THE FEAST OF ATONEMENT
AN INTRODUCTION TO TABERNACLES
by George H. Warnock (written in 1951)
"Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day
of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and you
shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto
the Lord ... (Lev. 23:27).
That full and complete Atonement was made for the whole
human race by Jesus Christ on the Cross, there is no doubt
whatsoever. But it is only too evident, as we consider our own
individual lives, as well as that of the historical Church, that
we have never really appropriated any real measure of the great
atoning work of the Cross. And it is this experimental
appropriation of the Atonement that the Church must now enter
into. As there is a historical Pentecost, as well as an
individual Pentecostal experience for all who will believe for
it, so it is with the Atonement. All through the ages men have,
by faith reached out and appropriated some measure of deliverance
from sin; but as a Body and as a Church we have never really done
so. But the Church's deliverance from sin, as a Body, is just
ahead--in the fulfillment of the great Day of Atonement by way of
experience. The sin and carnality of the Church's long career
must be taken away from her midst before she can enter into the
full blessing and power of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Thank God for the Passover, in the first month, in virtue of
which God has "passed over" the saints, not imputing their
trespasses unto them. But the Church has been groaning with the
apostle Paul for about two thousand years: "O wretched man that I
am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Rom.
7:24). God has certainly heard our cries, and soon He shall bring
His people into a glorious liberty in the Spirit, wherein they
shall be completely delivered from their sins and their carnal
nature. This shall be the experimental fulfillment of the Day of
Atonement for the Church.
ON THE TENTH DAY
The Day of Atonement was observed on the tenth day of the
seventh month. The seventh month is the sabbath month--the month
of rest. Even now the saints who are entering into the unfolding
plans and purposes of God for this hour, and are becoming
established with gifts and ministries in the Spirit--they are
experiencing a rest which they have never known in the past,
despite all the perplexing problems which might arise from time
to time. And we may rest assured, there will be many more
problems and trials arising in the near future.
(Oh how true that has been, the Church of God since this was
written, has gone through many trials and tests. Corruptions,
lies, deception, cover-up of gross sin; there has been abuse of
all kinds; vanity and ego has raised its ugly head; power control
and fear has been used in the church of Christ; people have been
taught to follow men and organizations; there have been good days
for the church, but there have also been bad days from within the
church itself - Keith Hunt)
The Day of Atonement was on the tenth day of the seventh
month. The interval of time between the Day of Trumpets and the
Day of Atonement will be a time of great trial and sifting for
God's people. The number "ten" signifies trial and testing. The
greatest test ever submitted to man, the Law of Moses, was
written on tablets of stone and comprised ten commandments. Then
we find that Daniel made this request, "Prove thy servants, I
beseech thee, ten days" (Dan. 1:12). And again, Jesus promised
the Church in Smyrna (which signifies "bitterness"), "Ye shall
have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I
will give thee a crown of life" (Rev. 2:10). Then you will
remember how the early disciples tarried for the Holy Spirit from
the Ascension until Pentecost, a period of ten days--and what
times of trial and sifting they must have been, knowing
practically nothing of what they were to expect. There is no
doubt, therefore, that from now till the fulfillment of the Day
of Atonement in the Church, God's people are going to be
subjected to great times of testing and trial--with a view to
perfecting them, and rewarding them as overcomers. The hour has
come for judgment to "begin at the house of God" (1 Pet. 4:17).
God is sifting, sifting, sifting His people as never before, in
preparation for the Day of Atonement and the Feast of
Tabernacles.
