The Feasts of the Lord

From: Miscellaneous Papers By: Edward Denny

• 39 min. read • grade level: 9

Showing forth the whole purpose of god, from everlasting to the renewal and perfection of all things.

LEVITICUS 23LEV 23

AND the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and Say unto them, concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.

THE SABBATH,

Showing god's rest from everlasting.

Six days shalt work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the SABBATH OF THE LORD in all your dwellings.

THE SIX FEASTS FROM THE FIRST MONTH TO THE SEVENTH,

Showing the dispensational dealings of god with his people.

These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.

THE PASSOVER,

The memorial of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. The type of Christ offered for sin.

In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is THE LORD'S PASSOVER.

THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD,

Showing the communion of saints, resulting from the death of Christ, the true paschal lamb.

And on the fifteenth day of the same month is THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD unto the Lord: SEVEN DAYS YE MUST EAT UNLEAVENED BREAD. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

THE SEVEN WEEKS OF HARVEST FOLLOWED BY THE DAY OF PENTECOST.

Showing the whole course of the old dispensation, with the opening or dawn of the new.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the laud which I give unto you, and shall reap THE HARVEST thereof, then ye shall bring A SHEAF OF THE FIRSTFRUITS OF YOUR HARVEST unto the priest: and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: ON THE MORROW AFTER THE SABBATH the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the Lord. And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the Lord for a sweet savor: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.

And ye shall oat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your god: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; SEVEN SABBATHS shall be complete: even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number FIFTY DAYS; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord. Ye shall bring out of your habitations TWO WAVE LOAVES of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baker with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the Lord.

And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the Lord, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savor unto the Lord. Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the Lord for the priest.

And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may bean holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

THE LAW AS TO THE CORNERS OF THE FIELD AND THE GLEANING.

And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and unto the stranger: I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD.

UNNOTICED INTERVAL WITHOUT ANY FEAST, TYPICAL OF THE PRESENT AGE,

In which the lord is gathering out his church from the World.

THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS,

Showing the awakening of Israel hereafter.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have A SABBATH , a memorial of BLOWING OF TRUMPETS, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT,

Showing the repentance of Israel hereafter.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be A DAY OF ATONEMENT: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord., And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of. atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work on that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you A SABBATH OF REST, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.

THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES,

The world to come, or the kingdom; foreshown.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES FOR SEVEN DAYS unto the Lord. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: ON THE EIGHTH DAY SHALL BE 'AN HOLY CONVOCATION unto you and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: IT IS A SOLEMN ASSEMBLY; and ye shall do no servile work therein.

These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer in offering made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, everything upon his day: beside the Sabbaths of the Lord, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your free will offerings, which ye give unto the Lord.

A RECAPITULATION OF THE LAST FEAST.

With some additional features.

Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land (that is, "thy corn and thy wine" Deut. 16:13¹³Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: (Deuteronomy 16:13)), ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days.: ON THE FIRST DAY SHALL BE A SABBATH, AND ON THE EIGHTH DAY SHALL BE A SABBATH. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly, trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the years. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. Ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD.

And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.

The dispensational actings of God throughout the whole course of the world's history are expressed within the compass of this beautiful chapter, so that that portion of the year occupied by these seven feasts, from the setting apart of the Paschal Lamb in the first month, to the feast of ingathering in the seventh, may be viewed as expressing THE GREAT WEEK OF TIME, from the creation to the close of the millennial kingdom of Christ; while the remaining months of the year, after the feasts had concluded, and which, observe, are wholly unnoticed in this xxiii. of Leviticus, expressed, it appears, THE ETERNAL STATE; THE EIGHTH DAY at the close just giving a glimpse, as it were, of the end, when Christ will give up the kingdom, when the new heavens and new earth will be created, and GOD WILL BE ALL IN ALL. THE SABBATH being distinct as to its character from the other six feasts, showed forth the rest of man now walking by faith upon 'earth, and also of man hereafter, in the full fruition of God, and therefore, as marking this truth, it was repeated from one week to another, THROUGH THE` WHOLE COURSE OF THE YEAR; the first seven months, as we have seen, being expressive of TIME—the unnoticed months at the end, of ETERNITY.

N.B.—The above is the mere enlarged view of this subject, because the first three of these feasts, it is needless to state, were fulfilled when Christ came and was rejected by Israel.

Known unto god are all his works from the beginning of the world.

THE SABBATH.

