The Atonement

2. THE REDEMPTION OF THE EARTH

It was remarked that the redemption of man did not contemplate merely a restoration to that state which he occupied when he was created; as he was then placed upon probation for life. But they who are redeemed from sin and death have passed through probation; they have secured eternal life; they are brought into that condition which God purposed that man should occupy when he had faithfully fulfilled his period of trial and received the boon of immortality. In like manner, the earth will be more than restored to its primitive condition. When man was created his dominion was not in the condition for which it was designed. He was told to “multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.” The Lord “planted a garden eastward in Eden,” and man was appointed “to dress it and to keep it.” Had he remained innocent, and retained his position in the garden, as his descendants multiplied they would have extended the garden in the process of subduing the earth, until its surface had become one vast garden—a scene of surpassing loveliness. But sin at once arrested the work. The ground was cursed; the garden was removed; the tree of life was taken away; and in its stead thorns and thistles sprung up to increase man’s cares and labors. The curse upon the earth, the growth of thorns and thistles, the absence of the tree of life, were no more a part of God’s original purpose concerning the earth, than sin and misery were in his original purpose concerning man. And, of course, the full accomplishment of his original purpose will bring the whole earth to a state of beauty; when the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose, and the wilderness be like Eden, even as the garden of the Lord. Isaiah 35:1; 51:3. Both man and his dominion must and will be placed beyond the reach of the curse; beyond the power and the danger of moral and physical evil. AERS 295.1

The wondrous mercy and love of God in providing a way of salvation at such an immense sacrifice as the gift of his own dear Son, was not appreciated by the fallen race. As men multiplied upon the earth they corrupted their way before God, and the land was filled with violence and iniquity. When they had gone astray almost without exception, the Lord determined to check this career of crime, and destroy the wicked generation. Noah alone, of all the millions living, had maintained his integrity. The purpose of mercy to the race was carried out in him. AERS 296.1

After the flood, as the inhabitants of the earth again increased, instead of humbling themselves before the Most High, who had so wondrously made known his justice and his power, they made the flood an excuse to justify their insane ambition, and they set themselves to build a tower by means of which they might defy the power of the Almighty! In this they showed as little regard for his authority and might, as they had faith in his promise of which the bow in the cloud was a token. But the Lord is not straitened in resources to frustrate the purposes of the rebellious. He confounded their language so that they could no longer plan and labor in concert, and they, of necessity, “left off to build it.” AERS 296.2

As the people on the earth were now divided into nations, and all going astray from the Lord, it became necessary to separate one family, one people, to preserve the knowledge of God, and by whom to develop the plan of salvation and to identify the promised seed of the woman who was to bruise the head of the serpent. In the midst of all this perverseness, Abraham stood alone, a man of singular integrity and steadfastness in the right, insomuch that he was favored with the remarkable title of “the friend of God.” He was constituted the father of all the faithful who should live upon the earth, even to the end of time; and to the promise made to him we are directed to look for our hope. See Hebrews 6:11-20. AERS 297.1

Also it is said, “And if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29. Our heirship is, therefore, directly related to the promise made to Abraham. What is the promise? Of what are we heirs? It has been said by some that the only promise given to Abraham in which we have any interest is that of “the seed,” or of Christ. But that cannot be so, for the apostle in this same chapter, Galatians 3:16, says that the promises were made to Abraham and to Christ; not of Christ. If we are Christ’s we are heirs of the same promises. This is further proved in Romans 8:17, where it is said that if we are the children of God we are “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” Thus it appears that certain promises were made to Abraham and to his seed; that the seed is, primarily, Christ, and secondarily, they that are Christ’s; heirs with him of the promises. AERS 297.2

According to the Scriptures it is an important consideration for us to be acknowledged as the seed or heirs of Abraham. Now it cannot be an important matter to be proved an heir of him who has nothing to bestow. What, then, was the promise, what the inheritance, which we may expect to receive from Abraham, our father? That the promise was of an inheritance, of a possession, or, so to speak, of a homestead, is abundantly proved in both Testaments. Thus Paul said of Abraham: “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.” Hebrews 11:9. And further in verse 13: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” AERS 298.1

