Hughes, Eric: Bible Reading Hebrews 9 02 ~ Hebrews 9v26-28

This blood that he had shed at Calvary, that remains eternally efficacious. Would you be satisfied that the shedding of the blood in verse fourteen was through the eternal spirit? The reason I'm asking you that is some people say it was his own spirit here, and I think he offered his sacrifice through the eternal spirit, the spirit of God. He was dead on the cross, his blood was shed, and when the spear pierced the side, the miracle, the flowing of blood from a dead person was a miracle, no congealing, but it was the silent testimony at the altar that his life had been given. Is this spirit here the Holy Spirit or his own spirit? Well, this is one of the bones that's in the passage, but I, I'll go forward, and I believe the Godhead is here. I think that whenever you get any great work being done in creation, the church, gifts to men, whatever great thing is being done, the Godhead is involved, and I feel that it's the Godhead here. Well, I'm really clearly said. I'm glad you do, because that's what I believe. Mr. Hughes, I'm agreed with what has been said, but this is a highly sensitive subject, and I know there are those present upon whose ears it will be strange, and there are some present who may not accept this. They put a lot of emphasis on the outward flowing of the blood. Mm-hmm. From his side as well as from his hands and feet. What we need to get across to the human heart and understanding is, in animal sacrifices, when the blood had flowed, when the blood had been shed, the animal was dead. Now the antitype of that is in the death of Christ. When Christ expired voluntarily upon the cross, when he died, we have the antitype, and the shedding of blood is involved in his death, as you've been pointing out. What the Roman soldier did was essential to the fulfillment of scripture. They shall look on him whom they pierced. Mm-hmm. And also a bone of him shall not be broken. Mm-hmm. A bone was not broken, a scripture was fulfilled. They pierced, uh, his side with the spear. They made provision for the fulfillment completely in a future day in Revelation one, They shall look on him whom they pierced, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Now, I hope that that gets over to the minds of all who are present, that we're not taking away from the shedding of blood, precious blood, only once mentioned as precious blood, and that by the Apostle Peter, with its eternal efficacy. It will never lose its power till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more. And the hymn writer I accept, believed that even then it would never lose its power, for I take it we will be as dependent upon it eternally as we are presently. Uh, just in connection with what Mr. Nesbitt has said, and then I want to ask you about the eternal spirit as well. I take it to be the Holy Spirit, but I'll come back to it in a minute. The, the terminology for the work of Christ in the New Testament is very precious and very important, and if you just think about this letter for the moment, you have death in this chapter, but our brother McKeown mentioned that it's mainly blood. When you go back to chapter two, the sufferings of death, that through death, when you go to chapter twelve, it's endured the cross. Now, would you care to distinguish those three different forms of expression, the death, the blood, and the cross, all referring to the one work? Are they synonymous, or how should we understand them? I'm thinking of a connection to what Mr. Nesbitt has been speaking about and so on. Or what will you... You can elaborate on this. I'll just put it very, very quickly and simply. When it's the death Mm. of the Lord Jesus, we're thinking of the fact that the sentence of sin has been paid. When it's the blood, we're thinking of the fact that his death was sacrificial, Mm. a death by blood shedding. When it's the cross, we've been reminded that his work was accomplished in the midst of shame. The sentence paid, the sacrifice offered, and the shame endured. But it's the same work, all from a different aspect, isn't it? It's like the four gospels, really, and you're looking at different angles of the same thing. But it's most important to distinguish between things that differ, isn't it? Mm-hmm. Now, regarding the eternal spirit, I'm interested because, as our brother has said here, the Godhead is represented here, and in fact, God is mentioned as the living God. He offered himself without spot to God and purged you from dead works to serve the living God, the the Godhead at the cross. Now, just in connection with that, what Mr. Paisley has mentioned, can I ask you if, if it is the Holy Spirit, Mm-hmm. which I personally firmly believe is the brother of express, why, why only in this passage is he called the eternal spirit? Why is that designation used so different, so unusual here, and what is the significance of it? The only place where it's used, isn't it? Yeah. Is this in relation to the eternal character of the work, you think? That's what I thought. That's the very thing. I thought that, that what the passage was saying, our brothers, that although Calvary happened in time, the work of Calvary was done in an energy that has lifted it outside of time. The work was done in the energy of an eternal spirit, so that the blood that flowed on the third of April AD thirty three, that blood was so efficacious and potent that on the basis of that blood, God could forgive sins two thousand years before ever he did. Mm-hmm. And he can forgive sins two thousand years after he came because the work has been communicated a timeless value, although it happened in time. In the energy, it's not the eternal spirit, it's in the energy of an eternal spirit. An eternal