I.
The Sin in Eden (Genesis 3)
1. -- Eve entertained a question regarding
the word and authority of God (3:1)
2. -- Eve accepted a lie for the truth of God's
word. (3:4)
3. -- Delusion and faulty judgment followed.
(3:6)
Relate
this anatomy of the beginning of sin in Eden with the
following texts as they relate to man's redemption:
Proverbs
14:12; 16:25 [Twice repeated - for emphasis?
How vital to our acceptance of salvation?]
Jeremiah
10:23; Proverbs 3:5-6; Revelation 3:18c; II Thessalonians
2:9-12.
Romans
8:6-7 margin [The Greek for "carnally
minded" = "the minding of the flesh. Likewise
for "spiritually minded" = "the minding
of the Spirit."]; Philippians
2:5; John 16:13.
II.
What is sin? (I John 3:4)
While
sin is the transgression of the law, the one committing
sin transgresses ALSO the law. What else does a person
sinning do? Paul wrote - "Whatsoever is not of
faith is sin" (Romans
14:23). There are precious promises in God's
word by which we are to escape sin. (II
Peter 1:4) Note the following: Jude
24; Deuteronomy 8:3 [Jesus claimed this promise,
and observe what followed Matthew
4:2-4, 11]; 1
Corinthians 10:13. Now faith comes by hearing
the word of God. (Romans
10:17) Our failure to exercise faith leads
to sin which is the transgression of the Law. This is
why the victory is "through faith."
(I John 5:4)
III.
The Challenge of Protestantism to Catholicism.
The
salvation of man is by grace alone (Sola Gratia) through
the exercise of faith alone (Sola Fide), and made possible
by the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Solo Christo).
This revelation is to be found in the Bible, and does
not need the creeds of the Councils to augment it. Thus
the use of the expression - Sola Scriptura. See the
following texts of Scripture upon which this is based:
Ephesians
2:8-9; Romans 3:24; Acts 4:12; and II Timothy 3:15-17.TOP
Lesson
#8 -- CHRIST,
OUR HIGH PRIEST
p
34 --Hebrews
3:1 --
Consider the ... High Priest of our profession, Christ
Jesus.
Note
- Other translations of the Bible use for "consider,"
the phrase, "Fix your thoughts on." When we
fix our thoughts on the work of Christ as our High Priest,
we enter into some of the deep things of God.
Hebrews
8:1-2
-- This is the sum: We have such an high priest,
who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty
in the heavens; a minister ... of the true tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched.
Note
- Jesus Christ as our High Priest is ministering
in the sanctuary of heaven, the true tabernacle. To
understand this phase of the ministry of Christ, we
need to study carefully certain aspects of the earthly
tabernacle pitched by Moses.
Hebrews
8:4-5
-- On earth ... there are priests that offer
gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example
and shadow of heavenly things.
Note
- The work of the priests in the earthly tabernacle
was both a shadow and an example. The Greek word for
shadow - skia - means "a faint outline."
We are told that the sacrifices offered were "a
shadow-of good things to come." (Heb. 10:1)
Only faintly could the blood of lambs, bulls, and goats
represent the blood of Jesus Christ. But an example
is a different thing. While not identical to the real
problem it does indicate the exact procedure in solving
the problem. So the earthly sanctuary while not identical
- only a model in miniature - serves to help us understand
the nature and procedure of the work of Christ, our
High Priest.
Section
#2 -- THE
EARTHLY MODEL
Exodus
25:8
-- Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell
among them.
Note
- In the diagram following the lesson, you will
observe that the sanctuary was divided into two apartments,
or rooms. These are designated in different ways in
different parts of the Bible. For example in the book
of Hebrews, each apartment is called a "tabernacle."
See Hebrews 9:2-3. In Leviticus 16, the
second apartment, or Most Holy Place, is simply referred
to as "the holy." The first apartment is called,
"the tabernacle," while the court is covered
by the phrase, "the altar that is before the Lord."
(Lev. 16:2, 20) In each of the rooms of the sanctuary
were articles of furniture, which were symbolic representations
of originals in the heavenly counterpart. (On the diagram,
they are lettered with the same letter as in the lesson
description of each article of furniture.]
A.
The Ark of the Covenant
Exodus
25:10, 11
-- And they shall make an ark ... of wood ...
and shall overlay it with pure gold, within and without.
Exodus
25:17,21
-- And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure
gold ... and thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon
the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony
that I shall give thee.
p
35 -- Exodus
25, 18, 20
-- Thou shalt make two cherubims of gold ...
in the two ends of the mercy seat ... and their faces
shall look one to another.
Exodus
25:22
-- I will commune with thee from above the
mercy seat, from between the two cherubims.
B.
The Altar of Incense
Exodus
30:1
-- Thou shalt make an altar to burn incense
upon.
Exodus
30:6-8
-- And thou shalt put it before the vail that
is by the ark of the testimony ... and Aaron shall
burn thereon sweet incense every morning ... [and]
... at even, he shall burn incense upon it.
Revelation
8:3-4
-- And another angel came and stood at the
altar ... and there was
given unto him much incense, that he should offer
it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden
altar.
Ephesians
5:2
-- Christ ... hath loved us, and hath given
Himself for us an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling
savour.
C.
The Table of Shewbread
Exodus
25:23, 30
-- Thou shalt make a table of shittim wood
... and thou shalt set
upon the table shewbread before me always.
John
6:51
-- I am the living bread which came down from
heaven ... and the
bread that I will give is my flesh, which I give for
the life of the world.
Note
- In the New Testament references to the Heavenly
Sanctuary, there is no specific counterpart for the
Table of Shewbread. However, since the Table was set
on the north side of the first apartment, it could
well serve as the representation of the Throne of
God. This for two reasons: The description of the
Throne of God in Ezekiel 1, and Revelation
4 have many similarities. In Ezekiel, the
vision is introduced by "a whirlwind which came
out of the north." (1:4) In Revelation,
the seven lampstands are portrayed as "before
the throne" which would be the position of the
golden candlesticks before the table of shewbread
in the earthly typical representation. (4:5)
D.
The Candlestick
Exodus
25:31-32
-- And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure
gold and six branches shall come out of the sides
of it.
Exodus
27:20
-- And thou shalt command the children of Israel,
that they bring thee pure olive oil ... to cause the
lamps to burn always.
John
8:12
-- I am the light of the world.
Matthew
5:14,16
-- Ye are the light of the world let your light
so shine
before men.
Hebrews
9:6-9a
-- Now when these things were thus ordained,
the priests went always [daily] in the first tabernacle,
accomplishing the service of God. But into the second
went the high priest alone once every year, ... the
Holy Spirit this signifying a figure for the time then
present.
p
36 --
Note - The
earthly sanctuary was divided into two apartments.
The book of Hebrews refers to these apartments as "tabernacles."
The common priests went daily into the first apartment,
but into the second apartment, called the Most Holy,
the high priest went alone, and then only once a year.
This being an example, it indicates the dual work
of the ministry of Jesus Christ, our High Priest, in
the Heavenly Sanctuary.
Hebrews
9:11-12, 24
-- Christ being come an high priest by His own
blood He entered
in once into the holy place, [thus securing an eternal
redemption - RSV] for us ... for Christ is not entered
into holy places made with hands ... but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.
Note
- Jesus Christ is both Victim and Priest. Having
provided for us by His blood, the means of redemption,
He entered into the Sanctuary of heaven to obtain through
His mediation the fulness of that redemption. Since
Christ is called to be the High Priest. His work will
assume major proportions in the work of the second apartment
of the Heavenly Sanctuary inasmuch as the earthly type
emphasized the work of the high priest in that apartment.
Section
#3 --DIFFERENT
RESULT OF DAILY AND YEARLY SERVICE IN TYPE
Leviticus
4:13-14, 20b, 26b, 31c
; Leviticus 5:10b, 13a, 18b -- If
the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance
... then the congregation shall offer a young bullock
for the sin ... and the priest shall make an atonement
for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
Note
- Whether for the whole congregation, or the ruler
(Lev. 4:22). or the common person (Lev. 4:27)
the atonement always resulted in forgiveness. This was
the daily service.
