Bible

The Alabaster Box Needs Rebreaking

by

John 11 tells the story of the resurrection of Lazarus. We find early in the chapter that a message was sent to Jesus that Lazarus was sick, and He was asked to come and heal him. But Jesus tarried. It is significant to note that Jesus did not come until Lazarus had been dead and laid in the tomb for four days. Why? Because many of the Jews then, like many Christians today, did not understand the state of the dead. They were confused by Greek philosophy and the devil’s lie to Eve that a person can be disobedient and still not die—a lie he continues to promote.

After Adam and Eve sinned, the human race was destined to die as a consequence of sin. Only Enoch and Elijah were taken to heaven without experiencing death. Satan is a proven liar, but when he is proven wrong, he changes tactics—he invents a new theory. This new theory regarding death, spiritualism, said that when someone dies, there was still something left inside that does not die, but went to another place. The Egyptians believed in the afterlife and prepared elaborate boats that were buried in the tombs with their pharaohs so that they would have transportation for their journey there. The Greeks believed a person went to the underworld—Hades—but by using a spiritualist, their family and friends could contact and talk with them. We find an example of this in 1 Samuel 28, where it tells of Saul going to the witch of Endor to contact Samuel after he had died.

Ellen White says that since the time of Adam, the devil has been preparing for his final deception, his final battle against the church. One of his most effective ways to take over the world in the last days is regarding the state of the dead.

The Jews had mixed this pagan spiritualism into their own doctrine, and at the time of Lazarus’ death, believed and taught that after a person died their spirit hovered around the body for three days. In those days, when someone died, they were not embalmed and, because of the climate in which they lived, they had to be buried right away. When Jesus raised the widow of Nain’s son at his funeral (Luke 7:11–17), the Jews claimed that he wasn’t really dead because it had not been three days since he had died. Consequently, Jesus deliberately waited until Lazarus had been dead for four days so that there could be no doubt that Lazarus was really dead. In fact, he was so dead that his body had already begun to decompose and smell. No one could argue that Lazarus was not dead.

“Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil [from the alabaster box] and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.” John 11:1, 2 (see also Luke 7:37, 38).

Mary, the sister of Lazarus, is believed to be Mary Magdalene or Mary of Magdala, the woman caught in the sin of adultery and brought to Jesus by the Pharisees to be condemned. (See John 8:3–11 and The Desire of Ages, 460–462.) Jesus knew Mary because He had seven times cast out the demons that had held her in sin. Jesus did not condemn her; indeed, He forgave her and told her to “go and sin no more.” That was the beginning of a new life of purity for Mary. But He also knew Mary because He had spent many hours of solitude in the siblings’ home in Bethany.

“There was one home that He loved to visit—the home of Lazarus, and Mary, and Martha; for in the atmosphere of faith and love His spirit had rest. … He had been glad to escape to this peaceful household, away from the suspicion and jealousy of the angry Pharisees. He found a sincere welcome, a pure, holy friendship. Here He could speak with simplicity and perfect freedom, knowing that His words would be understood and treasured.” My Life Today, 208

Simon the Pharisee, was the uncle of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. He was looked upon with great respect, but while we don’t know all the details of what he did, Ellen White says that he was responsible for Mary becoming a prostitute. Most people, even today, think of Mary as being a terrible sinner, but Simon’s guilt was much greater because of his actions.

Simon had once been a leper, but Jesus had healed him. To show his gratitude, Simon decided to prepare a feast for Jesus and His disciples. Lazarus, Martha, and Mary were there. When it was time to sit down for the feast, Simon was on one side of Jesus and Lazarus was on the other. Martha was serving.

Mary had heard Jesus speak of His approaching death. He had forgiven her, set her free from her old life of sin and Ellen White says that she loved Him and wanted to do something special for Him. So she had purchased an alabaster box filled with oil of nard with which to anoint His body after His death. Oil of nard is something like musk oil and was very, very expensive, likely almost a year’s worth of wages. It was a great personal sacrifice for Mary to purchase the oil.

People were traveling into Jerusalem from all over the world because the time to celebrate the Passover was near. The news that Jesus of Nazareth, this prophet from Galilee, had raised Lazarus from the dead four days after his death had spread everywhere. The people all over Jerusalem and the surrounding area were filled with excitement. Everyone wanted to meet Lazarus and Jesus. They wanted to hear more about how Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead and Lazarus had a wonderful testimony to share. He declared that Jesus was the Son of God. To make this declaration was the reason he had been raised from the dead. However, the disciples were excited for a different reason: they believed that now was the time that Jesus would be crowned king.

During the feast at Simon’s house, Mary decided that if Jesus was going to be crowned king, now would be the best time to express her love and thankfulness to Him. Unnoticed, she anointed Jesus’ head and feet. With her long hair, she wiped the oil from His feet, and the Bible says that the fragrance filled the house.

Oil of nard, once applied to the skin, cannot easily be washed off. The perfume remains on one’s skin for many days no matter how often one bathes. Mark 14:8, 9 says, “ ‘She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.’ ” [Emphasis supplied.] This anointing was so important that Jesus said whenever the gospel is preached, it would be a memorial to Mary’s love for Him. Her life had been broken, ruined, and Jesus had forgiven her, taken away her guilt, and made her whole again.

There is something special to consider about Mary. There were only two present when Jesus died on the cross who truly understood the significance of His death. Mary Magdalene was one of those two. There were only two people in all the earth who understood that Jesus’ death would provide the way for mankind to be redeemed from the penalty of sin. And as horrible as Jesus’ crucifixion was, He took not only the burden of sin to the cross, but also the reminder, the fragrance, of Mary’s love on His head and feet. As He hung between earth and heaven, dying for the sins of the world, He knew there was one person who loved Him and understood what He was doing for her. My dear friend, do you appreciate what Jesus has done for you? Do you remember that Jesus would have died just for Mary, just for you?

After Mary had anointed Jesus and the fragrance of the oil had filled the house revealing what she had done, Judas was not happy. He knew right away that this oil could have been sold for a large amount, and put in the treasury. As the treasurer of the disciples’ money, he said that the money spent on the oil would have been better spent in taking care of the poor. But John 12:3–6 tells us that Judas didn’t care for the poor. He was a thief and was simply using the idea of helping the poor as a guise to cover up his own covetousness. Christ’s Object Lessons says that self-justification originated with the devil and that it has been practiced by every son and daughter of Adam since Adam and Eve sinned.

Matthew makes it very clear that the spirit of Judas affected all the disciples; they all began to murmur about this. Simon also was affected by Judas’ speech. He began to question in his mind whether Jesus was even a prophet, much less the Messiah or the Son of God. Simon had been healed of leprosy by Jesus, but he thought that if this Man was a prophet, He would know this woman was a sinner and would not have allowed her to touch Him.

When we read this story in the Greek, we see that Jesus saw their thoughts. We find His response to Simon in Luke 7:40–48: “ ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ So he said, ‘Teacher, say it.’ ‘There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose the one whom he forgave more.’ And He said to him, ‘You have rightly judged.’ Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.  You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.’ Then He said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ ”

Simon was filled with terror because he understood the point that Jesus was making in His parable. He immediately realized that Jesus knew what he had been thinking and had answered his unspoken thought. He realized that Mary was a sinner who was forgiven, and he was a sinner who was not. Mary appreciated what had been done for her. Simon had not appreciated what had been done for him.

“Simon’s coldness and neglect toward the Saviour showed how little he appreciated the mercy he had received. He had thought he honored Jesus by inviting Him to his house, but he now saw himself as he really was. While he thought himself reading his Guest, his Guest had been reading him. He saw how true Christ’s judgment of him was. His religion had been a robe of Pharisaism. He had despised the compassion of Jesus. He had not recognized Him as the representative of God. While Mary was a sinner pardoned, he was a sinner unpardoned. The rigid rule of justice he had desired to enforce against her condemned him [because his guilt was far greater than hers].” The Desire of Ages, 567

Simon never forgot this act of compassion. The more he thought about it, he was awestruck by the fact that Jesus had explained his true situation without publicly rebuking him. Jesus had regarded his feelings and Simon was humbled by Jesus’ kindness and thoughtfulness. As a result, he repented and was converted and became a disciple of Christ. If you are in the kingdom of heaven, you will meet both Simon and Mary there.

“Christ values acts of heartfelt courtesy. When anyone did Him a favor, with heavenly politeness He blessed the actor. He did not refuse the simplest flower plucked by the hand of a child, and offered to Him in love. He accepted the offerings of children, and blessed the givers, inscribing their names in the book of life. In the Scriptures, Mary’s anointing of Jesus is mentioned as distinguishing her from the other Marys. Acts of love and reverence for Jesus are an evidence of faith in Him as the Son of God. And the Holy Spirit mentions, as evidences of [this] woman’s loyalty to Christ: ‘If she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.’ 1 Timothy 5:10

“Christ delighted in the earnest desire of Mary to do the will of her Lord. He accepted the wealth of pure affection which His disciples did not, would not, understand. … That ointment was a symbol of the heart of the giver.” Ibid., 564.

“They [the disciples after the resurrection] no longer cast blame upon Mary, but upon themselves. Oh, if they could have taken back their censuring, their presenting the poor as more worthy of the gift than was Christ! They felt the reproof keenly as they took from the cross the bruised body of their Lord.

“The same want is evident in our world today. But few appreciate all that Christ is to them. If they did, the great love of Mary would be expressed, the anointing would be freely bestowed.” Ibid., 565

O friends, the alabaster box needs to be purchased and broken again. Do you and I appreciate what Jesus is to us, or do we possess the hardness displayed by the disciples? Are we willing to sacrifice everything to show that we love Jesus and understand what He has made available to us by His sacrifice on the cross?

“Mary had been looked upon as a great sinner, but Christ knew the circumstances that had shaped her life. He might have extinguished every spark of hope in her soul, but He did not. It was He who had lifted her from despair and ruin. Seven times she had heard His rebuke of the demons that controlled her heart and mind. She had heard His strong cries to the Father in her behalf. She knew how offensive is sin to His unsullied purity, and in His strength she had overcome.

“When to human eyes her case appeared hopeless, Christ saw in Mary capabilities for good. He saw the better traits of her character. The plan of redemption has invested humanity with great possibilities, and in Mary these possibilities were to be realized. Through His grace she became a partaker of the divine nature. … It was Mary who sat at His feet and learned of Him. It was Mary who poured upon His head the precious anointing oil, and bathed His feet with her tears. Mary stood beside the cross, and followed Him to the sepulcher. Mary was first at the tomb after His resurrection. It was Mary who first proclaimed a risen Saviour.” Ibid., 568

“Now when He [Christ] rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.” Mark 16:9. When Jesus rose from the grave after His sacrifice to save mankind, He appeared first to Mary, the one who had wept at His feet because she understood her own unworthiness and keenly felt Jesus’ love and forgiveness for her.

Jesus knows all about your case, just as He knew all about hers. He knows our past, what is inside our minds, our feelings, our emotions, our thoughts, and our characters. You may be saying to yourself, I am a terrible sinner, and you may be. None of us can truthfully say that we are not terrible sinners. But here is the marvelous truth: the worse we are, the more we need Jesus, the more willing He is to help us.

