Luke 21:8

Christian, Be Not Deceived!

CHAPTER XXVIII.

"ALL THINGS ARE YOURS" (1 Cor. 3:21, 22): SPIRITUAL INTERPRETATIONS OF THE LITERAL PAST AND OF THE LITERAL FUTURE APPLY TO SPIRITUAL ISRAEL NOW

"All Scripture is given by ... God, and is profitable." 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. The historical narratives of Israel's past glories, the unfulfilled prophecies that would have been fulfilled had Israel met the conditions, the prophecies which describe the glories of heaven and the new world: "ALL" Scripture, whether dealing with the past, the present, or the future, is spiritual food for the church now. As shown previously, the New Testament writers spiritually applied the literal things of Israel mentioned in the Old Testament, when recording truths for the people of this "dispensation of the Holy Spirit." The Scriptures are built upon this principle that "all things are" ours now: that the things of the past and the things promised to the faithful in the hereafter have their spiritual counterpart now.

Through the prophetic descriptions in God's Word, heavenly things are now spiritually seen by the eye of faith: the saints now behold them in spiritual vision, before literally beholding them in the eternal kingdom. "God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit." 1 Cor. 2:9, 10.

The church is now a temple, "Whose Builder and Maker is God." Vol. 9 Test., p. 180, refers to the latter statement (Heb. 11:10) and applies it to the church. The church is also the spiritual New Jerusalem, in which God now dwells, as He will dwell eternally in the visible, literal New Jerusalem, the metropolis of the new world. See also Heb. 12:22, 23; Ephes. 2:21, 22; John 14:23. The New Jerusalem "hath foundations" (see Heb. 11:10; Rev. 21:14, 19, 20)—so has the church. 1 Cor. 3:11; Ephes. 2:20, etc.

There is a spiritual temple on earth, and a visible, literal temple in heaven. See texts given previously; also Rev. 11:1, 2; G.C. 266; T.M. 17; A.A. 595; P.K. 36. While the work of measuring (the judgment), referred to in Rev. 11:1, 2, takes place in the literal temple in heaven, the judgment message is being sounded on the earth. This message calls all to measure up to the standard required by the judgment, which is convening in the literal temple above. The literal things of Israel have their spiritual application on the earth until the second advent. The spiritual temple—the spiritual Jerusalem—continues until it merges into the literal things of the eternal kingdom.

The prophetic pictures of the literal things of the new world apply also, in a spiritual sense, to the church. The Holy City is said to be "measured"; also the church. See Rev. 21:15; 11:1, 2; Ezek. 48:16, 20; Rev. 21:16; Ezek. 48:31; Rev. 21:12, 13; Ezek. 48:30-34; and Rev. 21:12-17. What is said of the literal city in heaven is also said of the church, the spiritual dwelling place of God.

"Behold, I make all things new" (Rev. 21:5) is God's promise concerning the eternal kingdom. "Behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17), declared Paul of those "in Christ." The spiritual application in connection with the church comes before the literal application to the eternal kingdom.

The New Jerusalem is declared to be "the bride, the Lamb's wife." Rev. 21:9. In M.H., p. 356, we read: "He Himself is the Bridegroom; the bride is the church." See also G.C. 381, and notice the texts of Scripture quoted therein; also Ephes. 5:23-33; Rom. 7:1-4, etc. Commenting on Rev. 22:17, which reads "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come," the Spirit of Prophecy says: "The church is to say, Come." 9T. 43. The verses in the Revelation prior to this statement refer to the New Jerusalem as "the bride." The Spirit of Prophecy teaches that the church is the bride of Christ: but it also teaches, just as plainly, that the New Jerusalem is Christ's bride. "The marriage represents the reception by Christ of His kingdom. The holy city, the New Jerusalem, which is the capital and representative of the kingdom, is called 'the bride, the Lamb's wife.' . . . Clearly, then, the bride represents the holy city." G.C. 426, 427; E.W. 251. Christ is now married to His church: His "marriage" to His kingdom (the New Jerusalem is "the capital and representative of the kingdom") takes place just before He returns to the earth. Matt. 25:1-13; Luke 12:36. Christ's marriage to the spiritual bride (the church) precedes His marriage to His kingdom, with its literal things.

His spiritual glory in the church precedes the manifestation to the church of His literal glory. Col. 1:26, 27; Luke 17:20, 21; 2 Thess. 2:14; 1 Pet. 4:14; Isa. 40:1-5 (see P.K., p. 689, where Isa. 40:5 is spiritually applied, and p. 733, where it is literally applied in connection with the kingdom of glory); Hag. 2:3, 7-9; 1 Pet. 1:10-12; John 17:22; 1:14; 12:41, 45; Ex. 33:18-22; 34:5, 6; Isa. 42:8; 48:11; Matt. 25:31; John 17:24, etc.

Texts describing the new earth have a present spiritual application in the experience of the church. See 6T. 24, 308, where Isa. 35:1, 2 is spiritually applied; also 6T. 308, where Isa. 55:13 (another new earth text) is spiritually applied to the church.

Spiritual birth precedes the regeneration of the physical world. John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5; Matt. 19:28.

Spiritual salvation, or redemption, occurs before physical redemption. Matt. 1:21; John 1:12; 3:36; 1 John 5:11, 12; Rom. 14:17; Acts 13:22, 23; 5:30, 31; Luke 2:30-32; Rom. 8:23; Luke 21:28.

Spiritual robes of salvation are worn now; eternal robes are to be worn from the time of the second advent. Isa. 61:10; Rev. 3:4, 5, 18; 4:4; 6:11; 7:9, 13, etc.

God's people now spiritually "follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth"; they literally follow Him in His eternal kingdom. Rev. 14:4; C.O.L. 223; A.A. 591.

