Personal Application of Christ’s Triumphal Entry

“And Jesus went into the temple of God and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers and them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people, but ye have made it a den of thieves.  And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple; and He healed them” (Matt. 21: 12-14).

*******************

    Many events of Bible-history have a real significance in the life of the believer.  That is, they have more than just a one-dimensional historical meaning.  I think Olshausen once said that parables are like precious gems, cut in a way so as to shed lustre in all directions.   This may be equally said for events like the Triumphal entry of Christ. When looked at very carefully, the events may be seen to have great personal relevance which bless us as we study them.

   For instance, let’s view the temple as the “whole man.”  Paul, addressing the saints in 1 Cor. 6: 18-20, equated the temple with the individual body, in which the Holy Ghost resides.  The whole man, soul and body, form a structure which is an exact replica of the Jewish temple.  Christ spoke of His body as a temple (John 2: 21).  See also, 2 Peter 1: 13-14, as well as 2 Cor. 5: 1-4.  The body is often likened to a tabernacle, or temple, which is set up in this world, dismantled at physical death, and “changed” when Christ comes to raise His saints from the dust.  This shall occur at the end of the present age, and will inaugurate the Millennial reign of the Messiah.

    If you look at the typology of the Jewish tabernacle, you’ll find the structure symolizes deep truths–truths which represent the personal walk of the believer.  Solomon’s Temple also demonstrates the same.  The plan of the temple is somewhat like the plan of the individual disciple.  There is an outer court (body), an inner court (soul), and a “Holiest of all,” where the Spirit of God resides.

   The outer court is where the word of God is preached. Here it was that Christ taught the people.  “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10: 17).  Whoever hears the Gospel knows that Christ stands in the court.  

   Christ threw the money changers out of this court, for their unlawful trafficking.  I take it that the money-changers” are those divers lusts which we served when our body (=temple) was being put to unlawful use (Ephesians 2: 2-3).  With the preaching of the Word, our corruptions are laid bare, and a general tumult is made.  The Word of God (CHRIST) is quick and powerful (Hebrews 4: 12).  He overturns the tables of our lusts (moneychangers) and false virtues (sellers of doves).  Thus, when Christ enters the outer court, and preaches to us, a great change is effected.

    But mere preaching is ineffectual in itself to renovate the temple.  There must be a real entrance of Christ into the inner court, where is the altar and a laver.  The altar is activated when Christ’s sacrifice is made real to us.  Thus, the Lamb’s precious blood is sprinkled upon our consciences (Hebrews 9: 14), and the disciple participates vicariously in the sacrificial death of Christ.  Then, there is a laver, in which our souls are washed in the righteousness of the Word (Hebrews 10: 22).  In Solomon’s temple, the laver was placed before the altar.  And Peter seems to refer to this typology when he writes: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1: 2).  Thus, one must be born by water and the Spirit (John 3: 5), ere He can participate in Christ’s sacrifice.

   The altar and laver are both necessary before we can approach the sanctuary.  Remember, the sanctuary is where we have real communion with Christ.  It is where the table of showbread and candlestick are housed.  Thus, John says: “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1: 6).  While Christ our High Priest is in the Holiest place completing our atonement, we are to walk in the light– that is, remain in the sanctuary– which implies that our consciences are kept pure by the application of blood and water.  This presupposes that we are “keeping His commandments” (1 John 2: 3) and “loving our brethren” (1 John 2: 9-10).

    Paul says, that, in order to participate in the Lord’s Supper (which is what the Sanctuary signifies), there must be an examination of the conscience (1 Cor. 11: 28).  In other words, they who are walking in darkness have no fellowship or part in the sanctuary (1 John 1: 6).  And God commanded Moses (speaking of the LAVER): “For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not” (Exodus 30: 19-20).  Note that this was made a perpetual statute (Exodus 30: 21).  And as we are a nation of kings and priests (1 Peter 2: 9; Rev. 1: 6; cf. Ex. 19: 5-6), this passage still applies to us!

    Likewise, Peter tells us the requisites necessary to remaining in fellowship with our Lord, and being “partakers of the Divine nature” (2 Peter 1: 4-11).  But he says, “He that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”  And so there is a need to return to the inner court, where we may again apply the precious blood of Christ to our hearts.  While Christ is in the Holy Place making our reconciliation to God, we are to “remain in the light.” 

   But when He leaves the Holy Place, the Lord shall return “without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9: 28).  At this point our atonement will be consummated, and we will be ”changed.”  Then we’ll have personal fellowship with Christ in His Millennial temple, which “cometh down out of heaven” (Rev. 3: 12).  Then we will enter into the Holiest of All, and partake of the “hidden manna” (Rev. 2: 17).  Then we will have real personal communion with our God, when we “see Him as He is” (1 John 3: 2) and “know, even as we are known” (1 Cor. 13: 12).

