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in gods dear book many wonderful things have been wr itten which are seldom taught or even mentioned among the christian congregations of our day. truths, which are pointed, plain, and tremendously vital to spiritual understanding, are passed by unnoticed and unmentioned as things irrelevant and inconsequential. promises, prophecies, covenants and facts which are vital to the age in which we live fill the pages of holy writ, yet they go totally ignored by professing multitudes, counted as inapplicable old wives fables and rejected out of hand without a pretext of sincere investigation. it is with regret that i myself confess that in bygone days, while still in bondage to the sectarian systems, i rejected without thorough investigation truth, which i now know to be pertinent to all spiritual growth and underst anding. like so many others, i was quick to respond with accredited answers to the questions raised, vainly imagining that such eternal verities could be disposed of by the threadbare answers of tradition. all of gods word is intended to be understood, and though truth is usually presented in such a way that it is foolishness to the natural man and he cannot understand it, that same truth blazes as the noonday sun upon the path of him who with an open and contrite heart cries continually, open mine eyes that i may behold wondrous things out of thy law. only then do we know that the invisible things of him from the foundation of the world are clearly seen. truth so vital to us all has been ignored and prejudiced against by the abstruse and slanted minds of those who believe not. so plain, in fact, has god made these blessed truths that, had not scholars and churchmen turned them completely upside down and inside out, they would have been seen and recognized by the multitudes of mankind centuries ago. in these days, when multitudes are turning away from the truth and their minds are being turned to fables, we would do well to remember that the bible is forever the word of god. it does not simply contain the word of god it is the word of god, and if it be believed, we w ill find within its sacred records all the truth necessary for us to lay firm hold on gods promises and the hopes that are clearly set before us. the christian church as we know it has been living in a fools paradise, propounding pet doctrines, arguing the pros and cons of theories, but almost completely overlooking the eternal purpose of him who from the foundations of the ages worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. oh, for the hour when all creation will grasp the eternal message, from him everything co mes, by him everything exists, and in him everything ends!
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it will be a blissful day for you, my brother, my sister, when first your soul becomes thrilled with the revelation that god, before ever the world began or ever the ages were formed, looked forth from his temple of wisdom and understanding to chart with infinite care the course and purpose of every age. with omnipotent power he guides and sustains them according to the purpose of his own will. no purpose ordained by god from the beginning can possibly go astray or be hindered by t he efforts of devil or man. all comes from him, all exists by him, and all ends in him. treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 2 if you in spirit will stand as in the beginning with your allwise heavenly father, you will behold the unfolding of an infinite purpose. you will see the unveiling of god s divine intention in edens lovely garden. your heart will throb as you hear him say, the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him, who hath subjected the same in hope. rom. 820 from the lips of god you will be assured that through the anguish and night of the fall his hope was to bring to manifestation a vast family of sons of god, every one in the image of christ. rom. 8 1829 the creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of the sons of god. verse 21. you w ill see, as you stand with him, that the tragedy of eden was not a tragedy in the sight of god, but an aionian purpose. you will see with unspeakable joy that the subjecting of the creation verse 20 to the bondage of corruption was neither a mistake nor an accident, but the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. you will look upon the agonies of calvary and see, not a stark calamity, but a purpose clearly defined and ordained before the ages began a purpose by which sin will be forever eliminated from all the universe when gods plan is complete and all creation everywhere is lifted from the thraldom of bondage, corruption, and decay into the glorious freedom of the sons of god. if you will stand with god in the midst of the ages, you will see the immutable and unerring progress of each and every covenant he made with man and behold with wonder and admiration his faithfulness in keeping them unto a thousand generations. with the revelation of the almighty flooding your soul you will see him raise up evil men to oppose and resist his will even as he raised up pharaoh that his name might be known in all the earth. exod. 916.
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you will see him raise up both men and nations who are destined to be his bitter opponents that the righteous might come to maturity, hav ing fully come to the knowledge of good and evil. it is high time that the people of god began to investigate the bible for themselves. the word of god was written for you to read and believe. it was never intended to be interpreted for you by men who have a denominational axe to grind or a sectarian viewpoint to defend. let gods people come out from among them and begin to search the scriptures for themselves, and g od will be their father and they will sup with him and he with them. let us ask the guidance of the holy spirit, and before we realize it we will find ourselves digging deep in a blessed gold mine of truth. truth was intended to transform men, to make them love god and lay hold upon his eternal purposes. truth was never intended to force mankind into the narrow confines of some sectarian prison cell. christ himself is the truth, the light and the way, and he came declaring that the truth would make us free. bright is the shining of the sun, yet it is useless to seek its face if we cover our eyes with a dark veil or throw a blanket over our head. in all the ages of time no heavier veil ever existed than the veil of human tradition, by which religious men make the commandment of god of none effect. matt. 156 it is only when this darkling veil is cast away from us that the divine purpose of the ages unfolds before our wondering eyes. upon your desk today there is or should be that book we call the bible. this book alone reveals gods secret plan of the ages. it unfolds with unerring accuracy the mysteries of eons yet to come. it reveals the purpose of the present fearful turmoil which now on every hand encompasses the world. it points with unerring finger the way the saints must walk and tells us what the end will be of the world wide distress and tribulation that is consuming us like a fire. these enlightening discoveries w ill all be made by those who believe the word of god and not by those who disbelieve it. the secret of the lord is with them that fear him and he will not disclose his mysteries to the unbelieving minds of those who hate him. whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that that he hath. matt. 1312 the reader of this message does not need to be told that we are living in the closing days of this dispensation of grace.
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the rapidly multiplying signs, which everywhere give forth their lurid light, are shouting from the house tops that the kingdom of god is at hand. the coming of the lord draweth nigh. the evil shadows of the great tribulation hang like a gloom all over the world. soon, very soon, will the armies of the antichrist challenge the armies of the son of god, whose eyes are a flame of fire and from whose mouth goes forth a sharp, twoedged sword with which he will smite the nations. with this great battle, described in rev. 19 1121, the six days of mans labor and misrule will end and t he kingdom of god will follow to fill the earth with righteousness for a thousand years. rev. 20 of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of david, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. the zeal of the lord of hosts will perform this. isa. 97 treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 3 for many years i have felt that the day would come when it would be my god given task to unfold, at least in part, some of the hidden mysteries concerning gods chosen people, who are he seed of abraham. not many people now reading this message are fully aware that the entire old testament from genesis, chapter twelve and verse one, to malachi, chapter four and verse six, together with much of the new testament concerns itself with that chosen people all twelve tribes of them, who are the seed of abraham, isaac, and jacob. this fact in itself should be enough to demonstrate the vast importance connected with the subject. in gods holy word this chosen race is described in such endearing terms as these my people israel. ezek. 397. mine inheritance. isa. 19 25. my heritage. joel 23. my glory. isa. 46 13. my servant. isa. 41 8. my witnesses. isa. 43 10. my called. isa. 48 12. my nation. isa. 51 4. mine elect. isa. 45 4. my redeemed. isa. 43 4. my firstborn. jer. 31 9. in all the above instances the speaker and declarer is god himself and the nation concerned is the seed of abraham through isaac and jacob.
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to every thinking person or any christian with a spir itual mind and an understanding heart it must be extremely obvious that a nation spoken of in such terms as these, whose history and promise of future glory is the topic of the entire old testament and much of the new testament, cannot be carelessly set aside or lightly discarded to suit the whims and fancies of blind leaders of the blind who love to spiritualize or consign to the past any truth that may upset their established tradition, and so they commit to the garbage any truth that appears to demand a greater understanding on their part. it is very clear in gods word that the israel nations were declared and ordained by god to be the head and not the tail among the nations of the earth. deut. 28 13. according to the prophecies and covenants of the old testament, the israel nations were to be the leading and greatest nations of the earth in the latter days, enjoying the blessings of heaven above, the earth beneath, and the wealth under the earth. they were to be a bles sing to all other nations, lending to all but borrowing from none. deut. 2812 as god may help me, i shall endeavor to explain the purpose of god for these people, both for the present age and the ages that are yet to come. as gods inspired word opens before us, we will behold with rejoicing the unfolding of the words, in thee and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. i am fully aware that many will disagree with and even oppose the me ssage i bring, but my sincere prayer and hope before god is that all who read these lines will become seeker s after truth, unafraid to have their understanding stirred by the unfolding of the truth kept hidden through much of this present age, but ready to be revealed in the last time. may the spirit of the lord open the eyes of all who read to give light and understanding in the knowledge of his will. the abrahamic covenant in the twelfth chapter of genesis an entirely new era in gods dealings with mankind is revealed with the calling of abram and his descendants to be a special people, a chosen nation for gods service, that through abram and his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed. these descendants of abram were to be a distinct and separate people unto god, peculiarly his forever. from them christ the saviour and redeemer would eventually come. from the seed of abraham as i will sh ow you later the sons of god, the body of christ, would come, and from his seed also in that glad millennial day, when all israel shall be saved, rom. 1126, the bride of christ will come. to abraham and his seed were the promises made. gal. 316.
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thus we must conclude that even gentiles, believing on the lord jesus christ, become the children of abraham by faith, as it is written, if ye be christs, then are ye abrahams seed and heirs according to the promise. gal. 329 treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 4 now the lord had said unto abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy fathers house, unto a land that i will shew thee and i will make of thee a great nation, and i will bless thee, and make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing and i will bles s them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. gen. 1213 it would be difficult to conceive of any more sweeping and allinclusive statement than this . though we will not stop now to analyze its depths, in these simple but remarkable sentences we have an incr edibly sweeping, farreaching statement that will take the thousand generations of 1 chron. 161517 and psa. 1058 to fulfill. 1 get thee out of thy country. 2 unto a land that i will shew thee. 3 i will make of thee a great nation. 4 i will bless thee. 5 i will make thy name great. 6 thou shalt be a blessing. 7 i will bless him that blesseth thee and curse him that curseth thee. 8 in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. it is extremely important that we grasp the fact he re and now that gods promise and covenant with abraham is wholly, entirely, and completely unconditional. it is an indisputable fact that no choice was given to abraham either here or in any other place, or were there any conditions attached or demanded of him. god omnipotent, immutable, eternal commanded this man abram to get out of his country unto a land that he would later be shown, and the same immutable, eternal father tells him what he intends to do with him and his seed after him. there were absolutely no conditions whatsoever atta ched. no words were ever spoken to abram in which it was inferred that god would bring these blessings upon him in reward for faithfulness, or for works, or for anything else. everywhere in connection with this covenant we hear the immutable words of the immutable lord, saying, i will shew thee. i will bless thee. i will ma ke thee a great nation. i will bless them that bless thee. i will curse them that curse thee. in thee shall all nations of the earth be blessed. if ever a covenant was made in which god was supreme and man had nothing whatever to say, it is the covenant the lord god almighty made with his servant abraham.
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the allwise and eternal god, looking with unerring accuracy through the vista of the ages, was not in the least ignorant of all the rebellion, the stiffnecked obstinacy, the idolatry and failure of the seed of abraham, yet he and he alone made his definite choice. though now we s ee through a glass darkly, in that wonderful day, when the loose ends of all the ages are tied together, we will see all things as plain and clear as god saw them in the long ago and we will rejoice in the wisdom of him who made such an immutable covenant with abraham and his seed forever. how good it would be if all gods people would take time to consider who god really is. in all probability throughout your life you have honored him as the lord god, the maker of all, omnipotent, immutable, omniscient, eternal, holy, righteous and good, full of compassion and longsuffering, and abounding in tender mercies, yet for all that gods people have by their tradition made this almighty one appear to be a weak, insipid being so changeable in his ways and unwise in his purposes that one would surely think the lord of glory to be little more than an idol of wood or stone. my friend, when you are contemplating god, you are pondering him who is the omnipotent creator of heaven and earth, the eternal, who is the beginning and the end of all things. you are considering him who speaks and it is done, who commands and immediately all the powers of the universe, whether good or evil, begin working together for good that his eternal will might be fulfilled. thus then we must conclude that, when he, the allwise, almighty, begins a good work, he will treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 5 complete it, and in the end we will make the great discovery that even the most violent oppositions of satan were part of the infinite plan whereby the lord worked out his perfect will. for no other reason does the scripture declare that all things work together for good to them that love god. all things simply means all things, and nothing can possibly hinder or prevent omnipotence. when men make agreements and covenants with each other, we often encounter what is commonly known as small print. statements are made in ambiguous terms pur posely intended to be deceptive. but in gods great covenant with abram there was no fine print nor ambi guous term, neither were there any conditions demanded of him, because the man had no voice whatever in making the covenant. abram knew nothing of the future devised for him. he was not so much as told unto what land he should go. that was to be shown to him later. but the lord knew every detail the future would hold.
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he did not see the children of abraham as an obedient people, continually loving and serving god with a pure heart, but looking down the corridor of the years, he saw a rebellious and stiffnecked people, always prone to wander away from him, continually digressing to the worship of some other god, forever breaking the commandments of the lord. from the beginning, before ever he made his covenant with them, he saw this people as a people who would be so rebellious against him that they would eventually have to be torn from their beaut iful land of promise to be carried to captivity and bondage among godless gentile nations yet for all this they were to be forever his people, his heritage, and his nation. in the final chapters of the book of deuteronomy moses, the servant of the lord, solemnly warned the nation israel as to their calling and responsibility before god. after pronouncing upon them almost indescribable blessings that would follow their devotion to him, he warned them of the awful desolation that awaited them for their disobedience. this is what he said for i know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way i have commanded you and evil wi ll befall you in the latter days because ye will do evil in the sight of the lord, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands. deut. 3129 yet this same moses, even while telling them of their abominations for which they would be scattered among the nations, saw them still as the children of his immutable covenant and continued thus and it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which i have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the lord thy god hath driven thee, and shalt return unto the lord thy god, and shalt obey his voice according to all that i command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul that then the lord thy god will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the lord thy god hath scattered thee. deut. 3013. one would certainly be inclin ed to suspect that god would cast off this rebellious nation that they might be forgotten before him. but this is never so. israel is a chosen race forever, sealed with an everlasting covenant, always bearing the judgment of their iniquities but always through gods judgment being returned to him. with the certain knowledge that these chosen people, inheritors of the covenant made with abraham, are forever peculiarly the lords, give ear to the triumphant words of the apostle paul, sounding like a mighty fiat for ages past and ages yet unborn. has god cast away his people? god forbid!
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...god hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. rom. 1112 then with triumphant understanding of gods plan, paul writes again, if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? rom. 1115 so everlasting was the covenant made with abraham that no subsequent failure on his part or on the part of his seed at any future time could possibly annul the agreement. the only responsibility abram had was to obey, and everything else unto the ages of the ages, as we shall see, was in the hands of the lord. because the covenant was made by god and not by abram, no si n or disobedience on his part could ever possibly absolve god of his unconditional promises. because it was gods promise and not abrams, therefore the carrying out and fulfilling of that promise was the responsibility of god and not of abram. this fact, i think, was proved over and over again in the later years of ab rams life. god made the plans and abram obeyed them. when he made mistakes, the lord corrected him, but the covenant itself was unaltered and unchanged, as immutable as before. henry d. houghton has most ably pointed out that in most, if not all, human covenants there are five distinct and essential points, as follows treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 6 1 the date of the agreement. 2 the parties between whom the covenant is made. 3 the subject and scope of the covenant. 4 the time and operation of the agreement, limited or otherwise. 5 the signature. it will be noticed now that all these five articles of agreem ent are distinctly visible in this covenant between god and abram. let us note them well and neither detract from them nor add to them, but let us rather accept them as they are, for that is faith. it may be well to mention that not all the promises of the covenant are recorded in genesis, chapter twelve. in genesis twelve we have gods irrevocable promise to abram, but in genesis seventeen the terms of the covenant are laid out in greater detail. this is what it says and when abram was ninety years old and nine, the lord appeared to abram, and said unto him, i am the almighty god walk before me, and be thou perfect. and i will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. and abram fell on his face and god talked with him, saying, as for me, behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. neither shall thy name any more be called abram, but thy name shall be abraham for a father of many nations have i made thee.
