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Chapter VII

The Priesthood of the Son of God

Significance of the Priestly Office of the Son of God. - The Government upon His Shoulders. - The Priest and also the Sacrifice. - The Melchizedek Type of the Priesthood. - The Anointing. - The Tried Stone. - The Priestly Office Before and After Sin. - The Aaronic Priesthood. - Atonement for Sin and for Uncleanness. - The Anointing and the Cleansing. - Exaltation of the High Priest. - The Subordinate Priests. -What Think ye of Christ? Whose Son is he?

"Jehovah hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." Psa. 110:4; Heb. 5:5, 6, 10, 11; Psa. 2:6, 7; Heb. 1:3, 5; 6:20; 7:14-17; Zech. 6:9-13.

A priest in the full sense of the term is a mediator, surety or sponsor divinely appointed to stand between a just and holy God and his intelligent creatures on probation. Strictly speaking there can be but one priest, yet the term was typically applied to some men previous to the gospel dispensation, and since the beginning of the gospel dispensation it is applied to the church of Christ in a subordinate sense, Christ Jesus being the great High Priest; and in all things having the preeminence. Also in a subordinate and typical sense the nation of Israel was called a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.

In considering the priestly office of the Son of God we wish to notice first - The Necessity for a Priesthood in God's dealing with his creatures on probation; for evidently it was because of this necessity, that the mighty works, both of creation and of redemption, have been accomplished through a priestly agent. And further, it is evident that, in consequence of the faithfulness of this appointed agent through all the trials attending the execution of those mighty works, it is the will of God that he shall continue in the glory, the honors and the noble and blessed service of that priestly office to all eternity - "a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek," "a priest continually" as shown by this type, a kingly priest as further shown - "a priest upon his throne" and "of his kingdom there shall be no end." - Zech. 6:9-13; Heb. 7:3; Luke 1:32, 33.

This cannot refer, then, to his millennial kingdom on earth, which will have an end (See Rev. 20:4; 1 Cor. 15:24), but must refer to the eternal kingdom and universal reign from the throne of the Majesty in the Heavens, where he is seated at the right hand of God. Heb. 1:3; 8:1. Hence it is manifest that this priestly office is in some sense to the whole universal dominion over which he reigns as king and priest.

The wisdom of Jehovah in committing these mighty works to the Son whom he created and whom he anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power whereby to accomplish them, becomes very manifest as his eternal purpose unfolds. Therein we have already observed: (1) That the whole intelligent creation was to be in the image of God - like him, beings with free will, and therefore to be subjected to a period of probation for the formation and final test of individual character, to prove their individual worthiness or unworthiness of eternal 122

life. (2) That Jehovah stands as the exponent of the divine law, whose pledges of security to the righteous are assured by his fiery judgments upon the wicked disturbers of the universal peace. (3) Consequently, if God would for any wise reason delay judgment, or if he would in any case temper judgment with mercy, in his dealing with his creatures during their period of probation, and yet maintain the honor and inviolability of his law, their must needs be a mediator, a priest, to stand between them and God - one who, on bringing them into life, necessarily without experience, yet with freedom of will to choose either good or evil, would stand as sponsor for them during the period of their probation; on the one hand pledging God that his righteous law should be honored in them, either by their perfect conformity thereto, or, failing in this, by their cutting off from life in pursuance of his righteous judgment; and on the other hand, assuring the probationary creatures of God's good gift of eternal life on his terms of obedience to his holy law of life, and also instructing them and training all the willing and obedient to the full maturity of righteous character within the limits of God's appointed time of probation.

The office of such a sponsor is that which, in the providence of God, naturally devolves upon a father. Fatherhood therefore is the primary significance of priesthood. A father in the true sense is a priest in his family, God holding him responsible for the bringing up of his family in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. See Eph. 6:4; Gen. 18:17-19; Deut. 11:19-21; Josh. 4:6, 7. To bring up a family in rebellion against God, or in ignorance of his holy law, uninstructed and undisciplined, is to multiply ones own guilt by the number of such progeny. It will be remembered that before the establishment of the Levitical priesthood the patriarchs, the fathers, were the priests officiating at the altar. Compare Gen. 8:20, 21; 12:7, 8; 33:20; Job 1:5. Nor did the establishment of that national priesthood release the fathers in Israel from the priestly office in their respective families. The case of Eli was a marked illustration of God's requirement of this continued priestly office in the family. See 1 Sam. 2:12, 27-31; 3:12-14; 4:14-18; 1 Kings 2:27.

Thus naturally the father stands before God as the responsible voucher for the honor of his holy law in the conduct of his family; and, before his family, as their instructor and guide. As such his office in the family is not only priestly, but it is also kingly, wielding necessary beneficent and rightful authority. Indeed the three offices of prophet, priest and king are all included in the true idea of fatherhood and its divinely appointed responsibility - a prophet being an instructor in the things of God.

So the only-begotten Son of God is declared by the prophet Isaiah to be the Everlasting Father (Isa. 9:6, 7) - the Father of the whole creation; for "without him was not any thing made that was made." Thus the Everlasting Father of Isaiah's prophecy is the Everlasting Priest after the order of Melchizedek of David's prophecy. The Son of David, the Son of God, was that Everlasting Father, that Royal Priest, veiled in human flesh. Yet we must not lose sight of the fact that, in a still higher sense, Jehovah is the Father, the great First Cause of all things.

The Government upon His Shoulders

And Isaiah shows that upon the Son of God as the Everlasting Father of the whole creation, devolves the government of this great family in heaven and in earth, saying: "And the government is upon his shoulders" -The government of the whole creation is upon the shoulders of the Son of God because he is the Everlasting Father of all - the Prophet, Priest and King appointed by Jehovah as the great Chief Executive and Judge of the universal dominion. So also the glorious dress of the typical high priest shows him with the burden of "the Ephod" with its "breastplate of judgment" suspended from his shoulders - from clasps on the shoulders bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, which were also typical of the twelve tribes of the universal Israel - the whole creation. And not only was the burden upon his shoulders, but it was also upon his heart, as shown in the types, the same names being severally engraved upon the twelve precious stones in the typical breastplate. And this burden, resting not only upon his shoulders, but also upon his heart, is seen to be the burden of paternal love: and it is borne in strength; for though this is a mighty burden, he is a "Mighty God" to bear it, and his love is as deep as his strength is sure. He is "a Mighty God" because he is the begotten Son of "the Mighty God" Jehovah, and therefore of the same God nature. Who can doubt it when we behold him creating all things and sustaining all things by the word of his power? Heb. 1:1-3.

Surely also "his name is Wonderful." Who that has gained but a glimpse of his greatness would for an instant disclaim it? But more: he is called the "Counselor," for he is both able and willing to counsel, instruct and guide his great family, individually and collectively, till they reach that perfection of established character which can stand in the presence of Jehovah forever; for only to sin and sinners is our God "a consuming fire" *Not "shall be." See Leeser's translation; also Bible Commentary.

while the righteous rejoicingly walk in safety and in peace in the light of his countenance. Psa. 24:3-5; 89:1416. And where is the trusting child of God who has not proved the efficiency of this counsel in times of need?

