The Old Testament and the Future Life
A sample of the common idea as to the teaching of the Old Testament with regard to the resurrection and the life to come is found in the following statements from an editorial in a leading religious paper:
The Old Testament, we say, is almost silent on the subject of the future life. We have to gather its hope of the world to come from hints and developments of its language. ... The Old Testament nowhere indulges in the triumph of the hope of the world to come which illuminates the whole New Testament with the thought that to go and be with Christ is far better.
It is not a small matter to have such an opinion of the Old Testament, for according to the Saviour's words he who does not find the resurrection and the life in the Old Testament will not understand or appreciate it in the New. Jesus says of the Scriptures, meaning the Old Testament, for that is all that was in existence when He spoke, "They are they which testify of me." (John 5:39)
But He is "the resurrection and the life." (John 11:25)
Therefore since the Old Testament testifies of Christ, it must testify of the resurrection and the life. Further, Jesus says, "Had you believed Moses, you would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words?" (John 5:46-47)
That is to say, that if we do not find Christ in the writings of Moses we shall not find Him at all; if we do not perceive Him, the resurrection and the life, in the Old Testament, we shall not be able to grasp the real significance of the words which Christ spoke in person.
Let us now study a few passages, to see how accurately the Gospel of life is set forth in the Scriptures from the very beginning. Take first the statement that: The Old Testament nowhere indulges in the triumph of the hope of the world to come which illuminates the whole of the New Testament with the thought that to go and be with Christ is far better, and compare it with three passages of Scripture. The first is: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: ... Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another." (Job 19:25,27)
The other two are from: "My heart is glad, and my glory rejoices: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in hell; neither will You suffer your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fulness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psalm 16:9-11) "As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your likeness." (Psalm 17:15)
Where in the New Testament can you find any more triumphant expressions of hope in the resurrection and the future life? See in what clear and confident words the resurrection is set forth in the book of Job. The question is asked, "If a man die, shall he live again?" (Job 14:14)
And immediately the answer comes, "all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. You shall call, and I will answer You: You will have a desire to the work of your hands." (Job 14:14-15)
This is as clear as the words of Jesus, "The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the grave shall hear His voice, And shall come forth." (John 5:28-29)
The "change" of which the patriarch Job spoke is described in: "Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
Preaching of the Apostles
The apostles and early disciples "went everywhere preaching the Word," (Acts 8:4) the Old Testament being all they had, and: "They taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead." (Acts 4:2)
When Paul went to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews, "[He] went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead." (Acts 17:2-3)
People forget that the Christians of the first century were not converted by the writings of the apostles, but by their preaching. The epistles were written to those who were already Christians, and who had become Christians by means of the teaching of the Old Testament.
And when the apostles did write, they drew very largely from the Old Testament Scriptures. Take for instance that wonderful chapter on the resurrection, and the triumphant close of the argument is a quotation from the prophets. "So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)
These expressions are taken from Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14. In the former passage we find those beautiful words used by John: "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." (Revelation 21:4)
So we should find throughout the Bible that the Old Testament not only proclaims the resurrection and the future life as clearly as does the New, but that some of the brightest passages of the New are drawn from the Old. The prophets ministered the very same things that the apostle afterwards did, and by the same Spirit. "Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into." (1 Peter 1:11-12)
The Promises to the Fathers
While there are many other direct statements in the Old Testament relative to the resurrection and the future life, some of the strongest evidence is found in the promises to the fathers, which formed the basis of the hope of God's people of old.
The Apostle Peter tells us that in the last days there should come "scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." (2 Peter 3:3-4)
This suggests a connection between "the fathers" and the promise of the coming of the Lord.
