food, freely declared that Jesus is the Christ and Savior, whom the Jews had crucified (Acts 2:21, 24, 32, 36). The apostles by means of the prophetic scriptures forcefully proved that Jesus is the Christ, and that God had raised him from the dead. The apostles moreover on the day of Pentecost declared Jesus to be the true burnt offering for the sin of the human race, as can be seen especially in the epistle to the Hebrews, where in the ninth and tenth chapters it is written that by the one offering of Jesus himself an everlasting salvation has been found. Regarding this, Peter also writes in his first epistle (1: 18, 10), and Paul (Col. 1: 13, 14, 19, 20), and John (1 John 2:2), and of which Isaiah had long before prophesied (Isa. 53). This sacrifice was fulfilled in Jesus at the spiritual feast of Pentecost, and demonstrated at this feast to the apostles and to all the believers when it was fulfilled by Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit, in whom the believers are to keep the feast continually, and in the spiritual sabbath day in ceasing from the works of sin to the time of the third feast; for one is included in the other, until finally, at the appointed time, through Christ all things shall be transformed into the perfection of the everlasting kingdom, in which there will be no more blemishes or imperfections.

The spiritual meat offering with sweet incense was thus brought unto God at the feast of Pentecost in the feast of the Holy Ghost by the apostles and subsequently by all true believers, in that through the sweet incense of words and deeds they confessed by the power of the Holy Spirit that God had made Jesus to be both Lord and Christ (Acts 2: 36), and that God dwelt in Christ (2 Cor. 5:19; Col. 2:9). In Jesus dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily, as Jesus himself had previously declared (John 14:10, 11) when he said: “Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me. The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” John also declared in his first epistle (5:20), that Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life, which fact Isaiah also emphatically declared (Isa. 9:6), saying that Jesus is the Wonderful Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Paul also writes (1 Tim. 6:15, 16) that he is the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal, dwelling in the light which no man can approach; . . . to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. In the epistle to the Hebrews Jesus is also confessed again and again as the only High Priest and Mediator for the sins of mankind; moreover the apostle declares that there is salvation and forgiveness of sin in no other name than in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12, etc.) Peter also declared (Acts 10:43): “Of give all prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins,” which fact Jesus repeatedly averred in his gospel, and the apostles declared that Jesus is the Judge of the whole world.

According to the above passages it can be seen in what manner the symbolic Pentecost with its symbolic sacrifice was fulfilled by Jesus in the feast of the Spirit by the Holy Ghost, and that in the spiritual feast and by the power of the Spirit the spiritual burnt offering of Jesus was revealed, as well as the offering of sweet incense, all of which is fulfilled in Jesus; moreover that the believers are, according to the command of God, to keep the feast of Pentecost spiritually by living a spiritual life, in ceasing from the works of sin, and in this spiritual feast alone observe and confess the one spiritual Burnt Offering, namely that in Jesus and his sacrifice alone man obtains remission of sin and eternal life, and that he shall bring to Jesus alone the offering of incense and sweet savor in the spiritual feast; for, since Jesus fulfilled it spiritually, it must be presented to him spiritually; for Jesus alone, and no man, is entirely and eminently worthy of receiving the thank offering of honor and glory. In Christ the apostles and early Christians rendered unto God alone the sacrifice of honor, glory and praise. It cost them their lives, and it should be so today.

So far regarding the sacrifice at the spiritual feast, all of which belongs to God. Herewith follow some thoughts regarding the remaining meat offering, which belongs to man; also regarding the building of the church of Christ.

It has been shown above, that Israel was to bring some first-fruits of the early harvest to the feast of Pentecost. No one was to come empty handed. Of these offerings they were first of all to kindle the sacrifice of sweet incense upon the altar unto the Lord; the rest was to belong to the priests and Levites. It has also been shown above from Deut. 16 that the least among the people were to share in partaking of the fruits of the early harvest, so that all might be made glad.

The apostles and those who were with them, were, on the day of Pentecost showered with the rich blessings of the early harvest of the Holy Ghost, who was before all things (Gen. 1:2), who was the first or original life of man (Gen. 2: 7), and to whom the first parents Adam and Eve, through sin, had in a sense died. But when Jesus, who is the life and light of men (John 1:4), had poured out of this Spirit upon his apostles as a blessing of life, the apostles likewise, at this spiritual feast, immediately bestowed of these spiritual gifts upon all the people, as a spiritual feast for the soul, and all who received this food to their benefit, were pricked in their hearts, and were so quickened that with conscience-smitten minds they said to the apostles: “Ye men and brethren, what shall we do?” When the apostles heard that, they gave the people more of the spiritual food, and Peter said to them: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” With many other words Peter confirmed his teaching, while the burden of his exhortations was: “Save yourselves from the perverse spirit of this age.” So those who willingly accepted his teaching were baptized and about three thousand people joined the disciples on that day alone. Understand, to those who received and partook of the Word, which is spirit and life (John 6:63), which Jesus poured out upon the apostles and the people, and did what was commanded in the word of the Spirit, to them it became spiritual food for the soul, by means of which man is brought again to that life to which Adam had died, namely in the forgiveness of sins and entrance to the life of glorious joy. Understand, the divine food of the spiritual feast is the Word and the Spirit, and the keeping of that which God has commanded therein and desires to have kept (John 6:63; 4:32, 34). From this spiritual feast the three thousand souls received such a measure of divine joy that they so welded themselves together into a temple and dwelling of God in love and joy, that they were as one heart and one soul.

Such was the power which the believers obtained in the spiritual meat offering of the spiritual Pentecostal feast, which was fulfilled by Jesus. And all who here in time partake of this fulfilled Pentecostal feast, and of the spiritual meat offering so that they become filled with the divine joy and remain steadfast therein in keeping it until the time of the third feast, will also partake of the joy of the third feast.

Let us further contemplate the kind of spiritual structure which was built at the time of the spiritual feast. ‘

When in the beginning God created all things right and good, he also on the sixth day created man. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him,” “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul,” and God blessed them that they should be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it. God also gave man dominion over all the creatures of the earth, over the fish in the sea, and the fowl of the air and placed man in a beautiful garden in Eden to dress and keep it, and to eat the fruits of the trees in the garden; only of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he was not to eat, nor even touch it; on the day that he would do so he should die. If man had remained in this exalted state, he with his posterity would have been a ruler on earth, the image of God, and earth a kingdom of God in which God would have lived and moved, the inhabitants a holy people, God’s own people, the bride and church of God and children of the living God and heirs of his eternal kingdom. And with all this the divine image of God, the divine life, the divine Spirit, the righteousness and holiness of God would have remained, all of which exist in God, who would then have been the strength, rock, fortress and presenter of man (Psa. 18:2), so that no creature nor visible, elemental substance could have harmed him.

But there was an angel or spirit, now however, called the dragon, Lucifer, that old serpent, who desired to make himself equal with God and became an accuser of the angels before God (Isa. 14; Rev. 12). When this spirit beheld created man in this glorious state he became envious and sought to deprive man of the same (as if he would possess it himself). So he came to Eve and addressed her (as if he would ask her; although, as may be easily imagined, he knew): “Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Eve replied to the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, lest ye die.” Then Lucifer through the agency of the serpent said: “Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Then the woman, looking upon the tree, saw that it was good to eat thereof, and she ate, and gave to her husband also to eat of it. Thus was man lied to and deceived and slain by the old dragon, so that death came upon him, which revealed to him his nakedness, and that he had died to all his former glorious estate, his image and life of God, as God had previously told them. Then God called: “Adam, hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee, that thou shouldest not eat?” Adam said: “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” The woman said: “The serpent beguiled me.” Then God said to the serpent: “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” Then was the serpent, with the spirit Lucifer, cast upon the earth, and God said: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” God here spoke of Jesus who should intervene and bring deliverance.

Of this salvation God by his Spirit spoke many times through the prophets, until finally Jesus, the eternal Word, proceeded from the Father and came to the earth in the flesh. He proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God, and brought salvation with his own body upon the cross, in his suffering, death and resurrection, that the kingdom of God might again be made manifest upon earth, and which Jesus again established by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost.

When Jesus by his suffering and death bruised the serpent’s head and dispersed the kingdom of Satan, in this that he had delivered the human race from the serpent, which because of the sin of Adam was in bondage, God did not wish mankind merely to be free in the world, but he desired to establish his kingdom among mankind. For this purpose God sent that perfect Being, the Holy Spirit, upon the earth, by whom he would re-establish his kingdom and dwelling place among mankind. How this came to pass, John saw afterward in a vision (Rev. 21: 2, 3): “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” This is the city, tabernacle and image which Moses saw upon the Mount, and after the pattern of which he had to build a tabernacle, as indicated in Chapter 10.

So then God through Jesus Christ poured out the Holy Spirit by whom it was his will to establish the kingdom of God, the house and city of God, the holy nation, the peculiar people of God, the holy church and bride of Christ, the children and heir of the eternal kingdom, to all of which Adam had died, and of which he had been deprived through sin and the serpent’s guile, but which has been, after the inward man, restored by Jesus. For when the Holy Spirit, the living essential of the holy city, the decoration of the adorned bride, was poured out upon the apostles, he at once made the apostles joyful and adorned them with love and joy in Jesus the true God, so that they regarded neither bonds nor imprisonment, life nor death, but through the Holy Spirit began with all joy to preach to the people concerning the Lord Jesus in such a way that the Holy Spirit accomplished his work to the extent that they were pricked in their hearts — a leading toward the kingdom within them (Luke 17:21), so that the kingdom of God through the kingdom of God, that is, through the Holy Spirit, was prepared within them as by a wise Master Builder, for a kingdom and city of the living God (1 Cor. 6: 16). Thus they were so prepared for the indwelling of God by the power of the Spirit, when the word of the Spirit pierced their inward parts, that they were crushed and pierced (Heb. 4: 12) and said to the apostles: “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37, 38) They were then still further prepared by the Holy Spirit, the wise Master Builder, by these words of Peter: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Further: “Save yourselves from this untoward generation,” or, perverse spirit of this age. All who gladly received the word of the Spirit, so that they were prepared by the wise Master Builder that the kingdom of God was established and garnered within them, were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins,-and about three thousand people joined the disciples on that day alone. This took place on the spiritual day of Pentecost. Let us hear further what benefit these three thousand souls derived there-from, and what they really joined.

In the first place, by faith in Jesus they had everlasting life, and became the children of God (John 3: 16, 36; 6:40, 47; Gal. 3:26).

In the second place, by baptism they obtained the fulfillment of righteousness (Matt. 3 :15). Jesus said, when about to be baptized: “Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.”

In the third place, by baptism they had, as the Holy Spirit speaks through Peter, forgiveness of sins in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38), and salvation, as Peter writes (1 Pet. 3:21): “The like figure whereunto, even baptism, doth also now save us, not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God.” Jesus says (Mark 16:16): “He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved.”

Fourthly, the believer is baptized into the body of Christ. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12: 13). “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). Thus these three thousand souls in Christ were added to the body of the church of Christ.

Fifthly, they were added to the holy church. “Even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:25-27).

Sixthly, they were brought into the kingdom of Christ. “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13, 14).

Seventhly, they were brought into the house and temple of the living God. “But Christ as a Son over his own house; whose house are we” (Heb. 3:6). “That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). “Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19).

Eighthly, they came unto Mount Zion. In the last days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and the people shall flow into it. And many nations shall come, and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for the law shall go forth out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem; . . . and they shall beat their swords into plough shares, and their spears into pruning hooks” (Mac. 4:1-3; Isa. 2:2, 3); that they may thereby plow through the human heart by the power of the Holy Ghost, that they may gather there-from the fruits of righteousness, love and peace. For the believers who come into the house of the church of the living God were of one accord, full of the love of God, so that they could no longer strive for the world, but much more for the kingdom of heaven, willing to suffer with Jesus and bear his cross, that with Jesus they might enter into the everlasting kingdom.

Ninthly, the believers — those who have been added to the household of the church of Christ — “are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel” (Heb. 12:22-24).

Tenthly, they attained unto the priesthood and royal estate. “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father” (Rev. 1:6), “and ambassadors in Christ’s stead” (2 Cor. 5:20), in the city and bride of the church of Christ (Rev. 21:2), in the kingdom of Jesus Christ (Dan. 2: 34, 35, 44, 45). They became sharers of the glorious felicity of the eternal kingdom of God, which was prepared from the beginning (Matt. 25:34), but which had fallen asleep (died) in Adam, and was restored by Jesus. They received again the image of the glory and brightness of God which had been lost through the sin of Adam, so that they may shine as the brightness of the heavenly glory, like the stars forever and ever (Dan. 12:3; Matt. 13:43), “and they shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” They shall be like unto the glorified body of Jesus (Matt. 17:2; John 17:5); “for our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2).

From these ten points it can be seen into what position and condition the believers will be placed, and what benefit they derive there-from in the household of the church of Christ Jesus, as prefigured in so many places under the law, and in which the devout patriarchs rejoiced and comforted themselves, and for which they looked and longed in hope, and which God through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit brought abundantly into fulfillment and thereby transformed and fulfilled the figurative feast of Pentecost which is to be kept spiritually forever among the believers for the edification and preservation of souls in the kingdom of the church of Jesus Christ, so that when the coming great feast of Tabernacles shall be fulfilled by Jesus Christ, we may also partake of the fullness of joy.

Inasmuch as God’s omniscience foreknows all things, he made an orderly arrangement of all things. First of all, the feast of Easter became a memorial of the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, and of the salvation of the human race from the sin of the Adam of death. Fifty days after this the feast of (seven) weeks or Pentecost became in the Israel of the flesh a feast of joy; that they might remember their bondage in Egypt (Deut. 16: n, 12).

Upon this feast God through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit gladdened the spiritual Israelites and followers of Jesus Christ with spiritual joy and united them by the Spirit’s power, to be a dwelling place for God and a church and bride of Jesus, where Father and Son will dwell (John 14:23). Now God desires the spiritual feast of Pentecost to be kept spiritually, that the spiritual household, the church of Jesus Christ, might be spiritually built up upon this foundation, even as it was founded and built up by the Spirit of God, and whereunto all men are redeemed by Jesus, and by him invited: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28; Luke 14). No one is here excluded, neither Jews nor Gentiles. The apostles did likewise, in that at the feast of the Spirit they daily edified one another and the church of Christ in the Spirit of God, and admonished one another to live and walk in the Spirit of God, and through the Holy Spirit brought unto God in the spiritual feast of Pentecost holy oblations in prayer as well as with their bodies and their blood. Therefore the feast of Pentecost should be kept spiritually, unto which the annual Pentecost is a memorial.

This is the way in which the spiritual Pentecost should still be kept by all who come to the years of knowledge, for the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; by whom the feast of Pentecost was spiritually fulfilled, and in whom the believers are to live, is still the same. How man may attain to this may be found by a careful study of God’s word, which in Spirit testifies of Jesus that he is God’s only beloved Son, and man’s Savior, Deliverer, Redeemer, taken captive by the Jews, bound, smitten, mocked, was delivered to Pilate, crucified and slain, and rose again on the third day, whereby Jesus has wrought the life, redemption and salvation of man, whereof the Spirit of God testifies. And when by the faith the word of the Spirit pierces the heart into the inner realm of the heart (Luke 17:21), it instructs the human soul what to do; for by the Spirit of God man is led to and prepared for the spiritual feast, for by the Spirit of God man is instructed to repent and cleanse himself, and separate himself from all sinful works by amendment of life, and to be baptized in the name of the Lord for the forgiveness of sins. Then man enters into the spiritual feast, free from the works of sin, and of the cloak of unrighteousness, and is clothed with the robe of the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; Gal. 3: 27). Then man is born again (John 3:3, 5). Jesus answered Nicodemus: “Verily, verily I say unto you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Thus man becomes a new creature, regenerated by the Spirit of God for a new heaven and a new earth (Isa. 65:17, 18; Rev. 21: 1). In the outward man the human body is renewed out of the works of sin into the righteousness of God; out of death in sin into the life of Jesus Christ. The inward part of man, the soul, which came from God, from heaven, into the outward or material man (Gen. 2:7), must be renewed by the Holy Ghost, out of the life of sin into the life of God, out of the love of the world into the love of God and neighbor, out of carnal conversation into the heavenly conversation, out of the contemplation of worldly things into the contemplation of heavenly things, a contemplation of the attributes and characteristics of the one true God. If man is renewed in such or similar manner by the Spirit of God, he enters into a new heaven and a new earth, into the house, into the holy city, the new Jerusalem, the adorned bride, the church of Jesus Christ (Heb. 3:6; Rev. 21:2, 3), wherein God will dwell, and God himself with them will be their God. Thus man becomes a dwelling place of God (John 14:23; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16). Man then lives in and of the spiritual feast, and the substance and power of the spiritual feast are in him and give him strength and courage to attain unto all the benefits and even more, than are enumerated in the ten points already mentioned.

But inasmuch as Lucifer, the evil spirit, succeeded in deceiving Adam and Eve in their glorious state, he still uses every means to get man into a frivolous condition of mind in connection with the spiritual feast, in order that he may the more easily steal with sin into the human heart and flesh that he may deceive and mislead man out of a spiritual feast into the carnal feast to serve the world.

Because of this the believers have great reason to bear in mind the words of Jesus (Matt. 26:41): “Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Therefore a man has great reason to live continually in the spiritual feast, and to pray God in the Spirit to preserve the temple of his church, the abode of the Holy Spirit, in his name and protect it from the wicked enemy (John 4:23); for the Spirit of God is the spiritual unction of the spiritual feast (1 John 2:20, 27) which teaches man what is pleasing to God. What this spiritual unction teaches is truth, and is no lie, for this anointment is the Spirit of the Father and the Son (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16: 7, 13). “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Rom. 8:9, 14-17)1. The Spirit of the Father and of the Son as one Spirit accomplishes this in us. “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Cor. 1:21, 22). “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Cor. 4:6, 7). “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:13, 14).

In this Holy Spirit, promised of God, the figurative feast of Pentecost was fulfilled by Christ, and in this holy feast the believers are to preserve themselves in holiness, and watch jealously that they do not by a sinful life grieve the Holy Spirit of God whereby they are sealed unto the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). In this spiritual pentecostal feast the believers are to keep themselves in true lowliness and humility, in truth and righteousness, in love and peace, in meekness and patience, in mercy and faithfulness, in short, in the keeping of the commandments of Jesus Christ until the seventh month or feast of Tabernacles shall come.

Regarding the ordinary or usual feast of Pentecost or Whitsuntide, the keeping of it in the fear of the Lord serves to point to the spiritual feast. But if it is observed according to the custom of Christianity in general, by a lavish, proud display of bodily adornment, in eating and drinking to excess, by the use of every means for worldly pleasure, by ceasing from temporal labor for one or two, or even three days, even though the people go to church or religious meeting, and sit or stand as if giving attention to the sermon, yet after the service go home, as is the custom, and hold a feast, many with gluttony and drunkenness, and afterward with playing and dancing, and with it fornication and adultery, accompanied by blasphemous, ribald jest and song; finally with profanity and cursing, attended with fighting and bloodshed, in short, with all manner of sins and vices, by which the kingdom of God is utterly ignored — by this manner of observing the day the figurative feast of the Jews is not kept, much less the feast of the Holy Spirit. Rather do such dead-in-sin people keep a feast to the proud spirit Lucifer, Satan, the devil, who takes delight therein. But it greatly behooves those who are thus dead in sin to receive the admonition contained in these stern words of reproof, to leave the feast of the sins of the devil and come unto the feast of the Holy Spirit, that they might thereby obtain the life in Christ and salvation.

Those who are moved by the Holy Spirit of God to partake of the spiritual feast will guard themselves carefully against the feast of the sins of the devil, for the Spirit will not suffer them to sin so grossly, because his seed remaineth in them (1 John 3 9).

CHAPTER 22
The Third Feast, or Feast of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles

The Lord said to Moses (Ex. 23:14; 34: 23): “Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.” No one was to appear at this feast empty handed. This third feast was commanded to be kept as follows: “The feast of the ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field” (Ex. 23:16). “The feast of the ingathering at the year’s end” (Ex. 34:22) had to begin with the first day of the seventh month (Lev. 23:24, 27, 34). “And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation, . . . also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement; it shall be a day of holy convocation unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work on that same day; for it is a day of atonement to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it shall be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it shall be that doth any work on that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath. And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, “Speak unto the children of Israel,” saying, “the fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work therein” (Lev. 24:23-36).

The first day and the eighth day of this gathering were to be holy days, and on each day of this feast sacrifices had to be offered with fire, as may be seen in Num. 29 throughout, showing that they were to offer continually, burnt offerings and meat offerings and sin offerings of atonement and drink offerings. This feast thus became a feast of rejoicing. “Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine; and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou and thy son and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow that are within thy gates. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose; because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hand, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice” (Deut. 16:13-15).

The Jews kept this feast until the time of Christ. See John 7:2. “Now about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.” ‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink” (John 7:14, 37). By this Jesus indicated that this figurative feast should, by his fulfillment of it, be transformed into the spiritual feast.

This third feast, in its fulfillment by Christ, contains wonderful mysteries, which lie somewhat obscure (for a humble man to write about) to elucidate them in such a way according to the truth of the Spirit, that they may be comprehended.

This feast of the seventh month includes the sabbath, the Easter or passover feast, the feast of Pentecost, the sabbatic year, which corresponds with the year of jubilee. This third feast in its perfect fulfillment by Jesus becomes a feast of rejoicing to all who are saved, for through Jesus Christ they enjoy the benefits, virtue and joy of the sabbath and these foregoing feasts, and will enjoy them forever.

The Jews were commanded to keep this feast of tabernacles in the seventh month when the ingathering of the year was ended, after they had gathered all the fruits of the harvest fields and the vineyard. At this time also the year of jubilee began (Lev. 25:8, 9), which according to our present calendar was in September. They had to keep this feast every year, as shown above, but it has not as yet come to perfect fulfillment in the new testament dispensation by Jesus, as the feast of Easter and the feast of Pentecost have been fulfilled. However, inasmuch as this third feast is a feast that includes extraordinary features, and in its figurative aspect points out to the salvation of man, there will also, in the fulfillment of this feast, be accomplished by Jesus Christ an exceptional salvation for all the saints, which must be understood as pointing to the day of the Lord, when he shall gather his own unto himself.

When the period of growth and of gathering was ended, that is, three spring months for the growth of the harvest, and three summer months for the ingathering of the harvest, that is, six months, by which time all the harvest was gathered, the seventh month began. In connection with this third feast unusual things were to be contemplated.

In the first place is to be considered the fact that when the season of ingathering is over, among many people, especially among the uncivilized heathen, the time of decrease, of want and hunger begins, because there is nothing more to be gathered from the earth.

In the second place let us remember that when the six periods of the six working days of the six months came to an end, when the time of ingathering was over, and there was nothing more to gather in, then a seventh month began in Israel, the people of God, in the service of God, in offerings, a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a time of affliction of body, which was the great day of atonement, and with it the great feast, at which time Israel, the people of God, were to have plenty to eat and to drink of that which they had gathered from threshing-floor and wine-press, and rejoice with their sons and daughters, their men-servants and maid-servants, the Levites, the stranger, the fatherless and the widows. All these times of rejoicing, together with their sacrifices to God, the people of God had in the seventh month, which was the first month of winter, when there is nothing to gather. All these several things are symbols, which shall be fulfilled by Jesus in the fullness of time. When the seventh day, the sabbath, the seven-day passover feast, the seventh week feast of Pentecost, the seventh month feast of tabernacles, the seventh or sabbatical year and the seven times seventh year of jubilee and restoration have all been fulfilled here, then all things will be consummated and fulfilled in Jesus, so that the people of God will enjoy the keeping of the feast of the sabbath forever and ever, when they shall be satisfied with the food and drink of everlasting gladness forever and ever in the eternal tabernacle of God, when Jesus Christ himself shall be in subjection to God who is. a Spirit, who fulfills all things, who is in Jesus, and Jesus in him, that God may be all and in all. See Lev. 23: 3, 23, 26, 34; Num. 29 throughout; Deut. 16:13; Lev. 25: 2-34; John 4:24; Jer. 23:24; John 14:9, 11; 1 Cor. 15:28.

Of this seventh month and feast of tabernacles, by the grace of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38), more will be said regarding their fulfillment by Jesus Christ.

The beginning of the seventh month was the end or close of the year, when there was nothing more to be gathered from the earth. It marks the beginning of the winter of the year, the beginning of the sabbatical year, and of the year of jubilee, which Israel was to keep holy, a year in which Israel was not to sow or reap anything (Lev. 25: 3, 4, 5, 9). All these occasions were symbols pointing to the seventh time, when Jesus Christ in the seventh time shall appear in his great day, and thereby make an end of the year of “six times” of ingathering upon earth, when there will be nothing left to gather either for the outward or for the inward man. But the saints and believers who during the summer time of grace, the time of ingathering, have garnered good things for both the outward and the inward man, and have kept the sabbath and the feast through Jesus Christ shall then also in the seventh time, through Jesus become partakers of the perfect fulfillment of the sabbath and feast occasions, and shall enjoy themselves forever with Jesus in the third and last or eternal feast. For the sense and substance of the scripture and the influence of the Spirit reveal to us in this seventh month the sabbath and the feasts, as well as the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee, and all these are interrelated and included one in the other, and in the final consummation will be or become one.

The sabbath and the feast of Easter have been under consideration twice before this. Nevertheless, in writing of this feast of tabernacles it is impossible to pass it by, and we will again speak of it in this connection.

The origin and source of the sabbath of rest is God from everlasting; for it is plausible that God rested through all eternity until the time when he created the heaven and the earth and all that in them is (Gen. 1 throughout; 2:1, 2; Ex. 20:11). When God had made all these things, God rested on the seventh day, and finished his work by resting, and God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it. I know of no scripture commanding Adam and his generation, or Noah, or Abraham, to keep account of the seventh day and to observe it as a sabbath and rest, until the ten commandments were given (Ex. 20:8-11), written by God himself in the tables of stone commanding his people to hallow it as a day of rest.

Someone might here think that because nothing was written regarding the sabbath for so long a period of time, nor any record kept of it, how were the Jews able to determine the correct day to and from the first day of the creation of the world, and thereby find the correct seventh day for rest and sabbath, when God rested and finished his work by resting. Or, someone might wonder when the Jews began to count from the first day to the seventh day of the sabbath, of which God commanded them to keep the sabbath and hallow it by abstaining from all work, and to offer unto God clean offerings as specified in the law (Num. 28:9).

In the first place, it is clear that the first day of creation was the first time when God created, and that the sixth day was the last time when God created the heaven and the earth and what is completed therein, and that the seventh day was the first time when God rested from all his labors.

In the second place, it is plain that God is the embodiment of all wisdom and knowledge, and that nothing is unknown to him. Therefore he could indicate to this people of Israel in the law, which day (counting from the creation) was the first day of the creation of the world, and which the seventh day.

In the third place, the Lord God set for the people of Israel a beginning of times from which the holy days, sabbaths and feasts and times were to be reckoned (see Ex. 12:2). “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Since this month was the date from which the year was to be reckoned, it is easy to believe that the first day of the creation of the world corresponded in regular order with the first day of the month; for in his wisdom God could readily arrange that. Further, it is also easy to believe that in the chronology of the first month God created the world and all things; for when God created the earth, he commanded the earth to bring forth grass and herbs and fruitful trees (Verses 11, 12). God also said: “Let the earth bring forth (every) living creature, after his kind” (Gen. 1: 24). At this time therefore the earth was beautifully adorned with all kinds of green grass, with every variety of fruitful green trees, and with all kinds of living creatures. These joyous summer seasons still have their course, as God ordained, with the beginning of the first month, when the sun reaches its equinoctial altitude, so that day and night are equal. At this time the earth begins, according to the command of God, to push forth all kinds of green grass and vegetation, and the green fruitful trees, as well as many kinds of creatures which come forth out of the earth in many different ways. In the face of these evidences it is easy to believe that according to chronology the first day of the first month was the first day of creation. Hence we arrive at the true or correct sabbath, as follows:

When God was about to lead his people Israel Out of the heavy bondage of Pharaoh, he, through Moses, designated for Israel the first day of the first month. From this date they were to count to the tenth day, when they were to choose a lamb and keep it until the fourteenth day of the month (Ex 12: 3-6). This then was the second seventh day of the month, that is, the second sabbath, for fourteen days would include two sabbaths; on the first, God rested after the creation, the second, he commanded mankind, the people of Israel, to keep holy, as the fourteenth day, when Israel was to assemble with the lamb prepared to slay it in the evening. For this Israel had to keep this fourteenth day holy, and this became the first holy day or sabbath, and which they were enjoined to keep forever. This was therefore called the great sabbath (Lev. 28:3). Upon this sabbath Israel had to gather and sanctify themselves, slay the lamb in the evening, which they had to eat with unleavened bread, and on the fifteenth day was the passover feast, from which time they had to eat unleavened bread for seven days until the evening of the twenty-first day, which was again a seventh day or sabbath. Israel therefore had to keep and hallow the first, which was the fourteenth day, when they were to assemble and do no manner of service except to offer unto the Lord the burnt offerings of two young bullocks, one ram, seven yearling lambs without blemish, and; their meat offerings (Ex. 12:16-18; Lev. 23:5-7; Num. 28:16-23). This they had likewise to do on the seventh day, which was the twenty-first day. This day they were also to hallow and to do no manner of work (Lev. 23: 8; Num. 28: 24, 25). Between these days was the passover feast of the. Lord, which began on the evening of the sabbath, and ended on the evening of the following sabbath, which was the third sabbath of the month in which Israel departed out of Egypt, by the mighty hand of God, and was delivered from the sore oppression and bondage of Egypt; a symbolic figure showing that at such a passover time the human race should be delivered from the sin of Adam by Jesus Christ, the true Lamb, and especially all those who through faith in Jesus would enter into the keeping and living of the sabbath and the feasts, moreover that he would free them from their own actual sins by the grace of the precious merits of his flesh and blood offered upon the cross. This took place 1800 years ago, and when he shall appear again in his glory, when the accepted time, the day of grace, the summer time of ingathering shall be at an end, the sabbath of the seventh month will begin for the people of God, when Jesus Christ shall appear and on the great day of the feast and shall lead his people out of the oppression, care, and labor of the body of this sin-corrupted world. Of this more may be seen in its proper place.

Thus it can be seen by the above how the sabbath and feasts among the people of Israel had their beginning according to the command of God. How the sabbath and the feasts are to be kept and exemplified in Christian living under the new dispensation of the Spirit in Christ can be seen in Chapter 12 on the Sabbath, and in Chapter 20 on the Passover, as also in Chapter 21 on the feast of Pentecost, and in what follows in this chapter.

It is in place now to consider how the glorious feast of the seventh month in its fulfillment by Jesus Christ may be participated in. The beginning thereof is Jesus, for Jesus is the beginning and the end of all divine activities in this temporal world. Hence the feast of the seventh month in all that was therein commanded by God, was begun and commanded by Jesus, and it will also be fulfilled and finished by God through Jesus. We have strong reasons, therefore, for looking unto Jesus and hear and follow him.

When Jesus in the person of divinity and humanity went up to Jerusalem to the feast of tabernacles (John 7:2), the Jews’ feast of tabernacles being at hand, “about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught” (Verse 14). “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (Verses 37, 38). “Hence Jesus also attended this feast, as the law through him had commanded; but he did not come to the feast empty, he brought with him the true spiritual water and bread of heaven, that came down from heaven (John 6:27, 35, 51-56). As Jesus at the Passover feast invited the people to eat his flesh and drink his blood (John 6:4), so now at the feast of tabernacles he called those who thirsted to him and drink of him the spiritual water, the Holy Spirit, by which men keep the spiritually fulfilled feast of tabernacles here in time with Jesus and drink of him, that they may rejoice in the Spirit, so that living streams flow from them. This feast, which Jesus announced and offered at the feast of tabernacles, the believers are to keep in time with Jesus, and they shall then also come to Jesus at the great feast on his great day.