In this view of his priestly office he is indeed also "the Prince of Peace," for the whole purpose of his wise counsel is to bring in that restful peace which only righteousness can secure and retain. Through him the long period of the universal probation shall issue in God's appointed time, in the blissful reign of universal and eternal peace on the sure foundation of the perfect and established righteous character of the whole creation. "In his days shall the righteous flourish and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth ... His name shall endure forever; his name shall be continued as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed." Psa. 72:7, 17.

Yes, all nations, both in the heavens and in the earth, shall call him blessed for John, relating his prophetic vision, says: "I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living creatures, and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Rev. 5:11-13.

The Priest and the Sacrifice

As we thus view the priesthood of the Son of God with all its weight of parental responsibility we are reminded of the fact that he was also the great atoning sacrifice whose blood should seal the covenant of eternal peace - the Lamb of God that taketh away sin.

In this view of him Jehovah, his Father, is seen as the Priest, and his Son is the sacrifice, offered up by the Father. So also the Scriptures present it: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. In a still higher sense than our Lord Jesus, Jehovah is the Everlasting Father, and therefore the Priest of the whole creation, for the whole creation, including his only-begotten Son, owes its existence to him as the great First Cause of all things, while his beloved Son is the secondary cause. And upon Jehovah in a still higher sense than upon our Lord Jesus, devolves the great responsibility of the fatherly, the priestly office. And in pursuance of the responsibilities of that office we see Jehovah alone devising his great eternal plan in the interest of the great family which he purposed to bring into existence and to establish in eternal peace, security and happiness.

We see him framing his perfect law - the only law that could insure these noble ends. Then, on the one hand, we see him planting that standard of righteousness so firmly as to give to the whole creation absolute assurance that it cannot be moved, and that therefore, the hope of the righteous is sure; while, on the other hand, we see him as a Savior (Isa. 43:11), devising a plan whereby the probationary creatures may, during an appointed period of probation, develop that righteous character which is worthy of eternal life. Thus in the very highest sense Jehovah is the Supreme Sovereign Lord, the Almighty God, the great First Cause, the Eternal Father, the Priest of the whole creation. So also he affirms, saying, I am Jehovah, and beside me [i.e. in this supreme sense] there is no savior. (Isa. 43:11; 45:21; Hosea 13:4.): Yet, in a secondary sense, he introduces his beloved Son, saying, "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins"; "He is a Prince and a Savior," a "Priest forever." Matt. 1:21; Acts 5:31; Psa. 110:4.

Of this priestly office of Jehovah, with his Son as the lamb for sacrifice, we have a very striking type in Abraham and his offering of his son Isaac, to which the apostle Paul calls attention in Rom. 4:16, 17. See margin, and Heb. 11:17, 19. Here Abraham is represented as a father of many nations "like unto" Jehovah in whom he believes and Isaac represents our Lord Jesus in the figurative sacrifice.

Concerning this type (Gen. 22:1-18), we see Isaac the beloved son and companion of his father, and in the same religious spirit, interested in his father's purpose. They walk together, Isaac bearing the wood and Abraham the fire and the knife; and, coming to the appointed place, they build the altar; Isaac evidently not yet knowing the full command of God and purpose of Abraham, for when all was about ready he inquires, saying, "My father, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" The trembling hope of Abraham replies, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering."

Yet the crucial moment came, and there was yet no countermand of the divine order, and Abraham, seeing no change of order, believed that God meant literally just what he said when he told him to offer up his only son. Then Isaac was informed of the full import of the command as Abraham understood it, viz., that he himself was the appointed lamb. Ah, then it was that Isaac proved himself the worthy son of his godly father, and the clear type of the Son of God. Did he rebel, or argue that since in his seed all nations were to be blessed, this strange command would render that promise null and void? There is no record of any other attitude on his part than that of the same obedient faith that dwelt in his father. So Abraham bound Isaac upon the altar and, taking the knife, reached out his hand to slay his son.

There the type was complete. So far as the full purpose of heart was concerned, both Abraham and Isaac had complied with the divine command, and when God interposed a lamb and gave Isaac back to his father, Paul says, Abraham received him in a figure - a figure or type of the resurrection of the Son of God. Heb. 11:19.

Now looking through this typical transaction we see the Son of God away back before the work of creation began, looking into the divine plan which the Father was revealing to him. See Prov. 8:22-30. There he could foresee the then future human race, its sudden and early fall and its necessary and just condemnation, and also the divine purpose for its redemption through a ransom - a sacrifice of equivalent value. He could foresee the consuming "fire" of divine justice against sinners, and the sin which, like the "wood," would be kindled by that wrath to the destination of the "sacrifice" that would take the sinners place. But where was the lamb?

He could see that the work of redemption was, in God's purpose, to be accomplished by the Son of God who should give his life a ransom for the condemned race; and though he was in full accord with every measure of Jehovah's wisdom, like Isaac, he could not see how the subsequent measures of God's purpose could be accomplished in him after his life had been given as a ransom; nor yet that his divine nature would fill the requirement for a ransom - an exact corresponding price - "a life for a life." Deut. 19:21; 1 Cor. 15:21, 22; Rom. 5:12-18. The mystery of the incarnation and its full purpose had not yet been revealed to him. So, his inquiry, like that of Isaac, must have been, My Father, where is the lamb? - the lamb that will be an acceptable sacrifice in meeting the full requirement of the holy law?

The answer comes, as shown in the type, "My Son, God will provide himself a lamb." How would he do it? In due time it became manifest: The willing and obedient Son should have "a body prepared" - a human body. "Wherefore, when he cometh into the world" to accomplish the great redemption, "he saith, ... a body hast thou prepared me" - a body which would meet the requirement of the law for redemption - a human body, a human nature, a corresponding price. "Then said I, Lo I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God." Heb. 10:5-7

Thus our Lord Jesus was the lamb for a burnt offering - "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world" - and his Father was the Priest offering up even his only-begotten Son upon the altar dedicated by him to the conservation of those principles of righteousness which alone could insure the perpetuity and prosperity of his vast creation, that so might both his holy law be vindicated and sustained as the sure foundation to all eternity of the hope of the righteous, and also his mercy extended to his creatures on probation.

The Melchizedek Type of the Priesthood

But returning to the priesthood of the Son of God, let us consider what God desires to teach us in this Melchizedek type, since he so repeatedly calls our attention to it, both through the prophets and through the Apostle Paul. Evidently there is something very deep here as we may gather from Paul's reference to it when, after saying that our Lord was "called of God, an high priest after the order of Melchizedek," he adds, "of whom we have many things to say and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing." This teaching he characterizes as "strong meat" for Christians who have passed beyond the infant stage and the milk diet. Heb. 5:10-14. Then he urges that we "be not slothful," but that we be diligent in applying our heads and hearts to this divine instruction. Heb. 6:1, 11, 12, 19, 20. So let us not slothfully skip this lesson because it requires patient thought.

In Heb. 5:1-6 Paul tells us that every real priest is ordained of God, and that no true priest would take this honor to himself, but he only that was called of God, as was Aaron. So also, he continues, "Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee." Psa. 2:7. And again Psa. 110:4 - "Jehovah hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." Then Paul invites us to consider how great this man Melchizedek was as a typical character, and describes him as the "priest of the Most High God," "made like unto [i.e. a type of] the Son of God," "a priest continually" a royal priest, being by interpretation king of righteousness, and after that also king of peace. Heb. 7:1-28. Note "after that," for the peace does not precede, but follows, as the consequence of established righteousness. Thus in Melchizedek we have a type of that priestly king whom Jehovah hath anointed upon his holy hill of Zion. Psa. 2:6, margin.

