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The 144,000, Part II

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For over 6,000 years, man has succumbed to Satan’s temptations to break God’s eternal law, thus becoming subject to death, as we read in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin [is] death.” Satan hates God’s Law. He has made the claim that only a very few are obeying God’s Law in keeping the Sabbath, but even they will give up the Sabbath when faced by the coming crisis. This is why he will enforce Sunday worship, which God’s Word teaches us is the mark of the beast.

A worldwide law will enforce Sunday worship with a death penalty to those who do not obey. Thus, Satan claims that no man will keep God’s Law. But God has a plan for this last generation that will be living on this earth. Those whose names are left in the Lamb’s book of life after the investigative judgment are to be taken to heaven without experiencing death. The 144,000 will prove to the universe that God’s Law can be kept no matter what terrible persecutions Satan, through his agents, can inflict upon these saints during what God calls a “time of trouble, such as never was.” Daniel 12:1.

God proclaims of these 144,000, “Here is the patience of the saints, here [are] they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12.

To refresh our memories, in the first part of this article, we noted that out of the tense end-time trials and tribulations there will be developed 144,000 living saints whose characters will have become more Christlike than that of any other generation of saints throughout the history of the world. Their characters will reveal that they have “gained the victory over evil so that they would rather die than sin.” The Great Controversy, 425.

The Latter Rain

What will make this possible? God has a great blessing reserved to pour out upon His last-generation church¾a blessing that has not been previously manifested because it has not been needed. In the end time, however, it becomes a necessity. It is called the latter rain. God knew that the last generation would need an extra supply of the grace of the Holy Spirit to prepare them to pass through the time of Jacob’s trouble and to meet Christ at His coming.

We read about this blessing in Joel 2:23, 24: “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first [month]. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.”

Besides empowering this last generation to proclaim the loud cry to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, which will be a last-day accomplishment, the latter rain performs something for the saints themselves. This work of grace for the saints may be likened to the ripening of the grain for the harvest, and this certainly will be harvest time for God’s church. In the Scripture just quoted from Joel 2:24, it explains that, when the latter rain falls, the threshing floor shall be full of wheat.

But let us keep in mind that it is absolutely necessary that these living saints receive both the early and the latter rain. “If we do not progress, if we do not place ourselves in an attitude to receive both the former and the latter rain, we shall lose our souls, and the responsibility will lie at our own door.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 508.

Ellen White further explained: “The ripening of the grain represents the completion of the work of God’s grace in the soul. By the power of the Holy Spirit the moral image of God is to be perfected in the character. We are to be wholly transformed into the likeness of Christ.

Former Rain Necessary

“The latter rain, ripening earth’s harvest, represents the spiritual grace that prepares the church for the coming of the Son of man. But unless the former rain has fallen, there will be no life; the green blade will not spring up. Unless the early showers have done their work, the latter rain can bring no seed to perfection.” Ibid., 506.

The latter rain will accomplish in the saints an even further work of character refinement or perfection. Not only will this prepare the church for the coming of Christ, as stated in the previous quotation, but, also, in Testimonies, vol. 1, 353, we read, “It is the latter rain which revives and strengthens them to pass through the time of trouble.” So, it is no wonder that God, through His prophet Zechariah, stated, “Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; [so] the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.” Zechariah 10:1. What a beautiful promise! But many of our people seem to be waiting for the latter rain to accomplish their victory over sin. We are forewarned that they are making a terrible mistake. This is not the purpose of the latter rain.

Prior preparation must be made before the latter rain can fall upon any one of us. “Many have in a great measure failed to receive the former rain. They have not obtained all the benefits that God has thus provided for them. They expect that the lack will be supplied by the latter rain. When the richest abundance of grace shall be bestowed, they intend to open their hearts to receive it. They are making a terrible mistake. The work that God has begun in the human heart in giving His light and knowledge must be continually going forward. Every individual must realize his own necessity. The heart must be emptied of every defilement and cleansed for the indwelling of the Spirit. It was by the confession and forsaking of sin, by earnest prayer and consecration of themselves to God, that the early disciples prepared for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The same work, only in greater degree, must be done now.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 507.

Purified

Ellen White makes this very important statement: “Today you are to have your vessel purified that it may be ready for the heavenly dew, ready for the showers of the latter rain; for the latter rain will come, and the blessing of God will fill every soul that is purified from every defilement. It is our work today to yield our souls to Christ, that we may be fitted for the time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord¾fitted for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” Selected Messages, Book 1,191.

Perhaps the first work of the latter rain will be to seal the saints of God in their foreheads. However, notice this quote, “Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us as the early rain fell upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 214.

Please note again the counsel that every defilement must be washed away in the blood of the Lamb. It is then, and not until then, that the latter rain will fall upon God’s people. It is then, and not until then, that God’s people will receive the seal of the living God. “Will this seal be put upon the impure in mind, the fornicator, the adulterer, the man who covets his neighbor’s wife? Let your souls answer the question, Does my character correspond to the qualifications essential that I may receive a passport to the mansions Christ has prepared for those who are fitted for them? Holiness must be inwrought in our character.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 446.

Again, this cutting truth comes loud and clear. Ellen White tells us, “Those who receive the seal of the living God must reflect the image of Jesus fully.” Early Writings, 71. I trust this alarming truth is awakening your heart as it has mine; for before the seal is placed upon the living saints, all must appear before the judgment seat of God to receive their award according to their works.

Time of Judgment

When does the final separation of the wheat and the tares begin? “The time of the judgment is a most solemn period, when the Lord gathers His own from among the tares.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 238. We are also told, “The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. . . . In this time the gold [that is, His own] will be separated from the dross [that is, the tares] in the church.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 81.

When God’s people are faced with the papal Sunday test, the Sunday sabbath test, the final separation of the wheat and the tares will take place. Those who pass this test will be sealed with the seal of the living God, and all who fail will receive the mark of the beast. It is by their own choice that their eternal destiny will be decided.

This is why it is said of those who decide to be faithful commandment keepers, “Their names are retained in the Lamb’s book of life, enrolled among the faithful of all ages. They have resisted the wiles of the deceiver; they have not been turned from their loyalty by the dragon’s roar. Now they are eternally secure from the tempter’s devices.” Can you just picture this precious experience, as “holy angels, unseen, were passing to and fro placing upon them the seal of the living God”? Testimonies, vol. 5, 475.

Sealing

Now, let us inquire as to what the seal of God is and how the saints are blessed by receiving it. After the saints are sealed, their characters will “remain” as sinless as they were at the time of their sealing. Ellen White tells us, “When the decree goes forth [that is, the Sunday law] and the stamp is impressed [that is, the seal] their character will remain pure and spotless for eternity.” Ibid., 216. How amazing that is! God does have a plan.

The seal of God is an indelible mark that the angels can read, but man cannot. “And even after the saints are sealed with the seal of the living God, His elect will have trials individually. Personal afflictions will come; but the furnace is closely watched by an eye that will not suffer the gold to be consumed. The indelible mark of God is upon them. God can plead that His own name is written there. The Lord has shut them in. Their destination is inscribed—‘God, New Jerusalem.’ They are God’s property, His possession.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 446.

You know, when you read and hear things like this, do you not feel like saying, Amen? “The sealing is a pledge from God of perfect security to His chosen ones (Exodus 31:13-17). Sealing indicates you are God’s chosen. He has appropriated you to Himself. As the sealed of God we are Christ’s purchased possession, and no one shall pluck us out of His hands.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 15, 225. Oh, how marvelous!

It is self-evident that when God’s people are faced with the seal or the mark of the beast that the reception of either the seal of God or the mark of the beast indicates that their names have come up in the investigative judgment, their destiny has been decided. Their individual probations have been closed. Note, also, that they must make the same preparation for the close of their probations as do those who die in the Lord; that is, in regard to sinning and defilement in their lives.

The latter rain does not fall upon them until after they have made this preparation. So, other than the tense end-time persecutions that favor character maturity, in which they live, the last generation of God’s people will have no more advantage before their probation closes than do those who die in the Lord. All mankind must make their preparation under the former rain. That is such an important point that I must repeat it. All mankind must make their preparation under the former rain, and that time is now.

Symbolic or Literal

As we ponder these observations that I have made of the experiences, the achievements, and the blessings of the 144,000, let us answer a question that is so often asked:

Is the term, the 144,000, a symbolic or a literal number? The answer: No one knows. We cannot speculate.

Here is some counsel from the Lord’s messenger on this subject: “Another question upon which we had some conversation was in regard to the elect of God that the Lord would have a certain number, and when that number was made up then probation would cease. These are questions you or I have no right to talk about. The Lord Jesus will receive all who come unto Him. He died for the ungodly and every man who will come, may come.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 315.

“Certain conditions are to be complied with on the part of man, and if he refuses to comply with the conditions, he cannot become the elect of God. If he will comply he is a child of God, and Christ says if he will continue in faithfulness, steadfast and immovable in his obedience, He will not blot out his name out of the book of life but will confess his name before His Father and before His angels. God would have us think and talk and present to others those truths which are plainly revealed, and all have naught to do with these subjects of speculation, for they have no special reference to the salvation of our souls.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, 149.

We must ever keep in mind that that which has been revealed is all about which we need to be concerned. “It is not His will that they [His people] should get into controversy over questions which will not help them spiritually, such as, Who is to compose the hundred and forty-four thousand. This those who are the elect of God will in a short time know without question.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 174. That is amazing! And, so, with this, let us rest satisfied.

To be continued . . .

For over 60 years Pastor Lawrence Nelson served as an evangelist and minister for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Of that time, he served 13 years as the director of evangelism for youth at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Upon retirement from the General Conference, he continued to pastor, but when, as a result of his stand for truth, he was denied the opportunity to continue his pastorate, he started Keep the Faith Audio Tape Ministry, recording his sermons and making them available to individuals. Before his retirement from this ministry in 2004, over 18,000 audio tapes were being sent around the world each month.

Good News for Legalists

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I have a friend, a senior citizen now, who is still getting people out of bed early in the morning and late at night to study the Bible. Whenever she hears anyone putting down legalism, she gets upset. She says, “I am a legalist. I am glad to be a legalist.”

Legalist Defined

Her definition of legalism, however, is that a legalist is one who believes in the Law of God. In that case, then, every Christian ought to be a legalist!

But the usual definition of a legalist is a little different from that. When most people hear the word legalist, they think of it as meaning one who is trying to work his way to heaven by keeping the law. They would say that a legalist is one who depends on his good deeds to earn his salvation, and one who thinks that being good is what makes a person a Christian. If there is anything that the apostle Paul is against in his writings, it is the idea that the law can ever be used as a method of salvation. “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” “Where [is] boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” Romans 3:20, 27, 28.

Let us go one step further and define legalist: A legalist is a person who is hoping for salvation apart from faith in Christ. He does not have daily personal devotions or daily prayer, and does not study his Bible regularly. He depends upon his own works, and he is sufficient to measure the goodness of those works.

Everyone in this world has suffered from the disease of legalism to one degree or another. Every day we experience it, and even though we might have a theory of faith alone in Jesus Christ, it is only the daily acceptance of the grace of God that can in practice keep us above the life of the legalist.

Black or Scarlet

This can get a little tricky, because there are two different kinds of legalists. There is the black legalist and the scarlet legalist! We might call them the rigid legalists and the liberal legalists.

By the black legalist, I mean the one who has the black suit, black tie, black shoes, black socks, and a long face! He finds his security in the standards of the church that he upholds, and he judges everyone else who falls short of his achievements. By the way, from his viewpoint, practically everyone else does fall short! He is the Pharisee, and his outward performance is well controlled.

The scarlet legalist is described in Revelation—the woman who is clothed in scarlet and adorned with jewels. (Revelation 17:4.) This type of legalist is reacting against the old-guard form of legalism. This person wears jewelry and makeup, is not particular in regard to attending church, and takes real pride in the fact that she is no longer legalistic.

But both kinds of legalists are deceived. They are as legalistic as ever, but just afflicted with different forms of the same disease. The liberal legalist is as much a legalist as the rigid one, for both know nothing of the personal relationship with Jesus. Both of them are trusting to their own ways instead of trusting in Jesus, who alone has the power to give salvation.

Good News and Bad News

Let’s read the good news and bad news for legalists, beginning with Romans 9:30–32, first part: “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because [they did] not [seek it] by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law.”

This was the problem of the religious world back then—people trying to save themselves by their own works in keeping the law. And, the passage continues, “For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ ” Verses 32, last part, 33. Who is the stumbling stone? It is Jesus.

Continuing with chapter 10:1–4: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

There is bad news for legalists in this passage, because they will never attain to righteousness by working on it, no matter how hard they work. But there is also good news for legalists, because they do not have to keep wearing themselves out with fruitless effort.

It is the legalist who has been working the hardest on trying to gain salvation, and the words of Jesus’ friendly invitation, “Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28), can be the best news the legalist has ever heard, when their meaning finally becomes clear. It is good news to hear and accept that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes.

Overcoming Without Becoming A Legalist

In spite of the fact that we can never attain to righteousness by our good deeds and our obedience, the fact remains that the subject of obedience and victory is still important in the Christian life. Even the legalist recognizes that the subject of overcoming must be handled somehow. The scarlet legalist concludes that victory is not needed, maybe not even possible. But the theory does not even hold up to logic and reason, much less to Scripture. For even the most liberal legalist, who has lowered the standard in place of improving performance, will agree that there are limits.

Let us say that you are having problems with church standards, and you scrap them. That may appear to work out, if the standard with which you are having a problem is attending movies. But what if your problem is that you are a murderer, a child abuser, or you cannot stop robbing banks? How low can the standard go? The liberal legalist may be able to meet the liberal standard today, but what about the more liberal legalist who would like to see a more liberal standard? Suppose you were to find that you could not even join the liberal legalists, because your willpower was so weak that you could not even force yourself to meet the lowest standard of performance. What then?

On the other hand, for too long the rigid, traditional legalist has met all evidence of weakness on the part of others as simply an evidence of lack of sincerity. They look scornfully at the struggling sinner and say, “If you really wanted to, you could overcome. If you would really try, you could make it.” And the one who has failed has not only the guilt of defeat but the additional burden of being considered insincere and hypocritical as well.

There has to be good news for both types of legalists. There has to be a third option, and there is! It is the option of a relationship with Jesus. To all of the legalists of His day—to the liberals who wanted the standard lowered, as well as to the traditionalists who wanted the standard even more rigid—Jesus came and offered Himself. Jesus was the end of the law for righteousness then, and He is the end of the law for righteousness today, for those who trust in Him.

But being legalists naturally, we find it hard to understand how righteousness works. We accept the theory that works is not where it is. We admit that it is good news. And then we try to figure out how it actually works in practical life.

The Blue Letter

A young minister’s wife, a brilliant woman who had studied Greek and Hebrew and who was a theologian in her own right, once expressed the dilemma to me in a letter. She was trying to grasp the practical side of the good news for legalists. It was written on blue paper, so I have come to call it “The Blue Letter.”

“Help! I have some questions I thought were answered a couple of years ago; they are so elementary that I hesitate to ask them. Please overlook the baby Christian ideas and tell me what you have discovered, since you have been on the route longer than I have. This business of the will: How far do we take it? In giving our will to God, is that all we have to do?

