My thought is to seek to open up to you in a measure the circumstances and occasion of the Conflict, and I read this chapter because, as I understand it, it sets forth the great parties engaged, and also the great principles which are involved in it. I think that the Spirit of God would produce exercise amongst God's people, that we may take our part in the conflict. I believe, if the persons engaged, and the principles involved in it are understood, that every true Christian heart will not fail to come forward, but I do not think that what is to be contended for is much understood. It is not this doctrine or that doctrine, it is what is in God's mind to carry out in connection with, and through, a Man, whether it be on earth or in heaven. Directly that Man is called attention to, the conflict begins. I refer for the moment to Matthew 2. It is parallel with the opening verses of the chapter I read. You will all remember how in a most remarkable way Jesus is called attention to, as certain men from the East arrive at Jerusalem. They had light in their souls as to Christ. They had seen His star in the East; the stars are guides at night. These men were accustomed to stars, and they saw the star of Jesus in the East and came to Jerusalem, and made known to the king that they had seen the star of Him who was born King of the Jews.
Now I refer to that to show you how the conflict really begins. We may introduce the opening of Revelation 12 into Matthew 2. Here is a woman who represented the mind of God with regard to the earth. She is clothed with the sun. What a testimony! She has the moon under her feet and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. She represents
Israel as the centre of God's government on earth. There was the sun, suggesting supreme authority, and the moon, subordinate authority, and the twelve stars, administrative authority, all connected with the woman. God had His thoughts, and they all circle around this woman. How one would be exercised to convey the mind of God to souls. He has given expression to it, and He is never for one moment to be diverted from it. We know what a time we are living in, a moment of great activity, and one would appeal to the Lord's people, that we might withdraw from it all into the mind of God.
Now I want to show you that the woman is not the real object of the enemy's attack, though she becomes that in the end of the chapter. We can see plainly in Matthew 2 that the wrath of the wicked one was excited by the testimony of those who had seen the star of Jesus. They had seen His star in the East and they followed it, and their testimony drew forth the innate hatred of the opposer. The Man-child was there, and the Man-child is the object of attack. Directly the Man-child is mentioned in Revelation 12, His destiny is declared by the Spirit; it was He "who shall shepherd all the nations with an iron rod". Let us think of that word shepherd, He is not to destroy, but to shepherd the nations. That word opens up a flood of light in the Scriptures. It is to be noticed that directly He is introduced by the Spirit of God you have stated what He is to do, and that draws forth the hatred of the dragon, for he would devour the Man-child. Wherever there is a movement toward Christ you will always find that there is serious opposition. The Man-child, not the woman, is the object of attack; for the dragon is prepared to devour the Man-child. All the names of the dragon are given here, for it is well to have the foe rightly identified and located.
My desire is to engage you with the Man-child;
He has a shepherd's heart. He is caught up to God and to God's throne, not the throne of Jerusalem; that was occupied by Herod, and Herod had not a shepherd's heart. No occupier of any throne in this world today has a shepherd's heart, but God's King has a shepherd's heart, and that Man goes up to God and to His throne. He is morally great enough to occupy God's throne. The throne of David publicly was occupied by Herod, and he had nothing like a shepherd's heart in him; nothing. Herod had the heart of a murderer. The dragon found his counterpart in Herod, and he has many counterparts at the present time. Herod was a ready vessel for the dragon on account of the state of his heart.
In the Spirit's description of the dragon, we read that he has seven heads and ten horns; the ten horns are symbolical of kings. It shows us what all the kings of the earth will do in the future; they will support him who is the direct impersonation of the dragon. They will give their support to the beast to carry out the dragon's designs in opposition to Christ. What is the secret of it? It is the state of their hearts. Herod's heart was full of envy. The light of God had come into the dark East and illuminated these men with regard to the Man-child. The star guided them to Bethlehem, not to Jerusalem. See the devotedness of these men; they found the little Child with Mary, His mother, and they opened their treasures and they worshipped. What a testimony! Compare that with the heart of Herod, which was a ready instrument for the dragon. He would destroy the Man-child, but He is taken care of by God. He is caught up to God's throne. What light that gives! God's throne is occupied by Him who has a shepherd's heart!
Now I wish to enlarge upon that. We may introduce here the death and resurrection and ascension of Christ, and His relation with His people. What
did Christ take up to heaven? He went up to heaven with the saints on His heart. You remember the breastplate of the high priest; the high priest went into the holiest with the names of the twelve tribes on his heart. What a wonderful thought that is! Now I want to show you that the scene of the conflict is transferred from earth to heaven. If the Man-child goes up to heaven, the conflict is necessarily transferred from earth to heaven, and in a sense it centres in what is in Christ's heart; for the anti-priest comes to light in heaven. It was not upon the earth that the dragon accused the saints. The ruthless destruction on the part of Herod was on earth, but there is nothing of that kind in heaven. What is the dragon's opposition there? Accusation. Christ went up to heaven with the saints on His heart in order to represent them before God, and immediately the accuser appears; that is the present moment.
We are told in verse 7 that there is war in heaven. We can quite understand that. If the introduction of the Man-child brought about conflict on earth, it must necessarily follow into heaven. So there was war in heaven. Now what I would say, beloved friends, is, that we are of the heavenly warriors, and our qualifications for the conflict have all to be learnt from Christ. I make bold to say that our understanding of what is in the heart of Christ is the secret of our qualification. He went into heaven with the saints in His heart; they were all there; not one omitted. The affection that Christ had for the saints was intolerant of the accuser in heaven. There was war in heaven, not now upon earth, for the scene is changed. I have often thought that a good warrior selects his own battle-field. God has had the scene of conflict transferred from earth to heaven, but war on earth will begin when God resumes His relationship with Jerusalem.
Now I want to engage you with the greatness of
the position. We have Michael introduced. He is presented as leader, and he has his followers. I do not pretend to interpret the passage, but I call your attention to this, that the Lord Jesus is the great Leader of the war. Gideon said, as you will remember, "As I do, so shall ye do". If you would be a warrior, you must learn from the leader. Joshua was a leader, but he had to learn from the great Leader how to be a soldier in the ranks. You remember how Joshua, when he was by Jericho, was met by a man with a drawn sword, and Joshua said, "Art thou for us or our adversaries?" What a reply he got. The us is the secret of all partyism. The reply is, "Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come". "Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy". It is not a question of us, it is a question of the Lord's host and the Captain. It was as if He said to Joshua, "Are you with me?" What an appeal! "Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come". That is the position.
To return to our scripture in Revelation, we are told that, "there was war in the heaven". Michael fought. He had contended with the devil for the body of Moses, and here he contends with Satan for the heavenly position. The issue is tremendous. Satan is cast out, and his angels cast out too. It is a war for the complete and entire clearance of the heavens from all that is adverse to God's people. The result is, "Now is come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God". Why? The accuser of our brethren is cast out. The accuser. Now notice what is said about him, "who accused them before our God day and night". That is what the dragon is doing. It is a question for us to decide as to whether we are with the great High Priest, or with the anti-priest. The great High Priest has the saints in His heart, and the anti-priest accuses
them before God. It is a terrible thing to be an accuser of God's people. We little realise how such influences in heaven affect us here. The apostle said, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places". That is what we are called to. I have no doubt it is a great privilege to take our place in the ranks of the warriors with the great Leader of the war.
Now I will touch just for a moment upon that which is to mark the warriors. You remember the passage that is often quoted from Ephesians 6. We are told there to "Put on the whole armour of God". In telling us about this armour, the apostle speaks firstly of our loins, then of our breasts, then of our feet. What exercising thoughts these are! Our loins are to be "girt about with truth". What a servant a man is whose loins are girt about with truth! Such service is most blessed. Saints suffer enormously from having their affections loose. How intensely practical to be girt about with truth; the affections braced up as it were, and then the breast is taken care of; and you must have a good conscience. Satan has no opportunity of attack if righteousness is maintained. And then see that your feet are right. How many of the saints' feet are found in by-paths. Our feet are to be"shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace". That does not mean that we are all evangelists, but we are to be prepared to speak a word to souls. And then we have to take the shield of faith. That is a wonderful thing. I cannot enlarge upon it, but it is a wonderful thing if you are called into the ranks of the Leader of the war. Faith quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Then you have the helmet of salvation on your head. You lift up your head. You need never be ashamed in the light of what Christ is, and in the
hope of His appearing. Then you pray always for all saints, you embrace all, but especially those who are engaged in the testimony of the gospel, and the mystery.
Now see the issue! There, is complete clearance of the heavens. What a triumph! What can be compared with the result. The accuser of the brethren cast out; he who accused them day and night before God. Then the celebration is, that "Now is come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ". The occasion of praise is for the inhabitants of heavenly places, the saints of the present dispensation, the companions of Him who has been caught up there.
In closing, I just want to touch upon the change in the sphere of warfare. Satan being cast out, there is increased activity, not now against the Man-child, but against the woman who bore Him, but she is taken care of; she is given wings. Wings are symbolical of power. God gives her power; He takes care of her for three and a half years in the desert. Then we have the remnant of her seed who keep the commandments of God.
Let us now look at the remnant in a practical way. What is said of them is, that they "keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus". In other words, they have come to learn of Christ. They are not heavenly warriors; they never will be. Their warfare is through their sufferings; they are persecuted and they suffer. Why? Because they keep the commandments of God. What a result there will be for God! When you consider what that nation is now, what has been its history, and what it will be. Judah bore the Man-child, the Firstborn, and all that follow take character from the first. You remember Isaiah alludes to it in chapter 66. "Before she travailed, she brought forth, before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child ... as
soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her children". They are brought forth after Christ. They keep the commandments of God. How did they learn them? They learn from Christ. The remnant keep the commandments of God. A moment ago I was alluding to how God is going to resume His relation with Israel. God will clothe Israel with all His thoughts; the sun, supreme authority; the moon, subordinate authority; and the stars, administrative authority. God would clothe His people, with all these wondrous thoughts of His. The remnant set forth the subjective state. In that remnant God has placed. His testimony, and now Satan attacks them. He persecuted the remnant of her seed "who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus".
It is well that we should understand that we are at the end of the dispensation. The occasion of the conflict is just as it was at the beginning, there is no change. God never gives up His thoughts. God's people on earth cherish every divine thought. It is not simply that we are externally correct. Every divine thought is centred in the Man-child. Has He a place in your heart? It is not merely that you love Him because He has saved you from your sins, but God's thought is that the Person who is the centre of all His thoughts should have a place in our hearts. And directly Christ has that place in your heart, you may depend upon it, you become the object of the enemy's attack. That is what I understand to be the testimony.
What the Spirit contends for today is the maintenance of the mind of God. God has not given up one thought, either in regard to Christ in heaven, or the assembly, or Israel upon earth. The saints have the Lord Jesus in their hearts as the centre of all divine thoughts. The great advantage of instruction is seen in what the assembly can say when Christ
appears and the challenge is made. "I am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star". That supposes that the saints have light; and their answer shows that they have light. They say, "Come". That is what the Spirit supports.
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come". Christ is the centre of all divine thoughts. We have to see to it that we give Him full place in our hearts. I have often said, 'If you look after the principles God will look after the people'. You stand by His principles and He will bring the people in. Look at Enoch! He walked with God, and he saw the Lord coming with ten thousand of His saints. Then God finds Abraham and calls him alone and He blesses him. But Abraham was not to be alone. He looked up at the stars and his seed was to be as the number of them, countless. We are not to be alone.
Beloved friends, I have expressed to you these few thoughts, to present what is involved in the conflict. I would seek to enlist every heart as to our place in it. If you stand by God's principles, God will bring in the people. May the Lord help us to stand.
J.T. What struck me in this chapter is the fact that the wise men found the little Child with His mother. The Spirit of God pursues this connection in the chapter; the angel directs Joseph to take the young Child, and His mother, and flee into Egypt and then, Herod being dead, to take the young Child and His mother and go into the land of Israel. It struck me as indicating the connection in which the Lord is ever found; He is found where He is loved. As here in this world He was the subject of God's unceasing care. If we see the place that Jesus has in the mind of heaven, as shown in the chapter before us, it will lead to a corresponding care for Him in our hearts. I thought especially in this connection of David in the Old Testament, for he represents our side, and his great aim was to prepare a place for the ark. There were no specific directions, it was a spontaneous act of his own. In the wilderness there were specific directions, for there it was a question of God's care for the ark. When we come to the time of David, the ark had been twenty years without attention; it had never been cared for by Saul. David, in his house of cedar, was led to think of the ark; it was in unsuitable surroundings, and there was a very great discrepancy between David's circumstances and those of the ark, and so he goes through exercise of heart with regard to it, and the prophet says to him, "Do all that is in thine heart". I thought that if we pursued this line it would help us.
Rem. David distinctly connected the ark with God.
Ques. Would the ark indicate the place Christ has in our affections?
J.T. The arrangements made for it in the wilderness
show the place it had in God's heart. In connection with this we have angelic attention overshadowing the mercy seat; but in David's case, it was spontaneous desire, without divine direction or command, to have a place for the ark.
Rem. David was not allowed to make a place for the ark, but his desire was right, and God approved of it.
J.T. It is a great thing to have a right idea in the heart, for then God helps you. It is very beautiful here, Jesus is found where He is loved; love is in evidence, love suited to the occasion, the mother's love for the little or young Child. The love seen at the outset is the love suited to the moment. The chapter is interesting, too, inasmuch as it indicates how we are guided to the Lord. Many have light as to where the Lord is, as the wise men had, but it is another matter to find Him. I refer to that as it has a practical bearing. As we follow we appreciate the means of guidance. The star would not have guided them to where the Lord was hated. This is a point of practical importance; they do not find Jesus where He is hated.
Rem. The star guided them to the right place.
J.T. There is nothing said as to the star guiding them to Jerusalem. Souls assume things often without guidance: they are so lost in man's system, that they assume, on account of the prestige which attaches to the system, that the Lord is there.
Rem. If the Lord is our object, the Spirit will guide us to Him even if it be into a place of reproach.
J.T. It is well to inquire if there is any love for Jesus in a place. I would not stay with a company that did not love Jesus.
Rem. One could not breathe there.
J.T. If a company loves Jesus, His rights are owned. "Surely the Lord is in this place", says Jacob. "This is none other but the house of God,
and this is the gate of heaven". The presence of heavenly beings indicated that God was there. If the Lord is not in a place you do not want to stay there. You know whether He is loved or not by the indications. Man's systems are not characterised by love for Christ. The idea of love for Christ is that the Spirit pervades: By the Spirit all pervading. The tabernacle was anointed with oil. I should not commit myself to a circle in which love for Jesus does not predominate. The proof of love for Him is that His commandments are kept. "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me". That is really the test. The world is characterised by hatred of Christ; if we love Him we shall be separate from it. In this chapter Jerusalem is under Herod's influence; "he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him"; that shows the influence of Herod. In the second epistle of John, verse 6, we find that love walks according to His commandments. Well, look for that in the company; it is very important, for it is the proof of love. Christendom cannot say it has not His commandments, for the light is all round; therefore His commandment is the test.
Rem. I suppose it would involve testing and affliction, and going against the current.
J.T. The Psalmist said, "Lord, remember David and all his afflictions". He would not go into his house; he would not give sleep to his eyes nor slumber to his eyelids until he had found a place for the Lord. Think of the afflictions David went through in view of that!
Rem. David was in affliction on account of the ark.
J.T. David got light from the outset, he had tidings of the ark when a youth. "Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood".
Hearing of it is one thing, finding it is another; but
when it is brought back, Saul's daughter despises David. The house of Saul is characterised by neglect of the ark. Michal despised what God approved. All that Michal can do is to despise, but God graciously limited the house of Saul. "Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death". It shows that the first order of man, although anointed, can never appreciate the ark; but where he expresses enmity, God limits his influence. Michal had no issue and Saul becomes extinct in time. In the next chapter, David sat in his house and said to himself, 'There is the ark on account of which I was dancing. I have a house of cedar and yet the ark dwells in curtains'. If we have a better place than Christ it should exercise us. Of course, on God's side, we get, "In them (the heavens) hath he set a tabernacle for the sun". God has prepared a place for Christ, but what place has He here? It is a great thing when the Christian is safely guided past all pretension to the spot where there is love to the Lord. When the magi saw the star, the star of Jesus, for Jesus was the Object, not Bethlehem, "they rejoiced with exceeding great joy". They have no doubts now; they had misgivings at Jerusalem; the atmosphere there was not suited to Christ. There was a remarkable test at that juncture. These men had come from the East, but the atmosphere was not right at Jerusalem; they must have felt it. Herod was all hypocrisy; he pretended that he wanted to come and worship Christ. If the heart has misgivings there is no certainty as to things being right; but the presence of the Lord carries its own conviction. What a joy to find the spot where there is suited affections for Him! The next thing we see is that the one who loves Jesus has treasure. The wise men opened their treasures; they had not come empty.
Rem. They had found a suited Object upon which to bestow their treasures, like Mary's box of ointment.
J.T. The Lord's people should be concerned about having something to present, and should not be content with a ready-made service. We should all be contributors.
Ques. What do you mean by we should all be contributors? Is your thought that there is a tendency to leave things to the older ones?
J.T. It is entirely a mistake to do so. God enjoined His people that none should come empty; we ought to have something to bring.
Ques. Something to express audibly?
J.T. Not exactly. If a sister has something in spirit, it lends power to the meeting; it is not limited to any special ones. It is a great thing to have a treasure to open up. The assembly is our testing-place; our poverty comes to light there; that is where we are measured as to whether we are rich or poor. It is a humbling thing if we are not ashamed of being poor.
Ques. May not the fact of what you are saying keep many silent? If we have not a treasure we cannot open it up. We cannot work things up.
J.T. I think, with many, the things of God are a kind of business. You can lock up your shop and leave it, but you cannot do that with the things of God. You have to bring something. There are exercises attendant upon secular appointments, but if you have God with you, you gain strength thereby, and next time you come up stronger spiritually. You come in with your basket of firstfruits; you have something; you yourself are the basket.
Rem. In our difficulties during the week we find the support of the priest.
Ques. I suppose, in connection with what you are speaking of, we have the type of the Levite and the common person?
J.T. The Levite was contributory to the priest. The exercise of a servant adds to priestly power.
Every service undertaken, if one is supported in it by the Spirit, makes him stronger spiritually. So, as to daily vocation, stay in it with God. If God is with you, you get help in it, it adds to you as a Levite and a priest.
Rem. These men brought treasures: gold, frank incense and myrrh; they did not get them at Bethlehem.
J.T. I have often thought of the Lord when they had that last feast with Him. He says, as it were, 'This is to be continued without me'. How are they going to have it if He is going away? He shows them how. He rises from supper, takes a towel and begins to wash their feet. He shows them how they can have the next feast. If there is not the service of love there can be no feast.
Ques. The service of love is feet-washing?
J.T. There is care one for another. If we would feast we must have something to feast on; if it is a love-feast as Jude speaks of them, you must have love. It is not that you expect it from others, nor do you leave it all to one or two, that would be a poor thing.
Ques. What do the gold, the frankincense and myrrh signify?
J.T. They are suited for the moment. The Spirit records that these men brought suitable gifts.
Ques. Would you say that in Matthew we get the mother's care for the Child, and in John the Son's care for the mother?
J.T. In Revelation 12 the Man-child and the woman are both objects of care.
Ques. Would the fact that the mother is spoken of so often convey the care of God over Israel?
J.T. The mother is alluded to on account of her care for the young Child. God keeps the mother in evidence while the Child requires attention and affection, but the mother is taken care of by God,
and more especially because the mother's affection was necessary for the moment. It is not the mother and Child, it is the young Child and His mother. The Child gives dignity to the mother; it is a very beautiful thought. It does not say they found the Child, but that they found the Child with Mary, His mother. They found Him where there was affection suitable for the moment.
Rem. It is evident that the ark was what engaged the mind of Jehovah when He gave directions for the making of the tabernacle.
J.T. Yes. The ark was the leading feature in connection with Israel. Israel was never according to the mind of God until the time of David, for the ark never had its true place until he came.
Rem. That was great gain to David spiritually.