(Indeed that is so. Christ is still head of His church. All the
sin and wickedness that the church has experienced from within
itself, has been for the purpose of sifting the wheat from the
chaff. It has been for the purpose of finding who will love and
search for truth and righteousness more than just following men
and turning your mind over to a man or men or an organization of
men. Judgment has always been upon the Church of God from the
very start in the days of the first apostles. Corruptions, sin,
falsehood, greed and vanity, men turning from the faith once
delivered to the saints, has always entered the church down
through the last 2,000 years. The wind of testing has always
blown on the church of Christ, and it will unto the day of Jesus'
return - Keith Hunt)
YE SHALL AFFLICT YOUR SOULS
There is no question as to what God would teach us by the
Day of Atonement: it is the actual taking away from the
congregation, of their sins and carnal ways. Israel could rejoice
in the fact that the Passover Lamb had been killed in the first
month, and the Feast had been observed according to all the
ordinances of the Law. And that was their acceptance before God
as a nation: "When I see the blood I will pass over you." But
now, six months later, we have the Day of Atonement--the day when
Israel is called to a new repentance and a humbling of themselves
before God in preparation for the Great Feast of Tabernacles.
Israel had to have a new Passover every year, and a new Day of
Atonement every year--because their sacrifices served only to
call sins to remembrance, and to revive their sin-conscience. But
Christ died once-for-all, and so effectual was His redemptive
work that there is "no more conscience of sins" (Heb. 10:2). And
yet we are constantly giving the lie to the redemptive work of
Jesus Christ, by falling into sin and being hampered by the works
of the flesh, and harboring a sin-conscience. We testify on the
one hand that God has taken away our sins and nailed them to the
Cross--and that is true--but the next moment we are beset by sin
and suffer defeat. We rejoice in the righteousness of Jesus
Christ which has been placed to our account--and that is
true--but how little of that righteousness have we been able to
reach and appropriate. How little do we know and experience of
real, vital holiness of life, and purity of thought, word, and
deed.
Thank God, therefore, for the pattern we find in Israel's
Feasts, and for the knowledge that there is a place of real
victory over sin and the flesh for the Church of Jesus Christ. We
know that many have been preaching this for years, and testifying
to having received it; but actually men have never experienced it
to any degree of fulness. Those who have sought to go on with God
can testify to having received a measure of victory, that is true
enough; but real victory over sin and the carnal nature is still
ahead for the Church of God. This, then, is the day and hour when
God would call us to repentance, to meekness, to humiliation:
afflicting our souls in contrition of heart, that we might
receive from His hands that real, genuine victory over sin that
the Bible teaches.
WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THIS VICTORY?
Let us stop trying to justify ourselves, and insisting on
our holiness of conduct, when it is apparent to every one about
us that we do not possess it. "Living epistles" of Christ do not
have to tell the world how holy they are. The world will see it
and will be amazed to discover something real and genuine in the
midst of this wicked and perverse generation. This victory of
which we speak is the very victory of Christ Himself. When we
attain to this victory, there will be no need to formulate weak
excuses why the victorious Christian can again fall into sin and
suffer defeat--for this place in Christ knows no defeat. We will
not have to explain how Satan gained an advantage over us and
planted a new seed of sin in the heart, and the victory we once
had was lost; for this victory is the very victory of Christ.
"Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more;
death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he
died unto sin once . . ." (Rom. 6:9,19). He that overcometh
according to the Bible enters into the very victory and triumph
of Christ--a victory which can never be lost or forefeited. It is
the very victory of Jesus Christ Himself, and the overcomer is
therefore "more than conqueror" through Christ that loved him.
Here again the history of the Church is positively against
us, because we cannot point with positive assurance to any person
in the Church age who has really appropriated this blessed
condition of holiness in its fulness. However, we are not going
to take the history of the Church as our pattern--for it is a sad
story of defeat, and worthy of far more lamentation than the
weeping prophet ever expressed over Israel. If this glorious
victory is declared in the Word, that is sufficient; and thank
God, it is. And it shall be attained by the overcomer--not by the
flesh, but by the Spirit. The experimental Day of Atonement is at
hand for the Church of Christ. The promise, therefore, is held
out to us at the ends of the ages, as to no other people in any
past dispensation. "To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not
your heart . . ." Let us examine, therefore, some of the
Scriptures which clearly promise this victorious, triumphant,
overcoming life in the Spirit.
