p. 15 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 22. (5/29/1901)

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

INTERNATIONAL SERIES

LESSON 9.—JUNE 2.—JESUS OUR HIGH PRIEST IN HEAVEN.

Lesson Scripture, Heb. 9:11-14, 24-28, R.V.

11 “But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, thru the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, nor yet thru the blood of goats and calves, but thru His own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who thru the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

24 “For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us; nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place year by year with blood not His own; else must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world; but now once at the end of the ages hath He been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment; so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for Him, unto salvation.”

Golden Text: “He ever liveth to make intercession.” Heb. 7:25.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

(1) Of what is Christ a High Priest? Thru what tabernacle? Verse 11. Note 1. (2) What offering does our High Priest present? What does He obtain for us? Verse 12. (3) What did the blood of animals do? Verse 13. (4) How much more does the blood of Christ do? Verse 14. Note 2. (5) Into what has Christ not entered? Into what place has He entered? For whom does He appear? Verse 24. Note 3. (6) How is His offering contrasted with the offerings of earthly priests? Verse 25. Note 4. (7) What conclusion is drawn from this contrast? Verse 26. Note 5. (8) What is appointed unto men? And after this what follows? Verse 27. (9) For what was Christ offered? Verse 28, first part; Rev. 5:9, 10. Note 5. (10) For what purpose does He appear the second time? Verse 28, last part; John 14:3; 1 Thess. 4:15-18.

NOTES.

1. Christ, a High Priest.—A priest is one who acts as a mediator. In ordinary usage it means one who acts between men and any “divinity,” whether it be the true God or an imaginary god. The Bible definition is given in Heb. 5:1: “Every priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.” All the men whom God has ever recognized as priests were merely types of Christ, our real High Priest. All the “gifts and sacrifices” that human priests ever offered were types of the one effectual sacrifice of our antitypical High Priest. Since Christ began His mediatorial work in the “greater and more perfect tabernacle,” after His ascension from earth, He does not recognize any vicarious representative on earth. All His human representatives now are ambassadors, or messengers, directing sinners to the Great High Priest in heaven. In this sense they are priests to the world.

2. The Blood.—“Without shedding of blood is no remission.” Heb. 9:22. By the blood of “goats and calves” the people were kept in remembrance of the blood of Christ, which really cleanseth from sin. Offering the blood of animals in the obedience of faith, their sins were forgiven. But the virtue was in the Antitype. Without the shedding of His blood, there could have been no remission. But then, as now, faith was the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence [or assurance] of things not seen.” By the blood of those animal sacrifices there was an outward ceremonial cleansing; but by the blood of Christ, which those sacrifices typified, there was and is the cleansing of the life from “dead works,” and a fitting for real spiritual service. The blood of Jesus Christ signifies His life. “The life of all flesh is the blood thereof.” Lev. 17:14. So when Christ appeared in the heavenly sanctuary with an offering in our behalf that would satisfy the violated law of God, He presented a spotless life. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Rom. 5:10. His sinless life is presented as a substitute in lieu of the sinful life of every one who has purified himself by faith; and the righteousness of the Substitute is imputed to the soul that has accepted it.

3. “For Us.”—The lesson will prove futile unless we realize that Christ is now in the heavenly sanctuary, appearing for us. Who are meant by “us”? The writer of this epistle was addressing those who professed the faith of Christ. While He gave Himself a sacrifice for all, His blood avails only for those who come unto Him by faith. He appears before God in behalf of those only who seek reconciliation thru Him. In the type, the atonement was made only for those who had humbled themselves on that day and confessed their sins. So in the antitype, Christ, our High Priest, makes atonement by His blood only for those who accept His mediatorship, and acknowledge His priesthood. As in earthly courts advocates appear only for those who have employed them, so in the heavenly court Jesus Christ, the only admissible Advocate, pleads only for those who entrust their cases to Him.

4. “Year by Year.”—In the Common Version the expression is “once a year.” This has reference to the day of atonement, or cleansing of the sanctuary, which was the only occasion on which the high priest (and none but he) could enter the second apartment of the sanctuary. The expression “holy place,” in verse 25, refers to the “most holy” place. It is the same as “the holiest” mentioned in Ch. 10:19.

5. “Once.”—Christ offered Himself but once. If that were not sufficient, it would indicate that the offering was defective. It would be well for all to remember this fact. Especially should those who advocate a future probation remember it. Christ makes but one atonement; He is making that now; and when He closes His priestly work and puts on His kingly robes, He will maintain that position forever, and the sanctuary door will be shut. To provide a future probation and opportunity for salvation would necessitate another atonement, and that would call for another death. But Christ is “alive forevermore.” Rev. 1:18. “Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Cor. 6:2. This opportunity neglected or rejected, “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” Heb. 10:26; also Ch. 2:1-3.