The Jews were commanded to come to the feast at the place where the sanctuary and the tabernacle were, but they were not to come empty, but had to give of their best gifts with which to serve the Lord and that they might be made joyful.

In the fulfillment of this feast here in time by Jesus we are to come to Jesus in the sanctuary of the body of his tabernacle, his church. But no one is to come empty, but is to bring the best he has, namely, true faith in Jesus Christ that he is the Son and the Lamb of God, and the life and redemption, deliverance and salvation of mankind, in testimony of which faith man shall keep the sabbath of ceasing from the works of sin, in humility and repentance and newness of life; for on the evening of the sabbath the passover begins, and on the evening of the sabbath it ends. Thus man is to begin and end the feast of the Lamb Jesus Christ in the sabbath of faith, of humility, repentance and newness of life, that he may have such gifts to offer at the great feast of the great day of the Lord.

Moreover these precious gifts are to be brought to Jesus in his sanctuary: — fervent love toward God and fellow-man, an abiding hope and trust in God, compassion toward our fellow-man, with truth and righteousness. If we come with such gifts to Jesus’ feast of tabernacles, he will give his Spirit, the water of life, freely; even as he did to his followers in rich measure on the day of Pentecost, and they drank that they became filled with the Spirit, so that the streams of living water flowed forth upon the people and many were thereby brought to Christ (Acts 2).

It is further necessary to meditate upon the fact that Israel was likewise commanded to rejoice with the ingathering of the first-fruits of the harvest (Deut. 16:9), as also in the feast of tabernacles,; when they had gathered in all the products of the threshing-floor and the wine-press, at which time they were to be joyful (Verse 13). In these true joyous feasts Israel had temporal fruits of the earth over which to rejoice, and at which time all were to be glad.

So also in the fulfillment of the above .by Jesus, Christ for the feast of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus were fed and refreshed by the Holy Spirit, so that they were made joyful, and happy to teach and observe the gospel of Jesus, and to gather in the spiritual harvest. Jesus calls at the feast of tabernacles, at the close of summer, when there is nothing more to gather in: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters.” Jesus here speaks of the Spirit which gladdened his apostles and followers on the day of Pentecost, which Spirit was also offered as a drink by Jesus at the feast of tabernacles, that his own, in the fulfillment of the feast of tabernacles might be made glad by this Spirit, so that streams of, the Spirit will flow from them in pure gladness of heart.

But in order to attain to this gladness man must hear, accept, believe; and treasure up the word of the Lord here, that he may rejoice in this that he has laid hold of it in faith, as was the case, Acts 2:47; 8:6. “And he went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39); “and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house” (Acts 16:34).

In order to obtain the joy of the Spirit in the third feast, man must treasure up and keep to his utmost ability the word of the Spirit which God spoke through his Son Jesus Christ, his apostles and the prophets, living in the sabbath and feasts of the Spirit until the time when he shall lay aside the tabernacle of the body so that he may depart rejoicing in Spirit, or, if he should for the name of Jesus and his word’s sake be offered up with Christ, that he may ever rejoice even in this, the same as many others have done, in the firm hope that through Jesus there would be restored to them in the day of the Lord a far more glorious body, wherewith the third feast will be kept with joy; or if, should the day of the Lord appear during this mortal life, he might then be enabled to stand and to say in the joy of the Spirit: “Lo, this is our God: we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isa. 25:6-9). Therefore it behooves a man in faith to use all diligence to keep God’s command and to continue faithfully in the sabbath and the feasts of the Lord, until the feast of the seventh month shall begin, when all the sabbaths and feasts of the Lord will be made manifest and included one with the other, so that there will be one continuous feast of joy forever among all the saints.

Let us now consider the fulfillment, by Christ, of the feast of the seventh month. In Israel, when the year or period of ingathering was over, the seventh month began. The first day was a holy sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation, when Israel was to assemble and offer up for a burnt offering a young bullock, a ram and seven yearling lambs without blemish, beside their meat-offerings. Also on the tenth day of this seventh month was to be an holy convocation unto them; they were to do no servile labor, but were to afflict their souls (castigate their bodies .- Ger.); and offer up burnt offerings unto the Lord, for it was the day of atonement, when propitiation was to be made for all their sins.

The fifteenth day of this seventh month was likewise to be a holy day, when they were to come together. They were to do no servile work, but were to offer burnt sacrifices for seven days, and rejoice with or because of, that which they had gathered in; they with their, sons and daughters, man-servants and maid-servants, with priests and Levites and strangers, and with the Widows and fatherless; all were to have plenty. (See Lev. 16:29; 23:26-44; Num. 29:1-40; Deut. 16:13-15). In those passages all these things may be read in detail, all of which are symbols and shadows pointing to the end of the world; when the time, the earth, the summer of ingathering, the year of grace, will be ended, and the sun again stands at the same elevation as at the beginning of the first month, and when all things will be fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

According to the testimony of scripture and the Spirit, the great sabbath of the Lord with all the above mentioned feasts of the Lord will be revealed and made manifest together in one, upon the great day of the Lord, when the sainted people of God shall have perfect rest and joy.

Let us further consider that Israel had to have trumpets to blow when they were to assemble and when they were to break up and depart. They also needed sackbuts to blow at certain stated times, and especially at the beginning of the year of jubilee. (See Num. 10:2-10; Lev. 25:9; Josh. 6:4.) These are likewise symbols pointing to the seventh month or day of the Lord, which is the fulfillment of the “seven times when the sabbath, the passover feast, the feast of Pentecost, the feast of tabernacles, the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee will be transformed and fulfilled in its eternal perfection.

Of this fulfillment something more shall be written here, by the grace of the Lord, for of myself I cannot do it because of my own insignificance. Nevertheless I believe that no mortal man can fully comprehend, much less describe this fulfillment on the great day.

However, let us first, because it belongs here, consider the matter of the burnt offering which Israel had to offer, together with the meat offering at the time of the new moon (Num. 28:8; 11-15), and with it drink-offering and offerings of atonement, all of which has its significance. In the first place this had to be done on the first day of the month. Secondly, all burnt offerings indicated atonement for sin through Jesus Christ, and that the true sacrifice through Christ had already been provided through him who was the first, before the foundation of the world. Moreover it indicates that it should be remembered, in offering upon the first day of the month, that God founded, created and brought to light the earth on the first day (1 Pet. 1:20; Gen. 1:1-5) ; further that according to the spirit of holy writ this burnt offering of the first day of the month shall in the sacrifice, Jesus Christ, be perfectly fulfilled by Jesus in God, upon the first day of the seventh month, the day of the Lord.

Consider well, dear reader, that, according to the holy scripture, in this writing the first day of the seventh month and the feast of tabernacles point to the great day of the Lord, the end of the world, when the time of ingathering is ended, when there is nothing more to be gathered upon earth, for mortal life, neither for the inward nor the outward man, as follows:

Concerning the day of the Lord there is much to be found in the holy scripture, especially in the canonical books, and to which reference will be made as occasion may call for.

When the sixth time shall have come to an end, or have been shortened (Matt. 24:22), then according to all prophecy the day of the Lord shall come, a great, everlasting feast, a perpetual summer, for the saints, when there shall be an abundance of everything. On the other hand, for the ungodly, for all evil spirits, it will be a time of misery, an eternal, bleak winter, in which there will be nothing to gather but want, distress, hunger and thirst. However, we will speak first of the fulfillment of the feast of the saints in Christ.

On the day of the Lord the inheritance of the human race will be fulfilled and dispensed in two parts. In the first place to the saints, who have participated in the atonement of the suffering and death of Christ and have lived in his sabbath and his feasts (of which we have heretofore written), the day of the Lord will be a glorious day, the beginning of rejoicing, a day when the trumpets and sackbuts will be blown (Lev. 23:24; 25:9; Num. 29:1; Matt. 24:31; 1 Thess. 4:16). These trumpetings signify a divine voice and sound, the word of God through Jesus Christ, and his angels, which will then waken all who are in their graves, and they shall come forth (John 5:28, 29). Those who in the summer time of ingathering, before the harvest was ended, garnered the word of Jesus Christ into the ear of their hearts, so that it became alive in them (John 3), and he was born anew in them, and they have then in this new life as children of God had pleasure in the word of God and kept it, and exemplified it in their lives (John 14) in the fear of God (Luke 12:5) fearing God, even in tribulation unto death. Oh, such happy mortals, when their bodies will be awakened through Jesus Christ by the sound of the trumpet, united soul and body according to the design of God, will then be also quickened in their souls by the trumpets of the divine Word, Jesus, so that all things will be revealed and made manifest to them in their hearts in the sight of God, as to the things which they have done in the body upon earth, such as Rearing, accepting, believing, obeying and in their lives exemplifying the word of the gospel, in tribulation unto death for Jesus’ sake. Yea, the trumpet sound is easily understood as being the exercise of the precious gifts or talents as made manifest in the life of the believer, and the saints, who through God, by the influence of the sound of the trumpet enter into heavenly joy, will realize that they are now relieved from all labor, care and the anguish of soul caused by sin. At that time the saints, the people of God, will upon the first day of glory, have their holy sabbath of the memorial of the sounding of trumpets for the everlasting feast which shall be perfectly fulfilled to them by Jesus Christ; for through Jesus the seventh month and the feast of tabernacles and all other things will be fulfilled.

At this time, Jesus, the King of kings, will appear in his glory (Matt. 25:31). At this time the Lamb of God, the holy Sacrifice of burnt offering of the first day, will be made manifest (Num. 29:2; Isa. 53; John 1:29; Rev. 5:6, 13). At this time the passover feast will enter into its perfect fulfillment, when the Lamb shall be seen of all mankind, the Lamb which they had pierced (Zech. 12:10; John 19:37; Rev. 1:7). At this time the Lamb will not be full of pain, nor be looked upon with scorn as when he was upon the cross. Neither will the followers of Jesus at this time stand there full of anguish, fear and anxiety, as at the cross, when the Lamb was full of pain and blood.

At this time the Lamb will appear with many thousands of holy angels (Jude 14) in great glory. Instead of bearing his cross he will come upon a glorious throne, upon the throne of his glory. Instead of a crown of thorns he will wear a crown of gold (Rev. 14:14), or many crowns (Rev. 19:12). Instead of a face disfigured and unsightly by being buffeted and spit upon, his face will shine like the sun (Rev. 1:16). Instead of having his back torn with the cruel scourge, so the blood trickled down as in furrows (Psa. 129:3), Jesus will be seen in the transcendent brightness and purity of love and righteousness. Instead of being pierced by the soldiers, the saints will look upon Jesus with joy and behold how that in great glory the spear’s wound in Jesus’ side (John 19:34), the blood of Jesus flows to them as the stream of the life of Christ and the water of the Spirit of Christ clear as crystal from his throne (Rev. 22:1). Instead of the nails and the prints of the nails in the hands and feet of Jesus, consider the great, all-pervading, sure mercy of the precious redemption in God through the blood of the nail-wounds on the cross. Instead of the perishable royal robe that was placed upon Jesus (Matt. 27: 29), they shall behold Jesus in his indescribable, royal and high priestly robes; instead of the reed in Jesus’ right hand by which Jesus was smitten, there will be a glorious royal sceptre, by which he shall put all powers and principalities under his feet (Heb. 1:8; 1 Cor. 15:24, 26). Herewith a suggestion of the appearance of Jesus, the completeness and perfection of which in its glorious reality cannot be described.

When the saints, the people of God, shall look upon Jesus on that great day of the Lord, the holy sabbath of the memorial of trumpets, and see him, the true Passover Lamb of God, in his sacrifice, gloriously embellished in every respect and part in which it has suffered for the sin of mankind, the sight may well give cause for them to fall down upon their knees with all the hallowed hosts in sheer joy before the throne of the Lamb; for all knees shall bow before Jesus, the Lamb (Isa. 45:23; Rom. 14:11; Phil. 2:10). Well may the saints then keep a holy, humble passover feast unto the Lamb, confessing him and with thanks and praise honor and glorify him for the holy sacrifice of his body and blood, by which he as their only Savior reconciled them unto the Father and redeemed and delivered them from Satan’s kingdom of sin, and now also out of the trouble-laden life of this world, and now freed them from the terrors and anguish of sin. In bending the knees and humility of heart (it seems to me) they for joy bring to the Lord on his throne as an offering for the feast, the best fruits which they by the grace of God had gathered in this mortal life, and render highest praise and thanks to God through Christ for the great mercy which God has manifested toward them or us in love. When we had died in sin he sent his beloved Son, the Lamb, to us that we might thereby be saved, and after we had farther sinned against God by our own actual sins, God again showed his love and by the Spirit of his love drew us (John 6:44), so that we learned to know Jesus the Lamb, by whose oblation we also shall receive forgiveness of our sins by faith in his name, and repentance and amendment of life, in abstaining from sin, Hence in his love he led us to his church, the Lamb’s body, where he trained us in the keeping of his commandments, and so drew us and led us until we by his grace came to this blessed time, for this reason we praise, honor and thank his name before his face with the best we have, as a holy meat offering, all of which we here received from the Lord.

On the first day of the seventh month Israel was to offer a sacrifice (Num. 29), i.e., a young bullock, a ram and seven yearling lambs, all of which each in its place and degree refers to Jesus, the burnt offering of the bullock for atonement, as already mentioned, that he, Jesus, should appear again in the clouds, and every eye shall behold him, and they also who pierced him (John 1:7), and the saints to whom the sacrifice of Jesus will appear so glorious, will rejoice with great joy. That a ram was included in the first day’s sacrifice, signifies and points to the regenerated members of the body of the church of Christ, circumcised in .Christ (Col. 2:11), who as new-born creatures, circumcised in Christ, have been offered up after Christ and with Christ. Among these Stephen was the first, a man full of the Holy Ghost. In this first day’s offering seven lambs had to be included, typifying the seven churches, of the seven spirits, of the seven candlesticks about the throne of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, which are the seven angels of the seven churches in Asia, which seven angels or teachers with the seven churches (Rev. 1:4, 12, 16, 20) are as lambs in the great Shepherd’s arms (John 10:11), as well as penitents who likewise were offered up after Christ with Christ in great numbers, as described in Chapter 12, and of which all the animal sacrifices of the law were antitypes.

Israel furthermore was commanded to give food for a meat offering, such as flour mixed with oil, all of which it is evident had to be observed as symbols. In like manner the believers who present their bodies a living sacrifice unto God are to mix their offering with a meat or food offering — the best fruits of their good works mixed with the oil of the Holy Spirit, signifying that on the great day of the Lord all the creature, living sacrifices of the believers in Christ, with the meat offerings of good works through the Holy Spirit, shall be brought forth into the open light before the whole world, whereby God will be greatly glorified (Matt. 5:16).

Israel was furthermore commanded to bring on the first day of the seventh month a he-goat for a sin offering, as an atonement for all sacrifices, signifying that in the offering made by Jesus who is the true sin-offering for the atonement of all (1 Pet. 2:24; 1 John 2:2), all sacrifices and saints shall on the great day of the Lord be fully reconciled.

On the tenth day of the seventh month, Israel the people of God, had to afflict their souls and hallow the day, by again offering a bullock, a ram, seven lambs and a meat offering, as on the first day, beside a he-goat for a sin offering of atonement, in addition to the daily burnt offering with its meat offering and drink offering. Note carefully that this tenth day likewise in figure corresponds to the great day of the Lord, it being the first day of the seventh time, which is the fulfillment or consummation of the spiritual sabbath by Christ in the eternal sabbath rest for the people of God.

Let us further contemplate the spiritual Pentecost, which through Jesus will be spiritually fulfilled in the day of the Lord. The order and manner in which this fulfillment is typified is as follows:

The spiritual Pentecost, of which mention has been made in Chapter 21, occurred on the tenth day after the ascension of our Lord Jesus. On this tenth day, which was the fiftieth after the Passover under the Mosaic law of figures and types, Israel was commanded to offer sacrifices unto the Lord (Num. 28:27-31). These sacrifices like those on the tenth day of the seventh month, consisted of a bullock, a ram, seven yearling lambs, together with the meat offerings and a he-goat for a sin offering of atonement on the daily sacrifice. Thus the pentecostal offerings correspond almost identically with those of the tenth day of the seventh month, and therefore in its fulfillment on the day of the Lord.

Upon the spiritual Pentecost, the tenth day after Jesus poured out his Holy Spirit upon his disciples, by which Spirit they were taught on the day of Pentecost, and from then on to the present time, that Jesus is God’s only begotten Son come down from heaven, from the Father into the flesh, born of the Virgin Mary to be a Savior and Redeemer of the human race, from the sin of Adam, as well as from all actual individual sins of all those who in true penitence of life believe in him, and that Jesus is the Lord of lords and King of kings, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, Alpha and Omega, who has all power in heaven and on earth, a Judge of all the earth, who will reward every one according to his works when he shall appear in his great day, that he will awaken and bring before him all people, and that he will then restore the bodies of his own into the image of God. That they shall be like him in the glorified body of Christ, and that his own shall at his appearing rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (Phil. 3:21; 1 Pet. 1:6-8;’1 John 2:28; 4:17). All of the foregoing the Holy Spirit taught the apostles and all the faithful followers of Jesus on the spiritual feast of Pentecost that they might have joy in the day of the Lord. All those then who shall have lived here in the spiritual sabbath, in the spiritual passover and the spiritual Pentecost, shall without any doubt be partakers of the power and effectiveness of those in the final fulfillment through Jesus, when in the day of the Lord all things shall be brought into fulfillment by Jesus, and the saints shall be restored completely in the likeness of God.

The tenth day of the seventh month was a day on which the people of God were to afflict their souls (German — “bodies”), for it was their great day of atonement, when atonement was to be made for all their sins. Whoever did not afflict his soul was to be cut off from among his people. Whoever did any servile labor on this day, him the Lord would destroy from among his people (Lev. 16:29, 30, 31; 23:27, 32); for it was their great sabbath, all of them symbols of the great sabbath, the day of the Lord, showing that men are to appear on that great day of the Lord with afflicted souls, without the works of sin for the great day of atonement, in the great day of the Lord. In order to appear on this great day, man must afflict his soul here, by humility, in repentance and amendment of life, in the putting away of the works of sin, so that he may without the service of sin keep the spiritual sabbath, and in this first sabbath enter upon the spiritual passover feast of the Lamb who by his body and blood redeemed and purchased him, that is, the soul of man from the Adamic sin unto death, and that he in this sabbath and passover may enter upon the spiritual Pentecost wherein he will be taught and sealed by the Holy Spirit in the above named matters concerning his redemption. If a man in this life afflicts his soul (with self-denial) according to the word of the Lord, as mentioned above, he will also with his afflicted soul, in the sabbath of cessation from sinful works, in the Pentecost condition of spirit, enter upon the third feast of the great day of the Lord and participate in its fulfillment; for in the day of the Lord all things will be fulfilled and perfected by Jesus that is yet lacking for eternal life.

Someone may ask: What can the saint yet lack if he has been faithful in fulfilling all the above named conditions, self-denial or affliction of soul, living in the spiritual sabbath, the passover and Pentecost? Notice:

When Adam and Eve had sinned in the garden of Eden, by which the human body and soul became subject to death, Jesus was promised by God as a Redeemer from the evil results which man had brought upon himself by his sin. In the fullness of time Jesus came and preached the gospel of the kingdom of God for body and soul, in doing all of which he subjected his soul to great sorrow, and his body to great pain as an offering for soul and body. By this offering of Jesus the human soul was both redeemed from the death that came through Adam’s sin and brought into life (Rom. 5:6-21). But inasmuch as God is righteous altogether, it is also a righteous matter that the body was not simultaneously with the soul at once released from the discomforts and pains of death. Jesus came from heaven into the flesh and in his own body from his birth until he gave up the ghost of his life upon the cross in the great work of the redemption of man, he suffered many discomforts and even the pains of death, whereby he wrought a great redemption (Heb. 9:12; 10:14). Hence it is fitting that the saints, according to the example of Jesus, should here be subject to many discomforts and pains from their birth until they lay down their mortal lives. Moreover, it is fitting that the believers, according to the example of Jesus, subject their bodies under the cross and with Jesus keep the passover unto death, as the believers are commanded to do until the great day of the Lord (Matt. 24).

When the day of the Lord shall come, and the trumpets of the year of jubilee and the dead (the saints) shall arise and those who are still alive shall be changed, and they shall all stand before Jesus and Jesus before them, the saints will rejoice greatly, no matter what their rank or station, and will joyfully shout “Hosanna.” Even the infant children, in the joy of their salvation will shout, as Israel did (Matt. 21:9, 15, 16): Hosanna to the Son of God who cometh in his great glory. He will redeem us! At this time the saints will fully partake of the offering of the Lamb upon the cross who was offered for the reconciliation and redemption of both soul and body many hundreds of years ago.

As Jesus on the great day of the Lord will appear in God in his personal glorious, exalted state; so also he will also cause his saints, his followers, his believers, his brethren and sisters, his sons and daughters, his bride to be. What this means may be summed up by saying that it will be the perfect tabernacle of the church of the body of Christ. In this tabernacle Jesus at his appearing at the great feast will fulfill and complete his holy offering in all its perfection, by which all the saints will have full propitiation in both body and soul, so that they will be fully released from bodily ills and sufferings occasioned by death and sin, and be restored in the image of God which Adam had lost. The restoration of the saints through Jesus will be even far more complete than this, for they shall be no longer able to sin or to die, for unto them will be then fulfilled all that God spoke by the mouth of all his holy prophets from the beginning of the world (Acts 3: 20, 21). “For God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away” (Rev. 21:4; 7:16, 17; Isa. 25: 8). “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. . . . These words are true and faithful” (Rev. 21:5). More than this, Jesus will so highly exalt his own in glory that they will be like him, as John says (1 John 3:2): “Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” Paul writes (Phil. 3:20) : “Our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,” so that they shall “shine like the stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12:3), “in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:43). “And they that be wise (the teachers — Ger.) shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12:3). From these testimonies it is readily comprehended how the saints are, by Jesus and the sacrifice of the Lamb, over and above all ceremonial or other sacrifices, reconciled and redeemed from all sins in the great day of the Lord, of which the tenth day of the seventh month was a clear figure or prototype, which will be fulfilled in Jesus, and all who deny themselves and abstain from sin according to the instruction given in the gospel, and follow Jesus in his commandments, will without doubt be partakers of the fulfillment of the law and the restoration of man throughout an endless eternity.

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: “Speak unto the children of Israel”, saying, “The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be a feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work therein. . . . On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly, and ye shall do no servile work therein” (Lev. 23:30-36).

“Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine ; and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates, . . . because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice” (Deut. 16:13-15).

The fulfillment and transformation of this feast of tabernacles into the spiritual in this temporal realm is Jesus. In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, “If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (But this spoke he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive). (John 7:37-39)

These scripture passages indicate that this symbolic feast of tabernacles was fulfilled on the last day of the feast by Jesus and transmuted into the spiritual, so that from that time on it was to be observed in its spiritual significance, in spiritual food and drink, in spiritual rejoicing, and this without exception among all who claim to be believers in Jesus, and not seven days only; for as the spiritual is without end, so also spiritual eating and spiritual drinking and spiritual rejoicing shall not cease among the believers until they shall joyfully fall asleep, to arise again in rejoicing of spirit, and then enter into the perfect joyful feast of tabernacles in the day of the Lord; for if man lives and falls asleep here in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, he undoubtedly will so arise. On the other hand, however, if a man lives here in his sins, and dies in his sins, he will arise in his sins; for what a man takes with him will come back with him. Let everyone take due heed to this.

How the spiritual feast is to be observed to fulfill it here is shown by Jesus. We are to come unto him, and of him receive the water of life. “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). Jesus here speaks of his Spirit, which is repeatedly termed water, and which was poured out unto eternal life by Jesus on the day of Pentecost (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:33). In the same way Jesus teaches (John 6:27, 35, 48, 54, 63) of the eating of his flesh and the drinking of his blood. “Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you.” “I am the bread of life; he that cometh unto me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” With this spiritual food and drink we are to keep the feast here, and if we thus dwell in Jesus in this temporal life we shall also rejoice with Jesus eternally in the perfect feast. The manner in which Jesus’ flesh and blood are to be partaken of, Jesus himself explains: “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life,” i.e., to obey the words of Jesus and do what is pleasing to God, is meat indeed (John 4:34), and to drink of his Spirit is the real drink (John 7:39), with the strength of which, according to the word of the Lord, we gather the fruits of the Spirit in his Spirit in this year of grace, in this blessed summertime, before the period of summer is ended, and there will be nothing more to gather in. The fruit of the word and Spirit which we are to gather for body and soul unto life in the great feast of eternity consists in true faith in Jesus and his word of the Spirit, and in this word and Spirit there is a spiritual new birth (John 3:3, 8, 16), in humility, in repentance and amendment of life, in a true forsaking of sin, so that a new creature, a new man, may appear, and in this new man a divine love toward God, to keep his commandments (John 14: 21, 23), and in the keeping of his commandments a brotherly love. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another” (John 14:34) ; and in this love also charity or universal love (2 Pet. 1:7), and in this universal love or love toward all, peace (John 20:19, 21) ; and in peace the fruits of mercy (Luke 6:36); and in mercy, truth; and in truth, righteousness; in righteousness, virtue; in virtue, patience; in patience, a steadfast hope and trust in God and neighbor in all tribulations even unto the death of the cross. If a man is diligent in and with these and similar works and fruits, and in the spiritual summer gathers from the first day of the first month until the first day of the seventh month he is then able to bring fruits from the bin of his body and the wine-vat of the soul to the great feast of that great day as a thank and praise offering to God for all the benefits which God has shown mankind in body and soul. Such works and fruits serve as food and joy for the spiritual body and soul in everlasting joy and glory.

It is true, as Paul writes (1 Cor. 15:50), that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and that which is corruptible cannot inherit incorruption, but that we shall all be changed (Verse 5) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye (Verse 52), and that this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality. That which is laid into the earth (those who have fallen asleep) “is not the body that shall be, but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body” (Verses 37, 38). The human body (I here add, of the saint) “is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body” (Verses 42, 43). These passages show that flesh and blood will assume changed conditions, that the corruptible, the dishonorable, the despicable, the weak, the natural, of the human body will arise a spiritual body and appear in a transfigured, metamorphosed, glorified state, yet with differentiating degrees of glory, as Paul indicates in Verse 41.

Christ Jesus was in God, and God in him in the greatest love and glory from the beginning, through man who in love and glory was created in the image of God, to whom God also manifested the greatest love through Jesus Christ, without the merit of man; for whom Jesus also, without any sin of his own, endured in greatest love the most ignominious suffering on the cross for the debt of man’s sin. Therefore he will also in God appear in the most inexpressible brightness upon the throne of his glory, and by him all saints will be glorified with the glory with which Jesus is invested. Nevertheless it is to be believed that, as Paul writes, one will have greater glory than another, just as here one man may have followed Jesus in greater love or in deeper suffering than another, and will be invested with greater glory, so that one will differ from another in glory, as do the stars (Verse 41). Above all this, however, it is to be believed that all the saints will be alike in God’s love and that none will lack in glory, in love, in peace, in happiness, in joy in the Holy Ghost, in the everlasting kingdom of the glory of God.

At the time when the seventh angel shall sound his trumpet in the great day of the Lord, when the almighty God shall manifest his power and rule over all, he will give unto everyone his due reward, his servants, prophets, saints and all who fear his name, the small and the great (Rev. 11:17, 18). Then will the seventh month, the feast of tabernacles of the Spirit be fulfilled unto the saints by Jesus Christ, by whom all things are fulfilled, when Jesus shall have awakened the dead and translated them into his glory. Thereupon he will give them their reward, the “penny” of the eternal kingdom, when he shall say: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the eternal kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” and they shall enter into the eternal kingdom or life eternal (Matt. 20: 1, 10; 25:34, 46). There the Lord will send forth his messengers or angels with loud trumpets to call together his own elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other, and from among all the Gentiles (Isa. 66:20; Matt. 24:31). Then shall the saints, inasmuch as they have here, in the spiritual year, in the spiritual summer, in the time of proffered grace and the blood of Christ, and by the Holy Spirit, labored and garnered the fruits of the Spirit, when the third feast, the feast of tabernacles, shall be fulfilled, enter into the heavenly Canaan, into the heavenly Jerusalem, and keep the great feast forever in everlasting joy, and in the sanctuary before the throne of God make an offering of their best spiritual fruits which they have gathered with praise, and meat offerings in everlasting joy, and with the four beasts and the twenty-four elders and the hosts of the redeemed, cry: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev. 4: 8-11). “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou (the Lamb) art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, . . . and every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them (understand the saints), heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth forever and ever” (Rev. 5:9, 10, 13, 14). “After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. . . . And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders, and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and wisdom, and glory, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever” (Rev. 7:9-12).

According to these and other beautiful instructive passages of holy scripture, the great feast will be held with innumerable offerings of praise to God Almighty, by all who appear at this great feast, from the greatest to the least, and withal with innumerable meat offerings unto everlasting joy; whereof the many sacrifices at the feast of tabernacles and all other feasts were mere symbols, but fulfilled by Jesus at the third or great feast, wherein the Father, the one God, great and mighty (Isa. 9), will rejoice with his sons and daughters, his man-servants and his maid-servants, with the Levites, with the strangers, the widows, and the fatherless, so that they will rejoice forever in the great feast (Deut. 16:14), in this that they here, in the Spirit, gathered in the time of grace of Jesus. Beside this will be the glorious singing of the 144,000 who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes, which song, because of its marvelous grandeur, no man can learn except the 144,000 singers. Oh, what a joyful, happy song that will be for the saints who with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob shall come to this feast! (Rev. 14:2-4; Matt. 8:11). Moreover thus saith the Lord (Isa. 66:23, 24): “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh (understand this to mean the saints) come to worship before me,” understand with the spiritual gifts which they, the saints, have, in and by the-grace of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, gathered, and which shall be the everlasting joy and happiness of the saints in the eternal kingdom.” “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of men that have transgressed against me,” i.e., against the Lord and those of his own body, every saint being then transformed in the glory of God, while the “worm (of the unsaved) shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

Well may the saints rejoice then that they were so happy in Jesus, and that through Jesus Christ, the true God, they have been redeemed from misery (1 John 5:20). And although the saints shall in their bodies behold the unsaved in their bodies suffering in their great anguish in the fire of their torment, yet for the saints there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain (Rev. 21:4). Well may the saints then have an everlasting feast to keep, as fulfilled by Jesus; for one sabbath shall follow another, and one new moon and one yearly feast shall follow another in God and everlasting joy and glory.

Although the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee are, in the final consummation by Jesus, included in the above feast, nevertheless by God’s blessing they shall be especially noted, each in its proper place.

We have reason for considering the fate of the sinners, when in the seventh month, the feast of tabernacles shall be fulfilled by Jesus in his great day, and we will here speak of this according to the tenor and purport of holy scripture, that we may comprehend and be appalled because of the misery that shall come upon the ungodly sinners when the time of ingathering shall be at an end.

Let us consider carefully that God commanded Israel (Ex. 12:2) that this month should be the first month or beginning of the year when the sun reached the vernal equinox, the time when all the verdure of the earth comes forth. From this time on they had six months, in which period everything attained its maturity and was gathered. Then the period of ingathering came to an end (Ex. 23: 16; 34:22), at the time when the sun again reached the autumnal equinox, when the seventh month began, and there was nothing more to gather. Whoever had not gathered anything during the summer time, had nothing good to bring before the Lord at the feast for an offering, and for the joy of the people, but was in want during the winter time, when there is nothing to be gathered. When the time of grace, the acceptable time, the day of salvation, which is the present, is at an end (2 Cor. 6:2), and one has not during this time gathered of the divine fruits unto the life of blessedness, and the time comes when nothing more can be gathered for the life eternal, then the winter time of need begins, to the misery of all who have here labored in sin and gathered, according to Satan’s will, what was pleasing to the flesh, such as pride and haughtiness, honor and riches, by graft and craft and greed, in luxurious self-indulgent living, in eating and drinking, in wanton song, in sport and play of all kinds, in dancing and licentiousness, which in the world in general is considered pleasing to the flesh. Beside these are the grosser things which are considered despicable by all men and not tolerated in the world, such as fornication and adultery, gross lying and fraud, robbery and theft, hatred, quarreling, fighting, with bloodshed, murder and the like. Understand, all the above things, according to the teaching of the gospel, are the works of the flesh, and lead men into mortal sin and damnation (Gal. 5).

