Foundations of

Many Generations

1.—Scripture versus the Fable of the Revolving

Earth.

V A H , & Co., 2.—The Policy of Constantine and its Decline.

170, F arringdon R d.,
I/jn d o n . . . E .C .I.

3.—Hovv^ are the dead raised up, and with vi^hat

body do they come?

4.—To the Jews.

E. ESCHINI,,
P.O. Box 2542, Cape Town.niiri 10, NiiignirfaH n-i Hi liiwilim M ? r
 Fr.Samuel Shenton, President of the Flat Earth
Society; Dover, England.
May I be permitted to express a word of sympa­
thy and encouragment.
Foundations of Many
How many of us had our pet theories proved wrong
and had to how to the force of fact 1
Generations
>'e cannot deny that the_ j;ec#nt.picture taken
Jrom apace of the earth - showing what looked like INTRODUCTION
■A-Segmeai of an orange - has proved that the earth — AIM —
J.3 round: This is also confirmed in Scripture;
The destruction and consumption of civilization, as it has been
"It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the called, is now obvious to all, and the uppermost thought in the mind
earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grass­ of the majority is—What is to take its place ?
hoppers ..." JEsaiah 40 1 2 2 » To the Christian there is only one answer, for all who are truly
However, I wish to encourage you, dear Sir, be­ in Christ are as Abraham of old of whom it is written “ For he looked
cause you are still right on a very major fact , for a city, which hath foundations whose Builder and Maker is God.”
Can anybody say that God is the builder of Democracy, or Fascism,
namely that the earth does not move. or Bolshevism ? Take Democracy which is usually defined as the
"The world aleo is stablished, that it cannot rule of the people, by the people, for the people ; this brings to our
be moved." Psalm 95: I. remembrance the attempted rule of Korah, Dathan and Abiran, who
Several astronauts have also borne witness of had gathered all the congregation against Moses. What else was that
the solar wind: witness the following quotation but the voice of the people, or the voice of Democracy against God’s
ruling. But what was the answer of God ? “ The earth opened
written about 24OO years ago: ' her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all that
"Swift is the sun in his course, for he compas-| appertained unto Korah and all his people.”
seth the heavens round about, and fetcheth his Fascism on the other hand is the conquest, first of a party against
course again to his own place in one day." all internal opposition, and secondly of the nation and race against
all others, in opposition to the Christian aim which is to lift all willing
I Esdras 4: 54* ones from a natural to a spiritual kingdom and citizenship, having
I should be glad to have your views on the en­ the assurance of the blessing “ But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
closed article "Scripture Versus The Fable Of The and his righteousness ; and all things shall be added unto you.”
Revolving Earth" which was written in 1924, and Note the procedure, not the economic first, or the material blessing
from which I never had cause to deviate, and I promised by the politicians, but the kingdom first. This Kingdom
should feel honoured if your Society would now of God must eliminate all nationality and racialism as expressed by
the Apostle Paul. “ For as many of you as have been baptized into
join in with me to fight your opponents from a Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
slightly different angle, but from a position thatj neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are
will assure us of victory. all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s
seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Sincerely yours. The Christian ideal— which allows of no via media— is no
nationality in Christ, all aliens outside of Christ. Such a spiritual
Christendom must be built out of the present material, national, war
distorted Christless-dom. The choice between the nations is either
to find salvation by an internationalism of love in the truth as taught
E. Eschini. by Christ, or perish.
Bolshevism on the other hand is supposed to be the rule of the
proletariat, but in reality it is the dictatorship of a very limited hierarchy
having for its foundation atheism.
Stalin’s credo is “ Communists who hinder the broadest develop-
m entof anti-religious propaganda h a v e no place in the ranks of the party.”
 Without this credo, Bolshevism would never have been able to
gain power, for only by denying the existence of God could they have
launched upon a wholesale massacre of the non-proletariat classes and
well-to-do farmers in order to confiscate all private properties. The
conscience must first be quenched for such a policy. Thus also ended
1.—SCRIPTURES VERSUS TH E FABLE
the Jewish dispensation in the first century A.D. The lowest overthrew
O F TH E REVOLVING EARTH.
and killed off the upper classes, who'indeed deserved such a judgment.
But how can a man like Stalin, who had once studied to become
a priest, justify his utter rejection of religion ? The hypothesis introduced by Nicolas Copernicus that the Earth
revolves on an imaginary axis has been accepted as truth by the great
The answer, is by science, the falsely so-called science which majority for centuries, it has been taught in the universities, schools,
Saint Paul warns us to beware of.
and collegesof the world as a proven fact; often have atheists and others
In a speech made by Marshal Stalin, I quote the following :— used it to scorn the Divine inspiration of Scripture, and pitiful indeed
“ They talk about science . . The data of science have
has been the camouflage adopted by the supposed supporters of Divine
always been tested by practice and experience . . . if it were W rit—^who in reality generally agree with their opponents on this
otherwise, we should have had no science at all, we should have
subject—^whereas their very attitude was and is a denial that the
had no astronomy, and we would still have had to get along vsdth
Architect of the World could have been the Author of the Book they
the outworn system of Ptolemy ; we should have had no biology,
profess to uphold. Let it be stated as clearly as possible that the
and we would still be comforting ourselves with the legend of
the creation of man . .” Scriptures teach that the Earth is round and suspended into space,
this was taught in the Word of God centuries before any philosopher
Copernicus’ theory of the revolving earth, and Darwin’s
geographer or astronomer had discovered it, long before Homer had
“ evolution ” have therefore made possible the monster state of
atheism in Russia. described the Earth as a disk supported by pillars. Job had correctly
Yet these two theories are accepted as facts and taught in schools defined it as follows :
“ He stretcheth out the North over the empty place, and hangeth the
in the Western so-called Christian states, and believed by clergy and
laymen, thus showing how impossible it is for them to accept and E arth upon nothing.”
In several places in Scripture is the Earth clearly described as
believe the doctrine of Christ, and what hypocrisy is their profession of
such a faith. being round, for instance in Isaiah 40: 22 we read “ It is He that
sitteth upon the circle of the Earth . .” Again in Proverbs 8: 27,
We cannot deny that the attitude of the Bolsheviks is more logical
it is written : “When He prepared the Heavens I (Wisdom) was th ere;
than the attitude of the Western Democracies, for if they do not believe when He set a compass upon the face of the depth.” The Scriptures
the Bible in its teaching of earthly things, neither can they consistently
accept it in relation to spiritual things. further teach that it is the Sun that moves round the Earth, and not
“ If I told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall ye the Earth round the Sun.
“ The Sun also ariseth, and the Sun goeth down, and hasteth to
believe, if I tell you of heavenly things ?” John 3 : 12.
It was precisely this consideration that induced me to issue the his place where he arose.”
The theory that the Earth is animated with a diurnal rotation was
pamphlet “ Scripture Versus the Fable of the Revolving Earth ” in
started with the assumption that the heavenly luminaries are solid
April, 1924, which is now reprinted in this book. The next article
planets like our Earth, and not as stated by the Lord God who made
“ The Policy of Constantine and its Decline ” was also printed in
them, “ Lights ” (Genesis i : 14). This erroneous conception gave
London in August, 1924, to show the difference between the Christian rise to the hypothesis that it would be easier to revolve one world than
Doctrine and the canons initiated by the Emperor Constantine, which
a whole heaven of Worlds, but having began their argument with a
canons are the basis of the civilization which is now in the process
wrong assumption, it has made them wrong all the way through.
of disintegration. Not having been planted by the Lord Jesus Christ, The principal luminaries are opaque as seen during the eclipses,
it is now being rooted up, as foretold in the article in question.
and this has been thought sufficient evidence to prove that they are
The third work “ How are the Dead Raised up ? And with what
Worlds like unto our own, but the want of transparency is by no means
Body do they Come ?” was printed in answer to the book published by
a proof of w eight, a cloud, although opaque, is nevertheless lighter
the Church of England “ Doctrine in the Church of England” being
the report of the Commission on Christian Doctrine appointed by the than the air.
The results of recent research prove that the heavenly luminaries
Archbishops of Canterbury and York in 1922.
are not Worlds, but lights, and should cause all men who have been
E . E s c h in i . led to accept as proven Copernicus’ theory of the motions of the Earth,
to reconsider this subject. Professor H. H. Turner, of Oxford, made
 The Great Pyramid of Ghizeh also demonstrates how careful
the following statement regarding observations carried out on the the ancients were in the orientation of their buildings, and wherever
brightest Star in the constellation of O rion: “ T he most exciting these are in existence they show no deviation from their original
discovery as a result of measuring this Star in the winter of 1920, and orientation, which fact alone proves that the Earth is not animated
1921, and 1922 is that the diameter is changing and it looks as if the with any motion at all.
Star is palpitating as a heart does.” Which is precisely what a light “ The World also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.”
would do, and not what a body like our Earth could ever possibly do. Psalm, 93 : I.
It is now acknowledged, and has long been acknowledged that It is claimed that the revolutions of the Earth cause the Sun and
Newton was entirely wrong in his theory of light. “ Light,” according constellations to be overhead in different places of the Earth at times
to modem definition, “ is the result of force causing the waves of worked out in nautical almanacs and used by navigators to determine
ether to vibrate with an almost infinite rapidity. How great that force their bearings, but the same calculations will apply to the rising and
is can be measured by the fact that light travels round the world eight setting of the heavenly luminaries. Whether A moves from B, or
times in a single second.” This again explains the “ infinite rapidity ” B from A, the effect can be the same.
with which the “ Lights ” (Gen. i : 14) seen in the Heavens travel The Phoenicians indeed made extensive use of the stars in
round the Earth. navigation, and their daring seamanship and skill can be measured
. . Swift is the Sun in his course, for he compasseth the by the fact that they spanned the seas as far as Britain to the West, and
Heavens round about, and fetcheth his course again to his own across the broad Pacific to the American continent to the E ast, and
place in one day.” (i. Esdras, 4 : 34). they believed in the rising and setting of the stars. Mr. J. W. Perry
informs us that only one pearl-field in the whole World (the West
Claudius Ptolemy, the great astronomer, had the advantage over Australian site at Broom) escaped the vigilance and accurate knowledge
Copernicus in that he was a geographer as well as an astronomer, ■of the ancients.
whereas the latter held some dignities in the cathedral of Thorn in Let us examine the so-called experiments which have been
Prussia. As a geographer Ptolemy knew the absolute importance of instrumental in causing men to reject the statements of God and the
the stability of the four cardinal points, outside of which topography evidence of their own senses in order to uphold the imagination of
and accurate orientation are an impossibility. Now the four cardinal Copernicus.
points are fixed points in the sky, as acknowledged from time Newton maintained that it was possible to prove the rotation of
immemorial, hence we are able, by them, to plot correctly any given the Earth by the means of balls dropped from a height to the ground,
point on the Earth. he claimed that the said balls would iwt deviate Westward, but would
Logically it would be impossible, if the Earth revolved, to make fall a little to the Eastward of a pTumbline, about half an inch, he
use of the cardinal points as fixed points in the sky, for the relation of thought, at the height of three hundred feet. The reason he gave
any given place in the rotating Earth toward them must continually is this ; “ Since the top of the tower is at a greater distance from the
change. It would be like attempting to plot a point within a fast axis of the Earth than its base, the centrifugal force must be greater
running wheel of a motor car in relation to a fixed spot outside. at the former point than at the latter; the ball, in falling does not
The force of this argument is sometimes evaded by saying that lose its impulse, and therefore advances before its plumbline, which
the cardinal points of the compass are imaginary points, but that strikes the foot of the tower, since it has a less impulse Eastward.”
will never do. The most exacting sciences are based upon the four Experiments were carried out to test this theory on January 14, 1680
points of the compass, such as the science of survey, cartography, by Robert Hooke in the presence of a committee appointed for the
and, of course, navigation. Millions have trusted their lives upon purpose, when he tried to prove the rotation of the Earth by dropping
this reality of the four cardinal points. When the skies are covered balls from a height of 160 feet. The results were considered so
the captain at sea has only his compass and his chart to guide him, and unsatisfactory that they were not even mentioned in the Philosophical
the life of one and all on board depends upon the points of the compass Transactions and were entirely forgotten.
being a verity. One hundred and twelve years later, a young geometrician in
“ The North and the South Thou hast created them.” Bologna, Guglielmini, tried the same experiments from the Tower
Psalm, 89; 12. Degli Asinelli, in that city, at a height of 240 feet. These experiments
Everything in the Tabernacle built by Moses was carefully also failed to prove any movement of the Earth.
orientated as also the Temple erected by Solomon, and all its ornaments. Benzenberg, a German, performed similar experiments in 1804,
And he (Solomon) made a molten sea, ten cubits from one brim to from the steeple of the church of St. Michael, in Hamburg. He let
another, it was round all about . . . It stood upon twelve oxen, three fall 30 balls, from the height of 235 fe et; the balls deviated from the
looking toward the North, andthreelookingtowardthe West, and three perpendicular four lines Eastward and line Southward according
looking toward the South, and three looking toward the East . .” to the direction of the wind. This was not considered satisfactory.
(i. Kings, 7; 23, 25.)
 Benzenberg repeated these experiments in 1805, in a coalpit, at movements of the stars, however, preclude this, and therefore the
Schlebusch, at the height of 260 feet: and according to the fall of these Earth must be as devoid of any movement of translation as it is of
balls, dropped in a black coalpit, which balls were claimed to have rotation.”
fallen five lines Eastward, Laplace, the French astronomer and atheist,
calculated that the chances are 8,000 to 1 that the Earth turns round
on its axis. Like the oracle of Delphi the answer was given from the The Seasons
bowels of the Earth, it would not speak from above the ground in the
three previous trials. The seasons are caused by the Sun’s circuit round the Earth in
Seeing that this statement of Laplace was, so to speak, the a spiral ecliptic. In the Winter Solstice (December 21st), the Sun
ex cathedra utterance of “ science ” on this subject, it is interesting is vertical over the Tropic of Capricorn. Looking South from London,
to note what Napoleon, who had made him minister of the interior, he appears to make a small circuit in the Southern sky, during the
said of him. “A geometrician of the first rank,” says the emperor, same period he is seen to cross the sky at almost overhead in Cape
“ he did not reach mediocrity as a statesman. From the first, the Town, thus causing Summer in the Southern Hemisphere. In the
consuls became sensible thattheyhadm adea mistake in his appointment. Summer Solstice (June 21st), the Sun is vertical over the Tropic of
He never viewed any subject in its true light; he was always occupied Cancer, (nearly overhead in London), while looking North from Cape
with subtilties; his notions were all problematic . . . ” Town, he appears to make a small circuit in the Northern sky, causing
Yet Protestants, who reject the infallibility of the Popes with Winter in the Southern and Summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
scorn, do nevertheless, accept the infallibility of such men as these The supposition that the seasons are caused by the Earth’s annual
with fervour. motion round the Sun at a mean distance of 92,500,000 of miles, is
But let us assume that the experiments at Schlebusch proved grotesque.
what is claimed for them, then the same principle there evolved must According to Piazzi the size of the Sun is in proportion to the
apply to all other bodies that are independent of the Earth. An Earth, “ as 329,360 to i , the diameter exceeds that of the Earth
aeroplane in flight is as much independent of the Earth as the afore­ 112 times.” The Earth appears, as Biot says, by this statement,
said dropping balls, and if these have a speed differing from, and “ a mere grain of sand, as compared to the Sun.” This enormous
independent of the supposed speed of the Earth, then the same expanse of light focused on a rotating “ grain of sand,” at the distance
characteristic must distinguish the aircraft; its movement also should of 92i millions of miles, would cause the same season throughout it.
be independent of that of the E a rth ; in which case, such an The paltry few miles, in comparison that separates London from
aeroplane travelling Westward to America from England should have Cape Town could never cause diverse seasons, neither would the
the full benefit of America rotating Eastward, and both the continent distance from London to the Riviera justify the difference in the
of America and the aeroplane should meet, one above the other, in ■climate that characterises the two places.
about four hours. This statement and the balls dropped by
Benzenberg stand or fall together.
But how many are there among those who teach this fable as Movements which are Conspicuously Absent
truth, that have the courage of their convictions to the extent of
undertaking this flight, with say five hours supply of petrol ? Men have harnessed energy from the volcano, the winds, the
Ptolemy has indeed advanced similar arguments to prove the tides, the Niagara, they have burrowed the bowels of the Earth for
impossibility of the rotation of the Earth, and to parry these they coal, oil, minerals, from which they generate power, they are now
have been obliged to imagine that the air participates in this motion. considering the possibility of atomic energy, why then have the
If this were the case, the air would obviously travel in one direction, millions of H.P. engendered by this mighty planet revolving not
viz., the supposed direction of the Earth, how could any aircraft been utilized ? Why have the seekers of perpetual motion given up
travel against such a furious blast ? How could such an accomplished their quest, if we are perpetually moving ?
feat as sky-writing be carried out in such a tornado ? The theory of the three motions of the Earth and subsequent
Ptolemy shows very ingeniously that the Earth must be at the ‘ relativity,’ is the result of trying to cover up one lie by another. They
centre of the celestial sphere. He proves that unless this were the say that as we whirl in London at the rate of nearly eleven miles a
