THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT

John James Andrew

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

Twenty years ago the One Body passed through a controversial conflict concerning the nature of Jesus Christ at his first appearing. It was then clearly demonstrated that Christ was, by birth, related to condemnation in Adam to the same extent as the rest of the race, and that He was made of the same fallen, or sinful nature. It was also made clear that His death, as a sacrifice, was necessary to cleanse himself as well as others. But the precise efficacy of His shed blood at the different stages of the cleansing process was not fully elucidated. It is-to supply this deficiency that the following pages have been written. It fell to my lot to take a prominent position the aforesaid conflict, and as the result of it I wrote the pamphlet entitled "The Doctrine of the Atonement." The scriptural principles embodied therein constitute the basis of what I have here written; and they are consistently applied to the several steps by which men may pass from condemnation in Adam to immortalization in Christ. The subject is presented in various phases, because so dealt with in the Scriptures, and this has necessitated some amount of repetition in order to show the bearing of the several testimonies quoted. Where the wording of the scriptural quotations varies from the Authorized Version, it will be found, unless otherwise stated, in the Revised Version.

J.J. Andrew

26 Douglas Road

Canonbury, London, N.

February, 1894

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

A second edition of this work was published in 1913 in which the original preface appeared with no additional prefatory remarks.

PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION

Twenty years ago the One Body passed through a controversial conflict concerning the nature of Jesus Christ at his first appearing. It was then clearly demonstrated that Christ was, by birth, related to condemnation in Adam to the same extent as the rest of the race, and that He was made of the same fallen, or sinful nature. It was also made clear that His death, as a sacrifice, was necessary to cleanse Himself as well as others. But the precise efficacy of His shed blood at the different stages of the cleansing process was not fully elucidated. It is to supply this deficiency that the following pages have been written. We deem it our sacred duty to continue the controversial conflict as stated by the late J. J. Andrew in 1894. The nature of Christ, and the necessity for His sacrificial death is made Scripturally clear in the pages of this book The true Christadelphians of Arkansas heartily endorse and send it out with the sincere desire of serving "the Truth as it is in Jesus" and that we all may be of one mind in "things surely believed among us" (Luke 1:1). Blessed is he that readeth ("and understandeth"), yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it (Luke 11:28; Rev. 1:3).

Sincerely I am yours in the gospel bond and its service.

John W. Teas

Conway, Arkansas

December 29, 1927

PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION

This reprinting is issued in the interest of presenting the truths to which the original work was dedicated. Man’s relation to the dispensation of death is just as needful of defining today as it was in 1894. And the prospective relation to the dispensation of eternal life is just as needful of definition today as it ever was, perhaps even more so when we consider the signs in the ecclesiastical and the political heavens. Unrestrained immorality and unprecedented preparation for war depict a condition which coincides with what God’s holy prophets foretold would precede the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the earth. The importance of the blood of the covenant and the blood-shedding principle decreed by the Omniscient Creator of mankind is frequently misunderstood, and at times dismissed as irrelevant. We commend to your study the pages of this book along with a diligent comparison of Scriptural references given for a richer appreciation of the Saviour’s accomplishments.

Whereas some disagree with the author on some points such as Enoch not dying and the last sin being committed on the eighth symbolic day, these are allegorical in nature, and do not, in our opinion, detract from the sound exposition of Christ’s sacrifice and its efficacy.

John James Andrew (circa 1840-1907) was immersed in 1865. He contributed to the Truth’s literature as early as June 1871 by articles in “The Christadelphian.” About 1872 he wrote “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,” an exposition of the Saviour’s life and its meaning. This work has had several editions and is currently in print under the title, “The Real Christ.” In the Renunciationist conflict of 1873 mentioned in the first preface, J. J. Andrew, along with Robert Roberts, editor of “The Christadelphian,” was a leading figure in opposing the unscriptural views of “free-life” and “clean flesh.” He wrote “The Doctrine of the Atonement” in 1882. “The Blood of the Covenant” was published in 1894 although it had been prepared in 1893 as a paper entitled “The Judgment-seat in Relation to Atonement.” In July of 1894, J. J. Andrew began publication of “The Sanctuary-Keeper,” a quarterly periodical that continued until December of 1902 when declining health forced the editor to suspend publication. Until his death in June, 1907, a paralytic condition prohibited any further contribution to the Truth’s writings. Thomas Williams, editor of “The Christadelphian Advocate,” in reporting the death of J. J. Andrew in the August, 1907 issue, commented: “For nearly forty years Bro. J. J. Andrew has been a power for good in the work of the Truth, both by pen and by tongue, and especially by example as seen in a life that adorned the doctrines he was so well able to forcefully, yet calmly and logically, set forth. In the battles which, “The Christadelphian” fought for years for the purity of the Truth, who did more able and valiant work than Bro. J. J. Andrew?”

The Dorchester Christadelphian Ecclesia

1A Melville Avenue

Dorchester, Massachusetts 02125

April, 1967

PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION

This fifth edition of THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT is issued in the interest of making available the truths presented herein. It is made possible by a publishing fund of the Richmond, Virginia Hall Ecclesia. We hope that Christadelphians who are persuaded of the need for such exposition will recommend this work to others.

In the 1967 publication it was erroneously stated to be the third edition. We were not aware that a 1913 publication had been made. Also included in this edition is an index of Scriptures quoted in the pamphlet arranged in sequence from Genesis to Revelation. This should prove helpful in a study of the material.