The Anointing

An important question here is, When was our Lord thus anointed of God to this priestly office represented in Melchizedek? Evidently he entered upon the responsibilities of the priestly, the fatherly, office as soon as he became a father: that is as soon as the creation of intelligent beings began; and his anointing for that office, of course, preceded his entrance upon its duties. The finger of prophecy clearly points to a period antedating all created things, for he must needs be proved worthy of such an office before he would be entrusted with it. Even "though he were a Son," says Paul, "yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" -experienced ["pascho" - suffered, endured or experienced]. "And being made perfect [that is perfectly qualified], he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him," both angels and men; for he is a priest to the whole creation. Heb. 5:8-10.

In other words, since the character of any intelligent being can be formed, developed and manifested only in the school of experience, with the will, free to choose either good or evil, even the Son of God, as Paul here shows, was no exception to the rule. And not until experience had developed and proved that perfect character was the great trust of the universal and eternal priesthood committed to him. Heb. 5:9.

So also Isaiah testifies, for it is written: "Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation." Isa. 28:16. This stone we are clearly shown (Matt. 21:42) is the Son of God, who as a "tried stone" not only is to be the foundation of the new order of things - the new heavens and the new earth - but he was also the "tried stone," the "sure foundation" of the old order of things pertaining to the long period of the universal probation, which began with the creation of intelligent beings, and continues to the end of the Millennial Day of Judgment.

A little reflection upon the testimony of Scripture makes manifest the general character of those tests of reasonable faith in Jehovah and obedience to the righteous principles of his holy law which formed, developed and established the holy character of this "tried stone" upon which God was preparing to build his vast creation to endure eternally. When before the foundation of the worlds, God revealed his plans to his Son, as we have seen, a strong test of character was necessarily at once applied. As the Son viewed the wondrous plan and his own privileged place in it, of glory and power, two alternatives were at once before him: On the one hand, was the loyal filial recognition of Jehovah's sovereignty, and the right course of prompt, loving and grateful obedience and cooperation with his will; while, on the other, was the possible wrong course of disloyalty, pride, self-exaltation and rivalry. The choice lay before him as a free-will being; and in that choice was character -virtuous character; for we are told as shown in the correct translation of Philippians 2:6*, that he did not meditate a usurpation of the prerogatives of his Father, but that he did choose the right course of loyalty and obedience, saying, of his own free will, "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." Psa. 40:8. He loved righteousness and hated iniquity, and never for an instant swayed from his steadfast established righteous course. This is assured by the fact that he ever dwelt in the presence of the Father.

Thus, created in the image of God in all respects except character, which in a free will being could only be created by his own free choice and steadfast pursuit of righteousness, in this respect also he was made in the image of God before the great trust of the eternal purpose of God was committed unto him. And when that trust was committed to him, being filled with the same Holy Spirit that dwelt in his Father, "he put on zeal as a cloak" and went forth with might and with steadfast devotion to the great work. And when the conflict of the

whole creation with the powers of evil is on, we behold him, as Isaiah describes him, as the Arm of Jehovah, bringing salvation to those who trust in him. He is equipped for the conflict with the whole armor of God: "For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak." Isa. 59:17; 53:1.

Thus before the foundation of the worlds the Son of God, as a "tried stone," was made the foundation of God's universal and eternal building, being anointed of God a royal Priest "after the order of Melchizedek," "after the power of an endless life." - Heb. 7:16, 17.

It is understood by many that our Lord's anointing for the priesthood was at his baptism, when the spirit of God descended upon him like a dove and abode upon him; and while we believe that in one sense that was true, as we will note later, it should be borne in mind that at his birth our Lord was introduced by the angels as the Anointed One, the Christ: "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord" - the anointed Lord of the whole creation, the royal Priest whose name is "Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."

How could this be? Who can answer? for it was the miracle of the ages, the philosophy of which Jehovah alone can understand, and the purpose of which was deeply rooted in his divine wisdom and grace. But watch that little life previously so mighty, so glorious, and so rich; now so weak, so humble, so poor, having been reduced to the very germ of being, yet never extinct: watch it develop again, and before the maturity of manhood is reached the mighty God nature of this Son of God will be manifest in him; for he is the "Mighty God," the divine Lord of the whole creation veiled in human flesh. This was the mystery of the incarnation, a manifestation of Jehovah's power which baffles all human understanding.

That he was anointed of God before the work of creation was begun is also further manifest when we consider what is signified by the term "anointing." Peter tells us that "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power" (Acts 10:38), the reference here being to the anointing for the purpose of redemption, and which was equally true of the anointing for the eternal priesthood. The anointing in both instances was his preparation for and his consecration to the office. Just as the reader of a great book, informed from its pages and thereby brought into full sympathy with its design, is filled with the spirit of its author, so the Son of God, being informed of the divine purpose; and more, being brought into close and intimate personal acquaintance and fellowship, as a Son, with its adorable Author, was thereby filled with the same holy, loving, benevolent spirit which devised the wondrous plan, and he was thus led to consecrate his whole being in loyal devotion to the will of his Father and his God.

And being, "by inheritance" of the divine nature, he was thereby endued with the full plenitude of divine power to accomplish the great service of the eternal priesthood to which the purpose of Jehovah assigned him. Thus he was anointed "with the Holy Spirit and with power," "for it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell" - all the fullness of God's own divine nature and spirit; for "he was a God" because he was the begotten Son of "the God," and "God giveth not the spirit by measure unto him." Compare Col. 1:19; 2:9; John 3:31, 34, 35; John 1:1. See Emphatic Diaglott.

The anointing of our Lord then, was the full measure of the holy, loving, benevolent spirit, and divine power and authority wherewith Jehovah qualified him for the great responsibilities of an eternal and universal priesthood. The mighty work of creation and all the subsequent works of the Son of God are sufficient attestation of the fact that he was thus anointed of God before he entered upon the sacred office.

The prophet Isaiah (11:1-3; Zech. 6:12) referring to our Lord as the Branch out of the stem of Jesse, says, "And the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him." That is, this anointing with the Holy Spirit of Jehovah's purpose, and with the divine power to accomplish it, should not depart from him when he should take our human nature, but should still abide in him - "rest upon him," so that when he took our nature he was both human and divine. Then mark how Isaiah describes that spirit wherewith he was anointed, as "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear [the reverence] of Jehovah; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of Jehovah. And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge." That is, his perfect knowledge should not, like our human knowledge, be derived by sense, but it should be that intuitive knowledge which belongs to the divine nature, and which we can understand must be indispensable to the vast responsibility that was entrusted to him.

It was by this divine intuitive knowledge that he said to Nathaniel, "When thou wast under the fig tree I saw thee" (John 1:47-50); and to the woman of Samaria, "Thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband" (John 4:18-26); that he perceived the thoughts of men before they uttered them (Matt. 12:25; 9:4; Mark 12:15; 2:8; Luke 5:22; 6:8; 9:47); that he knew from the beginning who should betray him and who believed not (John 6:64); and that, as John expressly declares, "he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man." John 2:24, 25.

