“Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.”
“What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?”
Judges 14:14-18
“Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.” Judges 14:5-9
There are two ways to look at this. A real lion attacked Samson as he was walking, and Samson, empowered by the Holy Spirit, was able to defeat and kill the lion. Physically. Literally. Killed the lion. Then, sometime later, as Samson was walking down the same path, he decided to turn aside and have another look at the now dead lion. As he stands there looking, he realizes that there are bees and honey in the body of the lion. His desire for a taste of honey being stronger than his disgust from where it came from, he took the honey, ate some, gave some to his parents, but didn’t tell them where he got it from. This would be the literal sense.
The other way to look at this story would be as a type, and as such, there are two things that stand out which provide for us the key to understand what this type represents.
The first thing to see is that even though the lion was killed, and rendered apparently harmless, it only changed forms and became sweet in the form of honey. Put in another way, the lion is removed, and replaced by the honey. If you think about that for a moment, Samson should have become a part of the lion’s body by virtue of being eaten by that lion. Instead, the lion actually becomes a part of Samson’s body by virtue of him eating the honey. As something is eaten and assimilated, it becomes part of you.
The other key would be the fact that the honey came out of an unclean animal.
So something has been removed and is replaced with something else. The first thing couldn’t get the job done, that is, it was unable to kill Samson, and is now replaced by something much more effective and very subtle. The first thing is attempting to accomplish its purpose by brute force, and the second relies instead on strategy.
By now, we should be able to see where this type is headed. Where else in the Bible can we see this concept of something no longer able to do its job, and having to be replaced with something more effective—a changing strategy to counter a changing threat?
“And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.” Daniel 11:31
“And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” Daniel 12:11
“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8
What really is the ‘Daily’?
The whole concept of the Daily, be it the old or new view, is that something replaces something else. In other words, both views show that something was in place but now has been uprooted and replaced by something different. The old view teaches that Paganism was in place as Satan’s primary weapon against God’s people, but has now been replaced by Papalism for the same purpose. The new view teaches that Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary was replaced, or usurped, by the counterfeit ministry of the Papacy. Both views teach that something was replaced by something else, and both views agree that the ‘something else’ is the Papacy. The similarities however, stop there.
The question to ask would be: what was it that Satan was responding to, that required him to rethink his strategy?
The answer lies in Hebrews 10:9—Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. (Hebrews chapters 8 through 10 gives a good context.)
This is Christ speaking in regard to removing the old covenant and establishing the new covenant, which was instituted at His death on the cross. God the Father, through the death of His Son, has now removed the old covenant with its sacrificial system, and replaced it with something else. Satan counters by removing Paganism along with its own unique sacrificial system, and replaces it with something else. Both of the old systems relied on priests to oversee, or direct, the offerings of their respective sacrificial services, as both of the new systems also require a priest to intercede for the people. Satan’s new system utilizes priests to deal with the sins of the people with the pope acting as the high priest. In the new covenant Christ Himself is our High Priest who alone has the ability to deal with our sins. Satan’s system is administered from earthly temples, while Christ’s ministry is administered from the heavenly sanctuary, beginning in the holy place at His ascension, then moving to the most holy place on October 22, 1844. Each system is designed to perfectly reproduce the character of its originator, either Christ or Satan, in the people.
In this account of Samson and the lion, it is worth noting that it was a young lion that came against him. But if the lion represents paganism, you would think it would be an old lion since paganism had been around for thousands of years before. To understand, we have to know the time periods in which these things took place. It was at the death of Christ that the veil was torn in two from the top to the bottom, signifying that the old covenant and its sacrificial system was done away with, and now replaced with the new and better covenant. Even though paganism had been around for many years, it was pagan Rome in particular that came after early Christianity. It isn’t just paganism giving way to Papalism, but specifically Pagan Rome giving way to Papal Rome. Both used the state to persecute the church.
Our riddle should make more sense now. Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness:
The eater is Satan—Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8.
