Leaves Of Gold

A Call To Return To Biblical Teaching

"…to contend earnestly for the faith…"

Year One                                                                                       May                                                               2006

 

MASTER OUTLINE NUMBER FOUR

From "The Christian Life Bible" published by Thomas Nelson, notes by Porter L. Barrington.

The Names of God

Yahweh was the sacred name of the God of Israel, used especially with reference to His being the covenant God of His people. The name itself is spelled by only four letters in Hebrew, YHWH. The Canaanites and other nations never used this name for their gods. Due to the holy awe connected with the name from antiquity, both the Bible copiers and readers refrained from even speaking it aloud; therefore its exact pronunciation has been lost to us. Today, most prefer the form Yahweh over Jehovah.

The literal meaning of the name seems to be "He Is:' It is similar to the "I AM" name by which God calls Himself when speaking to Moses (Ex. 3:14). It thus conveys the fact that "He is "­the eternal, personal, first-causal, self-existing Being. Added to this, the Bible reveals His attributes of holiness, goodness, justice, love, and mercy, as well as His omnipotence (He is all-powerful), omni­science (He is all-knowing), and omnipresence (He is everywhere). The New King James Version consistently translates YHWH as "the LORD" or "GOD;' using small capital letters.

So sacred was the name YHWH that when the Hebrews used letters representing numbers to num­ber the Psalms, since the number 15 was made by YH (Y = 10, H = 5), they preferred to use the letters TV (9 + 6) for Psalm 15. They gladly named their children for Jehovah, but out of respect used only the abbreviation, never the full spelling, in such names-e.g., Adon-i-jah, "Lord-my-(is)-Jah" (1 Kin. 1 :25).

     Exodus 6:3 has puzzled some-"I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD [Yahweh] I was not known to them"-because of Abraham's use of the name Yahweh in Genesis 22: 14. This Exodus verse, however, speaks not of simple iden­tification but of the attributes by which these patriarchs knew their God. To Abraham, God appeared as EI Shaddai, "the Almighty God;' working powerfully in His individual and family affairs. Now in Exodus 6:3  to Moses and to the nation of Israel, God was about to reveal Himself as Yahweh, the self-existing covenant God of the nation, unbounded and unfettered by all earthly limita­tions; about to work mighty miracle after miracle for those who trusted Him.

The compound names of Yahweh are especially revealing as they wonderfully show to us

(1) how God intervened to aid His Old Testament people at crucial moments of need;

(2) the various covenant benefits that we, His people, today derive from our faith relationship to Him;

(3) character traits of God which are revealed in Christ our Lord and in the eternal Yahweh, who would save His people from their Egypt of sin, and then make with them a New Testament even more wonderful than the testament made at Sinai (1 Cor. 11 :25).

4-A.  Yahweh-Jireh: The LORD will provide, Genesis 22:14.  God promised Abraham that from him He would make a great nation, and He ordered Abraham to leave his homeland, the ancient moon-god of Ur (Gen. 12:1, 2). Abraham was 75 and Sarah 65 at this time, already old for moving and pioneering. Yet by faith they obeyed God, packed up, and struck out for faraway Canaan.

Twenty-four years later, when Abraham was 99 and Sarah 89, God promised that they would soon have a son named Isaac, who would be Abraham's covenant heir (Gen. 17:19). Months later, when Abraham was 100 and Sarah 90, by a miracle of Almighty God, Sarah gave birth to Isaac (Gen. 21:1-7).

Then the great test came some years later. God commanded Abraham to take the young Isaac (his only child by Sarah, his heir, his sole hope of the future fulfillment of God's promise that Abraham would be a father of many nations) and offer him as a burnt offering on Mt. Moriah, later the site of Jerusalem (Gen. 22:2). In trust and innocence Isaac asked his father, "But where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham's classic reply of faith and compassion was simply, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering" (Gen. 22:7, 8).

One of the most moving moments in Bible history occurred when God's call stopped Abraham's hand from slaying his son, and a ram for the sacrifice was seen caught by his horns in a nearby thicket. Abraham called that place Yahweh-jireh, "The-LORD-WiII-Provide" (Gen. 22:9-14).

