“The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach to-day, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox’s gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again.”—C. H. Spurgeon

It is a great thing to begin the Christian life by believing good solid doctrine. Some people have received twenty different “gospels” in as many years; how many more they will accept before they get to their journey’s end, it would be difficult to predict. I thank God that He early taught me the gospel, and I have been so perfectly satisfied with it, that I do not want to know any other. Constant change of creed is sure loss. If a tree has to be taken up two or three times a year, you will not need to build a very large loft in which to store the apples. When people are always shifting their doctrinal principles, they are not likely to bring forth much fruit to the glory of God. It is good for young believers to begin with a firm hold upon those great fundamental doctrines which the Lord has taught in His Word. Why, if I believed what some preach about the temporary, trumpery salvation which only lasts for a time, I would scarcely be at all grateful for it; but when I know that those whom God saves He saves with an everlasting salvation, when I know that He gives to them an everlasting righteousness, when I know that He settles them on an everlasting foundation of everlasting love, and that He will bring them to His everlasting kingdom, oh, then I do wonder, and I am astonished that such a blessing as this should ever have been given to me!

“Pause, my soul! adore, and wonder!

Ask, ‘Oh, why such love to me?’

Grace hath put me in the number

Of the Saviour’s family:

Hallelujah!

Thanks, eternal thanks, to Thee!”

I suppose there are some persons whose minds naturally incline towards the doctrine of free-will. I can only say that mine inclines as naturally towards the doctrines of sovereign grace. Sometimes, when I see some of the worst characters in the street, I feel as if my heart must burst forth in tears of gratitude that God has never let me act as they have done! I have thought, if God had left me alone, and had not touched me by His grace, what a great sinner I should have been! I should have run to the utmost lengths of sin, dived into the very depths of evil, nor should I have stopped at any vice or folly, if God had not restrained me. I feel that I should have been a very king of sinners, if God had let me alone. I cannot understand the reason why I am saved, except upon the ground that God would have it so. I cannot, if I look ever so earnestly, discover any kind of reason in myself why I should be a partaker of Divine grace. If I am not at this moment without Christ, it is only because Christ Jesus would have His will with me, and that will was that I should be with Him where He is, and should share His glory. I can put the crown nowhere but upon the head of Him whose mighty grace has saved me from going down into the pit. Looking back on my past life, I can see that the dawning of it all was of God; of God effectively. I took no torch with which to light the sun, but the sun enlightened me. I did not commence my spiritual life—no, I rather kicked, and struggled against the things of the Spirit: when He drew me, for a time I did not run after Him: there was a natural hatred in my soul of everything holy and good. Wooings were lost upon me—warnings were cast to the wind—thunders were despised; and as for the whispers of His love, they were rejected as being less than nothing and vanity. But, sure I am, I can say now, speaking on behalf of myself, “He only is my salvation.” It was He who turned my heart, and brought me down on my knees before Him. I can in very deed, say with Doddridge and Toplady—

“Grace taught my soul to pray,

And made my eyes o’erflow;”

and coming to this moment, I can add—

“‘Tis grace has kept me to this day,

And will not let me go.”

Well can I remember the manner in which I learned the doctrines of grace in a single instant. Born, as all of us are by nature, an Arminian, I still believed the old things I had heard continually from the pulpit, and did not see the grace of God. When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the young convert is at first aware of this. I can recall the very day and hour when first I received those truths in my own soul—when they were, as John Bunyan says, burnt into my heart as with a hot iron, and I can recollect how I felt that I had grown on a sudden from a babe into a man—that I had made progress in Scriptural knowledge, through having found, once for all, the clue to the truth of God. One week-night, when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not thinking much about the preacher’s sermon, for I did not believe it. The thought struck me, How did you come to be a Christian? I sought the Lord. But how did you come to seek the Lord? The truth flashed across my mind in a moment—I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, “I ascribe my change wholly to God.”

I once attended a service where the text happened to be, “He shall choose our inheritance for us;” and the good man who occupied the pulpit was more than a little of an Arminian. Therefore, when he commenced, he said, “This passage refers entirely to our temporal inheritance, it has nothing whatever to do with our everlasting destiny, for,” said he, “we do not want Christ to choose for us in the matter of Heaven or hell. It is so plain and easy, that every man who has a grain of common sense will choose Heaven, and any person would know better than to choose hell. We have no need of any superior intelligence, or any greater Being, to choose Heaven or hell for us. It is left to our own free-will, and we have enough wisdom given us, sufficiently correct means to judge for ourselves,” and therefore, as he very logically inferred, there was no necessity for Jesus Christ, or anyone, to make a choice for us. We could choose the inheritance for ourselves without any assistance. “Ah!” I thought, “but, my good brother, it may be very true that we could, but I think we should want something more than common sense before we should choose aright.”

First, let me ask, must we not all of us admit an over-ruling Providence, and the appointment of Jehovah’s hand, as to the means whereby we came into this world? Those men who think that, afterwards, we are left to our own free-will to choose this one or the other to direct our steps, must admit that our entrance into the world was not of our own will, but that God had then to choose for us. What circumstances were those in our power which led us to elect certain persons to be our parents? Had we anything to do with it? Did not God Himself appoint our parents, native place, and friends? Could He not have caused me to be born with the skin of the Hottentot, brought forth by a filthy mother who would nurse me in her “kraal,” and teach me to bow down to Pagan gods, quite as easily as to have given me a pious mother, who would each morning and night bend her knee in prayer on my behalf? Or, might He not, if He had pleased, have given me some profligate to have been my parent, from whose lips I might have early heard fearful, filthy, and obscene language? Might He not have placed me where I should have had a drunken father, who would have immured me in a very dungeon of ignorance, and brought me up in the chains of crime? Was it not God’s Providence that I had so happy a lot, that both my parents were His children, and endeavoured to train me up in the fear of the Lord?

John Newton used to tell a whimsical story, and laugh at it, too, of a good woman who said, in order to prove the doctrine of election, “Ah! sir, the Lord must have loved me before I was born, or else He would not have seen anything in me to love afterwards.” I am sure it is true in my case; I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love. So I am forced to accept that great Biblical doctrine. I recollect an Arminian brother telling me that he had read the Scriptures through a score or more times, and could never find the doctrine of election in them. He added that he was sure he would have done so if it had been there, for he read the Word on his knees. I said to him, “I think you read the Bible in a very uncomfortable posture, and if you had read it in your easy chair, you would have been more likely to understand it. Pray, by all means, and the more, the better, but it is a piece of superstition to think there is anything in the posture in which a man puts himself for reading: and as to reading through the Bible twenty times without having found anything about the doctrine of election, the wonder is that you found anything at all: you must have galloped through it at such a rate that you were not likely to have any intelligible idea of the meaning of the Scriptures.”

If it would be marvelous to see one river leap up from the earth full-grown, what would it be to gaze upon a vast spring from which all the rivers of the earth should at once come bubbling up, a million of them born at a birth? What a vision would it be! Who can conceive it. And yet the love of God is that fountain, from which all the rivers of mercy, which have ever gladdened our race—all the rivers of grace in time, and of glory hereafter—take their rise. My soul, stand thou at that sacred fountain-head, and adore and magnify, for ever and ever, God, even our Father, who hath loved us! In the very beginning, when this great universe lay in the mind of God, like unborn forests in the acorn cup; long ere the echoes awoke the solitudes; before the mountains were brought forth; and long ere the light flashed through the sky, God loved His chosen creatures. Before there was any created being—when the ether was not fanned by an angel’s wing, when space itself had not an existence, when there was nothing save God alone—even then, in that loneliness of Deity, and in that deep quiet and profundity, His bowels moved with love for His chosen. Their names were written on His heart, and then were they dear to His soul. Jesus loved His people before the foundation of the world—even from eternity! and when He called me by His grace, He said to me, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

Then, in the fulness of time, He purchased me with His blood; He let His heart run out in one deep gaping wound for me long ere I loved Him. Yea, when He first came to me, did I not spurn Him? When He knocked at the door, and asked for entrance, did I not drive Him away, and do despite to His grace? Ah, I can remember that I full often did so until, at last, by the power of His effectual grace, He said, “I must, I will come in;” and then He turned my heart, and made me love Him. But even till now I should have resisted Him, had it not been for His grace. Well, then since He purchased me when I was dead in sins, does it not follow, as a consequence necessary and logical, that He must have loved me first? Did my Saviour die for me because I believed on Him? No; I was not then in existence; I had then no being. Could the Saviour, therefore, have died because I had faith, when I myself was not yet born? Could that have been possible? Could that have been the origin of the Saviour’s love towards me? Oh! no; my Saviour died for me long before I believed. “But,” says someone, “He foresaw that you would have faith; and, therefore, He loved you.” What did He foresee about my faith? Did He foresee that I should get that faith myself, and that I should believe on Him of myself? No; Christ could not foresee that, because no Christian man will ever say that faith came of itself without the gift and without the working of the Holy Spirit. I have met with a great many believers, and talked with them about this matter; but I never knew one who could put his hand on his heart, and say, “I believed in Jesus without the assistance of the Holy Spirit.”

I am bound to the doctrine of the depravity of the human heart, because I find myself depraved in heart, and have daily proofs that in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing. If God enters into covenant with unfallen man, man is so insignificant a creature that it must be an act of gracious condescension on the Lord’s part; but if God enters into covenant with sinful man, he is then so offensive a creature that it must be, on God’s part, an act of pure, free, rich, sovereign grace. When the Lord entered into covenant with me, I am sure that it was all of grace, nothing else but grace. When I remember what a den of unclean beasts and birds my heart was, and how strong was my unrenewed will, how obstinate and rebellious against the sovereignty of the Divine rule, I always feel inclined to take the very lowest room in my Father’s house, and when I enter Heaven, it will be to go among the less than the least of all saints, and with the chief of sinners.

