"Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps, set thine heart Toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest" (Jer 31:21) THE CHRISTADELPHIAN

Transcription

1 "Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps, set thine heart Toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest" (Jer 31:21) THE CHRISTADELPHIAN WAYMARK Volume 8 Issue 12 Devoted to the Defence and Proclamation of The Way of Life in Opposition to the Dogmas of Papal and Protestant Christendom Zecharias the Priest Who do You Serve? A Miracle of Elisha Correspondence:- The Question of Christmas Looking for Great Things This Man Shall be the Peace Our Great High Priest I saw, and behold, a white horse; and he that sat upon him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer (Rev 6:2) The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable (Jas 3:17) Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 3) 1

2 Zecharias the Priest Our readings for today bring us to a consideration of the circumstances surrounding the birth of John the Baptizer. Being of a Levitical family, his father Zecharias was a priest who ministered in the temple according to the divisions laid down many years before by king David. He, we learn, was of the course of Abijah, referred to as Abia in the New Testament. We learn more about this in 1 Chronicles 24:10, speaking of the courses that the priestly families would follow: The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, the ninth to Jeshuah (1 Chron. 24:10). It is interesting to consider the meaning of some of the names here. Zacharias means Yahweh hath remembered, and Abia means Yahweh is Father. We see the appropriateness: Yahweh had remembered his Holy Covenant (see Luke 1:72), and as a Father, was to send his son. In 1 Chronicles 24, cited above, we see that the next priestly division to follow Zechariah was Jeshua the Hebrew equivalent to the Greek Jesus! So, just as the ministration of Zechariah, of the course of Abiah was to be replaced by the course of Jeshua, so the ministration of his son John the Baptist would prepare the way for, and be replaced by the ministration of Jesus the Christ. The appropriateness of the given names continues. John means Yahweh is Gracious, and the name of his mother Elizabeth means the oath of El, with El being one of the titles of our heavenly Father. So we see that in Yahweh s remembrance of the Oath made to the fathers of old (see Luke 1:73) according to his Grace and Mercy, his Son would be sent at the appointed time. And it was of the grace of Yahweh that Zecharias and Elizabeth would be granted a son, one who would be sent forth to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. This is evidently something that they prayed about, for whilst conducting his priestly duties, an angel appeared on the right hand side of the altar of incense and said unto him, Fear not, Zecharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son (Lu. 1:13). The emphasis on prayer in this chapter is evident: the time of these events was when the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense Incense itself represented prayer, as the Psalmist spake let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice (Psa. 141:2). Even so, the angel came in answer to prayer. The work of offering the daily incense was of great importance, which could only be conducted by those chosen by God: we are told that Zecharias was chosen by the casting of lots; the means of Divine selection in Scripture. 2 nd Chronicles 26 records the occasion when a king, lifted up with pride, endeavoured to enter the Temple to offer his incense, when he had no authority to do so. Speaking of Uzziah, we read: when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against Yahweh his God, and went into the temple of Yahweh to burn incense upon the altar of incense (2 Chron. 26:16). The priests withstood the king, and said to him: It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto Yahweh, but to the 2

3 priests, the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from Yahweh Elohim (2 Chron. 26:18). But the rebellious king refused, and so was stricken with leprosy in his forehead, and dwelt as a leper until the day of his death. By contrast to Uzziah who sought to enter as his own high priest, we read of the Lord Jesus Christ: no man taketh this honour to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also 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. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec (Heb. 5:4-5). It is most significant to note that the year that Uzziah died, was the time when Isaiah saw a vision of Christ exalted on his kingly throne within the Temple of God (see Isa. 6). Like some of the faithful families of old, Elizabeth was barren, unable to conceive a child: and they both were now well stricken in years. In these things, we find a parallel with Abraham and Sarah of the Old Testament. The angel was sent with the news that I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. Like Zecharias and Elizabeth, Abraham and Sarah, we read, were old and well stricken in age. But Abraham never doubted the ability of God to perform that which He has promised: Being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah s womb: he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief: but was strong in faith, giving glory to God: (Rom. 4:19-20) And of Sarah also, after an initial faltering in belief, we read: Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised (Heb. 11:11). Zecharias was promised: thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John (Lu. 1:13). By contrast to Abraham however, he did not believe the promise, but said: Whereby shall I know this, for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years (Lu. 1:18). Unlike Abraham, he did consider his own body now dead, and the deadness of Elizabeth s womb. But his voice of unbelief was to be silenced for a season, as Gabriel said: behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season (Lu. 1:20). Zecharias was silenced, as a sign of his unbelief. 3

