FIRST of all, let us say to our readers that this series of articles have not been all they were planned to be in the beginning,—in breadth, in fulness, or in strength. We need not recite the hindrances—they are largely personal; and we are sure that our readers, did they know, would believe them sufficient. There is a tremendous field of scripture along these lines. We hope that sometime it will be more fully developed.
In this article, let us note some of God's specifications concerning both the true church and the counterfeit, concerning God's loyal legions in the earth and the great apostasy for these last days, these times, reader, in which we live.
Evidences of the Last Days
Do we need to furnish evidences that we are living in the last days? Not less than twelve lines of prophecy, having clear and definite beginnings, varying from the days of Babylon of old to those of the apostle John on the isle of Patmos, attest that we are in the last days. Each and all of these have met partial fulfilment, nay, almost plenary fulfilment. So far as this earth in its present condition is concerned, we are in the last stages of all these various prophetic lines. According to the prophetic timetable of each, we are nearing the close of the journey. At the end of these prophecies lies the destruction of all earthly kingdoms and the setting up of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Besides these, there are numerous evidences, foretold by prophet and seer, of various special signs, conditions, omens, which shall occur just previous to the second coming of Christ. These precursors are in the heavens and in the earth, in national and social life, in commercial and religious circles; in fact, everywhere. When we see all these things fulfilling before our very eyes, we may know that Christ's coming is near. This is His own declaration. See Matt. 24: 33-35.
Surely at such a time as this He has not left men to themselves with no knowledge of the way. As in ancient days, God has always men who have "understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do;" but emphatically in these times He has given us His word. Of course we know there are those who exalt tradition above the Word, and there are those who make the Word of none effect by their very learned criticisms—of none effect in the minds of men. The Word itself is effectual always, effectual for righteousness in the hearts of all those who receive it, and effectual for destruction in the hearts of those who resist and reject it. That Word has clearly foretold us just where apostasy6should stand in the last days, and where God's true church would be. If we heed the prophecy, we shall see the fulfilment.
I. The Apostasy
The epistles of the apostle Paul to Timothy are designed, in the providence of God, to be of universal application among all God's ministers down to the very last days. It was not to Timothy alone that the instructions were given, but he was to pass them on to others, that others might pass them on still to others, until the work of Christ in the earth should close. The express charge given to Christian ministers is to "preach the Word." They are told that the time should come when men would not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts would heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and that these should turn away men from the truth to fables. See 2 Tim. 4: 1-5. As the result of this teaching, when the last days are reached we would not see a converted world, the heart of which was athrob with love of souls and service for Christ. On the other hand, we would find a world in the deepest peril, because professors of religion, those who should be the salt of the earth, have lost their savor. Read the apostle's picture in 2 Tim. 3: 1-5:
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
The reader will note that the perils are not because of wickedness and violence, altho the world shall see its fill of this, but because these eighteen different sins are found among a class of people who ought to be holding aloft a high religious standard. If we compare this list of sins with that given in the last part of Romans 1, we find it almost identical with what the apostle Paul tells us existed in the heathen world of his day. The power of godliness is the power to save men from sin; yet here is the mass of religionists that have the form of godliness, but deny its power in their lives.
James tells us that the reason of this is that they are united with the world. In their spiritual relationship they are adulteresses; they have made friends with the world in the sense of partaking of its spirit and yielding to its follies, and "friendship with the world is enmity with God." James 4: 3, 4. It is this class mentioned numerous times in connection with last-day prophecies that form the great apostasy—Babylon, against which God warns us in the book of Revelation.
“Babylon” itself means confusion. That name is applied to the church of God during the Christian dispensation because of the confusion which exists over Scripture truth and doctrine. It is to heal all these divisions of Christendom that “the everlasting gospel” message of Rev. 14: 6, 7, declaring that God’s judgment is impending, is given to the world. God desired to save Babylon; and to save Babylon, He must save her out of her confusion, and out of the sins and errors which led to it. But the great church is rejecting the everlasting gospel, and putting in its place a gospel that is denuded of its strength through higher criticism, or buried under the traditions of men; and therefore the cry goes forth to the world that “Babylon is fallen.” She will not partake of the remedy which will heal; she must go on to destruction. Consequently the only thing that God can do is to use His gospel and call His children out of Babylon.
