They Failed, We Too Can Fail. They Needed Faith, We Too Need Faith.

'In the book of Hebrews are several lines of argument proving the exalted nature, and office, and the Messiahship of Jesus of Nazareth.

It is affirmed, and proved from the Scriptures, that he is superior to the angels, to Moses, to Joshua, and to Aaron. On the last point the writer dilates, giving a lengthy argument on the priesthood. That Moses, Joshua, and Aaron were types of Christ is beyond dispute.

Of Moses it is written: “And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as a son over his own house;” etc. This fixes the standing of Moses and the typical nature of his work.

In like manner the writer argues that Joshua did not give to the house of Israel the rest or the inheritance which was promised, but that it remains yet to be given to the people of God. That the Lord did give rest in the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham is no more proof that the promise was therein exhausted, than the fact that they were circumcised, and that they were descended from Abraham, fulfilled all that was designed in circumcision, and met in full all that was expressed by the term seed. But we have seen that this was not the case.

And we have seen also that the promise was to Abraham as well as to his seed, and that it was not fulfilled to him in any sense; also that the promise was “that he should be the heir of the world,” which has never been fulfilled to him or to any of his descendants. This is that “rest” which remains to the people of God, of which Paul speaks in Heb. 4:9.

It has been assumed, and is by many supposed, that, because Sabbath means rest, therefore whenever the word rest is found it is equivalent to the Sabbath. But this is not the case, as an examination of the Scriptures will plainly show. When Lamech begat a son (Gen 5:28, 29) “he called his name Noah, saying, This shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands.” The margin says, “That is, rest or comfort.” The name was prophetic; it means rest. This word was used by Moses in his address to the two tribes and a half who chose their inheritance east of Jordan. He said: “I commanded you at that time, saying, The Lord

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your God hath given you this land to posses it; ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war....Until the Lord have given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you, and until they also possess the land which the Lord your God hath given them beyond Jordan.” Deut. 3:18-20. And again: “For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you.” Chap. 12:9. Joshua also uses the same word when speaking on the same subject: “And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. . . . Ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valor, and help them: until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them.” Josh. 1:12-15. And again, after the land beyond Jordan was subdued before them, it is written: “And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers; and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them.” Josh. 21:44. And to the two tribes and a half Joshua said: “And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren as he promised them; therefore now return ye, and get ye unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of God gave you on the other side of Jordan.” Chap. 22:4.

In these passages this word rest is used as the equivalent of inheritance, and as applied it refers to the peaceable possession of the land. But the generation which came out of Egypt, with the exception of two men, rebelled against the Lord and were not permitted to see the goodly land. Of these the Lord spake, saying, “Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways; unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.” Ps. 95:10, 11. This refusal to permit them to enter into his rest is recorded in Num. 14:23, in these words: “Surely they shall not see the land which I

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sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoke me see it.” And in verse 30: “Doubtless ye shall not come into the land concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein.” By these texts we see again that “the rest” was the possession of the land promised to them. This is the subject of the argument of the apostle in Heb. 3 and 4. “But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Heb. 3:17-19. He then proceeds to exhort his brethren (which exhortation is spoken unto us), saying: “Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” Chap. 4:1.

This exhortation contains the announcement that, as the rebellious Hebrews who fell in the wilderness did not enter into the rest because of unbelief, so we should fear lest we come short of it; and labor to “enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” Verse 11. This is equivalent to a declaration that the promise which was given to them remains to be fulfilled; that we may inherit the rest offered to them, or fail of receiving it—”come short of it”—if we follow their example of unbelief. And to sustain this idea is the intention of the argument in Heb. 4:1-9. But before examining this argument we must call attention to the uses of the Hebrew words to which we have referred. The Hebrew verbs sha-vath and noo-ah may be used interchangeably as far as they simply convey the idea, “to rest.” Of this it is sufficient proof to cite Ex. 20:11, where noo-ah is used: “And he rested the seventh day.” But when used in a substantive form they, or their derivatives, differ in this respect: Shab-bath signifies a time or a period of rest; whereas no-ah (menoo-hah) passes to the idea of a resting-place; a place of rest. That Shab-bath, sabbath, relates to a period of rest every reader knows; that noo-ah carries the idea of a place of rest is sufficiently shown by the passages quoted. Menoo-hah (feminine termination ah, from the root noo-ah) is the word used in Ps.95:11. And Paul’s  quotation from this

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Psalm in Heb. 3:7-11 proves that that rest, or resting-place, the possession, the inheritance, is the subject of his exhortation and his argument in chapter 4.