The same Jesus that reached to the very bottom of the pit of sin to help Mary and Simon is still the same today. Luke 14:22, 23 says, “And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.’ ”

Now is the time to go out into the highways and hedges. God is pulling people up out of the pit of sin, people involved in every kind of sin imaginable—murder, homosexuality, prostitution, fornication, adultery, stealing, lying, swindling, drinking, all kinds of drugs—people willing to repent, who realize that they desperately need a change, a change that comes only from Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit continues to speak to the hearts of men and women, those who realize they are helpless, hopeless, and in bondage. And when a person hears the gospel, responds to the Holy Spirit, realizes that this is a sick way to live, and that they cannot escape it by themselves, then Jesus says, I will deliver you.

Jesus wants to save you. If you are tired of sin, and if you would like to have a completely different life, one in harmony with the law of God, if you would like to be clean and pure, holy and righteous, and if you would like to have joy in your heart and eternal life with Jesus, He will help you when you surrender your life to Him.

May we have a heart that responds to God’s love. We must appreciate His love enough that we will want to express it to Him. He will deliver us from our degradation and sin, and restore us to a life of purity, holiness, and righteousness. May the alabaster box be broken and spilled out once again.

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

Fulfilling His Purpose

by

A long time ago in the land of the Philistines, there was a feast. Many people from all the regions of the Philistines had come to this feast to honor their god Dagon in his temple because he had protected them from and defeated their enemy, Samson (Judges 16:23). The temple was filled with men and women, all the “lords of the Philistines.”

Chosen by God for the purpose of delivering His people, Samson was meant to be raised as a Nazarite, consecrated and set apart. He had been born into the right family, raised in the right way, given the right diet and the right background – everything he needed to fulfill God’s purpose for his life, the same as we as Seventh-day Adventists have been called to be and do. And yet, he chose to please himself. We can see the purpose, the mission, the cause and calling of God for this deliverer of Israel. And we can see how he chose instead to do his own will. We also see that even in his attempts to please himself, God’s purpose through him would still be carried out, but it cost Samson everything.

Defeated by his insistence to do his own will rather than God’s, Samson finds himself blind, with his hair shorn and absolutely powerless, bound, ridiculed and abused by the very people he was meant to conquer, but had been determined to be a part of through marriage. He was overwhelmed by the humiliation and horror of his current situation brought about by his own choices and actions. His heart cried out in sorrow because his eyes could not, and in that cry he asked the very question that many of us may have asked or are asking, “Lord, how did I get here?”

Twenty years had passed since Samson married the young woman of Timnah and he had killed 1,000 Philistines. He had judged Israel during that time in relative peace. He was now a grown man, but the choices of his youth had left a telling mark on his life as he continued to seek to please himself.

In Judges 16:1 the Bible says, “Now Samson went to Gaza … .” Did he go to investigate and determine the Philistines’ weaknesses and how they could be brought down so that Israel could finally be free from their enemy? No, he went to Gaza “and saw a harlot and went in to her.”

We read in Patriarchs and Prophets, 564: “After his victory the Israelites made Samson judge, and he ruled Israel for twenty years. But one wrong step prepares the way for another. Samson had transgressed the command of God by taking a wife from the Philistines, and again he ventured among them – now his deadly enemies – in the indulgence of unlawful passion. Trusting to his great strength, which had inspired the Philistines with such terror, he went boldly to Gaza, to visit a harlot of that place.” We also read in The Desire of Ages, 126: “Only he who has true faith is secure against presumption. For presumption is Satan’s counterfeit of faith. Faith claims God’s promises, and brings forth fruit in obedience. Presumption also claims those promises, but uses them as Satan did, to excuse transgression. Faith would have led our first parents to trust the love of God, and to obey His commands. Presumption led them to transgress His law, believing that His great love would save them from the consequence of their sin. It is not faith that claims the favor of heaven without complying with the conditions on which mercy is to be granted. Genuine faith has its foundation in the promises and provisions of Scriptures.”

Presumption is living your life the way you choose to, assuming that you will be okay until you decide when to change. Samson was presumptuous, like many young people are today. Many Adventists believe they will make changes in their lives when they see the Sunday law being passed, delaying their commitment to their own loss.

Samson went to Gaza to commit fornication with a harlot. Fornication is the act of being physically intimate with someone who is not your husband or wife. Paul said, “Now the body is not for sexual immorality [fornication] but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ‘the two,’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh.’ But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. … Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality [fornication] sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit 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 your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:13–20).

Fornication cheapens and objectifies the body, degrades you in the mind of the other person and sends a message that you have little self-value and are not worth committing to. Remember, however, that you have been bought with an extremely high price and your body belongs to God.

“When the Gazites were told, ‘Samson has come here!’ they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, ‘In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him’ ” (Judges 16:2). The Philistines had been exposed to the Israelite culture and they knew that, as an Israelite, what Samson was doing was wrong. This gave them an opportunity to lay a trap for him by means of which he could have perished that day. However, “At midnight Samson was aroused. The accusing voice of conscience filled him with remorse, as he remembered that he had broken his vow as a Nazarite. But notwithstanding his sin, God’s mercy had not forsaken him. His prodigious strength again served to deliver him. Going to the city gate, he wrenched it from its place and carried it, with its posts and bars, to the top of a hill on the way to Hebron.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 565.

Samson’s narrow escape did not cause him to surrender his ungodly, pleasure-seeking ways. “Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah” (Judges 16:4). We are reminded in Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”

“But even this narrow escape did not stay his evil course. He did not again venture among the Philistines, but he continued to seek those sensuous pleasures that were luring him to ruin. ‘He loved a woman in the valley of Sorek,’ not far from his own birthplace. Her name was Delilah, ‘the consumer.’  The vale of Sorek was celebrated for its vineyards; these also had a temptation for the wavering Nazarite, who had already indulged in the use of wine, thus breaking another tie that bound him to purity and to God. The Philistines kept a vigilant watch over the movements of their enemy, and when he degraded himself by this new attachment, they determined, through Delilah, to accomplish his ruin.” Ibid., 565.

How could Samson keep breaking the ties that bound him to God over and over again? But maybe an equally important question to ask is, how does this keep happening to us, over and over again?

The Philistines offered Delilah a great deal of wealth to find out how they might overcome Samson. With flattery and feigned caring, Delilah sought to ingratiate herself with Samson until finally she says in Judges 16:6, “ ‘Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.’ ” Though his actions may cause us to think that Samson must have been dull, he did in fact see through Delilah’s attempt to discover the secret of his strength. He determined to have some fun with her and the Philistines.

Beginning in Judges 16:7–16, we read of Delilah’s efforts to learn the secret of Samson’s strength. First he suggested that she bind him with “seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried,” then that she bind him with “new ropes that had never been used.” Neither of these revealed his secret.

Interestingly, while Delilah was attempting to learn the secret of his strength, Samson was aware of her motive. He knew the Philistines were there. He wasn’t being duped, but he still determined to remain with her in spite of her treachery. He was so confident in his own abilities and in what God had done for him in the past that he had no fear. Although he had repeatedly violated his Nazarite vows, God had always come through for him, and he was not afraid of what these men could do to him.

Again, Delilah pleaded with Samson to tell her his secret. He suggested that she should “weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom.” Now he was getting closer to the truth regarding how his strength could be taken from him. Can this happen to us? We can live too close to the boundaries of right with the risk of going over.

Of course, we know that this did not reveal Samson’s secret. Delilah accused him, “ ‘How can you say, “I love you,” when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies’ ” (verse 15). Then she pestered him day after day, begging him to tell her the secret of his strength “so that his soul was vexed to death” (verse 16).

After many days of enduring Delilah’s pleading and begging, the unthinkable happened. He told her the truth. “… he told her all his heart, and said to her, ‘No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man’ ” (verse 17). Looking at his life, Samson must have realized that he was not the person he was supposed to be and that he had violated almost every part of the vow he had taken. His tone and expression both must have shown the great disappointment he felt in himself and he finally revealed the truth.

“When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, ‘Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.’ So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand” (verse 18). They were so sure it would work this time that they brought Delilah’s payment with them.

The Bible contains some scary Scriptures: “The hour of His judgment has come” (Revelation 14:7–11), “I never knew you, depart from me …” (Matthew 7:21–23). I believe that Judges 16:20 should be included in that group of texts, “But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.” Though Delilah had cut his hair, Samson intended to escape as he had previously. Samson’s confidence was in himself, his own ability and strength, but he had stepped over the edge and God had left him.

Samson’s hair was a sign of his consecration to God and the seven locks represented completeness, the perfection of that commitment. They also represent the seventh-day Sabbath which is the sign of our commitment to God, as Seventh-day Adventists, in the last crisis. If you violate that belief, God will depart from you and you will be lost. There is a parallel in this story for us today.

Samson’s strength was gone. He was captured and bound. His eyes were burned out with hot metal rods. He was a prisoner of the Philistines.

Chained in the temple, listening as the Philistines sang the praises of their god Dagon, pelted with food, laughed at and mocked, Samson felt shame and humiliation. I want to suggest to you that he began to remember his faithful parents who did the best they could to direct him in the right path, his Nazarite vow, his consecration to God, his mission, his purpose, and how good God had been to him and that He would save to the uttermost. But he also remembered how he had completely disregarded all of it. His heart ached, but he could shed no tears. So he cried out to the Lord, “O Adonai Yahweh [Lord God], remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O Elohim [God], that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes” (Judges 16:28)!

God understands the cry of a penitent heart. Samson used the most personal name of God that he knew, he confessed that he had dishonored and rejected God, and he knew that God deserved better than what he had given Him, but he pleaded for help one more time.

Bracing himself against the pillars of the temple, Samson cried out, “Let me die with the Philistines” (verse 30, first part)! At that moment, Samson realized that the destroyer of the Philistines was exactly what God had called him to be from the beginning, and he finally accepted that call. God answered Samson’s prayer and when he pushed with all his might, the temple fell on all the lords and all the people.

All his life Samson had served himself. He now recognized that he did not deserve the favor of God, but he determined to obey the purpose that God had for his life. With the destruction of the temple, he brought down the pride, the lust, the oppression, the presumption of the Philistines, to honor God. The Bible says, “So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.” This was such a devastating event that when Samson’s brothers came to take his body home for burial, not one Philistine tried to stop them.

“God’s promise that through Samson He would ‘begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines’ was fulfilled; but how dark and terrible the record of that life which might have been a praise to God and glory to the nation! Had Samson been true to his divine calling, the purpose of God could have been accomplished in his honor and exaltation. But he yielded to temptation and proved untrue to his trust, and his mission was fulfilled in defeat, bondage, and death.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 567.

So here is the question: After Samson delivered the crushing blow to the Philistines and became the very thing he first neglected, had he now been faithful to his calling? Do you believe that God forgave Samson? Do you believe He will forgive you?