Note that:

(1) Abraham trusted God. He considered "that God was able to raise him [Isaac] up, even from the dead" (Heb. 11 :19). He believed that God, who had miraculously brought Isaac into the world, would raise him from the dead, even if the boy were sacrificed.

(2) God did not fail Abraham. He restrained Abraham's hand and provided a ram instead.

(3) Isaac, as a type, or illustration, of the submissive Christ, went to this same Moriah-the site of the temple and near to Calvary-in obedience to the Father's will.

(4) Christ was the true lamb of God provided by Jehovah (John 1:29, 36; cf. Rev. 5:6; 6:1). In this instance the Father did not stop the sacrifice at Calvary; but in His love for us and desire for our salvation, He allowed His only Son's life to be taken. Christ's coming and His atoning death were the fulfillment of the name Yahweh-Jireh (John 3:14-18).

(5) Jesus said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56). Jesus was referring to the day that Abraham offered Isaac and saw, in a typical way, "the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29; cf. 1 Pet. 1:18, 19).

This great episode should teach us to trust God daily for His provision in every test of life. God is Yahweh-Jireh, "The-LORD-WiII-Provide."     

(These studies will continue each month)

 

 

Rightly Dividing The Word

(From the book by Clarence Larkin)

A continuation of "Ages and Dispensensations"

III. THE PRESENT AGE                                                                                 

 

This "Age" extends from the Flood to the second stage of Christ's Second Coming, called the "Revelation." It covers four Dispensations.

1. The Post-Diluvian Dispensation

 

This was the "Dispensation of HUMAN GOVERN­MENT." If ever the human race had an opportunity to work out the theory of "Human Government" it was right after the Flood. Noah was an old man over 600 years of age, full of wisdom and experience, and his family, all of whom had reached maturity - for the youngest, Shem, was 98 years old - were qualified for self-government. Behind them was the Flood with all its warnings, and in addition the accumulated knowledge from Adam down to their day. The fact that Noah set up an altar and offered sacrifice implies that he and his family were godly. And when God commanded Noah and his sons to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth His purpose doubtless was to repeople the earth with a godly race. But 325 years after the Flood the "Tower of Babel" was built, revealing the proud and rebellious spirit of the people, and God came down and confused the language of the people and scattered them abroad over the face of the earth. Gen. 11 : 1-9. Here we have the origin of nations and the different languages of the earth. So this Dispensation was a failure like its predecessors.

2. The Patriarchal Dispensation

                This Dispensation extended from the "Call of Abra­ham" to the "Exodus," a period of 430 years, and is

known as the "Dispensation of THE FAMILY." It ended with all of Abraham's descendants working as abject slaves in the brickyards of Egypt.

3. The Legal Dispensation

                This Dispensation extended from the "Exodus" to the "Birth of Christ," and is known as the "Dispensation of LAW." Heartofore God had allowed man to govern himself, now He purposed to organize a Commonwealth with laws and regulations and a "visible" system of wor­ship with a local habitation or place of worship. The government was "Theocratic"   That is, God ruled through representative men that He appointed, as Moses, Joshua, and the Judges. But the people grew tired of such a mode of government and demanded a king which eventually led to their undoing. God's dealing with the people was based on a "WRITTEN LAW" given at Mt. Sinai. This "Civil" and "Ceremonial" Law was given to Israel only, and not to any other nation. Its observance ceased at the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70. The wonderful feature of this Dispensation was that it was filled with the "Miraculous Interposition" of God in be­half of His chosen people. For them He opened the Red Sea, fed them in the Wilderness in a miraculous man­ner for 40 years, walled back the waters of the Jordan that they might cross over in safety into the Promised Land, and helped them to conquer it. For centuries God watched over and protected them, but they repaid His love and kindness by rejecting His Son, and this Dispen­sation ended, like its predecessors, in revealing the un­grateful and disobedient nature of fallen man.