According to the New Testament the people of ancient times knew much more of the counsel of God, through the types and shadows given to them, than we are wont to give them credit for, and even more than some Christians are able to discover in those same types.

Abraham had the gospel preached to him, Gal. 3:9;

Gal 3:9  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. 

and he rejoiced to see, by faith, the day of Christ; John 8:56.

Joh 8:56  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

The Jews in the desert of Arabia drank of the rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ; 1 Cor. 10:4.

1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 

It was “the reproach of Christ” that Moses esteemed as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; Heb. 11:24-26;

Heb 11:24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 

Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 

Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

and the gospel was preached to the rebellious ones whose carcasses fell in the wilderness. Heb. 4:2

Heb 3:17  But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 

Heb 4:2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 

We, in this age, are quite too apt to draw a line of distinction between the faith of the ancient worthies and that of the faithful of this dispensation, which does not exist. Their gospel, their faith, their hope, were identical with ours. Through the types they looked forward to the “blessed hope” which cheers our hearts. “The rest” which was promised to them is promised to us; and, as many of them fell under the displeasure of God, and were not permitted to see even the land which was typical of the true inheritance (and which, of course, worked their forfeiture of the true), so may we fail of receiving the true inheritance if we follow their example of unbelief.

But the question is raised: If the everlasting inheritance is the subject of the argument, why does the writer introduce the seventh day, and also speak of another day? They who ask this question seem to think that the apostle is arguing concerning the weekly Sabbath, and its change to another day; but, surely, they never would gather such an idea if they carefully read or studied the connection. Besides the facts which have been already presented, showing that the inheritance is the subject of the discourse, we notice.'

(To be continued)

(Excerpt from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:

THE ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE

 (1884)

BY   ELDER J. H. WAGGONER

We Receive It As His Heirs.

'The seed.

The reader of the Old Testament might easily conclude that “the seed” to whom the promises were made included only the literal descendants of Abraham. But the term was soon restricted, and was shown to refer, not to all who descended from Abraham, but to those descending from him through one of his sons, Isaac.

And in the New Testament it is shown that the term refers primarily to Christ, the real child of promise, and secondarily to all who are Christ’s by faith. Thus it is said:— “He is not a Jew which is one outwardly; . . But he is a Jew which is one inwardly.” Rom. 2:28, 29.

And again: “For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel; neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children; but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” Rom. 9:6-8.

Therefore the true heirs of the promise are not counted by natural descent, but are of all nationalities, as the apostle says:— “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

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And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3:28, 29.

“Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world; but now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometime were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Eph. 2:11-13.

The Gentiles were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise;” but the gospel of Christ is the means of their naturalization, so that now they belong to the true Israel of God if they are of faith, and are “fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.” Eph. 3:6.

The token.

When the covenant was made with Abraham a sign, or token, was given to him. The Lord said to him: “Every man-child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.” Gen. 17:10, 11.

This more than any other one thing was a mark of separation between the Jews and the Gentiles. And this, from its terms, was confined to the male portion of the children of Abraham, “Every man-child among you.”

But in the New Testament everything on this subject is different, both in substance and manner. As we have seen that he is not a Jew, or child of Abraham, who is one outwardly, so “neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. . . . Circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Rom. 2:28, 29.

“In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” Col. 2:11.

Circumcision was called “a token of the covenant;” in the New Testament it is called a sign and a seal; Rom. 4:11.

Rom 4:11  And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also

And the seal, or circumcision, of the New Testament is further explained as follows: “In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy

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Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance.” Eph. 1:13, 14.

The earnest is the same as the seal or token. Again it is written:— “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Eph. 4:30.

“Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” 2 Cor. 1:22.

This is the circumcision of the heart, in the spirit; the true token or sign of our heirship. And as it was said to Abraham that the uncircumcised man-child should be cut off—he had no part in the covenant; so it is now said, “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his.” Rom. 8:9.