Came forth meat—from God’s word, the Bible. You can see this in Hebrews 5:12-14. The fact that it comes from an unclean animal lets us know that this meat, or honey, is a false interpretation of God’s word. This meat, or false doctrine, forms the basis for the system of the Papacy.
Out of the strong—Paganism—A system openly antagonistic toward Christianity.
Came forth sweetness—Papalism—A system based on paganism, but clothed in religious garments. Sweet like honey, but out of an unclean animal.
In other words, the riddle could be read as such: Out of Satan came a false interpretation of God’s word, making the way for his substitute—that out of Paganism, came forth Papalism.
By their answer to his riddle, “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” they are acknowledging that there is nothing sweeter than honey, and that no animal is stronger than a lion.
In the Bible honey represents God’s word. Psalms 119:103 tells us “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” And Psalms 19:10 lets us know that “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”
In Saul and Jonathan’s day the Bible tells us what happens when you eat honey—”But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened. Then said Jonathan, my father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.” 1 Samuel 14:25-29.
To put that into a spiritual sense, the Bible tells us “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.” Ephesians 1:17-19.
So the principle is, when you eat the honey of God’s word, the eyes of your understanding are enlightened. This principle is operative whether you eat the true honey or the false honey. Either way, your eyes are enlightened. Put another way, Christ gives honey from the Bible for the purpose of opening our eyes to the truth, but Satan also provides honey from the same Bible, which in turn closes our eyes to the truth, but opens them to a deception. This principle is derived from clear back in the garden of Eden in Genesis 3:5-6—“For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. To see more about this principle of the true and false honey, please see the page on our website called “A Word of Caution.”
Note that just as Samson gave of the unclean honey for his parents to eat, so Eve gave of the forbidden fruit for Adam to eat, and as Jonathan’s eyes were enlightened by eating the real honey of God’s providing, so were Adam and Eve’s eyes opened by eating the false honey of Satan’s providing. As soon as the eyes of our understanding are enlightened, the first thing we want to do is share it with someone else. This works with both truth and error.
What does any of this have to do with me?
It is not the purpose here to go into a debate between the old and new view of the daily. As a type Samson’s riddle provides us with a different perspective than we would get when confronted with the arguments usually presented. The other thing to note for now is that the account of Samson also gives us a view of several different church periods—this one showing the transition from Pergamos to Thyatira, the church in the wilderness under Papal persecution—The account of the three hundred foxes of Judges 15, representing the three hundred prophetic charts used by the Millerites that transitioned the church from Sardis to the Philadelphian church—and the account of Samson blinded and in prison in Judges 16, as he moved to the Laodicean condition of the church, shown by his condition. He was wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. Each of these types require more than can be shown here, and will be expanded on in future articles. A more complete explanation for now can be found on our “What to Expect” page.
Really, the question should be asked, what does this have to do with me? Although it is helpful in that it allows us to see church history in a different way, there is something unique about the transition from Paganism to Papalism that gives us some major insights into how those principles operate in our own personal lives.
The thing to remember is the simple fact that something is replaced by something else. When Christ gave His life at the cross, the Old Covenant was replaced by the New Covenant. In response, Satan removed Paganism in its existing form and replaced it with the principle and system of Papalism. Paganism hunted the early Christians, killing and torturing them in an attempt to get them to give up their belief in Christ. Paganism was also a system of worship designed to counterfeit the Hebrew sacrificial system. As a system it was a way to appease the angry gods, so with the Hebrew system, it had degenerated into a formality with the same mindset of appeasing an angry God. They depended on the sacrifice itself as a means of dealing with their sins, instead of looking to Christ the true Sacrifice who alone could deal with sin. It allowed them to believe in Christ, but not to depend on Christ. We are guilty of the very same thing in our time when we attempt to somehow appease God for our sins by working up a prayer or some acceptable service that we think can atone for our sins.
