| HIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN | August 1994 |
The process of bringing the alienated human race back into accord with God is called the doctrine of the Atonement. The necessity for the Atonement is one of the most fundamental teachings in the Bible. Over and over again is repeated the theme of man’s fall, his need of a Redeemer, the sacrificial work of Christ, and finally the coming kingdom as the agency to accomplish the needed conciliation.
In many circles today, however, the plain teachings of the Bible regarding the fall of man and his present state of alienation from God are made light of, and discounted as too primitive a belief to be retained in modern theology.
The authenticity of the whole Genesis account of the entrance of sin into the world is repudiated by labeling the book as mythology, noteworthy only for its literary style. Man is pictured as making steady progress toward the sublime state as a result of his own exalted efforts.
But how differently the Scriptures view the matter!
Atonement: What is It?
THE BOOK OF Genesis shows that Adam was originally created in the mental and moral image of God. He was placed in a garden-like environment “eastward in Eden,” (Gen. 2:8) flourishing with the vegetation needed to sustain life. He was given dominion over all the lower animals, whether creatures of the air, land, or sea. In effect, Adam was a king of an earthly kingdom which had been established for him by God.
His conversing with God in the cool of the evening demonstrated the fellowship and communion which he enjoyed with the Creator as one of his sons on the human plane of existence. Here was a picture of perfect tranquility and harmony existing between man and his Creator in the original kingdom of God.
How quickly this scene was changed, however, when Adam transgressed the law of God! He lost the right to reside in the earthly paradise which had been his. Thorns and thistles, and the sweat of his brow as he labored for a living, were to become his lot. Under the sentence of death, physical, mental, and moral decay began to set in, each day carrying him farther away from the original state of perfection.
Under these circumstances of condemnation and imperfection, he also lost the right of fellowshipping directly with his Creator. Thus was forfeited the original kingdom of God and earthly paradise—a permanent loss, were it not for a plan of salvation designed by a loving God.
This is the Genesis account of the Creation and Fall of man. If it is mere mythology and cannot be depended upon as the inspired Word of God, then the foremost personalities of the Christian church have been deceived. Jesus frequently cited incidents mentioned in Genesis in his own personal ministry among the Jews, such as in Matthew 23:35 when he referred to Abel, and Matthew 24:37 when he spoke of Noah.
And the great Apostle Paul confirmed the Creation account when he wrote, “The first man Adam was made a living soul.” (I Cor. 15:45) Whom, then, are we to believe? We prefer to side with Jesus and Paul, accept the Book of Genesis as authentic, and observe that those who try to discredit it are not benefiting by the enlightenment which it provides.
Another objection has been advanced by those who deny man’s need for atonement. Their argument is that God should simply forgive man for a disobedient act, especially for a first offense. If the account of man’s fall in the Garden of Eden be true, God should have immediately reinstated him to favor. This objection seems somewhat plausible on the surface. The basic question to be resolved is, could God have forgiven his wayward human creation without requiring an atoning sacrifice?
Before this question can be answered, it will be necessary to provide a background sketch of the character of the Creator and of the setting of man’s creation. The Bible describes God as an invisible spirit being, possessing grand attributes of character which are in perfect balance with each other. Briefly, the chief characteristics of God are wisdom, justice, love, and power. All these attributes are constantly working together in every act in which God is engaged. As the great Sovereign of the universe, God conducts all his affairs in perfect harmony with each of these four basic attributes.
Consider, now, how these must have reacted to the impulse of simply forgiving the transgression of man: divine wisdom at once would have foreseen the dangers of such a course. God had originally declared that the penalty for disobedience would be death. If he now altered the consequences, others of God’s intelligent creatures, as well as man, would conclude that God was changeable and his word not trustworthy. The Scriptures expressly declare that in God there “is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”—James 1:17
Further, divine justice pointed to God’s position as the Lawgiver of the universe. He is the great King of many creations on various planes of existence in addition to that of man. Man’s disobedience to the just laws of his Creator represented a rebellion in one quarter of the vast universe. It had to be dealt with fairly and strictly in accordance with those laws. Could one measure of justice be meted out to man and another to the remainder of creation? No. Divine justice demanded the same standard, which was an exacting one, of full obedience to the divine will. Justice, then, required that the death penalty be carried out as originally imposed.
Divine love desired that man should be fully forgiven. God’s mercy and compassion had already provided a way of meeting the strict requirements of his justice. The solution was a plan of salvation (conceived before the creation of man) centering around a substitutionary sacrifice to be offered on behalf of Adam. The Son of God, would be commissioned to perform this task, to which he willingly consented.