Lev. 16:29-31. "And this shall be a statute for ever unto you:
that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye
shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be
one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:
For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to
cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the
Lord. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall
afflict your souls, by a statute for ever."
Matt. 5:48. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which
is in heaven is perfect."
Jn. 17:21. "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me,
and I in thee, that they also may be one in us . . ."
Jn. 17:23. "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in one. . ."
Rom. 6:4. "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into
death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the
glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life." Notice this passage: the newness of our walk is to be
comparable to the very resurrection life and glory of Jesus
Christ.
Rom. 6:5-7. "For if we have been planted together in the likeness
of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his
resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with
him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we
should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin."
Some would like to believe that the "likeness of his
resurrection" refers to a future physical resurrection. The whole
passage teaches to the contrary. God is speaking about the
righteousness and life that overcomes the "body of sin"
so that "henceforth we should not serve sin." It is the
appropriation here and now of the fruits of Christ's death and
resurrection.
Rom. 6:11. "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed
unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
There is no suggestion here whatever of suppressing the old
nature, keeping the "old man" under your feet so that he will not
be able to raise his head, or constantly dying out to self. It is
a finished work; and just as Christ died and rose again once for
all, so those who have appropriated His death and resurrection
enter into a new life, a new sphere in the Spirit, a new victory.
Rom. 8:2. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath
made me free from the law of sin and death." Freedom! And when
God speaks of freedom, He means you are "free indeed" (Jn. 8:36).
As long as the world, the flesh, or the Devil can bring you into
any measure of servitude, you are not "free indeed."
Gal. 5:24. "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh
with the affections and lusts."
1 Jn. 3:3. "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth
himself, even as he is pure."
1 Jn. 3:6, 7. "Whosever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever
sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children,
let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous,
even as he is righteous."
1 Jn. 3:9. "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his
seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of
God."
There is no argument against the direct, plain, indisputable
truths here presented. The righteousness which God has in store
for us is not merely a partial appropriation of God's
righteousness, or a certain degree of attainment whereby we
measure ourselves with others, and conclude we are victorious
because we have ceased from our bad habits, conquered over anger,
and no longer harbor ill-feelings against another. As likely as
not, such claims of holiness are a sure sign of pride rather than
of meekness and contrition of spirit. This life of which we speak
is a life far beyond anything the Church has yet seen in her most
glorious saints. It is God's very own: "even as he is pure,"
"even as he is righteous," "he cannot sin, because he is born of
God."
THE BIRTH OF THE SPIRIT
"He cannot sin . . ." This is the plain Word of God. However, as
God's children we all can testify that we are born of God, and
that we do sin. And therefore we present some very plausible
arguments to prove that God does not mean exactly what He said.
Let us forever cease trying to justify ourselves. "Let God be
true and every man a liar." The only scriptural explanation of
this verse is that we are not "born again" in the fulness of this
regenerating experience. Our new birth, by the Spirit, genuine as
it is, has not developed into maturity. We have been reproduced
after God's likeness like the seed which is produced by the
flower, or the egg that is produced by the bird. That seed or
that egg is a genuine birth, containing all the potentialities of
a new flower exactly like the flower that produced it, or a new
bird exactly like its parent. But the full glory and the
potentialities of that new life lie dormant within the seed or
the egg--and are by no means manifest, or even apparent to our
observation. One can see no similarity whatsover between the tiny
seed with its black crusty covering, and the beautiful red poppy
which waves its petals in the breeze; no similarity between the
little blue egg in the nest, and the bird that flies aloft into
the atmosphere on wings of liberty. In fact, if we did not
understand the mysterious processes of nature, we would consider
one a fool to suggest that the seed and the poppy are one and the
same thing; or that the egg and the bird are one and the same
thing. And yet they are--in kind, in nature, in possibility.