The apostle then proceeds to show that those who disbelieve in the coming of the Lord, and who say that there has been no change since the creation, are wilfully ignorant of the facts. He reminds us that the earth of creation was once destroyed by the flood, and that the same word which created it, and which caused its destruction by the flood, still keeps it "reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." (2 Peter 3:7)
Then He reminds us that: "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise." (2 Peter 3:9)
Not promises, but promise, having special reference to "the promise of His coming," (2 Peter 3:4)
The fact that God delays the fulfilment of His promise for what seems a long time to men, is no evidence that He is slack in performing it, for time is nothing to Him. But the day of the Lord will come, "wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness." (2 Peter 3:12-13)
Here we find a positive statement that our hope of the future life is based on the promise of God to the fathers. Let us turn, then, and note that promise very briefly. Take the brief summary given by Stephen: "The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get out of your country, and from your kindred, and come into the land which I shall show you. Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed into this land, wherein you now dwell. And He gave him no 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 7:2-5)
Here we have a promise unfulfilled. Can it be that God was slack in this instance? Impossible; for the promise was confirmed by the oath of God, who swore by himself, "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us." (Hebrews 6:18)
So we see that instead of God's promise to Abraham having failed, it is all our hope and consolation. Note the facts: God promised to give Abraham an inheritance in the land of Canaan, yet Abraham died without receiving it. Now since it is impossible for God to lie, the only possible explanation is that God meant that Abraham should receive it at the resurrection. And this is just what Abraham expected, for not only he, but his children also, "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." (Hebrews 11:13)
The fact that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob "died in faith," without having received the promised inheritance, but "were persuaded" that they should, shows that they had not expected it in this present life. If they had, they would have died disappointed, instead of in faith.
If we turn to Genesis 15:15-16, we shall find that God plainly told Abraham that he should die before the inheritance was bestowed, thus leaving him no other ground of hope but the resurrection. This hope was his consolation through life and in death.
The Hope of the Promise
This hope of the resurrection was the only hope of the patriarchs and prophets of old. We say "the only hope," not because it was a meagre one, but meaning that it filled their whole lives. Read the Apostle Paul's witness to this effect when he stood before Agrippa in chains because of his loyalty to Christ and the Gospel: "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?" (Acts 26:6-8)
Thus we see that the hope of the resurrection of the dead was the hope of the promise of God to the fathers, and that this was the hope that engrossed the thoughts of the true Israelites day and night. We know that Paul was persecuted only for preaching the resurrection of the dead through Christ, yet he himself declared, "For the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain." (Acts 28:20)
A Test and a Promise
When God told Abraham that his posterity should be as the stars of heaven in number, although Abraham was then old and had no child, "He believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness." (Genesis 15:6)
Righteousness comes only through faith in Christ; therefore Abraham's faith was in Christ, since it was counted to him for righteousness. Therefore also the promise of a vast posterity was a promise in Christ. "For how many soever be the promises of God, in Him is the yea; wherefore also through Him is the Amen, unto the glory of God through us." (2 Corinthians 1:20,RV)
This is further shown by the fact that faith brings the blessing.
It brought the blessing of forgiveness to Abraham, (Romans 4:6-9) and: "They which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." (Galatians 3:9)
Further, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ." (Galatians 3:13-14)
The blessing of Abraham comes upon us through the cross of Christ. This shows in whom Abraham and all the other faithful ones trusted. But Abraham had wavered once, and so the Lord tested him, saying, "Take now your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and get into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you of." (Genesis 22:2)
We need not stop now to dwell upon the temptations that must have assailed Abraham when this command came to him. It was a test not only to his parental love, but it was a test of his faith in the promise of God, for everything depended on Isaac. To cut him off was to all human calculation to cut off all hope of the promise.
But Abraham knew how the promise was to be fulfilled, and that the birth of Isaac had been a manifestation of God's power to bring life from the dead. So we read that Abraham started the next morning with Isaac and two of his servants. "Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you." (Genesis 22:4-5)
Note that statement carefully. Abraham said that both he and Isaac would go and worship, and would come again. Both were going, and both were coming back. How could that be, when he was going to offer Isaac as a burnt offering? Read: "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall your seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure." (Hebrews 11:17-19)
It was Abraham's clear grasp of the resurrection that made him stand this test. Note the statement made that he "offered up his only begotten son." (Hebrews 11:17)
That which enabled him to do this, was his knowledge of the fact that: "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
If all professed Christians in these days had as clear a knowledge of Jesus and the resurrection as Abraham had, the world would soon see that Christianity is something more than a name.
