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Contract
Because their sins were
not first-degree felonies, Jesus offered to die
in Adam and Eve’s place, and not only for
them, but for the sins of their corporation
– the generations of offspring that would be
forthcoming. (Romans 5:12) The Father accepted
Jesus’ offer. (Psalm 2:7-12) A “blood
contract” between the Father and Jesus was
signed. In essence, the contract contains these
provisions:
(a) At an appointed time,
Jesus would die. As an eternal member of the
Godhead, He would give up His everlasting life
and cease to exist so that all submissive sinners
could have His life. Thus, the demands of the
law, a life for a life, would be fulfilled.
(b) Because of
Adam’s sin, Earth itself must be cursed so
that man’s environment would correspond with
man’s decline in health and longevity.
(c) Because Adam and Eve
were put under the curse of sin, every child
(with exception of Jesus) has come from the womb
with a rebellious nature. Fallen man cannot give
birth to unfallen children. This means that
before anyone was born into the human corporation
(the family of Adam and Eve), he or she was
cursed with a sinful nature.
(d) If Jesus was
successful in redeeming man (and there was the
possibility of failure), the Father promised to
resurrect Him from the dead as a gift, the Father
would give the world and everything in it to Him.
(John 17: 4-8; Hebrews 1:2) Note: A number of
pastors claim that Jesus did not die on the cross
because divinity cannot die. Jesus disagrees.
(Revelation 1:18)
Atonement
On the very day
that Adam and Eve sinned, Jesus came looking for
the guilty pair offering the plan of salvation
instead of the sword of justice. Keep in mind;
the sword of justice will surely come because the
stay of execution is not indefinite. The bad news
for Adam and Eve was that they had lost their
righteous nature, their garden home, their
face-to-face communion with their Creator, and
the access to the Tree of Life that enabled them
to live endlessly. The good news was that their
execution had been stayed, and even better, the
restoration of everything that had been lost was
possible! Jesus carefully explained the situation
to two “naked” felons. To make life on
Earth possible, Jesus terminated the perpetual
forces of life that He established at Creation
(this is the meaning of a curse), so that the
cycles of sin’s consequences might be
shortened. Last, Jesus explained that He was
their only hope. If they wanted to regain all
that had been lost, they had to put their faith
in Him and surrender to His commands.
I can imagine Jesus
saying, “If you trust me and believe in my
future sacrifice for your sins, then you must
show your faith by killing an atonement symbol (a
lamb) at the times appointed.” Jesus then
showed a naked Adam how to conduct a worship
service. Adam transferred his sin and the sin of
Eve by placing his hands on the head of the lamb
and confessing their sins. Then, Jesus * killed
the first lamb and took the warm skin of the lamb
to cover their nakedness. (Genesis 3:21) Through
this marvelous demonstration, Jesus helped the
pair to understand the plan of salvation. The
penalty for sin, which Adam and Eve were supposed
to suffer, immediately was transferred to the
lamb. The nakedness of the first two sinners was
covered with a robe representing the
righteousness of Christ, which would be provided
by His future sinless life. I can imagine that
when Jesus closed this tearful meeting, He
summoned two attending angels to immediately
escort Adam and Eve out of the garden. The only
things they carried out of the garden were their
memories and the robes that Jesus gave to them.
As the guilty pair walked away from their lovely
home, I am sure they were bent over with anguish
and tears of remorse. That first night outside
the garden must have been more sorrowful than
anything we can imagine.
Of course, the sacrifice
of a created animal cannot atone for sin, nor can
animal blood wash away the guilt of sin. (Hebrews
10:4) From the beginning of sin, the killing of a
lamb was required object lesson demonstrating
what Jesus would do for the human race at the
right time. Jesus was The Lamb of God and the
Father required everyone, who wanted salvation,
to kill a perfect lamb at appointed times to
demonstrate faith in His promise to give us
Jesus! (John 3:16) Many Christians have been led
to believe that during a “dispensation of
law,” animal sacrifices atoned for sin. The
Bible does not teach this. The killing of a
flawless lamb was an act of submission to
God’s demand and this act, if accompanied
with heartfelt sorrow for sin and restitution to
the victim, showed faith in God’s promise.