“To clarify, here is an example, and that is all it is; it is not the problem, just an example, but the principles might apply. How does one go about fighting his appetite? Does he just tell God he cannot control it, ask Him to control it for him, give Him his will, and then let God make him not want to eat?

“In the meantime, when he is hungry, should he take diet pills to help God out? Stay busy all day to keep from food? Run out of the kitchen so he will not be tempted? Or just say, ‘Okay, God; You do whatever You want with my will, including controlling my appetite. I cannot, so the rest is up to You’? Do you claim the promises that God will and do in you, according to His good pleasure, and then sit back and eat while you are waiting for God to change your will and actions?

“When God gets me to the place where I do not want to eat because I know it is against God’s will and I do not want to hurt Him, but I still want to eat because it tastes good, should I go ahead and eat while I wait for God to take away the desire? Or should I exercise my willpower and try not to eat? What is this relationship between will and willpower? When I ask God to wash away my sins and give me a new heart, am I to believe He does this because He has promised? Then do I just wait for Him to do it all, no matter how long it takes—the don’t-sweat-it-just-surrender philosophy? Does God take away the food or the appetite? Will He answer prayer for other things while the appetite indulgence continues?

“I have read a lot of answers and promises, in the Bible and other places. I have experienced the solution to many problems, but this time I am baffled. Maybe I am impatient or looking for an easy way out, but I think I am being honest with God and with myself. How literal are these instructions? I am anxious for your reply because the hang-up hangs on!”

An Answer, Please

Soon after I received “The Blue Letter,” I took it with me to a ministers’ meeting and began to ask around for some answers from my colleagues. One person said, “She does not have enough faith.”

Another said, “She is impatient. She should give God more time.”

Someone else said, “I think she really has a problem!”

And I responded to them all, “Thanks a lot!”

Another person said, “God will sometimes give us a thorn in the flesh to keep us humble.”

And someone else said, “No one is perfect.”

Yet another said, “I would need more detail before I could give an answer.” On and on the answers came.

The question of obedience, overcoming, and victory is by no means that clear in our minds, and the nearer we come to the closing scenes, to the time of the judgment, the more anxious we become.

There are people everywhere who know about the eschatology [a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world], and they cannot miss the evidence that things are just about over. They say, “If I am supposed to be perfect and be one of these overcomers by such and such a time, then I am going to have to do better than I am doing now.” This is precisely why some have made a major shift in their theology in recent times. They know, according to their present and past performance, that they are not going to make it, so they shift their theology to meet their experience.

In so doing, perhaps they are missing one of the greatest avenues that God has in mind to enable them to be overcomers—that of coming to the end of their own resources. It is because they thought that they were doing pretty well, and because they figured they had plenty of time, and because they have thought that they could become overcomers if they tried a little harder and a little longer, that they have waited so long to surrender, to submit themselves to God, to give up on the hope that they could ever succeed in their own strength. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Matthew 9:12. Is it possible that one of the major reasons why they are not yet whole is that they have not yet admitted to being sick and so have not come to the Great Physician for healing?

I knew a woman one time who could not stop smoking. She could not understand her own problem. She had experienced a marvelous deliverance from alcohol and from some of her other problems, but her problem with smoking persisted. After my family and I had moved on to another town, one day I received a phone call from this woman. She was dying of lung cancer and was calling from the hospital where she was awaiting surgery. She asked me to pray with her, and then she said, “By the way, I have quit smoking.”

I asked, “How did that happen?”

And she replied, “I had to!”

As I questioned her further, she told me two things. First, she had never thought that smoking was that big a deal. She could see giving up the drinking. She could see the adverse effect it had on her behavior when she was drunk. But smoking? No biggie. What was so bad about smoking? And, second, she had always thought that she could stop smoking anytime she wanted. Sure, the drinking had been something she could not control. She had been compelled to give up on that and allow God to give her the victory. But when it came to smoking, she had thought she could handle that herself. She thought willpower was enough.

When the smoke began to rise for her personally, when she developed the lung cancer, she was brought face-to-face with two facts. One, smoking was a biggie. It was deadly. And, two, she had found that she was as helpless to control her desire for cigarettes as she had been to control her desire for alcohol. But she had continued her relationship with the Lord Jesus, and once she recognized and admitted her desperate situation and her need of God’s power, she was enabled to receive the gift of victory over her smoking as well.

Surrendering Means Giving Up

No one ever surrendered to the other side while he still thought he could win the war. Surrender comes only after all hope of winning is gone. The reason why we have not surrendered in the first place, or not stayed surrendered in the second place, is that our legalistic natures keep rising to the top, and we keep hoping that perhaps if we fight a little harder or a little longer, we can win by ourselves.

Have you ever come to the end of your rope on a particular problem, turned it over to God, and experienced victory that comes as a gift from Him? And, then, have you ever stayed in the position for a period of time, only to have the devil come and tempt you this way? “You are doing great on overcoming that sin. Now that you have broken the habit of sinning and are in practice with the overcoming bit, you can handle it yourself.” And as soon as you try, you fall again. Have you seen it happen? And so we fluctuate back and forth between surrender to God and trying to manage things on our own.

What will finally happen is that we will run out of time. For those who are absolutely locked in on the relationship with Christ but who have run out of time in learning how to be overcomers, there is only one alternative left. It is the alternative God has been trying to bring us to all along—it is to give up, completely, forever. When we finally realize the deadly results of the sin problem we have been trying to handle on our own and, at the same time, how helpless we are to handle sin on our own, we will give up on even attempting to overcome in our own strength. Once we have given up—finally, completely, totally—we will learn what Paul learned when he said, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 11 Corinthians 12:10, last part.

The Bottom Line

In all of the discussion, dialogue, and debate in the church today, there is one common thread. It is often disguised, but the basic issue is whether obedience comes by faith alone in Jesus Christ or by our own hard work. Let me explain why this is the bottom line.

If my obedience is something that I work on myself, then my end product will be filthy rags. (See Isaiah 64:6.) Even if I go so far as to say, “Well, God is going to have to help me,” as long as I rely on myself to do any part of it, my end product is going to be, to any extent I am involved, filthy rags. Any kind of righteousness, obedience, victory, or overcoming that I am in any way trying to produce is going to be imperfect. I have no other option. If that is true, then it would be impossible for me to keep God’s commandments.

But the remnant people spoken of in Revelation 12:17 are those who do keep God’s commandments. It is the overcomers whose names are retained in the book of life during the time of the judgment, so there must be a way of obeying God and keeping His commandments that has escaped some of us. We need to understand something. What is it? It is that obedience comes by faith alone in Jesus Christ. This means that we must come into a relationship of absolute dependence upon Him. This relationship allows Him to do what He has always wanted to do—live his life in us. Then He wills and does according to His good pleasure, and whatever Jesus does is real obedience through and through. So the person who believes that obedience comes through faith alone, through dependence upon Jesus to bring the power, also believes that it is possible for Jesus to obey God’s commandments within the depending person.

For a long time the church has held two incompatible beliefs. One is that we can keep God’s commandments, that we can overcome. Some have even dealt with things like perfection. The other is that while we do need God’s help, we are supposed to work hard on our own obedience. Those two are incompatible.

At least those who modify their theology are consistent in that area. They say, “Yes, you are supposed to work hard on your own obedience and do the best you can, but you cannot obey; you cannot overcome; you cannot keep God’s commandments.” At least they are consistent, for the two go together.

The time will come when we will have to either modify our theology and reject the possibility of overcoming, or we will have to find out what obedience by faith alone in Jesus Christ is all about.

Obedience By Faith Alone

Obedience can come by faith alone; the Bible says so! “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17. The righteous are those who have accepted justification by faith. Living the Christian life is understood to be part of sanctification. So Paul is saying that those who have been justified by faith are to be sanctified by faith as well. This in no way does away with works. To the contrary, only the one who lives by faith alone is able to do the works.

In John 15:5, Jesus says, “without Me you can do nothing.” But Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” So the conclusion is that we must get with Him, through communication, through relationship, through time spent with Jesus day by day. And that is the very thing that three-fourths of Christianity is not doing. This lack of relationship is the reason we get panicky when we see that the end is right upon us. We have forgotten that the entire basis of the Christian life is the fellowship and relationship with Jesus day by day. We spend our time and effort trying to be good. But we forget that the Christian is one who knows Jesus personally.

The only alternative to legalism is a relationship with Jesus. It is good news to the one who has been working on his behavior, trying to do his duty, trying to do what is right, trying to learn that there is a much higher motivation available. That motivation is the power of love. As we learn to know Jesus, we will learn to love Him. Love for Him will change our desires, our motives, and our hearts. The obedience that seemed to be either an unpleasant duty or a total impossibility now becomes the most natural thing in the world, for we become changed into His image by beholding Him. (11 Corinthians 3:18.) Duty becomes a delight and sacrifices a pleasure, and the news that Jesus’ coming is right upon us becomes good news, terrific news even for legalists!

Domingo Nunez is Director of Outreach Ministry for Steps to Life. He may be contacted by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Remember Lot’s Wife, Part I

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Luke 17:32 is one of the shortest texts in the Bible. In most English versions, it is just three words, but they are the words of Jesus, and all the words of Jesus are important. Although the story from which these three words originate is recorded in the Book of Genesis, it is spoken of a number of times throughout the Bible. We will study the three words that Jesus spoke: “Remember Lot’s wife.”

Remember

Have you ever noticed that the few things in the Bible about which God says, “Remember,” are the very things that mankind tends to forget?

The longest commandment in the Ten Commandments, the fourth, begins, “Remember.” Of all the Ten Commandments, which one is the most forgotten? The fourth! How interesting! How paradoxical, ironic, and astonishing, that the one commandment that God specifically said, “Remember this,” is what people forget!

Which of the Ten Commandments are mentioned explicitly by name in the first chapters of Genesis? There is only one¾the fourth commandment! It is interesting that the one commandment that is mentioned in the second chapter of Genesis, before sin entered the world, is the one commandment that a large proportion of the Christian world wants to call ceremonial.

If you would like to do an interesting word study some Sabbath afternoon, get a concordance, such as a Strong’s Concordance, look up the word remember, and write down everything in the Bible that God says to remember. The Sabbath is just one of the things.

A Little History

Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife.” What are we supposed to remember about Lot’s wife? Let us just review a little history.

Lot’s father, Haran, died before his grandfather, Terah, died. (Genesis 11:28.) Lot’s uncle, Abraham, assumed the role of a father to Lot. When Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees and went to Haran and later on to the Promised Land, Lot accompanied him. (Genesis 11:28-31.)

Evidently, Abraham even got Lot started in the cattle business. (Genesis 13:2-5.) Ellen White distinctly says that “Lot owed his prosperity to his connection with Abraham.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 133.

Lot’s Mistake

Early in life, Lot made a very serious mistake. Actually, this is not uncommon. Many, many people make some of the most serious mistakes of their lives when they are young, and these grave mistakes follow them all the way through their lives. The mistake that Lot made not only followed him all the rest of his life, but it resulted in the change of the whole course of world history.

What mistake did Lot make? He made a poor choice for his marriage partner. Read about it from the writings of inspiration: “The wife of Lot was a selfish, irreligious woman, and her influence was exerted to separate her husband from Abraham. But for her, Lot would not have remained in Sodom, deprived of the counsel of the wise, God-fearing patriarch. The influence of his wife and the associations of that wicked city would have led him to apostatize from God had it not been for the faithful instruction he had early received from Abraham. The marriage of Lot and his choice of Sodom for a home were the first links in a chain of events fraught with evil to the world for many generations.” Ibid., 174.

Three Questions

Let me tell you, that is not the last time some young man has done something like that! One of the things that I have wondered about, as I have grown older, is why young people do not ask certain questions before they marry someone. A lot of questions do not need to be asked, but, amazingly, most young people do not ask the right questions.

I am not going to try to give you all the questions you should ask before you get married, but there are three questions I have especially noticed that many young people never ask. A young person, whether a man or a woman, should never marry someone without asking these three questions. If Lot had asked these three questions, he would never have married the woman he did.

Proud

The first question is this: Is this person whom I am planning to marry proud?

If you marry someone who is proud, you are guaranteed to get into trouble in your marriage. Study the Book of Proverbs; Solomon figured this out. He married a number of proud women, and got himself into trouble. In Proverbs, he talks about it and about how dangerous it is: “He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife.” Proverbs 28:25. We are going to study about strife, because Lot got into a bunch of strife.

If you marry someone who is proud, it is guaranteed that you will have trouble; you are going to have strife and contention. An amazing thing is how few young people, when they are thinking of marriage to someone, ask the question, Is this person proud? This is one of the most important questions to ask.

Selfish

The second question is this: Is this person whom I am planning to marry selfish?

Ellen White stated that Lot’s wife was a selfish woman. No man or woman should ever consider marrying a person if that person gives evidence that his or her character is selfish. That is one of the most dangerous things someone can do. A life of sadness is guaranteed if you marry someone who is a selfish person.

You see, you cannot make a marriage partner happy unless you are an unselfish person. And yet, this is a question that millions of people, and many thousands of Seventh-day Adventists, never even ask when they are considering marriage. Evidently Lot did not ask this question. Ellen White says that he never would have stayed there in Sodom if it had not been for his wife. He would have returned and been with Abraham. It was a very serious mistake, and he never recovered from that mistake.

Irreligious

The third question is this: Is this person whom I am planning to marry irreligious?

Ellen White says that Lot’s wife was not only proud and selfish, but she was irreligious. This is the question that no young person should ever marry without asking. Is this person, whom I am considering marrying, religious or irreligious?

“Well,” someone may ask, “what do you mean, Pastor John? Do they go to church?” No, whether or not they go to church is not the question. That is important, but that is not the question.

What is a religious person? James 1:26, 27 says, “If anyone seems to be religious among you, and does not bridle his tongue . . . .” A religious person will be able to control his or her tongue. Just marry someone who cannot control his or her tongue, and see what happens to you! “. . . this person’s religion is worthless. He is deceiving his own heart. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: To visit the orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” If a person is really religious, you will be able to see it in the way that person acts and deals with people who are in trouble.

We are all in contact with people who are in various kinds of trouble. How do we relate to these people? A person who is religious will be helpful to people who are in trouble. If you marry without finding out whether or not your future life partner has that kind of practical religion, you may be headed for trouble. Lot’s wife was irreligious.

Lot’s Marriage

Lot made a terrible mistake when he married his wife, and he never recovered from that mistake. His wife got him into the most horrible trouble of his life. But, as we will see in this study, he got her into more trouble than she got him, because we influence each other.

Writing about the subject of Lot’s marriage, Ellen White stated, “No one who fears God can without danger connect himself with one who fears Him not. ‘Can two walk together, except they be agreed?’ Amos 3:3. The happiness and prosperity of the marriage relation depends upon the unity of the parties; but between the believer and the unbeliever there is a radical difference of tastes, inclinations, and purposes. They are serving two masters, between whom there can be no concord. However pure and correct one’s principles may be, the influence of an unbelieving companion will have a tendency to lead away from God. . . .