The place which the Sabbath holds in this chapter is morally true: it stands at the head, as showing GOD IN HIS OWN REST BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN, as expressing the Sabbath of Him who inhabiteth eternity—whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. It shows Him, moreover, before those ages and generations began, whose moral history is depicted throughout the rest of the chapter—devising blessing for man in the end, looking forward to the result of His ways with His creatures, when the Church of the firstborn, together with the rest of the redeemed creation, will enter with Him into the joy of His own Sabbath. Thus the Sabbath stands here as the great leading truth—the pledge of that rest which the Lord will bring in at the last; and as this chapter begins with the Sabbath, so the Sabbath again on the eighth day of the great feast of ingathering, at the close of the year, exhibits the fulfillment of all He has purposed, showing that what love devised at the outset, love in the end will accomplish. This will be the full triumph of Christ over the serpent, when man in the flesh having irretrievably failed, the whole family of God, both in heaven and in earth, will be brought into blessing, and established in grace, beyond the power and reach of the enemy.

Gen. 2:2, 3²And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. ³And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. (Genesis 2:2‑3); Exod. 16:22-30; 20:8-11; 31:12-17; 35:2, 3²²And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. ²³And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. ²⁴And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. ²⁵And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the Lord: to day ye shall not find it in the field. ²⁶Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. ²⁷And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. ²⁸And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? ²⁹See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. ³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day. (Exodus 16:22‑30)
⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8‑11)
¹²And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ¹³Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. ¹⁴Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. ¹⁵Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. ¹⁶Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. (Exodus 31:12‑17)
²Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. ³Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day. (Exodus 35:2‑3); Lev. 23:3³Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. (Leviticus 23:3); Deut. 5:12-16¹²Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. ¹³Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁴But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. ¹⁵And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. ¹⁶Honor thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. (Deuteronomy 5:12‑16); Neh. 9:14;13:15-22¹⁴And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: (Nehemiah 9:14)
¹⁵In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. ¹⁶There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. ¹⁷Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? ¹⁸Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. ¹⁹And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. ²⁰So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. ²¹Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath. ²²And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy. (Nehemiah 13:15‑22); Isa. 56:2-7; 58:13, 14²Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. ³Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. ⁴For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; ⁵Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. ⁶Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; ⁷Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. (Isaiah 56:2‑7)
¹³If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: ¹⁴Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. (Isaiah 58:13‑14); Jer. 17:19-27¹⁹Thus said the Lord unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; ²⁰And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: ²¹Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; ²²Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. ²³But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. ²⁴And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein; ²⁵Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever. ²⁶And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the Lord. ²⁷But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. (Jeremiah 17:19‑27); Ezek. 20:12-26¹²Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. ¹³But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. ¹⁴But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out. ¹⁵Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands; ¹⁶Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. ¹⁷Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness. ¹⁸But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: ¹⁹I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; ²⁰And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. ²¹Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness. ²²Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth. ²³I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries; ²⁴Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols. ²⁵Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live; ²⁶And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 20:12‑26); Matt. 12:1-8¹At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. ²But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. ³But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; ⁴How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? ⁶But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. ⁷But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. (Matthew 12:1‑8); Luke 13:11-17;14:1-6; 23:54-56¹¹And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. ¹²And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. ¹³And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. ¹⁴And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. ¹⁵The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? ¹⁶And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? ¹⁷And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. (Luke 13:11‑17)
¹And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. ²And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. ³And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? ⁴And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; ⁵And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? ⁶And they could not answer him again to these things. (Luke 14:1‑6)
⁵⁴And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. ⁵⁵And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. ⁵⁶And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment. (Luke 23:54‑56); John 5:1-16;7:21-24¹After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ²Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. ³In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. ⁴For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. ⁵And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. ⁶When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? ⁷The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. ⁸Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. ⁹And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. ¹⁰The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. ¹¹He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. ¹²Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? ¹³And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. ¹⁴Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. ¹⁵The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. ¹⁶And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. (John 5:1‑16)
²¹Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. ²²Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. ²³If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? ²⁴Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (John 7:21‑24); Col. 2:17¹⁷Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. (Colossians 2:17); Heb. 4:1-11¹Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. ²For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. ³For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. ⁵And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. ⁶Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: ⁷Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. ⁸For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. ¹⁰For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. ¹¹Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. (Hebrews 4:1‑11).

THE LAMB SET APART FOR THE PASSOVER.
(See Ex. 12:3-6³Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: ⁴And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: ⁶And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. (Exodus 12:3‑6).)EXO 12:3-6³Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: ⁴And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: ⁶And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. (Exodus 12:3‑6)

This (taking the enlarged view of the subject) expresses the setting apart of the true Paschal Lamb, after man had departed from God, when it was declared that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent, while His heel should be bruised. (See Gen. 3:15¹⁵And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15).) This is the first revelation of Christ in the word, which(with others more clear and enlarged) sustained the souls of the elect through the ages from Adam to Moses.

Then (according to the more limited view) we see Christ setting Himself apart as the sacrifice, when He speaks of Himself as the corn of wheat that must die. This occurred, as we gather by comparing the 1st verse of John 12 with the 12th of the same chapter, exactly five days before; thus agreeing as to time, among other things, with the type here presented; because this tenth day of Abib began (according to the order of God in the word—see Gen. 1:5⁵And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:5), Lev. 23:32³²It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath. (Leviticus 23:32)) on the evening before, the day always being reckoned "from even unto even," while the paschal supper was eaten on the fourteenth day, at even; which leaves, between the setting apart of the lamb and the Passover, a space of exactly and fully five days.