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and i will make thee exceeding fruitful, and i will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. and i will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for and everlasting covenant, to be a god unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. and i will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of canaan, for an everlasting possess ion and i will be their god. gen. 1718 let us now apply to this statement the five essential points we have outlined above and we will see how genuine and binding the covenant really is. first. the date of the covenant is clearly stated as being in the ninetyninth year of abraham, or 1898 b. c. usser. second. in verse two and verse seven the parties to the covenant are clearly stated and set out between me and thee and thy seed after thee. third the subject and scope of the covenant is clearly stated in verses two, four, five, six, seven and eight. i will multiply thee exceedingly. thou shall be a father of many nations. i will make thee exceedingly fruitful. . .and will make nations of thee... and kings shall come out of thee. i will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee... to be a god unto thee. and will give unto thee the land wherein thou art a stranger. fourth. the time and length of the agreement is given in verse seven. ...to thee and to thy seed in their generations for an everlasting covenant. the agreement is perpetual and endures as long as the ages endure. i will greatly enlarge on this fourth point later on. fifth, and perhaps most important of all, is the signature to the agreement. this is found in verse one. i am the almighty god. this covenant was made by god. all its promises are of and from god. the covenant is signed by god. abram made no promises at all, nor did he sign the agreement. therefore it is wholly unconditional in all its aspects and leans hard on the eternal faithfulness of almighty god. my soul sings a thousand hallelujahs at the glory of the thing, for i know that he who promised is able to perform. salvation is not of man. the promises are not of man. the plan is not of man. the eternal purposes are not of man. it is god who is the author and the finisher, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last in every sense of the word. from him everything come s, by him everything exists, and in him everything ends. glory to him forever and ever, unto the ages of the ages, and for eternity as well! treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r.
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hawtin book 7 in the words of this wonderful covenant the almighty god makes the irrevocable decision that from abraham he will create and produce an entirely new race. that race will be his people and his special heritage forever that through this nation and its seed every family of the earth shall eventually be blessed. i declare without hesitation that our lord jesus christ came from this race. first he was the seed of abraham according to the flesh and declared to be the son of god with power by the spirit of holiness and the resurrection from the dead. furthermore, the church had its beginning with this race on the day of pentecost, and it is of tremendous importance that we see that the one hundred and fortyfour thousand sons of god, sealed and chosen as we read in the book of revelation, chapter 748, are from the twelve tribes of this same race. when all israel shall be saved, as is clearly stated by paul and isaiah in romans 1126 and isaiah 668, this race, the seed of abraham, will be the principal nation of the millennial kingdom, judged by christ and those who have followed him. matt. 1928. this race, saved and washed and forever freed from sin, will be the new jerusalem, descending from god out of heaven at the end of the millennial kingdom as a bride adorned for her husband. hath god cast away his people? god forbid. god hat h not cast away his people which he foreknew. rom. 1112 but their eyes at present are darkened that they may not see and their backs are bowed down for an age. verse 10 have they stumbled that they might fall? god fo rbid but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the gentiles how mu ch more their fullness! .... for if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? rom. 111112, 15. i would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits that blindness in part not total, please note only in part is happened to israel, until the fullness full number of the gentiles be come in. and so all israel shall be saved as it is written, there shall come out of sion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungoldiness from jacob. for this is my covenant unto them, when i shall take away their sins. concerning the gospel, t hey are enemies for your sakes but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers sakes. rom. 112528 . the fathers here are abraham, isaac, and jacob.
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please notice with care that paul here definitely shows that their restoration is in fulfillment of the covenant made with abraham. from the day god made his covenant with abraham, th roughout the book of god, all through the intervening centuries to this very day and the ages yet to come, g ods choice is certain and irrevocable. certainly there has been anger, wrath, rebuke, judgment and punishment sore and terrible upon all the seed of abraham so much so that one might think gods mercy had departed from them for ever, but that can never be, for above all the turmoil that has resulted from their abounding iniquities gods attitude has never changed toward them and his mercy is ever extended unto them because of the certainty of a covenant made unto a thousand generations. wonderful as was the promise made by god to abram at the first, i think it correct to say that here and there along the way the dear lord added more extensive promises, which may rightfully be included in the covenant. for instance, genesis seventeen records deeper promises than genesis twelve, and then again, when abraham was called upon to offer his son isaac as a sacrifice to god and refused not to obey, the lord adds the promise of another seed a seed that hitherto had not been mentioned, saying, by myself have i sworn, saith the lord, for because thou has done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son that in blessing i will bless thee, and in multiplying i will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because thou hast obeyed my voice. gen. 221618. the lord did not say to abraham in this passage, if you do this i will do this, but, because thou hast done this thing, i will do. abraham had no more to do than that which he had already done. thus i declare that no circumstances anywhere or at any time can possibly release god from his immutable promise. and who is that man anywhere in the world who is so vain as to imagine that the almighty god has any wish to be absolved from his promise? a most significant statement is made by the apostle paul in the book of hebrews, chapter six, verses thirteen to eighteen. when god made promise to abraham, becaus e he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, saying, surely blessing i will bless thee, and multiplying i will multiply thee. and so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. for men verily swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 8 is to them an end of all strife.
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wherein god, willing more abundantly to shew onto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath that by two immutable things gods promise and gods oath, in which it was impossible for god to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. gods promise is immutable and his oath is immutable. thus his promise to abraham and his seed is immutable and is c onfirmed by gods immutable oath. hence the promise is made doubly sure, for he who promised and he who swore is god, who cannot lie. what i am saying here is so revolutionary in its scope that it demands a complete new understanding of the unchanging purposes of him who swore and never repents, who declares and his word stands forever. when the great apostle paul declared, the gifts and callings of god are without repentance, he was speaking of gods covenant with israel. surely no one would be hardy enough to deny that, for he says, as concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers sakes. for the gifts and calling of god are without repentance. rom. 1128, 29. this wonderful covenant with abraham and his seed forever was not only a covenant with an individual, but it was most certainly a covenant made with the nation that sprang from that one individual. that nation is israel. that nation has twelve heads and, though israel is but one nation, each of the twelve sons of jacob was to become a nation in his own right, or a tribe of one nation. these israelitish nations may be clearly defined in our day as the head and not the tail. they are without doubt the leading nations of the earth, just as it was promised to our father abraham that great nations would come from him and that his name would be great. it is of utmost importance that we point out that it was not abraham who sought out god to make a covenant with him. it was god who sought out abram to make a covenant with him. the covenant was sought by god, and proposed by god, and instituted by him. the whole intention of the covenant was the inauguration of a special relationship between god and abraham and his seed forever. ages and ages were to pass by, but the covenant could never be annulled. dispensations and m illenniums were to wax and wane, but the covenant was to remain absolutely unaltered. oh, what a wonderful thing that really is! how inexhaustible gods resources, wisdom and knowledge are! how unfathomable his decisions are! how untraceable his ways! who has ever known the lords thoughts or advised him? who has advanced him anything for which he will have to be repaid? for of him and through him and to him are all things.
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blessed be his name for ever more. the whole wonderful book called the bible is the history of abrahams race. it does not merely mention the nation israel, but the actual history of abraham and his seed, both natural and spiritual, fills its inspired pages from genesis, chapter twelve, to the last chapter of the book of revelation. and, if i may make so bold as to say so, i am certain that beyond the millennial kingdom the seed of abraham, by then all redeemed by the blood of christ never to wander or sin any more, will be t he blessing and light of those ages in which it is gods purpose to gather together in one all things in christ. eph. 110 in old testament times the making of a covenant was always considered a very serious and sacred matter. none of the parties to the covenant entered lightly into the agreement. so sacred was the covenant in the eyes of those who made it that it was often sealed by an act of death. as long as a man lives there always exists the possibility of his breaking a covenant, but after he is dead, there is no longer such possibility. it was therefore the custom in the old testament times, when a cov enant was made between two parties, that death should be implied in the following manner. an animal was killed and the carcass divided in two. the two halves were then separated a short distance apart. the party making the covenant would then walk between the two halves of the dead animal. thus in figure he was walking in the midst of death, and so in the presence of witnesses the covenant was made irrevocable by the symbol of death. now paul, writing to the hebrew christians and speaking of the covenant made by jesus christ that by the shedding of his blood we should be forgiven of our sins and justified in his sight made this remarkable statement where a testament covenant is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator covenanter. for a testament covenant is of force after men are dead otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. whereupon neither the first testament covenant was dedicated without blood. for when moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the people, saying, this treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 9 is the blood of the testament covenant which god hath enjoined unto you. moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. and almost all things are by the law purged with blood and without the shedding of blood there is no remission. heb.
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91622 from this passage we not only gain a better understanding of the meaning of the allessential shedding of the blood of jesus christ, but we also understand more fully why death, either in actuality or in symbol, was necessary to guarantee that a covenant should be unalterable. when the lord made his great covenant with abram, he made it unchangeable by doing two immutable things. first, god, who cannot lie, gave his promise to abram. second, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself that blessing he would bless him. but, though additional witness was not needed, the lord god almighty, who cannot lie nor die, added the further assurance of the death symbol as follows in genesis, chapter fifteen and verses one to eight, we have the account of the lords renewing his covenant promises to abraham and actually showing him the vast scope of the land he was to possess. in verse six we are told that abraham believed in the lord and he counted it to him for righteousness, but in verse eight abraham asked the lord this one very important question, lord god, whereby shall i know that i shall inherit it? it is very apparent that the lord considered abrahams question to be a very logical one, and without a moments hesitation or a word of rebuke the lord gave him the one and only absolute answer that could be given. behold the wonder of the following words and he god said unto him, take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove and a young pigeon. and he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another but the birds divided he not. verses 910 here we see the lord carrying out in every detail the vital act of confirming a covenant by death. now notice what happened. the animals were killed and the halves divided, the heifer, the goat, and the ram. the birds were not divided, but laid apart on either side. as abraham carefully watched to see what god would do, a deep sleep fell upon him and an horror of great darkness, and he heard the voice of the lord speaking to him. then as he watched, it came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between the pieces. verse 17 then we are told, in the same day the lord made a covenant with abram, saying, unto thy seed have i given this land, from the river of egypt unto the great river, the river euphrates, verse 18 . what was the burning lamp that passed between the sections of those slain beasts? or should i enquire who was it?
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it was none other than the lord himself, walking amid death as the custom was, sealing his own covenant with death that it might be unalterable and it might be everlastingly sure to abram and his seed forever. there is no possible way by which such a covenant can be suspended. it was made to abram and his seed forever and sealed with the blood of death, the lord himself walking between the divided carcasses of the beasts that were slain. we will further notice that it was the lord and not abram who said, take me an heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon. and it was the lord, not abram, who sealed the covenant by walking in the midst of death that not even the almighty could ever make the covenant of none effect. the worth of this covenant lies in the fact that it cannot be broken. no power on earth can break it, for he has promised, he has sworn by himself, and he has walked through the symbol of death. man cannot change it. unbelief cannot change it. parents cannot change it, for each generation inherits its promise from god because the promise was made to abram and his seed forever. even the mighty thunderings of the law at sinai, which was four hundred and thirty years after the covenant, could not disannul or make the promise of none effect, for god gave it to abraham and his seed forever by his immutable promise. chapter two the witnesses to the covenant two little clouds one summers day went flying through the sky they went so fast they bumped their heads, and both began to cry. old father sun looked out and said, oh, never mind, my dears ill send my little fairy folk treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 10 to dry your falling tears. one fairy came in violet, and one in indigo in blue, green, yellow, orange, red they made a pretty row. they wiped the cloud tears all away, and then from out the sky upon a line the sunbeams made they hung their gowns to dry. it was almost sixty years ago that our teacher, miss robinson, taught our grade two class to recite those pretty words. many times as little children we had seen the beautiful rainbow, thrown like a mantle around the shoulders of a passing storm, but little did we realize that every appearance of its magnificent beauty was confirmation of the everlasting covenant which god, who cannot lie, made with his beloved servant noah. the history of the flood of noahs day is not a fable to be believed by some and ridiculed by others.
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evidence of its devastation is found almost everywhere on earth and people who have traveled much throughout the world testify continually that the tradition of a great flood which once inundated and ravished the earth that then was is to be found with every tribe and nation of the world. as to the pure all things are pure and to the unholy and defiled nothing is pure, so to the faithful believer all that god has spoken is true, but to the unbeliever the gloom of doubt casts its sickening shadow over all g od has spoken, even making uncertain the lord god himself. there is no greater certainty than that there will never be another flood. it was god who opened the windows of heaven and loosed the fountains of the mighty deep, sending upon the earth a flood to destroy the world and all its wickedness in the days of noah, but it was the selfsame lord who, after the fearful flood of waters was assuaged, made this covenant with noah and his seed and i, behold, i establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you and with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. and i will establish my covenant with you neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. and god said, this is the token of the covenant which i make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations. i do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. and it shall come to pass, when i bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud and i will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh an d the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. and the bow shall be in the cloud and i will look upon it, that i may remember the everlasting covenant between god and every living creature of all fl esh that is upon the earth. and god said unto noah, this is the token of the covenant, which i have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. gen. 9917 it is not the covenant god made with noah with which we wish to deal, but the covenant he made with abraham.
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we refer here to the noahic covenant only that our faith may be greatly inspired to trust the word of the living and immutable god and that we may be certain that all he has promised he will perform, even to every jot and tittle, and nothing can let or hinder his faithfulness and power. as gods covenant with noah was unconditional, so also was his covenant with abraham. noah had nothing to do and nothing to say about the terms of the covenant. it was as certain and sovereign as any will that could possibly be made. though that covenant was made with all mankind forever and with the beasts and the birds and the earth itself and though none of these had one word to say about the covenant or it s terms, they can enjoy its promise and live in the knowledge that, however great a storm may threaten the world, never again will the earth or the people in it, regardless of their sin or wickedness, be destroyed by the waters of a flood. that covenant is just as certain as god is certain, and it is in his great love and mercy that year after year, storm after storm, he hangs his bow of sevenfold witness in the cloud that we may know he has not forgotten his promise or in any way altered the terms of it. would god that all men and women, boys and girls, woul d look up to god when the rainbow treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 11 appears in the sky and give thanks to him whose promises never fail, for all he has promised will surely be fulfilled. there is something entrancingly wonderful about a rainbow. it is beyond my understanding. though its appearance in the cloud may have a simple scientific explanation that readily satisfies the unbelieving and unconcerned, when by the eye of faith and trust we look beyond its excellent beauty, we find god and see a glory that causes believers to worship at his feet. thus did ezekiel worship when, clothed by the glory of the holy spirit, he beheld a vision of god so sublime that no man has ever yet been able to fathom its depths or explain its meaning. above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. and i saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, i saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. as the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about.
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this was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the lord. and when i saw it, i fell upon my face, and i heard a voice of one that spake. ezek. 12628 john the beloved was on the isle of patmos for the word of god and the testimony of the lord when he was caught away in the spirit. in spirit he saw the glory of the lord and the fullness of christ in both the head and the body together. then, in chapter four, he heard a voice like a trumpet calling to him, come up hither, and i will shew thee things which must be hereafter. and immediately i was in the spirit and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. and he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. rev. 413 i cannot explain the meaning of it. no doubt there are some who can, but in view of the desolation, which john was to behold from this heavenly vantage point, it is a thing of exceeding wonder that the rainbow of promise was over gods throne. the earth and its inhabitants would not be destroyed by the tribulation of water and neither will they be totally destroyed by the dreadful fires of tribulati on that even now are devouring far and near among the hosts of mankind. again in revelation, chapter ten, the rainbow appears. six of the seven trumpets of the lord had sounded and, following the first of those dreadful blasts, the third part of the trees and the grass were burned up. following the second, a mountain burning with fire had fallen into the sea and the third part of the sea had turned to blood, and a third part of the creatures which were in the sea died, and the third part of the ships were destroyed. when the third trumpet sounded, a star fell upon the rivers and fountains of water and they became bitter, and men died of the water. the fourth angel sounded and a third part of the moon and the sun and the stars were darkened, and an angel flew through heaven proclaiming woe to the inhibiters of the earth. the fifth angel sounded and a noisome smoke appeared from the bottomless pit, and dire calamities fell upon all who had not the seal of god in their foreheads. and when the sixth angel sounded, the great river euphrates was dried up that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared for the battle in which two hundred million men would be locked in the final conflict of the age.