J.T. God would bring this to pass with regard to Christ. The ark is taken care of, but is it so in our hearts? God says to David, in effect, 'You have a right thought. I am with you, and I will build you a house'. It shows that God takes account of what is in our hearts. God has prepared a tabernacle for the ark, but how about our hearts? Is the ark out in the cold as far as your heart is concerned? The bride in Canticles is too lazy to open to her Beloved. He is out in the cold, and she has made no provision for Him.
Rem. It is very beautiful, the way the Lord answers David's heart; the house was dear to David's heart.
J.T. One may rejoice at seeing the star, but it is another thing to come into His presence; there the heart is bowed in worship.
Rem. In verse 12 the wise men are divinely instructed not to return to Herod.
J.T. God is taking care of the young Child, and so He does not allow the wise men to return to enlighten Herod. It is a wonderful moment in the
history of these men; they find themselves in the presence of the Lord in the sphere where He is loved, and they present their gifts to Him, but not like Jacob; he promised to give a tenth; we can understand that, however, for he says, "How dreadful is this place!" Genesis 28:17. The Lord is found where He is cared for. It reminds us of the cherubim protecting the mercy-seat. When you come into the house, into the Lord's presence, there is no question of giving a tenth like Jacob; he kept nine parts for himself.
Rem. Paul gave everything; he was wholly given up to Christ. Mephibosheth says, "Let him take all".
J.T. It would help us greatly if we were exercised about having a treasure to open up; there is no reason why we should not. We have the Holy Spirit in us; He is the power. David says, "I speak of the things which I have made touching the king", Psalm 45. It is not something we have heard from others, or even read in Scripture. David had composed something. It may be but a few words, but if you have found out something about Christ in a new way, you can give expression to it in the assembly, and that is what the Lord looks for.
Rem. If we knew Him better, He would have a larger place in our affections.
J.T. What wealth there would be if every one had a composition about the king!
Rem. It might be expressed in a few words.
J.T. One has observed that when there is the audible expression of real exercise, there is power and there is response.
Rem. The word "inditing" in Psalm 45 might be rendered "bubbling up".
J.T. Yes. It must come out. It shows the spring is there; the Holy Spirit.
Rem. Things here tend to swamp the sense of divine love.
J.T. If we see the Lord as the Ark of the covenant, we see the One in whom every divine thought is expressed, and when that One has a dwelling-place in the heart, the language of the heart is, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord". That is the entire thought, it is not simply what He is to me in my circumstances; it is what He is in His own sphere.
Rem. So, in Romans, eternal life in Christ Jesus is the entire thing, and also the love of God in Christ Jesus.
J.T. If we see eternal life in Christ Jesus, we see what the entire thought of life for the whole universe is, and so as to "the love of God which is in Christ Jesus", and that enlarges our hearts.
Revelation 9:1 - 3, 11; Ephesians 4:7 - 16
My thought is first of all to show how we are to distinguish between that which falls from heaven and that which descends from heaven, and then to speak more particularly of the latter and the effect of it in us. You can easily perceive that descending has reference to Christ, while falling has reference to the adversary, Satan. A very great difference exists between falling and descending. Christ descended from heaven and the assembly descends, or comes down from heaven, whereas Satan falls from heaven. Now a fallen being, one whom God has used and owned, as falling is sure to be filled with envy. There are many persons and things said to be fallen, and what I desire is that we may never be in accord with what is fallen. The whole world is in accord with what is fallen, whereas the world to come will be in accord with what descends. You remember in Revelation 21 John saw "the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God". The glory of God is not in that which falls, but in that which descends, that which comes down "from God out of heaven". The city comes down! and she has the glory. All that will be seen in the world to come is to be in accord with that, in accord with that which "comes down from God out of heaven having the glory of God".
Now the present world derives its character from that which fell, and that which fell has no glory.
One would venture to appeal to you as to that, for we have to see to it, that we are not in accord with that which falls. We know that Satan fell; we know that angels fell; we know that Adam fell; we know that Noah fell, and we know that Israel fell; and the assembly viewed historically fell; and we know that Babylon falls; so that the whole
sphere that we have to do with is characterised by falling, and what falls is sure to be marked by strife and envy, and that is a matter which has the most serious consequences. The world derives its character from an envious being, and envy is the nursery of every evil work. Satan filled the scene with envy when he fell; he was envious of God and of man who was the image of God. God brought in man and set him up in His own image and glory in an environment that indicated the kindness and love of God, and Satan was envious of that; he was envious of Adam, and he brought about the fall of Adam by injecting that principle into him, or rather into Eve's heart. He suggested to them that they should be as God.
Now the whole history of the world from that day to this has derived its character from Babel, a fallen state of things. Endeavouring to lift up its head in empire was the world's great effort after the fall. In building the tower of Babel man would exalt himself to heaven, but every effort of man to lift up his head comes to nothing; all falls. Now, beloved friends, we should be greatly exercised lest we should be in accord with that. We want to be in accord with what descends. What falls, as we saw in the chapter I read, is a star. Stars are spoken of in the Scriptures as guides. Many men who were guides have fallen. Now this star fell. It refers to something that had place in the government of the world on earth and it fell. That is to say, it did not descend in love, it fell in envy.
Now see the effect of what is fallen! I know of no chapter that indicates the character of what falls, and the effect of a fallen being, more plainly than this. This star has the key of the pit: it is given to him. The Lord Jesus has the keys of death and hades, and, moreover, the key of David. He has full guard of all the evil, and He has the power to administer the good; hence if this star is permitted to open the
bottomless pit, it is under the permission of the Lord. The flood of evil is let loose. There is every evil work; when the flood is let loose, smoke arising out of the pit becomes the evidence of evil under the control of the destroyer. Satan does not do things haphazard; he acts in military fashion. The locusts, being let loose, become the agents of evil and destruction under the control of the destroyer. And mark! that which falls has no thought of building up. Satan darkens and destroys. I touch upon that to show what has entered the world at the present time.
Now I turn to that which comes down, and it gives relief. What relief to see what the apostle says, "Unto every one of us is given grace"; there is not an atom of envy there. The apostle is speaking of Christ and tells us that "Having ascended up on high, he has led captivity captive, and has given gifts unto men". That is what we see in the Man who descends is love. All the wealth of heaven is opened out to us. Think of the Lord Jesus. He descended first in order that He might remove the oppression from the souls of His people. That descent was a descent of love; He descended in love voluntarily. The scripture says, "Christ Jesus; who being in the form of God ... emptied himself, taking a bondman's form". We cannot say what the form of God was; we are not entitled to say. It simply states that He was in the form of God, and being in that form He emptied Himself. Think of that, beloved friends! Think of the descending principle. He emptied Himself taking a servant's form. He took a bondman's form when descending in love. He descended to where the saints were. I know there are other thoughts connected with His descent. He descended in love to remove the oppression from souls; to remove all that here was an occasion of grief to God, and oppression to His own. That is His descending love, and His ascending love is equal
to His descending love. He descended in love and He ascended to the highest heavens, but He is the same One. I am confining the thought to the saints for the moment. "He that descended is the same who has also ascended". In other words, He says virtually to the saints, 'I have done all that is possible for you on earth, and now I go on high; I can serve you better there'. He said to His own, "It is expedient for you that I go away". They would not lose by it; He went away in love, even as He came in love. So we read, "He that descended is the same who has also ascended".
I want to emphasise the manifestation of the Lord's love in both the descent and the ascent. He was governed by love when He descended into the lower parts of the earth, and He was governed by love when He ascended up into the highest heavens. The One who descends is the One who loves, and the One who ascends is the One who loves. Now I desire to show you the contrast between the one who falls and the One who descends and ascends. The result of the former is darkness; that is the spirit of the world, but love marks the One who descends, and it is He who has moral title to ascend. He is the same, He goes up far above all heavens. Why? That He might fill all things; the Man who loves fills everything. Think of the whole created universe filled by the love of a Man, the love of God, but love in a Man. He ascended above all heavens that He might fill all things. But He is not doing that yet. What He is doing now is filling the saints! We need to be filled by Christ. He is filling the saints now. In order to do that He gives the Spirit and He does it in wisdom. God acts in love and wisdom. Wisdom is the handmaid of love. Christ fills the saints, dear brethren. What a wonderful thought! He fills us. He ascended up above the heavens that He might fill all things. He is capable of doing that, and now for the moment
He is filling the saints; the saints are to be filled with love.
The apostle begins, "unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ".
That is to say, the measure that we have received is the measure of Christ. We cannot improve that measure, it is wisdom. Everything we get we receive from Christ, and He gives it in wisdom. The Lord descended and He ascended, and He is seated above all heavens that He might fill all things. Now the assembly has the first place in Christ's affections.
In Psalm 68 we learn that in a day to come He is going to dwell with Israel; as it is said, "that the Lord God might dwell among them", but the first consideration with Christ as having ascended is the assembly. As having ascended on high He thinks of the assembly, and "he gave some, apostles". That was in divine wisdom, for He gave them for the protection of what belonged to Him upon earth; it was that authority might be established. He also gave the Lord's supper for the saints. It is true that as He instituted the Supper the twelve apostles only are in evidence in the record, but they were not the only ones who loved Christ. There was Mary Magdalene, and Mary of Bethany and others, but the apostles were to be the representatives of the Lord's authority. Hence the Lord gave the apostles first, and He gave them from heaven. What I want you to see is that everything in Christianity comes down, and the apostles in that sense come down. Now bear in mind that Peter, James and John and all the apostles were the companions of Christ here; in fact their apostleship depended upon the fact, that they were the companions of the Lord, that they were with Him here. But the exercise of their apostleship was in the power of what came down, for as having ascended "he gave some, apostles".
That was what the Lord gave first, and what He gave
was in wisdom. It was what was required. It was imperative that the Lord's authority should be established on earth, while He was in heaven.
Then He gave "some prophets", and that too in wisdom. It is one thing to be established in the sense of the authority of the Lord, but it is another thing to be brought in your soul to God. The prophet brings God to you. The apostle emphasises the authority in the hands of Man, in the hands of Christ. The prophet brings God to you, brings His mind to you. Then He gave "some evangelists". If the authority of Christ is established, if God is here, men will be brought in. Evangelisation was to all the world, to the four corners of the earth. It carries the good news to the four corners of the earth. It is like the four-cornered sheet let down by the Lord to Peter in Acts 10; that was really the beginning of universal evangelisation. We are to be evangelists in the light of that. The Lord gave "some evangelists", and then fourthly He gave "some shepherds and teachers"; there are four kinds of gifts; the shepherd and teacher being one.
I only touch upon that to show how great the contrast between Him who descends and him who falls, but I wish to touch also upon the great effect of what descends, and what is in view in the gifts. The perfecting of the saints, and not the darkening of the saints is the end in view. The latter was found in the man who falls. There are no darkening influences in the gifts given by Christ, they are "for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ". That is where the disciples erred when they wanted to know who should be the greatest; there arose a strife even amongst them as to which should be the greatest. The apostles have gone, and the prophets have gone, but their work remains, as the Lord said, "I have chosen you, and have set you that ye should go and that ye should bear fruit
and that your fruit should abide". The full result is "until we all arrive at the unity of the faith". Mark how what is of God remains. There was unity between the Jewish apostles and Paul, the unity of faith, and this continues "until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, at the full grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ". That is the great result, beloved friends, of Him who descends and ascends. We see brought into this world an order of man entirely after Christ. What an achievement! I would, in closing, just appeal to our hearts as to whether we are in accord with what fell or with what descends and ascends. The assembly is formed on the principle of descent; we descend in love. You will never go down otherwise. Love enables us to go down; we belong to what goes down and what goes down in love ascends. The assembly is formed on that principle and hence goes up. It is morally suited to ascend through the work of Christ. In Ephesians, the work of Christ is for the perfecting of the saints, until we all arrive at the full divine end. There is, therefore, that in the assembly which is suitable for ascension, and nothing more will be added. It will go up as belonging to heaven and suitable for it; how marvellous it is when it comes down! It will come down after it goes up.
We are here now but for a moment, we shall soon ascend, and then there will be that great coming down, "coming down out of the heaven from God, having the glory of God". The assembly comes out in grace, and in glory; she does not fall, she descends. It is her own act, and a great mark of her liberty as formed after Christ. The fact of her being in accord with Christ is seen in that she has the glory of God. She has the glory, and she comes out in glory; she will give character to the world that is to come. Fallen beings give character to the present world.
1 Peter 2:1 - 9
In view of the fact that divine things are made to depend for their continuance on the priesthood, what it involves is of immense importance. If the priestly state is absent, we really have nothing subjective according to God. It implies a state formed after Christ, viewed as Man on our side, One capable of sympathy, and One who loves God's people. One great feature of the high priest's dress was the breastplate and the two shoulderpieces. In the breastplate each of the tribes was inscribed, and on each of the shoulderpieces there were the names of six of the tribes; that is to say, he had the names of the saints on his heart and supported them on his shoulders, so that what answers to priesthood now is love to the saints, and what goes with it support of the saints.
The Christian learns these things from the Lord, and I have no doubt that the consideration of Luke's gospel enables us to perceive the idea. He is translated to heaven, according to Luke's account, as a Priest. It is, as it were, heaven approving that kind of a man. It does not say by what power He was translated, but it says "he was carried up into heaven". The character and nature of priesthood is presented in Christ -- in a Man who loves the saints, and His shoulders are equal to His heart. So that a man who answers to priesthood now is a man who loves the saints and uses all the power he has to support them. This comes out in many ways in detail. To begin with, you impress upon the saints that you are sympathetic with them, and if that is so, you can enter into their exercises; and then all the power you have is subservient to your heart; you support the saints according to your measure.
The High Priest sympathises with us in our infirmities, for He has been with men here.
Now Luke presents that: he introduces us to a priestly atmosphere at once in order to prepare us for the coming One, the Priest. He gives us Zacharias and Elizabeth, both of the priestly family, and both are equal to it in their measure, all to prepare us for the Priest; and then the narrative introduces Christ, entering as a Babe and growing up among men, so that He might be with men. He knows the exercises of men, and His support is for them. That is the kind of man that is received up into heaven. It is not, as in John, that He ascends to the Father, or in Mark, that He sits at the right hand of God. But in Luke He is carried up into heaven, signifying that that is the kind of man who is to be in heaven, the man that God approves of for that place. He is suited to the place. Love is the great feature there. Now the Lord went into heaven in that sense, and the most prominent feature was the breastplate; that met God's eye, and He delighted in it. Now, if the Priest goes in, the issue is between Him and the anti-priest; that is to say, Satan is there accusing the brethren day and night before God; Revelation 12:10. He accuses the people whom the Lord has on His breastplate, on His heart.
The Lord is qualified to have sympathy with us in every right exercise. You take the Psalms: they present exercises which are not distinctly Christian, but they correspond in great measure with the exercises that a soul goes through before knowing deliverance. The Lord is able to enter into them with you. He has gone through that, not in His own exercises, but on account of the position that He took up in connection with Israel. He is capable of sympathy with you in the exercise as He shall be in the future; for He shall enter into the exercises of the godly remnant on earth, and we get the good
of that beforehand. Now He is a Priest in heaven. He is a Priest to a heavenly people, and He enters into all our exercises here in connection with the heavenly system. Thus we become attached to Him: succour is a great force to attach your heart to another. Luke really introduces us to the Priest; he throws, so to speak, a priestly atmosphere around you to prepare you for that.
We show that we are priests practically by the way we take account of the saints. I do not say that is all, because a great deal more attaches to the priest; primarily he is to minister to God in the priest's office; but directly you have the dress described it is very noticeable that the two shoulderpieces and the breastplate secure the most prominent place, and it is in that connection that you have opposition. The priest withstands the anti-priest on behalf of the people. We are told there was war in heaven. The Man-child is caught up, and as He is caught up into heaven there is war in heaven. There is war in heaven now, in the principle of it. In the future it becomes literal. Satan is cast out of heaven, but the conflict is really on now, and it arises from the fact that there, is a Man in heaven with the saints upon His heart. The anti-priest is there, and we are told that he accuses the brethren before God day and night; and the High Priest resents every accusation against the brethren. We must remember that the influences in our favour are supreme. The Priest has gone to the highest place, and with the breastplate, so that the conflict really begins there.
His intercession is of a priestly character. He has each saint's name on His heart, and not simply the aggregate of the saints; so that He takes account of each saint and looks after your affairs up there. If your affairs are taken care of up there; you need have no fear down here, because judgment really issues from the priestly influence.
One can afford to be accused; you need not endeavour to justify your own cause, for that is in the hands of an abler Person than you. That is not your obligation at all. The Lord has charged Himself with that. It is not that the Lord does not place obligations upon us: He does; but they are such as we are able to discharge. He has not placed an obligation upon you to defend yourself. The judgment shall be according to the Priest. The judgment issues really from the sanctuary. Now there is an important difference between God's relations with the world as it now stands, and His relations with the assembly which are marked by direct government. His relations with the world are marked by indirect government. When He undertakes to govern the world directly, all the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. They do not learn it now. They take advantage of God's grace, but when He sets to govern the world directly; that is, when His judgments are upon the earth, they shall learn righteousness; and if not, they will be removed. There will be no room in the earth for one who does not learn righteousness. The assembly is the sphere for God's direct judgments, and when I use the word judgment I do not speak of that which we should fear. It is righteous discrimination enforced by power, not simply things brought to light. "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints". In the holiest of all God was armed with power to enforce His judgments; that is what the cherubim signify. We are in a sphere in which God's direct judgment applies. Peter says that judgment is to begin at the house of God. One often sees how man presumes in the things of God; but as sure as the sun rises, God's judgments will find him out. There is nothing surer than the judgment of God. We are told that they come to light every morning. The judgments of God in respect of the assembly are in
view of discipline and correction; that is to say, in order that we might reach priesthood in its true character.
God would teach us how to govern in view of the coming day, and then also He would have order in His house, and thus He would have here in testimony all the principles of the coming world. All are to be seen in testimony now in the assembly. If we have not righteousness, what have we? We have nothing. God sees to it that there must be righteousness; but then it is most comforting to know that the righteous divine discrimination is according to the breastplate; that is to say, love is behind it, so that we need not fear it. It is called the breastplate of judgment. If your heart is right you can face that. If we judge ourselves we should not be judged; everything must be brought into accord with the breastplate. The Lord loved righteousness. We are taught righteousness in the kingdom.
Nothing is more interesting than to see how the Lord in the gospels taught righteousness to the disciples. He preached and practised it. God will never deviate one iota from Christ. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but God is going to bring us into accord with His glory. Among other things inside the veil, God is seen as armed with power to enforce His rights. This is seen in the cherubim. They are called "the cherubim of glory" in the New Testament. They looked down on the mercy-seat, and what was below that spoke of the heart of Christ. God was intimating that all must be brought into accord with the heart of Christ, and there was power to bring all that about. It would save us much if we made up our minds to that; Christ is the standard. Normally we are brought into accord with Christ by the power of the Spirit. It is a great thing to see that the direct judgments of God apply at the present time to His own sphere,
and if there is not righteousness, there must be judgment, and the judgments of God are going on all the time. "Every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not".
In 1 Peter 2:5, things are made to agree with the currency of the sanctuary. The priest is the kind of man that God accepts, his sacrifices are "acceptable to God by Jesus Christ". That is the Man whom God has found pleasure in. In taking up the things of God, if we are to be effectual, we are to love the saints. We are said to be a holy priesthood and a royal priesthood. God revealed His mind through Moses. He did not take Aaron up to the mount. He took Moses up and revealed His mind to him. That is the principle of revelation, and Moses comes down with that. He is from God toward men. What is required to answer to that from men is, that there should be a Man drawing near to God in all that light; but then He draws near with the breastplate. Moses did not have the breastplate. Aaron draws near to God on behalf of the people. He has been with the people and knows them by name, and he has them on his heart.