“The marriage of Christians with the ungodly is forbidden in the Bible. The Lord’s direction is, ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.’ 11 Corinthians 6:14.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 174, 175.

Strife

Once your choice is made, even if your spouse is proud, selfish, and irreligious, the Bible says that you are not to leave him or her. Read 1 Corinthians 7. Lot married, and he made a poor choice, but he was not to leave her. He was to be faithful to her, but now Lot’s troubles begin.

Remember, if you are proud, the result is strife. The Bible does not go into detail about this, but Lot’s herdsmen and Abraham’s herdsmen got into some strife over the pasture and the watering places for the cattle. (Genesis 13:2-7.) “The pasturage was not sufficient for the flocks and herds of both [Lot and Abraham], and the frequent disputes among the herdsmen were brought for settlement to their masters.” Ibid., 132.

This whole thing about strife is such a big subject. Read the following references from the inspired writings.

“Contention among God’s people is offensive in His sight.” The Signs of the Times, August 19, 1880. “Charity does not rejoice in evil; revenge does. Be careful to manifest zeal for yourselves that you may show out of a good conversation your meekness of wisdom. Avoid every bitter word, every unkind action. Love as brethren; be kind; be courteous. Do not scandalize the truth by bitter envying and contention; for such is the spirit of the world. Let not these unholy traits once be named among you.” Ibid., February 14, 1895.

In 1887, Ellen White wrote: “The Lord has not closed Heaven against his people; but their own course of continual backsliding, of bickering, envying, and strife, has separated them from him.” Ibid., July 14, 1887.

Think through this situation in which Abraham and Lot found themselves the strife that developed among the herdsmen over the situation with the cattle and the pasture and the water. Do you think that the only way this situation could be solved was by Lot going to Sodom? Do you think it was the Lord’s will for Lot to go to Sodom? Well, then, how did it work out that way? One of the reasons it worked out that way was because Sodom was a very prosperous city, and you may remember that Lot’s wife was a selfish woman. She wanted to go to Sodom because there was a lot of money there.

Lot liked the idea, too, because the area was well watered, the Bible says. (Genesis 13:10.) There was a lot of water and plenty of pasture for the cattle, and if there was more water and more pasture, the herds could be increased, and Lot could gain more wealth. It looked like a situation where a lot of money could be made, and that appealed to Lot’s wife.

If there had not been so much pride, then there would not have been so much strife, quarrelling, and contention. The problem could have been resolved without Lot ever having to go to Sodom.

Resolution

Sometimes, whether or not we can solve a problem the right way depends on how much pride we have, on whether or not we are quarrelsome. About this, Ellen White wrote: “I feel an intense interest regarding every faultfinder; for I know that a quarrelsome disposition will never find entrance into the city of God. Quarrel with yourself, but with no one else; and then be converted.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 7, 271.

“Are you quarrelsome here? Are you finding fault with your household here? If you are, you will find fault with them in heaven. Your character is being tested and proved in this life, whether you will make a peaceable subject of God’s kingdom in heaven.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 1, 203.

“When a child hears an older person constantly talking about the faults of someone else, he in turn is imbued with the same spirit of faultfinding and criticism. The seeds of contention are being sown.” Ibid., 375.

The strife could have been settled without Lot going to Sodom, but because of the characters of the people, because Lot’s wife was a selfish, irreligious woman, and because of Lot himself, he made a selfish choice. Abraham, since he was acting as a father to Lot, could have disallowed him from going down there. He could have said to Lot, “I am going to take my pick, and you can have what is left.” He could have done that rightly. He was the one who set Lot up in business.

Ellen White describes it thus: “Although Lot owed his prosperity to his connection with Abraham, he manifested no gratitude to his benefactor. Courtesy would have dictated that he yield the choice to Abraham, but instead of this he selfishly endeavored to grasp all its advantages. He ‘lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, . . . even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.’ [Genesis 13:10.] The most fertile region in all Palestine was the Jordan Valley, reminding the beholders of the lost Paradise and equaling the beauty and productiveness of the Nile-enriched plains they had so lately left. There were cities also, wealthy and beautiful, inviting to profitable traffic in their crowded marts. Dazzled with visions of worldly gain, Lot overlooked the moral and spiritual evils that would be encountered there. The inhabitants of the plain were ‘sinners before the Lord exceedingly’ [verse 13]; but of this he was ignorant, or, knowing, gave it but little weight. He ‘chose him all the plain of Jordan’ [verse 11], and ‘pitched his tent toward Sodom’ [verse 12]. How little did he foresee the terrible results of that selfish choice!” Patriarchs and Prophets, 133.

Much to Learn

We have much to learn, of course, from Abraham. Abraham was a very gracious person, and even though by right he could have made the first choice, he said to Lot, “Let us not allow there to be any strife between you and me, because we are brethren.” Genesis 13:8.

Oh, would that we could learn that today! Do you realize, friends, it is a disgrace to the cause of Christ when those who claim to be followers of Christ have strife among themselves? It is an insult to the Lord. “Let us not allow there to be any strife between you and me, because we are brethren.”

So, Abraham said to Lot, “Well, you choose which way you want to go and you go there, and I will take the other.” (Genesis 13:8.)

Lot looked around, and he saw that the plain of Jordan was well watered. He said, “I will go down here.” (Verse 10.) So Abraham stayed at the oaks of Mamre, and Lot “pitched his tent toward Sodom.”

Lot “pitched his tent toward Sodom.” Evidently he was not right inside the city at first. Sodom was a wealthy city, and after a while he moved right into town. It was one of the wealthiest cities of that time. It was easy to make a lot of money there, and, of course, Lot’s wife liked the money, so they moved into Sodom.

To be continued . . .

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

Pastor John Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

The Wrath of God, Part I

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And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake.” Revelation 6:12. In fulfillment of this prophecy, there occurred, in the year 1755, the most terrible earthquake that has ever been recorded. Though commonly known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, it extended to the greater part of Europe and Africa. Its shock waves pervaded an area of 1,300,000 square miles, and a vast tsunami wave stretched over the coasts of Spain and Africa, engulfing cities and causing great destruction.

It was in Spain and Portugal that the shock manifested itself in extreme violence. At Cadais, the in-flowing waves were said to be 60 feet high. Mountains, some of the largest in Portugal, were impetuously shaken, as it were, from their very foundations, and some of them opened at their summits, which were split and rent in a wonderful manner, huge masses of them being throw down into the adjacent valleys. Flames are related to have issued from these mountains. One survivor reported that a sound of thunder was heard under the ground, and, immediately afterwards, a violent shock threw down the great part of his city. In the course of about six minutes, 60,000 persons perished. The sea first retired and laid the bar dry; it then rolled in, rising 50 feet or more above its ordinary level.

Among other extraordinary events related to have occurred during the catastrophe was the subsistence of a new harbor built entirely of marble at immense expense. A great concourse of people had collected there for safety, that they might be beyond the reach of fallen ruins. But suddenly the harbor sank down with all the people on it, and not one of the bodies ever floated to the surface.

The shock of the earthquake was instantly followed by the fall of every church and convent, almost all the large, public buildings, and more than one-fourth of the houses. In about two hours after the shock, fires broke out in different quarters of the city and raged with such violence for the space of nearly three days that the city was completely desolated.

The earthquake happened on a holiday when the churches and convents were full of people, very few of whom escaped. The terror of the people was beyond description. Nobody wept; they were beyond tears. Yes, they ran hither and thither delirious with horror and astonishment, beating their faces and breasts saying, Miserecordia meu Dios!¾the world is at an end. Mothers forgot their children and ran about loaded with crucified images. Unfortunately, many ran to the churches for protection, but in vain was the sacrament exposed, in vain did the poor preachers embrace the altar images, and priests and people where buried in one common ruin. It has been estimated that 90,000 persons lost their lives on that fatal day.

Wrath

My question, considering the horrors described above, is, What is the wrath of God? In the Old Testament, the Hebrew hema is identified in Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary as denoting heat, rage, fury, hot displeasure, or indignation. This noun occurs in somatic language with the meaning of heat, wrath, poison, or venom. The noun as well as the verb denotes a strong emotional state. The noun is used 120 times in the Scriptures, predominately in the poetic and prophetic literature, especially Ezekiel.

The first use of hema takes place in the story of Esau and Jacob. Jacob is advised to go to Harmon with the hope that Esau’s rage will dissipate. We read in Genesis 27:41-45: “And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, [purposing] to kill thee. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away; Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget [that] which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?”

Now, notice that Esau’s fury and anger is a stage of anger and fury that causes an angry person to desire or to bring about destruction and death on the person or persons involved. This is the same word used to denote God’s wrath, God’s fury, and God’s anger.

Regarding this situation, Ellen White wrote: “Threatened with death by the wrath of Esau, Jacob went out from his father’s home a fugitive.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 183.

The anger and the fury that Esau felt for his brother Jacob are the same as wrath. Understanding the words anger and fury used in Genesis 27:41-45, which is also wrath and which, as was stated earlier, is the Hebrew word hema, helps to identify the definition for the wrath that God displays toward unrepentant, rebellious sinners.

In the New Testament, the Greek word orge means wrath; it means anger. Synonyms are indignation and vengeance. Orge is similar in meaning to hema and carries the same understanding. Orge suggests the abiding condition of the mind, frequently with a view to take in revenge. It is less sudden in its lies but more lasting in its nature. Orge expresses active emotion.

So, what is the wrath of God? It is that active emotion embedded in God’s righteousness and love that is reattributed in nature, which leads to the destruction and death of every unrepentant sinner that rebels against God.

Bible Defines Wrath

The Bible provides definitions concerning the wrath of God. In Romans 1, we read: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves.” “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.” “And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” Verses 18, 21, 24, 26, 28.

So, the biblical definition of the wrath of God is that action in which God gives the sinner over to sin and its results.

David prayed for God’s mercy in the hour of His anger. Read what he says in Psalm 6:1: “O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.” What a beautiful passage! David is not saying that God should not rebuke him, but that He would please not allow His wrath to come with the rebuke. David knew that to allow God’s wrath to be mixed with it would mean certain death. It must be understood that there is a basic difference, which confuses many Christians. There is a basic difference between God’s retributive judgment, or what we call His wrath, and His rebuke or chastening.

The apostle Paul records for our benefit these words in Hebrews 12:5–11: “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son,” (of course, that is generic and means daughters too) “despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected [us], and we gave [them] reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened [us] after their own pleasure; but he for [our] profit, that [we] might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

Paul evidently was quoting portions of King Solomon’s book, Proverbs 3:11, 12, where the wisest man said: “My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son [in whom] he delighteth.”

Chastening

From these passages, we can conclude that God’s chastening and rebuking are messages to provide correction. The word chastening, as used by Paul and Solomon, literally means disciplinary correction—chastisement, destruction, nurture, education, and to train up a child, to teach. This is the meaning of the word chasten as used by Paul and by the wise man Solomon. Therefore, we can say that the chastening and the rebuke of the Lord are designed to bring about change in the sinner’s attitude and behavior. They are designed for character development, not death and destruction. The psalmist confirmed this fact in Psalm 118:18: “The Lord hath chastened me sore.” Ellen White says that God brings His workmen to bitter disappointment: “Christ’s true disciples follow Him through sore conflicts, enduring self-denial and experiencing bitter disappointment.” The Acts of the Apostles, 590. It is a thought about which David is passionate: “The Lord hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.” Because His chastisement, His rebuke, is not towards death; it is correction.

This thought is brought out clearly also in these words: “Our sorrows do not spring out of the ground. God ‘doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.’ Lamentations 3:33. When He permits trials and afflictions, it is ‘for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.’ Hebrews 12:10. If received in faith, the trial that seems so bitter and hard to bear will prove a blessing. The cruel blow that blights the joys of earth will be the means of turning our eyes to heaven. How many there are who would never have known Jesus had not sorrow led them to seek comfort in Him!

“The trials of life are God’s workmen, to remove the impurities and roughness from our character. Their hewing, squaring, and chiseling, their burnishing and polishing, is a painful process; it is hard to be pressed down to the grinding wheel. But the stone is brought forth prepared to fill its place in the heavenly temple. Upon no useless material does the Master bestow such careful, thorough work. Only His precious stones are polished after the similitude of a palace.” Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 10.

So, the wrath of God or His anger or retributive judgment is totally different. God’s wrath is towards destruction and death. It is not for instruction, nor is it corrective. God’s retributive justice relates to the infliction of penalties. It is an expression of the divine wrath; while, in a sinless world, there would be no place to exercise it, it necessarily holds a very prominent place in a world full of sin. On the whole, the Bible stresses the reward of the righteous more than the punishment of the wicked, but even the latter is sufficiently prominent. Read such verses as Romans 1:22; 2:9; 12:19; 11 Thessalonians 1:8, and many other passages. It should be noted that while man does not merit reward, which he receives, he does merit the punishment, which is meted out to him. Divine justice is originally and necessarily obliged to punish evil, but not to reward good. (See Luke 17:10; 1 Corinthians 4:7; Job 41:11.) Many deny the strict, punitive justice of God and claim that God punishes sinners to reform them or to deter others from sin, but these positions are not tenable.

Does God Kill?

The primary purpose of the punishment of sin is the maintenance of right and justice. Of course, it may incidentally serve and may even secondarily be intended to reform the sinner and to deter others from sin. Having stated that, the question that is now bothering many Seventh-day Adventists and that is dividing the Adventist Church is, Does God kill? Is it in His loving nature to kill or destroy human beings whom He has made in His own image? There are a fraction of Adventists who say that God does not kill, and there are those who say that God does kill. It was the great artist Leonardo da Vinci who said, “The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.”

In an attempt to answer this question as to whether or not God kills, I would like to point out that God’s retributive judgment or wrath is based on the amount of knowledge and opportunity to which a person is exposed in order to know God, and what is done with the knowledge and opportunity.

God’s messenger, Ellen White, states: “God will judge all according to the light which has been presented to them, whether it is plain to them or not.” Sketches From the Life of Paul, 87. Whether it is plain or not! So long as it is presented to you and to me, we are responsible. “It is their duty to investigate as did the Bereans. The Lord says through the prophet Hosea: ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee.’ [Hosea 4:6.]” Ibid., 87, 88.

Some people stay away from church because they do not want to hear, because they do not want to be responsible. Even taking that position, it means that you know; that is why you stay away.

No Turning

Read of the experience of the Amalekites and God’s wrath that had befallen them: “Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee [to be] king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember . . .” God does not forget like we do! We do not talk about it, especially when we do not repent. But God says, “I remember. Acknowledge, do not apologize, and take the necessary steps to correct it; we need to talk about it; I will not forget it.” “I remember [that] which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid [wait] for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” 1 Samuel 15:1-3. Everything! Everybody and everything! Wipe them out!

In those ancient times, God ordered people to utterly slay all members of that wicked, unbelieving nation, the Amalekites, including infants and sucklings. Sometimes people wonder why God would order the killing of those innocent little toddlers. They declare that God is unmerciful, that God is wicked. Is He? Did God know that those infants, if preserved, would perpetuate the evils of their parents? As a nation, the Amalekites had closed the door of their probation for themselves and for their children, even for the infants and sucklings.