Marriage Supper of the Lamb

  “And he saith unto me, Write, blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb” (Rev. 19: 9).

*******************

    To partake of the marriage supper of the lamb is one of the foremost privileges of Christ’s kingdom.  It is the consummation of that spiritual union which exists between Christ and the born-again believer.  We’ve heard much talk about this marriage supper, and naturally we ask: when does it occur?  We believe, firstly, that it is an event which takes place on earth; and secondly, that it is concurrent with the “First Resurrection” mentioned in John’s Apocalypse.  The feast represents the consummation of our sanctification, when we are presented to Christ holy and without blemish (Eph. 5: 27).  When are we presented without blemish?  It is when we attain to the “resurrection of the just.”  Now there is a need to back through Scripture and see how our sanctification is effected, that we may better understand the nature and timing of its consummation.

    Bringing to mind Christ’s parable of the marriage supper (Matt. 22: 1-14), let us look closely at what He says.  He speaks of an invitation (Matt. 22: 3).  This invitation can be none other than that sent forth through the preaching of the gospel.  Christ’s call of “Come unto me, all ye that labor” (Matt. 11: 28) is His bidding us to leave behind our own ways and return to God.  This returning to God implies a yoke; and this yoke is the binding of the terms of the New Covenant to our consciences.  We approve ourselves as Christ’s disciples only insofar as we are regenerated by His grace & sprinkled with His blood.  We put off the old man, and put on the new. Thence our spiritual natures have the dominion over us.  And such is the mastery (yoke) of the Gospel.  It enables us to bear Christ, and to persevere unto the end. 

    When Christ speaks of His invitation, however, He also makes mention of those who refuse to listen (Matt. 22: 3-6).  There be many who have no relish for the gospel, whose natural hardness of heart is never softened.  And they are unreceptive to the preaching of God’s grace.  This reminds us that we are sheep having gone astray (1 Peter 2: 25).  We are in a natural state of sin and wickedness.  While all men are made sinners through Adam, and all are in need of salvation, not all will heed Christ’s call.  There must be an effectual drawing of the Holy Spirit ere we can believe unto salvation (John 6: 37, 44, 65).  But so soon as this drawing is effected, we follow Christ.  And this drawing commences our espousal to Him.  His call brings us out of Egypt, and hence we begin that long and arduous journey to another land (1 Cor. 10: 1-11).  While we travel, our sanctification is an ongoing work.  It is finished when we enter the land of Canaan.

    When the Christian is regenerated by the Holy Spirit, his transition from the first to the second Adam begins.  As long as we are still subject to sin, we are still under the first Adam: and this should be kept in mind.  When a man is freed from this body of death (old man), he then partakes of resurrection and judgment.  This consummates his union to the second Adam; for Paul says, concerning the results of Divine grace: “He that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit” (1 Cor. 6: 17).  Thus, while natural marriage applies to those in earthly bodies, spiritual espousal is alone applicable to our present walk in the wilderness.  Nevertheless, we now await our resurrection bodies  (2 Cor. 5: 1-10).   Our sanctification is yet incomplete.

    Indeed, there is a true difference between espousal and marriage. For espousal is regeneration, and marriage is resurrection.  As long as we have these “bodies of death” (Romans 7: 24) to contend with, we look forward to the heavenly marriage– to our resurrection.  Until that marriage takes place we are in a state of Divine probation– as witness, for instance, the parable of the talents (Matt. 25: 14-30).  In this life, we must be content with the “First-fruits of the Spirit.”  And there is a “better resurrection” in store for those who persevere– who approve themselves worthy of everlasting life.  This better resurrection is called the crown of life (James 1: 12; Rev. 2: 10) and the “First Resurrection” (Rev. 20: 5).  It is that to which Paul desired to attain (Phil. 3: 11).  Incidentally, let us recall that he was afraid lest he should miss out on this final prize (1 Cor. 9: 27).

   The apostle’s warnings should cause us to take a closer look at the doctrine of “apostasy.”  For Paul certain teaches that a professing Christian may fall away (Heb. 6: 4-6).  In Christ’s visible church there are both wheat and tares.  Christ Himself tells us that “many are called, but few chosen” (Matt. 22: 14).  That is, many are outwardly called by the ministry of the Word, but who are not inwardly called by the Spirit of God.  They can never truly come to Christ.

