DANIEL XII. 1, 2. (DODSON) 1941

“AND at that time shall Michael stand, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

If we correctly understand the Old Testament Scriptures and the prophecies contained therein, they concern the coming of the Messiah, whose name was to be Emmanuel, or God with us, which is Christ the Lord, and the kingdom which he was to establish here in the world. We shall, therefore, endeavor to bring forth from the great storehouse of the types and shadows of the law and the prophecies and show that they not only pointed to and portrayed the coming of our Lord, but that when he came and finished the work assigned to him by the Father, he fulfilled every jot and tittle of all that was typified and prophesied concerning him. In his memorable Sermon on the Mount he said of himself, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” - Matt. v. 17. Then he added, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Luke quotes him as having said, “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man [Jew and Gentile] presseth into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” - Luke xvi. 16, 17. If the law was the schoolmaster unto Christ, and Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth, most certainly it shall have no further dominion over whomsoever Christ justifies, and neither shall it protrude it? If or reach beyond the setting up and establishing of the kingdom of our Lord, which is an EVERLASTING kingdom.

We shall attempt now to present for the consideration of our readers some of the types to be found in the law and the prophecies and, if God will bless us to do so, show something of their significance. The first scriptural reference we shall employ in this connection is Genesis iii 15, 16. God, speaking to the serpent, said, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Then God said to the woman, “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be unto thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” All who have spiritual understanding will undoubtedly accept the view that in the first instance God was declaring beforehand that Jesus, his Son, would come into the world and conquer Satan; yea, even destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil. This is what God meant by saying the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. But God also said to the serpent, “And thou shalt bruise his heel.” The heel is that portion of the body nearest the ground, and this meant that Satan would annoy, harrass, and even torture many of God's people here on earth. In the second instance, God had respect to his church here in the world as being the Lamb's wife. In Revelation it is recorded that the Lamb prevailed over the great red dragon, and the gospel church is set forth in the great wonder which appeared in heaven by that woman who was clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. John verily witnessed the fulfillment of what Moses in the law did write. The fact that this woman was clothed with the sun and the moon was under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars, clearly shows to our understanding that when our Lord appeared in great glory, the moon, signifying the law, was put under her feet and therefore had no more dominion over the church, and the further fact of a crown of twelve stars being placed upon her head, showed that she was verily crowned with all that had been prophesied of her, thus indicating fulfillment of the law and the prophets. How true it is that the gospel church here in the world brings forth her children in sorrow, but at the same time her fervent desire is unto Jesus, her Husband, and he, indeed, rules over her. This Scripture is not perfectly fulfilled by the earthly husband and wife, but only by Christ and his bride. He is the chiefest among ten thousand, and the One altogether lovely to her, and' there is none in heaven or earth that she desires beside him.

The next scriptural type we shall produce is that of Joseph and his going down into Egypt to save much people alive. Let it be remembered that he was the first-born of Jacob by Rachel, who was Jacob's true wife and the one he dearly loved. All the evil heaped upon Joseph by his envious brethren could only show in part the enmity of the human heart and the sins of the elect of God which were imputed or charged to Jesus. The mysterious dealings of God with Joseph give us at the most but a glimpse of the great mystery which enshrouded God manifesting himself in the flesh and coming to earth in the person of his only begotten and dearly beloved Son. Well might the apostle declare, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Time and space forbid our enlarging too much upon this type of Joseph and his going down into Egypt in advance of his brethren, but perhaps a hint to the wise will be sufficient. We cannot refrain front saying, however, that all that Joseph encountered and the manner in which God worked all things together for his own glory and Israel's good, was but a dim shadow of what it typified, namely, Christ's coming into the world to suffer ignominy and shame at the hands of both his brethren and the world at large, to learn obedience by the things he suffered and thus become a glorious High Priest whose feelings could be touched with the infirmities of those he came to redeem, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Heb. ii. 15.) His sufferings and death and the glory which followed exceedeth that of the types as the brilliance of the sun eclipses the stars of night, and Jesus by his perfect work saved his people with an everlasting salvation.

We will now turn to Numbers xxi. 9: “And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent, he lived.” There in the wilderness, which typified the flesh, were both the elect of God and the nonelect; those who were alive and those who were dead, and the dead know not anything, neither were they bitten by the fiery serpents; therefore, they had no knowledge or understanding of the deadly poisonous venom injected by the bite of the fiery, serpents; consequently there was no real desire for the remedy which was a certain cure, but when those who were alive were bitten and realized that they were under the sentence of death, oh, how they prayed and yearned to be made whole of their disease. What a mercy it was that God had prepared an unfailing remedy, and how they did rejoice to look Upon that which meant life and salvation to them., John, referring to this (iii. 14, 15) said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” As the fiery serpents and their venom typified Satan and sin, which once injected into the system was certain to result in death unless the effects were arrested or destroyed, and as only those who were bitten were in distress, even so only those who are quickened and made alive in Christ know anything of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and only these, and no others, will have the desire to look to Jesus to be healed of their malady. How unspeakably glorious that all such are commanded to “Behold the Lamb of, God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