Friends, it is not until we as Christians die to self that Christ can cause us to really live in Him. It is only when pride, selfishness, lust, and presumption have been removed from our lives that we can truly be used by God for His purpose. Maybe you haven’t lived the way you know the Lord wanted you to live. Or maybe you feel you’ve gone too far. Maybe you are a parent with a child who has left the faith for some reason. Maybe you are that child. You must remember that “He who began a good work in you” can and will perform it. The Bible says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). This is the decision you have to make. God is merciful and loving and willing to forgive, but He will never force you to love Him or give your heart to Him. That is something you must be willing to do.

What a wonderful thought that God does not forget, nor does He easily give up on us. The essential point that we must consider is that there is a line that we can cross and it could be too late. We do not want to tempt God and be presumptuous regarding His love for us.

It may be that the experience of Samson is not your experience at all. Maybe you have been true to what you believe has been the purpose God has for your life and you want to remain committed to God. It is not necessary to abandon your faith or God’s calling and then come back to have a testimony. The person who follows God’s leading and stays the course has a powerful testimony to the strength and care of Jesus.

But, if you can identify with the experience of Samson and want to have a change in your life, if you want to follow the purpose and will of God, then you must commit your life to Him and ask Him to lead you. I believe that Samson said in his heart the words of Micah 7:8, 9: “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness.”

God does not forsake a single one of His children. He has chosen each of us for a purpose and even if it is our choice to enjoy the pleasures of this world for a time, He is still able to fulfill His purposes, and may yet do so, through us. But don’t wait until it is too late.

Why have you chosen me,

Out of millions Your child to be.

You know all the wrong I have done.

 

O how could You pardon me,

Forgive my iniquity,

To save me gave Jesus Your Son.

 

But Lord help me be,

What You want me to be.

Your word I will strive to obey,

My life I now give for You I will live,

And walk by Your side all the way.

 

I am amazed to know,

That a God so great could love me so.

He’s willing and wanting to bless.

 

His grace is so wonderful,

His mercy so bountiful,

I can’t understand it I confess.

 

O Lord, help me to be

What You want me to be,

Your word I will strive to obey.

My heart and life I now give

For You, I will live

And walk by Your side all the way.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor Damien Jenkins was raised in a non-religious home, but at the age of 18 was introduced to the Gospel and his life was forever changed. Today he is pastor of the Water of Life Free Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hohenwald, Tennessee. He enjoys apologetics, Bible history, expounding on the topic of righteousness by faith and making the Bible simple and easy to understand.

A Hundredfold Now

by

There are in the Scriptures thoughts and claims of such a startling nature as to occasionally cause one to do a double take. One such thought is found in the words of Jesus in Mark 10:29, 30: “And Jesus answered and said, ‘Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.’ ”

Clearly, Jesus’ intention here was for us to know that no one making a sacrifice for His sake would go unrewarded. We can understand to a degree that a believer will be compensated for the loss of his family in this life by joining a larger family of faith. We can even understand the promise of persecutions because the Bible is consistent in teaching that heaven can be gained only through much tribulation. (See Acts 14:22; 2, Timothy 3:12; Matthew 24:21.) But what did Jesus mean by declaring “he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time”? What measure was Jesus using? What currency was He alluding to?

When we consider the lives of the apostles, we realize that every one of them died a martyr’s death – except for John, who barely escaped death being deep fried in a pot of boiling oil. So where was the promise of “an hundredfold” for them? But we know that Jesus never lies. This means, therefore, that each of the apostles did indeed receive “an hundredfold” in this life even though to human vision they suffered the loss of all things, including their very lives. This is of profound interest to us living in the last days because the promise of Jesus clearly embraces all His followers to the end of time even as the crisis of the ages steals relentlessly upon us with its specter of suffering and persecution.

Jesus spoke the promise of the “hundredfold” in the context of losing all things for His sake. Does this suggest that only certain believers may be entitled to the promise, while others may not? The answer is an unequivocal No. All believers, regardless of their ultimate earthly fate, may receive the “hundredfold” in this life by surrendering all by a covenant of sacrifice: “Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice” (Psalm 50:5). Every believer who has ever lived has had in his or her grasp the “hundredfold” promise in this life, because God credits us for the intents of our hearts more than for what is observable to human sight. This great promise is separate from and in addition to eternal life “in the world to come.” Thus, even though not all believers are called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice of martyrdom, all can qualify for the “hundredfold” blessing here and now by being willing to stand unyieldingly for the truth despite the cost.

To grasp the concept of the “hundredfold” we must first understand the economic principles of heaven. In the cashless economy in heaven there is no trading or bartering. All things pertaining to life and well-being are freely available to the inhabitants of that wonderful world. The river of life proceeding from the throne of God and the tree of life represent the inexhaustible supply of all things needed for the perpetuation of life and happiness. No one will ever experience scarcity or want in the great hereafter. It is in this world alone that economies are driven by the forces affecting supply and demand. The reason that precious metals are precious and gems are so expensive is that they are so rare. If rubies and diamonds were as plentiful as pebbles on the seashore, who would try to gain a monopoly on selling them? They would quite literally be “dirt cheap!” It is so in heaven. Nothing of a material nature possesses any intrinsic value because God can call into existence a planet of gold as easily as one of rock and dirt.

What then is of value in the heavenly economy? It is living, intelligent beings endowed with free wills, able to choose their own destinies. In making the will sacrosanct, God has effectively tied His own hands by a policy of strict non-interference, even though the choice may go against Him. He has limited Himself to entreating and reasoning to prompt a response. The reason for this is as profound as it is true. As a God of infinite love, the only option that could possibly harmonize with His character was that of freedom of choice. Since love begets love, and forced love is no love at all, His intent was to demonstrate His love in such a way as to evoke a love response from His creatures. This unforced, voluntary response was of such major importance to Him that He was willing to jeopardize heaven for it. For true love, by its very nature, carries with it the unavoidable risk of rejection. The fact that God had in truth given intelligent beings the ability to reject Him was proven beyond the shadow of a doubt when Lucifer chose the path of rebellion and became His staunch enemy as Satan.

In certain ways the sin experiment, its dire results notwithstanding, was necessary to definitively vindicate the Father’s character, for if rebellion had never arisen, there would always have remained a lingering question as to how free intelligent beings really are. Now that question is settled forever.

Thus, as free moral agents, intelligent beings, by choosing to reciprocate the love of the Father, afford Him that which He prizes most – sincere, heartfelt thankfulness and gratitude manifested in worshipful adoration, praise, and obedience. In the heavenly scales, the value of such a response from His creatures far outweighs the value with which He regards the entire inanimate universe. This is what He really wanted even during the Jewish era with all its bloodletting in the animal sacrifices. Unfortunately, the Jewish church misunderstood and misconstrued the rites and ceremonies by placing much emphasis on that which was truly abhorrent to the Father, while losing sight of the incredible truth they represented – the coming of the great Deliverer.

And oh, the price the Father paid that we might offer Him the genuine love He craves! We will never in eternity fully comprehend the price of our salvation, for in giving Jesus to us, the Father emptied heaven of all that was lovely and precious. If intelligent beings represent the riches of heaven, how much greater would be the worth of the Son of God, the highest of all the intelligences of the universe! The Spirit of Prophecy describes Jesus as the “outshining of the Father’s glory.” (See Education, 131, 132.) Human language cannot express the tender ties that bind the Father’s heart with that of His Son. In a real sense, the Father had to rip His own heart out and hand it to the human race in one unfathomable gift. Is it any wonder He hesitated at the fall of Adam and Eve to implement the plan of salvation? Three times Jesus went before Him in the “counsel of peace” to volunteer to die for the guilty race before the Father finally consented to it. (See Christ Triumphant, 30 and Early Writings, 126.) The hesitation was not due to a lack of love for lost man, but because the cost to Himself was going to be so supremely daunting. But love won the day, while the immutability of His law cancelled all other options. Note the following inspired words with respect to the Father’s mind in consenting to send His Son on the rescue mission:

“When God gave His Son to our world, He endowed human beings with imperishable riches—riches compared with which the treasured wealth of men since the world began is nothingness. Christ came to the earth and stood before the children of men with the hoarded love of eternity, and this is the treasure that, through our connection with Him, we are to receive, to reveal, and to impart.” The Ministry of Healing, 37. The hoarded love of eternity! How can we understand this mind-blowing concept?

Notice also in the next quote the infinite love of the Father and the principle of free choice:

“It is God’s will that all shall be saved, that not one shall perish; but He does not compel obedience. He leaves all free to say whether or not they will take advantage of His offer of mercy. In giving Jesus, He poured out all heaven in one gift, making it possible for man to come into possession of eternal riches.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, 345. All heaven in one gift! Absolutely unbelievable, amazing love!

Unquestionably, the driving force behind the rescue effort was love of such a degree as to stagger the human mind. The Scriptures affirm the thought: “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3).

In the parable of the pearl of great price, we see Jesus portrayed as a jewel of incredible value: “The blessings of redeeming love our Saviour compared to a precious pearl. He illustrated His lesson by the parable of the merchantman seeking goodly pearls ‘who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it’ (Matthew 13:46). Christ Himself is the pearl of great price. In Him is gathered all the glory of the Father, the fullness of the Godhead. … All that can satisfy the needs and longings of the human soul, for this world and for the world to come, is found in Christ. Our Redeemer is the pearl so precious that in comparison all things else may be accounted loss.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 115.

These revelations help us understand the promise of “an hundredfold” benefit now. It is not just for some special class of believers, but for all who will unreservedly accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. So, if Jesus is the riches of heaven poured out in one great gift to humanity – the treasure hid in the field, the pearl of great price, it is He alone who constitutes the “hundredfold” blessing to the believer. Every other benefit is simply a tiny bonus.

But the lesson goes deeper, because in order to obtain the treasure in the field or the pearl of great price, the farmer and merchantman had to “sell all that (they) had.” Short of this, the desired articles would have been out of reach. This teaches the great lesson that salvation can only be received through a complete surrender of the soul to Jesus – a total renunciation of the things of this life. A great exchange must take place with the believer giving up all to receive the priceless gift of all-in-all in Jesus. “But what do we give up, when we give all? A sin-polluted heart, for Jesus to purify, to cleanse by His own blood, and to save by His matchless love. And yet men think it hard to give up all!” Steps to Christ, 46.

In promising a mere “hundredfold” (10,000%!), Jesus was in fact stating a very conservative return on investment in human terms. For who can estimate the value of the Being around whom all heaven revolved? Jesus was the main attraction of heaven. Without Him heaven would not be heaven. Note the words of inspiration: “The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the commander of the heavenly intelligences, and the adoring homage of the angels was received by Him as His right. This was no robbery of God.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 247. And so in Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, 345, previously quoted, we read again, “In giving Jesus, He (God) poured out all heaven in one gift … .”

Human minds cannot conceive such a fantastic thought, much less can human tongues express it. Who can compute the price of such a gift? We stand speechless, our heads shaking in disbelief, as we try to grasp the thought, but this is what we receive when we accept Jesus into our lives!