God’s servant points out that, “Some parents allow Satan to control their children, and their children are not restrained, but are allowed to have wicked tempers, to be passionate, selfish, and disobedient. Should they die these children would not be taken to heaven. The parent’s course of action is determining the future welfare of their children.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 314, 315.

The Amalekites had been the first to make war upon Israel in the wilderness, and for this sin, together with their defiance of God and their debasing idolatry, the Lord, through Moses, had pronounced sentence upon them. By divine direction, the history of their cruelty towards Israel had been recorded with the command, “Thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget [it].” Deuteronomy 25:19. God gave them time for 400 years. For 400 years the execution of this sentence had been deferred, but the Amalekites were not turning from their sins. That was the point—to give them time, to give them an opportunity, to give them privileges—but there was no turning.

The Lord knew that this wicked people would, if it were possible, blot His people and His worship from the earth. For each one of us who takes a position against God continually, God knows that if He allows us to continue, we will at some time cause problems for Him and for His people.

The time had come for the sentence so long delayed to be executed. The forbearance that God had exercised toward the wicked embodies men in transgression, but their punishment will be nonetheless certain and terrible for being long delayed.

A Strange Act

Look now to the area that we need to understand: “For the Lord shall rise up as [in] mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as [in] the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.” Isaiah 28:21. Note that phrase, “His strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.” To our merciful God, the act of punishment is a strange act.

“[As] I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” Ezekiel 33:11. The Lord is merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. Yet He will by no means clear the guilty. While He does not delight in vengeance, He will execute judgment upon the transgressors of His law. He is forced to do this to preserve the inhabitants of the earth from utter depravity and ruin. In order to save some, he must cut off those who have become hardened in sin. “The Lord [is] slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit [the wicked].” Nahum 1:3. By terrible things in righteousness, He will vindicate the authority of His downtrodden law.

The very fact of His reluctance to execute justice testifies to the enormity of the sins that call forth His judgment and to the severity of the retribution awaiting the transgressor. No, God does not delight in destroying His creatures, but He will. If we take a path that is a path of rebellion and ongoing stubbornness, God will destroy us. That is a strange act.

Within the experience of the Amalekites, we see the wrath of God that was visited upon them. 1 Samuel 15:1–3 clearly shows that God was the One who ordered the death and destruction of this people. That is the reason why I cannot subscribe or hold to the idea that God does not kill, as some teach.

To be continued . . .

Pastor Ivan Plummer ministers through the Emmanuel Seventh Day Church Ministries in Bronx, New York. He may be contacted by telephone at: 718-882-3900.

The Peace Which Passes Understanding

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“Great peace have they which love Thy law:

And nothing shall offend them.”

Psalm 119:165 (KJV)

The objective of one’s study of God’s word should be two-fold: (1) to obtain a better and deeper understanding of the plan of salvation and (2) to discern more clearly the character of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who is to be our example in all things. Our study can be wasted effort, however, if we become bogged down in “side issues” unrelated to these two objectives. It is important to remember that there is a ditch on each side of the road, and the enemy of souls doesn’t care which ditch we fall into.

On one side is the literalist, who believes that every word in the Bible is inspired. On the other is the generalist, who claims that some of the Bible is inspired, but some of it isn’t. He sometimes feels qualified to make the distinction between what the Holy Spirit has impressed upon the writer and what is simply an uninspired statement.

To give balance to our understanding, our loving Lord has provided this clear statement on the subject of inspiration:

“The Bible is written by inspired men, but it is not God’s mode of thought and expression. It is that of humanity. God as a writer is not represented. Men will often say such an expression is not like God. But God has not put Himself in words, in logic, in rhetoric, on trial in the Bible. The writers of the Bible were God’s penmen, not His pen.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 21.

Just as the authors of the Bible served as God’s penmen, so the translators served as His mouthpiece. Not one of the Bible writers spoke Old English. The common languages of their times were Greek and Hebrew, and less commonly, Aramaic. Thus we owe a great debt to William Tyndale and others like him who translated the original manuscripts into the languages of the common people of their day. A special debt of gratitude is owed to James Strong, who oversaw an exhaustive indexing of the King James Bible, which was published in 1890 as Strong’s Concordance.

The purpose of Strong’s Concordance was not to provide content or commentary about the Bible, but rather to provide an index to the Bible, which allows the reader to find where specific Greek or Hebrew words appear in the Bible and allows a student of the Bible to re-find a phrase or passage previously studied. It also lets the reader directly compare how the same word may be used elsewhere in the Bible. In this way Strong provides an independent check against varying translations and offers an opportunity for a greater and more technically accurate understanding of text.

With that in mind, let’s look at the Bible text at the head of this article.

Though almost all Bible versions agree unanimously on the translation of the first phrase of this verse, affirming that those who love the law enjoy great peace, the translation of the second part of the verse varies somewhat in different Bible versions.

Let’s begin by looking at translations of the Hebrew first, giving our attention to the Hebrew word that is translated as “offend” in the King James Version.

The Hebrew word is mikshôl  (Strong’s number H4383). The entry in Strong’s Concordance states:

Masculine from H3782: a stumblingblock, literally or figuratively (obstacle, enticement (specifically an idol), scruple): – caused to fall, offence, X [no-] thing offered, ruin, stumbling-block.

For a deeper understanding of the meaning of this word, we can look at the Hebrew word from which it is derived.

H3782 [kâshal]: A primitive root; to totter or waver (through weakness of the legs, especially the ankle); by implication to falter, stumble, faint or fall: – bereave [from the margin], cast down, be decayed, (cause to) fail, (cause, make to) fall (down, -ing), feeble, be (the) ruin (-ed, of), (be) overthrown, (cause to) stumble, X utterly, be weak.

It is perhaps a bit puzzling why the translators of the King James Version chose offend as the translation until you look up that word in Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary. There you will find many different variations of the meaning, such as to attack, to displease, to shock, to annoy, as well as several others. The sixth definition is as follows:

“To disturb, annoy, or cause to fall or stumble.”

Then Mr. Webster gives Psalm 119:165 as an example of the use in this connotation:

“Great peace have they that love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them.”

It is interesting—and again, a bit puzzling—that Mr. Webster chose Psalm 119:165 as an illustration of “offend” by quoting the translation that did not use the definition he just gave, undoubtedly because the KJV was the only English translation widely available at the time. Apparently, he had access to some kind of a Hebrew reference to know the connection between stumble and offend.

Most other Bible translations have chosen a different translation of the word under discussion here:

New King James Version: nothing causes them to stumble.

International Standard Version: nothing makes them stumble.

American Standard Version: they have no occasion of stumbling.

English Standard Version: nothing can make them stumble.

God’s Word: nothing can make those people stumble.

Young’s Literal Translation: they have no stumbling-block.

American Revised Version: they have no occasion of stumbling.

 

We cannot know precisely what David intended to convey when he wrote this specific text, but by comparing “here a little and there a little,” we can perhaps gain a deeper understanding of what the Holy Spirit intended us to grasp from this text.

The obvious question that comes to mind when reading Psalm 119:165 is, Why does a love of the law prevent one from stumbling, from being cast down or faltering in his or her Christian walk?

To obtain an answer to this question is why I turned to Strong’s in the first place. I could not see the logic implied in the Scripture that loving God’s law is a defense against being offended or stumbling.

In turning to Strong’s Concordance to see the different contexts in which the original Hebrew word is used I hoped to gain a more robust understanding of its meaning.

Some form of that word occurs 15 times in the KJV Old Testament and is translated in several different ways.

 

Translation Occurrences
Stumblingblock 6
Offense 2
Block 1
Fall 1
Offend 1
Ruin 1
Ruins 1
Stumbling 1
Stumblingblocks 1

 

There is a passage in Isaiah that provides a more typical contextual example of the use of both Hebrew words—mikshôl and kâshal. Here the Lord is warning Isaiah about the dangers of yielding to popular thinking and customs.

“For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:

 

‘Do not say, “A conspiracy,”

Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,

Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.

The Lord of hosts,

Him you shall hallow;

Let Him be your fear,

And let Him be your dread.

He will be as a sanctuary,

But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense [mikshôl]

To both the houses of Israel,

As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And many among them shall stumble [kâshal];

They shall fall and be broken,

Be snared and taken’ “ (Isaiah 8:11–15).

 

Thus it seems logical that those who love the law abide by that law in their daily walk, having the assurance that “great peace” is theirs. Regardless of the external stimuli they experience, regardless of the attraction of worldliness, regardless of the influence of friends and family, they maintain their firm hold on the truth. Because they love the law, they cannot be shaken from the path of truth and righteousness. It is those who have only a superficial understanding of the law, who acknowledge it with their lips but not with their hearts, who will be caused to stumble or be shaken out.

The following quotes from Inspiration provide an even deeper understanding of the certainty of the peace experienced by those who love divine law.

“David was greatly tried in his day in seeing men pouring contempt upon God’s law. Men threw off restraint, and depravity was the result. The law of God had become a dead letter to those whom God had created. Men refused to receive the holy precepts as the rule of their life. Wickedness was so great that David feared lest God’s forbearance should cease, and he sent up a heart-felt prayer to heaven, saying, ‘It is time for Thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void Thy law. Therefore I love Thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold’ (Psalm 119:126, 127).

“If David thought in his day that men had exceeded the limits of God’s mercy, and that God would work to vindicate the honor of His law and bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end, then what influence should the widespread iniquity of our day have upon those who love and fear God? When there is widespread disobedience, when iniquity is increasing to a swelling tide, will the professed Christian world be evil with the evil, unrighteous with the unrighteous? Shall we place our influence on the side of the great apostate, and shall universal scorn be heaped upon God’s law, the great standard of righteousness? Shall we be swept away by the strong tide of transgression and apostasy? Or shall the righteous search the Scriptures and know for themselves the conditions upon which the salvation of their souls depend? Those who make the word of God the man of their counsel will esteem the law of God, and their appreciation of it will rise in proportion as it is set aside and despised. Loyal subjects of Christ’s kingdom will re-echo the words of David and say, ‘It is time for Thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void Thy law. Therefore I love Thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold’ (Psalm 119:126, 127). This is the position those will occupy who love God sincerely and their neighbors as themselves. They will exalt the commandments in proportion as contempt increases.”  “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 1152, 1153.

“The law is an expression of God’s idea. When we receive it in Christ, it becomes our idea. It lifts us above the power of natural desires and tendencies, above temptations that lead to sin. ‘Great peace have they which love Thy law; and nothing shall offend them’—cause them to stumble. There is no peace in unrighteousness; the wicked are at war with God. But he who receives the righteousness of the law in Christ is in harmony with heaven.” The Faith I Live By, 83.

In direct contrast to the promise the faithful are given in Psalm 119:165, there is the following warning in Isaiah: “ ‘There is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked’ ” (Isaiah 48:22).

There is an illustration of the lack of peace experienced by those who forsake God’s law in the story of Asa, who sought to reform Israel after a long period of apostasy.

“Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: ‘Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; but when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded’ ” (2 Chronicles 15:1–7)!

Often the peace that the law-keeper experiences is an inner peace that comes from knowing that he or she is complying with the instructions given in God’s word. Things can be tumultuous emotionally and perhaps even physically, but those who abide in Christ—despite all of the unpleasant or distracting outside influences—can have an inner peace that others simply cannot understand—a peace that “surpasses all understanding.”

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6, 7).

Inspiration gives the faithful further assurance of the peace that comes from obedience to God’s word in the following passages:

“Obedience to God is liberty from the thralldom of sin, deliverance from human passion and impulse. But we have to meet and contend with men who employ all their power in slandering those who are loyal to God. Their wit and their God-given reason are devoted to making it appear that obedience to the commandments of God is an irksome service. But those who advocate the claims of the law of God testify, ‘Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them.’  ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul’ (Psalm 19:7). The Lord presents truth in contrast with error, and presents also the sure result of accepting truth, the experience that always follows willing obedience. It is peace and rest.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 247.

“God presents to the world two classes. For the one—the wicked—He says, ‘There is no peace’ (Isaiah 48:22). Of the other, ‘Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them’ (Psalm 119:165).” That I May Know Him, 120.

“Christ has bought us with a dear price, but yet He will recompense our service to Him. We may feel sad and weep over our poor service to Him who has given us such unmeasured evidences of His interest in and love for us. But the recompense will not be in exact proportion to the amount of work done, but in accordance with the motive and the love which prompted the doing of the work. The recompense will be of grace. His own abundant mercy will be displayed not because we have done anything worthy, but on account of His unmeasured love. Christ will say to the faithful, sincere worker, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; … enter thou into the joy of thy Lord’ (Matthew 25:23). And even now angels of God take cognizance of our works of love and righteousness and we shall not be forgotten even in this life. In keeping His commandments there is great reward. ‘Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them’ (Psalm 119:165). Christ lays no more upon His servants than He gives them strength to perform. He will not cast them off in their adversity. When heart and flesh fail He will be the strength of their heart and their portion forever.” Sons and Daughters of God, 233. [Emphasis added.]

The Lord promises great peace, “even in this life,” even in the “here and now” to those who rely on His mercy and grace as they face life’s daily challenges. How absolutely critical it is that God’s children understand the great peace that those who love the law experience “even in this life” and the recompense of abundant grace the faithful are promised.

It cannot be denied that we are near—if not already in—the time when even the elect will be deceived by the enemy of souls. If we have not developed a true, heart-felt love of “Thy law,” what hope do we have of remaining firmly on the pathway that leads to the streets of gold? What hope do we have of experiencing the peace that passes understanding, even in this life?

 

John R. Pearson is the office manager and a board member of Steps to Life. He may be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org.

The 144,000, Part III

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Who will comprise the great multitude of Revelation 7:9? In endeavoring to answer this question, there is much speculation, and all too often people come up with the same false answer. This does not need to be, for the correct answer to this question is clearly revealed to us, so that there can be no need to doubt. Ellen White applies this verse to that time after the earth has been made new, and the ransomed are seen after they are restored to their original homeland, the earth. Read carefully: “The seer of Patmos, looking down through the ages to the time of this restoration of Israel in the earth made new, testified:

“ ‘I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.’ [Revelation 7:9, 10.]” Prophets and Kings, 720, 721. It is plain to see that the Spirit of Prophecy applies the great multitude of Revelation 7:9 to the redeemed of all ages.

“Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan. . . . Next are those who perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honor the law of God when the Christian world declared it void, and the millions of all ages, who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the ‘great multitude, which no man could number of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, . . . before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.’ Revelation 7:9.” The Great Controversy, 665.

We are counseled that in this end time, “many will be martyrs for Christ’s sake in standing in defense of the truth.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 397. Note that nearest to the throne will stand those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, and next to them will stand the 144,000 and the martyrs, and beyond these are the great multitude of Revelation 7:9.

“Suffering has been the portion of the people of God from the days of the martyr Abel. . . . None will be there who have not, like Moses, chosen to suffer affliction with the people of God. The prophet John saw the multitude of the redeemed, and inquired who they were. The prompt answer came, ‘These are they who came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’ [Revelation 7:14.]” Testimonies, vol. 1, 78.