The late lamented Mr. Denham has put, at the foot of his portrait, a most admirable text, “Salvation is of the Lord.” That is just an epitome of Calvinism; it is the sum and substance of it. If anyone should ask me what I mean by a Calvinist, I should reply, “He is one who says, Salvation is of the Lord.” I cannot find in Scripture any other doctrine than this. It is the essence of the Bible. “He only is my rock and my salvation.” Tell me anything contrary to this truth, and it will be a heresy; tell me a heresy, and I shall find its essence here, that it has departed from this great, this fundamental, this rock-truth, “God is my rock and my salvation.” What is the heresy of Rome, but the addition of something to the perfect merits of Jesus Christ—the bringing in of the works of the flesh, to assist in our justification? And what is the heresy of Arminianism but the addition of something to the work of the Redeemer? Every heresy, if brought to the touchstone, will discover itself here. I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having once believed in Jesus. Such a gospel I abhor.

“If ever it should come to pass,

That sheep of Christ might fall away,

My fickle, feeble soul, alas!

Would fall a thousand times a day.”

If one dear saint of God had perished, so might all; if one of the covenant ones be lost, so may all be; and then there is no gospel promise true, but the Bible is a lie, and there is nothing in it worth my acceptance. I will be an infidel at once when I can believe that a saint of God can ever fall finally. If God hath loved me once, then He will love me for ever. God has a master-mind; He arranged everything in His gigantic intellect long before He did it; and once having settled it, He never alters it, “This shall be done,” saith He, and the iron hand of destiny marks it down, and it is brought to pass. “This is My purpose,” and it stands, nor can earth or hell alter it. “This is My decree,” saith He, “promulgate it, ye holy angels; rend it down from the gate of Heaven, ye devils, if ye can; but ye cannot alter the decree, it shall stand for ever.” God altereth not His plans; why should He? He is Almighty, and therefore can perform His pleasure. Why should He? He is the All-wise, and therefore cannot have planned wrongly. Why should He? He is the everlasting God, and therefore cannot die before His plan is accomplished. Why should He change? Ye worthless atoms of earth, ephemera of a day, ye creeping insects upon this bay-leaf of existence, ye may change your plans, but He shall never, never change His. Has He told me that His plan is to save me? If so, I am for ever safe.

“My name from the palms of His hands

Eternity will not erase;

Impress’d on His heart it remains,

In marks of indelible grace.”

I do not know how some people, who believe that a Christian can fall from grace, manage to be happy. It must be a very commendable thing in them to be able to get through a day without despair. If I did not believe the doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints, I think I should be of all men the most miserable, because I should lack any ground of comfort. I could not say, whatever state of heart I came into, that I should be like a well-spring of water, whose stream fails not; I should rather have to take the comparison of an intermittent spring, that might stop on a sudden, or a reservoir, which I had no reason to expect would always be full. I believe that the happiest of Christians and the truest of Christians are those who never dare to doubt God, but who take His Word simply as it stands, and believe it, and ask no questions, just feeling assured that if God has said it, it will be so. I bear my willing testimony that I have no reason, nor even the shadow of a reason, to doubt my Lord, and I challenge Heaven, and earth, and hell, to bring any proof that God is untrue. From the depths of hell I call the fiends, and from this earth I call the tried and afflicted believers, and to Heaven I appeal, and challenge the long experience of the blood-washed host, and there is not to be found in the three realms a single person who can bear witness to one fact which can disprove the faithfulness of God, or weaken His claim to be trusted by His servants. There are many things that may or may not happen, but this I know shall happen—

“He shall present my soul,

Unblemish’d and complete,

Before the glory of His face,

With joys divinely great.”

All the purposes of man have been defeated, but not the purposes of God. The promises of man may be broken—many of them are made to be broken—but the promises of God shall all be fulfilled. He is a promise-maker, but He never was a promise-breaker; He is a promise-keeping God, and every one of His people shall prove it to be so. This is my grateful, personal confidence, “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me”—unworthy me, lost and ruined me. He will yet save me; and—

“I, among the blood-wash’d throng,

Shall wave the palm, and wear the crown,

And shout loud victory.”

I go to a land which the plough of earth hath never upturned, where it is greener than earth’s best pastures, and richer than her most abundant harvests ever saw. I go to a building of more gorgeous architecture than man hath ever builded; it is not of mortal design; it is “a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.” All I shall know and enjoy in Heaven, will be given to me by the Lord, and I shall say, when at last I appear before Him—

“Grace all the work shall crown

Through everlasting days;

It lays in Heaven the topmost stone,

And well deserves the praise.”

I know there are some who think it necessary to their system of theology to limit the merit of the blood of Jesus: if my theological system needed such a limitation, I would cast it to the winds. I cannot, I dare not allow the thought to find a lodging in my mind, it seems so near akin to blasphemy. In Christ’s finished work I see an ocean of merit; my plummet finds no bottom, my eye discovers no shore. There must be sufficient efficacy in the blood of Christ, if God had so willed it, to have saved not only all in this world, but all in ten thousand worlds, had they transgressed their Maker’s law. Once admit infinity into the matter, and limit is out of the question. Having a Divine Person for an offering, it is not consistent to conceive of limited value; bound and measure are terms inapplicable to the Divine sacrifice. The intent of the Divine purpose fixes the application of the infinite offering, but does not change it into a finite work. Think of the numbers upon whom God has bestowed His grace already. Think of the countless hosts in Heaven: if thou wert introduced there to-day, thou wouldst find it as easy to tell the stars, or the sands of the sea, as to count the multitudes that are before the throne even now. They have come from the East, and from the West, from the North, and from the South, and they are sitting down with Abraham, and with Isaac, and with Jacob in the Kingdom of God; and beside those in Heaven, think of the saved ones on earth. Blessed be God, His elect on earth are to be counted by millions, I believe, and the days are coming, brighter days than these, when there shall be multitudes upon multitudes brought to know the Saviour, and to rejoice in Him. The Father’s love is not for a few only, but for an exceeding great company. “A great multitude, which no man could number,” will be found in Heaven. A man can reckon up to very high figures; set to work your Newtons, your mightiest calculators, and they can count great numbers, but God and God alone can tell the multitude of His redeemed. I believe there will be more in Heaven than in hell. If anyone asks me why I think so, I answer, because Christ, in everything, is to “have the pre-eminence,” and I cannot conceive how He could have the pre-eminence if there are to be more in the dominions of Satan than in Paradise. Moreover, I have never read that there is to be in hell a great multitude, which no man could number. I rejoice to know that the souls of all infants, as soon as they die, speed their way to Paradise. Think what a multitude there is of them! Then there are already in Heaven unnumbered myriads of the spirits of just men made perfect—the redeemed of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues up till now; and there are better times coming, when the religion of Christ shall be universal; when—

“He shall reign from pole to pole,

With illimitable sway;”

when whole kingdoms shall bow down before Him, and nations shall be born in a day, and in the thousand years of the great millennial state there will be enough saved to make up all the deficiencies of the thousands of years that have gone before. Christ shall be Master everywhere, and His praise shall be sounded in every land. Christ shall have the pre-eminence at last; His train shall be far larger than that which shall attend the chariot of the grim monarch of hell.

Some persons love the doctrine of universal atonement because they say, “It is so beautiful. It is a lovely idea that Christ should have died for all men; it commends itself,” they say, “to the instincts of humanity; there is something in it full of joy and beauty.” I admit there is, but beauty may be often associated with falsehood. There is much which I might admire in the theory of universal redemption, but I will just show what the supposition necessarily involves. If Christ on His cross intended to save every man, then He intended to save those who were lost before He died. If the doctrine be true, that He died for all men, then He died for some who were in hell before He came into this world, for doubtless there were even then myriads there who had been cast away because of their sins. Once again, if it was Christ’s intention to save all men, how deplorably has He been disappointed, for we have His own testimony that there is a lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, and into that pit of woe have been cast some of the very persons who, according to the theory of universal redemption, were bought with His blood. That seems to me a conception a thousand times more repulsive than any of those consequences which are said to be associated with the Calvinistic and Christian doctrine of special and particular redemption. To think that my Saviour died for men who were or are in hell, seems a supposition too horrible for me to entertain. To imagine for a moment that He was the Substitute for all the sons of men, and that God, having first punished the Substitute, afterwards punished the sinners themselves, seems to conflict with all my ideas of Divine justice. That Christ should offer an atonement and satisfaction for the sins of all men, and that afterwards some of those very men should be punished for the sins for which Christ had already atoned, appears to me to be the most monstrous iniquity that could ever have been imputed to Saturn, to Janus, to the goddess of the Thugs, or to the most diabolical heathen deities. God forbid that we should ever think thus of Jehovah, the just and wise and good!

There is no soul living who holds more firmly to the doctrines of grace than I do, and if any man asks me whether I am ashamed to be called a Calvinist, I answer—I wish to be called nothing but a Christian; but if you ask me, do I hold the doctrinal views which were held by John Calvin, I reply, I do in the main hold them, and rejoice to avow it. But far be it from me even to imagine that Zion contains none but Calvinistic Christians within her walls, or that there are none saved who do not hold our views. Most atrocious things have been spoken about the character and spiritual condition of John Wesley, the modern prince of Arminians. I can only say concerning him that, while I detest many of the doctrines which he preached, yet for the man himself I have a reverence second to no Wesleyan; and if there were wanted two apostles to be added to the number of the twelve, I do not believe that there could be found two men more fit to be so added than George Whitefield and John Wesley. The character of John Wesley stands beyond all imputation for self-sacrifice, zeal, holiness, and communion with God; he lived far above the ordinary level of common Christians, and was one “of whom the world was not worthy.” I believe there are multitudes of men who cannot see these truths, or, at least, cannot see them in the way in which we put them, who nevertheless have received Christ as their Saviour, and are as dear to the heart of the God of grace as the soundest Calvinist in or out of Heaven.