spirit. He offered himself without spot. Isn't that why the expression comes between the other two expressions, eternal redemption Mm. and eternal inheritance? Why it comes in the middle. The reason I asked the question is some teach that it's his own spirit here, you see. That's why I... the brother need to know why we believe that this is the spirit of God. Well, I think that has been made really clear, isn't it? Yes. In relation to this eternal work. And of course, it's been mentioned already, we have these eternal matters, don't we? We have the, the eternal spirit and the eternal redemption, and it's really in counter distinction to the temporeness of all that went before. The work that Christ has done is eternal in its character and its value, and it will be for all eternity. Just before, sorry. I understand that there are certain parts in the world where they would hardly allow you to say shedding of blood. Mm-hmm. They just emphasize his life was given. I don't think there's anything wrong with mentioning the shedding of blood. Would you think so? In mentioning the shedding of blood? Yes. I don't think there's anything wrong with mentioning it. Like we've mentioned Kuiper's hymn here, and well, they were not inspired, but Carper was right when he said, dear dying lamb, thy precious blood shall never lose its power. Yeah. Till all the ransom church of God be saved to sin no more. And when you come to the Epistle of John, in relation to confession of sin, it's the abiding efficacy of the blood that's mentioned there. Would I be right in saying, Mr. Hughes, that there's certain things that we never get over, and I believe we'll never get over, the shedding of the blood and the giving of the life of Christ. It will be the song in the eternal future. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission. So in preaching, we always must point to the shed blood of Christ. But I don't think that we would go as far as this, with the hymn writer, we allow him liberty, but we wouldn't be really at one with him when we speak about being washed in the blood of the Lamb, would we? I have sung it for sixty years. I would say that very heartily. Oh, I know, because Revelation one, I believe the word is washed. Yes. I don't like changing it to this. Would you, pardon? You mean the application of the blood? Well, it's the picture. Yes. Yes, and it's the removal of every stain and the presentation of the, of the, of the sin. All Irish men believe that. You'll remember me for what I said anyway. There was nobody in the Old Testament ever washed in blood. Oh no. No. Washed in water, never washed in blood, but if wanted, it might keep. And I'm Irish. What does the washing in water signify? Regeneration. In the goodwill of the Lord, I'll tell you that about six thirty. In verse twenty two of chapter ten, bodies washed with pure water, if you don't mind it, and if I do forget to bring it up, please remind me. Thank you. Wash in the blood, unto him that loves us, washed us from our sins. We, we work with Hebrews and we, we sort revelation. Uh, may I Verse. point out here just before... Sorry. Just. All right. Verse fourteen, the end of it, I think, answers something that was raised earlier. Purging the conscience from dead works to serve the living God. In the old economy, when there was sin, the sacrifice was brought, and it was forgiven. That set the conscience at rest temporarily, but then if that same sin was, eh, committed again, the guilty conscience returned. But for the believer and the blood of Christ, the conscience has been purged so that the believer never has that conscience that he had five minutes before he got saved, before a guilty God. Amen. That's good. There is a child-father relationship and a forgiveness that I judge is different for the child of God. I know you want to move on to the next section, but I was just going to briefly mention that beautiful expression in verse fourteen, offered himself Mm. without spot, the offering personal and perfect. Isn't it very significant and precious to notice how frequently in the New Testament, when the work of Christ is mentioned, we are reminded in the immediate context of the sinlessness of his character. Made him to be sin. Mm-hmm. He knew no sin. Christ at once suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, who his own self bare our sins in his own, he did no sin. Here offered himself for sin, but he did it without spot. So when it was most, when his impeccability, if we lose that word, his sinlessness, better word, was most in question, the Holy Scriptures protect the absolute purity of his person. And isn't that true of the sin offering and aspects in the Old Testament, you see, in each case where it's going to touch sin, most holy. It's a sin bearing offering, isn't it, in that passage in Peter three and 18, made him to be the sin bearing offering. We need to be careful, some use that rather unwittingly, made him to be sin for us. He was never made the thing sin, but he bare our sins, and God treated them for such. When exactly did he offer himself? Well, I think the offering in relation to this really is the cross. On the tree, I would say. Are you something else in mind? Yes. Good. I had thought when he said, I come to do thy will, I think that then he offered himself, and then he completed the work when he was at the cross. Mm. Well, we couldn't really disagree with that, could we? He presents himself anyhow, and although I've come to do thy will. Really, I think in the sense in which we have it here, I would have thought that it was the work of Calvary. I was just going to say that in the three greatest events in the scripture, the deity involved, the Trinity are involved. Mm. That's creation, Genesis one, the incarnation, and