NO. 783: “HOLD FAST THAT WHICH IS GOOD”

No. 783

 “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. . . . Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” (1 Thess. 5:18, 21)

St. Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians contains an important lesson on the proper attitude for the Lord’s people to maintain in order to grow in grace and become conquerors through their Redeemer. (1 Thess. 5:14-28) Although addressed to the saints at Thessalonica, these noble words have been a source of strength, encouragement, and discipline to all the faithful in Christ Jesus from the time they were written until the present. No child of God can afford to ignore or neglect these words of divine counsel, and to the degree each of us gives heed to them, our lives will surely be more Christ-like, and we will thus be more pleasing to the Lord.

The Apostle began the lesson with an exhortation: “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded [faint-hearted], support the weak, be patient toward all men.” (1 Thess. 5:14) It was not the elders alone who were exhorted by the Apostle – he addressed the entire Church, the “brethren.” This does not signify that the counsel would not have special application to the elders, because they were selected as the most advanced in Christian doctrine and practice to be the representatives of the Church, to look after the interests of the Lord’s flock. These apostolic words apply to all members of the flock to the extent of their capacity and ability, but naturally apply with special force to the elders who under God’s providence have had oversight of His Church, “to feed the flock.” (Acts 20:28) While all the brethren are to strive to carry out the Apostle’s injunctions, the elders should feel a special responsibility because of the position they occupy as standard-bearers of the Church.

The Apostle contrasted the “unruly” with the faint-hearted and the weak. While the divine arrangement is full of order as well as liberty, liberty can best be maintained by order, and order can best be maintained through a reasonable recognition of personal liberty. The mistake frequently made, not only by earthly law-givers and disciplinarians, but also by the Lord’s people, is one of extremes in one direction or the other. Some misunderstand liberty to allow lawlessness, disorder, and unruliness. Others are disposed to carry order and obedience to rules to the extreme, dwarfing the individual liberties of the flock. Much grace is required in these matters to prevent friction among the Lord’s people, preserving unity of the spirit in the bonds of love and peace.

We are not to have false ideas of personal liberty that would ignore rules, laws, and order in the assemblies of the Lord’s people. Those disposed to be unruly, elevating themselves without the request of the brethren, need to be “warned” – to be shown that their course is contrary to the spirit of the Lord and all the arrangements instituted by the Apostles, His representatives. They need to be warned that their course would mean injury to the flock instead of blessing, peace, joy, and development. Their course would injure themselves also, developing in them an exaggerated sense of self-worth and a combativeness that would only hinder the cause and hinder themselves from attaining the character-likeness of our Redeemer. Conversely, others who are faint-hearted and weak need aid, support, and encouragement. Those naturally lacking in self-confidence need to be pushed in order to bring out their talents, for their own benefit and for the blessing also of the entire household of faith.

To “be patient toward all” seems to imply that the remainder of the Lord’s people should be sympathetic and tolerant toward all those mentioned above – toward both the weak and timid and toward those who are too assertive and self-promoting. As the Apostle elsewhere admonished, “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” (Heb. 10:36) Day by day the advanced children of the Lord realize the truthfulness of this, and come to appreciate patience as one of the chief Christian graces.

We can grow in this grace of patience by growing in knowledge, for as we appreciate more and more the heavenly Father’s patience with us, it helps us to apply the same principle toward others. Our sympathy and patience is also enlarged by the realization of how the fallen condition of the human race has affected our fellow creatures. Some are chiefly affected mentally, some chiefly physically, and some chiefly morally. This is particularly true with respect to the household of faith. Among those whom God has graciously called, some are more blemished in some ways than we are ourselves, while we may be more blemished in other ways. We should have special patience with the brethren and be as helpful as possible to all those who are seeking to walk with us in the footsteps of our Lord. (Rom. 14:15; 1 Cor. 8:11)

The Apostle then warned against retaliation: “See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.” (1 Thess. 5:15) Much evil treatment was heaped upon our Lord’s followers of that time. St. Paul, as well as those he addressed, suffered much as a result of their faithfulness in dispensing the Word of the Lord, the good tidings. The Apostle exhorted the Lord’s followers not to retaliate by doing evil to their enemies in any manner. We are to seek to render good in return for the evil we receive, in our language as well as our conduct. We are not to return accusation for accusation or slander for slander any more than we are to return blow for blow. This includes also our very thoughts and emotions, for we are not even to render anger for anger, malice for malice, envy for envy. Two evils can never make a good – two wrongs will never make a right. We are to have sympathy for our blinded enemies, cultivating patience and forbearance toward them in thought, word and deed. (1 Pet. 2:21-23)

Each of the Lord’s people is to pursue righteousness to the extent of his ability – pursuing every good and noble sentiment, and seeking to live up to the high standard of righteousness and perfection exemplified by our Lord as nearly as possible. This pursuit of goodness is to be maintained not only among the brethren, where all are professing the same pursuit, but also toward others in our dealings with the world. Some of the world can learn more of the gospel by witnessing our avoidance of evil and our constant pursuit of righteousness, than they can by anything we say to them. As they discern the new life in us, they may gradually come to have “an ear to hear” the message of good tidings.

REJOICE EVERMORE

The lesson continues with an entreaty: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1Thess. 5:16-18) The Christian’s rejoicing is founded on the established principles, promises, and comforting assurances of the divine Word, which stand firm amid all the storms and trials of life. This exhortation to prayer can only be understood by those who are somewhat advanced in the school of Christ. Having surrendered their wills and earthly interests to the Lord, they do not pray without ceasing for earthly things, but for heavenly things. They pray for the leadings of divine providence and the assistance of divine grace that will enable them to rejoice always in whatever experiences the Lord deems best for their spiritual development. They more and more find their prayers to consist of giving thanks for blessings already received, as well as for those yet to come, which they can see with the eye of faith.

If they have the condition of heart that is in fellowship with the Lord, and fully devoted to the doing of His will, their prayers will be truly without ceasing. They will not only implore His blessing at the beginning of each day, and give their thanks at the close of each day, but in all of life’s affairs they will seek to remember that they have consecrated their all to the Lord. By faith, they will realize the association of God’s providence with all the interests of life and give thanks accordingly. This is the will of God concerning us: He wills that we live in an attitude of constant regard for His will and for His blessing, because this is the condition most favorable to our progress in walking in the footsteps of the Master.

 QUENCH NOT THE SPIRIT

Having stated the Church’s proper attitude of rejoicing, prayer and thanksgiving, the Apostle admonished them to maintain the Holy Spirit: “Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of [every form of] evil.” (1 Thess. 5:19-22) The spirit of the Lord in His people has been described as “a flame of sacred love” for the Lord and all connected with His cause. The more this flame burns among His people, individually and collectively, the greater will be their progress in all good things. We must not allow this spirit of love to be quenched by false doctrines, rules, or ceremonies, or by the spirit of the world and the cares of this life.

The Apostle’s admonition to not despise prophesying does not refer to the prophecies of the “holy men of God” of the Old Testament. They spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21), and it would be unnecessary to caution the Church on that subject. He instead implored them not to despise prophesying being done in their midst. The gift of prophecy, the foretelling of coming events, was to some extent present in the Church in the Apostle’s day. It was one of the gifts of the spirit that marked out the Lord’s people and helped to establish them at a time when the inspired messages of the Lord were unavailable. Beyond this, however, we find that the Apostle frequently used the word “prophecy” to simply mean public speech or preaching.

The early Church might have been in danger of valuing the gifts of miracles and tongues more than reasoned and logical discourse about the Truth. While the other gifts of the spirit need not be discarded, the Apostle pointed out that this gift of preaching or prophesying should not be despised. Our Lord and His Apostles were preachers, and the Lord has since raised up instructors among His people. Hence, such service should not be despised or ignored.

We live in a time when the very reverse of this is true. The danger now is that too much reliance is placed upon a leader and too much time and attention given to preaching, while insufficient time is given to the other methods of “building up” and encouraging the Lord’s flock (Jude 20), hence the Apostle’s admonition to “prove all things” and to hold fast to the good. However much they come to respect public preaching, the Lord’s people must not accept what they hear without thoroughly examining it. They should exercise a discriminating mind and prove all things that they hear, determining what is logically and scripturally supported and what is mere conjecture and possibly sophistry. Proving what they hear, they should hold fast to everything that is in accordance with the divine Word and with the Holy Spirit. They should promptly and thoroughly reject whatever will not stand these tests.

Unfortunately, the Lord’s people of today greatly need to give attention to this exhortation. Much of what is presented as the teaching of God’s Word is neither logical nor scriptural; it is supported by neither the letter nor the spirit of the Word and should be rejected. If the Lord’s consecrated people practiced such discrimination, much of the chaff of nominal “orthodoxy” would be rejected, and there would be a search for the true Word of God that would pass these tests.

The Apostle’s thought is that every form of evil is to be resisted (see the RSV, ASV and many other translations). Some evils are of an obviously hideous form, while some cloak their form by hypocrisy. Some openly and boldly admit their depraved nature and endeavor to entice the Lord’s people into sin. Others disguise themselves as angels of light and seek to mislead and to deceive. The Apostle’s exhortation is that everything that is evil is to be resisted and opposed, whether it have a good form or a bad form. We are not to say as some do, “Let us do evil that good may follow.” The Lord’s people must be loyal to the principles of righteousness, under any and all circumstances. To do otherwise would surely undermine their efforts to attain the Master’s character likeness.

To abstain from every “appearance” of evil is a different thought from what the Apostle’s words in the original convey; nevertheless, it is a sound principle. We should abstain not only from evil things in whatever form, but we should also abstain as far as possible from things we know to be good which others might misunderstand and consider to be evil, so that our influence for the Lord and the Truth will not be diminished.

THE APOSTLE’S BENEDICTION

The Apostle closed the lesson with an invocation expressing his heart’s desire for the Lord’s people: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thess. 5:23) He thus emphasized the fact that God is not a God of confusion, anarchy, and turmoil but a God of peace. To the extent we learn from Him in the School of Christ, we become lovers of peace and the peace of God will abound in us more and more. It will cause us to be fruitful in developing holy characters, and it will make us advocates of peace in our words and deeds.

The Master said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matt. 5:9) Peace in the heart, manifesting itself in words and conduct, is evidence of sanctification, or complete setting apart for the Lord’s service. It is evidence that God’s spirit has come into the sanctified heart and is filling it with His peace: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:7)

When the Apostle prayed for the Church to be preserved until the coming of Christ, he could only have meant it with respect to the Church as a whole, and not with respect to the individual members. He certainly did not expect all the Christians at Thessalonica to live until the presence of the Lord, just as he did not himself expect to live until that time. (2 Tim. 4:7-8; 2 Pet. 1:12-15) Speaking of the spirit, soul, and body of the Church as a whole, his desire was that the Church at Thessalonica might continue to the full end of the Gospel Age as a noble and faithful congregation of the Lord’s body, full of His spirit and courageous in His work.

We know that the Apostle’s wish or prayer did not come true. This congregation, like the others he planted, died out because it was not as a whole sufficiently careful in heeding his admonitions. It did not prove all things, did not hold fast to the good, did not abstain from evil, and was not sanctified wholly. Although the light blessed some individuals among it, as a congregation it died, or ceased to be because the spirit of the Lord in its midst was quenched. The light passed on to other quarters, seeking those “meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Col. 1:12)

The fact that the Thessalonica Church was not kept in accordance with the Apostle’s prayer was not due to unfaithfulness on God’s part: “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” (1 Thess. 5:24) Rather, it was due to neglect and unfaith­fulness on the part of those the Apostle addressed or by their successors in that congregation. It is the same with everyone who has been called of the Lord. It has been up to them to hear and heed the Lord’s message through His servants in order to make their calling and election sure. If anyone has not been disposed to hear His message in the way He has sent it, the fault lies with them. They who are faithful would rejoice to do abundantly better things than anyone could ask or think, if they accept His provisions in faith and follow the directions of His Word.