As strangers and pilgrims they dwelt in the land of promise; although it was to be their inheritance, they dwelt in it as in a strange country, and died in faith of the promise yet to be fulfilled. This language is unmistakable in its import. In its obvious import it is fully sustained by the words of Stephen. The Lord said unto Abraham: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee.... And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on; yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.” Acts 7:3-5. And we learn by Hebrews 11 that he died without receiving it; therefore the promise remains to be fulfilled; and if to be fulfilled to him, of course “to his seed,”—all that are Christ’s. AERS 298.2

When we come to examine the original promises in the Old Testament, to which the writers in the New Testament refer, we shall find that “the land” is their chief burden. When the Lord called Abraham at the first he told him to go into a land which he would show him. And when he came into Canaan the Lord appeared unto him and said, “Unto thy seed will I give this land; and there he builded an altar unto the Lord.” Genesis 12:1, 7. After Lot was separated from him the promise was renewed. That the prominence of this point may be seen, we copy in full what was said to him on this occasion. AERS 299.1

“And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.” Genesis 13:14-17. AERS 299.2

At the next repetition of the promise this point is made especially prominent, as follows: “And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.” Genesis 15:7. And again, “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 possession, and I will be their God.” Genesis 17:8. Thus the Lord has spoken the word that he brought Abraham out of his native land to give him the land that he would show him, and to his seed, for an everlasting possession. This was his purpose; but this purpose was never fulfilled; Abraham, with his posterity, died in faith of its fulfillment, and as God is faithful it will certainly be brought to pass. AERS 300.1

That this promise of the land was deeply impressed upon the minds of the patriarchs is proved by their references to it. When Abraham sent his servant to take a wife for Isaac, he said: “The Lord God of Heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.” Genesis 24:7. AERS 300.2

The Lord also appeared unto Isaac in Gerar, as he was on his way to Egypt, and said unto him: “Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and I will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father.” Genesis 26:2, 3. It is worthy of remark that in this, the only instance recorded of God speaking to Isaac, he commences with renewing the promise of the land, in fulfillment of his word and oath unto Abraham. And in the only instance recorded of Isaac referring to God’s promises to his father, “the land” is the main subject of mention. He sent away Jacob to take a wife of his kindred in Padan-aram, saying: “And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.” Genesis 28:3, 4. AERS 301.1

And Jacob went on his way, and he lodged in Luz, and the Lord appeared also to him in a dream, and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed.” Genesis 28:13. And again, after his sojourn in that land, the Lord appeared unto him as he came out of Padan-aram, and said unto him: “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.” Genesis 35:11, 12. And finally, Joseph charged his brethren to carry his bones out of Egypt, saying: “And God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” Genesis 50:24. AERS 301.2

And thus it is clearly shown that the inheritance, the possession, the land, was the great object of promise in the Abrahamic covenant, without which the other promises could never be fulfilled. AERS 302.1

By many it is supposed that all the promises of the possession of the land were fulfilled to the natural descendants of Abraham who dwelt in the land of Canaan. We have given to us in the Scriptures several lines of proof showing that the possession of the land of Canaan did not fulfill the promise; that that land, in the condition in which they received it, was not the true inheritance of Abraham’s seed, but only typical of it. AERS 302.2

1. The dwelling of the children of Israel in the land of Canaan was not a fulfillment of the promise that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob should possess it. It was not said merely that their children should inherit it, but that they and their seed should receive it for an everlasting possession. Stephen said that Abraham had no inheritance in it, no not so much as to set his foot on. This is proved to be literally true, in that he had to buy of the inhabitants of the land a place to bury Sarah, his wife, in Hebron. And Paul said that Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise, died without receiving it, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. This alone would be sufficient to prove that the promise remains to be fulfilled. AERS 302.3

