(Continued from page 138.)
Viewed thus, these seven days all drop into line from Genesis to Revelation, as the parts of a perfect whole, with no clash or discord.
By a careful reference to 2 Peter 3:7, 10. 12, 18, with the aid of the R. V. (or J. N. D. trans.), the two points are strikingly put before us :-
First, " The day of the Lord" verse 10; this is " the day of judgment" of verse 8, and lasts for 1000 years. It is " the day of judgment" because it begins with the judgment of the quick, and closes with a judgment of the dead; and all through there will be cases of judgment or punishment, if evil rises- righteousness will reign.
The last part of that day, "the day of the Lord" (the nightfall of the dispensation) "the heavens shall pass away, and the earth shall be burned up " (compare verse 10 and Rev. 20:ii). Everything will pass under the judgment, and all evil cleansed away to give place to eternity-to new heavens and a new earth. This shows us how that "the day of the Lord " will be one of preparation for a grander and more glorious one beyond.
The New Translation will help in verse 12:" Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God," because, or "by reason of which, the heavens being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements, burning with heat, shall melt." This judgment, then, will take place at the close of the day of the Lord for a special reason-to clear the way for the day of God. In this day of God (eternity), all being then perfect, God's rest will also be reached:this is what the Christian looks for. In the New Translation, verse 18 closes with "to the day of eternity"-the last word of the epistle. To this the seventh day of Gen. 2:points, and is the subject of Heb. 4:4-11.
Fourth.-Another point needs examination now. It has been urged that the "eighth day,"and not the seventh, gives us the thought of eternity. No part of Scripture need be kept in the background, or hidden, while giving another a place. As we have said, all forms part of a perfect whole, and all are but different touches on the same canvas and by the same Hand. The whole is perfect, and each part only brings out the whole more perfectly.
In examining the " eighth day," it will be well to observe, at the outset, that there is no eighth day in Gen. 1:and 2:None is needed there. The Millennial age and the eternal state are perfectly set before us in the sixth and seventh days, completing the cycle of God's labor and final rest. But the "eighth day " appears further on in the Scriptures, and we will examine each place, and see what they point to.
Abraham circumcised Isaac on the eighth day, and the eighth day became the day of circumcision (Gen. 21:4).
The lesson here is moral rather than dispensational. Circumcision kept in view the work of the Cross (Col. 2:ii); and at the Cross circumcision has its fulfilment. Seven days passed over the history of every male child before circumcision; and we believe that seven days fairly set forth the whole period of man's history, from the time sin entered by Adam until Christ came and was "cut off out of the land of the living"-"the circumcision of Christ."
The trial of man for 4000 years (forty centuries) is full proof of his depravity and corruption; and so, in the cross of Christ the first man passes under the judgment of God and is set aside. In Col. 2:ii we have the effect of this judgment for the children of God-" the putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ." Here we learn the lesson of the "seven days." That Cross, which was the end in judgment of sinful man and his corrupt flesh, lays the basis for a new creation, a new race, a new family; and Christ rises the eighth day, the Head of the new creation, the beginning, the first-born from the dead. Here we get the lessons of Gen. 17:and 21:-the lessons of circumcision, the eighth day, and the seven days previous.
We now pass on to Lev. 8:and 9:, and we read of another "eighth day;" but the lessons are far different to Gen. 21::a proof that the Scriptures are not like cast iron, which can bear no change.
Nay, Scripture is perfect; it is, in the master Hand, to serve His perfect will at every step; yet never a clash, never a flaw.
Here, in Lev. 8:and 9:, Aaron and his sons were consecrated for the priest's office-a type of Christ and His Church. Their consecration lasted seven whole days, and during this time they were shut inside the sacred enclosure-the fine-twined linen court-and feasted in all this period upon "the things wherewith the atonement was made " (see also Exodus 29:).What a lovely sight as we view them in that sacred enclosure; what a beautiful picture spreads before us on the can was for seven whole days! What a contrast to the previous seven days before circumcision! The lesson there was man's trial and what it brings out; here, in Aaron and his sons, we believe the seven days are this whole present period, while Christ is "hidden."And we, who belong to the same sphere, are shut in with Him; and our food, meat and drink are the things wherewith the atonement was made. But this period ended, as our present period shall also :Aaron and Moses reappeared that eighth day, and "the glory of the Lord appeared also" (Lev. 9:i, 22, 23).This eighth day points to the time when our Lord shall return as the King-priest with uplifted hands to bless-the Millennial glory. Here we are on dispensational lines; the previous seven days answer more to the whole period of our dispensation, and our happy occupation. The eighth day, therefore, is the Millennium, as in this connection the eighth does not apply to the eternal state, but rather to the 1000 years, if we allow it, as all Scripture, to fill its proper place. In Gen. 21:the eighth day answered well in type to the beginning of the new creation; here, in Lev. 9:to the beginning of a new day, or era, for Israel and the earth-the "regeneration" of Matt. 19:28.