4 In these things, we have a contrast with John the Baptist and his role. John was the voice in the wilderness, crying out the message of salvation. So the prophet Isaiah spake: The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Yahweh, make straight in the desert a highway for our God And the message of the voice was thus: The voice said Cry. And he said: What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of Yahweh bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever (Isa. 40:3-8) By contrast to Zecharias, Elizabeth spake out with a loud voice of joy at the appearance of Mary, pregnant with our Lord in her womb. Ordinarily, there would be a blessing spoken by the priest at this time, as recorded in Numbers chapter 6: Yahweh bless thee, and keep thee: Yahweh make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: Yahweh lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace (Num. 6:24-26). But being unable to speak, these words were unable to be voiced, and the benediction would not have been made. The people waited for Zecharias, presumably to receive the blessing, but he was unable to give it. Zecharias would have had to continue the rest of the days of his ministration in silence. One of the themes associated with John the Baptist, and Messiah himself, is the way in which men and women who would naturally be of low degree become exalted in the purpose of God. So, Mary in celebrating her conception of the Messiah spake of Yahweh: He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree (Lu. 1:51-52). Notice the use of the plural term here: he hath exalted them of low degree that is, both Elizabeth and Mary; both elevated in the purpose of God, but naturally of low estate, amongst the poor in society. What is particularly interesting, is to see how some of the other inspired writers deal with this same theme, with allusions to the message of John. So James wrote: let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: but the rich in that he ismadelow:becauseastheflowerofthegrassheshallpassaway (Jas.1:10). 4

5 Notice the reference to the flower of the grass passing away. Again, Peter writes of this aspect, when speaking of the spiritual rebirth which marks the beginning of a person s walk in the Truth: being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you (1 Pet. 1:23-25). Notice, the central theme of this citation is to demonstrate the incorruptible nature of the Word, coming from the Voice of God. The natural man shall pass away, but those who have assimilated the incorruptible Word shall themselves be made incorruptible, with the Lord Jesus. Turning back to Zecharias and his inability to speak, we find that on the day of his child s circumcision, he named him John, whereupon: his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God (Lu. 1:64). What a contrast we have with the previous words of unbelief that Zecharias spoke! Immediately upon receiving his speech once more, he spake and praised God! His prayer had been answered, the promise had been fulfilled, and the Grace of God had been shown before all. In these things, we have many points of exhortation and encouragement for ourselves. Although Zecharias had prayed before the Almighty, when the Angel came to answer that prayer, he didn t believe it to be so! We must believe in the power of prayer, in our own lives, that although the answer might not always be what we are seeking, prayer is heard and answered. We must have the faith of Abraham and Sarah, in looking for the promised seed, knowing that he will return soon. And most importantly, we must try to discern the Voice and his teaching that all flesh is as grass that withereth - and that our only hope of salvation is to assimilate as much of that word as we can. Let us then attend to the Word, trust in its fulfillment, and patiently wait for the coming of our Lord. Just as the people waited outside to receive the words of blessing from the priest upon his return, even so we must wait patiently for our Great High Priest to emerge, with blessings for us, to be with us throughout the ages to come. Christopher Maddocks There can be no peace at the present crisis of the world's history. The times of the Gentiles are too near their close for that. War, fierce and universal is divinely decreed, and we see the world preparing for such a situation - every nation armed to the teeth, and anxiously looking at the state of their swords. (Robert Roberts, 1866) 5

6 Who do you Serve? We come each week to memorialize the Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the emblems of bread and wine. In these things, we see a declaration of love - not that we loved God, but that He loved us first: God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (Jno. 3:16). And in response to that great extension of love, we have the responsibility to reciprocate it, in living lives lovingly obedient to what our Master and Saviour commands. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man may lay down his life for his friends (Jno.15:13), and being his friends, we must lay down our lives in service to him. But implicit in love, is the making of a decision. Man, when originally formed from the dust of the ground, was not an automaton. He was created with the free will as to whether or not he would serve God, and obey his command. An automaton could only worship in a predetermined way. There is no choice set before such a one, it would have no capacity to respond to, or return love. This is why there had to be the Serpent in Eden: without a potential source of disobedience, Adam and his wife would obey, but because there would have been no other option available to them, and no choice to be made. But with the introduction of the serpent, we see that there was a decision to be made: obey God, or listen to the serpent? Love God, or partake in the delights of sin? Being made free to love, the first human pair were also free not to love. Being free to enjoy the blessings in Eden, he was also free to choose a different path. Those who forsake the true Way are said to have left thy first love (Rev. 2:4). By it s very nature, love cannot exist without choice, and it is because Yahweh requires loving obedience, that the way is open for men to make the choice to serve him, or follow the way of the world. If God had created man without the ability to choose, it would have eliminated the ability to either love, or sin. These things are epitomized in Messiah s teaching, recorded in Matthew chapter 6: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon. (Mat. 6:24). As we come before Christ, we have a decision to make. Moses spoke to the people: I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live (Deut. 30:15, 19). We have the same choice to make. It is the choice of life or death. We cannot serve two masters: we cannot serve God and Mammon (riches). We must choose to either worship Yahweh in Spirit and in Truth, or to seek after the way of the world which is, of course, the majority decision. This is a theme that runs throughout Scripture. Joshua exhorted Israel: 6