(Hebrews 11:4)
How
Corporate Intercession Works
Adam
and Eve’s first son was named Cain. On the
basis of Jesus’ contract with the Father,
Cain was not killed on the day that he committed
his first sin, nor was Cain killed when he
murdered his brother, Abel. Let us be clear about
this. Corporate intercession was put into place
BEFORE Cain was born and this is why sinners have
been able to live a natural life span without
being destroyed ever since. Unfortunately, our
stay of execution has led millions of Christians
to believe there will be no execution! This is a
great deception. Execution day will surely come. “If
anyone’s name was not found in the book of
life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation
20:15)
Back
to the Two Altars
Previously, the presence
of two altars in the earthly temple was
discussed, which explained the necessity of two
levels of atonement for man’s salvation. The
golden Altar of Incense was the corporate altar.
The priests did not place offerings for an
individual’s personal sins on this altar.
The bronze Altar of Burnt Offerings was for the
personal sins of individuals. The value of these
two altars is seen in their metallic
construction. Gold is of much greater value than
bronze, so the service at the Altar of Incense is
of utmost importance! Both altars were designed
as object lessons or teaching aids. (Galatians
3:24) The sacrifices placed on the bronze Altar
of Burnt Offering pointed forward to the
death of Jesus for individuals. The daily
offering of incense and occasional blood* on the
golden Altar of Incense pointed backward
to the day when Jesus became Intercessor of the
whole world – before the first sinful child
was born.
* Note:
The Bible does not clarify whether blood from the
morning and evening sacrifices was applied to the
horns of the golden Altar of Incense each day.
However, the Bible does reveal that blood was
applied to the golden Altar of Incense at special
times (Leviticus 4), and that the Altar of
Incense was cleansed on the Day of Atonement.
(Leviticus 16) We also know that a special
incense with a delightful aroma was used on this
altar each day. This is why it was named the
Altar of Incense. (Exodus 30:37)
6. Holding Back
God’s Wrath: The only thing that is holding
back the wrath of God against the whole world is
the corporate intercession Jesus executes at the
golden Altar of Incense. John saw an angel,
representing the ministry of Jesus, standing at
the golden Altar of Incense. When Jesus is
“taken out of the way.” (2
Thessalonians 2:7) the censer at the golden Altar
of Incense in Heaven will be thrown down. This
indicates that no further atonement will be
offered on that corporate altar. God’s wrath
will then break out on mankind and millions will
suddenly perish in the global earthquake and the
judgment events that follow.
“Another angel, who
had the golden censer, came and stood at the
altar. He was given much incense to offer, with
the prayers of all the saints, on the golden
altar before the throne. The smoke of the
incense, together with the prayers of the saints,
went up before God from the angel’s hand.
Then the angel took the censer, filled it with
fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth;
and there came peals of thunder, rumblings,
flashes of lightening and an earthquake.”
(Revelation 8:3-5)
The easy part to
understand in these verses is the physical part.
When the censer is cast down in Heaven’s
temple, the whole world will experience four
physical phenomena. There will be deafening peals
of thunder, rumblings [loud voices heard
speaking], flashes of lightening all over the sky
and a global earthquake. The terror caused by
these phenomena and the destruction caused by
this global earthquake cannot be calculated. This
earthquake will mark the beginning of the Great
Tribulation, so the casting down of the censer in
Heaven’s temple signals the end of corporate
intercession.
Of course, Jesus does not
suddenly annihilate everyone. Instead, He will
use His wrath, mixed with mercy, to rescue as
many people as possible during the 1,260 days
that follow. Then, at the close of mercy (the
seventh trumpet), services at the bronze Altar of
Burnt Offering in Heaven will be terminated and
every sin will have been assigned – either
to the head of the sinner or the head of the
scapegoat.