6. The argument in verse 27 is that men end their earthly work at death, but the first death does not end all. After death there is a general resurrection, and the final results of this probationary life will be manifested to all. There will be seen the punishment of disobedience and the reward of faith. The second death will be in consequence of failure to grasp the opportunities of the present life.

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SIGNS IN THE CITIES.

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Farmers' Names Wanted

Farmers' Names Wanted: Send us the names and post-office addresses of Eleven Farmers who have land to clear or who have use for a Stump Puller, and we will mail Free to your address a copy of our Stories of the Great Northwest, now going to press. Write plainly, and address the W. Smith Grubber Co., La Crosse, Wis.

The Viceroy of India Uses the Yost

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BAPTISM: Its Significance, Its Nature, and the Necessity for It.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

By E. J. Waggoner. Bible Students’ Library, No. 79. Pacific Press Pub. Co., Oakland, Cal. 16 pp.; 2 cents.

President McKinley’s California Reception

Surely President McKinley must be pleased with the reception accorded him and his entourage thru-out their ten-thousand-mile trip. California literally, figuratively, and florally received him with open arms. Such a profusion of nature’s loveliest decorations have at times quite eclipsed the great mass of bunting. Royalty in very deed could not be served better. It is to be regretted that Mrs. McKinley has been so ill during her stay in California; it has taken much from the pleasure she would have enjoyed. It is to be hoped that those who have participated in and enjoyed the abundance and profusion of California’s floral display will remember that all these things are gifts of God, incidental only to the people who happen to live here. There are as loyal hearts to truth and righteousness in less favored climes. May God bless and guide the President of the United States, that he may execute the duties of his great office in righteousness, equity, and peace, and that he may be delivered from scheming and self-serving and sin-serving men.

An Awful Theory.

A paper, earnest in tone, comes to us with the following in one of its leading articles:—

“No Bible doctrine is clearer than the terrible one that there is a place where lost spirits will be tormented FOREVER. . . . Sin is not located in the body, but in the immortal part—the spirit, and a rebellious sinner will be just as wicked after he has left his body as before.”

This article is preceded by a poem containing the following:—

“Infinite years in torments shall I spend, And never, never, never have an end? Ah! must I live in torturing despair As many years as atoms in the air?”

And thus it goes on piling up countless eons by grains of sand, leaves of forests, blades of grass, stars in heaven, and all these multiplied into themselves, and that product by myriads more, and then,—

“I must in that fierce grief in misery lie, And madly writhe to all eternity.”

What a monster this makes of God. It is first declared that God has made untried man immortal, incapable of death—which He hasn’t—and then concluded that God must torture the fixedly wicked character without cessation to all eternity. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” If you wish to know, reader, what the Lord means by the expression “tormented,” secure and read, “Tormented Forever and Ever,” Bible Students’ Library, No. 111. Price 1 cent. If but one copy is ordered, 2 cents should be sent. Address, Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal.

Why Can They Not See?

—Before us lies a letter in which the writer (in an excellent spirit) starts out to present “the reasons of my belief that the first day of the week should be regarded as the Christian Sabbath;” but in the very same paragraph he says: “I think it a very difficult matter to establish a set time for its [the worship day’s] observance by the whole human race in all the world where this Gospel is preached. When shall we begin to count the days of the week?” Now why can not this man see the utter inconsistency of these statements? If impossible to keep any set time, why set forth reasons for keeping a set day? If we can not tell when the seventh day of the cycle comes, can we tell when the first day comes? He says further that “God established the Sabbath at the end of His work in the creation. This is the proper starting place; for He blessed and sanctified the seventh day as the right and proper day to keep. But will any one pretend to trace up the correct day to be set apart for the world of mankind thru all the generations which have followed? . . . But that it is a sacred institution is evident; for it was one of the commandments of the Decalog.” Think of this; God gave the Sabbath, marked the particular day with His rest, blessing, and sanctification, made it a “sacred institution,” commanded it to be kept, showed us how it ought to be kept in the person of His Son, and holds men responsible for disobedience, and yet men can not know what God has commanded, and, therefore, can not obey! No one would attribute such unreasonableness to any earthly ruler; why to God? There are as many more inconsistencies in this short letter; we need not mention them. We mention the above to illustrate the way of error, never consistent with truth, and rarely with itself. Truth is ever consistent; never conflicting with itself. Why can not all Christians see it?

Spencer and the Teaching of Jesus

A “Christian” journal calls Mr. Herbert Spencer “the great philosopher;” but if he is this, what shall we say of Jesus of Nazareth, between whom and Mr. Spencer there is but one great common truth—individualism? But this leads on Mr. Spencer’s part to make man his own Saviour if he has any; it leads in the teaching of Jesus to simple, childlike faith in God.

California Camp-Meeting.

Please read—in our Missions department—the notice of the California camp-meeting by the president, Pastor Clarence Santee. It will be held on Grove Street north of Thirtieth Street. The Oakland transit company's cars pass the grounds, making the camp easily accessible from all parts of Oakland, Alameda, and Berkeley for one fare. It ought to be one of the largest and the very best camp-meeting ever held in the Golden State.