2. According to Paul’s testimony in Galatians 3:16, Christ was the seed to whom the promise was made; and he, as Abraham, was a sojourner in the same land. He had “not where to lay his head.” He was the world’s Maker, destined to be the world’s Redeemer, and yet spent a life of toil and suffering in the world without a resting-place or home upon the earth. He purchased the redemption of the earth by bearing in his person the curse of the earth, even as he will redeem man because he bore the curse of man. When the ground was cursed the Lord said it should bring forth thorns because of man’s transgression; these it would never have produced if sin had not entered. And Jesus, when he was made an offering for sin; when he was placed in the hands of the powers of earth, was crowned with thorns. The old purple robe and the crown of thorns were a mockery of his right as king, but they became a part of the means of his final triumph—a means of vindicating the justice of God before men and angels in the Judgment. He was “the heir” whom the men of the vineyard cast out and slew. But he will come again to claim his own, and they will be destroyed. Matthew 21:33-42. AERS 303.1

3. There is an argument from analogy on this subject which is very conclusive, besides the direct declarations of the Scriptures, showing that the whole earth was contemplated in the original promise. This argument must be admitted by all who claim to be the seed of Abraham, and recognize as valid the covenant made with him. In this covenant we find three prominent points, namely, 1. The land of promise. 2. The seed to whom the promise was made. 3. The token of the covenant, which is circumcision. All that will be here claimed on points 2 and 3 will be readily accepted by all New Testament believers. AERS 304.1

The seed. The reader of the Old Testament might easily conclude that “the seed” to whom the promises were made included only the literal descendants of Abraham. But the term was soon restricted, and was shown to refer, not to all who descended from Abraham, but to those descending from him through one of his sons, Isaac. And in the New Testament it is shown that the term refers primarily to Christ, the real child of promise, and secondarily to all who are Christ’s by faith. Thus it is said:— AERS 304.2

“He is not a Jew which is one outwardly; . . But he is a Jew which is one inwardly.” Romans 2:28, 29. And again: “For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel; neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children; but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” Romans 9:6-8. AERS 304.3

Therefore the true heirs of the promise are not counted by natural descent, but are of all nationalities, as the apostle says:— AERS 305.1

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:28, 29. AERS 305.2

“Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world; but now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometime were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:11-13. AERS 305.3

The Gentiles were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise;” but the gospel of Christ is the means of their naturalization, so that now they belong to the true Israel of God if they are of faith, and are “fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.” Ephesians 3:6. AERS 305.4

The token. When the covenant was made with Abraham a sign, or token, was given to him. The Lord said to him: “Every man-child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.” Genesis 17:10, 11. This more than any other one thing was a mark of separation between the Jews and the Gentiles. And this, from its terms, was confined to the male portion of the children of Abraham, “Every man-child among you.” AERS 305.5

But in the New Testament everything on this subject is different, both in substance and manner. As we have seen that he is not a Jew, or child of Abraham, who is one outwardly, so “neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh.... Circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Romans 2:28, 29. “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” Colossians 2:11. AERS 306.1

Circumcision was called “a token of the covenant;” in the New Testament it is called a sign and a seal; Romans 4:11. And the seal, or circumcision, of the New Testament is further explained as follows: “In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance.” Ephesians 1:13, 14. AERS 306.2

The earnest is the same as the seal or token. Again it is written:— AERS 306.3

“Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30. “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” 2 Corinthians 1:22. AERS 306.4

This is the circumcision of the heart, in the spirit; the true token or sign of our heirship. And as it was said to Abraham that the uncircumcised man-child should be cut off—he had no part in the covenant; so it is now said, “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his.” Romans 8:9. He has not the seal or token of the covenant, and has no part in the covenant. AERS 307.1