That picture of Babylon is found in Revelation, chapters 17 and 18. It is found in the great apostate Church of Rome, and all the other churches that are following in the wake of Rome.
It is with no feeling of joy that we pen these words. Would to God that all the various churches of the earth were seeking God, coming out from the errors of the world, and yielding themselves to Him! But the sad thing is that they are not, but are drifting farther and farther away; and the only means of salvation, the only power which can heal and restore, is the gospel, and that is set aside.
And yet that apostasy is represented in the seventeenth chapter as a woman riding in triumph, rich, proud, popular, living in luxury, consorting with the kings of the earth, holding out in her hand a cup filled with the doctrines and glories and visions which come by worldly fornication, pleading with the nations to come to her. Apostasy thinks it is converting the nations. God’s testimony is that she is making the nations drunk with the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Such is the picture which God gives of the apostate church in the last days.
II. Regarding the True Church
First of all, many of the true church of God are scattered throughout great Babylon. This is indicated by the call. In the eighteenth chapter of Revelation and the fourth verse, after the statement that Babylon had fallen, because of her rejection of the only thing that would heal her, and was becoming filled with the things that were contrary to God and to His word, the prophet declares, “I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come forth, My people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Rev. 18: 4. Therefore to look for God’s people in these days, before that call is completed, is to look for a scattered people, true souls that are loyal to God and the best light they have everywhere. From all parts of the world are they to be gathered. Jer. 16: 14, 15; Matt. 24: 31.
2. Those who are called out from Babylon will be a mere remnant, for it is always the remnant which is saved. “And Isaiah crieth concerning Israel, If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved.” Rom. 9: 27, A.R.V. And therefore the argument of the eleventh chapter of Romans, in which God cites the type of His people in this time, Elijah, and the type of apostasy in this time, Israel. Elijah the prophet, standing alone as the center of loyalty to God, laments in his own heart that he only is true to God; yet God tells him that He has a remnant even in Israel: “I have left for Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” Rom. 11: 4, 5.
This remnant is referred to again in Micah. After telling us one of the phases which apostasy shall take in the last days, proclaiming a false peace throughout all the world, God declares of His true church: “In that day, saith Jehovah, will I assemble that which is lame, and I will gather that which is driven away, and that which I have afflicted; and I will make that which was lame a remnant, and that which was cast far off a strong nation: and Jehovah will reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth even forever.” Micah 4: 6, 7.
A Little Flock
3. A small people. That people, as compared with the great mass of nominal religionists, will be a small people. This is intimated in the text already given. The strong nation which the remnant will be made, of course, refers to the ultimate salvation of all God’s children, in which there shall be added to the remnant all those who sleep in the Lord Jesus Christ, who will be raised at His coming. But the little company in the last days, when our Lord comes, will not be a large number; and as compared with the rest of the world, God’s children have never been a large number. It is our Lord Himself who declares: “Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it.” Matt. 7: 13, 14.
Again, in referring to the time of His second coming, Jesus uses these words to His children: “Fear not, LITTLE flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. . . . Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning; and be ye yourselves like unto men looking for their lord, when he shall return from the marriage feast; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may straightway open unto him. . . . Be ye also ready: for in an hour that ye think not the Son of Man cometh.” Luke 12: 32-40.
4. It will be a people upon whom reproach shall be visited because of their small numbers, their poverty, their insignificance, their lack of the things which the world calls great. Nay, more, but the very reproof of God will be visited upon His people, not for destruction, but for correction. Read of the last phases of God’s church in Rev. 3: 14-21. Those who heed that fearful reproof will be among those that shall stand in the condition of the Philadelphia church, against which God has nothing, who will hold fast that which they have, knowing that He is coming quickly. The same thing is taught us in the last chapters of Isaiah; for instance, in Isa. 57: 17: “For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him; I hid My face and was wroth; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near, saith Jehovah; and I will heal him.” See Isa. 57: 14-19.