When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do.” Matthew 6:7. The heathen looked upon their prayers as having in themselves merit to atone for sin. Hence the longer the prayer the greater the merit. If they could become holy by their own efforts they would have something in themselves in which to rejoice, some ground for boasting. This idea of prayer is an outworking of the principle of self-expiation which lies at the foundation of all systems of false religion. The Pharisees had adopted this pagan idea of prayer, and it is by no means extinct in our day, even among those who profess to be Christians. The repetition of set, customary phrases, when the heart feels no need of God, is of the same character as the “vain repetitions” of the heathen. {MB 86.1}
Prayer is not an expiation for sin; it has no virtue or merit of itself. All the flowery words at our command are not equivalent to one holy desire. The most eloquent prayers are but idle words if they do not express the true sentiments of the heart. But the prayer that comes from an earnest heart, when the simple wants of the soul are expressed, as we would ask an earthly friend for a favor, expecting it to be granted—this is the prayer of faith. God does not desire our ceremonial compliments, but the unspoken cry of the heart broken and subdued with a sense of its sin and utter weakness finds its way to the Father of all mercy. {MB 86.2}
In both of these quotes, she uses the word expiation, and it is worth noting exactly what that means:
To atone for; to make satisfaction for; to extinguish the guilt of a crime by subsequent acts of piety or worship, by which the obligation to punish the crime is canceled. To expiate guilt or a crime, is to perform some act which is supposed to purify the person guilty; or some act which is accepted by the offended party as satisfaction for the injury; that is, some act by which his wrath is appeased, and his forgiveness procured. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
Christ is the only One who can atone for our sins. He is the only One who can fulfill this definition of expiation for us. We cannot do it.
The principle of Papalism is much more subtle.
In the book The Great Controversy, on p.572, we are told of the secret of the Papacy’s strength.
“A prayerful study of the Bible would show Protestants the real character of the papacy and would cause them to abhor and to shun it; but many are so wise in their own conceit that they feel no need of humbly seeking God that they may be led into the truth. Although priding themselves on their enlightenment, they are ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God. They must have some means of quieting their consciences, and they seek that which is least spiritual and humiliating. What they desire is a method of forgetting God which shall pass as a method of remembering Him. The papacy is well adapted to meet the wants of all these. It is prepared for two classes of mankind, embracing nearly the whole world–those who would be saved by their merits, and those who would be saved in their sins. Here is the secret of its power.” {GC 572.2}
What is the “real character of the papacy?” Two things are identified for us: those who would be saved by their merits, and those who would be saved in their sins. The first involves legalism, but is much deeper than just trying to keep the law in our own strength. That is certainly an element we are all prone to. We have our checklists. Keep the Sabbath, pay our tithe, go vegan, read our Bibles, pray. These are all good, but just like the Hebrew sacrificial system they can become the end instead of a means to the end. All of these things must point us to Christ as our Saviour. We must rely solely upon His merits and atonement. It sounds obvious and none of us would admit to attempting to earn our own way, but the truth is, most of us do in some way.
Also, drawing from the pagan concept of appeasing an angry God, the Papacy teaches us to flog ourselves and to do penance to appease God when we have sinned. Again, it is an effort on our part to somehow remove what we perceive as God’s anger toward us. God is never angry with us as we understand anger, as it is not a part of His character, but we do need to understand that just as He loves the sinner, so also does He hate the sin in the sense that He knows the destructive nature of sin that we fail to understand.
The other class spoken of are those who would be saved in their sins. If you think about that for a moment, what is in the papal system that would allow a person to be saved in their sins? The answer is in the confessional booth. The confessional allows a person to sin, then come and confess that sin, and according to the priest that sin is now forgiven. So a cycle develops that allows that person to sin and confess, sin and confess, sin and confess, week after week without ever gaining the victory over that sin. Sound familiar?? It is easy to see why these two deceptions embrace nearly the whole world. It gives a new meaning to the text in Revelation 13:3 where it tells us that “all the world wondered after the beast.”