Now mark the analogy. All Christians believe that the seed or children of Abraham, and circumcision, have a place in the gospel; that they are brought over into this dispensation; only they are enlarged in their terms, and made to apply to those and that to which they did not seem to apply when first the covenant was made. Now an enlargement of them is the very opposite of nullifying them, or having them expire by limitation. AERS 307.2

But if they to whom a certain promise is made, and the token or assurance of that promise, are brought into the New Testament, why not also the promise itself? And if the terms of the other are enlarged, it is only reasonable to expect that of this they would be also. And thus we find it written: “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” Romans 4:13. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5. AERS 307.3

We fully believe, as before remarked, that God’s original purpose in the creation of the earth will be fulfilled; that the restoration of the earth from the curse, from thorns and thistles, and from everything that could annoy its inhabitants, was included in the promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent; or, in the words of the New Testament, that Christ should destroy the works of the devil. The “first dominion” given to man shall be returned to him, but the promise of restoration was made to and through Abraham and his seed, and we receive it as his heirs. The meek shall inherit the earth. To inherit is to possess by heirship; but our heirship is solely of Abraham our father. AERS 308.1

In the book of Hebrews are several lines of argument proving the exalted nature, and office, and the Messiahship of Jesus of Nazareth. It is affirmed, and proved from the Scriptures, that he is superior to the angels, to Moses, to Joshua, and to Aaron. On the last point the writer dilates, giving a lengthy argument on the priesthood. That Moses, Joshua, and Aaron were types of Christ is beyond dispute. Of Moses it is written: “And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as a son over his own house;” etc. This fixes the standing of Moses and the typical nature of his work. In like manner the writer argues that Joshua did not give to the house of Israel the rest or the inheritance which was promised, but that it remains yet to be given to the people of God. AERS 308.2

That the Lord did give rest in the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham is no more proof that the promise was therein exhausted, than the fact that they were circumcised, and that they were descended from Abraham, fulfilled all that was designed in circumcision, and met in full all that was expressed by the term seed. But we have seen that this was not the case. And we have seen also that the promise was to Abraham as well as to his seed, and that it was not fulfilled to him in any sense; also that the promise was “that he should be the heir of the world,” which has never been fulfilled to him or to any of his descendants. This is that “rest” which remains to the people of God, of which Paul speaks in Hebrews 4:9. AERS 309.1

It has been assumed, and is by many supposed, that, because Sabbath means rest, therefore whenever the word rest is found it is equivalent to the Sabbath. But this is not the case, as an examination of the Scriptures will plainly show. AERS 309.2

When Lamech begat a son (Genesis 5:28, 29) “he called his name Noah, saying, This shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands.” The margin says, “That is, rest or comfort.” The name was prophetic; it means rest. This word was used by Moses in his address to the two tribes and a half who chose their inheritance east of Jordan. He said: “I commanded you at that time, saying, The Lord your God hath given you this land to posses it; ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war.... Until the Lord have given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you, and until they also possess the land which the Lord your God hath given them beyond Jordan.” Deuteronomy 3:18-20. And again: “For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you.” Chap. 12:9. AERS 309.3

Joshua also uses the same word when speaking on the same subject: “And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.... Ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valor, and help them: until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them.” Joshua 1:12-15. AERS 310.1

And again, after the land beyond Jordan was subdued before them, it is written: “And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers; and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them.” Joshua 21:44. And to the two tribes and a half Joshua said: “And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren as he promised them; therefore now return ye, and get ye unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of God gave you on the other side of Jordan.” Chap. 22:4. AERS 310.2

In these passages this word rest is used as the equivalent of inheritance, and as applied it refers to the peaceable possession of the land. AERS 311.1

But the generation which came out of Egypt, with the exception of two men, rebelled against the Lord and were not permitted to see the goodly land. Of these the Lord spake, saying, “Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways; unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.” Psalm 95:10, 11. This refusal to permit them to enter into his rest is recorded in Numbers 14:23, in these words: “Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoke me see it.” And in verse 30: “Doubtless ye shall not come into the land concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein.” By these texts we see again that “the rest” was the possession of the land promised to them. AERS 311.2