7 choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh (Jos. 24:15). We are the house of the antitypical Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have made the decision to serve Him only, and publically declared that decision in obeying the Gospel, by being baptized. though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many and lords many,) but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him (1 Cor. 8:5-6). We eschew the idols of the heathen, and cleave to the Lord in love and faithfulness, that we might have His love extended towards us, in the personage of Jesus Christ - who laid down his life for his friends. Unlike Israel of Old, we do not halt between two opinions (1 Kin. 18:21), but with singleness of heart, we embrace Yahweh, the only true God: to him we look for love and forgiveness. Matthew chapter seven demonstrates these two options in life in four different ways, and we shall consider each in turn. TWO PATHS The Master presents our walk in life as traversing along one of two paths: Enter ye at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there by which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Mat. 7:13-14). We must guard against assuming that the majority opinion is the right one: according to Christ, the majority wanders down a broad way, amply able to accommodate their sins and the excess of transgressions. The way of Christ is narrow. Sometimes folk describe our religion as being too restrictive, and that we should relax our narrow minded views in relation to the freedom that today s world offers. But the narrowness of the way is not of our making: it is not designed to accommodate the masses and their baggage of sinfulness and apostasy. It is designed to only accommodate the few who are prepared to make the effort to find it, and who take up their cross of self-denial and follow their Master. The book of Proverbs also speaks of these two ways: Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom: I have led thee in right paths take fast hold of instruction: let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life (Prov. 4:11,13). 7

8 Here is the way of life, also known as the way of wisdom. This way requires the humility of the one desiring to walk down it, to take fast hold of instruction. Those who traverse the right paths are those who do not tire at being corrected and admonished by the Word, lovingly applied. To take hold of such instruction, refusing to let her go, is to take hold of life, and to hold on to the principles of doctrine which form the Gospel message the power of God unto salvation. By contrast, we have the way of the wicked. So the Proverbs continue: Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away the way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble (Prov. 4:14, 19). Stumbling in darkness, those who traverse the way of the wicked cannot be led to salvation and life. Notice the emphasis here: go not in the way, avoid it, Pass not by it turn from it and pass away. Have nothing to do with it, and avoid it at all costs. Don t even go near it, lest we be tempted to follow it into oblivion. Christ s brethren are not to be found on this path, only those whose excesses will bring them down into the pit. TWO TREES Our Master declares that false prophets will be known by the fruits that they bear: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them (Mat. 7:16-20). The fruit it is evident, represents the characteristics by which a tree is identified. Christ s brethren bring forth the good fruit of the spirit, which are defined by the apostle, to be the Godly qualities that they manifest: The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Gal. 5:22). By contrast thorns and thistles are all that the wicked can produce. Concerning these it is written: that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned (Heb. 6:8). The plain exhortation for us then, is to try and modify our lives to bear the fruitcharacteristics of the spirit, those qualities that Christ s brethren rejoice in, and seek to develop further in each other. 8