CHRISTADELPHIAN PUBLICATIONS

2725 Kenmore Road

Richmond, Virginia 23225

October, 1985

1. The Blood of the Everlasting Covenant

2. Edenic Law

3. Edenic Temptation

4. Edenic Disobedience

10. Edenic Justification

11. Edenic Allegory

12. Abel to Abraham

13. The Justification of Abraham

14. The Covenant of Circumcision

15. The Covenant of Shadows

16. Shadow Offerings

17. The Curse of the Law

18. Jews and the Abrahamic Covenant

19. The Justification of Jesus

20. The Condemnation of Sin

21. The Resurrection of Christ

22. Justification by Christ’s Blood

23. The Law of the Spirit of Life

24. Out of Adam into Christ

25. Walking in the Light

26. The Lord of Dead and Living

27. “We shall not All Sleep”

28. The Judgment-seat Summons

29. The Second Death

30. Immortalization

31. Recapitulation

32. Objections

A. Historical Raising of the Dead.

B. Rejection of Christ.

C. Rejection of Apostolic Preaching.

D. The Justice of God.

E. The Power of God.

F. Dr. Thomas’ Teaching.

33. The Unity of the Truth

The Blood of the Covenant

1.--"THE BLOOD OF THE EVERLASTING COVENANT."

This form of words occurs only in Heb. 13:20; but the truth which it embodies runs through the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. "The everlasting covenant" is the covenant made with Abraham; and the blood pertaining thereto is the blood of Christ. This blood is an essential part of the covenant, because the promise thereof cannot be fulfilled without it. The covenant, in promising everlasting possession of the land of Canaan, in effect, promises everlasting life; and, as the promise is made to sinful man, this involves deliverance from sin and death. It is written concerning the Mosaic covenant--and it is of equal force in regard to the Abrahamic covenant--that "without shedding of blood is no remission" (Heb. ix. 22). "It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of Goats should take away sins" (Heb. x. 4). Therefore the blood of Christ is the only blood that can deliver from sin and death and give everlasting life. But how, or on what principle is this effected? This is a most important question and is deserving of the fullest consideration.

A covenant in human affairs is another term for an agreement by which two or more persons promise to do certain things. A Divine covenant, while embodying this feature, occupies a much higher position. It is a law to those who enter it. The Mosaic covenant is frequently referred to as "the law," and occasionally as "the law of Moses;" and of the Abrahamic covenant it is said, that God "confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law" (Psa 105:9,10). Hence the Divine utterance that "Abraham obeyed' my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws" (Gen. 26:5). The covenant made with Abraham was not the first Divine law; the first law given by God was to Adam, in Eden, and it was to counteract the effects of its violation that the covenant or law was given to Abraham. To understand, therefore, the precise operation of the Abrahamic law it is necessary to know what was the import of the Edenic law and the breach thereof. The Edenic law is subsequently termed "the law of sin and death," and the Abrahamic is called "the law of the spirit of life" (Rom. viii 2). All men are under the first law, but, a comparatively small portion are under the second. In the revelation which elaborate these two laws God has defined His own action and the respective positions of those who are placed under them. Those positions have each their limitations. Thus, he who is under the Edenic law cannot participate in the provisions of the Abrahamic; and he who comes under the second law must be freed from the power of the first. In like manner the consummation of the Abrahamic law cannot be bestowed upon one who never comes under its operation; and the consummation of the Edenic law cannot be escaped by any who continue under it. In giving laws which impose conditions and offer alternative consequences, God, in effect, declares that He voluntarily limits His own action to that which is specified therein. As the supreme lawmaker, He is also the perfect law-keeper, however much His law may be broken by others they cannot broken while in operation, by Himself. The certainty of His action in their fulfillment is stamped in some form, on every page of His inspired word. The second of his afore-mentioned laws was given to Abraham, in the first instance, accompanied by a promise of blessing (Gen. 12: 1-3). Subsequently when Abraham asked how he was to know that he should inherit the promised land. God performed a miracle by causing "a smoking furnace and a burning lamp" to pass between the halves of slain animals (Gen. 15: 7-l7). And when Abraham had demonstrated his faith by offering up Isaac, God added an oath to his promise and miracle; "because he could sware by no greater he sware by himself"; "wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heir of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation" (Heb. vi. 13, 17, 18). in giving the promise and taking the oath, God placed himself under an obligation to His own attributes of truthfulness and faithfulness to fulfill the purpose specified; not only in outline but also in detail--not in the final purpose merely, but in all the preliminary steps which are necessary to its completion. The laws by which God regulates His dealings with the children of men embody principles which are necessarily righteous, but seldom on the surface; investigation and reflection are required to ascertain them. Some are by this process soon perceived, but others with difficulty. It should be the aim of the Sons of God, if possible, to understand the principles on which all Divine laws are based, and the effort to attain to such an understanding cannot but be pleasing to their Heavenly Father.

2.--EDENIC LAW.

The terms of this law are brief but precise:--"Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. ii. 16, 17). Two consequences are here presented---one expressed and the other implied; vis., die. and not die. For death being the result of disobedience, it is inevitable that continuance of life would be the accompaniment of continued obedience. How long such a conditional state of existence would have been permitted it is impossible to say. The disobedience of Adam has rendered unnecessary any revelation on this point. If such disobedience had not taken place the life of Adam would have been maintained either in the same nature, or by transformation into a higher nature, according to the will of the Creator. No practical benefit could accrue from knowing which course would have been adopted. Adam having failed to keep the law given to him, the important point to consider is, what death did he thereby incur, and what are the consequences to his descendants? In answering the first part of this question two phrases have to be considered, viz: "in the day," and "thou shalt surely die." Various explanations have been given to show in what way Adam died on the day of his disobedience. It has been said, for instance, that it was fulfilled by Adam beginning to die on that day; and, in support, attention is called to the marginal rendering, "dying thou shalt die." But this is open to the reply that the marginal rendering is a Hebrew idiom for death; just as the marginal rendering for the last clause of the preceding verse "eating thou shalt eat," is synonymous with the English eat. The reply is reasonable, and therefore the preceding explanation cannot be accepted. Corruption doubtless began immediately after disobedience, but that did not fulfill the threatened death. The word "day," it has been suggested, is not confined to twenty-four hours, but represents a long and indefinite period. This cannot be considered-wholly satisfactory; for the "day" mentioned in the command must have represented a period of time of which Adam had knowledge or experience. Adam and Eve were both created on the sixth day (Gen.1:27, 31), and the command given to Adam preceded the creation of Eve (Gen.2:15-18, 21 22). Therefor Adam's experience of time was less than twenty-four hours. On the seventh day God rested (Gen.2:2), and only one day is subsequently mentioned in connection with the history of Eden. After transgressing, Adam and his wife "heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day" (Gen. 3:8). What day was this? It may have been the eighth day. Probably it was; for the incidents recorded in Gen.3 do not require a longer period than one day; and there is no evidence that the abode in Eden extended beyond the eighth day. If this view be in accordance with facts, it is very suggestive in explaining the introduction of the "eighth day" into certain commands of the Mosaic law.