In Hebrews 4, the word of God is said to be quick and powerful, and immediately you get the Priest. Approach is equal to revelation in Christ. The sons of Aaron did not have the breastplate; only Aaron had the breastplate and shoulderpieces with the names across it. We have part in the approach, because the approach is in the Man who has brought in the revelation, but the wonderful thing is, that in drawing near the Lord draws near with the saints on His heart. What a wonderful thing it is, that One draws near to God who is commensurate with the revelation. And He has our names on His heart. Each one has a place in the heart of Christ, and that settles everything, and woe to the person who accuses the saints. He is pleased to impose obligations on us
to support others, and to care for them. He does not put any obligation upon us to defend ourselves. He has undertaken that, and therefore it is in much better hands than ours. We have to wait. Suppose you are in difficulties, you may have to wait a while, but your "morning" will come. The day of your hearing will come, and the waiting will be good for you; your case will be brought into adjustment. "Every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not". So that it is on the calendar, and the judgment is according to the breastplate; that is, love will do all in its power for you, and will bring you out without a stain. His eyes "run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him".
As a matter of fact, our vindication is all future, and every right-minded person leaves it there. I do not deny but what you get it among the saints now, you will be justified there. The spiritual will see it, but the future will bring to light everything. So we can go on in patience, leaving it with the Priest. It is in good hands, and the judgment shall be according to the breastplate. It is very much better to sit on the priest's throne than on a Levite's throne. It is very much better to be prominent among the saints as one who loves them, than to be prominent for your preaching or teaching. "If I ... have not love, I am nothing". You may pass muster as a Levite, but according to the currency of the sanctuary you are nothing. It is said of the Lord, that He shall sit as a Priest upon His throne, but the passage begins with the fact that, "he shall grow up out of his place". He maintained righteousness here; He did not interfere with the will of God. Capacity to have to say to God in the sanctuary lies in priestly state, and that is love, marked by holiness and intelligence. Ability of discernment, too, is seen in the priest.
Everything depends upon whether you have love. Love is most skilful. Feet-washing also is the outcome of the priestly state. If we wash one another's feet, it is because we love one another. The Priest will remove all the spots; everything is adjusted according to the breastplate. The "breastplate of judgment" indicated that judgment would be according to love.
There are two phases of priesthood spoken of here. One has reference to our position in relation to God, that we might offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ; the other, the royal priesthood, has reference to man, in order that we might show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light. We are in the marvellous light of a Man, entered into heaven as Priest. It is the greatest pity that we are so slow to avail ourselves of what the system provides; that is to say, the breastplate of judgment. Why are things allowed to drag on that require judgment? Why are they not judged? Why is there no righteous discrimination? It is because we are not in accord with the great Priest who is over the house of God. If we require wisdom, the Lord will help us as to that. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not". We are in the full light of all that. You bring in Christ and it is wonderful how things become adjusted; I mean, bring in the Spirit of Christ in yourself.
Another great thing about the Priest is, that his lips keep knowledge and people seek the law at his mouth, Malachi 2. The principles that govern the system are taught by the priest. If there are matters that require judgment they ought to be faced, and we ought to have the sense that we are on the shoulders of Christ our Great Priest, as well as on His heart. If we do not face what is wrong we give the enemy the advantage. We have all that is
requisite for the adjustment of matters. We should be very simple; if a difficulty occurs go into it, in dependence on the Lord; there is no need for putting it off. The book of Leviticus teaches us that where difficulties arise, everything is made to depend on the priest, and he is called into service at once. It is for us to understand how the priest is called into service, for we are all priests by calling. The priest was able to tell how many stones should be taken out of the leprous house, for instance.
A study of the gospel of Luke helps us enormously in the understanding of priesthood. You want to be prayerful and near the Lord. John is the best illustration of a man who had learned priesthood; he was near the Lord; he was a man characterised by love. In Luke Christ is on man's side, for He is looked at as the Son of man, hence His genealogy is carried back to Adam. He is seen thoroughly among men, yet we know how infinitely perfect He was. The point is, that men should be perfectly free to draw near. He is accessible to men. I think it is most touching. Luke introduces you to Christ, so to speak, in a priestly atmosphere. The whole of the first chapter is this, and the second also. Simeon and Anna are in priestly garments. Simeon holds Him in the temple and he is full of the Holy Spirit; he is the suited vessel to hold the Lord in his arms. Then at the end of the gospel the disciples are seen in the temple praising and blessing God. We may say that the Lord left a company of priests behind Him. Heaven received the High Priest. He lifted up His hands and blessed them, and as He blessed them He was carried up into heaven.
The priesthood was for the maintenance of the system that God had set up. That is perfectly obvious to any one who reads the book of Numbers. You find in chapter 3 the generations of Aaron and Moses, but Moses' children are not mentioned. It is
Aaron's sons that are given, the sons of the priest. Although we are priests by calling, we may not be in a state to exercise priestly function. The priestly state is required. There is a tendency to assume that you have everything because you have faith, but you must become subject to the work of the Spirit. The apostles' authority remains in their letters, but what is to support the system is not that. If you have not the priestly state, things must fail. Christianity weakened when priestly power declined.
As to the difference between faith and state, faith is largely that you have light; you are illuminated about things. To have them as an enjoyed thing you need more than that; you need the Spirit's operation in you; so the apostle prays in Ephesians 3 to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that we might be "strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man". Paul saw the great need of power in the saints.
What God wrought in Christ is one thing; what He works in us is another. It is the same power that wrought in Christ that works in us, but when God wrought in Christ He did not work in us; the work in the assembly covers the whole dispensation, so it is going on now. It is looked at as one complete whole, but including every item of the work; there is one item in you and one in me, and so on. Ephesians 2 has all in view; it shows you the whole work of God in the saints. "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works".
You cannot add a cubit to your stature. It is God that does it, for the willing and doing of His good pleasure. Exercise comes in on our side, but God does the work, and what God does is done for ever; you cannot add to it or take from it, so that every bit of God's work done in your soul is done for ever. The thing goes on day by day. The inner man is renewed day be day. The outer man perishes.
It is remarkable how prominent the thought of day-by-day is in Scripture. Ephesians 2 takes account of the sum total of that work. He did not do it all when He raised Christ. It is day by day the thing goes on, and it comes out in its grand results, Ephesians 1 presents the work of God in Christ by the exceeding greatness of God's power. Chapter 2 is the work of God in the saints.
I love to look at God's work in creation. It is a kind of parallel to His spiritual operations. Ephesians 2 shows that in the ages to come we shall come out as the fruit of God's work. What He has laid in our souls day by day comes out then. The effect of His work is also seen in present testimony.
Daniel 5:1 - 6, 17 - 31; Song of Songs 5:4, 5.
The thought I desire to bring before you is the effect that the sight of the Lord's hand has on the apostate as compared with the believer, for there is a great difference. Belshazzar was an apostate, like many at the present time. We are living in a day which is marked by apostasy. We are living in times which are marked by a turning away from light previously vouchsafed; this is what marks the present time. One feels especially for young people, for this spirit being abroad affects the youth among the Lord's people. We must remember that Belshazzar's father was a converted man. He had light; he had wonderful light for his time, and he did not conceal it. Daniel 4 is a confession of his faith. It was not made to his family alone; it was a confession of his faith to his subjects as well. He had a very large congregation. He was really a preacher, and he addressed himself to his subjects, to the whole race of mankind, we may say. He was a preacher among the Gentiles; it was a remarkable testimony.
Nebuchadnezzar was an emperor; and imperialism, in the inception of it, was antagonistic to God. I am digressing in what I am about to say, but the idea of imperialism is to unify the nations, to bring all under one head, whereas in the Old Testament the line God pursued was to divide the nations. We are told in Acts 17 that God had set the bounds of their habitation. He had circumscribed the different races, setting each by itself to the end, that as thus shut up, they might turn to Him, "if haply they might feel after him". Now that was the line God pursued, but imperialism as taken on by man was against that. Nimrod, as stated in Genesis 10, started it, and Nebuchadnezzar was his successor.
He was the emperor. He had brought all the
nations which God had separated under one head. I am not speaking of how God met it, but imperialism in its inception and history was against the mind of God. I might add that God has met it in Christ. He has made Christ the Emperor. God meets every attack of the enemy on His purpose in Christ. Everything is met in Christ. Satan said in effect to the Lord, 'I will make an emperor of you. All these kingdoms are mine; I will give them to you if you worship me'. If the Lord is to rule over the nations, it will be as divinely constituted. He is to receive His dignity from God, and He does receive it. He is the only Man equal to it. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. God made Him this, and He comes out of heaven. All the emperors who have risen on the earth have come from beneath.
In Daniel and Revelation we read of beasts that rose out of the sea. Beware of what comes from beneath! What comes from above is being gradually removed. It is well to warn people about this. The present trend is to remove all that comes from above. The democratic idea is that things come from beneath, but the divine Emperor comes from above with glorious majesty and armies attendant, not the Persian or Babylonish hordes. The Lord Jesus alone has title to unify the nations. What a glorious day for them when brought together under the influence of Christ! In principle, you have that in the day of Pentecost. God met Satan's device by the gift of the Spirit from a glorified Jesus, and no other kind of unity will meet with divine approval; all else is from beneath. On the day of Pentecost, Jesus, the great Head of all the nations, gives the Spirit in the character of cloven tongues. This had reference to the different nations. The tongues meant the over throw of the barriers God had raised up. If God raises up barriers, He only can overthrow them. For anyone else to overthrow these barriers would
be direct opposition to God, and this is the design of imperialism. How does God do it? By the gift of the Spirit. Cloven tongues as of fire appear. If the fire is present you need not fear the unity. If fire is absent the unity is corrupt. There shall be a unity ere long with no fire, no divine judgment in it.
As the Holy Spirit came we are told "it sat upon each of them". A wonderful testimony was the result. "We do hear them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God". What did they speak about? The wonderful works of God. If we suppose that the Babel builders had sent out preachers, what would they have spoken about? The wonderful works of men. Doubtless they would speak about the great city and tower they were building; but look at what the Spirit of God introduces! The wonderful works of God. I have spoken of Nebuchadnezzar as an emperor, and in doing so turned aside to speak of imperialism; but I wished specially to speak of his faith. He had light from God, and was a preacher, as I said. Belshazzar was therefore the more responsible, for he was aware of this. Daniel said, "thou knewest all this". The empire was passed on to him, but not the faith of his father.
Well, I have referred to this that you might have clearly before you the situation in Daniel, whose name signifies "God is Judge". He does what He pleases, says Nebuchadnezzar, "in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of earth". God is to be Judge. He is taking account of the history of the nations, of the emperors and kings of the earth, and of everything; not one thing escapes His notice. So in chapter 5 you have the fingers of a man's hand writing down the deliberate judgment of God as to all that has gone on. Let us not be deceived, God is cognisant of everything. He knows
what is going on in your heart, what kind of a father and mother you have, what kind of an environment you have been brought up in. He knows your opportunities and privileges, and He holds you accountable. God is Judge. He does what He pleases. He takes account of all, and in due time He writes it plainly on the palace of this world, with the fingers of a Man. Daniel set forth God as judging His people and men generally, but judging them in the Son of man. All judgment is in the hands of the Son of man.
If you saw His hand tonight, would it cause you terror? If you saw one of His features, would it trouble you? Would you recognise it? Many here would. It is one thing to recognise the hand of a lover, and another to recognise the hand of a judge. The former is seen in Canticles, although the same hand that wrote on the wall, in Daniel 5 -- exactly the same hand. I go further, the Spirit that the Lord breathed into the disciples shall meet the Antichrist in the future and consume him, and yet that Spirit or breath is the life of our souls!
Now, look at the hand of the lover thrust through the hole in the door; there is myrrh on this hand; there was no myrrh on the hand that wrote on the wall in the palace of Babylon. Belshazzar was to be the sufferer; the apostate of today, too, will be a sufferer. But the hand thrust through the hole in the door was the hand of a lover, the hand of a suffering lover, and it was recognised. How many souls in this company and elsewhere gladly recognise the hand of the suffering Saviour! Every time that He puts out His hand, it is a suffering hand; it is the hand that suffered for us. It endears Him to us.
His hand reminds us of Calvary. He has been there for us. It moves our inwards; does it yours? How would that hand affect you if you saw it? It is the test as to whether you are a lover or a hater of Jesus.
Belshazzar was a hater. He was an idolater, turning aside from the light of his father. Daniel says, in effect, 'You knew it; you knew all about it; you were not ignorant'. Neither have you been ignorant.
The light is round about you. You may not respond to it. "The light shone", said Paul, "round about me and them which journeyed with me". And so with you. Heavenly light shines all round about us.
Has it shone in? If not, why has it not shone in?
Are you resisting it? Are you turning away as Belshazzar did? Daniel said he knew it; "thou knewest all this".
It is a dreadful thing to resist the light; it will lead to a deliberate turning away, and that turning away is apostasy, and apostasy brings a writing. Divine writing is a most interesting thing in Scripture. When you write you are more deliberate than when you speak. Before you write, you deliberate. Think of God; think of those fingers of a man's hand! What actuated those fingers? What mind controlled them? The mind of God. It was the holy deliberate expression of God's judgment of that man, and of the kingdom; and that kingdom and that man came to an end the same night. How would it be with you supposing those fingers came down? Could you discern the Lord's hand if you saw it? As I was pointing out, the speaker in Canticles had already had an acquaintance with the Lord, and she recognised His features. Do you not think that in heaven we shall recognise the features of the Lord? Do you suppose we shall require an introduction? I do not.
The speaker in Song of Songs 5, though slothful, had the advantage of an acquaintance. She was so accustomed to see that hand that she knew it, and the sight of it moved her to give a complete delineation of the Lord's Person. She gives a delineation of His Person from head to foot; and what a Person!
There is no deterioration; the legs are equal to the head. Such, beloved friends, is the Person of our Lord. Not like Nebuchadnezzar's image, showing deterioration from head to foot, but the description given of the Bridegroom in Canticles shows that He is perfect throughout. His head is as fine gold, and His legs are set upon sockets of fine gold. With Jesus all is perfect. Such was the speaker's acquaintance with the Lord that she could give a complete outline of His glorious features. That is the advantage Christians have. I would not excuse slothfulness or carelessness in Christians; but it is a great encouragement, that when the Lord presents Himself, He is recognised. That is the encouragement I have with erring Christians. Sorrowful it is to admit that there are such; but when the Lord presents Himself to you, you know Him. "I go a-fishing", Peter said; that is an erring Christian, one walking after his own will. The others said, "We also go with thee"; but the Lord appears, and is recognised. "It is the Lord"; that is the beginning of recovery. If you do not recognise His features, there is no hope of you. A Christian goes to see you, and you shut the door in his face, there is no hope of you. You deny the Lord and His gracious consideration for you. If you recognise His features, it is the beginning of recovery; you knew Him before, and you are again in intimacy with Him. A period of darkness has intervened, but you remember the bright period. The Lord does and you will. You will remember what He is like; and now that He has drawn near in grace, you recognise Him, and that is, as I said, the beginning of recovery.
Now, look at Belshazzar. He was surrounded with light; and more than that, he knew it. "Thou knewest all this". What a dark prospect lay before him, a fearful prospect! There is a sphere here on earth in which the light of heaven has been. The
Gentile world was illuminated by Paul, and what kind of light did Paul have? Heavenly light; that was the light that visited the Gentile world. How are you regarding the light? As I was saying, if you resist it, it will end in your turning away from it, and that means that you espouse darkness, and will finally find yourself supporting apostasy. Awful prospect! If you turn away from light, you support darkness, and "God shall send strong delusion, so that they shall believe a lie". There are those who make lies and those who love lies. Now those who make lies and those who love lies find themselves together. Where? Outside the gates of the heavenly city. It is bad enough to believe lies, but worse, I think, to make them, but maker and believer are found together. The literature of the present day is pregnant with made lies, deliberately planned, carefully thought out lies. I warn you that if you have anything to do with it, you may be found in the company of those who make the lies.
The Son of man takes up judgment. He is Head of the race, Heir of all that belongs to man. He has taken up every obligation, and discharged all to God's glory; and He now proposes forgiveness and the gift of the. Spirit to everyone on earth. That is what He has secured for us. He is Head of every man. We should glory in the wonderful thought that we have such a Head. Suppose He takes up another position, that of judgment, and suppose He writes on the wall, across the plaster of the earth's palace, what would be the writing? The entire system is weighed in the balance and found wanting, and the whole rule is to pass into the hands of Another. Glorious prospect for Christians! We delight in the termination of the present order of things, but we linger, every true Christian lingers, with Christ, who waits on man, that he might receive forgiveness of sins and the Spirit. That same hand
is about to write. Christ has written in His death the love of God to man; but He is about to write on this world His estimate of it all. And O! what an estimate! He is the Judge of the earth! and everything is taken account of accordingly, and written down to be seen by all. The world shall tremble, as well it may; but the believer knows the hand, it brings no tremor to him. John trembled, but the Lord said, "Fear not". All those emblems of judgment in Revelation had no reference to John; they had reference to those who had joined the world. So, true Christians, have no fear. We love that hand. It is a suffering hand; but the unbeliever trembles. Belshazzar's knees smote each other; he trembled.
May God grant that you may tremble now in the day of salvation, while the door of repentance is still open-wide open. It is about to be closed. May God grant that if there is anyone here who does not know Christ, he may repent and receive from His hand, that suffering hand, forgiveness of sins and the Spirit.
Acts 20:17 - 28
My thought is to say a word about Paul and his ministry. It is of all importance that we should pay attention to Paul, for he presents to us in his ministry what may be regarded as our specific light. There is a certain light in which we, as partakers of the heavenly calling, are to shine, and that light is Paul's ministry. I have no doubt that in the ministry of the twelve, especially in Peter's address on the day of Pentecost, we have Israel's light. I do not deny that the chapter presents what is distinctively Christian, for it does, but Peter says, "the promise is unto you"; that is to say, to Israel, it was Israel's moment. The rejected Messiah was in heaven, and He was in heaven on their account. He gave the Spirit, and it was therefore a moment of marvellous light for them, a moment in which we may introduce chapter 60 of the prophet Isaiah; "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee". It was a moment of marvellous light for Israel: Peter testified, that as in heaven, the Lord Jesus had "shed forth this which you now see and hear". It was the moment in which Israel might have shaken themselves from the dust and shone in their light.
Now, I wish to point out that whilst this marvellous light is light for us, it is not our distinctive light. The light in which we are to shine is Paul's light, and if we do not shine in Paul's light, we shall not shine at all. I wish therefore to speak of Paul. As another has said, Heavenly light makes all things bright, and in the gaze of that light everything is seen in its true relation. Paul's light is to endure. In chapter 3 of the second letter to Timothy he calls attention to his doctrine and his manner of life, and
I read this passage because it embodies the two thoughts; it speaks of the manner of man he was, and the teaching he presented to the saints. The man who is to stand in the latter and difficult days is supposed to know these things, he is supposed to be acquainted with Paul's doctrine and with Paul's manner of life. It is possible to divorce the doctrine from the manner of life, but if the manner of life is not in accord with the doctrine, the doctrine must become a dead letter; they go together. If you have the doctrine and the manner of life in agreement, you have the luminous body upon earth. The person whose soul is in the light of Paul's doctrine, and whose life is in accord with it, is a luminous body, a heavenly body; he shines in his own light.
Now I wish to show you, if I can, how the Spirit of God in the Acts leads up to this point; that is to say, He leads up to a point where we find a company of men and women to whom Paul could disclose freely all the counsel of God. What a pleasure to Paul to be able to free to bring forward that which his heart cherished, and to speak freely and fully of every part of the divine counsels! My conception of those who shall throng the courts on high is, that they are intelligent; they answer to Abigail, the last type, as I understand it, of the assembly in the Old Testament; they are of a good understanding and of a beautiful countenance. Those courts shall be thronged with such people. On earth there shall be a people, but not their equal; they shall have God's laws in their hearts, they shall answer in that way to righteousness here, their hearts and minds shall be controlled by God's laws and their sins forgiven, but in the courts on high we shall see the assembly in its glory as formed by Paul's ministry. She will be marked by a good understanding, a full, intelligent apprehension of all the divine secrets, and a beautiful countenance.