But healing comes through humility of heart, for it is with the humble in heart that Christ dwells. When humbled under the reproof and warnings of God, they will say, in the words of the prophet, “Wo is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage.” Looking out upon the world, they will feel as did the prophet, “The godly man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men.” Looking at their own unworthiness in the light of God’s presence, they will say: “But as for me, I will look unto Jehovah; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of Jehovah, because I have sinned against Him, until He plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness. Then mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her who said unto me, Where is Jehovah thy God?” See Micah, the seventh chapter.
That is what the great apostasy shall say to those who are endeavoring to walk in God’s ways in the last days, when it will seem that every earthly support has been taken away, and the church, like her divine Lord, stands forsaken of all; and yet that very day is “a day for building thy walls.” God has promised that His flock shall be fed. He tells them: “As in the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt will I show unto them marvelous things;” and then, to cheer and comfort them, comes that wonderful, blessed passage to all souls who hope in God’s mercy: “Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger forever, because He delighteth in loving-kindness. He will again have compassion upon us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” God will restore the years during which reproach has been visited upon His children, and those who humble themselves under His mighty hand will receive fulness of glory when He shall come.
A People of Reform
5. That remnant body will be a called-out church, a church bearing a great message of reform, one that, in the language of Isaiah, will “go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up an ensign for the peoples. Behold, Jehovah hath proclaimed unto the end of the earth, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. And they shall call them The holy people, The redeemed of Jehovah: and thou shalt be called Sought out.” See Isa. 62: 10-12.
These people yield themselves to God’s call as the result of the message outlined in Isaiah 58, beginning with the words, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a7trumpet, and declare unto My people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins." This reform takes hold upon the inner life and motive, as we may learn by the reading of the entire chapter. And to those who heed that message it is said: "And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." That is what God's people will aim to do in the last days. That is what His small remnant church will be doing for Him, as He closes His work in the sanctuary above. They will bear to the world His last great threefold message, found outlined in Rev. 14: 6-14, the heart of which is "the everlasting gospel."
A Commandment-Keeping Church
6. That reform work will make of them a commandment-keeping Christian church. Refer again to Isaiah 58. Those that are called "The repairer of the breach," and "The restorer of paths to dwell in," turn away their foot from God's Sabbath, which has been trampled underfoot for generations and centuries. They see in that Sabbath the sign of the great power of God to create and to re-create, and therefore they call it "a delight, and the holy of Jehovah honorable." And they honor it, not doing their own ways, nor finding their own pleasure, nor speaking their own words. They find a wonderful delight in the observation of that token of God's goodness in giving man this earth, and of God's goodness and love in re-creating man, redeeming him from the power of sin, and sanctifying him to His own service. Eze. 20: 12, 20.
These commandment keepers, like Elijah of old, form the nucleus, or center, from which all the called-out from Babylon shall gather in the last days. In them shall the truth of God find restoration. Not only in their message shall the holy word of God be preached, but in their lives shall the holy word of God be lived. Therefore there shall arise against them wrath from those who are reproved by the message and life. Of that remnant church it is said, "And the dragon waxed wroth with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, that keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus." All the downtrodden truth of Christ's teaching regarding the outpouring of His Spirit, and this Spirit manifest in various spiritual gifts, will be held by this church. They are imperfect humans, it is true, but they are imperfect humans that are yielding themselves to the mighty, masterly, perfect workmanship of God; and He is working out in them, gathered as they are from all phases of belief and non-belief, from all races of mankind, from paganism and infidelity, but gathered by the one gospel, holding aloft the one standard, God's holy law, presenting as the only means of reaching that standard the righteousness of Christ by faith, and the power of His Spirit in the inner life. So believing and so working, they come at last to the coming of the Master, when He shall say of them, "Here is the patience of the saints, they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
It could not be said of any body that they kept the commandments of God who were breaking that precept which declares, "Thou shalt not kill," or "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image;" but the same law which said, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image," and "Thou shalt not kill," said also, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Those, therefore, who form that remnant church, keep all God's commandments through the faith of Jesus Christ, the fourth commandment among the rest. In other words, they have taken God's Book for their standard. They are not afraid to walk in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ. This means endurance—not mere patience in the limited, small sense of meekness and tolerance and sweetness under every-day perplexities, but patience in the larger sense of enduring for God amid all the trials and temptations of the last days.
