I want to mention three points about Nehemiah building the wall.
First of all, if you want to have progress in God's work, you will have to put forth some human effort. If you do not make the human effort, you are not going to see much happen. Nehemiah understood this and you see it all the way through his book. He understood that he had to do something.
Second, a wall is a symbol of protection. It is a symbol of God's protection, but if you go outside the wall, you are no longer protected.
"He who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent" Ecclesiastes 10:8.
God has designed for a wall of protection to be around His people, but if you break through that wall, you are going to be bitten by the serpent. That is what the Bible says.
Man was created on the sixth day of Creation. In the Bible, seven is the number of spiritual perfection, but six is seven minus one-- or, it is short of spiritual perfection. The number six is used throughout the Bible as a symbol of human imperfection, or a number that refers to man when he is destitute of God--without God and Christ. Six is also a number that is connected with human j labor because in the fourth commandment it says that six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh is for the Lord. Everything in human labor has been connected with the number six since the beginning of time, including the measurement of time itself.
The sixth day was also the day that the serpent was created, so six is a number that for thousands of years has been associated with the serpent, that is, with the devil and his work Because of this, it is interesting to notice that there is a six-fold opposition to the work of God on the part of man. We see this in the opposition that came to Nehemiah; he had a six-fold opposition. The servant of the Lord has warned us that we will have the same opposition that Nehemiah had, so we need to look and see what kind of opposition he had. This study can be for us a lesson for all time. It is being enacted every day wherever there is anybody like Nehemiah who begins to work for the Lord.
"When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it [that Nehemiah was going to build this wall], they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel" Nehemiah 2:10.
This is usually the first kind of opposition that God's workers face. It says that Sanballat and Tobiah were deeply concerned about what Nehemiah was going to do. Have you ever had a phone call or received a letter and it said, "We are concerned"? Usually, people want to talk about these concerns and when you go to talk to them, you find they just plain do not want you to do whatever is on your conscience to do. Their concern is what you are doing. They do not want you to do it, so they are very concerned. I do not know how many letters I have received from people who are concerned; they are concerned with what God's people, God's servants, are doing. They are concerned about our preaching, publishing, evangelism, our church and everything we are doing. So, you go and talk to them to find out what is the matter and what is the matter is that they just do not want you to do what is on your conscience to do. They are deeply disturbed, just like Sanballat and Tobiah were.
What are you going to do? There are some people who get stalled right at first. Somebody is concerned so they decide, "Well, I had better not do what is on my conscience." If you are going to get stalled in working for the Lord because somebody is concerned--maybe it is somebody in your family or on your job--if you are going to knuckle under to social pressure of that kind, you are never going to be a Christian or do God's work, never. You cannot be a Christian in this world and not have opposition. That is just impossible. Friends, there will be millions of people who will never have eternal life because they did not want to have opposition.
Right from the beginning there were people who were gravely disturbed, deeply concerned, about what Nehemiah was about to do and they did not want him to do it. Nehemiah was not going to stop because of that. He went ahead and started making plans to build the wall. Then he had more severe opposition.
"But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, 'What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?" Ibid. verse 19.
The second kind of opposition was ridicule. Sanballat and the others were laughing at, despising and ridiculing God's people and said, "What do you think you are doing?" This is opposition. Some people cannot take ridicule. Peter could not take it; just a few simple questions and he knuckled under and denied his Lord. Ellen White says that there are some people whom it would be easier for them to lose their life than to endure ridicule. This was the second type of opposition that Nehemiah had. It is the second type of opposition that God's workers today have.
They laughed at, despised and I ridiculed God's people. "What J do you think you are doing? Do you think you have enough people to accomplish that? You do not I have enough money to do that either." Ridicule, mocking and despising God's people is the second type of opposition that you have to be willing to endure if you want to follow the Lord Jesus and do something for Him today. Nehemiah had to endure it and the world is not any different today than it was then.
Now we are going to get to something that is a little more serious. The third type of opposition Nehemiah had to meet is mentioned in chapter 4.
"But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, 'What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish--stones that are burned?' Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, 'Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall" Nehemiah 4:1-3.
