FRIEND, HOW CAMEST THOU?
By Uriah Smith
The “Wedding”—When Does It Take Place?—What Is the Wedding-Garment?—What Has It to do with Us?
A QUESTION commencing with these words, addressed to a certain party, is found in Matt. 22:12. It implies that the one addressed was in a place where he did not belong, and was there in defiance of a good reason why he should not be there. How? That is, What is the reason you are in this place? The next clause will reveal more of the circumstances which call forth this question: “Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment?” This enlarges immensely the field of inquiry. It is now seen that the occasion is that of a wedding, and that a peculiar apparel is necessary to fit one to appear thereat; and it is implied that the garment was provided, and placed within the reach of every one, so that no one had any excuse for not having it on; for when one was asked why he came not having it, he was speechless. The questions which here immediately come to the front, are: What is this wedding? When does it take place? What is the wedding-garment? Have we any invitation to be present on that occasion? and how shall we secure the wedding-garment, so that we may be properly arrayed? This is one of the many great problems of Scripture, for which an easy key is provided; and that key, in this case, is the subject of the sanctuary. By this we have free access to every inviting recess in these departments of the temple of truth, and in the calcium light of the facts connected with this subject, we behold every shade of uncertainty dispelled, and every feature glowing in the beautiful radiance which shows its own place and office, and its relation to all the rest. Thus, in the study of the subject of the sanctuary, as given in a previous issue, we have found a time when the work to be performed in the first apartment of the sanctuary, or the holy place, ceases there, and the ministry is transferred to the second apartment, or the most holy place. Here the work assumes a special phase; it is the work of atonement, or the putting away of sin; it is a work of judgment, for it results in deciding who are righteous and to be saved, and who are found with sins unforgiven, and hence to be set on the left hand, and cast out with hypocrites and unbelievers. It involves, therefore, the examination of the books containing the records of men's lives; for God has ordained that all men shall be judged from the things written in the books, according to their works. Rev. 20:12. Tho this text does not apply to the time and the work now under notice, but much later, to the great scene at the end of the thousand years, nevertheless it lays down the rule by which, and the method on which, all judgment, in every branch of that great work, is to be conducted; for men are to be judged out of the things “written in the books,” and judged “according to their works,” the record of which must consequently be found written in the books. The period of time, therefore, covered by this work in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, is one of the utmost importance and solemnity. It is the first instalment, the primary division, of the great work of judgment so clearly set forth in the Scriptures, which is to decide the final destiny of all mankind. For convenience of expression, we call this portion of the great assize The “Investigative” Judgment,
in contrast with other divisions which constitute the “executive” judgment. This investigation of character, with reference to future destiny, would naturally begin with the earliest members of the human family, come down through all generations consecutively to the end of time, and close with the last generation, which is to be alive on the earth when the Lord returns again in earth in all His glory. To the class last named this will of course be a most thrillingly important point in their experience; and it would be in accordance with the Lord's uniform dealing with His people, to send to them, as the crisis approaches, a voice of warning and a message of instruction in regard thereto. There are several passages of Scripture of the nature here indicated applying to this time and work. A Message to the Remnant Church.