These are some of the characteristics, reader, which God has portrayed in His word, of His church in the last days. When she is found, she will be found bearing all these characteristics. Her witness will witness with the Word. She will not be found lording it over the kings of the world; she will not be found united with the state; she will not be found clamoring for power in legislative halls. She will be found humbly doing her Master's will, and proclaiming to all the world that there is salvation from sin in Him. Do you know of such a church? Then with all your heart yield yourself to that which will make you a member of it, and walk on in glorious triumph till the Master shall come.
Go or Give
By John Francis Olmsted
By John Francis Olmsted
Would you help the blinded heathen
Beyond the trackless ocean wide
To find the meek and lowly Jesus,
And in His love fore'er abide?
If we're willing to assist them
To find a better way to live,
Then we must consecrate our all,
And either go ourselves, or give.
We doubtless will be loath to leave
Our home and friends and native land
To cross the briny azure ocean,
And thus obey our Lord's command;
But we who love the Master's coming,
And would each precious promise live,
Must ever, ever willing be
To go ourselves, or freely give.
Then let us open now our coffers
To send the living witness there,
To tell them of the Master's coming,
And thus their hearts and lives prepare.
But we must share the Master's burden
In teaching men the way to live.
We still must help our weaker brother,
And either go ourselves, or give.
Columbus, Ohio.
When the Lord Cometh
By Mrs. E. J. S. Keen
By Mrs. E. J. S. Keen
When the Lord cometh, His face we shall see.
We then shall our Saviour adore,
Our cares and our sorrows all banished shall be,
And we shall rejoice evermore.
CHORUS
Evermore, evermore,
On that beautiful shore,
With our well-beloved Lord
We'll rejoice evermore.
When the Lord cometh in garments of light,
We shall praise His dear name o'er and o'er.
The light of the morning will scatter our night,
And we will rejoice evermore.
When the Lord cometh, the wicked will see
The One who the cruel cross bore.
They will cry to the rocks, to the mountains
they'll flee;
But we shall rejoice evermore.
When the Lord cometh, He'll bear us all home—
Home to that beautiful shore.
From that land of glory soon, soon He will come,
And we shall rejoice evermore.
Missoula, Montana.
My Daily Bread
By Delwin Rees Buckner
By Delwin Rees Buckner
Crisp crust of whitest pounded, powdered wheat,
For thee I strove till sun sank in the west,
While bleeding sweat swept down my swarthy
breast;
Restorer of my strength, my daily meat,
Of all the varied viands which I eat,
Thou art the morsel which I deem the best,
Choice prize, transformed within an oven nest,
And purified by its perfecting heat.
Thou answerest the earnest, urgent prayer
Which constantly my lip with longings speaks
To Him who calls us children, and will bless
Our faith, not raining manna through the air,
Perhaps, or sending crums in raven beaks,
But still miraculously, none the less.
Diamante, Argentina.
From out the Fog
By L. E. Stratton
By L. E. Stratton
From out the fog, I see a ship approaching,
That's been upon the sea the whole night long;
And on the deck, I hear the people cheering—
Their hearts are filled with joy and cheerful song.
From out the fog, they reach the land all safely,
They "thank their Maker" as they reach the shore.
They know His hand it is the helm controlling,
His watchful eye that ever goes before.
From out the fog, O, come, both men and maidens,
From childhood's hours to old and hoary head,
Stop not to gaze upon earth's sin and folly,
But by the Saviour's hand be ever led.
From out the fog—yes, Master, we are coming,
Before time's current bears us farther down;
By Thy help we will do our duty bravely,
And bear the cross, that we may wear the crown.
From out the fog! Dear Father, help us onward,
And make us perfect through Thy chastening rod,
That we may soon see that eternal city
Whose Builder and whose Maker is our God.
Shade and Shadow
By Dr. J. Fare
By Dr. J. Fare
I stood beneath a shining light,
And with effulgence crowned,
My soul did bound
With buoyancy and sweet delight,
For all around was bright.
Beyond — was night.
But mortal, we with earth remain;
For since the long ago,
When asp of wo
Spewed in the cup its deadly bane,
We've ever supped of pain,
And worn its chain.
From 'neath the light — still in its ray
My earth-bound feet did turn,
And turning, yearn
For twilight's realm across the way,
That shady rim of day,
Where shadows play.
