(DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR
DEVOUT READERS OF THE BIBLE)
by Walter Scott
God's love to the world was not made known to patriarchs of old. Israel was made acquainted with Jehovah's tenderness and care, but not with His heart's deep love, measured by the gift of His Son. The prophets grandly told of the future, of the Messiah's power and glory, but "God so loved the world" never trembled on their lips. The eye of the seer might rest on coming glories, and his heart be entranced, as piercing through the gloom of ages scenes of surpassing delight met his enraptured gaze. But glory is not love, and God's love was hidden from his sight. Christ alone could bear witness, to what was ever in the heart of God. In the Divine bosom was heaped up a love which none could disclose, save He Who ever is in the bosom of the Father (John 1. 18). He alone knew it, and so none but He could unfold it. God's love was a deep and hidden secret, too grand for human mind to fathom or human lips to express. God's Son, come down from Heaven, alone knew and alone could interpret the great heart of God. The theme "God so loved the world" (John. 3. 16) is one so vast, so bold, so mighty, full, and overwhelming in its conception, that to the Son only could the glory be reserved of publishing it in word Himself the expression of it in His life and on the Cross.
God's love conquers, and has conquered. John 3. 16 numbers its trophies and victories by millions, "numberless as the sands on the sea shore;" nor will the tide of conquest he checked till the weary world is wrapped round in the folds and plies of God's mighty love, and each inhabitant of the redeemed and eternal earth echo from the depths of his ransomed soul the glad refrain, "God is love."
Oh, that the mantle of the Master might fall on all evangelists! That they might preach God's love as did the Lord, a love which embraced the sinner while it rebuked sin, a full, free, yet holy and righteous love! It is not true love which compounds with the guilty, which abates an iota of the throne's most righteous claim. God's love has become our soul's refuge; for, while it exposes sin, it has won the poor heart and made it a right willing captive for ever. Preach this love. Yes, preach it fully and preach it boldly, and without the slightest reservation in the soul.
God has not only loved the world, but He has wrought for it, The Gospel is termed the Gospel of God (Rom. 1. 1) because He is its blessed source; it is also spoken of as the Gospel of His Son (Rom. 1. 9), as the Peerless One of God is the all-glorious object which it unfolds. God is its source Christ is its object, and every creature on earth its subject (Mark 16. 15).
Righteousness is the sure basis on which God's mighty work of sovereign grace reposes. This must be so. Grace at the expense of righteousness would be a dire calamity. Grace reigns through righteousness. Law reigned in the past. Righteousness will sway the sceptre in the coming age. The salvation of all who believe on Christ is a righteous salvation. It cannot be called in question, for God is "just and the Justifier of him which believeth on Jesus" (Rom. 3.26). Satan's accusations none need fear, for he is a beaten (Heb. 2. 15), rebuked, and silenced foe (Zech. 3. 2). and will be trodden under our feet shortly (Rom. 16. 20). There is none other, then, but God Himself Who may question our salvation, and this He cannot do. "He cannot deny Himself." He has saved us and justified us. Believers are eternally saved. "I know," said the preacher, "that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever" (Eccles. 3. 14).
Ours is a present salvation, fixed and final as the throne of the Eternal. God's nature and our salvation are bound together, so inseparably linked that they stand or fall as one. God's righteousness is at stake, we may say, in the present and ultimate salvation of every soul who has clung to His Word. In this, therefore, consists its strength and glory. It is God's salvation, and in it we triumph, as did the redeemed host of Israel on the eastern banks of the Red Sea. "He hath triumphed gloriously.... The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation" (Exod. 15. 1,2). Singing of or about ourselves, or of our joys, will never minister strength to the heart; nor are our experiences, however rich, full, and varied, worth singing about. "Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him talk ye of all His wondrous works" 1 Chron. 16. 9). Rehearse in story and song God's mighty work of delivering grace, what He is, and what He has done, how He has loved and saved, and at once you are taken out of your littleness and made strong in the greatness of God and happy in the joy of God. How full, then, will be the experience of that soul who thus loses himself in God!
Christ in death "for our sins," and raised "according to the Scriptures," constitute, in brief, God's work in love and righteousness for sinners (1 Cor. 15. 3,4; Rom. 4. 25). God was at the Cross and Tomb, not as a spectator, but as an actor. Christ judged sin, and in that very judgment triumphed over it. God, to whom the sacrifice was offered, showed His acceptance of it by rending the veil from the top to the bottom (Matt. 27. 51), and in that significant act opened the door for the vilest wretch on earth - purged, cleansed, and saved - into His own immediate presence. The veil is rent, and through it by faith we enter into the Holy presence of God; rent sufficiently to let out the rays of the Divine glory, and to let in any sinner who will but come (Mark 15. 38; Heb. 10, 19).
We would earnestly press upon every evangelist to urge upon his hearers the facts of the Gospel, and never to dissociate these facts - death and resurrection - from the causeless love of which they are the fruit. It is a light and frivolous age, and sensationalism is characteristic of the day. The Christian taste is vitiated. The triumphs of the Cross in apostolic times were won by the preaching of the Gospel in words clothed in the power of the Holy Ghost, and in a preaching of which facts were the prominent feature; the resurrection of the Lord being the pivot on which all was made to turn (see Acts 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 17). In the desire to produce "startling results" modes and methods of work are resorted to which were utterly unknown to the early heralds of salvation, and which in their nature practically ignore the necessity of the new birth and the utter ruin of man. The Gospel of Paul, of John, of Peter "is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" (Rom. 1. 16). Evangelists, aim high and labour to produce in the power of the Holy Ghost solid and enduring results. What is the value of gathering a quantity of chaff? You are thereby collecting fuel for the coming fire. Let quality rather than quantity be the object of your high ambition,
We desire to tender a few words of loving advice and earnest remonstrance. Many a promising work has been spoiled, the growth of converts checked, and servants morally ruined through the neglect of strict self-judgment. "Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord" (Isa. 52. 11). God will not tolerate unholiness in any of His people, much less in those who ostensibly occupy a place in the forefront of the battle. Paul's doctrine must not be separated from his manner of life (2 Tim. 3. 10). A certain amount of intellectual ability (Matt. 25. 15) is required in every public servant the vessel is naturally fitted for the gift bestowed - but besides natural capacity, moral fitness for the position assumed is equally needful.
We do not consider it according to the genius of Christianity to have young people of either sex in the front - "not a novice," says Scripture. Young men even of recognized zeal and gift, but brought up amidst circumstances of impurity and lax principles, are not, in our judgment, as a rule fitted to occupy places of public service for the Lord. It is, of course, one of the possibilities of faith so to walk in the power of the Spirit that early habits, thoughts, and actions of an unholy character may not appear in the life; but the fact is that deeply-rooted habits, and a morally low home-training, do reassert their power at times; we need not deny it, however unpleasant the admission. A narrow sphere would best suit such persons.