case, each star would not move with the absolute uniformity which minute, we are shooting into space around the Sun at nearly twenty
does characterise it. He shows also that the Earth could not be miles a second, and the Sun itself moves around a point in space, at
animated by any movement of transition. “ The Earth,” argued the immense speed of 150,000,000 miles in a year, pulling our poor
Ptolemy, “ lies at the centre of the celestial sphere. If the Earth were Earth with him at the added speed—^the distance that separates us
to be endowed with movement, it would not lie always at this point, from the Sun— and in this maddening whirlwind of motions they
it must therefore shift to some other part of the sphere. The try to apply Euclid’s spherical trigonometry to locate distances—which
 As it is written ; “ The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed
data was intended by Euclid to determine fixed points only—^with the and taken : lo, they have rejected the Word of the Lord ; and what
result that they have brought out wild calculations which have been wisdom is in them ?” Jeremiah, 8 : 9.
fostered dogmatically on a gullible World, but are about as infallible And also ; “ Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, and He that
as the utterances of Borgia. formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things ;
Euclid, himself the father of mathematics, believed the Earth that stretcheth forth the Heavens alone ; that* spreadeth* abroad the
to be fixed, so these professing sons of his are but bastards. In the Earth by M yself: That frustrateth the tokens of liars, and maketh
language of the Apostle Paul. “ Professing themselves to be wise, diviners mad ; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their
they became fools.” How gladly does the writer turn from this knowledge foolish; That confirmeth the Word of His servants, and
bedlam to the XIX Psalm—“ . . . . The Sun, which is as a bridegroom performeth the counsel of His messengers.” Isaiah, 44 : 24-26.
coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a
race. His going forth is from the end of Heaven, and his circuit
unto the ends of it . 2 .— THE POLICY OF CONSTANTINE
_ The one thing the fable of the revolving Earth has done, it has AND ITS DECLINE
shown the terrible power of a lie , a lie has the power to make a m ^_.
_a jmental .slave, . >so-that i e dares.jiot back, the evidence of his own... The Roman Emperor Constantine is the founder of the European
.senses. To deny jthejjlain ^ d obvious movement of the Sun he system of government of Church and State which has now prevailed
_sjees before him. \ ^ e n he feels himself standing on a a Earth, utterly— for 1611 years. The rulers of the European States during this period
.devoid of motion, at the suggestion of someone else he is p re p are ito of time have—generally speaking—been modelled on this policy of
accept that he is spinning furiously roupd. \Vhen he sees a bird “ Constantine,” having the headship of the State and Religion invested
flying, and gaining over the ground, he is prepared to believe that the on the person of the Monarch. To this class we may name the now
ground is really travelling a great number of times faster than the fallen Bourbons of France, the Czars of Russia, the Emperors of
b ird , finally, in order to uphold the imagination of a madman, he is Austria and Germany.
prepared to accuse his Maker of forming him a sensiferous lie. Just before Constantine attained the sole power of the Western
and Eastern Roman Empire, between the years 303 and 311, the
Emperor Galerius and his associates had attempted quite a different
The Moral Aspect policy towards the religion of Jesus Christ than that adopted by their
successor, namely, the extirpation of the Christian religion by the
Up to now I have only dealt with the physical phase of this; wholesale massacre of those who could not be induced to give it up.
controversy, the moral, however, has had a far greater efl^ect upon Galerius eventually became convinced that the arms he used successfully
Christendom. against the Persians were of no avail against the soldiers of Christ,
Man is fundamentally a logical minded creature, capable of putting and towards the end of his life he published a general edict in his own
two and two together; having been bewitched into believing that the name coupled with Licinius and Constantine granting toleration to
statements of Scripture concerning this World are not true, he has the Christians. What Galerius failed to accomplish by massacre and
also rejected the statements concerning the next World. confiscation, Constantine succeeded by flattery, disguise, and bribery,
“I f I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall for the system of religion he set up is the very antithesis of the
ye believe, i f I tell you of heavenly things}” St.John 3 : 12. Doctrine of Christ, although it bears the misnomer of Christianity.
Let us remember that “ it was the Spirit of Christ in the Prophets
that testified beforehand . (i. Peter i: 11), viz., “ In the Law of
Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms,” (Luke, 24 : 47)— The Conversion of Constantine
But if ye believe not his (Moses) writings, how shall ye believe My
words ?” (John, 5 : 47). Eusebius Pamphilus, the courtier Bishop of Caesaria in Palestine,
The outcome of these “ scientific” lies is that they have broken gives the following account of the conversion of Constantine, which
down the Faith of the World. The Press, which has been foremost account he received from the Emperor himself:—
in honouring liars and sneering at Scripture, is now pointing a “ . . . Knowing that armies are not always prosperous,
hypocritical linger at Bolshevism—as the destroyer of Christianity. unless God gives the victory. He (Constantine) considered
Christianity has been destroyed in the so-called Christian Churches, therefore unto what God he should address his prayers for aid
in the Schools, by false Science, by the Press, Bolshevism is merely and assistance (against the Emperor Maxentius, reigning in
the harvest of such sowing, the fruit from the root. But the Scriptures Rome.) . . When the Sun reached his meridian, a little after noon,
will prevail, as the waters of the Deluge, submerging the highest, he said, that he beheld the sign of the cross lively figured in the
mountains, “ fifteen cubits upward.”
 The First General Coimcil
Dante cries, “Ah, Constantine! ofhozv much ill zoas cause." Milton
says, “A t this time Antichrist began first to put forth his horn." He adds, TH E COUNCIL OF NICAEA. A.D. 325.—It was composed
“ Constantine marred all in the Church." of 250 Bishops, besides a great number of Priests and Deacons, and
was presided by Constantine. It was at this Council that the rule of
We must bear in mind that Constantine was not converted to^ faith was settled, or rather corrupted, by imperial authority, the purity
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but was merely the introducer of a system of the Ordinances of Christ suppressed, heathen rites initiated, and the
of policy which changed the paganism of the Roman Empire into the use of splendid vestments adopted.
Papacy. In other words the same Empire changed its priests without Eusebius, an eye-witness, says : “ The day appointed for
changing the Empire. The cross substituted the eagle ; the saints holding the Council, and deciding on the controversies of Religion,
replaced the gods, the same man with a different toga. By this all the Bishops and learned men met together in the hall of the
stratagem was utterly destroyed the message of Christ to the nations, Emperor’s Palace, where seats being set on both sides they took
the key note of which is repentance, demanding a change of the inner their place according to their degree and dignity. When all
man not of the outer, and the whole plan of God for the regeneration the Clergy were thus orderly seated, the expectation of the
of mankind was thereby frustrated. Emperor’s presence caused a general silence among them. At
length the Emperor came, having no guard to make way before
Contrast the conversion of Constantine with that of Saul of Tarsus. him, but a few Christians whom he chiefly favoured. When
In the last case we have the deep groanings of a repentant soul, with the Emperor entered the Synod, they all stood up. And so
prayers and fasting followed three days after by the obedience to the having invested himself with rich purple robes, embroidered
commandment of Christ delivered to him by Ananias in the words :— with gold and precious stones, came like a bright angel through
“And now why tarriest thou ? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away the midst of them . . So glorious was his outward presence . . .
thy sins calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22 : 16). and when a golden chair was brought him, he would not sit
down before he had given a sign to the Bishops to sit down also.”
In the case of Constantine it is merely a pi'eparation for hostilities, After the speech of Constantine in Latin, which was translated
a plan for attack by arms and policy. He does not obey the commission in the different languages, the proceedings among the Bishops began
of Jesus Christ three days after his conversion as Saul of Tarsus, but to grow very turbulent, as is usual in religious controversies for they
three days before his death—“ why tarriest thou ? arise, and be touch the very depth of human nature. Many questions were proposed
baptized, and wash away thy sins . . . ” but Constantine tarries ail his on either side, whereupon some began to accuse those that sat next,
life time. Why ? simply because there is no change of heart, but a and others began to defend themselves and lay the blame on their
change of policy. The whole of the Bible teaches the great lesson adversaries. But Constantine very adroitly persuading some, pacifying
that there is neither faith nor reverence to God in the person that does others, and praising such as served his purpose, managed to bring them
not obey His commandments, whatever pretentions to the contrary all to one mind, viz. Constantine’s own mind. Thus we have a Pontifex
there may be. A death’s-door baptism is equal to an attempt to sow Maximus—for so he had been created after his so-called conversion-
a field at the time of harvest. passing laws to the Church, and changing the Ordinances of Christ,
thereby subjugating all Christendom, for the Biblical Law is :—“ To
St. Paul was crucified daily for the rest of his life—“ I die daily ”— whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye
“ I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness."
liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith (Romans 6; 16).
of the Son of God, who Icwed me, and gave Himself for me." {Gal. 2 : From here dates the divorce of the Church to Christ and the illegal
20.) Whereas Constantine bears a cross as an emblem iand starts the prostitution with Rome.
jdolatry oF~Heraldry, and the hypocritical fashion of wearing a piece The Council ended, Constantine claimed to have won a great
4jf_metal or wood shaped as a cross, in the place of crucifying the old victory and made a royal feast of joy and exaltation, where he invited
man which is corrupt and his deeds, and walkiqp^in newness of life the Bishops. They marched through the court gate where the guard
to the glory of God. stood with drawn swords—^the very weapons hitherto used to cut the
throats of their brethren—^however these degenerate descendents of
Having not submitted to the baptispi of repentance for th(^ the noble martyrs passed without fear to enjoy the price of their
remission of sins, Constantifte is a non-Christian, and all the councils prostitution. The Emperor gave gifts to each one of them.
pe presided and canons he decreed are by a non-Christian. These This same Constantine, the framer of the canons, only a year after
jcanons are still used in the Roman, Greek and Protestant Churches, this event had his Son Crispus put to death and afterwards in remorse
and have replaced in practise the Will and Testament of Jesus C hris^' had a statue of gilt silver erected in his memory, much the same way
JfiX these.many centuries.,..
13
12
 done by separating Repentance from Baptism and forbidding mankind
as he destroyed the life giving Ordinances of Christ, and then had to obey the council of God, hence the Constantinian adoption of
temples and cathedrals erected to honour their dead bodies. Infant-baptism and its enforcement by Church and State. Seeing there
is but one Baptism, by the introduction of a false one—before Repentance
is possible in the baptized—he is lulled for the rest of his life, into
The main attack of the Constantinian policy believing that he has obeyed God’s commandment, thus the lesson of
is directed against Repentance Eden has been entirely lost.
Daniel’s prophecy of Constantine says :—“ {he will) think to
The key-word of the Gospel is “ Repentance.” The Greek change times atU laws ” until the time recorded in the same chapter, viz.
conveys a more definite meaning—Metanoeite—from Meta denoting when “ the Thrones are cast down ” and the whole of the Constantinian
change, Neoma—thought, conception of the mind, i.e.. Change your Mind. structure is given “ to the burning fiame.” {Daniel jth Chapter.)
The carnal mind being enmity against God, must be subdued to Christ. Observe that only about 10 Kings are left in Europe out of some
It was the first vs^ord used in John’s ministry— : “ Repent ye; for the 50 that flourished in 1914.
Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
Jesus began to preach by saying “ Repent; far the Kingdom of
Heaven is at hand." The Great Fall of the Chxirch
“ God . . now commanded all inen everywhere to repent.” “ Except
ye Repent ye shall all likewise perish.” Therefore Repentance is the What the serpent was to Eve in Eden, Constantine was to the
sacrifice of the meek and quiet spirit vs^hich in the sight of God is of Spiritual Eve, the Bride of the ‘Last Adam.’ Both fell. We see in
great price. But as the sacrifices under the Mosaic Law had to be the whole action of Constantine towards the Church the third temptation
offered strictly in accordance to the way laid down by God, so also Satan attempted on the Lord Jesus Christ in the wilderness when
God commands that the sacrifice of Repentance be offered in the way after showing Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of
He has ordained. It would have been an act of rebellion towards them he said to Him “A ll these things will I give Thee, i f thou zoilt fa ll
God under the Mosaic Law to offer sacrifices in any other way. down and worship me.” (Mat. 4 : 9.) Having failed in his temptation
God said :— of the Son of God, Satan in Constantine offers wealth, worldly honour,
“And thou {Moses) shall say unto them. Whatsoever man there peace from persecution, dominion and power to the Church, at the
be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among price of betraying her faithfukiess to the Ordinances intrusted to her
you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice, and bringeth it not keeping by Christ, and this immediately after the terrible persecutions
unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the of Galerius and his associates in the Western and Eastern Roman
Lord; even that man shall be cut ojf from among his people. Blood Empire. The Church accepted the offer and sold herself; the result
shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man has been the Babylon the great, the mother of harlots, drunken with
shall be cut ojf from among his people." Leviticus, 17th Chapter. the blood of the Saints, that intoxicate the Kings and the inhabitants
Under the New Testament “ the Word of God came unto John the of the earth with her fornication which St. John foresees in the 17th
son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country chapter of Revelation.
about Jordan, and preached the Baptism of Repentance for the remission Since the Council of Nicaea it has been a bitter warfare between
of sins.” (Luke 3: 3, 4.) John said :—“ I indeed baptise you in water those who remained faithful to the Ordinances of Christ against the
unto Repentance.” It was the last commandment given by the upholders of the counter orders of Constantine, who had in every
Lord Jesus for the conversion of the World saying, “And that Repentance Country of Europe the power of the State to enforce their corruptions,
and remisson of sins should be preached in His Name among all Nations and for many centuries have suppressed and persecuted the Saints of
beginning at Jerusalem.” {Luke 24: 47). The question that arises God.
is ‘ How was it preached at Jerusalem ?’ The Holy Spirit has carefully charge given to the Church by Christ, s a y i n g “ Whose soever sms ye
preserved the record so that no one has an excuse for not knowing how I To fully realise this great fall of the Church we must bear in mind
‘ Repentance and remission of sins ’ must be preached to-day, seeing that '^ h e r e is but one way to the forgiveness of sins, which is the sacred
Christ commands—‘ as in Jerusalem so in all Nations.’ It was Peter remit, they are remitted unto them . .” (John 20 : 23.)
who used this key on the day of Pentecost, at Jerusalem when he, as This one way is by the “ Baptism of Repentance FOR the
the Ambassador of Christ, said :—“ Repent, and be Baptized everyone Remission of sins ” when the Blood of atonement is applied to the
o f you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall repentant sinner which cleanseth (a continued action) from all sins.
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” {Acts, 2: 38.) In no other way is the Blood of the New Testament applied than this
That is the plain commandment of God to the Nations, but the one ordained way , and by the Church’s betrayal of this sacred charge
whole strategy of Satan has been used to render it abortive. This was the world was plunged into primeval darkness.
14 15
 Justin the Martyr, who was bom A.D. 89, says :—“ No man has T he Bishop listened impatiently and at length broke out into language
a right to partake of the Lord’s Supper, except he who believes our which has become historical power :—“ What has the Emperor to do
doctrine, who has received Baptism of the forgiveness of sins and of 'with the Church ?”
regeneration and who lives in obedience to the commandments of The language of Donatus was repeated right and left and from
Christ.” every Donastic pulpit preachers proclaimed the duty of separation
Such a man, being still in his sins, in the language of St. P au l:— from a Church which conunitted fornication with the princes of this
“ He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation world. Eventually Donatus was banished and died in exile.
to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” (i Cor. 11 : 29). It would require volumes to give the full history of the fruits of
How can he discern the Lord’s Body when he has never been— the Constantinian policy, but as a physician who diagnoses the disease
“ Buried with Him (Christ) in Baptism, wherein also ye {the obedient in order to make known the remedy, I will give a few samples of the
ones) are risen with Him . . .” ? Colossians 2 : 12. crimes committed by Church and State against the Saints of God.
Thus the two Ordinances of Christ were destroyed as John T H E GREEK CHURCH. The Paulicians were followers of
prophesied of them in Revelation the n t h chapter, where they are Jesus Christ whose only desire was to worship God in accordance with
also called the two Witnesses—“ standing before the God of the earth the New Testament. They were called ‘ Paulicians ’ owing to the
. . . and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.” veneration their leader had for the writings of St. Paul. The Emperors
Rev. I I : 4, 5. Constans, Justinian II and especially Leo, repressed them with great
severity and bitter persecution. In the reign of Theodora (A.D.
841-855), who, having ordered that they should be compelled to
“ By their fruits ye shall know them ” return to the Greek Church, had all the recusants cruelly put to the
sword, or driven into exile. During the reign of Theodora alone
The Lord Jesus declared as an axiomatic certainty, that “ a good 100,000 of these faithful Christians were martyred.
tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth In the present desolation of Church and State in Russia, we see
good fruit.” So also the pre-Constantine Church was consistently the wheel completing its circle.
good ; unheard of sacrifices of life, position and wealth were constantly T H E ROMAN CHURCH. Pope Pius III in the crusade he
made for that priceless possession—a conscience void of offence in the excited against the Albigenses in 1206 or 1207, destroyed 200,000 of
sight of God. But from Constantine onward, the followers of his them in the short space of a few months, and during the war of twenty
canons have often out-Neroed Nero in their persecutions of the true years, 1,000,000 of them were slain. Who were the people thus