3.--EDENIC TEMPTATION

The arrangement by which a subtle serpent was allowed to entice the first human pair to partake of the forbidden fruit was not a superfluity. Adam and his wife were a part of the creation which was "very good" (Gen.1:31). They had no "knowledge of good and evil;" they could not distinguish between the one and the other; and they had no desire to do that which was evil. To impart such a desire it was necessary for the serpent to influence by subtle reasoning the mind of "the weaker vessel," and thereby to inflame her imagination with the prospect of their eyes being opened and becoming "as gods, knowing good and evil" (Gen.3:5). The device succeeded, and from this time forward the desire to do evil became an integral element of the human mind. It has been transmitted by Adam to all his posterity, in whom it is manifested from earliest life. Hence an outside tempter is not necessary to lead astray any who have been born of woman. "Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed; then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin" (Jas.1:14,I5). Lust which leads to sin is necessarily evil, and this is the prevailing characteristic of the human race; for "all that is in the world" consists of "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 Jno.2:16). Lust, or the desire to do evil, is the offspring of the first sin and the cause of all subsequent sin. On this account it is denominated "sin in the flesh"(Rom.8:3), and, as a consequence, is the subject of divine reprobation. Sin has thus two aspects, moral and physical, and "the blood of the everlasting covenant" is required to take away the one as well as the other.

4.--EDENIC DISOBEDIENCE

The command given to Adam was of the simplest kind; it did not involve his doing anything; it simply imposed a restriction. But this single interdict, in the face of temptation, he was unable to keep. He did not pluck the forbidden fruit; this was the act of his wife, who, after eating herself, "gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat" (Gen.3:6). Apparently no sophistical reasoning was used to persuade him; and he needed none; he partook of that which was offered him, knowing what he was doing "Adam was not beguiled, but the woman being beguiled hath fallen into transgression" (1 Tim.2:14). When Adam disobeyed, all his descendants were in his loins, and therefore in a certain sense they "all have sinned" (Rom.5:12); they sinned in him, even as "Levi paid tithes in Abraham" (Heb.7:9). In submitting to be blessed by Melchizedec, Abraham voluntarily acknowledged his inferiority; for "the less is blessed of the better" (ver. 7). But the Levitical priesthood, not being alive, was unable to exhibit any such acknowledgment; nevertheless their inferiority was as real as if they had actually joined Abraham in the payment of tithes. In like manner the descendants of Adam are accounted as having "sinned" in him. They do not possess moral guilt, as he did; for some have "not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression" (Rom.5:14): nevertheless the result is the same. 'He became a sinner, whereas they are "made sinners" (Rom. 5:19) without any exercise of will on their part. That is to say, God, by accounting them to be in Adam when he sinned, and by defining their evil desire to be 'sin," has constituted them "sinners;" the object being that none might be delivered from the consequences of sin without the exercise of Divine mercy.

5.--EDENIC NAKEDNESS

When Adam and his wife were created "they were both naked and were not ashamed" (Gen.2:25). But immediately they had sinned "the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked" (Gen.3:7). From that time shame for a naked condition has been a characteristic of human nature--a proof that the evil desire which Adam imbibed by sinning has been inherited by his posterity. Hence the word "naked" is a figurative description for a state of sin. Aaron "made Israel naked unto their shame" by making a golden calf for them to worship (Exod.32:24, 25). And Ahaz "made Judah naked and transgressed sore against the Lord" (2 Chron.28:19). Adam and his wife endeavored to hide their nakedness by garments of "fig leaves." Immediately afterwards "they heard the voice of the Lord God," and they "hid themselves amongst the trees" (Gen.3:8). When questioned as to where he was, Adam said, "I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself" (ver. 10). Was this the sole cause of his fear? If the fig-leaf garments were sufficient to hide their sense of shame, why should they "hide themselves from the presence of the Lord God?" Was it not an attempt to escape the execution of the Edenic law? Remembering the words, "In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," would they not expect to be visited with death on that very day? If so, the hiding of their persons after covering their nakedness possesses a significance of its own. Adam's statement about his nakedness gave rise to two questions:-"Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?" (ver. 11). The import of these questions is obvious. They imply that the eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would impart to Adam and his wife the knowledge that they were "naked." Previously they were ignorant of the distinction between nakedness and covering; now they both knew and felt it. ~

6.--EDENIC JUDGMENT

This process commenced with the questions quoted in the last section. The answers of Adam led to the woman being questioned. Then followed sentence on the deceiver, the deceived, and the enticed, in the order in which they had acted. The serpent was doomed to eat dust and go- on its belly; the woman to bring forth children in greater number and with increased sorrow; and the man to obtain food out of cursed ground by the sweat of his face until he returned to the dust (Gen.3:14-19). A return to the dust was not a part of Adam's lot prior to his disobeying the Edenic law. A change must, therefore, have taken place in his physical constitution as the result of this decree; "Corruption is in the world through lust" (2 Pet.1:4). How the change was effected is not revealed, neither is it necessary. But it is all important to recognize that there was such a change, and that the posterity of Adam has inherited his nature after that change was effected. Just as Adam's descendants were in his loins when he partook of the tree, so were they in his loins when he was judged and condemned. Then it was that "many were made sinners by one man's disobedience," and "judgment came upon all men to condemnation (Rom. 7: 18,19). The descendants of Adam were condemned to death before they were born. That the sentence of condemnation does not specify the mode of death; it admits of death by physical decay or death by violence. Men have returned to the dust in both ways. Millions have died prematurely by accident, war, convulsions of nature, and other Divine judgments. Some have thus suffered for their own sins; but others before they have lived long enough to commit sin, or without being related to a Divine moral law. The only explanation in the latter case is that they had been "made," or constituted "sinners." Owing to this fact, all men are liable as soon as they are born, to be cut off by death.