An evangelist is a man for the world. To be a leader, either as teacher, pastor, or evangelist demands a character and moral fitness in keeping with the ministry. To mix publicly amongst all classes, and minister Christ in the truth and courteousness of Christianity, necessitates a certain amount of culture and education. The manner of life before conversion is an important factor in this connection. A very illiterate person, and one whose early home surroundings have been anything but holy may be used in public service, but it is attended with danger. Here, however, we tread on delicate ground.
To teach or preach for money is an awful snare. To take it up as a profession is to repeat the sin of Balaam (Jude 11). Every public servant of the Lord, whether possessed of private means, or moneyless, should drink into the spirit of the apostle who preached the Gospel as a necessity laid upon him. Means withheld, and hunger and need, for a time was the sad lot of the brave apostle to the Gentiles, but preach the Gospel he would. "Yea, woe is me if I preach not the Gospel" (1 Cor. 9. 16). The apostle pleads earnestly for the temporal support of the divinely-called labourer; and it is the responsibility, nay, it ought to be the happy privilege of the saints of God to lovingly care for the dependent servant, whether evangelist. (1 Cor. 9), teacher (Gal. 6. 6), or elder (1 Tim. 5. 17, 18). On the other hand, let every servant remember that his dependence for temporal supplies must be exclusively on the Lord. Here many break down. They look to the rich and wealthy, and are, of course, disappointed. The eye of the servant must be directed to the Master alone, and thus responsibility to minister in temporal things and independence in serving in spiritual things are fully secured. In all cases, and under all circumstances of need, no servant of God should ever appeal to man. God is his portion, and He will see to the wants of His poor servant. The servants of the Lord should live in a sphere where mercenary motives are unknown, else they are sure to be entangled, and a complete breakdown ensue.
To all, we would say, serve Christ in quietness, yet in fervour of spirit,
and let every servant of Christ so walk with an exercised conscience that
the ministry be not blamed. The moral qualifications of servants
of God are set forth in 2 Corinthians 6, a chapter replete with interest
to every true-hearted labourer.
The Bible is either a Divine Book or it is a fraud. Penned through the slow progress of sixteen centuries, the combined work of nearly fifty writers drawn from all classes of society - from the king to the peasant, the scholarly and ignorant; written in the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe, many of the writers utterly unknown to each other, yet the Book displaying one master mind, one great moral design, the revelation of one Person. Who but God could have provided the Bible?
The two Testaments are inseparably bound together. They are of equal authority. The Divine mind is reflected in both; one Divine object, even Christ the Son and Lamb of God, is the central figure in the two Revelations. The books and subjects of the Testaments must stand or fall as a whole. The writings of Moses and the words of the Lord of Glory are of equal authority (John 5. 46,47), and the testimony of Moses and Malachi of equal value to that of resurrection itself (Luke 16. 31). The facts of the former Revelation form the text and groundwork of teaching in the New (compare Lev. 16 with Heb. 9; Gen. 16. with Gal. 4. 22-24, &c., &c.) Certain books correspond, as Leviticus with Hebrews, Joshua with Ephesians, &c., &c. But the fact is that the Testaments together form THE COMPLETED REVELATION of God. There are about 960 references, more or less direct, in the New to the Old. The Lord Himself quotes from the Old Testament upwards of 300 times, and from about twenty books. There are no references in the book of Genesis to other and prior documents. Genesis is a book of independent revelation. The whole Bible might be compared to a noble bridge of sixty-six arches, in which man's history is spanned from Creation to Eternity. Moses the first, and John the last of inspired writers, standing on either end of the bridge, clasp hands and unite in one common testimony to the glory of Christ (compare Gen. 1, 2, with Rev. 21, 22).
The verbal inspiration of the Bible is the basis of our faith, the rock
of our souls, our standard of morals, and our authoritative guide all along
the way to Heaven's bliss and glory. If the inspiration of the Bible
as a whole, or in part, is denied or explained away; if we are at liberty
to choose or reject such portions as we think fit, then all Divine authority
is gone, and the door is opened into a wild scene, where the will of man
is rampant, and disorder and wickedness reign supreme. The revelation
of God's authority over man is revealed in the Holy Scriptures, but if
their inspiration is untrue all certainty is gone. The Bible in all
its books and parts is God's revelation to man; it is either that, or a
fraud. "The Infallible Word" is scarcely a correct expression.
God alone is infallible. "The Inspired Word" is the right term to
use. Divine faith, not human reason, is the essential in the reading
and study of the Bible.
The formal title of the Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of God," first employed in Genesis 1. 2. He is also termed "the Spirit" in contrast to the term "the flesh," i.e., the moral nature. (Rom. 8). As to the eternity of His Being, He is spoken of as the "Eternal Spirit" (Heb. 9. 14). He is essentially a holy Being, hence is termed the "Holy Spirit" (Luke 11. 13), and the "Holy One" (1 John 2. 20).
Never speak of the Holy Spirit as an influence, as an abstract power, or in the neuter gender. Yet, of course, He does influence, but He is a Divine Person, and that great fact should ever be insisted upon. He is a Divine Person, and is termed God (Acts 5. 3,4). and Lord (2 Thess. 3. 5; also margin of 2 Cor. 3. 18). The personality of the Holy Spirit is abundantly proved by the acts and services ascribed to Him - acts and attributes characteristic of a person. He abides, dwells, teaches (John 14), comes, goes, leads, is grieved. He controls the movements of God's servants (Acts 13. 2; 15. 28; 16. 6). He helps our infirmities and makes intercession in us and for us (Rom. 8. 26). From such a mass of evidence as Scripture furnishes we are led to the irresistible conclusion that the Holy Spirit is a Divine, Independent Person, yet acts in conjunction with the Father and the Son in the physically and morally ruined worlds.
In the first mention of the Spirit He is witnessed brooding over the ruined creation (Gen. 1. 2). He garnished the Heavens (Job 26. 13). He effects the new birth (John 3. 5). He is a witness to believers (Heb. 10. 15), also a witness in believers (Rom. 8. 15-19). He is the seal and earnest to Christians, but in them (Eph. 1. 13, 14), the former referring to what we are, i.e., belonging to God, and the latter to what we are about to have, ie., the inheritance. His masterpiece on earth is the formation of the mystical body of Christ (1 Cor. 12. 13), which He livingly animates by His presence, and acts through its various members (1 Cor. 12). He indwells the body of each believer (1 Cor. 6. 19), and also permanently dwells in the Church (1 Cor. 3. 16; Eph. 2. 22). He is inseparably connected with the life, walk, service, worship, and comfort of believers (Rom. 8; Gal. 5). The Spirit was sent by the Father (John 14) as the power in leading into communion, and by the Son as the power for efficient testimony (15). The Holy Ghost came down when Christ was glorified (John 7. 39). He came at Pentecost, filled the house (Acts. 2. 2), and filled each of the 120 waiting disciples (verse 4) The presence of Christ with His own is conditional upon being gathered to His Name (Matt. 18. 20); whereas the presence of the Holy Ghost in the Church is absolutely unfettered by conditions (John 14. 16; 1 Cor. 3). "He shall not speak of Himself" (John 16. 13) reads, "He shall not speak from Himself" (R.V.) He does speak of Himself (Rom. 8), thank God for it, but He comes and acts as sent from the Father and from the Son.