This is the subject of the argument of the apostle in Hebrews 3 and 4. “But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Hebrews 3:17-19. He then proceeds to exhort his brethren (which exhortation is spoken unto us), saying: “Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” Chap. 4:1. AERS 311.3

This exhortation contains the announcement that, as the rebellious Hebrews who fell in the wilderness did not enter into the rest because of unbelief, so we should fear lest we come short of it; and labor to “enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” Verse 11. This is equivalent to a declaration that the promise which was given to them remains to be fulfilled; that we may inherit the rest offered to them, or fail of receiving it—“come short of it”—if we follow their example of unbelief. And to sustain this idea is the intention of the argument in Hebrews 4:1-9. But before examining this argument we must call attention to the uses of the Hebrew words to which we have referred. AERS 312.1

The Hebrew verbs sha-vath and noo-ah may be used interchangeably as far as they simply convey the idea, “to rest.” Of this it is sufficient proof to cite Exodus 20:11, where noo-ah is used: “And he rested the seventh day.” But when used in a substantive form they, or their derivatives, differ in this respect: Shab-bath signifies a time or a period of rest; whereas no-ah (menoo-hah) passes to the idea of a resting-place; a place of rest. That Shab-bath, sabbath, relates to a period of rest every reader knows; that noo-ah carries the idea of a place of rest is sufficiently shown by the passages quoted. Menoo-hah (feminine termination ah, from the root noo-ah) is the word used in Psalm 95:11. And Paul’s quotation from this Psalm in Hebrews 3:7-11 proves that that rest, or resting-place, the possession, the inheritance, is the subject of his exhortation and his argument in chapter 4. AERS 312.2

According to the New Testament the people of ancient times knew much more of the counsel of God, through the types and shadows given to them, than we are wont to give them credit for, and even more than some Christians are able to discover in those same types. Abraham had the gospel preached to him, Galatians 3:9; and he rejoiced to see, by faith, the day of Christ; John 8:56. The Jews in the desert of Arabia drank of the rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ; 1 Corinthians 10:4. It was “the reproach of Christ” that Moses esteemed as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; Hebrews 11:24-26; and the gospel was preached to the rebellious ones whose carcasses fell in the wilderness. Hebrews 4:2 We, in this age, are quite too apt to draw a line of distinction between the faith of the ancient worthies and that of the faithful of this dispensation, which does not exist. Their gospel, their faith, their hope, were identical with ours. Through the types they looked forward to the “blessed hope” which cheers our hearts. “The rest” which was promised to them is promised to us; and, as many of them fell under the displeasure of God, and were not permitted to see even the land which was typical of the true inheritance (and which, of course, worked their forfeiture of the true), so may we fail of receiving the true inheritance if we follow their example of unbelief. AERS 313.1

But the question is raised: If the everlasting inheritance is the subject of the argument, why does the writer introduce the seventh day, and also speak of another day? They who ask this question seem to think that the apostle is arguing concerning the weekly Sabbath, and its change to another day; but, surely, they never would gather such an idea if they carefully read or studied the connection. Besides the facts which have been already presented, showing that the inheritance is the subject of the discourse, we notice. AERS 313.2

1. If the Sabbath is “the rest” spoken of, then the Lord must have sworn in his wrath that they should not keep the Sabbath! So far from this, he had some put to death who refused to regard the Sabbath. But he declared that they should not go into the land of Canaan. AERS 314.1

2. They who fell in the wilderness did not come short of the Sabbath, but kept it on their journeyings. But they did not see “the rest” which was given to the survivors. AERS 314.2

3. The rest which remains is the antitype of that which Joshua gave to them. But Joshua did not give them the Sabbath, he gave them “the rest and the inheritance,” to possess which they left Egypt. AERS 314.3

Looking at it in every light we see but this fact, that the inheritance only is the subject of the argument. AERS 314.4