9 It is interesting to note the absolute terms that our Master uses: a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. John, under spirit guidance, speaks similarly: whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God (1 Jno. 3:9). Again, the point is made that Christ s brethren cannot sin. Of course, the literal reality is that we do continue to sin, lamenting with the apostle Paul O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death (Rom. 7:24 see context). But the point being made here, is that when we sin, we are succumbing to the old man of the flesh. It is not the new plant growing in our hearts, or the inward man that bears evil fruit, or works of sin. That which is born of God is the New Man, with the old man being crucified with Christ. The New man can never sin, but the old man continually entices us to go astray. We must therefore be ever on our guard, seeking to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5) however hard that may be. TWO JUDGMENTS Because of the markedly different attributes of these two groups of humankind, there are two judgments: one to condemnation, and one to immortality: Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Mat. 7:21-23). Those who work iniquity will not be recognized by Messiah when he comes again. Even though they might have wrought wonderful miracles with the Holy Spirit gifts, unless their hearts are filled with the fruit of the Spirit, they will be driven away from the presence of the Lord. By contrast, those who are Christ s are known of him. John chapter 10 expresses the Master s parable of the shepherd: I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine (Jno. 10:14). And again: my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand (Jno. 10:28). The true sheep know the voice of their shepherd, and he knows them. They will not perish in the Aion to come, for they are in the hand of Messiah, and he will never leave nor forsake them. As we read elsewhere: the Lord knoweth them that are his (2 Tim. 2:19). But those who are abandoned to disobedience will not be recognized by him when he comes again. 9

10 Notice here, that those who are rejected include those who profess that Jesus is Lord: not everyone that sayeth unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven (Mat. 7:21). Some of the religious groups and churches around us teach that all that is necessary is for us to accept Jesus as our Lord, and we shall be saved. However, Messiah s own testimony is this it not enough: those who would be saved must also do the will of his Father in heaven, as it is expressed in the holy writ. TWO FOUNDATIONS The final couplet in Matthew chapter 7 is about the importance of doing the will of God, as well as hearing it: whosoever doeth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his house upon a rock The stormy winds of judgment came, and the house fell not, because it was founded upon a rock. By the same token, those who hear, but don t do the sayings of Christ: shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it (Mat. 7:24-27). The difference between the wise and the foolish is not to do with how much work each man did. Both did the same work: they both built the same type of house. But one was building upon the basis of the rockbed of Truth as taught by Messiah, the other upon the ever-shifting sands of men s wisdom. For the one man, his doings were upon the foundation of Christ s sayings, for the other, it was a building upon a different, unstable basis. What we are building is not so important as where we are building it we must therefore, ensure that our activities are in obedience to the sayings of Christ. WHO DO YOU TRUST AND SERVE? Returning to the theme of not serving Mammon, or Riches, the Lord taught: No servant can serve two masters ye cannot serve God and Mammon (Luke 16:13). The Pharisees reacted badly to this, for they were a covetous group of men: the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him (Lu. 16:14). But it is a truth that as Christ taught: take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth (Luke 12:15). Riches cannot save men from the clutches of the grave. So the Wise Man taught: Wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it (Eccl. 7:12). Far better to seek the eternal things of wisdom than the material things of this life. 10

11 Jesus taught this lesson to a certain rich man who had observed all the principles of the law from his youth: then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions (Mrk. 10:20-22). And the Master commenting on this response, continues: Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God (Mrk. 10:24). This is the real crux of the issue. The matter is one of Trust: who do we trust? Mammon (wealth), or Yahweh? One thing thou lackest was the words of Messiah to this certain man whom he loved. How many things are lacking in our lives? Mammon, whilst it might furnish an abundance of this world s goods in this life, cannot save us from death. Whereas Christ is able to save those who trust in his Name that Name which is the only Name under heaven whereby we must be saved. When we consider these things, we behold the certainty of our hope, by contrast to the uncertainty of riches. Salvation is of faith, that it might be by Grace; to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed (Rom. 4:16). Salvation is based on faith, not works. Those who proclaimed the Lordship of Christ, and who did many wonderful works before him were rejected, trusting in their works and position, and not in Yahweh s power to save. Salvation is based on Grace, for man cannot earn salvation, and there is therefore no other way that salvation can come: Divine favour is the basis of our redemption, not personal wealth. The certainty of our hope is absolute. As we saw above, Messiah taught that there are only two ways along which a man can walk, with two different destinations. It is a irrevocable fact that those who walk along the broad way will be led to the grave, and it is a second irrevocable fact that those who walk along the narrow way will not arrive at any other destination, but eternal life in the kingdom to come. So long as we are on the right path, our salvation is guaranteed. There is, then, no reason to trust in the uncertainty of riches: to Yahweh we look for strength and salvation, for in Him do we trust to bring us to the glories of the Age to Come. 11 Christopher Maddocks What is better in a man than self-restraint? And what more effectual exercise of self-restraint than the repression of every unkind word and act to those who wrong you, and the compelling of your wounded mind to seek its solace in sentiments and acts of kindness? If this benefits you, as it undoubtedly does (for it is a refining fire to the natural man) it benefits your enemies; they are helped by your self-triumph. What if they are too bitter to be propitiated, the advantage remains with you. Your kindness is more severe on your enemies than you retaliation could be, while you ennoble and sooth your own heart, an above all, please Christ and do a good work of preparation for the ages to come. Robert Roberts