The Apostle then entreated, “Brethren, pray for us.” (1 Thess. 5:25) The Apostle was not like a pope or a lord – he had no feeling of superiority to others of the Lord’s flock. He needed their prayers just as they needed his. All who are in the proper relationship with the Lord have a spirit of humility and appreciation for all the household of faith, realizing that the humblest of the Lord’s people have access to the throne of heavenly grace, and may there obtain mercy and find strength to help in every time of need. He further entreated, “Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.” (1 Thess. 5:26) He thus indicated there should be thorough cordiality among all who claim to be the Lord’s people, and this fellowship should be manifested by the accustomed form of greeting of the day.

The Apostle then insisted that this epistle was not to be considered as a private message or letter to the congregation in Thessalonica: “I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.” (1 Thess. 5:27) The Apostle seemed to fear that the leading brethren in whose care the letter was sent would only give out such parts of it as their judgment deemed prudent. Such a spirit on the part of the elders in any Church would be reprehensible. God’s Word is for God’s people, and whoever would hinder its flow would surely offend the Master Himself. Although the elders at Thessalonica were apparently faithful and the epistle was delivered to the Church, some today need to take heed along this line.

Many preachers and teachers have discerned the Truth presented in The Divine Plan of the Ages, but instead of proclaiming it to others they have sought to hide it from the Lord’s people so that they might use it to illuminate themselves before their flocks. They consider this “wise and prudent” but forget the Lord declared that He hides His deep things from the wise and prudent and reveals them unto babes. (Luke 10:21) True to our Lord’s words, this class rarely makes much progress. The Truth passes by them and before long they are in comparative darkness, because they did not receive the Truth in the love of it, but in the love of self. (2 Thess. 2:10) Loyalty to the Lord and His flock and to the Truth, through whatever channel it comes, demands that each of us speedily proclaim it in its purity to the extent of our ability. Shepherds who feed themselves and not the flock are warned by the Lord of His displeasure, and cannot be expected to thrive spiritually. (Ezek. 34:2, 7-10)

The Apostle then invoked the Lord’s blessing upon the Church: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” (1 Thess. 5:28)

(Based on Reprint 3135)

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WHY MEN FEAR THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” (Heb. 4:1)

All people realize they come short of perfection, and nearly all realize that their lives have included transgressions of a more or less serious nature. Fear is instinctive in the majority of minds, and under proper limitations that is a healthy condition. “The fear [reverence] of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Psa. 111:10)

Unfortunately, the Adversary has taken advantage of this proper fear through what the Apostle terms “doctrines of devils.” (1 Tim. 4:1) Regardless of the outward forms of godliness displayed by some, nearly every mind is filled from an early age with an abnormal, irrational fear. As the Lord said through the Prophet, “Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.” (Isa. 29:13) These human traditions or precepts have grossly misrepresented God and His Word. Even some Bible students are seriously handicapped by these devilish theories, which claim to be based on the divine Word but which were actually established in a period of ignorance and superstition.

Among other false theories respecting the second coming of Christ, the Adventists hold the view that the moment of the Lord’s coming spells doom for the world and its inhabitants, marking the end of hope for all not previously brought into relationship with God through Christ – all who are not saints. Adventists are not alone in this theory. Practically all denominations hold to the same thought, which is the very reverse of what the Scriptures teach.

The Second Advent will bring “times of refreshing” according to St. Peter’s description of it: “And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive [retain] until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:19-21)

The Scriptures teach that Christ Jesus and His glorified Church will together “judge the world.” (Acts 17:31; 1 Cor. 6:2) That judgment is commonly supposed to mean the world’s condemnation or damnation, but the Scriptures show that the entire race was already condemned through Adam’s disobedience, and that God has arranged for the entire race to have a fair and individual trial for life as a result of the redemption accomplished by our Lord Jesus. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor. 15:22)

If God had shown no mercy, there would have been no redemption and no future judgment, but having provided the Redeemer, God will soon establish the Messianic Kingdom for the very purpose of giving to all of humanity a special, personal opportunity for reformation and the attainment of everlasting life.

THE GREAT PLAN

Only the preliminary steps of this great plan have yet taken place:

(1) The Redeemer died, “the just for the unjust.” (1 Pet. 3:18)

(2) He appeared in the presence of God for the Church, making it possible for them to become His Bride – members of His body. (Heb. 9:24; 2 Cor. 11:2; 1 Cor. 12:12)

(3) All accepting this High Calling have been separated from the world, becoming spirit-begotten children of God and prospective joint-heirs with Christ. By sacrificing their earthly life, they will, if they have been faithful, be granted a share with Him in the glorious work of His Kingdom in blessing the world. (Rom. 8:17)

However, there is another feature to this plan. The Scriptures teach that at His Second Advent only the Lord’s consecrated people will be ready to receive the Master with joy. The masses of mankind will still be so associated with sin and injustice that they will not be worthy of His approval, and their lives will be subject to reprobation and stripes. Hence, it is written, “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.” (Jas. 5:1) “Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.” (Luke 6:25)

Many who now have positions of wealth, power, influence, etc. will lose those positions. Their realization of their losses is figuratively represented in the Scriptures as wailing, howling, and misery, as they suffer the loss of practically everything they now value. While the poor are not necessarily more righteous than the rich, they are more numerous. Those who have little of this world’s advantages and who are used to struggles will probably feel less of the effects of the great time of trouble than some who have been accustomed to living in the lap of luxury.

Babylon the Great will fall and the great institutions of civilization, although partly good but mainly bad, will not be found worthy of the new King’s government. The Bible symbolically pictures this day of trouble as a whirlwind, a fire, a tempest, and a flood. It will be a “time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” (Dan. 12:1) That this great day is near and “hasteth greatly” is evident from the events of our times. (Zeph. 1:14) The world has been given a glimpse of the fires of passion, anger, and resentment smoldering beneath the surface which will shortly envelop the world in a fiery trial such as has never been known.

The apprehensions of mankind are well founded. The Great King disapproves of much that the world does in the name of civilization and even in the name of the Master Himself. But let us not dwell too much upon this aspect because, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matt. 6:34) Let us focus instead on the glorious silver lining to that dark cloud – let us point to the glorious blessings of Messiah’s Kingdom, and teach all to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.” Let us strive to understand, appreciate, and teach to others the principles that will govern that Kingdom so that perhaps they may pass through the time of trouble with less injury.

Consider the words of the Prophet: “Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” (Zeph. 2:3) These words do not refer at all to the Lord’s Elect, who are already accounted worthy to escape the things coming upon the world. They are spoken instead as an exhortation to the better elements among mankind in general, that those who are humbler and more righteous may be better prepared for the shock and distress of that day of trouble, which will prepare the hearts of mankind to receive the divine message of truth and grace.

(Based on Reprint 4996)

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NO. 782: MESSIAH’S KINGDOM FORETOLD BY ISAIAH

No. 782

“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:9)

To understand the prophecies, one must recognize the typical nature of both God’s ancient kingdom of fleshly Israel and the ancient kingdom of Babylon which overthrew it. The affairs of fleshly Israel and those of spiritual Israel, as well as the affairs of literal Babylon and those of “mystic” Babylon, are so interwoven in prophecy that they are incomprehensible and absurd unless understood from the standpoint of type and antitype. Some people understand that the Babylon of Revelation – “mystic” Babylon – is not ancient Babylon, and they distinctly discern her approaching fall. Yet, they fail to recognize that the Church, spiritual Israel, is the antitype of fleshly Israel. They fail to see that the natural Israelites were broken off from the root of divine promise made to father Abraham, and that the spiritual Israelites were grafted into that root, becoming the heirs of its chief promises and blessings. As a result, when the natural Israelites are restored to favor it will be at a lower, earthly status. The entire plan of God is clear and reasonable only when these facts are understood.

In our September 2022 paper, we considered the Prophet Isaiah’s vision wherein he was commissioned to give a message to his people. (Isa. 6) That message prophesied their complete overthrow and captivity, while at the same time offering the hope that a remnant, a “holy seed,” would be spared and would return to their land. (Isa. 6:13) There were three pivotal points in the complete fulfilment of the message:

(1) About one hundred and seventy years after Isaiah’s vision, Judah was carried captive to Babylon, and only a remnant returned seventy years later. (2) About eight hundred years after the vision, Messiah at His First Advent rejected Israel as a nation, with only a remnant being accepted into the house of sons of the Gospel Age. (3) About 2650 years after Isaiah’s vision and message, nominal spiritual Israel was rejected and the “Israelites indeed” were gathered out of it to be God’s “holy nation” with Messiah as its Head.

The remnant of natural Israel that was delivered from literal Babylon was a type of the remnant of spiritual Israel, God’s people, delivered from symbolic Babylon, Christendom. The fall of literal Babylon at the hands of Cyrus foreshadowed the fall of symbolic or “mystic” Babylon as a result of the battle of the great day of God Almighty under the antitypical Cyrus, the Captain of our salvation. The prophecies describe the fall of literal Babylon in very evocative language because the descriptions apply more specifically to mystic Babylon than to literal Babylon. Thus the divine purposes have been both declared and hidden throughout the ages. (Compare Isa. 13:1-15 with Rev. 17 and 18)

Isaiah’s prophecies about God’s providences toward His people of Isaiah’s time, His subsequent delivering of them to Babylonian captivity, and His later judgments upon Babylon were all accomplished within two hundred and fifty literal years after Isaiah’s vision. However, those prophecies are interspersed with statements about Messiah and His everlasting Kingdom, the blessing of the remnant of spiritual Israel, and the eventual healing and restoration of all Israel to divine favor. Thus Isaiah’s prophecies weave together the events of his time with the events of our time.

A BRANCH OUT OF HIS ROOTS

This intermingling of events of Isaiah’s time with events of our time is illustrated in the prophecy contained in Isa. 11:1-10, which begins: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.” Natural Israel is here pictured as being entirely cut off, leaving nothing behind but the root of divine promise (the “holy seed” referred to in Isaiah’s vision), and yet it is shown that out of this root will ultimately come all the blessings originally promised to Abraham, and later confirmed to Isaac, Jacob, and David. (2 Sam. 7:12-14) Our Lord Jesus is not pictured as a shoot out of David, but as a shoot out of Jesse, David’s father, because David himself is a type of Christ, his name signifying “beloved.” Accord­ingly, our Lord’s Millennial reign is often called the reign of David, the reign of the Beloved.

God speaks of Israel as a vine that He planted. (Jer. 2:21) One peculiarity of a vine is that it seems to thrive more when it is pruned. Sometimes it is necessary to cut back a vine all the way to its roots in order to get fresh sprouts from it, and God frequently pruned fleshly Israel through severe disciplines, captivities, etc., cutting off many branches and preserving only a remnant. At the First Advent, it was cut off from any further share in the spiritual features of the Abrahamic promise, except for the remnant who received the Lord, and were granted the privilege of becoming members of the house of sons. (John 1:12)

During this Gospel Age, God has not dealt with His people collectively as a nation, but rather individually. Each branch has been pruned and those not bringing forth fruit have been entirely lopped off. Thus our Lord Jesus spoke of the members of spiritual Israel as branches of Himself, the true vine, and declared that the Father prunes the vine so that it may bring forth more fruit. (John 15:1-2) From the time of His baptism and anointing with the Holy Spirit, our Lord Jesus became the new spiritual shoot out of the Abrahamic promise, and out of the roots of Jesse.