4. The Ecclesiastical Dispensation

                 This is the "Dispensation of GRACE," and extends from the "Cross" to the "Crown" for Christ, and from "Pentecost" to the "Rapture of the Church" for the Be­liever. This is a

PARENTHETICAL DISPENSATION

thrown in between the "Dispersion" of Israel, and their "Restoration" to their own land. The purpose of this Dispensation is to gather out a "People for His Name," called THE CHURCH. In this Dispensation we are under the "Davidic Covenant," the sign of which is a "SON" (Jesus), and neither Jews nor Gentiles are dealt with as such. The characteristic of this Dispensation is, that "Blindness IN PART is happened to Israel until the 'Fulness of the Gentiles' be come in." Rom. 11: 25. The "Fulness of the Gentiles," with some Jews, make up a "New Body," the CHURCH. This "New Body" is not under LAW but GRACE. Rom. 6: 14. When Christ took His seat upon the "Father's Throne" He changed it from a "Throne of JUSTICE" to a "Throne of GRACE," and God's attitude in this Dispensation is one of favor and "longsuffering" toward wicked men and nations. 2 Pet. 3: 9. This Dispensation we are foretold will end in APOSTASY,for Christ Himself said that when He came back He would not find FAITH (the Faith) on the earth.Luke 18: 8.

                Between the "Ecclesiastical" and "Millennial" Dispen­sations there is another "Parenthetical Dispensation" the

"DISPENSATION OF JUDGMENT,"

during which the Jews, the Gentiles, and the redeemed are to be judged. The redeemed are to be "caught out" at the beginning of the Dispensation and judged at the "Judg­ment Seat of Christ." 2 Cor. 5: 10. The Jews are to be judged during the Tribulation under Antichrist on the earth. Their Judgment is known as the "Time of Jacob's Trouble." J er, 30:4-7. Dan. 12:1. The Gentiles (the Nations) are to be judged at the close of the Tribulation, when the Lord Jesus Christ shall descend from Heaven and sit on the "Throne of His Glory," and all nations shall be gathered in their representatives before Him, and the "SHEEP Nations" shall be rewarded by entrance into the "Millennial Kingdom," and the "GOAT Nations," as NATIONS, shall be destroyed. Matt. 25: 31-46. The Judgment of the redeemed is as individuals, while that of the Jews and Gentiles is national.

IV. THE AGE OF AGES

                This is a "Dual Age," and includes the "Millennial Age" and the "Perfect Age," between which the earth is "Renovated by Fire." It will be ushered in at the "Sec­ond Stage" of Christ's Second Coming.

1. The Millennial Age

                This is not only an "Age," it is also a "Dispensation," the "Messianic Dispensation" or rule of Christ as King. Writers and poets have written and sung of a "Golden Age," an Age of universal righteousness and peace; and the Jews believe that the "Seventh Thousand" of years from the Creation is to be a "Sabbath of Rest," and that a description of that Age is given to us in the Old Testa­ment. That there is to be a period of 1000 years during which Satan shall be bound and Christ shall reign over the earth is clearly revealed in the New Testament. This period is mentioned six times in the Book of Revelation. Rev. 20: 1-7.

                In the Millennial Age God will again deal with man­kind as a whole, but as made up of nations. The Church will not be on the earth, only as it is represented by those who will assist Christ, THE KING, in His Administra­tion of the Millennial Kingdom. The Jews, as a nation, will then be the "HEAD OF THE NATIONS." Deut. 28:13.  While they will in part observe the "Ceremonial Law," they will be under a "NEW COVENANT." Jer. 31: 31-37. Heb. 8: 7-13. The principle under which God will deal with men in those days will not be Law, Grace, or Judgment, but RIGHTEOUSNESS. It will be an "Autocratic Government," for Christ will rule with a "ROD OF IRON" (Isa. 11 : 1, ;1-; Rev. 2: 27, 19: 15; Psa. 2: 9), but that r!:11~ will be based on LOVE. As Satan will be bound at that time, the character of the "Messianic Dispensation" will be entirely different from all preceding Dispensations, and cannot be. classed with them. But we shall see, as we study the outcome of the "Millennial Age" in the Chapter on "The Kingdom," that when Satan is loosed at the end of the Millennium man will reveal the fact that he is still a rebellious creature, with an evil heart of unbelief, for that Dispensation, like all that preceded it, will end in APOSTASY. Rev. 20: 7-10.