12 A Miracle of Elisha The Axehead that was made to swim. (2 Kings 6:1-7) There are many parallels in this account about Elisha and the sons of the prophets that are instructive about the work of Jesus and the saints in the age to come. Israel sank in the waters The word translated axe in 2Kings 6:5 in the AV is the same Hebrew barzel word used elsewhere in Scripture for iron. The cutting head was therefore made of iron as is confirmed by verse 6. Israel sank symbolically, like the axe head, in the water due to faithlessness. They were a stiff necked people who were scattered according to the word of the LORD (Jeremiah 30:10; 31:10). The Romans scattered them through out the nations (Deut.28:25). Like the iron axe head they sank in the waters of the Jordan, submerged among the nations, flowing from Galilee of the nations (Isa.9:1) to the Dead Sea. Some have returned (typified by Judah, e.g. Zechariah 12.) in unbelief to the land of promise. When Jesus appears to the world the saints will be with him to begin the work of setting up the Kingdom of God. The work of the saints will be to prepare the nations for the Kingdom of God. The everlasting gospel will be preached (Rev.14:6). The thickets and forest of the nations will be cut down in judgement, like the Assyrian oppressor, and subject to rule of the Lord Jesus Christ (Isa.10:24-34). Then, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness, by the LORD s judgements (Isa.26:9). Israel rises from the waters The axe head (Israel) was caused to swim to be united (resurrected) with the shaft on which it should be firmly fixed (Jesus) and with its user (the Saints). Elisha caused the axe head to swim from the depths of the river Jordan. Israel passed through the waters of the Jordan to rise from them to a new life in the land of promise (Joshua 4:18-19). This is typical of the time yet future when God s people will be gathered for a period of time in the wilderness of the people. The rebels will be purged, before the remnant are permitted to enter the land (Ezek.20:35-38). One of the sons of the prophets said, Alas master! for it (the axe) was borrowed (2Kings 6:5). Similarly, Israel will be brought into service in the hands of the master and the saints, to judge the nations. They will carry out this work using Israel, the rod of his inheritance my battleaxe and weapons of war (Jeremiah 51:19-21). However, at that time the battleaxe (Israel) will be attached to its shaft (stem) the Lord Jesus Christ. Faithlessness on Israel s part caused it to become detached from the LORD s work. 12

13 The prophet Elisha cut a stick ( ets meaning, wood, tree or stick) and cast it in the water. The iron head swam and was lifted from the water on the piece of wood. Israel could only be saved by the work of Jesus who died on a tree. The New Testament Greek equivalent word is Xulon used in Acts 5:30 and 1Peter 2:24 of the hanging of our Lord Jesus Christ upon a tree. Why should an iron axe head represent Israel? Iron was included in the metals given willingly for the service of the Temple by the chief fathers, princes and captains. They gave, gold silver, brass and iron (1Chron.29:6-7). Iron was used for nails for the doors and gates (1Chron.22:3). Each metal is also symbolic of the kingdom of man which will be subject to the rule of our God (Dan.2:32,33,44). In the Kingdom age Israel will be restored to the stem of the rod of Jesse. Israel will then be the LORD s battleaxe, which will be wielded against the nation that opposes the will of the LORD. The power of the inhabitants of Zion is described as a horn of iron and hoofs of brass (Micah 4:11-13). The cutting down of the thickets and forest of the nations is described as being with iron (Isa.10:34). This miracle was therefore for the instruction of the sons of the prophets and for us as saints. Israel will be restored to the head of the nations when the Lord returns (Deut.28:13). Once purged of rebels Israel will be the LORD s battleaxe but only when they recognise Christ as their saviour. Who his own self bare our sins in his body on the tree (1Peter 2:24). Subscriptions Now Due 13 Peter Moore This issue concludes Volume 8 of The Christadelphian Waymark, and accordingly subscriptions are now due for the hard (paper) copy. E-Subscribers will continue to receive the magazine for free; for the paper copy there is a fee of per subscription (12 issues, approx. monthly). As usual, subscriptions are free to anyone who cannnot remit the requested amount. In the forthcoming year, we have a number of projects planned, if the Lord Permit. As requested by some of our readers, we are working on putting our series of articles on the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith into book format. We are also progressing on republishing a book on The Tabernacle that is currently out of print. In addition, we continue to send out Sunday Exhortations as and when we are able, in MS Word, PDF and Audio MP3 format, with previous exhortations being available on our website. To be added to our list, go to here: Previous articles and issues of this magazine are also available on our website which is here: CAM

