By Harry Bultema
I’ve made a discovery and I am going to pass it on to you. It is this: in regard to all the great and important facts of truth, God has in the simple comparison “AS … SO” said how they are or shall be. There is one exception to this rule and that is the incomparable Mystery of the Body of Christ. Speaking then on the two little words “as” and “so,” I wish to present to you seven comparisons. If you remember them, you will find that this is the most, or one of the most, instructive Bible studies I have ever preached.
The first comparison centers around the words, “AS … SO” – the Anti-Semitism found in Isaiah 29:8 where we read:
“It shall be AS when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or AS when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul has appetite, SO shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against Zion.”
Here is a hungry man who has a sweet dream. He dreams, and oh, it is so real! In the dream he is partaking of a delicious meal but he awakens and is still hungry. What a disappointment and disillusionment. The thirsty man also has a dream in which he refreshingly partakes of the sparkling cool water, but upon awakening he is as thirsty as before. Then we read, “SO shall the multitude of nations be that fight against Mt. Zion.” These nations have dreams of great riches to be obtained through the plundering of Israel partly returned to Palestine but the Lord will suddenly visit these nations with thunder, earthquakes, great noise, storm, tempest, as well as the flame of devouring fire. This great expedition of nations against Israel is described in detail in Ezekiel 38 & 39 where we find that many nations under the leadership of Rosh (Russia) go to the Holy Land against Israel in order to get much rich plunder, but they suddenly will be disillusioned by the return of the Lord of Hosts to vindicate His people.
The Second of God’s comparisons and commentaries is found in Isaiah 52:14-15:
“As many were astonied at Thee; His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of Men: SO shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him, for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.”
This is the “AS … SO” of Christ’s humiliation and exaltation. Once His visage or face was marred more than any man or unlike that of a man. When they had smitten Him and pressed the crown of thorns on His head, He did not look like a human being any more and many were astonished, appalled and amazed when they looked at Him. The Lord of Glory, whose face reflected the glory of God looking not like a man, but, rather, looked as a bleeding, beaten brute! What a wondrous condescension! What depths He went to in order that He might carry away the sins of the world! He suffered so much that He might deliver unworthy Israel, which hated Him without a cause.
He loved the world.
He loved Israel, but the circle narrows:
He loved the Church and gave Himself for it.
He was willing to bear all this ignominy and reproach in order that He might have for Himself a Church someday without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
Blessed is he who can still make the circle of Christ’s love still more narrow and say with the Apostle Paul: “The Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.” “SO shall He sprinkle many nations.” The “SO” of verse 15 corresponds with the “AS” of verse 14. The Divine argument and commentary is this: As many were once amazed at His degradation, so shall many kings be astonished when they see His glory in His second coming. We are told that they shall shut their mouths. It is the custom of many to lay their hands upon their mouths when amazed.
Much has been written on the sprinkling of the many nations. This does not refer to His first but to His second coming. Many have translated the word “startled,” “purified,” but the Hebrew word occurs elsewhere 19 times and always in the sense of “sprinkling” with the view to ceremonial purification.
Bearing in mind the argument that AS His suffering and sorrow were beyond all measure in His first coming, SO shall His glory and redeeming power be large at His second coming. The result of bloodshed in Israel was always sprinkling. There were, in Israel, two kinds of sprinkling; the blood and the water. After the bloodshed of the animal, the blood was sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat once a year on the Day of Atonement. This blood indicated that the sins of the people had been expatiated b the blood. In the cases of the leper and the serving Levite, there was the sprinkling of water, indicating the cleansing of inward pollution of sin. The water stands for the cleansing power of the Word. The sprinkled blood was God-ward, the water man-ward, and after Christ died for us, He cleanses us inwardly by His Word and Spirit. He will apply the power of His blood and Word and Spirit to all the nations of the earth. He will purge the sins of all the nations in His day and by virtue of that fact, He will indeed startle and amaze all the people and their leaders to such an extent that they will shut their mouths in amazement before Him.
The Third Comparison: “AS … SO” of the Cross of Christ we find in John 3:14:
“And AS Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, EVEN SO must the Son of Man be lifted up.”
This is God’s commentary on the Cross. There was ruin because of rebellion and remedy with recovery in the desert; we find all this in the Cross of Christ. In the desert there was sin and Satan and a seeing by faith accompanied by salvation; these are also found in the Cross. In the desert there was a helpless people for Moses and the Law could not come to their rescue, neither could Aaron with ritual. The crying, weeping, praying, preaching, waiting, worshipping could not heal. The only cure was in a “look at the Crucified One” as exemplified in the brazen serpent. The virgin birth was there for the serpent was not forged with men’s hands but came as a mold out of the fire. The sinless Christ was there for we find that the brazen serpent had no sting, no poison, no venomous bit. The exaltation of Christ was there for the serpent was “lifted up.” Grace was there for it was gratis for all. They were not called upon to pay or pray, plan or prepare. It was absolutely free for all—old and young. The foolishness of the Cross is there for how could brass heal the venomous snake bite? The perfect remedy and Redeemer are seen there because even the blind or broken eye could look. So is the Cross, Beloved.