The Spirit's relation to individual believers is taught in Acts 2. 3; 4. 8; 7. 55; 8.29-39; Romans 8. 2-9; Galatians 6. 8; Revelation 1. 10, which are only a sample of many. The Spirit's relation to disciples generally is unfolded in John 7. 39; 14. 16; Romans 8; Ephesians 2. 4. The Spirit's relation to the world is revealed in John 16. 8-1 1, and elsewhere.
"Filled with the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2. 4) is not synonymous with "full of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 6. 3). The former was for special work and testimony as Bezaleel (Exod. 35. 31), the chief artificer of the tabernacle, the one hundred and twenty praying and waiting disciples (Acts 2. 4), Peter (Acts 4. 8), and Paul (Acts 13. 9), &c. Persons may be filled with the Spirit more than once (see Acts 2. 4; 4. 3 1).
Prayer now for the descent or outpouring of the Holy Ghost is certainly a contradiction of the fact that the Spirit came according to promise, and is on the earth, but in the Church. The feast of Pentecost has no significance whatever if the Holy Ghost has not come. That ancient and national Jewish feast (Lev. 23. 15-21; Deut. 16.9-12) pointed onto the exact period of Acts 2. Scripture never supposes two Divine persons on the earth at the same time, hence, said the Lord, "If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you" (John 16. 7).
The baptism of all believers in this Dispensation, from Pentecost (Acts
2) till the Rapture (1 Thess. 4), in the power of the Spirit has been effected
once, never to be repeated. "A fresh baptism of the Spirit" is utterly
unknown in Scripture history and teaching, and is a denial of the fact
that it is an already accomplished thing. Christ exalted is the Baptiser
(1 Cor. 12. 13, RN.). God seals individuals (2 Cor. 1. 21,22).
Righteousness is a relative term, that is, it involves dealings or relations
with others. The simple idea in the word is what is right.
This consideration will simplify a study of the subject, because whatever
additional shades of meaning there may be, and however variously applied,
the root-idea is every passage is that of a state of rightness in reference
to God or to man. We might define it as consistency in every given
position and relation which a creature occupies in regard to others.
"Imputed righteousness" is not accurate thought -or language.
Righteousness in itself has . not the character of imputation, as the foregoing
expression would imply; but righteousness imputed or reckoned is another
thing, and it is of this that chapter 4 of Romans treats. We may
also observe that the righteousness of one cannot be put to another's account.
if you could transfer one person's righteousness to another, then one is
left destitute of it. If MY being right in my relations to God or
man, as the case may be, could by any possibility be put to another's account,
then clearly I would be found positively wrong. What then of the
common theological phrase, "The imputed righteousness of Christ?" Will
it stand the test of Scripture? Incorrectness in this vital subject affects
both the person and sacrifice of Christ. If "the righteousness of
Christ "be put to our account, then it leaves Him without it, or unrighteous;
on the other hand, if by the vicarious obedience of Christ to the law we
are declared righteous, then clearly His death is in vain (Gal. 2. 21).
if personal and vicarious righteousness by law-keeping or obedience in
life is ours, then "justified by blood" is a nullity. Thus both the
Person and Sacrifice of the Saviour (unconsciously, no doubt) are called
in question by this unscriptural teaching. How important, therefore,
to "hold fast the form of sound words." It is law-breakers, not law-keepers,
who, believing on Jesus, are accounted righteous by God. Substitutionary
life-obedience is not taught in Scripture, but substitutionary death-obedience
is.
Nothing can change the flesh, which is in every human creature; it is irremediably bad. The presence of Christ in grace drew out the depths of human hatred (Matt. 27. 22); the presence of Christ in glory will only intensify the horrible nature of man's undying enmity to God (Rev. 20. 8,9).
It is an absolute impossibility for man in the flesh, i.e., viewed morally, to please God, or to subject his carnal mind to the authority of God. (Rom. 8. 7,8). Probably the most awful description of man's state is detailed in Ephesians 2: "Dead in trespasses and sins" (verse 1), as also the willing slave of Satan (verse 2), thus revealing a condition out of which there is no escape unless God works in sovereign grace. In Romans it is man's guilt that is in question, hence God justifies; in Ephesians it is a moral scene of death out of which God quickens. Man is also born in sin (Psa.51. 5); but not born a slave to sin, this latter he becomes by voluntarily yielding himself to it (Rom. 6. 16). You are not responsible for being born in sin, but you are responsible not to become a slave to it. Man in root, fruit, and branch is incurably bad, hence the necessity of the new birth so imperatively insisted upon by the Lord for any who would enter into or even see the kingdom of God (John 3. 1-8).
The whole tree is bad, from the root to the topmost bough, and outward
to every branch. You may as well look for a rose on a thorn bush,
or a lily on a thistle, as expect the fruit of holiness from the corrupt
nature of man. A fallen creature can no more change his nature, or
live in consonance with a life which he does not possess, than can an Ethiopian
change his skin or a leopard his spots.
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The new birth is not a process of improvement, nor is it the sanctification of or even the subjugation of the corrupt nature - a sheer impossibility (Rom. 8. 7). It is an absolutely new work of God in which a life as real as Adamic-life becomes ours, of which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is its pattern and display (Eph. 4. 21). New birth is a subjective condition, as "regeneration," with which it is often confounded, is an objective one; of course the man who is the subject of so mighty a creative act ever retains his responsibility as a creature intact, this latter having its source in the speciality of his creation (Gen. 2. 7). We may further observe that it is not the life or nature communicated that is born of God, as some have strangely supposed, but it is a man, "he is born of God" (1 John 3. 9). In new birth one is made a child of God. It is an act done once, and cannot be repeated. It is an eternal fact. It is therefore a monstrous idea that a child of God can ever be finally lost.
The new birth is not the Gospel, although a necessity on the part of
any who would enter into the kingdom of God. Believers in Old and
New Testament times equally born of God; in this there can be neither degree
nor measure, although in the development of the truth about it there is.
The later revelation is, of course, more full and precise in its teaching
on this vital subject than will be found in the earlier oracles.