Leviticus
16:29-33
-- In the seventh month, on the tenth day of
the month ... the priest shall make an atonement for
you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from
all your sins before the Lord ... . The priest ... shall
make an atonement for the holy sanctuary ... the tabernacle
... the altar ... the priests, and for all the people
of the congregation.
Note
- The tenth day of the seventh month marked the time
of the yearly service when the high priest went into
the most holy place. The results of the mediation on
that day were in distinct contrast to the results of
the daily service. In both an atonement was obtained,
but the results of the yearly service were of a higher
nature - "that ye may be clean from all
your sins before the Lord." The atonement also
involved the sanctuary; it, too, had to be cleansed.
Section
#4 -- JESUS
IN HEAVEN
Revelation
4:2, 5 --
A throne was set in heaven ... and there were seven
lamps, of fire burning before the throne.
Note
- In
the last book of the Bible, activities in heaven were
opened before John, and he beheld the Throne of God
in relationship to the golden lampstands. From the type,
we know that this was the first apartment of the heavenly
sanctuary. Now the question - Who is before the throne?
Revelation
5:6
-- And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the
throne ... stood a Lamb as it had been slain.
p
37 -- Note - The first portrayal of
Jesus in the book of Revelation is in His calling as
Priest (Rev. 1:12-16)
In Rev. 5:6. John sees Him before the Throne
in the first apartment ministering as a Lamb as it had
been slain. The blood of Calvary is not forgotten, nor
the marks of the crucifixion erased. The great High
Priest bears them forever in His body, and presents
before His Father the nail - scarred hands calling into
remembrance the blood of His all-sufficient sacrifice.
But the book of Revelation presents a continuing work
of Christ.
Revelation
11:15
-- The seventh angel sounded; and there were
great voices ... saying, The kingdom's of this world
are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and His Christ,
and He shall reign forever and ever.
Note
- When the seventh angel sounds, there is a change
in the ministry of our Lord. From the work of a priest,
He becomes a King. The priestly ministry is ended. But
where did that work end?
Revelation
11:19
-- And the temple of God was opened in heaven,
and there was seen in His temple, the ark of His covenant.
Note
- The ark of the testament was in the Most Holy
place of the earthly type. Thus it is indicated that
Christ's last work before taking His kingdom is to be
done in the Most Holy place of the Heavenly Temple,
where in the earthly type, the high priest ministered
once a year. The question then remains - when did Jesus
change from the first apartment to the second in the
heavenly Temple? This answer is to be found in the book
of Daniel. This will be studied in the next lesson.
38
-- CONCEPTS
FOR FURTHER STUDY
I.
Possible
Physical Layout of the Sanctuary - Its Message
Two
foci come to view the Altar of Burnt Offering representing
the Cross, Christ the Sacrifice; and the Most Holy Place
where Christ ministers as the great High Priest after
the Order of Melchisedec.
"The
intercession of Christ in man's behalf in the sanctuary
above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was
His death upon the cross. By His death He began that
work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete
in heaven. We must by faith enter within the veil, "whither
the Forerunner is for us entered." There the light
from the cross of Calvary is reflected. There we may
gain a clearer insight into the mysteries of redemption."
(Great Controversy, p. 489)
II.
The Sanctuary
in the Book of Hebrews
1.
-- The book of Hebrews clearly teaches a direct vertical
link between the heavenly sanctuary and its earthly
counterpart:
Heb.
8: 5 (example) 9:23
(patterns) - upodeigma
(hupodeigma)
= imitation, copy, or pattern.
Heb.
8:5 (pattern) - tupoV
(tupos)
type
Heb.
9:6-9
(figure) - parabolh
(parabole)
= figure, or symbol.
2.
-- Ta
Hagia - Hagia is a neuter plural, and occurs
in this form nine times in the book - Chapters
8-13.
(8:2; 9:2-3, 8, 12, 24, 25; 10:19; 13:11)
In Heb.
9:1 it occurs as to
hagion , a neuter singular. In Heb.
9:3 it is combined with the neuter plural
genitive - hagia
hagion - and clearly refers to the second
apartment, or Most Holy Place. Literally, it means "holy
places," or "holy things."
p
39 --
3.
-- How is TA
Hagia used in Hebrews? This is a key question,
and the answer has a bearing on our understanding of
the sanctuary doctrine. Certain unique features mark
the book of Hebrews. These need to be noted.
a.
-- When a text is quoted in the book of Hebrews
from the Old Testament, it is always from the LXX (the
Septuagint Version), and some of these differ from what
has now become the accepted Hebrew text - the Masoretic.
(Example -
Hebrews 1:6 - "Let all the angels
of God worship Him." This is quoted from Deut.
32:43 LXX, but is not found in the Hebrew
text. See KJV on
Deut. 32:43.)
b.
-- The term, TA
hagia, functions in Hebrews as a noun, and
is derived from the adjective, hagios
(masculine), hagion
(neuter). This word as used in the LXX in reference
to the sanctuary, and its two apartments, varies. The
singular form is used to denote the holy place (Ex.
26:33), and the Most Holy Place (Lev.
16:2), as well as the sanctuary as a whole
(Lev. 4:17
LXX). But the plural form is also used to designate
the sanctuary as a whole (Lev.
10:4). When the two are separately distinguished
in relationship to each other, the singular (ton
hagion) is used for the first apartment,
and the singular plus the genitive plural (ton
hagion ton hagion) is used for the second
apartment (Ex.
26:33).
c.
-- In the construction of the sanctuary as outlined
in the Old Testament, the two apartments were spoken
of as a unit, and called the tabernacle or tent. (Ex.
26:15-18) But in the book of Hebrews, each
apartment is noted as a separate tabernacle. (Heb.
9:2-3)
d.
-- At the beginning of the 9th Chapter of Hebrews, specific
definitions for the use of TA
hagia are given. By itself it is used for
the first apartment, tabernacle (Heb.
9:2). With the addition of the plural genitive
- hagion
- the phrase is used to denote the Most Holy
Place, or the second tabernacle. Honest ,and accurate
interpretation would demand that these designations
apply to all uses of these terms following Hebrews
9:2-3 inasmuch as the LXX varies in the use
of the words. Another factor is important. After the
definitive verses, the term applied to the Most Holy
Place never occurs again in the book, which leaves only
one conclusion that all uses of TA
hagia in Hebrews following Heb.
9:2-3 refer to the first apartment of the
sanctuary whether the earthly or the heavenly.
e.
-- What about the one use prior to Heb
9:2-3, and the use of the singular form in
Heb. 9:1?
In Heb.
9:1, the use of the singular can be understood
as used in the LXX to refer to the sanctuary as a whole.
Prior to this point, there had been no separation of
the sanctuary into two tabernacles. In Heb.
8:2, the literal meaning of the plural form
- "holy things" - fits the context. Christ
became "minister of holy things and of the true
tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man."
4.
The Function of the High Priest in the Sanctuary Ritual.
It
is suggested that the imagery of the book of Hebrews
refers to the ministry of the High Priest on the Day
of Atonement. Thus the expression - TA hagia
must refer in some of the verses to the second apartment,
or Holy of Holies. See Hebrews
9:12-14; 13:11. What was the role of the
High Priest in the earthly sanctuary?
a.
-- The High Priest officiated in the offering of the
sin offerings wherein corporate guilt was involved.
(Lev. 4:3-6,
13-17.) The blood was brought into the tabernacle,
and the carcass of the animal was burned without the
camp. (Lev.
4-11-12; 21; compare with Heb.
13:11) The offering in each incident was
a bull.
b.
-- At the close of each one of the monthly and/or annual
feast days and/or weeks, a kid of the goats was offered
as a sin offering. Note the following summary
p
40 -- and references:
1.
-- The Feast of the New Moon - Numbers
28:11-15
2.
-- Feast of Unleavened Bread - Numbers
28:16-22
3.
-- Day of the First Fruits (Pentecost) - Numbers
28:26-30 See also Leviticus
23:19.
4.
-- Blowing of the Trumpets - Numbers
29:1-5
5.