He would undergo a change of nature from the spiritual to the human state. He would become a ransom, an exact equivalent to Adam in his perfection, and then voluntarily offer his life as an atoning sacrifice. “Ye were … redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained [foreknown] before the foundation of the world.” (I Pet. 1:18-20; Heb. 10:5-7) In this way divine justice would be fully satisfied, since a perfect human life was to be offered for the transgression of Adam.
Thus, too, the life of Adam would not be forfeited forever, but would be restored in the resurrection on the basis of the merit of the Redeemer. And not only Adam, of course, but the entire human race condemned in him would benefit from such a plan.
This, then, is the method which God adopted to begin the work of Atonement. It carries a logic which at once satisfies the reasoning of the inquirer for truth, and it counters all objections that are raised against it. It is a plan to which all the attributes of God’s character can give wholehearted consent. And the great power of the Almighty One is pledged to carry it out.
Thereby, it is seen that man will ultimately be forgiven, but through a course which provides him with a valuable lesson in the results of disobedience to the divine will. It is a pathway which leads from condemnation in Adam to justification in Christ.
FURTHER PROOF
If the doctrine of the Atonement is fundamental, then it should be possible to produce additional Scriptural support for it throughout the Bible. Evidence should be available showing the present fallen state of man, the method God has devised to redeem and restore him, and the final outcome of the application and execution of such a plan. Consider first the following texts to determine whether man is described as being in a condition out of harmony with God:
“By the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation; … by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.”—Rom. 5:18,19
“We have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. … They are all gone out of the way.”—Rom 3:9-12
“Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”—James 4:4
“God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”—Rom. 5:8,9
Is not the conclusion self-evident? All mankind is described as sinful, unrighteous, at enmity with God, and under his condemnation and wrath. The only exception to this general rule is the church class. All dedicated believers, on the basis of their faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on their behalf, are justified, or reckoned acceptable in God’s sight. All others stand separate from the righteousness and perfection of God, wholly condemned before the divine bar of justice.
Originally the only separating influence between God and man was the sentence of death for disobedience. Now—as a result of the accumulated effect of many years of alienation and sin—degradation and depravity have set in, removing man still farther away from the divine image.
As a result of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, all men are guaranteed an awakening from the dead. As previously shown, however, all will return from the tomb with the same character which had been developed in this life. Even the noblest individuals will have some measure of imperfection, and the average lot of man, no doubt, will display a considerable tinge of sin.
Unless, therefore, God were to provide some means of assistance, all men would immediately be condemned to death. Their imperfection would prevent them from rendering full obedience to the divine will and would only lead to a renewed condemnation. Thank God, provision has already been made in the divine plan to permit the temporary shielding of all humanity during the thousand-year kingdom, while the great work of restoration proceeds.
Jesus Christ and his church will act in the capacity of Mediator between God and man. They will act in a manner similar to that of Moses during the inauguration of the Old or Law Covenant with the nation of Israel. When this covenant was originally instituted, Moses was selected by God to come up on the mount of Sinai and obtain the tables of the Law directly from God. Before he set forth the Law to the people, Moses sprinkled the tables of the Law with the blood of sacrificed animals. If the Israelites had been able to live up to the requirements of this covenant in full obedience to the will of God, they would have received everlasting life.
This entire proceeding foreshadowed a much greater and more beneficial arrangement. Jeremiah 31:31-33 states: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah. … After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
God will establish a New Covenant with man, starting with Israel and finally encompassing all the families of the earth. Instead of Moses, there will be Christ and the church to act as the Mediator of this covenant. “Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant.” (Heb. 12:24) “God … hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.”—II Cor. 5:18
Jesus and the church class will be in Mt. Zion, a symbol of the spiritual phase of the kingdom, administering the affairs and laws of that kingdom. Instead of the blood of animals, there will be the merit of the blood of Jesus, which will make the New Covenant possible and eventually take away the sin of the world. The Mediator will set forth the laws and regulations of the kingdom and assist all those who are willing to come to a full knowledge of the truth. All will be informed of their privilege to return to harmony with God and gain everlasting life.
Jeremiah continues: “They shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”—Jer. 31:34
There is yet another beautiful picture of the great work of sin removal in the kingdom period, found in the experiences of the Israelites under the old Law Covenant. To compensate for the inability of the people to live up to the requirements of the Law, God instituted Tabernacle sacrifices, which typically cleansed the people of their sins. The High Priest offered the sacrifices of specified animals, which were accepted by God as an atonement for sin. When the sacrifices were completed, the children of Israel could receive the blessings of God through the priesthood for another covenant year.