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but, before the seventh angel sounded, john said, and i saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. when the seventh angel sounded, the mystery of god was to be finished for this age, and there at the close of that dread tribulation was the rainbow of gods hope and promise just as it had appeared after the fearful flood in the long, long ago. god is faithful and he cannot lie. he gives his assurance to man that he might know that beyond the dreadful storm clouds that gather on every horizon there is promise a promise that is fulfilled in gods wonderful christ. we have spoken briefly of the covenant, which god made with noah and we have seen the almighty confirm that covenant by the sevenfold witness of the rainbow. i may be wrong, but it would appear that the seven colors of the rainbow represent the seven spirits that are before his throne. rev. 14. these are mentioned in isa. 112 as the spirit of the lord, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of counsel, the spirit of might, the spirit of knowledge, and the spirit of reverence, or fear. if these be the seven witnesses who notarized the agreement god almighty made with noah, his seed, and all the earth, then do you not think it is a treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 12 most wonderful thing that the prophet isaiah, speaking to the rebellious house of judah on the very eve of her babylonian captivity, raised his prophetic voice in thes e words, which without doubt have definite reference to gods covenant with abraham and his seed after him? listen to these words of promise to that wicked and rebellious generation of israels seed. for a small moment have i forsaken thee but with great mercies will i gather thee. in a little wrath i hid my face from t hee for a moment but with everlasting kindness will i have mercy on thee saith the lord thy redeemer. for this is as the waters of noah unto me for as i have sworn that the waters of noah should no more go over the earth, so have i sworn that i would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. for the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed but my kindness shall not depart from thee neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the lord that hath mercy on thee. isa.
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54 710 as god has sworn that the waters of noah shall never more go over the earth and has confirmed that covenant by the continual miracle of the rainbow, so has he sworn that his kindness shall never depart from israel, nor can his covenant with them be annulled or broken. this, we must all admit, is an exceedingly wonderful promise and i am sure every reader will heartily agree. every covenant to be effective must have one or more witnesses. thus when god made his covenant with noah, he gave a sure, certain and unchanging witness that he would never break his promise. the rainbow every time it appears is gods unalterable signature to the agreement. every time the storm clouds release their waters upon the earth, gods signature appears in the beauty of a rainbow to assure us that he has remembered his ancient covenant and will never flood the world again. what need has god to be reminded of his covenant? how could he who is omniscient ever forget? yet listen to what he says regarding the sign of the rainbow the bow shall be seen in the cloud and will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. and the bow shall be in the cloud and i will look upon it, that i may remember the everlasting covenant between god and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. gen. 91416 i will look upon it and i will remember my covenant. what wonderful words of assu rance are these and what a steadfast assurance of his faithfulness! as god has sworn that the waters of noah shall no more go over the earth, so has he sworn that he will remember his covenant with abraham and israel, his seed, and that his kindness will never, ever depart from them. please read again isa. 54 810 when the lord swore to abraham that 1 he would be a great nation, 2 he god would bless him, 3 he would make his name great, 4 he abraham would be a blessing, 5 he would bless him that blessed abraham, 6 and curse him that cursed him, and 8 in him and in his seed should all the families of the earth be blessed, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself heb. 613 that by two immutable things gods pr omise and gods oath we might have strong confidence, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope that is set before us. verse 18. just as the lord gave the rainbow as a witness to noah and his seed, so also he gave an ever abiding witness to abraham and his seed forever.
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it will now be to our eternal edification to examine the eight ever present, ever abiding witnesses, which god has given to assure us that his covenant with the twelve tribes of israel cannot and will not ever be broken. an everlasting covenant has need of everlasting witnesses, wi tnesses that ever live, and signatures that cannot be erased. it would not have been like god to call upon frail men to witness his agreement. it would not have seemed fit for the eternal to have called upon lot or chedorlaomer or sarah to witness the agreement, for they were only frail mortals, creatures of time that would soon pass from the horizon of all earthly activity and be no more. men in future ages might argue as to whether such persons ever really existed, as indeed in our day they carelessly do. but when god calls upon witnesses to his everlasting covenant, he must have a more sure witness than the signatures of men. centuries after the agreement with abraham and his seed was made, the prophet jeremiah told us what those everlasting witnesses were. these witnesses, though silent in their eternal spheres, shout aloud their witness every morning and hymn their message every night that god has not cast away his people whom he foreknew. the sound of their witness reaches into all the world, bearing witness to the extravagant claims of the apostle paul that all israel shall be saved. rom. 11 26 though god is ever faithful and all mankind should believe his word, yet, alas, alas, men do not believe him neither do they trust his faithfulness. i terribly fear that we shall find the greatest offenders to be those blind leaders of the blind who profess to be shepherds of gods flock and keepers of his promise. not only are these treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 13 an offence unto themselves, but they diligently plant the seeds of doubt and unbelief in the hearts of the unsuspecting millions who listen to them. in the mout h of two or three witnesses shall every word be established, the lord declares. but the lord has added more than two or three witnesses as we shall see witnesses that do not die, witnesses that do not lie, witnesses that cannot change their minds with the passage of time or the turn of events, witnesses that silently and continually declare that all is well, that god is in his heaven keeping diligent watch over his chosen nation, fulf illing his word, and carrying out his promises toward them and his purpose in them. the ten tribes of the house of israel had been carried aw ay into their assyrian captivity more than one hundred years when jeremiah gave the prophecy i shall now quote.
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the two tribes of the house of judah were on the very eve of their babylonian captivity when the weeping prophet jeremiah called on eight everlasting witnesses to attest gods faithfulness to his covenant thus saith the lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar the lord of hosts is his name if those ordinances depart from before me, saith the lord, then the seed of israel shall also cease from being a nation before me forever. thus saith the lord if heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, i will also cast off all the seed of israel for all that they have done, saith the lord. jer. 313537 then in chapter 3323 he continues with these words moreover the word of the lord came to jeremiah, saying, considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, the two families which the lord hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. thus saith the lord if my covenant be not with day and night, and if i have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth then will i cast away the seed of jacob, and david my servant, so that i will not take any of his seed to be the rulers over the seed of abraham, isaac, and jacob for i will caus e their captivity to return, and have mercy on them. jer. 33 2326 eight unimpeachable witnesses to gods covenant with his earthly people are called upon here to bear witness the sun, the moon, the stars, the heavens, the earth, the sea, the jay and the night. as long as these continue, the almighty declares, so also will his covenant continue which he made with abraham and with his seed, which jeremiah identifies as the two families, which the lord has chosen. verse 24 the two families are the house of israel, consisting of the ten tribes, and the house of judah, consisting of the two tribes, judah and benjamin. if the rainbow, appearing occasionally in the cloud was to be an everlasting witness that the earth would never more be destroyed by a flood, what shall we say of these eight ever, present witnesses that are about us, reminding us continually, both by day and by night, that his covenant with the seed of abraham can never fail. cast your eyes heavenward by day, o man, and you w ill see the fiery witness of the sun as he smiles the message god will never forget his covenant with his people. lift up your eyes to behold the magnificent heavens at night, for her innumerable lights give the assurance, the lord has remembered his covenant with abraham and his seed forever.
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praise him, oh ye sun and moon! praise him, all ye stars of light! praise him, oh ye heavens above, that his promise shall endure while lights do shine and be steadfast while they remain unaltered and unhindered. his promises abide unswayed and unsullied by the failures of carnal man, whose unbelief momentarily hides his face from theirs. let him that rideth upon the sea remember forever that her mighty waves, crashing with violence upon rock and shore, call with their every rising and falling that, while her waters fill the seas, gods covenant with his people abi deth sure. let every farmer who plows the earth and every miner who digs for treasure in the bowels thereof remember the covenant of the lord, for every plowing, each lump of coal or nugget of gold that comes from the miners digging, bears witness with its silent voice that gods covenant with abraham and his seed is standing sure, and while earth and things therein endure, so also will his covenant endure. thus saith god, while sun and moon and stars endure, my covenant shall endure. when these shall be no more, covenants will be needed no more at all. great is thy faithfulness, o god, my father! there is no shadow of turning with thee. thou changest not thy compassions they fail not as thou hast been thou forever wilt be. summer and winter and spring time and harvest, treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 14 sun, moon, and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. jeremiah did not stop here, however, even with so great promises as these. his heart, though crushed beneath the load of judgment that had befallen his people, was yet overflowing with the knowledge of the faithfulness of god. lifting up his prophetic voice with tears and triumph blending, he cried aloud this assurance thus saith the lord if ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season then may also my covenant be broken with david, my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne and with the levites the priests, my ministers. as the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured so will i multiply the seed of david my servant, and the levites that minister unto me. jer. 33 2023 somewhere upon the earth today the families of gods chosen people exist, both the unbelieving house of judah and the rebellious house of israel.
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so also must exist the seed of david and his throne, reserved until he comes whose right it is to reign, and until the day comes when man has opened the earth and measured its depths, and stretched out his line to measure the expanse of the heavens, he must stop his vain imagining that god has forgotten his covenant with israel. when the sun and the moon, the stars and the heavens and the earth and the sea are all removed, then and not until then may the covenant with abraham and his seed be done away. even then the covenant shall endure but, the pr omise being fulfilled, will have no further need of witnesses. powers of earth, powers of heaven, and powers of hell are impotent in the light of gods promises. his promises are sure. none of his words are ambiguous . his covenants are positive, definite and reliable. all are aionian and as durable as the sun, the moon, t he stars, the seas, the earth, and the heaven above. if i forget thee, o jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning, saith the lord. if i do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if i pref er not jerusalem above my chief joy. god can never cast off his people not for all their horrible sins, their unbelief, and their turning to other gods. his covenant to abraham is certain and sure, and when he has brought them by the way which we humans cannot fully understand and their learning is complete, they will be regathered according to the word of the lord. hear the word of the lord as the great prophet isaiah foretells the days of israels captivity and feel the glory of the promises and the assurance of their regathering. see how beautifully he looks beyond the shadows of the dark days that lay before them unto the blessed day when the lord shall say of them, their righteousness is of me. sing, o barren, thou that didst not bear break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the lord. enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes for thou shall break forth on the right hand and on the left and thy seed shall inherit the gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. fear not for thou shall not be ashamed neither be thou confounded for thou shalt not be put to shame for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth and shall not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
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for thy maker is thine husband the lord of hosts is his name and thy redeemer the holy one of is rael the god of the whole earth shall he be called. for the lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou was refused, saith thy god. for a small moment have i forsaken thee but with great mercies will i gather thee. in a little wrath i hid my face from thee for a moment but with everlasting kindness will i have mercy on thee, saith the lord thy redeemer. for this is as the waters of noah unto me for as i have sworn that the waters of noah should no more go over the earth so have i sworn that i would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. for the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the lord that hath mercy on thee. o thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold. i will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. and i will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. and all thy children shall be taught of the lord and great shall be the peace of thy children. in righteousness shalt thou be established thou shall be far from oppression for thou shalt not fear and from terror, for it shall not come near thee. behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. behold, i have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringethforth an instrument for his work and i have creat ed the waster to destroy. no weapon that is formed treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 15 against thee shall prosper and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. this is the heritage of the servants of the lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the lord. isa. 54 117 i trust that, as my story unfolds, every devout reader w ill discover for himself the infinite purpose the lord had in mind when he made such an everlasting covenant as this with abraham his servant and israel his heritage. we poor humans with our dull lowland ears and heavy hearts so filled with doubt and misunderstanding are inclined to think the lord of heaven and earth could be as changeable and vacillating as we are. men and nations, sad to say, willingly enter into solemn covenants only to forget all about them in the first moments of inconvenience.
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i wonder how many solemn covenant s have been made and broken by men and nations since that fateful day in 1914 when kaiser wilhelm of germany discarded as a scrap of paper his solemn agreement with england? men and nations are seldom wo rthy of trust. their solemn agreements crumble and are discarded on every hand. he whose name is faithful and true calls heaven and earth to witness that his word to men and nations is sure and changeless unto a thousand generations. deut. 79 now if in our deliberations concerning the lord and his faithful covenant with israel we come to the childish conclusion that the lord was doing no more than making favorites among nations as some unwise parents do among their children, then we would have reason to questi on his wisdom but when with the eye of faith we see in this relationship the unfolding of the purpose of the ages, then our spiritual eyes are enlightened and understanding floods our path way. who dare challenge the wise creator if he be willing to plant the seed of universal blessing and restoration first in one man and then more abundantly to show unto his heirs the immutability of his promise by confirming it with an oath, that by those two immutable things gods promise and gods oath we might have strong confidence to la y hold on the promise before us? if god could possibly fail in his unconditional promise to abraham and his seed, then who could ever trust him? how could we be certain that his promise to us could not fail? but he is faithful who promised. five hundred years after abraham was dead, he renewed his oath to abrahams seed in the promised land, saying, i will never break my covenant with you. judges 21 it is through israel all twelve tribes of them that all the families of the earth shall be blessed. gen. 123 all the families of the earth! how vast and allinclusive is that mighty promise! the millions yea, billions, that have lived and died through ages and dispensations, never once having heard the name of abraham or his seed, which is christ, shall in eons yet unborn receive the blessi ng of god, for he is faithful who promised, who also will do it. i cannot believe that the lord was lacking an eternal purpose when he made man in the beginning, for he has spoken of the restitution of all things and clearly announces a time when every knee shall bow to christ and every creature in heaven and in earth and under the earth will be heard confessing with joy that jesus christ is lord to the glory of god the father.
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i read in gods word of a vision john saw on the isle of patmos, a scene wherein every creature in heaven and in earth and under the earth and in the sea was heard glorifying the name of the lord, saying, blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the lamb forever and ever. rev. 513 and paul, writing by the wisdom of god, spoke of that redemption wrought by christ, saying that god by him has reconciled all things unto himself. and having made peace by the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself by him, i say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. col. 120 what a glorious plan god has designed! there is coming a season in the dispensation of the fullness of times in which our heavenly father has decreed that he will gather together all things into his christ eph. 110, which christ is the seed of abraham as i shall later show. at this present moment blindness in part has happened unto all the twelve tribes of israel. the house of judah is in great blindness, for, while thousands of them know that they are the seed of abraham and heirs of the promises of god, they have rejected their messiah and believed not on the lord jesus christ. how clearly the word of god describes their blindness and unbelief when the holy spirit said, he came unto his own, and his own received him not. john 111 the house of judah was especially his own more, in a sense, than the ten tribes of israel because it was of judah that christ would come. it is written the scepter shall not depart from judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until shiloh come, gen. 4910 jesus christ is the lion of the tribe of judah. he is the root and offspring of david rev. 55, who also was of judah. the house of judah should have known their lord, but they knew him not. away with such a fellow from the earth, was the malevolent cry of their unbelief. we will not have this m an to reign over us. we have no king but caesar. his blood be upon us and our children, they demanded and truly his blood has been upon them and their treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 16 children, but in spite of their blindness and unbelief they are still heirs according to the promise, and the lord has not forgotten them. in gods holy word the house of judah is likened unto a fig tree. jer. 2418, the jews understood this symbol in their day as clearly as though the lord had called them by name. the account of the cursing of the fig tree matt. 2119 is vivid in the mind of every student of scripture.