Jerusalem was the place, and Nicodemus the person, where and to whom the
Lord opened out in its fulness the truth of new birth (John 3), and lesson
being that neither religion nor the highest culture can avail as a standing
before God. The new birth lays the axe at the root of the tree.
Not improvement, but a new nature, a new source of life must be imparted
even to the most religious, moral, and learned ere fruit acceptable to
God can be produced. It was not in Samaria, nor to the immoral woman
of Sychar, nor on the Cross, and to the dying robber that the lesson of
the new birth was so solemnly opened out by our Lord. This naturally
unpalatable subject should be especially declared in cathedrals, churches,
and chapels, for all need it. Religious rites and ordinances tend
to obscure this great truth.
Eternal life, therefore, is necessarily distinct from either eternal existence or from immortality. Neither angels nor unbelievers are said to have eternal life. The former are immortal, the latter eternally exist. For the miserable state of the wicked after death and before resurrection, see Luke 16. 19-3 1; for their condition after resurrection and in eternity, see Revelation 21.8. Life in its nature, i.e., what it is, cannot be defined. The vital principle in man, in the dog, and in the plant is a problem which has baffled the keenest research of the scientist. Every possible test has been applied to discover what life is, but in vain. We know that life exists by its characteristics. Man in his manifold activity, the plant in its foliage and growth, the bird as it skims through the air in its lofty flight, and the denizen of sea and river in rapid movement, all declare the existence of life in their respective spheres. But the inward vital force which impels to action and which we term life can neither be seen, heard, touched, felt, or recognized by any of the senses; in fact, our senses are simply characteristics of life; these direct to a governing principle, but what it is neither Scripture nor science informs us. There is spiritual life and natural life, we know of no other, and both are undefinable. It has been said that John 17. 3 supplies us with a definition of eternal life: "And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee (the Father), the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent." But eternal life was ever in the Word as a Divine Person (John 1. 4), and ever with the Father (1 John 1. 2), hence to define spiritual life as knowing God and Jesus Christ is absurd. The very fact that it is ever in the Word, ever with the Father, coeval with the existence of each of the Divine Beings, makes eternal life an absolutely unknown thing in its nature. In its very nature it cannot be defined. The life is infinite and eternal. Its character and action towards us through grace we do know something about. We understand John 17. 3 to teach that eternal life is needed ere any one can know God and Jesus Christ; without it the knowledge of God is impossible. You must have a new nature in order that God may be rightly known and enjoyed.
All believers, irrespective of time and dispensation, have eternal or everlasting life, both in the Son and in themselves; in the Son as its source (John 1. 4; 1 John 5. 1 1), and in themselves as derived and dependent upon Him (John 5.24; 6. 53). The positive gift of eternal life to believers has been denied. It has been contended that Old Testament believers were born of God, but had not eternal life. Can you conceive of birth without life? The expressions of delight in God, of obedience to Him, and of dependence upon Him, so common in the lives and experiences of saints of old, unmistakably point to the existence and activity of a spiritual life or nature in them. The roll-call of the illustrious dead in Hebrews 11 evidences without doubt that believers of old had, must have had, eternal life in them, for its issues are plainly enough declared in those acts and deeds of faith which have formed a stimulus to believers in all ages.
That eternal life is actually and positively in believers the following Scriptures abundantly prove: John 3. 15, 16, 36; 4. 14; 5. 24; 6. 47, 53, 54; 10. 10, 28; 1 John 3. 15, &c. We have it in the Son, and we have it from Him in ourselves. "Life in you" (John 6. 53) and "hath eternal life" (verse 54) are reciprocal statements. Again, "Ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3. 15). Then believers have it abiding in them.
The revelation of eternal life awaited the coming of the Son. He is THE WORD OF LIFE, the perfect expression of it in His person and ways (1 John 1. 1). The term "eternal life" occurs but twice in the Old Testament, and in millennial connection (Psa. 133. 3; Dan. 12. 2). But we would again repeat that while no formal statement affirms the existence of eternal life in Old Testament saints, yet they had it, for no One could be in vital relationship to God without it. It was always in the Son for them, as for us.
Eternal life is but rarely mentioned in the synoptical Gospels, and only then as a future thing (see Matt. 25. 46; Mark 10. 30; Luke 18. 30). In John's Gospel and first Epistle eternal life is generally spoken of as a blessing presently possessed and enjoyed by believers. But John also shows that the bodies of God's saints shall share in the blessing of eternal life (chap. 5. 29; 6. 39, 40). Both Paul and John present eternal life as a matter of promise, to Christ (Titus 1. 2), and to us (1 John 2. 25). Paul, while assuming that believers have eternal life in them, yet nowhere directly affirms it, but writes of it as future (Rom. 5. 17; 6. 22). Thus eternal life is spoken of as a thing in us now, and yet future, to be fully enjoyed in a scene in keeping with its character.
We may remark that, while life for the soul has been brought to light in the incarnation and ministry of our Lord (1 John 1. 1), the revelation of life and incorruption as applied to the body is through the Gospel, i.e., the death and resurrection of the Lord. "Christ Jesus, Who abolished death, and brought life and incorruption to light through the Gospel" (2 Tim. 1. 10, R.V.).
To briefly sum up. The Psalmist and the Hebrew prophet Daniel tell us that Jewish saints on earth in the millennial scene will have eternal life; while the Lord Himself informs us (Matt. 25) that Gentile millennial saints on earth shall also share the same blessing. John teaches, in repeated statements of priceless value, that believers now have eternal life, in the Son and in themselves. Paul treats of it as a future blessing - the sphere of its enjoyment.
It only remains to add that life - that is , spiritual life and eternal life are, of course, the same. "Eternal" is applied to life because, in itself, you cannot predicate of spiritual life either beginning or end; it is eternal. "Eternal life" and "everlasting life" are used interchangeably (John 3. 15, 16). The same Greek word expresses both, but the latter term is the more fitting one in its application to believers, because in us it has a beginning, but shall never end, hence everlasting. In itself it is, of course, eternal, having neither beginning nor end.
Eternal life is needful for the soul's enjoyment of Christ and delight
in all that is holy, and good, and heavenly. When a soul is quickened
of God, born of Him, then he only and truly begins to live, and that is
termed Eternal Life.
The relationship, then, of child is founded on the precious fact that one has become the subject of God's mighty work of grace and power in the new birth. Angels are spoken of as " sons," but are not termed "children." Every creature owes its being to God, and thus all are His offspring (Acts 17. 29). But the new, or spiritual birth, in virtue of which we become His children, and are privileged to call him "Father," is predicated alone of those saved out of the human family.
All creatures are "the offspring of God" (Acts 17. 29). There is "one God and Father of all" (Eph. 4. 6). God is the Creator, and Source or Author (Father) of all creation, animate, and inanimate. In God all live and have their being, but filial relationship only exists in relation to believers.
