The Bells on the Priest's Robe: A Symbol of the Apostles

In Chapter XLII of an early Christian writing, a fascinating connection is drawn between the Old Testament and the role of the Apostles. The text focuses on the prescription that twelve bells be attached to the robe of the high priest. It suggests that these bells, hanging down to the feet, served as a symbol of the twelve apostles.

The reasoning is that the apostles depend on the power of Christ, the eternal Priest. It is "through their voice" that the earth has been filled with the glory and grace of God. This idea is supported by a reference to Psalm 19:4, "Their sound has gone forth into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world."

The text continues by referencing Isaiah, personifying the apostles as expressing belief not in their own report, but in the power of the one who sent them. Isaiah 53:1-2 is quoted: "Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? We have preached before Him as if [He were] a child, as if a root in a dry ground."

The author argues that the passage signifies that the wicked shall become subject to Christ, obeying His command, and that all shall become as one child. This unity is likened to the human body, where many members form one body. Similarly, a commonwealth and a church, though composed of many individuals, are in fact as one, called and addressed by one appellation.

The author concludes by stating that by enumerating all the other appointments of Moses, one could demonstrate that they were types, symbols, and declarations of things that would happen to Christ, those who would believe in Him, and things which would be done by Christ Himself.