While we recognize our Lord Jesus in this prophecy, it would be an error to not see that the true vine also includes the body of Christ, as our Lord explained. (John 15) Having its start in our Lord Jesus, this vine has grown and prospered, producing branches bearing fruit under the great Husbandman’s care throughout the centuries of the Gospel Age. Neither the vine nor its fruitage have been especially pleasing to either the fleshly Israelites or to nominal spiritual Israelites. On the contrary, our Lord’s prophetic declaration has been accurately fulfilled: “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.” (Matt. 10:22) Our Lord and the Apostles were hated by the chief theologians of their day because of their faithfulness to God. That faithfulness was a light that reproved the unfaithfulness of those who hated them. (John 3:20)

The prophecy begins when our Lord Jesus received the Holy Spirit upon making His consecration at thirty years of age: “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.” (Isa. 11:2-3; John 1:32) The spirit of the Father rested upon Him from that time forward, making Him attentive to the use of His knowledge in reverence and submission to the divine will. His perfection of being was the source of His complete confidence and trust in the Father, and His knowledge of God from His pre-human existence was undoubtedly the driving force of His absolute obedience to the Father’s will.

The same is true for the members of His body. Like their Master, each branch of the vine has received the Holy Spirit through Him, just as in the type the anointing oil (typifying the Holy Spirit) was first poured entirely upon the head of the high priest and subsequently flowed down over his body. To the degree that this spirit dwells in each member of the body as it flows down from the Head, it is also a spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, and a spirit of obedience to the Father’s will. Being perfect, our Lord Jesus could receive the Father’s spirit without measure, while those who are imperfect, blemished through inherited weak­nesses, can receive the spirit only by measure, according to the individual capacity and condition of each. Members of the body must do all in their power to repair the blemishes of their “earthen vessels” in order to receive and retain larger measures of the spirit of holiness. (2 Cor. 4:7)

THE GRACES OF THE SPIRIT EXERCISED

The prophecy then shifts to the time when these graces of the divine spirit will be exercised by Christ in the Millennial Kingdom: “But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” (Isa. 11:4-5) The girdle figuratively represents mercy, diligence, and service, and the proclamation here is that the Messiah will be the Father’s faithful and diligent servant, accomplishing all the work entrusted to His care. Along with the glorified Church, He will judge, bless, correct, and assist the willing to return to divine favor. The Church, head and body, will be so filled with the spirit of the Father’s wisdom and power that they will be fully qualified to do all the great work that was purposed and arranged for them to do since before the foundation of the world.

The prophecy goes on to describe a change in disposition in the animal kingdom: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion . . . and a little child shall lead them. . . . and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.” (Isa. 11:6-8) The first scriptural account of the lower animals contains nothing implying that they were wild, vicious, and at enmity with mankind. On the contrary, the implication is that they were in thorough subjection to the perfect man Adam, who was declared by the Lord to be the king of the earth and was so recognized by the brute creation. (Gen. 2:19-20) The statement that “a little child shall lead” shows that the animal creation will be brought back into its proper relationship with mankind. The picture of little children playing with venomous creatures illustrates that they will be rendered harmless.

The prophecy shows us that evil will be forcibly restrained in the Kingdom, and that the blessing of mankind will be accomplished by the spreading of the knowledge of the Lord, as our opening text declares. (Isa. 11:9) The Apostle further assured us that there can be no salvation without that knowledge and that it is the will of God that all men come to a knowledge of the truth so that they may be saved: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:3-4; Rom. 10:13-15)

The fact that very few of earth’s billions have come to this knowledge in the present life will in no way thwart the divine plan, nor make the death of Christ on their behalf of no avail. The Lord has assured us that in due time Jesus, the true light of the world, will lighten all mankind. This includes all who have never had the opportunity to learn about Christ, those of limited mental capacity who could not grasp the truth even if it were presented to them, and infants who die without a knowledge of the only name under heaven whereby we must be saved. God has made ample provision for the salvation of all, first in the redemption provided through Christ Jesus, and then by providing the opportunity to learn of that salvation during the Millennial Age, when the knowledge of the Lord will fill the whole earth.

The last verse of our lesson refers to another root of Jesse, but this time it points us to the Millennial day: “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” (Isa. 11:10) After the spiritual seed of Abraham and David has been exalted to Kingdom glory, an earthly seed, out of the same root, will become prominent and be the earthly agent of the heavenly Kingdom. The Apostle Paul alluded to this subordinate seed, suggesting they will be used by the Lord in the blessing of mankind. (Rom. 4:16; Heb. 11:39-40)

The Israelites were accustomed to bad government, and all mankind since have likewise experienced it. This Prophecy provides needed assurance that the new King will not only have good and wise motives and intentions, but also possess super-human power by which He will bestow blessings and administer discipline. The new King will know the very thoughts and intents of the heart, and will not need to judge by natural hearing and sight as all earthly rulers must do.

All throughout history, even the wisest and best of kings and other rulers have governed largely by selfishness. They have amassed wealth at the expense of their subjects, and have granted special privileges to their wealthy friends, often at the expense of the poor and vulnerable. Through the Prophet, the Lord assures us that the new King will administer His office with equity toward all, giving special care to the meek and lowly who are hesitant to assert their rights. The poor presently find little sympathy, encouragement or help, but in the Kingdom they will find a friend in the new King.

GOD’S HOLY MOUNTAIN

Some people expect Messiah’s Kingdom to come as a result of the Church converting the world in the present age, while others believe that the world is gradually approaching a righteous condition by an evolutionary process. Those holding either view should consider the Word of God, which says that when Messiah takes the reins of government His first step will be to “judge the poor” and “reprove” the rich. He will “smite the earth” (the present social order) with the “rod of his mouth” (the truth) and will “slay the wicked.” Thus Messiah’s reign is to be inaugurated through the “time of trouble” predicted by the Prophet Daniel. (Dan. 12:1) If the world will already be converted to a righteous condition by then, none of this will be necessary because there will be no poor, no rich, and no wicked to slay. The very object of our Lord’s reign in its beginning will be to correct the wrongs that will then prevail. (Mal. 4:1, 6; Rev. 19:15) The Lord Himself implied that the earth will not be in a faithful condition at His Second Advent: “Never­theless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

The “rod” of Messiah’s mouth signifies the judgments He has already expressed that have gone largely unheeded by Christendom. As He declared: “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48) Christendom in general has admitted that God’s Word is righteous, but remarkably few attempt to live by it. Consequently, His judgments will begin with His nominal house, the nominal church, and that system will fall. Only the faithful few – the Lord’s “jewels” – will be “accounted worthy to escape.” (Mal. 3:17; Luke 21:36)

This prophecy of Isaiah is consistent with all Scripture testimony in showing that the blessings God has in reservation for mankind in general are earthly. If mankind were to be changed to a higher nature and become like the angels, it would be completely unnecessary to change the disposition of the animal creation. Other prophecies show that in the restitution condition, human beings will be perfect and fully adapted to the earth, which will also be perfect. In that perfect condition, they will “sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree.” No one will threaten them or make them afraid, and they “shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” (Mic. 4:4; Isa. 65:21-22)

These promises are the Millennial Age hope for the world. They have nothing whatsoever to do with the heavenly hope set before the Church of this Gospel Age. The realization of that hope will require all who will attain it to be changed from animal bodies to spiritual bodies, from weakness to power, from the human nature to the spiritual nature, because flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. (1 Cor. 15:40-50)

Many fail to discern that the Kingdom of God per se consists of our Lord Jesus and the Church, to whom Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) Together they constitute God’s royal or reigning class. The world of mankind in general will at first be the subjects of this spiritual Kingdom, and afterwards they will become citizens or members of it, provided they come into harmony with its rules and regulations. They will thus be reconciled with God and will again become His children through Christ.

When this Kingdom is set up it will be but a small “stone,” but in the end of this age it will by divine power crush the kingdoms of the earth to dust in the great time of trouble. (Dan. 2:34-35, 44-45) God’s Kingdom will not remain small, but will gradually expand until it fills the whole earth, becoming the “holy mountain” of our prophecy, a mountain being a symbol of a kingdom. Nothing will be permitted to do violence or work injury throughout all God’s holy Kingdom. Love will be the law, and divine power will enforce that law. All who will not conform to it will be “destroyed [cut off] from among the people,” as the Lord has declared through the Apostle. (Acts 3:23)

Love is far from the rule among mankind today. Selfishness rules among individuals, institutions, and governments, and countless evil influences hurt and destroy throughout the world. God’s Kingdom is not yet set up, and hence we continue to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10)

(Based on Reprint 2372.)

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WORSHIPING FELLOW MESSENGERS

“And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.” (1 Thess. 5:12-13)

It has long been our custom to pay tribute to Pastor Russell at this time of year to commemorate his death on October 31, 1916. While we esteem him as that “faithful and wise servant” (Matt. 24:45-46), we do not do this with the thought of worshiping him or magnifying his talent and character out of accordance with the facts. In keeping with this thought, we present Pastor Russell’s own thoughts on the subject.

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God’s people are to love and esteem each other, and that in proportion as they recognize in each other the spirit of God, the spirit of Christ, the spirit of holiness and devotion to truth and righteousness. But while there may be danger that some will fail to render “honor to whom honor” is due (Rom. 13:7), there is undoubtedly danger also that some might render too much honor to human instruments, whom God is pleased to use in connection with the service of the truth. It is proper therefore that we call attention here, as we have done heretofore, to the danger of man-worship. This matter is very forcibly brought to our attention in Revelation 22. John the Revelator, representing the living saints all down through the Gospel Age, is there caused to see unfolding the various features of the divine plan, and in conclusion falls down to worship the angel who showed him those things.

There has been a tendency on the part of many to give more than love, respect and honor to the servants of God who from time to time have been used as special servants of God in bringing to the attention of the Church things new and old, or to the particular brother or sister who was the means of conversion or other spiritual benefit. There was this disposition in the early Church, some exalting one Apostle and some another as their chief and master, and naming themselves as his disciples, saying, “I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas [Peter].” (1 Cor. 1:12) The Apostle Paul assured them that this disposition indicated a measure of carnality, and he inquired, who then are Paul, Apollos, and Peter, but merely the servants or channels through whom God has been pleased to send you the blessings of the truth. “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” (1 Cor. 3:7) He indicated thus that they should not recognize the channels through whom the blessings came, but rather the Lord, the Author of their blessings, who died for them and redeemed them. They should loyally bear no name other than His.

Likewise, when the Church began to get rid of the gross darkness of the Dark Ages under the help and instruction of the reformers, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and others, they naturally and properly had great respect for those whom God had honored as the instruments in the work of reformation. But again the tendency to “worship” the messengers, the human agents, instead of the divine Author was manifested, and today there are hundreds of thousands who call themselves by the name of Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Campbell and others, and who give more respect to their teachings and writings than to the Word of God, and this with corresponding injury to themselves. Likewise, today, in the light of present truth, shining more clearly than ever before, no doubt there is need to be on guard against this carnal tendency which has had so deleterious an influence in the past.

When John fell down to worship the angel who had shown him the wonders of the divine plan, the angel’s refusal to accept homage should be a lesson to all ministers (servants, messengers) of God. He said, “See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.” (Rev. 22:9) All servants of God are fellow-servants regardless of the time or extent of their service.

The Apostle called attention to this man-worshiping tendency in his epistle to the Colossians, saying, “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels [messengers], intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.” (Col. 2:18) The intimation was that this temptation would come insidiously, craftily, and not by brazen demands for reverence. Such is the reverence accorded in general to the ministry of the nominal churches. Many ministers who seem very meek, and who would not think of demanding reverence or worship, nevertheless accept of their flocks the voluntary title, “Reverend,” and encourage it, and feel offended if reverence or worship of this sort is not rendered. The effect has been and still is to injure the household of faith, to give an over-confidence in the judgment and word of the minister in spiritual things, so that many neglect to prove their faith by God’s Word, and to trust implicitly to its authority.