14 Correspondence:- The Question of Christmas Let God Be True" was the title of an article by Brother Chris Maddocks, which appeared in The Christadelphian Waymark Volume 8, Issue 6. He was commenting on a correspondent who criticized him for contending that "to teach children to believe in Santa Claus was a form of idolatry". There is no such person of course as Santa Claus: he is the figment of man's imagination, and is connected with St Nicholas who is the patron saint of thieves. This "St. Nicholas" is associated with the Nicholaitanes whose deeds were hated by our Lord Jesus and the Ephesian ecclesia (Rev. 2:6). The whole celebration of Christmas is really the pagan festival Saturnalia, wild revelry, which has no association with the Truth. The exact date of Christ's birth is unknown to man, but it is the death of Christ and his resurrection which we are commanded to remember and celebrate each week, until he returns to the earth to continue the work of our heavenly Father. The gift he brings is eternal life for those who seek him and keep his commandments; such things as we should be taught from a child. Christ was born in our nature of sinful flesh which is not to be glorified. To believe in this imaginary Santa, is to believe a lie, shouldn't we teach children the truth from the very first? If we teach them a lie, how will they learn to trust us when the Santa myth is eventually exposed? The apostle Paul conveys to Timothy: "and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation". Paul also commends Timothy's Grandmother and mother for their "unfeigned faith" to "train up a child in the way he should go". The Scriptures teach us the right ways of the Truth, that we instruct our children too; the serpent's lie to Adam and Eve brought about their misery and death which has cursed us also. Deuteronomy chapter 6 exhorts us with divine wisdom and education, it sets before us the first and great commandment which few submit to obey: "thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them thou when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up". The pure words of Truth should be our thought, conversation and action at all times. No place for fairy tales which deceive children's minds; and "when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying What mean the testimonies, and statutes, the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?" You open the Scriptures and relate 14

15 the truth without compromise and discount worldly fables which have no foundation or salvation value. We should teach that the only gift to desire is God's Word containing the precious gift of eternal life to those who believe and obey. So many gifts give to children especially at Christmas are hastily unwrapped and discarded for the next one. The formation of so much greed, lust and dissatisfaction. This surely, is more harmful. We cannot do this with the Truth. Children need to be taught discipline and right priorities from the beginning and we should be right examples for them to follow, fashioned by God's commandments. Once the flesh takes hold, and the venomous poison of the serpent bite injected and circulating into the mind, there is little hope of a cure: The world celebrates; it has claimed another victim! Regardless of man's antipathy towards God's teaching of what His Wisdom proves as the right way of living to receive the blessing of His goodness; throughout the 6000 years of man's existence he has been hostile to God's word as it condemns the ungodlinesss of man's natural thoughts and ways. God, His Word, His prophets, Christ Jesus His Son, the Apostles have all been despised and rejected; man has preferred to believe fables rather than the Truth, albeit to his own rejection and destruction. "Prophecy not unto us right thigns speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceites" (Isa. 30:10). God, His word and glory endureth for ever: but "all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man is as the flower of grass, the grass withereth and the flower thereof falleth away." Children should be taught the right ways of God from an early age that they might grow up with a true hope and prepared to face any trials or tribulations which may beset them, with the benefit of the wisdom and word of God: fact, not fiction. "Tell ye your children of it and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation" (Joel 1:3). Denying the false Santa Claus will not harm them, but denying the truth of God certainly will. NOTE: 15 Gordon Royal We contend that the Bible teaches that "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of Lights..." (Jas. 1:17). To teach that gifts come from Father Christmas instead is to displace Yahweh as provider, and is therefore a form of idolatry. - CAM

