01.24 The Threefold Work Of Christ
XXIV. The Threefold Work of Christ The "Office Work" of Christ is "Threefold," that of "PROPHET," "PRIEST" and "KING." But He does not hold these offices conjointly but successively. His "Prophetic Work" extended from Creation to His Ascension ; His "Priestly Work" extends from His Ascension to the Rapture of the Church; and His "Kingly Work" from His Revelation at the close of the Tribulation Period, until He surrenders the Kingdom to the Father, that "God may be All and in All." 1 Corinthians 15:28, I. HIS PROPHETIC WORK
While Christ as a Prophet foretold many things before His Incarnation, it was not until after His Incarnation that He entered fully on His Prophetic Office. He was the Prophet foretold by Moses. "The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken." Deuteronomy 18:15 : And Peter in his sermon in the Temple declared that Christ was that Prophet. Acts 3:19-26. As a Prophet Christ foretold His Death and Resurrection. His Parabolic Teaching was full of prophetic statements, and in His "Olivet Discourse" (Matthew 24-25) He outlined events that should come to pass from, the time of His Ascension until His Return. But His crowning work as a Prophet was His Revelation to the Apostle John, on the Isle of Patmos, of the history of the Christian Church, as outlined in the "Messages to the Seven Churches," the awful character of the "Tribulation Period," the Battle of Armageddon, the binding of Satan, the "Great White Throne Judgment,"the "Renovation of the earth by Fire," and the "New Heaven," "New Earth" and "New City."
II. HIS PRIESTLY WORK
Christ’s present work is that of a High Priest. He is now "TARRYING WITHIN THE VEIL." As the High Priest entered through the "veil" into the "Most Holy Place" once a year on the "Day of Atonement," to present the blood of the sacrifice and make intercession for the SINS of the people, so Jesus entered into the "Holy of Holies" of the Heavenly Tabernacle when He ascended and passed through the "Veil of the Cloud" and disappeared from earthly view. Acts 1:9. Hebrews 4:14. "For Christ is not entered into the Holy Places made with hands (such as the Tabernacle or Temple) which are the figures of the true; but INTO HEAVEN ITSELF, now to appear in the presence of God for us." Hebrews 9:24. Heaven not earth, is the sphere of Christ’s PRIESTLY Ministry. He never appeared as a Priest in the Temple of Jerusalem. He went there to teach but never to offer sacrifices or burn incense. The sacrifices and ceremonies of the Tabernacle and Temple services did not make the offerers perfect, or they would not have ceased to be offered. They were but SHADOWS or Types of things to come. Hebrews 10:1-3. Among them was the "Day of Atonement." On that day the High Priest entered alone into the Holy Place, and having divested himself of his garments of "Glory and Beauty," he washed himself, and arrayed himself in linen clothes with a linen Mitre upon his head. He then filled a Censer with burning coals from off the Incense Altar and entered through the "Veil" into the "Most Holy Place," and putting incense upon the coals of the Censer, so that the smoke would cover the "Mercy Seat" on the "Ark of the Covenant" and hide it from view lest he die, he withdrew from the "Most Holy Place" and passed out into the Court of the Tabernacle, where he slew a bullock for a "Sin Offering" for himself and his house, and taking of its blood he re-entered the Tabernacle and passing through the "Veil" he sprinkled with his finger of the blood seven times eastward before the "Mercy Seat," thus making Atonement for himself and his household. He then returned to the Court of the Tabernacle and slew the goat that had been selected by lot for the "Sin Offering," and took of its blood and re-entered for the third time the "Most Holy Place," and did with its blood as he had done with the blood of his bullock, thus making Atonement for the sins of the Congregation. He then returned to the Court, and going to the "Brazen Altar" he made Atonement for it by sprinkling of the mixed blood of the bullock and goat upon it with his finger ,seven times, after he had first anointed the Horns of the Altar with the blood.
He then took the live goat, called the "Scapegoat," and laying both of his hands upon its head, he confessed the sins of the Children of Israel, thus placing them upon the head of the "Scapegoat," and then he sent it by a "fit man" into the wilderness, into a land uninhabited, where it was left, thus carrying away the iniquities of the people.