I wish to show also, if I can, the order in which the Spirit of God leads us to that point. I take the liberty of going back to chapter 6 of the Acts, and here I would remind you that the Spirit of God inserts nothing in Scripture without a purpose, and He omits nothing without a purpose, and what He records in the end of chapter 6 is that a man appears whose countenance is as that of an angel's; he is a remarkable man. You will all remember that Stephen was one of those deputed by the apostles to serve tables. Beloved friends, if we ever regard the work that refers to the support of the saints as beneath us, those whom we depute to accomplish it shall shine in our stead. Stephen and Philip shone not only as table-servers, but as ministers of divine and spiritual things. See the face of Stephen! He shines with a heavenly countenance, in the presence of the council; that is the significance of an angel's face. That face did not reflect what was at Jerusalem, it reflected what was in heaven; he shines with a heavenly countenance and he died as a priest. He died praying for his murderers. What a marvellous testimony! It appears at the juncture of the severance of God's relations with His earthly people, like the death of Samuel. You will all remember that Samuel died as Abigail appeared. The link between God and the people was severed, and at that juncture a heavenly countenance appeared; that is to say, what was earthly is superseded by what is heavenly, and the man who shone in the end of chapter 6 with a heavenly countenance, at the end of chapter 7 dies as a priest. Such is God's testimony at the juncture when He severed His relation with His earthly people.
Well now, I want to show you the order in which the truth is developed. You will all remember that Saul was present at the death of Stephen; he saw that countenance, he heard Stephen's testimony;
and what was it? There was a Man in heaven. Peter testified that the One whom they rejected, the same Jesus, the same Man, was anointed in heaven. Of Stephen it is said that "he saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God". The Man who was accepted there had secured the glory. What a triumph! Well, Saul heard that, and he saw the priest; he saw a man kneeling and praying for his adversaries, a perfect reflection of the great High Priest who prayed for them at the cross.
What a testimony to Saul! Well now, in the next chapter the spirit of evangelisation appears. The Lord had bought the field, and He had title to it, the treasure was in it, and that He would have, and hence the activity of Philip the evangelist.
Now in the passage from Isaiah read by the eunuch you have the Man whose "life is taken from the earth"; that is an important element in the development of the testimony. "His life is taken from the earth", but Stephen saw Him in heaven, and the Ethiopian read about Him. Who shall declare His generation? For He was "cut off out of the land of the living". He is a heavenly Man. He belongs to heaven, His life is taken from the earth. It reminds one of Isaac walking in the fields. You all remember that Isaac is typically the heavenly man. Directly we have the testimony of his resurrection; that is to say, in type the resurrection of Christ, you have the genealogy of Rebecca. Isaac is claimed from heaven, remember that. The angel called to Abraham out of heaven; Genesis 22:11. Isaac as typifying Christ belonged to heaven, and he must have a companion, and his companion is to be equal to him, she is of the same genealogy. "Who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth". Such is the testimony brought to the heart of the Ethiopian eunuch. How Philip would enlarge upon that! We are told that he began there. There is
no life on earth now, no earthly associations now in which you can find life. Jesus' life is taken from the earth. What a start for an Ethiopian eunuch, and how admirably he started! He started rejoicing, he accepted the rejection of that Man, he went down into the waters and was baptised. In the next chapter the Man whose life was taken from the earth is speaking from heaven. In chapter 7 He is standing in heaven, and in chapter 9 is speaking from heaven. Let us pay attention to that.
First of all the light shines out of heaven, and then the voice is out of heaven, all a direct intimation of the change of base of God's operations. Jerusalem is displaced by heaven, and then the voice is out of heaven. That voice secures the vessel, for round about Paul there shone a light from heaven, his environment was illuminated from heaven and his heart was touched by a voice from heaven. Saul became a vessel of heavenly light. You will all remember how Paul gives an account of the incident; indeed he gives two accounts of it. Luke gives one, and his is simply that it was "a light from heaven". Paul's first account is that it was a "great light" out of heaven, and his second is that it was "a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun". These things are recorded thus doubtless as reminding us of the character of his ministry; it was heavenly.
Well now, the Lord has His vessel. He is the vessel through whom the great treasure is to be brought to light and formed. The field was wide, the treasure was in it, but it was bought in all its extent. I am referring to Matthew 13. The Lord, on the ground of redemption, has secured right-of-way among mankind in order that He should have the treasure. He can seek for it where He pleases and who dares to dispute His right? And hence in chapter 10 the door is opened out into the wide field; Peter opens the door and Paul goes out by the door
Peter did not. You will all remember the introduction of the assembly in the gospel of Matthew; Peter got the light of it, but not the ministry of it. He was simply commissioned with the keys of the kingdom of heaven; he got the keys, we may say, to let Paul out. I am speaking now from one point of view, there are others. The Lord had the vessel, Paul, and he was to search the field; he had a message that extended to the whole field, and Peter opened the door. It will be found to be a principle in the Acts, that in every locality where the work of God progresses, some special feature of the testimony comes to light. At Caesarea the door was opened; the Gentiles came in and Paul went out. I am speaking now as you understand in the most general way. "Unto thee", says the Lord to Peter, "I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven". Directly the assembly is introduced, the keys of the kingdom are introduced in order to make room for it, and to make room for the vessel by whom it shall be brought in.
When you come to Acts 11, you find Barnabas, he appears earlier as a consolation to the apostles, "son of consolation", but here he is sympathetic with what God is doing, a great element in the development of the testimony,; and following upon that he was at Antioch. At the end of chapter 11 you will find what is priestly. There was need among +he saints and those at Antioch were equal to it. They lent the shoulder, they gave as each man had ability for the support of the saints; that was manward, that was royal. In the beginning of chapter 13 you have the same people in principle ministering Godward. The priesthood was now amongst the Gentiles; they ministered to the Lord and to the saints. That is the testimony that appears at Antioch. The priesthood is there, and depend upon it, without the priesthood you have nothing; with it you have everything. In the beginning of
chapter 13 Paul is not only sent out by the Spirit, but he goes out with the full fellowship of the saints. Antioch is in connection with heaven, it is in full sympathy with Barnabas and with Paul.
I pass on now to Acts 18 in order to show how Paul's ministry progressed, and I would say in brief that while Corinth presents to us the wilderness side of it, Ephesus, in chapter 19, presents to us the results of his ministry in the heavenly side of it. I wonder if you follow what I mean by that. We have to take account of our position in this world as a company of people that have had their part in the world; we ran riot with the Gentiles, we followed the bent of our own wills, and in doing so we have dishonoured God; but we have been converted; that is the position at Corinth. The Lord says to Paul at Corinth: "Be not afraid ... I have much people in this city". The Lord shall have a people in heaven, but He has people in a city. You can well understand that it is one thing to see a company of God's people divinely taken account of in a city on earth, and another to see the same people taken account of in heaven. Now Corinth is the one and Ephesus is the other. There is a company of people in a city belonging to the Lord, and His name is bound up with them. God has been pleased to convert them, to own them, to call them out of the world and to give them a name, the assembly of God at Corinth. They are God's assembly there.
Now you can readily perceive how many thoughts enter into that, they have come out of Egypt and they are in the wilderness. I need not remind you that Corinth is the wilderness; it was adverse for the saints of God in every possible way, and yet they were in it, taken account of, and called God's assembly in it. God's honour is bound up with that people, His order is to be seen there, His government is to be seen there, and every member of that company is
to recognise that it is God's assembly, not man's and in that assembly there is everything requisite for its support, maintenance and order. It was God's building, God's temple, and it was Christ's body in that city. Now all that was brought to pass through Paul's ministry. The Lord stood by him until the saints at Corinth were delivered, and then he writes his letter to them, which is left on record, and shows how the assembly is to be governed during all the period of the absence of the Lord. When you come to Ephesus, you have the saints not viewed in the wilderness or according to what is manward, which is Corinth, but according to what it is Christward and Godward; in other words, in Ephesus we reach the treasure, and I might add we reach the pearl.
Now I have come to the point that I desire to leave with us and to enlarge on for a moment. One has great exercise that the saints, as I have been saying, might shine in their own light. See how earnestly and ceaselessly Paul laboured, in order that the Ephesian saints might shine in their own light. Now he was departing and he sends for the elders. The elders were those who were specially entrusted with the responsibility of the flock. He says, Feed the flock of God "which he has purchased with the blood of his own". It is the strongest kind of expression, showing what Christ is to God. It is not simply the beloved, or the beloved Son, it is a stronger term as expressing affection; it is God's Own, as though there were not another. In that light the flock is regarded; they are those who are purchased with the blood of One so loved.
Now look at verse 18: the apostle says, "Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons". Paul, first of all, calls attention to his "manner". I am exceedingly convinced of this that the Lord would
remind us of Paul. He is the only man in the Scriptures who calls upon us to follow him. He says, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ". Then it says, among other things, he was accustomed to go from house to house. You will all remember that as minister of Satan (Acts 8) he went into houses; he was accustomed then to go from house to house, but in those instances it was to destroy the members of the assembly, and to obliterate every lover of Christ. He went into houses in order to secure the members. What a complete change now! And then it says, "I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God"; that is the point I would like to lead you up to. Before the apostle Paul was removed, there was not one whit of God's counsels that had not been brought to light; and mark you, the light was not presented to an unsympathetic audience; the Ephesians were sympathetic with the ministry. They loved Christ, and not only did they love Christ, they were set in Christ's love. In other words, Paul had placed them in the affections of Christ -- what a position! His ministry was completed when he presented the assembly to Christ, he placed her in Christ's affections. He says, "I have espoused you unto one man to present you a chaste virgin to Christ". That was his aim and he laboured to this end at Ephesus. Paul had no compeer. Alas! the assembly moved away afterwards; the Lord says, "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love"; they had left the position in which Paul placed them, but the triumph of his work was in this, that he placed the assembly in the affections of Christ. No one could say that Paul is responsible if they move away from Christ. He says, "I am pure from the blood of all men".
What great pains the Lord has taken, if one may speak simply and freely, to bring forward the divine
thoughts and counsels! What are we going to do with them? The word is, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come!" Our light is come, and we are to shine in it. May the Lord give us to loose from our moorings. "Forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty". Separation is the first principle of love for Christ, separation from all that is contrary to Him here, and as the Lord sees it in you, you are covered with beauty in His eyes. "So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty". May the Lord grant that we may answer to this!
Zechariah 3 and 4
My thought is to seek to show the connection between Jerusalem and the priesthood. Of old you will remember it was indicated in the typical books that the system introduced by Moses was made to depend for its continuance upon the priest; that is to say, the order of God in the created universe is made to depend upon the priest. You will remember the principle enunciated in chapter 1 of the epistle to the Hebrews that God made everything by the Son; everything was called into being and set in its order by the Son. Then following upon that we have the principle that He upholds what He created. Wonderful thought! As we look abroad on the vast expanse of the heavens and take account of the earth and its surrounding planets, let us remember that all that is upheld by the Son, "upholding all things by the word of his power".
It is a principle you find in Scripture, that what the Lord establishes in the way of authority on the part of God He sustains and perpetuates. Moses on the mount with Jehovah received all instructions as to the tabernacle. Everything had to be made according to his direction. There was no communication to Aaron in regard of the tabernacle, but the upholding of the system was made to depend upon the priest. Therefore what we learn is, that the spiritual order of things which God has in His mind is established in the revelation of God; it is inaugurated by Christ coming out from God. The tabernacle has been pitched. We are told that Christ came by a greater and more perfect tabernacle.
Christ has pitched it, but what He has pitched He sustains, so that it is continuous. He sustains it as a priest.
Now when you come to Jerusalem you have another
line of thought. Jerusalem refers to government. There are many thoughts connected with Jerusalem that one could dwell upon, but the leading thought is that it is the centre of government upon earth. Satan understands that. You often hear predictions in regard of certain happenings in the East, but they must all of necessity be wide of the mark. You shall have no prophetic happenings until God returns to Jerusalem, and whilst the saints are here who will form the heavenly city, you shall have no return to Jerusalem. Satan is not occupied with Jerusalem now; he is occupied with Jerusalem above, the heavenly city, and he would accuse those who form it. The hour is coming when he shall be occupied with Jerusalem on earth; that is, when God returns to it. You will not find Satan making a move until God makes a move; in other words, he always seeks to thwart the divine movements and the divine activities. Well now, what God has in His mind is that Jerusalem is not only to be influenced by a king, it is to be influenced by a priest.
In turning to Zechariah one feels particularly encouraged because his ministry had to do with the returned remnant; not with Jerusalem in its pristine days under David and Solomon, but with Jerusalem as rebuilt by the returned captives of Babylon. You will all remember that in association with Haggai, Zechariah stirred up Joshua and Zerubbabel, and the others who laboured at the city and the temple. He was a prophet raised up to stir up the energies of the people, therefore you can rightly draw a parallel with our own times. There was no king raised up after the captivity; kings came in, I admit, but not divinely appointed; but there was a priest. My object in referring to it in this way, is to point out that what we require, beloved brethren, is the priest. I quite admit that we must submit to the authority of the Lord, that is of all moment. I
have not a doubt but that this has been raised amongst us and for a purpose. The Lord must rule, His will must prevail, but remember that the Ono whose will prevails and must prevail, is also priest. He sits upon His throne to rule, but if He does so He is a priest there. In other words, He supports us to do His will and to keep His commandments; such is the Lord, such is He with whom we have to do.
Now you will see in chapter 3, that the situation there is Jerusalem; there is Joshua, the high priest, he is the great object of attention; there is Satan, there is the Lord, and the angel of the Lord. How many far-reaching thoughts enter into all that. I do not propose to dwell upon the chapter save to point out the exact situation, and I am not speaking of it in the way of prophetic teaching as regards what is future, but as regards what is present. If anything has happened to us spiritually, we have been recovered from Babylon. What are we recovered to? We are recovered to first principles, and the first principle connected with Jerusalem is that it was God's sovereign choice. He chose mount Zion, which He loved. He desired to dwell there, hence He selected it as a matter of sovereign choice. There is no principle more important to submit to than that. Our blessing is bound up with the recognition of it. Why have I been recovered, enlightened and blessed? It is a question of the sovereign rights of God; He delighted in it, and I submit, and my happiness is bound up in the submission. The next thing is, that that which God has desired and selected is to be the sphere and centre of rule and light on the earth, and Jerusalem was that; indeed it is intimately bound up with David. You will all remember that David took the head of Goliath to Jerusalem. It was the token of his triumph, when he led captivity captive. God has taken us up sovereignly, He has
placed His light amongst us, and He has placed in the assembly a testimony to the exceeding greatness of His power, that is in the resurrection of Christ. That is what Jerusalem stands for; and Joshua is there. One might dwell with the greatest delight on the subject of Joshua; passing over certain features which have reference to him as a sinner, and speak of him as a type of Christ.
Now Satan is against Jerusalem and the priesthood.
That is the situation, and what we find is this, that the Lord is against Satan, and, Satan is outmatched: I want you to take that in. You remember Joshua at Jericho; he assumed that he had to overthrow and dislodge the Canaanitish nations, but there was a Man with a drawn sword in his hand standing before him, and Joshua said to him, "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" The man with a drawn sword answered, "Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come". He was against the Canaanitish nations, and they were outmatched, and it was for Joshua to recognise that, and he did. It was, as it were, the Lord saying to him, 'It is a question of you being with me, for I am against them'. So here, the Lord is against Satan, and he is therefore outmatched. The battle is won at the outset; if the Lord is against the adversary it is victory, it cannot be otherwise. "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee". What rest of heart that would impart to Joshua, and what rest of heart it should impart to us! The conflict is the Lord's; His testimony was bound up with Jerusalem, and He is bound to defend it. Satan is silenced. Then we get the clothing of the high priest. He is mitred and robed. Satan has no more to say, for the Lord has rebuked him, and that is what we should look for. Opposition there will be, but let us remember that the Lord rebukes the adversary, and if the adversary is
silent, we shall have the priest. Joshua is now set up in dignity in Jerusalem. Now what an influence you have! God intends it to extend from Jerusalem. He intends that there should be light and rule amongst His people, and so the centre whence it issues is under the direct influence of the Priest.
Now I turn to Zechariah 6. You will see there that there are two distinct classes of agencies used in the government of God; there are four chariots issuing from between two mountains of brass and drawn by certain coloured horses. It is well to remember how extensive God's rule is and how varied the instruments of it are. There are two mountains of brass. I do not suppose that there is a right minded Christian here, or anywhere, who is not affected by the conditions which prevail in the world. We cannot be with God without feeling them. We, forget too much the divine sensibilities as to what prevails in the world; the world is lawless in every possible way. Well now, in this chapter, we have what may be called the indirect instruments of His government and the direct instruments of His government. We should pray for both. One knows it in one's self and one notices it in others, how little we enter into the divine mind as to the conditions in the world, and yet we are enjoined to pray for the powers that be. They are the indirect instruments of the divine government upon earth, and we should be thankful for them.
We read that the chariots issue forth from between two mountains of brass, and I have not a doubt that they allude to the four great empires that God was pleased to use for maintaining the order of the world; but what I would point out is this, that whilst they mitigate to a certain degree the lawlessness in the world, yet their energy is that of horses. If they were simply beasts, they would not be under divine control. In themselves that is what the
empires were, wild beasts, utterly conscienceless but a horse is within control. In His indirect govern went God saw to it that these powers were under control and useful, but they are not God's people God's people are not horses, they are all priests, and priests are not held in by bit and bridle, they are governed through the mind and heart. The Lord set forth the idea here upon earth and taught it to His disciples. Priests are controlled through their affections, and their influence is through the affections. Horses are not regarded as having affection or sensibilities at all that are in accord with God; they are controlled by external influence. In the Psalms we are exhorted not to be like them; alas we are often like them. If our wills are at work, we become as horses, having to be held in by the bit and bridle. The Psalmist, having been in the sanctuary, says, "I was as a beast before thee".
In these four chariots and horses we have what we may call the providential instruments of God's government, and alongside these we have the priest, and that is what I desire, dear brethren, might be clearly before our minds. There are crowns made of gold and of silver, and the crowns were placed upon Joshua, the son of Josedech, the high priest; that was for a testimony. God was calling attention to the great contrast between the empires that He used in His government upon the earth, and His precious Son as King and Priest, for Joshua was a type of Christ. That is the testimony of the book of Zechariah. Luke specially presents to us that blessed Man; he traces His history back to Adam, but the truth that He is a divine Person is ever asserted. As born unto this world it is said "that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God". His uniqueness is carefully guarded at the outset, but He is a Man, hence He is taken from among men to be a Priest.
Now what is said of Him here in Zechariah 6 is, "he shall grow up out of his place". That could not be said of any of the great emperors of the world, for they sought their own glory and their own fame; they disregarded God. But look at Christ! He grew up out of His place; there was no effort to alter His circumstances, He was perfect as a Boy, and perfect as a Man in every respect; He was subject to the divine will. Not only did He abide in righteousness, He loved it, and He is the One who is to rule. In fact, one might say He is the divine Emperor. I think you will understand me. You will remember in Revelation 12 it is said, that the Man-child was caught up to God and to God's throne, and that He was to rule the nations; that is imperialism. The nations are to be ruled by a Man who loved righteousness and hated lawlessness, and in Revelation 19 He comes out of heaven as the Emperor, "King of kings and Lord of lords". That indicates the mind of God as to the government of the earth, that the nations are to come under His righteous, holy sway.
The scripture goes on to say, "he shall grow up out of his place, and shall build the temple of the Lord: even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both". That is Christ. What a contrast you have there to the great rulers of the world! There was the entire absence of the divine glory in their rule, but in Christ you have it; He bears the glory. I want to point out that He shall be a Priest upon His throne; and that the counsel of peace shall be between them both. That is to say, rule and priesthood are united in the counsel of peace, and that is what we need, dear brethren, the counsel of peace. There is no surrender of principle; we never should admit the principle of agreement to differ, which is
contrary to the divine mind. "The counsel of peace shall be between them both". There is a righteous ruler, One who grew up out of His place without any will of His own, He was a Branch, He was dependent. He reached the throne, and He rules there, and He bears the glory, and He is there a Priest. There is a righteous rule combined with the sympathy of a Priest, and hence you have the counsel of peace. That is what the Lord's people require.
Now that is what the Lord Jesus brings in; we recognise His rule and His priesthood, and, as a consequence, we have a counsel of peace. He is there on His throne, and all the weight of the divine glory is supported by Him. He thinks of us, and hence the counsel of peace is there. It is not agreement to differ, it is a counsel of peace based upon a righteous, discriminating rule. The sympathies of the Priest are allied to a righteous rule, and that counsel shall stand. There are counsels that do not stand, but that counsel shall stand; that is the counsel of peace. May the Lord grant it to us!