7.--EDENIC MERCY

After questioning Adam and his wife, and before condemning them, the Lord God addressed the Serpent. Why was this? Was it merely because the Serpent had, by beguiling the woman, taken the first step in effecting Edenic disobedience? A consideration of the words addressed to the Serpent suggests another and a higher reason. After condemning the Serpent to go on its belly, the Lord God addressed to it, a prediction concerning its own seed and the seed of the woman. These two seeds were to be at enmity, and each was to be bruised in the conflict the seed of the Serpent in the head and the seed of the woman in the heel (Gen.3:15). Why was not this prediction spoken to Adam or his wife? Was it not because they had produced a breach between themselves and their Creator? They had previously been in direct communion with God, but sin deprived them of the privilege; they were in process of judgment for their "offense," and until that process was completed they deserved only to be addressed in words of condemnation. The Serpent had no moral relationship to the Creator, and the words to it forshadowed no favor for itself or its seed; but for the woman and her seed they did. They contained an element of mercy of which there had been no previous intimation. By disobeying the Edenic law they had incurred immediate death, which would necessarily be death by slaying. If this had been inflicted they would have had no seed. Therefore, the promise in which specific mention was made of the woman's seed--addressed to the Serpent in their hearing---was equivalent to informing them that they should not suffer immediate death. By the condemnation immediately addressed to them they learned that this did not mean exemption from all consequences of their disobedience; for the ground was to be cursed for their sake, and, instead of eating freely of fruits, made ready for their hands, they were to toil for their subsistence, and then return to the dust. After listening to the Divine promise and sentence the fear which led them to hide themselves amongst the trees would disappear: and of this Adam gave evidence when he "called his wife's name Eve." This name means living (see margin), and Adam gave it "because she was the mother of all living" (Gen. iii. 20). By this act Adam showed that he understood the promise to guarantee a posterity and that he believed in its fulfillment. If death had been inflicted on the day of eating the forbidden fruit Eve would never have been a "mother," and there would have been no "living" humanity.

8.--EDENIC CLOTHING

Immediately after Adam had named his wife, "the Lord God made coats of skins and clothed them" (ver. 21). This was obviously to supersede the fig-leaf garments which they had devised. For what reason' The nature of the clothing suggests an answer. Where would the "coats of skins" be obtained? From animals. How? By slaying them. And who would slay them? He who "made the coats." The slaying of the animals would involve shedding of blood, and thus we arrive at the fact that the clothing provided by the Lord God possessed a significance of the greatest importance. As nakedness represents a sinful condition, so clothing based upon blood shedding is used to signify a covering for sin. It is the origin of the expression, "Covered in relation to sin: "Blessed is he whose ... sin is covered" (Ps.32:1): "Thou hast covered all their sin" (Ps. 85: 2). It is the foundation for the special garments for priestly functions under the Mosaic Law:--"Thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments ... and thou shalt bring his sons and clothe them with coats" (Exod. 40:13, 14). And it explains why Christ is spoken of its a garment of righteousness:--"As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27). "Christ Jesus who, of God, is made unto us wisdom and righteousness" (1 Cor. 1:30).

9.--EDENIC SACRIFICE

The process of slaying the animals and making the coats of skins would probably be witnessed by Adam and Eve. If so, it is not difficult to imagine the interest with which they would view the same. It would be to them an object lesson in sacrifice for sin. To teach them what? That as they had, by sin, incurred a violent death, a violent death was necessary to take away sin. Whether or not they learned this truth, certain it is that subsequent revelation contains it. And, as sacrifice out of Eden is but a continuation of extension of sacrifice in Eden, the principle on which the one is based is obviously the same as that which underlies the other. When an Israelite under the Mosaic law offered a burnt offering for oblation he was required to "lay his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him" (Lev.1 :4). Why was his hand to be laid on the head of the animal? To transfer to it, by a figure, his sins. This is shown by the injunction concerning the scape goat:-"Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a man that is in readiness into the wilderness; and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a solitary land" (Lev. 16: 21, 22). The animal devoted to sacrifice on whose head the hands of a sinner were placed, became, by that act, a sin-hearer; and immediately afterwards it was slain. What does that prove? That his was the death due for the sins transferred to it. Hence the sinner, in effect, acknowledged that for his sins he had incurred a death like that inflicted on the animal; in other words, that he deserved to be slain. Christ is described as "the Lamb that hath been slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev.13:8). How was He slain prior to the Crucifixion? In type, by all the sacrifices prescribed by God from Eden to the abolition of the Mosaic covenant. Christ, like the slain animals, was a sin-bearer:-He bare the sin of many" (Isa. 53:12); but he was not made a sin-bearer in the way they were. Animal sacrifice was "a shadow" (Heb. 10:1) but Christ's sacrifice was the substance. Hence sin could not be transferred to him figuratively; it must be imparted to him in reality. Therefore, he was "made sin"(2 Cor. v. 21) by being "made of a woman" (Gal. 4:4); he "took part of the same flesh and blood" as his brethren, and "in all things" was "made like unto" them (Heb.11:14, 17). What was necessary to deliver him from the sin-nature of which he was "made?" To be slain; by that event God "condemned sin in the flesh" of; His son Jesus (Rom. 8:3). Therefore, sacrifice is as essential to take away sin in its physical, as in its moral, aspect; a violent death is the punishment due to the one as well as to the other; and physical sin is as powerful to keep closed the gates of the grave as is actual transgression. Christ only possessed sin physically, not morally, but all who are sprinkled with his blood (1 Pet. i. 2) possess sin in both forms. Those who enter Christ in the Apostolic way are able to say, "Our old man was crucified with him" (Rom. vi. 6), or, "I have been crucified with Christ" (Gal. ii.20). Having been baptized into His death (Rom. 6:4) they have thereby partaken of His crucifixion, their baptism being a practical confession that they deserved for their "sin in the flesh and for "wicked works" (Col. 1:21) a violent death similar to that which was inflicted on Christ. They died symbolically, an event referred to in the following passages "If ye died with Christ from the rudiments of the world" (Col. 11. 20); "For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God" (Col. iii. 3); "We thus judge that one died for all, therefore all died" (2 Cor.5:14) act of offering the animal sacrifices which foreshadowed the sacrifice of Christ embodied the same feature as baptism into Christ; the sinner died symbolically in the animal slain. It is on the principle that the fulfillment of "the law of sin and death" in Eden is to be explained. Adam was threatened with death on the day that he sinned, but God, by an exercise of mercy, provided an animal on which was inflicted the literal death incurred by Adam. What effect did this have upon Adam' He died symbolically in the: death of the animal, and the Edenic law was thereby fulfilled m its first stage. All subsequent animal sacrifice was based on the same principle as Edenic sacrifice, but to be of any service in the abolition of death, it required to be supplemented by sacrifice of a higher order.

