04.10. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. The following questions, which were primarily answered by Mr. Newberry for the benefit of a Bible-class consisting of several hundreds of young believers, being of general importance, and intimately connected with the subject of Christ’s sacrifice and Priesthood as set forth in the “Types” of the foregoing pages, have, with their answers, been here given a permanent place, in the hope that they may yield help on the points which are acknowledged difficulties with many students of the sacred Word.

QUESTION 1. With what object were the Sacrifices of Antediluvian and Patriarchal times instituted? The purpose of God from the beginning, in the institution of sacrifices, appears to have been to convey to the eye of man, by object-lessons, His plan for the putting away of sin through the atoning sacrifice of His beloved Son, during the entire period from the fall of man, until, in the fullness of times, the Son of Man appeared, and the atonement was made. Hence, on the entrance of sin into the world, He announced His purpose in that wondrous prophecy concerning the woman’s seed (see Genesis 3:15), and this He illustrated by the introduction of the first sacrifice, which is implied by those words, “Jehovah-God made coats of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).

If we apply the law of the offerings as laid down in the book of Leviticus to these words, a beautiful and striking light is thrown upon them. We there learn that the offerer himself killed the victim; the offerer in this case must have been Adam acting as the patriarchal priest, the victim appears to have been, a lamb, suggested in Abel’s offering “of the firstlings of his flock.” From Leviticus 7:8 we learn, “The priest that offereth any man’s burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered.” Therefore “Jehovah-God made coats of skin, and clothed them.” In the Hebrew the word SKIN here is in the singular number. It will be observed that the first death after man’s sin was the death of atonement, and the first blood that stained the ground was the blood of the innocent victim that was shed for the guilty.

“It was not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin,” hence the law had only a “shadow of good things to come,” of which the body and substance is Christ. But when the Spirit of God explained and applied to the mind and heart of the children of faith the spiritual import of these things, they were enabled to lay hold of and embrace them, to rejoice in present grace, and in prospect of future glory, confessing they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth (see Hebrews 11:1-40 :).

QUESTION 2. Will Sacrifices be resumed in Millennial times? If so, where, by whom, and for what purpose? The pattern of the TABERNACLE and its ALTAR was given to MOSES on the MOUNT. The pattern of SOLOMON’S TEMPLE and its courts was given to DAVID by God. So in like manner the pattern of the MILLENNIAL TEMPLE and its altar was given to EZEKIEL in the visions of God. We have the records of this in Ezekiel 40:1-49; Ezekiel 41:1-26; Ezekiel 42:1-20; Ezekiel 43:1-27; Ezekiel 44:1-31; Ezekiel 45:1-25; Ezekiel 46:1-24; Ezekiel 47:1-23; Ezekiel 48:1-35. The TEMPLE will be erected on the MOUNTAIN of JEHOVAH’S house (Isaiah 2:2-3), and not on Mount Moriah as the former temples were, whilst the city of Jerusalem will occupy its former site. The directions for the Millennial temple and altar are given with instructions for the SACRIFICES in Ezekiel 43:10-27. This altar will be intermediate in size between the one of the tabernacle and the one of Solomon’s temple. The Millennial temple will be the house of prayer for all nations, all flesh will worship there, and their SACRIFICES shall be accepted (Isaiah 60:7; Isaiah 66:23; Psalms 2:8-9; Zechariah 14:16-17). In the ordinances connected with the altar, etc., it will be observed there are significant and striking alterations. There will be the DAILY MORNING lamb (Ezekiel 46:13-15); but no evening sacrifice is mentioned. This type was fulfilled at the crucifixion of Jesus. The FEAST OF THE PASSOVER will be observed (Ezekiel 45:21-24); but not the feast of Pentecost, that is being fulfilled in the present dispensation. The FEAST OF TABERNACLES will be kept (Ezekiel 45:25; Zechariah 14:16), but not the Day of Atonement. The type of the bullock for the household is being fulfilled now, and the type of the goat for Israel will be fulfilled then. There is no mention of the Lord’s day; but the NEW MOONS and SABBATHS will be observed (Isaiah 66:23; Ezekiel 46:1-7). There is no mention of the high priest; but the PRINCE who will be the earthly representative of the KINGLY and PRIESTLY MELCHISEDEC offices of the Lord Jesus, occupies a prominent place. The former SACRIFICES looked FORWARD to Calvary; the LORD’S SUPPER, as a MEMORIAL of the sufferings of Christ, looks UPWARD to Him, risen and glorified. The MILLENNIAL SACRIFICES will look BACK and be a MEMORIAL of the atoning work of Jesus on the cross.