Now Sanballat and Tobiah were very angry and they kept on mocking and ridiculing God's people. They were indignant. Now Nehemiah was meeting anger and hostility and at the same time sarcasm and mocking. Does this kind of thing have an affect on people when they hear it day after day? It does. You are in a very precarious situation when you have everybody mocking you and using sarcasm, because the people you are working with might become discouraged.
Could Nehemiah build that wall all by himself? No, he could not. He had to have some cooperation from other people working with him, and now there is this attack on the spirit of the people working with him. When anger and hostility do not work, then the opposition becomes more open. Look at verses 7 and 8. This is the fourth type of opposition that he had to face.
"Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion."
Now Sanballat and the others are going to get an army together; it is going to be more than talk. They say, "We are going to attack these people and forcibly stop them from doing what they are doing." Have you ever been in a situation like that where there are people who hate you so much that it is no longer just talk? Your enemies are willing to go to the government, to get soldiers, to go to the courts, to do whatever they have to do to absolutely force you to stop what you are doing. That is the kind of opposition that Nehemiah was facing.
Have you ever had opposition like that? People hate what you are doing so much that they are willing to force you to stop.
Are we going to face that type of opposition today? Yes, we are facing it right now, friend. I have been reading some statements in this regard in the 1888 Materials. Here is one from page 1024.
"If we are to bear a part in this work to its close, we must recognize the fact that there are good things to come to the people of God in a way that we had not discerned; and that there will be resistance from the very ones we expected to engage in such a work."
Where is the resistance going to come from? From people we thought would work with us. This is just opposition number four; we have not come to the most serious one of all. Did you know that open warfare is not your most serious form of opposition? Now, some people think that by the time you come to number four and you are dealing with open warfare opposition, that is just about as bad as you can get. Oh, no. There is something a lot more serious than that. Nehemiah had to face it, and we are going to have to face it. I want you to see what it is.
This is the fifth kind of opposition and is by far more insidious and dangerous than open warfare. We have had to face it before; we are facing it now; and we are going to have to face it again. If you do not understand that what we are going to talk about now is serious, you could lose your soul's salvation over this. Fortunately, Nehemiah understood what he was dealing with and he talks about it very plainly here in his book.
"Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, 'Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono" Nehemiah 6:1, 2.
What do Sanballat and the others want to do now? They say, "We need to get together and talk. We need to have a conference and talk together." Have you ever heard that one? Now, what have Sanballat and Tobiah been trying to do? They had been trying to destroy Nehemiah and his work. Listen carefully, friends; this is happening in Adventism right now. Do you want me to tell it really plain? We have conference and union officials who have tried to destroy us over and over again (and we have the documentation) and now I have letters in my file that say, "We want to get together and talk." What do you mean get together and talk? This is much more dangerous than open opposition, let me tell you.
Had these people demonstrated that they were trying to destroy Nehemiah? They had been trying to raise up an army. It had not worked. They tried openly to oppose and destroy them and it had not worked, so now they said, "Let's get together and talk." Friend, if you volunteer to go and talk to somebody who has already demonstrated that they are trying to destroy you, you are presumptuous and God will not work a miracle to save you. You will get spiritually destroyed. It is just that simple. It is happening all over the world. I could tell you many stories.
Nehemiah did not go to meet with them that time so they kept on.
"But they sent me this message four times" Ibid. verse 4.
Four times they asked, "Won't you please come and talk to us?" There are some people who think that when somebody sends you a message and says please come and talk, that if you do not do it, in some way you are un-Christian. Nehemiah would not do it. Some people today are not as intelligent as Nehemiah. Then notice what happened in verse 5.
"Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king. And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, 'There is a king in Judah!' Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together."
Sanballat said, "These rumors are going around and are going to destroy you. We need to talk to you so that we can solve this problem." Have you ever heard anything like that? It is happening all of the time. "You need to come and talk to us so we can get these problems straightened out, so we can come to an understanding so that you will not be destroyed." At the same time, what was Sanballat underhandedly trying to do? To destroy them.
Nehemiah had this figured out and if you do not have it figured out in the days in which we are living, you will be destroyed. It is just a matter of time. Going to have a conference with people who have demonstrated that they are enemies of the truth is presumptuous. It is one of the most dangerous things you can do. It is more dangerous than open opposition and you will be destroyed.
Let me share with you a few interesting statements on this subject from the pen of Ellen White.
"We must obey the orders from above. Any suggestions made by those who receive not the truth, who know not what the work of God is doing for this time, weaken the power of the work" 1888, 934.