Summary
This study has examined
six topics that enable us to understand why the
censer at the golden Altar of Incense will be
thrown down:
1. The full
cup principle
2. Jesus’
present ministry in Heaven’s temple
3.
The necessity of two altars and two levels of
atonement in the temple
4.
Individuals can become a corporation
5.
God granted a stay of execution the day Adam and
Eve sinned
6.
The wrath of God has been restrained because of
the corporate intercession of Jesus at
Altar of Incense on behalf of the entire world.
If
you understand these six concepts, then you will
understand whythe censer will be thrown down and
what the consequences will be. One more question.
Would you like to know when it will be thrown
down? Here is the answer: “So you also must
be ready, because the Son of Man will come [to
the close of corporate intercession] at an hour
when you do not expect him [to do so].” (Matthew
24:44, insertions mine) Please think about this:
The casting down of the censer (for corporate
Earth) is the equivalent to the door closing on
the ark in Noah’s day. This is why Jesus
said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it
will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in
the days before the flood, people were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to
the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew
nothing about what would happen until the flood
came and took them all away. That is how it will
be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew
24:37-39) According to Daniel 12:11,12, the
Second Coming of Jesus is an event that lasts
1,335 days. The casting down of the censer marks
the beginning of this event. So, do your best to
be watching, working and waiting.
*
Note: The Bible teaches there are three
types of sin and three degrees of guilt in
God’s sight. Briefly, the three types
of sin are sins of ignorance (Leviticus 4:13,14),
accidental sin (Romans 7:19; 1 John 5:17) and
willful sin (James 4:17; Romans 5:12). Of course,
the penalty for sin is death and this explains
why two goats were used on the Day of Atonement.
One goat died to pay the penalty for those who
had faithfully transferred their sins to the
temple. The other goat, the scapegoat, died as
the one responsible for the presence of sin in
the temple. Someone has to pay for sin. On the
other hand, the degree of guilt is determined by
circumstance. For example, if a person is enticed
to sin, the guilt of the tempter is greater than
the guilt of the victim. (Matthew 18:6)
Therefore, Lucifer’s guilt in leading Eve to
sin was greater than Eve’s guilt. This also
explains why Adam’s guilt was greater than
Eve’s guilt. (Romans 1:32) Adam was not
deceived by Lucifer, as was Eve. Out of love for
Eve, he choose to suffer her fate. Adam did not
stand before God and defy an order. Adam tenderly
loved Eve and when he saw that Eve had been
deceived, he chose to suffer her fate. Adam
willfully sinned, but he did not defiantly sin.
This is why God permitted the plan of salvation
to be invoked on Adam and Eve’s behalf. On
the other hand, God patiently dealt with
Lucifer’s growing disaffection for many
years until the day came when Lucifer defied
God’s direct order. The possibility of
salvation was not extended to Lucifer and his
angels because their sin was premeditated –
openly defiant. Even in our courts, we
differentiate the sin of murder by degrees
of guilt. For example, first-degree murder
is premeditated murder whereas third degree
murder is defined as having no intent to murder.
Like first-degree murder, second-degree murder is
premeditated murder, but the penalty for second
degree is lesser than first degree murder because
circumstances determine the degree of
guilt. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.)
*
Note: It is my understanding that Jesus,
on behalf of the Father, killed the first lamb. I
offer this explanation because the Father
required the life of Jesus for our atonement.
(Adam and Eve did not negotiate with God on the
plan of salvation.) Jesus is called “The
Lamb of God” because the Father required the
death of a perfect substitute. On the cross, the
life of Jesus did not end because of the weight
of sin, or the punishing treatment of Jews and
Romans, even though that was their murderous
intent. The Father actually took the life of
Jesus after Jesus submitted His life to the
Father. (Consider these texts! Men did not kill
Jesus. Luke 23:46; John 10:18) This matter is
wonderfully paralleled in the sacrificial story
of Abraham (the Father) and Isaac (the son) on
Mount Moriah. (Genesis 22)
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