QUESTION 3. Are the Levitical Offerings as types restricted in their application to believers, or may they be used as gospel types for the unconverted? They were intended for the profit of all, and are written “for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come” (1 Corinthians 10:1-12). They pointed to Christ, the Lamb of God, THE TAKER AWAY of the sin of the world (John 1:29). And it is written, “He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2). And again, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).

QUESTION 4. What is the meaning of the words in Hebrews 2:12 : “After He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down” and ought the comma to be after “sins” or “forever” In Hebrews 10:10-12 the CONTRAST is between the former priests, who stood DAILY offering OFTENTIMES the SAME SACRIFICES, and Jesus Christ, who, when He had offered ONE sacrifice of INFINITE value for sins, which was effective ONCE FOR ALL, then sat down, which shows that the work was finished. I prefer placing the pause after the word “ever,” because the Greek phrase expresses COMPLETENESS. Standing and sitting are figurative expressions, and must not always be taken as expressing CONTINUATION of posture.

Stephen saw “Jesus standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55); and in Revelation 5:6 we read, “In the midst of the throne . . . stood a Lamb as it had been slain.”

QUESTION 5. What do the words, “We have an altar” (Hebrews 13:10) mean? To the true believer JESUS is both SACRIFICE and ALTAR, and also PRIEST, and it is only those who, by receiving Him, are “born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13), who have a right or title to feed on Him “whose flesh is meat indeed.” It was only those who were born of the tribe of Levi and of the family of Aaron who were permitted to feed on the victims offered on the altar of burnt-offering. But their being born into the family of Aaron gave them no title to feed at the altar which is Christ Himself; so now neither a pious ancestry, nor outward ceremonies, can give a title to feed on the true and living Bread. Hence the exhortation, “Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach...By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:13; Hebrews 13:15).

QUESTION 6. Was the Lord Jesus a Sin-bearer all His life, or only on the cross? The words of 1 Peter 2:24 are given in the margin of the Revised Version, “carried up . . . to the tree.” Is this correct? The Lord Jesus in His life was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners; He Himself knew no sin. He could say to the last, “My Father hath not left Me alone, for I do always those things that please Him”; and His Father’s repeated testimony was, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” As stated in 1 Peter 2:24, “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body ON the tree.” The reading given by the revisers in the margin of the R.V. (like many other of their alterations) is absolutely false. It was ONLY ON THE CROSS that He, the sinless One, was made sin for us, it was there and then only that He, the blessed One, was made a curse, but not accursed. It was our death He died; He Himself (though as incarnate He was capable of dying) was not liable to death. It was OUR transgressions, which were laid on Him, that hid God’s face from Him. This is beautifully expressed in Psalms 22:24, when rightly translated:

“For He (Jehovah) did not despise nor abhor the affliction of the afflicted; neither did He hide His face from Him; but when He cried unto Him, He heard.”

QUESTION 7. What is the difference between Priesthood and Advocacy as exercised by the Lord Jesus? ADVOCACY is a part of the PRIESTLY office of the Lord Jesus. The word ADVOCATE is only so translated in 1 John 2:1. In other places it is translated “COMFORTER,” and applied to the Holy Ghost (John 14:16; John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:7). The Greek word PARACLETOS signifies “one acting on behalf of those who are called.” The Holy Ghost acts on their behalf on earth, instructing, counseling, and comforting them, while the Lord Jesus acts on their behalf before His Father in heaven.