Acts 9:1 - 19
I have in mind to dwell on two transactions in this chapter; one with the Lord Jesus directly, and the other with the brethren, the saints of God. This chapter is much used in the proclamation of the glad tidings, and I am using it now because it presents these two themes; a transaction between the Lord Jesus and a great sinner; and then a transaction between the saints, or one of them, and that same man. The second transaction is of as much importance as the first if the work of God is to be completed in us.
The first transaction is with the Lord, announcing Himself as Jesus: "I am Jesus". Luke particularly emphasises that name as appearing in the earlier part of this book, for he would dissipate in the minds of men and woman all prejudice that is apt to be there against God, for generally He is not known. He is apprehended in people's minds in a distorted way as if He were hard and exacting, whereas Luke would disabuse our minds of all such thoughts. He would emphasise Jesus as representing God here, and that name should not strike terror into anybody's heart; it is calculated to appeal even to a child -- "the name of Jesus". Hence we find in this book that the writer commences by referring to "all things that Jesus began both to do and to teach". In approaching man, the doing comes first; it is not exacting but helping and blessing man. Elsewhere we are told that He "went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him",
Acts 10:38. The doing is placed first, and then the teaching, for teaching in itself will not represent God, we need the teaching exemplified.
Luke is referring to what he had written already to this believer called Theophilus, so we are directed back to his gospel for examples of the doings of Jesus, and of the teachings of Jesus. The aim is to clear the mind of any hard thoughts and misconceptions of God, for He was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses. In the well-known incident recorded in Luke of two persons, one of whom owed much to a certain creditor and one little, we are told that when they had nothing to pay, "he frankly forgave them both". It was to convey the gracious attitude of God to sinners, and that is what the gospel by Luke emphasises.
Then in Acts 1 Luke speaks of Jesus going up into heaven, those who loved Him having beheld Him going up. Most of us here tonight love Jesus, and love, too, the thought of His going up. Luke ends his gospel by telling us that Jesus was "carried up into heaven"; heaven honoured Him by carrying Him up. Those who loved Him beheld Him, and then the angels tell them that the same Jesus whom they saw going into heaven should in like manner come back again. That is what we think about; but if you are not a believer in Christ you do not think of that. We who love Jesus think of Him as having gone up, and as coming back; and in the meantime we are seeking to make Him known here, to announce Him as glad tidings. How sweet and full the name Jesus is! It signifies "Jehovah the Saviour", Matthew 1:21.
Then Peter takes up the same note, as recorded in the next chapter; he says, "God hath made that same Jesus ... both Lord and Christ", Acts 2:36, and, "being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear". That is the Holy Spirit. Did
you ever hear of the Holy Spirit? He is a divine Person sent down here by the Lord Jesus, and available to the believer. If you repent now and believe the gospel you will get the Spirit; He is given to all those who obey Christ, Acts 5:32. This is what came to light as Peter preached his first gospel address; what he said was about Jesus, and three thousand were converted on that day. The bearing of it is that anyone may be converted while listening to the gospel; you may be converted now.
Up to the chapter we have read there is no record of any direct transaction between a soul and Christ; the gospel was carried on mediately through others, as it is by me this evening. Jesus has gone to heaven, but has witnesses to speak of Him here. The preaching is through Jesus, whether He employs vessels or not, the work is His. He preached the glad tidings of peace to those afar off and to those that are nigh, Ephesians 2:17.
Now the time has come to bring out this feature, that whilst you may hear the preaching and be convicted, there must, at some time or another in the history of your soul be a direct transaction with the Lord. I put that to every one of you here. Have you arrived at this point? Have you turned to the Lord? Has there been a direct personal transaction between the Lord and your soul? Let this search our hearts. He calls us by name. Has it never occurred to you that the Creator, the Upholder of the universe should have knowledge of you, and should know you by name? Here is a young man whose name the Lord knew, and he was no more commendable than you. Indeed, if there was one man on earth at that time who deserved to be utterly obnoxious to heaven it was this young man. Yet his name was known by the Lord Jesus; and so is yours, specially if there is any movement towards
God. Evidently there was movement in Saul. The Lord refers in Acts 26:14, to him as kicking against the pricks. The Lord was watching that young man, and knew what was going on in him from the time he held the clothes of those who were stoning the martyr Stephen.
We have great ability to conceal our inward motives and feelings, but we cannot conceal them from the Lord. He knows what is going on in your soul and in mine. The something going on may be extremely faint; as I was, saying the other day, quoting from Amos 3:12: "The shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear". The Good Shepherd sees there has been a little lending of the ear to the word at some time or other. It arrested you, though you did not give much attention to it; still there was something, and the Lord noticed it. Such is His keen interest in us that He notices the least bit of inclination for the word. In His vigilance the Saviour notices these things, "a bit of an ear", not a whole one; the Shepherd rescues that from the mouth of the lion. You may have been uneasy sometimes; not always, for Satan watches to obliterate the impression made by the word. Maybe you are unhappy, your will is active. It says of the elder brother of the prodigal, that "he would not go in", and the Lord says, "How often would I have gathered .. and ye would not". This may be your attitude while the word of God says, You should submit now, your eternal welfare depends on your submission to Christ. Do not therefore continue saying, I will not. There is a struggle going on; your conscience has been touched, but you have not yet submitted. The Lord would save you, He has compassion on you, and says, 'It is hard for you'. You cannot get rid of the effect produced by the light of God, although you may seek to drown it by the pleasures
of this world. One inquired, "Whither shall I flee from thy presence?" Psalm 139:7. And we read, "All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do", Hebrews 4:13.
Now, are you going to trifle with God, and to carry on this conflict with Him? Are you stronger than He? The Lord calls Saul by name, and says, "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks". The first movement towards repentance gives you a place in heaven. The Lord knows everyone's name, of course, but it is one thing to be known in the sense that He knows all things, and another to be known on moral grounds. As soon as there is the least movement of repentance, the thing is recorded in heaven, you have begun to add to the history of heaven. If the history of heaven could be written as the history of the earth has been, you would have records of repentance and conversions; that is what heaven takes notice of. As soon as you begin to repent towards God, and to have faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, you begin to make history in heaven. Maybe you have never made any history on earth; many aspire to it, but I prefer to make history in heaven. Every true Christian has a name and fame in heaven. The Lord said to His disciples, "Your names are written in heaven", Luke 10:20. He also says, "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth", Luke 15:10. It is not only that there is joy over a great many, such as the three thousand who repented at Pentecost, but over one sinner. That is how it was with Saul, the Lord called his name twice, and it was in the Hebrew tongue. If I were a German, He would speak to me in German, and if I were English, in English. He would avoid everything that might prejudice me against what He seeks; that is, my salvation. He would speak to my heart and secure my heart. No doubt Saul would
have understood Greek or Latin, but the Lord speaks in Hebrew, his mother tongue.
The Lord had said, "I am Jesus". You may say, You speak to me of Jesus, His grace, His gentleness, His attractiveness, but I have never seen Him or heard Him. Have you not? Had Saul not seen Him or met Him before? He had. He had persecuted Him. He had taken those who believed on Jesus, and were like Him, to prison; he had come across Jesus in that way; and in this sense there is not one here tonight who has not come in contact with Jesus. His people are sitting around you here, they are like Jesus; they think of you with compassion, they pray for your salvation. The whole atmosphere in this room is in your favour, and I appeal to you now about these transactions, first with Jesus, and then with the disciples of Jesus. Turn to Jesus now, and then you will be ready for the brethren. Saul says, "What shall I do, Lord?" This is a very good question. Jesus had spoken to him, and the light shone round him, and now the next move was his. What was he to do? Nothing like what the Roman Catholic Church would tell you; they would give you a long list of penances and things to do. The Lord Jesus gives you nothing like that to do. He says to Saul, "Go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do".
The Lord sends Saul into the city, and that brings me to the second transaction; that is, with the brethren. Some of you here have never had that, though maybe you are saved. I know of young persons who have confessed the Lord and know their sins forgiven, and yet have never come to this transaction with the brethren. The Lord would say to them exactly as He said to Saul, "Go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do". Perhaps there is a young person here who has been converted for a year or so, and has had a transaction
with the Lord, but has had no transaction with the brethren. If so, I would like to speak to you of it tonight. Now Saul had fallen to the earth, he was blind, seeing no man. Is that the state of your soul? Perhaps you can see men, though they be "as trees walking", Mark 8:24; but Saul saw no man. Moreover in that state he did not eat. Some people are fed in a state of blindness in wrong associations, before they know forgiveness or adjustment with God. Saul did not eat, he was left blind and hungry for three days and three nights. Now the next move must be from the saints. Can they help him?
Ananias goes to Saul and says, "Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou tamest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost". Saul had been breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, but he will never do that again; he is a blind and penitent sinner. He is about to be completely saved, the work is about to be finished. Ananias says, "Brother Saul". Is it not sweet to be addressed as a brother? It belongs to the family; as believers on Christ we are brought into the family of God, John 1:12, 13; we are also brought into the fellowship of God's Son, 1 Corinthians 1:9. Let me appeal to you now. How many of you here have confessed the Lord, but have never had this transaction with the brethren? The brethren putting their hands on you is fellowship; they commit themselves to you, linking you thus with all that are calling on the Lord out of a pure heart. There is an Ananias here who would be very glad to put his hands on you now and call you "brother". That implies that you are identified with the saints; they put their hands on you as confirming the work of God in you; they identify themselves with you.
Peter says, as to the case of Cornelius, that it was God who did it, and "What was I that I could withstand God", Acts 11:17. He accepted it, and those in Cornelius' house were baptised as having received the Holy Spirit. Would you not like Ananias, so to speak, to put his hands on you and call you brother? You will understand that I refer to one or more of the dear brethren in this town. The scales fell from Saul's eyes, "he received sight forthwith and arose and was baptised". He would see Ananias, the brother sent to him directly from Jesus. "And when he received meat he was strengthened". Then he abides certain days with the disciples; he is thoroughly in fellowship. And then he preaches Jesus, in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
Thus in this remarkable account of the conversion and introduction into the assembly of Saul of Tarsus there is light and guidance for all who would obey Christ. May the Lord grant help to us all by what has come before us!
Pages 71 - 157 -- "The Defence of the Testimony", Belfast, 1914 (Volume 21).
Numbers 1:1 - 4,17,18,44 - 54.
J.T. The book of Numbers clearly contains the instructions intended by the Spirit to govern us as viewed externally in relation to the testimony here; whereas the book of Leviticus refers to our access to God, to our approach: Thus it is rightly set before the book of Numbers; for before we can be right outside, we must be right inside; before we can be for God publicly, we must know what it is to be with God. Hence Leviticus is taken up with man's approach to God, and so we find that God spake to Moses "out of the tabernacle", without saying it was in the wilderness; whereas in Numbers He spake to Moses from the tabernacle "in the wilderness;" that is the position, in the wilderness.
Ques. That is a most important principle to be recognised?
J.T. Yes; it is a very affecting thing to be taken account of, formally, by God, as this book of Numbers teaches us. Numbering signifies that God is taking account of His people.
J T. Yes; God formally takes account of us, and gives us our place; each one has his own place in relation to the tabernacle. First of all we are taken account of; it is very touching. Think of being taken account of by God! Many young believers have no idea that God knows them by name; and that they have a certain niche to fill for Him. No one is excluded from the numbering; every male from a certain age upwards, is numbered.
Ques. What is the idea of the tabernacle?
J.T. It was a receptacle for the testimony; it was that in which the light of God found its home. The necessity for it appears when the testimony was given.
Rem. We have not got it in a material form now.
J.T. No; "Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building". It is not a tabernacle of material things; it is not of this creation; it is moral; and that is what we have to deal with.
As you proceed with the instruction in this book, you find the tabernacle is the great central thought; and a great deal is made of how it was to be taken down and carried. There is nothing of that in Leviticus. When it was set up, "a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle", Exodus 40:34. God was there, and would be approached; and He has provided all this in order that we may draw near. There is nothing to keep us away except our own will; everything is provided that we may draw near. Now Numbers opens, not with the idea of drawing near, but that we are taken account of by God, so as to be set up in relation to His testimony, we are to be men of war.
Rem. It is more than merely the thought of our blessing; it is taking account of what is of God on earth.
J.T. Yes; the testimony could not be here without conflict; and therefore it requires to be defended; and every man able to defend it is assigned a position.
Ques. How would you say we get a knowledge of the tabernacle in order to defend it?
J.T. Well, Paul went to Corinth, for instance, and announced the testimony of God. There is the testimony, and then there is place for it. It is
called firstly, the tabernacle of testimony, and secondly, the tabernacle of the congregation. The tabernacle of the testimony is that in which God is set forth. Paul announced the testimony of God, and the consequence was there was a gathering; the testimony was to find a place there.
Rem. It was where the light was.
J.T. And that has to be defended; every true believer is called upon to defend it. The military men were required to be 20 years of age; and the Levites were required to be 30. The believer, in his daily avocation, is to be ever ready to defend the truth. You must not lower your standard at any time. It may be said, 'This is not the place for that; this is not the meeting;' but at all times we are to be ready to defend the truth.
Ques. In what way do you defend it?
J.T. You confess it; and then you have all that is necessary to support you, because, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved". There is support in the Name, and you have the consciousness that the Holy Spirit is with you.
Rem. It is a most important thing for a young believer to confess the name of the Lord. It may be said that your life should confess Him.
J.T. Scripture does not say that your life shall confess Him; it is "confess with thy mouth;" but your life is to be in accord with your mouth.
Rem. There would be a distinct advance in the soul that confesses Jesus as Lord.
J.T. I think that in conflict you get confirmed as to how real things are. In coming into contact with the world you come under reproach for your confession, but you get confirmed of the Lord in it. In that way you acquire strength as a soldier. After you become 30, you become a Levite. This chapter,
and the next chapter, are military chapters; then you get the levitical chapters.
Rem. There has to be the secret relationship with the Lord, in order to take this stand outside.
J.T. I think a person who is 20 years old in Christianity, speaking figuratively, has the Spirit; he has come to the age of manhood.
Ques. I was wondering if something of the priestly side would not need to be known before this?
J.T. Well, Leviticus has to be known; approach should first be known, because if you do not go in, you do not know what you have to defend. It is a great thing to know what you are going to defend.
Rem. A person might have the Holy Spirit, and believe in Christ risen, and yet not have gone within much.
J.T. Still, he has light; light comes in by the Spirit. No one can be in relationship with God unless he passes the brazen altar. The brazen altar stood between the entrance of the court and the door of the tabernacle; that part was figuratively like the space between heaven and earth. The gift of the Spirit connects us with what is within.
Rem. There could not be intelligent warfare unless there was an apprehension of approach.
J.T. The tabernacle position typifies the heavens and the earth, and the space between is typical of the place where the Lord was "lifted up;" that is where sin was judged. The Lord says "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto me". He was there in view of all, as it were, but then, the gift of the Spirit is beyond that, and gives you a place within.
Ques. Is there any special thought in calculating the age for defence to be at 20?
J.T. Because at 20 you attain manhood; we call it 21; but according to God's reckoning it is 20.
At the age of 30 a man is at his prime, physically; hence the Levites served from 30 to 50; but nevertheless, manhood is attained at 20. There may be certain development still required, but he is viewed as a man, and he is accepted to defend the truth so far as he has it. He is not expected to give an address to Christians, or to teach; that is to say, he is not expected to do levitical work; but he is expected to defend the truth if it is attacked.
Rem. You might do that under 20.
J.T. You could not do it spiritually under 20. The antitype is, that a man who is justified has the Spirit. We read in Romans, that "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved". I read in that confession that you are in your military position. You confess Him; and as confessing Him you are saved, because He supports you.
J.T. Yes, you never lower your standard.
Rem. That is the work of the Spirit, to defend.
J.T. It is in the power of the Spirit.
Rem. He defends the light he has.
Rem. It was on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, that this numbering took place.
J.T. Yes; it shows that they were one year and one month in the wilderness before these instructions were given. They were prepared for it.
Rem. So that it is beyond the thought of relief.
J.T. The truth of Exodus is supposed; and the truth of Leviticus is supposed; because if you look at the dates, this comes in after Leviticus. God does not put upon us burdens we are not able to bear. He puts burdens upon us according as we are able to bear them.
The people in the camp had the opportunity of seeing the furniture of the tabernacle constructed; they had the opportunity of receiving all the instruction in Leviticus; and they would get help from it. Now, if you have understood it, are you prepared to defend it? Numbers calls upon us to defend what is before us.
Rem. It seems to raise the question, Are you prepared to defend the testimony?
J.T. Yes; and God honours us by taking account of, us in that connection; so that now, instead of being a disorganised crowd, you are ordered under military direction where God is dwelling.
Ques. What is the thought in the pedigree?
J.T. That is another important principle; but before going to that, note that Moses and Aaron are called to do the numbering; and associated with them are twelve princes, or heads of the families of Israel. That is, the book of Numbers teaches us what we call local responsibility. It is very remarkable that it should appear there, because the book of Numbers really corresponds with Corinthians, which teaches this in Christianity. Each tribe has its own representative at the numbering, so that each locality is in that way represented; whilst Moses and Aaron are over all, yet each prince represents his own locality, so to speak, his own tribe.
Rem. That is to say, while there is local responsibility, as represented in the prince from each tribe, there is unity in the whole.
J.T. That is a great principle, I think, in first Corinthians. Catholicity does not militate against local responsibility. There is a principle that applies universally, and yet it applies locally. The apostle opens the epistle by addressing "all that in every place (that is local responsibility) call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours" (that is universal).
Rem. And they could only carry that out according as the authority of Moses was recognised.
J.T. Yes; whereas the local thing is seen in the princes, each represented a tribe.
Rem. Moses and Aaron had to say to all, the princes are responsible to Moses and Aaron.
J.T. Yes; that is how the Lord governs. Now, the early parts of Acts supposes one central assembly in Jerusalem, whereas the epistle to the Corinthians supposes a number of assemblies. Each assembly is governed by the same principles, and yet it retains its individuality as an assembly locally.
Ques. Do we get the thought of local responsibility in the men abiding by their standards?
J.T. Yes, we do; each was to pitch by the standard of his father's house.
Ques. What would answer to the princes now? Local responsibility was set forth in them, but it was in connection with their tribe.
J.T. Yes; there were twelve tribes. Of course, we only have a shadow of it here, but it is remarkable, whilst it was one nation it was sub-divided into twelve tribes; and each tribe had what was peculiar to itself. So now the assembly economy has taken that form; it is assemblies; and the assembly at Corinth, for instance, had all that was necessary for the ordering of itself internally; it does not represent the complete thought, if it did the article would be affixed. It is said to them, "ye are Christ's body", "ye are temple of God". If you put the article, it would imply the complete thought.
Rem. So that in the broken up state of things we have to adhere to the principles.
J.T. And therefore the importance of coming out to principles. If you leave the religions of the day, you do not come out to people; you come out to
principles; and therefore you can stand to principles.
Principles are eternal; they will govern the world to come.
Rem. Principles seem to be almost given up now.
J.T. Yes, Christendom is marked by departure from principles; and they substitute expediencies for principles. They may say to you, 'These things may have done in the apostles' days, but not now'. The answer to that is, that they will appear in the millennium, and why not now?
Ques. Is the thought of power connected with the princes?
J.T. Well, a prince is a man who has ability; he is not simply an anointed official; he is a ruler, or a leader in the tribe; he is that because he is morally fit; in fact, it is his moral qualification that is in view.
Rem. It is said of Jacob that he prevailed with God.
J.T. Yes; a prince is able; he has power with God, and he has power with men. Well, that is the kind of thing that you look for in the assembly in the way of leadership.
Ques. He is spiritually formed for that position I suppose it is like the angel of each assembly in Revelation?
J.T. It is, in the sense of representation, but the angel is scarcely a prince. I mean his moral qualities are not in view; he is held to his responsibility. In fact, it is the contrary with most of the angels addressed. The Lord says, "I have against thee".