RENOVATION OF THE EARTH BY FIRE

                Between the "Millennial Age" and the "Perfect Age" the earth is to be "Renovated by Fire."  This "Renovation" is described in 2 Pet. 3: 7 -13. The earth as a "planet" is not to be destroyed" only the exterior sur­face is to be burned over for the purpose of destroying all poisonous and obnoxi'ous plant growths, and the dis­eases and pests that prey on vegetable life that sin has produced, and the heavens (the earth's atmosphere) "shall pass away with a great noise," like an explosion of gas, and a new atmosphere (a new Heaven) shall take its place, which shall be free from all discC'.se germs and "evil spirits" and destructive agencies.

2. The Perfect Age

                It is this "Perfect Age," or "Kingdom of the New Heaven and Earth" that Christ surrenders to the Father (1 Cor. 15: 28), for the "Millennial Kingdom" is not perfect, there is sin in it, and it ends in Apostasy. As there is no room for this "Perfect Kingdom" before the "Renovation of the Earth by Fire" it must come after it. This "Perfect Kingdom" is also a "Dispensation," the "Dispen­sation of the FULNESS OF TIMES." Eph. 1 : 10. The "Millennial Kingdom" and the "Perfect Kingdom" make up the "Kingdom of the SON OF MAN."

V. THE AGES QF THE AGES

                As the "Creative Ages" were the "Alpha" Ages, these will be the "Omega" Ages. With the surrender of the "Perfect Kingdom" to the Father, what we speak of as "Time" ceases, and the "Eternal Ages," called the "Ages of the Ages" begin. They correspond to what the Apostle Paul in his Letter to the Ephesians calls the "Ages to Come." Eph. 2: 7. And John in the Book of Revelation says that the "Devil" and the "Beast" and the "False Prophet" shall be tormented day and night forever and ever, or for the "Aions of the Aions," the "Ages of the Ages," Rev. 20: 10, and that the "Servants of God" shall reign for the same period. Rev. 22: 5.

What those "Ages of Ages" shall reveal of the Plan and Purpose of God we do not know, but if we are His we shall live to know, and possibly take part in their development. What we do know is that we are but in the beginning of things, and as concerning the "Ages'

                Eternity is still young.           

(These studies will continue each month.  For the charts go to  http://members.citynet/morton/charts.htm    )

 

 

' ·

God's Plan of the Origin of the New

Testament Church By L. M. Branch, Bogard Press, Texarkansa, TX

 

INTRODUCTION: God does His work according to plan, Acts 15:18. The plan for the origin of His church is most important. The church institution was not just an afterthought with God. He planned the institution of His church in His eternal purpose. Fulfilled prophecy concerning how God perfected the plan for the origin of the church proves this point well. The original word used to designate the Lord's church was a word that simply meant "something belonging to the Lord." The word "church" is from "Ekklesia," which means "a called out assem bly." The first part of the word, "Ek," means "out," and the last part is frQm "Kaleo," which means "to call." Hence the word church, alone, is simply a "called out assembly." Just the word church, alone, is not enough to designate the Lord's true church. When <>he says "a New Testament church," or "church of the Lord Jesus," or, "scriptural church," this indicates the kind taught in the Bible. To show that just the word church (assembly) is not enough, the following examples are given:

A called out assembly (Ekklesia) in a confused uproar, some with evil hearts, Acts 19:35-41.

A called out assembly (Ekklesia) of people as a nation (Israel), Acts 7:3-7

A called out assembly of saved, baptized people following Jesus was His church, Mark 1:14-20.

 

GOD'S PLAN FOR PREPARING THE MATERIAL (MEMBERS) FOR HIS CHURCH WAS PROPHESIED

By Isaiah, concerning John's ministry, Isaiah 40:3 and Matthew 3:1-3 (fulfilled).

By Malachi also, Malachi 3:1 and 4:5,6, Luke 1:13-17, and Matthew 11:14.

                 This prophesied plan was not unknown to the people, Matthew 17:10-13.