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the story records that jesus, being hungry and ready to eat, saw a fig tree afar off having leaves upon it, but, upon coming to the tree, he found to his surprise that there was no fruit upon it. though the time of figs was not yet, this strange instance is explained by the simple fact that, unlike other trees, it is the natur e of the fig tree to bear her fruit first and the leaves afterward. therefore, since there were leaves, the lord was right to expect fruit also. what a picture this is of the house of judah! plenty of leaves! all manner of outward show! but no fruit. the children of abraham on the outside, but the children of the devil within! so jesus pronounced a curse upon the fig tree, which is symbolic of the house of judah, commonly known as the jews, saying, may no fruit grow on thee to the age. matt. 21 19 diaglott. and when they returned and saw the tree the nex t day, it was dried up. in cursing the fig tree, he was symbolically cursing the house of judah unto the age, that is to say, unto the kingdom age. it is not correct to use the word forever here as in the common version, for judah will be restored in the kingdom. true to gods word the entire age of grace has come and gone, bu t nationally the jews are as blind and fruitless as they were in that day when the lord pronounced the curse upon them. they rejected gods christ and god has rejected them for this entire age of grace. as a result they have wandered homeless throughout the whole earth as foretold by jeremiah. jer. 24910 only now are they being gathered in darkness, blindness and unbelief according to the word of the lord, for he can never break his covenant with them. even the apostle paul, who upon several occasions, clearly stated that he was a jew, for the tribe of benjamin belonged to the house of judah, made the significant statement that he was as one born out of due time. 1 cor. 158 in other words it was not yet time for judah to be reborn nationally, but because the lord elected him to salvation, his eyes had been opened by christ in spite of the curse that had been pronounced on the nation as a whole. this is the clearest possible evidence of the power of election. now the ten tribes of the house of israel, to whom we will make only a passing reference here, have a completely different story to tell. the house of judah, blind as they are to christ, are very much aware that they are israelites, of the seed of abraham and heirs of the covenant. the house of israel on the other hand is exactly opposite to this.
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they know who christ is, for ch rist is the glory of his people israel matt. 2 32, but the so called lost ten tribes of the house of israel are b lind as to who they are. they have lost their own identity and imagine that they are gentiles. thus blindness in par t afflicts them. the house of judah is blind to gods christ and knows him not. the house of israel is blind to her national identity, knowing not that they are the children of abraham and heirs according to the promise. in short judah knows her own identity but is blind to who christ is. israel knows who christ is but is blind to her own identity. the word of the lord clearly shows that in the end of t he age all will know him from the least to the greatest and all will understand gods secret purpose for the nation, fo r it will come to pass that in the same place in which god said to them, ye are not my people, in that place shall he say unto them, ye are the sons of the living god. hosea 110 to those who have believed in christ jesus our lord the darkness is past and the true light now shineth, but it will come to pass that all shall know him from the least to the greatest, for it is written and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know the lord for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the lord for i will forgive their iniquity, and i will remember their sin no more. jer. 3134 christians who permit themselves to see in israel nothing more than that handful of unbelieving jews now returning to palestine are allowing their spiritual minds to be blinded to one of the most important truths of the age. the bible gives more than seventy identification marks by which we may identify the house of israel in our day and it is a most remarkable fact that the house of judah possesses practically none of these identifying marks. simeon prophesied, saying that jesus would be a light to lighten the gentiles and the glory of thy gods people israel. jesus has certainly not been the glory of the jews, so we must look elsewhere for nations who glory in him. ask any man in the anglosa xon world, whether he be saint or sinner, and he knows who jesus christ is and, except in the case of some professed atheist, he will tell you plainly that jesus christ treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 17 is the son of god.
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he shall be the glory of thy people israel said the anointed simeon, and all over the anglosaxon world every day, week after week, year a fter year, and century after century millions of people, both saved and unsaved, lift their voices to sing aloud. in the cross of christ i glory, towering oer the wrecks of time. all the light of sacred story gathers round his head sublime. and again we hear them sing when i survey the wondrous cross on which the prince of glory died, my richest gain i count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride. we love to sing my hope is built on nothing less than jesus blood and righteousness i dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on jesus name. on christ the solid rock i stand all other ground is sinking sand. do you not think it is a singularly wonderful thin g that all over the anglosaxon world we sing ye chosen seed of israels race, ye ransomed from the fall, hail him who saves you by his grace and crown him lord of all. certainly these words, though spoken in our blindness, bear witness that christ is indeed the glory of his people israel. do you not think it is a most wonderful th ing that all our lawyers and our statesmen sign their documents, in the year of our lord, nineteen hundred and such and such, and even the antichristian jews among us must of necessity date their documents from jesu s christ. letters written by the humblest citizen in our land are dated from the birth of christ, who is the glory of gods people, israel. who we are is not the theme of my message in this chapter. therefore i shall speak no more of it. my whole purpose in these two chapters has been to show that god has chosen a special race from the hosts of all mankind. these are the descendants of abraham through his sons isaac and jacob. this is the seed through whom all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. they are the people through whom the promised redeemer came. furthermore, from these covenant people the great host of the body of christ will come, and in that great millennial kingdom the remainder of this same people will be purified and prepared as the new jerusalem bride of christ. the twelve tribes of the ch ildren of israel will be the principal peoples during the millennial kingdom. this, i think, seem s clear from the words of jesus when he said, verily i say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration that is, the kingdom when the son of man shall sit upon the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of israel. it is during the millennial kingdom that the bride of christ is prepared.
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for this reason israel comes in for special judgment during the kingdom age, and at the end of that wonderful age the apostle john was shown the glory of the new jerusalem bride descending from heaven, adorned for her husband. during this present age of grace the body of christ is being prepared. the body of christ is composed of the sons of god. the whole creation is now groaning for thei r manifestation. the bride of christ is nowhere in evidence in this present age. only the sons of g od are being prepared now. the whole millennial kingdom is for the preparation of the bride of christ. during that marvelous age all israel will be saved. during the old testament period the head was being prepared. during the present age of grace the body is being prepared. during the millennial kingdom christ the bride is being prepared. the head, the body, and the bride, when treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 18 united, will form one glorious christ, male and female in one as adam before the fall. no wonder paul says the marriage union is symbolic of christ and the church! following the preparation and presentation of the bride at the end of the millennial reign rev. 21927 the wonder of all ages appears. the twelve gates of the new jerusalem are swung wide open for all races of mankind to enter freely, and with the opening of those twelve gates goes forth the message never before heard in the history of the world the spirit and the bride say, come. and let him that heareth say, come. and let him that is athirst come. and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. rev. 2217. the opening of the twelve gates of the new jerusalem bride of christ at the beginning of the dispensation of the fullness of times and the going forth of the message, the spirit and the bride say, come, will result in the restitution of all things and the fulfillment of gods covenant to abraham , in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. i am well aware that what i am saying is not the thing that has been generally taught and accepted, but must truth lie forever concealed because we fear tradition? must the eternal working of the purpose of the ages be nothing but a conundrum in our minds because of our unwillingness to see the unfolding of gods purpose in the covenant he made to abraham, a covenant that was to endure as long as the sun and moon and stars endured, a covenant that could not fail while summer and winter, day and night, seed time and harvest and ocean still remain as witnesses to it? no! let god be true and every man a liar.
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we have only to consider the nations of the earth who from time immemorial have always sat in heathen darkness and the shadow of death and we will see that the promises of the abrahamic co venant never belonged to them nor were the promises at work among them. the time for the enlightenment of the heathen nations has not yet come and all the missionary efforts of this present age cannot convert a heathen nation to christ. it is true that an elect number will come in from every kindred of the earth, but the time of their national enlightenment will come when the gates of the new jerusalem bride are open wide, never to be closed again. then and only then will the nations bring their glory and honor into that holy city and the restitution of all things will be on the way. the purpose of god overwhelms my spirit and my soul rejoices in his unchanging purpose! summer and winter, spring time and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above, join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. hallelujah! chapter three thy seed which is christ when god made his immutable covenant with abraham, he made him to know by some very definite promises that his seed would increase to be an innum erable multitude. they would become as the dust of the earth, the sand of the sea, and the stars of the heaven in numbers. the dust of the earth signifies a purely earthly seed, which was to come through ishmael and esau and through the offspring of abrahams marriage to keturah. none of these children were children of promise nor were they included in the abrahamic covenant. when the apostle paul wrote his letter to the romans, he revealed a truth that had hitherto been somewhat obscure. paul explained that the blessing of abraham was not to come through ishmael nor any of the sons of keturah nor through esau, for, said he, they are not all israel which are of israel neither because they are the seed of abraham are they all children butin isaac shall thy seed be called. rom. 967 see also heb. 1118 and gen. 2112 therefore we must conclude that, though the descendants of abraham through ishmael and the sons of keturah have become as the dust of the earth for multitude, these nations are not to be accounted as the seed through whom gods blessing is to come upon the races and nations of the earth.
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i have already pointed out that three kinds of seed came from abraham the dust, which represents abrahams purely earthly seed who have no part in the promise, these being the children of ishmael, keturah, and esau the sand seed, which i suggest represents the countless millions of those who have descended from the twelve tribes of israel, all of whom are heirs of t he promise made to abraham, for the promise was to thee and thy seed and beyond this again the promise, thy seed s hall be as the stars of heaven. this is a spiritual seed and includes all those who are born again by faith in christ jesus whether israelites or gentiles or heathen, for it is written, if ye be christs, then are ye abrahams seed and heirs according to the promise. treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 19 it was not paul alone, of course, who signified that the blessing of god would come upon the nations through isaac. this truth we find very early in scriptu re. though abraham had produced a son through his handmaiden hagar gen. 1615 and had actually pleaded with god to establish ishmael as his heir, saying, o that ishmael might live before me, gen. 1718, the lord replied, sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed and thou shall call his name isaac and i will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. and as for ishmael, i have heard thee behold, i have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly twelve princes shall he beget, and i will make him a great nation. but my covenant will i establish with isaac... gen. 171821 this last statement is tremendously important. when sarah, after isaac was born, saw ishmael mocking her son isaac, she said to abraham, cast out this bondwoman and her son for the son of this bondwom an shall not be heir with my son, even isaac. gen. 2110 this demand was very grievous to abraham verse 12 , but the lord said unto abraham, let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman in all that sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice for in isaac shall thy seed be called. all these things are very significant. indeed, they are an important allegory gal. 424. ishmael, being born of a bondwoman, is typical of those who are under the bondage of the law and have not come into the freedom of faith and redemption in christ jesus. isaac, being born of a free woman, not by works but by promise alone, is typical of those who through faith in christ become the children of god and thus inherit the promises to abraham.
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these of whatsoever race they be become hei rs of gods covenant with abraham and joint heirs with the lord jesus christ. they become inheritors of ev ery blessing of abraham. as abraham believed and it was accounted to him for righteousness, so these also believe and inherit all things. we must now notice how the holy spirit, speaking by paul, spoke of the promise made to abraham and his seed. in a most remarkable way paul emphasizes one particular seed, which was to become prominent above all other. we read now to abraham and his seed were the promises made. he saith not, and to seeds, as of many but as of one, and to thy seed, which is christ. gal. 316 there is one particularly vital lesson that must be learned by all mankind whether they be of the seed of abraham according to the promise or whether they be heathen, aliens from the commonwealth of israel and strangers according to the promise. the lesson is this salvation is by faith unto all and upon all who believe, for there is no difference. the covenant made with abraham was by promise, without any conditions attached. furthermore these promises were made four hundred and th irty years before the law of moses was given or put into effect. therefore the apostle gives this clear understanding of the meaning of the allegory by saying, and this i say, that the covenant, that is, the abrahamic covenant, that was confirmed before of god in christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. for if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise but god gave it to abraham by promise. gal. 31718 the law is very necessary, for it portrays the nature of almighty god, and we sinful men, seeing our inability to keep it, are persuaded to flee to christ. by the law is the knowledge of sin. how then can a man ever come under true conviction of sin if he does not know and heed the law? the law is the very nature of god himself. the scripture describes it as holy and just and good. o that in our day men knew that god has said, thou shall not steal. thou shall not kill. thou shall not bear false witness. thou shall not covet. honor thy father and thy mother. thus the law becomes our schoolmaster pedagogue to bring us to christ. the roman pedagogue did not leach, but was a slave whose duty it was to escort the children to school. this is what the law is for to bring us to christ. can any among us imagine what good effect would come upon our society if our nations and people kept even so much as one of these wonderful commands?
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what a tremendous drop would come in the prices of consumer goods if america kept the law, thou shall not steal. it is estimated that two hundred and fifty million dollars worth of grocery carts are stolen from the supermarkets each year. add this to the other billions that are pilfered by shoplifting and open robbery and we may have found one of the greatest reasons for the dreadful upswing in prices. can we imagine the impact upon our nation if everyone kept the command, thou shalt not commit adultery. what a revolution would take place in the homes of the nation! what a reuniting of families, of parents and children! what an emptying of divorce courts and what peace and tranquility would follow! can we think how blessed it would be if in this day of rebellion children treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 20 knew the commandment, honor thy father and thy mot her and were made aware of the promise that attends this command that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long in the land? can we begin to imagine what tranquility would result if the commandment, thou shalt have no other gods before me, and thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbor as thyself, were obeyed? these laws, beloved, are more than the commandments of the lord. they are a revelation of gods great heart, a manifestation of hi s very character and nature. when the kingdom of god comes to spread its glory over all the earth in righteousness and truth, these holy laws will be the law of the kingdom, written and engraven in the hearts of all mankind. these laws in moses day were written on tables of stone that rebellious and carnal men might read. it does much good to read the law, but the law itself has no power to change the sinful heart. that is why paul said, the law was weak through the flesh. the great benefit comes when the law is written in our hearts. a new spirit is given to us and a new heart. the prophet ezekiel, even while warning of the awful calamities which were to come upon all israel during the terrible night of their captivity, spoke of a better day a day when they would have learned their lesson and repented of their sins. therefore he says, thus saith the lord god i will ev en gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and i will give you the land of israel. and they shall come thither, and they shall take away a ll the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.
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and i will give them one heart, and i will put a new spirit within you and i will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them and they shall be my people, and i will be their god. ezek. 111720 this great change of heart comes when we repent of our sins. this change is evidence of the new birth. it was of this that jesus spoke when he said, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of god. john 33. jeremiah adds much to this truth by saying, this shall be the covenant that i will make with the house of israel after those days, saith the lord, i will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts and will be their god, and they shall be my people. jer. 3133 the crude notion propagated by many who call themselves theologians, teaching that god has done away with the law, is not the truth or the teaching of scripture. if god ever did away with the law, he would have to do away with his own holy nature. god has not done away with the law. he fulfilled it in jesus christ and we are in him. every man in christ joyfully fulfills every letter of the law by the power of his new nature. the lord by the regenerating power of the new birth transferred the law from the tables of stone to the tables of our hearts. he has taken away the nature that rebels against and hates god and his law and has given in its place the spirit of jesus christ, who came to fulfill the law every jot and tittle of it. the law of god brings sinners to christ. paul says this is a pedagogue to bring us to the saviour. gal. 324 the law proves to the carnal man that he can never hope to keep its precepts while he remains a natural man, unregenerate and dead in sins. the fiery law of god points with unerring finger to jesus christ, our lord, who fulfilled every jot and tittle of it, as it is written, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. matt. 518 and christ, having fulfilled all the law, bowed his head on calvarys cross and cried that heaven and earth, angel and sinner might hear, it is finished. the law had been perfectly kept in him. the work of redemption from the curse was complete. not one soul in the universe could convince him of sin, for he had none. and now, having bowed his head in death, he sealed the new covenant with his own blood, thus making it an unbreakable covenant.
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by death he released his own spirit that we who believe might freely partake of his spirit that christ, the giver of the law, might henceforth live in the hearts of all who believe the promise long before given to abraham, in thee and in thy seed shall all nations be blessed. the first true blessing of abraham is justification by faith, for all who be lieve in christ are justified from all things, from which we could not be justified by the law of moses. acts 1339 man cannot be justified by the law of moses because sinful man cannot keep such a holy law, but when we come to christ in repentance and his spirit comes into our hearts, then the lawgiver himself has come to dwell within, filling the heart with his life and joy and holiness, as it is written, a new heart also will i give you, and a new spirit will i put within you and i will take away the stony heart out of their flesh and i will give them a heart of flesh. ezek. 3626 in isaac shall thy seed by called, he said. not seeds as of many, but thy seed, which is christ. jesus christ is the most important of all the seed of abraham, because from this seed comes the true church, the sons of god, and the bride of christ. christ is the redeemer of israel and the saviour of the world. he came unto his own and his own received him not, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 21 the sons of god, even to them that believe on his name which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of god. john 11213 jesus christ, our lord, is of the seed of abraham. with his coming into the world there comes an entirely new revelation and fresh understanding of the immutable purposes of god. with him begins the unfolding of the promise, thy seed shall be as the stars of the heaven for the multitude. from the christ seed comes the church of the living god, from whose multitudes will arise the glorified ranks of the sons of god. these in the age to come will reign with christ in glory over all the earth. they will sit upon thrones judging the twelve tribes of isr ael, from whom will come the new jerusalem bride in all her heavenly glory. we will consider the bride in a later article. do you see them coming, brother, thronging up the steeps of light clad in glorious, shining garments bloodwashed garments pure and white? tis a glorious church without spot or wrinkle, washed in the blood of the lamb. tis a glorious church without spot or wrinkle, washed in the blood of the lamb.
