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Please explain lechariah 14: 16. J. L.
The 14th chapter of Zechariah speaks about
“the day of the Lord.” Verse 1. Part of the
chapter describes events that will take place im-
mediately after the close of human probation and
shortly before, and in connection with, the second
advent of Christ; and part of it narrates what will
occur immediately after the close of the millen-
nium mentioned in Revelation 20.
To understand correctly the meaning of “the
day of the Lord” is to have the key to this chap-
ter. In the prophecies of the Bible two days are
spoken of—*‘“the day of salvation’ and “the day
of the Lord.” “The day of salvation” is the period
during which men may be saved. It is the
““acceptable time” when the Lord will hear, for-
give, and accept the repentant sinner. It began
when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of
Eden, and will close when the intercession of
Christ as our High Priest shall cease in the hea-
venly sanctuary. (See Isaiah 49: 8; Zephaniah
2: 1-3; 2 Corinthians 6: 2; Revelation 22: 11, 12.)
“The day of the Lord’ will come when Christ’s
priestly work in behalf of men shall cease. It will
begin with the close of human probation and will
last until the extirpation of sin and sinners from
the universe is complete.
Verse 16 of Zechariah 14, about which the
inquirer specifically asks, may be explained thus:
At the close of the 1,000 years of Revelation 20,
Satan and the hosts of the wicked will attack the
holy city, the New Jerusalem. Then will come
the Executive Judgment and the destruction of
the wicked by fire. (Revelation 20: 7-9.) When
the wicked shall have been destroyed (Malachi
4: 1, 3), the only people then left of all the nations
that have existed on earth will be the redeemed
of all ages. Of them it is written that they “shall
even go up from year to year to worship the
King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of
Tabernacles.” Zechariah 14: 16.
The Feast of Tabernacles was anciently cele-
brated from the 15th to the 22nd day of the
seventh month of the year. (Leviticus 23: 34,
35, 39-43.) Thus it followed the Day of Atone-
ment, which fell on the 10th day of the same
month (verse 27), and the people of God re-
joiced that they had confessed, put away all sin,
and had not been cut off by the Lord.
The antitypical Day of Atonement is the
Investigative Judgment, which began in 1844
and will close when Christ’s intercession in the
Holy of Holies of the heavenly sanctuary will
cease. Then Christ will come and bind Satan
for 1,000 years on the earth, which will have been
made desolate by the seven last plagues, just as
the high priest returned from the Most Holy
Place of the ancient tabernacle and had the
scapegoat banished into the wilderness. The
Feast of Tabernacles could not be celebrated
until after the Day of Atonement had passed.
Hence, the antitypical Feast of Tabernacles will
not come until after the close of the Investigative
Judgment. When sin and sinners shall be no
more, and the people of God shall enter into the
new-earth state, then they will celebrate the
antitypical Feast of Tabernacles.
“The Feast of Tabernacles was not only com-
memorative, but typical. It not only pointed
back to the wilderness sojourn, but, as the feast of
harvest, it celebrated the ingathering of the fruits
of the earth, and pointed forward to the great
PAGE 14
day of final ingathering, when the Lord of the
harvest shall send forth His reapers to gather the
tares together in bundles for the fire, and to
gather the wheat into His garner. At that time
the wicked will all be destroyed. . . .
“The people of Israel praised God at the Feast
of Tabernacles, as they called to mind His mercy
in their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt
and His tender care for them during their pilgrim
life in the wilderness. They rejoiced also in the
consciousness of pardon and acceptance, through
the service of the Day of Atonement, just ended.
But when the ransomed of the Lord shall have
been safely gathered into the heavenly Canaan,—
forever delivered from the bondage of the curse,
under which ‘the whole creation groaneth and
travaileth in pain together until now’ (Romans
8: 22)—they will rejoice with joy unspeakable
and full of glory. Christ’s work of atonement for
men will then have been completed, and their
sins will have been forever blotted out.”’—
E. G. White, ‘ Patriarchs and Prophets,” pp. 541, 542.
Does Ezekiel 36: 25 teach that baptism should be ad- |
ministered by sprinkling? D. F. W.
That passage of Holy Writ does not refer to
baptism, but treats of conversion from sin.
Verses 26 and 27 should be read also in order to
get the complete thought of the Lord’s message.
At the time that Ezekiel wrote his book, Israel
had apostatized and was worshiping idols adored
by the heathen nations round about them.