the cross. Mm. The Trinity are involved in those three great events. You're worthy to be up on this platform with such teaching as that, brother. So the offering of himself was the most important matter, wasn't it? The offering himself without spot to God, and that's the only offering that can purge the conscience from dead works to serve the living and the true God. And now we move on in verse fifteen, uh, and onwards in relation to he is mediator of the new covenant or the New Testament by means of death, for the redemption of the transgression, which under the First Testament, they which are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance. Now, David has already mentioned about the past and the future in relation to the greatness of the work and the blood of Christ. And of course, here we have a retrospective aspect, don't we? We mentioned it, I think, in the passing last night. There's a res- retrospective aspect to the death of Christ. We have, um, the value of it presently, but there's the aspect that goes back, and of course there is the, uh, prospectively the work of Christ, its value will be the same. But it's all of these who we spoke about who came in by faith when a man brought his sacrifice. And many Israelites and people like that must have been, uh, believers in God. The Lord Jesus said to the disciples, you believe in God. And many of them must have, like, uh, understood, uh, the value of these things, and they had faith in God. And in the light of that, the transgression was overlooked or covered over until this great sacrifice. God could look down the centuries to the moment when Christ would die, and all these people came into the value of that. The Roman epistle, of course, shows that if this was only the Israelites under the tabernacle conditions mentioned in this verse, well, we'll, we could come to that. But when you get to Romans three, it's going right back, isn't it? And it's taking every person by faith. You know, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and all of these great persons, and others too, women as well. Great company of redeemed people, and that it's the efficacy of the work of Christ going backwards and, uh, justifying God in the way that he did it. You would believe, therefore, that on the cross he became answerable for the remission of sins that were past through the forbearance of God. Mm-hmm. I have always believed, all may not agree with this, but I've always believed that they were saved on credit, but their sins were still there Mm. until the cross, and he dealt with those sins that were covered before, put them away through the forbearance of God. Mm-hmm. They were saved by looking forward, but their request, the sin question was not yet settled. You understand? Yes. So the passing over of sins that were passed by the forbearance of God, where the Old Testament believers' sins were still there, and then at the cross, uh, that work dealt with those sins as well as ours. Well, he was just and the justifier of him that believed. Yes. Yeah. What is the writer pointing to, Brother Hughes, when he says for this cause he is the mediator of the New Covenant, the New Testament? What's he pointing to? The reason why he's a mediator. Well, I take it that the, the, the, would that not go back to verse fourteen, that he accomplished himself by the eternal spirit without spot unto God, and because of that. That's right. Uh, he would be It's his death. It comes out in the next, it comes out of the explanatory sentence following that, on a ca- by means of death, Mm. or rather death having taken place. That's right. He is the one who died. Mm-hmm. And thus he becomes the one who is the mediator Uh-huh. of the New Testament. Of the New Testament. Mm-hmm. And again, we get this lovely point, don't we? The promise of the eternal inheritance. So all of those are going to come into the valley of the eternal inheritance. We are coming into it. So we've got this word eternal again, eternal redemption, eternal inheritance. So that would... Mm. In relation to the Old Testament saints, did David not say in Psalm number thirty two, blessed is the man who's transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, not conscious of their sins being dealt with in view of the sacrifice of Christ that was to come? Every person was saved on the grounds of the precious blood of Christ, but the sin was not totally dealt with until he was on the cross. See, atonement is an Old Testament word, isn't it? It's a covering over. It's like the covering of the ark, isn't it? The pitch on the ark. Pitch within without with pitch. But Oh, I don't, I'm not disputing. Hebrews nine, for instance. No, I'm not disputing what you're saying. I'm saying they were covered over, uh, but they, by faith, they would understand that, and they would come into the value of it, and this is what this first. He put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. I per- I personally, for what it's worth, I don't want to cause a controversy. I thought that the sins of David or Jacob or any of the men, we're talking about men under the old covenant. I thought that when they came with a believing heart and brought their sacrifice and stipulated that their sins were just as clearly forgiven as mine were. Can't be forgiven without the shedding of the blood of Christ. Taken away, David, no? Forgiven, taken away, rolled away, carried away, buried, gone forever. Completely gone. I never think that God just covered sins over the way I've covered that over with a nut to the paper. I think they were gone. It shall be forgiven him. And the reason that God could put them away in AD fifteen— in BC fifteen was because there was a work going to be done in AD thirty in the power of an eternal