There is, however, still another noteworthy method by which man commits a sin unto death, and that is for a man to treat the gospel of Jesus in a frivolous way, or by considering it only in the light of his own reason, or according to the views and traditions of men or the opinions of the worldly wise and false prophets. By this means a man goes into the great poverty of death (Isa. 9:14, 15; Matt. 15:14; Col. 2: 8). To the man who so misuses the harvest time of grace and the day of salvation, wasting his time in the company of worldly-minded people who lust after the flesh, and engage in the works of sin, like those mentioned above, and thus spending the sabbath and yearly feasts, and not regarding the spiritual sabbaths and feasts as restored by Christ, much less keeping them according to the example of Christ — to such a man the seventh month, the feast of tabernacles, will be a feast of misery, for all their labors in which they had their delight, by which they gathered sin and the wrath of God, will then burn like thorns in the fire, so that neither root nor branch will be left them for eternal life.

For such people the fulfillment of the seventh month, the feast of tabernacles, will be a feast of fear and anxiety, a hard winter season, when nothing will remain for them to gather for body or soul except fearful distress, hunger, thirst, weeping and gnashing of teeth, of the beginning of which time of woe the Lord spoke repeatedly through the prophet, as well as of his great day, which will witness the awful and fearful destruction of sinners in their carnal life.

When the great day of the sounding of trumpets shall come (Num. 29:1; Lev. 23:24; 1 Thess. 4:16), and all mankind will be awakened to assemble before the Lord for the final reckoning (Num. 10:2, 3), then will be fulfilled the prophecy that there should be great terror among the sinners because of the sound for which they had not prepared. “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord; the mighty man shall cry there bitterly (understand, the sinners in the world), when they shall see the day of their slaughter at hand unto damnation. That day is a day of wrath, of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers” (Zeph. 1:14-16). For on this day of trumpets and alarms, destruction and breaking open of the glory and refuge of the strong will take place, in which they have practiced and protected sin as in mighty towers, where they would not acknowledge, much less forsake their sins. But on the day of the Lord the sinners would be glad to forsake their sins, but they will not be able to escape from them.

The sinners will say of the day of the Lord, “Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Is not the meat cut off before our eyes; yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God” (Joel 1:15, 16). For on the day of the Lord their food and provision for a glorious life of carnal pleasure will be taken from before the eyes of sinners. “The seed will rot under the earth, their garners will be desolate, their barns will be broken down, their corn wither, joy and pleasure will depart from their house of worship, the house of human traditions and worldly opinions in which men long contented and enjoyed themselves will be broken down and lie desolate. On that day everything will be obliterated and no longer count for anything. Such people will indeed be in great poverty and want at that time, in both outward and inward being, when fire shall begin to devour everything they have, so that they will bellow and groan like the beasts of the field, because the rivers of their false doctrines are dried up and the pastures of their wilderness food are devoured by fire (Joel 1:19, 20).

Moreover, according to Joel 2:2 the day of the Lord will be a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness for the sinner, and in which darkness and gloom all the sins of mankind will stand revealed before the Lord, as the light of morning spreads upon the mountains, as a great and strong people, the like of which never has been nor ever will be again “even to the years of many generations.” “A fire devoureth before them, and behind them a flame burneth” (Joel 2:3). Understand, this signifies the fire of God’s Wrath against sin by which the land, the world, which up to that time was a garden of carnal pleasure for sinners, will, after that time, by fife and flame and men of war, be turned into a wilderness and a desert from which no sinner will escape.

Understand the great strong people like the dawn of morning spread over the mountains to signify the enormous, innumerable sins of mankind, the equal of which in numbers of people, has, never existed.

“The appearance of them (the sins) is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before their face the people shall be much pained (amazed — Ger.); all faces shall gather blackness (are pale as the pitchers. — Ger.)” (Joel 2:4-6). O what terror shall seize the sinners, when all their sins which they have committed far and near, recently or long ago, “shall run like mighty men;” and “shall climb the wall like men of war,” and shall march everyone on his own ways and not break their ranks, nor shall one thrust another, they shall walk everyone in his path, and when they fall upon the sword they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city; (where the sinners are to be found) they shall run upon the wall; they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief,” into the inmost part of sinners, into their hearts, and there like men of war raise a frightful commotion in the bodies of all sinners who shall there be awakened out of the dust of the earth to everlasting shame and condemnation (John 5:29), when the enemy, their sins, will capture the citadel of the heart, and the walls of the body, the windows of the face or eye of false doctrine and completely conquer and devastate them, so that the sinners become filled with their own sins as with enemies who fill the city of their body, with their life of carnal pleasure, so that all generations of sinners will weep and wail (Matt. 24:30) ; and they then will proclaim and give account of their own sins which they have committed in the realm of sin, even of every idle word which they have spoken (Matt. 12:36). Then the work of sinners will be revealed, showing what each one has done; that they have not denied self, have not afflicted their souls for the great feast of the Lord’s great day of atonement, nor lived in true penitent faith and conversion; for which reason the wrath of God will fall upon all sinners, and their enemies, the sins of the princes of this world, will completely conquer and devastate the cities of the bodies of the sinners, and reveal them in all their hideousness, so that they will stare horribly out of the windows, i.e. the eyes of the sinners’ faces, and by the tongues of the sinners’ mouths proclaim what they have done, and how they have conquered the city, so that it will become a terrible clamor in the ears of the wicked, and that in the misery of their calamity they will strike their hands over their heads because of the sins they have committed, and will fall to the ground as those who faint, because they so sadly neglected the summertime of the grace of God and gathered nothing with which they might stand before the Lord in his grace, but on the other hand spent the accepted time of grace in the pleasures of sin, placing their trust in the things that are visible and temporal, which in the day of the Lord will be devoured before their eyes like a devastating fire. The day of the wrath of God will pass over all the hosts of mankind, and all pride and arrogance, all the strong cities and towers, all riches and honor and all worldly power in which men in their sins put their trust, will, on the day of the Lord and by the wrath of God be laid low with fire, with thunders and lightnings and fearful noise; for the day of the Lord will be a terrible day for the ungodly sinners, a day that for them will burn like an oven, and yet a day of darkness, a day of clouds and storm, a day of tribulation and fear, a day of terror and great distress, when they will cast away their wealth, their silver and their gold with agonizing weeping and wailing, praying and calling upon the rocks and mountains to fall upon them and cover them, that they might not be compelled to come into the presence of God, as may be seen by the following references : Isa. 2:10, 21; 3: 26; Ezek. 7:19; Joel 1:15; 2:1-11; Amos 5:18, 20; Zeph. 1:10, 14, 15, 18; 2:2; Matt 24:30).

Beside all this the sinners will also fall into the direst poverty, because they did not gather anything in the summertime of grace by means of the talent of the gospel of Jesus Christ for the kingdom that is within, and because the sinners have nothing at all, that which they have will be taken from them (Matt. 13:12; Mark 4:25). What, then, can be taken from a man when he has nothing? Understand, a man is not so poor in this mortal life that he has absolutely nothing from God; for when the impenitent Pharisees who did not believe on Jesus, asked him when the kingdom of God should come, he answered: “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation (outward actions, or, in a way that admits of observation. — Ger.) . . . for behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20). Understand that the Pharisees in their self righteousness and pride had long despised Jesus, and had sought to capture him; nevertheless Jesus said to them: “The kingdom of God is within you.” It is therefore evident that something of the kingdom is in those people even who continue in sin. Regarding this, note further: —

When God created man in the beginning, he created him in his own image, in righteousness and holiness, an abiding place of the Holy Spirit, so that the breath or Spirit of God became a kingdom of God in man, in which man was to have dominion over everything which God entrusted to him. But when man through sin was overcome by Satan, having transgressed God’s command, he had died to God. But inasmuch as God so loved man and his seed that he had richly endowed him with abilities in God’s love and providence, something of the life of the kingdom of God remained in man, but was through sin by Satan driven into the innermost recesses of the heart’s soul, and there bound and secured by Satan with the bands and ropes of sin, so that man, without deliverance by Jesus Christ, could never again have attained to the fullness of the eternal kingdom whereunto he was created. It is to be understood however, that this kingdom lay within the inner recesses of the heart’s soul, like a dead or sleeping being, for death is called a sleep (John 11). But this slumbering kingdom of God in Adam and Eve still had so much life, activity and power in the heart’s soul that it caused great fear, wretchedness and distress to come upon them because of their fall, so that they tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves, and to hide themselves from the face of God in the garden, whereupon God took pity on them and promised to again redeem man. If nothing of the kingdom of God had remained in man, it is to be believed that man with his seed would have fallen into the abysmal depths as did Sodom and Gomorrah. Inasmuch as something remained in man however, that brought him to the true wisdom of the fear of God, and into humility of heart into sorrow and fear because of sin, God took pity on man and in his mercy preserved him, comforting the kingdom in its captured condition within the inmost recesses of the heart, with the promise that it should be opened and delivered by Jesus. For this the patriarchs hoped (Gen. 4:1; Psa. 22:5; Zech. 9:11; Matt. 27:52, 53). Since then something of the life and kingdom of God remained in the inmost soul of the human heart, God in his Spirit made an abiding place in the life of the kingdom of God in the inner recesses of the human soul and heart, by reason of which the men of God called upon and made known the name of the Lord (Gen. 4:26; 6:3), that men should keep themselves in the fear of God, and be disciplined to repentance by the Spirit of God in the matter of their own actual sins, that the life of the kingdom of God in their inmost hearts might not be still more closely bound and incarcerated because of their own sins. But few, people took heed to or accepted this teaching of the Spirit; yet those who received it Were accepted in their inner life as children of God in the kingdom of God (John 1:11, 12).

The Lord God spoke to Moses saying, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’’ (Ex. 3: 6). Jesus says, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matt. 22: 32). These patriarchs had the life of the kingdom of God within them, in which they were enlightened and quickened by the Spirit of God so that they lived, but they could not be released of the bonds of sin until the time of Christ.

When Adam had sinned, he died, and with him the whole human race, but just as some of the life and kingdom of God remained in Adam and Eve, as shown above, so some of the life and kingdom of God remained in the seed of Adam and Eve, i.e., in all mankind, but lay in a dormant condition in the spiritually inner recesses of the soul of the dead or sleeping human race.

Jesus was promised and came as a Savior and Redeemer of mankind, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God (Matt. 4:17), and giving his body as a sacrifice and his blood as a ransom for sin (1 Pet. 1:18, 19; 2: 24), breaking down the wall of partition of sin and removing the enmity of the law, that in Spirit he might have free access to the inner life and kingdom of God in the human soul and heart, so that Jesus by his life might redeem, awaken and renew the life of the human soul, and in his dominion re-establish the kingdom of God in the human soul by the gospel, and out of two establish one new being, one life, one new kingdom as a dwelling place of God; for as by the sin of one man condemnation came upon all men, so also by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life (Rom. 5:18). Through Jesus then the inner life and kingdom of God was restored to all men, by the offering of his body and blood at the passover, in the beginning of the summer, i.e., the year of grace, the year of salvation, when the Sun of Righteousness, in the love of God, when the sabbath is to be kept by ceasing from sin, and in the Spirit doing the works of the Spirit gathering the fruits or gifts pf the Spirit, such as faith, hope and charity and all that is included in these, for the joy of the great day of the Lord.

If a man in this time of grace does not live in the light according to the will of God, but rather in the darkness of sin according to the will of Satan, Satan, by the darkness of sin, regains the power to capture and control the life of the kingdom of God in the soul and heart of man, so that it lies once more as a dead or slumbering creature in the inner recesses of the soul, where, as a captured, imprisoned creature, it has little power to do the work of the Spirit. Although such people occasionally feel a sensation of the life and kingdom of God in their souls, so that with Adam .they are impelled by a feeling of fear and anxiety in this life, yet make no vigorous effort to lay aside the life of sin, to crucify self and die unto sin, this inactivity is merely conducive to lead men into more sin, so that through this inactivity regarding sin, Satan gains more power to keep the life of the kingdom of God captive in man, so keeping the life of the soul in this time of the grace of Jesus from entering the active work of gathering spiritual fruits and gifts. With such people Satan has gained the upper hand, of controlling power, leading them continually in sin, and when the day of the Lord shall come, when the Lord shall require an accounting, and a man has nothing to render but a negligent, indolent life of sin (Matt. 25:26, 30), the day of the Lord will be to such people a fearful day of distress, as already indicated, and as will be still further suggested.

Although the wholesome grace and redeeming merits of the holy body and shed blood of Jesus Christ have come upon all men, and they are redeemed from the sin of Adam, yet Satan again found a way in which by the actual sins of a man he can get him away from the light of grace of Jesus and lead him into the darkness of sin. If such people do not in due time by the light of the grace of Jesus Christ escape from the darkness of sin so that they become enabled in the spiritual summer time of grace to gather the fruits and gifts, of the Holy Spirit, the last estate or condition will be worse than the first. For with the sin of Adam came a promise by the Spirit of God that through Jesus Christ atonement should be made for that sin (Gen. 3; Isa. 53). But the present, individual, actual sins which are not reconciled before God by confession and repentance, will be punished in the great day of the Lord, because there is no atoning for them, according to the teaching of holy scripture.

Let us again consider the day of the Lord, which to the ungodly will be a day of terror, as indicated above. Because the precious talent of the priceless redemption by Jesus Christ has not been applied to their amendment, to the putting away of sin, nor used and invested in the happy, lovely, bright summer time of the gospel to gather in the spiritual fruits of obedience to the gospel (Matt. 25:14, 30), such people will, in the day of the Lord, be reduced to great poverty; for when in their awful terror they will see themselves held in captivity by the enemy, their own sins, they would gladly have the mountains fall upon them and cover them, so that they would not be compelled to appear before God. But all humanity must appear there, and to those who have absolutely nothing to bring, but have hidden the precious pound of the priceless merits of Jesus Christ in the napkin of worldly pleasure, the Lord will say: “Thou wicked and slothful servant, why didst thou not put my pound to usury? Take from him the pound of redemption.” And inasmuch as these wicked slothful people will then possess nothing of the redemption, the Lord says: “Whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away, even what he hath” (Matt. 13:12; Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18; 19:26), when they shall come to judgment, and the pound of the redemption through Christ will be taken away from the wicked and slothful. What then have they left that can still be taken away from them? It is evident that it is the life of the kingdom of God which in the fall of man remained in the inner recesses of the human heart and soul, as already mentioned. It is to be believed, that if the seed of the life and kingdom of God had not remained in man, the human race would have passed away in destruction, like Sodom and Gomorrah; for the life of the kingdom of God preserved mankind, in which life the ungodly still realize that they have the life from God; therefore Jesus says: “Whosoever hath not, from him will be taken even that which he seemeth to have”. (Luke 8:18) (There is something in this to think about.)

In the first place, when the great Judge Jesus Christ will come in his day he will judge righteously; for he will judge each one according to the testimony of his own mouth (Matt. 12: 36, 37; Luke 19:22; John 5:30; 8:16). The righteous Judge will then not cast the good with the bad into perdition, i.e., the life and kingdom of God, which is in the inner chambers of the heart and soul, and which repeatedly warns man against the evil, and which has hitherto preserved mankind from annihilation.

In the second place the righteous Judge will judge righteously. He will not condemn to eternal contempt with the ungodly one soul that has done well (John 5:29; Matt. 25:31, 46; 13:49), for the Lord knows his own; he will gather them in his arms, and carry them in his bosom (Isa. 40:11). The righteous Judge knows all men (Isa. 41:4), therefore he will not judge the righteous with the ungodly (Gen. 18:25).

Thirdly, it is true that through Jesus all things were made that are made (John 1:3). Thus also God through Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15), breathed life into Adam; whereby man assumed the image of God. But when man through sin fell so that this image, light and holiness died in him, it is credible that something of the life and light of Jesus (John 1:4) and of his divine kingdom (Luke 17:21) remained in the inner chambers of the soul; which life, light and kingdom of God shined into the human soul and heart as if it were imprisoned in the darkness of sin, “but the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:5). This is the true Light “which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9), but the world does not realize or recognize it (Verse 10). “But as many as received him (the Light), to them gave he power to become the sons of God,” just as Adam and Eve, when, in the darkness of sin, they were enlightened in the true wisdom and fear of God, in the realization of sin, in sorrow and distress, they were, again regarded in mercy and enabled through Jesus to become the children of God; likewise many patriarchs and prophets.

Fourthly, it must be remembered that it is impossible that the righteous Judge should consign the life, light and kingdom of God to perdition with the ungodly, for it-is impossible that light, life and the kingdom of God should go with the ungodly to perdition. All this, however, will be taken away from the wicked and slothful, so that nothing that is good will go with them into perdition.

Fifthly, when the righteous Judge shall have separated all that is good from all that is evil, nothing that is evil will be found among the good (Rev. 21:4). For there will be no more sorrow, nor pain, for all these things will have passed away. Likewise nothing that is good will be found among the evil, that could show them any love or consolation; for God’s judgment will be right, and the sinners will be consigned to the direst poverty, in perdition. What will accompany the ungodly to perdition? It is clear that that with which they have committed sin, and that died with them in sin, and by which they were born of the devil (John 8:44), together with the devil, who brought them to it. Who will send the evil into perdition? It is clear that Jesus Christ, the righteous Judge, who has all power, will, after he has separated the good, or that which is evil from that which is good, will say to the wicked at his left hand: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). While the wicked people together with the evil world have hitherto been preserved because of the good, yet when good and evil have been finally separated (Matt. 25:31, 46), the wicked together with the world in which they put their trust and in which they took their delight, will, according to the verdict of God, perish ; for “the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10).

The heavens and the earth will then become perdition for the ungodly (2 Pet. 3:7). The streams will be turned into pitch for the ungodly, and the dust of the earth into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night or day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever (Isa. 34:9, 10), in which the ungodly, with whatever they have sinned and died in sin and been born of the spirit of evil, together with the devil and his angels will be tormented from everlasting to everlasting (Rev. 14:10, 11; 20:10, 14, 15; Matt. 13:42; Mark 9:44).

From such passages it can be seen what will be the fate of those who will not have put the talent of redemption from the sin of Adam by Jesus Christ to use, to gather the fruits of faith, repentance and a holy life, in abstaining from sin, in obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that they might through the sacrifice of Jesus obtain forgiveness of their own actual sins in this happy summer time of gospel grace, while Jesus is still lovingly calling by his gospel: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28-30). Whoever will not heed this friendly offer of grace, but neglects it by living a sinful life in this world until the day of the Lord, the seventh month, The great sabbath, the great day of atonement, the joyful feast of tabernacles, will, when the gospel summer time of ingathering and grace of Jesus Christ is at an end for him who has been too indolent and slothful to gather in the fruits of obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ, face an intolerable, eternal winter when the seventh time, the seventh month, the winter time comes on, when there is nothing to gather, and so much the worse because all that is good will be separated or taken away from him, and no good of any kind will go with him into perdition, by means of which he might be redeemed; nor will they find anything that is good in perdition only the devil and his angels who have also been cast down into the same place (Rev. 20:10-15), by whom neither they themselves nor anyone else cap be redeemed, but will be tormented there with fire and brimstone forever and ever, in this that they bum, yet are not consumed; that they will gnash their teeth and yet not freeze; they will hunger and thirst, and yet not cease to exist. All this should awaken alarm in sinners, when they think of the appearing of the seventh month, the sabbath, the day of atonement, who, not having afflicted their souls, but have lived a carnal life, will be cast out from among the people of God into eternal damnation.

CHAPTER 23
The Sabbatical Year

“And the Lord spoke unto Moses in Mount Sinai, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; but in the seventh shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest, thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed; for it is a year of rest unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you: for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee, and for thy cattle and for the beasts that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat” (Lev. 25: 1-7).

God gave this law in his Spirit by Jesus, therefore it must also be fulfilled by Jesus (Matt. 5), for all the law was fulfilled by Jesus and restored and established in its spiritual signification.

This symbolic observance of the seventh year likewise embraces or includes the sabbath and the annual feasts, especially the feast of tabernacles of the seventh month of the day of atonement, because it also began in this seventh month, whereupon the fiftieth year began on the day of atonement (Lev. 25:9, 10). The sabbatical year began with joy, especially because at the time of the seventh year in the seventh month all man-servants and maid-servants who had been sold or bought were released and freed from their arduous service, and were to go forth in Israel, and that not empty; their wives and children which they had brought with them had to be given them. Beside this the purchasers had to give the freed servants of their flocks, their corn and their wine, So that they would have food on which to live during the sabbatical year and be joyful therewith (Ex. 21:12; Deut. 15:12, 18; Jer. 34:17, 18). But when Israel became disobedient, so that they no longer observed the sabbatical year to rest their land and free their servants, God punished Israel for this disobedience and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, so that they were led captive into Babylon for 70 years. There they had to serve the Babylonians as a punishment for not keeping the sabbatical year, and for not letting their men-servants and their maid-servants go forth free into the land, which was the Lord’s, and for not keeping his stated feasts and sabbaths. They had to remain captive in Babylon 70 years, and these 70 years were a sabbath to the land. When the 70 years were ended, God brought Israel back again into the land (2 Chron. 36:21; Ezra 1:1; Jer. 25:11, 12; 29:10), for God desired his stated feasts, sabbaths and sabbatical years to be kept by his people.

Inasmuch as the sabbatical year in its spiritual sense is included in or embraces the great sabbath and annual feasts, these two festivals will again be mentioned in this connection. Inasmuch as the year of jubilee stands in the closest relation to the sabbatical year, we might by God’s blessing write hereafter of the year of jubilee; but in connection with this sabbatical year, the freeing of man-servants and maid-servants, as well as regarding the sabbaths in the land, more is to be considered than the symbolic part or aspect, because these were merely types, and figures, which had to be fulfilled by Jesus.

In the first place, “the earth is the Lord’s; the earth and all that dwell therein” (Ex. 19:5; Psa. 24:1). In the beginning God created all things by Jesus Christ. God also took man from the earth and created him in his own image, in righteousness and holiness, in this that he breathed into him the breath of life. In this image he ordained him to be a ruler over all the earth and all that is therein. Over all this he was to have dominion in the image of God, so that all things might keep their rest and sabbath in righteousness unto the Lord.

When the proud, restless spirit of Lucifer had caused man: to fall by sin, man, together with all that had been given him fell into great unrest, upon which God looked in mercy and promised redemption and rest for man by Jesus Christ (Gen. 3:15). To draw attention to this promised rest God gave many symbols in figures in the law, among which the sabbatical year is one. God gave Abraham a promise that he and his seed should have the land of Canaan for a possession. For a long time Abraham and his seed were strangers in the land, until the time when God by Moses led Israel out of Egypt and by Joshua brought them into the land of Canaan. Then the Lord commanded that his land, where his people lived should have its sabbath, such as the seventh day, and the seventh year, as well as the feasts of the new moon and the annual feasts, in which they, together with their man-servants and maid-servants and their beasts, were to cease from their servile labor, as seen in the chapter on the sabbath, all of which were shadows pointing to Jesus Christ, by whom man, who through sin has become so full of unrest, may again find rest, in the spiritual Canaan where the sabbath shall be kept forever and ever.

Let us now consider to what kind of a land, what kind of man-servants and maid-servants and beasts the scripture referred to above points. The land in a general way means the earth, men-servants and maid-servants are people who render service, creatures are people and creatures of many kinds as found in the world in general, all of which, through Sin, were brought into great unrest, as may be seen every day. Let us notice how that in man is included earth, servant, and creature.

When God created man he made him of the earth, and so man is earth-(Gen. 2:7; 3: 19). God breathed into him the breath of life, and man became a living soul, in the image of God. There were the body and soul of man, with which, according to God’s providence, all men were created, the creatures of God for the eternal kingdom (Mark 16: 15). These creatures consist of men-servants and maid-servants, for God created mankind male and female, and in the image of God they were to serve him with their obedience. They were to avoid the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and not eat thereof. They were to multiply and replenish the earth. Thus also man, in the image of God, in God’s stead (2 Cor. 5:20) was to subdue the earth and have dominion over all the animal creation on earth. Had man remained in this estate, he would in all that he did that God commanded him to do, have kept the sabbath and the sabbatical year, and would have rested and remained in the image of God, in all his work, so that it would have been to him a perfect, perpetual joy. But when man through the restive spirit of Lucifer was overcome, he, in his creature existence, as well as in his service, had fallen into the unrest of sin, so that man, with all created creatures, fell into the service of Satan.

It was not God’s will however that the earth of the human body and all creature existence and service should remain forever in this condition of unrest, but he promised to release man from this unrest by Jesus. Of this the sabbaths and sabbatical years were types and shadows the fulfillment of which came by Jesus, in this that in his first advent into the flesh, into the world, he redeemed mankind and brought them into rest from the sin of Adam, as well as from all individual, actual sin in the case of those who sincerely believe in Jesus, and whose bodies and souls will also at the second advent of Jesus, be saved from all the unrest of this world by Jesus, as well as from death and hell, and will, by Jesus, again enter into the rest of God (Heb. 4:1-11).

From the beginning of the world, because man transgressed the command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the world was full of the unrest and violence caused by sin which came as a transgression of the law. Afterward under the Mosaic law this condition increased because of the many sins, and so for about 4,000 years the human creation in body and soul were man-servants and maid-servants of sin under the law and could not be released, although they had the ceremonial types and symbols, consisting of sabbaths, the yearly feasts, the sabbatical year, the year of jubilee, and numerous sacrifices, yet they could not obtain freedom from the bondage of sin, nor attain to the true sabbatical year, which could only be fulfilled and established by Jesus Christ.

In the fullness of time Jesus, the spiritual fire (Heb. 12:29) came down from heaven, the light and brightness of God (John 8:12; Heb. 1:3); by whom everything was made that is made (John 1:3), and in all of which there was no evil or sin. Everything that was made was good (Gen. 1:31), nor did he ever commit one sin or do one sinful work. This Jesus, because he himself lives in the divine festival of rest and the sabbath, came to transform or transfigure the sabbatical year into the spiritual condition, that he might redeem and release all the human creation from the bondage of sin under the law, by offering up his holy body and blood upon the cross (Isa. 53; Rom. 5; 10:4; 7:4; 8:3); for Christ is the end of the law. “Ye are become dead to the law by the body of Christ. “What the law could not do . . . God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Paul writes to the Galatians (3:13): “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law.” “When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law” (Gal. 4:4, 5). “In Christ Jesus, ye who some time were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition (understand, the sin of the law) between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances” (Eph. 2: 13-15) ; “blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” (Col. 2:14) ; “who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24). “For it pleased the Father, that in him should all fullness dwell; and having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Col. 1: 19, 20), “so making peace by the blood of his cross, by himself; and you hath he reconciled, in the body of his flesh, through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight” (Col. 1:21, 22). Thus we understand that Jesus, who is in the sacred rest and sabbath of God, in and by himself established a sabbatical year in which the symbolic sabbatical year was fulfilled, and men through Christ are now to live in the festival, rest and sabbatical year, because they have been redeemed from the unrest of the sin of the law by the body and blood of Jesus on the cross as already shown.

Let us now consider that because Israel did not recognize or keep the symbolic sabbatical year, God punished them (Jer. 34:17) and caused them to be carried to Babylon as captives for seventy years (2 Chron. 36:21) until the land had had sufficient rest. How much more then will he punish those who will not recognize, nor confess, nor believe that the sin of Adam was paid for by Jesus with his body and blood, and that the law of sin, which, by making man conscious of sin, lays upon him burdens and unrest, and that it weighed upon the heart and soul of man, and by its stern judgments of many kinds brought the judgment of death upon many. Now, such lip Christians who will not believe that these and other laws were brought to an end by Jesus are, because of the sin of their unbelief, very easily led into Babylon, which is but another name for confusion (Gen. 11:9), where it is impossible to comprehend the true meaning of God’s word of the Spirit, and where the wrong is often accepted for the right in the work of salvation; now accepting the belief of a lip Christian and again making use of the Mosaic law, which judges by the sword. Then, too, ancient traditions are depended upon, or another sets up for a foundation some old heathen philosophy, all of which together causes great disturbance and. confusion in sin. In such confusion a man is no true Christian, neither is he a true Jew, nor a true heathen or philosopher, but much more a man-servant or maid-servant of Babylon. Whoever learns to realize and recognize this galling bondage of Babylon, and under the load of sin sighs to God, may, with Israel, be delivered out of Babylon by Jesus Christ, who calls: ‘‘Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, so shall ye find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11: 28, 29). This is the way by which one enters upon the sabbatical year, regarding which the prophets long foretold, and for which the patriarchs hoped as a means of final deliverance from the heavy bondage of the sin of the law.

Note now how the sabbatical year is to be fulfilled by Jesus. The Lord speaks through Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison unto them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the plants of the Lord, that he might be glorified” (Isa. 61:1-3). And Jesus says: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). The above passage in Isaiah was written expressly regarding Jesus, who came as the acceptable year of grace to the oppressed, to preach and to proclaim an opening and deliverance, which Jesus accomplished by the offering of his body and blood upon the cross, so that man was delivered from the galling bondage of Adam, and the sabbatical year of the soul was established. For the Lord declares: “I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee; behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2; Isa. 49:8, 9). Was this day of salvation, of redemption, this acceptable time, or fulfilled sabbatical year meant for the Jews alone, the same as the symbolic sabbatic year? We answer: No. For as Jesus Christ with his gospel far excels or supersedes Moses with the law, so also the accepted time, the day of salvation far excels the symbolic sabbatic year, which concerned the Jews alone. This fulfilled sabbatical year of salvation is for all mankind, because Jesus died for all, and so redeemed all from the unrest of the law and the sin of Adam (Rom. 5). That all men may be redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus from the sin of Adam, should be believed from the teaching of the scriptures already so abundantly quoted in foregoing chapters.

In the first place, according to the law of heredity, without controversy all mankind partook of the sin of Adam in childhood. Therefore also, without controversy, all mankind was much more redeemed from the hereditary sin of Adam in childhood, inasmuch as Jesus in his sacrifice is, without controversy, far mightier than Adam’s sin, so that now the children in their infancy no longer bear upon them the sins, of their fathers (Ezek. 18:2, 20), but are now enjoying the sabbatical year of redemption , because the inherited sins are atoned and paid for by Jesus by the ransom which Jesus himself paid (Rom . 9:28), whereby the children have become heirs of the kingdom of God ( Matt. 18: 2-4; 19:14; Mark 10:14, 15; Luke 18:16/17). “Let the children come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall not enter therein.” Regarding this someone might say concerning the above words of Jesus: “Not all people can thus in the sabbatical year enter into the kingdom of God.” But are not all children in their infancy, without any law, and even though they transgress the teaching of the law, they can come unto Jesus in the kingdom of God in the sabbatical year. But when a man grows out of childhood and himself consciously or willfully transgresses the law of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, then that man is in the sabbatical year with his own actual sins, and thus a man, through the enticements of the proud, disquieting spirit of Lucifer returns in his own actual sins into the turbulent kingdom of sin, where the works and disquietude of sin are abundant, and he in the end receives his full reward of sin in eternal torment.

