The Church is a royal priesthood called out from the nations of the earth, not to be saved only but to be trained to govern the earth in righteousness. There will be unnumbered multitudes of people who will be saved to the new world but who will not be part of the Church.

From Abraham and Sarah has proceeded the Church, Israel, the elect, the Seed to whom all the promises of God are made. The separation between the Church and the world is eternal as evidenced by the mammoth wall surrounding the new Jerusalem.

People in the future will be able to go through the gates into the holy city, provided they are keeping the commandments of God. There they can drink of the water of life and eat from the tree of life. But then they must leave and return home. The Church will always and forever be separate from the saved nations of the earth.

You know, Abraham gets all the glory while Sarah is in the background. But Sarah represents the Jerusalem that is above. How come the Pastor gets all the glory while his wife is in the background? We don't even know the name of Job's wife but think what she went through? Oh well!

The eternal age of the Church proceeds from the two witnesses, Abraham and Sarah.

The third set of two witnesses is Moses and Aaron. You could call the third day the Day of the Law. Sometimes I refer to the third day as the day of dry ground, in terms of the third day of creation. For the first time man had firm moral ground on which to stand and walk.

When we say that the Day of the Law is an eternal day we run into problems, don't we? Let us explain. I would like you to pay particular attention to the explanation that follows because there is a great deal of confusion over the relationship between the Law of Moses and the eternal moral law of God.

We are now going to speak of two different laws and the relationships between them.

* The first law is the eternal moral law of God.

* The second law is the Law of Moses.

In case you don't know where to find the Law of Moses it is contained in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The eternal moral law of God always has been in effect and always shall be in effect. The Law of Moses has not always been in effect and shall not always be in effect.

The eternal moral law is the expression of the character of God. It is written in the conscience of man.

The Law of Moses consisted of a number of statutes and ordinances that were given to Moses by God and carved into tables of stone.

The Law of Moses was a covenant made with the twelve tribes of Israel. It no longer is in effect for those who are in Christ because it has been completely superseded by the new covenant. The new covenant is the writing of the eternal moral law of God, which is summed up in Christ, in the heart and mind of the believer in Christ.

To be continued.