So it is with the birth of the Spirit. Thank God for the
seed, the incorruptible seed, in virtue of which we have become
"partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet. 1:4), or "born again" (1
Pet. 1:23). But that seed in the hearts of God's people has
scarcely developed beyond the germ state; it has not grown and
developed to the place where we can testify, "his seed abideth"
in us; and therefore we CAN and DO sin.
(The author is on the right track. Being born again of John 3 is
misunderstood by the Christian fundamental churches of
Protestantism. I have on this Website a full and in-depth study
about the topic of "being born again." The reader should study it
and hence find the truth of the matter - Keith Hunt)
A NEW MAN IS TO BE BORN
Let the saints of God who have eyes to see and ears to hear,
rejoice in the plan and purpose of God which even now is
unfolding before our very eyes. God is hastening the day and hour
of Christian perfection. We do not have it, nor have we seen it
in any person anywhere at any time. For we are not speaking
merely of a life made free from this particular sin or that
particular sin, from a bad temper, or a bitter spirit, or sinful
habits. We are speaking, rather, of a life which is the very life
of Jesus Christ reproduced in the fragile earthen vessels of this
human clay. Our prayer, therefore, should be as Jesus commanded,
"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, even as it is in
Heaven." It is, first and foremost, the birth of the Kingdom of
God in our own little earth, in the clay of our flesh; for the
"Kingdom of God is within you . . ." It is the perfecting unto
maturity of the Christ who came into our hearts as the Seed when
we received Him as our Saviour. It is the springing forth of the
water of life into glorious liberty and spontaneity--even the
water that we drank when Christ came into our lives. Jesus
promised it would become a "Fountain of water leaping up into
everlasting life" (In. 4:14, Literal). It is "Christ in you, the
hope of glory," rising up unto maturity, and being "formed within
you" (Gal. 4:19).
HOW SHALL IT COME TO PASS?
This life shall not come by fleshly striving. Nor shall it
come merely by prayer and repentance and seeking God's face.
This, of course, is most essential, and God will hear that prayer
of sincerity and reveal the channel and means by which perfection
shall be attained. But prayer and repentance in themselves are
not the means by which the saints are to be perfected. Neither is
the rapture of the Church the plan of God for the perfecting of
the saints, and their deliverance from sin and carnality. God has
another plan--a far more glorious plan, and yet a very simple
plan; and here it is:
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting
of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ: Till we all come in (unto) the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ"
(Eph. 4:11-13). The Church may proclaim an imminent rapture as
much as they will, and teach that any moment the saints will be
snatched away from earth to escape the gathering clouds of
Tribulation. But this is not the teaching of God's Word. True, we
must always be waiting and watching for His Appearing--but this
is not the "Appearing" of modern evangelical theology. This
glorious Appearing must first of all be manifest in the saints.
How thankful we are, therefore, that God is revealing the pattern
of perfection. The Ascension gifts, the ministries in the Body of
Christ these are the means of perfecting the saints,--and as we
have read, they are to remain in the Church till we all come unto
unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto
a perfect man! Notice, too, that these ministries were given
"when he ascended up on high," and not when He was here on earth.
He gave twelve apostles when He was here on earth; but here we
find that He gives apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and
teachers after His ascension.
The perfection of the saints unto maturity, then, is just as
mysterious as the growth and development of the members of the
human body from birth unto manhood--and just as real. Spiritual
gifts in the saints, exercised by the recipient in the power of
the Holy Ghost, develop into ministries of the Spirit. And these
ministries are vital, living spiritual faculties in the Body of
Christ. The Body of Christ, therefore, shall nurture and edify
itself. Just as the human body has within itself the God-given
and God-created ability to grow, to develop, to heal its own
wounds, and to reproduce itself; so the Body of Christ, by means
of these spiritual faculties, has the God-given and God-created
power to grow into holiness, to develop into sonship, to heal its
own sin-wounds, and to reproduce its kind. Says Paul, "But
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things,
which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly
joined together and compacted by that which every joint
supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of
every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of
itself in love" (Eph. 4:15,16). "Unto the edifying of itself in
love"! That is God's pattern.
