JUDGMENT OF CURRENT CONDITIONS
[p. 455] JUDGMENT OF CURRENT CONDITIONS
Revelation 18:20; 2 Timothy 2:19 - 22; Numbers 16:1 - 43
JT What is in mind is to call attention to the spirit of judgment amongst the brethren, judgment of general conditions in the profession of christianity, conditions with which we have no power to deal in a general way, but with which God will deal in due course, and that according to our judgment. He values the judgment of His people. He will, of course, deal with these conditions according to His own mind, as the book of Revelation shows. Revelation teaches us how God will deal with the world as a whole, whether christendom or mohammedanism or heathendom. That book teaches us that God will deal with it in His own time, but He looks to us, to His people who love Him, to be with Him in the judgment. For this, each has to begin with himself, for what is in the world is just the extension of what is in each of our hearts naturally; so that in order to judge generally, each has to judge himself.
The verse read in Revelation 18 calls attention to the judgment of heaven, and of the apostles and prophets and saints, and they are to rejoice, for God has judged their judgment on Babylon. Paul, in writing the second epistle to Timothy, shows how that works out in each of us, how, as found in religious associations that are not according to God, that are Babylonish, we separate, that is, we express our judgment of the system by leaving it. We cannot execute judgment upon it, God alone can do that, but we judge it morally by leaving it. God respects, and in due course will honour, that action of withdrawal from iniquity. Numbers 16 gives us the type that covers all this, the great uprising among the people of God, with which [p. 456] they themselves were unable to deal, but God dealt with it. Moses and Aaron judged the evil, and God executed their judgment upon it. We see how God values His people judging what is contrary to Him.
HF How would you say a right judgment is acquired by the saints?
JT Well, I think that the epistle to the Romans teaches each of us how to judge himself. The gospel finds us guilty persons, for it is said, all are brought in guilty before God (Romans 3:19). The believer learns how to judge guilt by God’s treatment of himself, and how his guilt has been vicariously met in the death of the Lord Jesus, how that there was no other way for God to deal with sin and save the sinner but by a vicarious death; in this way one learns what sin is in the sight of God. That is Romans. The wrath of God is said to be revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of men; it is revealed from heaven. The believer escapes it because of faith in Christ. Christ died to bear the wrath for him, but in due course the wrath will be executed on the unbeliever according to God’s judgment of Christ when He was made sin for us, so that the cross is the measure of judgment. But then the saint also learns to judge the systems that men have built up, according to God’s judgment of sin in the believer himself. God would bring all His people round to His point of view. The Lord said, “Now is the judgment of this world” (John 12:31), before He died, and He would bring all His people to that. It gives great moral power and stability to the saints as arriving at this judgment. They are thus on the side of God.
WEM The great Babylonish system refuses to accept the rejection of Christ. She says, “I sit a queen, and am no widow”, (Revelation 18:7).
JT Yes. She is the false bride. The marriage [p. 457] of the Lamb does not take place until she is judged. She seems to embody all wickedness, especially of a corrupting nature.
FWK Are we to understand from the statement in Revelation 18:20, “God has judged your judgment upon her”, that the principles which they judged had been judged first in themselves? Every evil principle is to be found in my own heart, and unless I judge it there, I shall not form a true judgment as to anything around.
JT That is what I was thinking. Romans teaches the believer how to judge sin in himself. Corinthians teaches us how to judge it collectively, that is to judge it in the assembly, and 2 Timothy teaches us how to judge it when it has got out of hand in the assembly, when there is no power in the public body to deal with it; then the believer has to take a negative attitude towards it by withdrawing from it. He does that because of his deliberate judgment of it, and in that he is on God’s side, as shown in the book of Revelation. That is to say, the book of Revelation, particularly the addresses to the assemblies, is in view from the time that the assembly was unable to deal with the evil in itself. From the time these letters had to be written to them they have failed to judge in themselves the evil, and now all is waiting for God to judge it, and the believer or the overcomer in each assembly is taking sides with God, waiting for Him to come in. 2 Timothy is, as has often been remarked, the charter for God’s people when the public body is unable to deal with the evil within itself.