THE LORD’S PASSOVER.

The Passover is to be viewed in a, twofold. FIRST, it was the yearly memorial to Israel of their redemption out of Egypt, of that night of the Lord which was to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations. (See Ex. 12:42⁴²It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations. (Exodus 12:42).) SECONDLY, it pointed continually forward to Christ, the true Paschal Lamb, the Lamb of God, who died to take away the sin both of Israel and of the whole world.

Ex. 12; 13:3-5; Lev. 23:5⁵In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover. (Leviticus 23:5); Num. 9:1-14¹And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ²Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season. ³In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it. ⁴And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover. ⁵And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel. ⁶And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: ⁷And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the Lord in his appointed season among the children of Israel? ⁸And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you. ⁹And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ¹⁰Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the Lord. ¹¹The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ¹²They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it. ¹³But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the Lord in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. ¹⁴And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the Lord; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land. (Numbers 9:1‑14); Deut. 16:1-3¹Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. ²Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there. ³Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. (Deuteronomy 16:1‑3); Josh. 5:10¹⁰And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. (Joshua 5:10); 2 Chron. 30; 35:1-19; Ezek. 45:21-24²¹In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. ²²And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering. ²³And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering. ²⁴And he shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil for an ephah. (Ezekiel 45:21‑24); 1 Cor. 5:7, 8⁷Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: ⁸Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:7‑8); Heb. 11:28²⁸Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. (Hebrews 11:28).

THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD

Begins with an holy convocation.

The first day of unleavened bread (though not always or necessarily so) in the especial year in which Christ died, fell on the Sabbath. (See Lev. 23:11¹¹And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. (Leviticus 23:11).)

FIRST MONTH (ORIGINALLY THE. SEVENTH),

Nisan, or Abib.

N.B.—The Passover and the feast of unleavened bread (though, it is true, one is here said to fall on the fourteenth, the other on the fifteenth day of the month) came together on the very same evening (see Ex. 12:18, 19¹⁸In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. ¹⁹Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. (Exodus 12:18‑19)); because, following the divine order, according to which the day was reckoned, "from even unto even" (Lev. 23:32³²It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath. (Leviticus 23:32)), the evening of the fourteenth was the damn or beginning of the fifteenth. Thus the close connection is seen between the-communion of saints and that blood which is the ground of it all.

THE PASSOVER AND THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD.

These two feasts are connected; the Passover expressing the death of Christ, the true Paschal Lamb; while the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when the children of Israel were commanded to put away all leaven (the type of sin) from their dwellings, as well as to eat unleavened bread for the space of full seven days (while in principle it applies to ourselves in this dispensation (1 Cor. 5:7, 8⁷Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: ⁸Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:7‑8)), points here more especially to the saints of old under the law, feeding by, faith upon Chris, who, unlike that which the two wave loaves set forth, was the true bread from heaven, unleavened and perfect.

There was a moral connection between these seven days of unleavened bread, and the seven days of Israel's dwelling in booths at the end. The former shows the life of faith upon earth; the latter, the coming joy of the kingdom. In Ezek. 45:21-25²¹In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. ²²And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering. ²³And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering. ²⁴And he shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil for an ephah. ²⁵In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil. (Ezekiel 45:21‑25), where they are shown as being observed in Israel hereafter, these two feasts come together, in order thereby, it would seem, to mark this moral affinity.

As to these seven days of unleavened bread in connection with the harvest, observe that the former invariably began on the fifteenth day of the month, while the first day of harvest was moveable. Here the last six days of unleavened bread are identical with the first six days of harvest: observe, the days are identical, while the ordinances are distinct.

With regard to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, there is one thing to notice; it is this—that in the year in which Jesus was crucified, this (the fifteenth day) was also a Sabbath; which being so, if we reckon back to the first day of the year, we find that that also was a Sabbath. A terrible witness this against Israel, inasmuch as the opening day of this year was thus a pledge to His people that THE LORD OF THE SABBATH was there, still waiting to bless them, if they would only believe; while the fact of His lying dead in the grave on the Sabbath, the first day of the unleavened bread, was a fearful proof of their state, showing how His Sabbath, His love, and He Himself, were rejected and despised by His people.