-- Feast of Tabernacles - Numbers
29:12-16
6.
-- Octave of the Feast of Tabernacles - Numbers
29:35-38
7.
-- Day of Atonement - Numbers 29:7-11
This
kid of the goat was a sin offering for the congregation
(Lev. 9:3,
5; compare with Numbers
28:1-2). Since the High Priest alone officiated
at sin offerings for the whole congregation, the High
Priest was the active and final officiant at all the
annual and monthly feasts.
c.
-- "Once every year" (Heb.
9:7); "Every year" (Heb.
9:25); "Year by year," "Every
year" (Heb.
10:1,3). Are these expressions identical
and do they refer to the ministry of the High Priest
on the Day of Atonement? It is obvious from the context
that Hebrews
9:7 is talking about that Day only. The language
used in the Greek is hapax
tou eniautou - once of the year. In the other
references, the phraseology is different - kat'
eniauton - during the year. This word for
year (eniautoV)
is not the word used in Hebrews to denote the chronological
year. Rather etoV is used.
(Heb. 1:12,
3:9, 17) The word - eniautos
- refers to the cycle of feasts during the year. Once
in that cycle, the High Priest went into the Most Holy
Place. (Heb.
9:7) During the cycle the High Priest went
frequently into the Holy Place, or first apartment with
the blood of bulls and goats.
TOP
Lesson
#9 --
THE TIME OF THE CLEANSING OF THE HEAVENLY SANCTUARY
p
41 --Introduction
- In the previous study, we observed that the
work of Jesus in the heavens changed from the first
apartment of the sanctuary to the second. Does the Bible
give any evidence as to when this change in His ministry
occurred? We noted also, that the work of the priest
in the second apartment pertained to a work of cleansing
of the individual and the sanctuary itself. In the prophecy
of Daniel, we find a statement concerning time linked
with the cleansing of the sanctuary which will cast
light upon our question.
Daniel
8:14
-- Unto two thousand and three hundred days;
then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Note
- This period of time could not refer to the earthly
sanctuary. Gabriel, commissioned to make Daniel understand
the vision (8:16). declared that "at the
time of the end shall be the vision. " (8:17)
The temple at Jerusalem, which was the successor to
the wilderness tabernacle, was destroyed in 70 A.D.
The only sanctuary beyond that date, referred to in
the Bible, is the heavenly Tabernacle where Christ is
ministering as our High Priest. This then is a prophecy
which relates to the last part of the ministry of Christ
in heaven. How shall we understand these 2300 days?
Ezekiel
4:6
-- I have appointed thee each day for a year.
Note
- Here God is defining the key for the understanding
of prophetic time. A day in prophecy equals
one literal year. Thus the 2300 days of Daniel would
actually be 2300 years. Our problem, therefore, is to
determine when to commence the 2300 day prophecy, so
as to find the time when the cleansing of the heavenly
sanctuary began, and the date when the ministry of Christ
changed from the first to the second apartment of the
heavenly sanctuary.
Daniel
8:26-27
-- The vision ... which was told is true: wherefore
shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
And I Daniel fainted and was sick certain days.
Note
- In the eighth chapter of Daniel no explanation
of the 2300 days is made; but it does give the reason
why the interpretation was delayed. In the ninth chapter,
Daniel seeks to understand certain messages in the prophecy
of Jeremiah and prays concerning their import. (9:2-4)
At the conclusion of the recorded prayer, Gabriel returns.
(9:19-21) His return is for a distinct purpose
- "I am now come to give thee skill and understanding
... therefore understand the matter and consider the
vision." (9:22-23) Gabriel then begins to
explain that which was left unanswered in his previous
contact with Daniel - the 2300 days.
Daniel
9:24-27
-- Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people
... Know therefore and understand that from the going
forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem
unto the Messiah ... shall be seven weeks and three
score and two weeks ... And after three score and two
weeks shall Messiah be cut off ... and He shall confirm
the covenant with many for one week.
Note
- Here in these verses we find the breakdown for
the first division of the 2300 days. Let us note carefully
these sections of the prophecy:
p
42 -- --
"Seventy weeks" = 70 x 7 = 490 days/years
-- "Seven weeks and three score and
two weeks" = 7 + (20 x 3) + 2 = 69 weeks
69 x 7 = 483 days/years
--
"One week" = I x 7 = 7 days/years
The
total number of weeks given in the break down - 7 +
60 + 2 + 1 - equals 70 weeks, the time in the first
section of the 2300 day prophecy. The starting point
of this prophecy is indicated as "the going forth
of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem."
Ezra
7:7c - 8, 11
-- In the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.
And he [Ezra] came to Jerusalem in the fifth month,
which was the seventh year of the king ... Now this
is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave
unto Ezra the priest.
Note
- The entire copy of this decree which restored
the right of government and the temple services is found
in the remaining verses of Ezra 7. The seventh
year of King Artaxerxes of Persia was 457 B.C. (The
margins of many Bibles carry this date.) This then is
the starting date for the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14,
and the seventy weeks of Daniel 9:24.
Daniel
9:25
-- From the commandment to restore unto the Messiah
shall be
seven weeks and three score and two weeks.
Note
- The time of 69 weeks or 483 literal years must be
added to the date of 457 BC Naturally, we will obtain
an A.D. date since there are more years required than
we have remaining before Christ. How do we go from a
BC point in time to a date in A.D.? The following diagram
will illustrate, so that the procedure can be applied
to the prophecy we are studying.
BC
A.D. - Timeline
In
the diagram a date was chosen 6 BC and to that date
we added 10 years. This brought us to 5 A. D. To obtain
this date mathematically, we would subtract the BC date
from the total number of years desired and add one (10
- 6 + I = 5). Applying this same formula to the prophecy,
we would have this equation - (483 - 457 + 1 = 27 A.D).
This was the time for the appearing of the Messiah,
and thus the terminal date for "the seven weeks
and three score and two weeks."
John
1:41
-- We have found the Messias, which is, being
interpreted, the Christ. (Margin - The Anointed)
Note
- Jesus Christ is the Messiah. The word - Messiah -
in the Hebrew means "anointed". In Acts
10:38,
we find that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit.
This took place at His baptism according to Luke
3:21-22. The baptism occurred in the "fifteenth
year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar." (Luke
3:1) The year was 27 A.D., the exact year specified
by prophetic calculation.
Mark
1:14-15
-- Jesus came ... preaching the gospel ... saying,
The time is fulfilled, ... repent ye and believe the
gospel.
p
43 -- Note
- What time was fulfilled? There is only one time
prophecy concerning the beginning date for the ministry
of the Messiah, and that prophecy is Daniel 9:25.
Thus Jesus proclaimed His Gospel as a valid message
announcing the kingdom of God because the time was fulfilled.
Daniel
9:27a --
In the midst of the week, He shall cause the sacrifice
and oblation to cease.
Note
- In the study of this prophecy, we have now come
to the final week of the 70 Weeks. In the midst (middle),
Christ was to cause the sacrifice to cease. He was to
be "cut off" (9:26). One half of the
seven prophetic days would be 3 1/2 years. Adding this
to 27 A.D., we have 30 1/2 or 31 A.D. By noting the
Passovers which Jesus attended after His baptism, we
can determine the year that He was to be "cut off"
on the cross.
1.
-- John 1:32-33 --- Baptism noted -------27
A.D.
2. -- John 2:13 --------First Passover
--------28 A.D.
3. -- John 5:1 ---------Second Passover
----29 A.D.
4. -- John 6:4 ---------Third Passover
--------30 A.D.
5. -- John 13:1 --------Final Passover
-------31 A.D.
Of
this final passover, it states "Now before the
feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour
was come that He should depart out of this world unto
the Father." Again the time element in the life
of Jesus is noted. Jesus knew about the schedule of
His life. He was on time! Again prophecy is fulfilled.
As the Lamb, He offered Himself on time, and as the
great High Priest, He will do that work on time.
Daniel
9:24
-- Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people.