followers of Christ. slaughtered ? Those who could and did truthfully say, as far as the
St. Paul said —“ But though we, or an Angel from Heaven, Alpine valleys or Waldensian section was concerned—“ We have
preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached inherited our religion with our lands from the primitive Christians.”
unto you, let him be accursed.” Therefore the fallen Church has lost T H E PROTESTANTS. The Lutheran ‘ Reformation’ was
all claim from the New Testament, and this has been a continual one of those master strokes of disguise which are engineered by an
source of jealousy and fear to the national Churches. The fear of intelligence above human, in fact it takes men centuries to see through
being found out, and loosing their hold upon the Nations, and jealousy them. The principles advocated, viz.—(i) Justification by Faith.
towards the true members of Christ’s Body, the jealousy of the harlot (2) The Bible alone, the only rule of faith—sounded indeed like the
against the virtuous woman, whose history they have vituperated or voice of Christ, but alas! what they meant by the Bible was the
suppressed from their position of vantage, having had for many Constantinian canons. Luther, Calvin and Zuingle were all zealous
centuries the jurisdiction over the education of the young and the upholders of Infant-Baptism, which alone dispenses—(i) With faith
literary sources of the Nations. in the candidate. (2) With the Bible which enjoins—“ He that
Constantine cruelly persecuted those who remained true to the Believeth and is Baptized shall be saved.” (Mark 16 ; 16.)
commission of Christ, his officers continued to put the Donatists to The bitterness of these ‘ reformers ’ against the followers of
death. It was then, and has been, right down the ages a fight between Christ can be measured by the following account of Balthazar Hubmeyer
the upholders of the Baptism of Repentance for the Remission of Sins of Friedburg—the learned and eloquent Christian martyr, burnt at
commanded by Christ versus the upholders of the Baptism of No Vienna in 1528 (and his wife drowned), who says of Zuingle :—
Repentance, degenerated into Infant-sprinkling commanded by the “ That they had proceeded so far, as at one time to throw
Anti-Christ. Donatus was the bold leader to brave the Emperor and into a dark and miserable tower, twenty persons, both men and
his edicts, to oppose Church and State. Attempts to win Donatus pregnant women, widows and young females, and to pronounce
and his followers by bribery followed the persecutions by the sword, this sentence upon th e m :—“ That thenceforward they should
presents were again and again refused. A commission came to see neither sun nor moon for the remainder of their lives, and
Donatus himself with their gold in their hands, to explain their object. be fed till their days were ended with bread and water. That
10 17
 they (therefore) should remain in the dark tower together, both
the living and the dead surrounded with filth and putrefaction of deception and evil,—“ The Kingdom and dominion, and the
until not a single survivor of the whole remained.” greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to
O God (Balthazar writes) what a hard, severe, cruel sentence the people of the Saints of the Most High, whose Kingdom is an
upon pious Christian people, of whom no one can speak evil, everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”
(Daniel 7 : 27.)
only that they had received water Baptism in obedience to the
command of Christ.” (Martyology of Churches of Christ.
T. J. Van Braght, Vol. i , p . 62).
Eventually after slaughtering in every country of Christendom an 2.— “ HOW ARE THE DEAD RAISED UP ?
innumerable number of the faithful servants of Christ, it has dawned AND WITH WHAT BODY DO THEY COME ? ”
on the upholders of the Constantinian canons that the Christians ( i Cor. 15: 35)
cannot be extirpated, hence they have adopted the more subtle attack
directed against the plenary inspiration of the Bible, the very foimdation The above question in the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the
of the Christian religion. Doubts and theories presented as facts, Corinthians should be of the utmost interest to every responsible
have been carefully instilled in the minds of the young under the creature upon the face of the earth. And yet it is strange that the
pretence of education, and by suggestio falsi, suppressio veri they knowledge of many other subjects of minor importance has been
have destroyed all reverence for the W ord of God, until this great carefully preserved, in regard to the views the ancients held concerning
monster atheism, which they have conjured to their aid, has grown them, but of this paramount subject, great confusion of thought and
beyond their control, and begins to devour the system that has reared ignorance reigns to-day.
it up. Yet it is evident from the words of the Apostle that he considered
It is a fit punishment of Christendom that lawlessness should be this the main axis of the Christian religion, for he writes : “ What
its destructor seeing that it is built upon the worst form of all lawlessness, advantageth it me, if the dead rise not ? Let us eat and drink, for
viz. lawlessness against God’s commandments, and that masquerading to-morrow we die.”
tmder a pretence of compliance. By craft and deception Constantine We can take as an example the Report of the Commission on
usurped the Kingdom of God upon the ea rth ; and whereas the Christian Doctrine appointed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and
previous World’s Empires, as they advanced in power and wealth, York in 1922, which Commission sat for 15 years to deliberate on the
acquired a taste for luxury which rendered them effeminate, and doctrine of the Church of England, and let us see how they answer
thereby lost their supremacy to the more virile race, because nursed the question “ How are the dead raised up ? and with what body do
in the cradle of hardship ; the Roman Empire alone as it declined they come ?”
in virility, when their supremacy in arms had gone, they found a This report dealing with the resurrection, says :—
new weapon of conquest in the Papacy, so that they reconquered their “ We ought to reject quite frankly the literalistic belief in a future
conquerors. This new weapon has been stolen, it should have been resuscitation of the actual physical frame which is lain in the tomb.”
the rule of Christ, whereas it was only imitation and ventriloquism ; This statement should be welcomed by any earnest student of
and protestantism is but an imitation of the imitator, a sort of revised Scripture, for the doctrine of the traditional Churches of the literal
edition. These houses built upon the sand of men’s inventions are resurrection of the physical body is a belief which contradicts the
now cracking in their foundations and sinking in a bottomless pit many sayings of the Lord Jesus Christ, such as ;—
of corruption. “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me
Regeneration is the only thing that will check the downfall. The hath everlasting life.” (John 6 : 47).
world needs regeneration more than it needs bread to eat, more than “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying,
clothes to wear, more than houses to live in, it needs to make this he shall never see death.” (John 8 ; 51).
question the first all important issue. But how shall the blind lead It is obvious that anyone who believes that those who died in
to the lig h t} How can the unregenerate advocate regeneration ? Christ are now under the ground waiting for a general resurrection
T hat has been the trouble all along, Satan has disguised himself as do believe that they have seen death, and are in fact still dead, and
an angel of lig h t; spiritual impostor dressed in a pious exterior; thereby reject the given statements of the Lord Jesus. It is furthermore
antinomianism prating about faith. But who and where are the written : “As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away : so he that
true Saints of God then ? goeth down to the grave shall come up no more,’ (Job 7 : 9.) And
That verdict must and shall be given by the unerring Judge of also ; “ For the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee :
all the earth, who from ancient times has declared the things not yet they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth,” (Isaiah 33 ;
accomplished, who has said by the mouth of Daniel, the great and 18.)
accurate Prophet of history, that after the overthrow of the kingdom However, the above words of the English Commission do not
18 19
answer the question “ How are the dead raised up ? and with what wanted to go and bury his father ; “ Let the dead bury their dead.”
body do they come ? ” In fact, the Anglican Report admits that this He makes no distinction between the dead and the naturally alive, but
question is above their present knowledge. They sa y :— spiritually dead.
“ But the question may be asked—and inevitably it is, in fact asked The resurrection life in Scripture, the eternal life, starts this side
—^What is it exactly that happens when we die ? There is the of the grave. We being dead spiritually must come to what the New
discarding of the physical frame ; the soul, as we say, leaves the body. Testament calls “ the first resurrection,” which corresponds to the
Are we to think of it as being immediately ‘ clothed upon ’ with what sowing and germination as the essential pre-requisite to the harvest
St. Paul, in one passage describes as its ‘ habitation which is from or last day resurrection.
Heaven ’—that is to say, its new body of the resurrection ? Or are
we, in accordance with the literal and formal orthodoxy of the main
Christian tradition, to think rather of a period of disembodied existence, The New Testament Doctrine of the Resurrection
an ‘ intermediate state,’ as intervening between the death of the body
and the day of ‘ general resurrection ’? The problems of the relation It is certain that the New Testament doctrine, as also that of the
of the temporal to the eternal order, and of the conditions of Ufe here very early Church, held a view of the resurrection vastly different
to the conditions of life hereafter, are involved at this point. In the from that which has been handed down by tradition and is usually
light of what has been said above, the notion of a period of disembodied accepted down to our day.
existence presents difficulties, and it may be that some of the questions In a spiritual sense, this difference is somewhat analogous to the
raised cannot be answered under the conditions of earthly life. We conceptions which divided the ranks of science in two separate camps
cannot expect a coherent scheme, but must be content to employ for well nigh two hundred years ; the one side upholding that dead
partially irreconcilable symbolisms, and to remain otherwise agnostic.” matter can spontaneously generate life, as opposed to the doctrine of
(Doctrine in The Church of England, pp 210, 211.) biogenesis, or life only from pre-existing life.
To remain agnostic means that one does not know. The Church The New Testament writers propagated a biogenesis in the
of England in the fourteenth century of its existence since its inception spiritual world, a life as continuous as that of the butterfly which
by Augustine cannot answer the question “ How are the dead raised up ? emerges from the grub. The grub representing the natural body,
and with what body do they come ? ” But this question remains which at death, translates its life to the butterfly body, the spiritual
unanswered not only by that Church, but also by the elder Churches, body of St. Paul.
such as the Roman Catholic, the Greek Orthodox, let alone the more “ There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”
modern offsprings of those ancient bodies, such as the Dutch Reformed, (i Cor. IS : 44.)
the Lutheran, the Wesleyan, etc. The same life merely changes its clothing to use another expression
In saying that this question remains unanswered by all these of the same writer—“ If so be that being clothed we shall not be
Churches, I mean that their doctrine makes such an answer impossible ; found naked ”—clothed before the dissolution of the natural body.
they cannot give an answer which agrees with the words already quoted This body, known also as the “ wedding garment,” must be acquired
of the Lord Jesus, or the many other sayings of the Lord, such as :— before the death of the natural body. To be found naked is, of all
“ This is the bread which cometh down from heaven that a disasters, the worst.
man may eat thereof and not die.” T he acquisition of the spiritual body appears to be the summum
“ I am the resurrection and the life : he that believeth in bonum of the Christian doctrine—a doctrine entirely contrary to the
me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth resurrection of the natural body as taught in the Apostles’ Creed and
and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this ? ” as emphasized at every burial service throughout Christendom.
Yet the Apostle to the Gentiles regarded the question “ How are For the dead body about to be buried, having lost its life, is but
the dead raised up ? and with what body do they come ? ” as a simple dust, about to return to dust, in the same condition as the dead matter
matter, for he himself begins his answer to it by saying : “ Thou fool, which the pseudo-scientists contended could spontaneously generate
that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die, and that which life, or the burial service teaches will be resurrected back to life at
thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be.” Proving the judgment day.
thereby that the answer to this question must be in agreement and It is therefore obvious that the doctrine of biogenesis in the
consistent with the process of sowing and reaping which he thus uses spiritual world is distinct from and contradictory to the resurrection
as an example. of the natural body.
Of course to the naturally minded the words “ How are the dead But what does the New Testament really teach ? Let us begin
raised up ? ” have only one meaning ; to them the dead are those under with the statement of the Lord Jesus :—
the ground. However, the Lord Jesus speaks of men and women “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he
walking as dead. For instance, he said to one of his disciples who shall never see death.”
20 21
 “ These phrases appear to signify not so much that a new body
The term “ man ” in Scripture is never applied to the soul singly, is to be given in exchange for the old, as that the present body is to be
for it is written that the Lord God “ formed man from the dust of the transformed. ‘ It is sown a natural body,’ he writes, probably
ground ” before the inbreathing of the soul or conscience into him. referring to its introduction into this world by physical b irth ; ‘ it is
At the fall it was not the soul that was condemned, but the body, for raised a spiritual body,’ implying a continuous identity between the
the sentence was : “ Dust thou art, and unto the dust shalt thou two conditions.”
return.” However, Paul emphatically maintains the entire difli'erence of the
Hence the words of the Lord Jesus ; “ If a man keep my saying, resurrected body from what he terms “ the body of this death.”
he shall never see death,” are a complete reversal of the fall, with this He writes :—
proviso, that as the fall was the result of disobedience, the blessing is “ Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except,
also the reward of “ keeping my saying.” The Lord Jesus is therefore it d ie : And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that
called the “ Saviour of the body ” in Ephesians 5 : 23. He saves the body that shall be, . . . but God giveth it a body as it hath
body by creating a spiritual body to re-clothe the soul at the dissolution pleased him and to every seed his own body. . . So also is the
of the natural body, thus, as the Apostle puts i t : “ Making of twain resurrection from the dead.” (i Cor. 15.)
one new man.” The twain are the two creations ; the soul inherited “ That ye put off the old man, which is corrupt, . . and
from the first Adam is re-housed in the body of the last Adam, thus that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in
making peace. An immortal soul in an immortal body. righteousness and true holiness.” (Ephesians 4. 22 : 24.)
It can be said that the grub does not see death, for its life is “ If a man be in Christ, he is a new creation : old things are
transferred into the butterfly. Likewise the seed sown, although its passed aw ay; behold, all things are become new.” (3 Cor. 5 :
body dies, yet the life continues unto the harvest. ^7-)
It is remarkable that both Jesus and Paul should use the seed as an The many references of St. Paul to this new creation, in the present
illustration of the resurrection, for the seed is a vivid illustration of the tense, are significant, such as : “ We are his workmanship, created in
doctrine of biogenesis, inasmuch as the life of the harvest is in the Christ Jesus,” or “ Seeing that ye have put off the old man with his
seed sown ; and as the butterfly body is potentially in the grub, so also deeds : And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge
the Apostle Paul writes of the reborn : “ But we have this treasure in after the image of him that created him.”
earthen vessels,” that is in the natural body, which means that the It is to be feared that as the evolutionists have attempted to do
embryo of the spiritual body is now within those who have been born away with the natural creation of Genesis i, so also the followers of
again. tradition have done away with the new creation in the spiritual world.
Of the beauty of this spiritual body we have no conception ; Exception must be taken to the interpretation of Dr. Spenser of
sufficient to say that the Lord Jesus declared : “ Neither can they die the passage “ It is sown a natural body.” He writes : “ Probably
any more : for they are equal unto the angels ; and are the children referring to its introduction into this world by physical birth.”
of God, being the children of the resurrection,” Luke 20 ; 36. Angels Sowing is, however, quite different to begetting. A body is
have appeared to men in several instances and in diverse manners, begotten and conceived at the natural birth, but not sown, for a seed
usually like young men, showing that they possess perpetual youth, is sown in maturity, and as the Lord Jesus says of i t : “ Except it die,
they have overthrown armies and kingdoms, which proves that they it abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” The
possess powers undreamt of in our present state. body of the seed in dying transfers its life into the new harvest-body.
The voice of nature, namely, of the corn sown, is this, that the
resurrection begins immediately upon the sowing. The process is,
Difference Between the Natural and the Resurrected Body as it were, an unbroken continuity of sowing. There does not appear
to be a pause. Growth immediately follows on birth. Two links in
An article published in the Hibbert Journal entitled “ The Hope an unbroken chain. So also is the spiritual birth : “ It is sown a
of the Resurrection,” by Frederick A. M. Spenser, D.D., further natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”
illustrates the confusion on this subject and the incoherent reasoning The reason why the Church of England “ cannot expect a coherent
on spiritual subjects by people otherwise cultured, proving that the scheme ” in dealing with this question of the resurrection is because
teaching of the Bible can only be interpreted by the rule laid down in they apply the words of St. Paul, “ it is sown a natural body,” to the
the Bible, namely ; “ Not in words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but burial of a dead body, whereas the life of the harvest must be in the
which the Holy Spirit teacheth : comparing spiritual things with seed sown. Sow a seed without life, and you will never get a harvest;
spiritual.” sow a man without life, and you will never get a resurrection, and
Commenting on the following Scripture, “ The Lord Jesus shall nothing can be, more incoherent than to expect one. Nevertheless, after
fashion anew body of our humihation that it may be conformed to the fifteen years of study, the English Commission failed to realize that
body of His glory,” Dr. Spenser writes :—
2.9
22
this incoherency is in their traditional teaching and not in the New
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that
Testament doctrine. ye may grow thereby.” (i Peter 2 : 2.)
But the question “ Where is it sown a natural body ? ” is the real
key to the New Testament doctrine of the resurrection, and the first “ But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man
is renewed day by day. (2 Cor. 4 ; 16.)
essential, be it repeated, is that the body must have life when sown.