The thief on the cross represents those who receive salvation in the last moments of life – a death-bed conversion, as it were. It is only as we comprehend the supreme value of Jesus as our personal Saviour that we can understand how he received the “hundredfold” promise before he died. Notice what he experienced in the dialogue with Jesus: “As Christ spoke the words of promise, the dark cloud that seemed to enshroud the cross was pierced with a bright and living light. To the penitent thief came the perfect peace of acceptance with God. Christ in His humiliation was glorified. He who in all other eyes appeared to be conquered was a conqueror. He was acknowledged as the Sin-bearer.” The Signs of the Times, Oct. 25, 1905.

In acknowledging Jesus as Lord, the thief received the invaluable gift of peace and the assurance of heaven. He was face to face with eternity, but that did not matter. He was ready to die. The world held no attraction for him anymore. He had the Pearl of incalculable worth in his grasp – the “hundredfold” promise “now,” and that was enough. In his next conscious moment, he will hear the call to “awake” and rise to eternal life with Him whose crown of thorns was now exchanged for a diadem of indescribable glory.

Thus it is that the earthly existence of a Christian, whether short or extended, is measured not so much by the quantity of earthly benefits, as by the inestimable quality of peace and joy in Christ that nothing can destroy. This is the “hundredfold” promise that God lavishes on all His true children “now.” We cannot thank and praise Him enough!

[All emphasis supplied.] All scriptures are taken from the King James Version.

Dr. Pandit is a retired cardiologist living in Arkansas with his wife Dorothy. He is proud to call himself a historic Seventh-day Adventist. He, with his wife, is involved in backing two self-supporting ministries in India: 1) Medical Missionary Training and Lifestyle Center in South India and 2) A printing ministry in Western India. They are also founding members of a “home church” located in Hot Springs, AR. He can be contacted via his email address: sudor777@gmail.com, or phone: 870-356-4768.

God Never Quits He Keeps Appealing

by

As Seventh-day Adventists, we could identify with Samson, in particular regarding young Seventh-day Adventists who have been raised in the Adventist faith and teachings, but who like Samson, have come to a point in their life where they have said, “That’s it. I don’t want to do this anymore. I want to live my life, I just want,” as Samson said, “to please myself well.” There are several reasons why this is happening:

  • Compromise
  • Legalism
  • Turned off or hurt by the church
  • They just decide to leave
  • Trials, heartache, loss or trauma

None of these are a good reason to leave Jesus because He is true and faithful to us whether we are faithful to Him or not, but some people leave for one or a combination of these reasons.

“Had Samson obeyed the divine commands as faithfully as his parents had done, his would have been a nobler and happier destiny. But association with idolaters corrupted him. The town of Zorah being near the country of the Philistines, Samson came to mingle with them on friendly terms. Thus in his youth intimacies sprang up, the influence of which darkened his whole life. A young woman dwelling in the Philistine town of Timnath engaged Samson’s affections, and he determined to make her his wife. To his God-fearing parents, who endeavored to dissuade him from his purpose, his only answer was ‘She pleaseth me well’ (Judges 14:3, last part). The parents at last yielded to his wishes, and the marriage took place.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 562.

Some people say this is where Samson’s parents went wrong; they compromised. Telling his parents to arrange the marriage was merely a formality. Samson was a grown man. Had they said no, he would most probably still have done it. Samson’s parents simply recognized that they weren’t going to change his mind. This left the door open so that he could return if things didn’t turn out as planned. It is an example to us as well for our children, to return rather than being too embarrassed or afraid to seek us out at a time they need us most. We should tell them if we do not agree with their decision, but we need to recognize that it is their choice to make and yet be available should they need us. One thing we can be sure of, Samson’s parents did not stop praying for their son, and we also should continue to pray for our children, interceding with God on their behalf.

Ultimately our children have a mind and a conscience of their own. They have the liberty as free moral agents when they become adults to make their own decisions. As parents, we are not responsible for those decisions. When children begin to make their own decisions, to do their “own thing,” they are responsible for their own choices and their own lives. We are only responsible to confess and repent of our own shortcomings.

If a young person has left the church for any one or all of the five reasons listed above, we all need to know something about God: He does not give up. You can’t just simply ignore Him and His calling for your life, because He will leave no stone unturned until He has given you every opportunity to return. You can leave, you can please yourself, you can watch what you want, go where you want, wear what you want, marry who you want, but ultimately God will say to you, “Let’s try this one more time.” That is the God that we serve.

Samson’s parents were unable to change his mind. Then is stated one of the most interesting verses in the Bible. It says, “His father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel” (Judges 14:4 KJV).

As we look at this story in Judges 14 and 15, we find God’s people are in apostasy. As a result, God allows the enemy to overcome them. The children of Israel cry out to Him to save them, and God raises up a deliverer. Samson was a judge among the Israelites and was meant to be an example for the people. God had a mission laid out for him, a purpose to deliver the Israelites from the dominion of the Philistines, the enemies of God.

Every chapter in the book of Judges tells about a judge who had a mission, except for chapter 9 which tells us about Abimelech who was not a judge, but a usurper. Ehud, Othniel, Gideon, Deborah, and Jephthah each had a mission that they fulfilled. But in Judges 14 and 15 we find a judge who is called from birth with miraculous powers, in the spirit of God, a Nazarite consecrated to be the deliverer of God’s people. And what was his mission? To get married.

So looking at these two chapters, we will be looking at Samson’s life as it relates to Judges 14:4. Was Samson fulfilling God’s mission for him at this time? No. Does God want us to marry people who are not of our faith? No. So how could this be of the Lord?

The Bible tells us that God’s ways are not our ways. “ ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. … So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it’ ” (Isaiah 55:8, 9, 11). So even if we blunder, God’s purposes will still be fulfilled.

Looking at Isaiah 55:11 from The Bible in Basic English (BBE) translation, it says, “So will My word be which goes out of My mouth: it will not come back to Me with nothing done, but it will give effect to My purpose, and do that for which I have sent it.” God’s purposes are not limited by you and me. He wants us to cooperate with Him and co-labor with Him, but even if we refuse, things will still work out according to His will.

We see clearly from Samson’s experience that we can be in line with God’s will and fulfill His purpose in cooperation with Him or we can indirectly be used by Him to fulfill His purpose. And this is where we find Samson. If you are a young person trying to live your own life and leave out the things that you learned as a young Adventist, this is the experience you will have.

“Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done” (Judges 14:5, 6 KJV).

There are some things that we need to stress here. First of all, Samson was walking alone through the vineyards having separated from his parents somewhere along the journey. According to the Nazarite vows he was not to have anything to do with wine, but here he is walking through the vineyard. Then he is attacked by a lion. The Bible says, “… your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8, last part). So we see Samson walking in a place where he should not be walking and then the lion appears, but notice how he overcomes the lion. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him and that is when he had the power. “ ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). In order to overcome temptation, even if on temptation’s ground, you need the Spirit of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us, “… but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Claim that promise when you fall into hard times. God is powerful and if you trust in Him, even in the worst circumstances, He can show you what He can do in your life, just as we see here.

Returning to the story, several months later Samson is on his way to Timnath to be married. He decides to stop at the vineyard to see what has happened to the lion he killed. The lion is now nothing but bones, but bees have made a hive in the bones and Samson scoops out some honey to eat and he took some to give to his parents. This lion is an unclean, dead thing and to touch it was a violation of his Nazarite vow. You will also recall that Samson had not told his parents that he had killed the lion. Samson repeatedly shows himself to be an intemperate man; though strong physically, he was morally weak.

Samson’s decision to marry the woman from Timnath was not a wise one. Remember, God’s instructions to Israel when they went into the promised land, “When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites … and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly” (Deuteronomy 7:1–4).

There is a valid reason why the Bible tells us not to have close association with friends or family who are not interested in or who despise spiritual things. It says, “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’ ” (1 Corinthians 15:33). How often do we surround ourselves with people who have no desire to know God, no desire for the Word believing that we will witness to them, but instead we are influenced by them, and our standard of holiness is lowered just like Samson? Booker T. Washington said, “Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than to be in bad company.”

“At his marriage feast Samson was brought into familiar association with those who hated the God of Israel. Whoever voluntarily enters into such relations will feel it necessary to conform, to some degree, to the habits and customs of his companions. The time thus spent is worse than wasted. Thoughts are entertained and words are spoken that tend to break down the strongholds of principle and to weaken the citadel of the soul.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 563. This will happen to all of us. We are drawn to and influenced by the things arounds us. We are not strong enough to resist and very subtly, we become demoralized by those with whom we associate.

Associating with these Philistine fellows, Samson bragged showing them what an intelligent guy he was by giving them a riddle. If they were not able to answer the riddle, then they would have to give him some clothing, but if they were able to find the answer to the riddle, then he would give them the clothing. Here was the riddle:

“Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet” (Judges 14:14).

Of course, this riddle was about the lion Samson had killed and the honey in the lion’s bones, but the Philistines were unable to figure it out. Not wanting to lose, they demanded Samson’s new wife to find out the answer to the riddle or they would kill her and her family. She begged Samson to tell her the answer, but he refused. Becoming very insistent because she had been threatened, she said, “ ‘You only hate me! You do not love me! You have posed a riddle to the sons of my people, but you have not explained it to me’ ” (Judges 14:16). Samson told her that he had not even told his parents, so why would he tell her? But, “Now she had wept on him for seven days while the feast lasted. And it happened on the seventh day [because he had no peace] that he told her, because she pressed him so much. Then she explained the riddle to the sons of her people” (Judges 14:17). Then the Philistines came to him with the answer to the riddle. “And he said to them: ‘If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would have not solved my riddle’ ” (Judges 14:18, last part)!

So what is all this really about? Let’s think about it: Samson was a Nazarite, a judge, from birth given a special mission or purpose by God to deliver the Israelites out of the hands of His enemies, the Philistines, but what was Samson doing? He was associating with the enemy, taking a wife from among them. At that moment he had no interest at all in God’s plan. He associated with the enemy, he gave them a riddle, made a bet with them and then felt betrayed when they did wrong to him. Then, “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house” (Judges 14:19 KJV). This is the first mention of Samson doing anything against the Philistines and what was his reason? He had to pay a debt. He felt betrayed, he was angry, so he killed 30 men from Ashkelon to give their clothes as payment for the debt and went home.

Time passed and Samson determined to see his wife again. But her father, believing that Samson had completely forsaken her, gave her as wife to Samson’s friend and offered him her younger sister. His response is found in Judges 15:3–5 KJV: “Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure [or hurt]. And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between the two tails. And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.”

This was an agricultural society and losing the corn in the fields, the vineyards and olives might not mean a lot to us today, but that is how people then survived. By Samson’s actions, their livelihood is ruined. We do not know how many people may have died from famine because of what Samson had done.

So, let’s take a closer look at why Samson did this. The father of Samson’s wife had given her to another man because Samson had left and the father thought he would not be coming back. Samson left because he felt betrayed when his wife had pressured him to give her the answer to the riddle when her life and the lives of her family were being threatened. But ultimately, if Samson had not chosen to befriend the Philistines and marry a Philistine woman, none of this would have happened in the first place. So who was really to blame for this and all the terrible consequences?