Please note that the great multitude, as well as the 144,000, had washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. The 144,000 are a numbered group. The large multitude, which no man can number, are the resurrected dead from all the ages, which will include the martyrs.

Loud Cry

We now return to the theme of the sealed saints, the 144,000. Ellen White tells us: “The message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the Spirit of God. . . . Notwithstanding the agencies combined against the truth, a large number take their stand upon the Lord’s side.” The Great Controversy, 612.

“Men of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives them. . . . By these solemn warnings the people will be stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words like these. . . .

“Thus light will be brought before thousands who otherwise would know nothing of these truths.” Ibid., 606, 607.

“The Spirit is poured out upon all who will yield to its promptings. . . . Multitudes will receive the faith and join the armies of the Lord.” Evangelism, 700. Oh, what a day that will be!

But what about these new converts? Will they have time to perfect the character developments necessary to meet Jesus and live? The Spirit of Prophecy answers this question. “But now time is almost finished, and what we have been years learning, they will have to learn in a few months.” Early Writings, 67. Remember the divine counsel: “With God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26. Under the persecutions and tribulations of the last days, the eleventh-hour converts will accomplish in their character building in a few months that which it has taken us years to develop. Surely some of these converts will be numbered among the 144,000 and live to see Jesus come in the clouds of heaven.

What is this message the saints will give to the world during the loud cry? It will be a message that will so startle the inhabitants that they will listen. God’s servants will present the Three Angels’ Messages, as recorded in Revelation 14, which Inspiration calls, “The most fearful threatenings ever addressed to mortals.” The Great Controversy, 449.

This will be done, however, in the light of the saving righteousness and love of Christ. “The message of Christ’s righteousness is to sound from one end of the earth to the other to prepare the way of the Lord. This is the glory of God which closes the work of the third angel.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 19.

“As the third angel’s message swells into a loud cry, great power and glory will attend its proclamation. The faces of God’s people will shine with the light of heaven.” Ibid., vol. 7, 17. “Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers. Satan also works with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men. Revelation 13:13.” Maranatha, 20. Thus, the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.

Christ Our Righteousness

The 144,000 living saints are described as “first fruits” of the redeemed. The Scripture says, “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” Revelation 19:8.

However, the saints will ever be aware that they have no intrinsic righteousness of their own, that their own righteousness is as filthy rags. They know the King of kings furnished the beautiful wedding garments they are wearing. They will declare of themselves, “I have no righteousness of my own, but Christ is my righteousness.” Review and Herald, August 5, 1890.

“One interest will prevail, one subject will swallow up every other,—Christ our righteousness.” Review and Herald, December 23, 1890. “In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth [shall be] excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, [that he that is] left in Zion, and [he that] remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, [even] every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem.” Isaiah 4:2, 3.

A Perfect Picture

After the last saint is sealed, but not until then, probation will close for the inhabitants of the wicked world. The seven last plagues will fall, after which Jesus will come. Then the great multitude is resurrected. Can you imagine the excitement? For when Jesus comes, the 144,000 will watch the graves of the righteous open, and they will recognize loved ones who are resurrected.

A word picture of this event is given to us by Ellen White: “Then Jesus’ silver trumpet sounded, as He descended on the cloud, wrapped in flames of fire. He gazes on the graves of the sleeping saints, then raising His eyes and hands to heaven, and cries, ‘Awake! Awake! Awake! ye that sleep in the dust, and arise.’ Then there was a mighty earthquake. The graves opened and the dead came up clothed in immortality. The 144,000 shouted ‘Alleluia!’ as they recognized their friends who had been torn from them by death, and in the same moment we are changed and caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.” Early Writings, 16.

Then it is that the 144,000 and the great multitude of the resurrected dead ascend to heaven together. “As Enoch was translated to heaven before the destruction of the world by water, so the living righteous will be translated from the earth before its destruction by fire. Says the apostle: ‘We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed.’ ‘The dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.’ 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52. 1 Thessalonians 4:16−18.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 89. Finally all will be over, and the saints can enjoy and explore their new world.

This brings us to a most beautiful setting, as described by Ellen White in her visit to the New Earth in vision, where she saw the 144,000 and the martyrs for their faith. “Mount Zion was just before us, and on the mount was a glorious temple, and about it were seven other mountains, on which grew roses and lilies. And I saw the little ones climb, or, if they chose, use their little wings and fly, to the top of the mountains and pluck the never-fading flowers. There were all kinds of trees around the temple to beautify the place: the box, the pine, the fir, the oil, the myrtle, the pomegranate, and the fig tree bowed down with the weight of its timely figs—these made the place all over glorious. And as we were about to enter the holy temple, Jesus raised His lovely voice and said, ‘Only the 144,000 enter this place.’ And we shouted, ‘Alleluia.’

“This temple was supported by seven pillars, all of transparent gold, set with pearls most glorious. The wonderful things I saw there I cannot describe. Oh, that I could talk in the language of Canaan, then could I tell a little of the glory of the better world. I saw there tables of stone in which the names of the 144,000 were engraved in letters of gold. After we beheld the glory of the temple, we went out, and Jesus left us and went to the city. Soon we heard His lovely voice saying, ‘Come, My people, you have come out of great tribulation, and have done My will; suffered for Me; come in to the supper, for I will gird Myself, and serve you.’ We shouted, ‘Alleluia! glory!’ and entered the city.” Early Writings, 19.

From this, we learn that the 144,000 are to receive special honor throughout eternity. They are to follow the Lamb wherever He goes. What honor could be greater? She continues, “As we were traveling along we met a company who also were gazing at the glories of the place. I noticed red as a border on their garments. Their crowns were brilliant. Their robes were pure white. As we greeted them I asked Jesus who they were. He said they were martyrs that had been slain for Him. With them was also an innumerable company of little ones. They also had a hem of red on their garments.” Ibid., 18. We learn from this that the martyrs will also receive special honor throughout eternity.

God Vindicated

God’s character and government will finally be vindicated. “Satan has declared to his synagogue that man cannot keep the commandments of God. One soul saved would prove that statement false.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, 94.

Although we will be perfectly satisfied, everyone with his position and sanction in heaven, still Ellen White admonishes, “Strive to be among the 144,000.” And how do we strive? Of first importance, we must strive to put an end to sin in our lives; to cleanse our souls of every defilement so that we can be prepared to receive the latter rain and the seal of the living God.

Ellen White sums it all up in these words,

“Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand.” Review and Herald, March 9, 1905.

For over 60 years Pastor Lawrence Nelson served as an evangelist and minister for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Of that time, he served 13 years as the director of evangelism for youth at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Upon retirement from the General Conference, he continued to pastor, but when, as a result of his stand for truth, he was denied the opportunity to continue his pastorate, he started Keep the Faith Audio Tape Ministry, recording his sermons and making them available to individuals. Before his retirement from this ministry in 2004, over 18,000 audio tapes were being sent around the world each month.

The Wrath of God, Part II

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In the early days of Seventh-day Adventism, some influential writers were quite explicit that the atonement did not refer to Christ’s death on the cross, but only to His work in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary since October 22, 1844. The atonement involves Christ’s work in the heavenly sanctuary as well as His death on the cross. This is what is known as the Moral Influence Theory. This theory has, in recent years, grown in popularity among Seventh-day Adventists. In fact, this view has become so compelling for many that they have tried to make it the dominant, controlling view in Ellen White’s presentation on the atonement. The moral influence advocate lays great emphasis on Christ’s death as a manifestation of God’s love to a lost world. In its most extreme form, it has been proclaimed that Christ’s death was a requirement of God’s justice. These advocates hold that Christ’s death was only to demonstrate God’s love, which emanates a moral influence to an alienated world.

What are we to make of this theory? It is certainly true that it teaches that Christ’s death was designed to greatly impress mankind with a sense of God’s love, and it certainly shows the cross as the supreme manifestation of God’s love. These elements of moral influence are communicated to both sinners and to the unfallen beings of the universe. Through the cross, man is drawn to God’s love and from the strong hold of sin. The cross speaks to the world of His great love wherewith He has loved us and is the unanswerable argument as to the changeless character of the Law of Jehovah. But it speaks to more than mercy. Among other things, it speaks of a powerful condemnation of sin by the holy love of a holy God.

Ellen White makes it clear that moral influence was always connected with this convicting holiness of God, not just a general expression of forgiving love that excludes the satisfaction of divine justice.

God’s wrath must be understood as different from God’s chastening, for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth (Hebrews 12:6), and God’s chastening or rebuke is specifically geared toward a correction for character development, but God’s wrath is toward punishment. It is toward death. There is a significant difference between the chastening of God and the wrath of God. God wants to take out of us things that are not wholesome, that are not toward His character, so we can become like Him in character and can be saved eternally.

In Part I, we also learned that the Moral Influence Theory being taught—that the death of Christ on the cross was specifically to reflect God’s love—is not so. It is not only to reflect God’s love; it is also to speak toward God’s justice. It is God’s justice that demanded the death of “a somebody” so that sin can be overcome.

Sin is Self-destructive

There are certain statements to the effect that sin is self-destructive. Some individuals who hold to the teaching that God does not kill will often refer to the following, asking, “What do you say about this?”

“The disobedient and unthankful have great reason for gratitude for God’s mercy and long-suffering in holding in check the cruel, malignant power of the evil one. But when men pass the limits of divine forbearance, that restraint is removed. God does not stand toward the sinner as an executioner of the sentence against transgression; but He leaves the rejectors of His mercy to themselves, to reap that which they have sown.” The Great Controversy, 36.

In this statement, God does not stand toward the sinner as an executioner of the sentence against transgression, but He leads the rejecters of His mercy to themselves to reap that which they have sown. Some people say, regarding this teaching, that God does not really kill. But what God does is pull Himself away and allow the sinner, the rebellious person, to be destroyed by his or her own action.

Consider these questions: Is it not a fact that God is the source of all life? Is it not His restraining power that holds the force of evil, that gives us protection? Furthermore, is it not God who temporarily grants self-destructive sinners life in probationary time? The answer to each of these questions should be very clear to each one of us.

Does it not seem that God would be just as surely responsible for the death of sinners by the withdrawing of His life-giving power as He would by indirectly destroying them by the powers of hell? Since God is the source of all life, it is quite apparent that He is also ultimately the One who allows death.

We need to be very clear on this issue so that we are not sidetracked onto a path that the Bible does not support.

Let us consider some Scriptural references on this point.

Sodom and Gomorrah

Genesis 19 gives the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. “And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring [them] out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.” “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.” Verses 12, 13, 24, 25.

Was the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah simply the chance circumstance of atmospheric condition? Is it just that the atmosphere opened up and fire and brimstone rained down? Is that what the Bible says?

Ellen White states: “The Lord rained brimstone and fire out of heaven upon the cities and the fruitful plain; its palaces and temples, costly dwellings, gardens and vineyards, and the gay, pleasure-seeking throngs that only the night before had insulted the messengers of heaven—all were consumed.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 162. So, both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy make it abundantly clear that it was God who carried out His strange act.

Korah, Dathan, Abiram

You know, I am certain, the story of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, but read quickly through it, so we can be clear what the Bible says on these issues: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for [I have] not [done them] of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; [then] the Lord hath not sent me. But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that [appertain] unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord. And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that [was] under them: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that [appertained] unto Korah, and all [their] goods. They, and all that [appertained] to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that [were] round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up [also]. And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.” Numbers 16:23−35.

Was the judgment of God on Korah, Dathan, and Abiram only a tragedy of a long dormant, Semitic, geographical fault line in the Sahara Desert? No, it was not. It was not an event that coincided with their behavior and just happened, whereby the earth opened up and the men fell in.

Commenting about this, Ellen White wrote: “When Moses was entreating Israel to flee from the coming destruction, the divine judgment might even then have been stayed, if Korah and his company had repented and sought forgiveness. But their stubborn persistence sealed their doom. The entire congregation were sharers in their guilt, for all had, to a greater or less degree, sympathized with them. Yet God in His great mercy made a distinction between the leaders in rebellion and those whom they had led.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 401.

This is so serious and so solemn for leaders to understand the part that they must play in the program of God. They must understand their position, because God will deal differently with them than even their followers.

“The people who had permitted themselves to be deceived were still granted space for repentance. Overwhelming evidence had been given that they were wrong, and that Moses was right. The signal manifestation of God’s power had removed all uncertainty.” Ibid.

Ellen White called their death the divine judgment and the signal manifestation of God’s power. It was not a geographical fault line that just opened, and they fell in and died. No, it was the divine wrath. Why? There was persistence in evil; failure to repent when evidence was given of wrong. Is that a message for us?

Uzzah

You perhaps have heard someone exclaim, “Uzzah was doing a good favor, yet God killed him. God is unkind.” Well, let us review the incident.

“Again, David gathered together all [the] chosen [men] of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose, and went with all the people that [were] with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth [between] the cherubims. And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that [was] in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which [was] at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of [instruments made of] fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth [his hand] to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook [it]. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for [his] error; and there he died by the ark of God.” 11 Samuel 6:1−7.

Did Uzzah suddenly sustain an untimely cerebral vascular accident, commonly called a stroke, and die? Was that what happened? Was it just unfortunate that he died at that time, that God did not kill him?

God’s servant states: “Uzzah was angry with the oxen, because they stumbled. He showed a manifest distrust of God, as though He who had brought the ark from the land of the Philistines, could not take care of it. Angels who attended the ark struck down Uzzah for presuming impatiently to put his hand upon the ark of God.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 410. “The fate of Uzzah was a divine judgment upon the violation of a most explicit command.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 705.

Mrs. White tells us also that Uzzah throughout his life had disregarded the Word of God. He never took God’s word seriously. “The fate of Uzzah was a divine judgment upon the violation of a most explicit command. Through Moses the Lord had given special instruction concerning the transportation of the ark. None but the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were to touch it, or even to look upon it uncovered. The divine direction was, ‘The sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.’ Numbers 4:15. . . .

“The Philistines, who had not a knowledge of God’s law, had placed the ark upon a cart when they returned it to Israel, and the Lord accepted the effort which they made. But the Israelites had in their hands a plain statement of the will of God in all these matters, and their neglect of these instructions was dishonoring to God. Upon Uzzah rested the greater guilt of presumption. Transgression of God’s law had lessened his sense of its sacredness, and with unconfessed sins upon him he had, in face of the divine prohibition, presumed to touch the symbol of God’s presence. God can accept no partial obedience, no lax way of treating His commandments. By the judgment upon Uzzah He designed to impress upon all Israel the importance of giving strict heed to His requirements. Thus the death of that one man, by leading the people to repentance, might prevent the necessity of inflicting judgments upon thousands.” Ibid., 705, 706.

Mrs. White tells us that the fate of Uzzah was a divine judgment. What does that say to us who are called the remnant people of God today? David, in Psalm 19:12, prayed, “Cleanse thou me from secret faults.” The question I would ask is, What are those secret faults in our lives that we practice over and over and over again in spite of instruction, in spite of information? What about those things that we rationalize, saying that God understands, that God knows we are struggling? But we have been struggling for years, and we keep on excusing our sinful lifestyle.

