O NCE, in that long ago, when the inquisitive crowd thronged about our Lord, He cried out: “ This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign o f Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation” (Luke 11:29, 30). “ For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son o f man be three days and three nights in the heart o f the earth” (Matt. 12:40). As Jonah came forth from his subter ranean tomb on the third day, even so Christ told His inquisitors, He would emerge triumphant from “ the lower parts o f the earth” (Eph. 4 :9 ) on the third day. Numerous signs were everywhere heralding our Lord as the promised Messiah when He first came to earth; and, these signs were seen and under stood by John the Baptist, Simeon, Anna, and other pious souls; but to the unregenerate world, there was but one sign given: “ Jonah, the •prophet.” (Cf. Matt. 16:1-4). Space here does not permit. But if it did, it could easily be shown that Jonah was not only a sign o f the res urrection o f the Messiah, but he was also a sign o f the resurrection o f the earthly people o f God— Israel. The prophet Hosea uttered a prophecy that can have no other meaning: “ Come, and let us return unto the Lord : for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. A fter two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight” (Hos. 6:1, 2 ). It seems clear that Jonah was not only a sign o f the resurrection o f the Messiah, but also a sign of the na tional resurrection o f the earthly people of the Messiah. However, there is one difference between the two resurrections: the resurrection o f Christ took place on the “ third” 2A- hour day, while the resurrection of Israel as a nation is to take place on a “ third” 1000-year day. But where is our scriptural author ity for speaking o f a 1000-year day? Now, the best interpreter o f the Word o f God is the Word o f God. And that we may grasp the true meaning o f Hosea’s (6 :1 , 2) prophecy, we need to turn for light, first, back to Moses:
of Moses thy servant” (Neh. 9:13, 14). Again, to Israel it was given by Jehovah as the “ sign” of a “ perpetual covenant.” As a rest day, Jehovah could have made holy any day of the week; but, as a “ sign” o f a “ perpetual covenant,” it had to be the “ seventh- day”— “ six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath o f rest.” Now, if “ the seventh” day is a “ sign” and a “ covenant,” we must ask: A “ sign” and a “ covenant” — o f what? There is only one answer. God has covenanted with the “ wanderers a m o n g the nations” (Hosea 9 :17 ) that some day they shall cease their wanderings and enter into rest and “ move no more.” And the sign o f that “ covenant” is “ the seventh day” sabbath. Even so it is written: “ Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid” (Jer. 30:10) ; “ and, I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out o f their land which I have given them, saith the ’ Lord thy God” (Amos 9 :15 ). Be it noted that at the first council o f the Christian Church in Jerusalem it was specifically declared that this prophecy of Amos (9:11-15) would be fulfilled at the return o f the Mes siah to reign on the throne o f David. See Acts 15:7-18. “ The seventh day” but what “ seventh day” is to be the “ sign” ? Again, the Scripture becomes its own true interpreter: “ That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and o f the com mandment o f us the apostles o f the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? . . . But, be loved, be not ignorant o f this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:2-4, 8 ). Now, this great prophecy o f the inspired apostle would be utterly meaningless, and not a thing of im portance for the “ beloved” o f the Lord to “ remember,” if “ a thousand years” is just a long indefinite period o f time— a thousand or five thousand, or ten thousand years, as we have some times been told. As a matter o f fact,
By LOU IS S. BAUMAN, D. D.
“ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children o f Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations . . . Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore . . . Six days r - - - - ------------------------ --------- • ■ • • • • I This, the fourth in the current ! series of prophetic articles from the pen of this eminent Bible teacher, is an introductory mes sage on the subject of Israel's present-day rejuvenation. In the October issue Dr. Bauman will present startling details to illus trate how remarkably the pro phetic Scriptures are being ful filled in our very day. Throughout the world the hearts of .Christian. people. a re . en couraged to hope that the return of the Lord may be "nearer than we think." From the lips of all who truly love Him arises one prayer: "Come quickly, Lord Jesus!" ere the night of the atomic age fall (forever) upon our civilization. may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath o f rest . . . Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign be tween me and the children o f Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was re freshed” (Ex. 31: 12-17). Great is the error o f those who think o f the seventh-day sabbath as merely a day o f rest. It is far more than that. First of all, the seventh- day sabbath was given to Israel and not to the Gentiles. Even so it is written: “ Thou earnest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandest them pre cepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand
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