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that jesus christ, who is lord and head of the christ body, was of the seed of abraham the first verse of the new testament is quick to point out with these inspired words the book of the generation of jesus christ, the son of david, the son of abraham. matt. 11 this first verse of the new testament is one of the most important verses in the entire bible, for if jesus of nazareth was not both son of david the king and son of abraham, with whom gods covenant was made, then he is not the promised seed at all and could not possibly be accepted as the christ. the evangelist matt hew was well aware that his gospel would mean less than nothing to his jewish readers if the jesus of whom he wrote with such exquisite detail should prove to be of other than the seed of abraham. upon that first verse of the new testament hangs the proof of who jesus actually is and even we who believe in him would be forced to reject him if it could be proved that he was not that very son who was promised to abraham, descended not through ishmael, but through isaac, for in saying, in isaac shall thy seed be called, god was speaking of one special seed and that seed was christ. i have always found genealogies to be dull reading and so they really are, but that does not detract one iota from their vast importance. thus does matthew with infi nite care link by link forge the chain of christs genealogy from abraham forward to jesus, the christ, while luke with care just as infinite traces his genealogy through his mother mary, who was the daughter of heli, right back to adam in edens garden, of whom it is recorded that he was the son of god. luke 32336 we may be inclined, when reading the first chapter of matthew, to skip over verses one to seventeen as nothing but dry and almost meaningless genealogy. and we may have the same feeling about the long genealogy contained in luke, chapter three, verses twentythree to thirtysix, but these verses are full of inspiration and assurance. without them we would not have known that jesus was the seed promised in edens garden when after their transgression the lord said the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent. it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. gen. 315 nor would we have known that jesus was the special seed promised to our father abraham had not both matthew and luke showed us in such a positive manner that jesus the christ was a direct descendant of these two men, david and abraham. to abraham was this promise made in thee and thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. to david it was promised there shall not fail thee a man on the throne of israel.
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1 kings 24 it is essential that the genealogies show that the promised christ must come from the tribe of judah, for the patriarch jacob prophesied on his death bed, saying, the scepter shall not depart from judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. gen. 4910 this latter prophecy, in my opinion at least, actually declares that the throne of david should continue to exist as a throne down through the church age until at last at the coming of the lord he shall come whose right it is, and god will give it to him. i take great exception to those unwise and unholy statements that would attempt to make jesus christ to be other than an israelite. if jesus was not of the stock of israel, then he must be rejected as an imposter, because he is not the promised messiah. furthermore, i declare with great boldness that it was not enough that he should be merely an israelite, but he must come from one particular tribe in israel and that tribe is the treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 22 tribe of judah. it was not sufficient that he be merely of the house of judah, for had he been a benjamite or a levite, he would not have been the promised christ. the scepter of kingship was given to judah and to him alone. therefore it is of great importance that christ be of this tribe, as indeed he most definitely is. in my opinion the statement that jesus christ may have been a negro is not only erroneous it is blasphemous. jesus could not have been a negro, or a chinaman or an indian or a frenchman or an englishman. he must be of the tribe of judah and of judah alone. neither was jesus a man of mixed blood, as one of americas most famous evangelists stated. it is a matter of great concern and tragedy that after all these years the church system has been so slack in setting forth true priorities . is it any wonder that thousands of people go astray after false christs who spring from other races and other tribes? the promise of the ruling scepter was given to judah. gen. 4910 but the tremendously important birthright promise was given to the sons of joseph. it is clearly written now the sons of reuben the firstborn of israel, for he was the firstborn but, forasmuch as he defiled his fathers bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of joseph, the son of israel that is, ephraim and manasseh, and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. for judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler but the birthright was josephs. 1. chron. 512 please read jer. 319 where josephs son ephraim is called my firstborn.
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in actuality he was the youngest of them all, but god gave him the birthright. therefore he becomes heir. assuring as is the record of christs genealogy in the books of matthew and luke, it must be remembered that jesus was much more than a mere descendant of adam, abraham, judah, and david. paul declares that jesus was made of the seed of david according to the flesh, but that he was declared to be the son of god with power according to the spirit of holiness the holy spirit and by the resurrection of the dead. rom. 134 though we may prove that he is a true man of the adamic race by showing that he is the seed of adam and that he is the covenant seed by showing that he is a descendant of abraham, that he is the true possessor of the reigning scepter promised to judah, and that he is the promised son of david and heir to his throne who will reign over the house of israel, jesus christ is something vastly more than the descendant of men. the messiah, according to the promise, must be not only the s on of man, but the son of god as well. this fact is brought out in various ways in old testament scripture, a truth too extensive to deal with at this point. nevertheless, of the messiah it is written behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name immanuel isa. 714, the meaning of which is god with us. this birth of the son of god necessitated a virgin birth as a matter of course. therefore it is written, behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name immanuel. matt. 123 . jesus christ was in fact and in truth both the son of man and the son of god. a favorite pastime among unbelievers of all ages and of our day in particular is to try to prove that jesus of nazareth was nothing more than the healthy son of two normal parents named joseph and mary. not only do the ungodly and unbelieving present their arguments of unbelief, but an ever increasing number of church people are willing to embrace the same error. let the ungodly believe as they choose, but the faithful believer should be able to see that, if jesus was not born of a virgin, then he did not come according to the prophecy of isa. 714 behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son. if he was not born of a virgin as some suppose, then the accounts given in the gospels of matthew and luke, declaring emphatically that mary was a virgin, are indeed a sordid deception, a misrepresentation, and a lie from the devils mouth.
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nothing in the new testament is more definite and clear than the statement of the word of god declaring that mary was a virgin when she was found to be with child of the holy ghost. matt. 118 and we are definitely assured that joseph knew her not until after she had brought forth her firstborn son and laid him in a manger. matt. 125 if these things are not so, then gods word cannot be depended upon as truth in anything, and if gods word cannot be trusted, then are our harbors whirlpools and all our mighty rocks are clouds. when the apostle john wrote his gospel, he did not concern himself with the human genealogy of jesus christ. matthew and luke had already proven that fact in great detail, but john by the wisdom of god gave us an inkling of his existence in the eternal realm long before adam and eden existed. in the following words john gives a genealogy nothing short of divine. in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god. the same was in the beginning with god. john 112 jesus christ was the son of god as well as the son of man and the words quoted above are nothing less than his genealogy as god. the scripture treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 23 continues. all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. in him was life and the life was the light of men. and the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not. verses 35 the truth continues in verse 9 that was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. he was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. he came unto his own, and his own received him not. but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of god, even to them that believe on his name which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of god. and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. verses 914 nothing is more certain than that he was the promised son, the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. he is the promised saviour of the world and the redeemer of gods people israel. if we require further evidence of his genealogy as the true son of god, we will find it in verses one and two of johns first epistle.
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that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the father, and was manifested unto us. 1 john 112 i would be very remiss if i did not point out here that such knowledge, faith, and assurance becomes an absolute necessity for true fellowship with god and with his blessed saints. john makes this fact abundantly clear by saying, that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the father, and with his son jesus christ. verse 3. there is not one possibility in time or eternity that we might ever become sons of god if jesus, who is our savior, was not himself a son, born not only of mary but of god. genealogies are very necessary, but genealogy alone is not sufficient. there must be evidence more abundant than these if we are to have full assurance that jesus of nazareth was the promised son in whom all the world would be blessed. such evidence is convincingly giv en in gods word. there came a day in the long ago when from his prison cell john the baptist sent a messenger to jesus with this earnest plea art thou he that should come, or look we for another? the man who had borne faithful witness that jesus was the lamb of god now sought new assurance in his hour of distress. in his reply to johns question our lord made no reference to his genealogy. he made no reference to that long line of forefathers back through david, judah, abraham and adam, but he made reference to something even more sure than this. we may be sure that john was aware of his genealogy, but jesus said, go and tell john the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them, and blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. matt. 1156 why did our lord reply in this manner? the reason is simple. peter spoke of the more sure word of prophecy 2 pet. 119, and the miracles being wrought by christ were being done in fulfillment of many prophetic scriptures given concerning himself. the prophets long ago had spoken of the coming of the just one, who would heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and preach the gospel to the poor. no other man had ever appeared on the earthly scene who performed such mighty deeds or spoke with such authority and power.
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if the prophets have spoken such things of the coming messiah, then it is absolutely necessary that the messiah must fulfill those prophecies to the letter or be rejected by all. through his life of authority and power we have abundant evidence that he did come according to the prophecies of the old testament, most of which were given hundreds of years before jesus came to fulfill them. though his genealogy could be proved beyond question, yet if he came not in exact harmony with the prophecies concerning him, he cannot be accepted as the messiah. though jesus was declared to be the son of man by genealogy, paul makes it plain that he was declared to be the son of god with power rom. 14, and this according to the spirit of holiness, guaranteed by the resurrection from the dead. oh what a world of convincing truth is packed into those first four verses of pauls epistle to the romans! let us continue with this thought and see further how this important point is stressed by the spirit of holiness. our lord at age thirty was declared to be the lamb of god. john the baptist, upon seeing him, had cried aloud, behold the lamb of god that taketh away the sin of the world. john 129 for the lord had said to john, upon whom thou shall see the spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the holy ghost. and i john saw and bear record that this is the son of god. john 13334 jesus also and all who stood nearby at his baptism heard the voice of the lord from heaven, proclaiming, this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased. then was jesus led into the wilderness to be tempted of treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 24 the devil, and, having overcome in all his temptations, he returned from the wilderness in the power of the holy spirit and entered into the synagogue at nazareth and stood up to read the scriptures. and there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet esaias. and when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, the spirit of the lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the lord. and he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. and he began to say unto them, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. luke 31621 see also isaiah 61.
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this was the second time that jesus had called upon the old testament prophecies to confirm his sonship. never once to my knowledge did he ever make reference to his genealogy to prove his sonship or his messiahship. in hi s one brief reference to abraham he clearly stated, before abraham was, i am. though we may not fully know the old testament prophecies relating to the first coming of jesus christ, there are well over two hundred such prophecies, every one of which was completely fulfilled in him, including his genealogy. every old testament prophecy concerning his coming as a suffering messiah was fulfilled to the letter in his lifetime and, this being so, there is not one possibility in a trillion that jesus was other than the promised redeemer or that we need to look for another. yet had even one of those prophecies gone unfulfilled, we could not have accepted him as the messiah. perhaps the reader may not realize the import of two hundred prophecies that must be fulfilled. two hundred prophecies that must be fulfilled give two hundred marks of identification. it is commonly known that our fingerprints differ from every other persons on earth. yet in law six identical marks are sufficient to identify any man, since no other man in the world has the same six identical marks. you have probably heard of the law of compound probabilities. it works in this manner every probability added multiplies the possibility of error. for instance, if the weatherman predicts, we will have sunshine all day, he has one chance in two of being correct first, we may have sunshine all day, and second, we may not. if he says, we will have snow in the morning and sunshiny in the afternoon, he has only one chance in four of being right. we may have sunshine and snow as he predicted. then again we may have neither. again we may have sunshine without snow or we may have snow without sunshine. should he add a th ird probability and say we will have sunshine and snow and wind, he again multiplies his chances of being wrong, for we now have eight probabilities. 1 we may have sun, snow and wind. 2 we may have none of these. 3 we may have sun, but not wind or snow. 4 we may have snow, but not sun or wind. 5 we may have wind, but not sun or snow. 6 we may have sun and wind, but no snow. 7 we may have sun and snow, but no wind, and 8 we may have wind and snow, but no sun. thus you see that with three probabilities there are eight possibilities of being wrong. if you add one more condition, you will find you have sixteen possibilities of being wrong. if you add a fifth probability then you have thirtytwo possibilities. add one more and you have sixt yfour possibilities, and so on it goes.
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thus, since there were over two hundred identification marks that had to be fulfilled in the messiah, it would take a large computer to discover the number of possibilities of erro r there would be or how small would be the possibility that anyone could qualify for messiahship who was not in fact the messiah. the infinitesimal possibility would be less than one in many trillions. to assure us fully that jesus was he that should come and not another, god has given a vast array of prophecies concerning him, all of which must of necessity be fulfilled to the letter in the coming saviour. the old testament prophets, speaking by the spirit, continued to add without hesitation one prophecy upon another with the sure knowledge that every word that god had spoken would be fulfilled to the letter. in only one chapter of the book of isaiah chapter 53 we have these twentyseven conditions laid down as characteristic identification marks of the coming messiah. 1 the unbelief of the people. who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the lord revealed? 2 he shall grow up as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. 3 he has no form or comeliness, and when we should see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 4 he is despised and rejected of men. 5 a man of sorrows and 7 acquainted with grief. 8 we hid as it were our faces from him. 9 he was despised and we esteemed him not. 10 he hath borne our grief and 11 carried our sorrows. 12 we did esteem him stricken of god and afflicted. 13 he was wounded for our transgressions. 14 he was bruised for our iniquities. 15 he was oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. 16 he was led as a lamb to the slaughter. 17 as a treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 25 sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. 18 he was taken from prison and judgment, or he was deprived of just judgment. 19 who shall declare his generation? 20 he was cut off from the land of the living. 21 for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 22 he made his grave with the wicked and 23 with the rich in his death. 24 he had done no violence, 25 neither was deceit found in his mouth. 26 it pleased the lord to bruise him. 27 he hath put him to grief. these prophecies, found in just one chapter, are but a few of the many concerning the coming of the just one, all of which had to be fulfilled to the letter at his first coming. the remaining verses of this fiftythird chapter concern themselves with the millennial day when he shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied.
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all the prophecies concerning the kingdom have yet to be fulfilled at his second coming. there was an occasion when an ethiopian eunuch, who had been to jerusalem to worship, was returning home and, sitting in his carriage, he read isaiah the prophet. the spirit of the lord had said to philip, go near, and join thyself to this chariot. and philip ran th ither to him and heard him read the prophet esaias. understandest thou what thou reddest? philip asked. he replied, how can i except some man should guide me? and he desired philip that he would come up and sit with him. the place of the scripture which he read was this, he was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth in his humiliation his judgment was taken away and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. and the eunuch answered philip, and said, i pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself or of some other man? then philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him jesus. acts 82735 oh, with what heavenly assurance can the church of the living god open its mouth and preach that this man, jesus of nazareth, is he who has come according to hundreds of old testament prophecies to redeem from sin, save a world, and restore all things to their rightful owner! we might well fill the rest of the book with prophecies such as these and show in greater detail that our lord came to fulfill them one and all, but we must turn briefly to other things. jesus, the seed of abraham now this lord jesus christ, who came of the seed of abraham through his son isaac, is himself a seed. abraham was the seed from whom sprang vast multitudes as the dust of the earth, the sands of the sea, and the stars of heaven in number. but paul, in teaching this great truth, fastens the hope of the universe on one particular seed, and that seed is christ. this he does in gal. 316 by saying, he saith not seeds, as of many but as of one, and to thy seed, which is christ. therefore of all the millions, perhaps billions, who have sprung from abraham the one seed of greatest importance is jesus christ. it seems a most singular thing that the word seed is used at all. why did the lord tell our mother eve that the seed of the woman her seed would bruise the head of the serpent? why did he use the word seed? why did he not say that the man that should come from the woman should bruise the head of the serpent? but it was to be thy seed, the seed of the woman.