God has always exercised the attribute of Justice in changing any order, administering His will, and dealing with all people of the earth, by prophesying of such beforehand. There was to be one to go before the promised, expected Christ, to do a work of preparing a people for Him when He came. Even the PLAN, therefore, for the origin of the church, was foretold.

II. GOD'S PLAN IN PROPHESY CONCERNING THE ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH

The foundation stone of the church was a theme of many prophecies, Isaiah 28:16 (Rock of Ages).

Peter, by inspiration of God, gives the interpretation of the above scripture, I Peter 2: 5, 6.

Paul affirms this truth, I Corinthians 3:11, 10:4 and Ephesians 2: 19, 20.

                Jesus said He was, Himself, this stone (Rock) upon which He would build up and enlarge His church, Matthew 16:18. Many believe that Jesus was saying, in this verse, that He would build His church upon the confession of Peter in the preceding verses. Others believe that Jesus was appointing Peter as the head of the church. (The Catholic people believe this.) What Jesus was actually saying in Matthew 16: 18 was that Peter (Petros) was a small stone, and that He (Jesus) would build up and enlarge His church upon Himself, Jesus (Petri, a huge solid rock.) This is in keeping with all the descriptions of prophecy, and how Peter could not.

The stone of Isaiah 28: 16 was to be for a foundation. See I Corinthians 3:11.

                The stone was to be a "tried" stone. Jesus was tried in every way and stood the test, but Peter denied the Lord when the test came, Matthew 26:69-75 and Hebrews 4:15.

                The stone was to be "precious." This means of great price and very valuable, rare, etc. This could not apply to Peter, but could to Jesus, I Peter 1: 18, 19.

                It is not difficult to see by these Scriptures that Jesus was the Rock upon which the prophetic Scriptures declared that the Lord's church, our hope, and all building, was to be built.

III. CERTAIN EVENTS PROPHESIED OF, FULFILLED, AND PRESER VED IN EVIDENCE FOR OUR BENEFIT PROVE THAT GOD'S PLAN IS CARRIED OUT, AND THAT THE CHURCH INSTITUTION WAS PLANNED

                Jesus Christ, the Shepherd of the flock, was to be betrayed by one who was called His friend. Compare Psalm 41:9 and John 13:18.

                He was to be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, Zechariah 11:12 and Matthew 26:14, 15.

                The shepherd of the sheep was to be smitten and the flock scattered according to prophecy in Zechariah 13:7. Jesus said this would happen and it did, Matthew 26:31.

                The betrayal by Judas for a price, the smitten shepherd and scattered flock, the birth, life, death, resurrection of Jesus, and the many fulfilled minute details of the Scripture about Jesus prove that God's plan is carried out, even to His singing in the church, Psalm 22: 22. Matthew 26:30, Hebrews 2:12.

 

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND COMPARISON

                Did God plan the detailed construction of the Ark by Noah beforehand? Why? Discuss this.  Read Genesis 6:14-16.  Was the plan successful?

                Did God plan the construction of the Tabernacle?  Read Exodus 25:1-9 and discuss.

                God promised David that one of his sons would build Him (God) a house (the temple).  Which son was it?  Read 1 Chronicles 17:1, 2 and 11, 12.  Did God give the plans for this house?  Now read 2 Chronicles 1:7-12.

                Likewise, God planned the institution of the assembly.  When His plan is observed, much confusion is eliminated.  When His plan is observed, much confusion is eliminated.  When we capture the thought that:

                                Jesus was born in due time, Galatians 4:4 and Luke 2:26

                                Jesus was treated as God said men would do, out of evil hearts, Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53.

                                God has appointed a day for Jesus to judge the future, Acts 17>31.

                                God does His work according to plan, Acts 15:18< and it is up to us to follow that plan,                                  Ephesians 2:10

                                When we follow God's plan we can understand that the assembly was not just an afterthought with God…..it was planned!           (These studies will continue)

 

                The editor of these "Leaves of Gold" is James A. Nelson.  He and his wife are members of the Messiah Baptist Church, Wichita, Kansas.  You may contact him at:   jan@twinvalley.net.  Our webmaster is Martin Gutzmer  mrgutzer@gmail.com   and our ponsor is David Pickett    dr_pickett@hotmail.com         Your comments are welcomed.