   An espoused bride may prove herself unworthy, and the marriage become null and void.  In the Mosaic law, the high priest was commanded to marry a “virgin of his own people” (Lev. 21: 13-14).  There is a reason for this precept, and its fulfillment may be found “Abiding in Christ.”  Chastity is often synonymous with moral purity (2 Cor. 11: 2).  A sinner is first cleansed when he is regenerated by the Holy Spirit. His past sins are forgiven, and he henceforth undergoes continual washing, as the old man is mortified through the Spirit.  In the Book of Revelation, they who are married to Christ are called “virgins” (Rev. 14: 4): whereas those who fall away are condemned to “outer darkness.”  Thus, if we are truly espoused to Christ there is an urgent requirement to remember our obligations.  The Holy Spirit purifies and renews us daily; but we must also “keep ourselves pure” (1 Tim. 5: 22).  Here, as elsewhere, divine grace and human accountability go hand in hand.

  In His parable of the marriage supper, Christ tells us that He sent forth His armies and destroyed the city of those who refused to hearken to the Gospel call (Matt. 22: 7).  When Christ returns from heaven the children of the wicked one (the apostate tares of Christ’s visible church) shall be cast into the fire (Matt. 13: 38-40).  At that time, the church will be completed: for its completion is contemporaneous with the marriage.  The requirement of those who enter into the marriage supper is that they must have on a wedding garment.  What is a wedding garment?

    We’ll recall that when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, God left them clothed with the skins of slain beasts (Gen. 3: 21).  We suppose that this was the ordination of that necessary blood-sacrifice that looks to Christ for its true meaning.  And we’ll find, in our studies of Scripture, that the blood sacrifice manifested itself in various ways from Adam unto Moses.  Jethro, Moses’ father in law, was one of the last of those Gentile priests of God to offer up sacrifice for the sins of others (Exodus 18: 12).  From the institution of the Mosaic statutes, the ordinance of blood-sacrifice was given solely to Israel.  And so we discover that when Christ was offered up once to bear the sins of many, the ritual attained its true fulfillment.  From thence on, salvation would be through the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, without which there can be no remission of sins.  This is a necessary requirement of entering into the kingdom of heaven.   

    So, during our espousal our garments are steeped in the precious blood of our Savior Jesus Christ.  But when marriage is consummated, the same garments are pure and white.  Blessed truth!  The process of washing us white through the blood of Jesus Christ is expressed in Rev. 7: 14 where John records the angel as saying: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the lamb.“  Thus they only who endure unto the end shall be saved; and these shall find themselves clothed with clean white garments.  It is then that their marriage with Christ shall take place– when they shall stand in the presence of their Lord with renewed bodies.  They who have passed through great tribulation are invested with the appropriate garments of completed sanctification.  Therefore, it is evident that the sprinkling of Christ’s blood is that ongoing work of sanctification experienced by His disciples on earth, while the investiture of clean white garments takes place at the marriage.

    As we leave our old bodies behind at death, we enter the intermediate state, and thence await the perfection of Christ’s kingdom, when He shall raise the dead and clothe us in new physical bodies.  Then shall the supper of the Lamb take place.  And all of Christ’s faithful servants will be rewarded according to their merits.  They shall then “live and reign with Christ” (Rev. 20: 4) and have “power over the nations” (Rev. 2: 26).  As Christians we all look forward to this time.  Until then, let us keep ourselves pure.

The Noachian Deluge

“And the Lord said unto Noah, Enter thou and all thine house into the Arke: for thee have I seen righteous before me in this age” (Genesis 7: 1).

*******************

    Ever since I was a child, the account of the Great Flood has always fascinated me.  For some reason, this remains one of my favorite stories of the Bible.  Not only is it packed with internal meaning, but a great deal of historical significance as well.  For herein Moses gives an authentic account of the first great calamity that befell mankind.  In a previous article, I discuss why God determined to destroy mankind from off the face of the earth.  The Sons of God– that is, the true church– had intermixed among the wicked House of Cain to such a degree that there ensued a general lapse of morality, and a consequent uprising of wickedness which made it impossible to restore mankind by any other means than that of a thorough purging.  In the above verse, one sees why Noah was spared.  For he alone of all men of his generation remained righteous before God.

    Before launching upon a discussion of the Great Deluge, it is expedient to remark that almost all ancient peoples have preserved some account of a worldwide flood.  Perhaps the oldest historical record we have on hand is a fragment of Berosus, a Babylonian priest who lived circa 260 B.C.  In this fragment he tells us that the god Kronos warned Xisuthrus of a flood which would overtake the earth.  Xisuthrus, under the instructions of the deity, built an ark, into which he entered with his family, along with various animals, birds, and quadrupeds.  After the water had submerged the earth for many days, he sent birds out of the ark to reconnoiter for dry land.  Eventually, the waters having subsided, Xisuthrus and his family left the ark and built an altar to their god in remembrance of their deliverance.  This tale is one of many like fables which relate the Mosaic account in a more or less corrupted form.