The fatal deception with sinning and confessing but never obtaining the victory, is that when Michael stands up and human probation is closed, His ministration in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary is finished, and there is no way to deal with sins any longer. As it stands, there is still forgiveness available to those who confess their sins, but if we do not get the victory over those sins and thus continue to sin after probation has closed, we are lost along with those sins that are still in our lives.
The whole issue revolves around God’s law. Each one of us are confronted with it daily, and it is something that we cannot get around. Thinking it through, there are seven ways that we can attempt to deal with God’s law but only one of them is correct. One way is to simply ignore and deny that it exists, another is to nail it to the cross, claiming that it was done away with when Christ was crucified. We can attempt to keep it in our own strength legally, which doesn’t work, and leads into the continual confession of our sins. There is also spiritualism. This is an entire subject on its own, but at its core, spiritualism teaches that even if you continue in sin you will not die, but are guaranteed immortality of the soul. Spiritualism does away with the need of the atonement of Christ, as it teaches that there is inherently something good in you that just needs to be made better. Again, something we do. Another way is the concept that God loves us too much to punish us for our sins.
The common denominator in all six of these ways is that they allow you to continue in your sins.
The last and only correct way to deal with the law of God is righteousness by faith. This is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot, and most of us as Adventists have heard righteousness by faith as long as we’ve been in the church. We hear this and other salvation truths talked about in our Sabbath School classes, spoken from the pulpit, discussed at potluck, and so on. It could be called ‘Adventist speak.’ We know the correct things to say, but do we truly understand what they mean? More importantly, do we understand them well enough to apply them to our personal lives? Are we praying for a greater knowledge and for the corresponding experience? Do we understand how to test our own personal experience to know for a certainty that it is correct? Unlike the preceding ways which allow us to continue in sin, righteousness by faith stops us from sinning. Forever. It is the only thing that deals with the sin issue head on. No having to contrive some way to get around the law. Isn’t this what we really want and need to know?
The True Understanding of Righteousness by Faith lies in the Three Angels’ Messages.
Righteousness by faith requires a knowledge of the three angel’s messages, and these three angels are synonymous with the sanctuary. Thy way O God is in the sanctuary: Who is so great a God as our God? Psalms 77:13. The only way to go through the sanctuary in its order—courtyard, holy place, and most holy place, is to receive the three angels’ messages in their order. First, second, third. The first angel is the experience of the courtyard, the second angel the experience of the holy place, and the third angel is the experience of the most holy place. As we pass through these experiences we actually become righteous by faith. Faith in the ability of Christ to give us, and to take us, through the experience of each angel in Heaven’s prescribed order. We must have a personal experience in each before we are in any way qualified to give the message. In other words, we must BE the message. Much more on this to come..
“Christ is coming the second time, with power unto salvation. To prepare human beings for this event, He has sent the first, second, and third angels’ messages. These angels represent those who receive the truth, and with power open the gospel to the world.” Letter 79, 1900, par.32
In closing, the words paganism and papalism can be just as obscure and meaningless as the concept of righteousness by faith. If we are not careful, they get thrown around without a correct understanding of their true character and how they apply to us. Now is the time to examine ourselves to see if these satanic principles, clothed with honey, are operating in our lives. If they are, we must eliminate them by God’s grace, or they will prevent us from truly becoming righteous by faith.
One last note, please don’t misunderstand about sinning and confessing as a satanic principle. At this moment in earth’s history it is still a viable way ordained of God to be in harmony with His law. But not for long. When Christ stands up and closes the work of the sanctuary, there is no longer any way to deal with our sins, so they can at last be placed on the head of Satan, the originator and instigator of sin. Christ is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Christ has a way of dealing with our sin issue, and that way is the three angels’ messages which takes us through the sanctuary. He is able to permanently cause us to cease from sinning. It is a very comforting thought! A way to look at the sanctuary is that sin goes in and righteousness comes out! When we accept it His way, and in His order, He is able to produce a people who no longer sin. They are then safe to save for eternity.