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the truth is that seed is not only the product of some other life before it but seed is also that which reproduces itself and its kind many thousand fold from generation to generation. in the twelfth chapter of the gospel of john certain greeks came to jesus with the request, sirs, we would see jesus. philip and andrew brought the request to jesus, who made this strange and very remarkable reply the hour is come that the son of man should be glorified. verily, verily i say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. john 12 2024 in this passage our lord likened himself to a seed, a grain of wheat, which was to fall into the ground and die. he was to be planted as a seed in the earth and be raised again. not only was he to be raised in glorification, but in centuries yet to come this seed, which was jesus christ, would produce a vast company of sons of god in his exact image and likeness. after the seed is implanted in the ground, the process of growth is first the blade, then the ear, then the ear of corn in the ear. while only one seed was planted in the earth, the multitude that will appear in the time of harvest will be as the stars of heaven in number, every one bearing the image and likeness of that christ seed which was planted in death. it may seem to be a puzzle to some that philip and andrew, who came bearing the earnest request of these greeks, sirs, we would see jesus, should be given what appears to be such an oblique reply. in fact, the passage does not indicate that jesus ever consented to have these greeks interview him, though of course treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 26 he may have done, but in answer to their request he made this strange affirmation, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. what he really was telling them is this if they saw jesus at that time, they would have seen only jesus the christ, but he knew there was more, much more to christ than what they could now see. a multitude as the stars of heaven was to follow in his likeness, born of the same seed, raised in the same resurrection, who would at last be sons of god even as he is a son of god, and these would not be merely many sons, but many sons to form one christ, each one having the seed of life in himself. our lord jesus christ, the seed of abraham, appeared as the firstborn of many brethren.
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for whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. rom. 829 weymouth in his translation of this passage says, those he has foreknown he has also predestined to share the likeness of his son, that he might be the eldest in a vast family of brothers. the seed that was sown in the ground that afternoon of calvary and its cross and which arose as a tender blade on the resurrection morning will appear in the end of the age as the full corn in the ear, and jesus the christ, the lamb of calvary, will be heard triumphantly saying, here am i and the sons which thou hast given me. heb. 213 this the prophet isaiah saw in spirit in the sad and desolate hour when the tribes of israel were being carried away into captivity. he prophesied, saying, bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. and i will wait upon the lord, that hideth his face from the house of jacob, and i will look for him. behold, i and the children whom the lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in israel from the lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount zion. isa. 81618 the phrase, thy seed, which is christ, is too great and too important for the mind of man to comprehend. we must therefore diligently seek the spirit of revelation that we may know the things that are freely given us of god. it is when men try to understand with their natural minds that they conclude that others who see and understand the deeper things are blasphemers and deceivers, but when the holy spirit takes the things of god and reveals them unto us, then the invisible things of him from the foundation of the world are clearly seen and we accept them and know them and make them our own. though the world itself could not contain the books that should be written of all that jesus is and all he taught, it will be necessary for us now to leave this part of the truth to the holy minds of saints who believe that each one may seek the mind of christ for the revelation by the spirit of the deep things of god to his searching heart. in this chapter we have been speaking of gods first per fected and first manifested son, jesus of nazareth, the christhead. it is my hope now by gods help to unfold the truth concerning the christbody and the christbride, christ the head, christ the body, and christ the bride. these terms may be unfamiliar to almost all the saints and i use them only with bowed head and godly fear and trembling.
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holy and reverend as they are, they are in truth gods covenant to abraham, in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blest. oh, how good it is to know that in this hour of worldwide sorrow, disorder, and distress the immutable promises and covenants of god are progressing toward t heir final fulfillment and from them will come that order, interdependence, and unity for which we so earnestly pray! chapter four thy seed which is the body of christ now ye are the body of christ, and members in particular. 1 cor. 1227 all natural things have spiritual counterparts. the visible things with which we are familiar, which we see about us every day, are all proclaiming some great spiritual lesson. the truth of this statement is set forth in the words of inspiration found in rom. 120 the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead so that they are without excuse. though our subject here concerns the body of christ, which we will speak of as the christ body, which is a great mystery, we will find much truth concerning our identification with that body by observing the human body, with which we are familiar. i have no hesitation in stating that the human physical body is the greatest treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 27 and best visible portrait of the body of christ that has ever been devised. paul calls upon it on several occasions to unfold to the hearts of believers that far greater truth concerning the body of christ, which is the true christ body. we have studied the mystery of christ and our identification with him, but, though we have written much concerning this and have tried to the best of our ability to explain it, we are certain to fall short in our understanding unless the holy spirit opens our spiritual minds and makes us see that the head, which is christ, and the body, which we are, together form one christ. here we shall call upon that which is natural and visible to explain that which is spiritual and invisibl e. what person among us has not seen or considered the physical form of a man? even the blind have an understandi ng of this. looking upon the physical form of man, we immediately perceive that he is composed of a head and a body. a head alone is not a man, but the head and the body together form a perfect man. it is not t hat makes a man. it is the head and body together that forms a man. if the body is without the head, then there is no man, and if the head is without the body, there is no man.
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with all the reverence and respect of my ransomed soul i must tell you that the fullness of gods wonderful christ does not consist of the head alone or of the body alone, but the head and the body together make the fullness and completeness of christ. the saints of god have yet to discover the full spiritual meaning of the words, now ye are the body of christ and members in particular. there has been far too much talk about the body but far too little understanding. christians have seen the head, which is jesus christ, not as the head of gods christ, but as the fullness and completeness of him. on the other hand they have spoken of the body of christ, not as an integral part of gods christ, but as something separate and different like the denominational church. they have seen the body of christ as a church full of divisions and strifes, something that god was trying to save from hell and torment, something that he would take to heaven bye and bye, but which in reality had little or no relationship to him other than the fact of its salvation. o my brethren, if you have seen the body of christ as no more than this tormented denominational thing that mankind is pleased to call the church, you have fallen far short in your understanding, for even nature shows you that the body of a man and the head of a man form one man, complete and perfect in every detail. so also the head of the christ and the body of the christ form one christ, perfect and complete before god. though i have prayed earnestly that this mystery may be revealed to the hearts of believing saints, i well know that it is not the grand oration or the glib tongue, breaking with eloquence and intonation upon the curious ear, that enlightens the heart and gives understanding of spiritual things, for eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered the heart of man the things which god has prepared for them that love him but he has revealed them to us by his spirit, for the spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of god. pray, therefore, that the holy spirit, who was sent into the world to lead us into all truth, will teach us all things and bring all things to our remembrance. may he anoint our eyes and our hear ts that we may behold wondrous things out of gods word. when john wrote the immortal words, the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him, he well understood that it is quite impossible for a man to teach us any spiritual truth.
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certainly a teacher may unfold the words of truth and revelation, but it is god who is light and who gives light. only the spirit of god can open the eyes of the blind and give them sight. as the invisible wind makes its presence known by moving t he curtains of a tent or by letting us hear the sound thereof, so the holy spirit reveals himself by shin ing his light into the dark recesses of our understanding, making us see the invisible, hear the inaudible, and comprehend the incomprehensible. except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of god. that verse does not mean he cannot go to heaven. it means he cannot see, he cannot understand, he cannot know or discern any spiritual thing without a spiritual birth from above. there are many people in the world who talk ince ssantly about the kingdom of god, but they have never seen it by the spirit. many others talk about sonshi p, but are devoid of the spirit of sonship. a spiritual birth enables us to see and hear by the spirit of god. this is a transforming thing that brings a believer into the very image and likeness of the thing he sees. it is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing. the spirit of man may know the things of a man, but the spirit of god alone knows the things of god. jesu s marveled that nicodemus was a teacher in israel and treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 28 yet knew not these things, and with conviction he told hi m that he would never know spiritual things as long as he remained in the natural realm, striving to understand a higher realm with a natural mind. if i have told you of earthly things, and ye believe not, he said, how shall ye believe if i tell you of heavenly things? it is when he, the spirit of truth, is come that he guides us into all truth. gods people make a serious and fatal mistake when they cling desperately to the tradition taught them at the beginning of their walk with god. when they do this, they shut the door for god to teach them anything. their tradition at best is only a fragment of the whole. tradition makes men into unbelievers, because it refuses to allow them to see greater light. jesus understood this when he said, ye make the commandment of god of none effect by your tradition. revelation modifies all tr adition, delivering men from that which is in part and bringing them out into that which is full. when i was a child, i thought as a child i spoke as a child i understood as a child but when i became a man, i put away childish things.
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for now we see through a glass darkly but then face to face now i know in part but then shall i know even as also i am known. 1 cor. 131112. the life of a christian should be a continual progression in god, but he cannot progress without spiritual revelation, and revelation will greatly modify and often times completely break the chains of human tradition. while the boast of some men may be that they are just the same as they always were, let us rather glory in the fact that, as the light of his love grows brighter, we are being changed into that same image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the lord. i have digressed a little from the subject of the christ body, but only that we may grasp the truth that spiritual things must be spiritually understood. to see a spiritual truth with the natural mind leaves the beholder unchanged and cold. our lord jesus christ was called a blasphemer when he claimed to be the son of god, not because he had no evidence to back his claim, but because the people that surrounded him and opposed him so were blind leaders of the blind, held captive by the traditions of the elders, men and women who had not so much as a spark of revelation or spiritual understanding. when jesus claimed identity with his father in heaven, they shouted, ye have heard his blasphemy! wh en he stated the word of truth, before abraham was, i am, they believed not, but railing against him in wrath and envy, they took up stones to stone him. do you think, therefore, that carnal christians will understand when revelation teaches us that we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones? will our faith be accepted or believed when we say we have been made to drink of his spirit, been baptized into his body and made partakers of the divine nature? all these statements pass as acceptable theology except when they become a burning, transforming revelation to some believing heart. certainly we may affirm that we are the body of christ, but when revelation reveals the truth that the members of the body of christ are in truth part of gods christ, then men begin to take up stones to stone us. if they do not pick stones from the ground to throw, they certainly stone us with words of discredit and unbelief. my dearly beloved brethren, we have been made partakers of the divine nature. we have all been made to drink of his spirit. we have by one spirit been baptiz ed into one body, and that one body is the christ body.
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and, because by such a divine ordinance we have become members of his body, partakers of his spirit and his life, of a truth we are members of gods glorious christ, the fullness and completeness of him who everywhere fills the universe with himself. hear now the inspired words of paul on this great subject as again he likens the human body to the spiritual body of christ . for, says he, as the body is one, and hat h many members . . . so also is christ. cor. 1212. we quote the text in part to show that it is the many members of the body, together with the head that form the complete christ. but, to quote the entire passage, paul says, as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body so also is christ. gods glorious christ is not one member, but many not the head alone, but the head and the body inseparably joined in one spirit. jesus of nazareth is the christ head, but we, the members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones, are the christ body. i know some will be ready to stone me for that stat ement nevertheless, it is true. the age from eden to calvary was occupied with the preparation and presentation of christ the head. the age or dispensation from pentecost to the resurrection of the just is occupied with one great, allimportant work the preparation and treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 29 presentation of the christ body. the age which we know as the millennial kingdom will be occupied by the preparation and presentation of the bride of christ, or the chri st bride, of which i will write more fully in the next chapter. i fearlessly declare that the work of this age of grace is not the salvation of the world, but the preparation of the sons of god to form the true church or christ body. we have often heard of the manifestation of the sons of god. indeed, the word of god reveals this truth with great care and fullness, and no wonder, for the whole creation is waiting on tiptoe for their manifestation. for i reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. for the earnest expectation of the creature that is, the whole creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of god. for the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of god. for we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
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and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourse lves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies. for we have been saved by hope but hope that is seen is not hope for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? but if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. rom. 818, 25 the words of the above passage, quoted below from phillips translation, are a forceful assurance to all who are laying hold on this great message. in my opinion whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future god has planned for us. the whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of god coming into their own. the world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in gods purpose it has been so limited yet it has been given hope. and the hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay, and have its share in that magnificent liberty whic h can only belong to the children of god! it is plain to anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created life groans in a sort of universal travail. and it is plain, too, that we who have a foretaste of the spirit are in a state of painful tension, while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that at last we have realized our full sonship in him. we are saved by this hope, but in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something we havent yet got. but if we hope for something wt cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience. what magnificent words these are, describing as t hey do the awaited glory of gods sons, men and women who are coming into christs image, the christ likeness, to share the christ body and the glory of him who, through the fullness which he shall accomplish by adding to himself these many, many sons, will fill the universe and we shall become the fullness of him who filleth all in all. this, my beloved brethren, is the prize of the high calling of god in christ jesus. this is that for which jesus travailed and, having done so, saw the travail of his soul and was satisfied, for of his fullness have we all received and grace for grace. on a wonderful night in the long, long ago when lot, seeing the abundant grass of the valley, had pitched his tent toward sodom, abraham, turning his face toward the hills, was led by gods hand out into the starlit evening.
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as he lifted his face toward the skies, the voice of the lord told him to behold the stars and see if he could count them, and, knowing that abraham could not do so, the lord added yet one more promise to his eternal covenant so shall thy seed be. these uncounted stars of the heaven represent the sons of god, who are being prepared for the manifestation for which all creation groans. these are members of the christ body, who will deliver the creation from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom they themselves possess. almost two thousand years ago the apostle paul basked in the sunshine of this very hope. far out in the future he saw the prize which he called the prize of the high calling of god in christ jesus and, upon seeing its glory, gladly unloaded all his religious tradition, stripping himself for the race to press irresistibly toward that high calling in christ of which i write today. what things were gain to me, those i counted loss for christ, he said. yea, doubtless, and i count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of christ jesus my lord for whom i have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that i may win christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of christ, the righteousness which is of god by faith that i may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 30 fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death if by any means i might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. not as though i had already attained, either were already perfect but i follow after, if that i may apprehend that for which also i am apprehended of christ jesus. brethren, i count not myself to have apprehended but this one thing i do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, i press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of god in christ jesus. phil. 3714 in christ jesus! what a transforming expression that is! quoted and read by countless millions, but understood, i fear, by practically none. instead of seeing the boundless wonder and infinite meaning of the words in christ jesus, we have been content to pass ov er them as though they were practically meaningless, little more than nice, kind sayings that should be a comfort to the people of god. but oh, let me tell you the expressions in christ, in christ jesus, and 22 him proclaim that we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones, and that we who believe are the completeness of him who filleth all in all.
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we have all been baptized into his body. we have become one with his spirit. as he dwells in the father, so do we dwell in him. these expressions, and many more like them, teach beyond a shadow of a doubt that god has but one christ and that christ consists of many thousands of members, all joined, welded and knit together by one spirit into one body and one christ. we said earlier that it took god four thousand years to prepare and present that first manifested son, jesus christ, who was to be the eldest son and the head of the whole company of sons of god. now the lord has been occupi ed for the two thousand years of the day of grace in preparing that vast company of sons who will form th e body of gods christ, that the head and the body may be manifest at the end of this age as one christ my beloved son in whom i am well pleased. let the reader visualize the form of a man, standing with his feet on the earth, so tall that his head reaches the heavens above and so broad that his form fills the univers e all in all. then let him examine the scene more closely and his wondering eyes will see that this gi gantic man, gods anointed christ, is a man of many members just as the human body is one body with many members. look clos er still and you will now see that each and every member in that mighty form is an indivi dual man, a son of god. the head is the man jesus of nazareth. the arms, the fingers, the toes, the heart, the nerves, the blood vessels every member of him that filleth all in all is an individual man and every man is a son of god. and, if you will look still more closely, you will see an even greater wonder, for every man, every mem ber, every son in that whole gigantic form is in the exact image of jesus christ, the head, the first begotten son of god. o, how i hope you can grasp the picture! it is only when we see the plan and purpose of the lord that we begin to be changed into the likeness of what we see in the spirit. we lay aside every weight and the sin, which doth so easily beset us. we strip for the race. we put off anger, wrath, malice, jealousy, envy, pride, foolishness, and fixing our spiritual eyes on the glory of such a goal, we run with patience the race that is set before us. forgetting our idle traditions, we press toward the mark. we will find ourselves deliveri ng ourselves from hindering friends and obstructing occupations.