Ex. 12:15-20¹⁵Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. ¹⁷And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. ¹⁸In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. ¹⁹Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. ²⁰Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. (Exodus 12:15‑20); 13. 6, 7; 23:15; Lev. 23:6-8⁶And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. ⁷In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. ⁸But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. (Leviticus 23:6‑8); Num. 28:17-25¹⁷And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. ¹⁸In the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work therein: ¹⁹But ye shall offer a sacrifice made by fire for a burnt offering unto the Lord; two young bullocks, and one ram, and seven lambs of the first year: they shall be unto you without blemish: ²⁰And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil: three tenth deals shall ye offer for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram; ²¹A several tenth deal shalt thou offer for every lamb, throughout the seven lambs: ²²And one goat for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you. ²³Ye shall offer these beside the burnt offering in the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. ²⁴After this manner ye shall offer daily, throughout the seven days, the meat of the sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord: it shall be offered beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering. ²⁵And on the seventh day ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work. (Numbers 28:17‑25); Deut. 16:3-8³Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. ⁴And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning. ⁵Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee: ⁶But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. ⁷And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents. ⁸Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work therein. (Deuteronomy 16:3‑8); Josh. 5:11¹¹And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. (Joshua 5:11); Matt. 16:6-12⁶Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. ⁷And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. ⁸Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? ⁹Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? ¹⁰Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? ¹¹How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? ¹²Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. (Matthew 16:6‑12); Luke 12:1¹In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. (Luke 12:1); Acts 12:3³And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) (Acts 12:3).

THE SEVEN WEEKS OF HARVEST,

Begin with an holy convocation.

Here the WAVE SHEAF, the type of CHRIST RISEN, was accepted for Israel. N.B.—This invariably occurred "on the morrow after the Sabbath," namely, on the day after the Sabbath next to the Passover; so that if the Sabbath was later, then the first day of harvest would be later accordingly. Here the harvest is seen to open on the third day after the Passover, because such was the order in the year that Christ, the true wave sheaf, was raised from the dead.

In order to obviate the inconvenience which must otherwise have resulted from this variation, an intercalary month, Veadar or second Adar, was introduced, commonly at the end of every third year. Of this, it is true, we find no notice in scripture, and yet without it the greatest confusion must have inevitably ensued as to the order and times of these feasts.

THE HARVEST.

The opening of harvest (as shown in the note on the subject) was so ordered by the Levitical law, that it fell of necessity on the first day of the week—"the morrow after the Sabbath"' (Lev. 23:11¹¹And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. (Leviticus 23:11)); because then the WAVE SHEAF was offered, and this pointed to Christ, who, "in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week" (Matt. 28:1¹In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. (Matthew 28:1)), was sought for in vain by His disciples in the sepulcher, He having left it already, as the life-giving head of the new creation.

As TO THE HARVEST ITSELF, this sevenfold period of weeks, or forty-nine days, between the Passover and the day of Pentecost, expresses THE WHOLE OF THE PAST DISPENSATION, which followed closely on the paschal supper in Egypt, and ended with the "day of Pentecost fully come" (Acts 2), as it is significantly termed, because it was that to which all the preceding ones pointed—the winding up of the whole. Then it was that the Holy Ghost carne upon the saints in Jerusalem, who after the nation at large had cut off their Messiah, were given power in the Spirit to tell of the glory of Christ at the right hand of God; but this being despised, the Holy Ghost set at naught, the nation was from, that time rejected, while the saints lost their original standing as Jews, and being called into far greater nearness to God, formed the nucleus or gathering-point of the heavenly branch of His family—THE CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN. Thus according to the word of Isaiah, though Israel was not gathered, yet Christ, notwithstanding, was glorious in the eyes of the Lord—more glorious by far than even if Israel had received Him. (Isa. 49:5⁵And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. (Isaiah 49:5).)

"THE HARVEST IS PAST, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." (Jer. 8:20²⁰The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. (Jeremiah 8:20).) Such, in the prospect of the rejection of Jesus, the blessed "Lord of the harvest," was the lament of Jeremiah the prophet, serving to show that the annual harvest-time expressed the whole of the past dispensation, the time of the longsuffering of God with His people.

Here, too, we may notice, that as the first act of Jehovah in His dealings with Israel was their redemption in Egypt through the blood of the Passover, so the first thought in His mind, touching His elect, from the outset, was the death of their Surety; for which cause, though Jesus was slain, it is true, when the dispensational harvest-time of Israel was about to close in, here the Paschal Lamb (followed by the wave sheaf, the type of resurrection) is presented as slain; not at the close, but just before the opening of harvest, in order thereby to show the ground of the Lord's dealings with Israel all through, as well as of His grace in the end to the elect seed of Abraham.

Further—as showing how grace was in action throughout the old dispensation, we see that just as this period was marked by its seven Sabbaths of days, the pledges to Israel, as it would seem, of the sevenfold rest of the great feast at the end, and also of the millennial joy of-the kingdom, so the sabbatic years and the jubilees, which marked the whole course of time under the law (see Lev. 25), were yet larger expressions, more prominent pledges of that for which the whole creation is waiting, the time when all shall be brought into happy subjection to Christ, and every tongue shall confess that He only is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father.

THE CORNERS NOT TO BE REAPED,
and the gleaning not gathered.

The following is the law of the Lord in connection with the harvest:

“And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the CORNERS OF THY FIELD when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any GLEANING OF THY HARVEST: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I AM THE LORD YOUR a GOD." (Lev. 23:22²²And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 23:22).)