I do not think I differ from any of my Hyper-Calvinistic brethren in what I do believe, but I differ from them in what they do not believe. I do not hold any less than they do, but I hold a little more, and, I think, a little more of the truth revealed in the Scriptures. Not only are there a few cardinal doctrines, by which we can steer our ship North, South, East, or West, but as we study the Word, we shall begin to learn something about the North-west and North-east, and all else that lies between the four cardinal points. The system of truth revealed in the Scriptures is not simply one straight line, but two; and no man will ever get a right view of the gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once. For instance, I read in one Book of the Bible, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Yet I am taught, in another part of the same inspired Word, that “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” I see, in one place, God in providence presiding over all, and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions, in a great measure, to his own free-will. Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act that there was no control of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to atheism; and if, on the other hand, I should declare that God so over-rules all things that man is not free enough to be responsible, I should be driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism. That God predestines, and yet that man is responsible, are two facts that few can see clearly. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory to each other. If, then, I find taught in one part of the Bible that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find, in another Scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other. I do not believe they can ever be welded into one upon any earthly anvil, but they certainly shall be one in eternity. They are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the human mind which pursues them farthest will never discover that they converge, but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.

It is often said that the doctrines we believe have a tendency to lead us to sin. I have heard it asserted most positively, that those high doctrines which we love, and which we find in the Scriptures, are licentious ones. I do not know who will have the hardihood to make that assertion, when they consider that the holiest of men have been believers in them. I ask the man who dares to say that Calvinism is a licentious religion, what he thinks of the character of Augustine, or Calvin, or Whitefield, who in successive ages were the great exponents of the system of grace; or what will he say of the Puritans, whose works are full of them? Had a man been an Arminian in those days, he would have been accounted the vilest heretic breathing, but now we are looked upon as the heretics, and they as the orthodox. We have gone back to the old school; we can trace our descent from the apostles. It is that vein of free-grace, running through the sermonizing of Baptists, which has saved us as a denomination. Were it not for that, we should not stand where we are today. We can run a golden line up to Jesus Christ Himself, through a holy succession of mighty fathers, who all held these glorious truths; and we can ask concerning them, “Where will you find holier and better men in the world?” No doctrine is so calculated to preserve a man from sin as the doctrine of the grace of God. Those who have called it “a licentious doctrine” did not know anything at all about it. Poor ignorant things, they little knew that their own vile stuff was the most licentious doctrine under Heaven. If they knew the grace of God in truth, they would soon see that there was no preservative from lying like a knowledge that we are elect of God from the foundation of the world. There is nothing like a belief in my eternal perseverance, and the immutability of my Father’s affection, which can keep me near to Him from a motive of simple gratitude. Nothing makes a man so virtuous as belief of the truth. A lying doctrine will soon beget a lying practice. A man cannot have an erroneous belief without by-and-by having an erroneous life. I believe the one thing naturally begets the other. Of all men, those have the most disinterested piety, the sublimest reverence, the most ardent devotion, who believe that they are saved by grace, without works, through faith, and that not of themselves, it is the gift of God. Christians should take heed, and see that it always is so, lest by any means Christ should be crucified afresh, and put to an open shame.

In many ways the Bible is ‘a tale of two cities’. Two great cities dominate the theatre of Biblical revelation—Jerusalem and Babylon. Both these cities feature prominently in the events at the end of the age. Their history is wonderfully intertwined in Scripture. The rise of one inevitably meant the decline and fall of the other.

Today Babylon is a small settlement in Iraq. It has been most notable in recent times as the seat of one of Saddam Hussein’s extravagant palaces.

The Scriptures have a great deal to say about this city and understanding God’s purpose for Babylon is critical in understanding His purpose for these last days. It is not an overstatement of the case to insist that for God’s people to live as they ought in this age, and to have a right view of Christ’s return, they must have a right view of what God reveals about Babylon and Babylonianism.

Chapter one—Origins rooted in apostasy.

The origin of the city of Babylon is revealed in Genesis 10:8-10. It was initially the seat of power for Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah. He is renowned in Scripture as a marauding, blood-thirsty rebel against God and Divine order. The words of Genesis 10:9, wherefore it is said… indicate that Nimrod’s opposition to God became proverbial. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel. Assuming Nimrod to have been born at the same time as his cousin Salah (Gen 11:12) he would have been born just about 38 years after the flood.

Babel is soon revealed as a centre of false worship—in essence, antichristianity. Genesis 11:1-9 records the purpose of men to build the tower of Babel as an idolatrous shrine. God steps in to confuse the language of mankind and so suspend this concerted attempt to overthrow God’s order in worship, and apostasy receives a major set-back. Yet, right until the end of the age the pedigree of every form of false religion can be traced back to Babylon! That city is the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth! Revelation 17:5. Babylon spawned every form of spiritual error known to man and all of these falsehoods will again converge and amalgamate in the final, single manifestation of Babylonianism—seen in Revelation 17 as the great whore.

Chapter two—Babylon’s golden era

Babylon fades from the Biblical scene almost entirely until the days of Nebuchadnezzar 1700 years later. The land of Shinar appears in Genesis 14:1, as being the kingdom of one of the kings who invaded Canaan in the days of Abraham and had subjugated the cities of the plain, one of which was Sodom.

There is poignant reference to its defiling influence in Joshua 7:21. Clearly, the Canaanite tribes had been affected by Babylon’s fashions and as Achan yielded to its appeal and took the goodly Babylonish garment, he grasped that which was accursed of God and brought the censure of God upon the whole nation of Israel.

When the Chaldeans assumed the status of superpower from the Assyrians and became the head of gold (Daniel 2:38) Babylon, already having been the focus of on-going power-struggles in the near east, became the seat of this power and formed the hub of the new and greatest empire the world has seen.

Secular history informs us of the splendours that Babylon accomplished during this Chaldean period of its history. It became the seat of fabulous wealth and power boasting one of the wonders of the ancient world—the hanging gardens.

Babylon and Jerusalem are first brought into direct contact during the reign of Hezekiah, II Kings 20:12. At this point it is a rising power subservient to Assyria, but is soon to challenge the Assyrians for supremacy. The Babylonian diplomats courted Hezekiah because of his recent defeat of the Assyrian army and perhaps from an astronomical curiosity into the miraculous sign of the sun going back ten degrees (2 Kings 20:9-10). With the succession of Nebuchadnezzar to the throne of Babylon and his meteoric rise to superpower status, Babylon and Jerusalem soon come into greater contact and conflict. This contact leads to the increasing subjugation of Judah—the northern kingdom of Samaria had been led captive by the Assyrians and those captives had been ‘inherited’ by Nebuchadnezzar when he defeated the Assyrians. Babylon’s contact with Judah climaxes in the phased captivity (Jeremiah 52:28-30) of many Jews who spent a total of 70 years in captivity and the sack of Jerusalem.

Short-lived glory

The downfall of Babylon from this pinnacle of glory was predicted by the prophet Jeremiah (25:12), speaking even before it had accomplished its full glory. Both Jeremiah and Isaiah address at some length the issue of Babylon’s downfall. See Isaiah 13 & 14, Jeremiah 51 & 52. Just as before at Babel, God stepped in and pruned back the growth of the city’s influence over the world.

However, a careful study of these predictions will reveal that the fall of Babylon at the hand of the Medes and Persians under the command of Cyrus (Daniel 5:31) do not completely fulfill the predictions made by the prophets and it becomes clear that there is obviously a fulfillment of these prophecies that is future and therefore supposes a rise to prominence and glory again for Babylon.

Babylon has a future!

The extent of the judgement predicted shows that it has not yet been fully fulfilled. If plain language means anything, statements in Scripture like those recorded below, cannot be said to have been fully fulfilled. It is easy to see in fact that the timing of the destruction of Babylon is linked to the last days when there will be supernatural signs in  the heavens that announce the Saviour’s return.

• Jeremiah 50:39-40 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.
• Jeremiah 51:26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.
• Isaiah 13:19-22 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
• Isaiah 13:9-11 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

The absolute annihilation of the city, parallel to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, is predicted. Yet Babylon continued to exist after its fall to the Medes. It was later conquered by Alexander for the Greeks in 331 BC. It was still in existence in Roman times as there is a church of Jewish believers in Babylon in Apostolic times, 1 Peter 5:13. John the Apostle, writing long after Babylon’s fall to Cyrus, writes in the Revelation of the future prosperity and final fall of that city and an empire associated with it as Christ returns. Today Babylon is still in existence and occupied—very much unlike Sodom and Gomorrah!

It will not be until the end that Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s predictions will be fulfilled.

• Revelation 18:20-21 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

This passage is a very deliberate echo of the words and action of Jeremiah 51:63-64. Its use by John clearly shows that the prophecies made by Jeremiah and Isaiah still await final fulfillment.

A further argument for Babylon’s role in the future is that the predictions by the prophets of Babylon’s doom are intimately associated with the restoration of the nation of Israel to its land and to spiritual blessings of renewed fellowship with God having been cast away for a time.

That such a restoration takes place, and does so in conjunction with Divine destruction of Babylon, may be seen in the following statements:

• Jeremiah 50:4-6 In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.
• Jeremiah 50:18-19 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead.
• Jeremiah 50:28 The voice of them [in the context these are Jews] that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple.
• Jeremiah 50:34 Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
• Jeremiah 51:20-23 Thou [i.e. Israel] art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider; With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.

Such a restoration fulfilling the predictions of the prophets has plainly not yet occurred even though the first elements of that restoration have begun to appear with the return of Israel as a nation to her ancient territory.

Chapter three—Future rise to prominence.

As stated above, the predictions of the prophets of the final destruction of Babylon, require that city to again assume a place of power, glory and profound influence over the prophetic earth.

The Scriptures make it clear that such a time lies ahead for Babylon as the seat of antichristianity and apostasy when the man of sin appears on the scene. Babylon will be emphatically his city, the seat of his power and the centre of his economic, political and spiritual influence. With the setting up of the abomination of desolation in the Temple at Jerusalem the centre of his spiritual influence will move to that city from Babylon, yet Babylon will retain its political and especially its economic influence over the earth. This phase of Babylon’s history may be seen recorded in Revelation chapters 17 and 18.

