I. PROPITIATION.- (Continued.)

And first, let us notice that the purification of the sanctuary is, in Hebrews as in Leviticus, what the blood accomplishes. "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." (Chap. 9:22-24.)

Thus Christ enters into the heavens to cleanse them for us; not as if His sacrifice had not been accepted already, but He brings in the power of the accepted sacrifice to give us entrance there. Of entrance indeed on our part the Old Testament type said nothing; there was yet no rent veil, the "first" or outer "tabernacle was still standing." This the later revelation adds to the earlier.

When He enters (once for all) He enters how? " By (Δια, "by means of," chap. 9:12) His own blood," says the apostle-" in the power of it.* *Εv, "in" instrumentally, "in the power of,"-"with blood of others," ver. 25.* "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place; having obtained eternal redemption." And again, " Nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high-priest entereth into the holy place every year with"-or "in the power of,"-"blood of others; but now, once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself."

In the last case we have indeed but the inference from the type, "in the power of blood of others;" but the first quotation is direct proof. He entered (as High-priest, of course,) by His own blood. Thus the power of the blood was proved by His very entrance. And this is seen by the fact that literally He carried in no blood ; He simply went in Himself. Acceptance of His work preceded entrance, and thus in triumph and in power He entered.

At what time, and in what manner was this entrance for all? I answer, it was assuredly as risen from the dead, not otherwise. Take one of I lie beautiful and emphatic types of the Old Testament,-that of the two birds. The second bird, released after the death of his fellow, is the well-known symbol of Christ risen from the dead. But it bears with it, as it spreads its wings toward heaven, the precious blood which speaks of atonement finished. This, it may be said, is a matter of interpretation. This is true, but the interpretation is not doubtful; the sprinkling of blood upon the leper before release shows that He is raised again for our justification before entering heaven as thus viewed. It shows that this last is by ascension.

And the doctrine of Scripture is every where of one piece with this. If it is for our justification that Christ is raised, we are quickened and raised up with Him and after this follows "seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Would it be Scriptural or consistent, to disturb this order, and to make the seating in the heavenly places precede the being quickened and raised up with Him?

Again,-" Wherefore He saith, when He ascended up on high He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men;"-and again:"That ye may know what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places." (Eph. 4:8; 1:19, 20.) Is not this the same entrance into heaven as when the apostle speaks of "the forerunner for us entered". and "an high-priest set on the throne of the majesty in the heaven," who "by His own blood entered in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption" (Heb. 6:20; 8:i; 9:12)?

If it be "once"-that is, "once for all," He entered in, is not this His entrance? or could we say, that God set Him twice at His right hand?

Is not all this consistent? Has it not one voice? And is it not abundantly confirming of the immediate acceptance of the precious blood which needed only to be shed to be accepted? For "Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost, and behold, the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." (Matt, 27:50-53.) Christ having been in the distance, there is none ; and dying, death gives up its prisoners.

What, then, is the Scriptural doctrine of propitiation?

We have seen that propitiation and atonement are in fact identical:atonement is propitiation or satisfaction of the divine nature; apart from it wrath rests upon the sinner, even although God loves and seeks us when we are dead in trespasses and sins. This propitiation is by Another standing in our stead, bearing the wrath necessarily upon us, and then dying for our sins; His blood, therefore, the witness of complete satisfaction.

In the type the application of the blood propitiated as to whatever it was applied to:altar, throne, person were cleansed by its being sprinkled on them. In all this the blood itself was never in question, but manifested its power, and was borne witness to, in this application of it. In the antitype it is spiritually, not literally applied, of course:our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience ; by His blood Christ enters the heavens for us.

And this propitiation is manifested in progressive steps, in which all its value is brought out and made over to us.

First, by His passing out of the darkness into the light, the wrath borne and ended, which means satisfaction found.

Then the rent vail which follows His death, in which the way into the holiest is shown to be prepared.

Next, resurrection is the public justification of those that are His own.

Then He ascends to heaven, our forerunner and representative, and the Holy Ghost coming out is a witness to us. (To be continued.")