Note
- At the close of the 69 weeks, there was only one
week left, broken by the death of Christ. By adding
7 years to 27 A.D., The date that marked the end of
the 69 weeks, we come to 34 A.D., which would mark the
end of the full 70 weeks. This was the time allotted
to the Jewish people as the chosen nation under God.
The nation sealed its probation in the stoning of
Stephen and the persecution of the Church. This
violence sent the Church "every where preaching
the word." (Acts 8:1-4) This was in A.D.
34. It was at this point that Paul, who was to be the
Apostle to the Gentiles, was converted.
Daniel
8:14
-- Unto two thousand and three hundred days,
then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Note
- The 70 weeks consumed 490 years of the total of
2300. This leaves us only 1810 years to account for.
(2300 - 490 = 1810) By adding 1810 years to 34 A.D.,
We arrive at the date - 1844 A. D. This then was the
time foretold for the cleansing of the sanctuary to
begin. It was the time that Jesus, our great High Priest,
began His final work in the second apartment of the
sanctuary above.
Hebrews
9:26-28
-- Once in the end of the world hath He appeared
to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself ...
after this the judgment: ... unto them that look for
Him shall He appear the second time without sin
unto salvation.
Note
- The text reads literally - "Now once in the
end of the ages" Christ came to put away sin. When
He comes the second time, it will be without sin.
The first Advent was the coming to be the Sacrifice.
His second coming will be the full salvation
for those who accepted Him as their Sacrifice. Prior,
in the judgment as the High Priest, He completes the
cleansing from sin. Full of meaning was the admonition
- "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly
calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our
profession, Christ Jesus." (Heb. 3:1)
Daniel
7:9-10
-- The judgment was set, and the books were opened.
p
44 --Note
- These verses picture the scene of the Heavenly
Judgment before the Ancient of days. Jesus as the Son
of man is brought before Him to receive a kingdom, and
an everlasting dominion. (Daniel 7:13-14) Further
it is stated that judgment in rendered in favor of the
saints of the most High, "and the time came that
the saints possessed the kingdom." (Daniel 7:22)
How can we then be included in that kingdom?
Revelation
3:5
-- He that overcometh, ... I will not blot out
his name out of the book of life, but I will confess
his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Note
- He that overcometh will have his name retained
in the book of life, and will not be hurt of the second
death. (Rev. 2:11; 20:15) The issue comes down
to a single bottom line - what does it mean to overcome?
The same book gives the answer: - "They over came
him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb, and the word
of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto
death." (Rev. 12:11 ) Those who are saints
and for whom the judgment is rendered have been washed
in the blood of the Lamb (7:14), and are willing
to follow the Lamb even if it costs them their all -
even life itself.
Summary
- In this remarkable prophecy of Daniel
8:14 and
9:24-27, we have pictured before us the two-fold
work of Jesus. In the first section of the prophecy,
there is revealed the time when He would come to present
Himself as the Lamb of God, and the final date of the
prophecy - 1844 - reaches to the hour when as our High
Priest, Jesus would enter the Most Holy Place of the
Heavenly Tabernacle to begin His final work for His
people - to cleanse them from all sin. We are living
in the final hours of that intercession. Soon Jesus
will come without sin unto salvation.
DANIEL
8:14
in DIAGRAM
p
45 -- Lessons
#8 & #9 -- QUIZ -- (Fill
in the blanks)
1.
-- We are asked to ____ Jesus Christ, the High Priest
of our profession, and
in so doing we find that He is serving in a ____ in
heaven, which the Lord ____ and not ____.
2.
-- The earthly priests of the Old Testament served unto
an _____ and ____ of the heavenly reality. In the earthly
service only the ____ priest could go into the second
apartment, and then only ____ a year. Since Jesus is
our ____ priest, His major work will be performed in
the ____ apartment of the heavenly ____.
3. -- The atonement prefigured in the daily ministration
of the earthly sanctuary always resulted in ____, while
the yearly atonement prefigured a ____.
4.
-- In Bible prophecy a day equals ____ ____. Text: ____
____ : ____.
5. -- The first important point Gabriel told
Daniel regarding the 2300 days was that the vision would
extend to the ____ of the ____. Before the explanation
was completed, Daniel fainted. Give the text which explains
the
vision after Gabriel returned: Daniel ____: ____ - ____.
6.
--- The vision of the 2300 Days began with the commandment
to restore and build Jerusalem in ____ BC The first
combined period of 69 weeks or ____ literal years, extended
to the Messiah, or the ____ One. Jesus became the Messiah
officially at His baptism in ____ A.D. In the ____ of
the ____, or 3 1/2 years after His baptism, He was to
be cut off. This was a prophecy of His crucifixion which
occurred in ____ A.D. The 70 Weeks ended in ____ A.D.
By adding the remaining 1810 years of the 2300 prophetic
days to this date, we come to ____ A.D. In this year,
our High Priest entered into the ____ apartment of the
heavenly sanctuary to begin the final work of ____.
7.
-- When Jesus returns the second time, it will be without
____ unto ____.
CONCEPTS
FOR FURTHER STUDY
The
understanding and interpretation of Daniel
8:14 as given in this Lesson is a unique
study. Because of this, those who oppose this teaching
offer certain objections, and present what they consider
problems to its acceptance. These need to be carefully
considered:
1.
-- Is the word, "cleansed" as used in the
KJV in Daniel
8:14 a correct translation, or should the
word be, "justified"?
2.
-- What is the relationship between Daniel 8 &
9 linguistically?
3.
-- Can the 2300 days be considered as literal time?
p
46 -- 4. In the context of Daniel
8:9-14, how is "daily" (tamid)
related to the "days" of Daniel
8:14 ("evenings and mornings.")
Question
1 (Response): -- "Cleansed" or "Justified"?
Which? -- In
the margin of the KJV (Oxford Press edition) for
Daniel 8:14, the word translated "cleansed"
is noted in the Hebrew to be "justified."
This is true. The Hebrew Bible (Massoretic Text) has
the word - tzah-dak
- a correct rendering of which for this verse would
be "justified." However, in the Septuagint
(LXX), the word is katharisthesetai,
a future passive of katharizo.
Likewise in the Vulgate (Latin version), the word is
mundabitur,
a future passive meaning, "shall be cleansed."
Of these three versions ' the LXX is the most ancient
(200-100 BC) and thus closest to the actual writing
of Daniel. The Vulgate was the Old Testament translation
into Latin by Jerome in the 4th Century A.D. The Masssoretic
Text was produced by Jewish scholars at Tiberias in
Palestine about 900 A.D. It, however, was based upon
an accepted text developed by the Hebrew sage, Hillel,
and the school he founded. This text became fixed early
in the 1st Century A.D. (See Bible Review, Vol. 1,
#2, pp. 12-25)
Modern
Hebrew scholars believe that all of Daniel
was originally written in the Aramaic, and the Aramaic
word for Daniel
8:14
can only be translated, "cleansed,"
as was done in the LXX and Vulgate. (See Studies
in Daniel, by H. Louis Ginsberg, pp. 41-42, 79)
Thus in three languages, the Greek, Latin, and the language
in which
the book was originally written, the KJV version is
sustained.
The
connection between Daniel
8:14, and Leviticus
16 is easily traceable through the LXX, the
most ancient of all translations of the Hebrew Bible.
There,
Leviticus 16:30 reads in the KJV - "For
on that day shall the [high] priest make an atonement
for you to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all
your sins before the Lord." In the LXX the same
verse reads - "For on this day he shall make an
atonement for you, to cleanse you from all your sins
before the Lord, and ye shall be purged."
The single Greek word for "ye shall be purged"
is the same Greek word in Daniel
8:14 for "shall be cleansed," differing
only in person & number. (Dan.
8:14
- 3rd person, singular while Leviticus
16:30 - 2nd person plural)
Question
2 (Response): -- The Words for "Vision"
in Daniel 8 & 9 --
Two different words are translated "vision"
in these two chapters. One is ghah-zohn
and covers the whole of a vision. For examples see -
"The vision of Isaiah" (1:1)
and "The vision of Obadiah" (1:1).