It was this superhuman, divine knowledge, as well as the divine power manifested in his many mighty works, that carried conviction to the minds and hearts of the people that this was indeed the promised Messiah, the Son of God, this being the purpose of those manifestations. The woman of Samaria said, "Sir, I perceive that thou are a prophet; ... I know that Messiah cometh which is called Christ: when he is come he will tell us all things. Jesus said unto her, I that speak unto thee am he." So also Nathaniel was convinced of that divine nature that was veiled in human flesh, saying, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, the King of Israel." And Jesus assured him that hereafter, that is in the glory of his kingdom, he should see the greater manifestations of that same divine power.

Of this anointing we have a typical representation in "the holy anointing oil," for the manufacture and use of which, explicit directions were given to Moses. This anointing oil was "most holy" because it typified the Holy Spirit wherewith the Son of God, the High Priest, was anointed, and wherewith the whole system of the divine service was consecrated. It is mentioned in Exodus 30:22-33. Verses 22-25 tell how it was to be compounded. Verses 26-30 specify its uses and declare that every thing so anointed is "most holy," being thus set apart by God for his special service. And verses 31-33 strictly forbid, on pain of death, its compounding or its use for any other purposes than those here specified.

It was used to anoint the tabernacle, the ark of the testimony, the table and its vessels, the candlestick and its vessels, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and its vessels and the laver and its foot, and then the priesthood. Thus the whole typical tabernacle, its furnishment and its priesthood, was anointed - sanctified, set apart to Jehovah's typical purpose, as soon as the tabernacle was constructed and its priesthood was inaugurated. Now when the Apostle Paul (in Heb. 8:1-5, also chapters 9 and 10) shows us that the tabernacle, its arrangement and its service, was a pattern of the heavenly arrangement and the Tabernacle of Jehovah in the midst of his creation, which we will again notice more particularly, we see in this typical anointing how God from the beginning consecrated the whole order of his universal government, as well as its priesthood to the service of those principles of righteousness embodied in his holy law, which alone could secure eternal perpetuity and peace.

The Priestly Office Before and After Sin

Since this priestly office of the Son of God is to continue forever, even after all sin is abolished and since it began long before the invasion of sin among intelligent beings, it is manifest that the work of atonement is not the only work of the priest, as we are apt to view it, because atonement is the great priestly work with which we are acquainted, as accomplished for humanity. What can it mean then, after sin is finally abolished, but that this great High Priest, this Everlasting Father, will ever lead his great universal family in the worship of Jehovah and his holy law, and into all the avenues of blessing that Jehovah's infinite wisdom and boundless love have planned for his perfected creation.

So also before the invasion of sin among the angels of God, there was, of necessity, a preparatory work of instruction and training which enabled all the willing and obedient to maintain their first estate of purity and holiness when, at length, the final test of character was permitted to try them. For a long time the angels of the vast universe (for bear in mind man was not yet created) maintaining their original innocence and purity, must have walked in the light of God's countenance, experiencing his multiplied bounties, rejoicing in his love, and worshipping him under the leadership and instruction of "the Everlasting Father," by whose providence they were long effectually safeguarded from any deflection from the path of perfect rectitude. And if even humanity has been provided with a divine revelation concerning God's law and his great purposes, surely other intelligent beings have had abundant revelations.

How long this blissful state of original innocence and purity of all the angels continued without interruption we are not informed, but it evidently was long enough to give to all of them such knowledge, by experience, of the divine character, and such appreciation of the wisdom and righteousness of God's holy law, as to establish every faithful soul in perfect and everlasting conformity to its requirements. It must be born in mind too that, unlike fallen man, the rest of the intelligent creation had no predisposition to sin, such as men have inherited from their fallen progenitor: hence it was as easy and natural for them to follow the inclinations of their law-inscribed hearts, as it now is for fallen men to follow the sinful propensities of their sin-inscribed hearts.

But by and by the test of character must be, and was, permitted to come upon this great family in the heavens, in order to prove their individual worthiness or unworthiness of eternal life. It started, as we have seen, in the ambitious thought of the very highest and most highly favored of all the angels - in Lucifer, the son of the morning. Isa. 14:12.

From the height of his exalted station he surveyed the beautiful scene of adoring hosts led by the great High Priest in the worship of the universal Sovereign. Then he began to contemplate with pride his own glory and exalted station, and instead of joining sincerely in the ascriptions of praise and worship to the Source of all blessing, he began to envy the power above him, vainly to question the manifest wisdom and love of God, and to lapse into unbelief engendered by pride and fostered by ambition. Then he vainly meditated a usurpation of the divine authority and power, and his sin culminated in high treason against the throne of the universe, and in a desperate scheme to accomplish his end of self-exultation.

In pursuing his purpose, the evil design cloaked, no doubt in a garment of light, as was the temptation to Eve in Eden, was presented everywhere to all of the angels. The test of character had now come: the long period of angelic probation was approaching its end, yet time enough remained for the rebellion to spread abroad through all the sanctuaries of God, as Ezekiel terms the many mansions of their habitation (Ezek. 28:14–19), until this fallen one had defiled all his sanctuaries with sin and cast reproach even upon the throne of Jehovah himself, for multitudes of angels basely followed his leadership, and thus a great conspiracy defied the authority and power of the Almighty. Then, when their appointed probation time came to an end, the divine decree went forth, and all the fallen ones were cast out of the heavens into the earth, where they are reserved unto the judgment of the great day, when the great Priest and Judge of all shall surely deal with them according to the prescribed penalty of the divine law. Ezek. 31:11.

Thus the eternal priesthood of the Son of God was the overruling power in all the period of probation, as it will be also throughout the endless ages of glory.

As we thus view the eternal priesthood of the Son of God and note that its duties are those of a father over a great family, and that its responsibilities are to Jehovah who qualified and appointed him for that office, and whose holy law is thereby to be established and maintained, we see that not only humanity, but also the whole creation, must approach God who is enthroned in the Holy of Holies in the heavenly Tabernacle, through his anointed Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Through this anointed Priest, and through him only, the whole family in heaven and in earth may bring their offerings of prayer and praise and holy service to the Supreme King of kings and find acceptance on his holy altar. Whatsoever thus toucheth these holy things shall be holy. Exod. 30:29; 29:37.

The Aaronic Priesthood

Thus far we have followed the great Melchisedek Priest in his dealings with his great family in the heavens, and have taken no notice of his priestly office as it relates to humanity, because, as we have seen, the conditions of human probation differ from those of all the rest of the family of God in that our trial as a race preceded our experience, and thus involved the race in the penalty of sin before it was born, whereas, in the case of all other beings, their experience preceded their trial. Thus in the case of human salvation the divine purpose of redemption is involved. Man, the last creation of God (Gen. 1:31; 2:1-3) came into existence upon a world where Satan and all his host of fallen ones, cast out from the heavens, were imprisoned, and the race in its earliest infancy, as represented in its first progenitor, was besieged by these enemies of God, was tempted and tried and fell, and thus the penalty of death passed upon all men. Rom. 5:12.

From our shortsighted view we would call this calamity, but it was not so in God's estimation, for in his farsighted wisdom and purpose, he thus subjected our race to trial at this seemingly inopportune time, in the sure hope (Rom. 8:20, 21) that out of this apparent calamity, through his infinite wisdom and abounding grace, blessings of incalculable wealth should eventually flow, not only to humanity, but to the whole creation, to the eternal praise of his glorious wisdom, power, love and grace, as the full development of his eternal purpose will abundantly prove.