He has not the seal or token of the covenant, and has no part in the covenant.

Now mark the analogy. All Christians believe that the seed or children of Abraham, and circumcision, have a place in the gospel; that they are brought over into this dispensation; only they are enlarged in their terms, and made to apply to those and that to which they did not seem to apply when first the covenant was made. Now an enlargement of them is the very opposite of nullifying them, or having them expire by limitation. But if they to whom a certain promise is made, and the token or assurance of that promise, are brought into the New Testament, why not also the promise itself? And if the terms of the other are enlarged, it is only reasonable to expect that of this they would be also. And thus we find it written: “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” Rom. 4:13. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt. 5:5.

We fully believe, as before remarked, that God’s original purpose in the creation of the earth will be fulfilled; that the restoration of the earth from the curse, from thorns and thistles, and from everything that could annoy its inhabitants, was included in the promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent; or, in the words of the New Testament, that Christ should destroy the works of the devil. The “first dominion” given to man shall be returned to him, but the promise of restoration was made to and through Abraham and his seed, and we receive it as his heirs. The meek shall inherit the

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earth. To inherit is to possess by heirship; but our heirship is solely of Abraham our father.

(To be continued)

(Excerpt from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:

THE ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE

 (1884)

BY   ELDER J. H. WAGGONER

The Land of Promise.

Heb 11:8  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 

Heb 11:9  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 

Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

'When we come to examine the original promises in the Old Testament, to which the writers in the New Testament refer, we shall find that “the land” is their chief burden. When the Lord called Abraham at the first he told him to go into a land which he would show him. And when he came into Canaan the Lord appeared unto him and said, “Unto thy seed will I give this land; and there he builded an altar unto the Lord.” Gen. 12:1, 7.

After Lot was separated from him the promise was renewed. That the prominence of this point may be seen, we copy in full what was said to him on this occasion. “And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.” Gen. 13:14-17.

At the next repetition of the promise this point is made especially prominent, as follows: “And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.” Gen. 15:7. And again, “I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” Gen. 17:8.

Thus the Lord has spoken the word that he brought Abraham out of his native land to give him the land that he would show him, and to his seed, for an everlasting possession. This was his purpose; but this purpose was never fulfilled; Abraham, with his posterity,

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died in faith of its fulfillment, and as God is faithful it will certainly be brought to pass. That this promise of the land was deeply impressed upon the minds of the patriarchs is proved by their references to it. When Abraham sent his servant to take a wife for Isaac, he said: “The Lord God of Heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.” Gen. 24:7.

The Lord also appeared unto Isaac in Gerar, as he was on his way to Egypt, and said unto him: “Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and I will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father.” Gen. 26:2, 3.

It is worthy of remark that in this, the only instance recorded of God speaking to Isaac, he commences with renewing the promise of the land, in fulfillment of his word and oath unto Abraham. And in the only instance recorded of Isaac referring to God’s promises to his father, “the land” is the main subject of mention. He sent away Jacob to take a wife of his kindred in Padan-aram, saying: “And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.” Gen. 28:3, 4. And Jacob went on his way, and he lodged in Luz, and the Lord appeared also to him in a dream, and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed.” Gen. 28:13. And again, after his sojourn in that land, the Lord appeared unto him as  he came out of Padan-aram, and said unto him: “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.” Gen. 35:11, 12. And finally, Joseph charged his

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brethren to carry his bones out of Egypt, saying: “And God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” Gen. 50:24.

And thus it is clearly shown that the inheritance, the possession, the land, was the great object of promise in the Abrahamic covenant, without which the other promises could never be fulfilled. By many it is supposed that all the promises of the possession of the land were fulfilled to the natural descendants of Abraham who dwelt in the land of Canaan. We have given to us in the Scriptures several lines of proof showing that the possession of the land of Canaan did not fulfill the promise; that that land, in the condition in which they received it, was not the true inheritance of Abraham’s seed, but only typical of it.