Godly Action

What God will do first of all is place us into an environment where we are rebuked and chastened. Sometimes God allows certain things to happen in our lives for which we are tempted to blame other people. When certain things happen to us, which is really the chastisement of God on us for our private sins about which no one else knows, we are tempted to blame other people. But if we stop and reflect honestly, we would conclude that it is out of the love and mercy of God that these circumstances happen to us.

Peradventure this chastisement, this rebuke, this trial, should bring us closer to God. But what do we do? We blame others; we fail to take responsibility; we fail to repent. As a result, God says, “You fail to repent, but in love, I am going to deal with you a little more.” So He turns up the heat, and He allows more affliction to come our way. He does this not because He hates us, not because He wants to hurt us, for the Bible says that the Lord does not willingly afflict the children of men (Lamentations 3:33), but because He sees in us vessels that can be made of honor to be placed in His palace.

So He allows other things to come our way to get our attention concerning those sins with which we are not yet ready to deal. Rather than blaming others, we should stop and honestly take responsibility for our sin problems and then resolve in our hearts that we are going to make a change. Until we do this, we are moving in a direction that may take us out of the environment of the chastening of God to the environment of the wrath of God.

That is what happened to Uzzah. For his lifetime, he kept on disregarding the Word of God. In spite of counsel and instruction, he kept on disregarding the Word of God, and one day, God drew the line. Yes, it was a simple situation. The ark rocked, and he was going to help the Lord. Not only did he die, but he lost eternity. He will not see us in heaven.

This is a counsel and a warning to all of God’s people. Let us be honest with ourselves. Let us search our hearts, and let us see if indeed there are secret sins in us that we have been denying for years, or for which we are blaming others, refusing to take responsibility. God has been going after us in love in order that He might save us.

Ananias and Sapphira

Do you remember the story of Ananias and Sapphira given in Acts 5:1–11? Were their deaths only timely coronaries? God’s messenger wrote:

“Infinite Wisdom saw that this signal manifestation of the wrath of God was necessary to guard the young church from becoming demoralized. Their numbers were rapidly increasing. The church would have been endangered if, in the rapid increase of converts, men and women had been added who, while professing to serve God, were worshiping mammon. This judgment testified that men cannot deceive God, that He detects the hidden sin of the heart, and that He will not be mocked. It was designed as a warning to the church, to lead them to avoid pretence and hypocrisy, and to beware of robbing God.” The Acts of the Apostles, 73, 74.

The deaths of Ananias and Sapphira were the signal manifestation of the wrath of God. Thus, Christians, as well as unbelievers, need to remember that the same God who punishes them today condemns all falsehood.

Hidden sins are destroying our church today—those sins that we have not learned to confess, that we have been hiding and denying, and for which we are not taking responsibility. God has been working on us, but we have become hardened as we continue denying that we have these problems. One of the most surprising things is that church members will blame other people for their behavior, even in the face of evidence. They do not realize that God wants to help them.

Divine Wrath

We need to understand this issue of God killing unjustly, so was the cross a manifestation of God’s holy wrath against sin, or was the cross only to demonstrate God’s love to us as sinners? It was not just a reflection of God’s love; it was also a reflection of God’s wrath.

“Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid the iniquity of us all. . . . The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing upon His heart. The wrath of God against sin, the terrible manifestation of His displeasure because of iniquity, filled the soul of His Son with consternation. . . . Salvation for the chief of sinners was His theme. But now with the terrible weight of guilt He bears, He cannot see the Father’s reconciling face. . . .

“Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race.” The Desire of Ages, 753.

When Christ died on the cross, He did it for every human being, so that we can be set free, so we can escape the wrath of God. Whoever turns his or her back against the love and the wonderful service of Christ, however, will experience the full wrath of God. “It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.” Ibid.

“He, the Sin Bearer, endures the wrath of divine justice, and for thy sake becomes sin itself.” Ibid., 756.

Active or Passive

Another question we need to have answered is, Is God’s wrath active or passive? Some people think God is such a wonderful God that He will not discipline.

“As Christ bore the sins of every transgressor so the sinner who will not believe in Christ as his personal Saviour, who rejects the light that comes to him, and refuses to respect and obey the commandments of God, will bear the penalty of his transgression.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 471. [Emphasis in original.] The choice is ours; we can accept the gift that is offered now and be delivered.

A Way of Escape

I am not talking about a God that does not love; I am talking about a God of love Who has provided a way of escape for all of us. We need to understand that if we despise the grace of God, as Paul says, in Hebrews 2:3, “How shall we escape?”

How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation after we have received all of this information, knowledge, and nurturing? How shall we escape if we fail to take responsibility? Rejection of God’s offer of life through the justifying merits of Christ’s death will mean only eternal death. If we reject Christ, we are accepting death. Without Christ’s substitutional death, sinners will receive just retribution.

Therefore, we may ask, Will the lake of fire be merely a passive act on God’s part? David declares in Psalm 11:6, “Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: [this shall be] the portion of their cup.” It is not an imagination; it is a reality.

The prophet Malachi prophesied of the future destruction of the despisers of God’s grace in Malachi 4:1, 2, and the apostle Peter confirms the destruction of the earth in 11 Peter 3:10.

John the revelator saw and wrote the following, “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [is] as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20:7–10.

Murmuring

Ellen White says, “God is to the wicked a consuming fire.” The Great Controversy, 673. The Israelites stand as a reminder of the awesome reality of the certainty of Jehovah’s wrath upon all those who reject the offer of salvation. They reached the borders of Canaan, the promised land, and the record declares, “Their hearts were filled with murmuring, rebellion, and hatred, and He could not fulfill His covenant with them.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 68.

What is the condition of our hearts? There are many private issues in our hearts. It is not the smile that you put on; it is not the nice talk; it is what is inside. It is how we treat each other. It is the issues and the private sins that are there—the murmuring, the complaining, the never satisfied attitude, the ingratitude.

For 40 years, unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. As Moses and the children of Israel stood on the promised land, Moses well remembered the words of judgment that Jehovah had pronounced sometime before to the children of Israel because of their rebellious attitude and being stiff necked. (See Numbers 14:29–32.)

For us who are living on the borders of the eternal Canaan, it would do us well to ponder the words of the prophet of Patmos: “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” Revelation 7:1–3.

Are you being sealed? In other words, are you preparing yourself through character formation, working with God daily, and getting rid of those private sins in your life, so that the angel can do his job of sealing you so that you can be among the number that stand on the sea of glass? My prayer is that when it is all said and done, you and I will not experience the wrath of God, but that we will accept His chastening. As James says, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials” (James 1:2), because they are designed for our benefit.

Pastor Ivan Plummer ministers through the Emmanuel Seventh Day Church Ministries in Bronx, New York. He may be contacted by telephone at: 718-882-3900.

Remember Lot’s Wife, Part II

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We do not know for sure how many children Lot had. He must have had at least four daughters, maybe more. (Genesis 19:12−15.) We do not have a record that he had any sons. All his daughters were growing up in Sodom. What was it like to grow up in Sodom?

This may be disturbing, because when we study what it was like for a girl to grow up in Sodom, we discover that we have many girls growing up in Sodom today. “Private and public corruptions of every sort, are making the world a second Sodom.” The Signs of the Times, October 17, 1878. Ellen White expressed this sentiment a number of times. Perhaps you have read those statements.

So, there are lots of daughters growing up in Sodom today. What is it like to grow up in Sodom? Well, I will not try to give an exhaustive list, but I am going to list five things, and almost every one of them is shocking.

We are not going to go into the worst of the things in Sodom. When evangelical Christians and conservative, Bible-believing Christians talk about Sodom, they usually talk about the homosexuality that was in Sodom, and that was part of the problem in Sodom, no question about it. We are not ignoring that issue, but we will focus on other problems. As far as we know, no one of Lot’s family was involved in the homosexual practices in Sodom.

Not Just Homosexuality

You do not need to be a homosexual to be a Sodomite; did you know that? What is it like to grow up in Sodom and become a Sodomite?

“Any youth who would submit her body to be handled by a man is in no way fit for the kingdom of heaven. All this vile practice and commonness is what is ruining our youth. . . .

“These are the very sins which corrupted Sodom. Their evil practices did not come all at once. First one man and woman stupefied themselves by unholy, polluted habits. Then as inhabitants settled in Sodom, they did as you are doing.” Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, 125. To whom was this directed? To a Seventh-day Adventist minister! Ellen White was writing to an Adventist minister, and saying, “What is it that you are doing that these young women are allowing their bodies to be handled by a man? What is going on here? This is what happened in Sodom. That is sodomy. That is the practice of Sodom; that is wicked.”

People think that unless you are a homosexual, you are not a Sodomite. Oh, no! This is what they are doing in Sodom. We just read it. Oh, my dear friend, this petting, this handling one another when you are not married, is a Sodomite practice. That is what they did in Sodom. We must come out from that sort of thing if we want to go to heaven.

Continuing, Mrs. White wrote to this same minister, “You say you did not commit adultery. God charges adultery against everyone who doeth these things, and all who will communicate these vile practices to another are polluting that soul with vile imaginations.” Ibid., 127.

Indecent Pictures

“Not one particle of Sodomitish impurity will escape the wrath of God at the execution of the judgment. Those who do not repent of and forsake all uncleanness will fall with the wicked.” Ibid., 119.

About what is she talking? Read it in really plain language: “Handbills on which indecent pictures are printed are posted up along our streets to allure the eyes and deprave the morals. These presentations are of such a character as to stir up the basest passions of the human heart through corrupt imaginings. These corrupt imaginings are followed by defiling practices like those in which the Sodomites indulged. But the most terrible part of the evil is that it is practiced under the garb of sanctity. Our youth will be defiled, their thoughts degraded, and their souls polluted unless they are barricaded with the truth.” Ibid., 120.

What was going on in Sodom? Well, they had billboards too. They had indecent pictures too. They had corrupting pictures that they were looking at too. That is what was going on in Sodom. That was what it was like to grow up in Sodom. They were looking at indecent, corrupting pictures.

Stylish Appearance

This point is really startling to most people who have never before studied this. This is what we should do for our young people: “Far greater pains should be taken to instruct them [ministers’ children] so that they shall have beautiful characters and keep the way of the Lord than to have them make a stylish appearance, taking the way of the Sodomites.” Pastoral Ministry, 63.

What is the matter with the stylish appearance? The problem is that the styles and the fashions are designed to awaken sensuality and sensual passions. If you are wearing any kind of garment or adornment that is designed to arouse sexual passions, you are following in the way of the Sodomites. That is the way they dressed.

Teaching Celibacy

The teaching of celibacy is a point that has to do with Sodom which almost no one has ever considered. In the first centuries after Christ, the devil introduced this idea into the Christian church. I have a book on this subject that was written by Henry Charles Lea; it is called the History of Sacerdotal Celibacy. (Philadelphia, 1867.)

The idea came into vogue that if you were celibate, you were more holy than the people who were married. This idea has persisted in the world through the Catholic Church to the present day. We will never know here how much homosexuality, fornication, adultery, and all other kinds of lewd practices have resulted in the world as a result of this teaching.

An attempt was made to introduce this practice into the Seventh-day Adventist Church during Ellen White’s lifetime by a lady named Anna Phillips. If you have access to a CD-ROM of Ellen White’s writings, do a search on “Anna Phillips,” and look at all the testimonies written in regard to her. Anna Phillips claimed to have the gift of prophecy, and she came into the Adventist Church and was teaching celibacy. She proclaimed that the time had come to become celibate, that the Lord was coming soon, and that even if men and women were married, they should be celibate.

“In a ‘Testimony’ written on August 10, 1892, Anna Rice Phillips stated, ‘The time has come of which Paul spoke when he said, “But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none.” . . . Satan will make you feel that you cannot give up this one thing, that it is yours by right my brother, but is it when God has spoken?’—White Estate Document File No. 363.” Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, 109.

Mrs. White wrote: “The work of Anna Phillips does not bear the signature of heaven. I know what I am talking about. In our first experience in the infancy of this cause, we had to meet similar manifestations. Many such revelations were given, and we had a most disagreeable work in meeting this element and giving it no place. Some things stated in these revelations were fulfilled, and this led some to accept them as genuine.

“Young unmarried women would have a message for married men, and in no delicate words would tell them to their face of their abuse of the marriage privileges. Purity was the burden of the messages given, and for a while everything appeared to be reaching a high state of purity and holiness. But the inwardness of these matters was opened to me: I was shown what would be the outcome of this teaching.

“Those who were engaged in this work were not a superficial, immoral class, but persons who had been the most devoted workers. Satan saw an opportunity to take advantage of the state of things, and to disgrace the cause of God. Those who thought themselves able to bear any test without exciting their carnal propensities, were overcome, and several unmarried men and women were compelled to be married.

“I am afraid of those who feel so great a burden to labor in this direction. Satan works upon the imagination, so that impurity is the result, instead of purity. . . . Married men and women were following after the sins of the inhabitants of the world before the Flood, and of the Sodomites. I know what I am talking about, for most solemn messages were given me to correct this evil that was growing to large proportions among those who had so great a burden to set people right in regard to purity. The state of things was terrible.—Letter 103, 1894, pp. 6, 7. (To Elder A. T. Jones, March 15, 1894.)” Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, 119, 120.

The History of Sacerdotal Celibacy explains how things proceed from celibacy to Sodom. There is a definite way that it proceeds, and Ellen White said that if it is taught, you are going to wind up with a situation like it was in Sodom. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, by the way, does not teach having a celibate clergy, and it does not require celibacy from any class of men, because Ellen White said that Jesus did not require that.

How amazing that the very thing that people think would be the farthest thing from Sodom winds up in Sodom!

Forwardness of the Youth

What is it like to grow up in Sodom? Ellen White wrote: “I have had a sharp, pointed testimony for the youth, and I am pained to the heart to see the little modesty and real, good, decent behavior in the young. [There are] young girls so forward as to make advances to young men; so destitute of Christlike humility and elevation of character. The young girls [are] flirting with young men, sitting in meeting and exchanging notes with them at the very time I am presenting a message from God to the people.

“The young women make advances to the young men and get up a flirtation with them. Their forwardness, their common, cheap talk and ways, are offensive to God, and I told them last Sabbath that they were fast becoming like the Sodomites. . . .

“It does seem that Satan has lifted his hellish banner in the families of professed Sabbathkeepers. Their young men and women think only of how they can get into each other’s society and break down all the barriers of reserve and true decorum. It is a pitiful condition of things. . . .

“Boys flirting with the girls, and the girls flirting with the boys, seems to be a passion which destroys common sense. . . .

“Unless the moral taste is refined, unless Christ becomes an abiding principle in the soul, but few of the youth will ever see heaven.” Ibid., vol. 19, 218–220.

What was it like in Sodom? It was a place where the young people were flirtatious with each other.

Summary of Identifiers

How is it going to be with you? Do you see what a dangerous thing it is to grow up in Sodom? Not many people got out of Sodom. Are you going to be one of those who gets out of this world and goes to heaven?