Rem. Will you say a little as to the pedigree?
J.T. That is a very interesting subject. How is a man to declare his pedigree? Verse 18 reads, "And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of
the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls".
Ques. Would that answer to the beginning of Acts?
J.T. Yes; this is a type to some extent of what you get there; but rather more so of Corinthians. The children of Israel did what they were commanded to do. It is a very difficult thing today to discriminate who is who; and the second epistle to Timothy formally admits it, saying, "The Lord knoweth them that are his". What we have to do it to "depart from iniquity". You say, 'What about those Christians whom you leave behind?' Well, you have to leave them with the Lord: you must prove your pedigree by separating from iniquity.
It is open for all to do likewise. "Let everyone that nameth the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity;" and therefore you prove your pedigree. In the early days of the assembly they all did that, and there was as yet no admixture with the world.
Rem. In the early days of Christianity we read, "of the rest durst no man join himself to them". There was power to deal with evil.
J.T. There is no way of making our pedigree clear now except by departure from iniquity; that is the test and proof that you love the Lord. Why are we separate? The true reason should be, not that these people have light and are right, but that you love the Lord. "Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity".
Ques. What is iniquity? Is it man's will working in the things of God?
J.T. Quite so; it is lawlessness. You leave it; you cannot have anything to say to it.
Rem. That is a principle we have to hold on to.
J.T. Well, it is; but Christ is the great test. The test is as to whether you name the name of the Lord. You feel the Lord has not His place with
those you leave. "Surely the fear of God is not in this place". Now, in Corinth you could not say that. The apostle says, "God is in you of a truth". Where God still is, you can stay with a good conscience.
Ques. What is the thought in the last part of the chapter?
J.T. One great thought is that each man was to pitch his tent by his own standard, throughout their hosts. So their pedigree is declared, and then each tribe is numbered separately, and every person in each tribe is taken account of; and then each man is to occupy his own place by "his own standard".
We do not interfere with each other; we are all necessary to each other; we occupy assigned positions; we are close to each other, but we do not interfere with each other. Divine wisdom has put each of us where we are. It may take years to bring to light what He has in view in the position; but if you occupy it faithfully, He will honour you in it. One of the most touching things about the Lord is what we read in Zechariah, who speaks of Him as "the Branch", and he says, "he shall grow up from his own place". It is a great thing to grow up in your place.
Rem. You were speaking last night of indefiniteness; and there is that with many of us as to where our place is.
J.T. I think if you occupy a divinely given place, you will reach the throne. Zechariah says, "he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne". The throne will come in due time. We often try to get there ahead, but it will come.
Ques. What is the thought in the place?
J.T. It is your locality, where the light comes to you. The idea is that you are now to shine where you were a sinner; where you dishonoured God, there you are to honour Him.
J.T. Yes; and like the woman of Samaria. Where she dishonoured God, there she honoured Him. The Lord said, as it were, 'You do not need to go to Jerusalem, you will be set up here'. And so it was. One great idea of the assembly is, it is taken out of Egypt, historically. We dishonoured God; we had our part in the world, as Peter says in his epistle; now, instead of that, you do the will of Gad. Your circumstances are the same as they were before; only, instead of running riot now, you do the will of God. Your business, your house, and your relations with men, are different. Why? Because of the light you have in your soul. You have the Spirit of God. The Lord, I believe, really sends us back to our house. A good test whether a man is converted is how he treats his wife and children; then how he acts in business. That is God's thought for you -- you are changed.
Rem. So, instead of running riot, you are under rule now.
J.T. Quite so; that is the testimony.
J.T. It is important to bear in mind that the people were one year and a month in the wilderness before they were numbered. It is as if the Spirit would remind us that our position in regard to the tabernacle of witness were made to hinge on a certain experience with God. The book of Exodus shows that they are brought to God in the wilderness; and having been brought to God, He proposes the covenant to them; and following upon that, He counts on their affection in the way of giving, and lays tribute upon them for the material of the tabernacle. Then the tabernacle is reared up; and He enters into it, and His glory fills it. Then the instruction that follows in Leviticus is that He is to be approached there: He is to be drawn near to. All that precedes this book occupied a year and a month, and unfolds the experience of what it is to be set here in the world in relation to the testimony. So, in the opening of this book we have the numbering; which reminds us that God is taking account of us. In chapter 26 we are numbered for the land, for heaven, but in this chapter we are taken account of by God for the defence of the testimony.
Rem. They were exercised before being numbered.
J.T. Yes; God does not lay upon us burdens we are not able to bear; He graciously deals with our souls until there is a measure of strength there; then He reminds us that He is taking account of us here, and is going to give us a place in defence of the testimony. We have to take account of the tribe of Levi apart; that is another subject, really; but here all the tribes are numbered with regard to the military position in the wilderness.
Rem. They had experience of God, did you say?
J.T. Yes; they had been brought to Him; that is the point in the earlier chapters. God had brought them to Himself. He had borne them on eagle's wings. They were not yet in the land, but as brought to Himself they were to know Him in grace. In all these chapters, following Exodus 15, God has given them no reproofs. They murmured, they complained, but there is no reproach; that is to say, it is the reign of grace. Then following on this are all these wonderful things; the ark, the tabernacle, and all that related to God's dwelling; they were instructed as to all that. You can understand if a soul were exercised how much he would find in the testimony, and therefore he would stand for the defence of it.
Ques. The purpose of God was assured to them.
J.T. His purpose is unfolded in this chapter. He would bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of His inheritance; but, in their experience, they were brought to God. It is a wonderful thing to be brought to God; but to be brought in, and planted in the mount of God's inheritance, where His sanctuary is, is another thing. Your heart is brought to the presence of God, where things are contrary; this is in the wilderness.
Ques. Would you say God gets the response of our affections before we are set here in the defence of the testimony?
J.T. He does; that is the testimony of Exodus, though the breakdown is in Exodus too, that of the golden calf. Nevertheless, we get in Exodus that the people came and offered willingly.
Ques. Did you say that in chapter 26 they were taken account of for heaven; and here it is for the testimony? Now, why are they taken account of for the testimony first? I was thinking of Ephesians, where the conflict is after they have gone in.
J.T. This book does not typify Ephesians. Ephesians is conflict in the land.
Ques. What is the difference between conflict in the land, and here?
J.T. Well, conflict in the land is wholly spiritual.
It arises from the fact that God has given us a place in heaven; and Satan disputes that. Revelation 12 gives an account of the warfare in heaven. It arises from the fact that the Man Child is caught up, He is the Emperor! He rules, not a nation, but the nations. That is imperialism. He rules the nations.
He is the real Emperor. God meets imperialism in Christ. Satan saw what was in the mind of God in dividing the nations, and so he brought in imperialism. It is an idea that is prevalent now in one way and another, but God has met it in Christ. Revelation 12 shows that the woman who brings forth the Man Child is seen as endowed with universal dominion; that is God's mind in regard to her; and the Man Child becomes the Ruler of the nations. In other words, He is to be the Emperor. Satan's device is met, and overthrown in Christ. Now, the assembly is included in the ascent of the Man Child. The divine thought of universal rule is seen in Christ, and Satan disputes that. Meanwhile the Lord is on high; and He goes into heaven with the breastplate on Him; that is, He carries all the saints in there on His heart, so we are there in His affections. He is there as the Priest; and Satan is the anti-priest who accuses the brethren, as we are told in that chapter, day and night before God. Now, the Lord is intolerant of that; nothing is more intolerable to Him than the accusing of the saints; so there is war in heaven, and that is really the light of Ephesians. We are in the light of that here, and we testify to it. But then you are also here as a man who has once been in Egypt. The Ephesian warriors are regarded as having their origin in heaven. In Numbers you are viewed as a man who has had a history in Egypt, in the world; you have had your part in it. God
has converted you there, and you take your stand there where you have been converted. That is the idea in the first chapter of Numbers. You are where you have been converted; where all your responsibility was. Now, in conformity with that the numbering begins in the first chapter with Reuben, and it is specified that he is the eldest son of Jacob. That is the responsibility side. We know how corrupt Reuben was. Reuben is taken account of by God now. He has had a bad history, but now he is converted, speaking in Christian language; and where he had dishonoured God he is now for God in testimony. We are converted to God, and where we had dishonoured God, we glorify Him. That is what is in this first chapter.
Rem. This is for the wilderness.
J.T. Precisely. The idea in Corinthians is that Paul had gone to Corinth, and he presented to them the testimony of God. Now, many of the Corinthians were converted. The Lord had told him beforehand that He had much people in that city; not a people in heaven, but in that city; and He would allow no one to hurt Paul, who preached, and a goodly number were converted. As gathered together they were definitely called the assembly of God in Corinth; and every member that composed that assembly was previously known as having been in the world.
Ques. Does the ordering of the people here in connection with the testimony necessarily contemplate conflict?
J.T. It is rather, that they are there in case there should be an attack. It is not aggressive conflict. When you come to Canaan it is aggressive; but not so here, because it is a question of passing through. If the Amalekites let them alone, they would let the Amalekites alone. You may be employed in a workshop; you have spent your time as an unconverted man there; but you are converted,
and in the place where you had been in your unconverted days, you testify for the Lord; and if the Lord is attacked there, you defend Him there.
Rem. It magnifies the grace of God; I was thinking of Reuben.
J.T. Yes; it is remarkable that He begins with Reuben; but then He takes up Judah in chapter 2. Rem. Judah seems to have a very remarkable position in this chapter.
J.T. Judah represents in Scripture the counsel of God; and therefore what we gather from chapter 2 is that whilst you are taken account of in your responsibility to God, and in connection with the standard of your father's house, yet God orders things according to His counsels. He decides who is to lead. If it were according to nature Reuben would lead; but if it is according to God's sovereignty, it is whom He will. We are all taken account of by God, and set together, but you must not assume that because you are the eldest you must lead; you must leave room for the sovereignty of God. What ultimately brought in the enmity of Ephraim was that God took up Judah. It is a most important thing for us to bow to the sovereignty of God. "He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven". Rem. And it is according to His grace.
J.T. Yes; you may depend upon it, if God takes anyone up, it is according to divine wisdom; God does not do anything simply in an arbitrary way.
Ques. Why was Levi not to be numbered with the others?
J.T. In the case of Levi the Spirit shows us, in type, what the assembly's own place is in the mind of God. Whenever Levi is not numbered, it shows that the tribe is distinguished; and in the book of Joshua you find it is distinguished in this sense, that it had no inheritance on earth; it had an inheritance in heaven. It is said of Levi; "The
Lord God of Israel was their inheritance;" and the point in the book of Joshua is that the Levites represent the assembly as a heavenly company. In Numbers the Levites represent the saints as specially charged with the service of God in the assembly.
Ques. What would you say is their character in Deuteronomy?
J.T. Well, in the book of Deuteronomy the priesthood is scarcely distinguished from the Levites. I think that the way the Levite is alluded to in Deuteronomy is to show that the people are in direct touch with God without an intermediary; in fact, they are called the sons of God. Viewed in that light, we do not need an intermediary.
Rem. I was thinking of that verse, "At that time the Lord, separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto him, and to bless in his name unto this day", Deuteronomy 10:9.
J.T. To Levi, being the priestly tribe, that was given, but I think it is very important to bear in mind that whilst God takes account of us each one, age has nothing to do with God's counsels; we must bow to the sovereign will of God in whatever He does; and so He brings Judah forward here.
Ques. Do you regard the thought of the Levites as setting forth the assembly?
J.T. Yes, here. We shall see in chapter 3, that we have the service of the Levites detailed; so that in that sense the Levite refers to the Christian now, in contrast to what he may be in other connections; but where it is distinctly said that they are not to be numbered amongst others, there they are signalised.
Rem. They have this unique position because of their faithfulness in a day of ruin.
J.T. Deuteronomy 33 enlarges on that. "And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah,
and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children; for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant. They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar. Bless, Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands". That is based on what they were in faithfulness when the tribe of Levi gathered around Moses at the time of the sin of the golden calf. However, Aaron and his house were chosen sovereignly for the priesthood. Rem. The Levites were taken up especially for the service of the tabernacle.
J.T. Yes; a Levite in chapter 4 is simply a Christian viewed as occupied with the things of God, not engaged with secular things. In our employment in the world outside, and having to do with the contrary elements, we are warriors. If you are not a warrior you will be overcome, and that is where many suffer: they do not take that position. You must be on your guard; you are a military man; you are on the defence; and if you are not on your guard, you will be overcome. When you turn aside from that, and take up the things of God, you are in a levitical position; your exercises in regard to the people of God are levitical. The key word as to the Levite is, he beam; he carries.
Ques. Would prayer for the Lord's people be levitical?
J.T. That is more priestly; but it is the levitical side that leads to that. When you come to the next chapter, you can do nothing without the priests. And that leads to another side, that in Christianity each Levite, or minister, is a priest. You will notice that Eleazar the priest, and not Aaron, was "chief over the chief of the Levites". It refers more to
priesthood in the saints than to Christ specially. Of course, the Levites were given to Aaron, and that is to Christ; but Eleazar supervises the Levites. It is more the spiritual side in the saints that Eleazar represents. There are a great many things to be carried amongst us; and that is the Levites' work. Ques. Would you enumerate some?
J.T. Well, it takes largely the form of helping the saints; because the testimony is in the saints in a practical way. Here the tabernacle of witness answers to our present condition. The tabernacle suggests an order of things which could be terminated at any time; hence in that sense it refers to us as in flesh and blood, liable to death. The saints, in that respect, are liable to be put to sleep; and they are liable to be ill. All these things lead to levitical exercises. You want to help a brother; you cannot ignore him.
Rem. We read in Galatians, "Bear ye one another's burdens".
J.T. That is levitical. The best example you will find is in 2 Corinthians 11; there Paul gives an account of his levitical exercises.
Rem. The testimony is bound up with the saints; and they have to be carried.
J.T. Yes; and it is carrying that tests us.
Rem. Some of the things were very heavy to carry.
J.T. Yes; and you carry them in the desert, where the sun is beaming down upon you; that is testing.
Rem. Instead of the breaking of bread being the end of exercise, it should be the beginning.
J.T. I think so; it leads to love; and therefore the box is in order; because you want to support what is of Christ here.
Rem. What was in my mind in speaking of the breaking of bread was the desire of a young person wanting to break bread. Often the exercise ceases
there; instead of seeing that the tabernacle is in the wilderness, and that it has to be carried.
J.T. There is no need of armour in the assembly; it is a very abnormal state of things if we war with each other; it is outside you need the armour. The numbering here is to show that when you go out of the assembly into your ordinary sphere of life you are prepared to defend Christ. It is not aggressive warfare; we do not go out into the world and raise a quarrel with people; they are not in our inheritance yet; heaven is our place, and therefore the warfare is in heaven, aggressive warfare; but as here in the wilderness, we are simply negative; we are prepared to defend the truth under any circumstances.
Ques. Did not David err in numbering the people. He was depending more on the numbers of his people than on God?
J.T. When God numbers us there is no danger; but when we begin to number ourselves with the object of making a show, then there is danger; and God is sure to bring that down. When God numbers us, He knows our names, and He is going to give us some position to occupy.
Rem. I suppose the important point is, being with God to start with?
J.T. That is the important point. He says, "I brought you to myself;" that is the epistle to the Romans; you are brought to know God, and really the epistle to the Romans brings in the boards of the tabernacle. Not only do we know God, but we love His will. Paul says, "I delight in the law of God, after the inward man", Romans 7:22.
Ques. Is Romans 12 the answer to that?
J.T. Yes. "That ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God". It becomes a very searching thing when you take it to yourself. In God's mind I am set for the defence of the testimony in my position in the presence of men.
Ques. Would not that involve the confession of Jesus as Lord?
J.T. Yes; you do not hide your light under a bushel, or under a bed.
Rem. We have to ask ourselves the question. Are we honest in the circle in which we are placed, as those who are connected with the Lord?
J.T. Yes; as Peter says, you do not run riot with them, as you used to; the time past sufficed for that; now it is a question of the will of God, to live the rest of your time for the will of God; it may only be a very little while, but it is your aim to live it for God.
Ques. You would distinguish between that conflict, and what is entirely spiritual?
J.T. Well, yes; you want the inheritance, and the numbering in Numbers 26 means that you should have a place in the land; and if your place there is occupied by enemies, you must have conflict to get possession. It is a path of conflict now; you do not want a little part of the wilderness for yourself; you want to pass through it, and defend the testimony in it. I think it is very beautiful to see the touches we get in the chapters which were read. First, as regards Reuben; God taking account of us in responsibility as regards the testimony; and then, in chapter 2, we bow to the sovereignty of God.
Ques. What would answer to it in the New Testament?
J.T. You find that God has set gifts in the assembly, for example, and He does it according to His sovereign wisdom.
Rem. I was thinking of that scripture, "differences of administrations, but the same Lord".
J.T. Yes. You see, for instance, in the case of Saul of Tarsus, how distinctly that was an act of the sovereignty of God. Saul had absolutely no claim at all, yet he is put in the front rank.
J.T. The object the Spirit had in writing the gospel of John is stated at the end of chapter 20, so that chapter 21 is clearly an appendix. Among other things it serves to show us how the Lord is discerned here without a formal announcement. He is discerned by those who, although they were in a wrong course, yet had this advantage, that they had already been acquainted with Him, and so they discerned Him by His moral features.
J.McF. What were His features?
J.T. Well, no one but He could act in this way. The feminine speaker in the Canticles discerned the bridegroom by his hand: she only saw one feature -- his hand; he put his hand through the door; that was all she saw, and she discerned it was he. John here discerns the Lord without any announcement.
He says to Peter, "It is the Lord". I just mention that in a general way, as one great point in the chapter. It is a remarkable chapter, because it begins with the disciples as really in a wrong position, and it is a very noticeable fact that Peter and Thomas are the leaders in this position; men who, as we know, had not appeared in a very good aspect lately. It is important to take account of people who take the lead in any movement.
Rem. Referring to Peter and Thomas, the one denied Him, and the other was unbelieving.
Ques. Would you say it was dangerous to see such men leading?
J.T. Yea. It is important to take account of the leaders in any cause or course. What has their history been? Are they trustworthy? You notice in verse 2 that "there were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael", and so on.
W.H.M. It is interesting to see here that if Simon Peter was the one to lead them off, he was the first to come back.
J.T. Yes; he makes a good recovery. He really was aided into his false position in the palace of the high priest through influence. "The disciple who was known unto the high priest brought him in". It is very interesting to see the recovery of one who fails when the groundwork is genuine.
Rem. There was affection there.
J.T. Failure in any one who has reputation amongst the saints is serious, because it involves others. Peter says, "I go a fishing. They say unto him, we also go with thee". The position of leadership is a very serious one in the things of God.
Ques. Would you say that this really follows after the light of the assembly had been brought to them in chapter 20?
J.T. Yes. This chapter is really the filling out of the subject. The immediate object of the writing of the gospel was that the saints might be believers in the Son. "These things are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name". That is the object the Spirit had in writing; but there was a want of completeness in the scope of the record, inasmuch as it did not go on to the end; and the appendix shows us the end in the millennium with regard to the Gentiles. John's "I suppose" makes room for the infinite bearing of the ministry of Christ. The negative proposition makes room for the infinite bearing of the Lord's ministry. It goes beyond what is material, and what is in time. It is an immense gain for us to be acquainted with the Lord, because even from the point of view of failure occurring, you have the advantage of knowing the Lord when He touches you in your circumstances. Often our circumstances
become the means of the Lord speaking to us; something happens, and you say, "It is the Lord". You do not attribute it to second causes.
T.M.G. It shows that you know Him.
Ques. Recovery brings us back to the point of departure, but does it not also include a further step in our acquaintance with Him?
J.T. Yes. Abraham has to go back to the place of the tent and altar where he had been in the beginning. There could be no further progress until he got back to that point, but the Lord does not leave him there. Once He gets us on the move, He leads us on.
Ques. Was the Lord bringing Peter back to the point of departure when He said, "Lovest thou me?"
J.T. Yes, that was the point of departure; but then He leads him on when He sets him to work He says "Feed my lambs;" "Feed my sheep". The Lord's dealing with Peter ends with, "This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God".
