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THE RANSOM AND THE SIN-OFFERING
NOTWITHSTANDING all that we have written
on the subjects of the Ransom and the
Sin-Offering in the STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES,
in THE WATCH TOWER and in the
TABERNACLE SHADOWS, it would appear that
some of our dear readers are not yet clear
in respect to these matters. Some even confuse
themselves and others by hinting that
"Brother Russell has changed his views--or
that the STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES contradict
THE WATCH TOWER. These are harmful mistakes.
Should our views change we will state the change in no
uncertain terms. We therefore make a renewed effort to
make plain what we believe to be the proper interpretation
of these subjects.
"The Ransom-Price relates to the valuable thing itself;
namely, the blood or death of Christ--a ransom price
sufficient for the payment of the penalty of one member
of the human family or of all, as it may be applied."--
Z'09, p. 309.
The Ransom views the matter of man's recovery
from sin and death as a purchase--a Redemption. The
basis of this thought is the Divine Law, "an eye for an
eye, a tooth for a tooth, a man's life for a man's life."
(Deuteronomy 19:21.) Adam and his entire race of
thousands of millions are in dire distress through sin
and its penalty. God has provided a recovery by a Ransom
process--purchasing back from their fallen condition.
Our first thought naturally would be that to redeem,
or purchase back, the right of humanity to life, would
mean that each member of Adam's race must be purchased
by the life of another person, holy, harmless, unsentenced.
But looking deeply into God's Plan we find
that only one man was tried before the Divine Court--
namely, Father Adam; that only Adam was sentenced to
death; and that all of his children go into death, not because
of their individual trial and death, but simply
because Adam, having failed to maintain his perfection,
was unable to give his children more life or rights than
he possessed. And so it has been throughout the entire
period of six thousand years from the time of Father
Adam's sentence until now.
Here we see a wonderful economic feature connected
with the Divine Plan. God would not permit more than
one member of the human race to be tried and sentenced
to death; for His purpose from the beginning was that
the sacrifice of one life should redeem the entire human
race. By one man the whole trouble came; by another Man the whole trouble will be rectified. This the Apostle
points out, saying, "As by a man came death, by a man
comes also the resurrection of the dead; for as all in
Adam die, even so all in Christ shall be made alive--
every man in his own order."--1 Corinthians 15:21-23.
[R5873 : page 87]
Thus we see the value of Jesus' death--that it was
not merely for Adam, but included all his posterity. We
see, too, how necessary it was that Jesus should be "holy,
harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners"; otherwise,
He, like the remainder of the race, would have
been under a Divine death sentence. Because all of
Adam's race were involved in sin and its penalty it was
necessary to find an outsider to be the world's Redeemer;
and that outsider, whether angel, cherub, or the great
Michael Himself, the Logos, must exchange the spirit
nature for the human nature in order to be a corresponding price--a Ransom for the first man.
It was not a God that sinned; hence the death of a
God could not redeem. It was not a cherub that sinned;
hence the death of a cherub could not redeem. It was a
man who sinned, and the ransom for him must be furnished
by the death of a man. It was for this cause that
the great Logos, in carrying out the Divine Plan for
human redemption, left the glory which He had with the
Father before the world was, humbled Himself and became
a man, "was made a little lower than the angels,
for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor
[the perfection of human nature]; that He, by the grace
of God, should taste death for every man."--Hebrews 2:9.
RANSOM PRICE AND RANSOM WORK
If we have established clearly what a ransom is, and
that Jesus was the only One suitable to be a Ransom for
Father Adam, our next point is to show from the Bible
that He did give Himself as a Ransom. We have the
word of Jesus Himself on the subject (Matthew 20:28);
and also St. Paul's testimony, "the Man Christ Jesus,
[R5873 : page 88] who gave Himself a Ransom-price for all, to be testified
in due time." (1 Tim. 2:6.) This proves that the
giving of the price sufficient to ransom Adam and all his
race was accomplished in Jesus' death at Calvary.
But the work of ransoming Adam and his race is much
more than merely the providing of the Ransom-price.
The thought connected with the word Ransom goes beyond
the mere giving and appropriating of the price. It
includes the recovery of Adam and his race from the
power of sin and death. Manifestly, this work has not
yet been accomplished; indeed, it has scarcely begun.