Throughout Ezekiel’s writings the Lord warned
His people concerning their evil course, and ad-
monished them to repent, telling them that if they
did not, they would suffer the consequences of
their rebellion. As He is ever wont to do, God
sent with His warnings a loving invitation to re-
pentance. In Ezekiel 36: 25-27 we have one of
the most precious promises extended to sinners.
In verse 25 He says: “Then will I sprinkle clean
water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all
your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I
cleanse you.”” Here we have revealed the spiritual
significance of the symbolic use of the water of
separation anciently used by the Jews for ‘a
purification from sin.” Numbers 19:9, The
ceremonial requirements of the Mosaic law,
which is not now binding upon the people of God
(Ephesians 2: 15), required that a person who
should become symbolically unclean by reason of
contact with certain things (Numbers 8:7;
31: 23; 19: 7) be purified with the water of sepa-
ration before he could enter into full fellowship
with his brethren in the religious services.
Paul referred to this ancient ceremonial purifi-
cation with water (Hebrews 9: 13), showing that
it typified the power of Christ to “purge your
conscience from dead works to serve the living
God” (verse 14). (See also Hebrews 10: 22;
2 Corinthians 7: 1.) Long before, a seer had said
of Jesus: “In that day there shall be a fountain
opened to the house of David and to the inhabit-
ants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.”
Zechariah 13:1.
The following statement beautifully sets forth
the spiritual meaning of the sprinkling of the un-
clean with the water of separation in Old Testa-
ment times: “The priest used cedar and hyssop,
dipping them into the cleansing water and
sprinkling the unclean. This symbolized the
blood of Christ spilled to cleanse us from moral
impurities. The repeated sprinklings illustrate
the thoroughness of the work that must be ac-
complished for the repenting sinner. All that
he has must be consecrated. Not only should his
own soul be washed clean and pure, but he
should strive to have his family, his domestic ar-
rangements, his property, and his entire belong-
ings consecrated to God.”—E. G. White, * Testi-
montes for the Church,’ Vol. 4, p. 122,
The Christian rite of baptism is a ceremony
distinct from the purification by use of *
water of separation as required by the Mao
law, In the Christian ceremony the person to . _
baptized is “buried with Him [Christ] by bap-
tism’” and ‘planted together in the likeness of
His death.” Romans 6: 1-6. The rite symbolizes
the burial and resurrection of Christ, which is
represented only by the baptismal ceremony in
which the believer is buried in the watery grave
and raised up from it. (Mark 1:5, 9, 10;
John 3: 23; Acts 8: 36-39.)
Please explain Romans 14: 22. J. E. J.
The Greek text of this scripture literally reads
thus: “Thou faith hast? To thyself have thou
[it] before God. Blessed {is] the one not judging
himself in what he approves.” The thought may
be expressed thus: Do you have faith? If so,
have it for yourself before God. Blessed is the
man who does not condemn himself in what he
thinks is right.
The significance of the passage is seen in the
light of the context. Among the believers at
Rome there was considerable discord created
because certain ones tried to be conscience for the
rest in matters of food and holy days. God has
never appointed any man to be a judge over the
rest in matters of religion. He has never designed
that one person should be conscience for another.
I cannot have faith for you; you cannot have faith
for me. For this reason the apostle wrote: “But
why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost
thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all
stand before the judgment scat of Christ. For it
is written, As I live saith the Lord, every knee
shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess
to God. So then every one of us shall give ac-
count of himself to God. Let us not therefore
judge one another any more: but judge this
rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an
occasion to fall in his brother’s way.” - Verses
10-13.
Does this mean, then, that God is pleased to
see every man do as he may wish about these
matters, and that it makes no difference to Him?
No. He says: “Let every man be fully persuaded
in his own mind.” Verse 5. The American
Standard Revised Version gives it thus: “Let
each man be fully assured in his own mind.”
How can a man be fully assured or persuaded
in his own mind as to what is right and what is not
right in the matter of foods and holy days? The
apostle suggests: “Prove all things; hold fast that
which is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5: 21.
With what shall he prove all things to see
whether they are good or not? ‘To the law and
to the testimony: if they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
Isaiah 8:20. The Holy Scriptures are the
touchstone by which all matters of doctrine are
to be tested. For this reason Luke commended
the believers of Berea, saying: ‘““These were more
noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they
received the word with all readiness of mi-
and searched the Scriptures daily, whether t|
things were 80.” Acts 17: 11,
The honest, sincere heart that searches the
Book of God for the truth, and is willing to follow
it faithfully, will know what is right, The Saviour
has promised: “If any man will do His will, he
shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God,
or whether I speak of Myself.” John 7:17.
Nevertheless, some people try to fool themselves
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