T.M.G. Peter had said he would follow Him to death.
J.T. I believe in resolutions in your soul. The Lord holds you to them. I think if there is anything the Lord dislikes in us it is indefiniteness; most believers are quite indefinite.
Rem. If you depart from your resolution the Lord will bring you back to it.
J.T., He recalls you to your vow. You make a vow, and that vow is valued according to Moses' valuation, according to the currency of the sanctuary. We find in the book of Leviticus, chapter 27, that God puts a distinct value on your resolution; and if you depart from that, He brings you back to it.
Rem. What marked Laodicea was that they were neither hot nor cold.
J.T. Yes, there was nothing definite there.
Rem. While He may have to discipline one in that connection, still He would support and encourage in what is of Himself.
J.T. Yes, He will discipline you if you depart from the resolution. The Lord called Abraham out of his country, and from his kindred, and from his father's house unto a land that He would show him. Well, Abraham answered to that, in time; that was the call, and he answered to the call; but he departed from it when he went into Egypt, where he had never been sent, and the Lord disciplined him until He brought him back. The Lord loves you to go forward, and make your resolution; you owe it to Him to do that. He did that on our behalf.
Rem. He said, "I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free".
J.T. Yes. And Peter unquestionably meant what he said: he would lay down his life for Him; he meant that, and the Lord graciously brought him to it. Peter was really called to be a leader; but leadership is moral. The Lord is a great Leader; and the way to lead is indicated here. The Lord brings Peter back to true leadership.
Ques. When Peter says here, "I go a fishing", you would look at that as being an independent line of his own?
J.T. Yes; he is the leader, but in this instance he is leading in lawlessness; to go back to that out of which he has been called is lawlessness.
J.McF. Is there not something significant in the question the Lord asked them? "Children, have ye any meat?"
J.T. I think it is very touching to see that He should address them in such an endearing way, and that He should have such consideration for their need. I believe that if we are to help one another, there must be a ministry of Christ. If there is failure in a brother you minister Christ to him; you give
him a certain moral power to judge himself. The probing of Peter did not take place until they had dined.
Ques. Would that suggest the ministry of Christ to the soul now?
J.T. Yes; I think it requires a certain moral power to judge yourself: it requires power in your soul.
Ques. Would you say Peter came out a better man afterwards?
J.T. Yes, he did; he had to go through all this to be a true leader.
Ques. You spoke about acquaintance with the Lord. How is that brought about?
J.T. I think it is brought about through a true ministry of Christ to the soul. Repentance is really that: you hate yourself in the presence of Christ.
Ques. Would Romans 12 suggest your thought? "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice".
J.T. Yes; you see that your body can be used in the testimony, and you present it to God. It is a living one now, it is not dead; that is to say, the body is possessed by the Spirit of God, and it is worth something. Presenting it to God is said to be intelligent service; in the light of all that preceded it is intelligent to do that.
Ques. "As for me, and my house, we will serve the Lord". Would you say that is a vow?
J.T. That is a very definite statement. As head, you are responsible to the Lord for your house. It is a remarkable thing how the introduction of the testimony into Europe is connected with the household in Acts 16. What is made prominent in that chapter is the household; the "brethren" are merely alluded to. The testimony was received into the house by a woman; she had respect to the testimony of the apostle, and she invited him to come
into her house, if he judged her to be faithful to the Lord. Therefore she held her house for the Lord.
W.K. "It is the Lord" seems to be prominent here. Is there any point in that? They do not say "Christ", or "Jesus".
J.T. No doubt they always referred to Him in that reverential way. It was befitting that in their circumstances they should recognise the Lord. His authority was really set aside by them in having gone to fish without His word, and in returning to what He had called them out from.
W.K. It was in that character they were to be recovered. They were to be in subjection to Him.
J.T. Yes; the Spirit records three times "it is [or 'was'] the Lord".
W.K. They had the inward sense of who it was. Was it by His actions they knew?
J.T. Yes; He says, "Children, have ye any meat?" And He also says, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship".
Rem. If you depart from the Lord you get nothing spiritually.
J.T. One of the most interesting things in Scripture is to find out what a leader is. There were princes in Israel; but their moral qualifications preceded the official. In other words, a leader is a leader; he is what he is. In the opening of the book of Numbers, Moses and Aaron are to take the heads of the tribes; they were leaders; they had distinguished themselves; they were not simply officially appointed; they were princes. When you come to Numbers 7 you will find that the leaders were united; and their unity is seen in their appreciation of the testimony; each one gave the same thing. There was unity of appreciation of the testimony, a remarkable expression of unity. I have no doubt that true Christian leadership is seen in this chapter; that is
to say, the true leader feeds the saints, and he dies for Christ's sake; he dies for God's glory; he is prepared to lay down his life for God's glory.
Rem. That is contrasted in David and Saul; and that is what Peter was brought back to. He had undoubtedly made the resolution to do this, and the Lord brought him back to it: to be a feeder, and a leader.
J.T. Yes; "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wart young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not".
Rem. When Peter said, "Though all should forsake thee yet will not I", he meant it, and the Lord brought him back to it.
J.T. So he says at the end, "Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me". He came to it beautifully; and he thought of the saints and says, "I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have those things always in remembrance". He was true to his mission.
Ques. Would you connect God's discipline with that?
J.T. I think the discipline of God is the means of our preservation and growth. It is a very great thing to be able to see the Lord's hand in things that happen to us. Something happens, and we are apt to attribute it to second causes; whereas faith sees the Lord's hand; and directly you see His hand, you begin to think about His head. The bride in the Canticles discerned the hand and she begins to speak of his head, and about his locks, his eyes, his cheeks; every feature is described.
Rem. And then she gets to him.
J.T. Yes; but it is his hand that first stirs her
up; she was drowsy, and the beloved withdrew his hand; and then she sets out to find him.
Rem. There was fragrance left where his hand had been; sweet smelling myrrh.
J.T. Yes; it has been likened to the suffering of love. The Lord stands outside Laodicea, knocking. I think the recovery here in John 21 is beautiful; it is complete. The Lord meets them in grace, and without any reproach. Then He turns directly to Peter, who was really the leader of the apostles; and having probed him to the bottom, He goes on to show that the Levites must not interfere with each other's work. No Levite has any authority over another Levite; the only one who has authority over the Levite is the. Priest. Peter asks the Lord as to John, What shall this man do? That is one Levite questioning about another Levite's path and services. The Lord says, What have you to do with that? This leads back to the book of Numbers. We find there were three families of the Levites, and they were all under the supervision of the priests. The Levites were primarily given to Aaron and to his sons, so that they were directly under the supervision of the priests, and they had not to interfere with each other's service; each Levite gets his work to do, and it is his business to do it.
J.McF. I suppose Romans 12 would answer to that?
J.T. Yes; "As we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office"; and "having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of, faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering". Each one has his work, and let him do it.
Ques. What is your thought about the world not being able to "contain the books that should be
written?" Is it God's estimate of the ministry of the Lord?
J.T. It is the Spirit of God through John giving the ministry of Christ its full infinite bearing. It has been said that approach is equal to revelation in Christianity, but it must be borne in mind that that refers to Christ. He only could compass the revelation; we could not compass it.
T.M.G. There is no limit to it.
J.T. And I think the Lord's ministry is guarded in that way here. It is, in a sense, concluded in chapter 20, because there it is shown that the object of it was that we might believe; but chapter 21 gives it its full and infinite bearing. It is important to have an estimate of things; you do not pretend to compass them, but you do have your thoughts and estimate about things. John gives us here, by the Spirit of God, his estimate of the Lord's ministry.
Rem. I suppose you would say that nothing that Jesus said or did could be lost, or fall to the ground; it must come out in some way or other?
J.T. Yes; and His sayings are not local. Epistles were written by the apostles applying to local needs of the saints; but in the gospels the bearing of all the Lord's saying is infinite.
Rem. I suppose it is in the saints that all is written?
J.T. No doubt every divine thought will find some expression in the assembly. Still the assembly is a finite thing; it is not infinite.
J.McF. I suppose our brother refers to the heavenly city.
J.T. Yes; but then even that is finite. Rem. Your thought is that nothing finite can compass the greatness of the revelation.
J.T. Yes, of the revelation of God. "No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son
which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him".
Rem. The glory of God fills the city.
J.T. In Hebrews 1 it says, referring to the Son, "Who being the effulgence of his glory and the expression of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power". That is all said of the One who revealed God. Well, we cannot assume to compass that with anything else; that is according to what God is. The revelation is infinite, and the One who has declared Him is infinite.
Rem. And in the light of that your soul will worship.
J.T. Yes; we have a Great High Priest over the house of God, and we approach in connection with the Priest. The High Priest compasses the revelation, and He approaches in the full light of it; we approach with Him. "Let us draw near".
Rem. Our blessing lies in the study of that Person who is equal to the revelation.
J.T. "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an High Priest over the house of God; let us draw near". You have part in the approach, but you do not compass it.
Rem. You never could come to the measure of what He was.
J.McF. Does the tabernacle foreshadow the revelation?
J.T. Yes, I think so. The tabernacle was a necessity in view of the testimony.
Rem. The Lord is "the minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man".
J.T. I have no doubt that Peter, at the end of his course shows what a true board of the tabernacle
is; he laid down his life to glorify God. That was what Jesus did. You and I glorify God, each one of us, in submitting ourselves to His will. This was seen in Peter in accord with what the Lord said to him, and the Spirit adds, "this spake he, signifying by what death he [Peter] should glorify God". The Lord's word was, "when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee". That shows resignation. The boards of the tabernacle were of the same wood as the Ark, and they were covered over with gold, only there was nothing inside. Romans sets us up in the wilderness as boards; we are fit material for the tabernacle. Ephesians shows you the tabernacle set up; we "are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit".
T.M.G. You mean Romans takes us up individually.
J.T. Yes; you see the thought in chapter 7; Paul says, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man;" and then in chapter 8 he has power to answer to that through the Spirit. I think Romans prepares you for the tabernacle.
Ephesians 4; Ephesians 5:1 - 16
J.T. I was thinking that the effect of the most exalted truth being rightly apprehended in our souls, is to enable us to go down.
Rem. In lowliness and meekness.
J.T. Yes; and I think that this epistle shows us what descends, and the effect of it. The Lord descended, and the assembly will descend from heaven. But then there is also the idea of what is fallen. Satan fell; Adam fell; Noah fell; Israel fell; and the assembly has fallen. Therefore, the present world has taken character from what falls.
Rem. What you say as to what descends supposes also what ascends.
J.T. Yes. First of all, it supposes the One who was great enough to descend. The Lord Jesus has brought in the blessedness of descending. "He that ascended is the same also which descended first into the lower parts of the earth". The epistle to the Ephesians shows us how the Lord has ascended that He might fill all things, and it shows us the assembly's place with Him. The book of Revelation shows that the assembly also descends in her time; and now the same principle is to be seen in us in a moral way we are to go down.
Ques. Do you connect that with the thought in Philippians, the mind that was in Christ Jesus?
J.T. Yes: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus". It is the mind that was in Him that you have. It is a very interesting subject, because if it is traced out properly it enables us to see how this present world has been constituted, and what characterises it; and then it enables us to see what the future world is to be. The present world has taken its character from a fallen being; and a fallen being is an envious being, and "where envy
and strife are there is confusion and every evil work". Satan is envious.
Rem. "Who hath ascended into heaven, or descended?" Proverbs 30:4. You get that principle in the Old Testament, pointing on, I suppose, to this.
J.T. Yes, perhaps you can enlarge upon that for us.
Rem. I was thinking how there must be the descent before the ascent. In Philippians 2 we get the descent of that perfect One.
Rem. You spoke of the assembly as descending by and by. She ascends first.
J.T. Yes. The prophet sees her coming down out of heaven having the glory of God; her light is most precious. That shows how she corresponds with Christ. The lesson as to how to descend is learnt from Christ. John 13 is the great lesson book as to how to descend; whereas, we have all round us the principle of self-exaltation from the very outset. What was suggested to Eve was that they should be exalted; that there was a way by which they should be higher than they were. That was the principle; and so all along the line; it is a climbing principle, and climbing is very dangerous work, it is sure to come to a fall.
Rem. I suppose it is the man who goes down that the Lord will exalt.
J.T. It is a great thing to get hold of the power by which we may descend; it is a most ignominious thing to be cast down. We have the two thoughts in the Revelation; in chapter 9 there is a star fallen from heaven, and in chapter 12 Satan is cast out, and his angels were cast out with him. This is a most ignominious thing.
W.H.M. It is altogether foreign to the natural man to go down; he must get power from Another.
J.T. That which descends is illuminating; that
which falls is darkening. That can be easily shown. The Lord in descending from heaven brought in all the light of God. He descended first into the lower parts of the earth. That was light. Light is really love in activity, and the first part is to go down. So that the Person who descends is light. But then a person who falls shows his moral inability for the position which he occupied. To be cast out is direct judgment. Satan falls; a star falls. A star is a most valuable thing. I mean if you are out in the night. No doubt Revelation 9 contemplates one who had the place of a guide. A star falls from heaven and it opens the pit; and what issues from the pit is darkness; what comes out of the pit is locusts. The minds of men are darkened, and they are tormented. The Lord descended and ascended, and what is the result? Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers.
Rem. It is a beautiful contrast.
J.T. The office of an apostle is most important. It is light; it brings in and establishes in this world the authority of the Lord.
Ques. What would the locusts and the scorpions signify?
J.T. They refer to agents of evil; they are directly from the bottomless pit. Their description is remarkable; they are under the direct control of the destroyer Apollyon. Now, the apostles were under the direct control of the Lord.
Rem. The one is the fallen one, and the other is the descending One.
J.T. One is love, and the other is hate. It is a great thing to see that it is our privilege to descend; and this epistle gives us the power for it, and the power is the Spirit in us. This world is not the sphere of our glory; we do not want to ascend here.
Rem. Instead of the things spoken of in this epistle puffing us up, they have the opposite effect.
J.T. Yes, exactly; they give you a sort of leverage in your soul; you are great enough to go down. It is one thing to climb up, but it is another thing to grow up: here it is growing up unto Him. If you climb up, as sure as possible you will fall. Zacchaeus was a man of little stature, and he had to climb, that is, the kind of people who climb. The Lord will not spurn you if you have a right motive; still, the Lord says to Zacchaeus, "Come down", and then, "Today I must abide at thy house".
Ques. Do you mean one who climbs is of small stature spiritually?
J.T. Yes, figuratively speaking. The Lord does not rebuke Zacchaeus. He gives him encouragement to come down; very great encouragement, for his motive was excellent, he did not climb to be seen; he climbed to see the Lord.
Rem. I suppose we have a good example of descent in the apostle Paul; the effect that the light had on him?
J.T. I think if this epistle is studied, and is seen in the light of the power that is presented in it, it will enable us to go down; and in going down you are morally entitled to exaltation according to God.
Rem. God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the lowly. It is the lowly one who gets the grace.
J.T. The Lord's grace fills us; even if we do go out of the way He would encourage us to go down, and would help us down.
Rem. It is our tendency naturally to want to go up.
J.T. It is indeed; you see it all the way through from Satan onwards; he is the first being who fell, and from Satan onwards there is a constant effort to get up: "thou Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be brought down to hell".
Rem. We sometimes make an effort to go down.
J.T. There is a certain grace in going down.
"I saw the bride, the Lamb's wife, descending from heaven". There is dignity and glory in it. There is a certain dignity and moral glory to be seen in a man deliberately laying aside what dignifies him in this world for the sake of others.
Rem. I suppose the secret of it is having the mind of Christ?
J.T. I am sure it is. For instance, the Lord Himself at the supper laid aside His garments: garments are dignity, that which marks off a man; the Lord laid aside His garments and took a servant's form, and then He commenced a servant's work. That was the lesson book; He did that for an object lesson.
Ques. Is this growth needed in view of giving moral fitness?
J.T. Yes, I think so. The effect of the Lord's going up on high, after having descended, is seen in contrast to the star that fell. The effect of the star's fall was darkness and destruction here. The Lord gives that which enlightens, and builds up; so He gives these gifts. There are four kinds of gifts you will notice, pointing to the universal effect of the position of Christ on high, and the end in view is the building up of the saints; until we all arrive at the perfect Man. Now, the perfect Man's stature is seen in the ability to descend. I am persuaded that if we do not know how to descend now, we shall not be fit for the city, because the city descends.
Rem. In the epistle to the Corinthians we find one was boasting himself against another.
J.T. You will always find strife where there is rivalry. "There was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest". It is not simply that they had a discussion, they strove.
Rem. I suppose the gifts here take character from the One who descended.
J.T. Yes, no doubt. Contrast the opening up of the pit, the fearful influence that came up out of it, with that which came out of heaven, enlightenment, and refreshment, and so on. Now, if you will examine these gifts what you will see is that they are in the order of wisdom. The Lord gave first apostles, so that men might be brought under the authority of the Lord. That is a very important element of the truth.
Rem. None could gainsay their power.
J.T. Quite so. They had evidences with them that they were the apostles of the Lord; and those who were converted through them, continued in the apostles' teaching and fellowship.
Ques. What was unfolded in His having led captivity captive? That was a necessity, would you say?
J.T. Yes; all the power of evil is set aside. He has not only overthrown it; He has led captivity captive. The whole power that held men in bondage has been carried away in triumph. The apostles wrought in this same power. All the strongholds of the enemy were brought down.
It is very important to see that gift in the Spirit is superior to all satanic power. It is given by One who has led captivity captive. It is as if a general has conquered a country, and then he empowers others to hold it for him. In our case it is only in testimony. It is a great thing to see that you are holding the territory in testimony, and there is power for it. Of course, you may have to die for your testimony, but still the testimony is there. I believe that if the apostles' ministry is rightly apprehended it will be seen that they overthrew the world in all its phases; and then besides that the prophets bring God in in testimony.
W.M. That is the thought in prophets?
J.T. Yes, I think so. The apostle establishes the
authority of the Lord in the territory of the conqueror; the prophet brings God in to the souls of men.
W.H.M. Well, then, the prophet's gift would really bring the word of God home in power.
Rem. It is very beautiful; I never noticed it before in this way -- the apostles being brought in first, and then the prophets.
J.T. Then the evangelist is to bring all that light into the whole earth. The evangelist is not limited to Israel. Philip's ministry sets forth evangelisation. Then you have pastors and teachers: they go together, the final gifts; they take care of the saints; they shepherd and feed them.
W.H.M. There are very precious expressions, "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace;" and then, "the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God". The descending you were speaking of leads to that?
J.T. It leads to unity. I had thought of the way the Lord provides for the continuation of the feasts of love. Jude speaks about love feasts. Now, the Lord not only introduced the idea of love in His own person and ministry, but He formed a circle here in which the love feasts were to be found. The Lord's supper, that we so often refer to, was to be continued. In it the Lord provided a means for its perpetuation during His absence. Whilst He was here there were love feasts. He met with the disciples in that way; and there was interchange of affection. Now, John 13 contemplates that He was not to continue with them, and what was to become of the feasts? I believe the Lord set before them the means by which the feast should be perpetuated; there was to be active love among themselves. You cannot have a love feast without love. If you do not bring it you cannot have a feast. The Lord always had it.
O.J.M. That is the effectual working in the measure of every part.
J.T. And the means is by going down in service, serving one another.
Rem. The Lord said, "If I ... have washed your feet, ye ought also to wash one another's feet". Rem. Holding the truth in love.
J.T. Love is the leading thought in the passage, because you cannot have building up without it. Love builds up; knowledge puffs up.
Rem. It is very important that each one of us should bring our portion of love to the feast.
J.T. It is really not fair to come to a feast which is supposed to be mutual, without bringing your portion. You may ask a brother to your house, and set a material feast before him, but that is not the idea of a love feast, a love feast is mutual. So Jude says, "These are spots in your love feasts". He contemplated the feasts, but there were spots in them. Now, in John 13 there was a feast, but there was a spot; Judas was a spot. If love is really in activity amongst brethren the spots will be driven out.
Rem. We would not forsake the assembling of ourselves if we realised what these love feasts are.