John treats more fully of our relationship as children than any other of the sacred writers. He traces it to its source, the sovereign will of God, and unfolds in interesting detail the moral characteristics of the nature which we have as God's children (see first Epistle).
On the other hand, Paul in accordance with those broader aspects of truth, of which he was a faithful steward connects the coming and glorious inheritance with our place as children (Rom. 8. 17), and with our position as sons (Gal. 4. 1-5); as Christians are both children and sons our magnificent future is thus doubly assured. We are children, sons, and heirs. The first refers to nearness to God; the second to our position before God; and the third to our future inheritance.
Sonship, however, is a New Testament blessing. Old Testament saints were, of course, children, but they had not the dignity of sons conferred on them. This latter is a privilege peculiar to believers of this dispensation - one of an eternal character as well (Rev. 21. 7). This is evident from the reasoning in Galatians 4. 3-5, "When we were children we were in bondage under the elements of the world (the former position as under the law), but when the fulness of the time was come God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."
That sonship is a blessing peculiar to this dispensation is further proved from the way we become sons. "Ye are all the sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3. 26, R.V.). No saint prior to the ascension of Christ could be a son of God, as faith in Christ Jesus was impossible till the death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord had taken place. Thus sonship was dependent on Christ going on high. Believers in this dispensation are both children and sons. Believers in previous dispensations were children, but not sons. Israel is termed God's son, but that was national, and did not involve a vital connection with God (Exod. 4. 22, 23).
New birth constitutes one a child, while faith in Christ Jesus on our part and adoption on God's side (Eph. 1. 5, R. V.; Gal. 4. 5) give the position of son. We, as Gentiles, are never spoken of as children of Abraham, for that would imply natural descent from Israel's great progenitor, but we are regarded as sons of Abraham (Gal. 3. 7, R. V.). Thus we are sons of God and sons of Abraham. One may become an adopted son, but not an adopted child. Natural descent is demanded by the latter term.
Child of God is the expression of our filial relationship to God as
Father. Son of God is used to denote our public dignity and possession
of full Christian privilege. We become the former as born of God;
we become the latter by faith in Christ Jesus. These relationships
and distinctions are interesting and helpful.
It is the goodness of God which leads to repentance (Rom. 2. 4), preceded also by godly sorrow (2 Cor. 7. 10). It is God's sovereign gift, and is unto life (Acts 11. 18) It is God's command to all men and everywhere (Acts 17. 30), and is accompanied by the "remission of sins" (Luke 24- 47). Repentance is toward God, while faith is toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20. 21). Both repentance and faith are necessary to the soul's salvation, and both are simultaneous acts, at least practically so in the case of a sinner. Repentance and faith are inseparable.
The truth of repentance when preached and insisted upon ever produces solid results; the converts saved under such preaching, as a rule, stand. Faith in Christ is the great characteristic in evangelical preaching, and in this we unfeignedly rejoice, but repentance toward God needs to be more strongly pressed. We should look for depth of work in the conscience; but where sin is slurred over and repentance scarcely referred to you cannot have either depth or stability. The more thoroughly the conscience is dealt with on account of sins, the more solid and enduring are the results. What is needed is not so much quantity, but quality of work.
Repentance in the Old Testament, when spoken of in reference to God,
as in Genesis 6. 6 and elsewhere, signifies a change of action or dealing;
but in the New Testament there are only two instances in which repentance
is directly spoken of in regard to God, and in both the unchangeableness
of His action is declared (Rom. 11. 29; Heb. 7. 2 1). What
a stay to the heart!
Sanctification in its source is traced to the will of God, as indeed is every Christian blessing (1 Thess. 4. 3; Heb. 10. 10); it is accomplished through the "one offering" - its ground (Heb. 10. 14; 10. 10); by the Spirit of God - the agent (1 Cor. 6. 11; 1 Peter 1. 2; 2 Thess. 2. 13); the Word - the instrumental means (John 17. 17); then Christ on high - the object presented to the soul (2 Cor. 3. 18).
It is Absolute, Progressive, and Positional.
Absolute. The instant a person utters the new -born cry "Abba, Father," one can say he is set apart, or sanctified in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 1. 2), perfectly and for ever, to God; to Christ also, and to His obedience on earth and moral likeness in glory. In this first blessed aspect of sanctification there can be no improvement or progress. It is an accomplished act by the Spirit of God, and is not repeated. "Ye are sanctified" (1 Cor. 6. 1 1; Acts 26. 18; Heb. 10. 14).
Progressive. Thus not only are we sanctified, but we are being sanctified; this latter is the carrying out in daily life what we are as true before God. The former is true position, the latter real Practice. Progressive sanctification, with which most Christians are familiar, is taught in John 17. 17; 1 Thessalonians 5. 23; The measure of this is Christ on high (John 17. 19), and is effected, not by dwelling on personal experience, but by the application of the truth, i.e., that contained in both Testaments, and by the unfolding of Christ to the soul.
Positional sanctification is taught in Hebrews 10. 29 and 13. 12; that is, all who take the ground of Christianity are set apart by the blood of Christ from the rest of the world. it is an outward, external position in this world. Christendom is on that ground and responsibility before God, in contrast to Judaism and Paganism. It is no question whatever of the state of the soul before God, or of a purged conscience, or of eternal life. it is simply Christian profession, which may or may not be real that is regarded in these verses. In this outward or external thought of sanctification persons (1 Cor. 7. 14) and things (1 Tim. 4. 4, 5) are embraced. Whoever or whatever is separated from the mass to God, brought into external privilege, is sanctified. It is not internal, but an external position in this world towards God.
It is interesting to note that both sanctification and cleansing are
ascribed to the Word (Eph. 5. 26). The former is setting apart to
Christ on high, the latter is the removal of defilement. Sanctification
and justification when treated of in systematic theology ever reverse the
scriptural order, making justification precede sanctification. In
1 Corinthians 6. 11 and 1 Peter 1. 2 sanctification precedes justification.
Justification is the gracious act of God in taking up a sinful, guilty creature, rightly subject to Divine judgment, clearing him from every charge because of the sacrifice of Christ, and setting him holily and righteously before His throne. "Justified in Christ" is neither correct in thought nor expression. If a man is in Christ he does not need justification. A guilty sinner is justified by God on the ground of the blood having been shed. "In Christ" conveys a different order of truth. Justification does not apply to infants nor to irresponsible persons, neither does it refer to the sinful nature in each one of us. The nature is condemned (Rom. 8. 3); the person is justified (Rom. 4. 5) and born of God (1 John 3.9). Justification applies to our acts, not to the root of those acts; to what men have done, not to what men are. The wrath of God will not be endured by impenitent sinners because they inherited a sinful nature from the head of the fallen race. The works of men - their deeds - form the alone ground of condemnation (Eph. 5. 5, 6; Rev. 20. 12). We are not responsible for our birth in sin (Psa. 51. 5), but we are responsible for the fruits of our nature, and to this latter justification applies.