The only disposition thus far of the Ransom, the merit,
has been its imputation to the Church, and this only by
faith. The Church is not yet glorified as a whole--not
yet delivered from the power of sin and death completely.
Manifestly, then, it will require the entire thousand years
of Messiah's Kingdom to ransom, to deliver, to set free,
from the power of sin and death, Adam and all his children.
Consequently, the Ransom work, which began more
than eighteen centuries ago, is still to be accomplished.
There is no difficulty about the Ransom-price; for
that price has been in the hands of Justice for nearly
nineteen centuries. But it has been unapplied as respects
the world and only imputed to the Church that has been
called out from the world during this Gospel Age. The
full completion of the Ransoming work will include what
the Bible speaks of, saying, "I will ransom them from the
power of the grave." (Hosea 13:14.) Nor will the Ransoming
work be fully accomplished when the last member
of the race has been delivered from the power of the
grave; for there will still be a great resurrecting work
to be done--a raising up out of imperfection of mind,
morals and physique, to the full image and likeness of
God, lost through Adam's disobedience and redeemed by
the precious blood at Calvary.
THE SIN-OFFERING IS DIFFERENT
With the thought of the Ransom before our minds, we
now investigate the subject of the Sin-Offering, remembering
to keep the two subjects separate and distinct.
"The Sin-Offering shows the manner in which the Ransom-price
is applicable, or effective, to the cancelation of
the sins of the whole world." (Z '09, 309.) The Sin-Offering
does not require so long a time for its accomplishment
as does the Ransom. We have already seen
that the Ransoming work has been in progress nearly
nineteen centuries, and will be in progress nearly ten
centuries in the future, or a total of twenty-nine centuries.
But the Sin-Offering will all be completed before
the glorious Reign of Christ begins, His Church then
being with Him in glory.
The Sin-Offering of Israel's Atonement Day shows
us the same sacrifice of Jesus which constitutes the Ransom-price,
but it is a different picture; for it shows how
God appropriates the merit of Christ in behalf of human
sins. This matter was pictured in that feature of the
Law which provided the Day of Atonement. The sin-offerings
were its principal feature. There were two.
First was the bullock of sin-offering, which was furnished
by the priest himself, the blood of which was made
applicable to the priest's own family and tribe. This we
see represented the death of Jesus, and the primary imputation
of His merit to the Church of the First-borns.
This Church consists of two classes. First, is the
priestly class, who, like the High Priest, are especially
devoted to God and His service, who "present their bodies
living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, their reasonable
service." (Romans 12:1.) In the type these were
pictured both by Aaron's sons and by the body of
Aaron, he being the head. Thus the Apostle speaks of
Christ as being the Head of the Church, which is His
Body, we being "members in particular of the Body of
Christ."--1 Corinthians 12:27.
Second, there is the other class of the Church which,
although making the same Covenant of Sacrifice, fail to
go on obediently to lay down their lives in the Lord's
service. They do not draw back to sin and to death, but
neither do they go on to the sacrificing stage: hence they
constitute a secondary class, servants of the first class.
These were typified in the Levites, who were the servants
of the priests. These are not to be in the Throne with
the sacrificing Priests, the Royal Priesthood, but are to
serve God in His Temple. They are not to have the
crowns of Glory, but will be granted eventually palms
of victory. And all not found worthy of a place in either
of these classes will die the Second Death.
In this picture the Lord shows us a special imputation
of the merit of Jesus for the sins of His consecrated
people only; and that these, justified by the merit of
Jesus, are thus qualified through His merit to be sharers
with Him in His glorious priestly functions.
THE SECONDARY SIN-OFFERING
The secondary Sin-Offering of the typical Atonement
Day was called the Lord's Goat. It was not provided by
the typical High Priest, as was the bullock, but was taken
from the people. Indeed, two goats were taken at the
same time, as representing the two classes of the Church.
The sacrificing class or priestly class were represented by
the Lord's goat. The less zealous of the Church, the
antitypical Levites, were represented in the second goat--
the Scape Goat. It was the Lord's Goat class, the under
priesthood, that constituted the secondary Sin-Offering.