This work of the great Priest for humanity is clearly represented in the typical Aaronic priesthood. Yet we must bear in mind that both the Melchizedek and the Aaronic types do but represent different features of the great work of the one Eternal Priest, the Anointed Son of God; the Melchizedek type as interpreted by the apostle Paul, emphasizing the breadth, duration, glory, and the always dominant purpose of the priesthood -viz., to establish universal and eternal peace on the permanent basis of invincible righteousness; while the Aaronic type bears specially upon the priestly office in its relation to humanity during its period of probation, and in its ritual, outlines the great scheme of human redemption, and also shadows forth a priestly order under the headship or captaincy of Jesus Christ, to be associated with him hereafter in the eternal priesthood for the whole creation.

In this Aaronic type we see the sons of Aaron associated with their father in the priestly office, thus representing the redeemed church of Christ (the "Everlasting Father") in this gospel age, who, by faith, have accepted him as their Lord and Savior, and have solemnly covenanted to follow in his footsteps of obedience, even unto death, and who are therefore recognized as his family, his house (Isa. 8:18; Heb. 2:13) and chosen of God as the first fruit of his purpose in redemption, to be joint heirs with him in the subsequent work of the priestly office - as kings and priests unto God. Rev. 1:6; 1 Pet. 2:5.

And just as Aaron and his sons were typically anointed for the priestly office before entering upon its duties, so Jesus and his church are anointed of God before entering upon the priestly service prefigured in the Aaronic type. In the case of our Lord Jesus we see that this was a second anointing - "with the Holy Spirit and with power": an anointing in this case "with the Holy Spirit" of sacrifice, even unto death, as the plan of redemption was shown to require this; and "with power" - to redeem by an acceptable sacrifice - the body prepared of God. Heb. 10:5-7; Luke 12:50; Matt. 26:39. And if we would discover the true church we shall know them also by the anointing of this same spirit of obedient sacrifice, which they have received of him, and which abideth in them. 1 John 2:27.

Yet let it be borne in mind that both the first and the second anointings of the Son of God were necessary to this work of salvation; for had he not been the anointed Priest after the order of Melchizedek, had he not been the Everlasting Father upon whose shoulders God had placed the great responsibility of the everlasting priesthood, fatherhood, he could not have been the Priest after the Aaronic type; for the great work of redemption and salvation required this divine priestly authority, which was vested in him alone, and also the divine power, as well as the human sacrifice of the incarnate Son of God.

To Aaron consecrated and equipped for the priestly office (Lev. 8) Moses, as directed of God (Lev. 16:1-4) said, "Thus [on the day of atonement - vs. 29-34] shalt thou come into the holy place" (which symbolized the dwelling place, the throne of Jehovah - Heb. 9:24): clothed with the holy linen garments (which represented holiness, purity - Rev. 19:8) having laid aside the glorious dress (Exod. 28; Lev. 16:23) as our Lord laid aside his glory when for our sakes he became poor, and bringing "a young bullock for a sin offering, and a lamb for burnt offering."

The bullock for a sin offering he was to offer for himself and for his house - his priestly house, his sons (Lev. 16:6) because both he and they were sinful men and needed the atoning blood as well as the whole congregation for which it also typically atoned, as shown in vs. 17, 30-34. This special specification of the typical high priest and his house (vs. 6) was evidently to guard them personally against any presumption of superior holiness over the congregation. But not so, says Paul, was the great High Priest which Aaron typified, "For such an High Priest became us who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high-priests, to offer up sacrifice first for his own sins, and then for the peoples; for this [offering for sins] he did once for all, when [having no sins of his own] he offered up himself. For he law maketh men high priests which have infirmity, but the word of the oath [Psa. 110:4] which was [made known to us] since the law, maketh the Son [of God the true Priest] who is consecrated forevermore." Heb. 7:26-28. Herein Paul shows that the type is necessarily lame; for Christ, the true High Priest, unlike Aaron, needed no offering for himself: and as for his house, the church, typified by the subordinate priests, they are redeemed and also consecrated by the one offering that is for all the people, though its efficacy is applied to them first, and afterward to the world. Heb. 10:10, 14; 2:10; Lev. 16:17.

The treatment of the blood of the bullock (Lev. 16:14,16, 18, 19) marks the efficacy of the blood of Christ for sin and for uncleanness. The consuming of its fat upon the altar (Lev. 16:25) shows its acceptableness to God; and the complete destruction of its flesh outside the camp (Lev. 16:27, 28) shows the complete sacrifice of our Lord's humanity, to which our sins were imputed, as he said, "My flesh I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51. Thus Aaron the typical anointed priest, himself bringing the bullock and sacrificing it, shows the Son of God, the true anointed Priest, himself bringing the "body prepared" for sacrifice and offering it. It is his own free will offering in accordance with the purpose of Jehovah. John 10:18.

Another type, that of the Lord's goat, not brought by Aaron, but taken from the congregation of the children of Israel, and its blood and fat and flesh treated in exactly the same way as that of the bullock (Lev. 16:5, 9,15-19, 25, 27), shows Christ, the true atoning sacrifice, as one taken from among the congregation of the children of Israel (vs. 5) - a brother of our human race, and of the seed of Abraham - the only acceptable sacrifice that humanity had to bring. In all other respects the significance of this type is the same as that of the bullock.

The second goat, also taken from the people of Israel and presented before the Lord to make an atonement with him, shows another feature of the atoning work of Christ; for, not only hath he redeemed us by his blood, but he is also faithful to cleanse us from all unrighteousness - to bear away our sins - "as far as the east is from the west." Lev. 16:10, 20-22, 26, 30; Psa. 103:12.

The offering of a ram for a whole burnt offering (Lev. 16:3, 5) represented the sacrifice of Christ as an offering of a sweet savor unto Jehovah. Lev. 1:6-9. The Bible Commentary has the following important note on this text: - "The verb here translated 'burn' [hiktir] is applied exclusively to the burning of the incense, of the lights of the Tabernacle, and of the offerings on the altar. The primary meaning of its root seems to be to exhale odor. (Gessenius, Furst). It is in some places in the margin of our Bibles rendered, 'to cause to ascend.' (Exod. 30:8; Lev. 24:2 etc.), The word for burning in a common way is a quite different one (saraph), and this is applied to those parts of victims which were burned without the camp. Lev. 4:12, 21; Num. 19:5 etc. The importance of the distinction is great in its bearing on the meaning of the burnt offering. The substance of the victim was regarded, not as something to be consumed, but as an offering of sweet-smelling savor sent up in the flame to Jehovah. The expression, 'a sweet savor unto Jehovah' is applied to offerings of all kinds which were burnt upon the altar, but it finds its fullest application in the whole burnt offering."

Atonement for Sin and for Uncleanness

It is also shown typically that the work accomplished by the blood of Christ extends further even than the work of human redemption, for it makes atonement for "the holy sanctuary, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins; and so shall he do for the Tabernacle of the congregation that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness" ... "And for the altar," to "cleanse it and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel"; and "for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation." Lev. 16:16, 18, 19, 33.