Remember these five things which are consistent with life in Sodom. This is not an exhaustive list; it does not include some of the most shocking activities of Sodom, but these things are quite apparent in our world today:

  1. women allowing men to handle their bodies;
  2. indecent pictures;
  3. stylish appearance that attracts and develops sensual, sexual thoughts;
  4. teaching celibacy;
  5. forwardness of the youth.

Escape or Stay

Very few people got out of Sodom, and only a few people from the large cities of the world today will escape. Most will stay in the cities. How about you? Are you going to stay in Sodom, or would you like to get out of Sodom? If you want to get out of Sodom, you are going to have to leave the lifestyle of Sodom, and, of course, it would be helpful to physically get out of Sodom.

Writing about this subject, Ellen White penned: “Lot could have preserved his family from many evils, had he not made his home in this wicked, polluted city. All that Lot and his family did in Sodom could have been done by them, even if they had lived in a place some distance from the city. Enoch walked with God, and yet he did not live in the midst of any city, polluted with every kind of violence and wickedness, as did Lot in Sodom.” Country Living, 30, 31.

“Cities and even country towns are becoming like Sodom and Gomorrah, and like the world in the days of Noah. The training of the youth in those days was after the same order as the children are being educated and trained in this age.

“Those who will take their families into the country, place them where they have fewer temptations.” Pamphlet 140, 42.

So, there is nothing wrong with getting out of Sodom and getting into the country so that the children will not have the temptations, but it is not enough to get your body out of Sodom. You have to get Sodom out of your mind! That is our problem today. We have so much electronic media that it is possible, even in an isolated place in the country, to still access all the pleasures of Sodom with video, television, or the Internet. If you want to get out of Sodom, you have to get Sodom out of your mind.

Principle of Honor

Now, one of the principles in the Ten Commandments is the principle of honor. You see, if you are giving or receiving attentions from someone of the opposite sex who is not your wife or your husband, how do you know but what God has intended that person to be the spouse of someone else at some future time? You are dishonoring your heavenly Father, and you are dishonoring other people in the human race whenever you do something like that.

In Sodom, the concept of the principle of honor was lost. As I have studied this subject, I have come to realize that we as Christians need to study and to ask the Lord to help us get back the principle of honor.

Ellen White wrote to a woman concerning the subject of honor. This woman had decided that she was going to divorce her husband, but the husband did not want to divorce her. He was trying to win her back. A portion of the letter is quoted here: “I have written to Brother Harper [this lady’s husband whom she planned to divorce] that he ought not to take the matter so to heart. He feels like death over the thought that he must give you up, but in this sad case it is the best thing he can do. But do not then receive any money from him or expect him to defray your expenses.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 218.

Did you get that? This is directly contrary to what people do today. Ellen White was writing to a woman who was going to divorce her husband. He did not want to divorce her, and Mrs. White told this woman to not accept any money from him or expect him to defray her expenses. She was going to divorce him; she should not be expecting him to give her money!

“While you consent to receive his money of course it encourages him to be of the opinion that you will again live with him as his wife and be true to your marriage vows. But if you design to cut loose from him, it is in poor taste [in other words, it is not honorable] for you to accept anything financially from him.” Ibid.

Honor! That is what the people of Sodom lost. That is what we have lost in our country today. People will take money from one another whether they deserve to have it or not. They have no sense of honor whatsoever anymore. If we do not regain our sense of honor, we will never go to the kingdom of heaven.

Sodom’s Last Night

The time came when it was the last night for Sodom, and two angels came to town. Lot was a very hospitable man, so he invited them to his home. (See Genesis 19.) They came to his home, and Lot prepared a meal for them to eat. Before they retired for the night, the men of the city gathered around the house, and they said to Lot, “Bring those men out, so that we might have sexual relations with them.” (Verse 5.)

There are some parts of this story that I have difficulty understanding. I do not understand how Lot could ever be called a righteous man in the New Testament (11 Peter 2:7, 8) with what he did on this occasion, because he offered his two daughters, who were virgins, to these men to try to keep them from committing homosexual acts with his guests. I cannot comprehend why he ever did that. He obviously was under a lot of pressure. He was afraid, no doubt, that he would lose his life, and perhaps everyone in the house would be killed. (Homosexuality, since the time of Sodom right to the present day, has always been associated with violence.) It was at that time that Lot, who thought he was entertaining ordinary guests, learned that these were supernatural guests, because they struck the men outside the house with blindness, and they could not locate the door to enter the house.

Then Lot’s guests told him what was going to happen. These two angels said to Lot, “The God of heaven has sent us here to destroy this city, and this city is going to be burned up tomorrow morning.” (Verse 13.) Lot was in a frantic state.

Lot’s Situation

Just think for a moment what must have been going through Lot’s mind at this time. We need to consider this, because there are people who will have to make the same decision that Lot had to make.

Why had Lot chosen to go to Sodom? Why did his wife want to go down there? It was because an individual could make a lot of money there. Lot was a very wealthy man. His daughters who had married men and were living in that city were wealthy too. The whole family was wealthy. Lot’s wealth was not in the plains of Mamre where Abraham dwelled.

Lot’s wealth was in Sodom, but the angels told him, “You must get out of this place, because tomorrow morning we are going to burn up this city.” That meant that he would lose everything he had. The reason he had come to Sodom was to get wealth, and now he was going to lose everything for which he had come.

Do you know that this is going to happen again?

Ellen White states, in The Great Controversy, 404, that when God’s children are delivered, they will have given up all for Christ. Every single one of the 144,000 will be poor in this world’s goods when they go to heaven. But, actually, will it really matter? You see, when Jesus comes, this world is going to be cleansed with fire. Your house, your car, your bank, your stocks and bonds, and your business will all be destroyed. All the wealth that you have in this world is going to burn up.

From a worldly point of view, all the saints are going to be very poor. They will have nothing when Jesus comes, but what is the difference? The world is going to burn up, but if your heart is in Sodom and you love these things, then what? Then it is going to be hard for you to leave Sodom. That was Lot’s problem.

Lot had so much wealth that it was hard for him to give it up, because he realized that when he left Sodom, he was going to be a poor man. If there is anything that rich people do not ever want to happen to them, it is to be poor—especially if they were previously poor. They do not ever want to be that way again. They would rather be sick than be poor. This was Lot’s situation.

Family Ties

Lot’s wealth was not all, however. There was something even worse. His family was all in Sodom. His daughters were married, so he pled with the angels, “Oh, please, let me go out. I must go to my daughters and to my sons-in-law and tell them what is going to happen.”

Lot knew. He had witnessed the angels smite those men with blindness. He knew these were supernatural beings, and he knew they were going to burn up the city. He knew what they told him was the truth, and he pleaded, “Please, let me go and talk to my daughters and to my sons-in-law.” The angels granted his wish.

Lot exited the house. He could walk through all the rabble, because they could not see, and he makes his way downtown to one of his daughter’s homes. It was midnight, but Lot was knocking on the door. He wanted above all things to warn the daughter and son-in-law, and when they came to the door, he warned, “Get up! Get out of this city! The Lord is going to burn up this city.”

The son-in-law turned to Lot’s daughter and declared, “Your father has become insane!” The Bible says that he seemed as one that mocked. (Verse 14.) They would not listen.

Desensitized

What was the problem? Why would they not get out of Sodom? This is what we need to study and understand.

They had lived in Sodom for so long. They had looked at the indecent pictures of Sodom for so long. They had witnessed the sensual practices going on all around them for so long. They had observed homosexuality for so long. They had seen the flirtation for so long. They had seen all these things happen for so long that Sodom did not seem that bad to them anymore.

Do you know that this is one of our greatest dangers today? The same things that were happening in Sodom are happening around us today, and as we look and see and hear all these things, after a while, they do not bother us as much! Lot’s family could not comprehend that Sodom was so bad that God would actually burn up the city and the people. Some people cannot get that figured out today.

The Bible tells us that the Lord is coming again, and when He comes again, the world is going to burn up just as Sodom did, and all the ungodly are going to perish. But many people exclaim, “Oh, no! We have not done anything that bad!”

Linger Not

Well, Lot failed. His family thought he was insane. There was nothing for him to do but to go back home. When he returned home, he was really discouraged, because his loved ones would not listen; they thought he was crazy.

Upon arriving back home, Lot lingered. The angels finally took him by force and started to lead him, his wife, and their two daughters out of town. (Verses 15, 16.) They just could not stand to walk away from all their wealth and away from their remaining family members. The angel encouraged them to, “flee to the mountains.” (Verse 17.) But Lot cried, “Oh, Lord, you have been so merciful and kind to me; please, do not make me go that far. Could I just go to a small town closer by, so I do not have to go clear up to the mountains?” (Verses 8−20.)

Lot had lived in the city for so long that he was afraid of country living. He was afraid of some bear, snake, or other wild creature. About this lingering, Ellen White wrote: “If Lot himself had manifested no hesitancy to obey the angels’ warning, but had earnestly fled toward the mountains, without one word of pleading or remonstrance, his wife also would have made her escape.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 161. But because he lingered and was afraid, pleading that the Lord would give him a little easier exit from Sodom, his wife manifested unbelief, and when the Lord said, “You go right now and do not turn back,” she disobeyed a direct divine command from the Lord Himself, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. (Verse 26.)

And Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Luke 17:32.

Second Sodom

We are living in a world that has become a second Sodom. Are you going to get out alive? Is your wife or your husband going to get out alive? Are your children going to get out alive?

The decisions that you are making day by day will determine whether or not you and your family get out alive. Remember, it is not enough to get your body out of Sodom; you have to get Sodom out of your mind.

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

Pastor John Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Prisoners of Hope—Under the Fig Tree

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Everyone who has read the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church recognizes the marvelous way in which God has led it. It has a heritage from which we may well learn and for which we should be thankful. We should each resolve to stand firmly upon the principles that the Lord has established.

Yet we see that almost from the start there was controversy. We have been told that our history may well parallel the sad debacle of the children of Israel on their way to the Promised Land. Many of the church’s marvelous pioneers were certainly led by God in sacrifice and oftentimes in the most outstanding ways.

Two Classes

The Spirit of Prophecy was given during the early history of Advent believers. There were those during the lifetime of Ellen G. White who believed she was God’s messenger. There were those who did not believe her messages came from God. There are still two classes in the church today.

If and when there are two classes in the church, differences of opinion or perhaps even controversy may well be fostered and promulgated. There are those who say that we do not really have any crisis or difficulties in the church, that the Lord is leading it, and all is well. I would like to quote a paragraph from a sermon by Robert H. Pierson, former General Conference President, as presented at the Annual Council, October 16, 1978, and reported in the Adventist Review, October 26, 1978. It reads as follows:

“Already, brethren and sisters, there are subtle forces that are beginning to stir. Regrettably there are those in the church who belittle the inspiration of the total Bible, who scorn the first 11 chapters of Genesis, who question the Spirit of Prophecy’s short chronology of the age of the earth, and who subtly and not so subtly attack the Spirit of Prophecy. There are some who point to the reformers and contemporary theologians as a source and the norm for Seventh-day Adventist doctrine. There are those who allegedly are tired of the hackneyed phrases of Adventism. There are those who wish to forget the standards of the church we love. There are those who covet and would court the favor of the evangelicals; those who would throw off the mantle of a peculiar people; and those who would go the way of the secular, materialistic world.

“Fellow leaders, beloved brethren and sisters don’t let it happen! I appeal to you as earnestly as I know how this morning¾don’t let it happen! . . . This is God’s last church with God’s last message.” “An Earnest Appeal From the Retiring President of the General Conference,” Adventist Review, October 26, 1978, Review and Herald Publishing Association, Takoma Park, Washington, D.C., 10.

Do you suppose it might be possible that God’s last church might not be willing to give to the world God’s last message in the way God wants it to be given?

Life and Death Issues

Could anyone read in Revelation 3:14-22 where we are told that we are “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” and still insist that all is well?

We know from research by a number of men that controversy arose in 1888 over a message God gave the church. This message had to do with righteousness by faith. We are told that some part of this message was rejected at that time. This produced controversy and a delay in God’s plan for His people on their way to the Promised Land. My understanding is that the righteousness having to do with justification and forgiveness was not rejected, but the righteousness which had to do with the preparation of God’s people to be fit for heaven was rejected. This appears to be again what is being rejected today by many. This had to do specifically with sanctification. So controversy raises its head, and we have differences of opinion which may well be basic to one’s salvation.

Dr. Geoffrey J. Paxton, in his book, The Shaking of Adventism (Zenith Publishers, Wilmington, Delaware, January 1977) states that we are in a life and death struggle as to the nature of the gospel. Dr. Paxton has written a book of 156 pages on the problems in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, dealing with the shaking and the controversy in connection with righteousness by faith.

What To Do

The question that comes to mind is, How does the Lord want us to deal with differences of opinion or controversy? “If pride and selfishness were laid aside, five minutes would remove most difficulties.” Early Writings, 119.

God has given men and women minds with which to study and to choose. All of average intelligence may know the truth on any matter of religious consequence if they are willing to depend wholly upon God and the Holy Spirit and search as for hidden treasure.

Truth, however, is not dependent upon knowing every word of the Greek language; neither is it dependent upon the knowledge or science of the world. It is not dependent upon higher education or a doctor’s degree. To find truth, we are wholly dependent upon the Holy Spirit. “Without the Spirit of God a knowledge of His word is of no avail.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 408. “In comparison with the knowledge of God, all human knowledge is as chaff. And the way of salvation can be made known only by God.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7A, 469. So, as you can see, we are completely dependent upon God to recognize and know the truth. “Strife and contention cannot arise among those who are controlled by His Spirit.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 227.

Does this mean, then, that when we see the truth stamped into the dust that we are to do nothing? No! We are to meet the issue and stand for God.

“It is difficult to discern between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.” Ibid., vol. 8, 247.

“Those who have not been in the habit of searching the Bible for themselves, of weighing evidence, have confidence in the leading men and accept the decisions they make; and thus many will reject the very messages God sends to His people, if these leading brethren do not accept them.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 106, 107.

God’s Guidance

Where matters of principle or truth are involved, the majority is seldom right. When the pioneers of this movement were in question regarding any spiritual matter, they got together as a group and studied. At times they were unable to understand the question under study, even though they studied night and day. Ellen White met with them, but was not able to enter into or understand the matters at hand.

When the pioneers had reached an impasse and could go no further, Ellen White was taken off in vision, and the Lord showed her the truth of the matter under study. The men accepted these revelations as from the Lord. “Many of our people do not realize how firmly the foundation of our faith has been laid.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 206.

As the pioneers would study and could not understand a matter, the following was written by Ellen White: “During this whole time I could not understand the reasoning of the brethren. My mind was locked, as it were, and I could not comprehend the meaning of the scriptures we were studying. This was one of the greatest sorrows of my life. I was in this condition of mind until all the principal points of our faith were made clear to our minds, in harmony with the Word of God. The brethren knew that when not in vision, I could not understand these matters, and they accepted as light direct from heaven the revelations given.” Ibid., 207. The fundamental beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists were therefore established by the Lord, and are not to be tampered with.