The account says that the Lord's Goat was sacrificed
and was in every way dealt with in precisely the same
manner as the bullock, which preceded it. Thus the type
tells us that the Church must walk in the footsteps of her
Lord, sacrificially even unto death. We should remember
that the blood of the bullock was not applied for the sins
of the people, but merely for the sins of the high priest's
family and tribe--typically for the Church. We should
also notice that this secondary Sin-Offering, the Lord's
Goat, was not offered for the same persons; for they
needed no further offering. It was offered by the high
priest as a secondary part of his own original offering;
and its merit was made applicable to all the people, to
bring atonement to all.
In the antitype, the High Priest, Jesus, completed His
own personal Sacrifice at Calvary. Forty days later He
ascended up on High, and appeared before the Mercy
Seat and presented the merit of His Sacrifice, not for
the world, but for the Church. As the Apostle writes,
"He appeared in the presence of God for us," the Church
--not for the world. (Hebrews 9:24.) This is in full
accord with what we have just seen in the type.
Ever since Pentecost the Lord has been accepting the
consecrated persons represented in the two goats; and
those sufficiently zealous He has accepted as His members,
and has been offering them up as a part of His own
Sacrifice. Soon He will have finished this work--when
the last member of His Body shall have been found faithful
unto death. The next step in the antitype will be for
the High Priest then to present again at the Mercy Seat
the blood of the antitypical Lord's Goat as His own blood
--otherwise, the sacrifice of His Church as part of His
own Sacrifice. This He makes applicable to the sin of all
the people--the original sin of all the people.
At that moment, which we believe is in the near future
now, the Father will turn over to the Son all the people,
their sins fully forgiven so far as the original transgression
[R5873 : page 89] is concerned. Forthwith Messiah's Kingdom, established
in power and great glory, will begin to deal with
the world for its rescue from sin and death, for the ultimate
uplift to human perfection of all who are willing
and obedient to the regulations of His Kingdom.
PUNISHMENT FOR SINS AGAINST LIGHT
Meantime, there will be other sins of the world not
included in the Adamic transgression. The Sin-Offerings
are merely for Adam's sin and all the various weaknesses
and imperfections which flow from that original sin. The
other sins will be such as are not to be attributed to
human weakness, but which represent more or less of sin
against knowledge, against light. Full, wilful sin against
[R5874 : page 89] full light would bring upon the sinner the Second Death.
But only a few have had full light, full knowledge, full
opportunity; and hence very few indeed will have sinned
the sin unto death.
Wherever the light of the Gospel has gone, however,
a certain measure of knowledge has gone, and a certain
measure of responsibility accrues; and God intimates that
He keeps a very exact accounting with all. Every sin
must receive a just recompense of reward. The penalty
of Adam's sin has reached down in a general way over
the whole race for six thousand years; but the penalty
must be paid for the other sins of which we speak, sins
which were more or less wilful, more or less against light
and knowledge and which have not been previously expiated,
but which have been accumulating since Pentecost.
Before the New Dispensation can rightly be ushered
in with all its blessings, the world's accounts must be fully
squared. It will be the settlement of these accounts
against the world which will bring the great Time of
Trouble such as never was since there was a nation--the
Time of Trouble which we believe has begun in the present
war, and which will progress until the great catastrophe
of anarchy will complete it in the near future.
Then the accounts of Justice having been squared in that
great Time of Trouble, the blessings of Messiah's Kingdom
will immediately begin.
THE VALUE OF THE SCAPE GOAT'S SUFFERING
However, God is a very strict Accountant. As He
is sure to count against the world all wilful disobedience,
and especially all persecutions of His Church, so also He
is willing to give the world credit on account wherever
possible. This, we believe, is intimated in the picture
given us of a work which followed the Sin-Offerings;
namely, the confessing over the head of the scape goat
certain transgressions of the people, and the sending
away of the scape goat into the wilderness.
Understanding that this scape goat represents some
of God's consecrated people who have failed to live up
to their privileges, we understand this to signify that
these will go into a great Time of Trouble, as represented
in Revelation 7:14. There they are represented
as coming up out of great tribulation and washing their
robes and making them white in the Blood of the Lamb.
Those tribulations coming upon the Great Company
class, the Levite class, are not tribulations for wilful
sins, but tribulations for the destruction of the flesh, in
harmony with the Covenant entered into by this class, a
Covenant of Sacrifice, which they failed to keep. The
sufferings of this Great Company class, we understand,
therefore, go as a credit to the world to square the account
of the world's sins against light and especially
against God's people. The Time of Trouble will be especially
against the hypocrites, but the Great Company
Class will have their portion with the hypocrites and be
bearers of a certain share of punishment due the world.