This brings us to the consideration of what was signified by what is here called uncleanness, which is clearly distinguished from actual sin, yet is allied to it as effect to cause. Thus all the effects which result from sin, either directly or indirectly, are characterized as "uncleanness."

The direct result of sin to those who commit it, whether angels or men, is death. "The wages of sin is death"; "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Rom. 6:23; Gen. 2:17; Ezek. 18:4, 20. But the indirect results to the righteous are also very manifest. They grow out of the relationships which naturally exist between the sinner and the righteous. Thus, for instance, one erring ("unclean") member of a family brings the reproach and dishonor of uncleanness upon the family name; and that reproach of uncleanness is keenly felt by every one of the righteous, because, as a family, they are one; but it falls most heavily upon the head of the family upon whose shoulders rests the responsibility for his house.

So when we bear in mind that the whole intelligent creation is the one great family of the Everlasting Father - "the whole family in heaven and in earth" (Eph. 3:15), we see how sin, in even one member of that great family, brings the stain of dishonor, the reproach of uncleanness, upon all; and specially upon the great Head of the house, "the Everlasting Father" upon whose shoulders Jehovah had laid the great responsibility of fatherhood - priesthood. And not only so, but also even upon Jehovah himself, whose throne of government is thereby laid open to the charges either of weakness and incompetency, or of indifference, from those who do not understand his far-reaching purpose and wisdom. And when we consider further, how the sin of the first sinner has been multiplied by hosts of sinners, both angelic and human, and these again by innumerable repetitions and variations, and with increasing venom, we begin to gain some idea of the extent of the reproach and dishonor - the defilement - which sin has brought. We see that the defilement is as wide as the invasion of sin has been - as wide as creation; and that the reproaches have been hurled with greatest violence at the very throne       of       God:       Satan       and       all       his       hosts,       the       accusers.

Who has not heard them? "Why," it is thoughtlessly inquired, "does God permit evil to reign and men to suffer in consequence?" And then it is laid to the charge either of weakness or of indifference, whereas, in the far-seeing wisdom of God, this loose rein to the freewill of intelligent beings is an absolute necessity to the development and proof of character, and to the final establishment of the righteous in eternal life. In due time it will be manifest to all, as it is now clear to those who will consider the ways of God, that he has been neither weak nor indifferent; for, at an appointed time the period of probation will come to an end, when God will reveal himself in glory to the righteous, and in fiery judgments upon the wicked. Meantime he patiently endures these stains of dishonor, this reproach of uncleanness, upon his holy name, his throne and his whole dominion, until the final end of the whole period of probation, when they shall be forever removed - "for his name's sake." Ezek 36:23.

We are further shown that not only is the stain of dishonor thus cast upon the whole family of God, and even upon his holy name and his throne, but that, in some sense, the whole physical creation, the abode of the intelligent creation, is considered unclean because of sin; for even as the whole intelligent creation is one family, so the whole physical creation is one great house of many mansions (John 14:2); so if even one apartment of that great house is defiled, the house cannot be said to be clean. Nor can it ever be entirely clean until the last vestige of sin has been purged away and the last incorrigible sinner has been utterly destroyed.

Satan, who is plainly termed a murderer (John 8:44), first introduced sin, and thus brought death and all this defilement by sin, and upon him therefore, in the superlative degree, rests the heavy responsibility of all the blood shed - of all the death caused by sin, both of angels and men, and of all the stains of dishonor, the reproach of uncleanness, against God and against his dominion, from the beginning to the end of the long period of the universal probation.

Nor will this stain of reproach be completely removed from the whole creation until the final judgment of God has been fully executed against Satan and all of those involved with him in his willful sin. So it is written: "The land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein but by the blood of him that shed it." Num. 35:33. This principle applies as truly to the whole creation, in the midst of which Satan operated, as to the land of typical Israel. It was evidently to this actual stain of reproach and dishonor brought upon all things by the vast invasion of sin, that the various typical cleansings of the law all pointed more or less directly, but which our present limits will not permit us to trace out here.

In this view of the vast defilement which sin has brought we return to Lev. 16:33, 6, 14,16-20 to see why atonement had to be made for the holy sanctuary, which typified the throne of God (Heb. 9:24), and for all the holy things connected with the tabernacle, and for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation of Israel, to cleanse and to hallow them; this typical cleansing being accomplished by the blood of the typical sin offering - the mingled blood of the bullock and the goat* (Lev. 16:18, 19), because they both represented the blood of the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ - which Moses calls "the blood of the covenant" (Exod. 24:8), for, viewed from the standpoint of our Lord's complete self dedication and of God's acceptance of it, this same sin offering is also the whole burnt offering of Exod. 24:5, whose blood, typically shed, consecrated the first covenant with Israel and foreshadowed that of the new covenant with the real offering of the precious blood of Christ. And viewed as to its purpose of making peace with God, it was also represented in the peace offerings on this occasion. So also concerning the real sacrifice it is written, "He is our peace" - our peace offering. Eph. 2:14-18.

To this typical cleansing of all the holy things Paul refers in Heb. 9:18-28 and shows that the blood of the typical sin offering pointed to the blood of Christ, the true sin offering (vs. 14), the real blood of the covenant of eternal peace. See also Matt. 26:28. Then he says (vs. 23), "It was necessary that the patterns of the things in the heavens [viz. the Tabernacle and all connected with it - vs. 19-22] should be purified [made clean R.V.] with these [typical sacrifices], but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these" -viz. with the precious blood of Christ (vs. 25, 26), the one acceptable sacrifice to which all the typical sin offerings pointed. But why the plural here - "better sacrifices"? And yet Paul cites only one sacrifice - the sacrifice of Christ.

We must bear in mind here that it is the purifying, the cleansing, from the reproach which sin has cast upon all things, even "the heavenly things themselves" - God's name, his throne of government, his "whole family in heaven and in earth": it is the purification from this universal reproach that Paul is talking about. How is that reproach, that defilement, to be removed and God's holy name, and his wise and just government vindicated, and his whole creation made to show forth and joyfully proclaim with one accord, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of hosts; the whole creation is full of his glory? (* That the blood of both the bullock and the goat represented the blood of Jesus Christ is clearly shown in Heb. 9:13, 14 where the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer are mentioned as types of the one sacrifice of Christ. See also Heb. 10:4-10.)

Well, it will be brought about as the complete and final consequence of the great work of Christ culminating in his sacrifice even unto death. That great work is his testimony to and his vindication of the honor and wisdom and glory of God's great plan and all things connected with it. And not only so, but that sacrifice of Christ has led others - a mighty host - to follow in his footsteps, even unto death. And has not this sacrificial testimony of multitudes of martyrs and confessors through a long period of suffering together with Christ, proclaimed in thunder tones: "Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness": "His work is perfect": "Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever"?

Finally the whole creation will unite in hallelujahs of praise as the result of the sacrificial testimonies of all believers who endured hardness as good soldiers, inspired as all such have been, by the testimony of the one atoning sacrifice of Christ our redeemer and captain. The sacrifices of the loyal devoted redeemed followers of Christ have no efficacy, no part, in the atoning sacrifice of their Redeemer and Lord. Paul is not referring to that atoning work, but to the cleansing from the unjust reproach of every thing connected with the divine plan and purpose - the reproach which Satan, the accuser, has for ages hurled against God and all of his works and his people.