There is, however, still consolation for those who labor and are heavy laden under the galling burden of the service of sin when they are drawn and invited of God (John 6:44), so that they can acknowledge and confess and abstain from their sinful life, as those who under the law had served for six years, and so in the seventh year became free from the labors of the past six years of sin. For in the symbolic days and years Israel was not to labor more than six days and six years, after which they were to cease from labor, and so rest and keep the sabbath. How much more, then, as soon as a man realizes his sinful works, should he make an end of the six days of unrest and begin the seventh day in repentance and amendment, in newness of life, by a living faith in Jesus Christ, that he is the Savior and Redeemer, and by whom many may again obtain forgiveness of their own actual sins; for by faith in Jesus Christ there is forgiveness of sins (Matt. 9:2; Acts 10:43). By Jesus Christ man obtains everlasting life (John 3:15, 16, 36; 6:40, 47; 11: 25, 26). By faith in the Lord Jesus a man becomes a child of God (John 1:12; Gal. 3:26). By faith we are saved and justified (Rom. 10:9, 10, 13; Gal. 2: 16; 3: 6). If a man enters upon the fulfilled sabbatical year of Jesus by faith, it also behooves the believer, in his faith, repentance and amendment, to be baptized in the name of the Lord for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), so that he may become a partaker of the food of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the spiritual sabbatical year, whereby the believer is to live and be faithful in the sabbatical year, in love and mercy, according to the Lord.

In the figurative sabbatical year all that grew in field and vineyard was the common property of the servants, the household and the stranger in Israel (Lev. 25:6). Moreover in the spiritual sabbatical year, when Jesus established the kingdom of his church by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2), his followers had entered upon the spiritual sabbatical year of rest and forgiveness of all their works of sin, by the fire of the love of God, and they were so welded together by this spiritual fire of the love of God that they were as one heart and one soul (Acts 4:32). No one said of his possessions that they belonged to him, but all things were held in common (Verse 35), and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. Thus it is seen how the spiritual sabbatical year is to be kept in the spiritual Israel, the church of Jesus Christ, and as it was held in accordance with the example of the Mosaic sabbatical year.

Of these sabbatical years Moses also writes (Ex. 21:2; Deut. 15:1, 2, 12, 13): “At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth aught unto his neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord’s release.” Let us carefully consider the fulfillment of the law by Jesus, as regards the sabbatical or seventh year.

In the first place, always those people who live together in the same grade or station of life, with neighbor or brother, whether it be in faith unto righteousness in Jesus Christ, or in sin unto the unrighteousness of Satan. These two parts or divisions of mankind are not one or united, for they are of two kingdoms, the one in the kingdom of the light of life unto righteousness, the other in the darkness of sin unto unrighteousness. This latter kingdom is engaged in the work and unrest of sin, outside of the sabbatical year of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. If a man is drawn by God so that he comes to a realization of his sin, and in repentance and amendment of life renounces the works of sin, and by faith in Jesus desires, upon the forgiveness of his sins, to enter into the sabbatical year of Jesus, he will also forgive, pardon and excuse his neighbor, who likewise has engaged in the works of sin, for the spiritual sabbatical year is the year of release from sins. For as in the Christian year of release there is a desire for release from one’s debts of sins, so one is also to forgive one’s neighbor’s sins. If we do not forgive our neighbor’s debt of sins, when he begs for forgiveness, we are not in the sabbatical year of Jesus, where alone our own sins are forgiven (Matt. 6:12, 15; Mark 11:25, 26). Nor is there in the sabbatical year of Jesus any liberty to contract any more debts of sin. Yet, if a neighbor or brother makes a debt of sin against another, Jesus, in whom the sabbatical year of release exists, shows what is to be done (Matt. 18: 15, 17). If a man acknowledges his debt of sin, he is to be forgiven ; but if he will not acknowledge his debt of sin, the debt thereby becomes so much the greater, and he is to be considered as a heathen man and a publican; for those who willfully engage in the works of sin and pile up one debt upon another, are in their work no more in communion or fellowship of the spiritual sabbath, yearly feasts and year of release than he was who gathered sticks upon the sabbath (Num. 15: 32). Therefore the believer has every reason for meditating upon and in life exemplifying the sabbatical year which Jesus fulfilled when he preached the acceptable year of the grace of the Lord (Isa. 61:2), so that the human creature, body and soul, as man-servant and maid-servant may be freed from the six-year bondage in sin and go forth free in the righteousness that was wrought by Jesus Christ; for thus saith the Lord to Moses “If thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years, then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee” (Deut. 15:12). In this way, in the Israel of the flesh, the seed of Abraham, male and female servants were released and made free. How much more, in the sabbatic year of the grace of Jesus Christ, all may gain their freedom from the sinful service of the prince of this world, to whom they have by their own sins sold themselves body and soul, as man-servants and maid-servants, to serve sin and Satan. From this bondage man may, by the grace of the sabbatical year of release instituted by Jesus Christ, be released and freed. Just as soon as that man comes to Jesus in true faith, repentance and amendment, the lord or prince of this world is compelled to free him (John 14:30; 16: 11). Jesus will make him free so that he is free indeed (John 8:32, 36), and release him from his burden of sins and give him rest (Matt. 11:28, 29). Thus a man enters into the spiritual sabbath, into the spiritual rest or sabbatical year as fulfilled by Jesus, and from this year he enters upon the great year of release or year of jubilee, of which more may be read in a subsequent chapter. “But if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee, because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee, then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant forever. And also unto thy maid-servant shalt thou do likewise” (Deut. 15:16, 17). Such servants could then never become free from their service, because the word forever means always. Hence these men-servants and maid-servants were always servants, temporal death alone putting a period to their perpetual service, for temporal perpetuity ends with death, the time of the coming of which no man knows. Hence such service could be called perpetual or forever; but all things that are “forever” or perpetual in life end with the close of temporal existence or life, with the departure from this world. When a man through physical death takes his departure from this world, this life’s eternity or perpetuity has an end. Such people are then of no further use for service in this world, whether in freedom or in bondage, except as they serve the worms in the decay of the body.

Let us now consider this service of man and woman in its spiritual aspect. When an individual yields himself to the lord and prince of this world, so as to become a servant of sin, and to serve the sins of the flesh, he is really serving the sins of Satan and is in the kingdom of Satan. But since Jesus Christ has, by the offering of his body and blood deprived the devil of his power, the devil has no longer the power to keep a man in the bondage of sin forever; for by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross the spiritual sabbatical year was fulfilled in the payment and forgiveness of sin, and all those in the service of sin who by the drawings of God (John 6:44) in true, living faith that comes by repentance and amendment of life, come to Jesus the High Priest, confessing that he is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Savior and Redeemer of mankind, will go forth out of the service of sin, and through the mediation of Jesus Christ enter upon the spiritual sabbatical year, into rest, in the forgiveness of sin.

The man-servants and the maid-servants, however, who have no wish to leave the restless service of sin and enter into the gracious sabbatical year of Jesus Christ can, in a very short time, enter a perpetual, eternal service by despising the redemption of Jesus Christ, and by a love for the author of sin and like those in Israel saying: You please me: I love you and your house or kingdom. I am well satisfied with your company; in testimony of which I give you the mark on my ear against your door, that I desire to be your servant forever. In this and like manner many people bind themselves to an eternal bondage of service to the devil. The condition of such people is deplorable beyond all bounds. The figurative servant in Israel knew no end to his perpetual or everlasting service except death; how much less will the servants of sin know in eternity when they will be released, for death will not release them there, for death itself will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14). It has been shown above that the eternity of things temporal will come to an end, but in the spiritual realm the eternities of eternity are without end, according to the content of holy scripture. Since, then, the word “eternity” indicates an unsearchable, endless condition and duration of time, a few words will be written here regarding it, yet in the hope that nothing more will be said regarding it than the holy men of God have spoken and written regarding it; for in spiritual things the highest and most important matters are comprehended in the word “eternity.”

In the first place, when Abraham called the name of the Lord, he called God an everlasting or eternal God (Gen. 21:33). In the song of Moses we read: “The Lord shall reign forever and ever” (Ex. 15: 18). David says: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Psa. 45:6, 17). Daniel writes: “His dominion is an everlasting (or eternal) dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7: 14, 27). Jesus himself teaches us to pray: “Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen” (Matt. 6: 13). Paul writes: “To him be honor and power everlasting. Amen” (1 Tim. 6: 16). And in Revelations we read: “To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore” (Rev. 1:6, 18), “Who liveth forever and ever” (Rev. 4:9, 10). Also Rev. 5:14, 15; 7:12; 10:6 and 12:1: “He shall reign forever and ever.” Let us consider well then that if God is an everlasting, eternal God, whose life, kingdom and dominion shall last forever and ever, as shown above by the testimonies of holy men of God, the life and kingdom of the saints is likewise termed everlasting or eternal, which is without end, as will follow from the words of Jesus and of a number of men of God.

Jesus: “Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but (note carefully) have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life” (John 3: 36). “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life” (John 5: 24). “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life” (John 6: 54); “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28). “Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:26). “The righteous (shall go) into the life eternal” (Matt. 25: 46). The everlasting kingdom of God is also the everlasting kingdom of the saints, for they have everlasting life.

“The saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom, forever, even forever and ever” (Dan. 7: 18, 27). As shown above, the Godhead, the life of God, the kingdom of God, the power and dominion of God, the life of the saints, and the kingdom of the saints or saved are all called eternal or everlasting. It is evident from the scripture testimony just given that the word “eternal” in the kingdom of God is endless in existence, or if this period could be called time, it is called an endless time that shall never end, for it has been plainly shown that God in his life, kingdom and power, together with the life and kingdom of the saints, are endless duration.

Let us consider also the eternity in store for the princes of this world, the eternity of their kingdom, his life, his power, his torment and death, together with his man-servants and maid-servants who bind themselves into eternal bondage of sin.

The prince of this world (John 14:30) is believed and declared to have been in the beginning an angel or prince among the angels. Of the angels David writes: “He maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire” (Psa. 104:4); and: “He maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire. Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Heb. 1:7, 14). Thus the angels are made by God to minister to God, and to man for man’s salvation; and God is eternal and without end, as is also the salvation or bliss of those who are saved, so also are the angels made of God as ministering spirits eternal and without end; for they also are made by God who is a Spirit and originated from him who breathed the eternal, immortal soul into man, hence all here mentioned have an eternally endless existence.

But when the prince of this world called Lucifer, when he overstepped the bounds of his calling place in the service of God and the spiritual welfare of mankind, he became an accuser of angels, a despiser of God and a perverter of men, in this that he accused the angels before God, and then God before mankind, as if God’s word were a lie when God said that they should die if they would eat of the forbidden tree, as if God was withholding great wisdom by forbidding them to eat of this tree. But man was convinced when he ate of the forbidden tree that he had died in sin. Then the prince by means of the serpent established his kingdom and dominion of sin among mankind, and thus got the whole human race into the service of sin with his kingdom. And since God’s kingdom of the righteousness of Jesus Christ is not in harmony or sympathy with the kingdom of sin which the prince of this world and his angels established among sinful men, but consists of two different governments, God at once made a decision between the kingdom of the righteousness of God and the kingdom of sin of the prince of this world, and drove the prince of this world with his spirit and life, out of the kingdom and from the throne of God, and cast him, with the serpent through whom Satan worked, upon the earth (Gen. 3:14; Isa. 14:12, 20; Rev. 12:8, 9, 12). This prince is called “the dragon, that old serpent, the devil and Satan, who deceiveth the whole world” (Rev. 12:9, 13, 15). Because man through sin had been bound and imprisoned in the kingdom of the prince of sin, God drove man away from his presence, out of his kingdom, out of Eden, lest the men might come into the tree of life and eat thereof and live forever up to the time of the providence and promise of God. In this way the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the sin of the prince of this world were divided one from the other, and the kingdom of sin founded and established in this world, and which likewise will be an eternal kingdom from everlasting to everlasting, though different in its condition, yet built upon the foundation of the sin of the prince of this world. Regarding the difference of the two eternities, and the difference in the kingdom of sin, let us listen further.

It has already been shown that in the word “eternity” or “eternal” man knows no end, and yet that the eternities of this temporal world have in some respects an end, as may be seen Deut. 15:17.

When the prince of sin and his angels left their first estate and habitation (Jude 6) and established their kingdom of sin with the sin of mankind as if the angel Lucifer and his angels were going to have eternal dominion over mankind, God at once gave a promise to destroy this kingdom of sin, in this that by Jesus the serpent’s or prince’s head should be crushed. God announced no set time to man when this should come to pass; for when Eve bore a son (Gen. 4:1), she thought she now had this man from the Lord. But she was about 4,000 years too early in her hope. In the meantime the patriarchs and prophets, by the Spirit of God, gave many promises regarding this Savior, mentioned no time, therefore it may be called an eternity. In this eternity the kingdom of sin existed for over 4,000 years, when the kingdom of sin was sundered, in that the head of the prince of the sin of Adam and Eve was crushed and the prince was deprived of his power by the offering that Jesus made of his body and blood, whereby he wrought an eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12), for a year of release, a sabbatical year, a gracious year of rest for all mankind, so that all who in true faith and penitence come to Jesus will obtain remission of their sins. However, if a man so loves the prince of sin and the companionship of sinners that he will not leave them because of his pleasure with the prince of sin and his company, that man binds himself anew by his own actual sin to serve the prince of sin forever in a bondage from which he cannot release himself, unless God draw him (Jas. 6:44) in the true faith of repentance, whereby he can become forever free from his sins. But if a man pushes farther and farther into the kingdom of sin, so far indeed that the grace of God does not draw him out in the accepted time of this life, he will remain a servant forever, the end of which period man does not know, for which reason it is called an eternity. Then, however, a man is taken from this life by temporal death, the eternity of service in the kingdom of Satan here comes to an end: for service in the devil’s earthly kingdom consists in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, the pride of life, gluttony, and drunkenness, playing and dancing, fornication and adultery, honor and wealth, idolatry and idol worship, and other things after which the flesh lusts, through which are the slaves of the prince of this world and their own bodies in the kingdom of this world. Beside these are the still grosser works of the flesh which almost transform a man into the image of Satan, such as contention, passion, wrath, bickering, fighting, murder, bloodshed, robbery, lying and fraud, and other evils of like gross nature, by which people serve and please Satan by destroying one another. But according to the teaching of holy scripture the kingdom of Satan’s power, pleasure and dominion will come to an end at the judgment day. At the time when the eternities of time will come to an end the eternity of eternities will begin, for those on the right hand as well as for those on the left (Matt. 25:46).

Observe, because of the sin of Lucifer and of man the eternities of time came into the realm of mankind and of Lucifer; for if Lucifer and his angels had remained in the estate of angels of God, so that they would not have sinned, and man had not been led astray by sin, man would have continued to exist in his immortal condition of soul, in the breath and image of God, in the perpetual, endless life in the endless eternity of God, and would not have needed any temporal eternity of change or of death. For man was created right and good in the image of God, and if Lucifer had not become guilty of sin against angels, God and men, he would have remained in eternal life, in the eternal kingdom, with God and his holy angels in the endless eternity, without change, and would not have been in need of this temporal eternity; for since by the sin of Lucifer, of his angels and of men, the earth was made desolate (Rev. 12), both Lucifer and mankind sank into the temporal eternity. In this temporal eternity in the kingdom of this world there are many changes from time to time. The angels, however, were created by God and are eternal, immortal spirits (Heb. 1:7; Psa. 104:4). Thus Lucifer and his own are also, in his kingdom, endless and eternal in the depths of this world, yet in a different sense.

In the first place, when Lucifer and his angels had sinned, he and his angels were cast upon the earth (Rev. 12:9). Man was driven out of the garden to till the earth which was cursed by God because of sin (Gen. 3:17, 24). Hence Lucifer’s kingdom upon this earth, together with all those who are engaged in the sinful work of tilling in Lucifer’s kingdom (and will not depart from it), consists in pride, arrogance, honor, wealth. This kingdom moreover is established, cultivated and perpetuated with many kinds of sin, as if it should exist forever. In this work Lucifer and all who love the world, have their pleasure, and live as if they would possess it forever. This kingdom is indeed an everlasting kingdom, here in time, and in eternity; for here in time no one but God knows when the end will be, and therefore it is an everlasting kingdom. But when Jesus Christ will appear in the kingdom of his glory, then Lucifer’s kingdom of glory and pleasure in this world will end. The eternities of time will end when heaven and earth will pass away and the elements melt with fervent heat, and the earth and all the works therein burn up (2 Pet 3: 10). Then the eternity of wrath against the ungodly who here loved Lucifer and his kingdom will begin. Then their rivers will turn into pitch and their earth to brimstone; their land will become burning pitch that shall not be quenched night or day, but the smoke thereof will ascend forever (Isa. 3:9). The grave of the kingdom of this world will then be wide and deep enough, and fire and wood without measure, and the breath of the Lord will kindle them as a stream of brimstone (Isa. 30: 33), and will become the lake of fire of ungodly men (2 Pet. 3:7), which shall never be quenched (Isa. 66: 24; Mark 9: 44). In this manner the earth and the kingdom of this world will pass away, and yet remain in its transformed condition into a lake of fire which will exist throughout an endless eternity.

Secondly, since the earth was made so desolate by Lucifer and his kingdom (Rev. 12:4), it has also been reserved “unto fire for the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Pet. 3:7). When Jesus Christ shall appear in judgment and shall divide the people from one another (Matt. 25), he will say to those on the left hand: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment” (Matt. 25:46). What else is this but the lake of fire mentioned above, in which their kingdom and glory was in this temporal world, together with their prince Lucifer and his angels and the beasts and false prophets who here beguiled themselves together in the vanities and pleasures of sin and all kinds of unrighteousness in the kingdom of sin. For this reason they will also, in God’s righteous judgment, be consigned together in the lake of fire (Rev. 20: 10, 14, 15), where they will find the kingdom which they occupied and possessed here, in a vastly changed condition; for the kingdom of this world, in which the unbelievers trusted and had their pleasure, will have become to them a fire of pitch and brimstone (Isa. 34:9). The weapons of their warfare, with which they, following the counsel of the false prophets and the beast, and for the sake of honor and wealth, shed so much innocent blood from the time of Abel up to the present time, will there be consumed with fire (Isa. 9:5). Their bodies, pampered here with pleasure, pomp and sumptuous-pride, as in the case of the rich man, will there be in flames of fire (Luke 16:24). Their gold and silver, upon which they depended and in which they put their trust here, will become corroding rust to them, consuming their bodies like a fire (Jas. 5: 3). Their great happiness here will be turned into howling and crying there (Isa. 65; 14). In sum, all ungodly life and living in which people have lived and had their being here, will be suffered for forever there, every man according to his own works (Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6, 9). Those who here entered the sabbatical year of Jesus out of the kingdom of sin, will be rewarded with the everlasting kingdom, while those who would not enter the sabbatical year of Jesus here, but fell in love with Lucifer and his companions, thus remaining servants in the kingdom of sin, will then be rewarded with the kingdom of sin in everlasting pain and torment.

It is a highly important, necessary matter to consider the eternities after judgment, after this present time. Let us therefore get a proper understanding of the word “time.” Time marks, makes or determines the beginning of a matter, as well as the end. Thus the temporal eternities of all temporal things have a beginning of time, and according to the teaching of holy scripture all temporal eternities have an end, when Jesus shall fulfill all things at the last day of the great judgment. The mighty angel whom John saw coming from heaven, placing his right foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the land, and his hand raised toward heaven, testified to this, swearing by him who liveth forever and ever, who made heaven and earth and sea and all the things that are therein, that henceforth there should be time no longer, but that in the “days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets” (Rev. 10: 6, 7). According to this testimony, at the time of the seventh angel all times shall be at an end, and thenceforth there shall be time no longer. “And the seventh angel sounded: and there were great voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.” “And thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward, unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great, and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth” (Rev. 11:15, 18), because after the trumpet sound of the seventh angel the Lord alone shall have the kingdom and all things shall be fulfilled, and he will give everyone to his right and left hand his due reward; to those on the right hand he will give the everlasting kingdom, and to those on the left hand, everlasting fire, both for the same eternity or duration.

It has been pointed out above that the angel sware that after this time there should be time no longer. It was previously pointed out that the eternities of these times shall come to an end, when the seventh angel shall blow the trumpet for the judgment at the last day, when all temporal times and all temporal things shall come to an end.

But God is an eternal, incomprehensible God, therefore all the eternities of God are without beginning and without end, for God is eternal, his existence is eternal, and because God is immortal and eternal, his word is likewise eternal in the future, after the sounding of the seventh angel’s trumpet, an endless being, without time (Gen. 21:33; Deut. 15:8; Job 36:26; Dan. 7:14; 1 Tim. 1:17; 6:16; Heb. 7:3). It is therefore plainly attested in truth by the Holy Spirit, that God’s eternities, God’s existence, God’s kingdom are all alike interminable, imperishable, immortal, and just so endless are all the hosts of heaven and earth, angels and men. “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them” (Gen. 2:1). “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth” (Psa. 33:6). And of the angels he saith, “Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire” (Heb. 1:7). Of men we read: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2: 7). Understand, he breathed into him the breath of his Spirit, of which the angels also are made, so that man became a living soul. Let us realize that both angels and men were made by God, and derived life by the Spirit and breath of God. Hereby it is made clear that as God’s eternities are endless, the eternities of men and angels, whether they be good or evil, are likewise endless.

It has been pointed out that because of sin the temporal eternities, which have an end, came upon mankind, the earth and all that is therein. It is therefore also clear that the earth, the world, and all that is in it, together with the elements, shall be burned up in the day of the Lord. Now, notice, the bodies of men, made of earth, will pass away by death and decay, but not to nothing; for on the day of the Lord, for every soul a body will arise from its own seed or elements unto eternal life or eternal torment (John 5:29; 1 Cor. 15). These bodies will then arise and come into eternal existence. Those who are still in the flesh on the day of the Lord shall be changed into immortal beings, for there is nothing that can pass into nothingness. The same law holds good regarding the world and all that is in it, which, because of sin, has passed away and decayed, the same as the human body. Now, a vast amount of the glory of this world or earth (in which sinners have carried on their sinful ways) has passed away, but nothing into nothingness, for in the day of the Lord the heavens will pass away with great crashing noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; the earth and all the things that are therein will be burnt up (2 Pet. 2:10). But understand, nothing will pass into nothingness or non-existence, for it is by this time plain to the eyes of our bodies and our souls and a clear mirror reflecting the future, that of all that becomes the prey of fire or decay something remains. Whether they be human bodies or any perishable, transitory things of this world, something remains, in the form of earth, ashes or dust, and even if it ascends in the form of smoke, it still remains upon earth; how much more, when the visible firmament called the heavens, together with the earth and all the glory of this world, shall be burned up there shall, according to the teaching of God’s word and the sense of the Spirit, remain enough to be revealed to sinners with power in a terrible way at the judgment of the ungodly, when the earth shall be changed to brimstone, and the waters thereof into pitch, and shall burn day and night with unquenchable fire (Isa, 24:9, 10), and when every battle of the warrior with its noise and its blood-bathed garments shall become a fire (Isa. 9:5), and all the glories of this world in which the prince of this world with his accomplices and all impenitent sinners who have had their pleasure in this world from the beginning of the world shall be revealed as wood without measure and the abysses of this world will be filled therewith as wood that cannot be measured and the breath of the Lord shall kindle it as a river of brimstone (Isa. 30:33).

It occurs to me that on the last day everything will be restored and brought to light before the Judge, Jesus Christ (Acts 3: 21), which the prophets have foretold from the beginning of the world. It may therefore also be believed that all the glories of the devil and of the ungodly in which they have had their delight will be placed before them for their condemnation, so that each one will be punished in and by the agency, means or instrumentality whereby he committed sin. All the pride of Lucifer and his children, man- and maid-servants, and all their vanity, haughtiness and all their arrogance, together with all the instruments or means of carnal pleasure and all unrighteousness in robbery, murder and bloodshed, will be restored to them, life size, so that their kingdom and all that pertains to it from the beginning of the world will be revealed and placed before Lucifer and his accomplices and all ungodly men, and this by the authorized Judge, Jesus Christ, but in an entirely different condition from this life; for in this life and existence this world passes away and is temporal, but in the consummation and fulfillment of that which is to come it will be imperishable and interminable. The world in this present time consists of many grand edifices of stately buildings and proud palaces, for the delight of the prince of this world and his host, but all these things are in perishable and temporal form; but that which is to come with the fulfillment of all things is, as already shown, in the form of fire and brimstone and pitch for the agony and torment of Lucifer and his host, and will be imperishable and eternal: The present world exists in eternities which shall end on the day of the Lord, but that which is to come will be forever and ever, in which there will be neither time nor end, as the mighty angel declared with an oath by the One that lives forever and ever, that henceforth time should be no longer (Rev. 10:6); i.e., when the seventh angel shall have sounded his trumpet and the judgment shall have been held and each one on the right hand and on the left shall have received his just reward, then, according to the testimony of the angel and of others, time shall be no longer.

Above all this, every person has great reason not to place any time or bounds to the significance of the word eternal or eternity as applied to that which shall be hereafter, or after judgment; for if one would set a bound or limit to the terms eternal or eternity as applied to the hereafter, when the seventh trumpet shall have been sounded, he would first have to recall the oath of the angel or declare it a perjury, which surely no one would undertake to do; and if someone should undertake, by sophistry or subtle reasoning, to dodge, evade, or circumvent the angel’s oath, and set bounds or an end to the eternities, he would soon crash against that mighty Stone which fills the whole earth (Dan. 2:35). No dodging around or over will ever be possible there. Sophistry, craft, hedging or dodging will only bring the guilty one into greater shame, and reveal his deception, to his own calamity; for this stone will grind to pieces all things high and wise that aim their blows against it, so that nothing of them will be found, for God is an everlasting God (Gen. 21:33). God lives from everlasting to everlasting (Rev. 4:10; 5:14; 10:6). His kingdom is everlasting (Dan. 7: 27). His power is everlasting, and will not pass away (v. 14). His dominion will continue forever and ever. These eternities of God, of his existence, his kingdom, his power, are incontrovertible, without time, and without end, and anyone who tries to set a time limit to eternity flatly contradicts God and his dominion, and even if the calculations placed the time limit at thousands of thousands of years, it would mean that God and his kingdom were being limited as to time. But it can readily be believed that God will smash and crush such calculations before his face, so that they will have no place or weight in anything that follows the judgment when the eternities will be on one and the same basis. We can easily believe and depend upon as true the many scripture evidences in this chapter regarding the endless eternities, as well as those yet to be presented in summing up the thoughts, that they be rightly understood that the eternities that are to come are without end in the fulfillment, in the kingdom of God, up in heaven, and likewise down here on earth, which is to be shown by scripture testimonies. Look them up diligently and you will find it to be true. God is eternal, without beginning and without end (Gen. 21: 33; Heb. 7:3). His life exists from everlasting to everlasting (Rev. 4:9, 10). His kingdom is eternal and has no end (Dan. 7:14; Luke 1: 33). The angels were created by the Spirit of God (Psa. 33:6; Heb. 1:7), and are therefore immortal and eternal, sent forth in the service of God to minister unto those who are to be heirs of salvation (Heb. 1:14). Man was created by God for eternity, a living, immortal soul (Gen. 2:7) which is to inherit the kingdom eternal and without end (Matt. 25:31), which is to have everlasting joy and to rejoice (Isa. 65:14, 15) with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Pet. 1:8). For there will be no more death nor dying there (Rev. 21:4). Therefore it is true that all the eternities mentioned above, are without end.

Now observe also the eternities of Lucifer and his kingdom. It is easy to understand that Lucifer and his angels were likewise created by the Spirit of God, the same as the good angels of light; therefore Lucifer and his angels are eternal and without end, as well as is also mankind, as mentioned above, i.e., both the evil and the good. The heavens or firmament and the earth likewise, which are reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men, when all things shall be fulfilled, will be eternal and without end in unquenchable fire (2 Pet. 3:7; Isa. 34:9, 10, 32, 33). This, then will be the kingdom of Lucifer and his host, namely fire and torment to which Jesus Christ the just Judge will consign them (Matt. 25:41, 46), and which is everlasting, where they will be held in everlasting chains (Jude 6) where the mist of darkness is reserved forever (2 Pet. 2:17), where there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 13:42, 50), in everlasting fire, where their worm dieth not and their fire is not quenched (Mark 9:43-48). Note carefully that what has no end is eternal and endless, as Isaiah writes (66:24), in everlasting fire, and will be tormented with fire and brimstone, before the holy angels and before the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment shall ascend forever and ever (Rev. 14:10, 11). “And the devil that deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 10:15). But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8). “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thess. 1:9), “in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8).

Temporal death is for a short time a sore trial to the body, with pain, but, too, the end often comes quickly or suddenly. But this second death, the lake of fire, is without end, as shown above, in unquenchable fire of pain and torment, where Lucifer and his host must suffer torment in that wherein they have sinned, each one according to the measure of his desserts. Because of sin the fierce jealousy or wrath of God was proclaimed against Lucifer and all sinful creatures. “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” (Gen. 3:14). What else does this say than that Lucifer, the old dragon, and all creatures who have yielded themselves to his service, and will not in this time leave the service of sin and enter into the sabbatical year of Jesus, shall with Lucifer never get up again, but must remain prone upon the earth and eat the food of hell or earth for the earth and all that is in it, in which they have had their delight in sin will turn into fire, which will be the food of pain and torment for the sinner, according to the scripture.

Since all things were made by Jesus, all things will also be fulfilled by him; hence also in the judgment the wrath of God will be kindled that will burn forever with unquenchable fire, as may be seen from the scripture which declares that Jesus has the sword and the rod of iron, “and treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Rev. 19:15). This fire will kindle as follows: “For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains” (Deut. 32:22). Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground, and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched” (Jer. 7:20). Regarding this unquenchable fire read also Jer. 17: 4; 15:14; 4:4; 21:12: “Lest my fury go out like a fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.” “For the wrath of the ungodly hath no end” (Eccl. 5:7). (The English rendering of this passage from the apocrypha is: “His indignation resteth upon sinners.” — Tr.) The wicked are the children of wrath or the sins of judgment, and upon those who do not by faith enter into the sabbatical year of Jesus, the wrath of God will remain (John 3:18, 36). Those who here have served Satan, who gave the dragon power and his seat (Rev. 13:2), the beast and the glory and pleasure of this world under the mark on the forehead or on the ear, as the law declares, will be occupied with their works of sin, and eat the bread of sin as the reward of sinners, with their lord, Lucifer and his companions and the false prophet and the beast forever and ever. For whoever worshipped the beast and his image (the glory of this world) shall drink of the wine of God’s wrath, which is poured out without mixture in the vial of his wrath and will be tormented with fire and brimstone before the angels and before the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever, and they will have rest neither day or night (Rev. 14:9, 10, 11; 16:19).

From these many scripture testimonies of the holy men of God, it is abundantly clear that after the seventh angel will have sounded the trumpet and the judgment has been held and all things have been overcome and restored and fulfilled by Jesus, and Jesus himself will be subject to HIM who has all things subject to himself that God may be all and in all, that then, according to the angel’s oath, time shall be no longer, but that the word eternal and eternity will remain and mean the same both for those on the right hand and those on the left hand (Matt. 25:46; Rev. 4:9, 10; 14:11; 20:10). With these testimonies on the meaning of forever and ever, read in the same degree or of like duration; for according to the scripture, after the seventh angel has sounded his trumpet, and the judgment has been held and the Son has become subject, the new heaven and the new earth will be perfect purity of love, glory and peace in God. On the other hand however the lake of fire of this world will be nothing but darkness, and disgrace, pain and torment, kindled by the fire of God’s wrath, without time and without end, forever and ever. Each one will be in one unchanging condition (Matt. 25:46), everlasting joy for the one and everlasting torment for the other.

Let us in conclusion note one other thing in connection with these testimonies, you perpetual servants of sin and all unrighteousness of Satan, namely that the eternities mentioned in the following references are all in the same category, whether referring to everlasting life or everlasting torment (Matt. 25:34, 46). Life in the kingdom of God is eternal, without end (Dan. 7:4; Luke 1:33; John 11:26). So also the realm of pain in the fire of perdition of this world is eternal, ceaseless and without end (Mark 9:44, 46, 48; Isa. 34:9, 10; 66:24).