1. The dwelling of the children of Israel in the land of Canaan was not a fulfillment of the promise that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob should possess it. It was not said merely that their children should inherit it, but that they and their seed should receive it for an everlasting possession. Stephen said that Abraham had no inheritance in it, no not so much as to set his foot on. This is proved to be literally true, in that he had to buy of the inhabitants of the land a place to bury Sarah, his wife, in Hebron. And Paul said that Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise, died without receiving it, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. This alone would be sufficient to prove that the promise remains to be fulfilled.

 2. According to Paul’s testimony in Gal. 3:16, Christ was the seed to whom the promise was made; and he, as Abraham, was a sojourner in the same land.

Gal 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 

He had “not where to lay his head.” He was the world’s Maker, destined to be the world’s Redeemer, and yet spent a life of toil and suffering in the world without a resting-place or home upon the earth. He purchased the redemption of the earth by bearing in his person the curse of the earth, even as he will redeem man because he bore the curse of man. When the ground was cursed the Lord said it should bring forth thorns because of man’s transgression; these it would never have produced if sin had not entered. And Jesus, when he was made an offering for sin; when he

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was placed in the hands of the powers of earth, was crowned with thorns. The old purple robe and the crown of thorns were a mockery of his right as king, but they became a part of the means of his final triumph—a means of vindicating the justice of God before men and angels in the Judgment. He was “the heir” whom the men of the vineyard cast out and slew. But he will come again to claim his own, and they will be destroyed. Matt. 21:33-42.

Mat 21:33  Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: 

Mat 21:34  And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. 

Mat 21:35  And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. 

Mat 21:36  Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. 

Mat 21:37  But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. 

Mat 21:38  But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. 

Mat 21:39  And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. 

Mat 21:40  When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? 

Mat 21:41  They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. 

Mat 21:42  Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 

3. There is an argument from analogy on this subject which is very conclusive, besides the direct declarations of the Scriptures, showing that the whole earth was contemplated in the original promise. This argument must be admitted by all who claim to be the seed of Abraham, and recognize as valid the covenant made with him. In this covenant we find three prominent points, namely, 1. The land of promise. 2. The seed to whom the promise was made. 3. The token of the covenant, which is circumcision. All that will be here claimed on points 2 and 3 will be readily accepted by all New Testament believers.

(To be continued)

(Excerpt from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:

THE ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE

 (1884)

BY   ELDER J. H. WAGGONER

The Promise Yet to Be Fulfilled.

'2. THE REDEMPTION OF THE EARTH

It was remarked that the redemption of man did not contemplate merely a restoration to that state which he occupied when he was created; as he was then placed upon probation for life. But they who are redeemed from sin and death have passed through probation; they have secured eternal life; they are brought into that condition which God purposed that man should occupy when he had faithfully fulfilled his period of trial and received the boon of immortality.

In like manner, the earth will be more than restored to its primitive condition.

When man was created his dominion was not in the condition for which it was designed. He was told to “multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.” The Lord “planted a garden eastward in Eden,” and man was appointed “to dress it and to keep it.” Had he remained innocent, and retained his position in the garden, as his descendants multiplied they would have extended the garden in the process of subduing the earth, until its surface had become one vast garden—a scene of surpassing loveliness. But sin at once arrested the work. The ground was cursed; the garden was removed; the tree of life was taken away; and in its stead thorns and thistles sprung up to increase man’s cares and labors. The curse upon

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the earth, the growth of thorns and thistles, the absence of the tree of life, were no more a part of God’s original purpose concerning the earth, than sin and misery were in his original purpose concerning man. And, of course, the full accomplishment of his original purpose will bring the whole earth to a state of beauty; when the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose, and the wilderness be like Eden, even as the garden of the Lord. Isa. 35:1; 51:3.

Isa 35:1  The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. 

Isa 51:3  For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. 

Both man and his dominion must and will be placed beyond the reach of the curse; beyond the power and the danger of moral and physical evil. The wondrous mercy and love of God in providing a way of salvation at such an immense sacrifice as the gift of his own dear Son, was not appreciated by the fallen race. As men multiplied upon the earth they corrupted their way before God, and the land was filled with violence and iniquity. When they had gone astray almost without exception, the Lord determined to check this career of crime, and destroy the wicked generation. Noah alone, of all the millions living, had maintained his integrity. The purpose of mercy to the race was carried out in him.