And there is danger amongst those who do not use the title, Reverend. It should always be remembered that control resides in the congregation and not in self-appointed leaders, whether they seek to serve a dozen or thousands. The churches of Christ should recognize the leading of their Head, and know their leaders to be of His choice (See Heb. 13:7, 17, 24, Dia.), but they should beware of any disposed to usurp the rights of the congregation or to ignore those rights by taking the place of leaders without the specific request of the congregation; beguiling the company into supposing that the leader alone is competent to judge and decide for the congregation as to the Lord’s choice, and thus failing to hold the Head (Christ) as the only real teacher, who is able and willing to guide all the meek in judgment, because they are His Church – “his body.”

Nor is this beguiling of the attention of the flock away from the only Shepherd to a fellow sheep always the fault of the “leaders.” There seems to be a general tendency on the part of all who have the true, humble, sheep nature to follow one another. It is a lesson, therefore, for all to learn – that each sheep recognize as leaders only such as are found in full accord with the voice and spirit of the Chief Shepherd (Christ), and the under-shepherds (the Apostles), and that each sheep see to it that he eats only “clean provender” and drinks only “pure water” as directed by the Shepherd. (See Ezek. 34:17-19) This implies the exercise of the individual conscience of each member of Christ’s flock on matters of doctrine and practice, and tends to keep each one in sympathy and fellowship with the Shepherd, who knows each sheep and “calleth his own sheep by name.” (John 10:3) The same intimate relationship of the individual Christian with the Lord is illustrated in the figure of Christ the Head and the Church as members of His body. (1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 4:15-16)

As we have been to some extent, by the grace of God, used in the ministry of the gospel, it may not be out of place to say here what we have frequently said in private, and previously in these columns, namely, that while we appreciate the love, sympathy, confidence and fellowship of fellow-servants and of the entire household of faith, we want no homage, no reverence, for ourselves or our writings; nor do we wish to be called Reverend or Rabbi. Nor do we wish that any should be called by our name. The name of He who died for all – the name Christian – is quite sufficient to designate the spiritual sons of God, the true brethren of Christ; and whatsoever is more than this comes of evil, of carnality, and tends toward more of the same.

Nor would we have our writings reverenced or regarded as infallible, or on a par with the Holy Scriptures. The most we claim or have ever claimed for our teachings is that they are what we believe to be harmonious interpretations of the divine Word, in harmony with the spirit of the truth. And we still urge, as in the past, that each reader study the subjects we present in the light of the Scriptures, proving all things by the Scriptures, accepting what they see to be thus approved, and rejecting all else. It is to this end, to enable the student to trace the subject in the divinely inspired record, that we so freely intersperse both quotations and citations of the Scriptures upon which to build.

(Excerpt from Reprint 2079, lightly edited.)

Write to us at: epiphanybiblestudents@gmail.com

NO. 781: THE PROPHET ISAIAH’S VISION

No. 781

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” (Isa. 6:8)

In preceding papers (July and August 2022), we traced the history of the Jewish nation (natural Israel) in its two divisions: the ten-tribe kingdom, called Israel, and the two-tribe kingdom, called Judah. We saw the truthfulness of the Lord’s statement: “They have corrupted themselves . . . they are a perverse and crooked generation.” (Deut. 32:5) We saw that both kingdoms continually gravitated toward idolatry. Even when corrected through divine judgments at the hands of their enemies, their reformation was only temporary, and they soon delved into idolatry again, requiring new chastise­ments from the Lord. This history leads us down to about the time of the Prophet Isaiah.

The first five chapters of the prophecy of Isaiah are denunciations against Israel and Judah, mingled with exhortations to reformation, in which God called out to them: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. . . . Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isa. 1:3, 16-20)

These offers of divine mercy were not heeded; consequently, the Lord later sent a different message through Isaiah.

THE VISION WAS A CALL TO SERVICE

Because this new message would be a difficult one to proclaim, Isaiah was given a vision. (Isa. 6:1-13) The purpose of the vision was to encourage Isaiah and lead him to volunteer to be the bearer of the message. The vision prophesied the establishment of the Kingdom of God during the Millennium, as described later in Isaiah’s prophecy: “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isa. 40:5)

In this vision, God presented Himself to Isaiah as a King above all kings, whose glory made the false majesty and grandeur of earthly kings appear as mere dross. God’s glory and holiness is forcefully brought to our attention by the refrain of the seraphim: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isa. 6:3) These words of the seraphim could only be true from a prophetic standpoint, for the whole earth has never yet been filled with the Lord’s glory. Quite to the contrary, the earth is full of sin and violence, and every evil work prospers under the dominion of the great Adversary of God and righteousness, “the prince of this world.”

This prophecy was specifically written for the benefit of the spiritual “sons” of the Gospel Age. (1 Pet. 1:12) God wanted them to know that evil will not always prevail; eventually God’s Kingdom will come, and His will be done on earth, as it is in heaven, just as expressed in the Lord’s Prayer. With evil and evil-doers destroyed and the knowledge of the Lord filling the earth, the prophecy will be fulfilled and the whole earth will be full of the Lord’s glory. In the meantime, the Lord’s people are to wait patiently for Him, serving Him while enduring opposition from the world. They see Him although He is invisible, and recognize His glory which is as yet only a vision and a promise.

Everything in the vision served to impress upon Isaiah the idea of God’s holiness as well as His grace. The very door-posts reverberated at the cry of the seraphim, and the Prophet himself was overwhelmed with the sight and the message. His first thought was naturally and properly of his own sinfulness and imperfection as a member of the fallen human race. He felt himself unworthy to even see such a great sight: “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (Isa. 6:5)

Those who are brought closest to the divine presence, realizing most fully the holiness and perfection of our God, are those who feel their own shortcomings and unworthiness the most. They actually are far superior to others, otherwise they would never be granted such insights into the divine plan and character. “Humbleness of mind” is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit pointed out by the Apostle. (Col. 3:12) Whoever has that deep humility, that intense appreciation of his own faults and of the divine perfection, is in the proper condition of heart to be ready for divine blessing and usefulness in divine service. On the other hand, those who claim perfection for themselves are in a deplorable condition of heart, and are wholly unfit for the Lord’s service.

In the vision, Isaiah lamented his own imperfection, saying that his lips were “unclean” and thus wholly inadequate to tell of the divine glory. A seraphim then brought a live coal from the altar and touched the Prophet’s lips, saying, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” (Isa. 6:7) Thus, the Lord symbolically told Isaiah that because of his humility he would be granted powers of expression that were not his own – his lips would be cleansed and inspired by the Lord to tell the message of the great salvation, the message of love, the message of the great sacrifice and the grand results.

The vision had its designed effect upon Isaiah, establishing more firmly his faith, mani­festing to him the divine greatness and power. Thus Isaiah’s heart was quickened with a desire to further engage in the divine service, no matter what message the Lord would send. Then he heard the Lord ask for a faithful servant, and his response was immediate: “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” (Isa. 6:8)

It is the same with those called by the Lord to His service during this Gospel Age. None are forced into divine service: all soldiers of the cross must be volunteers – none will be drafted. The Lord does not even try to persuade anyone to become His servant, but as with Isaiah, He shows the faithful His character and plan, and lets them know that He is seeking those to worship and serve Him, as worship and serve “in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23) This knowledge constitutes His “call” and it is quite sufficient for all who have appreciatively tasted of the Lord’s grace to know that there is an opportunity of rendering service to the King of kings. They volunteer their services and pray that the Lord will grant them the privilege of doing all that their talents qualify them to do in His service. These only are true mouthpieces of the Lord. The false prophets and teachers of error are those who give the appearance of serving the Lord’s cause for selfish reasons – money, the praise of others, self-aggrandizement, etc.

The message Isaiah was thus commissioned to convey was that all the warnings, threats, and chastisements upon Israel and Judah, both past and then future, would fail to reach their hearts and turn them to repentance: “And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.” (Isa. 6:9-10)

As a consequence of their failure to repent, the land would be made desolate and the people would be carried away into captivity: “Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.” (Isa. 6:11-12)

Such a message would be difficult to deliver to any people, yet this was the message the Lord prepared His servant to send. We are not surprised to learn that the people resented the message, and although Isaiah lived to the good old age of seventy, there seems to be reasonable grounds for believing the traditional claim that he eventually died a martyr’s death, being sawn asunder.

The vision concludes with a ray of hope – the suggestion that a remnant of the people, a “holy seed,” would be spared and returned to their land, and the national hope thus revived. (Isa. 6:13) The proud and self-willed people to whom the message was delivered no doubt considered this as adding insult to injury.

It was not long after Isaiah had this vision that the ten tribes were carried away into captivity, and although Judah underwent a reformation, it was only temporary. Judah’s share in the prophesied captivity occurred about one hundred and fifty years later.

A NEW DOORWAY

The Lord Jesus referred directly to Isaiah’s vision and showed us its meaning. (Matt. 13:14-15; John 12:38-41) In fulfilment of the divine promise, Jesus at His First Advent offered Himself to natural Israel as their great King of Glory, the promised great Mediator of the New Covenant. (Jer. 31:31) God knew that Jesus would be rejected, but still the offer was made. Had He been received, it would have meant that a sufficient number of the Jewish nation would have accepted Him with their whole heart, and would have constituted the complete number of the Bride class. No offer would have been made to the Gentiles to become joint-heirs with Messiah in His glorious Kingdom – the entire blessing would have gone to Israel. The Kingdom would have been established immediately and the nation of Israel, accepting Messiah, would have at once become the channel of divine blessing to all nations.

Instead, Israel rejected Messiah and the nation as a whole was rejected by the Lord and scattered among all the nations of the earth. In Isaiah’s vision, the shaking of the door-posts and the darkness clouding the glorious scene indicated that the world was not ready to receive the message of God’s glory filling the earth. The fulfilment of this we see in the fact that the Jewish nation, which was to be the doorway to the promised glory, was not in the proper condition. A new doorway had to be provided through which the glories of the King of kings would flow to the world.

St. Paul declared that the shaking of anything, in a typical sense, represents its instability, its removal – in order that something superior might be established in its place. (Heb. 12:26-27) The Jewish nation was removed from its favored position and a new nation, a new doorway, a new channel of access between God and men, has since been in the process of being established.

Since no other nation in the world was more worthy of the honored position than Israel, God proceeded to make a new nation composed exclusively of saints, “a royal priesthood, an holy nation.” (1 Pet. 2:9) A “remnant” of “Israelites indeed” accepted Messiah and became the nucleus of the new nation, being received as sons of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord. (John 1:12; Rom. 11:5-11) The selection processes have continued throughout this Gospel Age, and with its close the Holy Nation will be completed by the power of the First Resurrection. Then all will be ready, and the whole earth will actually be filled with the glory of God and the world will be blessed – natural Israel being promised a prominent share in connection with this grand work.

ISAIAH A TYPE OF THE LITTLE FLOCK

In Isaiah’s vision, a glimpse of the Lord’s glory showed him his own defects and the defects of those around him. The teachings of Jesus had the same effect upon all who received His message. They saw the Law more clearly than ever before and realized that they violated it more than they knew – not only in actions, but also in words and thoughts. The holy ones, as represented by Isaiah, took the matter to heart and humbled themselves before the Lord. They acknowledged that they were not fit to be teachers of men, but that the whole Jewish nation and all others were imperfect, and that any message which their lips could carry would be imperfect.

When Isaiah’s lips were touched with a live coal from the altar, it illustrated how the saintly of Israel and from all nations have had the required blessing upon their lips during this Gospel Age. God has desired to send His message of grace and the invitation to sacrifice to all who would have the ear to hear. He asked, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” The sanctified, typified by Isaiah, have throughout the age responded, “Here am I; send me.” (Isa. 6:8) They have proclaimed the divine invitation: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom. 12:1) This message, enkindled by the live coal from God’s altar of sacrifice, has gone throughout the world for nearly twenty centuries, teaching of the cleansing from sin and service to God.

