Great Antitype, May 21

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”—John 1:29JNN 152.1

If the follower of Christ will believe His word and practice it, there is no science in the natural world that he will not be able to grasp and appreciate. There is nothing but that will furnish him means for imparting the truth to others. Natural science is a treasure house of knowledge from which every student in the school of Christ may draw. As we contemplate the beauty of nature, as we study its lessons in the cultivation of the soil, in the growth of the trees, in all the wonders of earth and sea and sky, there will come to us a new perception of truth. And the mysteries connected with God’s dealings with humanity, the depths of His wisdom and judgment as seen in human life—these are found to be a storehouse rich in treasure.JNN 152.2

But it is in the written word that a knowledge of God is most clearly revealed to fallen humanity. This is the treasure house of the unsearchable riches of Christ.JNN 152.3

The word of God includes the Scriptures of the Old Testament as well as of the New. One is not complete without the other. Christ declared that the truths of the Old Testament are as valuable as those of the New. Christ was as much humanity’s Redeemer in the beginning of the world as He is today. Before He clothed His divinity with humanity and came to our world, the gospel message was given by Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah. Abraham in Canaan and Lot in Sodom bore the message, and from generation to generation faithful messengers proclaimed the Coming One. The rites of the Jewish economy were instituted by Christ Himself. He was the foundation of their system of sacrificial offerings, the great antitype of all their religious service. The blood shed as the sacrifices were offered pointed to the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. All the typical offerings were fulfilled in Him.JNN 152.4

Christ as manifested to the patriarchs, as symbolized in the sacrificial service, as portrayed in the law, and as revealed by the prophets, is the riches of the Old Testament. Christ in His life, His death, and His resurrection, Christ as He is manifested by the Holy Spirit, is the treasure of the New Testament. Our Saviour, the outshining of the Father’s glory, is both the Old and the New.—Christ’s Object Lessons, 125, 126.JNN 152.5

Further Reflection: Am I more drawn to the Jesus of the New Testament than the Jesus foreshadowed in the Old? How can I better appreciate the Great Antitype of the Old Testament?JNN 152.6