QUESTION 8. Does the Lord Jesus exercise His Melchisedec Priesthood at present, or does it belong to the future? Both now and forever. In Hebrews 5:5-10 it is applied to the Lord Jesus, when having become “Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him,” He is addressed by God “High Priest after the order of Melchisedec.”

Then in Hebrews 6:20, when He is spoken of as “Forerunner” within the veil, “Jesus, having become [margin, Newberry Bible] High Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” Hebrews 7:1-28 continues the subject; Hebrews 8:1 begins, “Now of the things which we have spoken this in the sum: WE have SUCH AN HIGH PRIEST, Who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.”

QUESTION 9. To what cleansing do the words “The Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7) apply? If we walk in the light as God is in the light, we shall be conscious of many evils which otherwise may not be realized; so Job experienced when he said, “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6). That which keeps the soul in conscious peace and confidence, is the apprehension of the infinite value and efficacy of the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. The word “cleanseth” is not in the aorist or past tense, “cleansed”; nor as some explain it as the present participle, “is cleansing”; but it is in the PRESENT tense. It “CLEANSETH” moment by moment. And when the Word is applied by the Holy Ghost, it purges the conscience and purifies the heart, leading to a holy walk and conversation.

QUESTION 10. What is the “fountain opened” for “sin and for uncleanness” in Zechariah 13:1? We read in John 19:34, “One of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” And when applied by the Spirit of grace (Zechariah 12:10), “I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication: and they shall look upon Me whom they pierced.” In Zechariah 13:1, we read, “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.”

I believe the lines by Toplady—

Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed
Be of sin the double cure;
Cleanse me from its guilt and power. express the true meaning.

QUESTION 11. What are the “things in heaven” (Colossians 1:20) said to be reconciled by Christ? and for what cause was their reconciliation necessary? In Ephesians 1:9 we read that God has “made known unto us the mystery of His will, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might head up in one all things in Christ, both which are in THE HEAVENS, and which are on earth, even in Him.” When God created man in His own image as His earthly representative, He put all things in subjection under his feet, and with Adam He associated Eve. In their fall creation was made subject to vanity. The purpose of God now is in the fullness of times to head up together in the second Adam, together with the second Eve, the Church, not only things on earth, but THINGS IN THE HEAVENS, making Him the Head of the creation of God, the keystone of the arch of universal security, “and put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23). The fall of Satan and his angels had brought sin into the heavens, before, through his temptation, sin had entered into the world. But God, through the cross of Christ, has reconciled THINGS IN HEAVEN as well as things on earth; so then, when God’s present dealing with the earth is finished, in the new heavens and the new earth everlasting security and peace will be established, for by Christ were not only ALL THINGS CREATED that are IN THE HEAVENS, and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, but also by the blood of His cross ALL THINGS ARE RECONCILED and set on an established basis (Colossians 1:16; Colossians 1:20), whether they be things on earth, or things IN THE HEAVENS.

QUESTION 12. What is the force of the words “The times of the restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21)? It is asserted by some that all men and things shall be finally redeemed and restored to God, as a result of the cross of Christ. The times of the restitution of all things will probably be the period of millennial blessedness under the new covenant, when Israel will be restored to their own blessedness under the new covenant, when Israel will be restored to their own land, under the rule of the Prince of peace, which shall be finally established in the new heavens and the new earth (Revelation 21:1-27 :). The eternal condition, both of the saved and unsaved, is asserted in a variety of scriptures, which must not be set aside, for the Scripture cannot be broken. The Judge of all the earth will do right, a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is He. And the equity of His dealings, God Himself in due time will make manifest to all the universe (Romans 3:4).

Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan God’s work in vain, God is His own Interpreter, And He will make it plain.