How wonderful that we have that which is far superior to all the types, even the substance, which is Jesus Christ the Lord. Let us emphasize John's saying: “As Moses lifted up, the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” The Son of man must be lifted up. Christ, and him crucified, must be preached as the way, the truth and the life, in all the world for a witness. As God purposed, so shall it come to pass, and. who shall disannul it? And the reason God hath purposed it is, “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Poor sinner, who ever you are, and regardless of how deep the dye of your sin may be, the hope of your salvation is fulfilled and is complete in every sense of the word in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We could continue on, ad infinitum, with our illustrations from Holy Writ regarding the types and prophecies of our Lord and the glory of his kingdom, but discretion dictates that we come direct now to our text. Daniel, in keeping with all of the prophets, was foretelling what should come to pass in that great, and notable day of our Lord, concerning which each and every prophet in his own time and way testified. Daniel said, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” We are persuaded that he had reference to the time when Jesus was to be manifested in the flesh, for he it was who was to stand up for and in the stead of those chosen in him before the foundation of the world; he it was who was to partake and drink even to its bitter dregs of that cup which the Father had given him in the counsels of eternity, and concerning which, because of the weakness of his humanity, he was made to cry, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as will, but as thou wilt.” Luke tells us that “being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” What scenes we view in the garden of Gethsemane, and then follow him on to Calvary, where he was suspended between heaven and earth, between two thieves, with his hands and his feet nailed to that awful cross, and a sword piercing his side, that his life's blood might flow out as a ransom for as many as his Father had given him. Surely that was a time of trouble such as the world has never known, before nor since, nor will ever know again. Is it any wonder that even the sun should go into hiding and that total darkness should cover the face of the earth? It was at that time that he delivered his people. He did not do all of this only to make a way of salvation possible, or to make an offer of salvation, but to actually deliver every one that shall be found written in the book.

Daniel then went on to say, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” This that is spoken of in the second verse of our text, was to take place at the same identical time that that in the first verse was to occur. In our opinion they cannot be separated, and neither do we desire to tear them apart. In the famous vision of the valley of dry bones which God gave to Ezekiel, the true condition of the whole house of Israel (Ezek. xxxvii. 11) both Jew and Gentile, as they stand in nature, was clearly portrayed. We are told that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” - 1 Cor. ii.,14. Therefore, as we stand in Adam, we are as destitute of spiritual life as the bones, which were said to be very dry were destitute of natural life. Daniel was prophesying of what was to come to pass when the new day dawned, when the Sun of Righteousness would arise with healing in his wings, and this no doubt had special reference to the Gentiles who all down through the centuries had been asleep to the things of, God. To the Jews were committed the oracles of God, but not even they fully understood what the Spirit in them did testify. The Gentile part of the church, being manifestly without God and without hope in the world, and with but only a few references made to her were indeed asleep and laid dormant all down through the ages of time Even such references as appeared her sad plight. Take, for instance, where Solomon said, “We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?” - Solomon's Song viii. 8. She was spoken for when Jesus came and broke down the middle wall of partition which separated the Jew from the Gentile; she that was afar off was brought nigh by the blood of Christ, and since then the Gentiles have been no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God. Adam was formed of the dust of the ground, and as they stand in him there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile, they are both corrupt, and there is none good, no, not one, but as they stand in Jesus Christ they are all members of one body, for it is in him that they live and move and, have their being. Jesus came to quicken those who were dead in sin and to raise them up and cause them to walk in newness of life. We do not believe that our text has the slightest reference to the raising of these dust bodies after the close, or end, of the gospel dispensation, but we do believe that it refers to the coming of Jesus and the establishing of his gospel church. John had reference to the same event that Daniel was writing about when he said, “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” John was then beholding a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. The books signified the law, which only condemns, but the book of life was significant of the gospel. When Jesus came and set up his church he separated the sheep from the goats, the wise from the foolish, and the living from the dead. When the gospel is preached today, it divides between the precious and the vile. John says, “He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” - John iii. 8.

If any doubt should linger in the minds of any regarding the fulfillment of the law and the prophecies by Jesus, it would seem to us that it should be dispelled once and for all time by the example of Jesus himself. He took Peter, James and John with him up on the mount of transfiguration, and there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Moses and Elias unquestionably represented the law and the prophets. Peter wanted to, build three tabernacles as a lasting memorial of all three of them, but God would have none of this, and we are told that a bright cloud overshadowed them, and that a voice out of the cloud spoke, and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” - Matt. xvii. 5. And when the cloud was lifted, or disappeared, they saw no man save Jesus only. It would seem from this that neither Moses nor Elias were to be given any further recognize from this time henceforth.

Isaiah was prophesying of Jesus when he said, “For unto us a child it born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” And this same prophet as made a mouthpiece for Israel in his day when he prayed so fervently, saying, “Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence. ” - Isaiah lxiv. 1. This prayer was heard and, answered when God's dear Son came to earth and redeemed his people. It was as impossible for Israel then to keep the law, with all of its exacting demands, as it was to remove mountains, but they had faith to petition their God for his aid. When Jesus came and fulfilled the law he said to his disciples, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain [meaning thereby the law with all its requirements], Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible you.”

When we have faith to look to Jesus and to believe in the efficacy of his cleansing blood, even though our sins may rise up as mountains before us, or the keeping of the law be utterly impossible so far as we are concerned, there is no obstacle so great but what it will melt and fade away as the snow beneath the summer's sun, if Jesus will smile and bid us come to him.

Elder R. Lester Dodson
Signs of the Times - May 1941