It is the early part of the Romans (1. 5. 11) which specially treats of man's guilt and of God's justification of sinners. Turn to it, therefore, and you will not find Adam - head of the race - named even once, nor are infants at all in question; but men and women - each one responsible to God - sinning, too, in full light of Divine testimonies and witnesses to God; such alone form the subjects of God's justification. The guilty are justified, the lost are saved, the dead are quickened, the unclean are washed, the alienated are reconciled, the sinful are forgiven, the unholy are sanctified. These and other characteristics of our once sinful condition are, of course, true of all the justified, but the correspondencies are important to bear in mind.
The persons, then, whom God justifies are "the ungodly" (Rom. 4.5);
the righteous ground of it "His blood" (v. 9). We share in it by
"faith" (v. 1); while its source is the "grace" of God (3. 24). Justification,
as placing one according to God's righteousness before His throne, constitutes
a standing magnificent beyond all thought. There, in the full blaze
of the uncreated glory of God! There, before the blood-sprinkled throne!
There, in presence of cherubim and seraphim - judgment and holiness! Oh,
it is a marvellous position! What a solid and Divine standing! The blood
of the typical bullock of old was sprinkled once upon the mercy-seat and
seven times before it (Lev. 16. 14). In the full value of this double
sprinkling Israel stood before God for one year. What the high priestly
action with the blood on the annual day of atonement prefigured is now
gloriously accomplished, and we stand, yea, and we will, for ever, before
God's throne, a righteously justified people (Rom. 5. 2). A higher position
there could not be for any creature. The righteousness and glory
of that throne are now for us; without the blood the throne would be against
us.
The ORDER of the Lord's priesthood is after that of Melchisedec (Heb. 5. 6), type of the Lord in the glory and dignity of His Person (7. 1-3). Thus there is secured for us an "unchangeable priesthood." What strength this imparts to tried and suffering saints (verse 25). The Melchisedec character of priesthood is millennial, and will be exercised by the Lord when "He shall be a priest upon His throne" (Zech. 6.13) - a combination of royal authority and priestly grace.
The PATTERN of the Lord's priesthood is after that of Aaron's priestly service. It is threefold in character: First, making propitiation by blood in the holiest as did Aaron (Lev. 16. 14; Heb. 2. 17; 9. 11, 12). The blood was shed at the altar outside, it was then carried in by the high priest and sprinkled on and before the throne inside. This latter is termed propitiation. It has been done once, and in its nature is incapable of repetition. Second, succouring the tempted, sympathising with infirmity, and supplying mercy and grace in time of need (Heb. 2. 18; 4. 14-16). Third, in practically maintaining us all along the way - ever living to intercede for us - saving even to the "uttermost" of human need, taking account of our sorrows, difficulties, trials, exercises, and tears. (7. 25). His compassion and tenderness are boundless. He leads our worship, and in all things, and at all times represents us before God in the heavenly sanctuary. His own special place there is on "the right hand of the throne of the Majesty." There He sits as our "Great High Priest," a title of dignity peculiar to our Lord. The priesthood of Christ is not to procure righteousness, but to help, bless, comfort, and sustain a people made righteous through grace. The priesthood is only exercised on behalf of believers.
Next, as to the priesthood of believers. All true Christians are priests to God (Rev. 1. 5, 6), all having an equal title to draw near (Heb. 10. 22). The Jewish priest and the Christian priest have each their sacrifice, sanctuary, and guide-book as to worship. Leviticus was the guide-book of the Jewish worshipper, while 1 Corinthians 11-14 and Hebrews form the guide and directory to the Christian worshipper. Our sacrifices as priests are praise to God, the fruit of lips touched by the live coal of judgment, and of practical benevolence to man (Heb. 13. 15, 16). The former is referred to by Peter when he styles us a "holy priesthood," (1 Peter 2. 5-9). It is interesting to observe that when the priesthood of all believers is directly referred to the high priesthood of our Lord is not mentioned at all, as in 1 Peter and the Revelation. Judaism sent the worshipper of old to the priest; Christianity reveals direct approach to God by the ever-living Priest. The priests of old stood outside the holiest. The veil was unrent and the conscience unpurged: The priests of Christian times stand and worship inside the 'holiest, the veil is rent and the conscience purged. The Jewish priests could never enter the holiest. The Christian priesthood enters the holiest and worships there, the blood their righteous and holy title. Priestly functions are not confined to a favoured class. All believers are priest, irrespective of age, maturity in Divine life, or attainments in either the intellectual or spiritual domains. In ministry there are distinctions (1 Cor. 12. 28-30). In worship there are none (Heb. 10. 22).
Priesthood and ministry are totally distinct truths. The former
is towards God, the latter towards man. All Christians worship as
priests, and all serve as ministers.
A reference to a good concordance will show that atonement" occurs about thirty times in the book of Leviticus - half of its verbal Biblical references. Why is this? Because atonement not only necessitates a sacrifice, but a sanctuary, and also a high priest to deal with the sacrificial blood. Now these - i.e., a sacrifice, a sanctuary, and priest - are prominent features of the third book of Scripture, especially of chapter 16, where the verb to make atonement,i.e., to cover (the noun is not met with in the chapter), occurs no less than fifteen times - a chapter which unfolds in type the whole work of atonement, both in its essential elements, as also in its varied and interesting details. Both redemption and atonement for us are by blood, but unlike the former, the latter requires the service of the high priest to deal with the blood in the holiest. Redemption is not dependent on the ministry of the priest, nor on the value of the sanctuary. Atonement is first met with in Genesis 6. 14, pitched or covered. The ark was made judgment-proof without and within.
The ritual observed on the annual day of atonement was both impressive and suggestive (Lev. 16). It was the only day of the year when the duties of the ordinary priests were suspended in the sanctuary (verse 17), for both they, as all the people, needed atonement to be made for all their sins (verses 33, 34). It was also a day of entire cessation from all work - this was imperative upon all Israel and strangers amongst them (verses 29-31) - the only occasion, moreover, when the high priest laid aside his pontifical attire "for glory and for beauty, " and arrayed himself in linen garments. Both sets of garments art; termed "holy garments" (Exod. 28. 2; Lev. 16. 4).
There are several main elements in the scriptural teaching of atonement. It might be well to compare current theological teaching with God's answer to the question: What is atonement? First, we have God's judgment upon, and death of the sacrificial animals (Lev. 16. 24, 6, 9). Second, sprinkling of the blood by the high priest in the sanctuary, once upon the mercy-seat and seven times before it. This important action could only be performed by the high priest of the nation (verse 14). Third, the confession of the sins of the people. Putting all the confessed sins upon the head of the scapegoat, or "goat of departure," and its dismissal into a land of separation (verses 21, 22). This, too, could only be done by Aaron as representing the nation before God. Azazel, or "goat of departure," occurs but four times in the Word, and only in this chapter. These and other features combined constitute atonement.