After the flood, as the inhabitants of the earth again increased, instead of humbling themselves before the Most High, who had so wondrously made known his justice and his power, they made the flood an excuse to justify their insane ambition, and they set themselves to build a tower by means of which they might defy the power of the Almighty! In this they showed as little regard for his authority and might, as they had faith in his promise of which the bow in the cloud was a token.

But the Lord is not straitened in resources to frustrate the purposes of the rebellious. He confounded their language so that they could no longer plan and labor in concert, and they, of necessity, “left off to build it.” As the people on the earth were now divided into nations, and all going astray from the Lord, it became necessary to separate one family, one people, to preserve the knowledge of God, and by whom to develop the plan of salvation and to identify the promised seed of the woman who was to bruise the head of the serpent. In the midst of all this perverseness, Abraham stood alone, a man of singular integrity and steadfastness in the right, in so much that he was favored

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with the remarkable title of “the friend of God.”

He was constituted the father of all the faithful who should live upon the earth, even to the end of time; and to the promise made to him we are directed to look for our hope. See Heb. 6:11-20.

Heb 6:11  And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 

Heb 6:12  That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. 

Heb 6:13  For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 

Heb 6:14  Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 

Heb 6:15  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 

Heb 6:16  For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 

Heb 6:17  Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 

Heb 6:18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 

Heb 6:19  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 

Heb 6:20  Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 

Also it is said, “And if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3:29.

Our heirship is, therefore, directly related to the promise made to Abraham. What is the promise? Of what are we heirs? It has been said by some that the only promise given to Abraham in which we have any interest is that of “the seed,” or of Christ. But that cannot be so, for the apostle in this same chapter, Gal. 3:16, says that the promises were made to Abraham and to Christ; not of Christ.

Gal 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 

If we are Christ’s we are heirs of the same promises. This is further proved in Rom.8:17, where it is said that if we are the children of God we are “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.”

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 

Thus it appears that certain promises were made to Abraham and to his seed; that the seed is, primarily, Christ, and secondarily, they that are Christ’s; heirs with him of the promises. According to the Scriptures it is an important consideration for us to be acknowledged as the seed or heirs of Abraham.

Now it cannot be an important matter to be proved an heir of him who has nothing to bestow.

What, then, was the promise, what the inheritance, which we may expect to receive from Abraham, our father? That the promise was of an inheritance, of a possession, or, so to speak, of a homestead, is abundantly proved in both Testaments. Thus Paul said of Abraham: “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.” Heb. 11:9. And further in verse 13: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” As strangers and pilgrims they dwelt in the land of promise; although it was to be their inheritance, they dwelt in it as in a strange country, and died in faith of the promise yet to be fulfilled. This language is unmistakable in its import. In its obvious import it is fully sustained by the words of Stephen. The Lord said unto

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Abraham: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee....And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot  on yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.” Acts 7:3-5.

And we learn by Heb. 11 that he died without receiving it; therefore the promise remains to be fulfilled; and if to be fulfilled to him, of course “to his seed,”—all that are Christ’s.

(To be continued)

(Excerpt from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:

THE ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE

 (1884)

BY   ELDER J. H. WAGGONER

Earth's Redemption.

'CHAPTER XII.

REDEMPTION.—CONTINUED

The recovery of man from the effects of the fall of Adam, and of the sins incident to our fallen condition, is by forgiveness of sin and the resurrection of the dead. These means of divine grace have been quite fully noticed. But the work of grace is not completed in these, even as the curse of the transgression did not fall on man alone. Having been made of the dust of the ground, he was closely allied to the earth over which he was given dominion, and the earth was cursed for his sake. It is not necessary here to inquire into all the reasons why the earth was cursed for man’s sake; it is sufficient to our present purpose to accept the fact as revealed in the word of God.

To carry out the original counsel or purpose of the Creator, the work of redemption must include more than the recovery of man from sin and death; it must include the restoration of the earth.

The curse must be removed, and the earth be restored to that state of freedom from evil in which it was when God pronounced everything “very good.”