    Another historical flood account exists among some old Chinese manuscripts.  In a book entitled Remarkable Characters and Places of the Holy Land (1864), Charles W. Elliott, the author, quotes a “Dr. Smith” as saying: “The Chinese story is, in many respects, singularly like the Biblical.  Fah-he, the reputed author of the Chinese civilization, is said to have escaped from the waters of the Deluge.  He reappears as the first man at the production of a renovated world, attended by seven companions–his wife, three sons, and three daughters, by whose intermarriage the whole circle of the universe is finally completed.”  There are similar stories among the Indians, as well as the Mexican Aztecs, all of whom tell of a worldwide flood.  And, of course, there is an account in the Koran, which mixes Persian sources with Biblical.

    However, the most noteworthy flood account, and that tallying most with the Mosaic record, is the Grecian fable of Deucalion and Pyrrha.  The legend runs as follows: During the corrupt “Iron Age,” men had degenerated to such a degree that Zeus purposed to destroy mankind in a general overthrow.  He was about to launch a thunderbolt, but, reconsidering, decided instead to send a flood.  Deucalion, son of Prometheus, was instructed by his father to build an ark, in which he entered with his wife Pyrrha.  Zeus restrained the north wind, which scatters the clouds, and unloosed the south wind, which brings rain.  Thence followed a general calamity.  Thomas Bullfinch, in his characteristic prose, details the effects of the flood:

“The clouds, driven together, resound with a crash; torrents of rain fall; the crops are laid low; the year’s labor of the husbandman perishes in an hour. Jupiter, not satisfied with his own waters, calls on his brother Neptune to aid him with his. He lets loose the rivers, and pours them over the land. At the same time, he heaves the land with an earthquake, and brings in the reflux of the ocean over the shores. Flocks, herds, men, and houses are swept away, and temples, with their sacred enclosures, profaned. If any edifice remained standing, it was overwhelmed, and its turrets lay hid beneath the waves. Now all was sea, sea without shore. Here and there an individual remained on a projecting hilltop, and a few, in boats, pulled the oar where they had lately driven the plough. The fishes swim among the tree-tops; the anchor is let down into a garden. Where the graceful lambs played but now, unwieldy sea calves gambol. The wolf swims among the sheep, the yellow lions and tigers struggle in the water. The strength of the wild boar serves him not, nor his swiftness the stag. The birds fall with weary wing into the water, having found no land for a resting-place. Those living beings whom the water spared fell a prey to hunger.”

    Notwithstanding the complete submergence of the creation, Deucalion and Pyrrha were saved.  After nine days of being afloat, the ark settled upon Mount Parnassus.  Deucalion and Pyrrha entered a temple, where the oracle instructed them to repopulate the earth by taking stones and casting them behind as they went along.  These stones became human beings, and thus was the earth re-inhabited after the Deluge.  In his masterful telling, Bullfinch unfortunately neglects any mention of the ark.  It is clear, however, that the tale in its complete form bears remarkable correspondence to that which Moses gives.  And, although the story is related by neither Homer nor Hesiod, conservative scholars have correctly identified it as an early corruption of the Mosaic account.

    Thus, the story of a worldwide flood is lent credence and support by the traditions of antiquity.  And the veracity of the Mosaic record was not generally questioned until the close of the eighteenth century.  Since that time, it has been subject to repeated attacks.  However, I find it impossible to believe that the Deluge was not a genuine historical event.  And therefore, I must accept the Scriptural testimony as authoritative.  Whenever I study Moses’ account, I cannot help drawing parallels between the Great Flood and the General Judgment and Second Coming of Christ.  That the former was a type of the universal parousia can hardly be doubted.  Lamech, Noah’s father, prophecies concerning his son: “This same shall comfort us concerning our work and sorrow of our hands, as touching the earth, which the Lord hath cursed” (Gen. 5: 29).  Thus, Lamech had respect unto the promise of Gen. 3: 15, and perceived Noah as a sign of the coming Deliverer.

    Now, when God told Noah to begin the building of an ark, His instructions were quite implicit.  “Make thee an Ark of pine trees: thou shalt make cabins in the Ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.  And thus shalt thou make it: the length of the Ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.  A window shalt thou make in the Ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above, and the door in the Ark shalt thou set in the side thereof.  Thou shalt make it with the low, second, and third room” (Gen. 7: 14-16).  Most artistic renditions of the ark represent it as a sort of great sea-faring vessel.  But this is an altogether erroneous concept.  The Antediluvians certainly had no knowledge of ship building, nor is there any evidence that they even possessed the science of navigation.  According to Berosus, the first maritime journey took place 143 years after the flood.  The ark, then, would have been the first vessel of its kind; and it can hardly be thought of as anything so elaborate as some would portray it to be.  Think of it, then, as a huge rectangular box with three stories– something akin to a giant granary shed– and you’ll come closer to the true picture.  Primitive though it may have been, yet it abundantly answered its purpose.  God oftentimes uses simple means in delivering His people.