In these chapters the religious and economic influence of the city is seen to be profound. She is the great whore that sitteth upon many waters… the waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. Revelation 17:1, 15. …All nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. Revelation 18:3 Her commercial power at this stage involves every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea… Revelation 18:17. She will reach the place of supremacy in the earth!

Chapter four—Babylon’s final destruction.

The prophetic Scriptures speak very dramatically of the final fall of Babylon that occurs just prior to the return of the Lord Jesus when He destroys the Antichrist and his kingdom.

Babylon’s final downfall involves several components.

1. Assault by the political enemies of Antichrist. Reference to this is found in several places. Daniel 11:40 speaks of a concerted attack upon Antichrist by the King of the North and the King of the South—divisions within the ten kingdom confederacy that he heads—at the time of the end. Antichrist has earlier usurped power in the northern (Syrian) kingdom as he rose to power (Daniel 11:21).

It is while he is engaged in this internal strife with the Syrian and Egyptian components of his confederacy that he hears a news report from the north—which is the Scripture’s uniform manner of describing travel from Babylon out of the east down into Israel where the Antichrist evidently is at this point. The news appears to be of an attack upon Babylon, his home base, which enrages him and he comes in fury against Jerusalem in a final attempt to destroy that city. Jerusalem is already under siege by him at this point, Zech 14:1-2, but he is stirred to make a final destructive push—perhaps in response to the threat posed by the Kings from the east, referred to below. It is as he pursues this purpose and masses his forces between the seas in the glorious holy mountain (i.e. in Israel) at Armageddon (Rev 16:16) to that end, that the Saviour returns to Jerusalem and destroys him with the breath of His mouth (2 Thess 2:8, Isaiah 11:4).

Apparently, this attack upon Babylon is described in Revelation 16:12 and will be a re-run of former events which led to the fall of the city to Cyrus. This should not come as a surprise as there are many ‘rehearsals’ in the past of what God will do in the future! Divine intervention prepares the way for a 200 million strong army to cross the Euphrates and attack Babylon. This future fall of Babylon to a military attack is described by Isaiah and Jeremiah.

• Isaiah 13:4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.
• Jeremiah 51:27 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.

2. Direct Divine action. In the run up to the appearance of Christ a number of Divine assaults are made on Babylon at the time of the end which are described in Revelation 16:10-21 and in Isaiah 13:10.

• Revelation 16:10-21 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
• Isaiah 13:10-11 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

It appears that these Divine assaults upon the city follows the successful military attack described above. The conquerors of Babylon have a short-lived enjoyment of their victory. The final three of the seven vials of wrath specifically target Babylon as the seat of the Beast. These three final plagues culminate in a great earthquake in which Babylon was divided into three parts and came in remembrance before God. The fall of the city is further described in Revelation 18 where the merchants of the earth mourn over the collapse of the city as the heart of the great trading empire that had made them rich.

Clearly, the fall of the city occurs just prior to the Antichrist’s final attack on Jerusalem and the visible appearance of the Saviour to stand upon the Mount of Olives.

• Daniel 11:44-45 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

Heaven rejoices when Babylon falls.

• Revelation 19:1-3 And after these things [the final fall of Babylon described in the previous chapter] I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

So ends the saga of the city of Babylon. Founded in apostasy and a seat of defiance of God all through its illustrated history, the city finally falls under Divine wrath. So all the wicked will perish however long their career of rebellion. The expectation that God will yet avenge the righteous upon the wicked is part of the hope that strengthens God’s people to go on in the last days.

It seems that everywhere one looks these days there is some aspect of the homosexual agenda being touted. ‘Pride’ marches, lobbying for same-sex marriage, same-sex family benefits in law, same-sex adoption rights, mayoral proclamations, etc. The modern entertainment industry seems increasingly to be dominated by this issue. Increasingly, the homosexual constituency is influencing decisions at every level of society. Parallel to this is an increasing disregard for what God says on the subject – even among Christians!

Not a surprise.

The rise of the homosexual ‘agenda’ is not something that surprises the Bible-believer. The Lord Jesus warns in no uncertain terms that the days leading up to His return will be marked by the same character that was seen prior to Noah’s flood and the destruction of Sodom in the days of Lot.

“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (Luke 17:26-30 AV)

Sodomy was part of the wickedness and violence (Genesis 6:5) that filled the earth prior to the flood. Evidently, there was something inherently sinful in the kind of marriages referred to above. There is room in the Saviour’s words for the suggestion that homosexual marriage may even have been seen! The fact that Ham, Noah’s son, engaged in this sin after the flood, indicates his exposure to it prior to the flood. This was the sin that occasioned the destruction the cities of the plain, one of which was Sodom, in an act of direct Divine judgement. This world will again resemble Sodom and Gomorrah before the Saviour returns.

Homosexuality is sin.

God’s Law. All sin is defined by the Law of God. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” (1John 3:4 AV) God’s law cannot be amended, redefined or repealed by human laws. The Law of God is summarized in the ten commandments and the seventh commandment: “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14 AV), comprehensively deals with all forms of sexual sin. Sodomy is just one of the many sexual sins defined by this commandment.

God’s standard for human behaviour. The Divine standard for human sexual behaviour is outlined clearly in Scripture. It is to occur between one man and one woman in the context of monogamous marriage.

“But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” (Mark 10:6-9 AV)

Every sexual act that occurs outside those parameters is sin. A Biblical definition of sin includes the activity of the imagination and mind in this area too. “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28 AV)

Strong words. The Bible has strong things to say about homosexuality. It is an aggravated sin in God’s eyes. This is seen in the terms that God uses to describe it: abomination, Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; vile affections and that which is against nature, Romans 1:26.

God’s abhorrence of this sin is further seen in the action He has historically taken against outbreaks of this activity. The Flood in Noah’s day, the destruction of Sodom, and the pouring out of wrath of God at Christ’s return are all clearly linked by Scripture to the sin of homosexuality among others. There is a sobering reference to the destruction of the city of Sodom in the Epistle of Jude:

“Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Jude 1:7 AV)

The fiery ruin of that city on account of its sin was just the beginning of eternal fire! The sinners from Sodom are presently in the fires of everlasting punishment and will be there eternally. This is of course the fate of every sinner who rejects Christ and His gospel.

Homosexuality is a chief sin and it is presented in Scripture as appearing when God’s restraints upon man’s behaviour have been removed. “…God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves…God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature…” (Romans 1:24, 26 AV) Homosexual behaviour appears in a society as a climax to a course of defiance of God’s law in many other areas of life. It is a sin that is at the pinnacle of man’s wickedness usually appearing in company with promiscuity and other forms of immorality and wickedness.

Not the unpardonable sin! There is a comfort in knowing that sodomy is a sin because the gospel has the answer to it! There is only one sin that God will not pardon – blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, Matthew 12:31-32. Of course, those who continue to pursue any sin in defiance of God’s warnings in the gospel, are in grave danger of committing that unpardonable sin, and will cross the line of God’s patience and mercy.

There were members of the Church at Corinth that had previously been involved in this lifestyle but had been cleansed from it and had obviously abandoned the wickedness of their previous lifestyle when they became members of the Church of Christ.

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 AV)

God has stated unequivocally His intention to punish sodomy, yet IF sodomy is NOT a sin (as some allege) but is an irreversible, fatalistic tendency then the sinner who commits it is entirely without hope of ever being delivered from the wrath of God! However, taking the Biblical view that sodomy IS a sin, means that the gospel of Jesus of Christ provides a complete remedy and wonderful hope for the homosexual who trusts Christ for pardon and salvation.

A worse sin than the sins of Sodom. Jesus said: “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.” (Matthew 11:23-24 AV) Those who reject the gospel message after being privileged to hear it, commit a sin that is worse in the eyes of God than the sins of Sodom! What an eternity faces those who hear the gospel and refuse it!

Arguments used to justify sodomy

• I was born this way! To some extent this is true of all sin! All mankind is born in sin and has inherited a depraved nature which is the source of all our sin. “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man…” the Saviour said. (Matthew 15:19-20 AV) However, it is not possible to make our natural disposition toward sin an excuse for indulging it. A depraved nature is an explanation for sin but it is not an excuse for sin. God holds men accountable for every breach of His Law even though they are fully inclined by nature to break it.
• I can do as I please! True. The right to self-determination is often claimed today. Human rights legislation in the developed world has enshrined the right to express ‘sexual orientation’ in various ways. But every sinner must be prepared for the consequences of exercising this right. There is a contingent ‘right’ to be considered – the just consequences of pleasing self in a way that offends God. Pleasing self by indulging sin will bring a harvest of misery in time and eternity. The Divinely-given right to appear before the bar of Divine justice and experience God’s justice in eternity is inalienable for all mankind. No human court or decision on the part of the sinner can remove that right. “And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.” (Romans 1:27 AV) Whatever pleasure sin brings it is only for a season and inevitably it produces misery. “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 16:25 AV)

• Homophobic! Often any kind of Biblical witness against the error and consequences of defying God by living in a homosexual lifestyle is greeted with loud protests of “Homophobia!” Although the term is meaningless in itself – a ‘fear of the same’ – it has come to mean a fear of homosexuality and is usually used in a derogatory way. It is a wise thing to fear sin! It is a wise and proper thing to fear the God whose law outlaws homosexuality. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31 AV) It is a fear of this sin, and its consequences in the life of those who practise it, and in the society that condones it that motivates a Biblical protest against it. It is gospel compassion that warns men against all sin and the threatened wrath of God upon it.