Thus, on the authority of the apostle Paul's inspired interpretation of the typical defilement and the typical cleansing, we see that not only is humanity redeemed and cleansed by the precious blood of Christ, but also that, as another result of the shedding of his blood, the stain of dishonor, the reproach of uncleanness, will eventually be taken away from the whole fabric of creation, even from its holy sanctuary, the throne of God, and to the utmost bounds of the universal dominion. For because of his perfect obedience to the will of his Father from the very beginning of his existence, even unto death (Phil. 2:6-9. Emphatic Diaglott) all judgment is committed unto him, and he will finally destroy the last vestige of sin and death, and him also that hath the power of death, that is the devil. 1 Cor. 15:26; Heb. 2:14. Then, when Satan, who was "a murderer" from the beginning of the period of probation, shall have been destroyed, and with him all the workers of iniquity, then will the land - the whole creation - be cleansed according to the requirement of Num. 35:33. Then there will be a clean universe, and all reproach will be forever removed from the name and throne of Jehovah, and from all the holy things of his divine institution.

Thus will the divine government, as represented in the tabernacle, serve the purpose for which it was originally instituted and consecrated, as shown by the early anointing of the tabernacle and all its furnishment and its priesthood with the holy anointing oil (Exod. 30:26-30), viz. of establishing and maintaining the principles of righteousness embodied in God's holy law, which alone can secure eternal perpetuity and peace to the whole creation. And thus also will God's holy law be vindicated, and his whole family in heaven and in earth, as represented by the nation of Israel, be freed from the reproach of uncleanness through the blood of the covenant. This is also set forth typically in the sprinkling of the book of the law and the whole people of Israel with the typical blood of the covenant. Heb. 9:19.

Thus "having made peace through the blood of his cross," "by him," God will also "reconcile all things unto himself ... whether they be things in earth or things in heaven." Col. 1:20. Thus there will be the establishment of "a new heavens and a new earth" - a new universal order of things "wherein dwelleth righteousness," and upon which no touch of sin or stain of reproach can ever come. 2 Pet. 3:13. Thus it is the "purpose of God in the fullness of the appointed times [the times of probation] to unite all things under one head, even under the Anointed One [the anointed Priest and King after the order of Melchizadek] - the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, under him." Eph. 1:10. Emphatic Diaglott.

Exaltation of the High Priest

The whole creation we have seen was from the beginning under his dominion, as by his creative power it gradually came into existence, but that dominion, covering the long period of the universal probation, has been characterized by all the discords resultant from the wide and perilous invasion of sin, which cost the deep humiliation, and even the life of the Son of God: but in its new and final adjustment, the whole creation, purged from sin and all of its consequences, is to be gloriously reunited under the resurrected and exalted Son of God, and that under an everlasting covenant of Peace.

The glory of this new reign will be the outgrowth, the culmination, of all the labor and sacrifice and patient endurance of all the trials and reproaches of the long period of probation, both on the part of Jehovah who even withheld not his own Son, and on the part of that Son who was obedient even unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore the glory of this new order of things will be the reward both of Jehovah, in the consummation of his glorious purpose, and of his beloved Son, who "shall bear the glory" of the new order of things, even as he bore the reproach and suffering incident to the old order of the probation period. For, "Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch, ... he shall bear the glory and shall sit and rule upon his [Jehovah's] throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne and the counsel of peace shall be between them both" - between Jehovah and his anointed Priest. Zech. 6:12,13.

The Subordinate Priests

In all this great work, both of human redemption and of reconciling all things in heaven and in earth to God by the blood of atonement, we see that the subordinate priests, the church of Christ, typically represented by Aaron's sons, had no part. That great work of atonement is all accomplished by the High Priest alone, who, with his own blood, as typified by that of the bullock and the goat of the sin offering, entered into the true sanctuary, the Tabernacle in the heavens, "there to appear in the presence of God for us," "his house," and for all the world. Heb. 9:24-28. This is clearly shown in the type, for it is expressly stated (Lev. 16:17), "There shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he [Aaron] goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place until he come out and have made an atonement for himself and for his household and for all the congregation of the children of Israel."

What part then can these subordinate priests have in the priestly office? Evidently they can have a share only in the work that yet remains to be accomplished by the priesthood after the redemptive work is finished and the cleansing work is assured by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, viz., in the glorious work of the everlasting priesthood, of dispensing the blessings vouchsafed to the whole family of God through the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

In a measure they are permitted to do some of that work even now; for, clothed in the righteousness of Christ imputed to them by faith, as Aaron's sons were clothed in the "holy linen" priestly garments, they may now call upon all men everywhere to come and partake of the blessings provided for all, and they may teach them and assist them in coming and in presenting their offerings to God as the typical priests did in the typical tabernacle and temple. And their duty is also to trim their lamps in the holy place of privilege in Christ as the sons of Aaron trimmed the seven branched lamp in the typical holy place; which lamp represented the church (Rev. 1:20) filled with the Holy Spirit, and whose light must, by its own energy, be kept trimmed and burning, and must be daily replenished with fresh supplies of the oil of divine grace as was the typical lamp thus daily replenished.

And they may offer their prayers unto God, which, supplemented with the incense of the abundant merit of Jesus Christ imputed to them by faith, are acceptable to God as sweet incense on the golden altar. See Rev. 5:8; 8:3, 4. And they may feed upon "the bread of life" in this holy place, even as Aaron's sons fed upon the "bread of God" in the typical holy place. Lev. 21:21, 22. It is their duty also to sound the trumpet of the divine commands for the onward march of the hosts of God toward the promised Canaan of eternal rest as the typical priests thus led the hosts of Israel. Num. 10:1-10.

Thus, as shown in the type, the office of the subordinate priests is marked as a place of great privilege, as well as of subordinate service. They dwell very close to the Holy of Holies, the Tabernacle of the Most High, the Throne of God. And even the way into that is made manifest - a new and living "way consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh." Heb. 10:19, 20. For the offering of his flesh not only redeemed the whole world, but it also consecrated his believing church, his house, to the priestly office with him, as Aaron's offering consecrated his house to the typical priestly office. When the truly acceptable offering of our great High Priest was made on Calvary we, his church, not only shared with the rest of mankind in the benefits of its redeeming power, but the rent veil of the typical temple proclaimed the way into the "Holiest of all" now open to the subordinate priests through the merit of their great High Priest. Matt. 27:51.

Therefore with reverent and humble boldness, we, his consecrated church, may now enter by faith into the very presence of God, through the atoning blood; and by and by when our probation shall have issued in victory through Christ our Redeemer and Captain of our salvation, we shall dwell in the presence of his glory forever and enter with him upon the wider service of the eternal priesthood for the blessing of all the families of the earth, and also of extending the universal blessings of the new order of things for which the whole creation waits. Rom. 8:19.

Thus we see the everlasting priesthood of the Son of God expanding to include also those who shall be "joint heirs" with him; and when later we come to consider the glory of this priestly service to the whole creation, we will appreciate more fully how grandly, in the providence of God, this priestly office of our Lord Jesus for humanity in its dire distress culminates in universal blessing.