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE DAY OF ATONEMENT?
Briefly, this is what happened on the great Day of
Atonement. The high priest, clothed upon with the holy garments,
was designated to make the atonement for himself, as well as for
the people. Besides the offerings for himself, two goats were
chosen for the atonement of the people. Lots were cast upon the
goats, the one being set apart for sacrifice, and the other as
the scapegoat. "Scapegoat" signifies "the goat that went away."
The first goat was slain, and the blood brought within the veil
in the Holy of Holies, and sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat. Then
Aaron as high priest laid his hands upon the head of the
scapegoat, confessed over it all the iniquities of Israel, and
sent it away into the wilderness.
In type the whole ordinance speaks of the Atonement which
Christ effected on the Cross. In the fulfillment of a type, of
course, we may expect to see a contrast as well as a parallel. In
contrast, we are reminded that Christ was "holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners" and therefore needed not "to
offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the
people's" (Heb. 7:26, 27). Nor did He offer Himself often, as the
high priest offered sacrifices year after year; for the sacrifice
of Christ is eternally efficacious, and He offered Himself
once-for-all.
But as there was a great contrast between the imperfect
sacrifice of Israel, and the perfect Atonement of the Cross--so
also is there a beautiful parallel. Here we can see what took
place potentially at the Cross when Christ made an eternal
Atonement for the Church. It cannot be without significance that
the Passover occurred in the first month, Pentecost in the third,
and the Atonement in the seventh. It is simply because the Church
of Christ as a Body has never been experimentally cleansed from
her sins. We may close our eyes to the age-long sin and
corruption of God's people if we wish--but the fact remains, the
Church did not go on from early apostolic power and blessing to
really appropriate Divine life and holiness as a Body. Thank God,
however, that He knew all about it, and planned a great Day of
Atonement for the seventh month--this Sabbath of the Church, when
she shall be purified and made white and made to cease from her
own works. "For on that day shall the priest make an atonement
for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins
before the Lord. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you . . ."
(Lev. 16:30, 31).
And so the one goat was slain, and the blood sprinkled upon
the mercy seat: for it is the blood that maketh atonement for the
soul, and "without the shedding of blood is no remission." Nor
was that all: for upon the head of the scapegoat all the sins of
Israel were laid (in type), and it was sent away into the
wilderness. Thank God for the Day of Atonement, when God's people
shall be made free, and free indeed, from all their sins.
CHRIST, A MANY-MEMBERED BODY
We believe there is a special significance in the fact that
there were "two" goats used on the Day of Atonement. As we have
discovered in a previous chapter. "two" would speak of the Head
and the Body, Christ in the fulness of His people. For Christ is
one, but a many-membered Body. This is a great mystery, as Paul
tells us, that the Church should be bone of His bone, and flesh
of His flesh. Christ the Head, therefore, is not complete without
Christ the Body. In the "two" goats, therefore, we have (in type)
Christ in the fulness of His Body. That the saints are to become
thoroughly identified with Christ in His sufferings and in His
Cross, is clearly taught in the Scriptures; but the mystery of it
is almost too much for us to comprehend, even in the slightest
degree. It is only as we can begin to see the truth of the Body,
that we can in any measure comprehend the fact that when He died,
we died; and that when He rose again, then we rose again with
Him.
