JANUARY 15, IQT4 of truth and the spirit of error, the spirit of God and the spirit of Satan. Man was not created in this condition of inability to discern right and wrong, good and evil. He was created perfect, in the image and likeness of God. Sin has wrought death, not merely to man’s body, but also to his mind, his conscience. The ability to discern hetween right and wrong varies, therefore. Additionally, some have opportunities for instruction more than others, and-thus their responsibility is increased. The world in general knows not God, and hence could not sin against the holy Spirit in that full sense or degree which would be punished with the second death. ‘‘The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not.’’—2 Corinthians 4:4. Some knowledge is necessary to bring us to an appreciation of Christ as the Sent of God. Then if we accept him and become his consecrated disciples, or followers, we receive the begetting of the holy Spirit. This brings us to a vantage point where our eyes of understanding open more and more widely, in proportion as we are filled with the holy Spirit. Our responsibility increases with our joy in the Lord and our preparation for the heavenly glories to which we have been called. It is these advanced disciples of Jesus that are in danger of grieving the holy Spirit whercby they were sealed—of quenching the spirit of holiness in their hearts. (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19) While the quenching and the grieving are not instantaneous works, they are the paths which lead to the second death. Every Christian, therefore, should press on toward perfection of holiness—the filling with the spirit. The Apostle presents this thought in Hebrews 6:4-6, deelaring that those who have tasted of the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come, and who have been made partakers of the holy Spirit, cannot be renewed unto repentance, if they with full wilfulness and deliberation reject Christ and righteousness, and turn to sin. Again, later on, he says (Hebrews 10:26, 27), ‘‘For if we sin wilfully after that we THE WATCH TOWER (29-35) have received a knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for our sins, but a certain fearful looking for a decision and a fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries’’—of God. The Apostle mentions especially the rejection of the atoning work of Christ, saying that such count the blood of the covenant wherewith they were sanctified a common thing, and do despite to the spirit of favor which has brought them thus far. Those who quench the spirit of holiness, or ‘‘grieve the spirit,’’ are described by St. James (5:14) as spiritually sick. Cut off from fellowship with God, they have one last resort; viz, to request the assistance of sanctified elders of the church to pray for them and to anoint them with oil, symbolic of the holy Spirit. The prayer of faith shall save these spiritually sick; and the Lord will raise them up; and though they have committed sins, these shall be forgiven them. ‘THE HOLY SPIRIT SHALL TEACH’? The Lord’s faithful followers were to expect that amongst their tribulations would be false accusations which would bring them before magistrates, For the most part the disciples were unlearned, and would feel great trepidation in the presence of educated officials. They were to know, however, that the Lord’s blessing would be upon them; and that they would have wisdom superior to that which was naturally theirs. They necd not anxiously premeditate what their answers would be, but commit all to the Lord, expecting divine assistanec. Nothing in this implics that the ministers of Christ either in the pulpit or in the class meeting should attempt to represent the Lord without studying their subject. On the contrary, each should accept to himself St. Paul’s words to Timothy: ‘‘Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.’’? (2 Timothy 2:15) There is a difference between standing before a congregation of God’s people as a mouthpiece of his Word and being called before magistrates. LEVITICUS NINE AND SIXTEEN Apparently we have failed to make clear our thought respeeting the teachings of these two chapters. Our statement in TABERNACLE SHADOWS that they both picture the Day of Atonement sacrifices has been misunderstood. We do not mean to say that the two ceremonies took place on the same particular Day of Atonement. Our thought is that the antitype of the two took place at the same time in the antitypical atonement day—the Gospel age. The record of the Ninth Chapter relates to the consecration of the priests. The service there pictured represents the consecration of Aaron, and was to be repeated in the case of every priest who attained the office of high priest. That is to say, this service was to be repeated only when a high priest should die and his suecessor in the office should be inaugurated. Thus the ceremony might be performed several times in one year, if several high priests, one after another, died in one year and suecessors took their places. Or this ceremony of Leviticus 9 might not be repeated for many years; as, for example, Aaron lived nearly forty years after his appointment to the office, and hence not until his son Eleazar became high priest would this consceration service he repeated. On the contrary, the Day of Atonement described in the 16th chapter recurred every year. The lines of harmony between the two ceremonies are indieated by the sacrifices, which in both cases were a bullock and a goat. These represented the same sacrifices in antitype— the bullock representing the high priest and the goat representing the under priests; for Jesus died only once—not twice. Therefore the death of the bullock in both instances repre Vou. XXXV__ The teaching of the Law, in type and testimony, is to the effect that God purposed to raise up a great Priest, who would also be a King; and that this priestly King and kingly Priest should cancel the sins of the people, and be invested with power to rule, and with authority as a Mediator to help them back to God. To the surprise of the typical people, Isracl, instead of assuming the office of Priest and King in conjunction, he merely died!—Luke 24:20, 21. Then came the time for the holy Spirit to reveal to the church what had previously been a mystery; for when God had through the prophets spoken of Messiah as a King upon his throne, he had declared that which would be mysterious to the people—would not he easily understood. God had purposely kept his plan a secret until the due time for revealing it should a BROOKLYN, N. Y., FEBRUARY 1, 1914 ; THE ANOINTED—THE MESSIAH—THE CHRIST sented the one sacrifice of Jesus. And because the church dies only once, therefore the sacrifice of the goat in both instances represents the death of the church as members of the antitypical priesthood under the headship of their great High Priest. Why, then, the two pictures? may be asked. We reply, Because the death of Jesus had two distinct aspects, and similarly the death of the church has two aspects. Only by dying to the earthly nature was it possible for Jesus and the church to attain the heavenly nature and the office of the royal priesthood —to qualify for the work of Messiah. Even, therefore, if the world had not needed to be redeemed from sin, the Priest must have given the same sacrifice exactly, in order to attain his high position. And so would the under-priests. On the other hand, as mankind are sinners, needing to be redeemed, atonement for sin would have been necessary before the work of restitution could go on, entirely regardless of the exaltation of Christ and the church to the heavenly plane. Thus the ‘‘hetter sacrifices’’ of Messiah cover two distinctly separate, yet both important, works. It was necessary that Jesus and his followers should suffer and enter into their glory. And this is emphasized by Leviticus 9. It was also necessary that a sacrifice for sins should be offered on behalf of mankind, in order to permit them to come to restitution blessing; and this is typified in Leviticus 16. So we repeat that the sacrifices of Leviticus 9 and those of the 16th chapter are identical sacrifices, accomplished in this same antitypical atonement day—the Gospel age. No. 3 come. The secret was—‘‘Christ in you, the hope of glory.’’— Colossians 1:26, 27. In other words, our Lord Jesus is, primarily, the Anointed One and, according to the Seripture testimony, is very highly exalted. But he was not the completion of the divine arrangement regarding the anointed. The heavenly Father purposed not to have Jesus alone, but that he should be the Head of the anointed, and the church the body. (Eph. 1:22, 23; §:29-32; Col. 1:24) This was the mystery. The great Messiah was to bless the world as the antitypical Prophet, Priest, and King. God appointed Jesus as the Head, and elected certain saintly ones to be the members of his body. Until this body of Christ was complete, the blessing promised to Abraham could not come upon the world.—Gal. 3:16, 29. [5391]
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