When, lo! from feet as from a womb
There came a child of shade —
From nothing made —
That soon upon the ground did loom,
As if 'twere stone of gloom
To mark a tomb.
And from the earthy breast of Rue
A phantom nutriment,
That strangely lent
It power to grow, it quickly drew;
And as we neared the blue,
O, how it grew!
And I was chilled. So to the light
I turned my ashen face,
And found kind grace
With arms outstretched — rays to invite
This poor deluded wight
From land of night.
And blanched with fear, I sped away;
But Shadow, it remained,
Like hound well trained,
Close to my heels. But I was gay,
For Love's inviting ray
Showed me the way.
And hope within began to bloom,
For it had strength regained;
And Shadow waned,
And waning, hastened to its doom,
That earthy house of gloom,
The phantom's tomb.
BIBLE STUDIES
Object-Lessons of God's Mercy
Types, Shadows, Symbols
1. What is the condition of all mankind?
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23.
2. What is the sure result of sin?
"Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1:15.
"The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Eze. 18:4, 20.
3. Yet for what does mankind, good or bad, continually long?
"What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul [life]?" Mark 8:36.
"Yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life." Job 2:4.
NOTE.—The above is the true diagnosis of man's case. Proud man does not like to believe it. It is not flattering to the strong, the wise, the proud. They would rather believe, "I am, and there is none else beside me." They prefer to believe that man did not fall, that he is not a sinner; that he is not subject to death, but rather a child of nature on his upward way. Yet all of life, all relationships of life, all man's best consciousness of himself, go to show that he is a sinner, one who has "missed the mark," and therefore has come short of the glory, or goodness, of God. (Ex. 33:18, 19.) "In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death." Prov. 12:28. God can not die, because He is absolute righteousness. Man does die, ever dies, because he is a sinner. Why not, then, accept of God's diagnosis of our case, when there is so much in our own experience to confirm it? Man's longing for life, man's fear of death, are the evidences of his instincts, whatever his theories, that man is a sinner and subject to death. Satan declared what is everywhere obvious, when he said, "Yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life." Job 2:4.
4. Can not our brother, or friends, or great men help us?
"None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him." Ps. 49:7.
"Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." Ps. 146:3.
5. In whom alone can man be saved?
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men [save that of Jesus Christ], whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12.
6. Whom does He undertake to save?
"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." 1 Tim. 1:15.
7. How early was His sacrifice?
"Redeemed . . . with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." 1 Peter 1:18-20.
"The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Rev. 13:8.
NOTE.—Lucifer, the day-star, sought his own glory, and aspired even to the throne of God. The Son of God gave Himself in the creation of the race, and He gave Himself for the redemption of His creation. It was not upon the cross He gave Himself; it was not in the desert of temptation; it was not when He became flesh, but in the beginning, when the first intimation of a charge came against the government of God. All later developments came in the fulfilment of His purpose. He is therefore in purpose "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
8. How fully did He give Himself?
"Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, becoming in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. Wherefore also God highly exalted Him, and gave unto Him the name which is above every name." Phil. 2:5-9, A.R.V., margin.
9. How far down did He stoop to save His creatures?
"Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?" Eph. 4:9.
10. Why did God thus give His Son?
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish; but have everlasting life." John 3:16.
11. What part had the Son in this giving?
"Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Titus 2:14.
12. What was the worth of this offering?
"For He [the Father] hath made Him [the Son] to be sin for us, who [the Son] knew no sin; that we [the sinners] might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Cor. 5:21.
"He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." Isa. 53:5.
NOTE.—It was love on the part of the great Jehovah which moved Him to give His Son; it was love on the part of the Son which moved Him to give Himself, offering His own life for a race of sinners, and so demonstrate the love of God to men, and the holiness, the beneficence, the perfection of God's government. The purpose of God as well as the sacrifice of Christ was all-inclusive. It embraced not only man and this earth, but all creation. From the time the Son of God gave Himself in that far-away beginning, there began His self-abnegation, His vindication of the divine government, His desire to save all. Therefore He became an angel among angels,—Michael the Archangel,—chief only because of more devoted service; demonstrating that angels could live for God. His next step brought Him to the human family, where He went to the very lowest depths, even death. That death was the climax of the sacrifice of the ages. But in all His experiences He faltered not, failed not, and so "became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him." Heb. 5:7-10.