The Master and His Apostles began this proclamation, and it has continued throughout the Gospel Age. Few have heard and few have received the blessing of forgiveness and begetting of the Holy Spirit. We are not to be discouraged by this, because the “little flock” have gotten this blessing and have been preparing to constitute the Kingdom class, the new doorway or threshold connecting God with the world of mankind.

SPIRITUAL ISRAEL’S WAKING VISION

Since we find from the Scriptures that natural Israel was a type of spiritual Israel, we are not surprised to find that a message similar to the one Isaiah delivered to natural Israel has been sent to spiritual Israel here at the end of the Gospel Age. The message is that the time of harvest has come and that God is gathering out His jewels. The message is also that nominal spiritual Israel, Christendom, is hereafter to be known as “Babylon” (confusion), and that all who are truly the Lord’s people are to hear His voice and flee out of it: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Rev. 18:1-4)

This particular feature of the message of present truth, the calling of God’s people out of Babylon, is in many respects like the message Isaiah delivered to the faithful of Israel in his day. It is a message that is unpopular and it sparks resentment and reproach from those who love sectarianism and human creeds more than they love the Lord, even when it is presented in the most gentle and loving manner.

Those who desire to speak the message of present truth in love, yet with courage, need the same encouragement the Lord granted to Isaiah. They need the eyes of their understanding to see a vision of the King in His beauty; and they need to hear clear assurance that ultimately the Lord will establish His Kingdom, which will fill the whole earth with His glory. It is such a message the Lord is now granting to those He would use as servants and mouthpieces. The present truth now provided by our Lord in His Parousia is a waking vision of the Lord’s glory. We see the divine character as never before: the divine wisdom, justice, love and power, fully coordinated and operating in absolute harmony in all the great work of our God in the past, the present, and the future.

Spiritual Israel’s vision, like Isaiah’s, includes the testimony of the seraphim: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is [will be] full of his glory.” They can see the future work of our God, through the Millennial Kingdom of the glorified Christ, Head and body, who are to bless all the families of the earth. At the end of this Gospel Age, it is those who thus see divine grace in its brilliance, while also seeing their own imperfection and unworthiness, who have been granted the opportunity of being mouthpieces of God. They have been touched with an antitypical coal from the antitypical altar. They are anxious to render service to our Lord, and are commissioned to bear the message of present truth to others.

HEZEKIAH’S GREAT PASSOVER

Isaiah’s vision and his commission to announce the fall of Israel was “in the year that King Uzziah died.” (Isa. 6:1) Uzziah was succeeded to the throne of Judah by Jotham, who ruled for sixteen years, and then by the wicked king, Ahaz, who also reigned for sixteen years. Despite being very wicked, it appears Ahaz had an excellent wife, Abijah, under whose careful training their son, Hezekiah, was prepared for the kingdom, and became in many ways a model ruler, and a faithful servant of God.

It is evident that Hezekiah was already well instructed and thoroughly consecrated to the Lord when he became king, because he immediately began to implement religious reforms. His first public work was to open and repair the Temple of the Lord, which had been closed for years and had fallen into disrepair. The king called the divinely appointed tribe of Levi to aid him in this work. The cleansing of the Temple proceeded according to the Law of Moses, and when it was complete its first use was for a great sin-offering.

Being broadminded, Hezekiah instructed the offering to be not only for the people of Judah, the two tribes, but for “all Israel and Judah,” including the separated ten tribes. (2 Chron. 30:1) He properly recognized that the twelve tribes were still in some respects one nation, because the divine promises were made to all of the seed of Abraham. Therefore, anyone among all the tribes who would recognize the Lord God and seek His face was properly esteemed a brother, a fellow Israelite.

The king determined to reinstitute the proper observance of the Passover Feast commemorating the Lord’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt, which had been neglected due to the general religious laxness and disorder. He stipulated that it be preceded by all the proper arrangements of the law – the cleansing of the people and the putting away of leaven, etc. However, the time was too short for the people to be ready to observe the Passover on its appointed day, the 14th day of the first month, and hence the 14th day of the second month was observed instead – as the Lord had permitted. (Num. 9:10-11) Special messengers were sent to publicly invite all Israelites of every tribe to return to the worship of the Lord and to come for the observance of this feast.

Isaiah’s prophecy regarding the carrying away of Israel into captivity was already in progress. The ten tribes were then paying tribute to Assyria, and many of the people had actually been carried away. Those who had the faith and zeal to recognize that their impending captivity was a punishment for their rejection of the Lord were thus prompted to return to the Lord’s worship, as King Hezekiah’s letters exhorted: “Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord . . . And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see. . . . yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his sanctuary . . .  that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.” (2 Chron. 30:6-8)

However, the majority of the people in the northern kingdom laughed at the messengers. As a nation, their pride was leading them to destruction. Only the humble are able to receive the Lord’s gracious promises and appreciate the servants who bear the messages. Considerable faith and devotion to the Lord is required when the receiving of the messages subjects one to the scoffs and scorn of the unbelieving masses. Despite this, a number of the people humbled themselves and accepted the invitation, with at least five of the ten tribes being represented. (2 Chron. 30:11, 18)

We recall that some from the ten tribes had already gone to the kingdom of Judah to escape the idolatry prevalent in their own land. (2 Chron. 15:9) We further note that after the later captivity of Judah, the division of Israel was lost sight of. The decree of Cyrus permitting return from captivity ignored any division and was to all Israel, and the faithful of all the tribes who returned were together recognized as Israel, and are so referred to in the Bible. It was the remnant of all twelve tribes of Israel, not merely of Judah, that was gathered into the Gospel Age, while the remainder were “blinded” and broken off from the covenant promises until after the selection of spiritual Israel in the Gospel Age. (Rom. 11:7, 25-32)

The invitation to the Feast was well received throughout Judah: “Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the Lord. . . . for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.” (2 Chron. 30:12, 21-26) No such Passover had been observed in over two hundred and fifty years – since the days of Solomon. The Feast was observed with great joy and praising of God. The people became so imbued with religious fervor that the Passover week was prolonged for an additional week.

The revival of true religion did not stop with that Passover. It led also to a strong movement against every form of idolatry throughout Judah, a movement that even extended to the land of the ten tribes. This proper turning of the people to the Lord brought earthly blessings to them and to their king in harmony with God’s covenant made with Israel. The king became very rich, and the people prospered also, so that their tithes and offerings to the Lord were not only sufficient for the supply of the priests and Levites, but far in excess of this, so that store-houses had to be built to receive them.

ANALOGIES IN SPIRITUAL ISRAEL

We find several analogies to spiritual Israel in this history of fleshly Israel:

(1) Hezekiah and the priests and Levites were cleansed and sanctified “according to the law of Moses,” the mediator of Israel’s covenant. Spiritual Israelites seek cleansing in accordance with the law of Christ, the better Mediator. This cleansing is not with the blood of bulls and goats, but through the merit of the more precious blood of Christ. Whoever attempts to cleanse the Temple of God and to bring it into accordance with the divine arrangement will be blessed, as were Hezekiah and his kingdom. However, we are to remember that the rewards promised to spiritual Israel are spiritual and not temporal. While the congregation of the Lord in the present time may be considered nominally His Temple, the real Temple of God is the Church triumphant. Nevertheless, it is proper to also apply this lesson to our own individual hearts, as the Apostle said: “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (1 Cor. 3:17) He went on to say, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Cor. 7:1)

(2) Hezekiah invited all willing Israelites to join in the worship of the Lord as esteemed brethren. Spiritual Israelites should likewise esteem and treat as “Israelites indeed” all who trust in the precious blood of Christ as the great sin-offering of atonement. Sectarian names and creeds should all be abolished, and true Christians should be one people without any distinctions, aside from some having perhaps attained greater knowledge and sanctification than others.

(3) The message sent by Hezekiah was not popular and his messengers were mocked and scorned. A similar message today – a message offering true fellowship and the promises of God to all mankind, ignoring all sects and creeds – is also not popular. Now, as then, the majority are disposed to laugh and mock those who advocate the simplicity which is in Christ Jesus, as taught in the Scriptures, and practiced in the early Church. Just as a few Israelites were attracted by Hezekiah’s message, a few people today are attracted by what they realize to be the proper message, the truth. Many hear the message and do not have sufficient courage to act upon it, as no doubt was the case in Israel. Nevertheless, a few from almost all denom­inations and creeds have been attracted to the message and have been ready and willing to humble themselves, while the proud have stood for sectarianism and its accompanying honors and distinctions, and have failed to get the divine blessing.

(4) In Hezekiah’s day, a true revival of religious sentiment toward God and His worship required the general destruction of idols. Today there are many idols impeding the worship of God in accordance with His Word. They take many forms and features, and the Lord’s people should be zealous in overthrowing them. Masses of people bow themselves before the idol of sectarianism, but there are legions of other idols, including money, lust, politics, power, pride, ambition, and ease. All of these idols have one general characteristic: selfishness.

Anyone who is consecrated to the Lord should readily recognize the abominable character of these idols before which the great Adversary induces us to bow and worship. To the degree of our zeal for the Lord and the measure of His spirit in our hearts, we will be zealous in putting down all these idols, bringing not only our words and actions, but also our very thoughts, into subjection to the will of God in Christ: “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5)

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(The above is based on Reprints 2370-2372, 2379, and 4787.)

Write to us at: epiphanybiblestudents@gmail.com

NO. 780: JUDAH MORE FAITHFUL THAN ISRAEL

No. 780

“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Prov. 3:6)

In our July 2022 paper, we discussed how the unified kingdom of Israel, composed of twelve tribes, was split into two kingdoms after the death of Solomon, with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin being referred to as “Judah.” The remaining ten tribes, being more numerous, are most often referred to as “Israel,” but are sometimes called “Ephraim.” Having discussed in some detail the fall of the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel, we now consider the history of the kingdom of Judah.

It was during the reign of King Rehoboam that the united kingdom of Israel was split. Rehoboam was so affected by the experience that he and the people of Judah underwent a sort of religious reformation. The division in a sense worked to the advantage of Judah, in that it humbled them and drew them nearer to the Lord. The idolatrous course taken by the ten tribes made Judah more faithful in resisting the idolatry of the surrounding nations. As a result, the priests and Levites, as well as the more religious of the general population (“Israelites indeed”), deserted the ten-tribe kingdom and made their home in Judah. “So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.” (2 Chron. 11:13-17)

But before long Rehoboam, finding himself strong in his position as king, became lax with respect to religious matters, and he and the people began to neglect the divine law. (2 Chron. 12:1) As a rebuke for this unfaithfulness, the Lord permitted the army of Egypt under Shishak to invade Judah. This brought Rehoboam and the rulers of the people to their senses, and caused them to appeal to the Lord for help: “Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The Lord is righteous.” (2 Chron. 12:6)

Consequently, the Lord restrained the Egyptians, not allowing them to completely over­whelm the kingdom: “My wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem, by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants . . . So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.” (2 Chron. 12:7-9) Rehoboam was thus reduced for a time to a subservient position. His kingdom lost much of the wealth it had accumulated under the reigns of Solomon and David. All of this was intended to teach them the important lesson: If the Lord let go of them they would be swallowed up by their enemies, and although the Lord demanded their obedience, He always made that obedience profitable to them in their temporal welfare.