spirit. Mm-hmm. And that work in eternal spirit, as you say, had retrospective value as well as prospective value. And I think they were gone completely. Isaiah chapter six, when the coal touched his lips. Thy sin is purged, thy sin is kaffared, thy sin is atoned for, thine iniquity is covered over. No. Thy sin is atoned for, thine iniquity is taken away. But they they're different. The pri- the price was not paid or until he was on the cross. I agree with what Mr. Paisley said. If I go in today, buy a new suit with a credit charge, I have no notion of doing it, and I wouldn't advise you to do it, but if I go in and buy it with a credit charge, I may not have to pay that until the end of November, but I could wear the suit tomorrow. It's mine, and I can wear it, even though the legal settlement won't take place until tomorrow. Mm-hmm. But it's mine, so that, as our brother has said, they were on credit, but the price was fully paid at Calvary, but they were in the good of forgiveness. Oh, I believe they were in the good of forgiveness, but they didn't understand the value of the atonement as we do. Brother David Gilliland has partly answered what is on my mind, and that is the danger of reducing the word cover to cover. That will not do. For in the Old Testament, it is used in quite a variety of ways, and Isaiah chapter six is one, and indeed in Daniel chapter nine, it comes into a prophetic context used in relation to the work of Christ. So I hope there are none here that will rob us of the use of the word atonement in relation to the death of Christ. Because what we have in chapter two, the word translated reconciliation, is really propitiation, and if you translate that back into Hebrew, you have the word ekapher. So we have the same doctrine, the same in nature, and thank God that the blood of Christ is eternal, and the true atonement and an eternal redemption and an eternal atonement has been made. What does it mean then, the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God. Passing over of sins that are past until remission is made. I believe David was justified, but the sin question was not settled for David until Christ went to the cross. And the ca- the character of God, you you'll say, I know you believe this, but the character of God and the dealings of God were publicly vindicated by Calvary. Yes. Exactly. So you're making the difference with between remission and pretermission. That's right. In Romans chapter three. That is that, that comes out in this, in this very verse. Mm. For the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant. Those that God forgave under the first covenant are paid for now by the death of Christ. Mm-hmm. I think that them that are called. Now, who are they then that are called, Brother Hughes? Who, who are they then that are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance? Who are the called ones? Well, I would have taken it to be an all-inclusive. Uh, every saved one. Mm, yes. The Old Testament saints, the New Testament saints, all are brought under the value of this, of this new covenant. Like they're all coming unto God by him we have Exactly. What is the difference, please, between atonement and expiation? In light of what Mr. Paisley has said, Romans chapter three, sin- sins done before in the for- forbearance of God. There are two waiting periods in the tabernacle. The tabernacle speaks of, uh, the passing of time. That was inter- interrupted twice by two altars. The first one, the brazen altar, God was waiting on Calvary. The second one, the golden altar, Christ is waiting on his bride. So I favor Mr. Favi's view. I'm thankful, brother. I think you're better fed. Can I can ask you, brother, in this section, I know you want to deal with this section quickly and come to the the appearance. Do you see verse sixteen? Mm. Where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death. And then keeping the section, I'm running away down to verse twenty three. it was therefore necessary. Mm-hmm. Now, if we learned in the previous section that the death of Christ was effectual, Mm-hmm. Do you think we could learn in this section that it was absolutely essential? Necessary. It was necessary. Absolutely. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And I think, um, that having mentioned the eternal inheritance, we move on to verse sixteen and seventeen, which are a kind of parenthesis, aren't they, to explain that. For where a testament is at fault, there must also necessity be the te- debt of the testator. And, uh, our brethren know more about words than I do, but apparently that there is the word covenant and testament, I think we had it last night, is the same word, but can be used in different ways. Mr. Kelly says that either ever and always you would use the word covenant, except in these two, verse sixteen and 17, where it's necessary to see a testament. So you're thinking here of the covenant being limited to one of its meanings of a will Mm. that's made, and a will that involves an inheritance. Mm-hmm. But you can't get that inheritance until the testator dies, Mm. until the will maker dies. Mm-hmm. So that, that's the background of this, of these two verses. Mm-hmm. So he would state it positively and negatively, and of course he's really stating the fact that's, uh, generally a principle that is among men, and... I heard something once in relation to a person whose name was in two wills, and in the first one, he didn't get anything from that because the man that made the will changed it before he died. So he got nothing there. In the second one, the man that made the will, he died, but when the lawyers got at it, he didn't get anything out of that one either. So the man didn't rise again to see that his wish was