Without the redemption of the earth, creation would never be entirely recovered from the foul blot brought upon it by sin. Satan would triumph thus far, that a reproach and a stain would not only be cast upon the work of the Creator, but it would be perpetuated; the evil would be immortalized. Or, to prevent that, the work itself would have to be destroyed.

Destruction is but an act of justice where it falls upon an intelligent probationer, who chooses his own destiny, and refuses to fulfill the will of his Maker, and the object of his being.

God can consistently permit evil, both moral and physical, for a season, in order that an intelligent agent may develop his character, with the provision for a Judgment wherein justice and truth shall be fully and certainly vindicated.

And he may consistently destroy the willful transgressor of the divine law.

But to destroy the work of his own hands, which had no volition in suffering the curse, would be a final victory for the enemy. To permit evil without reference to a Judgment, to perpetuate and immortalize it in the universe, would be

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an eternal reproach on the plan and work of the Creator. It would forever mar the beauty and purity of his work; forever prevent the carrying out of his original purpose, unless sin and misery were in his original purpose, which we cannot admit. It would not vindicate justice, because the eternity of evil bears no relation to the penalty of transgression originally announced.

God’s counsel shall stand. Whatever he may temporarily permit for the purposes of probation and of judgment, we cannot suppose that his original purpose will be finally thwarted, so that that which originated in the will of Satan and in rebellion, shall eternally prevail, and obscure that which originated solely in the will and mind of Jehovah. But, reasonable as is our proposition, we are not left to reason out the conclusion. The revelation of the mind of God in respect to man and to his inheritance is clearly made, and we therefore proceed to examine the Scriptures in regard to

2. THE REDEMPTION OF THE EARTH

(To be continued)

(Excerpt from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:

THE ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE

 (1884)

BY   ELDER J. H. WAGGONER

The Dead In Christ Rise First Upon the Return of Our Savior.

'It must be apparent to every reader of the Bible that when man was placed on probation it was for his life.

When he sinned, he incurred the penalty of the law which said he should die.

The sentence against his transgression was that he should return unto the ground out of which he was taken. The means employed to execute the sentence, was depriving him of access to the tree of life lest he should eat and live forever.

But one contrast is presented throughout the Bible: it is of life and death.

Death is an enemy, which Jesus came to overcome and to destroy. 1 Cor 15:26; 2 Tim. 1:10.

1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 

2Ti 1:10  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel

The race of man is literally a dying race; without Jesus there is no hope.

The earth has become a vast charnel house, marked with its graves from one end to the other. Death severs the dearest ties of earth; it bereaves hearts, and brings the keenest anguish to loving ones. Its conquests are well-nigh universal; it holds in its gloomy prison house the untold millions of our ill-fated race.

But, as an enemy to the saints of God, death itself is doomed. The rapacious grave shall be robbed of its spoil. “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren,” said an inspired apostle, “concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.”

He then proceeds to remove all occasion of ignorance, and give them the ground of gospel hope concerning their loved ones sleeping in death. He bases all on the fact “that Jesus died and rose again.” And then rehearses in order the

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future facts in which the hope of the Christian may rest.

1. The Lord, “the Lord himself, shall descend,” and the trumpet shall sound.

2. The sleeping ones, “the dead in Christ shall rise.”

3. We that are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them, and so ever be with the Lord.

His conclusion is: “Comfort one another with these words.”

And this, said the apostle, “we say unto you by the word of the Lord.”

1Th 4:15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 

1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain 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. 

1Th 4:18  Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 

Here is no conjecture; faith rests here without a doubt. Let the mourning, bereaved ones look up; redemption draws near. Oh, the glory of that day when Jesus shall come to gather his ransomed ones home. The voice of the archangel shall open the graves of the righteous ones, who once felt the sting of death. In the bloom of immortal youth they rise to meet their Lord. Remembering the pains of death which they once endured, and conscious that, for them all pains and tears have forever passed away, they shout in triumph, “O death, where is thy sting?” Looking down upon those dusty beds where they have long slumbered, they exultingly ask: “O grave, where is thy victory?” And the translated ones join with them in one rapturous song: “Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Well might the lamented Bliss anticipate the triumph of that day when he sung:— “All joy his loved ones bringing, When Jesus comes; All praise through Heaven ringing When Jesus comes; All beauty bright and vernal, When Jesus comes; All glory, grand, eternal, When Jesus comes.”