God’s existence continues forever and ever, without end (Rev. 4:9, 10; 5:14). So on the other hand will the torment of sinners, the man-servants and maid-servants of the devil, and the torment of their master whom they serve here, ascend with the smoke of their torment forever and ever, and they shall have no rest, day nor night, that is, without end (Rev. 14:10, 11).

In this chapter it has been shown by many scripture references, that after the seventh angel has sounded the trumpet, and judgment has been held, that time shall be no longer; hence all eternities will be without cessation or end; for where there is time, there something begins or ends, but this eternity after judgment, I believe, will have no end, according to the testimonies presented above.

I would yet admonish everyone to be deeply concerned about himself, that no one may be so wise in his own conceit, as to try to lessen or shorten the eternities, and thereby come to grief with his calculations, for at the conclusion of his revelations John writes: “If any man shall take away from the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city” (Rev. 22:19). Therefore men have good reason to let the word eternal, eternity, as meaning after judgment, forever alone.

In order to escape the everlasting fire of torment and pain that shall endure forever and ever, there is great reason for giving heed to God’s word, when God in love so repeatedly calls: “Go ye forth from Babylon, my people;” “let everyone save his own soul” (Isa. 48:20; Jer. 51: 6, 45; 2. Cor. 6:17; Rev. 18:4). What else does this mean than: Leave the service of Lucifer, the service of sin and unrighteousness, let the six years of weary service; enter into the seventh year of rest from sin, enter into the sabbatical year of Jesus who so lovingly calls: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:7); “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30). Therefore the sinner should repent and cease from his sinful works, and come to Jesus, who declares through the Spirit: “I will be your pilot; I will reconcile you, I will ransom you, I will pay your debt, and have already paid it upon the cross, by which I forgive and release you of your weary load of sin; I will give you everlasting rest; I will lay upon you, in love, the easy yoke of unceasing, eternal joy; I will receive and adopt you as children and heirs of the everlasting, endless kingdom?’ Understand, Jesus purchased, provided and prepared this blessed rest for mankind with his flesh and blood upon the cross, and for this reason he so lovingly invites men; and for those who obey his voice and come to him in humility of heart and body; forsaking all sin, fully believing’ that they can hope to obtain forgiveness through Jesus and his offering alone, Jesus has by his sacrifice inaugurated and established an eternal year of release and rest. To this sabbatical year all mankind should hasten, for all who thus come to Jesus into the sabbatical year, will, according to the teaching of God’s word, enter the everlasting kingdom as brethren and heirs of Jesus, and with him enjoy everlasting, endless rest in God.

Note carefully, all who live in the fond hope of participating in this great happiness through Jesus Christ, that it is not necessary (according to the many passages of scripture quoted on the subject in this treatise), nor should they try, to look in this time and life, or to hope for the end of one single eternity after judgment and the last trumpet. It should suffice for every believer in Jesus Christ to know that after the last trumpet of the judgment day, things will be and remain eternally eternal, and give God, the righteous Judge, the glory, for to him it belongs.

I would yet admonish every one, young and old not to tarry or remain longer in the kingdom of sin as a man-servant or maid-servant of sin in carnal pleasure and unrighteousness, in the hope that after the judgment, and the sound of the last trumpet, when the sinner has suffered for a time in the eternal torment for his sins, another time or opportunity for being redeemed should come. Oh let no one place this pillow of false teaching under his head or arms for his comfort, thinking that he will be saved after judgment. And oh! let no one make room in his heart for such false teaching, much less allow the thought of the heart or the tongue to give it utterance. With such a comfort or hope a sinner might be caused to remain in sin, and thus fall into great danger of everlasting torment; for, according to holy scripture, he would find no such pillow of comfort in the place of torment, and the man with soul and body with which he served sin while in the body would have to suffer eternal pain and torment forever and ever in eternal and unquenchable fire.

It is to be wished and hoped that all men, and especially all those of us who hope to be of the spiritual Israel of faith in Jesus Christ may more seriously establish ourselves in the sabbatical year fulfilled by Jesus, and that we may remain therein, that we may enter into the great seventh sabbatical year, the great year of release. Of this we hope by the blessing of God to write more in the following chapter. Note that these two chapters belong together.

CHAPTER 24
The Release, or Year of Jubilee

The Lord said to Moses: “Thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto forty and nine years; then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month: in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you, and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you; ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you; ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In the year of jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession” (Lev. 25:8-13). “And if ye shall say, “What shall ye eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: then will I command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years” (Vs. 20, 21). There were two hallowed years in succession, and one year to sow and reap, or three years altogether, for which they had enough to eat from the sixth year. “And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it. And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established forever to him that bought it, throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubilee. But the houses in the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubilee. Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time. And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubilee: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession” (Lev. 25:29-34}.

These passages just quoted I consider as being among the most vitally important of the whole law, because they are held in high regard and they comprehend the mystery of God — the life of man in this world together with the last day and from then onward. For this reason I find myself too small and weak to write fully on this extract from the law, showing how the law regarding the year of jubilee is already fulfilled in part by Jesus, and how it will be further fulfilled on the last day. Although I believe myself incapable of writing on this subject as it deserves to be expounded, yet I am willing to make some effort in my weakness. I pray that the Lord, by whom all things are done, may add the blessing of his Spirit that the door of the Word may be opened, that it may be written to the glory of God, as has already been the case in this treatise. To God alone be glory.

It has been previously stated and shown in these chapters that the sabbath, the annual feasts, and the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee are interrelated or included one with another, and that in the last day all shall be combined into a sabbatical rest among those who have lived therein. Understand then, that these feasts are all comprised one with the other; — the sabbath, the feast of Easter or Passover, Pentecost and the feast of tabernacles are all comprised and comprehended in the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee, and that the year of jubilee begins when the sabbatical year ends, on the tenth day of the seventh month, on the day of atonement (Lev. 23: 27; 25:9), as mentioned in Chapter 22 on the Feast of Tabernacles.

Let us consider further the times or seasons, so that we may the better understand the significance of the year of jubilee. God commanded Moses, saying: “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Ex. 12:2). This beginning of months was in March, and it is probable that it was at the time of the vernal equinox, when the sun had reached half its elevation and day and night were equal. Thus the months and the beginning of the year were established (Gen. 1:14). In each year there was a summer and a winter, twelve months according to our present reckoning, or until the sun again stood at the same point as at the beginning when the first month began. This constituted a full year, and of these years Israel was to reckon six in which they sowed their fields and dressed their vineyards and gathered their harvests. When they had gathered the harvest of the sixth year, and likewise that of every year, they were commanded to hold a yearly feast in the seventh month and be joyful (Deut. 16:13), and then was to follow the great day of atonement. Of this we read: “And the feast of the harvest, the first-fruits of thy labors, and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors” (Ex. 23:16); also: “And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the first-fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end” (Ex. 34:22). According to this passage the year ended with the beginning of the seventh month, when day and night were again equal, on the tenth day, which was the great day of atonement, a day of blowing of trumpets and horns (Lev. 25:9; Num. 29:1). This first and tenth day is understood to be the first day of the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee, and this at the beginning of the forty-ninth year and the beginning of the fiftieth year, a sabbatical year and a year of jubilee in succession, in which year the winter year or season was the beginning and the summer year or season the end of the year, which is worthy of notice.

Let us mention something more about times or seasons. In the beginning of creation God created all things good, at the time or season beginning the year, when God created the earth with all kinds of green grass and vegetation or herbs, and fruit-bearing trees, each after its own kind with its seed (Gen. 1:11, 12). Then man was created in the image of God, in the beautiful, delightful summer time or year. In this way man could enjoy first of all the summer time with its abundance, without pain or care; and if man had remained in this first estate, in the image of God, the winter year, when the sun sinks toward the horizon, would not have become a matter of suffering and need to him, for in the image of God he would have enjoyed perpetual plenty in all things. But when mankind fell,, through the agency of the old serpent, he lost the image of God, and all that was made for the benefit of man had greatly deteriorated or weakened, serving much rather as a means of man’s suffering and need, and Adam and Eve and all that God had given them, had gone out of the beautiful, agreeable summer, and they were banished from Eden to the earth, where they entered upon a severe winter with far more frost, heat and need until death, as is the condition of things today, and by which it is shown that this temporal life is a miserable, severe winter time as compared with the summer time of eternal joy.

When God was about to deliver the seed of Abraham out of Egypt from bondage, he gave his people Israel, through Moses, the beginning of time, the months and the years (Ex. 12:2), by which they had to arrange the seasons, the sabbaths and feasts. At the time of the beginning of the month and the year it is also believable that God in the beginning created the world (as previously mentioned). Thus God from that time on gave his people the reckoning of time, showing when they were to begin the year, namely on the first day of the first month, and from then on were reckoned the six years for labor, and the seventh year for a sabbatical or rest year.

At the beginning of the law of types and figures the summer was in the beginning of the year and the winter at the end. It was the same in Israel when they made their exodus from Egypt, for the first five years until the sixth year in the seventh month. It is clear that at that time the time of the beginning and end of the year was changed and arranged according to the divine plan, by which the year ended on the last day of the sixth month, and began with the first day of the seventh month, as may be seen from the third yearly feast (Ex. 23:16; 34: 22; Lev. 23: 24). The first day of the seventh month or beginning of the year became a holy sabbath of the blowing of trumpets (Lev. 23:24; Num. 29:1), and the tenth day of the seventh month was a day of trumpets, on which the year of jubilee or release was joyously proclaimed with the sound of trumpets on the day of atonement, when everyone was to come back into his own possessions (Lev. 25:9, 28). According to these passages it is clear that in Israel in the reckoning of the first part of the sixth year, the winter half year, the working days were shortened or decreased. This was a figure or example that by Jesus by means of the last day at the fulfillment of the day of the blowing of trumpets and sackbuts on the day of atonement in the great year of jubilee the days of tribulation are to be shortened for the sake of the people of God (Matt. 24: 22).

Let us notice further in the reckoning of time that with Israel, the people of God, the year ended with the seventh month, at the time when day and night are equal. This end of the year refers only to the end of the summer year or season of ingathering (Ex. 23:16; 34:22) and the feast of tabernacles (Lev. 23:24) and the beginning of the sabbatical year, as also its end (Chapter 25:2-7) and the beginning of the year of jubilee and its end, as shown above. This arrangement fits into the divine plan of the new dispensation of fulfillment by Jesus Christ, as may be further shown in its proper place. As regards the division of the year in the kingdom of this world it is readily understood that the year kept its course from the first day of the first month to the seventh, and so on round to the first day of the first month for a full year.

Thus the forty-ninth year became the seventh sabbatical year and the fiftieth year was the year of release or year of jubilee and of joy, which they were to hallow, for they were to neither sow nor reap, but were to eat what the soil yielded. It was to be a year of release exceeding the sabbatical year. For in this year of release or jubilee (Lev. 25:8-43) the Israelites that had been sold were made free (Vs. 40, 41) and came again into their own families and possessions, whether of lands, houses or goods, which, because of poverty had been sold; for in the year of jubilee everything was made free that because of poverty had been disposed of, so that everyone regained possession of his inheritance, except where one had sold a house within a walled city he had a whole year in which to redeem it. If he could not redeem it within the year the purchaser could keep it forever. The cities of the Levites and the houses in their cities could be redeemed at any time. And if a man purchase of the Levites, the possession of it ended in the year of jubilee, whether it was a house or a city which had been purchased; “for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. But the field of the suburbs may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.”

This, then, was the power and privilege which the figurative year of jubilee granted; nevertheless it is seen that the servants, male and female, became free in the first six sabbatical years, as has already been pointed out in the chapter on the sabbatical year. But in the seventh sabbatical year it is seen that they had to serve until the year of jubilee, when they were allowed to go out free, with their children (Vs. 40, 41).

There was, then, at the end of every seven years a year of release, when all loan debts were to be cancelled or released (Deut. 15:1-9); while the fiftieth year became a holy or hallowed year, a great year of atonement and release, a year in which among the people of God everything was to be restored, so that everyone could again possess his inheritance and property, especially that which had been sold on account of poverty, with the exception of houses in walled cities, which, if not redeemed within the year, could never be redeemed thereafter. All this concerned the people of God in the old dispensation, and not the heathen or Gentiles (Lev. 25:44-46; Deut. 15:3).

The above passages regarding the year of jubilee and all that pertains thereto are shadows and types pointing to the poverty of mankind, and to the redemption and restoration by Jesus Christ. In order to know how a man is or will be redeemed and restored by Jesus, we must first see how man first fell into poverty, and what was the cause of it and who or what is to blame for it.

It is Now My Desire to Add an Explanation Regarding the Figurative Year of Jubilee and What Pertains to It, as Mentioned Above, According as the Lord will Grant the Gift of His Holy Spirit Thereunto. To God Alone Be the Glory, for of Myself I am too Deficient in Knowledge and too Simple to Do It.

The Almighty God in the beginning created man on the sixth day, in the holy and pure image of God (Gen. 1:26, 27) and showed him the beautiful garden of Eden as a dwelling place, for him to dress and keep, and commanded him to eat of all the different trees in the garden; only of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the garden he was not to eat, nor even to touch it; for on the day that he did so he should die. And God said unto Adam and Eve: “Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Gen. 1:28). Thus the garden of Eden, or Paradise, as it is often called, was given to man to enjoy as an everlasting inheritance or possession, for him and his posterity with which God should bless him. Beside this he was made a ruler of the earth and all its creatures, which he was to subdue or make subject to him. Man had indeed a great possession to own and to enjoy, and be forever happy and contented.

Regarding the angels the scripture testifies: “He maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.” “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Heb. 1:7, 14). “And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him” (Heb. 1:6; Psa. 97:7).

Now there was among the angels one called Lucifer, who began to love pride and honor, and undertook, in his pride and arrogance to leave his first estate and habitation (Jude 6), so that he would not need to be subject to or worship the First-begotten. He exalted himself in his pride and love of honor until he thought in his heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount (or at the pinnacle or most exalted place) of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:13, 14). He also had strife in heaven with the angels, with Michael and his angels, and prevailed not. Moreover he became an accuser of his brethren, the angels, before God (Rev. 12:7, 10). It is easy to understand that all this came to pass because of Lucifer’s pride before he had sold or forfeited his principality and habitation. And inasmuch as Lucifer and his angels according to the providence of God should have redeemed his principality or estate and habitation in the walled city of God within the time of one year while the sun of grace and mercy of Almighty God was yet shining above him, . . I say, while he should have redeemed it in humility of heart, in true repentance and amendment that comes from a complete conversion, he did not do it, but in his pride he attacked the human race, and induced them by the hope of exaltation to a higher condition to sell to him their inheritance which God had given them, and he succeeded so far that he became the father of all pride and honor on earth, which fell to his lot for the reason that God despised him because he deceived mankind, as follows:

Man was created by God in the holy image of God, and clothed with authority and power to dress and keep the garden of Eden and beside this to subdue the earth and all creatures and make them subject to him. But when Lucifer, the dragon, that old serpent, with his angels made war in heaven and was vanquished by Michael and his angels and lost the battle, and moreover his accusations before God against the angels did not have the results which he desired, he in his pride and wickedness came to God’s human creation to see if he by his pride could not accomplish something by means of which he might be able to have dominion over the earth as well as over the human race and all creatures. Lucifer, the old serpent, cunning, subtle and crafty, well knew that he could not conquer the kingdom which had been given to God’s image, man, unless he could first make the image of God appear small and insignificant and offer him a prouder, higher position than the one he was given to occupy. So Lucifer, in the guise of a serpent, came with cunning, crafty, subtle speech to Eve, pretending to ask her whether she might really eat of all the trees in the garden: “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden?” With the words, “Yea, hath God said,” the serpent tries to get Eve to regard the words of God lightly, as if God might not have said so, or that Eve might not have rightly understood God, and that therefore it might not be true that they should not eat of all the trees. Then the woman said to the serpent (as if to assert that she knew perfectly well): “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither touch it, lest ye die.” Then the serpent began to speak as if suspecting God of withholding the most precious, most valuable and desirable of all things from man by not letting him eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree, and as if it were not true that they should die if they ate of it, by saying: “Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil. When the woman heard the haughty words and of the exalted state of equality with God, from Lucifer, the serpent, the old dragon, she was pleased with the prospect of attaining to this high position. When these proud words gained access to the human heart through the spirit of Lucifer, the divine image was dimmed and diminished. Meantime the woman, looking at the tree, saw that it was good to look upon, and the fruit looked good too for food, and because it would make her wise, she took of it and ate it, and gave her husband some of it, and he ate also. This was an evil act, and, speaking figuratively, man had sold his inheritance, the image of the righteousness and holiness of God, together with the beautiful garden in Eden, his dwelling place, as in a well protected, strongly fortified walled city of God, and with it the land or earthly realm outside of the garden or city. The habitation, together with the dominion over the creatures of the earth, were all gone, and man himself was, in death, a servant of sin under Lucifer. All this, and more, Adam and Eve had sold for the ambition to rise into a higher estate or condition, according to the promise of the serpent. But Lucifer, the liar, would not and could not make good his promise of helping men to attain a higher condition, and man thereby fell into the lowest, most miserable condition, for he became a servant of the sins of Lucifer.

But the Almighty, the merciful, loving God and Father, had in his eternal love provided the offering for the great day of atonement, the gracious year of jubilee, the day of salvation for humanity, even before man was created (1 Pet. 1:20).

Thus Adam and Eve had died or fallen into sleep in sin. But man has a living soul which is not made for nothing, and a man who falls asleep does not lose life altogether. In this sense Adam and Eve had died. But in the sleeping body there was still some of the life of the kingdom of God, by means of which Adam discovered his naked body and realized his transgression to the extent that he was frightened, and they tried to cover their bodies with aprons of fig leaves. When Adam and his wife heard the voice of God in the garden in the cool of the day, they hid themselves from the presence of God among the trees of the garden. This was done by Adam and Eve after they had sinned, yet in the due time, in the year of grace and in the day of salvation.

Inasmuch as God already knew everything that Lucifer had done in his pride, how he had sold or exchanged his principality and dwelling place for pride and honor as already mentioned, and now also with his specious words and lies had excited mistrust toward God and lied to the woman, whereby he, Lucifer, deceived Adam and Eve, so that they in their proud ambition to become equal with God ate of the forbidden tree, and by doing so man was sold into bondage, to serve in the sin of Lucifer.

By transgressing the divine command they sold their home and inheritance and their lives. In this sad condition of man, God came into the garden in a dual capacity; on the one hand, in the wrath of his righteous judgment against the serpent, the old dragon and his accomplices for the unmitigated wickedness which he had committed in heaven and on earth, in that he had so grievously sinned against the angels in heaven and against God and man and all creatures. On the other hand God came forward in his merciful divinity, full of grace and love which he was going to show to mankind through Jesus, calling to terrified humanity which in fear had hidden itself among the trees of the garden, saying: “Adam, where art thou?” Adam said: “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked.” And God said: “Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? Adam replied: “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” Then the Lord said to the woman: “What is this that thou hast done?” The woman replied: “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” Then God pronounced his judgment upon the serpent, the old dragon, Lucifer, and cast him upon the earth (Isa. 14:12; Rev. 12:9) when he said to the serpent: “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust (or the food of hell) shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and (this for the consolation of humanity) I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

In these words God caused a ray of the light of the gracious year of release, the day of salvation, to shine forth, pointing to the redemption of man by Jesus Christ. Nevertheless as a temporal punishment in this temporal life, God in his righteous judgment imposed upon Adam and Eve and upon all mankind much suffering and discomfort, in order to preserve mortal or material man in this temporal world, and all this because of man’s sin, because man had through the subtlety of the serpent, in the hope of realizing an ambition of attaining to a higher estate, sold all his inheritance or birthright, his home, the garden of Eden or Paradise, as it is called, to become equal with God. In order, that man might not “put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever,” God drove man in his wretchedness out of the garden of Eden, and preserved the place for himself, as though he occupied or invested it, protecting and guarding it by placing “at the east (possibly the entrance) of the garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life,” so that no man could enter Paradise, which was a type of heaven, until Jesus should first go in, except when God should by Jesus lead holy men there, such as Enoch, Moses, and Elijah.

Thus was man banished from the garden of Eden and deprived of all good*, and put forth upon the earth like a stranger and a pilgrim, as David also confesses (Psa. 39:12; 1 Chron. 29:15). God however is a ruler in heaven and on earth in his own image, Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:3). Hence the Lord possesses the earth and it is his, the earth and all that dwell therein (Ex. 19:5; Psa. 24:1; 1 Chron. 29:10-12). For all that is in heaven and on earth is the Lord’s, and he giveth it to whomsoever he will, and to each one that part which he in his heart desires, whether it be in heaven or upon earth, of which more may be said.

*The author’s words in the original edition are somewhat obscure to the translator. He says: “Da ward der Mensch aus dem Garten Eden gethan (later edition, ‘vertrieben’), entsetzet von allem Thun, und auf diese Erde gethan, als ein Fremdling und ein Pilger.” It may be that the author meant that Adam was deprived of all the duties and authority which God had imposed upon him in the garden, because he had done one thing which the Lord had told him not to do. Or, it may be that the word Thun was written Thron (throne), and that the author omitted a word or two, which may have caused the printer to read the word Thun. (The author, Heinrich Funck, never saw his work in print, this work having been done by his children, and therefore he could not have corrected any such typographical errors that easily creep into any page). Adam was given dominion over all creatures of the earth, and the earth itself, and was therefore in a sense a ruler or king, with Eden for his throne, of which he was deprived when he was banished from the garden. — A. B. K.

When man had fallen into such dire poverty because of sin, but had also at once come again in fear and anguish and contrition for his sins, God on his part in his providence had mercy, and promised to redeem man by Jesus Christ (Gen. 3:15). The fulfillment of this promise was however held in abeyance for a long time after the commission of sin, although from the time of Seth onward men already called upon and proclaimed the name of the Lord. Finally however in the law of Moses clear shadows, types and figures were given pointing to Jesus Christ, and showing that man’s redemption should be brought about by Jesus Christ. Among these figures and shadows were the sabbath, the yearly feasts, the sabbatical year and the like, as already written upon at length in earlier chapters. The year of release or jubilee was however the last and highest type of all, in the fulfillment of which, according to the teaching of holy scripture, every man (and every angel) will come into his full inheritance or reward, whether good or evil.

The fiftieth year was a year of release in Israel, in which all debts, including houses and lands, were released. Moreover all men- and maid-servants who had sold themselves after the sixth sabbatical year went out free in the year of release (Lev. 25:40; Deut. 15:1, 2) ; for Moses writes: “At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.” Since it has already been pointed out however that after six years a sabbatical year was to be kept, therefore Moses’ writing must be understood as saying that when the forty-second year or the sixth sabbatic year was ended, they again had six years for labor, followed by another sabbatical year, which makes seven years to the end of the forty-ninth year. At the end of these last seven years, including the sabbatical year, all debts were to be released and cancelled in Israel, for the beginning of the fiftieth year, which was the year of release or jubilee. All servants, male and female, who had sold themselves after the sixth sabbatical year, were free at the beginning of the year of jubilee, therefore the fiftieth year was called a year of release, a year of jubilee, because in Israel the people of God everything was released and free, which caused joy throughout the land of Canaan, which God had given Israel for an inheritance: This figurative privilege in the year of jubilee applied to Israel only, and not to the heathen.

Now the law regarding the spiritual year of release was a long time being fulfilled, until through Jesus Christ it began to be fulfilled. Writing here in similitudes regarding the law, we would say, When the years of labor of the sin of Adam and of the law, the symbolical forty-eighth year was ended, and the seventh or last sabbatical year was about to begin, as a preparation for the great year of release or year of jubilee, John the Baptist, the great prophet, the mighty trumpeter, who blew with a loud voice on the first day of the seventh month (Lev. 23:34), who prepared the way of Christ, who began to preach, saying: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2, 3). Repentance is an abstaining from the works of sin, and the beginning of the celebration of the rest in righteousness. Upon such repentance and entry into the memorial year of rest John baptized the people; for this kind of repentance he preached to the people. “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance” (Matt. 3:8). What else was this than to say: Abstain in all sincerity from sin, and manifest yourselves in the solemn and sincere observance of the rest in righteousness, which corresponds to a spiritual sabbatical year of rest in its fulfillment, in preparation for the year of release, when all debts of sin are to be released by Jesus Christ. It is shown above however from the law that all debts and bondage in Israel in the seventh sabbatical year continued until the year of release. Likewise in the time of John the Baptist, when he preached repentance by the renunciation of sin, and the practice of righteousness, the people remained in their indebtedness and bondage to the sin of Adam and Eve, until the day of atonement in the year of release or the holy sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

While John the Baptist proclaimed the spiritual sabbatical year before the spiritual year of release, as a prelude or preparation for emancipation from sin and bondage, and servitude, so Jesus also, in the providence of God, came and preached repentance, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). (Prepare yourselves for the year of release from your sins, for then you shall be reconciled; for to this end am I sent). For “the Spirit of God is upon me. because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18, 19). Here Jesus spoke of the gracious year of release, unto which he was anointed, in order to fulfill it; and when Jesus began to preach the gospel of repentance and amendment of life for a holy, pure, sabbatical life of a holy sabbatical year, and he himself lived therein, the fiftieth year or holy year of release had at last begun through the holy sacrifice of Christ.

Understand however that the spiritual sabbatical year of repentance which John and Jesus proclaimed and exemplified, is not yet at an end with the believers in Christ, but is to be lived and exemplified by them in the spiritual sense perpetually. Of this mention is made in Chapter 23.

Likewise the last or fiftieth year, the year of release from sin by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is not yet ended, but continues perpetually, and is to be observed, taught and exemplified by the believers until the last day.

These sabbatical years, the year of release and jubilee, are, in the spiritual sense and interpretation not mentioned in the new covenant in terms of days or years of twelve months, but they may be called the acceptable time, the day of salvation, “for now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2), and a gracious, acceptable year of the Lord; for Jesus testifies of this when he says: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21; Isa. 61:2).

When the human race through the sin of Adam and Eve and the many individual personal and actual sins, had fallen into the direst poverty and debts of sin, and as men-servants and maid-servants lay captive in the bondage of sin and Satan, so that no one, whether angels or men, whether in heaven or on earth, was able to deliver mankind (see Gen. 3:24; Rev. 5:1-7), Jesus, the Lamb that had been ordained and provided for the purpose, and who came from heaven to earth in the flesh and was made flesh, came forth in holiness and righteousness fully, prepared to make a holy sacrifice of his flesh and blood that he might thereby release and free poor humanity from the bondage and service of sin, in such a way that their sins would never again be charged against them, but be paid forever. Oh what a rich, merciful, gracious, acceptable, holy year of release for us poor human creatures! And that it is so is proven by the scriptures.

When Jesus in love gave himself up as an offering, he bore our griefs and sickness, he carried our sorrows and pain, . . . and the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53:4-6). He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes we were healed (1 Pet. 2:24). Regarding this offering the Lord prophesied by Isaiah (10:22, 23): “For though thy people of Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.” (Rom. 9: 27, 28). This ransom was not to apply to Israel alone, but to all the rest, to the Gentiles, i.e., to all mankind, and by which ransom they should all be delivered from the bondage of the sin of Adam. No one in heaven or on earth was able to pay the ransom price; it was impossible for anyone to produce or pay the necessary sum with gold or silver or any other possession or property, but Jesus alone. He offered to pay the price of this ransom, and he was able and qualified to do it with his own flesh and blood, with which to redeem Adam and all his seed, and deliver them from the power of Satan (Isa. 49: 25), and as David writes in the Spirit (Psa. 69:5): “I restored that which I took not away”, and as Peter writes (1 Pet. 1:18, 19) ; and Paul (1 Cor. 20; 7:23): “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.” “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition of your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world.” Thus God redeemed the world with the ransom price of the flesh and blood of Christ; for “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). By this ransom all things were reconciled to himself, whether in earth or in heaven (Col. 1: 20, 21, 23). “And you . . . now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death.” This ransom in the gracious year of release and day of salvation paid for and released not only those who were in captivity in the kingdom of Satan through the sin of Adam, but all those also who by their own actual sins sell themselves into the kingdom of Satan. All such people may, by the ransom paid with the flesh and blood of Christ, be delivered again from the kingdom of sin and Satan if they do violence to themselves (Matt. 11:12) by true faith in Christ, putting away all the works of sin, and enter without servile labor into the sabbatical year, and then from the sabbatical year into the year of release, which is the great jubilee of the sounding of trumpets, all of which is fulfilled in Jesus, in the blowing of the trumpet or breath of his gospel, together with the sacrifice of his body and blood on the tree, which is in this time indeed a gracious and fulfilled year of release and a day of salvation to all believing children of Abraham; for those who are of the faith in Jesus Christ are the children of Abraham (Gal. 3:7). But all people to whom Christ is proclaimed through the gospel who do not by faith enter into the sabbatical year and year of release as fulfilled by Jesus, have, according to the gospel, no part in the great deliverance of the year of jubilee, but the wrath of God abideth or remaineth upon them (John 3:36).

Consider this matter well. The sabbatical year and year of release or jubilee were not given to the Gentiles, but to the seed of Abraham, who were restricted and circumscribed and hedged about as a society or community in and by the law of God especially in the matter of circumcision. To all who were included in this community of the seed of Abraham by the rite of circumcision the Lord promised the earthly land Canaan, and the Lord brought Israel into the goodly land. And after they entered the land they conquered the tribes and nations by much warfare and bloodshed, and they put to death everything; only in a few instances did they spare a few lives, as may be read in detail in the book of Joshua. Joshua divided the land and the cities among the tribes of Israel. To the tribe of Levi however he allotted no part for an inheritance, except houses in the cities and suburbs, where they might live and have their possession, with the fields about their cities. But the Lord became the inheritance of the Levites, that they should have charge of the sanctuary and serve God in the sanctuary, and eat of the sacrifices which had been hallowed and sanctified unto God, as described minutely in the law, that Israel might keep his inheritance in the land of Canaan and that each tribe might keep its inheritance, and that the head of each family might keep his inheritance in his generation; also that the Levites would keep the Lord’s portion among themselves, that everything might be conducted in an orderly manner in Israel. Thus God also gave the law regarding the year of release or jubilee, and it is one of the chief articles or points in the law, for Israel’s joy, inasmuch as by it every one could recover his own possessions, except houses in walled cities, which, if not redeemed within the proper or specified time, could never be recovered, but remained forever in the purchaser’s possession. The law regarding the figurative jubilee year of deliverance or release included a provision that if a man because of poverty or for any cause whatever, sold his house or land to his neighbor, this neighbor was not to oppress or take advantage of him, but “according to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbor, and according to the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee. According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price thereof: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee” (Lev. 25:14-16). “If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it that he may return unto his possession. But if he be not able to restore it unto him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that bought it until the year of jubilee; and in the year of jubilee it shall go out and shall return unto his possession. And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it. And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year,” then it shall be the property of the purchaser “throughout his generations. But the houses of the villages which have no wall around them, shall be counted as the fields of the country, they may be redeemed and they shall go out in the jubilee” (Lev. 25:13-31).

This figurative privilege was accorded to Israel in his figurative birthright or land. This has a spiritual signification in the new covenant, and has been partly fulfilled by Jesus in his believers, and he will fulfill it in the last day.

Regarding the year of release or year of jubilee in this dispensation, under the new covenant as fulfilled by Christ, hear further.

It has been shown that the figurative year of release applied only to the seed of Abraham and to those who were included in the covenant with them by the rite of circumcision as enjoined by the law.

It is the same with the year of release in its spiritual signification in the new covenant as fulfilled by Jesus (Matt. 5:17). This year of release applies only to the human family and race, which is included in a body in the redemption and ransom paid with the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. By this payment man has been redeemed and released from the sin of Adam in the Lord’s acceptable year of release (Luke 4:18, 19), so that from the time of Christ’s atonement, the son no longer bore the debt of the father’s iniquity, nor the father that of the son (Ezek. 18). The soul that sinneth shall die in his sins; i.e., the man who sins goes out of the year of release into the wearisome life and time of sin.

