Athen's Library

THE SECOND ADVENT

THE COMING OF “ONE LIKE THE SON OF MAN”

Number 1

Galatians Chapter 4

Hello friend,

‘...till the seed should come to whom the promise was made’.

This letter is to explain who the promised seed is.

You read, Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Galatians 3:16-19

Now to Abraham and his seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:16

Before we can understand this letter we have to understand that Abraham and Christ were both given the same promises. Abraham was promised that his descendants would be as the sands of the sea. When the children of Israel; came out of Egypt they were an unnumbered company some people say there were one million some say two million and more. Christ is also given this promise and Revelation says, After this (sealing of 144,000) I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; Revelation 7:9.

Abraham was promised an heir, And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house (servant) is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. Genesis 15:3-4. Christ was also promised an heir, you and I are servants of Christ but the promise came, These ...shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

Abraham had a son by his Egyptian servant; the son of the bondmaid. Christ has children by the Egyptian (worldly servant).  Ellen White says ...The church has turned back from following Christ her leader, and is steadily retreating toward Egypt. Yet few are alarmed or astonished at their want of spiritual power. Doubt and even disbelief of the testimonies of the Spirit of God is leavening our churches everywhere. Satan would have it thus. 5 Testimonies 217.

For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. Galatians 4:22.  God told Abraham to offer His son by the freewoman.  Paul says, By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises (which is Christ) offered up his only begotten son, Hebrews 11:17. How does Christ offer His Son? If we go to the law that was added, we find the law of the “kinsman redeemer”.  The kinsman redeemer (Christ) has a son in the name of the dead (Adam). This heir is heir of both fathers; as heir of Adam, the first righteous Son of a righteous father and mother (both by Christ and through Christ), He removes the crown or authority from Satan’s head. Genesis 3:15.

One more thing And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. Revelation 6:2.  This one on the white horse is Adam but the main application is to Christ the second Adam; He has a bow but without arrows how can He conquer anything?  Psalms says, As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. Psalms 127:4-5. Christ goes forth conquering with His arrows, the ones by a bondmaid and the other by the freewoman; Paul says, And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ... Romans 8:17.  The bondmaid’s children are to be “joint-heirs with Christ” this is Christ the heir not Christ the “testator”.  Jesus says, Whosoever shall receive this child (Christ) in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great. Luke 9:48.  This child in “my name” is Christ Jr. and the prophecies of Christ bounce back and forth between the Father (Christ) and the Son (Christ).

Now back to our subject. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.  This says the promises were given to Abraham and Christ. Then it says, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.  Because the promises were given to both Abraham’s seed and Christ’s seed both must have an application to the promise to bring the law to an end. Daniel says, speaking of the Messiah, And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease... Daniel 9:27.

For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. Hebrews 10:1.

Abraham’s seed, which is Christ, is the shadow, so then Christ’s seed which is Christ Jr., is the very image. The problem with man’s theology is that we become content as soon as we comprehend the shadow (or symbol) refusing to look to see the very image that is casting this shadow, (the reality). With this kind of theology we do not need type and antitype to have our version of the truth, but remember “Where there is no type there is no truth” (See Ecclesiastes 3:14-15)

The people whom God had called to be the pillar and ground of the truth had become representatives of Satan. They were doing the work that he desired them to do, taking a course to misrepresent the character of God, and cause the world to look upon Him as a tyrant. The very priests who ministered in the temple had lost sight of the significance of the service they performed. They had ceased to look beyond the symbol to the thing signified. In presenting the sacrificial offerings they were as actors in a play. The ordinances which God Himself had appointed were made the means of blinding the mind and hardening the heart. God could do no more for man through these channels. The whole system must be swept away.”  Desire of the Ages 36

The modern church is repeating the history of Ancient Israel,  The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ.-- Review and Herald, 1890.  Satan’s snares are laid for us as verily as they were laid for the children of Israel just prior to their entrance into the land of Canaan. We are repeating the history of that people. — 5 Testimonies 160.  Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Isaiah 41:21-22

As long as we are satisfied with only the shadow we don’t have to, “shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come”.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6).  Here is a prophecy of the Messiah and it says that the Messiah is “The everlasting Father”.

And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s. Obadiah 1:21.

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. 1 John 2:22-23.

This says that Jesus is both the Father and He is also a Son; to deny that Jesus is going to have a Son is putting ourselves in the place belonging to the Son, making us antichrist. Jesus tells us, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name (Christ) receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me...  Luke 9:48  The coming of this child in Jesus’ name is the Second Advent for Ellen White tells us, Like the tidings of the Saviour’s birth, the message of the second advent was not committed to the religious leaders of the people. They had failed to preserve their connection with God, and had refused light from heaven; therefore they were not of the number described by the apostle Paul: “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5).  Great Controversy 315.

And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit; and she lifted up her voice with a loud cry, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Luke 1:41-42.  Jesus is the fruit of Mary’s womb. And as such He is called ‘the seed of the woman’ but this is true only in symbols.  We all know that the fruit contains the seed.  Because Jesus contains the seed, His heir (child in my name) is the literal ‘seed of the woman’.

The literal understanding of the woman of Revelation 12 is not being taught because we are too comfortable with our symbolical understanding.  In symbols the woman is either Mary or the church and Jesus is the child and no matter how hard we try we can not make this the reality because both Mary and the Jewish church were in bondage.  Some try to get around this by saying this woman is the Christian church which is free, but then how can the church Jesus started, some 30 years after His birth, give birth to Him?  We must not mix the symbols with the literal.  The literal woman is the freewoman of Galatians 4 making Her Child the son of the freewoman.  Revelation 12 in symbols is the Old Covenant; while in the literal it is the New Covenant according to Galatians 4.