We cannot leave christendom but we can withdraw from iniquity, awaiting God’s time of dealing with the whole system. The seal, which the firm foundation of God has, is a sort of mandate which the Lord gives to everyone who loves Him today. It gives a moral authority to execute judgment,
[p. 458] not in a punitive way, but in a moral way, by withdrawing from the evil. The seal has two sides. One side is, “The Lord knows those that are his”, (2 Timothy 2:19). Every lover of Christ and lover of the saints is concerned about all who belong to the Lord Jesus, and is comforted in the knowledge that the Lord knows all of them, wherever they are. The other side of the seal is, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity”, so that he is on moral ground, but on authoritative ground in that sense. He has a mandate, and this constitutes what is of immense importance in the eyes of God at the present time. The greater the number of such persons in the world, the more moral power there is in the world.
FWK Would you say, while 2 Timothy gives us the mandate and the authority, the power of it is seen in John 16:8, where the Lord speaking of the Spirit says, “he will bring demonstration to the world, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”?
JT Exactly. The Holy Spirit coming in according to that chapter, brings demonstration to the world, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. He demonstrates the things, and 2 Timothy contemplates that the sin of christendom is demonstrated, the Holy Spirit operates to that end so that a judgment of it is formed, and I believe it is formed by the mandate I have been speaking of — it is there concretely. Whether in one or more, there is a true judgment of christendom. There is an evidence of the great sin that has headed up in Babylon.
FWK So that in acting according to 2 Timothy 2, we shall be acting in accord with what is said of the Spirit in John 16.
JT Quite so. How the Spirit brought this demonstration into the world was seen at Pentecost. The issue had been between Christ and the Jews,
[p. 459] and the Spirit coming to the disciples of Christ, identifying Himself with them, proved that God had approved Christ and condemned the Jews. He came in the form of cloven tongues of fire and sat on each of the saints. In that there was the demonstration of sin among the Jews as having rejected Christ. And so today those who are separate from evil, and thus supported by the Spirit, are a testimony against the iniquity of christendom.
HWL Would you say that the case of Ananias and Sapphira was an example of the power in the assembly to judge before it got out of hand?
JT Yes. The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was dealt with immediately. But later on there was not power to judge such sins, and hence the direction to the faithful was to withdraw from them.
JJB Why is the name of the Lord brought in in connection with this judgment?
JT Because it is the name under which divine administration is carried out down here. The Name involves all that the Person stands for in testimony: how He dealt with sin as meeting it in His service, and how He met it vicariously on the cross. As naming that Name, we must, to be consistent, withdraw from iniquity, and it is religious iniquity that is particularly in view, that is to say, evil allowed in the profession of christianity where the Lord’s name is nominally owned.
SJBC I suppose the spirit of withdrawing must be maintained in the assembly whenever evil comes in. It is not a question of excommunicating but of withdrawing.
JT That is right. It is the judgment we form and maintain. Wherever evil arises, according to the chapter in Timothy, we must, if identified with it, withdraw from it, and this judgment has to [p. 460] be maintained.
ALB Have you in mind in speaking of a mandate, that the act of separation from iniquity is not a sectarian movement, but carries divine authority?
JT That is the point; it carries divine authority. You have moral authority in what you are doing, you do not need to apologize, you have power to do it. The seal is ours — “having this seal” — God, we may say, furnishes us with it. The foundation of God has it and hence we can act on it with moral authority.
RB So in Numbers 16, it is Jehovah who calls upon Moses to separate.
JT I thought Numbers 16 would serve as the type covering all this of which we are speaking. The allusion is to the great uprising in the history of the assembly, where men assume to be priests because they are levites, that is to say, because a man preaches and teaches and has a charge, he assumes to be a priest to the exclusion of others. That is what is at the bottom of all the hierarchical system in christendom — the assumption that, because a man preaches and teaches, or has a gift from God, he is a priest, instead of recognizing that every christian is a priest, because he has the Spirit of God, and thus belongs to the house of Aaron (1 Peter 2:5). The house of Aaron refers to the saints as having the Spirit of God, they are “of Christ”.
WW A difficulty often expressed is that in our withdrawing, we leave behind other christians who are godly people.
JT Well, we do not withdraw from them. That is not the point. We are only sorry that they stay there. They should do the same thing, if they belong to the Lord. We give them a lead, and it is surely worth their while to consider that. Is there any ground for one withdrawing? If you are right in withdrawing from a certain position, I also should [p. 461] withdraw. You are not withdrawing from your brethren, you are withdrawing “from iniquity”, but lower down in the chapter, you withdraw from vessels “to dishonour”, that is, persons who are shown to be dishonourable to the Lord in what they hold or what they do.