Two things are here named—the corners unreaped, and the gleaning. As to the former—this seems to point to the Lord's grace to Israel hereafter. The harvest formally ended at Pentecost, and yet, as we here see, some wheat being left in the field even then, it looked as though the work was unfinished, and that the sickle of the reaper was still needed. So, though Israel may now say, "The harvest is passed, the summer is ended, and we are not saved" (Jer. 8:20²⁰The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. (Jeremiah 8:20)), still the Lord's love is unchanged; and whereas, as to them, the past harvest has failed, the work, when He comes, and puts His hand to the sickle, will surely issue in blessing.

Then the Lord's care for the gleaners showed the workings of grace throughout the old dispensation, because even then there were those, here expressed by the poor and the stranger, namely, Gentiles as well as Jews, who knew and valued that grace which the Jewish nation despised.

N.B.—See note as to "the poor and the stranger" being expressive of "the mystery of Christ," which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men.

THE MORE LIMITED VIEW OF THE SEVEN WEEKS OF HARVEST.

This period, besides expressing the past dispensation, was literally the interval between the resurrection of Christ and the descent of the Holy Ghost—the time spent by the saints in intercourse with Him after He had risen, and thin, after He had ascended, in waiting, according to the command of the Lord, for the promised power from on high. (Luke 24:49⁴⁹And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:49).) Thus was it a time of deep interest to Israel, when the heart of Him who had been wounded in the house of His friends was still lingering over His beloved Jerusalem, still waiting upon her, if haply she would repent.

As TO "THE DAY OF PENTECOST FULLY COME," at the close of this period, this, though the opening of this dispensation, was also the earnest of Israel's blessing. Jerusalem, not forsaken as yet, was still owned as the center of blessing on earth; there the Holy Ghost, through the apostles, was heard for a season calling upon Israel to repent, to look to Him whom they had pierced. But this being despised, and the blood of Stephen, the chief witness to the ascension of Christ, being shed, they were thenceforth cast off and disowned for a time as the chosen people of God. The word, therefore, of Joel (Joel 2:28-32²⁸And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: ²⁹And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. ³⁰And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. ³¹The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. ³²And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 2:28‑32)), which was then in one sense fulfilled (Acts 2:16¹⁶But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; (Acts 2:16)), waits still to be fully accomplished; and this it assuredly will be—like the jubilee, the fiftieth year, spoken of in Lev. 25, the day of Pentecost, the fiftieth day, at the close of the harvest, continues still in God's purpose, the pledge of restoration and blessing to Israel hereafter.

THE DAY OF PENTECOST ON FEAST OF WEEKS, AN HOLY CONVOCATION.

So called because it was kept on the fiftieth day after the sheaf of the firstfruits had been waved and accepted for Israel, namely, on "the morrow after the seventh Sabbath;" it was named also "the day of the firstfruits" (Num. 28:26²⁶Also in the day of the firstfruits, when ye bring a new meat offering unto the Lord, after your weeks be out, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: (Numbers 28:26)), because then THE TWO WAVE LOAVES, TYPICAL OF THE CHURCH IN RESURRECTION, were offered. Thus the moral connection is shown between the resurrection of Christ and the life of the Church; but observe, while with the wave sheaf no leaven (the type of evil) was offered, the two loaves were baked with leaven. Thus the unsullied perfection of Christ on the, one hand, and on the other the presence and working of the flesh in the saints, is expressed.

THE UNNOTICED INTERVAL.

This space of about four months, between Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets, marks the interval between the rejection of Christ by His people and the forgiveness of Israel hereafter. During this period God, having visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name (Acts 15:14¹⁴Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. (Acts 15:14)), is engaged in forming that branch of His family—THE CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN, which, in the time appointed will be caught up into the "clouds to meet the Lord" at His descent into the air. (1 Thess. 4:15-18¹⁵For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: ¹⁷Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ¹⁸Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:15‑18); 1 Cor. 15:51-55⁵¹Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵²In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15:51‑55).)

Observe, the coming of Christ here referred to is not His παρουσία, namely, His coming to reign, but that action which is to precede it, even His descent into "the air," to take His Church, His elect bride, home to Himself.

The Lord's coming to Israel, on the other, hand, is distinct from this altogether, or rather a further step on His way to the throne. Then, with his Church in His train, He will descend to the earth, avenge Himself on all who oppose Him, deliver the elect of Israel from the hand of their enemies, and set up His millennial kingdom below, His Church {gathered out from the world, as we have seen, during this age of Israel's dispersion) being His companion in, glory, and, like Himself, the dispenser of blessing to the dwellers on earth.