St. Paul teaches that it is sown a natural body in the baptism of Two distinct creations. The natural body thus becomes the
repentance for the remission of sins, in i Corinthians 15 : 29. mould, wherein is formed the new creature, the earthen vessel which
contains this treasure.
“ Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if
the dead rise not at all ? Why are they then baptized for the As the physical birth produces the physical body, so also the
dead ? ” Then he goes on to sa y : “ But some man will say, spiritual birth produces the spiritual body. One so reborn at the
How are the dead raised up ? and with what body do they come ?” death of the natural body is housed in the “ building of God, an house
He thus joins baptism with the resurrection, as he does in several not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,” of 2 Corinthians 5 ;
I, in a similar way as the butterfly leaves its old tenement to live on in
other passages, which makes it clear that the natural body is sown with the new one.
life, according to the Apostle, in Gospel baptism (not infant baptism).
There is not the slightest doubt that the New Testament writers
L et us take for instance Colossians 2 : 12, 13 :—
“ Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with believed in the intervention of God in the life of each convert. God
him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised was present to them in baptism when the repentant sinner was
him from the dead. And you being dead in your sins and the immersed “ into (Greek eis) the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost.”
uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him,
The words of God to Moses were significant: “ In all places
having forgiven you all trespasses.”
Without this “ faith in the operation of God ” in believer’s where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.”
baptism, the mystery of the resurrection will ever remain an unsolved The only place where God records his name in the New Testament is
in Matthew 28 : 19.
riddle. The same operation of Genesis i, when the Spirit of God moved
The New Testament teaches that to bring our fellow creatures
from the nature of absolute enmity against God into the nature of upon the face of the waters, and brought forth by stages the natural
loving obedience to God is above logic. It involves a new creation. creation, is now repeated singly in each convert, bringing forth out of
the womb of water the new creation, called the spiritual body.
(Romans 8 : 5-8.) “ But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to
The carnal mind cannot be converted to the mind of C hrist;
carnal reason cannot be transformed into spiritual reason; this is an every seed his own body . . . So also is the resurrection from
impossible evolution. Hence the import of our L o rd ’s word to (Greek) the dead. It is sown in corruption (in baptism ); it is
Nicodemus : “ Marvel not that I say unto thee, ye must be born raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonour : it is raised in
glory. I t is sown in weakness (not in death) ; it is raised in
again.” power. It is sown a natural body (in baptism) : it is raised a
spiritual body.” (i Cor. 15 ; 38-44.)
The New Birth and First Resurrection into Life This is the efficient cause, of which the last day resurrection out
of the tomb of carnality is the triumphant effect. The harvest of the
baptismal sowing.
But where is one born again ? The God-given answer is :—
“ Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of
The Two Resurrections
God.” (John 3 : 5.)
But how do we know that this birth of water is baptism ? Because
the Lord Jesus also says in Mark 16 : 16 : “ He that beiieveth and is As already stated, the New Testament gives two stages of the
resurrection, or two resurrections :—
baptized shall be saved.” In one passage he tells us that there is only
one way of being saved ; in the other he tells us what that way is. “ Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection:
Therefore it is here where the Divine possibility reaches down on such the second death has no power.” (Rev. 20 : 6.)
and catches up the immortal Spirit in man from the carnal nature into The Lord Jesus also mentions clearly the two resurrections in the
fifth chapter of the Gospel of St Jo h n :—
God’s heavenly nature. First Resurrection
This new birth is the birth of the celestial body, which, like the
seed‘sown, must afterwards slowly grow into the harvest. Grow “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now
is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of G o d : and
within us. they that hear shall live.” (v. 25.)
24
25
 Second Resurrection
“ Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which, “ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together
all that are in the graves shall hear his (Christ’s) voice, and shall with Christ, (by grace ye are saved): and hath raised us up
come forth ; they that have done good unto the resurrection of together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus.” (Ephesians 2 : 5, 6.)
life : and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of
damnation.” (vv. 28-29). Compare these words of Paul—“ hath quickened us together with
The term “ the hour is coming, and now is,” in the first Christ ”—^with the words of the Lord Jesus : “ For as the Father
resurrection means from the time he was speaking onwards ; and the raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them : even so the Son quickeneth
dead in that verse are they that stood round about him, dead in whom he vnll and a further comparison with the statement of
trespasses and sins, in his day and successive period. “And they St. Paul in Colossians 2 : 12, 13, where he teaches that God quickens
that hear shall live ” is synonymous with Paul’s “And you hath he together with Christ in baptism, should make this matter clear to all
quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” This is the first the guileless ones that seek the New Testament doctrine of the
resurrection.
resurrection.
Whereas in the second resurrection the term “All that are in the
graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth : they that have done Where the Church Went Astray
good unto the resurrection of life ; they have done evil, unto the
resurrection of damnation,” has been interpreted literally to mean the Why is this doctrine so clearly taught in Scripture now become
ground grave, whereas it is to be interpreted as the Lord Jesus does so obscure ? In my opinion this question has only one answer, and
elsewhere, where He tells the Pharisees and lawyers : “ For ye are as that is that with the introduction of infant baptism the doctrine was
killed. The essentials which made the new birth possible were
graves which appear not.”
The spiritual meaning of “ graves ” in this passage is limited to removed. These requirements Vi^ere: Repentance towards God
the natural body, wherein is contained the living soul. and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in the convert about to be immersed,
“ Shall come forth ” means the soul shall come forth, at the which are of course not possible in an unconscious babe. Without
death of the body, from its grave of corruption ; the death of the body these essentials in the candidate no birth is possible.
The very mode of burial and resurrection out of the waters of
being its last day upon the earth.
Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16 were thus called : one to baptism were gradually changed. In short, the doctrine of God was
the resurrection of life, and the other to the resurrection of damnation. substituted by the doctrine of man, thus annulling the blessing, for
The resurrection of damnation means that the soul or conscience is it is written ; “ But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrine
the commandments of men.”
raised again to its upright position assigned to it by God from its
bondage to the flesh—“ the body of this death ”—to remain henceforth, It is not enough for the Church of England to “ reject quite
- and for ever disembodied. Like the seed that rots without sowing frankly the Hteralistic belief in a future resuscitation of the actual
can never again come to the harvest, naturally and spiritually the physical frame which is laid in the tomb,” but they must give up
chasm between life and no life is eternal as it is written : “ The harvest infant-baptism before they can begin to understand the doctrine of
is passed, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” the first and second resurrections, for as sure as no man can understand
That the first death and the first resurrection takes place in anything relating to this world before he is born into it, so also can no
man understand anything relating to the Kingdom of God unless he
baptism is evident from Romans 6 :—
“ Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death : is born into that kingdom. That is the meaning of the Lord’s words
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the to Nicodemus; “ Very, verily, I say unto you, except a man is born
again he caimot see the Kingdom of God.”
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
This is what Paul calls “ planted together in the likeness of his Only one who for many years has tried to teach the unborn can
death,” which is the one and the same thing as “ It is sown a natural realize how true the Lord’s words are : “ He cannot see the Kingdom
body, it is raised a spiritual body,” of the fifteenth chapter of i of God.” This is also borne out by the following words of the English
Commission : “And it may be that some of the questions raised cannot
Corinthians. be answered under the conditions of earthly life ; we cannot expect a
It is clear that the people to whom the Epistles were addressed
were considered as having been resurrected into a new life. Witness coherent scheme.” Is this not a tacit admission that they cannot see
the Kingdom of God } An admission that they are not born again .?
the following passages :— There is no new birth in infant-baptism.
“ Likewise reckon ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,
but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord . . . Yield Not only must the Church of England give up infant-baptism
yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead.” before she can see the coherent scheme of the New Testament, but
also adopt the Baptism of Repentance for the remission of sins (Mark
(Rom. 6.)
I : 4). Not as the Archbishop Benson, who left a codicil in his will;
26
27
to build a baptistry at Lambeth Palace to baptize adults, which was after the example of our Ichthus, Jesus Christ, are bom in water
done after his death, but all, from the Archbishops downwards, must . . . . The very simplicity of God’s means of working is a
first humble themselves in the sight of God, in obedience to the stumbling-block to the carnal mind. So that from the very
Lord’s commandment given in Luke 24: 47, and as promulgated by fact that with so great simplicity, without pomp, finally, without
St. Peter on the Day of Pentecost in the following words :— expense, a man is brought down into water, and amidst a few
“ Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of words dipped, and then rises again . . Is it not wonderful that
Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the death should be washed away by bathing ? ”
gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2 : 38.) This ordinance to them was no empty ceremony, no outward sign
But please remember that no one who is not himself correctly nor figure of anything, but a real God-honoured transaction, the
baptized has any authority from the Lord Jesus to baptize another. operation of God, the New Birth. But with the introduction of Church
This gift of the Holy Ghost to us today is the Spiritual Discernment and State all this is changed; every subject of the State must be
to rightly compare spiritual things with spiritual; to discern, in other brought into the Church, and infant-baptism alone can make this
words, what the Anglican Commission failed to discern in fifteen possible ; henceforth the Church is filled with unregenerated members
years’ study, namely, the wonderful and coherent scheme of the New —a dead congregation.
Testament for our salvation. The Holy Spirit and the words of The commission and commandment of Jesus Christ was changed
Christ are one : “ The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, for State reasons. In fact, that which ourLord defines as the Gospel
and they are life.” Shut out the Word, and you shut out the Spirit. was actually cut out of the Scriptures by Eusebius at the command of
But, seeing that baptism is an act of creation, no one who rejects the Emperor Constantine from fifty copies of the New Testament
the Lord God as the Creator of the natural creation in the first chapter “ edited ” for the use of the newly-built Churches of Constantinople.
of Genesis can consistently accept him in the new and eternal creation T he so-called oldest manuscripts extant are the remaining copies of
in baptism. Isaiah says : “ Hast thou not known ? hast thou not these mutilated writings. From henceforth Christ’s definition of the
heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends Gospel becomes heresy! The passage in question occurs in the
of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary ? There is no searching nine last verses of the Gospel of Mark which were thus mutilated,
out of his understanding.” Reject God as the Creator of the although this same passage was cited by many writers during the
beginning of the earth, and you likewise reject Him as the preceding four centuries, and at least once by a writer of the first
Creator of the ends of the earth. Thus ingratitude carries its own century, namely, by Nicodemus.
punishment, and what a terrible punishment it is can best be measured “ Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every
by the following scripture : “ As a drop of water unto the sea, and a creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but
gravelstone in comparison of the sand, so are a thousand years to the he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16 : 15, 16.)
days of eternity.” At the death of the body we attain to permanency The result has been that, instead of the Church glorying in its
of character and state for all eternity. new creation, as did the early Church, which conquered against
“ He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is terrible opposition by her God-given ordinances, the modern Church
filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be has become like Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones, very dry, with not a
righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” (Rev. vestige of life left.
22 : I I . ) These bones scattered through Christendom require the breath
The new birth and present possession of eternal life, developing of the doctrine of Christ to bring back bone to its bone ; their sinews
into a glorious future, was the motive power, the incentive of the and flesh will then come upon them, and their skin cover them, and in
early Church, which made it such an efficient power against a world the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins the breath from
of sin and corruption ; whereas the present Church is practically heaven shall enter into them, and they shall live to make the heavenly
helpless in a world as corrupt as that of the Roman Empire of the first Jerusalem the praise of all the earth.
three centuries. This in itself is a witness that the present Church
has lost all regenerating influence.
Witness the writings of Barnabas, Justin Martyr, Herman, Without Shedding of Blood is No Remission
Tertullian, Stephen i, Clement of Alexandria; they all breathe the Heb: 9: 22
same spirit of the re-born; the eagle of paradise is strong in them,
vivacious, assertive; they joy in tribulations and overcome all Owing to the self-delusion of many sects—and their name is
difficulties. legion—^who reject the doctrine of God in baptism, but professedly
“ Happy is that Sacrament of ours,” writes Tertullian, “ in make much of the “ efficacy of the blood of Christ to save and
that, by washing away the sins of our early blindness, we are set keep the regenerate ” (as they say), I find it necessary to write briefly
free and admitted into eternal life . . . . But we, little fishes, on the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ, for I know from
28 29
experience that in reading the foregoing pages these same people
usually bring the accusation that “ we leave out the blood altogether.” separation had not been sprinkled upon him : he is unclean.”
In fact, these sects generally sing hymns such as “ Nothing but Compare this with the words of the Lord Jesus C hrist: “ Verily,
the Blood of Jesus.” This hymn, like all man-composed hymns, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit
which are additions to the Sacred Writings, are unscriptural; they he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.”
are condemned in Revelation 22 ; 18, and should be abolished from The ashes of the heifer sprinkling the unclean was designed to
any Church that professes to be the Bride of Christ. teach us : Firstly, that without shedding of blood there is no remission
For instance, let us take the hymn “ Nothing but the Blood of of sins ; secondly, that when the repentant sinner is buried with Christ
Jesus.” This contradicts r John 5 ; 8 : “And there are three that by baptism into death (Romans 6 : 3), he is buried into Christ’s
bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water and the blood: and blood, for the blood is shed at death. Death and blood therefore
are one.
these three agree in one.”
To sing “ Nothing but the Blood of Jesus ” means the rejection This clearly teaches that all who fail to obey the Lord’s message
of the Spirit and the water, namely, the rejection of the new-birth in and commandment in the baptism of repentance for the remission of
John 3 : 5 . In fact, the followers of George Fox and of General sins thereby reject the blood of Christ. Never, therefore, does the blood
Booth, and many others, have taken away both the baptism of of atonement purge the conscience of such a one from his sins ; he
repentance for the remission of sins as well as the Lord’s Supper from dies unsaved and in his sins.
their form of worship, thereby bringing upon themselves the same Knowing this, we urge obedience, as it is written : “ Behold, to
charge the Lord brought against the religious people of his day, namely : obey is better than sacrifice, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and
“ But woe unto you. Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” The reverse of that is the
up the Kingdom of Heaven against men ; for ye neither go in yourselves praise of the Apostle Paul to the Roman C hurch; “ But God be
neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the
But to return to the blood of atonement. The blood of our Lord heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then
was shed nearly two thousand years ago. Where do these people made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
who professedly make so much of it find it ? The answer is nowhere I t is such alone who benefits by the Lord’s promise :—
else but in their imagination. But where has He who shed the blood “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he
designed that the blood of redemption should be applied to the shall never see death.”
repentant sinner ? The answer is : “ In the baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins,” and nowhere else.
This should be obvious to any thoughtful individual, for the
Scripture declares :—
(ist) Without shedding of blood is no remission.
(2nd) The baptism of repentance is for the remission of sins.
(Mark i ; 4, Luke 24 : 47, Acts 2 : 38 and 22 : 16.)
It therefore follows that one must meet the other in the one place.
In fact, this is clearly stated in i John 5 ; 8 ; “And there are three
that bear witness in earth, the Spirit and the water, and the blood:
and these three agree in one.” They agree in the one baptism,which
the Lord has commanded.
In the nineteenth chapter of Numbers we have a type of this.
In verse 2 the “ red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish,”
was a type of the Lord Jesus. In verse 3, Eleazar the priest was to
bring forth the heifer without the camp (compare this with Hebrews
13 : I I , 12) and slay her before his face. In verse 5 the heifer was to
be entirely burnt before the priest. In verse 9 the ashes of the heifer
were to be laid up without the camp in a clean place; “ I t shall be
kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of
separation; it is a purification for sin.”
Verse 20 says : “ But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not
purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation,
because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the L o rd : the water of
80
31
 n r'
1o
The Jew;