If we accept suggestions from people who do not know or understand what God is doing at this time, it will weaken the power of the work
"If a man proves a traitor once, he is apt to become a traitor the second time.. . . The dreams I have had are very striking. One I had while on the boat, and one since coming to Sidney. We need to be very guarded as to how we place responsibilities upon any man who has once betrayed sacred trusts" Ibid. 965.
This is something worthy of study. Ellen White says to watch out for any man who has in the past betrayed sacred trusts. Be very careful how you put responsibilities on that person. It is very, very dangerous.
You hear a lot today about the church going through. The following is a statement on this.
"I was shown that the follies of Israel in the days of Samuel will be repeated unless men have greater humility and less confidence in themselves, and greater confidence in the Lord God of Israel, the Ruler of His people. The ability and wisdom of any man is only derived from God. . . . God has wisdom underived. He is the Infinite One; the human is finite, erring. He is the Fountain of the light and life and glory of the world. One leak will sink the mightiest vessel that ever rode the proud ocean; so will the church make shipwreck amid the perils of these last days unless the holy Captain of her salvation shall not only serve as Captain but Pilot" Ibid. 919.
If we go and counsel with people who do not give evidence that they are under the Holy Spirit, who have in the past proved traitors and fought the truth like Sanballat and Tobiah had been doing, we will make shipwreck The Lord has to be not only the Captain but the Pilot.
Who will it be who will turn traitor?
"Every soul who will now evade through sophistry, the plain 'Thus saith the Lord,' and misinterpret and evade the plainest conclusions of the written inspired Word, will become instruments to tempt and coerce, and stirred with a satanic spirit purpose to afflict and oppress and compel the human agents to dishonor God's law" Ibid. 1200.
Who will turn traitor and try to compel others to dishonor God's law? Those who will try to evade a plain "thus saith the Lord." If you read to a person something in inspired writings and they do not accept it, they try to get around it, the messenger of the Lord says that the day is coming when that person is going to try to force you to disobey the law of God. That is inspiration, friend; that is going to happen. For anybody who will attempt to evade a "thus saith the Lord" (they try to get around it, they will not accept it, they will not live by it), the time is coming when they will try to force you to disobey the law of God. They will become an agent of Satan and will be under the control of satanic spirits.
There are some people whom we have been forbidden to go to, not just for conference but to even have association with.
"Some of those who know the truth but do not practice it, are trampling upon the law of God in their business transactions. We should have no intimate association with them lest we catch their spirit and share their doom" Ibid. 1332.
We should not have intimate association with a person who knows the truth and does not practice it or we will catch their spirit and will share their doom.
"I call upon God's people to open their eyes. When you sanction or carry out the decisions of men who, as you know, are not in harmony with truth and righteousness, you weaken your own faith and lessen your relish for communion with God" Ibid. 1336.
If you carry out the decisions of men whom you know are not in harmony with truth and righteousness, you are weakening your own faith. You are putting your own self in a worse position than before.
Having a conference with Sanballat and the others was more dangerous than their open opposition. It is very interesting to me as you read through the book of Nehemiah that this order is almost always the exact order in which the opposition comes-- first was concern; second, derision and ridicule; third, wrath and indignation and more ridicule; fourth, open opposition and an attempt to destroy and fifth, counseling together.
Now we come to number six. This is the last and most dangerous opposition of all. The amazing thing to me is that when people who have made it all the way up to this point get to number six, they are fooled because this is very deceptive. Now, you should not be fooled because you should look back to the past and see where you have been and how you got to where you are. If you do not remember what happened to you in the past, you are going to stumble.
When somebody was, first, very concerned about what you were doing; second, started mocking and ridiculing what you were doing; third, became angry and gave you more ridicule and mocking and then openly opposed and tried to destroy you; then fifth, wanted to talk, you should have figured some things out about people who do things like these. You should, but some people do not. Some of the people who do not figure things out fall into trap number six. Some of the people who are falling into this trap are physicians, professional people and very wealthy people-- people whom you would think would have very good judgment. They fall into trap number six. The devil could not stop them all the way along, until this sixth type of opposition comes. It is probably the most dangerous and deadly of all.
"Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, 'Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you [I am your friend and I want to keep you from being killed so I want you to come and go to the temple with me.]; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.' And I said, 'Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!' Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all" Nehemiah 6:10-12.
Notice, this is a person who comes to you and is very religious. He comes to you with a religious suggestion and is so interested in your welfare. He wants to keep any harm from coming to you, but if he is a secret informer, he is really on the other side. Now, this is not Sanballat. This is a secret informer who comes to you now, very religious, who says, "Let's go and worship the Lord. They are going to try to kill you, so let's go to the temple and worship the Lord so you do not get killed."
"Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him" Ibid. verse 12.
Notice, Sanballat and the others knew that with all of the opposition they had made, if they came in person, Nehemiah would recognize it right away, so they hired a secret informer to go and pretend to be Nehemiah's friend. This is the most dangerous opposition of all, and people fall for it all of the time--pretended friendship. This was the greatest most deceptive opposition of all that Nehemiah had to meet.
"For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid" Ibid. verses 13-14.
Here are all of these religious people who are pretending to be Nehemiah's friends. Those pretended friends are the most dangerous enemies that he has--the most dangerous enemies that he has. You see, the devil's policy is deception from the first to the last. We have much more to fear from deception, from pretended friendship, than we do from open opposition--much, much more to fear. Ellen White said in her day concerning the church of God, we have far more to fear from within than from without (1SM 122). Why? Because the devil infiltrates and has his agents in the church, and you think that they are your friends. Your most dangerous enemy is the enemy whom you think is your friend. We have a lot of that going on today.
"Those engaged in the cause of reform must in no wise be dissemblers, so that it will be difficult to discern upon which side they are, there must be no underhand working, no secret devising, for this is the way in which Satan works; but those who follow Christ must be resolute and unflinching" 1888, 970.
Have you ever met somebody and after you talk to them about something, you cannot figure out what side of the issue they are on? Watch out! If you talk to somebody about something and you cannot tell what side of the issue they are on, about nine out often times they are on the devil's side. Ellen White says that God never works like that. You know for sure they are not under the influence of the Holy Spirit because the Lord never works like that. He never has anything to do with secret devising or underhanded working. In this quote, Sister White is talking about the person of whom you cannot tell which side of the issue they are on. Watch out! He is not your friend. He may be your pretended friend, but if you cannot tell what side of an issue he is on, watch out.
The following statement is from an article on the perils and privileges of the last days. It is very, very interesting.
"Satan was at work to cause apostasy in the early church; and in accomplishing his purpose, doctrines were introduced through which the church was leavened with unbelief in Christ and His coming. . . . That which Satan has led men to do in the past, he will if possible lead them to do again. [What did Satan do in the past?] The early church was deceived by the enemy of God and man, and apostasy was brought into the ranks of those who professed to love God; and to-day, unless the people of God awake out of sleep, they will be taken unawares by the devices of Satan" RH 11/22/92; 1888, 1073.
Now, the most dangerous kind of opposition is when you are taken and you do not even know what has happened. The devil has you and you do not even know what has happened, because you have been deceived. Has that happened? Friends, it has already happened to the great majority of professed Seventh-day Adventists. Sister White said that the devil would do this if he could, and this was written over one-hundred years ago. Has it happened to you? You do not know if it has happened to you, because you will be taken unawares. It is time to go to your closet and say, "Lord, if I am deceived, show me what my deception is and help me to get on to the narrow road that leads to the city of God."
The most dangerous kind of opposition is the opposition that comes from people who are very religious whom you think are your friends and whom you think are helping you to go to heaven. This one who came to Nehemiah was very religious. He said, "Let's go to the house of God and worship." That is the most dangerous kind of opposition there is.
"At the present day, Satan gains power over God's people, by means of those false brethren who, while at heart friends of the world, exert an influence in the church. These are the most efficient workers that the great deceiver can employ. They are constantly seeking to lessen the enmity between the church of Christ and his deadliest foe. They supply the connecting link whereby he [the devil] can unite the church and the world. Here lies our present danger,--a danger against which we must constantly guard. While we should make all possible effort to save souls, deeming no self-denial or sacrifice too great to effect this purpose, we must at the same time maintain our allegiance to God" RH 07/18/82.
"The gospel of Christ has little to fear from its open opponents. Its most dangerous foes are the pretended Friends of Christ, . . .