Spiritual fire precedes literal fire. D.A. 107, 108.

The spiritual kingdom of grace precedes the literal kingdom of glory. Col. 1:12, 13; Heb. 4:16; Matt. 25:31, etc.

We mount up on spiritual wings before we mount on literal wings. Isa. 40:31; E.W. 19; G.C. 677, etc.

The pure in heart see God spiritually—see His character revealed everywhere in the Scriptures and in nature (Isa. 40:5; Ephes. 3:21; Ex. 33:18; 34:5, 6)—before they actually see Him. Matt. 5:8; Rev. 22:4.

We stand before the throne of God spiritually (in the Investigative judgment, etc.; I Kings 17: 1, etc.) before we literally stand there. 2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10; Rev. 20:12; 7:15.

God's name is spiritually written on our foreheads before it is literally written there. Rev. 3:12; 7:2-4; 14: 1; 22:4; E.W. 15, 58.

The Bible is now the spiritual tree of life: the eternal, literal tree of life will be literally seen and partaken of by the saved after the second advent. Prov. 3:18, 22; 15:4; Phil. 2:16; 1 Pet. 1:23; M.H. 66, 122, 173, 199; A.A. 478.

We drink of the spiritual water of life (Rev. 22:17) before we drink of the literal water of life which "proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." Rev. 22:1, 2. See also John 4:10, 14; 7:38, 39; Ezek. 47:1-12; A.A. 13-16; 7T. 24; 9T. 96. The saved literally see the "pure river of water of life" after the second advent.

The spiritual shaking occurs before the literal shaking. The literal shaking of the mountains of the earth at the second advent is mentioned in PP. 340; IT. 184; Joel 3:16; Heb. 12:26; Rev. 16:18. Hag. 2:6, 7, 21, 22 also mentions the physical upheavals at the second advent. Paul, in Heb. 12:26-28, connects the spiritual and literal shakings. After quoting Hag. 2:6 (which reads: "Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven"), he says: "And this word, yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that may be shaken [margin], as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain." From literal shakings to take place at the second advent he refers to a spiritual shaking which will precede the literal. The spiritual shaking is mentioned by the Spirit of Prophecy in IT. 355; 9T. 15, 16, 22, 179-182; E.W. 50, 269-273; T.M. 112; 6T. 332.

The spiritual wall of Babylon (the false Sabbath) will fall (Jer. 51:44; Ezek. 13:10-16, etc.) when the beast's power collapses (Rev. 19:20): the literal walls of the Babylonian cities will also fall. Rev. 16:19; Ezek. 38:19, 20.

Spiritual fire is to devour spiritual Babylon. Jer. 50:32; 51:32, 58; Rev. 17:16; 18:6-9, 18; 19:3. At Christ's second advent and at the end of the millennium literal fire is employed in the destruction of Babylon. 2 Thess. 1:7-9; 2:8; Rev. 19:20; Ps. 50:3-5; 97:3-5; G.C. 638, 641, etc.

Our Lord comes to us spiritually, arising in our spiritual east as "the Sun of Righteousness with "healing in His wings" (Mal. 4:2), before He literally appears in the eastern skies at His second advent. P.K. 688; G.C. 632; C.O.L. 415-421; D.A. 22, 48, 464, 468, 677, 680, 755. 801; M.H. 251; 6T. 67, 115, 479; 7T. 74, 195, etc. To the Christian there is a spiritual east before the literal east. The Scriptures liken our new experience in Christ—of coming "out of darkness into His marvellous light" (1 Pet. 2:9)—to the dawning of a new day after the darkness of the night. He is "the Sunrising" (Luke 1:78, margin) in our spiritual experience, before He comes as "the sunrising" at His second advent. Rev. 7:2; 16:12.

Joel 3:14 has a spiritual application now. 6T. 406; 4T. 446. In the final scenes, the "multitudes" who have rejected God will then be in the valley of concision, or destruction.

The church is now encompassed by a spiritual wall, as a protection against the assault of Satan's forces: at the end of the millennium the literal walls of the New Jerusalem will protect her against Satan's attacking forces. Zech. 2:5; T.M. 18; D.A. 323, 324; A.A. 600; Rev. 20:8; Isa. 60:18.

The description of the Messiah's seat of government, given in Isa. 54, is spiritually applied to the church, and is also employed to describe the literal New Jerusalem. P.K. 724, 725, etc.

The spiritual attack upon, and the surrounding of Christ's church takes place before the literal attack upon, and the surrounding of the New Jerusalem. Isa. 54:15-17; Rev. 14:20; 20:8, 9.

We stand "with" Christ on spiritual Mt. Sion before we stand "with" Him on the literal Mt. Zion. Ephes. 1:3; Isa. 58:14; Rev. 14:1.

We stand "with" Christ in the spiritual, world-wide conflict of the last days, when enemies spiritually "gather," or "unite," against Christ and His church (Rev. 17:13, 14; Rev. 16:13-16; 19:11-21): we literally, visibly stand with Him inside the literal New Jerusalem when His enemies literally gather outside the holy city. Rev. 20:8, 9, etc.

Thus we see that the literal of the past—of Israel's literal kingdom—and the literal things of the future kingdom of glory have their spiritual application in this "dispensation of the Holy Spirit." If this principle is not followed when interpreting prophecies, confusion and error will result. Most of the last-day prophetical errors originate from applying literally during this dispensation the literal things of Israel's kingdom of the past and the descriptions of the new world. The principle revealed in the New Testament and in the Spirit of Prophecy shows that the things of Israel are to be literally applied until the time of Christ's death—which terminated the law of types and shadows pertaining to Israel in Palestine—and then, with the literal things of the eternal kingdom, applied spiritually until the second advent.