In the first place there is evidence enough in the scripture to convince us that children are in the year of release or redemption which Jesus ushered in by the sacrifice of his flesh and blood, by which he made atonement for the debt of sin, and restored their inheritance, his kingdom (Matt. 18 and 19). But just as the children of Abraham in the flesh could, immediately after the year of jubilee, again sell their property or themselves into servitude, so also in the new covenant, when children grow up out of infancy, it follows almost universally that through sin they go out of the year of release, and with Esau of old sell their birthright for a mess of carnal pottage in the sinful lust of the flesh, by which they go out into the burdensome world, one individual serving sin more than another, until they are again redeemed or obtain grace from God to enter again into the year of release. But in the new covenant every individual must come for himself into the year of redemption and release by Christ, or give account of himself to God for his sinful works as well as for every idle word he has spoken (Matt. 12:36).

If a man in Israel because of poverty or for any other reason sold his property, it was a serious question whether he would ever possess it again in person, for if he died before it was released or redeemed, or before the year of jubilee, he could never own it himself, for at a man’s death all his earthly possessions are gone. He has no longer power or authority, or the ability to enjoy his property.

It is the same in the spiritual sense with the man whose soul and body are redeemed and have entered into the gracious year of release, the divine inheritance and birthright (Luke 4:19; Matt. 19:14). If such an individual depart from this time of grace through the avenue of carnal desires, and sells his substance — his body and soul — into the poverty of drowsiness and apathy and all that it includes, or pride and lusts of various kinds, to serve the world, the flesh and the devil in the wearisome work of sin, he puts himself into the very dangerous possibility of never recovering the divine birthright and inheritance of the children of God, even though the accepted time of redemption and release in the year of grace is not yet ended. If such people live out their wearisome life in the works of sin and die the temporal death, before they get their nearest Friend or Neighbor, God the Father (John 6:44),.to come to their aid and draw them out of the kingdom of sin into the year of release of Jesus — i.e., if such people die in their wickedness of sin in soul life and in the body of flesh, then, as was the case of the above mentioned Israelite who died while his property was held by another for debt, before the year of jubilee, there is no hope, according to the teaching of holy scripture, that such twice dead people shall ever regain or obtain and enjoy their divine inheritance. Solomon writes in his proverbs: “When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish” (Prov. 11:7); and again: “If the tree fall toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be” (Eccl. 11:3). “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth upon him” (John 3:36). “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life; and few there be that find it.” “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 7:14, 21). “The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him; neither in this world, nor in the world to come” (Matt. 12:31, 32). “Of the works of the flesh . . . I tell you . . . that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19, 21). “There is a great gulf fixed; so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence” (Luke 16:26). “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44). “For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared: he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; for the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it” (Is. 30:33). “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of his holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” (Rev. 14:10, 11).

All these and other things the scriptures tell of those who will continue in sin and sinful works and take their delight therein and do not depart therefrom, where, by doing so, they might enter into the year of release, the year of the jubilee of joy unto Christ.

It has been previously shown that in Israel the men and women who were sold, together with their debts, who were not released in the seventh or sabbatical year, although under the law governing the sabbatical year they were to rest from servile labor during that year, had to remain in the service of their masters until the beginning of the year of jubilee, when all who were Israelites went forth free.

In the law as fulfilled by Christ it is the same in the spiritual Israel. Those who go out from the works of sin and enter into the sabbatical year are surely not to continue in the servile labor of sin, but are to keep the sabbath, as previously shown. However, a man does not always become at once altogether free from the bondage which had its origin in sin, as regards the body, which from the first sin was encompassed with all manner of suffering and burdensome ills and discomforts of life (Gen. 3:7, 8, 16-24), and because of which many kinds of little sins fall to the lot of man (not mortal sins), of which the apostles testify. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. My little children, these things I write unto you that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 1:8 to 2:1). “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death” (1 John 5:16). “In many things we offend all” (Jas. 3:2).* Understand, such sins of weakness committed by believers in Israel who have entered into the sabbatical year of Jesus Christ, will be reconciled, that they may enter into the perfect year of jubilee wholly free, where they will be wholly restored (of which more will be written later).

* The German text, as well as the Twentieth Century edition reads: “We often make mistakes, every one of us.”

The law regarding the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee was, however, given to the unbelieving Gentiles. If they remained in heathendom and did not enter into the covenant of the law, they, if they were servants in Israel, did not become free in the hallowed year of release, but had to remain servants perpetually in Israel, even through the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee, as shown in Lev. 25: 44-46. Hence but few of the Gentiles could receive their bodily liberty in the year of jubilee, neither could many of them regain their property in the year of jubilee, but had to remain in perpetual service under Israel, both as regards the body and property.

According to this example, in the light of holy scripture, this is the condition of the unbelieving and impenitent sinners who live perpetually in sin and do not go out of or depart from the works of sin, and enter into covenant relations with Jesus Christ in the gospel, by whom alone there is entrance into the sabbatical year and year of release, and without which the man who has reached the age of speech and accountability, cannot enter into the year of jubilee. Such unbelieving and impenitent Gentiles and nominal Christians will remain throughout the sabbath, the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee, in their debt of sin, and in the sinful service of their master, Lucifer, throughout the eternal year of jubilee (Isa. 34:10, 17), where the wrath of God will forever abide upon them (John 3:36). However, according to the evidence of the law, the heathen man-servants and maid-servants were not obliged to perform as arduous toil during the sabbatical year as in ordinary years, nevertheless they were kept in bondage and at work. But just as soon as the wearisome time of heavy service returned they had to resume their heavy toil in field and vineyard, burdened with fatiguing labor, unable to obtain relief or release from time to time, as long as they lived. It is the same with those who live among the believers in Israel claiming to be man-servants and maid-servants of Christ, observing the sabbatical year in ceasing from the servile labor of gross sins, yet having in their hearts, beside the old secret, hidden life, nothing but a heathen heart and an anti-Christian life and conversation. Of such people it must be believed that after their life of pretended holiness, which they have lived merely for temporal advantage or bodily well-being, they will pass out of this life of quiet and rest into the turmoil, troubles and reward of sinners, where they will have to remain in miserable suffering forever and ever.

This twenty-fifth chapter presents two conditions in Israel: first, the general grade, rank or station in Israel; secondly, the rank or station of the Levites. But the Levites had certain privileges in Israel, for their cities and houses in cities could be redeemed at any time, and whoever purchased anything of the Levites had to release it in the year of jubilee. “But the fields of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession” (Lev. 25: 34). This refers exclusively to the true believing Israel, which are all called spiritual priests, whose spiritual possessions, whatever they are, may be redeemed at any time, and their field of the Spirit, together with the new heaven and new earth, can never be sold.

The same thought is presented in Lev. 25:18, 21, 22: “Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. Then will I command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.” This points out how in the new covenant the commands and judgments are to be kept by the spiritual Israel, as Jesus Christ has given them in the gospel, that the people should entrust themselves to him. If they do this he will command his spiritual blessings, so that his grace and gifts of spiritual joy will be so abundant that there will be sufficient for all needs in the present time of the spiritual sabbatical year and the acceptable year of release, until they can enjoy the new fruits or joys in the heavenly Canaan with all the children of God.

Let us now point out a few things regarding the sabbatical year and year of release in the new covenant.

It has been shown that the sabbatical year and year of release in each of the first six sabbatical years were one and the same (Lev. 25:2, 4; Deut. 15:9), while the great year of release and jubilee was the fiftieth year, or the year after the seventh sabbatical year, when everything was released that was not released even in the seventh sabbatical year, i.e., everything that might be released. Hence the fiftieth year offered privileges and benefits far above any ordinary sabbatical year.

It has also been shown that the Levites or priests enjoyed privileges above those of the ordinary Israelite, for the property of the Levites might be redeemed at any time, and their fields were never to be sold.

It has been shown moreover in this treatise that the sabbatical year and year of release in the new covenant is the gracious, acceptable year of grace or day of salvation, brought, wrought and fulfilled by Jesus (Luke 4:18, 19, 21), by his teaching, life, sacrifice, death and resurrection, so that from the sin of Adam man has entered into the gracious rest-, sabbatical-, and redemption-year, which to the saint is as one. How a man is to enter into this hallowed year has already been shown in the preceding chapter, but will be again mentioned here.

It has been mentioned several times that the sabbatical year applied only to those who were included in the covenant of Israel. Hence here likewise a man must first be included in the new covenant of the gospel, by the true faith of repentance and departure from sin, and, on his entering, to keep the commands of the gospel of Jesus Christ, by which a man becomes one of the spiritual seed of Abraham and is accepted into the sonship of God and the fellowship of Jesus Christ. “Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26, 27). In this manner we come as spiritual Israelites to Christ at once in the spiritual sabbatical year and the year of release, which is the acceptable year of the Lord, when we are to cease from the servile labor of sin, inasmuch as the debts of sin are cancelled and released by the sacrifice of Christ, without which gracious year of release from sin man cannot enter into the liberty of the children of God in the great year of jubilee in the day of the Lord, when all things will be settled and rewards be bestowed according to merit, both at the right hand and the left hand of the Lord. Whoever desires to enter into the great jubilee of eternal joy at God’s right hand must first remain steadfast in the sabbatical year of release and redemption; for the figurative sabbatical years were to be kept in Israel until the day when the great year of jubilee began, which was the first day of the feast of tabernacles, the great day of atonement, a day of the sounding of trumpets (Lev. 23:24; 25:9). The spiritual Israel is likewise to remain steadfast and faithful in the sabbatical year of redemption in Christ until the body is laid into the dust of the earth, or perchance until the day of the feast of tabernacles and the jubilee of the great day of the Lord, so that we may then be found as those who have been released and redeemed by the Lord, so that we may have joy in the Lord’s appearing in his day (1 John 2:28).

The Israel of the flesh had a sabbatical year or year of release once every seven years. In the new covenant, however, it is to be thus: As soon as a man by repentant faith enters into a loving desire to keep the commands of Christ, he is to continue steadfastly therein and not depart therefrom, so that he may be found constantly in the keeping of the hallowed year of redemption, not only receiving release from his debt of sin, but also releasing and forgiving his neighbor and brother of faults and debts of sin, as the law enjoins, and the gospel plainly teaches.

It has been stated that the priests and Levites had certain privileges by virtue of which their cities and houses and substance could be redeemed at any time. In the new covenant all believing Israelites are priests (Rev. 1:6). Hence believers have the privilege to redeem at any time what they have sold. In Israel, that which a man sold consisted in temporal goods and possessions of whatever kind they may have been. But among the Israel of faith these are spiritual possessions or gifts, whatever they may be, i.e., goods or gifts which are received by the Spirit from above, such as faith, love, hope, peace, mercy, virtue, righteousness, faithfulness and truth and the like. If a man because of the poverty and weakness of his spiritual life dispose of any of these possessions or gifts because on account of his indifference he cannot retain them all, and in such manner or with the result that he sins against his brother and loses or is deprived of one of these gifts, then he who has sinned should, if he still has enough spiritual strength, turn to his brother and release the possession of which he was deprived, not with silver or gold, but with the power of the Spirit, with penitent heart, and say to his brother or neighbor: “I have sinned against you in these respects (whatever they may be) ; by doing so I have become poor in my spiritual life. Forgive me, I beg you, that I may again obtain rest and release from my sins.” In this way, by the spiritual power of love, the sins of him that has committed them shall be remitted and released, so that the one who has sinned may enjoy his spiritual gifts in peace and remain continually in the gracious year of release. If, however, the person that has sinned has no longer enough spiritual strength to enable him to turn about and realize his condition, and so become reconciled to his brother, then he against whom the sin has been committed shall in mercy by the power of the Spirit take pity on him and as a brother or friend go to the one who has sinned and reveal his sin to him. If a man should sin against his brother seven times in one day, and should come and say: “I am sorry,” he shall be forgiven. Jesus himself testifies to this (Matt. 18:15, 2, 22; Luke 17:3, 4). Regarding such remission of sin Paul also writes: “Forbearing one another in love”; “and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:2, 32). And “forbearing one another, and forgiving one another; if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Col. 3:13). In this way the believers are, in this gracious year of the Lord, to forgive one another their sins of weakness, for then they are also remitted by the Lord, as Jesus himself says: “Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20:23). “Verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18). We are therefore under obligations to each other in this sabbatical year of release to remit or forgive one another’s sins if we want God to remit or forgive them, as we pray: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matt. 6:12, 14, 15). “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.”

The Lord’s year of grace is to be a year of sabbatic rest and release to the believers in this that they guard against willful sins and forgive one another the sins of weakness, so that the believers do not bring a load of sin from the year of grace and release into the year of jubilee, for no one will be able to stand before God with a load of sins in the jubilee year of his kingdom. A man has reason therefore, for laying aside all sin in this year of grace, as has already been shown repeatedly in these chapters.

The Lord’s year of grace, moreover, is to be spent in living a life of fervent, devoted love. Regarding this point Jesus says: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matt. 22: 37-39). “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34, 35). “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself unto him.” “He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings” (John 14:15, 21, 24). “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” “These things I command you, that ye love one another” (John 15:10, 12-14). Love is one of the chief factors of obedience in the keeping of God’s commands (1 Cor. 13). “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts” (1 Cor. 14:1). “Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children; and walk in love, even as Christ also hath loved us” (Eph. 5:1, 2). Above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts” (Col. 3:14, 15). “Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Pet. 1:4, 8). “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). By him sin is covered and rooted out. “We love him, because he first loved us” (Verse 19). God is a fire; therefore also a fervent love must be manifest in the believer, in which the gracious sabbatical year and release is here fulfilled, and there is reason to expect the perfect year of jubilee with joy for soul and body.

Since both soul and body are to enter into the rest of joy, both the gospel and the law show that those who enter upon the gracious, spiritual sabbatical year and year of release, shall also show mercy and love to one another in things that concern the body, which likewise belongs to this year. Moses, in writing of the year of the release and of the jubilee, says: “If thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him; yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner, that he may live with thee. Take thou no usury of him, or increase; but fear thy God, that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God” (Lev. 25:35-38).

This was enjoined upon Israel in many places, and much more upon the believers in the spiritual Israel who have entered upon the sabbatical year of grace and release. Christ teaches: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7). “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36). “Sell that ye have, and give alms. Provide yourselves with bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens which faileth not, where no thief approaches, neither moth corrupteth” (Luke 12:33). “He that receiveth you, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. He that shall receive a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward” (Matt. 10:40-42). Of this Jesus was himself an example (John 13:20). The primitive church, which had entered heart and soul into the year of grace and release, did the same. They gave to all as every man had need (Acts 2:47). Men were appointed to supply the needs of the poor and the widows, so that no one might be overlooked insofar as bodily needs were concerned. Of this matter Paul writes in 1 Cor. 12:12-27; 2 Cor. Chapters 8 and 9, where he gives explicit instructions regarding the care of the needy, that it might be a matter of bounty, and not of covetousness. “He which soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully.” “Let us not be weary in well-doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (German, “reap without ceasing”). “As we therefore have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:9, 10). “But ye, brethren, be not weary in well-doing” (2 Thess. 3:13). “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another; love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous” (1 Pet. 3:8). “Use hospitality one to another, without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:9, 10). “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

All believers should live in this restored, gracious, hallowed year of release as one body, so that everyone may be supplied according to individual needs, as regards food and raiment, for thus it was in the Israel of the flesh, who, in the sabbatical year, were not to gather any harvest except what grew of its own accord. “The sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee; and for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land shall all the increase thereof be meat” (Lev. 25:6, 7). This was universal in Israel, and it should also be observed in the spiritual sabbatical year so that brotherly love as well as charity or universal love be practiced. Even enemies are to be loved. “I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). “If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:20, 21). The believers are to live in love, peace and righteousness toward all men, so that they may exemplify the gracious, hallowed year of release according to the will of God with body and soul, for which reason they are to be restored in the great year of jubilee.

Regarding the release or remitting of temporal goods or debts in this gracious hallowed year of release, Christ gives a well-grounded rule: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets” (Matt. 7:12). If this command is obeyed, no one will be abused or oppressed. It is better to cancel or release debts, as the law says, and, if necessary, rather add something in the shape of a loan, where nothing is to be expected; for in Lev. 25 the Lord has promised his blessing so that there will be enough throughout the sabbatical year and year of release, and it is good to trust in the Lord.

Moses writes: “If a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it. And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established forever to him that bought it, throughout his generations; it shall not go out in the jubilee” (Lev. 25:29, 30). If this time was allowed to elapse, the seller of the house in the figurative city could never regain possession of it, whether it was in Jerusalem or in another city.

In the new dispensation there is a spiritual city of God, by whatever name it may be known, composed of spiritual members or citizens, namely the church of Christ, which he purchased with his blood (Acts 20:28), and which he built up by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2), and which is called Sion (Heb. 12: 22, 23) : “Ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” This is the city, the church of Christ, built upon the foundation stone laid in Sion (Isa. 2:2, 3; 28:16; Mic. 4:2, 3; 1 Pet. 2:4-9). This is the temple of God (2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:9, 22). The Church is a house of God (1 Tim. 3:15), a pillar and foundation of truth; this is the holy city come from God out of heaven (Rev. 21: 2, 3). In this city God will live; the people of this city will be his people, and he himself, God with them, will be their God. Jesus is the Foundation Stone of this city in Sion (Isa. 28:16), and the Head or Chief (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:22; 5:23). This city or church is restricted to or comprehended in Christ, in the putting on of Christ (Gal. 3:27). Regarding this city or Jerusalem, Zechariah writes: “I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her” (Zech. 2:5). From these scriptures it can be seen that Jesus is the Foundation and Head of the city, and that it is comprehended in him; moreover, that the Lord will be a wall of fire round about it, and will dwell therein with those in this city who build upon the Rock in Sion in or upon the mansions prepared for them, as Jesus says: “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14: 2).

In this city around which the Lord is a wall of fire the believers are to build. But what do they build there? They are to build with both body and soul, by a true, living, penitent faith, and by baptism put on or be incorporated in Christ, and enter into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27). In this manner the believers are built or incorporated into the dwelling place of God, to be a habitation of God, in which God will live in the Spirit (Isa. 57:15; 1 Cor. 3:16). “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” See also 1 Cor. 6:19; Eph. 2:19, 22; 1 Pet. 2:5. According to these passages the believers are here in time to build and edify themselves both in body and soul in the habitation of the city of the church of God, by faith, love and hope surrender themselves entirely to God for a habitation of the Holy Spirit, for then one will find and have a dwelling place in the eternal kingdom where it will remain forever.

In order to obtain this everlasting habitation, the believer has good reason to take due heed unto himself that he adhere to the Lord, who lives in the Spirit, that the spirit of the old serpent will not steal in and tempt a person to sin, by which man can fall into poverty and so sell the dwelling house of his body and soul in the city of the church to the prince of this world for a carnal mess of pottage, which certainly is of little value, whether it be pride, haughtiness or lust for honor, or any works of the flesh (Gal. 5) by which the kingdom of heaven is disposed of or driven out. Or it may be disobedience in the city of God (Matt. 18:17), for by such occasions or ways of sinning a man can sell the house of his body and soul in the city to the prince of this world. Having done so he must leave his dwelling place in Zion, for according to the scriptures God will not dwell in a man who has become the servant of sin. But since God is so kind and merciful, and does not desire that man should die in his sins and lose his birthright and heirship in the city, he gives a man, according to the Mosaic figure, a full year in which to redeem his house and dwelling place in the city. But if he will not redeem it within the year, he will never have another opportunity to redeem it. This year must be understood to mean the spiritual, restored, fulfilled year or time of grace of the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 4:18, 21), which is the spiritual, sabbatical year of release and the jubilee year of the present time, in which man may regain his possessions. This year in which man may redeem his house and possessions lasts as long as he lives in the flesh or until the coming of the day of the Lord. A man should, however, not delay redeeming his house until the close of his life, for he might easily die in his sins before reaching the allotted time of three score and ten, and then he would not be able to redeem it and would have to remain forever without it.

If, however, a man has sold the house and possessions of his body and soul as mentioned, by what means can he redeem them? Through Christ alone. How can he redeem his house by means of Christ? Not with silver or gold, or with precious treasures, but alone through the drawing of God (John 6:44). by a truly contrite heart, that a man may clearly see and realize the depth of his poverty in sin, and, with the prodigal son, turn about and say: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no longer worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants” (Luke 15:19-21). His father received him, pressed him to his heart, and brought him again into his house, and accepted him as his son, and rejoiced with him. It was the same with Peter when he forsook Jesus and with an oath denied that he as much as knew the Man. Afterward Peter went out and wept bitterly (Matt. 26:58, 69-75). On account of this penitence Jesus afterward received Peter again into his abiding place and admonished him to feed his lambs and his sheep (John 21:15-18). King David likewise, when he, because of sin, was rejected and driven from his kingdom, after he confessed his sin and realized that because of sin he had been banished, and had suffered and repented, as the 6th and 38th Psalms show, he was again restored soul and body to his place and position as king (2 Sam. 11:4, 15, 17; 12:1-12; 15 throughout; 16:21, 22; 19:22; 20:3). Manasseh also who had sinned so grievously that he was deprived of his royal place and position in the kingdom and put into fetters of iron, confessed his sin and God restored him to his rank and office as king (2 Chron. 23; Pr. of Man.).

From these examples it is clearly seen how a man who has sold his dwelling house and possession in the city of the church of Christ is to redeem the same before the grace of God in the time or year of grace passes away, or before he dies in his sins, or dies the death of the body, when the year of grace is ended, after which a man may neither redeem or possess his dwelling house again forever; for after he has died, all is gone. As impossible as it was for an Israelite of the law to redeem and occupy his house in the city after the lapse of a year or after his death, so impossible is it for the spiritual Israelite to be in or re-enter the city of the church of God when the year of grace is over and gone, and he has died in body and in soul in his sins.

According to the holy scripture Israel had to keep the sabbatical year and year of release at the same time, in which was comprehended the sabbath, the passover, the feast of pentecost, the feast of tabernacles, the sanctuary of the tabernacle and the sacrifices of all kinds. By such a sabbatical year they were fitted and prepared to keep the year of jubilee, so that everyone might regain his possessions in the year of jubilee. Those, however, who like heathen and unbelievers would not observe these feasts and ritualistic offerings, could not obtain freedom in the year of jubilee. It is the same with people now who will not observe these feasts, such as the sabbath, the festivals and the sabbatical year in the spiritual sense. How could they expect to enter into the great year of jubilee, in which all memorial feasts and occasions, such as the sabbath, the festivals, and the sabbatical year merge or are incorporated into one eternal jubilee year of joy, where everyone will come into his own entire possessions, according as he has lived ? Therefore these hallowed feasts and memorials are to be kept according to the commands of God, as pointed out at length in these chapters, and which is the fundamental aim and purpose of this treatise, namely, to get men to prepare for God’s great year of jubilee, restored in the image of God, for the eternal enjoyment prepared for the children of God; for, according to the mind of the Spirit and the holy scriptures, it appears to me as a fact that in the great year of jubilee, here called the day of the Lord, everything will be restored to its original condition, and as it is to remain forever. Of this, the Lord willing, more will be said.

Here Follow Some Thoughts on the Great Year of Jubilee,
called the Great Day of the Lord;
also on the Eternal Eternities,
and the Right and the Left Hand of God.

In the great day of the Lord, or year of jubilee, all mankind will be gathered together, but in two conditions or parts, and not the human race only, but the angels also; likewise heaven and earth and all creatures in the sight of man which are very useful and without which man could not continue in his bodily existence. Note carefully.

God the Almighty is one God, eternal and omnipotent, and he alone is eternally good (Mark 10: 18). Hence first of all we will speak of all creatures generally. This one, good God, by his word created all things right and good; for since God is always good, therefore no evil or wicked thing could have been created by him, for God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them” (Gen. 2:1). And since God is eternal, he also, by the eternal Word, created the heavens and the earth and all the hosts of them for eternal existence. And since God in his eternal wisdom created man in the image of his eternal Spirit (and for whose sake the world was created), God spoke in the divinity of his word, whereby all things were made: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Gen. 1:26). “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). And God blessed them, and God said unto them, i.e., to the man and the woman: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” (Gen. 1:28). Thus man was made master or lord of the earth and of every living creature upon the earth. Moreover the beautiful garden in Eden was given into his care to dress it and keep it, and to eat of its fruits — all except one tree in the midst of the garden, the fruit of which he was forbidden to eat, for in the day that he would eat thereof he should surely die.

Of the angels David writes: “Who maketh his angels spirits (German, winds); his ministers a flaming fire” (Psa. 104: 4). “Of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire” (Heb. 1:7), to render service to God and to man. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Heb. 1:14).

But of the Son of God, by whom all things have been made, God speaks through the prophet (Heb. 1:1): “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom: thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellow” (Heb. 8:9; Psa. 45:6, 7). In the providence of God the One of whom this was said was anointed above all of the afore mentioned spirits, fellows and companions of angels and of men who were created, as well as. above everything that was made by him, and without whom nothing was made (John 1:3), i.e., Jesus, who is the first-begotten of all creatures, whose goings forth (or birth) have been of old, from everlasting, or from the days of eternity (Mic. 5:2), before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:20). This everlasting King all rulers and lords among men and angels are to obey, serve and worship (Heb. 1:6): “And let all the angels of God worship him”; for the hosts of heaven and earth were created for the glory and praise of God, yet one higher than another (Psa. 8: 5). Thus the angels as spirits were nearest to God in service, and after them mankind in the flesh and spirit, in the image of God, for the service of God.

There was, however, among those next to God a spirit and prince among the angels, called Lucifer, who thought himself too exalted to be subject to the service and worship of God; therefore he thought in his heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:13, 14). In this arrogance he was also an accuser and had strife with the angels in heaven, accusing them before God day and night (Rev. 12:7, 10). This spirit or angel came to Eve in Eden through the agency of the serpent, with the false, deceptive, lying words: “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (as if the serpent did not know). Then the woman said to the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” Then the serpent began to make insinuations against the veracity of the word of God, and said to the woman: “Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” On the strength of such plausible sophistries the woman took of the fruit of the tree and ate, and gave also to her husband, and he ate, and the mischief was done. The word of God was true; Adam and Eve had died, and would have become subject to death in body and soul forever, had not God’s providence been at hand for the purpose of redemption. Here was man, who was to have dominion over the whole earth and every living creature in it, fallen into sin unto death and with him all the host of creatures that had been created to minister unto man on earth. All was changed and had become liable to the penalty of sin, for man’s punishment. Beside all this a fearful catastrophe had occurred among the angels in heaven because of this same pride and sin which originated with Lucifer, so that Lucifer, the serpent, that old dragon, with all his angels, was eternally banished from heaven, as was shown in a previous chapter.

Although by Lucifer’s pride, deception and cunning toward the angels, God and man, such indescribable injury had been done, resulting in a complete disarrangement and change unto eternal destruction, God in his wisdom foresaw it all. He came into the garden of Eden, so to speak, in a dual capacity: on the one hand in his displeasure, occasioned by the sins of Lucifer, to mete out everlasting punishment. On the other hand, God came in his kindness and everlasting love, to console mankind and offer everlasting redemption through Christ. And the Lord called Adam and said, as to a lost sheep: “Where art thou? And Adam answered, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And God said: “Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” But Adam put the blame on the woman, and the woman laid the blame on the serpent. Then the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field: upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This sentence against the serpent was a consolation for man; for in it was involved the redemption of the body and soul of mankind and his eternal restoration; as regards the soul, salvation from sin even in this life, and as regards the body, eternal restoration, with the soul, in the great year of jubilee. On the other hand, God’s sentence upon the serpent was a punishment pronounced upon Lucifer, the serpent, that old dragon, even in this time, and hereafter in eternity, all of which should be brought about by Jesus Christ as follows:

In the fulness of time Christ came from heaven in the flesh and was made flesh (John 1: 14), born of the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:27, 31), and was like us in all respects, except sin, and was also thus brought up, and was subject to Joseph and Mary, but was persecuted by the servant of the serpent into Egypt. When he had returned to Israel and was about to begin his ministry in the fulfillment of his mission, he came to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him, when the Spirit of God descended upon him and a voice from heaven said: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” After that he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by the devil, and was tempted forty days and forty nights, after which the devil left him and the angels ministered to Jesus. After this Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God through the gospel, and then gave his body and blood for a sacrifice by which to redeem mankind from sin which the serpent by guile had brought upon man. In doing this, the serpent pierced or bruised Jesus’ heel, so that the blood ran down upon the earth, while Jesus bruised or crushed the serpent’s head, depriving Lucifer of his power, so that he had no longer dominion over man by the sin of Adam. Jesus redeemed the soul of man from the condemnation of Adam’s sin and brought life again to man unto salvation, as Paul so plainly writes (Rom. 5). By the holy sacrifice offered by Christ the souls of men were redeemed, so that the iniquity or sin of the father no longer rested upon the child (Ezek. 18), but the individual soul that sinneth, it shall die, while those Who turn about and do the works meet for repentance shall live. But by this holy sacrifice the flesh and blood of man still remained subject to the burdens and sufferings of mortal life, until the death of the body (Gen. 3:17, 19).

The figurative year of jubilee was fulfilled by Christ so that the soul of man has regained its birthright of the life of God. All who live here or who have fallen asleep without the law, without their own actual sins, will without doubt in the great year of jubilee be restored and perfected in eternal glory as heirs of the eternal kingdom of God. Those also who here received and transgressed the law and thereby have themselves sinned, but have afterward turned about by true faith, repentance and amendment of life, have likewise the promise that in the great day they shall be released from all the burdens and cares of body and soul and be restored in glory and effulgence like that of Christ (Phil. 3:21). The ungodly also, who have continued here in their wicked lives will at that time be brought forth in body and soul unto everlasting torment. Note carefully.

It is evident that in his first advent in the flesh Christ came into the world poor, and with great pain and suffering in his sacrifice brought again or restored life and salvation to the human race, so that through the sacrifice the grace and merit of Christ there will be no lack, in the matter of salvation, in those who themselves have not yet committed sin; nor in those who by faith have repented and surrendered themselves unto Christ. But as Christ lived in this world in much pain and suffering in the flesh, nothing better is promised to humanity in general, and especially to the saints in this mortal life (Matt. 10).

In the great day of the Lord, however, which is here called the great year of jubilee, when all things will be restored to their actual condition and state (or renewed or fulfilled), of which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets since the world began (Acts 3:19, 21), Jesus will not appear poor, or in pain, or as a mortal being. He will appear in his indescribable majesty to put everything into its place and state, as it shall remain forevermore. And when he shall have finished all things, so that all things are made subject to him, then the Son himself will subject himself to HIM who has made all things subject to the Son, that God may be all and in all (1 Cor. 15: 28). Jesus will appear in this consummation as Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying: “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all; and to convince all that are ungodly among them of their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him” (Jude 14, 15). Like the lightning in the clouds of heaven, so the Lord will come, in great power and glory (Matt. 24:27-30) on his throne, which will be like a fiery flame: “thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The judgment was set, and the books were opened” (Dan. 7:9, 10). “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God” (1 Thess. 4: 16). All things will then be fulfilled by Christ, and every man will be placed where he will remain forever after, according to the holy scripture.

Regarding the Saints

When Christ shall appear in his day, he who in his first advent in the flesh redeemed man from the condemnation of the sin of Adam will then also deliver him from all suffering, pain and death, all of which came upon the human body by the first sin, and will restore man to the first or original image and make him still more glorious; for, in the first image, it was possible for man to fall into sin and pain and death, but not so after the restoration (Rev. 21:4, 5). It is evident, however, that this salvation applies to those who have not sinned themselves, and to all those who, after having sinned, have repented and in true faith have given themselves unto Christ to live and to die for him, and to all to whom the Lord is merciful; for to whomsoever the Lord is gracious, he will show mercy.