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we will begin to lay aside lusts and pas sions and turn our eyes away from those troublesome scenes of earth that force themselves upon us and cr owd out the heavenly vision from our eyes. we are changed by his spirit from glory to glory. we see a glory afar off in truth and, believing it, we are changed into the likeness of what we see. our hearts grasp a revelation and it transforms us. we see a vision of christ and the glory of the body he is preparing. we realize the possibility of our attaining to that body and, seeing, we lay aside everything that would hinder us from becoming one with it. to see what i am saying you will have to go far bey ond the edge of the crowd. you will need to go beyond the circle of that tired old thing men call the church. the wo rd church has become sorely desecrated, so much so that the picture of what the true church really is has faded away until men can see in the church nothing but million dollar temples standing on street corners or multitudes of people who dwell behind the high walls which they call denominations. but this, my friend, is not t he church. this has nothing to do with his mystical body. these denominations are only man made things, little selfappointed christs who believe that they have the truth and wisdom will die with them. i do not believe that they are divisions in the church or divisions in the body of christ. they are something altogether aside from the true church and something different from the body of christ. the church which jesus called my church has never had a division in it. it is the habitation of god through the spirit, the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. it is that wonderful habitation jesus spoke of as my fathers house, saying, in my fathers house are many mansions. the house, which treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 31 the father is building is the true church, the mystical body of christ. this buildings rising upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. jesus christ, the first son, is the corner stone or the cap stone of it. he is the head of the body, the church, the head stone of the corner. all other stones are living stones 1 pet. 25, built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to god by christ jesus. every living stone in the building is a living person, a son of god, coming into the image of that first son, who is jesus our lord and head. dearly beloved, i beseech you as strangers and pilgrims in such a high and holy calling, abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul.
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have your conversation and manner of life honest before all men that they may by your exemplary conduct glorify god when he comes to be their judge. it is the will of god that by well doing we may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. it is well pleasing in his sight if for your godly convictions you endure grief and suffer wrongfully, for what glory is it if, when ye be buffetted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with god. for even hereunto were ye called because christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow in his steps. 1 pet. 22021 the wilderness tabernacle, built by the instruction of the lord, was a tabernacle made with hands. it was not intended to last forever or to be anything more than a type of the true tabernacle, which is the true church, the body of christ. the tabernacle in the wilderness in its most minute detail was typical of the mystical body of christ. though it was a tabernacle of many parts, those many parts formed but one tabernacle. the temple, which god is building is a temple not made with hands. the tabernacle built by moses and the temple built by solomon were only temporary types of the true temple of his body, but the temple christ is building is eternal in the heavens. it, too, has many parts and many member s, yet it is but one temple, one body and one christ. likewise the human body, the most perfect and commonly known of all types of the body of christ, is one body with many members, each member having its own use and its own ministry. so do the members of the mystical body of christ. the word of god confirms this truth in these words for as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we, being many, are one body in christ, and every one members one of another. rom. 1245 . now ye are the body of christ, and members in particular, paul says. 1 cor. 1227 then going into greater detail concerning the manymembered christ, he taught the truth in these words for as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body so also is christ. please notice wi th much care these four words so also is christ. for by in one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be jews or gentiles, whether we be bond or free and have been all made to drink into one spir it. for the body is not one member, but many. 1 cor. 121214. o my brethren, can you not see the glory of what he is saying?
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can you not see that paul is telling us that gods christ is not one member, but many? can you not see that it is the head and the manymembered body together that forms the man, and that man is gods christ? need we search any further for the answer to pauls teaching when he taught that the body, which we are is the fullness of him who filleth all in all? eph. 123. or, as weymouth has so eloquently translated, that god has put all things under his feet, and has appointed him universal and supreme head of the church, which is his body, the completeness of him who ever ywhere fills the universe with himself. eph. 123 . weymouth. when we consider that this great temple of his body, whic h is now being built during this age of grace, is the fullness of him who everywhere fills the universe with himself, then surely our mental vision of a man so tall that he reaches from earth to heaven and so wide that he fills the earth cannot be very far from the truth as god would have us see it. the next time we read the words in christ, let us meditate deeply in the spirit that god may reveal their true meaning and not pass over them as a statement to be quoted and forgotten. our spiritual walk is cleansed by the truth we see. when we were sinners far off from god and first heard his voice calling us, little did we realize the glory he was preparing for those who would come to know him and love him. the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of god. be not deceived neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 32 nor revilers, nor extortionists, shall inherit the kingdom of god. and such were some of you but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the lord jesus, and by the spirit of our god. 1 cor. 6911. know ye not that your bodies are the members of ch rist? shall i then take the members of christ, and make them the members of an harlot? god forbid. what? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. but he that is joined unto the lord is one spirit. verses 1517. it is very wonderful to notice here how paul, in using these rather crude illustrations, shows beyond any question that the redeemed are in actuality and in fact members of christ. twice in the above quotation the apostle distinctly declares that we are members of christ. then in verse 19 he crowns the glorious thought with these forceful words of assurance what?
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know ye not that your body is the temple of the holy ghost which is in you, which ye have of god, and ye are not your own? having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cl eanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the lord. these divine promises give us no room for pride, no room for sin, nor do they give us room to exalt ourselves, but, as for me, they cause me to bow in utter humility before god. as we view these awesome facts in the light of holy spirit, we fall as dead men before him while our lips hymn the gratitude that rises from our grateful hearts. holy, holy, holy is the lord god almighty! blessed be he who spoke to abraham, saying, in thee and thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed. when our eyes begin to behold the magnificent glory of the temple which god is building, the sons whom he is preparing to be members of his christ, the sons who a few short years hence he will make manifest to the whole creation, sons who on the day of adoption will hear the voice of the father saying of christ, the head and the body joined together, this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased hear him, then, seeing these things, we begin to understand why it is that the whole creation is groaning and travailing in pain, waiting for the adoption, which means that at last we have attained full sonship in him. in my opinion, whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future god has planned for us. the whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of god coming into their own. the world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in gods purpose it has been so limited yet it has been given hope. and the hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay, and have its s hare in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of god! rom. 81820 phillips adoption in scripture was not an act by which a family adopts a fatherless child as we know it in our day. adoption in scripture was a rite in which a father called his friends and neighbors together and in their presence bestowed upon one of his sons recognition of his mature sonship and responsibility. we have a perfect example of such adoption given in scripture w hen at the baptism of jesus the voice of god the father proclaimed, this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased. matt. 317 that was gods recognition of christs full and mature sonship.
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it was this adoption proclamation that began his great ministry of deliverance. we younger sons have not as yet received our adoption, but we will do so at the time of the redemption of our bodies, which is the hour of resurrection. this is clearly stated in rom. 823 ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. the redemption of the body occurs at the resurrection of the just when the dead are raised and this corruptible puts on incorruption and this mortal immortality. 1 cor. 155253 this is the fullness of the adoption for which we groan and for which all creation sighs. following it will come the mighty deliverance that comes after the manifestation of the sons of god. it is no wonder that we do not at present see the full functioning of the body of christ, for a moments consideration would tell us that the body is not yet completely formed neither has it received the word of adoption from the father, but when that great hour is reached, the words of jesus will be fulfilled the works that i do shall ye do also and greater works than these shall ye do, because i go to the father. john 1412 the lord our god has not left us without bible witness to the stupendous statements we have been making, as we shall now see. there comes a time when all things that are far off are brought nigh. in the fullness of time the invisible things become clearly seen. that which once we saw only by faith becomes a reality and the things for which we hoped we hope for no more, for what a man seeth why doth he yet hope for? the time must come when the vision of the seers, the proclamation of the prophets, and the hymns of the psalmist are turned into reality. the moment comes when that which was far off on the distant horizon can be touched, it is treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 33 so nigh at hand. to abraham god promised a seed which would come to bless the whole earth, a seed through whom all who have ever seen the light of day would be blessed and delivered. we saw that seed begin in the preparation of a nation, yea, a company of nations, who, as centuries passed by, spread themselves to the north, the south, the east, and the west to shine the light of christ and his word over all the earth for simeon had prophesied that jesus would be a light to lighten the gentiles and the glory of gods people, israel. our eyes beheld jesus of nazareth come to bethlehem. gods holy word declares him to be the direct seed of abraham according to the flesh, but the son of god with power.
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we saw him proclaimed as the son of god, thy seed which is christ. gal. 316 to paul the revelation was given that he might reveal how we, the redeemed of this age, are members in particular of christ in that we are the christ body as he is the christ head, that the head and the body together, indwelt by one spirit, are one christ, the temple of the lord and the habitation of god. paul in spirit clearly saw the day of manifestation of these younger sons of god, at which time the whole of creation would be lifted from the bondage and night of their corruption into the glorious freedom of children of god. rom. 81823 how wonderful are these things! they are far beyond our expression or the ability of the most eloquent to describe! we cannot stop here, however, for with john the beloved our eyes behold the awful fullness of these things. to john was the blessing given to stand in spirit at the end of this present age to see the incredible wonder of the fullness of christ. the story is so familiar that we scarcely need to repeat it here, but because the truth it bears is so important, we will rehearse it again that we may be the more familiar with it. the story begins with the apostle johns being exiled to the isle of patmos for the word of god and the testimony of jesus christ. i john, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of jesus christ, was in the isle that is ca lled patmos, for the word of god and for the testimony of jesus christ. i was in the spirit on the lords day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, i am alpha and omega, the first and the last and, what thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in asia unto ephesus, and unto smyrna, and unto pergamos, and unto thyatira, and unto sardis, and unto philadelphia, and unto laodicea. and i turned to see the voice that spake with me. and being turned, i saw seven golden candlesticks and in the mids t of the seven candlesticks one like unto the son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. his head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow and his eyes were as a flame of fire and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace and his voice as the sound of many waters. and he had in his right hand seven stars and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. and when i saw him, i fell at his feet as dead.
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and he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, fear not i am the first and the last i am he that liveth, and was dead and, behold, i am alive forevermore, amen and have the keys of hell and of death. rev. 1918 it is my firm conviction that, when john was lifted into the realm of the spirit on the lords day, he was actually carried across the years to the close of the dispensation of grace to behold things as they will be at the end of this age. he who had been so familiar with the lonely galilean and had walked and talked with jesus christ was now to behold him in a way he had never known him before. john, who had known jesus as he was at first, was now to behold him as he will be at last. his ears would hear him say, l am the first and the last. long he had known jesus the christ, the beginning now he was to know him as the end. in galilee and judea he had walked and talked with the lowly alpha now his wondering eyes were to see the omega. long ago he had followed jesus to calvary where amid its pain and bloody sweat he had seen the single corn of wheat fall into the ground and die now his eyes were to behold the full corn in the ear, the fullness of christ in the harvest. o my brethren, can you not see it? there is a vast difference between christ the beginning and christ the end. there is a universe of development between the alpha and the omega. the smallness of the seed cannot be compared to the greatness of the harvest, and the voice of the lonely galilean of the beginning cannot be compared to the voice as of many waters that is at the end. john had seen gods beloved son, jesus christ the head of the body, but now at the end of the age he was beholding the glory of the head joined to that vast family of sons that compose the mystical body of christ. in spirit i seem to hear this firstborn of many brethren say, behold, i and the children sons which god hath given me. heb. 213 here am i, the eldest in a vast family of brothers. rom. 829 weymouth. in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks stood one like unto the son of man. so like jesus was this mighty one that treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 34 the likeness was indistinguishable, yet this one like unto the son of man was so much greater now so much so that the extent of it can only be seen by comparing the harvest with the seed, greater now as the body joined to the head is greater than the head.
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the vision john saw displayed one clothed with a garment down to the foot with what must have been a seamless robe of righteousness and unity, indicating as nothi ng else could that this vast family of sons, having all partaken of one spirit, are one christ my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased. the glorious head, which is jesus the christ, was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like a flame of fire. see also dan. 106. his feet, the other extremity of his body, the sons which are last to be born, were like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace, for judgment and the gospel of peace shall be given to them. his voice was as the sound of many waters. many waters signify m any people, for in christ there are many sons. i know there are at least one hundred fortyfour thousand, but there may be many more than that, for these may be only representative of a vastly greater throng. these one hundred fortyfour thousand are all chosen from the twelve tribes of israel, who are the seed of abr aham and heirs of the covenant god made with him. many years ago my wife and i attended the warriors day parade in toronto. the great grandstand held thirty thousand people. we sat for an hour or so waiting for the parade of old warriors to begin soldiers from the boer war, veterans from world war i, men from world war ii, and one old warrior from the northwest rebellion of 1885. as we sat waiting, the multitudes in the grandstand conversed with each other, and while these thousands chatted, we listened. the sound of that multitude of voices was as the sound of many rushing waters like unto the pleasant roar of the great niagara falls as it pours its exhaustless waters into the terrible rapids below. we sat fascinated by the sound a sound that could be described by nothing else than the sound of many waters. the musical harmony as the sound of many waters, falling upon the listening ear of the beloved john, was the myriad voices of the sons of god, all members of gods christ, the head and the body complete together, gods beloved son, all speaking with one mind, all speaking with one authority. this is my beloved son. hear him! our blessed lord, when he was here on earth, gave us many beautiful illustrations of the oneness of himself and his body. on one occasion he likened himself and the body to a vine with fruitbearing branches. where may we find a greater unity than this? on another day he spoke of my fathers house, which i am assured is none other than the body of christ. this he likened to a hous e with many rooms mansions.
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likewise paul, by the wisdom given unto him, likened the body to christ to the manymembered human body, showing that, though the body has so many members in it and all members have a different office work, the body is but one. the hand cannot say to the foot, i have no need of you. nor can the eye say to the ear, i have no need of you. thus it shall ever be with gods glorious christ. though many sons form one christ, the anointed of god, each in ages to come shall have his own office work, all in one spirit working with that intricate harmony so wonderfully manifest in the human body, until at last thro ugh abrahams seed, which is gods christ, all the nations and families of the earth will be blessed. abraham waited long years for isaac to be born, but when isaac was given a bride, then the great increase began. the blessing given to rebecca was that she should be the mother of thousands of millions. in closing this fourth chapter of the message concerning the abrahamic covenant, perhaps it would be remiss if no mention was made of the sealing of the one hundred fort yfour thousand sons of god from the twelve tribes of the children of israel as is recorded in rev. 7. from each of the tribes of judah, reuben, gad, asher, nepthalim, manasses, simeon, levi, issachar, zabulon, joseph ephraim, and benjamin twelve thousand sons were sealed. the stormy winds were restrained from hurting the earth or the sea or the trees until the sealing of the sons of god in their foreheads was fully accomplished. rev. 73. in my opinion the seal of god in the forehead is the perfect identification of sonship. jesus himself was a sealed son of god. this he revealed by saying, labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for the meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the son of man shall give unto you for him hath god the father sealed. john 627 in like manner these one hundred fortyfour thousand who were sealed in their foreheads are the sons of god, members of the christ body. the point i wish to make in particular concerns the abrahamic covenant, in thee and thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. these one hundred fortyfour thousand are all chosen from the seed of abraham. these who are to shine as the stars of t he heaven were all chosen from that earthly seed, numberless as the sands of the sea, who are the children of abraham and the children of the covenant. treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r.
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hawtin book 35 i am not intending any disrespect to the present state of israel, which at present occupies a small portion of the land of palestine, but we would be very misinformed, if not very ignorant, if we imagined even for a moment that this insignificant number of people represents the twelve tribes of israel. the present state of israel represents a small portion only of the house of judah, but many among them are not israelites at all, just as many in england are not anglosaxons. the house of judah consists of the tribes of judah, benjamin, and levi, but the ten tribes of the house of israel are not among the present inhabitants of the state of israel. neither are they jews. the word jew comes from the name judah just as the name jim is an abbreviation of james. the ten tribes of the house of israel have become nations in the earth, even as jacob prophesied they would when he called his sons to him and foretold their future for the last days. gen. 4449 in the twelfth chapter of revelation we read of a great wonder that appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. the twelve stars represent the twelve tribes of israel. the sun and moon represent jacob and his wives. this is very clear by reading gen. 379,10. joseph in this passage had dreamed a dream in which the sun and the moon and the eleven stars joseph was the twelfth bowed down and did obeisance to him. when his father jacob heard this dream, he understood immediately what the meaning of it was, and with the harsh sound of rebuke in his voice he replied, what is this dream that thou hast dreamed? shall i and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? and his brethren envied him but his father observed the saying. here the word of god is definitely its own interpreter, teaching us that the sun and the moon and the twelve stars represent none other than the twelve tribes of the children of israel. the woman in the wilderness of revelation, chapter twelve, is israel all twelve tribes of them, including the house of judah and the house of israel. in her travail she brought forth a man child first christ the head son and, secondly, the one hundred fortyfour thousand sons of the christ body. i do not say that this is the complete number, for i do not know. in the human body there are many more than one hundred fortyfour thousand members but we may say with certainty that the ranks of the sons of god are not less than this great throng.