That we may clearly note the character of sins for
which the world is held responsible, let us recall the
statement of Rev. 6:9-11, "I saw under the altar the
souls of them that were slain for the Word of God and
for the testimony which they held; and they cried with a
loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true,
dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that
dwell on the earth? and white robes were given unto
them"; and they were told that they should wait "a little
season," until their brethren, who also were persecuted,
should have the persecutions accomplished in them.
Thus the same idea respecting the Divine requirements
in the end of the Gospel Age is given to us that
Jesus specified in regard to the Jews in the end of their
Age. He said that all the righteous blood shed on the
earth from the time of Abel down, would be required of
that generation--to square the accounts. (Matthew 23:34-36.)
In the great time of trouble with which the
Jewish Age ended, those accounts were squared up to
that time. Similarly we expect that all the remaining
accounts of the world will be squared during the culmination
of the great Time of Trouble--just before us.
THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW COVENANT
The Apostle, in contrasting the typical and the antitypical
Sin-Offering, declares that Jesus, not by the blood
of bulls and of goats, but by His own blood, accomplishes
the blessings. (Hebrews 9:11-15.) And again, the sacrifices
of the antitypical High Priest are styled the "better
sacrifices"--in the plural. This points us back to the
institution of the Jewish Covenant arrangement, where
Moses took the blood of bulls and goats and inaugurated
the Law Covenant, sprinkling first the Tables of the Law,
and afterwards the people, with the blood.--Exod. 24:3-8.
The question arises, Why did Moses use the blood of
bulls--plural--and of goats--plural; whereas in the type
of Leviticus 16 the blood of one bullock and the blood of
one goat alone was used? We reply that there was really
but the one antitypical bullock, the one Man Christ Jesus
who died for us; and that there is really but one antitypical
Goat, the one Church, which is accepted by the
Lord as His Body, and is associated with, and part of,
His sacrifice. But in the inauguration of the Law Covenant,
more than one animal of each kind was necessary
because of the multitudes of the people of Israel who
were to be sprinkled with that blood. The blood of one
bullock and of one goat would not have been sufficient;
hence the statement, bulls and goats--in the plural--and
yet not definitely stated as to how many; for it was really
the one bullock and the one goat duplicated as many times
as was necessary to provide a sufficiency of blood for the
sprinkling of all the people.
In the antitype, when the New Law Covenant will be
inaugurated by Messiah's Kingdom, the blood of Christ,
as represented in the blood of Jesus and also in that of
His associated sacrifices, the Church, will be used in
sprinkling, or satisfying the Divine Law, first of all.
This will be the basis for the turning over, to the Kingdom
of Messiah, of the whole world by the Father. Then
will progress the work of sprinkling all the people with
the blood--the work of cleansing mankind--giving all
men the benefits secured by the redeeming blood.
THE ANTITYPICAL ATONEMENT DAY
We trust that from the foregoing our readers will see
clearly the distinction between the Ransom which Jesus
gave and its application; and the Sin-Offerings of this
Gospel Age and what they signify. We wish now to impress
a further point; namely, that the Sin-Offerings were
associated with the Day of Atonement for sin in the type [R5874 : page 90] and in the antitype. The antitypical Day of Atonement
began with our Lord Jesus and His sacrifices. The entire
Gospel Age has been a part of this Day of Atonement.
This Day will witness the full completion of all the sin
atonement and more; for all of the Millennial Age will
be a part of the antitypical Atonement Day.
The sacrifices of the Day of Atonement are merely
the means to an end. The end to be attained is the blessing
of the world, and the bringing of the world back to
at-one-ment, or harmony, with God. That work will require
all of the Millennial Age. It will include the
teaching of the world, the restoration of mankind to all
that was lost in Adam and redeemed at Calvary. The
Sin-Offerings of the Atonement Day merely represent
God's Purpose in the use of the Sacrifices which must be
completed before the world's at-one-ment with God can
begin to go into effect.
So, then, let us hope that all will henceforth see clearly
that the Sin-Offerings of the Atonement Day and its
Sacrifices constitute a picture of the processes by which
God accomplishes the world's blessings; while the Ransom is entirely distinct, and shows the work of Jesus
alone and its ultimate effect for mankind throughout the
whole wide world.
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