The other is mar'eh, and when translated "vision"
refers to an aspect, or part of the whole vision. For
example, in
Daniel 8:15, the word, ghah-zohn
is used for the word, "vision," and mar'eh
is translated - "appearance."
Here
are the listings for the word - vision -
in Daniel
8 & 9:
Daniel
8:1, 2 (2x), 13,
15, 17, 26 (2nd use); 9:21,
24
- ghah-zohn.
Daniel
8:15 (appearance), 16,
26 (first use), 27;
9:23 - mar''eh.
Significant
conclusions can be drawn. The 2300 days (evenings and
mornings) are referred to as a mar'eh
(Daniel
8:26). Gabriel had specific instructions
to make Daniel understand the mar'eh
(Daniel
8:16). It was that part of the vision (mar'eh)
which was left - unexplained as the eighth chapter closes
(Daniel
8:27). When Gabriel returned to Daniel, he
specifically stated - "Understand the matter, and
consider the mar'eh"
(Daniel
9:23) Furthermore, Daniel specifically states
that when Gabriel returned, he was the one "whom
I had seen in
p
47 -- the
vision (ghah-zohn)
at the beginning." (Daniel
9:21) Thus the part in Daniel
9:24-27 is linked linguistically to the whole
of Daniel
8.
Question
3 (Response): -- Literal Time vs Prophetic Time
--
Between Daniel
8
- "the third year of Belshazzar" -
and Daniel
9 - "the first year
of Darius" - there is approximately 11 years. There
are those who suggest that the 2300 evenings and mornings
are half days, thus making 1150 full days, or
about 3 years and 2 plus months. Those who grant the
2300 days as full days have approximately 6 years and
5 months. If Daniel entertained any idea that the prophecy
was in literal time - keep in mind that in the 3rd year
of Belshazzar he was not told when the vision of the
2300 days was to begin - it was dispelled after 11 years
had passed. When he saw that the 70 years of Jeremiah
were about expire and nothing had happened to bring
about the "cleansing of the sanctuary,"
- also keep in mind that the vision of Daniel 8
began with a representation of Medo-Persia - Daniel
entered into "prayer, and supplications, with fasting,
and sackcloth, and ashes." (Daniel
9:3) It was then that Gabriel returned and
gave the only explanation acceptable for the prophecy
of Daniel
8:14 - it was to be considered in accordance
with prophetic time - a day for a year. (Ezekiel
4:6
margin)
There is no way that Daniel
9:24-27 can be properly understood except
this principle be applied. Would God, who prior to the
beginning of the fulfillment of the vision of the 2300
days indicated prophetic time only, now that the
2300 days are completed indicate a reapplication in
literal time as is now being advocated by some?
Question
4 (Response): -- "Tamid" and the
2300 Days --
In Daniel
8:9-14, which is the full context for the
setting of the 14th verse, the word
tamid is translated "daily" three
times. In the KJV, the word "sacrifice is added
to complete its meaning. While
tamid is used as a substantive in Daniel,
it is used elsewhere either as an adverb or an adjective.
The substantive use in Daniel would indicate an adjectival
force, thus requiring for proper translation of thought
a noun, such as "sacrifice."
It
is of interest that A. T. Jones in
discussing this prophecy of Daniel, while recognizing
that the word, "sacrifice" had been supplied,
well knew that the
"daily" could not be a symbolism of paganism.
He suggested Numbers
28 &
29 as a source for the word to be used
with tamid
to give its meaning. He wrote:
In
Numbers 28 and 29 alone, the word is used seventeen
times, referring to the continual service of the
sanctuary.
And
it is this continual service of Christ, the true High
Priest, "who continueth ever," and
who is consecrated forevermore" in an "unchangeable
priesthood" - it is this continual service
of our great High Priest, which the man of sin, the
Papacy, has taken away. It is the sanctuary and
the true tabernacle in which this true High Priest exercises
His continual ministry that has been cast down
by the transgression of desolation." (The
Consecrated Way, pp. 99-100; Emphasis his.)
However,
as incisive as Jones' conclusions may be, the use of
"continual" (tamid)
in Numbers
28 and 29, is always without exception, connected
with the words, "burnt offering, " not "ministry."
And it is in this sense that the first use of the word,
tamid,
as an adjective is found in the Bible. In Exodus
29:42, it reads, referring to the morning
and evening sacrifices:
This
shall be a continual (tamid) burnt offering throughout
your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation before the Lord, where I will
p
48 -- meet
you, to speak there unto thee."
It
is in connection with the morning and evening sacrifices
that we can see the relationship between tamid
and the 2300 days of Daniel
8:14.
The
Hebrew word for day is yom This word is not used
in Daniel
8:14 for the 2300 "days" (KJV),
but rather the phrase, "evenings and mornings."
This very phraseology connects it with the word, tamid,
thus specifically associating the Prophecy with the
Hebrew sanctuary service. However, there is a reversal
of terms. The daily sacrifice was in its inauguration
spoken of as a morning and evening burnt
offering. (Exodus
30:38-39) In Daniel
8:14, the days are noted as "evenings
and mornings." This harks back to creation
when the original days were made - "There was evening,
there was morning, day one." (Gen.
1:5
Heb) Thus while connecting Daniel
8:14 with the sanctuary service of the Old
Testament through the symbolism derived from tamid,
it was also telling the reader that full days - not
half days - were to be understood for prophetic interpretation.
"There were 2300 evenings; there were 2300 mornings,
days 2300."
For
further discussion - See Appendix D.
Note
- For the most part all words transliterated from
the Hebrew into English follow the Englishman's Hebrew
and Chaldee Concordance. TOP
Lesson
#10 --
CHRIST, OUR COMING KING
p
49 -- John
14:1
-3
-- Let not your heart be troubled ... In my Father's
house are many mansions ... I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go ... I will come again, and receive
you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Note
- This is the greatest unfulfilled promise and prophecy
in all the Bible. The return of Jesus, has been the
hope and expectation of the church in all ages. This
wonderful promise is based on only one condition - "If
I go - I will come again." If He went, then He
is sure to return.
Acts
1:9-11
-- And when He [Jesus] had spoken these things,
while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received
Him out of their sight. And while they looked ... two
men stood by them ... which also said ... This same
Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall
so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.
Note
- The disciples to whom Jesus had made the wonderful
promise of John 14:1-3 now see Him go into heaven.
And two angel-messengers reassure the gazing disciples
that this same Jesus will return
again. These angels emphasize that the return will be
"in like manner" as they have seen go. Why
is this important? That brings us to our next text.
Matthew
24:23-27
-- There shall arise false Christs, and false
prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders ...
believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the
east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall the coming
of the Son of man be.
Note
- Since there will arise false christs seeking to
disturb the very elect, then it behooves us know from
the Word of God, the exact way and manner that the true
Christ Jesus will return the proceeding verses (Acts
1:9-11) are to be found three ways in which
the disciples observed His departure. (1)
A cloud received Him." (2)
They "beheld" Him as He went up. And (3)
the
"Same" Jesus would return. It would not be
a "spirit" return, for Jesus went bodily into
heaven. The angels declared that Jesus would come again
"in like manner." Let us check.
Matthew
24:30-31
-- And then shall appear the sign of the Son
of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of earth
mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He
shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
and they shall gather together His elect.
Note
- This statement by Jesus is very important. He
declares that when He returns all the tribes of earth
will see Him. At that very time, the elect will be gathered.
Who are the Elect?
I
Peter 1:2-3
-- Elect ... through sanctification of the Spirit,
unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus
Christ.
Note
- Peter defines the elect as those sanctified by
the Spirit and sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. These
he says have obtained "a lively hope." (Verse
3) At the sounding of the trumpet, the "elect"
are in two categories. Note the next verse.
p
50 -- I
Thessalonians 4:16-17
-- The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout, and with the trump of God: and the dead
in Christ shall arise
first: Then we which are alive ... shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Note
- From these verses, it will be observed that the
"elect" are composed of those who have died
in Christ., and the righteous who are alive on the earth,
noted by Paul as "we." Since this letter is
addressed to the "church" (I Thess. 1:1).
we conclude the "we" to be the church. Another
important factor in these verses is the revelation that
Jesus does not touch the earth when He comes the second
time. We meet Him "in the air," and from that
point, we shall "ever be with the Lord." The
return of Jesus also marks a resurrection - "the
dead in Christ shall arise first." This is called
the "First" Resurrection.