• Biblical arguments. Some will argue that the Bible is not clear on the matter of homosexual behaviour. Others dismiss Old Testament statements as if they were a relic of some irrelevant, ignorant age and have been replaced by a more tolerant New Testament theology. The argument is sometimes advanced that true Christianity must tolerate everything in loving indulgent way. Still others go so far in their abuse of Scripture to try to advance a Scriptural case advocating sodomy and producing ‘evidence’ of it in the lives of God’s people in Scripture. All of this is an entirely misguided and erroneous view of Scripture. The God the New Testament is the God of the Old. Christ and His Apostles taught nothing that was contrary to the Law of God or the standards of truth and righteousness laid down in the Old Testament. The Bible is a single book with a single message and rightly interpreted presents a single view of sin and the sinner.

What should the Christian do?

1. It is not the Christian’s place to implement the Divine sentence of punishment on this sin. It is never right to take the administration of God’s law out of His hands into our own – beyond the responsibility He has given to the Church to discipline those within its ranks for sin¹. A kind of Christian vigilantism, for want of a better term, is entirely wrong. It is God’s business to punish sin and He will do so in perfect justice.
2. Pity. The Christian is to manifest gospel pity and compassion for all sinners who destroy themselves with their sin. Homosexuality is a particularly destructive behaviour – physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and eternally – and the heart of the Christian is to be moved with deep, Christ-like pity for these sinners.
3. Warn of God’s judgement. The threat of Divine wrath is real and is to be stated clearly. Warning of the consequences of defying God must be published.
4. Offer the hope of the gospel. Even the most militant homosexual may be saved by the grace of God. There is gospel hope for them to save them from the guilt of this sin and give them victory over it in their life as a believer. The Christian can have absolute confidence in the offer of the gospel to whosever! The Lord Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15 AV)
5. Separate. The Christian has an obligation to keep themselves pure from every form of sin. The Bible-believer must have nothing to do with anything that advances or endorses sin, be it sodomy or any other sin. As Abraham maintained a pilgrim life of faith separated from Sodom – even though his nephew was there – so must we maintain a walk with God separated from the world and its ways.

What should the homosexual do?

1. Recognize this practice as sinful. The recognition of our personal guilt before God is a critical first step in experiencing God’s forgiveness and salvation. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23 AV)
   
2. Repent and believe the gospel. The gospel message reveals the wrath of God on sin; that Christ died in the place of every guilty sinner who will trust Him; that there is the experience of the new birth that is necessary to be delivered from the power of sin and prepare sinners for heaven. Jesus Christ “ is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25 AV) His salvation is freely offered to the penitent.
3. Live a holy life as a born-again child of God, fighting the sins of the flesh and living to please Christ. We are saved to serve God and live to please Him. This means fighting sin and temptation; resisting the sinful ways of the world; and actively pursuing a course of obedience of God’s word.

Footnotes:

¹ An example of Church discipline of sexual sin in one of its members is found in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. The Church had the responsibility to dis-fellowship the man and separate from him, declaring the nature of the evil that he had committed. Beyond this it had no authority from God to act against him.

What follows is a compilation of notes I prepared for our adult Sunday School class based on an old work by Rev. Septimus Sears called, Things which must shortly come to pass. It is a simple outline of God’s prophetic timeline for the last days as revealed in Scripture. There are few things more useful than to have a simple overview of the key points of that timeline! I believe that this will help remove a great deal of the confusion that surrounds this vital subject.

Introduction

Why we need to know!

This is a subject addressed by Scripture. God’s people should pay careful attention to what the Scripture teaches about the future of this world. The word of God does not leave us without instruction on this subject! See Matthew 24:32-33. The Saviour makes it plain that there will be unmistakable signs that His advent is approaching. The signs are revealed in Scripture and are to be attended to.

We are to study what the Scripture reveals on this subject. He Himself teaches in this parable the need to pay careful attention to the progress of the time and the change of the season coming upon the earth. The servants of Christ are not to be caught unawares by the Saviour’s return, 1 Thessalonians 5:4, Luke 21:33-36. The character of the days in which we live, the course and terminus of this age, is clearly revealed in Scripture and we are to know what God has said on this matter. It can only be as we follow the example of the prophets, 1 Peter 1:10-11, that we can come to an understanding of these things. See Daniel 12:4, Matthew 24:15. It is vital that the Bible is its own interpreter in this matter of doctrine and that we do not attempt to force any arbitrary scheme of interpretation upon its words.

It is part of the duty of the minister to teach on these things. Cp Luke 12:42—as the age progresses toward its close it is increasingly a due season for such instruction. Since prophetic teaching on the end time is a basic part of all Scriptural revelation, it is necessary to deal with this subject in order to declare…all the counsel of God, Acts 20:27. See 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2 Thessalonians 2:5.

There is a special blessing pronounced by Christ Himself on the study of these matters, Revelation 1:3. There is therefore a level of blessing missed by a failure to give attention to this branch of truth! A knowledge of Biblical prophetic truth has a profound practical effect—it is a key constituent in sanctification of our lives, 1 John 3:2.

Divine help is crucial! Daniel was impressed with this truth, Daniel 10:21. See also John 16:13.

Where are we now on the prophetic timeline?

If Scripture reveals a clear timeline of events that will climax in the coming again of Christ to this earth in power and great glory—and it certainly does—then it is of paramount importance that we discover where we are currently on that timeline. We can only properly understand what lies ahead if we know where we are now. It is vital to be able to distinguish Biblically between what is past, present and future. This is where much of the controversy on this subject arises.

Some things to bear in mind when determining whether a particular prophecy relates to the past, present, or future:

• The ancient date of a prophecy does not necessarily mean it has been fulfilled. Just because the New Testament economy has superseded the Old does not mean that everything in the Old Testament has been fulfilled. Some of the most ancient statements have yet to be fulfilled. See Genesis 49:10, Jude 4.

• Many statements in the Bible have at least a dual direct fulfillment. Cp Matt 17:11-12.

• Many of the events prophesied in Scripture had multiple foreshadowings of their final fulfillment. There were many men who preceded Christ who were like Him because they faithfully served Him and were in a sense types of the coming Christ. Many of the prophecies about Christ are in their historical setting applicable to David, Solomon or any other of the prophets who made them. See Psalm 40, 72, Isaiah 8:18. Often when the prophet speaks in the first person it is clear that Christ Himself is speaking. This same principle is seen in reference to the Antichrist, 1 John 2:18. It is crucial to distinguish between a fulfillment and a foreshadowing of this kind.

• No statement made by God can be said to have been fulfilled until it is plain that each jot and tittle has been fulfilled to the letter. God does not embellish or exaggerate. Every detail of what He says must be seen to be fulfilled before a prophetic statement can be consigned to the past. An example: Genesis 13:15 (Deuteronomy 30:20), Acts 7:5.

Biblical descriptions of the present time.

• The last days. This is how the Bible describes the days in which we are living. Cp Hebrews 1:2, Acts 2:17, 1 John 2:18 (here the Greek word ‘hour’ is translated as time).

• The times of the Gentiles. This is the Saviour’s description of this age, Luke 21:24. The period identified in this way runs from Nebuchadnezzar right until the Lord’s return. See Daniel 2:31-45. This is what Paul is also alluding to in Romans 11:25. The times of the Gentiles are seen to have two distinct phases: They began while Israel was still a distinct nation and to some degree maintained a national identity in her own land. The second phase began in AD 70 when following their rejection of the Messiah, and in fulfillment of Daniel 9:26, the Temple was destroyed, the people scattered and the national identity practically lost. The re-emergence of Israel as a nation is a reminder that the times of the Gentiles are coming to an end.

• A time of increasing apostacy. The course of the world is one of increasing wickedness. Cp Matthew 24:34, Luke 18:8, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.

• The day of grace. The Scripture makes it quite plain that these last days are days of gospel opportunity for the world. Cp Mark 16:15, Matthew 24:14, 2 Corinthians 6:2.

A right understanding our where we are now determines our present duty before God. We can only really know how we are to live now, and what the purpose of God is for today, as we understand this matter of where we are now on God’s timeline. Such an understanding enables us to grasp the hope that is clearly set before us in Scripture.

Next: The future and the nation of Israel

The Ark of the covenant

Scripture: Exodus 25:10-22

In the tabernacle the ark of the covenant resided in the holy of holies. This piece of Tabernacle furniture is associated with the immediate presence of God. The ark is a wonderful picture of Christ as the mediator between God and men. It is in Him that God dwells among sinful men. It is in Him that God communicates to men, Exodus 25:22. Though the ark was concealed behind the veil — not to be looked on by any save the High Priest once a year and even on the move the ark was wrapped in the vail — the ark was known by the people through the Scriptures to be of special importance in the Tabernacle. What we may never see with the natural eye may be known to us by the Scriptures and seen with the eye of faith! The OT people of God looked forward to a day when the veil would be removed and when God’s Lamb would die for sin full access to the immediate presence of God would be enjoyed. The ark as the symbol of God’s presence among them was the focal point of all the ritual of the Levitical age.

As NT saints we have the vantage point of looking on the ark through the rent veil and with the light of full gospel revelation. Looking on the ark in that light we may see Christ clearly where the OT believer only saw Him dimly and concealed in shadowy type.

The ark consisted of two component parts

I The Ark proper.

This was a shittim wood chest overlaid inside and outside with pure gold, Exodus 25:10-11. The ark proper relates to the person of Christ. The dual natures of Christ’s person are seen again in the ark — His deity and sinless prepared humanity (veil pillars, boards, bars, table, altar). The person of Christ as the mediator of the covenant of grace is specially to be seen here. In order to be a mediator He must possess both natures.

The contents of the ark illustrate the offices which Christ as mediator discharges in relation to His people.

(i) The tables of the law, Exodus 25:16, 21. The ten commandments – a summary of the Moral Law, handwritten by God, was to be placed in the ark. The need for such a repository was powerfully demonstrated by the incident, future at this point, in Exodus 32:15-19. Cp Deuteronomy 10:1-5. The safe keeping of the law, unbroken and entire was ensured by their placement in the ark. Here is a picture of the God-man in His covenant role as the keeper of the law for His people. Cp Psalm 40:8. The first man broke the covenant God had made with him and so plunged his race into sin. The second man kept the Law on the behalf of His people to recover them and justify them.