Aaron then returned to the Holy Place of the Tabernacle and took off his linen garments, washed himself, and robed himself again in his garments of "Glory and Beauty," and then returned to the Court of the Tabernacle. Until he thus appeared the people were in doubt as to whether God had accepted the "Sin Offering" or not. If his stay was unduly prolonged they would fear that the offering had been rejected and the High Priest smitten with death. They listened then for the tinkling of the bells upon the bottom of the High Priest’s robe, and when they heard them they were assured that the sacrifice had been accepted. When the High Priest came out in his garments of "Glory and Beauty" he went to the "Brazen Altar" and offered a "Burnt Offering" for himself, and one for the people, as a token of their revived consecration to God.
Let us take the work of the High Priest on the "Day of Atonement" and apply it to our High Priest, Jesus Christ. When Jesus "emptied Himself" of His Heavenly Glory (Php 2:5-8), He laid aside His garments of "Glory and Beauty," and put on the "Linen Garment" of humanity »in which to minister. He had no occasion to offer incense in the "Most Holy Place," or to offer a bullock as a "Sin Offering" for Himself, for He was sinless, but He had to offer a Sin Offering for the world. It is here that we see that no single offering could typify the work of Christ, for Christ’s work is twofold. First He died as a "Sin Offering" for SIN, and then rose from the dead and ascended through the "Veil of the Cloud" into the "Holy of Holies" of the "Heavenly Tabernacle" and offered HIS OWN BLOOD as an Atonement for the sin of the world. This could only be foreshadowed by the use of two goats. The first was made a "Sin Offer-, ing" and as such had to die, the second was called the "Scapegoat" and bore away the sins of the people into the wilderness. Leviticus 16:8-10; Leviticus 16:20-22. The High Priest entered into the "Most Holy Place" once a year with the blood of others, but Jesus Christ our High Priest entered once for all with His OWN BLOOD into the "Holy of Holies" of the "Heavenly Tabernacle," otherwise He must have suffered yearly since the foundation of the world (Ages), "but now once in the END OF THE AGE (the Old Testament Age) hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Hebrews 9:24-26.
Having, as our High Priest, taken His own blood within the "Veil," Jesus still tarries engaged in His High Priestly work, and will continue to tarry throughout this "GREAT DAY OF ATONEMENT," and at its close he will lay aside His High Priestly robes and come forth in His Kingly dress of "Glory and Beauty" to rule and reign in Kingly splendor.
There was no provision made for sitting down in the Tabernacle or Temple, for there was no time for sitting down, as sacrifices were continuously being offered; but Jesus our High Priest offered the sacrifice of Himself "ONCE FOR ALL," and then "SAT DOWN" at the right hand of God, on God’s Throne (Hebrews 12:2), which is in this Dispensation the "Throne of Grace." Hebrews 4:16. In Acts 7:55-56, we read that Stephen saw Jesus STANDING at the right hand of God. This may mean either of two things. Either Jesus rose to receive Stephen or that He had not yet sat down, for we must not forget that Jesus really did not begin His High Priestly work until after His final rejection by the Jews, that culminated in the stoning of Stephen, who charged them with being "stiff necked" and resisting the Holy Ghost. Acts 7:51.
Christ’s present work is twofold.
1. MEDIATOR.
Paul writing to Timothy said that the will of God was that all men might be saved, and that he had appointed to that end a "MEDIATOR" between God and man, the MAN CHRIST JESUS. 1 Timothy 2:3-6. He is a "Mediator" for both believers and unbelievers, but He had to become a MAN to "Mediate" between God and man. A man can mediate between two men, but he cannot mediate between a man and a horse, because he has not the nature of both a man and a horse. So the Son of God could not mediate between God and man until He became the "Divine MAN," that is, had the nature of both God and man. It was necessary then for the Son of God to become a MAN that He might mediate between God and man, and when He ascended He took up His MANHOOD with Him, and He is now in Heaven the MAN CHRIST JESUS. 1 Timothy 2:5.