Another application of the "eighth day" is quite parallel-in Mark 9:and Luke 9:28, where the transfiguration is spoken of as "about an eight days after " -which none can doubt to be a Millennial picture. Seven days had preceded this, as in Gen. 21:and Lev. 9:The Lord had announced to them His sufferings-the cross; then seven days run their course, and then we see His Millennial glory upon an eighth. In these last two cases the "eighth " is uniform, and fits well with the subject.
Next, we will see another "eighth day "in Lev. 23:33-43, where we get the Jewish calendar for the whole year, describing the appointed feasts, or "seasons " of Jehovah in order.
The seventh, and last of all, in the Autumn, was the "Feast of Tabernacles;" in which they were to build booths (tents), and rejoice seven days before the Lord:the season was ending, and the harvest was past; and they rejoice in God's goodness seven whole days. We believe this points to the whole period of Millennial joy, the last of the dispensations, which will eclipse all the previous ones ; and the seven days represent the whole period.
The first seven (in Genesis), before circumcision, represents the trial of man-the whole trial (past). The next seven (in Lev. 9:and Luke 9:) foreshadow the present period, of Christ on high, and our association with Him, etc. But in Lev. 23:it is a future period that is before us-a Millennial picture of Israel in fulness of joy. Here, one might think, all was complete; but Jehovah adds another day to the list, and says there was to be an eighth day, and this eighth was also to be a Sabbath (vers. 36, 39).
Now the question fairly rises, To what can the eighth day here refer ? None could say that it was the same as Lev. 9:or Luke 9:In those places it suited well as a type of the Millennium; but here, in Lev. 23:, the seven days, clearly, are a beautiful Millennial type; and the " eighth " points to the new age, " the age of the ages "-eternity. Here it suits eternity well, as a new scene-new heavens and a new earth. But it is a Sabbath also, and foreshadows the same period as the Sabbath itself in Gen. 2:Thus, instead of a clash, it gives added luster to the truth that it is meant to teach and illustrate. Thus we see the largeness and freeness of the ways of God in using days as types to serve His pleasure and purpose. What a mine of wealth here lies open before us, and each added thought only enhances the beauty and perfection of the word of our God from beginning to end!
Oh that "critics" would only open their eyes to see these perfections and beauties! and that Christians also, who believe God's word, would be free from that narrow prejudice that hinders the soul enjoying the whole scope of Divine Truth!
In Gen. 1:and 2:we see that the sixth day is a grand Millennial picture, and the Sabbath almost a perfect type of eternity.
In Lev. 9:and Luke 9:the eighth is a passing picture of the Millennium.
In Lev. 23:an eighth day is also a picture of eternity, as well as the seventh in Gen. 2:; and the two are joined together in Leviticus by the eighth day, itself being there a special Sabbath.
These beautiful lessons concerning the days of Scripture touch a subject precious to every child of God:may the reader follow on further in this mine of wealth!
Lev. 23:begins with the Sabbath as a theme (ver. 3); and the Feast of Tabernacles, of seven days' duration, closes with an eighth day, which is also a Sabbath (ver. 39). The theme kept before the mind at the beginning and the close of the year, in their "set seasons," is the Sabbath. Rest-the rest of God-is His thought. The Israelite saw but little of those typical lessons; perhaps scarce a ray of light beyond the yearly feasts. But the Spirit has added . further light and truth, enabling us to see in those Scriptures the shadows of good things to come. Hence Lev. 23:, beginning with rest and closing with the same, gives us God's thought, and His appointed "seasons," from eternity to eternity. A. E. B.