XXVIII. THE GREAT PASSOVER OF THE FUTURE

Anyone who reads the .Holy Scripture with a mind to under stand it, must see that the scene at Golgotha does not complete the role the Son of man has to act as the Lamb sacrificed in connection with the new covenant. The Golgotha-scene corresponds with the slaying of the lamb in Egypt; but the passover part of it, as connected with the slaying of the lamb in Egypt, was not carried out in connection with the slaying of Christ; hence, the passover-act is still ahead of us and belongs to the remaining half of the week of the covenant.

The disciples of Christ were in a certain measure prepared for the passover event. Passover means that God will pass over his friends, but will slay his enemies. Christ said to them shortly before he was seized by the Roman soldiers:

"When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in m,e, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end." (Luke 22: 35-37.)

The disciples told him they had two swords, and he said: "It is enough." When the soldiers came to take him, Peter lifted his sword in order to defend his Master; but the Lord said to him;

"Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" (Matt. 26: 52-54.)

The Scripture had to be fulfilled before the great passover-event connected with the slaying of the Lamb could occur. If we now follow up the prophetic chain in the Book of Revelation, we shall find explanations regarding this future event. If we read the 11th chap., where the mensuration of the temple is spoken of, we shall find that in connection with this passover-movement, two human beings, whom the Lord calls his "two witnesses," will be revealed as belonging to the same movement. In their hands are the defending swords of the sanctuary of heaven. They "have power to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophecy." Thus, they are carrying on a prophetic work on the earth in connection with the temple of Christ. Because of the mighty swords of these two witnesses, the nations will be obliged to let the children of Israel go, as the Egyptians were obliged to let their forefathers go. The great Passover is still ahead of us. We remember that in the typical movement the children of Israel were separated from the Egyptians and were enclosed behind bloodstained doors while the angel of the Lord slew their enemies.

The Book of Revelation is a continuation -of the testimony of Jesus, especially applicable to the remaining time of the week of the covenant. Hence, that book contains the prophetic description of the paschal-proceedings which have yet to unfold.

The scene following the sealing process of the 144,000 is the unfolding of the golden altar of the spiritual temple. That golden altar is before the throne. The throne of God, according to the shadow, is the ark of the testimony which stands in the most holy place. When we compare Zech. 4: 11-14 and Rev. 11: 3-6 with Eze. 10: 1-4, it becomes plain that the two witnesses of Jesus unfold as the cherubs of the spiritual temple. When they have finished their testimony, they are killed as their Lord was killed at the end of his appointed time. Then and there the work of the covenant is closed up, and the undiluted judgment of God begins to pour over the desolating party.

The golden altar represents the tried faith of those who have been sealed. At the time the two witnesses are slain, the 144,000 begin to unfold as "the most Holy" of the sanctuary. which is the throne of God. The two witnesses, while fulfilling their mission, stand between the righteous Judge and the enemies of Truth as a wall of mercy. But when they are removed, the unmixed wrath of God falls upon the heads of the violent and upon all who have insulted and desolated the temple of God.

In the 9^th chap. of Rev, the golden altar is again referred to. The Revelator says he heard a voice from the four horns of it. (The horns on the altar represent the mercy of God extending to the guilty. Comp. Exod. 97 : 25, 26; 1 Kings 2: 28; Psalm 118: 27.) That voice proclaimed, "Loose the four angels, which are bound in the great river Euphrates."

It is to these four angels or powers that the angel holding the seal of the living God speaks at the time his sealing-work begins. That work is finished by the time the two witnesses are slain. He commands them to hold the four winds of the earth, that the wind shall not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree, while he seals the 144,000.

The wind symbolizes the national wars which will have caused great disasters on both land and sea up to that time. At the end of the sealing-time, the command is revoked and the voice from the golden altar commands that they shall be loosened. This means that a most terrible war-storm will follow; it will come over the earth and the sea, and it will burn down the trees and everything that comes in its way.

The power referred to under the symbol of the River Euphrates is the Mohammedan kingdom, which, like the River Euphrates that divided the old Babylon into two parts by running through that city, runs through the Christian nations and holds them divided politically: i. e., with respect to their long-sought aim of conquering one another—Turkey holds the powers of Europe divided.

The Mohammedans are the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham with Hagar, of whom the Lord prophetically said that he should be "a wild man; his hand against every man and every man's hand against him, and he shall dwell among his brethren," the scattered tribes of the seed of Abraham. The Mohammedans have been a beam in the eye of the Christian nations, and it will finally be to them what the great River Euphrates was to mother Babylon when Cyrus marched his men through its channel under the walls and conquered that great and well fortified city.

The word translated "the daily sacrifice" in Dan. 8: 12,13; 11: 31 and 12: 11, is Hatamid and signifies continuance or that which is determined. It has direct reference to the Passover. It points to a passover-act similar to the one that the Egyptians realized on the dreadful night when Israel stood ready to sever their bonds of servitude from them.

We notice that the prophetic language connected with the command going forth from the golden altar refers to a military power that is capable of setting in motion an army numbering "two hundred thousand thousand" (Rev. 9: 16) , which includes, of course, small and great. The Mohammedans number about 300,000,000. All other peoples that the Christian nations have oppressed will then join in and repay them doubly.

One thing that is very remarkable is the fact that the leading or officiating men among that people bear the name, Pascha, as an honorary title. Governors and military commanders are honored with that title.

The last action that is prophetically recorded regarding the cherubs of the temple of Christ is their war with the beast (the united Catholic and Protestant powers), which occurs at the time the cherubs have finished their testimony: namely, at the closing up of the three and one-half years. Surrounded by the camp of Israel, they lead and instruct that great assembly. The beast conquers, captures and kills them under circumstances similar to those that prevailed in Palestine when Christ their Lord was murdered. Their blood then constitutes the blood-sign on the door posts of all true Israelites. From that time, the people of God become separated from all unclean beings and from those outside of the Word of God.

The scene that follows the killing of those two witnesses of Jesus, according to the testimony given beforehand by their Lord, will cause the Christian nations to become so overwhelmed by fear and apprehension because of the wrath of God, that all their military strength will be lost in confusion and despair.

Just then the great army that carries out the second woe (comp. chap. 11: 14, with 9: 12) will break loose over the Christian nations and carry out a terrible slaughter. Armenia already stands as an example of what is in store for the antichristian people when their appointed time comes. Ishmael, this time, will execute the passover-act, when the hour comes.

Already, there is a great sign pointing to that event: namely, the uniting of the Mohammedans with Soviet Russia. They join hands with each other because both are similarly treated by the nations. The final consequence of this can be read in the prophetic Word. It is the passover-act of the new covenant.