These various elements of atonement are separately treated of in the
New Testament, although the word which expresses the whole is not there
used. Many expressions in common use really narrow the scope of the
comprehensive and fundamental truth of atonement.
Now propitiation and substitution were essential parts of atonement. The former was solely the work of the high priest, as he alone could enter the innermost part of the sanctuary to sprinkle the atoning blood on the mercy-seat and before it; the latter, too, was the work of the high priest, but as the nation's representative before God. He alone could make propitiation, and this he did by blood, sprinkling the blood once upon the mercy-seat, Jehovah's throne in the midst of a sinful and guilty people; also seven times before the mercy-seat or propitiatory (5. 14). Propitiation is thus towards God, as substitution is towards believers. The blood on the mercy-seat made propitiation. Our sins borne by Christ is substitution. Now propitiation, it will be observed, was effected by blood-sprinkling, that is, the presentation of the blood God-ward, not simply by blood-shedding. Shed at the altar; sprinkled on and before the mercy-seat. The latter was the work of the priest, the former generally that of the offerer beside the altar. Christ as High Priest, and in the upper sanctuary, has made propitiation by His own blood (compare Lev. 16. 14-17, the type, with Heb. 9. 11, 12, the antitype). This He alone could do in His character and office as a merciful and faithful High Priest (Heb. 2. 17, where "reconciliation" should read "propitiation"). But He has not only made it by His blood, but He is the propitiation, or blood-sprinkled mercy-seat. (1 John 2. 2; 4. 10; Rom. 3. 25). It will be observed that propitiation is always for sins and uncleanness of every description and character (Lev. 16. 16). "He is the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 2. 2), i.e., for those of believers only, and for, or on behalf of, the whole world.
Propitiation is the satisfying of God's claims in respect to His nature.
The blood of the Substitute could alone accomplish this, and Christ as
High Priest was alone competent to do it, and only in the heavenly Sanctuary,
i.e., the immediate presence of God. He shed His blood as a Victim;
by it He entered into the holiest as High Priest (Heb. 9. 12). Carefully
distinguish between the blood shed and sprinkled This latter effects propitiation.
This term, "substitution," nowhere occurs in Scripture, but the truth of which the word is the expression is taught in both Testaments. Dying for our sins (1 Cor. 15. 3) and bearing our sins (1 Peter. 2. 24) are exclusively believers' truths, and substitutionary in character. Universal bearing of sins involves the unscriptural thought of universal salvation. Both are utterly false.
Substitution is one instead of another, not one in another. It is the actual bearing of the sins of all who believe - only of such (1 Peter 2. 24; Isa. 53. 6). We may remark that we are neither directed to "look on the blood" nor to "lay our sins on Jesus." We could do neither. Jehovah has done both. "When I see the blood I will pass over you" (Exod. 12. 13), and "Jehovah hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all". (Isa. 53. 6). Our souls rest on God's mighty delivering work, our confidence is in what He has done and said as to that. Evangelists and teachers should be extremely careful and guarded in their statements on this vital truth. Loose and careless remarks on this subject have wrought an incalculable amount of mischief to souls. It is not said in the Scriptures that Christ bore the sins of the world. He tasted death for all (Heb. 2. 9), but bore only the sins of His own. This latter, we repeat, was substitutionary. "The sin of the world" (John 1. 29) and "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many" (Heb. 9. 28) - i.e., of believers - are accurately distinguished in Scripture. The confession of Israel's sins over the scapegoat and its dismissal never to re-appear finely illustrate the truth of substitution (Lev. 16. 21, 22).
Preach propitiation to sinners - the blood on the mercyseat, and God
in righteousness and grace freely receiving all who will but come.
Teach substitution to believers - their sins confessed and borne by Christ,
and never to be remembered.
To sum up. All persons and things are purchased, and as such belong
to Christ, but believers only now share and enjoy redemption by blood,
as their bodies will by and by from the effects of sin by power, and at
Christ's coming. The wicked are purchased, but are never said to
be redeemed by blood. The heavens and the earth are purchased, but
await redemption by power. Israel was redeemed by power at the Red
Sea (Exod. 14), and will yet share in Christ's redemption by blood in the
blessed future awaiting them.
Our relationship to God as His children is a fixed and eternal one;
it cannot cease. No power of evil can nullify or break it. But the
enjoyment of the relationship and our communion with God are interrupted
by the allowance of the flesh in us. The fact of the inward existence
of the flesh, i.e., the carnal mind, does not of itself soil the conscience
nor hinder in the slightest a holy and happy walk with God; but if we allow
it to act, it does. Hence God's gracious provision in the advocacy
of Christ. This most needful part of the blessed Lord's intercessory
work and service of love on behalf of His own is founded on the, to us,
precious fact that propitiation has been made once and for ever; yea, He
is it abidingly in the presence of God. He is also, and ever, in
His own Person, "The Righteous One" What a firm basis! What strength for
our faith! Propitiation and righteousness are the pillars on which the
advocacy of Christ securely repose. The intercession of Christ on
the Cross was for sinners. (Luke 23. 34), whereas His
intercession at the right hand of God is for believers (Rom. 8. 34).
Now this latter, i.e., intercession, branches out into at least two main
channels, namely, priesthood, as in the epistle to the Hebrews, and advocacy,
as in John's first epistle; the former is to maintain the believer in spite
of infirmity and temptation, to which priesthood directly refers; while
the latter is to effect his restoration if he sins.
Priesthood is to sustain the saint, and is fully treated of by Paul. Advocacy is to restore him, which is as fully treated by John. Priesthood is with God; advocacy with the Father. The former regards the Christian in his place and standing as a saint, the latter views him as a failed and erring child. Sin, as treated of in the Hebrews, has a twofold character. First, as atoned for, and then ultimately put away by Christ; second, when committed by a professing believer it takes the character of apostasy, for which there is no remedy (Heb. 6 and 10). Hence the everyday failure of the believer is not treated of in the Hebrews, for sin there is in view of the final giving up of Christianity, which no true child of God can or ever will do. For backsliding there is a remedy; for apostasy there is none. John treats of the former, Paul of the latter.
It will be observed that the advocacy of Christ begins, not when a Christian
confesses sin, but when he sins. "If any man sin we have an Advocate."