He who is a friend of Christ studies the word of God, and brings its principles into his daily life, making every thought, word, and deed subject to the control of the Spirit of God" 11 6/14/94. [All emphasis supplied]
If a person makes a profession but they are not a doer of the word, watch out. He is the most dangerous enemy of the church and of a Christian there is.
"The opposition and discouragement that the builders in Nehemiah's day met from open enemies and pretended friends is typical of the experience that those today will have who work for God. Christians are tried, not only by the anger, contempt, and cruelty of enemies, but by the indolence, inconsistency, lukewarmness, and treachery of avowed friends and helpers" CC 266.
Sister White says that we will have to meet the same thing that Nehemiah met. The following is a quotation about Martin Luther.
"All that he had endured from the opposition of both the pope and the emperor had not caused him such perplexity of mind or anguish of soul as did this deceptive work now linking itself with the Reformation. From the cause itself had arisen its worst enemies. Pretended friends were tearing down what he had labored at tremendous odds to build up. The very truths which had brought peace to his troubled heart had been made the cause of dissension in the church" ST 10/18/83.
Concerning the opposition that Ezra and Nehemiah had, Ellen White said: "That which made their work most difficult was not the open hostility of the heathen, but the secret opposition of pretended friends" PK 675.
What made the work most difficult was secret opposition-- it was not even out in the open,-- and it was the opposition of pretended friends.
"Who, by lending their influence to the service of evil, increased tenfold the burden of God's servants" Ibid.
The opposition that Nehemiah met is the kind of opposition that we will have to meet. It is the kind of opposition that you will have to meet as an individual Christian and the kind of opposition that the church of God must meet.
Are you going to survive? I think we will have a better chance of surviving if we know what we are up against. What are we up against? What is the pattern we are to watch for? First of all, people are concerned with what you are doing, but if you do not stop when they are concerned and talk to them about their concern, the next thing that happens is that you are ridiculed and told that what you are trying to do cannot be done. If that does not work, the third kind of opposition you are going to get is wrath and indignation, and sarcasm and mocking. If this does not work, you are going to get the fourth kind of opposition which is fighting and open warfare to try to destroy you. If this does not work, then the devil will bring in the really heavy artillery.
The fifth opposition, where many people stumble, which is much more dangerous than any of the first four, is "Let's talk." If somebody who has sinned against you and is not willing to repent, confess and make it right wants to talk to you, you are presumptuous in going to them to talk, because they have a work to do before you should even be talking! If there is no repentance, confession, restitution or willingness to stand together in the truth, you should not be talking to somebody like that or you will be destroyed.
The "Let's talk" approach by pretended friends who have not repented, confessed and made restitution and demonstrated a willingness to stand together on the truth is a most dangerous method of opposition; but if the first five do not work, then the devil brings in the most deceptive and most dangerous opposition of all, because you do not realize what is going on. It is the pretended friend who says to you, "I am a Seventh-day Adventist. I believe all of the Spirit of Prophecy. I want to do what is right," but they are not living it. This is more dangerous than the Jesuits and the pope by a long way. "I'm a Seventh-day Adventist. I believe the Spirit of Prophecy. I want to do what is right."
Shemaiah came to Nehemiah. He was a secret informer hired by somebody else to try to destroy Nehemiah, but when he came, he said, "Let's go to the temple. Let's go and worship the Lord." Nehemiah said that if he had gone with Shemaiah, it would have been sin. Are you going to be taken by this type of opposition or are you going to survive this one, too? A lot of people who survive every other type of opposition do not survive this one.
Friends, we are living in the most deceptive time in the history of the world. Do you understand this? Do you believe it? All the experience that the devil gained in Nehemiah's time and all the time since then he is bringing to bear upon the people of God. I am disturbed when I see people who should know the truth become deceived when somebody comes along who is very religious and friendly.
What is the test that Ellen White gives us that is to be applied? The questions you are to ask are, "Is this person a doer of the word? Are they living up to all the light they have?" If there is not evidence that they are, watch out; you are about to go into a fatal trap.
If a person is not under the influence of the Holy Spirit, it is not safe to counsel or talk with them.