In answer to the question we first remark, that the inheritance of the saints, and the kingdom which shall be given to them, are very closely related. So far as territory is concerned, they are identical. As Abraham, with his seed, is to be the heir of the world, and possess the whole earth, so the Son of David is to receive the kingdoms of the world and reign unto the uttermost parts of the earth; the kingdom and dominion “under the whole heaven” shall be given to the saints. As this rest or inheritance was finished from the foundation of the world, so of the kingdom; it was prepared from the foundation of the world. Matthew 25:34. And by the text in question Paul proves that it was finished from the foundation of the world. At the end of the work of creation “God did rest the seventh day from all his works.” This proves that “all his works” were finished at that time, for rest is subsequent to work. This was “the dominion” given to Adam, which he lost by sin. It is to be redeemed and restored by the last or second Adam; but he will do it as the seed of Abraham, under a covenant or promise made to Abraham. This is the use, the only use, which Paul makes of the seventh day. It stands related to the promised rest to attest that the promise was not a matter of uncertainty; it related to that which was already made. And now we are prepared to appreciate the remark which he makes on Psalm 95. AERS 314.5

It is on the record that the children of Israel received a certain rest, or possession, under Joshua; also that some who came out of Egypt provoked the Lord, and came short of that rest. But the Holy Spirit by David, some four hundred years afterward, exhorted the children of Israel who were then in the land of Canaan, not to follow in the ways of the rebellious ones who failed to enter into the rest. And the conclusion is drawn by Paul that if that land were in truth the inheritance intended in the promise, then those who lived in the days of David did not need the exhortation, seeing they were already in possession of it. Thus he speaks:— AERS 315.1

“Seeing therefore it remaineth that some should enter thereinto, and they to whom the good tidings were before preached failed to enter in because of disobedience, he again defineth a certain day, saying in David, after so long a time, To-day, as it hath been before said, To-day if ye shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day. There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God.” Hebrews 4:6-9, Revised Version. AERS 316.1

As Paul spoke by inspiration this must be conclusive; and this rest which remains must bear the same relation to that which Joshua gave to the house of Israel that Christ bears to Joshua—the latter is the antitype of the former. It is the substance of the original “promise made of God unto the fathers.” And this proves that the house of Israel no more received the inheritance promised to Abraham and his seed, than that circumcision in the flesh, outward, is the real circumcision which God requires, or that an unconverted Israelite, one who rejects Christ, is of the seed of Abraham, an heir according to the promise. AERS 316.2

The only apparent difficulty presented in Paul’s argument on “the rest” in Hebrews 4, is the change from the use of the Greek word katepausis, rest, to that of sabbatismos, literally “the keeping of a Sabbath,” or a sabbath rest, in verse 9. But there is no real difficulty when we consider that Sha-vath and noo-ah are interchanged as verbs. Katepausen properly represents the latter, yet in verse 4, Paul follows the Septuagint and uses katepausen in a quotation from Genesis 2:3, where sha-vath is used in the Hebrew. Sabbatismos has a signification, according to the lexicons and the most judicious commentators, beyond literal Sabbath-keeping. Thus Greenfield says: “spoken of an eternal rest with God. Hebrews 4:9.” Robinson the same: “in N. T. only of an eternal rest with God. Hebrews 4:9.” Dr. Smith, in Bible Dictionary, notices the opinions which have been offered that it refers to the Sabbath, and says: “The objections, however, to this exposition are many and great, and most commentators regard the passage as having no reference to the weekly Sabbath.” AERS 317.1

The “Bible Commentary” says:— AERS 317.2

“There remaineth.—Or, v. 6, ‘there still remaineth,’—is still to be looked for hereafter, over and above that rest in the land of Canaan. This inference follows, since the Holy Ghost speaks in the Psalms to us. A rest.—Rather a Sabbath rest; lit. ‘a keeping of sabbath;’ when the people of God, the ‘Israel of God,’ Galatians 6:16, shall obtain rest from all that trouble them; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, and when all enemies shall be put under the feet of Jesus, the Captain of the Lord’s host. Then, at last, the faithful shall ‘enter into the joy of their Lord.’ (Matthew 25:21, 23).” AERS 317.3