Because the Sacrifices pointed to Christ we don’t think of Christ having anything to do with symbols. If the plan of salvation had ended at the cross, as some believe; then Christ would not occupy the position of a “symbol”, “type” or “shadow”.  But because the plan of salvation is on-going through the judgment for the dead and the judgment for the living, He does occupy that position during the judgment.

In Hebrews it says, By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, (seed Isaiah 53:10) Hebrews 11:17.  He that received the promise is Abraham’s seed, which is Christ. So when Christ’s seed comes then the law that was added will be taken away; this is a two part promise and belongs to both Abraham’s seed and Christ’s seed.  For God (Christ) so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (Child in my name), that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16.  (This is the antitype)

Isa 53:8 says, He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? Verses 10 through 11 say, Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:

Who shall declare his generation?  Will you declare (proclaim) his generation? The Hebrew Bible says descendants (Acts 8:33).  Jesus said, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great. Luke 9:48.  Jesus also said. I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. John 5:43.  Paul tells us, Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts 4:12.  Because Jesus came in His Father’s name and He sends the child or seed in His name then salvation comes through the “Family name”.  Paul says, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, Ephesians 3:15.  Would you be willing to answer Isaiah’s question in the affirmative? “Who shall declare his generation?”

When the Son of God was presented to the Angels as being born of God, in Heaven, Lucifer refused to accept the birth of the Son; in so doing he rejected the position belonging to the Son and demanded to be brought into all of the councils of the Family of God. This rejection was directed against the Spirit giving birth; in doing this he sinned against the Holy Spirit, the unpardonable sin. This sin separated him and finally caused him and those who took his side to be cast out of Heaven. Lucifer has brought this lie with him and has caused the human family to reject the Son of God being born of God in both type and antitype. Jesus said, That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:6.  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:14.

After God had presented His Son and had told the Angels in Heaven that He was born of God; God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:26-27.

In his own image male and female.  This creation of Man, flesh, was to show the universe of the birth of the Spirit but sin came into the World and man could not bring forth a birth of righteous people, (harvest). The Son of God (the only begotten of the Father) said that He would take on human flesh and do the work that Man (and called their name Adam, Genesis 5:2) failed to accomplish. Christ, the Son of God, has done part of this work by taking on the sins of this World and dying the death that the law demands. The rest of this work has to do with the “Second Advent” the coming of “one like the Son of Man”. John says.  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. The judgment comes in two parts. First the book work of the dead by the Messiah that died, then the judgment of the living by the Messiah that lives, to make an Atonement with Him.  (Leviticus 16:10).

Like Adam entered into a deep sleep and was divided male and female so Christ when He entered into the deep sleep on the cross was divided male and female. Christ said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.  John 12:24.  ‘It abideth alone’.  Christ died so He did not abide alone. In John, before Jesus’ death, it says, But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.  John 7:39.  After His resurrection Jesus said, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:  John 20:21-22.  Here we see that the promise of “Another Comforter”, Jesus’ helper, could not be given until after Jesus entered into the deep sleep. This “helper” is the woman of Revelation 12 and is the freewoman of Galatians 4, and her child is the promised “heir” that is tutored by the servants.

Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. ...For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. Galatians 4:1-30.

In the type or symbols

According to Paul the heir is the freewoman’s son or the Christians. ‘Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.’  The bondwoman’s children are from Mount Sinai in Arabia or the Israelites. The freewoman’s son or the Christians are under tutors and governors. The tutors and governors are of the bondwoman’s Son (servants) and do not recognize Jesus or His believers and say we are not their tutors, but the heir, (Son) says we know enough to be our own tutors and governors and bring about our own theology. This theology leaves out the kingdom that was promised through the prophets; saying that the stone of Daniel 2 is the second coming which it is, but Daniel says that it is God’s kingdom. Ellen White says, About that period Messiah was expected. By many he was looked for to come as a mighty monarch. The Jews had boasted to the Gentiles of his coming, and had dwelt largely upon the great deliverance which he would bring them, that he would reign as king, and put down all authority. Every kingdom and nation would bow to him, and the Jewish nation would reign over them. They had the events of the first and second comings of Christ confounded (confused, befuddled) together.  4aSG 115. Jesus said, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. Matthew 23:2-3.

Paul says, I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree? For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.  Romans 11:11-27.

Here Paul says, ‘That through Israel’s fall, salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy’, but by making their own gentile theology there is no way to make Israel jealous. Also Paul says,  ‘There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:’ This Deliverer is what this letter is all about.

In the literal

The heir is the Son, Jesus said, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me... Luke 9:48, and is under the tutors and governors of his servants the prophets. Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.  Amos 3:7.  The special resurrection of Daniel 12 comes and brings up the prophets so they can tutor the child; and according to verse 13 Daniel will also be there.  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. 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.  Daniel 12:1-2.

These servants tutor the Son, heir, concerning all the revelations that they have written and when the time appointed of the father comes then the Son rules with the Words (rule all nations with a rod of iron: Revelation 12:5) that He has learned. ‘I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father’. Everything in God’s plan has its appointed times.  John says, And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations... Revelation 12:5. (a mighty monarch)

One of the promises given to Abraham and his seed is, And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. Genesis 22:18.  This mighty monarch not only rules this World but in so doing He removes, Satan and his authority, the present ruler of this Earth. The Bible says, When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. Proverbs 29:2.

You see. ‘...till the seed should come to whom the promise was made’, is even greater than we even imagined.

Athen Slawson