    Moses tells us that God gave Noah seven days in which to prepare himself for the flood (Gen. 7: 4).  He was told to take with him seven of every clean beast: six for breeding purposes and one to offer as a burnt offering (Gen. 7: 2-3).  Regarding the unclean beasts, only two were required.  But Noah was commanded to take seven of every fowl.  Thus, from the very beginning we find both birds and beasts being used as sacrificial offerings to God.  This is important, as there are some today who deny that such sacrifice began prior to the Sinaitic covenant.  Be that as it may, we should keep in mind that in all ages God has required blood as expiation for sin.  And this is an institution which God gave to Adam (Gen. 3: 21).  While burnt offerings no longer have any force in today’s age, it is only because Jesus Christ Himself nullified such sacrifice in the offering of Himself (Hebrews 9: 12).  We vicariously partake of His offering through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.  The spirituality of its application, however, should not make us unmindful of the monumental truth that, from the church’s very inception, sacrifice was a required part of communion with God. 

    And so, on the very last day of the seven– the same, the Bible tells us, in which the flood began (Gen. 7: 13)– the beasts presented themselves before Noah in their pairs (Gen. 7: 9).  This presentation has great internal significance, for it shows that the stewardship over God’s Creation was transferred from Adam to Noah.  And that it was confirmed after the deluge, we may ascertain from Gen. 9: 2-3.  Thus, the succession of Christ’s church passed to Noah; and after the Noachian covenant was ratified, it was transferred to Shem and his sons (Gen. 9: 26-27), thence passing on to Abraham, and later to Moses.  The connection between the Jewish church and the House of Seth, whose founder was Adam, is clearly corroborated in this transferal of lordship over God’s creation.  After all the animals presented themselves to Noah, the patriarch entered into the ark with his numerous charge and retinue (Gen. 7: 13-15).  The door was then firmly shut (Gen. 7: 16), intimating, firstly, that it was now too late for mankind to repent– that the opportunity for entering the kingdom was expired (cf. Matt. 25: 10-12); and, secondly, that Noah and his family were secure from the effects of God’s wrath.  Once they had entered the ark and the door was sealed to, the waters broke forth over all the earth. 

    “All the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened, and the rain was upon the earth for forty days and forty nights” (Gen. 7: 11-12).  These waters rose gradually, until the ark was buoyed up (Gen. 7: 17).  We can imagine the terror of those who were left behind when the waters began to rage.  How they must have beat upon the walls of the ark!  How they must have pled for admittance!  But it was too late.  They had their chance when Noah preached to them, and they failed to listen to him, preferring their own ways to God’s.  Once again, we can’t help drawing a comparison between the Mosaic account of the Deluge and Christ’s own warnings to Israel, and to all mankind.  The days preceding the Second Coming of Christ will be precisely the same as those which preceded the flood (Luke 17: 26-27).  It is hard to deny that a general apostasy prevails today in such widespread and virulent form that one is impelled– perhaps rightly so– to deem these the “last times.”  When the measure of iniquity is filled up, disaster shall overtake the world.  It is horrid to think that some will be condemned to perish, and yet that is probably why God has deferred His judgment for so long (2 Peter 3: 9).  In all events, we can hasten the day of God by returning to the paths of righteousness (2 Peter 3: 11-12) and personal consecration, which is our reasonable service (Romans 12: 1).

    It is said that the waters prevailed upon the earth for one hundred and fifty days (Gen. 7: 24).  That is, it rained for forty days and nights, the waters remaining for one hundred and fifty days afterwards, ere they began to abate (Gen. 8: 3).  If there is any symbolic significance in the numerology of the Noachian Deluge, we have not yet learned.  However, we know for a certainty that Noah was in the ark for over a year.  He entered it in the six hundredth year of his life, on the seventeenth day of the second month (Gen. 7: 11)– which shows that the flood began about the beginning of May.  And Noah remained in the ark until his six hundred and first year, to the twenty-seventh day of the second month, (Gen. 8: 14) when the waters had dried up.  Thus, Spring was in full bloom when he and his family left the ark.  They had now emerged from great tribulation (Rev. 7: 14), and, in pious thanksgiving, offered up sacrifices unto God (Gen. 8: 20).  When Noah completed his sacrifice, the Lord smelled a savor of rest (Gen. 8: 21).  That is, He was appeased by these burnt-offerings, and forthwith ratified His covenant with the new steward of His creation.  The covenant was confirmed with, not only mankind, but the beasts as well (Gen. 9: 9, 10, 12).  We thus conclude that God exercises providential protection over all His creatures (see Matt. 10: 29).  And the redemption the whole creation is comprehended in God’s soteriological scheme (Romans 8: 21).