When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality,” and God shall wipe away all tears from the eyes of his people; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, then we shall realize, as we cannot now, the value of the blood of Jesus and the glory of his Atonement. Then, and not till then, can the church sing her song of complete victory; then, for the saints, love’s redeeming work will indeed be done.

(To be continued)

(Excerpt from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:

THE ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE

 (1884)

BY   ELDER J. H. WAGGONER

Our Eternal Reward When Christ Returns.

'On the nature of the resurrection we are willing to submit the foregoing to every candid, reverent reader of the pages of divine inspiration. On the importance of the resurrection we must give a few testimonies. When Jesus was instructing his disciples concerning their duty to the poor, he said:

“For they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:14.

Let it be remembered that the resurrection takes place when the Lord Jesus comes the second time; it cannot take place before, and if he should never come there would then be no resurrection of the dead.

And, therefore, any text which introduces the resurrection of the just, of necessity introduces also the coming of Christ.

And, in like manner, any text which speaks of the coming of Christ, introduces to our minds the resurrection of the just, as they are inseparably connected.

See the following decisive proof: “For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain 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. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. 4:16-18.

Notice the points introduced in connection:—

1. The Lord himself shall come; it will be a personal, actual coming.

2. The voice of the archangel (the Son of God, compare John 5:27-29), and the trump of God will be heard.

Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 

Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. 

3. The dead in Christ shall rise.

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4. The living saints will be caught up with them, translated, to meet the Lord.

5. So—in this manner—shall be ever be with the Lord.

6. These are words of comfort to the saints.

In Luke 14:14 are the words of Jesus that we shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. In this last text we learn in what manner, and under what circumstances, the reward will be given.

Closely related to this, in its several circumstances, is the instruction given in 1 Cor. 15. The whole chapter is an argument on the resurrection, but especially verses 42-54, which speak directly of the resurrection of the righteous.

1Co 15:1  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 

1Co 15:2  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 

1Co 15:3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 

1Co 15:4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 

1Co 15:5  And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 

1Co 15:6  After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 

1Co 15:7  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 

1Co 15:8  And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 

1Co 15:9  For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 

1Co 15:10  But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 

1Co 15:11  Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. 

1Co 15:12  Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 

1Co 15:13  But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 

1Co 15:14  And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 

1Co 15:15  Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 

1Co 15:16  For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 

1Co 15:17  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 

1Co 15:18  Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 

1Co 15:19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 

1Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 

1Co 15:21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 

1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 

1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 

1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 

1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 

1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 

1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. 

1Co 15:29  Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? 

1Co 15:30  And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? 

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 

1Co 15:32  If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die. 

1Co 15:33  Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 

1Co 15:34  Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. 

1Co 15:35  But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? 

1Co 15:36  Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: 

1Co 15:37  And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: 

1Co 15:38  But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. 

1Co 15:39  All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. 

1Co 15:40  There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 

1Co 15:41  There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. 

1Co 15:42  So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 

1Co 15:43  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 

1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 

1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 

1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 

1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 

1Co 15:54  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 

1Co 15:55  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 

1Co 15:56  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 

1Co 15:57  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

1Co 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 

1. They shall be raised in glory.

2. We shall not all sleep; some will be translated.

3. The trumpet shall sound; the last trump.

4. We shall put on immortality, or, death will be swallowed up in victory.

The coming of Jesus is not spoken of, but it is well understood, for not one of these events can transpire before he comes. And so the following: “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” Col. 3:4.

We shall appear with him in glory at that time, because the saints are “raised in glory,” immortalized, at that time. Another apostle testifies to the same thing. “We know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2.

“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” 1 Peter 5:4.

This is a parallel text, and one of great clearness and force. And yet several times more we find the Son of God pointing to the advent and, of course, to the resurrection of the just, as the time of conferring the reward.

“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” Matt. 16:27.

“Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22:12.

See also Matt. 25:31-34.

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 

Mat 25:32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 

Mat 25:33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world

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The infinite importance of this subject to the saints, as the time when and the means whereby they shall be glorified, fully justifies the apostle Paul in calling it “the blessed hope.” “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13.