carried out. So in verse, in verse seven, I'm not taking you back there. No. You couldn't go in without blood, no entry without blood. No. In verse fifteen, no covenant. Without blood. Without blood. In verse twenty two, no remission without blood. So blood. So we have a constant reference. The whole thing. And of course, he seems to, uh, gather a number of things. He's not dealing with detail, but he he he gathers a number of things under the old, doesn't he, in verse nineteen and onward. Mm-hmm. Uh, when we get there and see that, uh, the the importance of the blood in relation to these matters. So I take it that we're on the night of the first testament was dedicated without blood, it was ratified in blood, as we had last night. The sacrifice was there, it wasn't till it's slain until the, the, the, the covenant was ratified. And then we get these interesting sections in, uh, nineteen right down to twenty one, different instances in the Old Testament when, uh, in the first one in verse nineteen, when he had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water, scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the pe- both the booth and all the people. I take it that would be in connection with Exodus chapter 24, and it seems as though there was priestly acts before ever there was a priesthood, and the altars that were built, and you remember the occasion. And the Spirit of God here, of course, adds to his, or expands his own book because he tells us of things that we don't read in the Old Testament, as you will have well observed, the, the, the water and the scarlet wool and the hyssop. And, um, so that's the first instance, and then he says, this is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Maybe someone wants to come in on that. It's a blood sprinkled book. Mm-hmm. Men that deny the blood need to read their Bibles. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission. Right from the beginning to the end of the Bible, emphasis is placed on a life to be given, Mm-hmm. without which there can be no remission. So these Old Testament pictures pointed to the ultimate, the shedding of his own blood for our redemption. Mm-hmm. There was a people set apart in Exodus twenty four that were different from every people on Earth. Mm-hmm. They had blood stains on their garments. They were set apart, sprinkled all with people and the book. They were a covenant people, and that is answered, of course, in the believer set apart through the blood of Christ. Just one question. What was the book that was sprinkled? Well, I take it that, uh, Moses was the man who recorded things, and we read about the book, don't we, in the Old Testament. How far that existed, I don't know, but there must have existed a book, otherwise the Spirit of God would not say so here. Spoken every precept, the people were sprinkled, uh, and and and also the book. I thought it was the book of the covenant. Mm-hmm. From verse 22 of Exodus 20 Mm-hmm. to the end of chapter twenty three. Uh-huh. So there's a distinct people, as our brother Mr. Allen is, and then there's a distinct place in verse twenty one, the tabernacle sprinkled. Mm. In verse twenty two, why do you think he brings in the qualification, almost all things are purged with blood? Well, there are things, of course, which were purged by fire, weren't there, and other things which were washed with water. And, um, there was also the the the, the, the offering which, um, a small offering which the, the person couldn't really meet the altar, poor person bringing the, the meal offering, wasn't it? Sin offering. Sin offering. Tetrib offering, sorry. And, um, would you agree with that? They were the exceptions, but the rule is, yeah. Well, I think, uh, to my mind, anyhow, uh, even with the, the small sin offering, though it had no blood in it, it touched the altar, like you were saying before about the coals touching the altar. So I take it that whenever sin is in question, it's the forgiveness of sin, then it's essential to mention the blood. The other things were just spoils in battle, inanimate things, weren't they? Yeah, Numbers thirty one and so on, yeah. But today in our preaching, we emphasize that without the shedding of blood is no remission. This is a contrast to the old, that there were things without blood, but there's nothing cleansing here without the shedding of that blood. In relation to the book referred to, we read of the book of Moses, and I had thought that the book of Moses contained all in relation to the tabernacle, the ritual, and all of those instructions in relation to the old economy. Would that be the thought of the sprinkling of the book, the instructions that had been given to Moses on Mount Sinai? And there it was that the instructions in relation to the tabernacle, and later speaking from the sanctuary, we have all of that in relation to sacrifice given to us as well. Mm-hmm. Well, I, I took it to be that, and, and of course David has mentioned these chapters, which are important as well. You, you, you would take that to be the record, really, more than an actual book. To write these things in a book. In a book. That's it. The heavenly things, how do you... Sorry, sorry. In relation to the almost, could this not also apply to verse thirteen? the ashes of the heifer sprinkling the unclean? Could that not be part of the almost? No, I wouldn't go along with that, brother, because the ashes of the red heifer included the blood. The blood was burned in the offering, and so there was blood Yes, yes. and water, you know? Pardon? The, the point I think that's, that's important about the verse is the absolute accuracy of the scripture. Oh, indeed. If the word almost was not there, then the pedantic man could turn around and say, oh, but