SJBC In withdrawing from unrighteousness you must necessarily withdraw from those who do not withdraw from unrighteousness, because they are unrighteous, otherwise they also would withdraw.
JT Yes, if they remain in the unrighteous associations after they have a testimony rendered by one devoted christian withdrawing, they are doubly responsible. They have had testimony rendered to them as to the iniquity with which they are connected.
FGS Numbers 16 is very strong, is it not? It is “the tents of these wicked men”.
JT Well, you see what they represent. There were 250 men called princes of the congregation: persons answering in the history of the assembly to men who had a public position in the service, men of renown, and they were allied with Korah, who was a Levite. They formed a band. The word “band” is used several times in the chapter, meaning a party, a sect. They formed a band against Moses and Aaron, that is to say, against the authority of Christ and against the priesthood of Christ. That was the position. It is the religious position. Moses represents the Lord’s authority in the profession, Aaron His priesthood. That is what is refused, so that we have a great hierarchical system based on a nominal levitical position. They were like persons “ordained” to preach in the “churches”, and on account of that assume to be priests.
FF In 2 Timothy 2:19 it says: “The firm foundation of God stands”. Is that the firm footing upon which we [p. 462] move?
JT Yes. It is the fixedness of the foundation, so that a person who withdraws from iniquity is on solid ground in so doing. He is not leaving the true foundation of christianity, which is Christ, according to Matthew 16.
FF Would the firm foundation of God involve resurrection?
JT Yes. There could be no assembly without the death and resurrection of Christ. He is “marked out Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection of the dead”, (Romans 1:4). That is the immutable foundation of the assembly. It involves the Person of Christ, and gives assurance. People may say what they will, we are on firm ground.
HMcM Have we any right definitely to name the vessels to honour and dishonour in the great house?
JT Certainly. If I were in an association where a man denied the deity of Christ, for instance, or denied eternal punishment, or was guilty of something in the way of moral wickedness, I should name him. I should point him out.
HMcM What about godly souls who remain in the system? They do not see the truth of the assembly; can we name them as vessels to honour or dishonour?
JT A vessel to honour is one who separates from vessels to dishonour. He is marked off as separating from a vessel to dishonour and in separating from him, he names him. He makes it plain. That is not exactly the same as separating from iniquity, which is a condition; of course it is in persons, but in a collective sense. I would connect the iniquity with the system, the principle governing or leavening the system, which is contrary to the principle governing the assembly. Then there are those who are marked by some evil. They are not to escape. God is infinitely fair, and He would not [p. 463] classify every person in the system under the same heading. Many may be real christians, but unable or unwilling to follow the truth.
FWK In separating from an evil system, you would not attempt to pass a judgment upon the individuals connected with it. You act before God for yourself.
JT You do not regard all the individuals you leave in the system as vessels to dishonour. Some of them are the Lord’s, it may be, and unless you can point to something in them personally, you would not say anything, save that you would try to help them, “snatching them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh”, (Jude 23). You try to help them, try to convict them by what has convicted you.
MB So that the very movement out should be a help and encouragement to them to move the same way.
JT That is right. It gives a lead. If they are at all exercised, they will come and ask you, and that is a good opportunity to convey to them the truth and how the Lord helped you.
ALB Do I understand you rightly, that while you would say that a vessel to honour is distinguished by separating, you would not say that all who have not separated are vessels to dishonour?
JT You would not classify all as vessels to dishonour. You are hoping, if any belong to the Lord, that He will rescue them. Still, if they continue where they are, their faith is questionable.
ALB They have not proved themselves vessels to honour.
JT Exactly. If a man says, I have not heard the voice saying, “Come out”, I say, Why have you not heard it? There is a voice by the Holy Spirit sounding out, “Come out of her, my people”, (Revelation 18:4).
[p. 464] The Holy Spirit continues that appeal. If I do not hear it, it is because my spiritual hearing is not good.
SJBC Do you not think we ought to emphasize calling on the Lord (2 Timothy 2:22), more than we do? There may be the purging of ourselves from unrighteousness, and likewise following with those who call, but if there is not the spirit of dependence, we shall not be kept. Calling on the Lord out of a pure heart implies that the spirit of dependence is maintained.
JT Naming the name of the Lord, you withdraw from iniquity, that is, you are naming His name. “Let every one who names the name of the Lord”. That is your profession, and you want to be true to it, and in being true to it, you must withdraw from iniquity. Calling upon the Lord is invocation, asking for help. There are those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart and we are to follow righteousness, faith, love and peace with them.