In this twenty-third of Leviticus, this period is left, wholly unnoticed: we are just given to see that a space intervened between the two feasts above named (the one in the third, the other in the seventh month); while the space is not named, and that designedly so, because the Spirit of God thus silently points to that which was kept. secret of old under, the law—the mystery hidden from ages and generations—the great purpose Of God touching His ELECT CHURCH—that secret, so wondrous, so blessed, that He only who dwelt from everlasting in the bosom of the Father,—He who was as one brought up with Him, and was daily His delight, had either title or power to declare it.

THE RELIEF OF THE POOR AND THE STRANGER IN HARVEST-TIME.

The poor and the stranger who gleaned, like Ruth, in the field, "after the reapers" (Ruth 2:7⁷And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house. (Ruth 2:7)), during the above seven weeks, while the harvest was going on, show the elect in the old dispensation, while all was failing around them, taught by the Lord to live by faith upon earth, and to wait for the consolation of Israel.

Those, on the other hand, who gleaned in, the field after the reapers had left it, in this unnoticed period, between the day of Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets, show THE ELECT BODY OF CHRIST, THE CHURCH OF GOD in this age, the poor, more 'especially meaning the Jew, such as " the poor of the flock" in 'Jerusalem, who, when He came, and was rejected by others, knew the voice of the true Shepherd of Israel; while the stranger expresses the Gentiles, "strangers from the covenants of promise," who sometimes were far off, but now are made nigh.

Thus, in this ordinance, so sweetly expressive of the Father's care for the poor and the stranger, and which thus belongs both to the time of the harvest and to this period beyond it, we see that grace which was ever in exercise, but which, in this dispensation, is more fully unfolded, showing that as Christ is now working, so the Father was working all through, from the very beginning.

Lastly, there is one thing more to consider: at some moment the gleaners must of necessity have ceased to glean in the fields at this interval—at what moment we know not, because it is untold and uncertain. And yet the thought is most blessed, because it silently speaks of that time when our path here upon earth having ended, the Church, unseen, it may be, by the world around, will be caught up to the Lord, and, like Enoch of old, pass away into her rest. (1 Thess. 4:15-18¹⁵For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: ¹⁷Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ¹⁸Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:15‑18); 1 Cor. 15:51-55⁵¹Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵²In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15:51‑55).)

THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS, THE AWAKENING OF ISRAEL.
An holy convocation—a Sabbath.

The "memorial of the blowing of trumpets" here expresses "THE TRUMPET IN ZION," spoken of by Joel the prophet (Joel 2:1, 15¹Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; (Joel 2:1)
¹⁵Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: (Joel 2:15)), calling the congregation to fasting and mourning, and ushering in the day of the Lord, the day of Israel's deliverance and blessing. (See Neh. 8) THE NEW MOON, at this time appearing shows the faithful remnant beginning to shine in the light of the Lord, the sun of righteousness.

Lev. 23:23-25²³And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ²⁴Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. ²⁵Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. (Leviticus 23:23‑25); Num. 10:1-10; 29:1-6¹And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ²Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. ³And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ⁴And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. ⁵When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward. ⁶When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys. ⁷But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm. ⁸And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. ⁹And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. ¹⁰Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the Lord your God. (Numbers 10:1‑10)
¹And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you. ²And ye shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet savor unto the Lord; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish: ³And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram, ⁴And one tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs: ⁵And one kid of the goats for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you: ⁶Beside the burnt offering of the month, and his meat offering, and the daily burnt offering, and his meat offering, and their drink offerings, according unto their manner, for a sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire unto the Lord. (Numbers 29:1‑6); Ezra 3:1¹And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. (Ezra 3:1); Neh. 7:73⁷³So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinims, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities. (Nehemiah 7:73); Psa. 81:3-5³Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. ⁴For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. ⁵This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not. (Psalm 81:3‑5); Isa. 18:3³All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. (Isaiah 18:3); Joel 2:1-15¹Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; ²A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. ³A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. ⁴The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. ⁵Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. ⁶Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. ⁷They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: ⁸Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. ⁹They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. ¹⁰The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: ¹¹And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? ¹²Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: ¹³And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. ¹⁴Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God? ¹⁵Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: (Joel 2:1‑15).

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT, THE REPENTANCE OF ISRAEL.
An holy convocation-a Sabbath.

"Whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut of from among his people." (Lev. 23:29²⁹For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. (Leviticus 23:29).) Such was the law of this day of atonement, foreshowing the repentance of Israel, when they shall look, on Him whom they have pierced (Zech. 12:10¹⁰And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10)); when, turning back, as it were, to the first feast at the outset, they will in truth keep the Passover, no longer hiding their faces from Him whom they once despised, and esteemed not:

Lev. 16; 23:20-31; 25:9; Num. 29:7-11⁷And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein: ⁸But ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the Lord for a sweet savor; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year; they shall be unto you without blemish: ⁹And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals to a bullock, and two tenth deals to one ram, ¹⁰A several tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs: ¹¹One kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering of it, and their drink offerings. (Numbers 29:7‑11); Isa. 53; Joel 2:12-17¹²Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: ¹³And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. ¹⁴Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God? ¹⁵Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: ¹⁶Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. ¹⁷Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? (Joel 2:12‑17); Zech. 12:10-14¹⁰And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. ¹¹In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. ¹²And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; ¹³The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; ¹⁴All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. (Zechariah 12:10‑14).

