THE AGE TO COME | AdventAI

Seventh-Day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · March 11, 1880

FromThe Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 55, No. 11

THE AGE TO COME.

A FALSE HOPE.

We showed last week that believers in the “Age-to-Come” doctrine make a mistake of one whole dispensation in the kingdom and the king. It is God who subdues the enemies of Christ; and it is while Christ is seated upon the throne with his Father in this present dispensation, that God performs this work of subjugation, not during the thousand years that succeed the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven.

The next great fallacy of this doctrine is the idea that probation continues after Christ has come the second time. We understand probation to be the opportunity given to every man to secure the future life and the kingdom of God through the means which God has provided whereby mankind may become reconciled to him. This probation can continue, or these offers of mercy can be made, only while there is a mediator between God and man. Christ is our only mediator; and according to the teachings of the Scriptures, he finishes all his work of this nature before he takes his position as king upon his own throne. He has provided but one offering for sin,—his own precious blood. And as that sacrifice is not to be repeated, so he offers no salvation to any outside of the ministry connected therewith.

Paul, in Heb. 10:12, says, “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.” According to this scripture, he continues this work as priest, or mediator, until all his enemies are subdued unto him by the Father. Why, then, should probation continue after this event?

The work of Christ in relation to man is presented to us in three divisions: 1. As prophet; 2. As priest; 3. As king. And these different offices must not be confounded together. While acting as prophet, or teacher, here upon the earth, he was not fulfilling the office of priest; while acting as priest, as he is at the present time, he is not fulfilling the office of king in his own name; and when he takes the position of king, his work as priest, with all its offers of mercy and salvation, is forever past.

But the objector will say, “Does not his priesthood ever continue; for is he not a priest forever, after the order of Melchisedec?” We answer that the word forever must somewhere be limited, or it would prove that his priesthood would never end, and that probation would continue to all eternity. But no one will claim this; and as our “Age-to-Come” friends would limit it to a thousand years after his coming, we can just as well limit it to the period of his coming. He is indeed a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec; that is, just as long as any ministration of a priest in behalf of sinful man is to be performed, the word “forever” covering that period and no more. But the objector will say further, “Is he not a king at the present time, and is he not also priest, showing that the two offices of priest and king can be performed together?” We answer that it is only while Christ is king upon his Father’s throne that he acts as priest; he does not act as priest upon his own throne. In Rev. 3:21 Christ declares that he is now with the Father upon his throne; but in the future, in the same verse, he promises to the overcomer a seat with him upon his own throne, showing that he has not yet taken his own throne, but is now reigning on the throne of his Father. Zech. 6:12, 13 describes this present position of Christ as priest-king: “And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the BRANCH [this is undoubtedly Christ]; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord; even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his [the Father’s] throne; and he [Christ] shall be a priest upon his [the Father’s] throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” But how long does he occupy this position? Only until his foes be made his footstool, according to Ps. 110:1; and then he takes his own throne at his second coming and kingdom.

The work of Christ as priest must continue till all men have either rejected or accepted of his work; and the Scriptures plainly teach that this decision is made before his coming. As we have said, Christ performs his work as priest once for all. This is plainly taught in the book of Hebrews in reference to his work in the sanctuary. Only once does he make an offering; only during one period does he perform the part of priest and mediator; one round of service only does he perform in the heavenly sanctuary. Then the sanctuary is cleansed, his work as priest forever ends, and the cases of all are decided. The conclusion of this work is described in Heb. 10:17, 18: “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”

These features, then, we find essential to a period of probation: 1. A priest to minister before God in behalf of man; 2. An offering with which to make an atonement for sin; 3. A sanctuary in which to perform this ministration. But Christ acts as priest only until he takes his own throne; and he offers his blood for sin only during this dispensation according to Heb. 10:12, 13; Ps. 110:1; and the ministration of the sanctuary is accomplished, never to be resumed, before his second coming; for Daniel said that at the end of the 2300 days the sanctuary should be cleansed, and Rev. 15:8 shows us that the ministration therein is finished when the seven last plagues begin to be poured out.

In accordance with this, we find that just before Christ comes this irrevocable sentence goes forth, forever deciding every case according as the character of the individual has been good or bad: Rev. 22:11: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” And when is this? Just before the coming of Christ; for he immediately adds, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be.”