there were things. Uh, but the scripture is absolutely accurate Mm-hmm. in that it says almost all. Oh, I think you're right in that, yeah. Mm-hmm. What verse were you going to Twenty just John chapter three. It was therefore necessary that the pattern of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with a better sacrifice than these. I had thought that, um, we're very introspective when we think of these great things, and we ought to be, we enjoy them, but I think from, um, Hebrews chapter 2 and other points that the work of Christ and the valley of Calvary is far more reaching than just our little soul. You see, the heavens have been besmirched, are unclean in the sight, and everywhere that sin has touched in this universe, I believe that there's a day coming when the blood of Christ will avail for that, and there'll be the reconciliation of all things, and all things are going to be brought back to priestine conditions. Since the priesthood had to have the blood applied to the ear, the thumb, and the toe, Mhm. etcetera, etcetera. Would the heavenly things now not include what is antitypical? Us as believers, holy priests. Mm. Are we not, uh, purged and cleansed amongst the heavenly things? I know the universe had to be dealt with because of the sin of Satan, etcetera, and heavenly places have to be dealt with, but I had thought that the heavenly things here would include what's antitypical, even us as believers. Well, I'm sure you're right, and I think that will come out clearly tonight, won't it, in the fact that we're cleansed by blood and water to enter into the... That precious blood reaches back, although I'm, uh, I'm bad books like Ober, but it reaches back, and it reaches upward, and it reaches forward. That atoning blood that he shed at Calvary. It reaches all backward, forward, upward, everywhere. And the heavens are not clean this site because of satanic movement that was there. It's going to bring everything back in pristine beauty, isn't it? Yes. Deliver up the kingdom to the Father of God will be all in all, and I take it that when the whole thing has reached its zenith at the end of the millennial kingdom, that God will have shown that he has lost nothing, uh, through the sin of man, that the Lord Jesus has brought back to God more than, um, the sin of Adam. Yes. Of course. You know, Mr. Darby, I think it is, who says that God shall have more through the death of Christ than the eternity of Adam's innocency would have brought. Yes. And I think that's lovely. May I ask why the plural, better sacrifices than me? Well, I, I, I just thought that, you know, all these varied sacrifices you've been reading about down the passage, um, that the Lord Jesus' sacrifice fulfills the whole thing. In other words, his was a better burnt offering, a better go through the five offerings. He could go through. He offered that which superseded and was the antitype of all of them, and thus better sacrifice. That's one way of looking at it. Mm-hmm. I, I, I enjoy that. Did, did, did you think of another? No. Well, there is a grammatical point in, in, in a generic plural that balances the sentence, but that is just a dramatic point. But I think it's better to see the value of the great sacrifice of Christ outrank all the other sacrifices altogether. It's the only time, I think, that the plural is used in connection with the sacrifice of Christ. So we would now perhaps move on to this verse twenty four and think about the Lord Jesus enter into this new. The heavens have been purged with a better sacrifice, and we've got this word better coming in constantly, and now we're... we're going to see an emphasis upon the wants as well as upon the blood. Christ has not entered into holy places made with hands, that's the tabernacle, which are figures of the true. See, thou makest all things according to the pattern shown me, but in heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us. So here's the Lord Jesus now entered in once into the holiest of all, he's before the face of God. He's sharing his father's throne in the glory. Maybe you have a comment on that, and perhaps our brethren might like to comment upon these different words that are here, appearing. It's interesting, brother, that, eh, we usually speak of the appearings in a different order than they're here. Mm. You've noticed that, that we, we speak of as appearing in the end of the age first, and as appearing in heaven, and as appearing when he comes for us. Whereas in the order here, eh, the first appearance that we're interested in is, in verse twenty four, he appears in the presence of God for us. Mhm. And when we contemplate his appearing in the presence of God for us, then we go back and remember that he appeared in the end of the age for us, and then we look forward and we see him appearing the second time apart from sin unto salvation. Mm-hmm. Usually the three appearings are spoken of. He appeared on earth, he appears in heaven, and he appear, uh, again. But the order here is that as a sanctified worshipper, my first understanding is that he's in heaven, appears in heaven. And then as I see the glory of Christ in heaven appearing, the present of God for us as a priest, I look back and remember his appearing in lowly grace as a babe on earth. And then I look forward and see him appearing the second time. Well, I take it that the order here is that this is the climax of the argument. Yes, the climax. This is the whole point that we've been moving towards, and now he has entered in, uh, to the sanctuary. Mm-hmm. The first two verbs could be rendered be manifested. Mm-hmm. And the s- the prefix on the first one means manifested as he really is, essentially, in himself, a man in the glory, and that's Christ in heaven. The next