2. ADVOCATE. In 1 John 2:1 we read-"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an ADVOCATE with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." From this we see that Jesus is the Advocate of the righteous only, for the Epistle is addressed to "My Little Children," and to those who were entitled to call God FATHER. The sinner does not need an Advocate he needs a SAVIOUR. What is the use of an Advocate when the trial is over, the jury has rendered its decision, the Judge pronounced sentence and the day of execution set? What a condemned man needs then is not an Advocate but a PARDON. The Bible distinctly states that, "he that believeth not IS CONDEMNED ALREADY," and, "that the WRATH OF GOD ABIDETH ON HIM." John 3:18; John 3:36. What the sinner needs to do is not to ask Jesus to intercede for him, but to accept the FINISHED WORK of Christ on the Cross in his behalf.
If Jesus is our Advocate then what is He our Advocate for? Not for SIN, for that was Atoned for on the Cross. He is our Advocate for the "sins" we commit since we became a Christian. "My Little Children, these things write I unto you, that ye SIN NOT. And if any man SIN, we have an Advocate." 1 John 2:1. Our Advocate then is to intercede for us because we SIN, that is His business, that is why He remains constantly beside the Father. If a man breaks the law, or is accused of breaking it, the first thing he needs is a lawyer, or advocate, one who will plead his cause and see that he gets justice. So the believer when he sins needs an Advocate.
There is a vast difference between a "SINNER’S SINS" and a "BELIEVER’S SINS." Not that God does not hate both alike, the Believer it may be the most because he sins with greater light, but the difference is not in the sin, but in the WAY GOD TREATS IT. Here is a father who sends his son and his hired servant to do a piece of work. They are lazy and inefficient, and do not do the work. He bears with them, and tries them again, but it is no use. His son and his servant are good for nothing, his son perhaps the worse of the two. Now what does he do? He discharges the servant. He puts him out of the house. He will have nothing more to do with him. But does he discharge his son? Does he send him away from the house? Does he disinherit him? Nothing of the kind. He may rebuke him, cut off his allowance, punish him worse than he punished the servant, but he will not send him away because he is his son. We see then that "Sonship" is a REAL THING. Is "Sonship" then a shield from the punishment of sin? Does my "Sonship" make it safer for me to sin ? Oh, no! It simply gives me the blessed privilege of having an Advocate, and since it is inevitable that I will sin, it is better to sin as a SON than as an unbeliever.
III. HIS KINGLY WORK
Christ’s future work is that of KING. When Christ has finished His High Priestly work He will leave His Father’s Throne and descend into the atmosphere of this earth to meet His espoused Bride-THE CHURCH. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. He will then accompany His Bride back to Heaven, and taking His place upon the "Judgment Seat of Christ" (Romans 14:10) will judge the saints and reward them according to the works, after which He will present the Church to Himself, "a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." Ephesians 5:27. Then follows the Marriage of the Lamb. Revelation 19:6-9. Then, having received the Kingdom from the Father, Christ, accompanied by the armies of Heaven, will descend to the earth, and the Battle of Armageddon will be fought (Revelation 19:11-21), following which He will sit upon the "Throne of His Glory" and judge the nations (Matthew 25:31-46), after which the Millennial Kingdom will be set up. At its close Satan will be loosed from the Bottomless Pit, there will be a great Apostasy, and fire will descend from heaven and destroy the wicked. The heaven and the earth will then be renovated by Fire, and the New Heaven and Earth will appear, upon which shall be placed righteous nations taken from the old earth, over which Christ shall reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, until such a time as He shall see fit to surrender the Kingdom to the Father, that GOD MAY BE ALL IN ALL. 1 Corinthians 15:28.