THE SEVEN DAYS' FEAST.

These seven days of Israel's dwelling in booths seem to be morally linked with the above seven Sabbaths of harvest. The harvest, expressing the past times of Israel, shows man in his blindness despising the favor, polluting the Sabbaths of God, and ending at last in being cut off for awhile; while this last feast, on the other hand, sets forth the Lord in His grace at the end, gathering up all that man in his folly had forfeited, so as to bring in the Sabbath Himself in His own way-a sever fold Sabbath, the joy of which both He and the creature will share, when Christ shall be worshipped and loved as, "the Lord of the Sabbath," the sole channel of blessing and rest to His people.

SEVENTH MONTH (ORIGINALLY THE FIRST),

Tisri or Ethanim.

This was originally the first month, but was changed. into the seventh 'when the new order of time was appointed (Ex. 12:3³Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: (Exodus 12:3)), and most suitably so, as being the sabbatic month of the year, when the great feast of In-gathering came round, foreshowing the sevenfold rest of the kingdom, and giving, in "the great day" at the end, a brief foretaste of the state of perfection beyond it. The first and third month (like the first and third day) may be termed the resurrection months of the year, when the wave-sheaf and wave-loaves were offered:

THE LAST THREE FEASTS OF THE YEAR.

These three closing Feasts, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles, occurring in the seventh or sabbatic month of the year, expressed the restoration of Israel in the latter day, issuing in the full joy and rest of the kingdom, when the Church shall be glorified, Jerusalem exalted, and when the Gentiles shall go up from year to year to worship the king, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles—that is, not to keep the ordinance merely, but that also to which the ordinance pointed.

This last was a feast of eight days, the first and eighth day of which (whether either of them fell on the seventh day or not) were observed as "a Sabbath," thereby Marking its character as foreshowing the future rest of creation.

AS TO THE FIRST SEVEN DAYS. During this period the congregation of Israel dwelt in booths made of willows and palm trees, the memorials of the forty years in the wilderness, and, at the same time, a pledge of rest, the rest of the kingdom, of the time of refreshing after the harvest and vintage have closed (see Dent. 16:13); that is, after the. Lord has gathered in His elect, and avenged Himself on His enemies, the palm trees being emblematic of victory, the willows of the remembrance of sorrow, when all around will be joy. And as in that day the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days (Isa. 30:26²⁶Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound. (Isaiah 30:26)), so this, as it were, was A SEVENFOLD SABBATH, designed to show forth the dispensation of the fullness of times, for which the earth is still waiting. Then, as showing that both Israel and the Church are here glanced at together, we read, "THE FIRST DAY SHALL BE-A SABBATH." (Lev. 23:39³⁹Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. (Leviticus 23:39).) Now, on the first day Of the week, the Church, through the resurrection of Christ, was called into being, while the Sabbath was the great sign between Jehovah and Israel. Therefore these -two, namely, the first day and the Sabbath, are here linked together, in order to show forth the whole sphere of Christ's glory, both above and below, both in His Church and in Israel.

Further, there exists, as before said, an affinity, between the feast of unleavened bread and this last seven-fold period—the former showing the elect feed in; by faith upon Christ, in the midst of Israel's apostasy the latter, the joy prepared for them in the world to come. And as marking, it would seem, this moral connection, we find the first of these feasts beginning or the fifteenth, and closing on the twenty-first day of the first month; while the last one began and ended or identically the same day of the seventh.

AS TO THE GREAT DAY OF THIS FEAST. This being an advance on the former, brings in the last state at the end—the, new heavens and the new earth. It was THE EIGHTH DAY; this links it with heaven, the abode of the Church: it was also A SABBATH; this points to the earth, the scene of Israel's rest.

Then, with regard to THE SABBATH so much dwelt upon here, while as a sign it belonged solely to Israel, it embraces, as to its general principle, the whole family of God. And as this chapter begins with the Sabbath, so it ends with the Sabbath, the former showing God in His own rest from everlasting, before the world began; the latter, the result of His wondrous ways with His people, namely, all things made net, the whole creation dwelling in love, and God, and the creature associated one with another in the joy of that Sabbath, of which He is, and will/be, both the source and the center forever.

THE HOLY CONVOCATIONS.

On reviewing these feasts, it appears that, with the exception of one, namely, the Passover, they were all holy convocations; and that it was not till after the paschal lamb had been eaten that these convocations began. Thus we learn, that till Christ is made known to us as the true paschal lamb, the soul must needs be a stranger-to communion with God and His people—that being the thing which these convocations expressed. It was not till after the paschal supper in Egypt that ISRAEL was convened as a nation: it was not till Christ died that THE CHURCH was brought forth; and it wills not be till Christ is made known to ISRAEL AND THE WORLD HEREAFTER as the Lamb that was slain, that they will be gathered together in one, having fellowship with the redeemed Church above, the Lamb on the throne being at once the spring and the center of all the joy and the praise of that holy and blessed assembly.