More literally: “And appearing of the glory of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Compare Matt. 16:27, quoted above.

Mat 16:27  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. 

 We cannot forbear quoting a few words from the comments ofDr. Clarke on 1 Cor. 15. On verse 32 he says:— “What the apostle says here, is a regular and legitimate conclusion from the doctrine that there is no resurrection; for if there be no resurrection, then there can be no judgment; no future state of rewards and punishments; why, therefore, should we bear crosses, and keep ourselves under continual discipline! Let us eat and drink, take all the pleasure we can, for to-morrow we die; and there is an end of us forever.”

 Very few theological writers of the present time, recognized as eminent and orthodox, would use the language here used by Dr. Adam Clarke. A great change has come over the minds of the Christian world, on this subject. Dr. Clarke said that, in his day, early in the present century, the faith and preaching of the church differed much, on this subject, from that of the apostles and the early church. And in no part of the Christian era has the popular sentiment, concerning the nature and importance of the resurrection, changed as fast as from Dr. Clarke’s time to the present. The following are his words:— One remark I cannot help making; the doctrine of the resurrection appears to have been thought of much more consequence among the primitive Christians than it is now! How is this? The apostles were continually insisting on it, and exciting the followers of God to diligence, obedience, and cheerfulness, through it. And their successors in the present day seldom mention it! So apostles preached; and so primitive Christians believed; so we preach, and so our hearers, believe. There is not a doctrine in the gospel on which more stress is laid; and there is not a doctrine in the present system of preaching which is treated with more neglect!”

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The doctor inquires, “How is this?” It is not difficult to give the reason: the church has accepted a substitute for the coming of Christ and the resurrection.

The Bible says that immortality is brought to light by Christ in the gospel. The schools of Christian theology teach that it was most forcibly brought to light by Plato—shown to be inherent in the nature of man. The Bible says we are to seek for immortality. “What a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?” Why seek for that which we already possess?

The Bible says we shall put on immortality at the resurrection. Theology teaches that, if there is any bar to the fullness of our immortality, it is removed by death!

by means of which we are ushered into a state of immortal joy.

The Bible says we shall appear in glory when Christ, our Life, appears. But theology teaches that we are glorified by death, which opens the pearly gates to the soul set free from the clogs of our physical natures.

The contrast may be carried much farther, but none who read the Bible can fail to see it. And to show that our presentation of the contrast is strictly just, we quote the following paragraph from one of the most influential religious papers in the United States. It was part of a comment on 1 Thess. 4:13-18, which teaches us to comfort one another with the facts that the Lord is coming, the dead in Christ will be raised, and the living saints will be translated. Thus it speaks:—

(((Truth))))“For all practical purposes of comfort the doctrine of the blessed immortality of the righteous, the immortality of the soul, takes the place for us of any doubtful doctrine of the Lord’s second coming.

(((Lies))))At our death the Lord comes for us. That is what we are to wait and watch for. The dead are already passed into glory. They do not wait for the trump for their judgment and blessedness.”

How can the church highly appreciate the coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead, while holding to such views?

The inquiry maybe raised, If the immortality of the soul and glorification at death “takes the place for us” of the advent and the resurrection, why did it not take their place for Paul and his brethren?

Has “that blessed hope” really been displaced for another in the gospel plan, or is the church proving recreant to the truths of divine inspiration? This is a matter of the highest importance; it concerns our loyalty to

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The truth of the Most High, and the honor of our Saviour, whose plans and appointments are being disparaged before the world. Life is the greatest gift that can be conferred upon a creature. All enjoyments, all hopes, all possibilities, are centered in life. The loss of life is the aggregate, the sum total, of all losses. Man may lose many things in life; when life is lost, he has no more to lose. Death is the extreme penalty of law. It is the penalty of the transgression of God’s law. This penalty—this loss of all—man incurred by disobedience to his Maker. Jesus, the Son of God, came to seek and to save that which is lost; he came to open a way whereby man might escape death and have everlasting life. He is the great Restorer to life; he is “our Life.” Col. 3:4. “God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” 1 John 5:11.

(To be continued)

(Excerpt from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:

THE ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE

 (1884)

BY   ELDER J. H. WAGGONER