The Philistines, realizing that Samson was responsible for the destruction because his wife had been given to another man, went where the woman and her father were and burned the whole house down killing them inside. “And Samson said unto them, ‘Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.’ And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam” (Judges 15:7, 8 KJV).

Do we see Samson consulting with God before he does any of these things? Has he asked as David did when he said, “Lord, shall I go up, shall I not go up. Shall I forebear?” No. He killed 30 men in Ashkelon, then he destroyed the crops and the economy of one of the Philistine cities which would result in many deaths and killed a great number of people. As a result, his wife and her family are horrifically killed by her own people. So what are we seeing here? Samson was not thinking of God at all. His sole desire was to please himself and seek revenge for the slights and betrayals that he had suffered. Yet, he was indirectly fulfilling God’s mission for him as the deliverer of Israel.

By this time the Philistines were really upset and they went down to Judah to find him. They told the people of Judah, “ ‘We have come up to arrest Samson, to do to him as he has done to us’ ” (Judges 15:9, 10, last part).  How did the people of Israel respond? Three thousand of Samson’s own people came to him at Etam and said, “ ‘Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? What is this you have done to us?’ … ‘We have come down to arrest you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines’ ” (Judges 15:11, 12). Not wanting to harm his own people, he allowed them to take him as long as they swore not to kill him themselves. They bound him with two new ropes and took him to the Philistines.

We need to understand from Samson’s story that if God has a purpose for your life, you cannot escape it. Samson’s whole issue at this point was “ ‘As they did to me, so I have done to them’ ” (verse 11). Is there anything about the Lord here on his mind? No. That’s the reason he was in this situation. He wasn’t interested in doing God’s will, he just wanted to please himself. Even still, God’s will was fulfilled.

The Bible then says in Judges 15:14, “The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands.” Samson took the jawbone of a donkey and again takes revenge on the Philistines killing a thousand men. “Then Samson said: ‘With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men!’ And so it was, when he had finished speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand, and called that place Ramath Lehi” (Judges 15:16, 17). Samson gave himself the glory for what he had done.

So what happened to finally make Samson see that he was not in control of his life? Verse 18, first part, says, “Then he became very thirsty, so he cried out to the Lord.” For the first time in this entire story that you see Samson call on the Lord. Continuing in verse 18, “ ‘You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?’ ” Samson still sounded a bit arrogant, but God knew his heart and answered his prayer, cleaving a hollow place so that water would come gushing out (verse 19). Without water, Samson would have died. He thought he was so mighty and strong, but he realized he had a need. When he called on God, God filled that need. After he drank his fill, he renamed the place where he had killed all the Philistines from Ramath Lehi (the lifting up of the jawbone) to En Hakkore (fountain of one calling).

As the dust settled, the screaming stopped, the clanking of armor died down and the survivors had all run away, Samson looked around and realized that the very thing he had been running from had found him anyway and everything he had wanted, he had lost. He had been running for so long and finally he realized the very thing he had wanted nothing to do with was the one thing he couldn’t get away from – the purpose God had for his life.

Friends, if you have fallen off the path, given up, or felt like you have no purpose anymore because of compromise, legalism, apostasy in your church, or because you wanted to see what the world was like, or because of trial or trauma, you will finally realize that the Lord’s way is always better. His purpose for you is for you to love Him with all your heart, soul and mind, to love your neighbor as yourself and to go home with Him. That is His purpose for all of us.

Jesus, I love You and I want to be Your child,

but for now I’m busy, will You come back in a while.

I’m sorry, Lord, but for now I have other things to do.

It’s just in the plans I’ve made, I’ve made no time for You.

How many times have you pushed the Lord aside

to make room for your foolish, earthly pride?

 

Time and time, God waits for you to open up to Him,

but instead of giving Him our hearts, we cast Him out again.

Jesus, I’m sorry, Lord, for the way that I have been.

Pushing you aside for things that always seem to win.

 

Now my eyes are open, Lord, and I can see Your light

shining on my pathway to eternal life.

His desire is to save us, and He will not leave one stone unturned until He has given us every opportunity to make that decision.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor Damien Jenkins was raised in a non-religious home, but at the age of 18 was introduced to the Gospel and his life was forever changed. Today he is pastor of the Water of Life Free Seventh-day Adventist church in Hohenwald, Tennessee. He enjoys apologetics, Bible history, expounding on the topic of righteousness by faith and making the Bible simple and easy to understand.

The Blessing of Simeon and Anna

by

In modern America, we think of blessings usually in terms of material wealth, such as money, houses, cars, land, art, jewelry, and stocks and bonds. The young and wealthy, whether of Hollywood, sports fame, business, religion, or in government positions, are viewed as doubly blessed, having both material goods, and youth, which is greatly prized above being middle-aged or elderly.

But not so in the word of God, not so in the case of Simeon and Anna. They were two elderly people in the days of the infant Jesus. They are not as well-known as Moses, King David, Solomon, Queen Esther, Ruth, the 12 disciples, or the apostle Paul. Although no book of the Bible is named after them, yet they were highly favored of God before the ministry of Jesus even began, and before He was raised in Nazareth by His parents.

It was at the dedication of the baby Jesus, when He was about 40 days old, that these two elderly believers in God were blessed. The days of Mary’s purification were ended (See Luke 2:22; Leviticus 12:2–4). So Joseph and Mary “brought Him [Jesus] to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord: (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:22–24).

As we look closer at the sacrifice they brought, we shall discover one reason why the priest in the temple did not discern anything special about Joseph, Mary, or the child Jesus. They brought the offering that was accepted from those too poor to bring a lamb. “And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles [turtledoves], or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean” (Leviticus 12:8).

It is our merciful God that makes provision for the poor to be accepted in presenting a less expensive offering than that of a lamb. Throughout Scripture, we see this mercy and care for the poor displayed time and time again: “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus, 19:9, 10).

“And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus, 23:22).

“When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hath forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow” (Deuteronomy 24:19, 20.)

Joseph and Mary were poor, and did not merit any special consideration from the priest. Like so many today, even professed Christians, the priest took notice of people who came to present their children only if they were wealthy or of special rank.

“The presentation of infants was a common scene. Day after day the priest received the redemption money as the babes were presented to the Lord. Day after day he went through the routine of his work, giving little heed to the parents or children, unless he saw some indication of the wealth or high rank of the parents. Joseph and Mary were poor; and when they came with their child, the priest saw only a man and woman dressed as Galileans, and in the humblest garments. There was nothing in their appearance to attract attention, and they presented only the offering made by the poorer classes … .

“Little did he think, as the babe lay in his arms, that it was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory. The priest did not think that this babe was the One of whom Moses had written, ‘A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you’ (Acts 3:22). He did not think that this babe was He whose glory Moses had asked to see.” The Desire of Ages, 52.

In light of the above paragraph, consider the truth of Peter’s words in Acts 10:34. He stated to Cornelius, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.” In its context in Acts, this passage refers to the gospel being preached to the Gentiles also. But based on the passage from The Desire of Ages, it is clearly applicable in all situations of giving out blessings. God does not play favorites arbitrarily as we often do. He does not look on the outward appearance to determine the worthiness of any of His earthly children. He blesses according to the openness of the mind to receive. He looks beyond the outer appearance to the heart.

With these truths understood, we know now why the lowly shepherds in the field were given the blessing that the dignified priest in the temple so sadly missed. Their minds were contemplating the prophecies of the Messiah’s coming. Notice in this next quote from The Desire of Ages, p. 47, who were overlooked by the angels announcing Christ’s birth.

“Above the hills of Bethlehem are gathered an innumerable throng of angels. They wait the signal to declare the glad news to the world. Had the leaders in Israel been true to their trust, they might have shared the joy of heralding the birth of Jesus. But now they are passed by.”

Truth is readily given to those whose hearts are willing to believe. “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground” (Isaiah 44:3). The language of the soul should be, “Oh, to be so in tune with Heaven, that no divine ray of light will pass me by!”

In the temple at the dedication of Jesus, again the ones thirsty for truth were granted the blessed understanding they desired, while the leaders in Israel were passed by. To Simeon, the Holy Spirit had revealed that he should not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. “And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him after the custom of the law, Then took he Him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel” (Luke 2:27–32).

Simeon was not the only one blessed to realize who Jesus was at the dedication. A faithful widow, 84 years of age, a prophetess, also recognized Him. Her name was Anna, and “she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (verse 38).

May you and I, dear reader, be among the poor in spirit who will receive the blessing of Simeon and Anna when Jesus returns! May we joyfully praise Him then, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us” (Isaiah 25:9).

Patricia J. T. Smith is a second generation Seventh-day Adventist who enjoys sharing the word of God. She likes spending time with family and friends, taking nature walks, rock collecting and reading. She has two adult children and lives in Louisiana with her husband.

He Knows

by

He knows all about us, each one of us—all our wants, desires, successes, failures, joy, pain, ups and downs. He hears every prayer, knows every thought. He knows all about us and He loves us! Sometimes I wonder how God can love us, but He does. The patience of our Lord is truly amazing.

About Jeremiah He said, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).

So why do we try and hide anything from Him or even hold onto our past? So often, we give our sins to Jesus, and then we take them back out of His hands again by debriefings, hashing and rehashing, so that our joy is taken away. We cannot fix what is past and gone.

There is not one of us that has lived a pure life; all of us have sinned and are in need of our loving Saviour. We forget that He is all knowing and all powerful. You may say, Oh, you have no idea all the wicked things I have said and done. God knows, and He has a remedy that can help you and me.

Claim this promise: “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and My people shall never be ashamed” (Joel 2:25, 26).

Jesus cares enough to save us dear friend. Who are we? Nobody! Nobody, without the power of God.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father” (Matthew 10:29).

A farthing was British money – it comes from the word for fourth part. Therefore, before the decimal system was established, a farthing was worth 1/4 of a penny.

Sparrows were not worth much—they had such little value, but if Jesus notices when even a little sparrow falls, how much more will He notice and care for you?

This next verse never ceases to amaze me: “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (verse 30). Have you ever wondered why? It is because of His watchcare over you. There is not a hair that falls off our head that Jesus does not know about. In other words, He is continually watching us with loving interest, and He knows EVERYTHING about us. Scary or comforting – which is it my friend?

Jesus loves us SOOO much!

I heard a sad story of a couple who stood by the grave of their small boy. As the coffin was lowered into the ground, they said repeatedly, “We loved you so much.” My heart aches as I think of those parents who had lost their son and John 3:16 took on a new meaning for me: “For God SO(OOOO) loved the world, that HE GAVE His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Jesus gave up everything to save us. He made the ultimate sacrifice. Let us not shun this free gift that is so priceless.

Yes, we can make it. Surrender the past, let go of it and let God work in us.

“Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping His commandments, and His judgments, and His statutes, which I command thee this day” (Deuteronomy 8:11).

“Only the love that flows from the heart of Christ can heal. Only He in whom that love flows, even as sap in the tree or the blood in the body, can restore the wounded soul.” Education, 114.