SS I wondered if at the time of calling on the Lord you prove His name is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe.
JT Exactly. It is the ground we take. As having withdrawn, we are exposed. The enemy will double his attacks to overwhelm us, but there are those who call on the Lord. It does not say, if you can find them, it says, “with those” that do it, as if there are always those who were doing it. That is where the support is found. A pure heart is one purified by faith, marked by single motives, uprightness.
The next thought is in Numbers 16; “Even to-morrow will Jehovah make known”. It is in the future, but God is not necessarily deferring it, though He may do so on account of other things. What a night of exercise was that which intervened! It is His mercy that He is not acting in judgment immediately, but “tomorrow” holds. Jehovah will show, in fact He is showing every day, who are [p. 465] the true priests. That is the issue, as it says in the passage, “Even to-morrow will Jehovah make known who is his, and who is holy”. Faith understands that God is operating to make things manifest, and He is doing it every day; but the punitive judgment of God is coming, too. The verse in Revelation is not that He will judge, but that He has done it. “God has judged your judgment upon her”.
JAC It does not give time for delay, does it? You are called, and you are to answer to it and not to stay where you are.
JT Quite so. So that the word was, “To-morrow Jehovah will make known who is his, and who is holy”. The Lord knows those who are His, that is one thing, and He will show who is holy, that is the other. It is in separating, I prove myself to be holy. He will call attention to me if I do that.
FWK “Who is holy”. Does that correspond to those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart?
JT I think so.
FWK Are we then supposed to have capacity to know who is calling on the Lord out of a pure heart?
JT Well, that is the next thing. There are those who do it as the passage contemplates. It does not say, If you find them. You are supposed to know them, and that they really are calling on the Lord out of a pure heart. To find out what the state of the hearts may be, requires that I should get near to them.
RB Would 2 Timothy 1:7 help us? It reads, “God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, and of love, and of wise discretion”.
JT Yes. He has furnished us to meet current evil conditions.
Rem The attack of the enemy through Korah and his band is a very subtle one. They say: “for all the assembly, all of them are holy”.
JT Yes. It really is an assumption that people are holy in the flesh, and that is at the bottom of the priesthood in christendom; it is an assumption that one can be holy in the flesh without the Spirit of God. “All of them are holy”, he says. It is not true. That unconverted men may take ‘holy orders’ and be classified among the holy is a far-reaching deception. The question of holiness is involved in this matter, who are holy and who are not holy. Korah and his band say that all the Lord’s people are holy, but Moses says, Jehovah will make known who is holy.
EH Would you say how Korah and his band are defined today?
JT The daughters of Zelophehad, according to Numbers 27, tell Moses that their father did not die in that “band”. They differentiated between their father’s sin and the sin of “the band of Korah”. There are other sins abroad in christendom, but the sin of this band of Korah, is the worst. It is the great hierarchical uprising against the true priesthood of God. It is the great sin of christendom headed up in this system called Babylon in the book of Revelation. There are other sins, but these women, who sought their inheritance, knew the difference between the sin of Korah and the sin of their father. They did not hide the sin of their father, nor minimize it, but it was not the sin of Korah. They were free of that. It is a great band and built up against the authority of Christ and the priesthood of Christ; and it goes on, it is in full strength today.
EH It says in Numbers. 16, that they were “banded together against Jehovah”.
JT Quite so. It is against God, but specifically against Moses and Aaron. They were assuming that Moses and Aaron were selfish. They were assuming Moses was just wanting to be a prince among them,
[p. 467] whereas in truth he was just doing the will of God as His servant.
I think the Holy Spirit is especially helping the people of God today to maintain a judgment against Babylon. It is a very important matter, and the position it gives is very great in a moral sense, that you are standing out against the whole of christendom, the whole uprising against God: against Christ and against His priesthood.
EZB We should pray for spiritual discernment to be able to judge in ourselves and then around.
HMcM It says in Jude that with the gainsaying of Core, there was the error of Balaam and the way of Cain. Is not that very important to consider? It is the fruit of a course that has never been judged before God.
JT Yes. This rebellion is referred to in Jude, who has the great apostasy in mind. “They have gone in the way of Cain, and given themselves up to the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core”, (Jude 11). There is no doubt about it, God will deal with this terrible development.