My dear reader, look diligently into these times. When the seven times of the law have been fulfilled, as has already been repeatedly mentioned in these chapters, until the year of jubilee, then the great seventh time will begin, after which time is no longer named as applied to the day of the Lord. When the seventh angel shall sound the trump (Rev. 10:1-7), then the mystery of God will be finished, “as he hath declared to his servants the prophets”; for the seven times of the law, from the sabbath to the year of jubilee, are types and shadows and are fulfilled in Christ, as an example, and to teach us how man is to walk in the Spirit. If a man desires to enter into the complete fulfillment of Christ he must begin with the sabbath to cease from sin, so that he may thereby become a participant in the Christian passover feast of the atonement for sin, by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and if he thenceforth lives in the spiritual seven times from time to time, he will then come into the greatest of all, the year of jubilee, the beginning of which is the great day of atonement, when the jubilee trumpets will be sounded (Lev. 25: 8, 9; Josh. 6:4, 5), when the saints will enter into the fullness of the atonement and come into their possession which Christ has purchased for the saints by his sacrifice, and which he will fulfill to all the saints in his great day of atonement.

Observe carefully, when Jesus will appear in his glory with his holy angels in his great day, the heavenly (jubilee) trumpets will sound; for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first (1 Thess. 4:16; John 5:28, 29). They will be raised spiritual bodies (1 Cor. 15:44). Then the Lord will “send his angels with the sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matt. 24:31). The saints will then come into the fully completed atonement on the great day of atonement, so that they will be released from all misery, suffering, pain and death; while those who are still alive in the body at the time of the last trumpet shall be changed and shall meet the Lord in the air (1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:17). This then will be the fulfillment or consummation of the great year of jubilee (Lev. 25:10), when the saints in Israel will be restored to their possessions and inheritance for which man was created in the beginning. The saints will then be restored to the eternal, immutable image of God, when these vile bodies will be changed into glorified bodies, so that they will be like unto the glorious body of Christ (Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2), in which they will be like the angels of God in heaven (Matt. 22:30), and all this through Christ, by whom the blessed will be ushered into the eternal kingdom, where he will say to them: “Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). Thus they will have come into possession of their eternal birthright and portion in the kingdom of the eternal Father, Son and Holy Ghost, into the generation that is born of God, as applying to angels of heaven and to men, the patriarchs, prophets and all the holy martyrs who follow the Lamb. There they will have a new heaven and a new earth, in which shall dwell righteousness (2 Pet. 3:13). “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:43); “and they that be wise (German, teachers) shall shine as the brightness of the firmament: and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12:3). There they will be gathered together into one fold (John 10: 16). There they will be joined and fitted together as one heavenly tabernacle of God, and which served as an example or model on Mount Sinai (Heb. 8: 5), as one body, one bride, one church, in which God lives and moves. There they will enjoy the seven times forever and ever which were fulfilled by Christ for the bliss and joy of the blessed, and in which the believers shall live ever here, as has been previously explained. It is clear enough, as is also shown in this treatise, that the sabbath, the annual feasts, the sabbatical year and year of jubilee, as the seven times, are all correlated, or hinge together and are included one with the other, and are inseparable. With them all is included the new moon, which marks the beginning of every one of these seven times (Ex. 12:2), from which time they had to reckon the tenth day when they had to choose the lamb and keep it until the fourteenth day, which was the second seventh day, and which became the sabbath which had to be observed as a sabbath through all of the seven times. Following this sabbath was the seven day feast of the passover, and seven weeks afterward the feast of Pentecost, and seven months afterward the feast of tabernacles. Each feast was to last seven days, so that each feast included a sabbath. From the first new moon they had to count six years, and the seventh was a sabbatical year. There were to be seven such sabbatical years in the same order, which made forty-nine years, when the fiftieth year or year of jubilee followed the forty-ninth year, and began in the seventh month, and on the tenth day of the feast of tabernacles, on the day of atonement, in which all of the above seven times are fulfilled and comprehended. The first day of the seventh month was also made a day of the sounding of trumpets, a holy sabbath convocation, when they were to assemble and offer sacrifices in the time of the new moon (Lev. 23:24). This feast of the new moon the Israelites solemnly observed as a day of the memorial of the blowing of trumpets (Num. 29:1) when burnt sacrifices were to be offered as a sweet savor unto the Lord, at the beginning of the feast of tabernacles, and the beginning of the year of jubilee in which all the times of the law are fulfilled, which the saints shall enjoy in the jubilee of heavenly joy.

Let us now return to the blissful state of the saints, which happiness they obtain through Christ, when Christ shall appear in his great day with his heavenly trumpets and gather the saints together. All who here in the new moon have entered into a new life through Christ will then also through Christ enjoy a renewed, spiritual body in the Lord’s great day of atonement, when they will obtain full reconciliation in body and soul through Jesus Christ, in which they will enjoy the eternal seven times forever and ever, for their one new moon will succeed another and one sabbath another (Isa. 66). There the saints will, in their renewed and restored bodies and souls in the atonement enjoy the eternal sabbath rest with God, where suffering and weariness will nevermore reach them (Rev. 21: 4). There the saints will enjoy and keep the passover feast of the Lamb Jesus Christ forever and ever, praising and thanking the great God, that he by the sacrifice of the Lamb so fully ransomed and saved them that henceforth they can never again be taken in the ignominious meshes of sin, because the sacrifice of Christ wrought an everlasting salvation, the efficacy of which will endure forever (Heb. 9:12; 10: 12, 14). There the saints will enjoy and keep the feast of weeks, when they will partake of the first-fruits of the early harvest in the new heaven and the new earth in the Spirit with great joy, whereby they will become so joyful that they will bring to the Lord rich oblations of praise and thanks, as foreshadowed in Lev. 23; Deut. 16:9, 10, 11, and all will enjoy these heavenly pleasures together. There the saints will find the keeping of the feast of the seventh month or feast of tabernacles one of inexpressible joy with all the hosts of heaven, when they will have been received into the eternal tabernacle of God through Jesus Christ, to live there forever and ever, protected from all evil, and partaking of the joys of heaven and the sweetness of the Holy Ghost as meat and drink, and where they will yield body and soul to God as a holy sacrifice, with thanks and praise, that God drew and led them to this happiness through Jesus Christ. Moreover, the saints may well enjoy the sabbatical year inasmuch as they will be freed from all their debts and obligations and bondage, without the possibility of ever being again led into sin, and where they will never again be compelled to earn their food with labor, but will partake of that which has been gathered, and what the new heaven and the new earth will produce, namely, eternal joy and glory, and an indescribable food and drink. Since the seven times belong together or are included in one period, they will be all combined in the last, greatest, seventh time, and the saints will enjoy this period with Christ their Lord in the fulfilled divine year of jubilee of the everlasting kingdom, which shall endure forever and ever, where the saints shall see Jesus their Head and King, the only High Priest in his high priestly office and raiment with glorious adornment, as he is (1 John 3:2). There the saints will bring to their High Priest innumerable offerings in his holy temple and holy adornment, with laudation, thanks, praise and honor, as the Revelations to St. John and other scriptures repeatedly point out. All this the saints will enjoy, including the little children who by the sacrifice of Christ have been ushered from a world of sin into sabbath rest, together with all those to whom the Lord is merciful (as has been repeatedly shown in connection with the seven times). All these will render unto God rich offerings of praise, and hosanna in the highest, as the parables teach (Matt. 21:9, J5) and as David saw in the Spirit (Psa. 3:2).

Let us consider further the fulfillment of all these things in Christ, and that the year began in the spring, at the time when day and night were equal (Ex. 12), as already mentioned, so that the summer time or year was in the first part and the winter time in the latter part of the complete year.

From the first day of the first month until the first day of the seventh month was commonly known as a full year, and from the first day of the seventh month to the first day of the first month was also commonly known as a full year, although the two really constituted one complete year divided into two parts. Hence Israel had the good part in the beginning of the complete year, and the poor or severe part in the latter part of the year, when there was nothing to gather. This was the rule established by the people, and as the children of men wanted it — first the good or the carnal pleasures, yet after this they cannot escape the evil or that which is hard to bear. In the wisdom of God it was planned differently for his people, according to which God in his divine arrangement had the year end with the sixth month and begin with the beginning of the seventh month, when everything had been gathered of corn and wine, as seen Ex. 23:16; 34:22; Deut. 16:13. The first day of the seventh month was at the time of the new moon, a beginning of the year or time, and especially the beginning of the feast of tabernacles, a holy sabbath and memorial of the blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation (Lev. 23:24). On the tenth day of the seventh month was the day of atonement of the feast of tabernacles. On this day the Israelites were to afflict their souls, and on this day of atonement, when they had afflicted themselves, the year of jubilee was announced with the blowing of trumpets (Lev. 25:9), when the Israelites with their afflicted bodies could again come into their possessions and their generation to or in which they had been originally created. Thus the first day of the first month was on the first day of the new moon, and on the tenth day of this month the lamb had to be chosen, which was a type or figure pointing to the Lamb Jesus Christ (Ex. 12:2, 3).

Whosoever becomes a partaker, with Christ, of the time of the new moon in the new life, can also become a partaker, in his perfected state, of the ten times, i.e., the tenth day of the first month, when the lamb, as a type of Christ, was chosen and kept until the fourteenth day, which was the first sabbath Israel was commanded to keep — a figure showing how the soul and body of man must come into the sabbath of atonement through Christ. Whoever becomes a participant in the choosing of the Lamb on the tenth day of the first month, can also become a participant on the tenth day of the seventh month (which was the great day of atonement) in its fulfillment by Jesus Christ; for with this tenth day of atonement, the tenth day of the fiftieth year, the year of jubilee also begins, which was a figure typifying the day of the Lord. Understand, the number ten denotes the full or complete number, from which we always return to the first. If therefore a man becomes a participant in the above three ten times, he is in the three complete numbers; in the first place, in the number of the perfect Lamb; secondly, in the number of the perfect atonement; thirdly, in the perfect number of the last day, when man with perfect body and soul will be restored in the image of God.

Let us now consider the perfect fulfillment of the law by Christ, and how, by the sacrifice of Christ, man was redeemed, and again entered upon the first rest day of the soul. All to whom the kingdom of God is promised through Christ, even though they have long ago fallen asleep, shall, when Jesus comes, be awakened and restored in their bodies, so that in body and soul they shall enjoy the everlasting sabbath rest. But in order to reach this goal, the believer must afflict his body by denying self, in this day of atonement by Christ, in this time, that with an afflicted body that has abstained from sin, he may enter upon the day of the Lord, and especially those who have lived in the ten day period of tribulation (Rev. 2: 10), that is, from the first day of the sabbath (new moon) of a new man to the tenth day, i.e., the end of life, or until Christ shall come in the great jubilee of the last day, when he will fulfill the law in all perfection, as the holy scripture so abundantly teaches.

But when Christ shall come again in his glory, the bodies of the saints, who, after the atonement of Christ, still remain in manifold, sins of weakness of the flesh and subject to manifold bodily ills and temporal death, will partake of the benefits of the atonement of Christ and enjoy them in all fullness, because the bodies of those whose deeds have been good have been restored in the glorious image of Christ (Phil. 3:21; John 5:28, 29). This corruptible body will be brought forth incorruptible, and those who have been here put to death for Christ’s sake in dishonor by the world, whether by water, the sword, or the gallows; whether by fire, or by wild beasts, as dust in the air or in the water, or have been banished into the desert places, so that they should not even be remembered, will nevertheless be brought forth in great glory in the likeness of the Lamb. Those who have been sown here (in the dust of the earth) in weakness (such as little children who have not themselves sinned, and likewise those who have believed and repented, but acknowledged themselves weak), shall be raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body, wholly incorruptible (1 Cor. 15:42, 44, 52). Those who are still living in the flesh shall be changed and brought forth by Christ in spiritual bodies, in bodies that are made entirely new, in bodies that are no longer capable of sinning, and therefore also will not die; for there will be no more death (Rev. 21: 4, 5). Then will come to pass the saying: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Cor. 15: 55, 56). Then will the sting of death, sin, be swallowed up forever in the lake where the beast and the false prophet are (Isa. 25:8; Rev. 20:10, 14).

In the great year of jubilee or day of the Lord the bodies of the saints will be so restored by Christ, or brought back into the image of God that they will suffer no more sorrow, nor crying, nor pain; for in the highest Seven, in the seventh time and in the last perfect number, the tenth day of the year of jubilee, when the seventh and last angel shall sound the trumpet, then all things will be fulfilled which God has spoken or caused to be made known by his messengers and prophets from the beginning of the world (Rev. 10:6, 7; 11:15-18; Acts 3:20, 21), namely that the Lord will then reward his servants and prophets and saints and those who fear his name, from the smallest to the greatest; for at the time of the great day of the Lord or year of jubilee the bodies and souls of the saints will, by the grace of God through Jesus Christ, come into the birthright of the saints, which was prepared for them from the beginning of the world (Matt. 25:34), when they will again possess and enjoy their goods and possessions, in the image of God in which they shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. 13:43), as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars forever and ever (Dan. 12:3). There the saints will enjoy in their immortal bodies and souls what Jesus wrought for them by his sacrifice, together with what the believers by faith gathered in the Spirit of God in good works during this summer time of grace; also what they in this summer of the heat of tribulation have suffered for Christ’s sake, and what they in the fire of tribulation were deprived of for Jesus’ sake — houses and lands, brothers and sisters, father and mother, wife and children, and even life itself. All these shall be restored to them a hundred fold, and beside all this they shall inherit eternal life (Matt. 19:29). In this eternal, endless life the saints will obtain the new heaven and the new earth, the never ending kingdom of God for an everlasting possession by Jesus Christ. Then the saints will worship the one God as Father who has begotten them anew by Jesus Christ, and honor and bring holy sacrifices to God the Father, Jesus Christ, the one true God and High Priest in holy adornment in his holy temple. There the saints will have as brothers and friends the hosts of heaven, the children of God, whatever their names may be. There they will rejoice with joy unspeakable and unceasing, and in this joy they will be united as one heart and one soul, of which we see a picture in Acts 4:32. Then will be one united household, tabernacle and city of God, wherein God will dwell; for God and the Lamb shall be in the temple. They will have no need of the sun, for the glory of God will illuminate everything, and the Lamb is the light thereof (Rev. 21:22, 23). Then will the saints have a joyful year of jubilee, because the trials of this life will be at an end and they will enter upon the eternal joyful summer when all things will stand arrayed in the blossoms and fruits of heavenly joy and sweetness of the Spirit, when they shall enjoy the kingdom of the heavenly Father as the birthright and city of their childhood, together with all their goods and possessions, and with all this the never-failing, unceasing heavenly meat and drink, the Word and Spirit (Matt. 4:4). The word of Christ is meat and drink indeed, with which all the saints shall be filled, so that the fullness thereof shall flow forth from them as rivers of living water (John 7:38), clear as crystal (Rev. 22: 1). This word and water shall flow round about the heavenly city of Jerusalem, from one soul to another (figuratively speaking), so that one will be fruit, word and spirit, meat and drink to another, in joy, peace and happiness in the Holy Ghost (Rom. 14:17), and one will be the joy, peace and happiness of another. In this condition they will rejoice and “be glad in the Lord. This food they will, as servants of the Lord, eat and drink together in such happiness that they will shout for joy (Isa. 65:13, 14). They will have joy such as no eye has seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of any man, because of the things that God has prepared for them that love him (1 Cor. 2:9); for, because of the manifold weakness of flesh and blood, no human being in this mortal body, no matter how great his piety, can see or hear the glorified state of God and the Lamb and his saints. Therefore Paul writes: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50). It must be changed into the spiritual, into the likeness of the angels of God (Matt. 22: 30).

So far then, according to the contents of God’s word and the influence of the Holy Spirit, I have pointed out the happy condition of the saints, when they shall enter upon that which is perfect, in the year of the jubilee in the great day of the Lord, by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. There he will reward every one according to his works in this present life, whether they be good or bad (Matt. 25:31-46; Rev. 11:18). There the saints will rest forever and rejoice. “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his” (Heb. 4:9, 10). O happy state of the saints in glory! I long to be there to enjoy the crumbs of those who shall sit down in the kingdom of heaven with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the saints (Matt. 8:11).

Regarding the Fate of the Unbelievers and Ungodly Men,
Whether They be Called Heathen or Christians

It is clear that the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee, ordained and instituted for the release of debts, so that everyone might recover his possessions, applied to the people of the Lord, the seed of Abraham, and not to unbelievers outside of the covenant of Abraham, as may be seen Lev. 25: 44-46; Lev. 15:3. The unbelievers, who were not included in the covenant which God gave Abraham, had to pay their debts and remain servants forever; nor could they in the year of jubilee ever regain, as had their ancestors, of their birthright or their lands and houses in the land which the Lord had given Israel. The Jews also who had sold themselves into perpetual bondage could not go out free in the year of jubilee, nor could they regain possession, in the year of jubilee, of houses which they had sold within walled cities and which they had not redeemed within the year following the sale. These houses remained the perpetual possession of the purchaser. There were also many Gentiles who lived far away from Israel who had not heard the law and did not even know of it. These lived all over the world in the jubilee year of the flesh, yet derived little or no benefit from the year of jubilee. The greater part of mankind spent the year of jubilee in servile labor, in manifold miseries and bodily oppression, and especially because with the beginning of the year of jubilee the severe winter time was at hand, in which there was universally great suffering and want, beside oppressive physical labor, while the believing Israelites in their joy and freedom returned to their possessions and their birthright, as if they were in the midst of the joyous summer time. These are shadows and figures pointing to the great jubilee year of the Lord, of which the greatest seventh time of the year of jubilee is here indicated, when the seventh and last angel shall sound the trumpet, and the Lord, the Almighty God, in his great power will render to everyone his due reward; to the good as well as to those who have destroyed the earth (Rev. 11:15-18). Regarding the good we have already spoken; regarding the wicked more will now be said.

Concerning the great day of the Lord and the judgment of the ungodly, mention has been made in Chapter 22 on the Feast of Tabernacles, and in Chapter 23 on the Sabbatical Year. It is, however, fitting that several phases of the judgment of the ungodly be spoken of in this connection, for there are some things which may properly be enlarged upon here, because the times of judgment end or close in the year of jubilee, and because after that great day, after the seventh angel shall have sounded the trumpet, time will be no longer. Mention has already been made that the year of jubilee spoken of in this chapter indicates the great day of the Lord, therefore note carefully.

Jesus himself says: “Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28, 29). Of this general resurrection both the Old and the New Testaments testify in many places, although varying slightly. With the lightning-like suddenness or quickness of Omnipotence the resurrection of the good and of the evil will follow each other in rapid order. The resurrection really began in and with Christ, for of those who slept he was the first to arise, about seventeen hundred years ago,* and after him the bodies of many saints, which was the first resurrection (Matt. 27:52, 53; 28:6, 7). Christ had to be the first of those who arose from the dead (Acts 26:23). “Now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first-fruits of them that slept” (1 Cor. 15: 20). Hence he is the first begotten of the dead (Rev. 1:5), that by him all should be raised up, whether they be good or evil, yet in their proper order, as the holy scripture shows. Let us now turn to the general resurrection which will be made manifest to all mankind on the day of the Lord.

*The reader will remember that the original of this was written before 1763, hence the statement, “about seventeen hundred, years ago.” — Tr.

It is true that in the general resurrection, as mentioned in John 5, no difference or division is mentioned. However, passages will now be referred to showing that there is some difference. Christ himself says of this great day: “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matt. 24: 27, 31, 36). “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” (2 Pet. 3:10); “for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16, 17). In this resurrection Jesus is “the first-fruits, and afterward they that are Christ’s, at his coming” (1 Cor. 15:23). Now Christ became the first-fruits in the resurrection of the body from the grave over 1700 years ago. So also in the general resurrection Christ the Lord from heaven will be the first to appear in the divine effulgence and glory of his body upon the throne of his glory, with many thousands of holy angels; afterward those that are his. The dead in Christ shall, by the power of Omnipotence, rise first in glorified, spiritual bodies, like angelic forms (Matt. 22: 30) ; while those who are alive and remain in the flesh shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, be brought before the Lord and placed together at his right hand, where they will stand in great joy to the praise of the Lord, in glory , like the shining sun, like the shining stars in the brightness of the firmament (Matt. 13:43; Dan. 12:3). From these scripture passages it can be taken that the saints shall rise first, be brought to the Lord and placed at his right hand, and this suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet, for the Lord’s work progresses rapidly. Inasmuch as all mankind will be brought before the judgment seat by the Omnipotence of God, one part on the right hand and the other on the left, therefore at this time the unbelievers or unsaved will also arise in their bodies in the form of the angel Lucifer whom they have served here. And when they shall be thus suddenly brought from all over the earth and stand on the left hand of the judgment throne of God, the fearful terror will seize them when they shall behold Jesus Christ whom they here esteemed so lightly in their unbelief, whom they despised and mocked and rejected here, whose face they smote here, whom they crucified here — in sum, whom they pierced here on earth (John 19:37; Rev. 1:7), but who is now before them in almighty power and great glory. Moreover when the unbelievers shall see at the right hand of God the happy saints whom they so greatly despised and rejected here for the sake of Christ and his word, whom they here robbed and persecuted, whom they here tortured and put to death, but who now stand at the right hand of God, to the praise of God, in great joy and glory — I say, when the ungodly and unsaved shall see all this and like things and the Lord will then show them what faith is and means and does, such indescribable fear and remorse will take hold upon them that those who lived here in such pride and arrogance (Wis. of Sol. 5:1-15) will begin to call upon the rocks and mountains to fall upon them, and hide them “from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Rev. 6:16, 17). But there will be no escape, but the sinners’ own words of self-condemnation and judgment will fall upon them, in which they will stand convicted here in their unbelief (John 3:18; 12: 48); so that they will have to give account with their own mouths of what they have done here, also of every idle word which they have spoken here (Matt. 12:36). Then will the wrath of God which abideth upon sinners (John 3:36) work out their judgment through themselves, so they will have to reveal what they have done here. What will be heard from the two divisions of mankind will sound very different; for in every case the mouth will speak of that with which the heart is filled. The saints at the right hand of God will, out of the good treasure of their hearts, bring forth naught but good to the praise of God, neither will they be able to bring forth anything that is evil out of their good treasure, because there is no more evil in or about them, because the blood of Christ has cleansed them from all sin (1 John 1:5).

On the other hand, those on the left will not be able to show anything that is good from the evil that is stored up in their hearts; for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matt. 12:34, 35). Hence the sinners will have no one to blame or complain of in eternity but themselves for having gathered such an evil treasure and for having confessed it to their own condemnation with their own mouths; for on that great day of the Lord that will be fulfilled which Jesus declared in Matt. 12:37; to those on the right hand: “By thy words thou shalt be justified and to those on the left: “By thy words thou shalt be condemned.” “Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant” (Luke 19:22). “I can of mine own self do nothing; as I hear, so I judge; and my judgment is just” (John 5:30). Then will he say to those on his left hand: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” But to those on his right hand he will say: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Then the ungodly “shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal” (Matt. 25:31-46).

According to the teaching of holy scripture of both Old and New Testaments the two divisions or states of humanity will be and remain unchanged forever, because in both instances they have been changed into that existence which has no end. The righteous will enjoy the kingdom of God forever and ever, while the ungodly will have their part in endless, unquenchable fire of the lake of fire, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, by which they are tormented forever and ever (Mark 9:44, 46, 48; Isa. 66:24; Rev. 1:10, 11).

It is to be believed that in such a way the year of jubilee will be fulfilled by Christ in the great day of the Lord, even in the case of those sinners who here would not accept and honestly and sincerely observe the figurative memorial celebrations and feasts, such as the sabbaths and annual festivals of the old covenant, the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee, and still less desired to accept and observe the spiritual festivals as here fulfilled and restored in and by Christ, where men were not to do the servile works of sin in the new covenant. Those who would not take heed to these things to obey them, but have spent their time, the beautiful summer time of the grace of Christ, in the works of sin, living daily as much as they could in the lusts of the flesh, will at the end of this temporal life face a most unfavorable, unhappy year of jubilee, or day of the Lord; for they will have nothing good to enjoy, because they did not gather any good things in the time of grace, but will face a severe winter in which there will be nothing for them to gather but misery and woe in the place to which they will be assigned (Matt. 25:41), in the place of everlasting fire which they will have to accept, where their earth will be turned into pitch and their streams (or water) into pitch, and their land into burning pitch, that shall not be quenched night or day; where their land (or kingdom) shall be barren and desolate, where men shall mingle together like all kinds of wild beasts, where their nobles shall be without a kingdom, and their princes be nothing, where thorns shall come up in their palaces, and nettles and branches in their fortresses, that will become the habitation of dragons and a court for owls; where the satyr shall cry to his fellow (Isa. 34: 9-15), where they will be tormented in that and by that which constituted their activity and pleasure here; the place where will be gathered the dragon, that old serpent, the devil and the beast and the false prophet, death and hell, and all evil and unsaved spirits of men and angels (Rev. 20:10, 14, 15). This is, no doubt, the “Tophet (or abyss) which is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood (the evil spirits and men mentioned above) ; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it” (Isa. 30:33). Then that will be fulfilled which the Lord declared in the law: “A fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains” (Deut. 32:22); “and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched” (Jer. 7:20). There they will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and they “shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb” (Rev. 14:10), and the unsaved will then be kindled like fire and an endless amount of wood in Tophet, which no man shall be able to quench (Jer. 4:4), where one will serve as a fire of anguish and torment to another, just as one served another in lust and unrighteousness. The prince Lucifer and his mighty ones who have destroyed the earth and by means of pride and unholy ambitions have deceived mankind, will also be forced to suffer the fiercest, greatest fiery torment in this abyss, to his and his hosts’ shame and contempt, pain and anguish, where they will suffer unceasing hunger and unquenchable thirst, so that they will shriek and howl in their anguish and remorse (Isa. 65: 13, 14). In this fiery furnace they will weep and gnash their teeth (Matt. 13:42). They will cry for water, but will obtain nothing (Luke 16: 23). Above all these things a fearful grief will assail those in torment because between them and the saved such a great gulf is fixed, so that none of the saved can come to them in their suffering to offer them a single drop of comfort or ray of hope or word of counsel or help (Luke 16:26), even though they lie in the agony of death (Rev. 20:14) in which they can neither live nor die, and, what will no doubt be the most horrible of all, they, in their darkness of torment, will not be able to find one way or path, door or step by which they might get through or out of this fixed gulf. Beside all this it will occur to them in their misery that Jesus spoke the eternal truth itself when he declared that those who go in the way of destruction will not find the way to eternal life (Matt. 7:13, 14); also that whosoever will not believe in the Son of God after he has been proclaimed to man, shall not see life, but that the wrath of God shall abide upon him; also that those who speak or blaspheme against the Holy Ghost shall not obtain forgiveness, neither here, nor in the world to come (Matt. 12: 32) ; also that whosoever is not born again in this life shall not see the kingdom of God, nor enter into it (John 3; John 5), and that Jesus is the door and the way by which man comes unto the Father (John 10:2,7,9; 14:6).

Since it is clearly evident and firmly established that after the judgment day Christ will be at the right side of the gulf, among his own, their High Priest, Light and Temple, subject to the Father in his kingdom (1 Cor. 15:28; Heb. 8:1, 2; Rev. 2:22, 23), therefore Christ will not be on the left side of the gulf among those who are damned. Therefore the Way, the Truth, and the Life will not be found by those on the left hand, nor will they be able to come across the gulf to the Father into the kingdom of his saints; for there is no other way into the kingdom of God but by Christ. And although some one might in this life or in the hereafter wish or be able to enter in by another way, he would be recognized as a thief. But a thief cannot retain eternal life. He would, with the man who had no wedding garment on, be cast out into outer darkness, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. It is evident, however, that after the judgment, when all things have been fulfilled and the gulf is fixed and the insurmountable barrier established, it will be utterly impossible for anyone from the place of the damned to pass the barrier. Moreover, Paul writes of the unrighteous, also of ten things or sins which will bar the way to the inheritance of the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9, 10). Also in Gal. 5: 19-21 he mentions seventeen gross sins, and says that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” (Heb. 6:4-6). “For if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Heb. 10:26, 27). These things then will be fulfilled in the sinners in their pain and torment. Moreover there will also be fulfilled that which Jesus spoke in the parable when he said of those men who had been invited to the supper and did not come, that none of them who were bidden should taste of his supper (Luke 14:24). In the first place, although all men have been invited in the sacrifice of Jesus, not all will come to Jesus in the faith of the sacrifice, that they may partake of its benefits. Secondly, the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, was first invited by Jesus himself to come unto him. Thirdly, the gospel is still taught to so many people, bidding them to come to Christ and partake of the food which he has brought down from heaven, i.e. to do his will. Of such and all those similarly invited the Lord declares that those who will not come shall in no wise taste of his supper. But if they shall not taste of his supper, neither shall they come into his kingdom, for in his kingdom there will be a feast of joy everywhere.

Let us consider how the law regarding the year of jubilee will be fulfilled in Christ. Those who did not observe the keeping of the sabbath in and with Israel could therefore not with Israel come into possession of their birthright in the year of jubilee. So also those in Israel who sold their dwelling houses in walled cities and did not redeem them within a year from the time of sale, could never regain possession, not even in the year of jubilee, but had to do without such dwelling house for all time, i.e. both they and their posterity. Also whoever sold himself as a perpetual servant could not go out free in the year of jubilee. All of these are types and shadows pointing to the fulfillment of the law by Christ.

The same is true, according to the teaching of the word of God, of those men or sinners who will not here enter with the spiritual Israelites upon and observe the spiritual celebration of the sabbaths as fulfilled and restored by Christ, as already fully described in this work, that they might by faith obtain and observe the true sabbath rest of forgiveness of sins in Christ, as well as to abstain from the sinful works of the body, and from fleshly lusts, by self-denial, without which no man can take part in the great day of atonement (Lev. 23:28; 25:9), by which he becomes fully reconciled as regards the great day of the Lord when the saints are reconciled and restored in body and soul. Those who neglect this here, cannot be numbered with the spiritual children of Israel, therefore they cannot come into possession of Israel’s portion and birthright of the Father.

In Israel the year of jubilee was the great seventh Time when they might regain possession of their property for which there was no time appointed prior to nor after the year of jubilee, when they might regain their possessions and their birthright. The same is true of the day of the Lord, which will be the greatest of all times, for there is no time found in holy scripture either before or after the day of the Lord, in which the saints will be restored body and soul and come into the heavenly Father’s possession and inheritance. Whoever because of sin cannot in this great time obtain possession of his birthright, will not find another time, for after this, time will be no longer (Rev. 10:6, 7). When the seventh angel shall sound the trumpet the mystery of the Lord shall be finished, as he declared to his servants the prophets.

So it is with those who as believers in Christ have become citizens in the spiritual Israel and obtained and possessed a dwelling house in the church of Christ on Mount Zion in the heavenly Jerusalem (understand Heb. 12:22 here), but who by some means or other fall into the poverty of weakness or indiscretion, become enamored of the world and so leave or sell their dwelling house for an earthly mess of pottage of carnal lust or of any sin whatsoever. Remember that in Israel, as stated above, they had to redeem their dwelling houses in the walled cities within a year or else lose possession forever. So it is with people who sell their dwelling house in their poverty as above stated, and then serve sin. If they do not forsake sin within the year of grace and by true repentance and amendment of life and turning to the Lord in true humility redeem their dwelling house, they will not be able to possess and occupy their dwelling house, neither in the day of the Lord, or forever, as the law declares. If, however, they redeem it within the year, as mentioned above, God is very gracious; he will again receive them as children in his family (Luke 15: 24), so that they can again occupy their dwelling house, but it must be done within the year, that is, in the year of the time of the grace of God (Isa. 61:2; Luke 4: 18, 19, 21), which is known as the acceptable time and the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2). But if the acceptable year of the grace of God, the day of salvation, is neglected here, it will be useless to call in the day of the Lord for the heavenly home: “Lord, Lord, open unto us; we have prophesied in thy name; we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.” He will say unto them: “I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye evildoers.” Oh, what a calamity! “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you your selves thrust out” (Luke 13: 24, 28; Matt. 7:21-23; 25:11-13). It is to be believed that this will be the fate of many people who hope they are Christians, who prophesy or speak of Jesus and his gospel. But they do not like the dwelling house in the city of the church of Christ, because it is humble and is to be full of tribulation, and is to be confined within the limits of obedience to Jesus Christ. For this reason such people prefer to live within the dwelling house of their own ideas, while many even choose to make and maintain their abode in the world, where life flows along the channel of the carnal mind, in hilarity, frivolity, in the loftiness, style, glory and display of this world. This dwelling house, according to the teaching of holy scripture, will, in the day of the Lord, be restored or become to them fire and brimstone, and become pain and torment in the presence of the Lord.