10.--EDENIC JUSTIFICATION.

Justification is the reverse of condemnation. These two conditions cannot co-exist in the same sense and for the same thing. the Greek word for justify means "to make just or hold guiltless," and the meaning of the English word is "to pardon, and clear from guilt, to absolve, to acquit, to exculpate." Justification is equivalent to reconciliation atonement, purging, cleansing, remission, redemption, purification, and forgiveness. It is typical and anti-typical, and it has a legal, and a moral, aspect. The legal aspects represented by the expression "made righteous" (Rom. 5. 19); and the moral aspect, by the statement "that by works a man is justified and not by faith only" (Jas. 11. 24). Neither legal, nor moral, justification can exist without blood-shedding; the legal must precede the moral; and both legal and moral must precede the bestowal of eternal life. As soon as Adam was clothed with animal skins he was justified through the Edenic sacrifice and belief in the Edenic promise. His justification was legal not moral; he was, by a typical sacrifice, "made righteous," but he did not possess a righteous character. From what was he thus justified? The "offense" he had committed and the "sin-in-the-flesh" which it had produced. What was its effect? It averted a violent death thereby prolonging his life, and giving him a second probation. Did it alter the physical consequences of his offense? No; the ground continued to be cursed, he had to toil for bread, evil desire still dwelt in him, and when his vitality was exhausted he died. The legal justification which God has provided by animal sacrifices and other ceremonies, is not accompanied by the removal of the physical consequences of sin; this is promised as the result of the legal justification being supplemented by moral justification; or, in other words, by imputed righteousness being succeeded by actual righteousness. Adam, after justification. was in the condition described by the Psalmist: "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity" (Ps.32: 1, 2). Whether he maintained this blessedness is not recorded; the judgment-seat will reveal it. For this purpose he will be raised from the dead. Would he have been amenable to resurrection and future judgment if he had not entered upon this second probation? No, he would have been slain and the Edenic law would have forever held him in death. What was an essential preliminary to his entrance on a, second probation? Justification from his act, of disobedience. Could the justification with which he was favoured in Eden take away his sin and destroy its consequences? Not of itself. What was further required? Ratification by the death and resurrection of the seed of the woman. On what basis will he be raised from the dead On the basis of Edemic justification, a second probation, and the blood of Christ. And if he receive immortality what will be the foundation for it? Edenic justification, faithfulness during this second probation, and the blood of Christ. Are Adam's descendants, by birth, in the position of their first parents before or subsequent to justification? Before justification; for although condemnation is racial, justification is individual. What follows from this? That if they died without justification from his "offense," they die under the same conditions as he would have done if God had slain him on the day he sinned. He would have returned to the dust never to resume life; and so do they. It is true that the death specified in the Edenic law is not eternal death; if it had been there would have been no scope for Divine mercy. But in the absence of justification from the "offense" which occasioned death there is no escape from the tomb.

11.--EDENIC ALLEGORY

The events recorded in the first three chapters of Genesis, though literal, contain also allegory. The creation pre-figures those who are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Eph.11. 10), of which God's son is "the beginning" (Rev. iii.14). The sun, moon and stars are signs of Royal power, Ecclesiastical organizations, and Princes. Heaven and earth are used as symbols for governments and people, grass for human nature, and trees for nations. Light is a figure of truth, and darkness of ignorance. Eden is a type of the Kingdom of God, Adam of Christ, and Eve of the Church. Adam's deep sleep finds a parallel in Christ's death; the Serpent represents wicked men; nakedness, sin; and coats of skins, the righteousness of Christ. The seventh day typifies the millennial rest, and the previous six days the six thousand years of sin's reign. What about the eighth day? Has that no significance? Is it not analogous to the period immediately succeeding the seven thousand years? What will then take place? "The dragon, that old Serpent, which is the Devil and Satan" will "deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth," and they "compassed the camp of the saint; about, end the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them" (Rev. 20: 2, 8, 9). Thus on the eighth literal day the first sin was committed and thereby a violent death incurred; on the eighth symbolic day the last sin is committed, and all who share it are subjected to a violent death. On the eighth literal day judgment is administered with mercy; but on the eighth symbolic day judgment is executed without mercy.

How does this allegorical aspect affect the case of Adam? Did his symbolic death on the eighth literal day keep him from literal death? No; for "all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died" (Gen. v. 5); he died literally on the first symbolic day of a thousand years