The lesson learned from Shishak’s invasion seems to have profited Rehoboam and the people of Judah throughout the remainder of his seventeen year reign, and his son and successor, Abijah, was a king who acknowledged the Lord. When a war with the ten tribes of Israel followed after his succession to the throne of Judah, he addressed the ten tribes, drawn up in battle array, sending them a message: “And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods. Have ye not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? . . . But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the Lord, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites . . . And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain . . . O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.” (2 Chron. 13:8-12)

Thus Abijah’s short three year reign was a good one in many respects, but his loyalty to the Lord did not lead him to completely eliminate the places of idol worship which had begun to be established in Solomon’s day. He failed to have the Lord’s approval, as his son, Asa, did after him: “And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God: For he took away the altars of the strange gods . . . the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.” (2 Chron. 14:2-3; 2 Chron. 15:17) Thus a right heart made Asa a great reformer and he destroyed the idols and altars, etc., some of which were dedicated to false gods, and some to the true God, Yahweh. The latter was, nevertheless, contrary to the divine instruction that no place of sacrifice should be recognized other than the temple. (Deut. 12:13-14)

Asa’s faithfulness to God laid him open to charges of being narrow-minded and bigoted by those who at that time considered themselves broad-minded and liberal. Asa even destroyed the idol which his mother had set up, and because she was using her influence in favor of idolatry, he removed from her the dignities of her position as a queen. All this showed that Asa’s loyalty and zeal for the Lord was from the heart and not a mere whim, nor was it from a selfish motive. In harmony with the divine covenant, a great blessing rested upon Asa and upon his kingdom, and during the first ten years of absolute peace he fortified his country, and strengthened the kingdom.

Twenty-five years after Shishak defeated Rehoboam and carried away the gold and treasures of the kingdom, another Egyptian army came against Asa, probably intent upon getting more spoils. But as God, according to His covenant with Israel, made the Egyptians to prosper because of unfaithfulness on the part of Rehoboam and his people, so now the Lord, under the same covenant, made Asa and his army to prosper because of their faithfulness to him, and gave them a great victory over the Egyptians.

In order that Asa and the people might know without a doubt that their victory was because of the Lord, a prophet was sent to them who said: “Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. . . . Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.” This message encouraged Asa to continue his warfare against idols, and as a result, they were completely abolished from the land. (2 Chron. 15:2, 7-8)

With Asa’s zeal and the zeal of his people increased, a great convention was held – a holiness convention: “And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul . . . And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round about. . . . And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.” (2 Chron. 15:12-15, 19)

However, in the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, he sent a present of gold and silver to the king of Syria to obtain his aid in repelling hostile advances made by the king of Israel (the ten tribes). Although this did avert war and might be considered shrewd states­manship, it was an error on his part, showing poor judgment. The Lord pointed this out to him through the Prophet Hanani, who upbraided him for relying on the King of Syria rather than on the Lord: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.” (2 Chron. 16:1-9) Thus we see that the statement that Asa’s heart was right before God evidently signified merely that he honestly and conscientiously sought to do the Lord’s will as the king of Judah in the putting away of idolatry, and in the enforcement of the Mosaic law.

COMPARISON TO GOSPEL AGE DEALINGS

To say one’s heart is right with God would mean a great deal more when used with respect to the Lord’s people of this Gospel Age. It would mean a full consecration in thought, and so far as possible, of word and deed. In fact, all of the Lord’s dealings with fleshly Israel were very contrary to His Gospel Age dealings with the Church. Under the covenant made at Sinai, God promised the twelve tribes of Israel that He would give them earthly blessings as a reward for their faithfulness to Him, and earthly adversities as punishments for unfaithfulness to Him. (See Lev. 26)

The Law Covenant, with all of its arrange­ments, was confined to the natural seed of Abraham – to typical Israel (divided into ten tribes and two tribes). A wholly different arrangement and covenant has been made by the Lord with the spiritual Israelites of this Gospel Age. They are promised neither earthly blessings, nor freedom from earthly tribulations. The faithful spiritual Israelite is promised, however, that all the tribulations permitted by the Lord will work out for his good, preparing him for future good things in the life to come, which God has in reservation for those that love Him. (Rom. 8:28) Natural Israel’s promises were all earthly, while spiritual Israel’s promises are all heavenly.

The kings and people of Judah prospered to the extent of their limited faithfulness to the Lord. Likewise, there are today those who are on the Lord’s side and get a blessing as a result, but nevertheless fail to have the Lord’s complete approval. It is not sufficient that we outwardly acknowledge the Lord to be our God; to obtain full divine approval we must be zealous, not only in having the Lord on our side, but zealous also and faithful in serving His cause. Such faithfulness means activity in the cause of truth, and effort to bring others into full accord with the divine law.

Many Christian people have made the very serious mistake of not noticing the difference between the covenant God made with fleshly Israel, and the different covenant and different regulations with spiritual Israel. They have naturally fallen into the mistake of seeking to follow after the course of natural Israel. For instance, while it was perfectly right for Asa to interfere with the other religions in the land under his control, overthrowing the false worship, burning the idols and destroying the altars and groves, it would be entirely wrong for any Christian king, president, governor, mayor, or anyone in any other position, to attempt to do likewise with the religious arrangements of others today. The duty of the spiritual Israelite is to worship the Lord according to the dictates of his own conscience, and to leave everyone else free to do the same, not interfering with anyone’s traditions or observances in any manner whatever.

The only way a Christian would be permitted to influence others would be by preaching – by making known to others the true God and the true worship. Even in this he would have no right to intrude upon others contrary to their wishes, but may merely make known the good tidings to those who have “ears to hear” – to those willing to be taught. A misunderstanding of God’s approval of things done in Israel and a failure to recognize the different law of this Gospel Age undoubtedly led to many of the religious excesses and persecutions during the Dark Ages.

On the other hand, the general recognition that freedom of religion and tolerance for all creeds is the proper thing now has caused many to look upon the Bible as not up to date – as countenancing bigotry, persecution, etc. They fail to see how or why anything other than religious liberty could have been proper at any other time, and as long as they view the matter from this standpoint, they are in great danger of becoming agnostic and unbelieving. We must clearly understand, therefore, why God approved of and blessed Asa’s actions while a similar course of action today among professed Christians would have the disapproval of the Lord and of those who have His spirit.

The difference is that Israel, as a nation, made a special covenant with God at Mount Sinai, by which every individual of that nation, including the children, were bound nationally and individually to God, to be His people. In return, God bound Himself to them to be their God, their king, and their protector. In that covenant the people further guaranteed that they would neither have, nor make images of, nor worship, any other god. Through that covenant, Israel became God’s “peculiar people.” They became His typical kingdom and He was their recognized King, and so it is written, “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.” (1 Chron. 29:23)

It was God’s throne all along, with earthly representatives merely sitting upon it. Hence, so long as Israel was preserved as a kingdom, it was bound by the will or law of its King, the Lord, which specifically demanded that all idolatry be put away. God separated this one nation from all the other nations of the earth, in order that He might make of them a typical nation or kingdom, foreshadowing in them the “holy nation” of spiritual Israelites to be gathered out of every kingdom, people, nation and tongue. He will soon organize those spiritual Israelites under Immanuel to be the Kingdom of Heaven, to rule and bless all the families of the earth. (1 Pet. 2:9-10; Luke 12:32)

It would be wholly improper now for the people of the United States, for example, to attempt to interfere in any manner or degree with absolute religious liberty, because the United States is not God’s kingdom, as Israel was God’s kingdom. He has never recognized any nation other than Israel, nor has He made a covenant with any other nation. (Amos 3:2) On the contrary, present governments are all reckoned as “kingdoms of this world,” in contrast to the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Anointed. (Rev. 11:15)

While the heavenly Kingdom, the antitype of Israel’s kingdom, is not yet set up in glory as the holy nation, nevertheless, in each individual heart of this “elect” class this principle applies: each “Israelite indeed” has entered into a covenant with the Lord that he will have no other gods, and that he will render worship to no other, but will serve the Lord with all his heart, with all his mind, with all his being, with all his strength. Just as the nation of Israel was obligated by its covenant to abolish all idols, so each individual Christian, of this new holy nation, is obligated, by his covenant to destroy every idol from his heart, and to worship the Lord only, and in the “beauty of holiness.” (Psa. 29:2)

JEHOSHAPHAT’S GOOD REIGN

Asa’s son, Jehoshaphat, succeeded him as King of Judah and followed in his footsteps: “And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father [ancestor] David, and sought not unto Baalim.” (2 Chron. 17:3) He copied David’s course of devotion to the Lord and did not seek the various forms of Baal-worship which had become the norm of the ten tribes and the various nations around them. The spectacles of Baal-worship and the connected licentious orgies were evidently strong attractions to depraved hearts, and must have exercised continually a seductive influence upon the people of Judah, who worshiped the unseen God, of whom no images or idols or sensual worship were permitted.

The faithfulness of the king and the people of Judah brought the divine blessing according to the covenant, and resulted in peace with surrounding nations and temporal prosperity – “riches and honour in abundance.” (2 Chron. 17:5) This further energized the king in the Lord’s service, and spurred him to make additional efforts to put away idols. Although these “groves and high places” had been prohibited and destroyed by his father Asa, some had apparently been secretly preserved by the people, or had sprung up again like weeds that must be continually removed. We may suppose that not all of these places were for Baal-worship, but that some of them were misguided attempts to modify or “improve” the worship of the true God.

We find the same thing happening among Christians who continually seek variations from and additions to what the Lord instituted. They take pleasure in these innovations, neglecting the Lord’s wishes and regulations. They have not learned that following the Lord’s will is far better and more acceptable in His sight and every alteration of the divine arrangement will eventually prove injurious.

King Jehoshaphat perceived that knowledge was necessary as a basis for faith and obedience, and he very wisely instituted a general system of instruction throughout his kingdom, so that the people might become intimately acquainted with the Word of the Lord. (2 Chron. 17:9) Thus he attacked the root of the evil tree of idolatry and disobedience with the ax of truth.

GOD’S WORD THE LAMP OF LIBERTY

Christian experiences conform to the course followed by Jehoshaphat. To the degree the Lord’s people know the instructions, promises, and warnings of His Word, to that degree they are liberated from earthly affairs and fully realize their obligations to the King of kings and Lord of lords.

With the Reformation movement, the Bible began to be translated into the living languages of the people and was no longer hidden as during the Dark Ages. The progress of the Reformation as well as civilization in general has kept pace with the study of the Scriptures. As the influence of the Lord’s Word in the time of Judah and Israel doubtless extended far beyond those who heard it taught, so likewise the influence of Scripture today extends far beyond those who actively study it. The spirit of the Truth is a spirit of liberty and civilization, even among those who do not love it or obey it.

With the greatly increased circulation of the Scriptures in civilized lands, we may wonder why greater blessings do not result, leading mankind into the right appreciation of the Lord’s grace and truth, and to obedience to His requirements. We may wonder why it instead is bringing, as the Scriptures forewarned and as we can clearly see, “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” (Dan. 12:1)

First of all, the minds of the vast majority of people are fettered by the various conflicting false theories, human traditions, and creeds handed down from the Dark Ages. These have been used by the Adversary to blind the eyes of many, hindering them from a proper study and understanding of the Scriptures. Many who promote the circulation of the Scriptures also promote the misunderstanding of them. What our Lord said to the religious leaders at His first advent applies to the majority of religious teachers up to the present day: “Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.” (Matt. 15:6)

Furthermore, many who give the appearance of being religious, by attending religious meetings, owning Bibles, etc., are not religious in their hearts. They are not seeking to know and do God’s will, but are instead selfishly seeking to do their own wills, merely using the cloak of religion to hypocritically further their own aims. The breaking of the shackles of fear and superstition with the spirit of truth and liberty has merely made them free to do more evil. In the approaching great time of trouble, unrestrained liberty will run riot among those whose hearts have merely been freed from superstition but have not been bound to the will of God in Christ.