paragraph speaks of Christ in history. We're looking back, and that word appear has dropped the, the emphatic suffix, he, uh, prefix, he appeared as a man, and it's the word, uh, manifested in flesh, First Timothy chapter three, verse sixteen. It's a word that covers his whole appearance upon earth and the time of his living upon earth. The other word has to do with the visual sight, be seen, he will be be vis- visually observed, seen by men on earth. Mr. Hughes. Sorry, sorry. Uh, uh, verse number twenty six, once in the end of the world, I think maybe the more correct rendering there is in the end of the ages in the plural, including the last one of those, the age of law and sacrifice, and it was in that period of time at the end of it that the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to put away sin. There is something here that I judge is important from the standpoint of the ages or dispensations, so that we are in the present age, and as we look back, there are other ages that equate with what we have here. At the end of those ages, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared. Then, looking forward from the present age, we have the age that is to come, and then beyond that, the ages of the ages. So we take our stand in the present age or dispensation, we can look backward and we can look forward, and all of those are identified clearly in the Word of God. There are some that would try to do away with dispensational teaching and tell us that the word dispensation doesn't mean a period of time. That is true, but then there are ages in which those different modes of God's dealing were seen, so that the word dispensation is not out of place when we're connected with the different time periods. I would agree with that, and you cannot really understand your Bible. That's true. No, it's vitally important. You see a dispensation. And if a person be sidetracked here, and I would like to say a little word to young believers, beware of any that try to undermine dispensational teaching. You couldn't understand your Bible, and you're certainly go wrong in prophetic teaching. I know. And you read of God dealing in ways differently in relation to the same thing. For instance, with Cain, God put a mark on Cain and would not allow his life to be taken, though he's a murderer. But when you come to Noah, of course, God makes it quite clear that he who sheds man's blood must be shed. Now, there's a contradiction unless you see a dispensational line, and so you can go on thinking of these things, but it's essential to see that there is the ages. Mm-hmm. So. Question at just the end of, the end of verse number 26. Uh, to put away sin. Now, it's singular there, isn't it? Sin singular. Mm-hmm. Is there any significant difference? I'm thinking of John the Baptist, behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Mm-hmm. So it's taken away. Here it's put away. Is there any sort of difference in it? They're very similar sort of expressions, though not identical. I, I take it that sin singular is the root principle, isn't it? It's that. Or, or taken away. I take it it would be one of the same, uh, instance, wouldn't it, John the Baptist and this taking away the sin of the world. Well, he hadn't taken away the sin of the world when John the Baptist addressed him at Jordan. He put it away on the cross. All the sin question of the old economy and of the future was all dealt with at one time, on those hours on the cross. In relation to John, take us away, I think maybe is the thought there, and may look forward to the ultimate taking away of sin of the world. Yeah. I would like the thought of those on the panel. Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. I'd like, for the benefit of this company, to get the thoughts of each one on the panel. Is this the rapture or the manifestation in glory, or does it include both? Now, don't all speak at once, one after the other. Thank you. Both. Both. Both for that. I, I would answer it by asking a question. Who look for him? So I have no difficulty. I'm looking for him. Exactly. I think this is his coming for his redeemed people. We are looking for him. He'll appear the second time, apart from sin, unto salvation, the consummation of our salvation, at his coming again, at the rapture. But won't you think that would be true also at the manifestation? Yes, I'm looking. Yes, I'm looking also for him coming in glory. Yes, exactly. So it's both. The, the, the believers that will be in the world before he comes to earth will be looking for him too. The, the idea of looking is all believers. It's, you know, some place you go, it says only those that are watching and waiting, but all believers have the hope, and the hope is twofold, the rapture and the manifestation. So I believe both things are included in this text. I think that if we go back to the Day of Atonement, there may be some clues there as to the meaning of what we have here. For instance, we have Aaron and the sons of Aaron, the priestly. Now there was just one sacrifice for both of them. Mm-hmm. Then when it was the congregation, there were two, eh, goats. And so when he appeared, the priestly house were looking for him, and also the congregation were looking for him. Mm-hmm. Now it has already been suggested today, and I'm in agreement with it, that Aaron and his sons typify our great high priest and the priests of God in the present dispensation, as you have it in, uh, chapter, uh, ten. and we are looking for him. And then, uh, later, when he appears in manifestation, Israel will be looking for him, and then will come in the fulfillment of the prophetic truth in relation to the alive goat and Isaiah chapter 53. Well, that was my reason for mentioning the beginning. It's an all-inclusive