Christ is further seen as the lawgiver of His people, their King. He expounds and enforces the Law as a rule of life for His people, Cp Matthew 5-7.

(ii) The golden pot of manna, Exodus 16:32-34, Hebrews 9:4. Christ as the One who is the bread of life is seen here. In His person He is the means of life for sinners, John 6:53-54. This pot contained the daily allowance for one person (Exodus 16:16) — the portion Christ supplies is all we need. Christ is further seen here as Prophet, feeding His people.

(iii) Aaron’s rod that budded, Hebrews 9:4. This was the symbol of the divinely appointed priesthood, Numbers 17:10. This miracle settled forever the question of who God’s chosen priest was. Christ is just such a divinely chosen priest greater than Aaron to do a greater work, Hebrews 5:1-6. His priesthood was settled by His resurrection.

The ark was also ornamented with a golden crown — kept the mercy seat in place. The royal person of Christ the mediator is before us as He occupies the offices of prophet, priest and king — securing propitiation and pardon for sinners. It is only as Christ fulfills these offices for us that we can be said to be the Lord’s; to have escaped the wrath to come; and to enter into the immediate presence of God.

II The mercy seat

See Exodus 25:17-18, 21.

A golden lid/cover called the mercy seat on the ends of which were two cherubim.

The work of Propitiation.

The mercy seat brings before us a view of Christ’s work. Again, person and work go together to form one piece of Tabernacle furniture. Christ is the mercy seat, Romans 3:25 propitiation here is the Greek word for mercy seat in Hebrews 9:5. In the gospel Christ is revealed as the One in whom God’s wrath against sinners is appeased. He is the One who propitiates God’s wrath.

Mercy seat is a translation of a Hebrew word – ‘to cover over’ and is commonly translated with reference to atonement (Yom Kippor – day of atonement). It is used most often in the context of making atonement — covering sin and guilt, pardon.

a) This mercy seat literally covered the law. It was the place where blood was sprinkled to cover the offences against the law, Leviticus 16:14 — propitiation, 1 John 2:2, 4:10. When the mercy seat was removed wrath was the result, 1 Samuel 6:19-20.

b) The significance of the mercy seat was that it was not so much the place where propitiation was made — that happened at the altar— but it was the place where the value of what had occurred at the altar was presented continually before God. Christ not only made propitiation but presents His blood continually to God on our behalf as the basis of our pardon and peace with God. Cp Hebrews 9:12, 24, 12:24.

The mercy seat was the place of God’s throne.

Here He sat among His people, Psalm 80:1, 99:1 (same Hebrew). How was it possible for God to dwell among a sinful people? Only on the basis of an accepted sacrifice. His throne was one sprinkled with the blood of atonement. Cp Revelation 5:6.

(i) The blood of Christ upon the throne vindicates the right of God to rule. His justice is vindicated in that He judged sin. The presented blood is proof of God’s perfect righteousness and therefore of His right to govern.

(ii) God’s rule over the world is such that it is always exercised with a view to those whom Christ has died for. The power of God is exercised for the benefit of those for whom Christ’s blood pleads — not against them in destructive judgement. Here He not only dwelt among men but from here He ruled, Exodus 25:22. The basis of His rule is His Law. God holds communion as a King with His people because of Christ, Cp Numbers 7:89.

Christ as the mercy seat sets forth the glory of God. The mercy seat was all of gold — divine glory. Redemption has one great end, the glory of God, Ephesians 1:6. The justice and mercy of God is vindicated and magnified in the work of Christ.

The cherubim

These angelic beings are often seen in Scripture in connection with the execution of Divine wrath against sin, Genesis 3:24. It is very striking that they shouldbe found here in the place of mercy. There is a wonderful parallel to these angels seen following the resurrection, John 20:12.

a) The justice of God is one with His mercy. Just as there was no seam between the mercy seat and the cherubim there is no conflict between the execution of judgement and the exercise of mercy. Both are reconciled in Christ.

b) The judgement of God is stayed toward believing sinners because of Christ’s work of redemption. The executors of wrath are focused upon the presented blood. They are transfixed by it and are not to be found carrying out the judgements of God. There is no sword in their hand!

c) The occupation of angelic minds with the wonders of redemption. In adoring wonder the angels consider the redeeming work of Christ. Cp Ephesians 3:10, 1 Peter 1:11-12. If their minds are so occupied how much should ours be turned in wonder to gaze upon the blood that has reconciled us to God.

The Vail

Scripture: Exodus 26:31-33

The vail brings before us a subject that is one of the great underlying themes of the Tabernacle — access to the presence of God. There were three doors or entrances in various parts of the Tabernacle structure. The first was the gate in the linen fence that suurounded the Tabernacle court; the second was the door of the Tabernacle proper; the third was the vail that hung before the holiest of all. Each of these doors emphasizes the gospel truth that there is one way to God — through Jesus Christ alone, John 14:6. The first door opened to the brazen altar; the second, to fellowship with God here on earth; and the third opened into the immediate presence of God. At each point Christ is the only way to the Father.

I The composition of the vail.

As a whole the vail represents the humanity of the incarnate God, Hebrews 10:20. Christ as the God-man is seen here. His life as a man among men here on earth is depicted. The One in Whom God was veiled in human flesh — God dwelled behind the veil!

The colours of the vail relate to various viewpoints on that humanity.

Blue, 1 Corinthians 15:47.

Purple, His royalty. Even in His humanity He is King, born and dying as the King of the Jews. See Matthew 2:2, 27:37.

Scarlet, His humanity was in order to His death and bloodshedding. Cp Psalm 22:6 – worm is the word for ‘scarlet’.

Fine linen, the whiteness and quality of this material emphasized the moral perfections of Christ even in the flesh. He was the righteous one, the Holy One of God.

The Cherubim

1. A reminder of the heavenly glory and divine authority that Christ carried at all times, even in His humiliation. The cherubims which were on the curtained ceiling of the Tabernacle were also on the vail.

2. The fact that these cherubim stood before the priest was a solemn reminder of Genesis 3:24. Because of sin it was not possible to proceed into the immediate presence of God.

Cunning work — the vail was of cleverly devised work, Divine devising. Here is the revelation of a Divine plan requiring Divine skill and wisdom to implement!

II The support of the vail.

The support of the vail teaches us several important principles about the life of Christ here on earth among men.

(i) The vail was suspended upon 4 shittim/gold pillars. The glories and beauties of Christ’s life as a man on earth are displayed because of what He is in His own person — God and man. There is a striking fact about these pillars — there is no reference to chapiters or fillets. They were pillars cut short, without a crown or ornamentation. The life of Christ was of course cut short in ignominy and shame.

(ii) These pillars like the boards of the Tabernacle stood on silver sockets. This was the foundation of Christ’s work. It is the great redeeming purpose of God that underlies the life of Christ on earth — He came to stand upon earth because of the work of redemption He had undertaken to carry out.

(iii) Further, there were hooks of gold. Christ was upheld by Divine support from above even as He lived on earth. Cp Isaiah 42:1, 50:6-7.

III The role of the vail.

a. It divided between the holy place and the holiest of all, Exodus 26:33. The vail was therefore divisive. Cp Leviticus 16:2. The Hebrew root word of vail = ‘to break (with violence)’. It forcibly cut off access to God. It broke any hopes that man had of standing before God in his own merit. This was a message reinforced by the portrayal of the cherrubim.

The life of Christ as represented by the vail, is a barrier to men approaching God. His moral glories and sinless perfections set forth the kind of humanity with which God is well pleased and which may stand in His presence. The life of Christ displays just how far man has gone from God in his depraved, fallen state. The incarnation/Christ as man in itself does not bring God near to the sinner nor the sinner to God. Such reconciliation is only accomplished by shed blood which was the great end/purpose of the incarnation. It is not the perfection of Christ’s life that brings us to God but the shedding of His blood. To try and life like Christ cannot bring us to God. His life stands as an effective barrier to such attempts — His perfect life stands between the sinner and God and emphasizes the separation that exists.

b. It instructed the OT believer that the way to God was not yet clearly revealed, Hebrews 9:7-8. The shadowy rituals of the OT revealed that there was a way to God by the shedding of blood but that the true sacrifice for sin had not yet been given. That such a way to God would be revealed was obvious from the fact that the vail was a curtain and not a wall. A curtain is only temporary! The fact too that once a year the High Priest had access to the holiest of all behind the vail by atoning blood was also a sign that the day would come when the vail would be removed. It would not be until the One represented by the vail came and His humanity was stained with blood that the way to God would be fully and clearly revealed. This instruction stirred faith to look forward to the One whom God would reveal to be the Lamb of God.

The vail is now rent and therefore acts as a door to God’s presence.

Hebrews 10:19-20. Christ was the great antetype/fulfilment of all the sacrifices of the OT. His death opened up the way to God and declared clearly to all men that He was the One by whom they came to God. The rending of Christ’s body by the hand of God as He hung between Heaven and earth was accompanied by the rending of the vail in the Temple (Matthew 27:50-51) by the same hand. In His death Christ again stands between God and the sinner but this time as the open door by which they may enter. His life is a barrier, His death means access to God.

The golden altar

Scripture: Exodus 30:1-10

There were two altars in the Tabernacle — the brazen altar at the gate and the golden altar in the holy place. One was visible to all and the other only to the priests. Both are necessary to a full revelation of the ministry ofChrist as the priestly mediator for His people. In His humiliation He offered Himself a sacrifice to satisfy Divine justice and in His exaltation He offers intercession and praise on the behalf of His people. Both views of Christ are necessary to communion with God. Cp Psalm 84:3.

Once more we step into a place where no natural light illuminates, a place where we go beyond the power of the natural mind to see or understand. It is only as we have the perfect illumination of the Spirit of Christ that we can see anything of Christ in His glory in this golden altar.