Jehoshaphat’s efforts to increase knowledge of the Lord among the people led to a greater respect for Yahweh, not only among the people of Judah, also among the surrounding nations. Although those nations evidently considered that each nation had its own god, they apparently knew that Israel’s God, Yahweh, was a “God of gods,” the Almighty God, superior to their own. Some of the heathen kings seemed to grasp the situation so clearly that they reasoned that if they could cause the people of Israel to commit idolatry, then their God would no longer fight for them and they could be defeated in battle. Thus when the surrounding nations saw the growing devotion to Yahweh among the people of Judah, they became fearful: “And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.” (2 Chron. 17:10)

This is often how the world reacts to spiritual Israel. The worldly recognize in a general way that there is some truth in Christianity, and they fear injuring those they sense to be true children of God. They sense the truth of the statement, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31) Hence the great Adversary, Satan, and his willing servants attempt to lead us into temptations of selfish desires and pride to separate us from the Lord and start us on a course of evil.

JEHOSHAPHAT’S THREE MISTAKES

The record of Jehoshaphat’s reign seems to show only three serious mistakes, and the implication is that none of these was recognized by the Lord as being wholly intentional, but as being partly errors of judgment.

His first and most serious mistake was affiliating with the weak and wicked Ahab, the king of the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel. Jehoshaphat accepted the friendly advances of Ahab, perhaps out of courtesy and possibly with the thought of reuniting with the ten tribes at some future time. He agreed to join with Ahab in battle against the Syrians, despite the Prophet Micaiah warning of disaster in battle, in opposition to the assurances of success given by four hundred false prophets called by Ahab. In the defeat that followed, Jehoshaphat was spared while Ahab was killed.

Upon his return home, the Lord sent a prophet to him who said, “Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord. Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.” The lesson was not lost upon Jehoshaphat, as evidenced by the fact that shortly after this, when appointing judges throughout Judah, he instructed them, saying, “Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.” (2 Chron. 19:2-3, 6-7)

This mistake of Jehoshaphat contains a lesson for spiritual Israelites who are seeking to follow the Lord’s counsel. If it was improper for the king to “help the ungodly,” it would be even more improper for spiritual Israelites to follow such a course. How many have been led into disobedience and various improprieties by neglecting Paul’s admonition: “Be not deceived: evil communications [associations] corrupt good manners.” (1 Cor. 15:33) To the extent possible, we should keep company with those that love the Lord, so that our friends and associates are the Lord’s friends who honor Him with their lips and serve Him from the heart. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly . . . But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” (Psa. 1:1-2)

Jehoshaphat’s second mistake was joining in partnership with Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, in the construction of a fleet of vessels to trade in the gold of Ophir as Solomon had done. The Lord sent a rebuke to Jehoshaphat through a prophet, saying, “Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.” (2 Chron. 20:37) This is another lesson for the Lord’s people: do not associate with those who are known enemies of the Lord.

Jehoshaphat’s third mistake was to arrange a marriage between his son and the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. He doubtless thought the marriage might result in reuniting the divided kingdom in the hands of his son. He seemed to forget that the Lord was fully capable of reuniting the kingdom without any assistance, if He saw fit to do so. The daughter, having inherited the evil nature of her mother, eventually led her husband and the nation of Judah into Baal worship. This evil influence continued during the eight year reign of her husband, the one year reign of her son, and her own six year reign, after she had murdered all but one of her grandchildren. She was killed when the people revolted against her evil rule and her grandson, Joash, then seven years of age, was anointed king.

During the wicked queen’s reign, the temple of the Lord had fallen into decay and an imposing temple of Baal had been built. It seems the young King Joash decided on his own that the temple should be repaired without advice from his adult advisor, a priest. A contribution box was placed at the entrance of the temple, and the priests exhorted the people to remember Moses’ commandment with respect to giving. (Exod. 30:11-16) Thus the money was raised and the repairs to the temple were completed. (2 Chron. 24:4-13)

REPAIRING THE ANTITYPICAL TEMPLE

The Apostle refers to the Church as a whole as the antitypical Temple of God, in which each individual Christian is a member. (1 Cor. 3:16-17) Our Lord spoke of His Church from this standpoint when He said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19) He was referring to the Church, His body, and the glorification of that body on the third thousand-year day, at the beginning of the Millennium. Each one of the Lord’s people is to be very zealous that the Temple be kept in good condition, in good repair. To this end, the Apostle urged the members of the Temple to build up, encourage and restore one another. (Gal. 6:1)

During the Dark Ages, the nominal temple of God, the nominal church, fell into great disorder through false doctrines and practices, priestcraft, superstition, and general degradation. Much was done to cleanse and renovate this nominal temple during the Reformation movement of the sixteenth century, but those who recognize the true Temple of God, as shown in the divine Word, realize that the nominal temple is still in a deplorable condition.

The nominal temple is not the real Temple, and it will soon be abandoned. The work of this Gospel Age has been to quarry, chisel, fit, shape, and polish the living stones for places in the true Temple of God. Then the glory of the Lord will fill it: “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matt. 13:43; 1 Pet. 2:5)

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The above is based on Reprints 2362-2367.

Write to us at: epiphanybiblestudents@gmail.com

NO. 779: THE PROPHECY OF AMOS

No. 779

“Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil [calamities, disasters] in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:6-7)

Through Amos the Lord foretold a speedy coming doomsday, a time of trouble and retribution, upon Judah, Israel and the adjoining nations.[1] While the principal focus of the prophecy is against the twelve tribes of Israel as a whole (collectively the Lord’s covenanted people – the seed of Abraham), the brunt of the Prophet’s message fell against the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel.

Amos, whose home was in Judah, went under the Lord’s direction into the territory occupied by the ten tribes to deliver to them the Lord’s message. Among other things, the message pointed out that the families of Israel (all twelve tribes) constituted God’s peculiar people; that He had brought them out of Egypt; and that He had overseen their affairs to their favor. He even declared of them, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:2-3)

The Lord had made Himself known to no other nation, had recognized no other nation, had made a covenant with no other nation, and had given His laws to no other nation. Consequently, this nation, Israel (in its two parts), had a special responsibility. Nevertheless, instead of God’s favor making them loyal of heart to Him, they had continually resisted His favor, and were not even faithful as eye-servants. The reason for this was because they were not in harmony with the Lord; their hearts were really in harmony with sin and wickedness.

The Lord wished them to see clearly that the judgments about to come upon them, like their previous judgments, were not by chance but of divine providence. Consequently, the message of Amos is likened to a trumpet of alarm, announcing the dire catastrophes that shortly would come. The announcement was not made with the objective of bringing about repentance, but so the people might know that the things coming were judgments and not accidents, that His people might know and profit by the chastisements and experiences and recognize them as coming from the Lord’s hand.

Not all disasters that afflict mankind are of divine providence; that is, they are not judgments sent by the Lord. On the contrary, we believe that, so far as the world of mankind in general is concerned, natural disasters, epidemics etc. are merely a matter of chance. We do not consider these beyond divine control or fore­knowledge; however, we do consider that in general they are the natural operations of the divine laws, which at the present time are not regulated for man’s comfort and welfare.

Yet there are marked instances in which the Lord has evidently interceded to bring calamities upon certain nations as chastisements, for their correction. The United States Civil War, which resulted in the freeing of millions of slaves, is such an instance. Without question, God has made use of wars and human selfishness to awaken certain nations at various times, and to let in the light of civilization. All this does not prove that war is right, any more than it proves that pestilence and famine are desirable; but these things show us how God is able and willing to use even the wrath and the selfishness of man in the present time, and to overrule the effects indirectly for good, in harmony with His plan.

God dealt differently with fleshly Israel, the natural seed of Abraham. His special covenant with this one particular nation ensured that nothing would happen to them by chance. Under the Law Covenant (Lev. 26), the seed of Abraham was to be God’s peculiar people, devoted to His service and He was to be peculiarly their God, careful of their interests. As long as they would be faithful to God, no calamity could befall them personally or nationally; they would be spared from wars and disasters, spared from famines and pestilences. They would prosper in proportion to their faithfulness to their covenant. If unfaithful, they would not only be subject to the same accidents of nature as the remainder of the world, God would also assuredly bring upon them special judgments, chastisements, and calamities of every kind, both as individuals and as a nation.

This is clearly stated to be the Lord’s rule for dealing with them, and it was to this covenant that they gave their assent at Sinai. Consequently, their failure to keep that covenant made it a curse to them, a greater burden and disadvantage than rested upon the other nations of the world, with whom God had made no covenant, and to whom He had extended no promises, they being “strangers from the covenants of promise.” (Eph. 2:12)

Whatever calamities, disasters, and troubles they suffered were to be sure proof to them that God was again chastising them for violation of their covenant with Him. Through the Prophet, He named various chastisements visited upon them: hunger, lack of rain, blights of mildew and palmer worms in their gardens and vineyards, plagues of pestilence such as He visited upon Egypt, loss of men’s lives in war. Despite these things, they did not reform: “Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.” (Amos 4:6-10)

Many in Israel were in a very ease-loving and self-satisfied condition. Many of them abounded in wealth, and drank excessively of the wine of earthly pleasure and extravagance. They were not anxious to praise and worship God, nor were they anxious to assist the poor. They were intemperately selfish, and hence hastened the judgments to come upon them, the evil days of their captivity and overthrow as a nation. Their sin of intemperance did not consist solely of literal drunkenness, but rather a drunkenness of greed, by which many of the influential were inclined to swallow up the poor and needy. This is evident from the Lord’s words of reproof:

“Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. For I know your manifold transgressions, and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.” (Amos 5:11-13)

“Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah [measure] small, and the shekel [price] great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein?” (Amos 8:4-6)

PARALLELS TO CURRENT CONDITIONS

While this prophecy evidently applied specifically to natural Israel, the Prophets, the Apostles and our Lord Jesus applied similar statements to nominal antitypical Israel, Christen­dom. The prophecy brings to mind the judgments pronounced upon Christendom, “Babylon the Great,” which are to come in the end of this age. And as we compare the conditions, now and then, it strengthens the thought that the words of Amos have to some extent a double application.

We find conditions today similar to those described by the Prophet: “Woe to them that are at ease in [nominal] Zion . . . That lie upon beds of ivory . . .” (Amos 6:1, 4) Many in Christendom boast of their prosperity, symbolically resting upon beds of ivory. They are at ease, trusting that the nominal church is being carried forward along a new pathway unknown to the Master and the Apostles, a pathway that is neither narrow nor difficult, but broad and pleasant and leading to the conquest of the world.

The wealthy are often members of nominal Zion, or at least liberal supporters of her arrange­ments, services, etc., and she in turn boasts of her wealth: “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” Yet, the Lord says, “Knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable and poor, and blind, and naked.” (Rev. 3:17) Just as those who were prospering and at ease in nominal fleshly Zion did not believe the message of Amos, nominal spiritual Zion of today does not believe the announcement of calamities coming upon her in the “day of vengeance.”

The Bible record indicates how unacceptable the message of Amos was to the priests of Israel: “Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words [he is disturbing the peace of those who are at ease in Zion] . . . Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court.” (Amos 7:10-13)

But Amos was faithful in declaring God’s message and was not deterred into silence. Likewise, those today who understand God’s Word are instructed regarding the things that are shortly to come to pass upon nominal spiritual Israel, and are not to hold their peace. “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.” (Prov. 29:25)

In this prophecy of Amos, the Lord pointed out that the wrath He was about to permit to come upon Israel as chastisements would nevertheless work out a blessing for them, and that in His due time, He would bring them back again into harmony with Himself, under more favorable conditions than in the past. We are not only to believe the portion of this prophecy foretelling calamity, which we see has already been executed upon Israel in fullest measure. We are also to believe the features of it which are favorable to Israel – the future blessings. For instance, we see how literally this prediction has been fulfilled:

“Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord. For lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” (Amos 9:8-9) While Israel was to be destroyed as a nation, the people of the nation were to be preserved as a separate people from others.