MESSIAH THE PRINCE
It is clear from the Scriptures that it is the purpose of God to set up a Kingdom on this earth over which a son of King David is to reign FOREVER. The promise was given to King David through Nathan the Prophet. "Thine House and Thy Kingdom shall be established FOREVER before thee; thy Throne shall be established FOREVER." 2 Samuel 7:16. This promise God afterward confirmed with an oath, saying-"I have made a Covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, thy seed will I establish FOREVER, and build up thy Throne to all generations Once have I sworn in My Holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure FOREVER, and his Throne as the sun BEFORE ME." Psalms 89:3-4; Psalms 89:35-37. This Covenant was unconditional and was reaffirmed to Israel through Jeremiah the prophet (Jeremiah 33:17-26), in which God promised that David should never want a man (son), to sit upon his Throne FOREVER. That this promise did not mean that there should be an "unbroken line" of successors on David’s Throne, is clear from the fact that, after Solomon, the kingdom was divided, and in B. C. 587 the last king of Judah was carried captive to Babylon. The promise then must refer to some "future" king of David’s seed that is to be raised up to sit on the "Throne of David." ’ To this king Jeremiah refers in Jeremiah 23:5-6. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous ’Branch,’ and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is His name whereby He shall be called-"THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." When we compare this prophecy with Isaiah 11:1-2, "There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse (David) and a ’Branch’ shall grow out of his ’roots;’ and the ’Spirit of the Lord’ shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord," and note the word "BRANCH" that is common to both, and then note the last words of Isaiah’s prophecy- "the ’Spirit of the Lord’ shall rest upon Kim," etc, and recall Luke’s description of the Child Jesus-"And the Child grew, and waxed strong in Spirit, filled with wisdom ; and the Grace of God was upon Him" (Luke 2:40), we have no difficulty in identifying whom the Prophet meant. But the Messiah was not only to be of the lineage of David, He was also to be of Divine Parentage. How this could be was a riddle until the Prophet Isaiah solved it by saying-"Behold a VIRGIN shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name IMMANUEL." Isaiah 7:14. Later Isaiah says, as if he were present when the Virgin gave birth to the Child, "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the Government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called ’Wonderful,’ ’Counsellor,’ the ’Mighty God,’ the ’Everlasting Father,’ the ’Prince of Peace.’ Of the increase of His Government and Peace there shall be no end, upon the ’Throne of David,’ and upon His Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even FOREVER." Isaiah 9:6-7. Where is the "key" that unlocks this passage? Listen. "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a VIRGIN espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the ’HOUSE OF DAVID,’ and the Virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel said unto her-Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great and shall be called the ’Son of the Highest’ and the Lord God*shall give unto Him the THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID; and He shall reign over the HOUSE OF JACOB (Israel) FOREVER; and of His Kingdom there shall be NO END." Luke 1:26-33. Some have maintained that the Prophet Isaiah referred to some maiden (virgin) of his own time, but this is refuted by Matthew, who says-"Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying-Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name EMMANUEL, which being interpreted is GOD WITH US." Matthew 1:23. For an account of the "Virgin Birth" see the Chapter on "The Mystery of Godliness." It is clear then that Jesus was the son promised to David who was to sit upon his Throne and reign over the House of Israel FOREVER. As further and conclusive evidence that Jesus was the Messiah, the Old Testament not only mentions the fact and the place of His birth, but gives the TIME. In Daniel 9:24-25, we read that it was to be 69 Weeks from the going forth of the Commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the "MESSIAH THE PRINCE." Now here is a definite period of time mentioned-"69 Weeks," and these weeks were to date from a certain edict-the commandment to Restore and Rebuild Jerusalem. See the Chart of Daniel’s "Seventy Weeks," page 70. The date of the "commandment" is given in Nehemiah 2:1 as the month "Nisan" in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, which was the 14th day of March, B. C. 445. The day when Jesus rode in Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as "Messiah the Prince," was Palm Sunday, April 2, A. D. 30. Luke 19:37-40. But the time between March 14, B. C. 445, and April 2, A. D. 30, is more than 69 literal "weeks." It is 445+30=475 years. What explanation can we give for this? It is clear to every careful student of the Word of God that there is a "Time Element" in the Scriptures. We come across such divisions of time as "hours;" days;" "weeks;" "months;" "years;" "times;" "time and the dividing of time." To be intelligible and avoid confusion they must all be interpreted on the same scale. What is that scale ? It is given in Numbers 14:34. "Aker the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days-Each Day FOR A YEAR, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years." See also Ezekiel 4:6. The "Lord’s Scale" then is-"A Day Stands for a year."