The Promise
But we must not forget the promise in connection with this test. "And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, says the Lord, for because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son: That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies." (Genesis 22:15-17)
That last promise is a most sweeping one. Who are the seed, to whom it was made? The answer is in: "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He said not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to your seed, which is Christ. ... And if you be Christ's then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:16,29)
The seed, therefore, means Christ and all His people. What are their enemies? The greatest of all enemies, and the leader of all, in fact, the source of all enemies, is the devil. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8)
His power is death. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." (Hebrews 2:14)
Now in the chapter which is entirely devoted to the coming of Christ, when "they that are Christ's at His coming," (1 Corinthians 15:23) shall be raised from the dead, we read that: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." (1 Corinthians 15:23)
Christ has conquered, and has the keys of death and the grave, (Revelation 1:18) where many of His people are now entombed. But the promise to Abraham includes all the seed,--all who are Christ's,--and so it includes nothing less than the final resurrection of all the saints at Christ's coming, when death shall be swallowed up in victory. It was the hope of this promise that sustained God's people of old in all their tribulations.
Till He Come
After describing the Lord's Supper the Apostle Paul declares, "As often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till He come." (1 Corinthians 11:26)
How many are there who realize all that the Lord's Supper means? It means more than a mere belief in the fact that Christ died. It means an appropriation of His death, so that we know that we are crucified with Him, and thus "freed from sin." (Romans 6:7)
But it means more than simple belief in Christ's death. It means His resurrection also; for He is not dead, but alive. To preach Christ crucified, it is necessary to preach Christ risen. So when we show His death, by the same act we show His resurrection. But just as surely as Christ died and rose again, so surely will He come again. His own word says, "I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:3)
Christ's coming is just as necessary to the completion of the plan of salvation as was His death and resurrection. He is to come to take us to himself, in order that we may be with Him. This shows that without His coming we cannot be with Him, for He does not come unnecessarily. He will come, "with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
The Christian's hope, therefore, centers in the coming of Christ and the resurrection. It is "that blessed hope." So our faith in His death necessarily includes His coming.
But the bread and the wine of the Lord's Supper stand for the very same thing that the flesh and the blood did, of the lamb slain in ancient sacrifice. Christ is the Lamb as well as the true Vine; so the blood of the lamb and the blood of the vine both represent His own precious blood.
The ancients, therefore, by their offerings of lambs, showed the very same thing that we do in the Lord's Supper. Their offerings meant nothing except when they were offered in faith in His death. But His death means His resurrection, and His resurrection means His coming again. So when we read that all the ancient sacrifices pointed to Christ, we must know that they pointed to Christ crucified, raised, ascended, and returned.
Someone will ask, "Do you suppose that all who offered sacrifices saw all this?"
By no means. They were undoubtedly about the same as people in these days; and who will dare say that all who partake of the Lord's Supper realize all that it means? But we know that many of them saw Christ, and rejoiced in Him, even as Abraham did; and there is no reason to doubt that the proportion of intelligent worshippers was as great then as now.
It is as clear therefore as the Word of God, that from the days of Abel to the time of Paul, the one hope before the true children of God was the coming of Christ and the resurrection. All the prophets wrote of "the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow." (1 Peter 1:11)
The Grand Summing Up
"And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again; and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection." (Hebrews 11:32-35)
What more could any Christian minister desire of his flock than that which Paul says to us, concerning those ancient worthies: "And we desire that everyone of you do show the same diligence, to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That you be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." (Hebrews 6:11-12)--Present Truth, November 28, 1895--Genesis 22:2-17.