A book every Jew should read

By

E. E S C H I N I

P.O. Box 2542

C ape Town
U nion of South A frica
 TO THE JEWS

INTRODUCTION
he h isto rica l even ts th a t follow ed th e rejection and co n ­
T d em nation of Jesus of N azareth in th e fourth decade of the
first century of th e C hristian era by th e ch ief priests and n ation
of th e Jew s h a v e had a repercussion through out th e follow ing
n in e te en centuries, and it is h ig h tim e to lay aside all prejudice
and n o te its significance down to our day, and I resp ectfully would
su b m it th is brief trea tise to th e Jew s of our day a s a friend, in
order to correct th e errors w hich h ave resulted in a n ocean of
suffering and w hich are still th e cause of their in security in th e
world, and th e ever p resen t danger of a n ti-sem itism and th e
m agazin e power th a t m ay cau se eruptions at any tim e, no m atter
how prosperous their im m ed iate prospects appear to be.
As I am w ritin g th ese n otes, I am fu lly aware th a t w e have
now com e to th e fu lfilm e n t of th e tim e of th e G entiles, in other
w ords th eir ju d gm en t is in th e process of execution for th eir sin s
and th eir rejection of th e doctrine of C hrist in a sim ilar w ay as
th e destruction of Judea and Jerusalem by V espesian and T itus
C easar were th e direct resu lt of th e rejection of G od’s Law and
th e su b stitu tion of trad itions w hich were th e com m and m ents of
m en in opposition to th e expressed w ill of God, as given by M oses
and th e Prophets, and by Joh n th e B a p tist and th e Lord Jesus
Christ.
I n both cases, th e sp iritu al leaders of Israel and th e spiritual
leaders of th e C hristian n a tio n s h ave used religion as a m ean s to
gain suprem acy over th eir fellow creatures and for their m aterial
gain, and n o t for th e w elfare of th eir respective flocks, and as
blind leaders of th e blind h ave both brought u tter destruction
upon their h eads, and upon their blinded followers.
T he ch ief priests of th e Jew s had delivered Christ to P ilate
to be judged and requested h im to “Crucify him , crucify h im ,”
and w h en told by P ilate: “I find in h im no fa u lt at all. B u t ye
h a v e a custom th a t I should release u nto you one at th e p a sso v er:
w ill ye therefore th a t I release u nto you th e k ing of th e Jews?
T h en cried th ey a ll sayin g: N ot th is m an, but Barabbas. Now
Barabbas w as a robber.”