Ques Will you say a little about the procedure here as to the censers?
JT Well, they are allowed the use of censers, and thus given an opportunity, so that they might be thoroughly convicted. Moses said to Korah, “Be thou and all thy band before Jehovah, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow. And take each his censer, and put incense thereon, and present before Jehovah every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; and thou, and Aaron, each his censer. And they took each his censer, and put fire on them, and laid incense thereon, and stood before the entrance to the tent of meeting, as well as Moses and Aaron”. They are given an opportunity — God showing His fairness — to show in their censers what they are, and it says, fire came [p. 468] out from Jehovah and consumed them. Verse 19 says, “Korah gathered the whole assembly against them to the entrance of the tent of meeting”. Instead of meeting the test, he exercises all the influence he has, and gathers all the people against Moses and against Aaron, and that is what the next paragraph means. Jehovah says, “I will consume them in a moment”. But notice that in verse 19 it is said, “the glory of Jehovah appeared to all the assembly”. It is a most comforting thought for those who love God, however few they may be, that the glory appears in their favour. We must look for that; God has His own way of showing where He is, and it is unmistakable to those who have eyes to see.
GW Would that fit in with the last two verses of 2 Timothy 2, the touching way the apostle refers to recovery? “If God perhaps may sometime give them repentance to acknowledgement of the truth?”
JT Quite so. If God comes in in that way, it is the manifestation of His glory. And He does. He has a way of acting in such circumstances, in crises among His people. He has a way of showing where He is at the needed time, so that everyone who has an eye, can see where God is, and that is very fine. Later on, in verse 42, so as to get the full bearing of this instruction, you get a further thing: “And it came to pass, when the assembly was gathered together against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of Jehovah appeared”.
Now there is a further thought, that God takes charge of the tabernacle. He says virtually, I am looking after the testimony. God will see to the testimony. The cloud covered it, and the glory appeared, and the next thing is Moses and Aaron went before the tent of meeting. That is, the service of God is resumed — a great matter. So that you have the full divine position reinstated. The judgment of [p. 469] God has secured the resumption of His service. We must not overlook that in the deliverance, there is the resumption of His service. Here Moses and Aaron go before the tent of meeting.
HF Why were the censers retained for broad plates for the altar?
JT The meaning of the broad plates is that they are to be a memorial against these sinners. That sort of thing must never be allowed, that is a word for us all — a man must not take up priesthood because he has a gift. The altar here represents the service of God. These broad plates are a testimony against the sin that has been judged here, so that we must never allow the clerical element. These broad plates are to testify against it.
FGS Would you say why it is God who acts in this chapter, whereas in the previous chapter the whole assembly stoned the man with stones?
JT Well, that indicates the change of position today, that instead of our assuming to act as the assembly, we acknowledge our weakness, we acknowledge we have no public ecclesiastical status. However many there may be, there is no public ecclesiastical status recognized. It is a remnant, and the attitude of a remnant is humility and weakness. They do not assume to act as the whole, but they keep themselves clear. They prove their holiness by separation, by refusing to walk with unholy persons.
FGS Would chapter 15 link on with 1 Corinthians 5 and chapter 16 with 2 Timothy 2?
JT That is exactly the position. Chapter 15 shows that they had power to deal with the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath, and chapter 16 that on account of the general break-down they had to separate on the principle of being a remnant. They could not deal with this uprising. God dealt with it, as He deals with Babylon. The sinners went down — the earth swallowed them up. Moses and Aaron falling [p. 470] on their faces is the recognition of their weakness. They fall on their faces before God. It is a very fine example. It is the acknowledgement of their weakness, but the recognition that God has power.
FWK Then we get Aaron coming in. In the 46th verse, Moses says to Aaron, “Take the censer ... and carry it quickly to the assembly, and make atonement for them”. Is this the confirmation of the true priesthood before God?
JT Yes; he acts, standing “between the dead and the living”. That is our service. God would call us into such priestly service. He ran. “And Aaron took as Moses had said, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and behold, the plague had begun among the people; and he put on incense, and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed”, (Numbers 16:47 - 48). I think that is a very important part, how judgment is held up because of priestly intervention. Priestly action today holds back the plague and the final judgment of God. God is patient, and He respects the priestly attitude of His people, as corresponding with that of Christ. In verse 41 it says, “the whole assembly of the children of Israel murmured on the morrow against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of Jehovah”. That is the insistence of fleshly feeling, in spite of the judgment of God, which was manifest. It is the continuance of the expression of evil in the flesh in the public body — one opposition after another.