To many, of course, this truth of our identification with
Christ the Head is nothing less than blasphemy. But this is to be
expected. When Jesus called Himself the Son of God they said
"Thou blasphemest." And yet now we hail Him King of Kings and
Lord of Lords, Man of very Man, and God of very God. And the ages
to come are going to reveal, what is now revealed by the Spirit
to those whose understandings have been quickened, that Christ is
the Body, - the whole Body, and not just the Head. The Church is
said to grow up "into Christ" (Eph. 4:15). just as a "man"
signifies a body with many members, and not just a head; so the
name "Christ" also signifies a Body with many members. Paul
therefore says, "For as the body is one, and hath many
members.... so also is Christ" (1 Cor. 12:12). Using another
illustration, Christ is the Vine, the whole Vine. "I am the vine,
ye are the branches" (Jn. 15:5). He is the Vine, the root, the
stalk, the branches, the leaves, the fruit - the whole vine; and
we are part of that Vine. The Lord does not intimate here that He
is one thing and we another. But He is the Vine, and we are part
of Him. The Son of Man in Heaven is not complete without the
fulness of the Son of Man on earth, even the Body, "the fulness
of him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:23).
THE BODY, THE FULFILMENT OF JACOB'S LADDER
You will recall the story of Jacob's ladder, how Jacob
dreamed as he lay there at Bethel, with his head on a stone for a
pillow--and saw in his dream the heavens opened, and a ladder set
up on the earth, and the angels of God ascending and descending
on the ladder. Jacob awoke out of his sleep in fear and dread,
and cried: "How dreadful is this place! this is none other but
the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (Gen. 28:17).
And so he changed the name of that place from Luz to
Bethel--because Bethel signifies "House of God." Little did he
realize that in this ladder-vision he actually beheld, in type,
the fulness of the Son of Man in Christ and His people.
This is brought out in the Gospel of John. You will recall
how amazed Nathanael was when the Lord remarked how He had seen
him under the fig-tree. Actually the Lord may have been miles
away and Nathanael knew that. How could this Man, thought
Nathanael, be able to manifest such Divine omnipresence as to
have seen him under the fig tree, when He was perhaps miles away?
And so he pronounced Him the Messiah without any further
questioning. But Jesus replied: "Thou shalt see greater things
than these. . . . Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye
shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and
descending upon the Son of Man" (Jn. 1:50,51). In other words,
Jesus said: "Why that is nothing, Nathanael, comparable to what
you shall yet discover about the Son of Man. That is nothing that
the Son of Man should have been miles away, and yet have observed
you under the fig-tree. The time is at hand when the Son of Man
shall fulfill the type of Jacob's ladder, His feet shall stand on
earth, and His Head shall reach even unto Heaven; and the angels
of God shall ascend and descend upon Him . . ."
Now there is only one way by which the angels of God could
ascend and descend upon the Son of Man; and that is, if the Son
inhabits Heaven and earth at the same time. And such is the case.
The Son of Man is the glorious and wonderful fulfillment of
Jacob's ladder; and no wonder Jacob called the place "Bethel" for
this is the House of God of which we speak, even the Body of
Christ. The Head is in Heaven, but the Body is upon earth; and
according to the Scriptures the Head hath sent forth the
celestial hosts as ministering spirits, ministering to such as
shall be heirs of salvation, ascending and descending upon the
Son of Man, this "new Man" that Paul speaks about,the corporate
Son of God. It is Christ in the fulness of His people.
PARTAKERS OF HIS SUFFERINGS
"But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's
sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be
glad also with exceeding joy (1 Pet. 4:13).
It is commonly recognized that some day the saints are to
become so thoroughly identified with Christ in His resurrection
that we shall be exactly like Him, having bodies like unto His
own glorious body, and sharing His very own life and glory. But
the corresponding truth concerning our identification with His
death, has scarcely dawned upon us: that we must share His Cross
so vitally that it actually becomes our Cross. This is hard to
really comprehend; but God is going to bring His people into that
place where they shall become actually identified with the death
of Christ, so much so that with this experience we shall testify,
"I am crucified with Christ . . " "For if we have been planted
together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the
likeness of his resurrection" (Rom. 6:5). The word "planted
together" signifies "grown up with," and therefore thoroughly one
with Him in His death. It is identification with Him, so vital
and real, that His death becomes our very own.