The Cyclopedia of M’Clintock and Strong has the following: “Sabbatism (sabbatismos, Hebrews 4:9, A. V. rest), a repose from labor like that enjoyed by God at creation; a type of the eternal Sabbath of Heaven. See Rest.” And of “rest,” it says: “Rest also signifies a fixed and secure habitation;” and refers to the texts quoted on that subject. AERS 318.1

The great difficulty in referring Hebrews 4:9 to a weekly Sabbath lies in this: it leaves the apostle’s argument without any logical conclusion. Although the verse begins with the word “therefore” (in the Greek), if it refers to the weekly Sabbath, it has no logical connection with the argument preceding; certainly no relation to the declaration in verse 8, that if Joshua had given them rest—implying the rest of the promise—he would not afterward have spoken of another day—for receiving it. And this is the view taken by most authorities. Dr. Clarke says:— AERS 318.2

“The apostle shows that, although Joshua did bring the children of Israel into the promised land, yet this could not be the intended rest; because, long after this time, the Holy Spirit, by David, speaks of this rest; the apostle therefore concludes—verse 9, ‘There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.’ It was not, 1. The rest of the Sabbath; it was not, 2. The rest in the promised land, for the psalmist wrote long after the days of Joshua; therefore there is another rest, a state of blessedness, for the people of God.” AERS 318.3

Dr. Barnes speaks at length on this subject, and marks clearly the relation of argument and conclusion. We quote briefly. On Hebrews 3:11, he says:— AERS 319.1

“The particular rest referred to here was that of the land of Canaan, but which was undoubtedly regarded as emblematic of the rest in Heaven. Into that rest God solemnly said they should never enter.” AERS 319.2

And on chap. 4:8, 9, he says:— AERS 319.3

“The object is to prove that Joshua did not give the people of God such a rest as to make it improper to speak of a rest after that time. If Joshua had given them a complete and final rest; if by his conducting them to the promised land all had been done which had been contemplated by the promise, then it would not have been alluded to again, as it was in the time of David. Joshua did give them a rest in the promised land; but it was not all which was intended, and it did not exclude the promise of another and more important rest.... AERS 319.4

“There remaineth, therefore, a rest. This is the conclusion to which the apostle comes. The meaning is this, that according to the Scriptures there is now a promise of rest made to the people of God. It did not pertain merely to those who were called to go to the promised land, nor to those who lived in the time of David, but it is still true that the promise of rest pertains to all the people of God of every generation. The reasoning by which the apostle comes to this conclusion is briefly this: 1. That there was a rest called ‘the rest of God’—spoken of in the earliest period of the world,—implying that God meant that it should be enjoyed. 2. That the Israelites, to whom the promise was made, failed of obtaining that which was promised, by their unbelief. 3. That God intended that some should enter into his rest—since it would not be provided in vain. 4. That long after the Israelites had fallen in the wilderness, we find the same reference to a rest which David in his time exhorts those whom he addressed to endeavor to obtain. 5. That if all that had been meant by the word rest, and by the promise, had been accomplished when Joshua conducted the Israelites to the land of Canaan, we should not have heard another day spoken of when it was possible to forfeit that rest by unbelief. It followed, therefore, that there was something besides that; something that pertained to all the people of God to which the name rest might still be given, and which they were exhorted still to obtain. The word rest in this verse, sabbatismos, sabbatism, in the margin is rendered ‘keeping of a Sabbath.’ It is a different word from sabbaton—the Sabbath; and it occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and is not found in the Septuagint.... It means here a resting, or an observance of sacred repose, and refers undoubtedly to Heaven, as a place of eternal rest with God. It cannot mean the rest in the land of Canaan, for the drift of the writer is to prove that that is not intended. It cannot mean the Sabbath, properly so called, for then the writer would have employed the usual word sabbaton, Sabbath. It cannot mean the Christian Sabbath, for the object is not to prove that there is such a day to be observed; and his reasoning about being excluded from it by unbelief and by hardening the heart would be irrelevant.” AERS 319.5