16 Looking for Great Things The Scriptures are mainly directed towards instruction and reproof. Nevertheless, they have much to do with comfort that is, where the instruction and reproof have taken effect. Paul expressly declares of them that they were written that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope (Rom. 15:4). God is described as the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3). God Himself commands: Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people (Isa. 40:1). Jesus makes promise to them that they shall be comforted (Matt. 5:4). We have, this morning, to look at some of the things that are comforting, the contemplation of which enables us to realise in ourselves the condition which Paul describes as being filled with all joy and peace in believing. They are suggested by a question which has occurred in our recent daily readings addressed by God to Israel after the return from Babylon a question which we may have read many times without perceiving anything specially suggestive in it, but which we shall find the gate to a path which leads to rich pastures. It occurs in Zech. 8, verse 6. The question arises out of the circumstances of Israel at the time it was addressed to them. They had just returned from Babylon. The land was in desolation; Jerusalem was in ruins; and the adversaries of Judah were active and successful, as we learn from Ezra. The people were discouraged at this state of things. They were, in fact, in great affliction and reproach (Neh. 1:3). They had returned from Babylon with the expectation of a prosperous restoration, according to the promise by the prophets; and finding so many difficulties, they seemed to have lost heart and faith, and to have come to the conclusion that the time was not come that the Lord s house should be built (Hag. 1:2). In those circumstances the prophets Haggai and Zechariah were sent to encourage them and strengthen their hands, and as a matter of fact, the work was finally accomplished through their influence (Ezra 6:14). It is one of the messages by Yahweh that the question occurs which demands our attention. The encouragement takes the form of an assurance which, in their circumstances, they were tempted to think too good to be true. The assurance was: I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of Hosts the holy mountain. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; There shall yet old men and women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. (Zech. 8:3-5). It matters little for present purpose whether we understand this to apply to the prosperity realised in the Babylonish restoration, or to the far greater well-being that will be Israel s portion under the Branch of Righteousness raised up unto David, when he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land (Jer. 33:14-16). It doubtless refers to the latter, in so far as it exhibits a picture of the future; the future glory being held up to view as an incentive to labour for the development of Jerusalem s then- 16

17 coming well-being. The point lies in the question that follows: If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of Hosts. It would appear from this that some who heard the words of the prophet were incredulous on the subject of the promise. It was marvellous in their eyes : they could not practically believe it; it was too good to be true. Jerusalem was in adversity, and it seemed to them as if it must always remain so. They could not realise that it was possible for Israel to regain the consequence and prosperity that departed from them when Nebuchadnezzar overran the country, destroyed the cities and took the people captive more than seventy years before. The question put to them is, was this inability of theirs to realise a promise of God a reason why it should not come? Was their incredulousness a reason why the thing promised should be difficult to God? It seems to me the question has a very profitable application for us. We are looking for great things, because God has promised them. We are looking for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven, after an absence of more than eighteen centuries. We are looking for his interference in human affairs when he arrives. We are looking for the violent overthrow, at his hands, of all the governments of the world. We are looking for the establishment, in his person, of a government in Jerusalem which shall rule the whole earth in righteousness, and kindness and true enlightenment and irresistible power, as the result of which mankind shall become a universal brotherhood, blessed with plenty and wisdom and joy. We are looking for a participation in that government. We are looking for a place in the innumerable body of kings and priests, through whom the authority of their One glorious Head will be administered in all the earth. In preparation for this exalted position we are looking for a physical renovation at the Lord s coming, such as it hath not entered into the heart of physiological speculation to conceive. We are looking for that which will change this vile body that it may be fashioned like unto the incorruptible, glorious and immortal body of the exalted Lord Jesus Christ; by which all the saints of every age and nation will become a corporation of immortal rulers, gifted with exhaustless vigour, unerring wisdom, angelic grace, and endless life. We are looking for the abolition of the present order of things, and the setting up of a new world in which joy will be established in righteousness and glory to God. For our hope of these things we are called mad. This we can easily endure. We know it is a mere question whether God has promised them. If He has promised them (and no man in true reason can dispose of the evidence that He has), then the madness lies with those who ignore them, and not with those who give good heed to them and rejoice in them. But there is an enemy more difficult to deal with than those who call us mad. That enemy we carry about in ourselves. It is our own short-sighted, weak, finite, sense-controlled mentalities. The natural mind is swayed by its own impressions, and these impressions are, in most matters, the very reverse of truth. I speak not only of spiritual but of natural things. For instance, a man feels as if he had never had a beginning; he feels as if he never would die; he feels as if the people that 17