Revelation
20:5-6
-- This is the first resurrection. Blessed
and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.
Note
- The second coming of Christ concerns primarily
those only who are blessed and holy. "The rest
of the dead lived not again till the thousand years
were finished." (20:5) Thus Jesus' return
and the resurrection of the just mark the beginning
of that remarkable prophecy of Revelation 20
- The 1000 Years. (The Millennium)
Section
#2 -- THE
BEGINNING OF THE 1000 YEARS
Revelation
20:1-3
-- And I saw another angel ... having the key
of the bottomless pit
... . and he laid hold on ... Satan and bound him a
thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit
... till the thousand years should be fulfilled.
Note
- Two expressions should be noted in these verses:
(1) The term - "bottomless
pit." To interpret this expression literally, would
mean a pit without a bottom, and such an implication
would make the prophecy ridiculous, for Satan comes
out of the pit after the 1000 years. (20:7) The
two words are a translation of a single Greek word -
abussos - which means simply an abyss. In the
LXX, the translators used this Greek word in Genesis
1:2, to translate the Hebrew word t'hohm.
This word is used to describe the earth before God began
the process of organization of the mass He had created
on the first day. The word is thus used again and applied
to the state of the earth as it will be for 1000 years
after the return of Jesus the second time. (2)
The second expression is the word - "bound"
- in connection with Satan's inability to deceive the
nations for 1000 years. How is this possible? Let us
divide all humanity, alive and dead, into four
groups, and find out what happens to each group at the
return of Jesus the second time:
a.
The righteous living - "caught up to meet
Jesus in the air.- (I Thess 4:17)
b.
The righteous dead - "The dead in Christ
shall arise first." "They lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years." (I Thess. 4:16;
Rev. 20:4c, 6b)
c.
The wicked living - Destroyed at the "presence
of the Lord." (II Thess. 1:7-10)
d. The wicked dead - Lived not till
the thousand years were completed. (Rev. 20:5a)
On
the basis of this deduction, there is not a single human
being alive on the earth after Jesus comes the second
time. The earth returns to a state of chaos which becomes
Satan's abode for 1000 years. Jeremiah the prophet also
pictures these conditions.
Jeremiah
4:23-28
-- I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without
form and void ... I beheld and lo, there was no man
... I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness,
and all the cities
p
51 -- were broken down at the presence of the Lord,
and by His fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said,
The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make
a full end.
Jeremiah
25:31-33
-- The Lord hath a controversy with the nations
... He will give them that are wicked to the sword ...
And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from
one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth:
they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried,
they shall be dung upon the ground.
Note
- The wages of sin is death, and here among the
dead Satan and his angels will be confined for 1000
years to view and contemplate the results of his rebellion.
Section
#3 -- DURING
THE 1000 YEARS
Revelation 20:4 -- I
saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was
given unto them ... and they lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years.
Note
- The Bible in other references teaches that the
redeemed will become a part of the judgment process.
Jesus told His disciples that they would judge the tribes
of Israel. (Matt. 19:28) Paul declares that the
saints will judge the world and angels. (I Cor. 6:2-3)
All that is involved in this judgment, we shall have
to leave until that day when Christ shall set His "elect"
upon those thrones. We do know that this period will
be a time of adjustment as the saints acclimate themselves
for the eternity ahead. We shall come to understand
many things which are now only a mystery.
Section
#4 -- THE
CLOSE OF THE 1000 YEARS
Revelation
20:7-8
-- And when the thousand years are expired, Satan
shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth
to deceive the nations.
Note
- These nations are declared to be in the four quarters
of the earth. The wicked who had been slain at the presence
of the Lord at His second coming, and those who did
not come forth in the first resurrection now arise in
a "second" resurrection. With beings
once more to tempt, Satan is no longer restricted -
bound - and goes forth to deceive.
Revelation
20:9
-- And they [the nations] went forth on the breadth
of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about,
and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out
of heaven, and devoured them.
Note
- The beloved city is the New Jerusalem, which John
saw coming down from God out of heaven. (Rev. 21:2)
This city with its many mansions is the camp of the
saints as they return with Jesus at the close of the
1000 years. (Zechariah 14:4-5) As the wicked
seek to take the city by battle, fire from God devours
them. This is called the second death. (Rev.
20:14-15) This fire also purifies the earth.
Section
#5 -- THE
ETERNAL KINGDOM
Revelation
21:1, 5 -- And
I saw a new heaven, and a new earth ... And He that
sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new.
p
52 -- Revelation
22:1, 3
-- And he shewed me a pure river of the water
of life, clear as crystal,
proceeding out of throne of God and of the Lamb
and
there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God
and of the Lamb shall be in it and His servants shall
serve Him.
SAINTS
IN HEAVEN
CONTEMPLATION
The
time of the final judgment is referred to in Revelation
20
as the judgment before the "great white
throne." (20:11)
As one brings together the picture as described in these
final chapters of Revelation, a tremendous scene emerges.
The Holy City has come down to earth, and is described
as "the camp of the saints." (20:9)
Far above the city appears the Throne of the Eternal
- and the books of human record are opened. Before the
Throne stand all the children of Adam in one first and
final family reunion. (20:12)
Consider as you envision the scene a few of those who
will be there:
Cain
and Abel will be there; Abel inside the jasper wall,
Cain without. The last time they had seen each other,
Abel's eyes were closing in death, and Cain's heart
was burning with revengeful hate. Now the record is
seen clearly. His refusal to acknowledge his need of
a substitute has cost him dearly - the Holy City is
forever closed to him.
Jacob
and Esau will be there; Jacob within, Esau without.
Again the books disclose the record. Esau's abhorrence
of the birthright has cost him his right to the city
of God.
Paul
and Agrippa will be there; Paul within. Agrippa without.
As Agrippa sees the record, he will be reminded of that
day when Paul pled with him to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. He will hear again those fateful words he uttered
- "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."
(Acts 26:28)
As his gaze turns to the glory radiating from the Holy
City, he will realize as never before the price of "almost."
You
and I will be in this scene somewhere. At the first
resurrection, we will either meet the Lord in the air,
or perish at His presence. During the 1000 years we
will either be with Jesus, or lay as "dung"
on the earth. Then in the family reunion we will either
be inside or outside the city of God. The choice is
ours now to make as to where we will be in the picture
projected by this final time prophecy of the Bible.
p
53 -- Lesson
#10 -- QUIZ
-- (Fill in the blanks)
1.
-- The greatest unfulfilled prophecy in the Bible
is the promise of Jesus found in ____ ____:____, which
says,"_____ ____ ____ ____."
2.
-- When Jesus returns the second time, the ____ of earth
will mourn, because they ____ Him come. On the other
hand, when the ____ of God shall sound, the ____ in
Christ ____ _____ first, and the ____ ____ will be caught
up to meet the Lord ____ ____ ____ , and so they shall
____ ____ with ____ ____.
3.
-- The resurrection of the righteous is called the ____
____ and marks the beginning of the ____ ____.
4.
-- During the 1000 years the earth will be ____, and
without a living human ____. Here
for this period will be the prison of ____ . Those who
are slain
by the presence of the Lord will lie as ____ on the
earth, and will not be ____.
5.
-- During the 1000 years, the righteous will be
with Christ in heaven, sitting upon ____ of ____.
6.
-- After the 1000 years the wicked will be resurrected,
and Satan will then seek to deceive them into believing
that they can take the camp of the saints which is the
____ ____. But ____ comes down from God and ____ them.
This is the ____ death.
7.
-- After the destruction of the wicked, God will
make ____ ____ new. Then on this earth will be established
the _____ of the ____ and His ____ shall ____ Him.
TOP
Lesson
#11 -- MAN
- HERE AND HEREAFTER
p
54 -- Genesis
1:27 -- God created man
in His own image, in the image of God created He him.