“The language of the soul should be that of joy and gratitude. If we have dark chapters in our experience, let us not keep their memory fresh by repetition. Forgetting the things that are behind, let us press forward to the things that are before. Cultivate only those thoughts and feelings which produce gratitude and praise. If you have been wronged, forget it, and think only of the great mercy, the loving-kindness, the inexpressible love of Jesus. Learn to praise rather than to censure. If you meet with insult and abuse, do not become discouraged, for Jesus met the same. Go forward, doing your work with fidelity. Store the mind with the precious promises of God’s word, and hold sweet communion with Him by frequently repeating them. Cease fretting, cease murmuring, cease finding fault, and make melody to God in your hearts. Think of everything you have to be thankful for, and then learn to praise God.” The Signs of the Times, September 27, 1883.

When the Lord knows all about us and still loves us so much that He wants us with Him for eternity, that is worth living for and worth giving our all to Him. The only time we should look back is to see the distance and direction the Lord has taken us in and to praise His name.

I want to share with you, one of my favorite poems:

“I see not a step before me as I tread on another year,

But the past is in God’s keeping, the future His mercy shall clear,

And what looks dark in the distance may brighten as I draw near,

Oh restful, blissful ignorance, ’tis blessed not to know,

It stills me in those mighty arms, which will not let me go,

And hushes my sad soul to rest in the bosom that loves me so.

So I go on not knowing, I would not if I might,

I would rather walk in the dark with God, than go alone in the light.

I would rather walk with Him by faith, than walk alone by sight.

My heart shrinks back from the trials which the future may disclose,

Yet I never have a sorrow but what the dear Lord chose.

So I send the coming teardrops back with the whispered word, ‘He knows.’ ”

Mary Gardiner Brainard

Yes friend, it is all right, and all is well, because, “He knows.”

Revella Knight is a registered nurse and writes from her home in Arkansas.

We Want a King

by

“Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing? 
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 
‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.’ ”
Psalm 2:1–3

When Israel demanded that they have a king so that they could be like the nations around them, they were at the time being guided by the wisdom of Samuel, who himself was in direct communication with divine power and being guided by the Holy Spirit.

Samuel was growing old, and his sons that he had appointed as judges, according to 1 Samuel 8:3, “did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.”

As a result, “all the elders of Israel gathered together … and said to him [Samuel], ‘Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations’ ” (veres 4, 5).

Note that there was ostensibly a two-fold reason for their request. First, they did not think that there was anyone as capable as Samuel to replace him. Second, they wanted to be “like all the nations.”

Neither of these reasons was really justified. First, had they trusted fully in God, they would have trusted that He would supply capable and wise guidance after Samuel could no longer lead them. It had not been that long since the Lord removed the corrupt sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, from the scene. In addition, there were many other instances in which the Lord had interceded to correct the ill intentions of those working against His will. Surely they could remember the fate of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, or the affliction of Miriam, or the way the Lord thwarted the efforts of Balaam to curse their ancestors. They had both oral and written history of these evidences of God’s watch-care over them.

Second, the Lord had made it abundantly clear that they were to be guided by His chosen vessels. Experience should have made them realize that God is too wise to err and too good to withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly. This is an instance in which the best thing that God wanted for His children—leadership and guidance by a wise and divinely inspired judge—was thwarted by their perverted idea of leadership. So, God allowed them the second best alternative—the desire of their misguided hearts.

Third, they had the wonderful promises that God had given them through Moses, recorded in Deuteronomy 7, particularly verses 6–9:

“ ‘For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.’ ”

What was actually occurring when the people made their demand for a king? Scripture tells us in 1 Samuel 8:7, “And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.’ ”

This is not the only instance in which God’s people rejected God’s representatives and, in so doing, rejected Him. Take for example when, during their wilderness wanderings, the Israelites rose up against Moses, failing to recognize that Moses was merely executing the divine instructions he had received from the Lord. By rejecting his leading, they were in reality rejecting the Lord.

Very early in their wanderings, the Israelites began reviling Moses and Aaron, wanting to return to Egypt, their unbelief causing them to fear that they would die of starvation.

The full story is in Exodus 16. Shortly after the Lord had made possible their release from Egyptian slavery, enabled their safe crossing of the Red Sea, and sweetened the waters at Marah—three miracles that should have been sufficient to instill unshakable faith in God’s leading, protection, and provision—the children of Israel manifested a complete failure of trust.

“And the children of Israel said to them [Moses and Aaron], ‘Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger’ ” (Exodus 16:3).

Moses responded, “ ‘In the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord; for He hears your complaints against the Lord. But what are we, that you complain against us?’ … This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord” (verses 7, 8).

In response, the Lord, yielding to their perverted appetites and unfounded fears, gave them what they wanted: “I have heard the complaints [murmurings] of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the lord your God.’ So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp” (verses 12, 13).

Even as the miracles multiplied, the Israelites continued their murmuring. David wrote of their condition in Psalm 81:11–13: “But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels. Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways!”

Centuries later, when the One who had led them by the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night appeared in person, the situation was the same, so much so that Christ—that wise and mighty leader during their wilderness wanderings—exclaimed, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! … He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me” (Luke 10:13, 16).

We are given examples of the continued rejection of the Author of our salvation throughout Scripture, but the most amazing examples are in the four gospels, when Christ was manifested in the flesh and giving irrefutable evidence of His divinity. Even after that most undeniable and indisputable miracle of Christ’s tenure on earth, the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the reaction of the religious leaders was not to embrace Jesus as the miracle-working Messiah, but rather to seek to kill not only the Miracle Worker but to kill the object of the miracle as well.

It is interesting to note that during the wilderness wanderings, the religious leaders, Moses and Aaron, were the faithful ones, while the masses were the doubters and unbelievers. By the time of Christ’s incarnation, the roles had reversed. The religious leaders, the scribes and the Pharisees, were the unbelievers and the common people were the ones who, at least at times, recognized Christ as the Messiah.

Is it possible today, as we near the meeting of time and eternity, that both the people and the religious leaders are rejecting Christ and His leadership by rejecting and persecuting those who choose to walk the narrow way? Prophecy predicts such.

“Never is the tempest-tried soul more dearly loved by his Saviour than when he is suffering reproach for the truth’s sake. When for the truth’s sake the believer stands at the bar of unrighteous tribunals, Christ stands by his side. All the reproaches that fall upon the human believer fall upon Christ in the person of His saints. ‘I will love him,’ said Christ, ‘and will manifest Myself to him’ (John 14:21). Christ is condemned over again in the person of His believing disciples.

“When for the truth’s sake the believer is incarcerated in prison walls, Christ manifests Himself to him, and ravishes his heart with His love. When he suffers death for the sake of Christ, Christ says to him, ‘They may kill the body, but they cannot hurt the soul’  (Matthew 10:28). ‘Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). ‘They crucified Me, and if they put you to death, they crucify Me afresh in the person of My saints.’ ” Selected Messages, Book 3, 420, 421.

Persecution of Christ’s followers to the point of death is not the only way that Christ is rejected. Time and time again we are told in inspired writings of the rejection of Christ by the rejection of His representatives. Note this counsel we are lovingly given to provide reassurance to those who are experiencing rejection and disdain, even within their own family, often resulting, unfortunately, in dissuading the faithful one from following the path of truth and righteousness.

“Jesus says, ‘He that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And he that taketh not up his cross and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life, shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it’ (Matthew 10:37, 38). The words that Christ addressed to His disciples were addressed to us as well as to them. He presents before us the unwearied conflict that we must have on this earth as long as time shall last. We are to place no person before Christ in our affections. If a person who has been convicted by the Spirit of God smothers his convictions, and continues to trample underfoot the commandments of the Lord, and reject the truth of God simply because he sees it will bring disunion into his family relations, he shows that he loves the peace that is not of Christ, but of the world. He prefers to be in harmony with the world rather than to be in unity with Christ. But in order to have the peace of Christ, it is necessary to place Christ and His service first. Those who yield their convictions of truth to please father or mother, sister or brother, husband or wife or children, prove themselves unworthy of Christ. They do not discern His excellency, and therefore they shun the cross. But there is a cross to be lifted by every one who by faith accepts a crucified and risen Saviour.” The Bible Echo, March 19, 1894.

When we review the history of God’s people and their rejection of their divinely inspired leaders and prophets, we tend to shake our head in disbelief. We ask ourselves, “How could they have been so unbelieving?” Inspiration answers that question.

“I saw that many who profess to believe the truth for these last days think it strange that the children of Israel murmured as they journeyed; that after the wonderful dealings of God with them, they should be so ungrateful as to forget what He had done for them. Said the angel: ‘Ye have done worse than they.’ I saw that God has given His servants the truth so clear, so plain, that it cannot be resisted. Wherever they go, they have certain victory. Their enemies cannot get round the convincing truth. Light has been shed so clear that the servants of God can stand up anywhere and let truth, clear and connected, bear away the victory. This great blessing has not been prized, or even realized. If any trial arises, some begin to look back and think they have a hard time. Some of the professed servants of God do not know what purifying trials are. They sometimes make trials for themselves, imagine trials, and are so easily discouraged, so easily hurt, self-dignity is so quick to feel, that they injure themselves, injure others, and injure the cause. Satan magnifies their trials and puts thoughts into their minds that if given way to, will destroy their influence and usefulness.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 129.

Chapter 23 of Christ’s Object Lessons deals with the parable of the wicked vinedressers, who not only killed the servants which the Landowner sent to receive the fruit of the vineyard, but killed the Landowner’s Son as well. The point of the story is not necessarily the greed of the vinedressers, but rather their refusal to submit to the authority of the Landowner. That point is made clear in this statement from page 293: “Christ, the Beloved of God, came to assert the claims of the Owner of the vineyard; but the husbandmen treated Him with marked contempt, saying, We will not have this man to rule over us.”

Are we, in our self-indulgence, saying the same thing as the wicked vinedressers? The fate of those rebellious unbelievers is clear in the parable, and we have their example to show us the results of rebellion and unbelief.

Let us determine here and now that we will indeed let this Man rule over us, regardless of the attitude of family and friends, and obey His commandments, precepts, and testimonies so that our walk on the narrow way, rugged and trying though it may be, will result in the final victory that is promised to the trusting and faithful, who by faith, accept our crucified and risen Saviour.

All Bible quotes NKJV unless otherwise noted.

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.

They Professed to Be Wise

by

The most fundamental truth in the Bible is stated in the very first words of the Holy Record. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The foundation of faith in God is based upon the fact that He is the source of all matter. He is the source of time. He is the source of all life.

When God gave the Ten Commandments to His people and wrote them in tables of stone with His own finger, this fact was so important that the longest of all the commandments is the fourth one, dealing with the origin of our world and of life. It reads, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work; you nor your son nor your daughter nor your male servant nor your female servant nor your cattle nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8–11.

Notice, the fourth commandment says that God created the entire world: planet earth, the atmospheric heavens around our earth, our solar system, the sun and the moons, the planets, this whole heavenly system, called, in the Bible, “the heavens and the earth.” God created this in six days—six twenty-four hour days. On the seventh day God rested and set apart the Sabbath as a memorial of His creative power—a memorial of the fact that He is the origin, the source of all life.