In answer to the gracious intercession of Christ the Holy Spirit uses the
Word in dealing with the soiled conscience, recalling the backslider to
the love he has sinned against, leading the erring one to true and thorough
confession, and thus communion with God is restored and the soul is again
happy. We do not go to the Advocate, nor does He come to us when
we sin, but He goes to the Father about us, and that is just the service
we need at such a moment, and on such an occasion. It is interesting
to observe the word "Advocate" applied to Christ as the One who looks fully
after our interests on high, and when we sin - a time when we might naturally
think our interests were imperilled - is also applied to the Holy Ghost,
who undertakes all for us as fully down here (John 14.16-26, &c.) "Comforter"
is the same in the original as "Advocate.
But the flesh in us is not a weak condition, but a sinful one.
The flesh in us is sin, and must not be allowed to reign (Rom. 6. 12).
Being in Christ we are dead to sin (Rom. 6. 2) now reckon it to be so (verse
11). The believer is also regarded as dead to sins (I Peter 2.24).
Dominion over the sin in us is our present victory. Freed from the
presence of sin in us is our future triumph (Rom. 8. 11). Dead to
sin and alive to God (Rom. 6); dead to sins and alive unto righteousness
(I Peter 2); dead to the law in order to bring forth fruit unto God (Rom.
7). These are weighty, solemn, and practical correspondencies.
Predestination refers to that special character of blessing to which we are set apart. Thus predestinated to adoption (Eph. 1. 5); to have part in Christ's glorious inheritance (verse 11); and to be perfectly conformed to God's Son (Rom. 8.29, 30). Election secures the person, predestination secures the blessing. Predestination is applied to the special privileges of believers, not to those special to the Church as such; whereas purpose is used of the Church (Eph. I.; 3. 11) and of believers as well. (Rom. 8. 28).
Purpose and counsel (Eph. 1. I 1). The former refers to the blessed fact that God in Himself, in the exercise of His Divine and sovereign will, devised a system of government and glory to be displayed in coming ages, while the latter term intimates the way, the means, and method of carrying out that purpose.
Foreknowledge. "For whom He
did foreknow" (Rom. 8. 29). God's absolute foreknowledge of persons,
of things, of events small and great, is necessarily a Divine attribute.
With God all is one ever present. The Eternal God is. A past
and future are relative ideas. But what a strength and consolation
to God's tried saints that they individually were known to God in eternal
ages, their life-history, the most trivial circumstances concerning them,
every detail of life and character lay open to Him. All were and
ever are before Him. The text in Romans 8 refers to individuals.
We, and each personally, before Him in absolute knowledge of what and where
we were, before Him in our sin and ruin, yet He chose us for blessing.
"For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to
the image of His Son" in glory.
To whom does the prophecy of the seventy weeks refer to Christians or Jews? To the latter undoubtedly. " Thy people" and "Thy Holy City" (verse 24) signify the Jews as a nation and Jerusalem their city. These both form the subjects of the prophecy, and to them all prophetic dates refer.
The seventieth week is future. The second half of it is variously spoken of as times, days, months, and "the midst of the week." In the prophetic or central part of the Apocalypse the history of the closing three years and a half is unfolded.
Are the weeks periods of days or years? All competent Hebrew scholars hold that the term "week" simply denotes seven - of days, years, or other denomination of time must be gathered from the context, and from the surroundings of the passage where the word occurs. The learned Tregelles says: "I retain the word 'week' for convenience sake, and not as implying seven days to be the import of the Hebrew word." That they are weeks, or sevens of years, is evident on the surface of the prophecy. In chapter 10. 2 we have weeks of days; in our prophecy weeks of years.
But now an important inquiry is raised. When and where did the 70 weeks or 490 years commence? We are informed by Gabriel that it was "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem." Where do we find this Persian decree? The two historical books of the Restoration from the Babylon captivity of 70 literal years are Nehemiah and Ezra. There are several decrees in the latter book, but they respect the tape whereas the one on hand refers to the city. Now in Nehemiah 2 we have the commandment in full referred to in Daniel 9. 25. This decree was promulgated in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the King. It is the very commandment referred to in our prophet to "restore and to build Jerusalem." Thus, then, we have the exact commencement of the 70 weeks - 445 B.C. Nehemiah is the last historical book of the Old Testament, and this second chapter one of all importance as fixing the time when Jerusalem and Jews come definitely within the scope of carefully measured prophecy.
The 70 weeks are divided into four unequal parts:
We shall now transcribe in full verse 26. "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself (or, 'shall have nothing,' i.e., His throne, rights, &c.); and the people (the Romans) of the Prince that shall come (the prophetic coming ahead of the revived apostate power of Rome) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary (accomplished under Titus, A.D. 70); and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined."
Now, observe that the series of events foretold in this verse form no part of the seventy weeks. They come in after the sixty-two weeks (and the seven previously named), and before the seventieth. Between the close of the sixty-ninth week and the opening of the seventieth the whole history of Christianity has its place; Jerusalem is trodden down and the Jews scattered. The desolation of Judea is complete. It is a parenthesis of nigh 2000 years, one of grace to the Gentiles and of governmental wrath on the Jews. Israel has been judicially set aside as God's witness on earth, and the Gentile professing Church - the olive tree of public testimony, of which Abraham was the root and Israel the natural branches (Rom. I 1) - takes the place of Israel in testimony. When the Church is fully gathered Christ comes down from Heaven and receives to Himself the whole body of believers from Abel onward, all His own are caught up in the clouds to meet Him in the air (I Thess. 4. 17). Thus the lengthened break between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth week is doubly characterised: (1) By Jerusalem's desolation still going on, the subject of prophetic testimony. (2) By the calling out of the Church, also going on the subject of apostolic ministry.
When the long interval closes, which it does with the translation of the heavenly saints (I Thess. 4; 1 Cor. 15), then the Jew and the Jewish question are taken up governmentally by God, and the course of the seventy weeks is resumed at the point where they were broken off (verse 27). The last week of seven years starts with the Roman Prince making a league or covenant with the restored (Isa. 18) Jewish nation, then apostate from God and truth. The Jews, immediately on their return, proceed to rebuild the temple, and offer sacrifice, accepting the Antichrist as their king (Dan. 11. 36) over them, and "the prophet" in his false ministry amongst them. "The false prophet" and the "king" are one and the same person (Deut. 18. 15).
The relation of this future seven years to the revived Roman Empire
in its ten-kingdom form (Rev. 13 and 17) and to Christendom and Judaism
is unfolded in the Apolcalypse. It is, however, the second half of
the week which is of absorbing interest to all prophetic students; the
history of the first three and half years is nowhere given in the Scriptures.
The covenant is broken in the midst of the week (Dan. 9. 27), the beast
out of the bottomless pit (Rev. 17. 8) forces idolatry upon the nation,
sets up an image on the temple as an object of general or national worship,
which God-fearing Jews refuse, then bursts forth suddenly the great tribulation,
which in its effects extend to the limits of Christendom, but its horrors
are felt and endured chiefly in Judea, in Jerusalem especially.
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