The Lord God thus showed His continued supervision of Israel, according to the covenant made with them. And how accurately this has been fulfilled: the Israelites as a people have been scattered throughout the whole earth, yet they have not lost their identity; as a nation they were utterly destroyed, yet unlike every other nation, they have preserved their national identity, and have not been mixed and blended with the world in general.

And if this feature of the prophecy has been accurately fulfilled today before our eyes, we certainly have every reason to believe that the remainder of the prophecy, the portion that applies to the Times of Restitution, will be just as accurately fulfilled. After the true spiritual Israel has been selected, natural Israel will be brought back into covenant relationship with God, becoming the earthly agent of the spiritual Kingdom for blessing, instructing and restoring the families of the earth, under the terms of the New Covenant. This is set forth in the closing words of the prophecy, and we can clearly see signs that its fulfillment has begun:

“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this . . . And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.” (Amos 9:11-15)

In the New Testament, this prophecy was quoted by the Apostle James. (Acts 15:16-17) It is also in full accord with the words of the Apostle Paul, who showed that divine favor will return to natural Israel after spiritual Israel has been developed as the true seed of Abraham, through Christ. (Rom. 11:1-32)

THE FALL OF THE TEN TRIBES

While Amos prophesied of Israel’s fall, giving some of the reasons for it, in Kings we find an historical account of its fall and further details on its causes. (2 Kings 17) At the divinely appointed time, the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel was utterly overwhelmed by the kingdom of Assyria and deported to the lands under Assyrian control, while other peoples conquered by the Assyrians were settled in their place in the land of Israel.

For many centuries Israel, the ten-tribe kingdom, was extremely perverse. Their perversion was considered more reprehensible than that of the surrounding nations because of the greater privileges, blessings, knowledge and opportunities which the Lord had granted to them as the inheritors of the great Oath-bound Covenant. Other nations (the heathen) were not specially chastised for idolatry as were Israel and Judah, but were allowed to take practically whatever course they chose. The Apostle explained that the people of these other nations did not wish to retain God in their minds, so He gave them over to “a reprobate mind,” to do improper things. (Rom. 1:28)

The captivity of the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel should be viewed from this same standpoint. It was God’s abandonment of that kingdom, His permission for them to have their way and henceforth be treated as the heathen, without special chastisement. It was in this sense and in this sense only that those tribes were “lost.” Relocated in various parts of Assyria, they gradually assimilated with the population surrounding them, and lost their identity as Israelites.

The Israelites recognized that God had chosen them to be His special and peculiar people. While they were quite willing to be His special people, and to have His special favor, they seemingly were willing to be peculiar only in the sense of having a peculiar or special deliverance from Egypt, and peculiar or special manifestations of divine favor. They were willing for God to subdue their enemies, and they were willing for Him to bring them into the land of promise, dividing the land among the tribes. They were willing to be His peculiar people as long as they had the hope that God would continue to marvelously and miraculously lead them, as long they were satisfied with their condition.

They did not realize that if they were to be fit as a people to be used of the Lord as His Kingdom, through whom He would operate to bring the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant to all the families of the earth, they must not only be peculiarly or specially treated by the Lord, but they must also be peculiarly responsive to His commandments and statutes.

Because Israel had a tendency to copy after the nations around them, when they found themselves restricted and restrained as God’s people they did not relish this peculiarity, this difference from the world. When they found that deviations from God’s commandments were punished, they rebelled. They looked for an excuse for their rebellion, becoming skeptical, doubting that their experiences were in any sense or degree under the supervision of the Lord. Their evil unbelieving hearts looked at the nations around them and saw that those who worshiped pagan gods had greater national prosperity than Israel, for whom God had declared special care.

The Israelites began to believe that there were other, different gods. While they still believed that their God must indeed be respected and placated, they evidently hoped to gain something of national greatness by the worship of the heathen deities, which they believed blessed other nations. While their God, Yahweh, had charge of them, com­manded their obedience, and punished them for disobedience, nevertheless His promised blessings upon their nation were largely yet to be fulfilled.

They first became dissatisfied with the divinely arranged government. While they had liberty, more than the other nations surrounding them, the very fact that this liberty was not common or general, but rather unusual, caused them to desire that they might have a king like the other nations around them. (1 Sam. 8:5) God pointed out to them the advantages of the peculiar condition under which He had placed them, but nevertheless granted their request, and gave them kings, Saul being the first, followed by David, then Solomon.

With King Solomon’s reign came a spirit of broadmindedness or public policy. Solomon desired to be popular with neighboring kings and to be considered broadminded in religious matters. This led him to establish, for the benefit of foreigners at his court and his foreign wives, the religious customs and ceremonies common to foreign nations. This led to the thought that everyone should have some kind of a religion, but that each should be at liberty to choose for himself, or to blend elements of the various religions.

After the ten tribes split off from Judah, Jeroboam, king of the ten tribes, took advan­tage of the liberal religious views to thoroughly engraft upon the people a false worship. This false worship was the cause of Israel’s further decline, and its ultimate fall: “And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images . . . Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight.” (2 Kings 17:16-18)

The ten-tribe kingdom of Israel favored the false religions, and practiced them secretly, hypocritically building the altars to idols and establishing false worship in all their cities and villages, under the pretense that they were doing this in the service of the true God. (2 Kings 17:9) They claimed, and probably to some extent believed, that they were becoming holier and more religious. While formerly only the one city of Jerusalem was set apart for divine worship, these various altars of worship in every city were seen as evidence of increased religious zeal.

FURTHER PARALLELS TO TODAY

Israel’s tendency to secretly or hypocritically introduce false worship corresponds with the tendency of Christendom today. There are many today who persuade themselves that in multiplying programs and ceremonies, in building elegant churches, and in engaging finer choirs and other musical entertainment, in multiplying meetings, and outward displays, they are increasing in godliness, holiness, and becoming more religious. It is important that we learn the lesson that “to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam. 15:22); that is, we are not brought near to God by outward show, but by strict heed of His Word. These attempts on the part of humanity do not produce a sweet fragrance of incense to the Lord, but rather the opposite. Every step taken contrary to the divine leading is a step away from the Lord, no matter how we may deceive ourselves or others with false arguments.

Israel’s worship of idols also finds its counterpart today. The idols of the present time are known by different names from those of olden times. Some of the idols most worshiped today are popularity, wealth, fame, self, our denomination, and our church. There are very few indeed who have no other gods than the one true God.

The Lord sent repeated warnings and reproofs to Israel through Elijah, Elisha, Amos and others. To us He speaks by a still higher authority, and in still more forceful language: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.” (Heb. 1:1-2) Never­theless, just as many who heard the Prophets of old were careless, so today many are careless of the voice of the Son of God, and of His special messengers, the Apostles, and are failing to receive the blessing now due.

Natural Israel succumbed to seductions which hindered them from receiving divine instructions. (2 Kings 17:15-17) They loved the present rewards of unright­eousness more than they loved the rewards of righteousness promised for the future. They sold themselves to do evil by seeking and accepting the rewards of evil acts; as for instance, when King Ahab was pleased to receive the vineyard of Naboth, although it came to him as the result of dishonesty and murder. (1 Kings 21) The Prophet Elijah said to Ahab, “Thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord.” (1 Kings 21:20) He temporarily possessed the thing he desired, but it brought with it a curse which rested not only upon himself but upon his throne.

And so it was also with the rank and file Israelites. Their general desire for self-gratification, with its unsatisfactory fruits, caused them the loss of divine favor. We are also told they used divination and enchant­ments; they communicated with the fallen angels (“familiar spirits”), operating through mediums, witches, wizards, necromancers, who pretended to impersonate the dead and to reveal the secrets of the future. All of this was in violation of God’s statues. (Deut. 18:10-11)

A willful disposition and dissat­isfaction with God’s arrangements naturally leads people into these delusions; it leads them to seek knowledge of the future from some other source, that they might override, if possible, the operations of God’s providence in favor of their own self-will. This same spirit is present today, and in many instances leads people in the same direction, to consult through spiritualist mediums the same fallen angels, demons, who now, as then, attempt to impersonate the dead. The result now, as then, is that those who are discontented with God’s arrangements and thus seeking in a wrong direction for light and leading are in danger of being led further and further away from God’s Word, the only true revelation, the only true prophecy.

We are told that in the fervor of their misplaced religious zeal the Israelites caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, as sacrifices to Moloch. (2 Kings 17:17) It was not that they were devoid of parental love; rather they esteemed such “religious” sacrifices a duty. Many today are likewise misled by false teachings, and by the mixture of paganism with the divine revelation. They have gotten to the place where they have similarly perverted ideas respecting the Lord and the sacrifice which would be pleasing to Him. They have come to think of the Almighty as a ferocious deity, who would take pleasure in the everlasting torture of the children of men.

The modern Moloch, ignorantly worshiped by many professed spiritual Israelites today, is far more terrible than was the Moloch of olden times, for the children who were then burned did have an end of tortures, while according to the theories prevalent today in Christendom, they worship a Moloch who will hopelessly torture his victims to all eternity. Just as the worship of Moloch in olden times tended to lead to degradation, toward brutality and heartlessness, so the tendency of the modern Moloch worship is in the same direction. He who thinks of God as brutal, unjust, and lacking compassion is unlikely to act and feel directly the opposite of this. The tendency of all is to copy after the character and disposition of their ideal God.

We see evidence that civilized people are becoming more compassionate and merciful, more sensitive to human rights. This can only be accounted for by the realization that the orthodox teachings of nominal Christianity, the teachings of modern day Moloch, are losing their power. Superstition and priest-craft are losing their influence. The Bible is also losing its power with many – because of its association in so many minds with the distasteful creeds of Christendom, and because of the modern day philosophy of “higher criticism.” Nevertheless, the spirit of its teachings – mercy, forgiveness, love – is widely recognized by both believers and unbelievers.

The reasons for Israel’s downward course are enumerated: (1) they rejected God’s statutes, His Law, His Word; (2) they lost sight of and neglected the covenant which He made with their fathers, losing faith in His promises; (3) they lost sight of His testimony as to what would be the result of forsaking His counsel; (4) they followed “vanity” (they acted foolishly rather than wisely), and as a result “went after” (copied) the heathen around them, desiring to be popular rather than “peculiar,” contrary to the Lord’s instructions. (2 Kings 17:15)

Today we find to the extent that antitypical nominal Israel has gone from the Lord, in theory and in practice, it has generally been as the result of not heeding the Lord’s Word, of being negligent of the promises which were set before spiritual Israel (the high calling, etc.), becoming foolish, in attempting to serve God and at the same time be popular with the world. The tendency to “do like them,” to do like the world in general, is the seductive point at which the great Adversary would divert us from being the Lord’s consecrated people.

Let us remember, in this connection, the Master’s words: “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” (John 15:19) The course of the consecrated is to be along wholly different lines from the course of the world.

The reasons for the fall of the ten tribes of Israel are similar to the reasons for Papacy’s fall. The faithful Israelites were sifted out and gathered into Judah; likewise God’s faithful people were generally gathered out of Papacy into Protestantism during the Reformation. But as Judah subsequently became similarly idolatrous and instituted Moloch worship, so Protestantism has failed to be faithful to God and is to fall as Judah fell.

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The above is based on Reprints 2355-57, 2359-60, and 3463.

Write to us at: epiphanybiblestudents@gmail.com

[1] Israel (composed of all twelve tribes) was a unified kingdom under the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon, a period of 120 years. Because Solomon caused the people to worship pagan gods, the Lord warned him that the kingdom would be split. After the death of Solomon, the kingdom divided into two kingdoms, Israel (sometimes called Ephraim), composed of ten tribes, and Judah, composed of two tribes.