    I think a parallel can be drawn between Noah’s deliverance and the final deliverance of all God’s people from the power of the enemy.  That Noah entered Canaan, or at least a type thereof, must be discerned by every judicious interpreter of the Old Covenant typology.  This salvation embraced the entire house of God (the church,) as well as every creature in whom is the breath of life.  And we find ourselves inclining to the view that a like redemption, of much vaster scale, will take place at the close of human history.  God promises Noah that, so long as the earth remains, seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter shall not cease (Gen. 8: 22).  But that one day the earth should be purged by fire, is evident from Peter’s prophesy (2 Peter 3: 7), as well as the Lord’s own statement that “heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24: 35).  For confirmation of this statement, see Matt. 5: 18, in which it seems that Christ is repeating, or at least referring to, the Midrash on Genesis 1: “Everything hath its end, heaven and earth have their end, one thing being excepted which hath no end, that is the law.”  If we understand this destruction of heaven and earth as relating to the overthrow of the Jewish economy, yet still do Christ’s warnings remain in effect for all ages.  And John Calvin adopts such a view in his commentary on Christ’s Olivet Discourse.

    Yet we are digressing.  Regardless of one’s personal interpretation of the Noachian typology, it is clear that the story of the Ark has a higher internal meaning, whose application must have reference to the individual believer.  The ark ultimately represents Jesus Christ; and entering into Him will seal us from the Day of wrath, and that deluge from the ravages of sin, which must surely overtake those who are not sealed in Christ.  Peter tells us that the Noachian deliverance was simply a figure of our own baptism (1 Peter 3: 21).  And Paul says: “We are buried with Him by baptism into His death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6: 4).  This newness of life is the most evident token we have of our future blessedness.  And the sealing of the Holy Spirit shuts us in Christ while we await the Day of redemption (Eph. 1: 14).  At that Day we shall enter into our rest (2 Thess. 1: 7).  The typology of the Deluge, therefore, has great significance in light of Christian doctrinal teaching.  And Noah’s example provides us a pattern to follow in our own lives.  Yes, friends, let us take him as our example.  For even while the world raged, Noah never gave up hope in God, nor lost faith in the efficacy of righteous and Holy living.  And we conclude that while life remains, there is hope for repentance and the fruits of godliness.  As John Masefield wrote:

Man with his burning soul
Has but an hour of breath
To build a ship of Truth
In which his soul may sail,
Sail on the sea of death.
For death takes toll
Of beauty, courage, youth,
Of all but Truth.

FINIS.

The Battle of the Kings

 ”Then went out the King of Sodom, and the King of Gomorrah, and the King of Admah and the King of Zeboiim, and the King of Bela, which is Zoar: and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim: to wit, with Cheder-laomer King of Elam, and Tidal King of nations, and Amraphel King of Shinar, and Arioch King of Ellasar: four kings against five” (Gen. 14: 8-9).

************************

    The battle of the kings is the first account we have of a military encounter between two opposing armies.  While we feel assured that it was not the first such encounter, its placement in the book of Genesis has great internal significance that should not be ignored.  For I sincerely doubt that Moses entered it into the sacred histories without just cause.  And that it is later referred to in Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews, is the surest token of its symbolic value in reference to Christ’s eternal and unchanging priesthood, as well as the salvation and blessedness of His people.

    Let us go back to the beginning, and sketch, if we can, the characters and setting of the story.  We recall that Abraham and Lot, sojourning together from Haran, came into the land of Canaan (Gen. 12: 5), dwelling therein as pilgrims.  Both were very rich in cattle, silver, and gold (Gen. 13: 2, 5).  Yet it happened that the herdsmen of Lot and Abraham strove together, inasmuch as the land was not able to contain them both (Gen. 13: 6-7).  And so Abraham entreated his nephew that they should part separate ways (Gen. 13: 8-9).  At that time, the Canaanites and Perizzites were in the land (Gen. 13: 7).  And lest the enemy be given occasion to blaspheme God, Abraham relinquished his own right and let Lot have choice in the matter.  And herein we discern a fundamental difference between Abraham and his nephew, in that Lot picked the land of Sodom for his home, while Abraham chose Canaan– the land God had already promised him (Gen. 12: 7).

    “So when Lot lifted up his eyes, he saw that all the plain of Jordan of was watered every where: (for before the LOrd destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, it was as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou goest unto Zoar).  Then Lot chose unto him all the plain of Jordan and took his journey from the East: and they departed the one from the other.  Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot abode in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent even to Sodom” (Gen. 13: 10-12).  It is obvious that Lot was deceived by the fruitfulness of the land he chose.  And so, many of God’s people today are likewise deceived by the pomp and splendor of the world, which becomes as wormwood and gall to them.  Lot was soon to find that the people of Sodom were exceeding sinners against the Lord (Gen. 13: 13).  Abraham, on the other hand, received confirmation of the Divine promises when he chose Canaan (Gen. 13: 14-17). 