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these do not include the numberless throngs of the redeemed who stand before the throne with palms in their hands. the one hundred fortyfour thousand represent the sons of the christ body. israel has always been a woman of the wilderness. abraham, isaac and jacob were all wilderness wanderers. after israel departed from egypt, they wandered for fo rty years in a wilderness until they entered their own land. then the house of israel was carried away to assy ria and were strangers in a strange land. from there they left to wander for centuries in the desolate places of europe, moving out to the north, the south, the east and the west in exact accord with gods promise to abraham. gen. 2814. then they moved out into the uninhabited wilderness of new continents and the untamed islands of the seas, for abraham was the heir of the world and was to be a blessing to the many nations of the world. we will not speak more of this wilderness aspect here except to say that during her wilderness journeys, while making the wilderness blossom as a rose, she had been bringing forth a man child, who will rule the whole earth in the near future with a rod of iron. and i looked, and lo, a lamb stood on mount sion, and with him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having his fathers name written in their foreheads. and i heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder and i heard the voice of harpers, harping with their harps and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and bef ore the four beasts, and the elders and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. these are they, which are not defiled with women denominations for they are virgins. these are they, which follow the lamb withersoever he goeth. these were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto god and to the lamb. and in their mouth was found no guile for they are without fault before the throne of god. rev. 1415. the precious sons of zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter? lam. 42. but the ransomed of the lord shall return, and come to zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away, isa. 3510, because long centuries before the lord had said to abraham, in thee and thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 36 introduction to chapter five the next chapter will be a message concerning the bride of christ.
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in it we will endeavor to show that, as christ the head and christ the body come from the seed of abraham, in like manner the bride of christ, or christ the bride, comes of the seed of abraham. the term, christ the bride, is doubtless unfamiliar to most of us. indeed i have never heard the term used by any other nevertheless the moment we grasp the significance of the statement, for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh, we grasp the vital unity between the christ bridegroom and the christ bride, for they two are also one in a spiritual union, of which the union of the flesh we now know as marriage can only be a frail type. we should not deem it strange that we have not heard th ese truths before because god reveals truth only when the time is ripe for truth to be revealed. this peter des cribes as present truth. 2 pet. 112 it is also stated by isaiah, behold, the former things are come to pass and new things do i declare before they spring forth, i will tell you of them. isa. 429 it is not strange therefore that practically no one has ever heard teaching concerning the bride of christ who she is, where she comes from, her relationship to the bridegroom, or the magnificent purpose to which she is ordained. should some think this to be an incorrect deduction, then one might ask himself the questions, who is the bride? for what purpose does christ need a bride? what will be the glory of her ministry in the ages to come? upon asking ourselves these questions, we will realize that the truth concerning the bride of christ has never been revealed nor has her existence been more than merely mentioned. it is deplorable, but true, that in our day, as in centuries past, the teaching has been that the present day church is the bride of christ. this is a great error, which purposely hides the true bride and her ministry from our understanding. it is necessary that all truth be revealed in its appointed time because, when truth grips our hearts and we comprehend the magnitude of gods eternal purposes, we are sanctified by the truth, for thy word is truth, and laying aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, we press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of god in christ jesus.
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it is my earnest and continual prayer that all who read thes e sacred truths will be seized upon by the spirit of revelation from on high that all may see the length and breadth and depth and height of gods grace and know the love of god, which passeth knowledge, that we may know how long and wide and deep and high gods grace and love must be that we, the seed of abraham by covenant and by faith, should be included in gods glorious christ, the head and the body together forming one christ and one anointed. jesus the first born and the many sons who follow after, being baptized into one body and one christ, therefore being one, will hear again from heaven those same words of adoption, this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased this christ in his fullness, the head and the body in one together, will be united to the new jerusalem bride that the last adam in all his magnified and multiplied glory might be after the image of the first adam before eve, the bride, was separated from him. thus the first man, who was of the earth earthy, is found to be a faint shadow of the last man, who is the lord from heaven. the entire dispensation of grace has been occupied by the ingathering and perfecting of the christ body, or the bridegroom. the millennial age is appointed for the ingathering and perfecting of the bride of christ, the hosts of the seed of abraham reserved until now for that pur pose. then follows the dispensation of the fullness of times when through the twelve gates of the city all nations will enter that they might have the right to the tree of life, which is in the midst of the new jerusalem, the city of god. the nations shall walk in the light of it and shall bring their glory and honor into it until every creature in earth and in heaven and in the sea will be heard saying, glory and blessing and honor to him that sitteth upon the throne and to the lamb for ever and ever. chapter five thy seed which is the bride of christ studying truth so vast in scope as that which we have undertak en, i frankly admit that it is difficult to find either an appropriate place to begin or a suitable place to end. as god himself is without beginning or end, so also his eternal truth must be. treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 37 when the lord created the animals, the birds, the beasts of the field, and all other life on earth, he made them male and female but when he formed adam from the dust of the ground, this creation was radically different from all others.
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whereas lower forms of animal creation were made male and female separately from the beginning, man was made male and female, united in one person, and that one person was called adam. thus when the lord caused every beast of the field and bird of the air to pass before adam to be named, from all this great host of created life, the scripture clearly st ates, for adam there was not found an helpmeet for him. to provide a helpmeet and a wife for adam the lord did a wonderful thing. and the lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon adam, and he slept and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof and the rib, which the lord god had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. and adam said, this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my fles h she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. therefore shall a man leave his father and mo ther, and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh. gen. 22124 to emphasize a thought, which i wish to introduce later we should remember this notable scripture and adam called his wifes name eve because she was the mother of all living. gen. 320 in 1 cor. 1112 paul made this interesting statement for as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman but all things of god. to the best of my understanding the meaning is this the first woman who ever saw the light of day came forth out of man, but thenceforward forever every man who would come into the world would come by or from the woman. herein is a most wonderful thing. none can deny the truth of it. though the woman at first came forth from the man, yet from that day forth forever all mankind would be born of and come forth from the woman. the marvelous significance of the fact that adams wife was to become the mother of all living will never be fully appreciated until generations, dispensations, and ages pass in their procession and we stand at last on that great and high mountain with john, beholding the holy city, the new jerusalem, descending from heaven as a bride adorned for her husband, to become in truth the mother of all living. rev. 21921 oh the unsearchable riches of christ! oh to perceive the irresistible unfolding of his immutable will! oh to grasp the revelation of his purpose, the purpose that will never deviate from its original intention until at last all things return to god who gave them not empty as they came out from god, but full of wisdom and knowledge as they will come in! who hath known the mind of the lord that he should instruct him? or who has been his counselor?
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for of him and through him and to him are all things. glory to his eternal name forevermore! it is not from the schools of this worlds wisdom that we learn the ways of god. eternal purposes are not unfolded by the lettered and polished scholars of this dark age. we do not discover the wisdom of the mind that is eternal by studying musty old volumes of church tradition, but we learn the purpose of the ages when in spirit we stand in eden with the eternal to look through his eyes down the vista of years to the end of time. then and then only do we behold the infinite wisdom of the divine mind, the purpose of him who worketh all things according to the counsel of his will. not athens blooms, but those of calvary and gethsemane bring the victory that causes sinners for home to pine and turn their backs for aye on husks of swine. our hearts have been thrilled and stirred beyond measure as we have mused concerning the covenant god made with abraham. from it we have seen a nation and a company of nations rise, whose seed in our day is as numberless as the sands of the sea, a people who even in their unregenerate condition have been a blessing to all other nations on earth because they are the covenant people. from that nation we have seen the exalted head come forth, jesus christ our lord, t he son of god, the last man adam, the seed of abraham according to the flesh and that particular seed which we now know to be thy seed which is christ. upon a handful of judean jews, who were the seed of abraham, the holy ghost was outpoured at pentecost, the very beginning and foundation of the christ body, the temple of the lord. then again in the revelation john saw at the end of this age one hundred fortyfour thousand sons of god of the seed of abraham sealed in their foreheads. the sons of god in the extremity of this age complete the fullness of christ. wonderful as is the story of the fullness of christ, it is by no means the end of the story we have to tell nor is it the climax of the covenant god made with abraham. while adam was comp lete as a man before eve stood by his side, no seed of adam could possibly have been born until god gave him a bride. only then did the thousands of millions of treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 38 mankind begin to appear on the face of the earth. my heart sings a thousand hallelujahs when i consider the antitype of this great mystery.
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for six thousand years god has been bringing to fullness and completeness the last man adam, the fullness of the christ of god, the head, which is gods first son jesus, together with the vast body of sons to follow, that christ might stand at the end of this age in all his fullness as john beheld him in revelation, chapter one. here am i and the sons which god hath given me. heb. 213 r. v. one lord and one christ, all baptized in one spirit into one body and one christ. here am i, the man christ jesus, the last adam, made in gods image, created in his likeness, standing in the end of the sixth day complete in myself as adam stood, but with no bride and no wife by my side! up to this present time christian people have had pr actically no understanding concerning the bride of christ. of her very little revelation has been given. the bride has not yet appeared on the earth. though adam appeared on the sixth day, eve did not appear until after the sixth day. how long after we do not know. adam was revealed as a son of god at the end of the sixth day, and now at the end of the sixth dispensational day since man appeared on the earth the father has brought the s ons of god to fullness. by the ministry of these sons will come forth the many membered new jerusalem bride of christ. during the centuries of the church age many wonderful revivals have taken place. multitudes of mankind have wept in repentance and contrition at the feet of the saviour and, being begotten of him, they rose to walk in newness of life, justified by faith in his blood, but up to the present hour all we have seen has been the gathering of the elect, the sonship company, who at the end of the age stand complete in christ awaiting only the redemption of the body before their complete manifestation. while these multitudes were being gathered into the fold, unnumbered millions, yea, even billions, hav e walked in outer darkness, living and dying without even once hearing the message of salvation or ever knowi ng that the true god existed or that he so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believed on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. but was not that to be expected? most certainly it was, for had god intended to enlighten the heathen in this age, his omnipotent power could have done so ten thousand times over, opening their blind eyes and transforming their hearts in a moment of time. it was not until eve was brought forth to stand by adams side that the human increase began. from that uni on billions have been born.
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thus will it be in the end when the bride of christ is presented to him at the marriage of the lamb. then will the gates of the city be opened wide and the restitution of all the billions who once walked in darkness will begin. never will the blessed program cease until every creature in heaven and earth and in the sea shall be heard saying, blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the lamb forever and ever. rev. 513. rejoice, o my soul, at the wonder of the thing! can we not see that all natural things have spiritual counterparts? could gods command to adam to multiply ever have been fulfilled had he not given eve to be his bride? the abrahamic co venant, which promised a seed as numberless as the stars of heaven, would have been but idle words had god not given sarah to abraham to be his wife. you sit today, oh man, with your children as olive plants about your table, but would they have been there at all had god not first given you a wife? but for her you would have been a dry and barren tree. why then do we find it difficult to see the antitype in christ? glorious as is our wonderful christ in his completeness, even he would abide unproductive and alone were it not for the truth most glorious that from himself will come forth a spiritual eve, the bride of christ, who in her time will be the mother of thousands of millions of reborn men, numberless as the stars of the universe. there has been much misunderstanding concerning the sons of god and the bride. the sons of god now being prepared are the true body of christ. they must not be confused with the bride. the sons of god compose the bridegroom. jesus christ with all the elect sons who have been prepared in this age constitute the bridegroom company. this is the fullness of christ. adam is the type the sons of god are the antitype. adam was first formed, then eve. let us not forget that or der. to fulfill the type, christ, the last adam, is first formed in fullness, then the bride by him. the first adam was formed on the sixth day. the last man adam is formed on the sixth dispensational day, the age of grace. eve, the bride, was not formed on the sixth day. she was taken from adam some time later. how much later i do not know. so also the bride of christ is not formed on the sixth dispensational day. she first appears in all her glory descending from god out of heaven at the end of the millennial kingdom of god. rev.
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21927 our understanding of the whole plan of god for the reconciliation of all things becomes clearer once we understand that it is not until the woman, the bride, treasures of truth, volume 27, the abrahamic covenant george r. hawtin book 39 appears that true fruitfulness begins. if through adam and ev e the billions of natural men have been born, then the antitype is abundantly clear that through christ and t he bride all those billions who have been born will now be born again. that is not first which is spiritual but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. once we grasp the significance of the natural, it is not difficult to follow gods purpose through into the spiritual. the saints may learn a great lesson by noticing that all gods works, both natural and spiritual, follow a distinct pattern. for instance, everything that lives, be it a tree, an insect, an animal, a man or a son of god, grows from a seed. again, everything in creation travels in an orbit. dust thou art and to dust shalt thou return. the wind blows from the north to the south and turns about and blows back to the north again. all the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is never full. from the place whence the waters came thither they return again. the sun rises in the east and sets in the west and hastens to the place where he arose. see eccles. 149 again, in all forms of life god has made male and female. all living creatures are male and female and not least among them is mankind. god himself is male and female in one. he could not be perfect if it were not so. when the lord made adam in his own image, adam was both male and female in one person. thus he remained until the lord separated the masculine from the feminine, making adam and eve, man and woman, to exist separately for the purpose of procreation. certain as this is, inspiration declares both in the old testament and in the new that the man and his wife, though separate, are one flesh. indeed, it was adam who first uttered that truth when he said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh. gen. 22324 paul likewise knew this truth and added, this is a great mystery nevertheless, i speak concerning christ and the church. speaking of the church, he was probably referring to that part of the ecclesia which will eventually form the bride of christ. throughout the works of god the pattern is clearly visible, teaching us that the male is fruitless until the female appears. the bachelor must abide alone until he receives a bride.
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then and only then the increase begins. we may be reverently assured that this same pattern exists in the spiritual realm. the sons of god, who form the body of christ and the bridegroom, will become fully fr uitful only after the bride appears and is presented to christ. i will deal more fully with this as we proceed and then i trust we will see the universal increase, which the word declares with such assurance. dear reader, i ask this one question of you before we proceed further. in your meditations concerning the bride of christ hav e you discovered the purpose for her existence? or have you thought of her as something romantically meaningless? on the other hand, have you seen the bride as vitally essential to gods plan for the restitution of all things? to me it seems particularly clear that the formation of the bride of christ is a work completely necessary to the final rebirth and reconciliation of all things. though gods word declares with assurance that christ hath reconciled all things to himself, the final fulfillment of that work must await the sacred hour when the bride of christ is complete and ready, as i shall clearly show in the final pages of this chapter. a bride for isaac the bible is the word of god. every jot and tittle of it fr om genesis to revelation is as true as god is true. no man anywhere has ever proved any of its statements to be in error or any of its history or prophecy inaccurate. not only is the bible the word of god, but it is also the most intriguing story ever written. it gives the account of creation and the fall of man. it tells of battles, of shipwrecks, of faithfulness, of murder and betrayal, and it contains without doubt the most romantic love stories ever recorded. the complete romance of isaac and rebekah is a bit too long to write in detail here, but if the reader will refresh himself by reading genesis, chapter twentyfour, he will have the beautiful account in its fullness. it will, however, be necessary to quote some of that narrative here. as you read the tale, you will become aware that abraham is a type of god the father, isaac is a type of the son, eliezer, the servant, represents the holy spirit seeking the bride, and rebekah herself is the bride. and abraham was old, and well stricken in age and the lord had blessed abraham in all things.
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