"You who are finite, erring, and unsanctified, have supposed that God's children were put under your jurisdiction, for you to plan for them, and bring them to your terms. The policy you have labored so hard to establish in your connection with the work is an offense to God. He has never justified any arrangement, through organization, discipline, or laws, whereby men who have evidenced that they are not susceptible to the Holy Spirit's moving shall use their power to sustain others in a like disregard of the Spirit's work" 1888, 1367.
"Oh," somebody says, "I belong to the church organization." Ellen White says that God has never justified any arrangement through organization, discipline, or laws, where those who have evidenced that they are not susceptible to the Holy Spirit's moving should sustain others in a like disregard of the Spirit's work. It does not matter if a person is a member of any organization or not; that is not the point. Do they give evidence that they are under the control of the Holy Spirit? Are they living it or just professing it?
The great question that everyone has to answer is: Who are you going to counsel with, be friends with, associate with? Whoever you associate with will have an influence on your mind and spirituality. Do you believe that? It is going to happen. And the more you associate with that person, the greater effect he is going to have on you. The devil is working full time today to get God's people hooked up by marriage or friendship to those who are pretended friends of the cross of Christ but are not under the control of the Holy Spirit, and pretended friends are the most effective agents the devil has because they influence other people's minds. People are influenced by the minds of their pretended friends and are in a deadly trap. Are you going to survive?
We have covered the six kinds of opposition. You have to get through all six in the last days if you are going to go through to the end. Are you going to make it? As I have studied, especially the last two types of opposition, I realized that I am not going to make it unless the Holy Spirit is inside, directing me.
When that fellow came to Nehemiah and said, "Let's go worship in the house of the Lord," how did Nehemiah know who he was? At first, Nehemiah did not know for sure, but the Spirit impressed his mind that he should not go with him, and he said, "I will not go in." Later, it says, Nehemiah perceived that Shemaiah was not really his friend at all and if he had accepted his advice, he would have been sinning; but it looked all right when he first came.
What are you going to do when you get into a situation like the one Nehemiah was in? What am I going to do? Friend, if the Holy Spirit is not leading your mind, you are going to be trapped, because, at the first, it is so deceptive that you cannot even tell from outward evidence what is going on--it looks so holy, so righteous, so religious and like just the thing a Christian ought to do, but it is a trap. This is the kind of opposition that the 144,000 are going to have to get through. Nehemiah got through it.
The only way you can get through it is if your mind is under the control of the Holy Spirit. Do you understand now why Ellen White says that the deceptions will be so deceptive that without the Holy Spirit you will not be able to distinguish the deception from the truth. If you are met with a deception like this, unless the Holy Spirit is in control of your mind and you are following His leading and guiding, you will not be able to tell until maybe it is too late. It is too deceptive.
Do you know what? There is nothing that the devil can do that the Holy Spirit does not know all about. If your mind is under the control of the Holy Spirit, He will protect you from all of these things. You will know when it is time to say, "No, I am not going to talk." Let them say that you are not a Christian because you will not talk. Nehemiah did it. You will know when it is time to say, "No, I am not going to do it. I am not going to have anything to do with it." At first, you may not be able to explain why.
Every time we make decisions, we need to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit and develop the habit of saying, "Lord, is this the decision that You want me to make? Am I doing the right thing?" The Holy Spirit is the only One who can protect you from this last type of deception.
Jesus said that the deceptions would be so great that if it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived. What does this mean? It means that no matter how smart you are, unless the Holy Spirit is working on your mind, you are going to be deceived. It is just that simple, or that complicated.
Do you want the Holy Spirit to have control of your mind? Are you praying every day and saying, "Lord, I am opening my heart to the Holy Spirit. I want Him to control my mind"? If you are not praying this, if the Holy Spirit is not in control of your mind, if you are not already deceived, you are going to be deceived shortly, because that is the kind of time we are living in. If you are deceived, you do not know it; if you knew it, you would not be deceived. We need to say, "Lord, fill my mind with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be under the control of Your Holy Spirit. I do not want the devil to trip me up, surprise me, get control of my life, without me even knowing it." This is happening all over to Adventists today, friends. And it will happen to you and to me unless the Holy Spirit is in control of our mind.
Abbreviations
1888 -- l888 Materials
CC -- Conflict and Courage
PK -- Prophets and Kings
RH -- Review and Herald
SM -- Selected Messages, 1SM, etc.
ST -- Signs of the Times
YI -- Youth's Instructor