"What Think Ye of Christ? Whose Son is He?" - Matt. 22:42

As we thus view the Son of God in the various lights which the divine Word sheds upon his glorious person, what shall we say of his office, his nature, and his character? We have seen him as the appointed agent of Jehovah creating all things and filling with perfect ability and faithfulness the office of Chief Executive of the vast universal dominion. We have seen him as the universal and eternal Prophet, Priest and King after the order of Melchizedek. There is no other being in the universe like him, save his Father, of whom he is "the express Image" - in his "form," knowing the Father as no other being can know him, being his "only begotten Son"; with the Father in the beginning; himself "a Mighty God," second only to the one being greater than himself - "the Mighty God," his Father and his God. Can we then fail to recognize him as of the same divine nature? For though he says, "My Father is greater than I," this can only signify that even in the divine family there are degrees of glory.

And this is also further shown when we bear in mind that the members of the overcoming church of Christ are also to be "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet. 1:4), yet in all things Christ Jesus, the Head of the church, is to have "the preeminence." And so also when it is declared that all things will be put under Christ "it is manifest," as Paul declares, "that He is excepted which did put all things under him." 1 Cor. 15:27.

In the church glorified with the divine nature, made "like unto Christ's glorious body," there will also be distinctions - various offices, all of exceeding honor and glory, but some with a heavier weight of glory. The names of some will shine in the very foundations of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:14, 19); and some pearls of great price will constitute its shining gates. vs. 21. But all of these living stones, glorified together with Christ Jesus with the glory of the Father round about and in their midst (Zech. 2:5; Rev. 21:23) will constitute the heavenly city which shall shine forth as the sun forever and ever.

Yes our blessed Lord Jesus was from the beginning the divine Son of the Mighty God, and was therefore himself a Mighty God; yet to us, as to him, in the supreme sense, there is but one God, and his name is one -Jehovah. John 1:1; 1 Cor. 8:5, 6; Zech. 14:9.

Now since it is written that the Son of God divested himself of the glory which he had with the Father before the world was when he took our human nature and became bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, what shall we say of him during his stay upon earth? Was he only human, or was he divine? was he Son of Man or Son of God? Did he lay aside his divine nature? No: for the Scriptures testify that he was both Son of man and Son of God. Then he was both human and divine during this period, but not before. Before he thus humbled himself he was divine only. And so also since his resurrection he is divine only, for he said, "My flesh [my humanity] I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51. That was the redemption price, and to take back the price of our redemption would leave us still under the sentence of death. So also the type shows that the flesh of the sin offering whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place was burnt, consumed, without the camp. Lev. 16:27.

Hear also our Lord's words to his disciples: "Ye call me Lord and Master, and ye say well, for so I am." He had not abdicated his office as Lord of all creation: he was still the great Prophet, Priest and King as announced before his birth - anointed with the Holy Spirit of his Father and with divine power and authority.

He was, then, when he came to earth, the very same anointed kingly Priest he always had been, but he came in lowly form, to do a part of the priestly work which required poverty and suffering, even unto death - to give his life ransom for many.

In this lowly form the eye of faith alone could perceive the divine glory so veiled; and that faith is the gift of God to those who seek to worship him in spirit and in truth. So our Lord indicated in his words to Peter -Matt. 16:13-17. He inquired of his disciples, "Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? They said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, and others Jeremias or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."

Here was both his own acknowledgment of his human nature and his commendation of Peter's acknowledgment of his divine nature. Now observe the glimpses we have of that divine nature which were given to the people in the days of his first advent, which mightily convinced and confirmed the faith of thousands, and which are recorded by unimpeachable witnesses for the similar confirmation of our faith.

Matt. 17:24-27. Money was required for tribute to Caesar and Peter was directed by Jesus to cast his hook into the sea and take up the fish that first cometh, and find in its mouth the exact amount of money required for the tribute then due to Caesar for himself and for the Lord. How did that money get there? How did Jesus know it was there? How did he know the right fish would come first? and know it all to a certainty? This was not the manpower: it was the divine power that was in him, as declared by Isaiah - Chapter 11:2, 3. Yet this power was not regularly used and never to supply his earthly needs, so to place him above the needs of ordinary men, for he regularly paid tribute to Caesar (See vs. 25; Luke 20:25) as other men. This was an exceptional use of his divine power in this way, and only for the purpose of manifesting his divine nature.

Again, Luke 5:1-11, Jesus was using one of Simon Peter's fishing boats for a pulpit while he taught the multitudes on shore, and when he had left speaking he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon said, Master we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And the net was so filled that it began to break and he had to call his partners James and John in another ship to help gather the treasure, and they filled both boats till they were ready to sink. Literally, the blessing of obedient faith was such that there was not room enough to receive it. Mal. 3:10. And with this assurance of their Master's divine power and authority the three disciples were then called to be fishers of men; and immediately when they had brought their boats to land they forsook all and followed him.

Again - John 21:1-14 - after three eventful years of experience with Jesus, which terminated in his crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection, and his appearance to his disciples on the first day of the week, and then his withdrawal from their sight for a few days, these same three disciples and others, fainthearted and not knowing what else to do, started again at the old fishing trade on the same sea. Again they toiled all night and caught nothing. In the morning a voice from the shore called to them to cast the net on the right side of the ship and assuring them of success. Again there was not room for the blessing that followed obedience, and they quickly said, It is the Lord, and with hearts encouraged and faith fortified, their commission as fishers of men was renewed, and they joyfully took up the cross of Christ as the theme of their ministry and the experience of their lives and followed after him even unto death.

See him again in the beginning of his ministry - Matt 8:23-27 - asleep in a storm tossed ship. Some who had seen other miracles waked him saying, Lord save us: we perish. Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, saying to his affrighted disciples, —Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? And there was a great calm; and the men marveled and said, What manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him?”

Again, also in the early days of his ministry - Matt. 14:22-33 - the disciples, at Jesus' command, were crossing the sea to an appointed place where he would again meet them. It was night and a heavy storm had risen and threatened their destruction. In the midst of the storm, in the fourth watch of the night, a human form is seen approaching them walking upon the waves of the sea. Affrighted, and scarcely crediting the evidence of their sight, they cried out in fear. Then the familiar voice of the Master called out, "Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid." Then the venturesome faith of Peter replied, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." And Jesus said, "Come." And with the command the power was communicated to Peter so that, with Jesus, he too trod the storm tossed waves until they both came into the ship. And when they were come into the ship the wind ceased: the Master's peace had settled both upon the waves of the sea and upon the waves of human fear and distress. "Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God."

Now follow him in his daily ministry: see the multitudes in thousands thronging about him, bringing their sick - with fever and leprosy and all manner of diseases, and those that were lunatic, and those that were possessed with devils, and the blind, the deaf and the dumb, the lame and the halt, and he healed them all by the simple word of his power; and that, not in part only, but completely, to that the blind saw clearly, the deaf heard, the dumb spake, the lame walked, the insane were restored to normal mental conditions, the devils were cast out, and the lepers were cleansed, everyone that came to him, and his power even to raise the dead was unmistakably and very publicly manifested.

Then see him again, his heart moved with compassion toward the multitudes who had made no provision for a prolonged stay while they hung upon his marvelous words of wisdom and witnessed his mighty works. He commands them to sit down in companies of fifty, and with five loaves and two fishes he feeds five thousand men besides the women and children. And of the fragments that remained were gathered twelve baskets full.

All of these mighty works were indubitable proofs of that divine power which belonged to his divine nature. And John adds, "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ [the Anointed], the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name." John 20:30, 31.