    Thus, Lot preferred alliance with the men of this world, whereas Abraham remained in the land of promise, looking for the city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11: 10).  Lot was content with earthly blessings, all of which would soon prove false.  But Abraham accepted the earthly as a mere sign and earnest of the heavenly.  In other words, Lot preferred the blessings in his hand– here and now– as many Christians still do.  But Abraham preferred to trust in God and rely on His word, knowing in his heart that in due time it would be fulfilled.  So much will patience and faith establish us in Christ.  Lot’s alliance with the world caused him much sorrow and vexation (2 Peter 2: 8). And although the land was as the Garden of Eden, it became a hell for him.  But Abraham had peace and joy with God.  For he subsisted upon His providential protection, and had respect unto the promises.  “Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4: 4).  And so matters stood thuswise when war broke out.

    What was the occasion of this war?  Moses seems to hint that there was a covenant between the King of Elam and the cities of the plain.  Of what this covenant consisted we are unsure, though it probably had to do with tribute and homage of some sort.  At any rate, Moses records that the cities of the plain served the Kingdom of Chedor-laomer for twelve years, and in the thirteenth year rebelled (Gen. 14: 4).  In doing so, however, they not only broke covenant, which is a sign of a wicked and depraved generation (Romans 1: 30), but endangered the safety of those throughout their dominions.  For Chedor-laomer the king of Elam gathered together his allied forces and set out to punish the cities of the plain.  His armies were quite destructive, though it is hard to give an assessment of their exact number.  Judging from the geographical territory covered by their assaults, they must have been quite considerable–much larger than the small band of three hundred and eighteen wherewith Abraham gained victory (Gen. 14: 14).  But this disparity brings to mind God’s promise to His people: “And five of you shall chase an hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight, and your enemies shall fall before you upon the sword” (Lev. 26: 8).

    When Chedor-laomer’s forces moved against the recreant kings, there was probably some opposition from the cities eastward the plain.  For the Emims, a race of giants dwelling nigh Kiriathaim, were smitten (Gen. 14: 5), as well as those close upon the borders of Edom (Gen. 14: 6).  The army moved westward, destroying the inhabitants of those districts in which the Amelekites later settled.  And they probably sent a contingent to advance across the plain, unto the vicinity of Engedi, where then stood the ancient city of Hazezon-Tamar.  Thus it appears that they made a decisive attack in well-organized fashion.  This speaks eloquently of the military strategy then employed– which was countered by a cunning attempt on the part of Sodom’s confederates to lure the forces of Elam into the slime-pits that abounded in the vale of Siddim (Gen. 14: 10).  The two armies came together in that place, and the battle was joined.  However, the Sodomites were utterly put to rout, and caught in the very trap they laid for the enemy.  Their forces then dispersed and fled into the mountain.  As Chedor-laomer’s troops fell upon the city of Sodom, Lot was taken captive.  Thus the covenant-breakers were defeated. 

    A consultation of ancient maps shows us that the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, have since been submerged beneath the waters of the Salt Sea.  Only Zoar was spared, for it was that city in which Lot sought refuge (Gen. 19: 20-23).  Most maps place Zoar on the small promontory that juts into the sea from the mainland. This “sea,” or lake, is known by many of the older theologians as Asphaltitis.  And John Lightfoot draws a curious parallel between it and the “lake of fire” (Rev. 20: 14).  However, at the time of the battle it was a fruitful plain; and its cities were lush and prosperous.  Yet notwithstanding their beauty and opalescence, iniquity stalked abroad.  And Ezekiel the prophet tells us that Sodom’s fall was due mainly to pride, fullness of bread, abundance of idleness, and neglect of the poor (Ezekiel 16: 49).  Let all generations of all ages heed the prophet’s warning, lest we too fall into their error, and be condemned to undergo their fate.  The cities of the plain have since perished, and not a trace of them remains.

    It seems to us that the vanquishing of these cities by the confederation of Elam would have served as a warning to the faithless and disobedient.  Howbeit, we find no repentance in their history.  And this absence of all conscience is frightening.  It puts us in mind of Paul’s precept, that “evil men and deceivers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3: 13).  At any rate, once Lot was taken, Abraham was informed of the event by one who had escaped being captured (Gen. 14: 13).  And Abraham’s righteousness is manifested in that he delayed not an instant, but rose up, gathered together his band of three hundred and eighteen men, and pursued the enemy forces unto Dan.  By this time the enemy had moved northward beyond the borders of the the salt sea.  It is uncertain whether they were continuing their ravages in this direction, or fleeing from before Abraham’s army.  Once they came to Hobah, which was on the left side of Damascus, Abraham, leading an assault under cover of darkness, overthrew them completely, delivering Lot and saving the captives out of Chedor-laomer’s hands (Gen. 14: 15-16).  During the battle the four kings were slain (Gen. 14: 17).  Hence Paul calls this encounter “the slaughter of the kings” (Hebrews 7: 1).