The Fourth “AS … SO” of the Resurrection of Christ we find in Matthew 12:40:
“For AS Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
The resurrection of Christ is altogether of unique importance.
It creates the new creation,
corroborates the Old Testament,
authenticates Christ’s Word, His Work,
verifies all Christianity,
demonstrates His deity and Sonship,
pledges our resurrection,
standardizes our power,
seals our hope,
sustains us under every trial,
and fills us with joy unutterable.
Christ Himself has linked this great fact of history with the story that sounds “fishy” to modern ears. But, listen as Jonah came miraculously out of the sea monster and became a blessing to the metropolis of Nineveh – SO did Christ come forth from the dead and grave and became a blessing to the world, and shall in the future bring salvation to the whole world.
The Fifth “AS … SO” of the two Adams you find greatly emphasized in Romans 5:12-21.
The first Adam brought rebellion SO the last Adam brought Redemption;
The first Adam brought sorrow, the last Adam joy;
The first Adam brought death, the last Adam life.
The whole Bible is a story of the two Adams, and it is of supreme importance for every believer to see this and realize that God is all through with the old Adam. Everything that springs from the old Adam is under the displeasure, wrath, and judgment of God. In the person of His Son, He nailed the old Adam to the cursed tree. He forsook Him there and fully dealt with Him in judgment. The Cross marked the legal death of Adam and the old creation.
The resurrection of our Lord, on the other hand, was legally the rising of the new creation under the Headship of Christ Jesus the Lord. Adam was the federal head of the old, Christ is the Head of the new creation. Glory to His Name! Under what Headship are you? If you are under Adam’s Headship, you stand utterly condemned with the old creation. If you are under the Headship of Christ, there is no condemnation. You must know where you stand.
The Sixth “AS …. SO” of service you find in the words of John 17:18:
“AS Thou hast sent Me into the world, EVEN SO have I also sent them into the world.”
What a remarkable statement! You know how Christ was sent into the world. He was in the bosom of the Father but the Father did not spare Him, but gave Him up for us all. The Son Himself said, “Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God.” There was No rebellion, NO disobedience, but a perfect willingness to fulfill the hard mission the Father had laid upon Him and He knew what the will of the Father contained. He knew what unspeakable anguish and sorrow, what enmity and desolation awaited Him on earth but He said, “I come to do Thy will.” This was evidently in contrast to the Devil’s four-fold “I Will” as we find recorded in Isaiah 14. The great cherub in Heaven followed his own will and became the Devil, hopelessly and irretrievably lost. The Son, on the other hand, did not say “I will” but “I come to do Thy will” and in that way He became the Lord of all and has a Name that is above every name.
Now, then, in light of these facts, we must view this “As …. SO” of service. This prayer of Christ was anticipating this whole age, and He says not only to the Disciples then and there, but also to you and me today. This is God’s Divine commentary on service and oh, that it might burn deeply and indelibly into our heats and lives! We would never, no never, satanically say in our lives and deeds “I will,” but we would say “I am here to do Thy will.” Our bodies and souls would be fully yielded to His sweet will and every believer would be a flaming evangel of God.
Let us remember that Christ meant just what He said. Here is no hyperbolic or exaggerated way of speaking, but it is a sober fact infallibly and Divinely stated to be acted upon by you and me. May God help us to be like Him in yielding to God’s will.
And Finally the Seventh Compromise we find in Hebrews 9:27-28, God’s “AS …. SO” concerning Christ’s return.
“And AS it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: SO Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many: and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”
The AS …. SO of Luke 17:26 is well known: “And AS it was in the day of Noe, SO shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man.” The latter refers to the days prior to the Lord’s return. As the first world of Noah was a world lasting 1,656 years, so shall it be in the final stage of this age: the curtain going down with the Lord’s return. This speaks volumes in itself but we want to remind you yet of God’s appointment as the wages of sin is death.
It is an undeniable fact that God has kept His appointments for about six-thousand years. The two exceptions confirm the rule, and even Elijah and Enoch will yet lie dead for three days in the streets of Jerusalem. The real exception to this rule is the Body of Christ because Paul whispered a secret to the believers in the year 60 A.D. and said, “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” That means that the generation living when the Lord appears for His own and who are prepared to meet Him shall not die but shall suddenly be translated like Enoch and Elijah and like the Lord Himself ; we shall appear with Him in Glory (Col. 2:4).
The point of Hebrews 9:27-28 is, however, that just as certainly as God kept His appointment with death, so He gave up Christ to die for us, and surely the crucified Christ will return. Christ’s second coming is just as sure as death and the Cross of Calvary.
How clear God has made things for us in His own Word! The Bible is often hard to be understood because of our unbelief and our unwillingness to take God at His Word. May all His people tremble at His Word! And may all of His people, who are reading this Bible Brief, come to the Lord Jesus Christ today. He is ready to receive you in grace full and free just as you are.
Will you then, my dear friend, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).