The Experience of It

The Experience of It.—A knowledge of the Gospel is essential, but one must go deeper than the mere facts of theoretical knowledge, if he would actually know Christ; he must have the knowledge that comes from experience. The knowledge that comes thru theory alone may all be set aside by some other theory more plausibly presented. But what we know from a real experience of our own, gives us a secure foundation. It is possible for every one to gain such living experience in the things of God that he actually knows God and His Son Jesus Christ. The Christianity of the real Christ is not a vague myth; it is a living reality. And the one who has the real experience of a Christian knows that this is so.

A Dollar a Year in Alimony

The courts sometimes show extraordinary common sense combined with exceedingly dry humor. For instance, in an Ohio city the other day there was tried the case of a man who made application for divorce from a rich wife, with alimony. He married his wife on her proposition, and had been receiving from her $150 a year, cigars, neckties, and other gifts. The court refused to grant the divorce, but decided that he was entitled to alimony, and fixed it at $1.00 (one dollar) a year. It certainly was, on general principles, all that the man was worth. The decision of the court was doubtless nearer his true worth than the estimate of his wife. But when a man gets to be so low that he can sell himself so cheaply, he is bound to deteriorate in value.

A Striking Testimony.

The superintendent of a Washington, D.C., Reform Bureau, Wilbur F. Crafts, D.D., has been endeavoring to stir up the people on the evils of the canteen business, and to do this has sent reports of its work in Manila to 125 daily papers in this country; but not a line has been printed. The reports were sent to seventy-five leading religious weeklies, and some time after this, when Mr. Crafts reported, only one had noticed them, and that not fairly. The New Voice quotes Mr. Crafts as saying: “The silence of the religious press at this crisis is almost as guilty as the lying of the secular press.” Yet presumably the religious press fairly reflects the sentiment of the people. And yet it is this people, led by these newspapers, that Mr. Crafts is endeavoring to persuade to enforce religious observances by law. What kind of enforcement could he expect? Really, the thing needed is not more law, but more righteousness; but righteousness does not come by law. Let Mr. Crafts spend his surplus energy in converting the church. According to his own testimony, they need it.

Bible Translations.

The Bible has now been translated in whole or in part into four hundred and twenty-one different languages and dialects. At the beginning of the last century, there were but fifty different translations of the Scriptures. This great work, performed with so little noise, has been performed almost wholly by missionaries, as Dr. Judson Smith points out. “Think of the time and pains that are necessary to obtain such an understanding of Chinese, Japanese, Tamil, Hindustani, Persian, Turkish, and the hundreds of other tongues, as to be able to converse intelligibly with those to whom these are the mother tongue. And the translator must go quite beyond this, and so familiarize himself with vocabulary and idioms as to think in the strange tongue, and to put the very meaning of the Bible, narratives, poetry, prophecy, and doctrine, clearly and unmistakably before the reader.” This is so easy to say, but it involves untold labor. Each year there are circulated in heathen lands Bibles or portions of Bibles to the extent of over 2,500,000 copies. We praise God that it is done, and the Lord will know how at last to render to each his merit of need.

Capital and Labor in Prophecy

The proportion of actual and threatened strikes now “on” at this writing can not be told, their condition is just a little too restless. It all may culminate in the biggest strike and most gigantic war between capital and labor ever seen in this country. Compromises may stave off the sure-coming trouble a little longer. The enlightened Christian must watch with interest this great struggle, in which he can not take sides with either party. He may sympathize with the poor and oppressed, but he can not adopt the principles of trade unionism. Monopoly in work is as wrong as monopoly of wealth and business. Both are unchristian; both issue in oppression and suffering. How many taking part on either side see in these great movements the fulfilment and demonstration of divine prophecy?

The People, the Land, and the Book

"The People, the Land, and the Book" is the name of an illustrated Hebrew Christian quarterly. It treats of the old and historic people of Israel, of their native land, Palestine, of the Book, the Bible, and Jewish traditions and literature. One may not agree with all it says, theologically, but he will receive very much information which will be of worth in reading it. The price of the magazine is $1.00 a year. There is given with it a miniature copy of the scroll of the law as used in the time of Christ, and as now read in the Jewish synagogs every Sabbath. The price of the scroll is 50 cents; but it will be given as a premium to all who send $1.00 for the magazine. Address B. A. M. Schapiro, 436 Carlton Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y.

Closing Saloons on Sunday

As the result of the agitation occasioned by the arrest of Mrs. Nation in Kansas City, it is claimed that the saloons in that place will be closed on Sunday. A Sunday-keeping saloon is not a bit better than a saloon that keeps no day at all. There ought to be enough enlightenment in this age to show anybody that the work of the saloon is evil and only evil, and no amount of closing it on some particular day can make it otherwise.