Jesus not only acknowledged the Sabbath by worshipping upon it. (See Luke 4:16.) He also affirmed the genuineness of the record written by Moses. Notice what Jesus said to the Jews. “For if you believe Moses, you would have believed Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how would you believe My words.” John 5:46, 47. Jesus acknowledged that the record written by Moses was factual and He said to the people of His time: “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” John 5:40. That is the problem with many people today. They are not willing to come to the only One who can give them life. 1 John 5:12 says, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” There is only one source of life. You cannot make life. No man can make life and life cannot be generated of itself. So, if you are not connected to this Source, you have no life.

A Final Message to Worship the Creator

Not only at the beginning of the Bible, but also at the end of the Bible, the truth about the creation of the world and the origin of life is repeated. The apostle Peter stated that in the last time there would come scoffers who would ridicule the idea of the Second Coming of Christ, and laugh at the Biblical record of the origin of the world and of the world-wide flood. They will say: “Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the Word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” 2 Peter 3:4–6.

So to the last generation, living in a great age of unbelief (as predicted by the Bible), the God of heaven gives three last warning messages. The first of these is on the very point of creation. It is found in Revelation 14:6, 7: “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue and people; saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him for the hour of His judgment has come and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’ ” The first message of this final warning is a command to worship God as the Creator, to fear Him and to be afraid to tamper with or disbelieve what He has said. These three messages in chapter 14 are a focal point of Revelation. Careful study will show that all the chapters following them are simply the outworking of the results of these three messages having been given to the last generation.

The Bible teaches that we are all going to give an account of ourselves to God, whether we are atheists, agnostics or otherwise. But man does not want to believe this. He does not want to acknowledge a God Who is a moral Governor and Who will “bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:14.

Because man does not want to acknowledge God, he ignores the evidence around him that points directly to an infinite Creator. Paul wrote about this in Romans 1: “Because what may be known of God is manifest in them for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:19, 20. If people would just look on the natural world they would see the evidence of God’s eternal power and Godhead and they would be without excuse.

Continuing on Paul says: “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. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” Romans 1:21, 22.

We are living in a time when there are many people who profess to be wise. They are wiser, they believe, than the Bible. (It has always been very dangerous when men place themselves above God. It has happened many times in the past, and it is one of the primary characteristics of our generation.) When men think they can figure out the origin of our world through science alone, and begin to doubt God’s creative power, they must doubt His Word. For you must either believe that the world was created in six days, or believe that the God of the Bible is a liar.

This is the dilemma to which modern science has brought mankind. Was the world created in six days or did it come into existence over a period of millions of years as people suppose and as is taught in institutions of so-called higher learning all over the world?

Creation Evidence in the Rocks

Many discoveries have been made that disprove the most fashionable and accepted evolutionary theories, but these discoveries have not been accepted because they counter the prevailing belief. One of these was made by a scientist named Dr. Robert Gentry. He discovered radiohalos below the sedimentary rock in the basement granites around the globe. He has examined more than one hundred thousand of these halo phenomena. According to every basic principle of evolutionary theory these halos cannot be there and yet they are!

Briefly this is what his studies have shown: Polonium isotopes were formed during the process of radioactive decay which took place during the formation of the granites. The halos were captured when the rock hardened. The polonium particle has a very short half-life, and so in order for these halos to be visible, the granite would have needed to be formed almost instantaneously, or the traces of this fleeting element would never have been captured. This is very powerful evidence that these rocks had to come into existence instantaneously —not over long periods of time. (The details of Dr. Gentry’s research is found in his book, Creation’s Tiny Mystery.)

Although this research has been published in several prestigious, peer-reviewed, scientific journals and the methods and findings have never been disproven, most of the scientific community does not accept it. They have either ignored it or tried to fight it because it totally demolishes evolutionary theory.

There are many other examples like this that totally disprove the most widely believed theories today, but they are rejected. For example: Detailed studies of various animals have revealed certain physical equipment and capabilities that the world’s best designers cannot duplicate, even using the most sophisticated technologies. Here are just a few: the miniature and reliable sonar systems of the dolphins, porpoises and whales; the frequency modulated radar and discrimination system of the bat; the efficiency and aerodynamic capabilities of the humming bird; the control systems, internal ballistics and the combustion chambers of the bombardier beetle. In addition to these, there are the precise navigational systems of many birds and fish. All of these things point to an exquisite, complicated and precise design.

If you ask some people where all this came from, they will say, “Well, it originated in the big bang.” Now think this through. There have been many “big bangs” around the world in the last fifty years, with different nations dropping bombs on each other. What has been the result? Have any of these explosions ever developed a precise design or a working model of anything? Of course not! Explosions produce chaos, not order and design. Yet we see exquisite, complicated order and design, beyond anything we can produce, all throughout the natural world.

The Work of a Divine Designer

One of the most persuasive arguments against the whole concept of evolutionary processes is something that every human being knows something about. We call it sexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction occurs in both plants and animals. If sexual reproduction were a result of some evolutionary or chance process, an absolutely unbelievable series of chance events would have had to occur.

First of all, the complex and completely different reproductive systems of the male must have independently evolved at about the same time and place as those of the female. A slight incompleteness in just one of the two would make both systems useless, and natural selection would oppose their survival.

Secondly, the physical systems of the male and the female would also need to be compatible. Third, the complex products of the male reproductive system such as pollen or sperm would need to have an affinity for and a mechanical and chemical compatibility with the eggs from the female reproductive system.

Fourth, the intricate and numerous processes occurring at the molecular level inside the fertilized egg would have to work with fantastic precision the very first time it happened. Processes which, even today, scientists can only describe in an aggregate sense.

Fifth, the environment of the fertilized egg from conception until it also reproduces, as an adult, with another sexually capable brother or sister would have to be controlled to an unbelievable degree. If these processes did not occur at precisely the right time, then one must restart this incredible chain of events all over again near ground zero. The odds then would become so astronomical that they insult the intelligence of anyone with common sense.

We are left with only two options. Either this series of incredible events occurred by random processes—as many people believe—or else an intelligent Designer created sexual reproduction. Which one makes the most sense? You decide. The first week of this world’s existence, creation week, as recorded in Genesis 1 and 2, was believed in by all the prophets, all the apostles and Jesus Christ Himself. God wrote down the facts in His Law which He wrote, with His own finger, in tables of stone. It said, “In six days God created the heavens and the earth.” But man says, “No, I know better than the Bible. I know better than Moses, I know better than Jesus Christ. I know better than the God that wrote His Law in tables of stone. I know that it took millions of years for the earth to come into existence through an evolutionary process.”

The Three Suppositions of Evolution

The evolutionary theory is built mainly on three suppositions or hypotheses. These are the theories of:

  1. Natural selection
  2. Mutations
  3. Lengthy periods of time

Let us look briefly at the first two:

According to evolutionists, natural selection is supposed to work this way. First, two different creatures mate and they reproduce offspring. This offspring then mutates or slowly changes into a better, more efficient species.

Now let us think about this. For thousands of years human beings have been experimenting with breeding animals. (Genesis records that even Jacob was working with breeding animals.) This is not natural selection. This is a man or group of men, with all their intelligence, attempting to control the selection process.

However, over the last several thousand years, even though men have controlled the breeding of many different species of animals, both wild and domesticated, has any person ever succeeded in creating a new species? Or maybe even a partial change from one specie to another? Certain amalgamations have been produced. But no one has ever been able to take a dog, breed it thousands of times and come up with a horse! It just will not work.

And the reason it will not work is because inside the DNA of every living cell there is contained an enormous amount of information, enough to fill a one-thousand six hundred page book. And the genetic information in a dog’s cells is not capable of producing a horse or a bird or a fish or anything else except a dog. This has been proven over and over again for thousands of years. No amount of breeding or natural selection has ever produced a change of specie, a change of what God called in Genesis “the kinds” that He originally created. We can change the animals within a specie, of course. We can breed two different dogs and get a new kind of dog. But it is still a dog. It is not a horse, a cow, an elephant, a fish or a bird.

The change of species by natural selection has been proved over and over again to be mathematically impossible. Yet, people want to believe it, because, if they do not believe in this evolutionary theory, the only alternative is to believe in the Bible and what the Bible says about the origin of the universe. And human beings are determined that they will not believe what the Bible says!

Magical Mutation

The next supposition upon which the theory of evolution is based is the idea that during natural selection various mutations occur and these mutations result in a better or superior creature than before. Mutations are accidents, or errors, that happen in the instruction bank of an organism. When that organism grows into adulthood, according to evolution, that accident is supposed to produce a better life form.

However, when we look at the real world, we find that mutations in genetic material are virtually always detrimental in some way and the results are usually fatal, although sometimes they are only crippling to the organism. The fact is that mutations almost always produce a form of life that is worse than the original.

There are a number of mutations that have happened in the human race in the last few thousand years. Here are a few of the mutations that we find present today. Which of these mutations would you like to have? There is albinism, dwarfism, color blindness, Downs’ syndrome and possibly dyslexia. These conditions are all caused by mutations in different parts of the human genetic code. Does that sound like the kind of process that produced modern man? That is what evolution demands we believe.

We are faced with a theory that is mathematically bankrupt, that has never been demonstrated or proved and yet millions of people all over the world believe it because they do not want to believe in the God of the Bible, the only other choice. The Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The Ten Commandments say, “For in six days God created the heavens and the earth and all that in them is and rested the seventh day wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” But our world has forgotten the Sabbath day and, in forgetting it, they have forgotten their Creator, and they have produced new theories to try to explain away the entire Bible because they do not want to keep God in their thinking. They do not want to be accountable to Him. But, friend, you are accountable to God whether you are an atheist, an agnostic or whatever you are.

The Bible says, “If you cannot tell from the natural world the power and existence of God, you are without excuse.” To the last generation God sends this message, “Fear God and give glory to Him for the hour of His judgment has come and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” Revelation 14:7.

There is a God in heaven. We are going to have to give an account to Him of what we have done in this world, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10.) If you want to be ready for that day of judgment, the Bible says, “Fear God and give glory to the Creator.”

Do not worship your own mind, your own intellect. You will never figure it all out on your own. Acknowledge God as your Creator and worship Him and you will have eternal life. “He who has the Son has life; he that does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12. Remember, no one in this world, no human being, can create life. Only God can give life, and He can give it to you more abundantly.

For helpful information on Creation see these internet sites:

www.carm.org/evquotes.htm

www.icr.org

www.origins.swau.edu

The Second Coming of Christ

by

In this article, we will discover how the glorious appearance of Christ in His Second Coming will affect both the righteous and the wicked before the redeemed begin their long awaited journey to heaven.

When Christ comes the second time, He will come to earth in a cloud, for He is to return in “like manner” as He left the earth. (See Acts 1:9–11.) Sister White describes the great scene with these words: “Soon there appears in the east a small black cloud, about the size of a man’s hand. It is the cloud which surrounds the Saviour and which seems in the distance to be shrouded in darkness. The people of God know this to be the sign of the Son of Man. In solemn silence they gaze upon it as it draws nearer the earth, becoming lighter and more glorious, until it is a great white cloud, its base a glory like consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of the covenant.” The Great Controversy, 640, 641.