Note
- In studying the nature of man in this life, and
the life to come, we must first determine what man received
from God in the beginning. Did man receive an immortal
soul or spirit? What did this likeness to God mean?
Genesis
2:7
-- The Lord God formed man from the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life; and man became a living soul.
Note
- The component parts of a living soul are the dust
of the ground and the "breath of life." The
first question to be resolved is simply - Did this "breath
of life" give to man an immortal soul or spirit?
Genesis
2:17
-- Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die.
Note
- If God had given to man an immortal soul or spirit,
then it would have been absurd to tell him that if he
transgressed, he would die; for he could not have died.
Also, because of transgression, if man had been created
with an immortal soul, sin would have become immortalized
with no way for it to be eradicated. But we find that
God took all precautions to confine sin after it entered
this world, and then to plan for its final extinction.
Genesis
3:22-23
-- And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is
become as one of us ... and now lest he put forth his
hand, and take also of the tree of life, and live, forever:
therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden
of Eden.
Note
- Driven from Eden, our first parents entered a
world outside without an immortal soul or spirit, or
access to the tree of life. Thus when man would be called
to yield up the "breath of life," he would
return to the original component - dust. This is exactly
what God told man - "Dust thou art, and unto dust
shalt thou return." (Genesis 3:19)
Section
#2 -- THE
OLD TESTAMENT TESTIMONY
Job
14:12-14
-- So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the
heavens be no more ... . 0 that Thou wouldest hide me
in the grave ... if a man die shall he live again? All
the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change
come.
Job
19:25-27
-- For I know that my Redeemer liveth and though
after my skin worms destroy this
body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall
see for myself, and my eyes shall behold.
Psalm
17:15
-- As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness:
I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness.
p 55 -- Psalm
146:4
-- His [man's] breath goeth forth, he returneth
to his earth: in that very day his thoughts perish.
Ecclesiastes
9:5,
10
-- For the living know that they
shall die, but the dead know not anything ... There
is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in
the grave whither thou goest.
Note
- To these texts, other Scriptures could be added.
(Isaiah 28:18-19; Daniel 12:13) The picture of
man in the Old Testament is that he dies, his thoughts
cease, he goes to the grave, back to dust to await a
day when he shall again awaken. There is no concept
of something immortal, eternal, leaving man at death
to continue in another sphere of existence. The dead
know not anything.
Section
#3 -- THE
NEW TESTAMENT TESTIMONY
Hebrews
2:14
-- Forasmuch then as the children are partakers
of flesh and blood, He [Jesus] also Himself took part
of the same; that through death He might destroy him
that had the power of death.
Note
- The New Testament presents Jesus on a mission to destroy
death. Now, if at death, we do not die, but live on,
then Jesus is placed in a position of destroying not
death, but life. But He came that we might have life,
and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
John
11 :25
-- I am the resurrection and the life: he that
believeth on Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
John
11:11-14
-- Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that
I may awake him out of sleep ... Jesus said unto them
plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Note
- To Jesus who is the resurrection and the life,
death is only a sleep. He destroyed the stranglehold
of death: and changed it from an endless sleep to a
temporary sleep, which He alone can break. He demonstrated
that power in the case of Lazarus. When He came to the
tomb, He called, "Lazarus come forth. And he that
was dead came forth." (John 11:43-44) This
is what Jesus plans to do at the end of the age on a
wider and grander scale.
John
5:28-29
-- Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming,
in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice,
and shall come forth.
Note
- In that coming day, the grave, the resting place
of the dead, shall no longer hold her captives. He who
destroyed the power of death will call them forth, "they
that have done good unto the resurrection of life."
I
Corinthians 15:51-54
-- Behold I shew you a mystery; We shall not
all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trump shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible
... So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption,
and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then
... Death is swallowed up in victory.
Note
- Only when the last trumpet shall sound will men
experience victory over death. Not until then will men
receive immortality. This gift is for the righteous
only. A man, not spiritually born again, never shares
in this gift of eternal life. John declares, "Ye
know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."
(I John 3:15) Hence the wicked, when they are
resurrected - the resurrection of damnation -
possess the same type of life they had when alive on
the earth in their first
existence.
p 56 -- Section
#4 -- THE
REWARDS OF LIFE
Matthew
25:45-46
-- Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least
of these, ye did it not unto Me. And these shall go
away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous
into life eternal.
Romans
6:23 --
The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God
is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Note
- The wicked receive a reward that is the opposite
to the reward of the righteous. Since they do not have
eternal life, they receive death - eternal or everlasting
death. This death results from the direct judgment of
God.
Revelation
20:9
-- And they [the wicked] went up on the breadth
of the earth ... and fire came down from God out of
heaven, and devoured them.
Note
- In Lesson #10, we learned that this event occurred
at the end of the 1000 years, when Christ and His saints
have returned to earth to abide in the Holy City. The
wicked dead, coming up in the second resurrection, are
marshaled by the devil before the New Jerusalem. At
that point, God sends fire to devour them. Since they
do not possess an immortal spirit, or eternal life,
they are consumed. They have no power to resist the
fire of God. It is the end for them. They are then visited
with "everlasting destruction from the presence
of the Lord." (II Thess. 1:9)
Section
#5 -- THE
TESTIMONY OF THE BIBLE ON THE REWARD OF THE WICKED
Matthew
13:38-40
-- The field is the world; ... the tares are
the children of the wicked one; ... as therefore the
tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall
it be in the end of this world.
Malachi
4:1, 3
-- For behold the day cometh, that shall burn
as an oven, and all the proud, and all that do wickedly,
shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn
them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave
them neither root nor branch ... they shall be ashes
... in the day that I do this, saith the Lord of hosts.
Psalm
37:20, 10
-- The wicked shall perish, and the enemies of
the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs. For yet a little
while, and the wicked shall not be.
Isaiah
47:14
-- Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire
shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from
the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to
warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
Note
- The testimony of Jesus, and the prophets, are
agreed that the wicked shall burn up; they shall be
as ashes upon the earth. When the devouring fire has
completed its work, there shall not be left a coal to
warm before. Before man is a choice. Live as you desire,
and the end will be death - total extinction. But to
choose the way of Christ is to have life - real living
now - and life everlasting hereafter.
p
57 -- QUIZ
SHEET - Lesson 11 -- True and False.
If the statement is true, circle the "T";
but if any part of the statement is false, circle
the letter, "F".
1.
-- When God created man in His own image, He gave
to man the very substance
of Himself ... ... ... ... T -- F
2.
-- The formula for the creation of man could be written:
Dust + Breath
of life = Living soul ... ... ... ... T -- F
3.
-- This formula transposed reveals the nature of death:
Living soul -
Breath of life = Dust ... ... ... T -- F
4.
-- Adam left the garden of Eden not as an immortal sinner
but as a mortal man ... ... T -- F
5.
-- Solomon declared that the living know that they
shall die, but the
dead do not know anything ... ... ... ... .T -- F
6.
-- David asked the question - "If a man die, shall
he live again?" ... ... ... T -- F
7.
-- We develop immortal -life by living a life like
Jesus lived ... ... ... ... T -- F
8.
-- Jesus Christ changed an endless sleep into a
temporary sleep, so that
death need cause no fear for His followers ... ... ...
... T -- F
9. -- Corruption and mortality have the same
meaning in I Cor. 15:51-54,
and apply to the same groups of people ... ... ... ...T
-- F
10.
-- Immortality
is the state which those who do not taste death put
on at the second
coming
of Christ ... ... ... ... T -- F
11.
-- The rewards of life are the same for both the righteous
and the wicked,
the
only difference is that they are in different places
... ... ... ... T -- F
12.
-- After the 1000 years when the wicked are gathered
before the Holy
City, the fire of God comes down and devours them ...
... ... ... T -- F
13.
-- There is a fiery hell now into which God consigns
the wicked until
the day of judgment ... ... ... ... T -- F
14.
-- The root of wickedness is the devil, and the branches
are his followers, so when
God completes the payment of the wages for sin, all
sin and sinners will be no more . . T -- F
15.