THE WRATH OF GOD

T he second P salm foretold: “K iss th e Son, le st h e be angry,
and ye perish from th e way, w hen h is w rath is kindled but a
4 R .P .— 3 9 3 5 /1 2 /4 3 /im little. B lessed are all th ey th a t put their tru st in h im .”
 The rejection of th e Son for a robber caused th e tem ple of “So all hope of escap ing w as now cu t off from th e Jews,
God at Jerusalem , w hich w as reverenced by all n ation s, to be to g eth er w ith th eir liberty of going out of th e city. T h en did
filled w ith w arlike robbers, w hich indeed m ade it th eir fortress, th e fa m in e w iden its progress, and devoured th e people by w hole
com m ittin g u ntold m urders, rapine and robberies upon th e h o u ses and fam ilies; th e upper room s were fu ll of w om en and
in h ab itan ts of Jerusalem , k illin g th e h ig h p riest and ch ief priests ch ildren th a t were d ying by fam in e; and th e la n es of th e city
and even forbidding th e burial of their dead bodies, u n til Jeru ­ w ere fu ll of th e dead bodies of th e aged; th e children also and
salem w as com passed w ith th e arm ies of th e R om ans, w hich th e you ng m en w andered about th e m ark et-p lace like shadow s,
brought about such a fam in e, th e like of w hich h a s never been a ll sw elled w ith th e fam in e, and fell down dead w heresoever
equalled in th e w hole h istory of th e world. th eir m isery seized them . As for burying them , th o se th a t were
sick th em selves were n o t able to do it; and th o se th a t were
I t is h ere necessary to quote a w itn ess w ho fa ith fu lly recorded
h ea rty and w ell, w ere deterred from doing it by th e great m u lti­
th ese even ts in th e first century, n am ely F lavius Josephus.
tud e of th o se dead bodies, and by th e u n certain ty there w as
“B u t as for th e people (inside of Jerusalem ), th ey had a h ow soon th ey should die them selves; for m any died as they
great in clin ation to desert to th e R om ans; accordingly, som e of w ere burying others, and m any w en t to their coffins before th e
th em sold w h a t th ey had, and even th e m ost precious th in gs fa ta l hour w as com e! Nor w as there any la m en ta tio n m ade
th a t h ad been laid up as treasures by them , for a very sm all u nder th ese calam ities, nor w ere heard any m ournful com plaints;
m atter, and sw allow ed down pieces of gold, th a t th ey m ig h t not but th e fa m in e confounded all n atu ral passions; for those who
be found out by th e robbers; and w hen th ey h a d escaped to were ju st going to die, looked upon those th a t were going to
th e R om ans, w en t to stool, and h ad w herew ith al to provide th eir rest before them w ith dry eyes and open m ouths. A deep
p len tifu lly for them selves; for T itus le t a great num ber of them silen ce also, and a kind of deadly n ight, h ad seized upon th e
go aw ay in to th e country . . . however, John and Sim on (th e city; w h ile y et th e robbers were still m ore terrible th a n those
ch iefs of th e robbers), w ith their faction s, did m ore carefully m iseries were them selves; for th ey brake upon those houses
w atch th ese m en ’s going out th a n th e y did th e com ing in of w hich were no other th a n graves of dead bodies, and plundered
th e R om ans, and, if any one did but afford th e lea st shadow of th em of w h a t th ey had; and carrying off th e covering of their
suspicion of su ch an in ten tion , h is th roat w as cu t im m ediately. bodies, w en t out la u g h in g and tried th e p oin ts of th eir swords
on th e dead bodies; and, in order to prove w h a t m ettle th ey
“B u t as for th e richer sort, it proved all one to th em w hether
were m ade of, th ey th ru st som e of th o se through th a t still lay
th ey stayed in th e city or attem p ted to get out of it, for th ey alive upon th e ground; but for those th a t en treated th em to
w ere equally destroyed in both cases; for every such person lend th em th eir righ t h a n d and their sword to d ispatch them ,
w as p u t to d eath under th is pretence, th a t th ey were going to th ey were too proud to gran t their request, and le ft them to be
desert— but in reality th a t th e robbers m ig h t get w h a t they had. consum ed by th e fam in e. Now every one of those died w ith
T he m adness of th e seditiou s did also increase, togeth er w ith th eir eyes fixed upon th e tem ple, and le ft th e seditiou s alive
th e fam in e, and both th ose m iseries were every day inflam ed b eh ind them . Now th e seditious a t first gave orders th a t the
m ore and more; for there w as no corn w hich anyw here appeared dead should be buried out of th e public treasury, as n ot enduring
publicly; but th e robbers cam e ru n nin g in to and searched m en ’s th e sten ch of their dead bodies. B u t afterw ards, w h en they
p rivate houses; and th en , if th ey found any, th ey torm ented could n o t do th a t, th ey h a d th em cast down from the w alls in to
them , because th ey h ad denied th ey h ad any; and if th ey found th e v alleys b en eath .”
none, th ey torm en ted th em worse, because th ey supposed th ey W hat an aw ful p icture of a n a tio n th a t through th e b lindness
had m ore carefu lly concealed it. T he in d ication th ey m ade use of of its leaders cu t itse lf a d rift from th e E ternal Providence;
w heth er th ey h ad any or n ot w as tak en from th e bodies of th ese w h a t a con tra st w ith th e words of th e P salm ist: “Thou openest
m iserable w retches, w hich, if th ey w ere in a good case, they T hy hand, and satisflest th e desire of every liv in g th in g .”
supposed th ey were in no w an t a t all of food; but if th ey were
w asted away, th ey w alked off w ith o u t search in g any further: T h us th e city th a t refused to obey th e Son of God and
nor did th ey th in k it proper to kill such as th ese, because they preferred a robber to h im of w hom Isa ia h prophecied: “For
saw th ey w ould very soon die of th em selves for w an t of food.” u n to us a child is born, u n to us a son is given; and th e govern­
m en t sh a ll be upon h is shoulders and h is n am e sh a ll be called
T h us th e m atter stood at an early stage of th e siege, but W onderful, Counsellor, th e M ighty God, th e E verlasting Father,
later w hen T itu s h ad com m anded h is arm y to build a w all all th e P rince of P ea ce”— th a t city w as given over to babarous
round Jerusalem , th u s p reventin g any sallies of th e Jew s out of robbers th a t pun ish ed in a terrible m an n er th eir rejection of
th e city, th e fam in e grew as follo w s:— life and peace.
 THE PROPHET T he tem ple in th e course of tim e h ad becom e an idol in a
sim ilar w ay as th e serp en t of brass w hich M oses w as com m anded
Joseph us’s testim on y th a t all th o se w ho died during th e to erect on a pole in th e w ild erness w h en th e Lord sen t fiery
siege of Jerusalem , died w ith their eyes fixed on th e tem ple serp en ts am ong th e people, and they b it th e people, and m any
u n til th e tem ple itself w as burnt to th e ground so th a t n o t a people of Israel died as a p u n ish m en t for their sins, and
stone w as le ft upon another, as th e Lord Jesus h a d foretold, m urm urings a g a in st God and Moses.
deserves our consideration. On th eir repentan ce th e Lord said unto M oses; “Make thee
D uring th e m any centu ries th a t h a v e passed sin ce th e above a flery serpent, and sit it upon a pole: and it sh a ll com e to
even ts took place it h a s b een th e ea rn est prayer of th e Jew ish pass th a t every one th a t is b itten , w hen h e looketh upon it
n a tio n th a t God m ay gran t them th e m eans to re-build th a t sh a ll live.”
tem ple, for Indeed according to th e M osaic Law th ere is no T his serpent of brass w as afterw ards w orshipped and in cense
other place w here they can offer th eir sacrifices. However, th a t w as burnt unto it, u n til k ing H ezekiah brake it in pieces and
prayer h a s never b een granted them . T he cap tivity of Babylon called it a piece of brass.
lasted seven ty years, after w hich th e Lord graciously answered However, its real tea c h in g h a s been lo st to th e children
th e prayer of D aniel to restore th e tem ple and divine worship of Israel, and its true m ea n in g can only be understood from the
a t Jerusa]em , and m ade Cyrus, th e P ersian conqueror, zealous words of Jesus to th e ruler of th e Jew s, N ecodem us: “And as
to begin th e work, but now for th e space of 1874 years th e M oses lifted up th e serp en t in th e w ilderness even so m ust th e
con tin u al and com bined prayers of th e Jew ish race h a s been Son of m an be lifted up; th a t w hosoever believeth in h im should
con stan tly turned down. n ot perish, but h ave etern al life .”
Jesus C hrist in th e days of h is sojourn told th e people of T h a t m ean s th a t w e th a t are stu n g w ith th e poison of th e
Jerusalem : “Do n ot th in k th a t I w ill accuse you to th e F ather; serp en t th a t beguiled our first m other, and through sin are
there is one th a t accuseth you, even Moses, in w hom ye trust. condem ned to die, by looking upon Him w hom th ey pierced and
For h ad ye believed Moses, ye w ould h a v e believed m e; for h e h u n g upon a pole; th a t is by accep ting th e sacrifice of th e Son
w rote of me. B u t if ye believe n o t h is w ritings, how sh a ll ye of M an and obeying h is word, we sh a ll live for ever. T h at is
believe m y words?” And indeed M oses w rote: “T he Lord th y th e true m ea n in g of th e word “p attern ,” or tea ch in g by su b stitu ­
God w ill raise up u nto th ee a P rophet from th e m id st of thy tion.
brethren, like u nto m e; u n to h im sh a ll ye hearken . . . All th e an im al sacrifices, nay, th e tabern acle and all its
ordinances and afterw ards th e tem ple itself were tea ch in g by
“And th e Lord said u nto m e . . . I w ill raise th em up a
P rophet from am ong th eir brethren, like unto thee, and I w ill su bstitution ; p atterns. A developing religion as opposed to a
p u t m y words in h is m outh; and h e sh a ll speak u nto them all station ary religion, or, m ore strictly speaking, sym bols w hich
were designed to lead to th e real thin g, w hich would be declared
th a t I sh all com m and him . And it sh a ll com e to pass, th a t
w hosoever w ill n o t h eark en u nto m y words w hich h e sh a ll speak by th e prom ised Prophet due to be m ade m a n ifest in G od’s good
tim e.
in m y nam e, I w ill require it of h im ” (D eut. 18: 15, 18, 19).
W hat precisely is th e final h ope of th e religion of th e Eternal
T h at m ean s th a t th e p attern s of th e th in g s in h ea v en th a t
God? T he u tm ost in spiration of all th e prophets can be sum ­
M oses w as com m anded to teach were to la st u n til th ey were
m arized in th e words of D avid: “T he Lord com m anded th e
replaced by th e h eaven ly th in g s th em selves w hich th a t Prophet
blessing even life for everm ore.” Or; “S earch m e, o God, and
w ill teach you: or, as Paul, a Jew of Tarsus, said; “M oses w as
lead m e in th e w ay everlastin g.” Isa ia h said; “And th e ra n ­
our schoolm aster to bring us to C hrist.”
som ed of th e Lord sh a ll return, and com e to Zion w ith songs
T he design ation given by M oses to h is own ordinances as and everlasting joy upon their h ead s.”
“p attern s” m ean s th a t th ey are tea ch in g by su bstitution ; thu s T hus is expressed th e hope of deliverance from death, ever­
a m ap is a p attern of th e real ground and very u sefu l to find la stin g salvation : “B u t Israel sh a ll be saved in th e Lord w ith
your w ay in a stran ge country, but it is n ot th e real ground, everlastin g salvation ; ye sh a ll n ot be asham ed nor confounded
w hich, w hen once you know, you no longer require a p lan to world w ith ou t en d ” (Is. 45; 17).
help you in your direction.
A lthough th e hope is th erein expressed, y et th e w ay is not
To M oses th e Lord said; “And look th a t you m ake them m ade clear, only as a p ointer to be revealed by th a t P rophet
after their p attern, w hich w as shew ed th e e in th e m o u n t” (Ex. w hich w as announced by M oses, but as yet in th e womb of
25; 40). tim e. W hen finally th a t P rop het cam e a t th e precise tim e
announced by D aniel, h e said w ith ou t a m b ig u ity ; “Verily, verily, “Go ye in to all th e world, and preach th e gospel to every
I say u nto you, if a m an keep m y saying, h e sh a ll never see creature: He th a t b elieveth and is baptized sh a ll be saved;
d eath .” but h e th a t b elieveth n ot sh a ll be dam ned.”
Later I sh a ll deal m ore fu lly w ith th e doctrine ta u g h t by
T h is baptism is called “th e baptism of repentan ce for th e
th e Lord Jesus Christ, and prove th a t it is th e substance of
rem ission of sin s” and it fulfils th a t w hich all th e sacrifices
w hich th e tabern acle of M oses and th e tem ple were th e patterns;
under th e M osaic Law m erely p ointed to, n am ely th e forgiveness
a t p resen t I w ill conclude th is chapter w ith th e prophecy of
of sins. For it is n o t possible th a t th e blood of bulls and of
D aniel relatin g to th e exact year of th e com ing of th e M essiah.
goats should tak e aw ay sin s seein g th a t th e M osaic Law dem anded
D aniel wrote:
a m a n for a m an, and a m a n ’s life for a m a n ’s life. Therefore
“From th e going forth of th e com m and m ent to restore th e offering of calves or h eifers w as again a p attern to teach
and to build Jerusalem u nto th e M essiah, th e Prince, shall th a t w ith o u t th e sh ed din g o f blood there is no rem ission of
be seven weeks, and three score and tw o w eeks” (D an. 9: 25). sin s; it w as a sta y of execu tion year by year u n til He cam e who
alone w as sin less and could atone for th e sin s of m ankind.
T he said com m and m ent w en t forth in th e sev en th year of
A rtaxeres (Exra. 7: 7), n am ely B.C. 457. 69 x 7 = 483 days of “For if th e blood of bulls and of goats, and th e ashes
prophetic years. D educt B.C. 457, th is gives us A.D. 26, th e very o f an h eifer sprinkling th e u nclean , san ctifieth to th e p urify­
exact year in w hich Jesus cam e to h is baptism in Jordan and in g of th e flesh, how m uch m ore sh a ll th e blood of Christ,
thereby becam e th e M essiah, th a t is th e A nointed. It is w ritten: w ho through th e etern a l S pirit offered h im self w ith ou t spot
“T h is is h e th a t cam e by w ater and blood” (1 Joh n 5: 6) “even to God, purge your con scien ce from dead works to serve th e
Jesus th e M essiah.” He cam e as Jesus only to B eth leh em about livin g God.”
B.C. 4 (corrected chronology) but h e cam e about 29 to 30 years T he doctrine of baptism w as foreshadow ed in th e ash es of
later to baptism . “And Jesus h im self b egan to be about th irty th e h eifer w hich M oses w as com m anded to keep for th e con ­
years of age” (Luke 3: 23). T h at w as th e tim e h e becam e th e gregation of th e ch ild ren of Israel for a w ater of separation, of
A nointed, or, in th e Hebrew, th e M essiah, th e Greek form of