It must be evident that the Lord was responsible for the points of our faith which were not readily
understood. He spoke to the pioneers after long, futile hours of unresolved study through the Spirit of Prophecy, and gave them truth and understanding, which, you will note, was in harmony with the Word of God.

Why Differences

We have all these truths today as God gave them to the early leaders. We have the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. One therefore wonders how and why there could be differences of opinion or possible controversy. In any event, perhaps we should get together and study, as did the pioneers¾or better yet, ask the Lord how He would have us settle differences of opinion.

The following two quotations for your consideration are given, not to point the finger at anyone, but to show what conditions are, or may well be, and what the Lord says to do.

“Satan has laid his plans to undermine our faith in the history of the cause and work of God. I am deeply in earnest as I write this. Satan is working with men in prominent positions to sweep away the foundations of our faith. Shall we allow this to be done, brethren?” Review and Herald, November 19, 1903.

“My [Ellen White] message to you is: No longer consent to listen without protest to the perversion of truth. Unmask the pretentious sophistries. . . . Everyone is now to stand on his guard. God calls upon men and women to take their stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel. I have been instructed to warn our people.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 196. [Emphasis added.] This was written some time ago, but I believe we can see applications of this today.

As previously stated, it is quite a mystery that there could be real controversy in our ranks with all the information and instruction we have at hand. But perhaps the great diversity between all may bring good in the end if we study as for hidden treasure and approach all subjects with an open mind directed by the Holy Spirit.

“There is to be no change in the general features of our work. It is to stand as clear and distinct as prophecy has made it. We are to enter into no confederacy with the world, supposing that by so doing we could accomplish more. . . . No line of truth that has made the Seventh-day Adventist people what they are is to be weakened. We have the old landmarks of truth, experience, and duty, and we are to stand firmly in defense of our principles, in full view of the world.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 17. [Emphasis added.]

“We are in danger of variance, in danger of taking sides on a controverted point; and should we not seek God in earnestness, with humiliation of soul, that we may know what is truth?

Fig Tree Experience

“Nathanael heard John as he pointed to the Saviour and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29)! Nathanael looked at Jesus, but he was disappointed in the appearance of the world’s Redeemer. Could He who bore the marks of toil and poverty be the Messiah? Jesus was a worker; He had toiled with humble workingmen, and Nathanael went away. But he did not form his opinion decidedly as to what the character of Jesus was. He knelt down under a fig tree, inquiring of God if indeed this man was the Messiah.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 414.

While Nathanael was under the fig tree, Phillip came along and stated to him that they had found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Phillip did not seek a controversy. He simply said, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael, He said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” John 1:47. To have no guile might well be a good beginning to the solution of a controversy. But even more important would be to kneel under the fig tree and to plead with God as to what is truth, before and after a thorough study of the question at hand.

You will remember that Jesus told Nathanael that before Phillip came to him, He saw him under the fig tree. He sees us also as we kneel under the fig tree to get a solution to controversy; and He will answer us if we are, as was Nathanael, “without guile.” Nathanael was honest. He had an open mind, and before he left Jesus, the controversy was settled in a true fashion in his own mind, because he exclaimed, “Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel.” John 1:49. In arriving at any spiritual truth, we need Jesus as the King of our hearts.

“God wants us to depend upon Him, and not upon man. He desires us to have a new heart; He would give us revealings of light from the throne of God. We should wrestle with every difficulty, but when some controverted point is presented, are you to go to man to find out his opinion, and then shape your conclusions from his?¾No, go to God. Tell Him what you want; take your Bible and search as for hidden treasures.” Ibid., 415.

“In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I beseech the people of God to depend upon the Lord for strength. Beware how you place men where God should be. We are not safe in taking men as our authority or our guide, for they will surely disappoint us.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 386.

“Would it not be well for us to go under the fig tree to plead with God as to what is truth?” Selected Messages, Book 1, 415.

Nathanael did not make up his mind until he had consulted God. When we do this first and not consult man; searching as for hidden treasure, believing, and having surrendered all completely to Christ, a new heart is given, a new creature is born; and man becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Then it is that Jesus will reveal truth and settle, for that individual, any controversy in truth in His own way.

Many years ago I had studied the question of the sanctuary and righteousness by faith for long hours in the early morning over months of time. I have recently heard different speakers state certain things which might be in question or might not be the whole truth, as I remember from my previous study. Therefore I decided that reconsideration and reassessment on my part was in order. I reviewed what I had studied and made a list of related topics which I thought worthwhile to consider; listed quotations from the Spirit of Prophecy and the Bible; and asked the Lord to give me truth. I attempted to get under the fig tree.

Our God is a great God. He is a God of love. Our God is alive. He wants each of us to have eternal life and to live and develop with Him through eternity. We each need to know the truth as it is in Jesus. He has given us all things we need. We need to practice the straight truth in our everyday lives. Since we live in an unusual time, in the last end of time, God expects more of us than of any other generation or people. He expects us to reflect a high standard¾perfection, the image of Jesus.

“The Jews perished as a nation because they were drawn from the truth of the Bible by their rulers, priests, and elders. Had they heeded the lessons of Jesus, and searched the Scriptures for themselves, they would not have perished.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 109. As we search and study, “Would it not be well for us to go under the fig tree to plead with God as to what is truth?”

Surely, we are all “Prisoners of Hope”!

Raymond L. Knoll, M.D. was born May 11, 1907. Becoming a Seventh-day Adventist in 1923, he has a love and devotion to the Holy Bible and to the writings of Ellen G. White. Graduating from a community college in Alberta, Canada in 1928 where he majored in mathematics and science, he continued his education at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, graduating with a B.A. in mathematics and a minor in science. After teaching several years in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he entered the College of Medical Evangelists Medical School in Loma Linda, California, graduating with his M.D. in 1944. A freelance writer, he wrote and published the book, How to Live To Be 101 and Be Able To Enjoy It! This article is reprinted with permission from his latest book, Prisoners of Hope.

The Song of Mary

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Have you ever felt unimportant, put down, or unappreciated? Mary the mother of Jesus must have had some of those feelings. She was born into poverty. Her parents were of unimportant background as far as the world was concerned. She was considered to be a peasant, and in her day and in her culture, the poor people were looked down upon. In her day, poor people were considered to be poor because God had made them that way. They were considered to have no worth, and people treated them as unimportant.

Thankfully, those beliefs are not quite as large a part of our culture today as they were then. At that time, such beliefs were actually a part of their religion. I am so grateful that they are not a part of our religion today.

Undoubtedly, Mary grew up feeling, at times, very unimportant and very rejected by society—until one day when an angel appeared to her and told her that she was going to have a child! This message dumbfounded her because, as she told the angel, “I have never had any relations with a man. I am a pure and upright woman. How am I going to have a child?” And then the angel told her that she would bear the Son of God.

Ladies, how do you think it would feel, having never had relations with a man, to be carrying the One that you knew was the Messiah, the One that had been reincarnated from heaven?

Physically speaking, she felt no different than any other woman who was pregnant. But, knowing what she knew about this baby, how would you feel? What would it be like?

Look at what Mary said, after given this knowledge, in a song that she composed. Did you know that Mary wrote a song? She may have been unimportant in the world’s eyes, but she must have had some tremendous gifts. Her song is one of the most beautiful songs in the Bible—especially for those who feel unimportant, possibly rejected, looked down upon, or unappreciated.

“And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, For he has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.” Luke 1:46–48.

Oh, the men of earth looked down upon her. The ladies of the city looked down upon her. She did not have the fanciest clothes. She was not a part of their society, but, her song continues, “For He who is mighty has done great things by me, and holy [is] His name, And His mercy [is] on those who fear Him from generation to generation.” Verses 49, 50. “Not only me,” Mary declares, “but just as God has regarded me, so he regards all those, from generation to generation, who are lowly in heart.”

A Dwelling Place

Dear friend, the song that Mary composed is a song for all the humble of all the ages. It is a song for all those who are unappreciated or put down throughout all the ages. It is a song for those of all the ages who have found no recognition in society. Just as Jesus found an abode inside of Mary, He desires to find an abode inside of you.

Paul stated, in 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . .?” Not just Mary’s body! But the Bible says that you, too, are to be the dwelling place of God. Your body is the dwelling place of God! “. . . [who is] in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Reason to Rejoice

God desires to dwell in you, and when God dwells in you, you can rejoice as Mary rejoiced. It makes you important! Whatever the world may think, it makes you important. Mary could rejoice because He who is mighty had done great things by her. Whatever the world had done or thought, in whatever esteem she was held by those of her community or those of her peers, God had chosen her, and that made her important. She praised God for His belief and confidence in her. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, for He has done great things by me.”

Song for the Proud

Her song continues in Luke 1:51–53. It says: “He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered [the] proud in the imagination of their hearts.” Verse 51.

While God found a dwelling place within the humble heart of Mary and within her body, He did not find a dwelling place within the rich in Jerusalem, within all the wives of the priests, or within the hearts of those who were mighty and proud.

The song of Mary is a song for all the humble of all ages, and it is a song for all the proud of all ages. Mary said, “He has put down the mighty from [their] thrones . . . .” Verse 52, first part.

In Mary’s day, there was politics in the church. People held offices because of who they knew—“You pat me on the back, and I will pat you on the back. You get me into a place, and I will get you into a place.” That is how things worked in Mary’s day.

In Mary’s day, you needed to have either money or position to be important. When Mary came into Bethlehem, there was not room for her in the inn. It was already filled with those who were important, but Mary’s baby was the only baby of that time who survived.

I wonder if, today, we have filled our churches with so many programs that when God’s program comes along, there is no room for it. I wonder if we have filled our minds with so much information that when God’s truth comes to us, there is no room for it.

But, remember that it is only God’s program and God’s truth that are going to survive. All the others will be put down, or pulled down, and destroyed.

Mary said, “He has put down the mighty from [their] thrones, And exalted [the] lowly. He has filled [the] hungry with good things, And [the] rich He has sent away empty.” Verses 52, 53.

Rich or Poor

The Bible tells us, speaking of the last church and the last people who claim to be God’s people, that they think they are rich, increased with goods, and have need of nothing. Jesus said, “I will spue them out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:17, 16.)

Mary said, “The rich He has sent away empty.”

Are you rich, today, dear friend, or are you poor?

“Blessed [are] the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus said. Matthew 5:3.

Are you self-satisfied? Or are you hungry for what God has to give you today? Are you in need of a blessing today? Are you poor and dejected and rejected? Are you hungry; are you searching? Do you need a filling today?

Only those who are hungry become filled: “He has filled [the] hungry with good things, And [the] rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of [His] mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.” Luke 1:53–55.

Do not envy the proud; pity them, for though they think they are filled, the Bible says that they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. God can never find an abiding place with the proud of spirit, with the self-satisfied, or the self-conceited.

Today, God wants to find an abiding place in your heart. Are you humble enough to receive Him? Are you humble enough to sing Mary’s song?

We Are What We Eat

In John 6:51, Jesus tells us how it is that we can have Him abiding within our hearts today—how it is that we can sing this song that Mary sang; how it is that we, too, can rejoice and glorify God and magnify Him in our spirits and in our souls. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.’” Verses 53–56.

In whom is it that Jesus abides today? He abides in the hearts of those that eat His flesh and drink His blood.

We are what we eat, you know. What we eat becomes what we are.

You can eat peanut butter, and, if your fat is tested, your fat will be found to resemble the fat from peanut oil. If you eat a large amount of chicken, and that becomes the major part of your diet, biopsies of the fat of some of your fat cells will more resemble chicken fat. We are what we eat!

Spiritual Food

We are spiritually what we eat, just as we are carnally what we eat. If the food for our minds from day to day is rock music, if the mental food is country western music with all of the relationship stories that go on in these songs, or if the mental food is soap operas, that is what we will become.

If our mental food comes from reading the Bible, memorizing the Scripture to put it into our minds, and meditating upon it during the day, then that is what we become. And Jesus says, “If that is what you are feeding upon, I will abide in your heart, and you, too, can sing the song of Mary.”

Symbolism

Eating the body of Jesus and drinking His blood is symbolized by the communion service. Before Jesus left His disciples He, on His last day with them, established what we today call the communion service.

When Jesus instituted the communion service and gave to His disciples the bread and the unfermented wine—the grape juice—He said that the bread represents His body which was broken for you, and the grape juice represents His blood which was shed for you. (1 Corinthians 11:24; Luke 22:20.) So as we partake of the bread and of the grape juice during a communion service, we are symbolically eating the body and drinking the blood of Jesus Christ.

But, remember that God only finds an abode within the humble, not within the proud. Before that last supper on that last night with His disciples, Jesus realized that while He could give them the elements, He could not really make them meaningful to several of the disciples, because they were proud. He had to do something to help them come to such a state of mind that not only could they eat of this food symbolically, but in reality He could come in and dwell with them.

Service of Humility

On that night, He instituted a service to help them become more humble. There was one thing in Jesus’ day that only servants did, and that was to wash other people’s feet. You see, they did not have automobiles, and they did not have paved roads. All they had were dusty paths, and their shoes were sandals. To travel to their desired destinations, the people walked, and their feet would get dusty and dirty. As they entered into a home, it was the custom, if a person was rich enough to have servants, for a servant to wash the feet of the travelers. Only servants performed this act.

On the night of the last supper, there was no servant. None of the disciples were willing to perform this service; they were too proud. Jesus knew that if they were too proud to perform this act, they were too proud to have Him abiding in their hearts. So Jesus became the servant.

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe [them] with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And [Peter] said to Him, ‘Lord, are You washing my feet?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.’ Peter said to Him, ‘You shall never wash my feet!’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.’ ” John 13:3–8.

This was an important service that Jesus was performing. Unless this service of humbleness worked within the heart of Peter, there was no part that Peter could have in Jesus’ kingdom.

“Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, not my feet only, but also [my] hands and [my] head!’ Jesus said to him, ‘He who is bathed’ (that is, baptized) ‘needs only to wash [his] feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.’ ” Verses 9, 10.

You see, the foot washing is symbolic. It is important, but unless it works a change in the heart, it does not do any good. It did not work a change in Judas’ heart. While the other disciples became clean, Judas did not.

Jesus went on to say, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you say well, for [so] I am. If I then, [your] Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” Verses 12–17.

If Jesus did not consider Himself too good, if He was not too important to wash the disciples’ feet, how can we be too good and too important to not wash one another’s feet? Can we for a moment suppose that we are more important than Jesus was?

Come With Contrition

“We need closely to investigate our life and character, and have true contrition of soul, having fellowship with Christ and fellowship with our brethren. Then we shall show that we can appreciate the work of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts. The barriers of pride, of self-sufficiency, are first to be broken down; then the love of Jesus will abound in our hearts. Then we can partake of the communion with a consciousness of sins forgiven; for whosoever sits down at the communion service should sit down humble and clean in heart, and purified from all defilement. Then the sunshine of Christ’s righteousness will fill the chambers of our minds and the soul temple.” Review and Herald, July 5, 1898.

Pastor Marshall Grosboll, with his wife Lillian, founded Steps to Life. In July 1991, Pastor Marshall and his family met with tragedy as they were returning home from a camp meeting in Washington state, when the airplane he was piloting went down, killing all on board.