12.-ABEL TO ABRAHAM

Sacrifice in Eden was but the inauguration of sacrifice out of Eden. Its necessity was recognized by Abel but not by Cain (Gen.4:4). That it formed an essential part of God's "way" (Gen. vl. 12) of righteousness from Abel to the Deluge is indicated by the distinction in the Divine instructions about the ark, between the 'clean beast" and "beasts that are not clean" (Gen. 7: 2), and also by the fact that Noah, on leaving the ark, "builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl and offered burnt offerings on the altar" (Gen. 8: 20). It is also involved in the statement that "then began men to call upon the name of the Lord (Gen. 4:28) when Abraham likewise called upon the name of the Lord, he builded an altar unto the Lord" (Gen.12: 8). For what purpose?' The offering of sacrifice; without which an altar is useless. When Peter, for the first time preached, "remission of sins" in the name Jesus Christ (Acts 2: 38) he announced that "whosoever shall ca11 on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2: 21). In explaining how this was to be done, he informed his hearers that they must "repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus" (verse 38) · This was equivalent to saying that they must by baptism recognize Christ's death to be a sacrifice for sin. Hence this ceremony takes the place of animal sacrifice. Baptism has been a necessity since the Crucifixion, just as animal sacrifice was indispensable previously In other words, a recognition, in the way appointed by God, of blood-shedding, is absolutely necessary for justification from sin. To this, Enoch was no exception. He "walked with God and he was not; for God took him" (Gen. 5:24). He was translated that he should not see death" for "he pleased God" (Heb.11: 5). Like the other righteous men of the antediluvian age he called on the name of the Lord in the offering of sacrifice: and thereby was justified from sin. He subsequently walked in harmony with his justified condition. And on this basis the sacrifice of Christ was prospectively applied to him, just as that sacrifice is now retrospectively applied to those who are baptized into the name of Jesus Christ. The translation of Enoch, although an exception to the ordinary course of things, did not violate any previous Divine decree. It would have been quite consistent with Edenic law if God had likewise translated all others who were justified by a sacrifice for sin and an approved walk. But He did not so act; He allowed them to die. Does this constitute a barrier to the realization of their hopes? No; because their justification requires their restoration to life. Does their death contribute anything towards taking away the condemnation they inherited from Adam? Not in the least; for their death was not sacrificial, and they were not free from personal transgression. They went into the grave as a result of Adam's "offense," but after being justified from that "offense" by sacrifices which foreshadowed the sacrifice of Christ; and therefore they died with the certainty-subject to Christ's death and resurrection ~ being brought forth from the death-state at God's own appointed time. Enoch, as the "seventh from Adam," (Jude ver. 14) foreshadows the brethren of Christ who "are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord" and who will, without entering the grave, be exalted to "ever be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4: 15, 17). The principle, which explains Enoch’s exemption from death, is equally applicable to them.

13.-THE JUSTIFICATION OF ABRAHAM.

"Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness" (Rom. 4: 3). How? By belief only? No; by belief and obedience. According to Divine command he left "Ur of the Chaldees to go into the land of Canaan" ('Gen.11 31; 12: 1). Was this the only practical exhibition of his belief? No; after arriving in the land of promise "he builded an altar unto the Lord" (Gen. 12: 7, 8). Why? Because he was a sinner by birth and by deed, and needed sacrifice to cover his sin. Hence the Apostle, in showing that "faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness," quotes from Ps. 32: 1;-"Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered" (Rom. 4: 7). Abraham recognized that he was a, sinner, and that to inherit the land his sin must be covered. Therefore, he "called upon the name of the Lord" (Gen. 12: 8) by the erection of an altar and the offering of sacrifice. His recognition of sacrifice as a Divine requirement was repeated after his return from Egypt by a visit to "the altar which he had made at the first" and by again "calling on the name of the Lord" (Gen. 13:4); also by acknowledging Melchizedeck to be "Priest of the Most High God" (Gen. 14:1·8); and by slaying, as commanded, a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtle-dove, and a pigeon, to provide what God required for the purpose of confirming his promise (Gen.15: 9-17). He believed not only the promise concerning the land, but that its inheritance required the taking away of sin by blood-shedding. Thus was Abraham justified by faith. He was subsequently "justified by works, when he had offered Isaac, his son, upon the altar" (Jas.2:21).

14.--THE COVENANT OF CIRCUMCISION.

"Faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness..........when he was in uncircumcision and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had, yet being uncircumcised" ('Rom. 4:9-11). Circumcision was a "seal" and a "sign;" as a seal it constituted a Divine assurance of the existing righteousness of Abraham. That "righteousness' included blood-shedding; so did the "seal:" for when Zipprah was compelled to circumcise her son, she said to Moses, "Surely a bloody husband art thou to me" (Exod. 4: 25). Of what was circumcision a "sign?" Of the Crucifixion, which is described as "the circumcision of Christ" (Col. 2:11). To "cut off" a piece of human flesh (Exod. 4: 25) signified the future cutting off of the Messiah by death (Dan 9: 26); and as Christ died to "put away sin" (Heb. 9: 26), circumcision was necessarily related to that object. How? It showed that the circumcised child was a sinner by birth, and that it needed blood-shedding to cleanse it from that condition, independent of its subsequent course of life; for at eight days of age it could not have committed transgression. If a child of Abraham was not circumcised it was said, by Jehovah, to have "broken my covenant," and as a consequence was doomed to be "cut off from his people" ('Gen. 17: 14). The practical effect of this is seen in the case of Moses, who while in Midian, neglected to circumcise his son. Because of this omission "the Lord met him, and sought to kill him" (Exod. iv. 24); and he was only spared from being slain by the action of his wife in angrily complying with the covenant of circumcision. From this incident we learn that every father, descended from Abraham, who omitted to circumcise his son, was liable to lose his life. To what was the uncircumcised son liable? The same; for through his parents he had "broken" Jehovah's "covenant;" and he who fails to comply with a Divine command, from whatever case, must die. There was no injustice in this; for the child was born under condemnation to death for Adam's offense and was therefore liable to that condemnation being put in force any day. Its birth was due to the mercy of God as first expressed in the Edenic promise (Gen.3:15); without which there would have been no sons of Adam; and although the promise involves the existence of the Seed of the Serpent until completely defeated by the Seed of the Woman, it is a part of the Divine prerogative to bring death on any who are still under Adamic condemnation, at any time. Hence the premature death of many who have no moral guilt; death reigns "even over them that have not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression" (Rom. v. 14). In circumcision God provided a ceremony which warded off premature death, for in decreeing that the uncircumcised son of Abraham should be "cut off from his people, He, in effect, promised that the circumcised one should, not be so "cut off." The covenant of circumcision was thus a, shadow of the Abrahamic covenant; as the latter is intended to destroy death, so the former was designed to avert premature death; in other words, the one gives eternal life, and the other gives a lease of present life, the life in both cases to be enjoyed on the land of Canaan. How long did the lease of life resulting from circumcision last? Until the one on whom the ceremony was performed committed transgression. He then became again liable to premature death, and needed animal bloodshedding to avert it. But does not the decree, "cut off from his people," imply that the child was simply to be separated from the fleshly seed of Abraham and yet continue to live the full term of his physical vitality? It goes beyond this. The imputation attached to the child of having "broken" God's covenant" involves death; and the fact that Moses was in danger of losing his life for omitting to circumcise his son, proves that death was the penalty for violation of the command. The mode and time for its execution was not specified, thus leaving it uncertain as to how and when God would "cut off" the lives of both parent and child. The uncircumcised son of Abraham occupied a similar relationship to its disobedient parent that the sons of men occupy towards Adam; both have sinned in their head, and although to this there does not attach moral guilt, the penalty for it is death. Abraham was circumcised many years after being justified by sacrifice. But afterwards circumcision constituted the first stage of justification. The ceremony was required to be performed when the "man child" was "eight days old" (Gen. 17:12). What significance attaches to this? It is suggestive of the day on which Adam sinned, the eighth day from the beginning of the creation, and thereby brings to mind the fact that, as an extension of Adam, the child did not deserve to live longer, and that, like Adam, it was the recipient of Divine mercy expressed by a blood-shedding ceremonial. It also points to the eighth day of a thousand; years, when "evil doers shall be cut off" (Ps. 37:9) finally, by fire coming "down from God out of Heaven" and devouring them (Rev.20:9) There is a moral, as well as a physical, aspect to circumcision it is styled circumcision of the heart (Deut.10: 16; 30:6). Circumcision of the flesh was necessary to an entrance into the Abrahamic covenant, but of itself it could not give the blessing of that covenant. It must be followed by circumcision of the heart and ears (Acts 7:51), namely, the cutting off from the conduct whatever was obnoxious to Jehovah, or a hindrance to faithfulness in his service, even to the extent of a "hand," "foot," or "eye" (Mark ix. 43-47). To circumcise, in all its aspects, is to cut off all round. Circumcision was incorporated in the Mosaic law, and was as obligatory as it had previously been to the descendants of Abraham; no Jewish or Gentile male if "uncircumcised," being allowed to partake of the Passover (Exod.12:48). It was on the basis of circumcision that "the oracles of God were committed" to Jews (Rom. iii. 2). This privilege imposed upon them the duty of preserving; and defending those oracles, and of accepting whatever further revelation came from their Author. The brethren of Christ, now occupy in relation to those oracles, the same position; they have been "circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism" (Col.11:12). And they are, as a consequence, required to "keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Rev.12:17; 3:8).