1
w h ich M oses w rote: “I t is a purification for sin . . . B u t th e
w liich is Christ. m an th a t sh a ll be u n clean and sh a ll n ot purify h im self, th a t
soul sh a ll be cu t off from am ong th e congregation, because h e
LIFE FOR EVERMORE h a th defiled th e san ctuary of th e Lord: th e w ater of separation
D avid’s prophecy: “T he Lord com m anded th e blessing even h a th n ot been sprinkled upon him : h e is u n clea n ” (Num . 19: 20).
life for everm ore” (Ps. 133: 3), finds its fu lfilm en t in th e doctrine The su bstan ce of th e above type can be traced in th e words
of h is Son Jesus Christ, w ho said: “I am th e resurrection and of C hrist:— •
th e life: h e th a t h elieveth in m e, th ou gh h e w ere dead, y et sh all
h e live; and w hosoever liveth and b elieveth in m e sh a ll never die.” “Verily, verily, I say u nto thee, except a m an be born
Truly could th e officers th a t were sen t to arrest h im by the of w ater and of th e S pirit h e can n ot enter into th e kingdom
ch ief priests and P harisees say: “Never m an spake like th is of God.”
m an .” As th e sacrifice of th e h eifer or its san ctification w as tra n s­
In th e days of h is flesh h e confined h is p reaching to th e m itted , through th e ash es by th e w ater of separation, so also
children of Israel, and alth ou gh m any believed in him , yet as a th e virtue of th e blood of Christ, th e aton em en t of th e sh ed blood
n a tio n th e rulers rejected h im through jealou sy and th e fear is tran sm itted to th e rep en ta n t believer in th e im m ersion of
to loose their suprem acy over th e people. I t w as th en th a t w ater called baptism and ad m inistered on th e au th ority of Jesus
h e uttered th e m em orable w ords:— C hrist in to th e nam e of th e F ath er and of th e Son and of th e
H oly Spirit.
“O Jerusalem , Jerusalem , th ou th a t k illest th e prophets,
S a in t P aul defines it as a burial in to th e d eath of C hrist
and sto n e st th em th a t are sen t u nto thee, how often w ould
and as a resurrection in to h is life, in fu lfilm e n t of th e prophecy
I h ave gathered th y ch ildren together, even as a h en
of Isaiah 26: 19: “Thy dead m an sh a ll live, together w ith m y
gath ereth her ch ickens under h er w in gs and ye w ould not.
dead body sh a ll th ey rise. Awake and sing, ye th a t dw ell in
B ehold your h ouse is le ft unto you d esolate.”
dust.”
A fter h is resurrection from th e dead h e sen t forth his D an iel also w rote: “A nd m any of th em th a t sleep in th e
disciples u nto all th e world and gave them th e follow ing com ­ dust of th e earth sh a ll awake, som e to everlastin g life and som e
m an d m en t:— to sh a m e and everlasting co n tem p t” (D an iel 12: 2).
8
 To Adam th e Lord said: “D ust thou art.” Abraham said: To return to th e prophecy of D avid :—
“I am but d ust and ash es.” We are therefore th e dw ellers in “As th e dew of H erm on, and as th e dew th a t descended
th e dust th a t m ust th u s aw ake to everlasting life, h en ce it is upon th e m oun tains of Zion: for there th e Lord com m anded
w ritten: “Awake thou th a t sleep est and arise from th e dead th e blessing, even life for everm ore.”
and C hrist sh all give you life .” T he fulfilm ent of th is prophecy is given by th e A postle
We h ave seen th a t th e Lord Jesus ca lls h im self “T he M atthew in th e follow in g words: “T he eleven disciples w en t
R esurrection and th e L ife”, and th e A postle P aul furth er w rites: aw ay in to G alilee, in to a m ou n tain w here Jesus h ad appointed
“As m any of you as h ave been baptized in to C hrist h ave put on th em . And w hen th ey saw h im th ey w orshipped him : but som e
C hrist,” w e therefore put on in baptism H im w ho is both “th e doubted. And Jesus cam e and spake u nto th em saying: All
R esurrection and th e Life,” as a bride on h er m arriage puts on pow er is given unto m e in h ea v en and in earth. Go ye, therefore,
th e nam e of h er husb and and shares in h is life and benefits. and tea ch all n ation s, b aptizing th em in to th e nam e of th e
F ath er, and of th e Son, and of th e Holy Spirit: tea ch in g them
W hat precisely is th is life we acquire? All life in th is world
l o observe all th in g s w hatsoever I h ave com m anded you; and, lo,
h a s a body, a covering, m em bers, organs, fun ction s; so h a s th e
I am w ith you alw ays, even u n to th e end of th e world. A m en.”
celestia l life. “T here is a n atu ral body, and there is a spiritual
It w as here th a t th e Lord com m anded th e b lessing to all
body.” n a tio n s, even life for everm ore.
Of th e children of th e resurrection th e Lord Jesus said:
“N eith er can th ey die any more, for th ey are equal u nto the PATTERN AND SUBSTANCE
angels, and are th e ch ild ren of God, bein g th e ch ild ren of th e
resurrection.” In w hich w ay th e n were th e tabern acle M oses w as com ­
m and ed to build, or th e tem ple w hich replaced it, patterns?
A ngels h ave appeared in several in stan ces. T heir appearance
T he tabern acle built by M oses in th e w ilderness represented
is u sually like young m en, w hich proves th a t th ey h ave per­
th e n atu ra l body; it w as covered w ith badgers’ skins, w hich
p etu al you th and powers u nd ream t of in our p resen t state.
an im a l th e M osaic Law pronounced as unclean; th is denoted
T he New T estam en t m en tion s tw o resurrections: “B lessed th e u n clean n ess of th e n atu ra l body, called th e body o f sin.
and holy is h e th a t h a th part in th e first resurrection: on such In sid e of th is tabern acle of M oses w as placed th e ark of th e
th e second d eath h a th n o power.” co v en a n t w herein w as th e Law w ritten w ith th e finger of God.
T he first resurrection is th e b aptism al resurrection, and T h is signified th e con scien ce or the soul of m an, w hich God
corresponds in th e n atu ral world to th e sow ing of th e seed in to b reath ed in to m an and therefore it is th e im age of God in us;
th e ground as a prelude to th e germ ination, grow th and eventu al o f w hich it is w ritten: “For th e G entiles, w hich h a v e n o t the
h arvest. *
law , do by n atu re th e th in g s con tained in th e law . . . W hich
sh ew th e work of th e law w ritten in th eir hearts, their co n ­
The relative p osition of th e tw o bodies: T he first Adam,
scien ce also bearing w itness, and th eir th o u g h ts th e m ean w h ile
d ust body, is th e outer. T he la st Adam, S piritual body, is th e
accusing, or else excusing, one an oth er.”
in ner (2 Cor. 4: 16). T he h arvest is th e release of th e Spiritual
In other words th e com m and m ents w ritten w ith th e finger
body from its tom b of carnality a t th e d eath of th e n atu ra l body.
o f God in th e two tables of Moses, and kept in th e ark of th e
As th e soul of m an is in visib le to th e n a tu ra l eye a t its coven an t, w as th e second edition, th e first of w hich w as w ritten
departure a t d eath, so is th e S piritual body: being born of God in th e con scien ce of m an.
it is as invisible as God; for th e th in g s th a t are visible are T h e tabern acle of M oses w as constructed w ith perishable
tem poral, but th e in visib le are eternal. m a teria ls w hich denoted th e brevity of our h u m a n life. W hereas
A b eau tifu l illu stration of th is p henom en on is th e butterfly, th e tem ple w hich w as aftervpards b uilt by Solom on on th e
w hose body is born in th e grub, th e grub represen tin g th e p a ttern h e received from David, w as constructed w ith p erm an en t
n atu ral body, w hich, a t death, tran sfers its life to th e butterfly m a teria ls and w as all covered w ith gold w ithin , w hich pre­
body, illu stra tin g th e release of th e S piritual body from th e figured th e perm anency and th e glory of th e S piritual body.
natural. H ence it is w ritten : “On su ch th e second death h a th T h e only th in g th a t w as rem oved from th e tabern acle and placed
no power.” The second d eath is th e d eath of th e n atu ral body. in to th e tem ple w as th e ark of th e coven an t w hich represented
The first d eath being th e burial w ith Christ by baptism into th e im m ortal soul or conscience, w hich, in th e saved, a t th e
d eath, i.e., a dying to th e th in g s of th e flesh, w h ich all sincere d esolu tion of their earthly body, w ill be housed in their glorious
believers m u st undergo in order to live to th e th in g s of Christ. an d celestia l body.