Remember that it is the last generation of Christians that is here involved. Turn to the counsel of the Faithful and True Witness to the Laodicean church, a church likewise composed of the last generation of Christians; for it is the last of the series of the seven churches; and these churches represent seven consecutive periods of the Gospel age. To this last church the Faithful and True Witness comes forth, and in the most impressive manner gives them this exhortation: “I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed; . . . and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.” Rev. 3:18. Here, as will be at once seen, is presented much material which will fit into the scene of Matt. 22:12. But before making the application, there is other testimony to be brought in. First, the third message of Revelation 14. This is the last message of mercy given to the world, before the Son of man appears upon the white cloud, coming to reap the harvest of the earth. It is, therefore, an experience of the last generation of Christians, or what is called, in Rev. 12:17, “the remnant of her [the woman's] seed,” in other words, “the remnant church.” There is, in consequence, only one possible place for it to fall into connection with the experiences we are considering, and that is, at the time of the atonement; the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the investigative judgment, the very time when the message to the Laodicean church applies. therefore, occupies the time while the cleansing of the sanctuary is being accomplished. While that work is going on in heaven, this message is its counterpart, taking place on earth; and this message warns against the worship of the beast, and his image, and the receiving of his mark, and enjoins the keeping of the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus, which is the whole duty of man. There can be no mistaking the bearing of these scriptures on the question before us; for they pertain to the last generation, and the final decision of all cases; and the experience of the guest with the wedding-garment, brings to view the same condition; therefore, if we can find the character and qualifications required of the last generation of Christians to make them accepted of God, we shall find what constitutes the wedding-garment. But there is still another passage to be noticed (Acts 3:19): “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven must receive [or retain] until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” The blotting out of sin we know pertains to the last work in the sanctuary above, when the sanctuary is cleansed, and Christ confesses to His Father, the Ancient of Days, the names of His people, as overcomers through His name. Dan. 7:13; Rev. 3:5. And the blotting out of sin is secured by the true repentance enjoined in Acts 3:19. We have now found the last generation, in view of the decisive issues right before them, solemnly reined up to the following admonitions: To repent and be converted, to avoid the worship of the beast and his image, and the receiving of his mark, and to buy of the True Witness, our Lord Jesus Christ, gold tried in the fire, white raiment, and eye-salve. The white raiment at once suggests a garment—such a garment as will bear the scrutiny of the King, when He comes in to examine the wedding guests. But the white raiment is the “righteousness of saints,”—the righteousness of Christ. The white raiment of Christ's righteousness is, therefore, the wedding-garment, which every one must have on who would pass the examination for the wedding, and the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Facts and the Parable.
It will now require but a moment to adjust together the facts we have before us, so as to show how fully they fit the parable of Matthew 22. The king who made a marriage for his son is God, the Father; the son is Jesus Christ; the marriage is the induction of Christ into His government, His elevation to the throne of power, as the ruler of the everlasting kingdom to which God has appointed Him. Luke 22:29. Of this kingdom the New Jerusalem is the symbol and metropolis. Christ there ascends the throne as the light and glory of that celestial locality. Rev. 21:22, 23. That city is therefore called, specifically and emphatically, “the bride, the Lamb's wife.” Rev. 21:9, 10. But just before Christ takes His position as king, He must finish His work as priest; and His work as priest closes with the “investigative judgment,” the examination of the books of record, that every man may be rewarded as his works have been; in other words, Christ's work as priest closes with His cleansing of the sanctuary. So before the wedding the guests are to be examined, to see if each one has on the wedding-garment. What are these two scenes but one and the same thing? This is not a work done in heaven; for no one will ever reach there without a wedding-garment. But it is a preliminary transaction, just such as is brought to view in Matt. 22:11-13, and in the closing work in the sanctuary. All this takes place before probation closes; and to this point one may come without a wedding-garment, and, being examined, be found wanting and be cast out. Matt. 22:13; Rev. 3:15, 16. Without a knowledge of the subject of the sanctuary,5no possible place can be found in which to apply the facts and scriptures here brought to view; hence the necessity for all to study and become familiar with the subject of the sanctuary. Since 1844, when the 2,300 days of Dan. 8:14 ended, at which point the prophecy declared that the sanctuary should be cleansed, (that is, the work of cleansing would commence), the “King,” in the figure of the parable, has been examining the guests; for these include the dead as well as the living, tho there are special declarations which apply to the living alone. In the parable, the maker of the marriage alone examines the guests. In the fulfilment, God alone sits the Judge in the investigative judgment, while Christ is still Priest and Mediator. In the other divisions of the work, all judgment is committed unto the Son; for it must be the “execution” of the judgment to which John refers when he says, “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” John 5:22. Fifty-five years of the investigative judgment have already passed. How many years remain to complete it, or how soon the work will reach the cases of the living—our own cases—we know not. In actual, conscious experience, Matt. 22:12, 13 must pertain to the living; and now is the time to secure the wedding-garment. In an Eastern wedding, the maker of the marriage provided beforehand suitable garments for all the guests, and furnished each one before the wedding ceremony; and to neglect or refuse to put it on at the time, was as great an affront as could be offered to the one who made the marriage, and had done them the honor of an invitation. So the garment for the heavenly wedding is freely provided and offered to us. The righteousness of Christ now awaits our demand and appropriation; but if we neglect this opportunity, and fail to obtain that righteousness, when, erelong, our cases come up in the judgment, the question will be put to us. Friend, how camest thou in hither without a wedding-garment? And, like the man in the parable, we shall be sadly speechless.
URIAH SMITH.