The golden altar represents Christ in His role as High Priestly intercessor in heaven offering up to God prayers and praise on the behalf of His people.

I The position of the golden altar.

The details of this are given in Exodus 30:6.

The ark of the covenant represented the immediatepresence of God upon earth. It was here in the holiest of all that God dwelt. This was His seat, His throne from which he ruled and guided the people of Israel. Here was stored His royal Law. From here His royal decrees were issued. Before this ‘throne’ there stood the golden altar. The picture is of Christ before the throne of Heaven. It is there that he now acts on the behalf of His people. Cp Hebrews 9:24.

Specifically, the golden altar stood:

a) before the vail, Exodus 30:6. The priest as he stood at the golden altar could not see the ark, nor dare he even look upon it.

b) before the mercy seat, Exodus 30:6. This was the place of the presented blood of atonement.

The focus of the one at the golden altar was the blood upon the mercy seat, which although unseen by him in a physical sense he saw by faith and rested in it. As the priest approached this place of communion with God to worship he comes into the immediate presence of God and it is here that he needs an acceptable basis on which to offer up his worship before God. This link between the vail, the mercy seat and the golden altar indicates exactly what the basis of approach to God in worship is — faith in blood shed and presented to God.

This focus on completed sacrifice is again seen in that the incense was offerred on fire taken from the brazen altar, Leviticus 16:12-13, Numbers 16:46. It is on the basis of the finished work of sacrifice and atonement that incense was offerred. Cp John 17:4. Incense offerred on any other basis was strange fire and unacceptable, Leviticus 10:1-2. It is only on the basis of shed blood and atonement accepted on our behalf that we come to God. This is further emphasized, Exodus 30:10 — a solemn reminder that even our holiest activities are polluted with sin. The prayers offerred at this altar were of such a nature that once ayear on the great day of atonement blood must be applied to the horns of the altar.

II The purpose of the golden altar.

The purpose of this altar was to burn incense upon Exodus 30:1, 7. The burning of this incense pictures —

1. Prayer, Psalm 141:2, Revelation 5:8. The offering of incense symbolises the prayer that Christ presents to God

(i) His own petitions on behalf of His people. Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:34, John 17:9, 20.

(ii) the petitions of His people. Cp Luke 1:9-10, As their High Priest He offers their prayers to the Father. Our prayers are only acceptable to God as they are presented to God by Christ, 1 Peter 2:5.

2. Praise

The sweet smelling incense also typifies Christ’s offering of praise to God. Cp Hebrews 2:12, 13:15.

This incense was offered regularly and continually. Morning and evening the incense of intercession and praise was burned in the holy place. This was to be the perpetual practice, Exodus 30:8. The holy place was constantly filled with its sweet smell.

a) The prayers and praise offerred by Christ before the throne of God on the behalf of His people are incessant. Cp Heb 7:25.

b) The people of God as NT priests are to be careful to maintain regularity in the offering of prayer and praise to God — in private and in public. The house of God is to be a house of prayer. The Christian’s constant practice should be to be in the prayer meeting.

The offering of incense was linked with the shining of the light, Exodus 30:7-8. The burning of the lamps was freshest and brightest at this time. Dullness and ignorance is no fit state to pray etc. This is what closes our mouths in prayer! When the Holy Spirit illuminates our hearts by His word and causes them to burn that is the time to pray and praise. Prayer/praise is to be an illuminated exercise — no mysterious or unintelligible prayer tongue!

The golden altar offered a prevailing platform on which to approach God in prayer and praise. The prevailing merit of Christ as our approach to God is seen in

a) The horns of the altar — the horn is the symbol of authority and power. Horns marked by blood! The prevailing power of prayer is the power of the blood of Christ.

b) The crown of the altar — Christ exalted to be a prince and a saviour, crowned with glory and honour. He is King of Kings and as such He pleads on the behalf of His people. Where the word of a king is, there is power, Ecc 8:4.

We need not fear rejection or wrath if we come in such a manner.

Its coverings.

The golden altar was taken with the people and covered while on the move. It was first covered with a cloth of blue — Christ’s heavenly origin and the place of His present ministry; then with a covering of badgers’ skins — the glory of Christ as the basis of approach to God in prayer etc is hidden from the eyes of the world.

The Shewbread Table

Scripture: Exodus 25:23-30

The great theme of the Tabernacle was the terms on which God and man could meet together and commune together. It was a place of fellowship with God. Cp Exodus 25:22. Various aspects of that great subject are expressed in the component parts of the Tabernacle structure. We have seen the necessity of Christ in the matter, the need for atonement, cleansing, redemption etc. The thought presented to us in the Table is obviously of a meal — eating and drinking with God, guests at His table, enjoying communion with Him. The idea of communion with God under the imagery of a meal is still before us in the church of Christ — the Lord’s supper, 1 Corinthians 10:16

The sanctuary in which the shewbread table was to be found was the preserve of the priests. Here was a place where the golden glory of God was revealed, Heaven touched earth, heaven was opened to the eye of the priest. That which was figuratively enjoyed by the OT priest is enjoyed by the NT believer having been made a priest unto God in Christ our great High priest.

The shewbread table presents Christ to us as the basis and substance of our fellowship with God.

I Christ is the basis of communion with God.

Again, in this article of furniture we are faced with Christ as the One in Whom communion with God is possible.

a) His dual nature. The combination of the shittim wood and the gold sets before us the dual natures of Christ, Exodus 25:23-24. He was sinless man and yet God. This is essential to His mediatorial office. To act as go-between He must be God and man. To make reconciliation and procure communion with God for sinners He must have dual natures. Cp 1 Timothy 2:5.

b) His glorified status. The prominence of the gold in the table, its location in the sanctuary hidden to the world, watched over by the angelic hosts indicates that it is Christ as the exalted and glorified redeemer Who is before us. In the outer court His humiliation is seen. That work is now over and yet His work as Mediator continues for ever but now as the Lamb exalted to the throne of God. The basis of our communion with God is a glorified Christ. Had He not been glorified there could have been no communion with God. His exaltation is the testimony of His finished work. Cp Acts 4:11-12, 5:31.

c) The security of having Christ as the basis of communion with God.

(i) There were two crowns upon this table. This served a very practical purpose as a barrier to the loaves of shewbread to prevent them falling off the table. Christ as king of His people is the preserver of His saints. Those who are in Him and resting on Him by faith cannot slip off. Clearly in some sense the 12 loaves represent the people of God.

(ii) There is a reference in the design of the table to the hand, Exodus 25:25. Our attention is drawn to the hand of the Godman. Cp John 10:28.

d) Wherever they were the basis of fellowship was the same. Like the other articles of furniture the table was designed for mobility. Cp Numbers 4:7-8. No matter where we are or what stage of our Christian pilgrimage we are at there is no other basis of communion with God.

II Christ is the substance of our communion with God.

On the table was bread. It has various typical teachings but in it we must see the One Who described Himself as the bread of life, John 6:35. The shewbread is described, Leviticus 24:5-6.

a) The finest flour was used representing the perfections of the person and labours of Christ ‘baked’ in the fires of God to be bread for His people.

b) It was ‘pierced’ bread, v5 cake. The same Hebrew root that gives us cake also gives us wounded, Isaiah 53:5. Cp John 6:51, 53, 55-56. It is Christ as the wounded One Who is the food of the soul. It is only by feeding upon Him as the sacrifice for sin that we have our souls nourished and revived.

c) There is a portion in Him for all the covenant people of God. There were 12 cakes, one for each tribe. A similar sized portion for all — a double portion in fact!

d) The bread was to be eaten, Leviticus 24:9. On the Sabbath day the bread was replaced with new loaves and the old was eaten by the priests. Here was the weekly feast that the priests were called to. Here, in the presence of God they ate the shewbread and drank the wine of the drink offerings, Numbers 28:7. Cp Exodus 25:29 — vessels included bowls for the wine. In the golden light of the lampstand there was a partcipating of that which represented Christ in His death. A concept that is very similar to the Lord’s Supper — although the NT sacrament is a development of the Passover. The Sabbath was the time appointed for this meal. This is doubly significant:—

(i) Rest is obtained as Christ is fed upon by faith.

(ii) The day specially appointed by God for the nourishment of the soul is the Sabbath — the Lord’s Day. The place where it was eaten was the sanctuary.

The bread was to be eaten while standing. There was no chairs at this table. Cp Exodus 12:11. It was part of their priestly activity/work/duty to eat this bread. The nourisment of our souls on Christ requires work, it requires care and alertness. We cannot feed on Him and laze around as we often do as we relax and snack. Feeding on Christ should always be accompanied with evidence of our diligence and the fact that we are the servants of God.

Vessels, Exodus 25:29. The means of participating in this bread was also provided by the Lord. These vessels were all of gold. It is a divine work that conveys the bread of life to our souls. Here is the ministry of the Holy Ghost symbolized! It is only as God the Spirit works to convey to us the benefits of Christ and His ministry that our soul is nourished and fed.

Coverings, Numbers 4:7-8. A cloth of blue covered the table – a reminder of the Heavenly origin of the One who is the Bread come down from Heaven. The bread and vessels were laid on that blue cloth. They were covered by a scarlet cloth which dramatically reminded of the blood of atonement which is the basis of fellowship with God, 1 John 1:7. The whole was covered with a covering of badgers’ skin – the plain ‘unattractive’ exterior of gospel ordinances and of Christ Himself is set before us again. That which is meat and drink to the soul of the believer is dull and unappealing to the spiritually blind.

The golden candlestick

Exodus 25:31-40

The Tabernacle building consisting of the Holy place and the Holiest of all was the place of fellowship and communion with God. It was the preserve of those who were priests. Since in the NT age all believers are priests, 1 Peter 2:9, the sanctuary represents the fellowship all saints are to have with God. Each has the duty and the privilege of entering the sanctuary and enjoying communion with Him. In some sense this sanctuary represented Heaven. The golden glory, the cherubim overhead — but it was heaven upon earth. It was an experience of glory that was enjoyed while standing on the sands of the desert! This is what the place of worship is to be for the believer. Whether or not you are ready for Heaven is indicated by your experience in the place of worship here on earth.