-- We have a voice in our hereafter, and that decision
is made here ... ... ... ... T -- F
SUPPLEMENT
p 58 -- Section
#1 -- What
Is the "Spirit"?
Ecclesiastes
12:7
-- Then shall the dust return to the earth as
it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave
it.
Note
- What is the "spirit" which returns to
God who gave it? Many assume that this "spirit"
has life
and being, and in the "spirit world" to which
it goes, there will be a continued conscious existence.
This verse says simply that it will "return unto
God who gave it." If there is a conscious existence
after death, then there must have been the same conscious
pre-existence. To draw this conclusion is to adopt the
teachings of Mormonism and the Hindu doctrine of the
transmigration of the soul. But how are we to understand
the word, "spirit," in this text?
Job
34:12-15
-- Yea, surely God will not do wickedly ... If
He set His heart upon men, if He gather unto Himself
His spirit, and His breath; all flesh shall perish together,
and man shall turn again unto dust.
Note
- The spirit that returns to God is God's spirit,
God's breath. Jesus said, "The words that I
speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
(John 6:63) He demonstrated the power of that
word by calling to the dead Lazarus, "Come forth."
The record is - "He that was dead came forth."
(John 11:43-44) The words formed by the breath
of God's mouth are spirit, and they give life. This
is the very way that man was created in the beginning.
(Ps. 33:6, 9)
Section
#2 -- The
Thief on the Cross
Luke
23:39-43 -- And he [the
thief] said unto Jesus, Lord remember me when Thou comest
in Thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say
unto thee today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Note
- In the text quoted above the answer of Jesus is
left unpunctuated. The punctuation as given in
the KJV is that of the translators. To correctly punctuate
what Jesus really said, we must find the answer to three
questions: 1) What and where
is paradise? 2) Did Jesus
go to paradise that day? And 3)
What did the thief ask?
1)
-- What and where is paradise? This is
where the throne of God is. We are told that the tree
of life is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Revelation
2:7) That tree arches the river of life which flows
from the throne of God. (Revelation 22:1-2)
2)
-- Did Jesus go to paradise the day He died?
Jesus did not go to paradise the day of the crucifixion.
He died on Friday, the preparation day. (Luke 23:52-54)
On the first day of the week after He arose, He said
to Mary, "I have not yet ascended to My Father."
(John 20:17) To make this text infer that Jesus
went to paradise with the thief the day of the crucifixion
is to make Jesus contradict Himself.
3)
-- For what did the thief ask? The thief merely
wanted to be remembered when Christ set up His kingdom.
Jesus had declared that His kingdom would be inaugurated
when He returns the second time in His glory accompanied
by the angelic hosts. (Matthew 25:31) The thief
needed the assurance of hope and pardon before he died.
It was such a hope that Jesus extended to him. He declared
- and now we punctuate the verse in harmony with
the facts of Scripture - "Verily I say unto thee
today,
shalt thou be with Me in paradise."
We, too, need hope. We can come to Jesus and say, .
"Lord, remember me." He will respond that
very moment, that very day, with the assurance that
He will remember us.
p 59 --
Section #3 -- Preaching
to Spirits in Prison
I
Peter 3:18-20 -- For Christ
also hath suffered for sins ... being put to death in
the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also
He went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which
sometimes were disobedient, when once the long-suffering
of God waited in the days of Noah.
Note
- Those who believe in a conscious existence after
death refer to this verse to indicate that Christ conducted
a "revival" among the "disobedient spirits"
while His body was confined to Joseph's tomb. Careful
reading of this verse indicates that the same Spirit
which brought life - quickened - Christ, is the One
who preached to the "spirits in prison." Such
it was in the days of Noah. (Gen. 6:3) The phrase
itself - "spirits in prison" - is a figure
of speech. Jesus used the expression in His sermon at
Nazareth, quoting from Isaiah. (Luke 4:18) Observe
- "Preach deliverance to the captives." It
is sin that makes one a prisoner, but Jesus through
the Holy Spirit seeks to set us free. If that Spirit
which raised Jesus from the dead abides in us, then
we, too, can be freed from the bondage of sin. (Romans
8:11)
Section
#4 -- The
Expression - "Forever and Ever"
Revelation
20:10 -- And the devil
that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire ...
and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Note
- Our concept of the phrase - "forever and
ever" - is based on present day usage. But we must
think in Bible usage. In the Bible, the law concerning
voluntary servitude reads - "And he shall serve
him forever." (Exodus 21:6) Now long could
such a servitude be? Only as long as the individual
lived! Then how long will the lake of fire burn? Only
so long as the life of those consigned there lasts.
Since the wicked never receive immortality, and since
they do not possess it, they shall be tormented only
so long as their life shall continue. The fire of that
lake is a devouring fire. (Revelation 20:9) This
fire "eats" into their bodies, until they
are consumed. (Zechariah 14:12)
Section
#5 -- The
Unquenchable Fire
Mark
9: 43-48
-- Cast into hell, into the fire that never shall
be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire
is not quenched.
Note
- The term translated "hell" in these verses
is the Greek word, Ghehenna which refers to the
Valley
of Hinnom. In this valley in Old Testament times, living
sacrifices were made to the god, Molech. (Jeremiah
7:31; 32:35) As a deterrent against this gross idolatry,
the valley was turned into the city dump of Jerusalem.
Here the "worms" and the "fire"
continually consumed the garbage. The garbage did not
put out the fire, nor kill the worms. Christ used this
valley as an illustration of the end of all sinners,
for outside of the New Jerusalem will be consigned the
"garbage" of earth. The wicked will not be
able to put out the fire of God's judgment.
Sodom
is pictured in the Bible as "suffering the vengeance
of eternal fire." (Jude 7) Is Sodom here
today? Was the city able to escape the fire? Just so,
the fire of God is eternal in consequences, and no man
can alter the objective for which it is intended - to
cleanse and purity the earth from sin and sinners.
p 60 -- Section
#6 -- Absent from the Body, Present with the Lord
II
Corinthians 5:1-8
-- For we know that if our earthly house of this
tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God
... eternal in the heavens. For this we groan, earnestly
desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is
from heaven ... For we ... do groan ... that mortality
might be swallowed up of life ... knowing that, whilst
we are home in the body, we are absent from the Lord
... We are ... willing rather to be absent from the
body, and to be present with the Lord.
Note
- These verses are interpreted to mean that as soon
as one dies, he, if in a "saved" condition,
will
be transported into the presence of God. However, the
phraseology used by Paul in these verses is also to
be found in other epistles. Here he speaks of groaning
for a change from the earthly to the heavenly body.
In his epistle to the Romans, Paul wrote that the whole
creation is groaning and travailing in pain, adding
- "and not only they, but ourselves also which
have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves
groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to
wit, the redemption of our body." (8:22-23)
This expectation of change, this hope of deliverance
from the bondage of sin, not only spiritually, but also
physically is the echo of the Scriptures. Job expressed
this expectation in the hope that his Redeemer liveth,
and though there would be a dissolution of the body,
yet he would see God with his own eyes. (Job 19:25-27)
David indicated he would be satisfied when he awoke
with the likeness of God, . a restored image. (Ps.
17:15) But in all of the expectation, there is a
sense of a waiting period.
Paul
in writing the above verses indicated that the objective
of the groaning was "that mortality be swallowed
up of life." In his first epistle to the Corinthians,
he had told them when this would be - "at the last
trump." When "this corruptible shall have
put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put
on immortality," then death would be swallowed
up in victory. (I Corinthians 15:5154). What
then is Paul trying to say in these verses? He is illustrating
what he had just written at the close of the previous
chapter. There is "for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory" because we look not
at what is seen, but the unseen, for "the things
which are not seen are eternal." (II Corinthians
4:17-18) That new body which will be ours is "eternal
in the heavens." (5:1) We do not see it
- "we walk by faith, not by sight." (5:7)
This then becomes an elaboration of what Paul wrote
in the previous letter to the church at Corinth. "If
in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of
all men most miserable." ( I Corinthians 15:19)
There is hope - though unseen by mortal eye - beyond
death and the grave. While we must wait till "the
last trump.", The sensation of that waiting is
not realized.
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