thing because Aaron in his house and in Israel and so on and so. So it'll include all, won't it? So I think that that is borne out if we, eh, remember the dist- the the distinction between, in the Day of Atonement, Mm. between the priestly house and the congregation. Mm. I think I'd like to say this as we draw to a close. For them that look for him. Now, we all ought to be doing that expectantly, living our lives this day in the light of that day it'll come for us. But of course, not every believer is looking. Some believers have lost the joy of things. Now, we mustn't read a partial rapture idea into this, as only those who be looking will go when he comes. Let us say this today for the help of every saint in the meeting, and sometimes when you get ill or old, Satan can get at you, but you're going to be with Christ does not depend upon you or anything that you can do. It's not your hold of him that counts, it's his hold of me. And the Thessalonian epistle makes it quite clear that if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also those that sleep in Jesus, and then chapter five tells us quite clearly that God has not appointed us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake, whether we're watching, or we're sleeping, we shall go together with him. And I think we should lay hold upon that and delight, of course, in what has been said already. Brother, before the close of the meeting, could you differentiate for us the difference between the anointed priest of Leviticus eight and the priest of Leviticus twenty one? They're both sons of Aaron. Leviticus eight, they're anointed, Twenty one, not. Please apply it in our day as much as it can be. Well, perhaps, brother, you'd like to help us on that. I haven't given any thought to it. Well, in my opi- in my opinion, that that doesn't amount to too much. In my opinion, the golden boards close the anointed priests in. Mm-hmm. The golden boards shut those not anointed out. All right? Thank you. Yep. I didn't quite hear that. He has an 9 the defied Priest of twenty one. I didn't quite catch what he was saying. No discernment and the dwarf, et cetera. They couldn't be anointed. They couldn't serve. Yeah. Thanks for clearing that. Yeah, yeah. Well. Well, thank you very much, brethren. You've dealt kindly with the old man, and I think we really got through, and I'm sure we've learned some very, very practical and valuable and helpful lessons. And most of all, the Lord has been glorified and exalted, and we can go away, eh, and enjoy that for many days, and we look forward to God's help later on. Now shall we pray. Our Father, we approach again in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we think again, our Father, of how rich we are and how privileged we are. Our God and Father, we could have been in an old dispensation when we'd had to bring animal sacrifices and seen them slain at an altar, but we bless thee, O God, that thy grace has brought us in this dispensation, and that we've come to know Christ, and we've come to know the value of the sacrifice of calvary and the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. And we pray, our God and Father, that we might be encouraged in thy word to go on from strength to strength, that we may make progress in these things. We might indeed, uh, value the more the wonders of our Lord Jesus and the inexhaustableness of his person and the eternal glories that belong to him. And our Father, we pray we might enter into these great truths of an eternal inheritance and eternal redemption. And we thank thee, O God, that there is a man in the glory today. And we bless thee, our Father, that he once hung upon a cross in ignominy and in shame. And yet, our Father, thou has exalted him to thy, thine own right hand, and he's there as our great high priest. We pray, our God, that daily we might rely more and more upon his priestly ministry. And we know, our God, that he will give us strength and help us. But we do thank thee that thou hast made provision in that precious blood, that if we do fail, we remember that thy word says if we sin, uh, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. And so we bless thee for the richness of the, uh, place that we have been brought into. Lines have fallen into us in pleasant places, and we have a goodly heritage. We thank thee for the fellowship of one another. We thank thee for the spirit in which the Bible reading has been conducted, and that we've all been helped and blessed this afternoon. We bless thee for our sake and our exalted man, and pray our God for further help in the meeting tonight. Remember Brother David as he opens up chapter ten, that we might see the value and the beauty of our position again of entering into the holy place. The high priest alone went in, went in, in of old alone. The fact that the Savior is going to take us, has allowed us to come in with him. And we pray for our brother Alan too, at the end of a long day, that thou will just, uh, help him in his mind and his thoughts and bring readily to his mind that which is meditated upon. As we listen to the ministry of thy truth, we may pray that it might have its sanctifying effect upon all our lives, and our lives might be adjusted according to thy word. Take of our thanks now for preparation that has been made for our bodily needs. We thank thee that every good and perfect gift cometh down from thee, the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness or shadow cast by reason of turning. Thou has opened thine hand wide and provided our every need, and we thank thee for this provision, and we ask thy blessing upon it, that we might all eat and drink to thy glory, and bless our conversation together in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.