10 11
 “For w e know th a t if our earthly h ouse of th is tabern acle ce lestia l body, such as, “T hough ye have lien am ong the pots,
were dissolved w e h ave a building of God, an h ouse n o t m ade y e t sh a ll ye be as th e w ings of a dove covered w ith silver, and
w ith h an d s etern al in th e h eaven s. For in th is (n atu ral body) h er fea th ers w ith yellow go ld ;” or “As for me, I w ill be satisfied,
w e groan, earnestly desiring to be cloth ed w ith our h ouse w hich w h en I awake, w ith th y lik en ess.”
is from h eaven ; if so be th a t being cloth ed w e sh a ll n o t be As I said before, all th e orn am en ts of th e tem ple as w ell
found n aked.” as th e tem ple itse lf were sym bolic and prophetic. Let us take,
T his teach es expansion of organic cap acity on th e one h a n d for in stan ce, th e sea of brass w hich Solom on erected outside
and forfeitu re on th e other. To be found naked m ean s th e loss o f th e tem ple. It stood upon tw elve oxen, three looking towards
of th e b lessing accorded a t creation in th e words: “Be fru itfu l, th e n orth, and three looking tow ards th e w est, and three looking
m ultiply, replenish, subdue and h ave dom inion.” I t m ay be tow ards th e south, and three looking tow ards th e east; and the
ch aracterized as dissolu tion in to disorganization, and in to absence sea w as above upon th em . . . and it w as’ an h a n d breadth thick
of harm ony w ith environm ent. It p uts off th e old form ation . . . and it con tained tw o thou sand baths.
from th e dust. Organs, fu n ction s, body gone for ever, and th e . T h is w as a prophecy in brass, for from th a t spot in h is due
im m ortal con scien ce h om eless: a case of aboslute d em olition tim e th e Lord Jesus C hrist choose and sen t forth tw elve apostles
and eviction. to a ll th e world, signified by th e tw elve oxen fa cin g th e four
T he acquisition of th e spiritual body in baptism is th e cardinal points, bearing on th eir back th e burden of th e laver,
assurance ag a in st being foun d naked a t th e second d eath, nam ely, n a m ely to baptize all n ation s. I t is in terestin g on th is p o in t to
th e d eath of th e body. reflect th a t th e A postle P aul applies th e term ox to h im self,
I t w as K ing D avid w ho originally proposed to build th e tem ple sa y in g : “Thou sh a lt n o t m uzzle th e ox th a t tread eth ou t th e
corn.”
w h en h e told th e prophet N ath an : “See now, I dw ell in an
h ouse of cedar, but th e ark of God d w elleth w ith in cu rtain s.” W hat can be said of th e Jew ish people, w ho like children
God sen t back th e follow ing answ er through h is prophet: “T he reta in a lon gin g for th e toys of their in fa n cy and refuse to grow
Lord telleth th ee th a t He w ill m ake th ee an h ou se,” w hich D avid to m a n ’s stature, and grasp th e spiritual significance of th e
understood w as to be eternal, for h e answ ered: “Therefore le t glorious lesson those very toys are m ea n t to im part. T he progress
it p lease th ee to bless th e h ouse of th y servant, th a t it m ay from M oses to C hrist is p assin g from th e shadow to its reality.
con tinu e for ever before thee, for now Lord God, thou h a st I t should now be clear w hy th e Lord God of Israel during
spoken it, and w ith th y b lessing le t th e house of th y servan t a ll th e centu ries of the C hristian era h a s refused to allow th e
be blessed for ever.” ch ild ren of Israel to com m it th e enorm ity of rebuilding th e tem ple
Thus th e w hole of th e sym bolism of th e Old T esta m en t w as a t Jerusalem and offering again an im al sacrifices, th u s doing
a grand lesson to lead from th e n a tu ra l to th e spiritual world, fu rth er despite to th e blood of Christ. W hen viewed in th a t
from th e n atu re of sin and decay, th e ash es and dust of th is lig h t w e see it h a s been an a ct of com passion, like p reventin g
brief life to th e p erm an en cy and glory of th e spiritual body as a blind m an from fa llin g in to a p it h e is unable to see.
revealed by th a t P rophet w hich M oses announced as due to Y et there is hope, or else th a t inspired m an of God, th e
com e in h is appointed tim e, n am ely th e Lord Jesus Christ, w hose A postle to th e G entiles, w ould n ot h ave w ritten to th e R om an
m ission w as foretold by Isaiah to accom plish th e follow ing C hurch concerning th e Jew s as follow s: “For if th e ca stin g
offices: “T he Spirit of th e Lord God is upon m e; because th e aw ay of th em be th e recon cilin g of th e world, w h a t sh a ll th e
Lord h a th an ointed m e to preach good tid in gs u n to th e m eek; receivin g of th em be but life from th e dead?”
h e h a th se n t m e to bind up th e brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to th e captives, and th e op en ing of th e prison to th em RECONCILIATION
th a t are bound. To proclaim th e acceptable year of th e Lord,
and th e day of ven gean ce of our God; to com fort all th a t m ourn. Surely th e tim e of aw aking h a s now com e. T h is is also in*
To appoint u n to th em th a t m ourn in Zion, to give unto them ag reem en t w ith th e prophecy in R om ans 11: 25, w hich says:
beauty for ashes, th e oil of joy for m ourning, th e garm ent of “For I w ould not, brethren, th a t ye should be ign oran t of this
praise for th e spirit of h eavin ess; th a t th ey m ig h t be called m ystery, lest ye should be w ise in your ow n conceits, th a t
trees of righteou sn ess, th e p lan tin g of th e Lord, th a t h e m ig h t b lin dn ess in p art is h app en ed to Israel, u n til th e fu ln ess of th e
be glorified” (Is. 61: 1—4). G en tiles be com e in.”
M any are th e prophetic u tteran ces th a t concur w ith th is T here is great n eed of sp iritu al leadership, for th e C hristian
ch an ge of th e ash es of our dust n atu re for th e beauty of th e C hurches h a v e becom e blinded to th e D octrine of C hrist and

12 13
en tan gled In trad itions and com m andm ents of m en w hich h a v e a g a in st h ea v en and in th y sigh t, and am no m ore w orthy to be
brought a film over their sp iritu al sight, and h ave gone so far called th y son .” Now indeed w ill h e be a flam e of service unto
away from th e G ospel as defined by Jesus C hrist th a t th ey h is reconciled Parent. T he sm oking flax of G en tile service w ill
can n ot even tell a poor sin ner how h e can obtain th e rem ission now be excelled by Hebrew fire. True G ospel E vangelism w ill
of h is sin s; in th e place of D octrine th ey give you en d less and com m ence in in ten se earnestness, w ith a vigour and d eterm in a­
tio n th a t sh a ll so far tran scend all th a t th e world h a s seen
u seless talk.
I t is tim e for th e Jew s to be reconciled to their M essiah and d uring th e R eform ation era, and possibly sin ce th e days of th e
be “grafted in, for God is able to graft th em in again in th eir C hrist and h is Apostles. For “if th e fa ll of them be th e riches
ow n olive tree,” but th e in stru m en t of their conversion w ill be of th e world, and th e decay or loss of th em th e riches of th e
B aptism , in w hich “th ey sh all look upon Me w hom th ey h a v e G entiles: how m uch m ore their fu ln ess?” (Rom . 11: 12).
pierced: and th ey sh all m ourn for him , as one m ourneth for T he g reat gospel preachers, m issionaries, evan gelists of th e
h is son, and sh a ll be in b ittern ess for him , as one is in b ittern ess com ing tim e w ill probably be th e rep en ta n t Israelites. They
for h is firstborn”, as Zechariah foretold of old (Zech. 12: 10— 14). sh a ll arise from their great deluge of rep en tan t sorrow w hich
“For as m any of you ”—Jew s as w ell as G entiles, and there is w ill be “as th e m ourning of H adadrim m on in th e valley of
on ly one and th e sam e w ay of salvation for both— “as have b een M egiddon” (Zech. 12: 11), and w ill grasp th e G ospel-standard
baptized in to C hrist h ave p u t on Christ.” w ith a zeal th a t w ill co n fron t and overcom e all opposition.
B ein g grafted In again th ey sh a ll becom e inheritors of th e
Therefore th e em bracem ent betw een th e Jew and h is M essiah
prom ise m ade to Abraham . “Now to Abraham and h is seed were
m u st and can take place in one p oint only, nam ely. B aptism .
th e prom ises m ade. He sa ith n ot. And to seeds as of m any, but
T his great divinely estab lish ed in stru m en t of recon ciliation as of one. And to th y seed w hich is C hrist” (G al. 3: 16).
(M alachi 4: 5, 6, c.f. Mat. 3: 5— 11) w ill again turn th e prodigal
I t is th is seed, in th e singular, th a t is heir of th e world,
Jew from all th e n ation s of th e world to th e God of A braham , w hich’ prom ise is o ften reiterated, for exam ple:
Isaac and Jacob, w ho, all three, h ad foreseen th e com ing and
“Y et h ave se t m y K in g upon m y h o ly h ill of Zion. I w ill
sacrifice of Christ. declare th e decree: th e Lord h a th said unto m e, Thou art m y
Abraham , w h en ab out to offer h is son Isaac, and on h is w ay
Son; th is day h ave I b egotten thee. Ask of m e, and I w ill give
to th e m oun tain, w as asked of h is son: “My fath er, behold th e
th ee th e h ea th e n for th in e in h erita n ce and th e u tterm ost parts
fire and th e wood, b u t w here is th e lam b for a burnt offering? of th e earth for th y p ossession ” (Ps. 2: 6— 9).
And A braham said, My son, God w ill provide h im self a lam b
And again : “H e sh a ll h ave dom inion from sea to sea, and
for a burnt offering.” H ence C hrist is called “T he Lamb of
from th e river unto th e ends of th e earth, Yea, all kings sh all
God, w hich tak eth away th e sin of th e w orld.” Abraham in th a t
fa ll down before h im : all n a tio n s sh a ll serve h im ” (Ps. 72: 8, 11).
case w as a p attern of God th e F ath er of w hom it is w ritten:
And again in th e h ym n o f praise to th e Lord Jesus it is
“For God so loved th e world, th a t h e gave h is only b egotten w ritten : “Thou art fairer th a n th e children of m en; grace is
Son, th a t w hosoever b elieveth in Him should n o t perish, but
poured in to th y lips; therefore God h a th blessed th ee for ever.
h ave etern al life .” “T hy throne, o God, is for ever and ever: th e sceptre of th y
To Isaac th e Lord said: “And in th y seed (singular) sh a ll
k ingdom is a righ t sceptre. Thou lovest righteou sn ess and h a te st
all th e n atio n s of th e earth be blessed.” T h a t seed ag a in is
w ickedness: therefore God, th y God, h a th aijointed th ee w ith
Christ. th e oil of gladness above th y fellow s . . .
And Jacob on h is d eathbed prophecied: “The sceptre sh a ll
n o t depart from Judah, nor a law -giver from betw een h is feet, “In stea d of th y fa th ers sh a ll be th y children, w hom thou
u n til S hiloh com e; and u n to h im sh a ll th e ga th erin g of th e m a y est m ake p rinces in all th e earth. I w ill m ake th y n am e to be
people be.” As th e sceptre h a s long sin ce departed from Judah rem em bered in all gen erations; therefore sh a ll th e people praise
th ee for ever and ever” (Ps. 45).
it is evid en t th a t S h iloh is C hrist Jesus. T hus all three h ad
seen and rejoiced in th e salvation God w ould prepare in due I t is n o t by a n a tu ra l procreation th a t th e above prom ises
tim e, and fe lt h igh ly honoured th a t from th eir stock th e ca n be realised, but by a sp iritu al procreation. N in eteen cen ­
R edeem er w ould be chosen. turies of w and erin g w ith o u t a country should be sufficient to
As w ith th e w ayw ard ch ild in th e parable, so also w ith th e con vin ce th e Jew s on th is point. T hey seem to h ave tried all
Jew it sh all be said th a t “w hen y et a far w ay off h is fa th er other rem edies but th e righ t one. Let them but w holeh eartedly
saw h im , and h ad com passion, and ran and fe ll upon h is neck accept th e K in g of Zion, th e Son of God, and h is D octrine, and
and kissed h im .” T h en in th e baptism of repentan ce for th e th ey w ill soon see how th eir p osition w ill be ch an ged in th is
rem ission of sin s th e Jew sh all say: “F ather, I h a v e sin n ed respect. “B lessed are all th ey th a t p u t their tru st in h im .”
15
14
 W hat would also ch an ge from th e root, Is their relation
towards th e G en tile n a tio n s ; th e y w ould no longer regard th em as
w ere th e Egyptians or th e P h ilistin es of old, peoples th a t could
be law fu lly duped, but th e y w ould find resp ect and love
reciprocated, and a sp iritu al u n ity engendered h igher th a n
racialism , and all th a t caused a n ti-sem itism eradicated.
“T he law w as given by Moses, but grace and tru th cam e
by Jesus C hrist.”
“H e w as in th e world, and th e world w as m ade by him , and
th e world knew h im not.
“He cam e u nto h is ow n and h is ow n received h im not.
“B u t as m any as received him , to them gave h e power to
becom e th e sons of God, even to them th a t believe in h is nam e;
W hich were born, n o t of blood, nor of th e w ill of th e flesh, nor
of th e w ill of m an, but of God.”
It is th ese w ho are to be m ade princes in all th e world.
It w ill devolve upon th e Jew to v in d icate th e claim of th e
gospel in its fulness, w hen th ey h ave grasped th e fu ll significance
of th e n ew birth of w ater and of th e Spirit to w in back its
rig h tfu l dom inion in th e C hristian Church, T h ey m u st m ake up
for their p ast unbelief, once their eyes are opened, by future
zeal and vigorous enterprise for th e truth.
The one, only and certain restorative of h u m a n ity is rep en ­

I
tan ce tow ards God and fa ith in th e Lord Jesus Christ, w hich
is focalised and expressed in Baptism , and now here else; it being
th e only en tran ce through th e door (Joh n 10: 1, Gal. 3: 27),
and th a t th e alm igh ty u nchan geab le decree is: “He th a t be-
lieveth and is baptized sh a ll be saved.” One and all m u st be
saved in th e sam e way.
I t is only by em p h asisin g G od’s ordained w ay of salvation
th a t it is possible to correct th e chaos and d isu n ity th a t reigns
a t th e p resen t tim e. As Joh n th e B ap tist w as h e A ngelos or
M essenger of th e first advent, w ho undoubtedly h eld a key and
ch ain of bondage ad eq uate for th e D evil in th e doctrine and
act of h is ordinance, th e second ad ven t is to be read and
understood in th e lig h t of th e sam e. T he first is th e interpreter
of th e second. And as Joh n ushered in th e G ospel by baptism ,
so also m u st th e sam e kingdom be expanded to its universal
dim ensions and power in th e sam e m anner and by th e sam e
m eans.
And as b lin dn ess h a s h app en ed to th e C hristian Churches
as to th e real aim and ob ject of th e Gospel, m y appeal is to
th e Jew s to exam ine and study th e New T esta m en t w ritin gs in
a n ew ligh t, n am ely as th ey really are, th e tree of w hich th e
M osaic Law is th e root, b u t th e w hole is one con tinu ous unit,
and I fe e l confident th a t th ey w ill discover th erein a gran d eu r
th a t w ill dwarf in to in sign ifican ce a ll other aims. )
16