THE NEW OR SACRED YEAR,

Embracing two halves of two civil years.

The seventh month of the old year being the first of the new.

These first seven months (as observed in the opening remarks), in which the feasts of the Lord were observed, show the whole week of time—the period of God's dealings with man from beginning to end.

These last months of the year, in which, with the exception of the Sabbath, no feast occurred, and which, are therefore unnoticed in this twenty-third of Leviticus, show the last state of man, after the great week of time will have ended, when God will be all in all.

THE ORDER OF THE YEAR CHANGED.
(Ex. 11:1, 2¹And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. ²Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. (Exodus 11:1‑2).)

When Israel was redeemed out of Egypt, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "This' month shall, be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be THE FIRST MONTH OF THE YEAR TO YOU." (Ex. 12:2²This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. (Exodus 12:2).) Thus the whole order of time in connection with Israel was 'changed, seeing that that which had originally been the seventh month was now changed into the first. And in this we may discern a parable, because the seventh month, like the Sabbath, showed forth the rest 'of creation—the rest of man yet unfallen; while the first month, like the first clog of the week, expressed resurrection. Now the former of these having vanished when man first departed from God, and there being no true hope of blessing; save through the latter—through death and resurrection—the Lord, in this figure, shows the one displaced by the other; the first Sabbath of Eden, profaned and lost, as it was, by the sin of the creature, making way for that rest Which He who suffered and rose from the dead on the first day of the week has secured to His people.

Again: the seventh month of the new year, owing to this revolution in the order of time, became identical with the first month of the next civil year. This, too, has its meaning, showing that the future rest of the kingdom is through resurrection alone—through Christ, Who is Himself both" the resurrection and the life," as well as the giver of rest to all who trust in His name.

N.B.—The first month of the new year was named "ABIB" (Deut. 16:1¹Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. (Deuteronomy 16:1)), that is, green fruits, or ears of corn, in allusion evidently to the harvest, which began at this time, and which showed forth resurrection in three several ways; FIRST, the resurrection of Christ SECONDLY, the resurrection-state, as it were, into which Israel was brought on their flight 'out of Egypt; and, THIRDLY, the resurrection of the Church at the end.

THE YEAR OF JUBILEE,

SHOWN IN CONNECTION WITH THE 'FEAST OF TABERNACLES.

The world to come, we clearly gather 'from scripture, will embrace both THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH—BOTH TIME AND ETERNITY. Then Israel and the rest of the world will keep their millennial Sabbath on earth, while the Church, having passed out of time, will be keeping her Sabbath above with the Lord, sharing the glory prepared for Him there, on the opening day, as it were, of the new everlasting age. As foreshadowing, therefore, this state-the twofold joy of the heavens and the earth in that day, THE JUBILEE, that chief type under the law of "the times of restitution of all things," embraced BOTH THE, SEVENTH YEAR AND THE FIRST, because it began in the midst of the forty-ninth year, that is, the sabbatic year, at the close of the seventh week from the foregoing jubilee, and so went on, and concluded in the midst of the next, namely, the first year of the following week, termed also the eighth year. (Lev. 25:22²²And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store. (Leviticus 25:22).) Thus, while it was a portion of time, it is true, it stood apart in one sense from the ordinary reckoning of time; so much so, that the years might have rolled on in the usual way, and did so in fact, as though the jubilee, this "fiftieth, year," as it is termed (Lev. 25:10¹⁰And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. (Leviticus 25:10)), had no existence at all. Thus we see, in this ordinance, a type of that period when the heavens and the earth will unite in one system of blessedness, which will be, as it were, THE MEETING-POINT BETWEEN TIME AND ETERNITY, when the children of the resurrection, like the angels of God on the mystical ladder of old, will be seen ascending and descending, and holding continual converse with those upon earth. Then, when we turn to THE GREAT FEAST OF IN-GATHERING, we see the same thing expressed—the first day was a Sabbath—the eighth day was a Sabbath (see Lev. 23:39³⁹Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. (Leviticus 23:39)), showing, more faintly, it may be, than the jubilee, the twofold state above named, in the kingdom, as well as the twofold state in the end—the new heavens and the new earth, after the millennium has closed, when God will be all in all.

N.B.—If what is here said be true, it will be seen that the jubilee was a return to the original order of time before the exodus of Israel (Ex. 12:2²This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. (Exodus 12:2)), being, in fact, the civil, not the sacred year; and so expressing, it would appear, "the times of restitution of all things," when the creature will be brought back to God, and established in blessing far higher and greater than that which was lost at the first.

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