Jesus is referred to in Scripture as the great High Priest (Heb. 4:14), and his true followers as his priesthood. (Rev. 20:6) The faithful sacrifices of the church during this life qualify them to become under-priests in the Millennial Age. As priests of God, they will reign together with Jesus for the express purpose of blessing the masses of humanity returning from the grave.
As a result of receiving instruction in the ways of righteousness and acting in harmony with it, the world will gradually be restored to the original state of perfection as represented in Adam. At the end of the thousand years they will be fully cleansed of all imperfection and enabled to stand in the presence of God without the need of a Mediator.
There is an interesting text of Scripture bearing on the restoration of man’s lost dominion, which has generally been overlooked by most Christians. It is found in Acts 3:20,21: “He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive [retain] until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” Here is a clear statement connecting the Second Advent of Christ with blessings of restitution—a restoration of all that was lost in the Fall of man.
Notice that this text cannot apply to the church, which is promised a new thing—the reward of the divine nature. It does apply to the whole world of mankind, who will be blessed by a restoration of that which was lost—perfect human life in abundance. During the times of restitution, man will regain his original state of perfection, a mental and moral likeness of God, the dominion of earth, and harmony with his Creator. Not only was this statement made by the Apostle Peter, but, as he points out, it has been spoken by the mouth of all God’s holy prophets since the world began. How strange, then, that more Christians have not understood that the kingdom era was designed to be one of blessing and benefit for man.
Other scriptures elaborate further on how the church will be used in accomplishing man’s restoration. The call of the church was not intended to result in the selfish enjoyment of heavenly bliss. Rather, the church was designed by God to act as his instrument in blessing all the families of the earth. One of the earliest evidences of this is found in the Old Testament, in God’s promise of blessing to Abraham. God said to him: “I will bless thee, and … I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore. … And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 22:17,18) The Apostle Paul later explained that the ‘Seed’ mentioned in this promise was in reality Christ, and also his church. He wrote: “If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”—Gal. 3:29
How will Christ and the church accomplish the blessing of all the families of the earth? The essential features of the work they will accomplish during the Millennial Kingdom have already been touched upon. The method to be used is summed up in Isaiah 49:8-10:
“Thus saith the Lord … I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.”
Within the wording of this text are hidden rich gems of truth. The broad outlines of the entire work of reconciliation to be carried on by Christ and his glorified church are found therein. God’s purpose for the church is shown in its position as Mediator of a covenant with the people. The people to be blessed by this New Covenant are not just those who happen to be living at the time, but include all that are in the grave.
To these ‘prisoners’, bound by the shackles of sin, ignorance, superstition, and death, it will be the privilege of the church class to say: “Go forth, … Show yourselves.” This is another way of expressing the resurrection of the dead and the enlightenment which will accompany it and be available to all during the kingdom. The inhabitants at that time ‘shall not hunger nor thirst’, not only because of the abundance of natural food, but also because they will be nourished and sustained by the truth of God’s Word. Through processes of instruction and judgment, all mankind will be led back to the ways of God and to harmony with him.
“Then cometh the end, when he [Jesus] shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”—I Cor. 15:24-26
What is the ‘end’ mentioned here? It is not the ‘end of time’, or the ‘end of the earth’. It is the grand finale of the thousand-year reign of Christ and the church. It represents the climax of God’s great plan of salvation, marking the moment when the earthly creation will have been fully purified and brought back to the perfection lost in the fall.
The Mediatorial reign will then have accomplished its objective, and the need for the Mediator will have ceased. When Christ returns the kingdom to the Father, man will again stand directly before his Creator to enjoy all the benefits of human sonship. Reconciliation between God and man will be complete!
“God be merciful unto us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. … Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear [reverence] him.”—Ps. 67:1-7
God has promised a glorious day,
And by faith we now see it draw near;
Our Redeemer has opened the way,
And soon will its glory appear.There the dead shall arise from the tomb
And the living to health be restored;
And, away from all sorrow and gloom,
They’ll be led by the life-giving Lord.And an highway shall there be cast up,
And the stones shall be all gathered out,
And errors no weak ones shall trip,
And no lions of vice stalk about.There nothing shall hurt nor offend
In God’s kingdom of glory and peace;
The wicked their ways shall amend,
And the righteous their joys shall increase.There God’s hand shall all tears wipe away;
He’ll the joy of his favor restore;
And the light of that glorious day
Will bring life, joy and peace evermore!