18 lived before him never had an existence. He feels as if his own town were the only town, his own feelings the only feelings, and so on. Knowledge corrects these feelings, and enables a man to be confident, though he does not feel it, that he was born not very long ago, that he will die in due course; that other people s existence before him is no myth, etc. This knowledge comes partly from testimony. But suppose we were influenced by reason and cut off from access to testimony, what would be the result? The feelings would remain in their unmodified force and we should be barbarians, as exemplified in the untutored millions that inhabit the earth; and as illustrated in varying degrees among all who are more or less educated. Now this tendency to be victimised by fallacious feeling, styled by Paul an evil heart of unbelief, and defined by the Spirit in Isaiah (should be Jeremiah) as the heart of man, deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, is much more powerfully operative towards divine than towards human things for two reasons: first, because divine ways and divine thoughts are as much above the ways and thoughts of human experience as the heaven is high above the earth (Isa.55: 9), resulting in a natural inability on our part to sympathise with them; and secondly, they are more entirely beyond the range of human observation. They are matters of history, matters of promise; matters of present invisible fact. Consequently, the mind has less opportunity, so to speak, to become impressed with them than to be impressed with matters that are of every-day perception. Hence it is that wisdom is a thing that has to be sought for as hid treasure a thing we have to go out of our way to take pains to get. The natural man is an ignoramus with us all both in the things of man and in the things of God, but a much more invincible ignoramus in the latter than in the former. Education reforms him a little in natural things; the instruction of the Word will bring him into comparative submission in spiritual things. Left to himself, he is a fool and a liar. We must shut our ears to him, he is whispering to us all the time; we carry him about with us. It was this old man, who is not only ignorant, but corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, that led a class in Israel to speak incredulously of the promises of God. We hear him in our day saying, We are mad to believe the gospel: in a milder voice, he says, It is too good to be true. In a still more subdued tone, he is apt to suggest in our own bosoms, in the very midst of our faith, that we shall never know anything better than the present evil world and the present failing, stricken, groaning nature. This is the foe which the power of faith will enable us to vanquish; never forgetting that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom.10: 17). It will enable us to say to the gloomy maunderings of the flesh, Get thee behind me, Satan ; God hath spoken at sundry times and in divers manners. We have evidence of it in our hands. The Bible alone is proof of it if we had no other evidence in the world. In what He has said there are great and precious promises. What if the things promised transcend my brightest dreams? Is that a reason for doubting them? Is anything too hard for the Lord? Have I not received from Him even the little of good I now possess? Shall I say that He can do no better? Shall I set myself up against His own declaration that He will withhold no good thing from them that love him? Shall I shut my eyes to the express information that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him? 18

19 No, no, brethren and sisters, let us look beyond ourselves. Let us mistrust the doleful feelings of the flesh. Let us lean on the Rock that is higher than we. Let us fix our thoughts on what He has promised. Let us not measure God or the hope of future good by our own thoughts or experience. The flesh is weak. Our fears are very largely due to this. Let us not be unduly distressed by them. They are known on high, and the cause of them. He knoweth our frame: he remembereth that we are dust. Therefore, the context informs us, His pity is directed towards us if we fear Him. The fact of this pity was exemplified by the Lord in Gethsemane, when, finding his disciples asleep at the supreme hour of his mortal service, he said, The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. This same Lord is our High Priest, who ever liveth to make intercession for us, and who is able to save to the utmost those who come unto God by him. It is expressly testified of him that having suffered, being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. We may therefore take comfort. Our comfort is in God. We do not rely for comfort upon the state of our feelings. These may be depressed enough from physical causes. God is not displeased at our weakness; He is displeased at a lacking faith and a faltering obedience. This lesson has been obscured by the religious teaching in which most of us have been brought up, and some of us may be liable to suffer from the error now. We have been led to look at ecstatic feelings as the symptom of spiritual life, and to regard depression or even sobriety as indicative of deadness. Whereas faith and depression may co-exist as in the case of Job, David and the Man of Sorrows; for faith is the confidence of things hoped for, as in the case of Abraham, the father of the faithful, who against hope believed in hope, being fully persuaded that what God had promised He was able also to perform. Not only so, but ecstasy and unbelief may co-exist, as in the case of the highly-wrought revivalist who mistakes the electrical excitement of the brain and nervous system for religion, and rejects the testimony of God and His prophets and apostles while shouting Glory, Hallelujah. Let us not give way to mere temperamental despondencies when they come. Let us remember they belong to us and not to God. They are as the clouds that hide the sun from view; the clouds are all on the surface of the earth: the sun shines on with undimmed brilliancy in the perpetual blue beyond. One thing we may always remember: Without faith it is impossible to please Him. We may have plenty of animal spirits and no faith; plenty of mental and physical comfort, and no favour with God. Faith is not excitement. It is the calm conviction that God will fulfil the promises He has made, leading, through the love of those promises, to the fruit of an obedient life, even if oftentimes clouded with that heaviness through manifold temptation which was no less the portion of saints in apostolic days than in our own (1 Pet. 1:6). 19