15.--THE COVENANT OF SHADOWS

The covenant given to Israel through Moses was "a shadow of good things to come" (Heb. 10: 1). A shadow is an outline of something real; it is formed by the contrast between light and darkness, and if anything occur to interfere with that contrast the shadow disappears. The "rudiments" (Gal: iv. 3) composing the Mosaic covenant are styled "patterns" (Heb. ix. 23), and that covenant is described as containing "the form of knowledge and of the truth" (Rom. 11:20). It embodies, therefore, a series of object lessons concerning sin and its remedy, and constitutes an epitome of the plan of salvation. It did not supersede the Edemic promise, the sacrifice instituted in Eden, the Abrahamic covenant or the covenant of circumcision; "it was added:' to these things 'because of transgression" (Gal.3:19). For what object? "That sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful" (Rom.7:13);that is, to show in a multiplicity of ways the heinousness and power of sin. The Mosaic Law was "holy, and just, and good" (Rom. 7:12), but by its numerous enactment’s it excited the "sin In the flesh" inherited from Adam. "I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet" (Rom.7:7). So exacting were its requirements that no Jew begotten by the flesh could keep it perfectly; it was a "yoke which neither our fathers nor we," said the Apostles and elders, "were able to bear" (Acts 15:6-10). All were guilty of its violation, and therefore they were, "through fear of death all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb. ii. 15). What purpose, then, was effected by it? It demonstrated the inability of unaided flesh and blood to obey God perfectly, and the consequent need for dependence on God's mercy (Rom.3:19). "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own son in the likeness of sinful flesh," accomplished (Rom. 8:3). That is, He provided one who, though "made under the law" (Gal.3: 4) and "in all points tempted like as we are" (Heb.4: 15) did "always those things that pleased" his Father (Jno.8:29). In regard to his own conduct he was "without sin" (Heb4: l5); an indispensable requisite for his position as "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world" (Jno.1: 29). Hence Christ is the "body" (Col.2:17) or "enduring substance" (Heb.10:34) of which the Mosaic ceremonies were shadows or "patterns." These shadows were designed for instruction, and therefore some of their features must be analogous to those of the substance. The first and most prominent feature of the Mosaic covenant related to life and land; it was "ordained to life" (Rom. 7: 10). What life? The present life; "I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil," that, by obedience, "thou mayest live and multiply; and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it" (Deut 30:15-16);'It is your life, and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land' (Deut. 32:47). This promise involved immunity from the chief cause of death, namely, disease:--"If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God. I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians" (Exod. 15: 26); Deut. 28: 60). Hence, if Israel had been obedient there would have been no premature deaths among them. The continuance of life conditional on obedience involves the termination of life in the presence of disobedience. This is specifically stated in the detailed enactments of the Mosaic Law. Israel was commanded to "put to death" a blasphemer. (Lev. 24:16), a murderer (ver. 17), the curser of father or mother (Lev. 20: 9), adulterer (ver. 10), the man or woman with a familiar spirit (ver. 27), a, witch (Exod. 22:18), a Sabbath-breaker (Num. 15:35). etc. It was enacted that the death be inflicted by stoning, and that "all the congregation" take part in its execution (Num. 15:35), in order that "all Israel" might "hear and fear and do no more any such wickedness" (Deut. 13:11); "so thou shalt," saith the Lord, "put the evil away from among you" (Deut.17:7). Israel was thus to cooperate with God in the extermination of evil-doers, for the purpose of maintaining their holiness as a nation (Exod.19:6). If this duty had been rigidly performed Israel would have consisted only of righteous persons; but it was neglected, and as a consequence evil-doers increased. Therefore God visited the nation with "pestilence" (Deut. 28:21), "consumption," 'fever," "inflammation,' "the sword, blasting, mildew, (ver. 22), drought (ver. 23), heavy rain (ver. 24), defeat in war (ver. 25), "wonderful plagues," "sore sickness" (ver. 59), "the disease of Egypt" (ver. ·60), etc., in order that they might be "destroyed" (ver. 61), and "left few in number" (ver. 62). While in the wilderness God exhibited His anger against evil doers on several occasions by the infliction of a violent death. For offering strange fire Nadab and Abihu were destroyed by fire (Lev. 10:2);for rebelling against the authority of Moses, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, with their families, were "swallowed up" by the earth (Num. 16:32); for charging Moses and Aaron with having killed Korah and his companions "fourteen thousand and seven hundred" died by plague (Num. 16:11-50); for complaining, at a place subsequently called Tabersh, "the fire of the Lord consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp" (Num.11:1.-3); for accusing Moses of bringing them "out of Egypt to die in the wilderness" much people "of Israel died" from bites of "fiery serpents" sent by the Lord (Num.21: 5-6); for "joining himself unto Baal-peor" Israel lost by plague "twenty and four thousand" (Num.25:1-9); and for listening to the false report of the ten spies about the land and proposing to "return into Egypt" (Num. 14: 1-4), God threatened to extinguish the whole nation by "pestilence" (ver. 12); but at the intercession of Moses (vers. 13-19), He "pardoned" them (ver. 20),and instead of inflicting immediate death he allowed all above twenty years to die by degrees during their remaining thirty eight years of wilderness wanderings (vers. 23, 29-35). For some acts of disobedience the law said that transgressors should be "cut off." If at the Passover feast an Israelite ate "leavened bread from the first day until the seventh, that soul shall be cut off from Israel" (Exod.12: 15); if anyone compounded anything like the anointing oil or put any of it "upon a stranger," he "shall be even cut off from his people" (Exod. 30:33); he who "doeth ought presumptuously shall be cut off from among his people" (Num. 15:30) "that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him" (ver 31). In these passages what is the meaning of "cut off." Death. Does not the expression "from Israel'', or "from among his people" qualify it so as to admit of life apart from the nation, a kind of excommunication? No; for in prescribing what is to be done with one "that giveth any of his seed unto Moloch" it is first said "he shall surely be put to death" (Lev. 20:2) and then the Lord says, "I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people" (ver. 3). The one phrase explains the other; to be "cut off" is to suffer premature death. This is its invariable meaning when applied to sinners. The antediluvians were "cut off" by water (Gen.9:11); the inhabitants of Canaan were "cut off" by Jehovah through Israel (Deut.12: 29); the Anakims were "cut off" by Joshua so that he "destroyed them utterly" (Josh.11:21); and Jehu was "anointed to cut off the house of Ahab" (2 Chron. 22:7) . This evidence, together with that already adduced (Section 14), proves that to "cut off" was to inflict death in a special manner. The Israelites were therefore required to circumcise their sons to prevent such a death. This ceremony introduced them to a state of justification from the condemnation under which they were born and if no sin had been afterwards committed and Israel had kept God's "statutes" and "judgments," they would have continued to live in the flesh as long as Jehovah thought fit; "which if a man do, he shall live in them" (Lev.18:5; Rom. 10:5). What was the first obligation imposed upon Jewish children? Obedience to parents: Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise" (Eph. 6:2). What was the "promise'" "That thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee" (Exod. 20:12). Continuance of Jewish child-life was thus conditional; if not obedient to father and mother its "days" would not be "long upon the land." When a son became "stubborn and rebellious" and refused to "obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother," his parents were instructed to "bring him out unto the elders of his city" that he might be stoned to death (Deut.21:18-21). Only faithful parents would carry out this injunction; unfaithful parents would neglect it. And then would interpose in such ways as he deemed best to prevent rebellious sons having "long days upon the land." Did not Jewish children die in infancy to the same extent that Gentile children do? There is no evidence that they did. And if they did so, it was in consequence of unfaithfulness on the part of their parents. If the parents disregarded God's law they would be liable to "disease" and the other "curses" threatened against them (Deut 28:15-68); and the children of such would necessarily share those curses. Of this an illustration is given in the case of Achan. Because he "sinned against the Lord," not only he, but "his sons and daughters," and his cattle were "stoned" to death (Josh. 7: 20-25). Achan and his children having been justified in shadow, from Adamic condemnation; now suffered, for the iniquity of their head, the Mosaic curse. When Jewish parents were obedient to the law, and brought up their children in the right way, they ensured to themselves and their familiar the continuance of life in the land. When the children reached such an age that they could understand the requirements of the Mosaic law, they became individually responsible to its blessings and curses. From birth to circumcision the sons were "dead" in Adam (2 Cor. 5:14); but when they were circumcised they became "alive" (Rom. 8:9), and so continued until they rebelled against their parents, or disobeyed some other command of the Mosaic Law. They then became dead in Moses; for the law given through him was "the ministration of death" (2 Cor.3:7). This change of condition is described by the Apostle Paul:--"I was without the law once. But when the commandment came sin revived, and I died" ('Rom. 8:9). If the sin came within the scope of sacrifice, they averted immediate death by offering the prescribed atonement; in so doing they died symbolically in the death of the animal, and were restored to the "alive" condition into which they were introduced by circumcision. Bat, if the sin committed was presumptuous--as in the case of Nadab, Abihu, Korah, Dathan and Abriam--no sacrifice was available, Num. 15:30, 31). Obedience to the Mosaic covenant gave no reward beyond this life, and the punishments for disobedience were confined to this life, with death as the finality. Hence "every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward" (Heb.2:2)· No provision was made in that covenant for resurrection, but it shadowed the good t

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