This is a very fair statement of the case, though the writer appears almost to lose sight of the object of the promise in referring it to Heaven. He is certainly correct when he says: “If Joshua had given them a complete and final rest; if by his conducting them to the promised land, all had been done which had been contemplated by the promise, then it would not have been alluded to again.” It must be kept in mind that the promise which was not exhausted in their possession of Canaan, was “the promise made of God unto the fathers,” especially unto Abraham and to his seed, and embraced “the land of promise,” which according to the New Testament, was “the world,” or “the earth,”—the whole earth, or as the angel said to Daniel, “under the whole heaven.” AERS 321.1

And here we rest the argument on this point, believing that it is abundantly proved that the children of Israel “according to the flesh,” were not all “the seed of Abraham;” that their circumcision in the flesh was not all that was intended in that ordinance; and that a temporary possession by Abraham’s natural descendants of the land of Palestine, was not all that was meant in the promise that he and his seed should inherit it for an everlasting possession. The promises to Abraham will be fulfilled only when “the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” AERS 321.2

We will notice one more objection; not so much because of its strength or plausibility, as that it has been urged by some eminent theological scholars, in whose opinions people may have confidence. It has been said that the righteous, the meek, do now possess the earth; that all the blessings and enjoyments of this world really belong to the people of God. But this objection is readily disposed of; indeed it seems strange that any one with the New Testament in his hands should urge that the meek now inherit the earth; that the promises are now being fulfilled to them. It is disproved by most explicit declarations of the Scriptures. AERS 322.1

(1) The poor of this world, the rich in faith, are only “heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him;” the kingdom prepared “from the foundation of the world.” AERS 322.2

(2) When the meek inherit the earth “they shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” Psalm 37:11. This is not the case at present, as we all know by observation and experience; the following words of our Saviour settle it: AERS 322.3

(3) “In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. The enjoyment or blessing of the Christian is not from or of the world, but from what Jesus has done for us to overcome the world. So far from the meek having “abundance of peace” in this world, they have persecutions and afflictions; their life is only a warfare, in which they are speedily overcome if they lay aside their armor. AERS 323.1

(4) The wicked inherit more of this present world than the righteous do, the latter being “the poor of this world,” while a woe is pronounced upon the rich. But the scripture says: “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” Genesis 21:10: Galatians 4:30. If the inheritance is of this present world, the son of the bondwoman has the largest share. AERS 323.2

(5) Abraham dwelt in the land, but he did not inherit it. He with others, heirs with him of the same promise, dwelt in the land of promise as in a strange country. And so the apostle said his brethren were “strangers and pilgrims.” 2 Peter 2:11. Abraham had to buy a place to bury his dead in the land which was promised to him for an everlasting possession; even so now, the children of Abraham have an abiding-place in the earth only by paying tribute to earthly powers. But of this we do not complain. The time for us to inherit the earth has not yet come. AERS 323.3

(6) That the Spirit is an “earnest of our inheritance” is proof on this point. The earnest looks to the fulfillment of a promise in the future When God promised the land to Abraham he gave him circumcision as a token, an assurance of his promise. So now we have the circumcision of the Spirit, “which is the earnest of our inheritance.” How long do we need the earnest or token? Until we take possession of the inheritance. And how long is that in the future? “Until the redemption of the purchased possession.” The meek will not inherit the earth before it is redeemed, for in its present state they can only possess it in common with the children of the bondwoman, and they cannot “delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” Jesus purchased the earth with the right to redeem it from the curse. And he will surely claim his right, and his people shall receive their reward. The expectation of the poor shall not perish. “The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.” Daniel 7:27. AERS 323.4