J.T. Yes; and how searching it is; what am I going to bring? what have I got to contribute? Rem. I suppose if we do not bring love we do not bring anything. I am thinking of 1 Corinthians 13. It is the only thing that never fails.
J.T. It is one thing for a brother to be an affectionate brother, but there is also love in a collective way; something that is known amongst the saints. Rem. It is a scene of holy liberty.
J.T. And then young Christians are to be brought into that; their roots are to, be set in right soil, they are to be "rooted and grounded in love". Sometimes the elders stunt the younger ones. It is
most important that there should be for the young saints the activity of love in the circle; and therefore there is the soil in which they take root, and grow up.
Ques. Does what we have in verse 14 infer the way the enemy would seek to hinder all this?
J.T. Stunted people, those who do not grow, are exposed to the enemy. "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive".
Ques. Would you say a little as to verse 13? "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ". That expression, "unity of the faith" is the query.
J.T. Well, I think the unity of the faith is the unity contemplated as the result of the testimony; it tends to unity.
Ques. And the "knowledge of the Son of God"?
J.T. The faith that overcomes the world is that we believe that Jesus is the Son of God. It refers to Him as having the power to establish another system. A perfect man is a man who answers in every way to God. We arrive at a perfect man. It was a great thought with God that there should be a perfect man. When one transfers the thought to Christ in the wilderness, there was the perfect Man. Satan attacked Him in every point, and He perfectly answered to God.
Rem. And that is the great result to be brought about in each one of us.
J.T. It shows that God does not give up His thoughts. Satan overcame Adam, but now God brings in a perfect Man, and Satan does not overthrow Him.
Rem. The measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
W.H.M. "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me". What a triumph!
J.T. And he that is born of God, keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. That shows that it comes out in us.
J.T. I thought that perhaps we might see how the believer enters into the wilderness; and I think this chapter enables us to see that.
T.M.G. What is the idea connected with the wilderness?
J.T. Well, in a general way there are three leading features of it. The wilderness is the place of testing, as we all know; but it may be divided into three sections; the first is that which appears in the book of Exodus, where they are under pure grace; that is, from chapter 15 to chapter 18 inclusive, they were under the rule of pure grace. The next section views the believer in relationship with the tabernacle, where God's rule and God's order are seen. Then there is the section which views the believer in relation with the Spirit, which comes in after Numbers 21.
T.M.G. After the brazen serpent.
J.T. I thought it would be helpful if we were to consider a little what the wilderness involves in that way, especially for young people; that it might be understood that God takes us up as believing in Christ, and as committing ourselves to Him in baptism. God takes us up and deals with us at the outset on the principle of pure grace. Whatever we may do He has no answer for us but grace; so that the murmurings up to chapter 18 are answered by grace; there is no judgment as yet. This chapter in the light of the anti-type really suggests that the believer loves God; and the song is a celebration of what God has done for them. They speak specially of His "right hand". We read in the book of Proverbs "A man's heart is at his right hand". God acted for them in love. His right hand is at the
disposal of His heart, and they recognise that in their song. So that it is clear that at the outset of the believer's career, there is love. God takes account of it in their song, however little of it may be discernible. God speaks of it in that way. He tells us what we were in the wilderness. Israel was "holiness to the Lord, the first fruit of his increase". God takes account of that, and He would foster it; He would promote that in us. Hence what follows is the palm trees, the sweetening of the waters, and all that is to promote affection for God.
Ques. Would you say that we enter the wilderness with singing?
J.T. Yes. I think there is the recognition in the soul of what God has done for us in Christ. So that in Romans 6 we read: "as many of you as were baptised unto Christ"; that is, you have regard for Him, hence you are baptised to Him; but the passage goes on to say, "as many of you as were baptised unto Christ were baptised unto his death". That marks you off here.
T.M.G. That would answer to across the sea.
J.T. I think so. Romans 6 corresponds with that; but it is to be noted, that "as many of you as were baptised unto Christ"; it is to the Person, and that supposes that you have regard for the Person. You love Him, and you have committed yourself to Him; but the death side comes to light in the wilderness.
T.M.G. You must be in the good of the affection side before you accept the death side.
J.T. That is what I thought. So that they were baptised unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
The sea is the mark of separation.
Ques. What do you say the cloud is?
J.T. Well, it was, for that moment, that in which God was.
Ques. What would answer to the cloud now?
J.T. I think, in a sense, the Spirit. It is thus that God is known.
T.M.G. God was with them in that way.
Ques. What is the thought in the acceptance of the wilderness? Is it that the soul confesses the Lord?
J.T. 'Tis the treasure we've found in His love. That has made us now pilgrims below.
But then there must be the public identification with the Lord in His death. You may be identified with Him in your heart, but that is not for testimony.
T.M.G. You own Him as your Lord. They were baptised unto Moses as their leader.
J.T. Quite so. So here Moses led them. If you take up each book by itself you get in the opening portion the point of it. The book of Exodus is an account of the names of the children of Israel who went into Egypt, their numbers and their names. In the opening of Leviticus God is speaking to Moses out of the tabernacle. So it is a question of what God was in the tabernacle. In Numbers Jehovah spake to Moses out of the tabernacle in the wilderness; the point of view there is the tabernacle in the wilderness, and the relation of the people to it. In Deuteronomy, the land is in view. The people are regarded typically as having the Holy Spirit, and there is a second covenant in chapter 29: 1.
T.M.G. Deuteronomy would be, I suppose, Romans 8.
Ques. As to Exodus and the names of the children of Israel who went down into Egypt; what is in mind?
J.T. It indicates how God takes account of the people in those circumstances. Moreover, Egypt was the scene of bondage. What lies behind it all is the love of God; and the Spirit opens with an account of the names of those who went down into Egypt. They are in the mind of God; His love is behind it
all; He is going to intervene for them: but He says at the outset that He knows them all.
T.M.G. You find the same thing in Numbers. It is very interesting to see that everyone is taken account of by God.
J.T. Yes; God spake to Moses out of the tabernacle in the wilderness; then first of all Moses and Aaron are to number them by their armies. Then with them there was to be a man out of every tribe in the nation, every one a head of the house of his father, indicating the principle of local responsibility, like first Corinthians. Then, as numbered, each man was to pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of his father's house. There again you see the same principle of local responsibility. Then the tribes were divided into four companies, so you have everything in perfect order;, and the tabernacle was to be carried between the companies, two before and two after, surrounded by the Levites. So that, in the book of Numbers you get the order of God in connection with His testimony; and every Christian has to be in relationship with that. But in the book of Leviticus you have the sanctuary; and there it is a question of how God has to be approached; it is not a question of the Levites, but of the priests. So that we are to learn what we are now as having to say to God in the sanctuary; whereas, in Numbers, it is more what we are publicly in relationship with the testimony.
T.M.G. Yes, the Levite character. Then Leviticus would answer more to the epistle to the Hebrews?
Ques. Do you get the thought in Numbers of the gospel of Mark?
J.T. Yes, the gospel of Mark would go with it.
J.T. I think it is of all moment that we should see first of all how it is that we come into the wilderness.
It is one thing to come into it, and another thing to get out of it. The Spirit of God shows us how we get out of it, too. I believe many have the thought that the wilderness is only something we want to get through as fast as possible. That is true; but we have to see that it is the sphere in which God sets forth His testimony.
Ques. You made a remark at the beginning of the reading, that in Exodus it was pure grace first. There was no dealing with them on account of their murmurings. Would you unfold that a little?
J.T. Well, that is what you find in chapters 15 to 18. There you will notice the bitter waters are made sweet for them; then they have the shelter of the palm trees; and besides that they have the twelve wells of water which is the means of refreshment.
All that is divinely provided.
T.M.G. The twelve wells and the seventy palm trees mean shelter and refreshment.
J.T. Yes, but for us they point to the ministry of the Spirit. That is God's provision for us; we have to bear that in mind. If He sends a little gift among us it is that we might be nurtured, and if there is the energy of the Spirit, it is that we may be refreshed. Then the enemy comes forward, but if you have Amalek's attacks, you have Joshua; and finally in chapter 18 you have Moses the king in Jeshurun. So that any difficulty you may have in your soul you go to him with it; they came to Moses with their difficulties.
Rem. And it was later on that God dealt with them for their murmurings.
J.T. I think it is when you accept definitely a position under His rule, that He deals with you in discipline.
T.M.G. It was not until they had accepted the law that He took account of their murmurings.
J.T. Yes; they put themselves formally under it.
They had said that they would build a habitation for Him, and now He puts them to the test as to whether they would do that. At the outset of your Christian career God is before you, you are happy and enjoying the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, and you would do anything for Him. You would devote yourself entirely to the Lord; and then God, in wondrous grace, takes you up on that ground and nurtures that spirit in you. He does not bring you to the wilderness of Sinai all at once; it is the wilderness of testing. I do not know if you have noticed that there are different wildernesses here; the wilderness of Shur, the wilderness of Sin, and the wilderness of Sinai. They were fully two months in the wilderness before God said anything to them about law, I mean before He proposed the ten commandments to them; and they were a full year in the wilderness before they were set up in relationship with the tabernacle. It took nearly nine months to get the tabernacle in order; and nearly three months till the giving of the law. So that you have, figuratively, a full year; a year and a month, really, according to Numbers 1, before you are set up in connection with the testimony.
T.M.G. That is very interesting as showing how the soul is led on.
J.T. There is nothing, I believe, that we are so defective in as the knowledge of God. How considerate He is of His people! If He sees there is love in your heart, He sets you in circumstances where that is nurtured. He does not call for the north wind all at once. That comes afterwards: "Awake, O north wind", but that is when you are able to bear it.
Rem. It takes different testings to teach us what we are ourselves, and what God is to us.
J.T. I think so. Up to Numbers 21 that is seen. The flesh is fully exposed. But then, I think, what has not been noticed by us as it should have been, is
the place the tabernacle holds. If it was simply a question of taking the people out, and bringing them in, there would have been no need for that; it would only have been a few days' journey. The tabernacle contemplates what is adverse; and its maintenance here is a testimony to God's power. He can maintain what is really of Himself.
Ques. Referring to what you have said just now as to the nurture that the young Christian, the new born soul, gets, do you think there is any significance in the fact that the good Samaritan stayed a night at the inn before he took his departure?
J.T. Well, that is very suggestive; and then, moreover, he made provision for the man that had been found among the thieves. He undertook to be responsible for all his expenses.
Rem. You connected the thought of power with that.
J.T. Think of what we are! Take the beginning of Acts, for instance. In Acts, we get the anti-type of the tabernacle. There in the company of poor people, in the midst of the most renowned religious city in the world, God introduced an order of things that He has in His mind for the whole universe; and it was also in His mind that it should be maintained in them, and yet they were men in flesh and blood here. That is a testimony to God's power; and the more you consider it the more wonderful it is.
Rem. Was it the answer to Matthew 16? "Upon this rock I will build my assembly; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it".
J.T. But the first thing they propose to do here is to build a habitation for God. Now, He did not ask them to do it immediately. He gave them time, so that they might learn Him and His grace. Afterwards He proposed that they should build the habitation. So Moses is to take a heave-offering.
T.M.G. The heave-offering is an answer from the heart.
J.T. But the believer at the beginning has hardly any idea of what a dwelling place for God involves here; so it is of all moment that young believers should be nurtured in grace. God's desire is to bring them into a sphere where there is shelter and refreshment. The apostles were divinely prepared to be a shelter for those who would come in afterwards; and that there should be refreshment for souls. If our meetings are anything, there should be refreshment in them for souls, and they should have the sense that there is protection for them. The apostles were divinely prepared for it, so that the three thousand souls that were converted on the day of Pentecost came info that in which divine shelter and refreshment were. I believe souls are stunted because of the want of these things.
Rem. There is not sufficient consideration for the young.
J.T. There ought to be that in which they could take root; "rooted and grounded in love". You must have the love for that. You see the idea in Christianity is not that you should climb up, but that you should grow up. In christendom people get into a position of eminence by climbing; now, the Lord's idea is that they are to grow up. Take Balaam's prophecy. He sees the tents of Israel: and he says, "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters". Trees are for shelter. In Exodus 15 they were to shelter Israel in their youth, coming in to the wilderness. At the end of the wilderness the young become trees themselves, they have grown up. If there is not the soil in which souls are to grow there is sure to be climbing, because
naturally we look for eminence; and if you climb as sure as possible you will have a fall.
Rem. The young should be attracted.
J.T. Yes, they should be taught how to love. The Lord has taught us how to love; we should never have known otherwise. In John 13 the Lord teaches us how to love. The difference between the Lord's last supper and other suppers is this, that in the last supper He provided for a continuance of the feast in His absence. He had other suppers before that. You cannot have a love feast without love: now, the Lord provided for the continuance of the love feasts; and He did it by His own service. He laid aside His garments and girded Himself. If you have not the service you cannot have the love feast. Now, the service is seen in going down. A Christian's stature is seen in his ability to go down. The more a man descends, the more he shows that he is great.
Ques. Then you would say it is of more importance that young believers should have the shelter of the assembly than that they should come out in testimony?
J.T. Surely. They ought to grow. You will find the Israelites had to be twenty years old to be taken account of in Numbers.
Ques. But would you discourage a young person who wanted to go out in service?
J.T. Ah, well, we have to take things in the Spirit, and not in the letter. You require strength for testimony.
Rem. The young have tender shoots; if you put anything heavy upon them you may break off the shoots.
J.T. Whereas the tall cedar will stand a good deal. You may depend upon it there is nothing that will stand but love. The Lord enjoined it saying, "have love among yourselves".
T.M.G. Philippians 2.
J.T. Yes. "Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus".
Rem. "Faith and hope shall cease, and love abide alone".
J.T. I do not know anything more interesting and more blessed than a love feast. In the Scriptures, Jude speaks about them, "these are spots in your love-feasts". Now, it is quite impossible to have a love feast unless you have the love; and where are you to get it? You must have it, and I must have it, if we are to enjoy the love feast.
Rem. As you say, it is not provided by one.
J.T. A brother may invite a good many of the saints to his house, and set a feast before them in temporal things; but, then, you cannot do that in a love feast. The Lord alone could do that.
Ques. I think you will have to explain more about the love feast.
J.T. It is clear you cannot have a feast without something to partake of, no matter what kind of a feast it is; and if you are to have a love feast it is quite clear you must have love. I believe John 13 is the means the Lord presents to us for a continuance of the love feast. He rises from supper; the love feast. Well, now, how are you to have the next? That is the point. The fact that you have had one will not guarantee that you will have another.
Ques. Is that implied in "I have given you an example?"
J.T. That is the point in it. If the service is not continued the love feasts will not continue.
Ques. What do you mean by saying, if we have not the service we shall not have the feast?
J.T. The Lord rises from supper; that was the termination of the feast, and He lays aside His garments, and washes the disciples' feet. If that service does not go on you will not have another feast. We
have to do with the world, and are consequently dulled and perhaps defiled; and if this service is wanting amongst us the feasts will be wanting.
W.K. You mean the Lord's service?
J.T. "If ye know these things happy are ye if ye do them". The happiness is not in the knowledge of them, but in the doing of them.
W.K. Do you call the doing of them the feast inside?
J.T. No, I call it the means by which the feast is perpetuated.
T.M.G. Because it must be a question of part with Him for the feast.
Ques. Is this service carried out as we come together?
J.T. I think it is carried out through the week. If you see anything in your brother that is not right, you go to him; if you do not, you have a spot at the love feast. There was a spot at the last supper, Judas was there; and the light was so great that he went out in to the darkness.
Rem. You would not be taking into account your standing in the meeting.
J.T. No; if you do you are likely to regard some services as beneath your dignity. So the Lord said, "Ye call me Master and Lord, and ye do well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet". The twelve refused to be deacons. I am not criticising these men, but there are the facts, they refused to be deacons. Stephen superseded them, so the Spirit gives us the history of Stephen; and the apostles are in the second place. Now, Paul, instead of refusing the work of a deacon, took it up, and he regarded it as glory to serve the saints even in that way. See 2 Corinthians 8:23. So that true love will stop at nothing for the good of the saints.
T.M.G. Well, that is the principle of washing
one another's feet. It is not a question of seeing a spot upon your brother, but I suppose it would be practically carried out if Christ has His place with me, and I am occupied with Him. If I come in contact with you, you will be made to feel it; that should be the effect of it.
J.T. If you see a spot upon your brother you cannot expect him to have water to remove it, you must bring the water.
T.M.G. But you may do that, though perhaps unconscious of any spot upon your brother; you may by being occupied with Christ yourself and in coming in contact with your brother have that effect upon him.
J.T. It is what is of Christ in you, the grace and humility, that is effective.
T.M.G. Quite so. "I have given you an example", the Lord said.
J.T. I believe if there were more faithfulness amongst us in that way there would be much more spiritual power in the meetings, but things are allowed to drag on; and the Spirit is grieved; therefore we do not have the love feasts.
T.M.G. We may have the feast, but not the love feast.
Rem. And we may be like the Jews; they had their own feasts.
Numbers 3:1 - 13, 44 - 51
J.T. An important fact was dwelt upon whilst we were considering the first two chapters of this book yesterday in regard to the numbering of the congregation. In chapter 1 the numbering begins with Reuben, who was Israel's firstborn, whereas in chapter 2 Judah comes first. In the one case it represents God dealing with us on the ground of our responsibility here; whilst in the other case it is a question of God's sovereignty. We are taken account of in our responsibility; but then, as regards our position with reference to the tabernacle, it is a question of God's sovereignty. He puts forward whom He will; so that Judah becomes the leading tribe in the arrangement. I do not know whether you have noticed that.
J.G. Yes, I have. Chapter 1 is the natural order; chapter 2 is the sovereignty of God.
J.T. Yes; and while we were reading this chapter it occurred to me that the same thing is seen in the Levites. It is said that Gershon was the eldest of the sons of Levi; and yet, when the arrangement of the service comes in, in chapter 4, Kohath is taken first. That, I think, is a principle of the very greatest importance as regards our walking together. Priority is not according to what we may be here naturally. The arrangements in connection with the sanctuary, and in connection with the testimony, are according to the sovereignty of God; it is whom He will; whom He selects. Judah generally stands for the counsel of God. It settles a good many difficulties, if we recognise that God is sovereign; and that in the arrangement of things in the assembly, nature has no place; and even our acceptance of responsibility to serve, does not prove the nature of our
service. We are all responsible, whether as military men, or Levites; we are taken account of, and held responsible; but when it comes to actual work, the sovereignty of God is seen. So, in chapter 4 Kohath is seen to have to do with the most sacred things. One might plan to be or to do something, and might culture himself accordingly; but, after all, God may pass him by.
Rem. The desire to serve is not a qualification.
J.T. No; the desire is right, but it is not a qualification. The qualification comes from the Lord: "unto everyone of us is given grace", but it is "according to the measure of the gift of Christ",
Ephesians 4:7. And then we read, "he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers".
T.M.G. The first verse you quoted would be the responsibility: "unto every one of us is given grace".
J.T. Yes, everyone has received a gift; but then, there are specific gifts which the Lord gives; and He gives them according to His own sovereign wisdom.
T.M.G. Do you not get the same principle in Matthew 25 in the parable of the talents; and also in Luke 19 in the case of the pounds? Every one has a pound; there is responsibility. In Matthew 25 it is according to the giving of God: there it is five, and two, and one.
Rem. No amount of ability can determine things in connection with God's testimony.
J.T. I think the principle that is set forth in Numbers would overthrow the existing order of things around us, if it were accepted that the Lord has supreme rights. That is not admitted in the religious denominations, for there it is a question of arranging matters according to man.THE LORD JESUS FOUND WHERE HE IS LOVED
FALLING OR DESCENDING -- WHICH?
PRIESTHOOD
THE WRITING ON THE WALL
PAUL'S MINISTRY -- THE CHRISTIAN'S DISTINCTIVE LIGHT
CHRIST AS PRIEST ON HIS THRONE
A TWOFOLD TRANSACTION
THE BELIEVER SET FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE TESTIMONY -- PART 1
THE BELIEVER SET FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE TESTIMONY -- PART 2
THE LORD DISCERNED BY HIS FEATURES
DESCENDING AND ASCENDING
THE WILDERNESS
LEVITICAL SERVICE