13. How may the sinner avail himself of the benefits of Christ's sacrifice?
"Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 20:21.
"I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." Ps. 32:5.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9.
14. How did men formerly show faith in Christ's offering?
"And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering." Gen. 4:4.
"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh." Heb. 11:4.
15. What was there in Abel's offering which recognized sin and the sacrifice of the Son of God for the sinner?
"Without shedding of blood is no remission." Heb. 9:22.
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls." Lev. 17:11; Gen. 9:4.
16. But does the blood of beasts take away sin?
"For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." Heb. 10:4.
17. What did this blood typify?
"The precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Peter 1:19.
"Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood." Rev. 1:5. See also Heb. 9:14; 1 John 1:7.
NOTE.—The above scriptures, and many others which might be given if we had the same, clearly show that all God's appointed offerings were made in faith in Jesus Christ. Every lamb offered in faith for sin in the past was offered in virtue of "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29. The blood represented the life. The blood of Jesus shed for man represents His life. "The good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep." John 10:11, 15. Whenever a sinner brought to the altar a lamb, he laid his hand upon the head of the innocent beast, and confessed his sin before God; he presented that offering as standing for himself, who was worthy to die; the lamb was slain and its blood offered in the sinner's behalf. The sinner by faith saw through that sacrifice God's offering on his behalf, and God accepted him, counting his faith for righteousness.
The Earthly Sanctuary
18. When Israel was called out of Egypt, what center of worship was built?
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, . . . Let them [the children of Israel] make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." Ex. 25:1-8.
NOTE.—The making of this sanctuary and its furniture is described in Exodus, chapters 25 to 30; 36 to 40. A brief description (see cover) is as follows: It was an oblong building 30 cubits long, 10 cubits high, and 10 cubits wide, made of upright boards of acacia wood, overlaid with gold without and within. It was divided into two compartments, the holy place and the most holy, separated by a heavy curtain, or veil, the former compartment twice the size of the latter. Ex. 26:33. It opened toward the east, so that9the priest in his ministrations faced to the west. Num. 3: 38.
Before the sanctuary was the altar of burnt offering, where the victims were slain, and the laver, where the priests washed. Ex. 27:1-8.
On the right as one entered, the north side, was the table of showbread, representing the word of God. Ex. 25: 23-30; John 6:48, 56, 63. On the left, the south side, was the seven-branched candlestick, representing the fulness of the Spirit of God. Ex. 25:31-40; Rev. 4: 5. In front of the veil separating the holy places, was the altar of incense, the incense representing the grace of God which makes His people's prayers effectual. Ex. 30:1-10; Rev. 8: 3.
Within the second curtain, or veil, was the most holy place. Here was the holy ark. In that ark were the tables of stone upon which God had written with His own finger His holy law of Ten Commandments. Ex. 24:12; 32: 15, 16; 25: 21; Deut. 10:1-5. The transgression of this law is sin. 1 John 3: 4; Rom. 7: 7. The cover of this ark was the mercy-seat, upon which abode the glorious Shekinah over which spread the wings of the covering cherubim. This was symbolical of God's throne between the cherubim (Ex. 25:17-22; Ps. 99:1), where mercy and truth meet together, and righteousness and peace kiss each other (Ps. 85:10).
Over all the sanctuary was a richly woven linen curtain, blue, purple, and scarlet, in which were wrought with gold, figures of cherubim. This formed the ceiling. Over this curtain was one of goats' hair; and as a tent over the sanctuary were placed two curtains of ram skins and badger, or seal, skins. All these were made after a heavenly pattern, which the Lord showed to Moses. Ex. 25: 40; Heb. 8: 5.
Holy garments were prepared for the priests, and very particular rules were given for their ministrations.
19. What did all these sacrifices, the priests, and the priestly services typify or symbolize?
"An High Priest . . . holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins, and then for the people's; for this He did once, when He offered up Himself." Heb. 7: 26, 27.
NOTE.—All these things are object-lessons of the God who "delighteth in mercy," and who "taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy."
[The meaning of these symbols and what they symbolized in Christ's work will be our next study.]