EH Would it be that they had not taken account of the broad plates for the covering of the altar? I thought they would remind us of that, God’s judgment of the flesh.
JT Quite so. These broad plates are a very important witness against the form of evil seen here, because it comes into our meetings. The plates are a testimony against clericalism, in whatever form or [p. 471] measure it may appear. They are on the altar, which means that the worship of God is never again to be polluted in this way. If you have vessels to honour, you have means of carrying on the testimony, and the broad plates mean that these are to be the only ones, you are never again to have vessels to dishonour, like these men, in the service of God. Moses and Aaron went before the tent of meeting. There is liberty now to carry on the service. Carrying on the service of God is our holy employ, and these broad plates are to remind us every day that we must never tolerate the clerical principle.
Ques Would you say what priestly functions are, as distinct from levitical functions?
JT What we are now considering is the maintenance of the service of God. It is to be carried on by vessels to honour, proved such by separating from vessels to dishonour, and they are to flee youthful lusts, and to follow righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. To be able to find persons who call on the Lord out of a pure heart, I must be a priest. It is a question of discernment. That is one of the greatest features of priesthood. As I can discern a brother or sister who calls on the Lord out of a pure heart, I establish my priesthood, and having established it, when I come to the service of God in the sanctuary, I recognize the Spirit of God, that the Spirit of God alone is the power of service. If I say, “Lord Jesus”, that is by the Spirit, according to 1 Corinthians 12, or if I say, “Abba, Father”, that is by the Spirit, according to Galatians 4 and Romans 8. I am establishing my priestly power, and therefore I have a right to function in the assembly. Levitical service is dependent on this, having to do with what is more external, as we learn in Numbers 4.
EG With regard to fleeing youthful lusts, does [p. 472] that mean that there is no room in the assembly for fleshly ambition?
JT It is a remarkable injunction against youthful flesh. It was not accidental that Timothy was a young man, because after all, the service of God must rest on the young men and young women. The great body of those amongst us are comparatively young. They are the ones that we must rely on, and that the Lord relies upon for service and for the continuance of the testimony. How important then that this injunction should be observed!
FWK Would you say in what form clericalism might arise and be seen in our meetings?
JT A brother, because he has knowledge, ability, experience, etc., assuming to control a meeting. The broad plates are intended to rebuke that. There was a good deal more clericalism amongst us in years gone by than there is today, because the Lord has stressed the mutual side of the truth. For this we should continue to thank Him. The broad plates make room for all the saints, that is to say, the service of God is a question of priestly power by the Spirit. Every true christian has the Spirit, we are all priests thus.
FWK No doubt the antidote for the spirit of clericalism, is that those who are older should see that they give every encouragement and room for those who are younger.
JT It is remarkable that in Exodus 24, as the covenant is introduced, those who acted as priests are young men; they are said to be “youths”.
WJW Would you say a word about the vessels of gold and silver and wood and earth?
JT Well, I think it is just a figure, to illustrate what the apostle has in his mind in a great house. Vessels made of superior metals are the honourable ones. There are grades, some to honour and some [p. 473] to dishonour. We have to understand that spiritually. If a man purge himself from “these”, that is, the ones to dishonour, he shall be a vessel to honour. The first statement is more general, it is a figure. Then the application — “If therefore one shall have purified himself from these, in separating himself from them, he shall be a vessel to honour, sanctified serviceable to the Master, prepared for every good work”, (2 Timothy 2:21). That is to say, he is a priest in a practical sense, prepared unto every good work.
SJBC In the expressions, “purified himself from these” and “pursue with those”; would “these” and “those” both refer to persons?
JT Quite so; from these, in the former case, with those, in the latter.
HLL If separation is maintained, is the divine presence secured?
JT Numbers 16 shows that God comes in. What would all this be, our separation, unless God comes in? God does come in. The glory appeared. That is God coming in manifestly, and the next thing is that Moses and Aaron go before the tabernacle. That is, the service is to be resumed, and it is resumed, too, in an evangelical way, service Godward and manward. Moses and Aaron before the tent imply that the service is resumed; and then, secondly, we have, we may say, evangelical service, the priest runs so as to stay the plague. It is priestly service on the ground of atonement. Aaron then resumes his place at the tent of meeting (verse 50).