It is the same, moreover, with those who here want to be recognized as believing Israelites in Christ, but are not in all things pleased with the liberty that is in Christ, such as being free from sin, but prefer to take another way, in the service of sin. If after they have thus served sin for a season they do not earnestly seek to gain the liberty that is in Christ, and thus leave their dangerous service; but rather take pleasure in the sins of this world, serving the master and prince of this world in sin and making a seal of their service to the beast in the earmark of worldly service and life, or the mark in the forehead as a sign that they will faithfully perform their service in the world of sin according to the wishes of the beast as servants who have bound themselves into perpetual bondage, these servants of sin will share the fate of those who have sold themselves into sin. For, as those who had sealed themselves unto perpetual bondage could not, according to the law, go out free in the year of jubilee or at any other time, as long as the breath of life remained in them (death alone making them free), so also those who have continued in the service of sin and have sold themselves to sin, will not be free in the great day of atonement, nor ever afterward, but will in their service of sin be cast into the lake of fire into eternal service of suffering as long as they shall have breath. But there will be no more dying, for at the sound of the last trumpet there will be no more death, so that he will be robbed of the sting of his power, so that he will be thrown into prison powerless and helpless. “Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: O death, where is thy sting? O. grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Cor. 15:26, 55; Rev. 20:14). Hence the sting of death will not be in the lake of fire to cause death; for after judgment everything will remain forever in the same state and condition. Since the everlasting God has created all things for eternity, therefore in the restoration, at judgment, all things will remain forever in a fixed state, as it is represented in the light of the spirit of the word of God; for time will be no more, even as the angel declared on oath. Where there is a time set for ceasing from work, there is an end; but not there; for existence will continue from everlasting to everlasting (Rev. 14:11). Eternity! Remember that eternal is a word that means and knows no end. The word eternity comprehends that which stands and remains. It is therefore evident that after this time, when this time in the day of the Lord, in the day of the last trumpet, comes to an end, the word eternity will then signify a fixed, endless existence, a cycle to which there is no end, even as the life of God in Jesus Christ has no end, from eternity to eternity (Rev. 1:18; 4:10; 5:13, 14); no end (Heb. 7:3). Hence God is eternal, without end; his kingdom is eternal, without end, and continues forever and ever; likewise also his saints, who will occupy his kingdom, will see no more death, for there will be no more death. Hence everything will be in a fixed state forever and ever in an enduring, fixed, permanent existence, which for the saints will be that of greatest joy in the eternal kingdom, in which they will rejoice greatly in Christ. On the other hand for those who have become heirs of damnation it will be fearful misery and anguish. When they will have been in enduring, unchanging, perpetual torture for an eternity, so long that they will no longer remember or know any beginning, they will still have eternity before them, of which they have no knowledge of or reason for knowing the end any more than it can be known that the life of Christ from eternity to eternity will have an end. Thus it is evident that the eternities go on and on forever, from eternity to eternity, permanent, fixed, unceasing, without end, when all mankind will have been restored and placed of him whom they have served, and for whom they have lived here, whether good or evil; whether it be the Prince of Life or the prince of this world (Acts 3:15; John 14:30).

In concluding the subject of the year of jubilee, the great day and its perfect fulfillment by Christ, let us hear further: In the first place, when, in the beginning, God, by the Word, which was God, Jesus Christ, in six days created all things, heaven and earth, and all the hosts that are therein, so that all things were finished, and man had been created male and female, and had been blessed potentially by God with the whole human race (which was created with Adam in Adam), in that men were to multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it, then man was given dominion over all creatures, over the fish, the fowls and all the animals of the earth, and over all the earth. To man was also given complete charge of the beautiful garden in Eden, to dress, keep and inhabit it, and to eat of all the fruits of the garden excepting only one tree, the fruit of which they were forbidden to eat. Thus man was given dominion over everything that God had made on earth, God reserving from man only one tree, which they were not to touch, nor were they to eat of it (Gen. Chapters 1, 2 and 3). In the host of heaven the angels were created for service, as ministering spirits, to worship God the Lord Jehovah (Psa. 104:4; Heb. 1: 6, 7, 14). When all things had been finished God entered into rest on the seventh day, and rested from all his labors. Beside this, God had his angels for ministering spirits, so that God was in perfect rest. If the angels with God, and mankind in the garden of Eden, had remained in the calling to which God had ordained them, then both men and angels would have been able to perform their service in the rest of God, because they were made in the image of God, in which they, in short, would not have become partakers in any kind of disquietude, tribulation, weariness or death. But when Lucifer, an angel, became an accuser of angels in heaven, and moreover spoke so disdainfully of God to Eve, as if God had, in connection with the forbidden fruit, withheld great benefits from man, and as if it were not true that they should die if they ate thereof, then all that had been placed under the dominion of Adam was disturbed and brought into confusion, and man, because of sin, lost the image of God in spiritual death. Among the angels also there was a great commotion. Michael, the archangel, had to make war upon the dragon, whereby even God the Word, by whom all things are made, was disturbed out of his rest, so that there was fulfilled that which Isaiah through the Spirit declared to man regarding God the Word: “Thou hast made me to serve with thy sins; thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities” (Isa. 43:24. Then the Lord once more took hold of his work and said to the dragon, that old serpent: “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” All the days of his life means as long as there is breath left; therefore there is no salvation for him. At the same time God gave the consolation that man should be again redeemed, which from that time forward caused the Lord so much labor, care, suffering and pain and even death until it was finished and fulfilled by his death on the cross and his resurrection and ascension, and thereafter through his Spirit he had so much work to plant and propagate, preserve and protect his Church, and gather his sheep and lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and to lead the mother sheep, beside this to rule heaven and earth and to overcome the enemies of God and the enemies of the saints (Acts 2 throughout; Matt. 16:18), so that even the gates of hell might not prevail against them. “For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her”’ (Zech. 2:5). “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee: and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Isa. 43:2; 40:11).

Above all this there is still a highly important work to be accomplished, and no one can do it but he by whom all things were made. He will appear once more on earth in his almighty power to finally fulfill and finish all his works on earth and to bring to an end all temporal things, and restore and establish all eternal things. In his Omnipotence he will awaken all mankind, and in his work of fulfillment he will restore everyone to his place, whether it be on his right hand or on his left hand. All men will be changed from the state in which they lived here to the state which they will occupy hereafter, whether this places them on the right or on the left in the eternal existence. Then the foundations of the earth which are laid as if they were not to be removed forever, and the deep that covers the earth, will be changed into fire by the almighty power of God (Psa. 104:5; Isa. 34:9,10) unto the damnation of the ungodly (2 Pet. 3:7) into the eternal, ceaseless, immutable existence, when the Lord shall fully overcome and finally vanquish the devil, the beast, the false prophet, death and hell (or the grave), and will cast them with all their adherents and ungodly men into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10, 14, 15), after which the great gulf will be eternally fixed (Luke 16:26) between the lake of fire of this world, and the heights of the kingdom of God, the new heaven and new earth, into which the saints will be ushered by Christ, so that none can cross from either side to the other. When Christ shall have accomplished all his work, then it is to be believed that he with his own will enter into eternal rest, when even the Son will become subject to HIM who has made all things subject unto himself, that God may be all and in all (1 Cor. 15:28). Then the eternal rest will have been fully restored in God by Jesus Christ, of which declaration has been made so long and so often by word and pen: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his” (Heb. 4: 9, 10). These words indicate that God and all his own will then rest from all their works, when one sabbath will follow another (Isa. 66:23), and everything will be changed into sabbaths, annual festivals and an endless sabbatical year, just as has been repeatedly stated that when the seventh angel shall have sounded the last trumpet, time shall cease to be (Rev. 10:6, 7; 1 Cor. 15:52). Hence there will be no end to eternal rest, nor any more time for unrest, much less that Christ should once again enter into unrest; for as God’s life and kingdom endure from everlasting to everlasting, the rest of God and of his own must be comprehended in the same way. When the righteous Judge in his Omnipotence shall have finally separated all things, and with his purity has cleansed and refined all things, so that nothing that is vile will be found in the saints (and likewise no good among the unsaved, so that they cannot pass the gulf to the saints), then no proud, haughty Lucifer will be found among the saints in the kingdom of God, and no sin, no sting of death and the law; for all these things will have first been brought to an end by Christ, so that no more disturbance will occur, nor will there be any more sorrow, or crying, or pain, or death, to disturb their rest (Rev. 21:4).

It is to be confidently believed that the eternal rest applies to Christ and all the hosts of his saints. It is also to be believed that Christ and his own will never again leave their rest for the disquiet of the damned in the lake of fire, that he might by labor and effort redeem and deliver them as he did man in this temporal world. If this was almost impossible, and cost the Lord so much labor and effort and grief and pain and even death to deliver man from the sin of Adam and from the many sins, when there was still some good in man, and the Holy Spirit yet revealed himself in many, and when man had not yet been sentenced to eternal damnation, how much less possible would it be to redeem sinners from damnation after this time, where there is no good in them and where the Holy Spirit will not be with them. Just so little will Jesus and his own be found in the commotion of the lake of fire. How then could they possibly be saved? Therefore I believe that neither Christ nor his own will ever again leave that rest after having again entered into it in his great day when all things shall have been fulfilled, and when the mystery of God shall be finished, as he declared to his servants the prophets (Rev. 10:7).

Since then in the great day all the mystery of God shall be finished, as the angel sware, there will be no further mystery to be revealed, because all will then have been already finished in the great day. For at the time of the seventh or last trumpet mighty voices will be heard in heaven, saying: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our LORD, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” It is evident, however, that the aforementioned kingdoms are not the natural or temporal kingdoms of this world; for in the great day of the Lord the temporal kingdoms of this world will be turned into brimstone and pitch, and be kindled with fire. It is to be understood, however, that the kingdoms of God are within men, as Christ said to the Pharisees: “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20, 21). “The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart” (Rom. 10:8). “The kingdom of God is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 14:17). Such kingdoms that are within men, even in unbelieving Pharisees and sinners, shall be taken from them, and Christ shall have possession of them, and his saints shall possess them. For the wicked and slothful nothing good will be left, as may be seen Matt. 13:12; 25:28, 29; Mark 4:25; Luke 18:18; 19:26.

Thus far regarding the year of jubilee, which is here called the great day of the Lord, when all things shall be perfectly fulfilled and restored, when all the mysteries of God shall be finished by Christ, and when all is finished, the perfect rest in the kingdom of God with Christ and his own will then exist in its perfection from everlasting to everlasting, and there all their service will be ended in joy and peace.

CHAPTER 25
The Consummation by Christ

Christ Jesus is the first to go forth from the beginning and from all eternity (from God). Therefore he will also be the last in the fulfillment to become subject to God (1 Cor. 15:28), that God may be all and in all. This is readily to be understood, for in God, in Christ, in his saints, God will be all and in all.

In the beginning God, through Christ, created man in the image of God for perpetual existence, likewise the heavens and the earth, and everything was right and good. In this image of himself God gave man dominion over the earth and over all creatures upon it. But when man had been deceived by Lucifer into the sin of death, he lost this image. Moreover he was dead to holiness and righteousness and had fallen into the realm of temporal death and corruption of the body, but not into annihilation. Thus man who had been made a ruler of the earth and all its creatures, and for whose sake the world was made, had through sin fallen out of infinity into the temporal realm of death and decay. In the providence of God, heaven and earth and all the hosts therein had, by the fall of man, likewise fallen from the infinite state to the transitory state of death and decay, so that all that had come forth from the earth according to the word of the Lord (Gen. 1) returned to the earth, but not into annihilation ; for it is to be believed that in the divine order of things the world was made for the sake of man, because man had at once been given dominion over the earth and all its creatures (Gen. 1:26, 28). It is also believable that the world with all its creatures underwent a great change because of man’s sin, on account of which God cursed the ground (Gen. 3:17). Of all his creatures God cursed the serpent, which was of the earth, together with the devil, who had been made by the Spirit of God, and afterward the ground or earth to the damnation of the dragon and his angels, and of all men who here lead an ungodly life to the end of their days (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; 2 Pet. 3:7). This world is, however, already a great plague and torment to the devil, because he cannot satisfy himself with his earthly food (Acts 3:14) of the bodies and souls of ungodly men. Therefore he goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8). This earth is likewise a great plague and torment to the ungodly, because this world, which they cherish in heart and in life, cannot satisfy their cravings.

The eternal God made heaven and earth, angels and men as infinite creatures. But because man and all earthly things were changed to the mortal state because of sin, Christ was foreordained to be a Savior before the foundation of the world was laid (1 Pet. 1:20), and was promised as a Redeemer of mankind (Gen. 3:15). Christ came in due time and fulfilled this promise, by delivering man from the fatality or deadliness of the sin of Adam. Since man was made for immortality, but through the fall became a prey to death and decay, Jesus, when he shall come again in his great day, will fulfill, finish and restore all things, as God declared by the mouth of his holy prophets since the world began (Matt. 5:17; Acts 3:21; Rev. 10:7), and so man will be delivered from death and corruption and restored into an incorruptible state. The temporal world also, on the great day of the Lord, will come to an end (and yet not pass into nothingness or be annihilated), for the world will then be changed by Christ and restored to an infinite state, in which it will remain forever and ever, according to the teaching of holy scripture. “The Lord cometh to judge the earth; he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth” (Psa. 96:13).

How shall the earth be judged? By being changed, as David writes concerning heaven and earth: “Of old thou hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed” (Psa. 102:25, 26). So will heaven and earth be changed in the judgment when Jesus shall appear in his great day, in the final fulfillment and consummation of all things. But how shall heaven and earth be changed? The change will be according to God’s word, as he declares through Isaiah: “It is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night or day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste” (Isa. 34:8-10). Peter writes; “The heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Pet. 3:7). By this we see that the heavens and the earth in their present condition will come to an end in the day of the Lord, and will be changed into fire; for the heavens and the earth in their present condition cannot stand in the presence of the Lord. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the heaven and the earth fled away, and there was found no place for them” (Rev. 20: 11). Thus the heaven, i.e., the heaven which is called the firmament, the realm of the sun, moon and stars — and the earth will have neither place nor state left for them in the day of the Lord, but will suddenly disappear from their present state and be changed into an eternal state, wherein the foundations of the earth will be laid that they should remain forever (Psa. 104:5).

Thus heaven and earth will pass away entirely, so that nothing of the temporal conditions or transitory state will remain, but at Christ’s appearing will be changed into an eternal state, which will remain forever and ever. Thus God has reserved the heavens altogether, i.e., the heavens or firmament which God made on the first day for his throne, and the dwelling place of angels and of holy men, but he gave the earth to man (Gen. 3:23), as it, with man, had already fallen into the state of decay and transitoriness, where man could not remain forever. But when Jesus at his second coming will again change the earth into the endless state, as mentioned above, then the new earth will again be given to the children of men (Psa. 115:16) ; understand, however, to the children of men who are born of the manslayer and murderer (Gen. 4:8; John 8:41,44). In this manner the heavens and the earth, according to the holy scripture, will be restored, fulfilled and finished, the eternal abiding place of disobedient angels and men.

We will now consider the fact that man, having been created an infinite being, will also be, in the final consummation, restored into an infinite state, in which the race will remain forever and ever, though divided into two parts — ‘the saints in their state and place, and the ungodly likewise in their state and place. Let us first consider the sinners. When Christ shall come in his glory with all his holy angels, his voice will be heard in such a way that all who are in their graves will come forth (John 5:28, 29). Everyone will appear in that state or condition in which he finished his earthly life. When those who have laid up their treasures on earth, whose hearts were set upon earthly pleasures, will appear and not find the earth which they left at death, because the earth will have fled from the presence of the Lord (Rev. 20:11), such fearful terror will seize them that all the tribes of the earth (sinners) will mourn (Matt. 24:30). and the more so because at the resurrection of their bodies all their sins will be revealed to them and will fall upon the sinners like a mighty host (Joel 2:1-10), so that every sinner will acknowledge and confess his own enemies (sins), so that he will be constrained with his own mouth to recount all the sins he has committed (Matt. 12:36), and all this in the hideous deformities and misshapen image of Satan. It is clear that as heaven and earth in their present state and form cannot abide in the presence of the Lord, but must be changed, as we have learned above, so also the bodies of sinners, who have loved this world with its pleasures and lusts will be likewise transformed into the appearance of a sackcloth of hair, as the scripture says, so that they will look black, and pale, and red as fire, and present the like repulsive appearances, all of which will be evidence that the wrath of God abideth upon them (John 3:36), and that they are restored and reserved for the fire. Their horror will be increased when they shall behold the saints at the right hand of God whom they, the ungodly, have despised, derided, robbed, persecuted, imprisoned, bound and killed, but now appearing to the ungodly in such a glorious state, full of joy, in light and celestial brightness, that the ungodly will condemn themselves in their own hearts. They will account themselves unholy, unsaved, and will be fearfully terrified at such happiness for which they themselves made no preparation. Well might they say: What will all our display help us now? What will all our riches and our pride do for us now? All is gone as a shadow!

Inasmuch as the sinners will appear so miserable and unsightly in body and will give account of themselves, the saying which the Lord Jesus himself spoke will then be fulfilled: “As I hear (see), so I judge”; “by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matt. 12:37). “Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant” (Luke 19: 32). “I can of mine own self do nothing; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just” (John 5:30; 8:15, 16). Thus the sinners will be judged by their own words and works, when the Lord shall say: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). The sinners with their bodies which have been changed from a finite to an infinite state, will be inducted into the transmuted, eternal kingdom of this earth and heaven, which will burn with fire for the damnation of ungodly men (2 Pet. 3:7; Isa. 34:8, 9, 10). There will be the vile Tophet, ordained of old, “yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: and the pile thereof is fire and wood: the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brim stone, doth kindle it (the host of sinners), and it shall burn day and night.” This is the lake of fire, where the dragon, that old serpent, the devil, and Satan, with their host and all the ungodly, will be assembled like so much wood, and will burn with fire unquenchable, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:44). The Lord speaks of this through Moses: “A fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them” (Deut. 32:22, 23). All this shall come to pass when the Lord shall tread the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God (Rev. 19:15). All things will be finished and fulfilled by the Lord, as he declared by the mouth of his holy prophets, that the world with all ungodly men shall be kindled with the fierce wrath of God, as we have seen above, and as will follow.

“Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched” (Jer. 7:20); “for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you” (Jer. 15:14). Regarding this unquenchable fire read further Jer. 4:4; 21:12, 14). That the ungodly will partake of the fire of God’s wrath is evident from numerous testimonies. “And great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath, and every island fled away, and the mountains were not found” (Rev. 16:19, 20). “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever; they have no rest day or night” (Rev. 14:9-11). “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44; Isa. 66:24). According to these and many similar passages, earth and heaven, or the visible firmament, together with the devil and all ungodly men, will be placed in an unquenchable fire, kindled by the wrath of God, which will be poured out in its fullness and fierceness over all that is contrary to him in the great day of the Lord, when all things will be finished (John 10:7), and this fire, in which the devil and all his host must suffer forever and ever, will never be quenched. This is an endless, everlasting torment.

The word of the Lord, however, indicates in many places that those who go into torment will not all suffer alike, but everyone who goes there will suffer according to the sins he has committed and according to his deserts. “The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then shall he reward every man according to his works” (Matt. 16:27). “And that servant which knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes” (Luke 12:46, 48). “Who will render to every man according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6). ‘We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every man may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). The Lord rewards every one as he deserves. According to these scriptures revealing the righteousness of God, no one will receive more fiery punishment than his acts deserve. This is ordained in the wisdom of God as an established rule, and he will accomplish and fulfill all things in his day. Some one might think and say: “How can this be that in such a lake of fire as spoken of above, there can be any great difference in suffering among the sinners?”

In this we have a clear mirror in which we can see how wonderfully God has made the world with so many lights, great and small, in the firmament, some of a higher, some of a lower magnitude, all of which indicate day and night, summer and winter, heat and cold; also such a great variety of creatures with widely divergent natures and modes of life. Above and over all these, God created a man Adam, from whom all the human races on earth spring (Acts 17:26). From him, in the plan of God, so many types and races have come into existence on the earth, with such great differences; one so great, another so small; one so strong, another so weak; one of such noble stature, another so deformed; one so robust, another so frail; one so joyous, another so racked with pain; yet all living under the same God, in the same world, under the same sun, moon and stars, as in one hell, where such manifold ills afflict the human body and soul because of sin, yet one human being more than another with great differences. Thus it can be deducted that in the future earthly hell of the lake of fire the same differences can exist.

It can thus be understood that in the great day of the Lord the world and the ungodly men will remain forever in that state in which they will be when they have been brought forth, restored, fulfilled and finished, as God declared through his holy prophets (Rev. 10:7). What will be finished will be and remain finished, for according to the thought of holy scripture and the Holy Ghost, Christ will, with his own, then enter into the rest of the kingdom of God, and be subject to God, as has been stated above.

Let us now consider the completion and consummation of the kingdom and the final state of the holy angels and the saved among men. It is clear that in the beginning God first created heaven (Gen. 1:1; 2:1), for his throne or seat, and as a dwelling place for his host of angels and saved men; and everything was good. But Lucifer in his pride and arrogance instituted disturbance in heaven, and nullified God’s word with men, and deceived man, so that man transgressed God’s command. By this act a great and mortal sin was committed by man on earth, yet without controversy. Sin did not remain among mankind in the garden of Eden, or on earth, but through Lucifer spread into heaven among the angels, which caused God to cast Lucifer, the dragon, that old serpent, the devil and Satan with his angels, upon the earth (Gen. 3:14; Rev. 12). A great controversy arose among the angelic host in heaven, so that there was a great war among the angels in heaven, because of the sin of the arrogant Lucifer. To remedy this evil Christ was ordained for the purpose before the world or anything had been made (1 Pet. 1:20), and was promised by God as a Savior (Gen. 3), and that he should bruise the serpent’s head, that old dragon. This promised Christ is he by whom God made all things, and by whom all things will be fulfilled and finished. This Savior, in the fullness of time, came down from the Father, the Word, Power, and Spirit of God, upon Mary in the flesh (Luke 1:35; 1 John 4:2), and was made flesh (John 1:14), and became man, took upon himself the form of a man,, and was in all points like we are, yet without sin. In this divinity and humanity he took upon himself our sins (together with those in heaven among the holy angels), and offered them in his own body on the cross (Isa. 53:1; 1 Pet. 2: 24); that he might reconcile all things unto himself, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven (Col. 1:20). This reconciliation by the sacrifice of Christ extended to all mankind, so far as the sin of Adam was concerned, and also to those since Adam, who have themselves sinned, but who come to Christ in true faith and repentance. They are reconciled and sanctified by the blood of Christ, for outside of Christ there is no atonement or sanctification. Whoever in sincerity and truth partakes of the offering of Christ, is his — a member of his body and heir of his kingdom, and will be restored in all perfectness and be fully prepared for the perfect kingdom of Christ, and all this through Christ.

By Christ Jesus all things that had been lost and destroyed in Adam will be restored and perfected in his saints in his great day; for when Christ shall appear and the seventh angel shall sound the trumpet, all things will be fulfilled and finished (Rev. 10:7). “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16). They shall be raised as spiritual bodies (1 Cor. 15:44). “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matt. 24:31). “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17; 1 Cor. 15:52). All this will be accomplished by the omnipotent power of God through Jesus Christ. When he shall appear on the throne of his glory in his glorified body, “he shall also change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2). “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father,” “as the brightness of the firmament” (Matt. 13:43; Dan. 12:3). These glorified bodies will experience no more fear, nor anxiety, nor sorrow, nor pain, nor death (Rev. 21:4, 5). All things shall be made new, and these words are true and faithful. Then the bodies will be perfectly restored into the image in which they were created in the beginning.

A great rent or division, like a serious, gaping wound, was made in heaven among the angelic host, because of Lucifer’s pride, whereby the kingdom suffered violence and injury before the face of God. But by and in his suffering and sacrifice, Christ made full atonement before and by God, healed the injury and reconciled all things unto himself (Col. 1:20), so that even the angelic host in heaven stands in all purity and perfection before God through Jesus Christ, so that the sheep of Christ (John 10), the two hosts, i.e., that of the angels and that of the saints will be alike in purity and in glory (Matt. 22:10), as they come together before God in the kingdom prepared for them from the beginning of the world (Matt. 25 : 34). This kingdom, according to the holy scripture, will, through Christ, be made wholly new, and be perfected, for thus saith the Lord: “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth (understand spiritually, the same as the spiritual bodies mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:44), and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying” (Isa. 65:17, 18, 19). “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain” (Isa. 66: 21). For this the saints are looking, as Peter writes: “We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Pet. 3:13). Thus when all things shall have been fulfilled and finished by Jesus in his saints in his kingdom, everything shall stand and remain in endless, unchanging purity and glory and joy, in such unspeakable joy that the apostle says: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). Then will God rejoice in his people, his saints (Isa. 65:19), and his saints will rejoice in God and in one another and with one another. Then there shall be no more an infant of days (in the kingdom to the praise and the joy of God and all his saints, as seen Matt. 21:15; Psa. 8:3), nor an old man that hath not fulfilled his days (in the kingdom, to the praise and joy of divine wisdom) ; for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old (who lived here long, but did not confess God nor give him the glory) shall be accursed (or, in dying, be placed at the left hand). In the consummation by Christ the houses of the saints (their bodies, which are temples of God) shall be built and occupied with joy; then will the vineyard (the heirs of Jesus Christ) be planted in the kingdom, and their fruits of heavenly joy will be eaten. There, in the final consummation by Christ, the new Jerusalem, the bride of Christ, the houses or temples of her body will stand well built and beautiful, shining as the brightness of heaven. “There no one will labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble, for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord. Before they call, I (the Lord) will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock.” Understand such wolves and lions as here persecuted Christ and his sheep and lambs, but who here, like Saul, yet turned about in faith and repentance. These shall in the final consummation consort together, feeding upon, or partaking of, the heavenly joys. “They shall not hurt, nor destroy, in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord” (Isa. 65: 19-25).

There the saints will nevermore hunger nor thirst; “neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Rev. 7:16, 17).

Thus, according to holy scripture and the Holy Spirit, in the day of the Lord all things will be fulfilled and finished which God by his Spirit made known to his servants, as it will be declared with an oath by an angel from heaven by him who liveth forever and ever (Rev. 10:1-7). When Christ shall have put all his enemies under his feet, together with death, on his great day, then will be fulfilled, established and restored all that according to the holy scripture is to be fulfilled, both as regards those on the right hand, and those on the left. And when all these things shall have been fulfilled, then Christ also will himself enter into the perfection of fulfillment and become subject to HIM who has put all things under him, that God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:24, 28). And inasmuch as the angel has sworn that time shall be no longer, but that the seventh angel, when he shall sound his trumpet, it shall be the day of the Lord, when all things shall be fulfilled and finished, and every man shall receive his due reward, whether it be good or evil (Rev. 10:6, 7; 11:18; Matt. 25:34, 41), and inasmuch as after this consummation time shall be no more, therefore there will also be no more time for any change, much less for an end, neither in heaven, nor in perdition. But it is entirely in place for a Christian to believe — and I believe it — that when Christ shall have fulfilled all things and he himself shall have himself become the final act in the fulfillment by entering into the eternal rest, subject to God, all things will remain finally, unchangeably forever and ever in their fulfillment, completion and restoration (Matt. 5:17; Acts 3:21; Rev. 10:6), as it was fulfilled by the working of God in Jesus Christ, in his Omnipotent power, by whom all things are fulfilled.

Here, dear reader, something has been indicated or pointed out to you regarding the final consummation through Jesus Christ, in his great day. But the complete, perfect fullness, power and might of this consummation cannot be described. Nevertheless all mankind will behold and experience the almighty fulfillment and consummation on the last day, whether they shall stand on the right hand or the left of the judgment seat of Christ. But inasmuch as there will be a vast difference in the final fulfillment, as already shown at some length, every man should so prepare himself that he may stand upon the Lord’s right hand, by true faith in Jesus, in true repentance and amendment of life, by newness of life, by becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus, by true meekness and humility, by love and hope, by keeping the commandments of Jesus Christ; in sum: — in cross and tribulation following Christ unto death, for unto such a man will be fulfilled the promised glory of God, whereunto these twenty-five chapters give instruction from the beginning of the world to the last day.

It is evident that Christ is the First from all eternity, and from the beginning, whose goings forth from God have been of old, and by whom God made all things, and who also was first subject to God, doing his will. Hence it is also plain enough that Christ will be the Last in the will of God, to be subject to God in the final consummation. For this is the truth that Christ is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last (Isa. 41:4; Rev. 1:8; 22:13). Understand, Christ is First in the beginning of all things made in this world, among angels and men. He is likewise the Last in all things made and done in the final con summation, both in heaven and on earth, as stated above. In God, Christ has no beginning of days, neither has he an end of life in God, for he lives forever and ever, and his kingdom has no end, it remains forever. Amen.

Translated in the year of our Lord 1915 by a humble descendant of the author.

May all who read receive as much benefit as did the translator.

To God be all the glory. Amen.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Publishers’ Preface 3

Author’s Preface 5

1. Chapter — Concerning God 14

2. Chapter — The Creation 16

3. Chapter — Lucifer and his Pride, Etc 22

4. Chapter — The Fall of Man and of Lucifer 25

5. Chapter — Promises and Types Pointing to Christ in the Book of Genesis 33

6. Chapter — The Passover Lamb. Its Types Pointing to Christ. Their Fulfillment by Christ. From the Book of Exodus 53

7. Chapter — Departure from Egypt. From the Book of Exodus 69

8. Chapter — The Fulfillment of the Law by Christ 92

9. Chapter — The Tabernacle of Moses, and the Priestly Office, Garments and Offerings 119

10. Chapter — The Tabernacle of Moses begun by, and fulfilled in Jesus 125

11. Chapter — The Office of the Priesthood, of the Sacrifices in the Temple, as fulfilled by Jesus 155

12. Chapter — The High-Priestly Office of Jesus and his Followers 161

13. Chapter — The Divine Fire for the Sacrifice 196

14. Chapter — The Clean Beasts for Sacrifice and for Food in Israel 201

15. Chapter — Ceremonial Purification by the Lamb and the Doves. Its Spiritual Signification and its Fulfillment in Christ 215

16. Chapter — Leprosy under the Law Typical of Man’s Depravity 217

17. Chapter — The Cleansing of Leprosy. 227

18. Chapter — Ulcers a Type of Spiritual Uncleanness 237

19. Chapter — The Great Sabbath or Sabbatical Year 242

20. Chapter — The Feast of the Passover 247

21. Chapter — The Feast of Pentecost 272

22. Chapter — The Third Feast, or Feast of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles 288

23. Chapter — The Sabbatical Year 330

24. Chapter — The Release, or Year of Jubilee 361

An Explanation Regarding the Figurative Year of Jubilee, Etc 368

Some Thoughts on the Great Year of Jubilee, called the Great Day of the Lord 398

Regarding the Saints 404

Regarding the Fate of the Unbelievers and Ungodly Men, Etc 415

25. Chapter — The Consummation by Christ 433