We cannot comprehend these things yet, any more than the
disciples could comprehend the approaching Cross of Christ. They
understood not what He said to them, even though He told them
plainly that He must die, and rise again the third day. Nor could
they understand of what profit His death would be, when they were
so anxiously looking forward to a Kingdom and a King. But Jesus
explained, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,
it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit"
(Jn. 12:24). This is a great mystery, and as true concerning the
Body as it was of the Son. It is only as we enter into, and
appropriate, His very Cross that we are going to be of any profit
to others. Inasmuch as Paul was able to appropriate this
experience, therefore, he could testify: "Who now rejoice in my
sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the
afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is
the church" (Col. 1:24). And again John the beloved exhorted: "He
laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for
the brethren" (1 In. 3:16).
We cannot atone for their sin; the Head alone could do that;
but as members of His Body we can share His suffering and His
rejection, and in that way transmit its efficacy to others. We
can suffer for the Truth, and in our sufferings the Truth will
shine forth. We can enter into the pangs of Gethsemane, in this
evening hour of Christ's betrayal--and in so doing share His
Cross for the sake of the brethren. For just as truly as Christ
the Head was betrayed some two thousand years ago, so once again
Christ the Body is being betrayed today. Christ the Head meant no
more to Judas or the Scribes and Pharisees than thirty pieces of
silver. Today, Christ the Body means no more to the
ecclesiastical authorities than large, costly church buildings,
big salaries, pipe organs, choirs, orchestras, creeds, dogmas,
and the applause of men. And if we, as God's people, are going to
be prepared to share His betrayal, stand true to Him even unto
death, and follow Him "without the camp," then we shall share His
death. The Head died on a literal Cross; the Body is being nailed
to a spiritual Cross.
No man with spiritual insight can behold the Body of Christ
and fail to see that it is even now being crucified, as truly as
was Christ. Stripped of its clothing, even the purity and
righteousness of Christ; helpless to walk, its heel bruised by
the Serpent; helpless to serve, its hands bleeding from the nails
of ecclesiastical tyranny; powerless to love and to show mercy,
its heart thrust through with a sword of hate; all its bones out
of joint--and therefore unable to supply strength and vitality
"according to the effectual working in the measure of every
part." Every imaginable device of ecclesiastical tyranny has been
used against the Church, to make her completely helpless and
useless and powerless so far as functioning as a Body is
concerned. Every conceivable form of sin, carnality, division,
schism, and sectarianism has been foisted upon God's
people--largely by men in the pulpit who have been proclaiming a
lie for the Truth. As truly as Christ was betrayed by the
religious leaders of His day, so truly is His Body being betrayed
and crucified today.
(Indeed we have seen in the last 60 years since this study was
written, men arising from within the body of Christ, to draw away
people to follow them [see Acts 20:17-38] into false teachings
and vain glory and the deceptions of the outward form - Keith
Hunt)
No amount of fleshly striving can produce this Death
experience within us. All we have to do to share His rejection,
His betrayal, and His death, is to recognize the Body, identify
ourselves with the Body, minister in the Body according to our
God-given ability, and refuse to associate ourselves with
anything that will injure another member of that Body. If we do
this we will automatically partake of Christ's sufferings and
death in this hour of His betrayal. And we will be doing it for
the sake of the brethren.
(We are to stand up and be counted; we are to stand against the
entry of deception, lies, falsehood, vain glory, and the giving
of our mind over to human people and organizations. We are to
ever prove all things and hold fast to that which is good [1
Thes.5:21]. We are to love the truth; we are to search the
Scriptures; we are to study to show ourselves approved unto God,
correctly dividing and putting together the word of God [2
Tim.2:15]; we are to read and study God's word so we can know who
speaks the truth of it [Isa.8:20]. We are to hunger and thirst
after righteousness [Mat.5:6]; we are to have the mind of Christ
[Phil.2:5]. We are to do all of these things so we will not be
deceived by the cunning of the Devil, for he will always be
working to bring sin and deception into the Body of Christ -
Keith Hunt)
Then the resurrection follows: the hour of the Church's
triumph, the spiritual resurrection of those who share the
betrayal of the Body. "For if we have been planted together in
the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of
his resurrection" (Rom. 6:5).