In the holy place there were 3 items of furniture — each representing Christ in some aspect of His ministry for His people. First we will consider the golden lampstand.

I ITS CONSTRUCTION AND SIGNIFICANCE.

1. Christ’s Divine glory.

The lampstand was made entirely of gold. We have already seen that gold is a representation of Divine glory. Here is Christ glorified, manifesting the glory of the Godhead. We are not considering Him here as the God-man during His ministry on earth but rather as the glorified Saviour Who continues His work for His people from Heaven. To have a complete view of Christ we must consider Him in His humiliation and His exaltation. The work of His humiliation is complete. The work of His exalted state continues. From His place at God’s right hand the Saviour exercises His ministry among His redeemed people. See Hebrews 10:12, Romans 8:34. It is striking to see that the candlestick occupied this very location with reference to the Ark, Exodus 26:35. In Hebrew the south = on the right hand – but from the perspective of the Ark which represented the throne of God.

2. In glory Christ’s humanity is still seen.

While there is no shittim wood involved in the construction of the lampstand there is a reminder of wood in it. Its design incorporated an ornamental resemblance to an almond tree — branches ornamented with buds, flowers and almonds, Exodus 25:33. Each side branch had 3 bowls made like almonds, also knops, flowers. The central shaft had 4 sets, Exodus 25:34. The type here is not so much His sinless, incorruptible humanity but that which typifies Christ in His resurrected and glorified humanity. The almond tree is a symbol of new life, being the first to bud in Israel in Bible times. The link with the resurrection is also maintained in Num 17 where Aaron’s rod budded, bloomed and bore almonds after it was cut off and dead. Even in glory the human nature of Christ is seen. When He comes in glory it will be as the Son of man, Matthew 25:31. The fulness of His glorified life is seen here in the buds, flowers and fruit.

His work as the God-man is further represented by the beating Exodus 25:31 that produced this lampstand. His suffering is set before us. Christ still bears the wounds of the cross, John 20:20, Zechariah 12:10, 13:6. His ministry from Heaven is built upon the foundation of His suffering and resurrection.

3. Seven lamps.

There were seven oil-fed lamps (not candles) that burned at the end of the seven branches. Cp Revelation 4:5. The language here is a deliberate echo of the imagery of the Tabernacle with its lamps burning before the mercy seat/God’s throne. Christ ministers to His people through the Spirit of Christ. It is through Christ that the Spirit comes to believers and specially through the fact that He has risen and ascended to glory. Cp John 16:7, 15:26, Acts 2:31-33. Here is the source of perfect and complete light. It is the Holy Spirit who enlightens the mind of those in darkness by the light of His word to see Christ, to see His glory, to see Heaven opened and to have fellowship with God. Illumination is the work of the Spirit of Christ, John 14:26, 2 Corinthians 4:6.

II THE PURPOSE OF THE CANDLESTICK.

1. Its purpose was to give light.

(i) There was no natural light in the sanctuary. When the priest stepped into this place he stepped into an environment that was only illuminated to him by the lampstand. Without it he would have been in darkness and the glories of that place would have been hidden from him. To see Christ and His glories, to fellowship with God and have communion with Him we need light to illuminate our natural darkness. That light is only found in a Divine source. Cp Psalm 36:9, 1 John 1:7. Christ by His Spirit illuminates the hearts of men. How does He do so? Through His word, Psalm 119:105, 130, Isaiah 8:20, 2 Peter 1:19.

(ii) The one who has been justified at the altar, has been sanctified at the laver, still needs a Divinely provided light in order to know God. Our reliance must ever be entirely upon the Spirit of Christ as we come to meet God. We will see nothing without His ministry. Rather we will blunder about in darkness in a world of glory.

(iii) The activities of that place were illuminated by the lampstand. The ministry of prayer was conducted in its light; eating the divinely provided bread was by the light of this candlestick. Christ’s offices and ministry revealed in the furniture of the place were only understood in this light. How easy it is to go astray in the dark! So many err in relation to Christ and His work, and the activities of worship because they arenot walking in the light of truth.

2. The lamps burned at all times.

Cp Exodus 27:20-21. ‘Continually’, day and night this light burned in the sanctuary. It will be seen here that there was a role for the people and for the priests to play. If they desired to have the light burn in the sanctuary they must take whatever steps God commanded to make that possible. The people were to bring the oil, the priest to trim and maintain the lamps. We are to see to it that at all times the light of the Spirit of Christ burns within our souls and illuminates our paths, and especially our worship.

The coverings of the candlestick

Cp Numbers 4:9-10. When on the move the lampstand had a double covering. The first of blue is to remind us of the truth that the light it represented had a heavenly source. The second covering of badgers’ skins is another reminder that Christ though the source of Divine light is unappealing and unattractive to the natural mind.

The boards and bars

Exodus 26:15-30

In considering these component parts of the Tabernacle we come to consider that which gave structure and form to the dwelling place of God among men. The Tabernacle – ‘dwelling place’ of God – was nothing without these boards and bars. They are a powerful illustration of the person of Christ as God incarnate. The curtains speak of His work as the suffering, substitute sin offering sent from Heaven but His work is necessarily linked with His Person. The two cannot be separated without a collapse of any meeting place with God. To trust Christ’s work is to trust Him, to trust Him is to trust His work. As in the other constituent parts of the Tabernacle, Christ is to the fore here.

I THESE BOARDS AND BARS PRESENT CHRIST IN HIS TWO NATURES.

The sides of the Tabernacle were formed of boards and bars that were made of —

a) Shittim wood, Exodus 26:15.

As we have already observed the shittim wood represents the sinless and therefore incorruptible humanity of Christ. He possessed true humanity yet it was a specially prepared humanity, without sin. Cp Hebrews 2:14-17,10:5, John 1:14, 1 Timothy 2:5. There could be no dwelling place for God among depraved and fallen mankind, nor could there be a meeting place for for such men and God provided without the incarnation of Christ.

It is striking to see the emphasis on the fact that these boards were standing up, v15. In the midst of a fallen race, Christ as the second Adam lived an upright life. He lived according to an unvarying standard of righteousness and holiness.

b) Gold, Exodus 15:29.

The gold of the Tabernacle represents deity. Christ took into union with Himself a true body and a reasonable soul. Yet He was and remains God. The gold was brought into union with the shittim wood by the skill of men empowered by the Holy Ghost. It was joined with and yet remained distinct from the wood. Here is how Christ is the meeting/dwelling place for God — He is God and man. A mediator must of necessity represent two parties.

The glory of Christ’s deity is to the fore here. How striking to see the normal view of Christ reversed here. His humanity is hidden by His Divine glory! This is the very opposite to the natural man’s view of the Saviour — Cp the external view of the tabernacle! Here in the Sanctuary we have the believing worshipping, servant’s view of Christ. His ministry is so vividly portrayed here. The golden boards reaching from an open heaven to the dust of earth. Cp Luke 1:35, 2:8-14.

II THIS STRUCTURE PRESENTS CHRIST AS THE UNSHAKABLE REFUGE FOR SINNERS.

The stability and solidity of the tabernacle is very instructive. It was no ordinary tent though it may have appeared quite ordinary! It was a very solid structure indeed.

a) The physical dimensions of the boards, Exodus 26:16.

The thickness of each board is not revealed. It is suggestive that this dimension is left unknown! Certainly there is no measurement of the power and strength of Christ as the great upholder of the scheme of redemption. While certain features of His person and work are revealed there is much that is beyond measure. The curtains were hung on walls of massive strength. The mighty strength of Christ as the Saviour is seen here. All the work of salvation; everything necessary to provide a meeting place betweeen God and men rests upon Him. A ‘tent of meeting’ rests on no other support.

b) Corner boards, Exodus 26:23-24.

In each of the two corners of the west side there were corner boards — acting as braces. Christ is referred to as the corner in a double sense. Cp Isaiah 28:16, Psalm 118:22-23 (Luke 20:17-18).

c) The bars, Exodus 26:26-29.

The purpose of the bars was to join the boards together and make them one solid, secure structure. Their significance is unity — the uniting of the dual natures in Christ into one person; one purpose etc. One dwelling/meeting place formed. There is only one way to God — no man cometh unto the Father but by me. The bars were of the same composition as the boards showing that in and of Himself Christ was one!

d) Tenons and sockets, Exodus 26:17, 19.

The silver sockets were set into the ground, the tenons on the boards were then set into the sockets.

(i) The foundation of a meeting place with God is the work of redemption. The sockets were cast from the silver paid by each soul to redeem himself from death during the numbering of the people, Exodus 30:11-16. The silver of the tabernacle was a constant reminder to Israel of the price paid for their souls. There is no meeting with God on any other basis. The work of Christ as He paid the price of our sin is the basis of meeting with God.

(ii) There was a meeting place because the tenons of the boards firmly gripped this foundation. Tenon = ‘hand’. There is a picture of Christ in His work as Saviour of sinners. Why is there a place where God dwells among men? a place where God is to be met? Because Christ with both His hands embraced the work of redemption as His own. He put all His power into it, singlemindedly He went about this work and provided a basis for sinners to meet God. The gift of redemption is in His hands — will you take it?

Christ as the sinner’s refuge is presented as the rock of ages (eternities), Isaiah 26:4 — a solid, enduring place of safety for all who trust Him. This security and enduring place of abode with God is typified in the Tabernacle structure.

The stability, massive strength and glory of the boards and bars was something that was hidden from view. On the surface the Tabernacle looked like any other tent in the wilderness. Christ appears as a man to the natural unbelieving mind. For this reason men see no reason why some other tent will not do just as well to meet God and to take refuge from sin in. Yet He is much more — an eternal redeemer and a secure refuge of soul. This is only learned by those who as NT priests come into Christ and learn of Him.