Let us apply this scale to the "Seventy Weeks." We found that the time between the "commandment" to restore and build Jerusalem, and "Messiah the Prince," was to be 69 weeks, or 69x7=483 days, or if a "day" stands for a year, 483 years. But we found that from B. C. 445 to A. D. 30 was 475 years, a difference of 8 years. How can we account for the difference? We must not forget that there are years of different lengths. The Lunar year has 354 days. The Calendar year has 360 days. The Solar year has 365 days. The Julian, or Astronomical year, has 365J4 days, and it is necessary to add one day every 4 years to the calendar. Now which of these years shall we use in our calculation? We find the "Key" in the Word of God. In Genesis 7:11-24; Genesis 8:3-4, in the account of the Flood, we find that the 5 months from the 17th day of the 2d month, until the 17th day of the 7th month, are reckoned as 150 days, or 30 days to a month, or 360 days to a year. So we see that we are to use in "Prophetical Chronology" a "Calendar" year of 360 days.
According to ordinary chronology, the 475 years from B. C. 445 to A. D. 30 are "Solar" years of 365 days each. Now counting the years from B. C. 445 to A. D. 30, inclusively, we have 476 solar years. Multiplying these 476 years by 365 (the number of days in a Solar year), we have 173,740 days, to which add 119 days for leap years, and we have 173,859 days. Add to these 20 days inclusive from March 14 to April 2, and we have 173,879 days. Divide 173,879 by 360 (the number of days in a "Prophetical Year"), and we have 483 years all to one day, the exact number of days (483) in 69 weeks, each day standing for a year. Could there be anything more conclusive to prove that Daniel’s 69 weeks ran out on April 2, A. D. 30, the day that Jesus rode in triumph into the City of Jerusalem.
We see from this that if the "Students of Prophecy" of Christ’s day bad been on the alert, and had understood Daniel’s prophecy of the "Seventy Weeks," they would have been looking for Him, and would have known to a certainty whether He was the Messiah or not. But the very passage from Daniel which gives us the "time" of the coming of "Messiah the Prince," also tells us that almost immediately "He Shall Be Cut Off But Not for Himself." Daniel 9:26. How then could be fulfilled the prophecy that declared that He was to be given the "Throne of David," and that He should reign over the "House of Jacob forever, and of His Kingdom there shall be NO END?" There is but one answer. His coming was to be in Two Stages. He was to come first as a "Suffering Saviour," and then as a "King." Here is where the Jews of Jesus’ day misread the Scriptures. They did not distinguish between the Sufferings of the Messiah and His Glory. 1 Peter 1:11. They could not understand how the Messiah was to be a mighty King and also be "cut off" for the sins and iniquities of His people. There was but one possible answer and that was by Resurrection. They accepted Psa. 16 as Messianic, and yet did not see that it prophesied the "Resurrection of Jesus" in the words-
"Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Hades) ; neither wilt thou suffer thine ’Holy One’ to see corruption." Psalms 16:10. This passage Peter in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost quoted, saying that David, being a prophet, here speaks of the Resurrection of Christ, and added-"This JESUS hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses." Acts 2:25-32.
There can be no question but that "Jesus of Nazareth" was the promised "Son of David," who is to reign upon the "Throne of David." But being rejected and crucified, and risen from the dead, He now sits on His Father’s Throne until the time comes for Him to take the Kingdom. The "Throne of David" was on the earth, and can never be anywhere else. To say that Christ now reigns on the "Throne of David," and that His Kingdom is "spiritual," is to subvert the meaning of the Old Testament prophecies. The "Throne of David" is now vacant, and has been for 2500 years, but when the "Times of the Gentiles" have run their course, and the time has come to set up again the "Tabernacle (House) of David" which has fallen down (Acts 15:13-18), the "Throne of David" will be re-established and given to Christ.