These truths, we realize, are difficult for us to grasp. Of
necessity this must be so; for as yet we see "as through a glass
darkly." But as truly as Jesus said, "Father, the hour is come.."
the time is at hand when the Body shall be able to say, "Lord
Jesus, the hour is come . . ." Identification with Christ is a
truth of infinite and eternal significance. It means much more
than the fact that we are justified by His blood and saved from
wrath through Him. It goes on to embrace not only the work of
Redemption, but the Person of the Redeemer Himself: so that the
Body becomes thoroughly one with Him in the "eternal purpose"
which God hath purposed "in Christ Jesus." Does not the apostle
Paul affirm, "The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last
Adam was made a quickening (a life-giving) spirit" (l Cor.
15:45)? A life-giving spirit! Creative power! Such is the
heritage and the attributes of the Last Adamic race. And should
some insist that this refers only to Christ, the Last Adam, let
us continue: "As is the earthy, such are they also that are
earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are
heavenly" (vs. 48). So thorough and real and vital is our
identification with the Last Adam, that in all respects - His
work, His ministry, His death, His life--we are to become like
unto Him.
ENTRANCE BEHIND THE VEIL
It was on the Day of Atonement that the high priest was
granted access into the Holy of Holies behind the veil. After the
sacrifices, after the slaying of the sin-offering, once in the
year, the high priest was permitted to go in behind the veil and
there commune with the Lord who dwelt above and upon the mercy
seat. (Lev. 16:2). True picture, indeed, of Christ's atoning
sacrifice and His entrance "into heaven itself, now to appear in
the presence of God for us" (Heb. 9:24). But here again, there is
a glorious contrast, as well as a true parallel. Israel's high
priest entered the Holy of Holies only once a year; but Christ
has entered the Holy of Holies, not just for a few moments, but
to abide there forever. "By his own blood he entered in once (for
all) into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for
us" (Heb. 9:12). And again, Aaron alone went in, while all the
rest of Israel were excluded. But Christ went in as the
"forerunner"--one who runs on ahead of others who shall follow
later. (Heb. 6:20). "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living
way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is
to say, his flesh . . ." (Heb. 10:19,20). It is this unveiling
for which all creation is longing and looking forward to with
great anticipation, even "the unveiling of the sons of God" (Rom.
8:19). It is having the veil removed, even the veil of His flesh,
the veil of the flesh of His Body, the rending asunder of our
carnal nature that the glory of Christ might be revealed. Some
fear to enter, fear that this would be intruding into spheres of
holiness and life and glory and power that God has not intended
for us. But let us assure you, child of God, that God invites us
to enter into this realm with all confidence: "Having therefore,
brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest . . ." And why may
we enter with such boldness, we who are but worms of the dust?
Because of the precious "Blood of Jesus"! Let us not depreciate
the glory and the power and the efficacy of the Blood. We have no
right of our own to enter this wonderful sphere, this holy place,
this Holy of Holies. But the Blood of Jesus has made us worthy.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain! Furthermore, God will never be
truly glorified until His Sons believe what He has said, and
reach out and appropriate this "new and living way," this holy
life behind the veil "whither the forerunner is for us entered.."
God will be glorified in this wonderful experience; and God alone
will be glorified. For His blood alone has made us worthy, and
His Name alone shall be exalted.
This brings us now to the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of
the seventh month--the culmination of the Blowing of Trumpets and
the Day of Atonement. These two events, in fact, are really part
of the Feast of Tabernacles in that they prepare and open up the
way for the glory that is to be revealed.
......
Note:
Many are the teachings of the Feasts of the Lord. Each can be
disected in many illustrations of the truths of God. Here you
have read about a few of those wonderful truths.
Keith Hunt