    Now Abraham gathered his men together and proceeded southward.  He was probably returning to the plain of Mamre in Hebron, where he dwelt at the time (Gen. 13: 18).  His journey took him through the environs of Jerusalem; and as he traveled, the Priest Melchizedek came to meet him at Shaveh.  But where was Shaveh located?  After consulting some of the foremost theologians, I must agree with the general consensus that Shaveh, or the King’s Dale, lay in the valley of Jehoshaphat.  For it was in this same valley that Absalom erected a pillar (2 Sam. 18: 18).  Bishop John P. Newman, who made extensive explorations throughout the area, places the existing monument one thousand feet below the great bridge that spans the Kidron. It is often referred to as “The Tomb of Absalom.”  In his book From Dan to Beersheba (1864), Newman remarks: “This is probably the pillar which Absalom in his lifetime reared up for himself in the King’s Dale.”  Mediaeval and modern tradition also place the location of the Dale in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem, in the valley through which the River Kidron flows. 

    The Valley is bordered on the west by Mount Moriah, and on the east by the Mount of Olives.  This position has great internal significance.  For it is here that Christ is represented as judging all nations (Joel 3: 12).  And it is probably from Mount Moriah that King Melchizedek came down to greet Abraham after his victory.  Salem was the ancient name of Jerusalem, as is recorded by Josephus.  The Scripture also testifies of this in Psalm 76: 2: “For in Salem is His tabernacle, and His dwelling in Zion.”  Thus Melchizedek must have been king of the ancient city of Jerusalem.  This leads us to the opinion that it was at that time a center of Divine worship.  Thus, even then was Jerusalem a city of righteousness: though in later times it degenerated to a level of depravity which we can hardly imagine (Judges 1: 5-7).  Nevertheless, it was thither that Abraham went to do homage to the Most High.

    When the King Melchizedek came forth to meet Abraham, he brought forth bread and wine (Gen. 14: 18).  The two sacraments of the Lord’s Supper!  Surely there is more meaning in this act than most theologians recognize.  The 1560 Geneva Bible commentary states: “In that Melchizedek fed Abraham, he declared himself to represent a king: and in that he blessed him, the High Priest.”  In my view, this interpretation is the one that most fits the truth. The meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek has great symbolic meaning; for it provides types which have their sole relevance in the Gospel Dispensation.  The bread is the body of Jesus Christ, the wine is His blood (Matt. 26: 26-28).  Abraham enters the King’s Dale weary and footsore, but there he partakes of communion with the High Priest.  Thus, He is refreshed by this confirmation of God’s grace.  We believe, therefore, that the meeting typifies the consummation of Christ’s kingdom, when the saints, who have overcome their enemies, will enter into the joy of the Lord.  Perhaps this is what Christ meant when He said: “Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8: 56).  For Melchizedek represents Jesus Christ Himself (Hebrews 6: 20; 7: 3, 20-21). 

    Moses then relates that Melchizedek gave Abraham his benediction: “Blessed art thou, Abram, of God most High possessor of Heaven and Earth.  And blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand” (Gen. 14: 19-20).  Paul declares the superiority of Melchizedek over Abraham: “And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better” (Hebrews 7: 7).  This is certainly the primary reason that the patriarch gave him tithes of all.  And yet the tithing also has deep internal meaning, for according to Paul, it shows that the the legal priesthood was subject to the everlasting priesthood of the Son Of God (Hebrews 7: 9-28).  Thus, Abraham, in his act, freely acknowledges the subordination of law to grace.  And his act of homage confirms this truth for all generations. 

    The King of Sodom appears at this point, and suggests that Abraham take the goods to himself, while he keeps the persons (Gen. 14: 21).  But Abraham will hear of no such thing.  As a matter of fact, he shuns any notion of being enriched by the King of Sodom, and so he declines (Gen. 14: 23).  Nevertheless, being a righteous man, he would not have his liberality deprive others of their just rewards.  And so he gives his servants leave to help themselves to the spoil (Gen. 14: 24).  We’ll find that during the entire history of the battle, from its very beginning to its final outcome, Abraham behaved with exemplary justice.  He, than which few stand more worthy of being called the children of God, is a man whose character and attributes we’d do well to study in today’s time.  For while his name is often associated with the purely temporal promises, he himself had little concern for such things, but was a mere sojourner in this present evil world.  He was also one of the great prophets of the church (Gen. 20: 7).  And looking unto him as an example of our own faith and walk will add fresh perspective to our studies, and help us to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3: 18).  Blessed be the name of Abraham!