Page:Studies in the Scriptures - Series I - The Plan of the Ages (1909).djvu/327

 says i ** Now if any man build [charadler] upon this founda- tion, gold, silver, precious stones [divine truths and cor- responding character, or] wood, hay, stubble [traditional errors and corresponding unstable characters], every man's work shall be made manifest; for THE DAY shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by FIRE ; and so every one's work [2 Pet. i : 51 1], whatever it is, the same fire will prove. ' ' Surely even the most prejudiced will concede that the fire which tries a spiritual work is not literal fire ; fire is an ap- propriate symbol to represent the utter destruction of condi- tions represented here by wood, hay and stubble. This fire will be powerless to destroy the failh-and-character structure built with the gold, silver and precious stones of divine truth, and founded upon the rock of Christ's ransom-sacrifice.

The Apostle shows this, saying : " If any man's work afr'de which he hath built thereupon [upon Christ] he shall receive a reward. [His reward will be in proportion to his faithfulness in building, making use of the truth in the development of true character putting on the whole armor of God.] If any man's work shall be consumed, he shall suffer toss [loss of the reward, because of unfaithfulness], but he himself shall be preserved so as through afire" singed, scorched and alarmed. All who build on the rock founda- tion of Christ's ransom are sure : none that trust in his righteousness as their covering will ever be utterly con- founded. But those who wilfully reject him and his work, after coming to a clear, full knowledge thereof, are in dan- ger of the second death. Heb. 6:4-8 ; 10:26-31.

In yet another way is this trouble of the Day of the Lord symbolically described. The Apostle shows ( Heb. 1 2 : 26- 29) that the inauguration of the Law Covenant at Sinai was typical of the introduction of the New Covenant to the world at the opening of the Millennial age, or reign of Christ's kingdom* He says that in the type @od's 21-A

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