How assuring is the promise, given by the angels to the disciples at Jesus’ ascension, that “this same Jesus” would return to take us home with Him. “The disciples had beheld the cloud receive Him. The same Jesus who had walked and talked and prayed with them; who had broken bread with them; who had been with them in their boats on the lake; and who had that very day toiled with them up the ascent of Olivet,— the same Jesus had now gone to share His Father’s throne. And the angels had assured them that the very One whom they had seen go up into heaven, would come again even as He had ascended.” The Desire of Ages, 832.

A Glorified, Triumphant King

There is also an additional factor to recognize. The Savior will be a glorified Christ when He returns. “The glory of Christ’s humanity did not appear when He was upon the earth. He was regarded as a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. We hid as it were our faces from Him. But He was pursuing the path the plan of God had devised. That same humanity now appears as He descends from heaven, robed in glory, triumphant, exalted.” In Heavenly Places, 358.

The glory revealed in the Second Coming will surpass anything that has ever been beheld by mortal eyes. “Christ will come in His own glory, in the glory of His Father, and in the glory of the holy angels. Ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of angels, the beautiful, triumphant sons of God, possessing surpassing loveliness and glory, will escort Him on His way. In the place of a crown of thorns, He will wear a crown of glory—a crown within a crown. In the place of that old purple robe, He will be clothed in a garment of whitest white, ‘so as no fuller on earth can white’ (Mark 9:3). And on His vesture and on His thigh a name will be written, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.'” Our High Calling, 367. What a majestic description!

Can you imagine seeing countless angels accompany Christ as His glory fills the entire sky? He is no longer to be a man despised. He is now a conquering King! “Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror. Not now a ‘Man of sorrows,’ to drink the bitter cup of shame and woe . . . ‘He doth judge and make war.’ And ‘the armies which were in heaven’ (Revelation 19:11, 14) follow Him. With anthems of celestial melody the holy angels, a vast unnumbered throng, attend Him on His way. The firmament seems filled with radiant forms—’ten thousand times ten thousand, thousand and thousands of thousands.’ No human pen can portray the scene; no mortal mind is adequate to conceive its splendor. ‘His glory covers the heavens’ . . . As the living cloud comes still nearer, every eye beholds the Prince of Life. No crown of thorns now mars that sacred head; but a diadem of glory rests on His holy brow. His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun. ‘And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.'” The Great Controversy, 641.

Who Shall be Able to Stand?

This display of overmastering power will affect both the wicked and the righteous. At first the saints will be apprehensive, while the wicked become terrified. “Before His presence ‘all faces are turned into paleness;’ upon the rejecters of God’s mercy falls the terror of eternal despair. ‘The heart melteth, the knees smite together . . . and the faces of them all gather blackness.’ Jeremiah 30:6, Nahum 2:10.” Ibid., 641. The righteous cry with trembling: ‘Who shall be able to stand?’ The angels’ song is hushed, and there is a period of awful silence. Then the voice of Jesus is heard, saying: ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’ The faces of the righteous are lighted up, and joy fills every heart. And the angels strike a note higher and sing again as they draw still nearer to the earth.

“The King of kings descends upon the cloud, wrapped in flaming fire. The heavens are rolled together as a scroll, the earth trembles before Him, and every mountain and island is moved out of its place. ‘Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people.’ Psalm 50:3, 4.” Ibid., 641, 642.

The difference between the saints and the sinners becomes a reality. While the righteous are filled with joy, the wicked are trying to hide and flee to the mountains, crying for the rocks to fall on them. “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand.” (See Revelation 6:15–17.)

The Wicked Cry to Their God

Today the disobedient seem unaware that Satan is preparing them for this final moment. Billions, in these closing hours, are choosing the pagan worship of “mother earth” rather than the worship of the Creator, as their living God. The following quotation reveals how such people will try in vain to escape, calling on their “nature god” to hide them from their Creator. “When the earth is reeling to and fro like a drunkard, when the heavens are shaking, and the great day of the Lord has come . . . the unsaved utter wild imprecations to dumb nature—their god: ‘Mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne. (Revelation 6:16).'” That I May Know Him, 356.

The wicked will flee to the same caves, in the mountains, which have recently been vacated by the faithful. “The people, who have braved out their rebellion, will fulfill the description given in Revelation 6:15–17. In these very caves and dens they find the very statement of truth in the letters and in the publications as witness against them. The shepherds who led the sheep in false paths will hear the charge made against them, ‘It was you who made light of the truth. It was you who told us that God’s law was abrogated, that it was a yoke of bondage. It was you who voiced the false doctrines when I was convicted that these Seventh-day Adventists had the truth. The blood of our souls is upon your priestly garments. . . . Now, will you pay the ransom for my soul? . . . What shall we do who listened to your garbling of the Scriptures and your turning into a lie the truth which if obeyed would have saved us?’

“When Christ comes to take vengeance on those who have educated and trained the people to trample on God’s Sabbath, to tear down His memorial, and tread down with their feet the feed of His pastures, lamentations will be in vain. . . . Rocks and mountains cannot screen them from the indignation of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.” Maranatha, 290.

At last, the wicked, beholding the glorified Christ in the clouds of heaven, have awakened to their fate, and their attitudes change. “The derisive jests have ceased. Lying lips are hushed into silence. The clash of arms, the tumult of battle, ‘with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood’ (Isaiah 9:5), is stilled. Nought now is heard but the voice of prayer and the sound of weeping and lamentation. The cry bursts forth from lips so lately scoffing: ‘The great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?'” The Great Controversy, 642. And such is the end of the wicked who are alive when Christ comes, for they are destroyed by the brightness of His coming.

“And They Also Who Pierced Him”

However, we must not overlook another most amazing prophecy. For there are some, among the wicked dead, who must live again to see the living, glorified Christ. Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him.” Did you notice those words, “And they also which pierced Him”? These words refer to those wicked dead who played a part in the rejection and crucifixion of our Lord. These individuals, though dead for two thousand years, are to be raised in a special resurrection to behold the return of Jesus in His glory.

The servant of the Lord describes how these individuals will recall the words of Christ. “With thrilling power come to their minds the Sufferers’ words (speaking of Christ), when, adjured by the high priest, He solemnly declared: ‘Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.’ Mathew 26:64. Now they behold Him in His glory. . .

“Those who derided His claim to be the Son of God are speechless now. There is the haughty Herod who jeered at His royal title and bade the mocking soldiers crown Him king. . . . The men who smote and spit upon the Prince of Life now turn from His piercing gaze and seek to flee from the overpowering glory of His presence. Those who drove the nails through His hands and feet, the soldier who pierced His side, behold these marks with terror and remorse. . . .

“And now there rises a cry of mortal agony. Louder than the shout, ‘Crucify Him, crucify Him,’ which rang through the streets of Jerusalem, swells the awful, despairing wail, ‘He is the Son of God! He is the true Messiah!'” The Great Controversy, 643, 644.

These resurrected murderers, who mistreated the Lord, will join with the living wicked in calling for the rocks and the mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Jesus, because “they remember how His love was slighted and His compassion abused. . . . All the insult and despite offered to Christ, all the suffering caused to His disciples, will be as fresh in their recollection as when the Satanic deeds were done.

“The voice which they heard so often in entreaty and persuasion will again sound in their ears. Every tone of gracious selection will vibrate as distinctly in their ears as when the Saviour spoke in the synagogues and on the street. Then those who pierced Him will call on the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.” The Last Day Events, 275.

The Second Coming and the Righteous

We have looked at how the Second Coming will affect the wicked. Now let us consider how the appearance of Christ, in all His glory, will affect the righteous living and the righteous who have died through past ages. First we will consider the righteous who are raised when the trumpet of God sounds.

Inspiration describes the scene like this: “Amid the reeling of the earth, the flash of lightening, the roar of thunder, the voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints. He looks upon the graves of the righteous, then, raising His hand to heaven, He cries, ‘Awake, awake, awake, Ye that sleep in the dust, and arise!’ Throughout the length and the breadth of the earth the dead shall hear that voice, and they that hear shall live. And the whole earth shall ring with the tread of an exceeding great army of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. From the prison house of death they come, clothed with immortal glory, crying ‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory?’ 1 Corinthians 15:55. And the living righteous and the risen saints unite their voice in a long, glad shout of victory.” The Great Controversy, 644.

What takes place in the truly born-again individual that makes the resurrection possible? Consider these words carefully with me, for they contain the secret to eternal life. “By the power of the Savior that dwelt in them while living and because they were partakers of the divine nature, they were brought forth from the dead.” Sons and Daughters of God, 359.

What a divine truth to contemplate. Should some of us be laid to rest before He comes, let us so live that we are daily partakers of this divine nature which is so freely offered to all of God’s obedient children. For we read, “The victory of the sleeping saints will be glorious on the morning of the resurrection. . . . The Lifegiver will crown with immortality all who come forth from the grave.” Ibid.

“When our friends go into the grave, they are beautiful to us. It may be our father or our mother that we laid away: when they come forth those wrinkles are all gone but the figure is there, and we know them. . .

“We want to be prepared to meet these dear friends as they come forth in the resurrection morning. Shall we lay hold upon the hope set before us in the gospel that we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is?” In Heavenly Places, 353.

Such assurance is given to all who have been faithful. “The precious dead, from Adam down to the last saint who dies, will hear the voice of the Son of God, and will come forth from the grave to immortal life.” The Desire of Ages, 606.

My heart throbs as I read these precious promises. “For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” Hebrews 10:37. Don’t you feel like saying, “Praise God”? “The child of God will be terror-stricken at the first sight of the majesty of Jesus Christ. He feels that he cannot live in His holy presence. But the word comes to him as to John, ‘Fear not.’ Jesus laid His right hand upon John; He raised Him up from his prostrate position. So will He do unto His loyal, trusting, ones.” That I May Know Him, 360.

Again, I must re-emphasize the important truth that it is only because we become joined with Christ here on earth, that when we die we will come forth from the grave when He calls. This is stated clearly in Maranatha, 302. “Christ became one flesh with us, in order that we might become one spirit with Him. It is by virtue of this union that we are to come forth from the grave—not merely as a manifestation of the power of Christ, but because through faith, His life has become ours. Those who see Christ in His true character, and receive Him into the heart, have everlasting life. It is through the spirit that Christ dwells in us; and the spirit of God, received into the heart by faith, is the beginning of life eternal.” Is that not amazing? Here is the gospel in its fullness.

The Condition of the Resurrected Righteous

Have you ever wondered what the appearance and size of the righteous dead will be like when they are resurrected? That answer is found in inspiration also. “All come forth from their graves the same in stature as when they entered the tomb. Adam, who stands among the risen throng, is of lofty height and majestic form, in stature but little below the Son of God. He presents a marked contrast to the people of later generations; in this one respect is shown the great degeneracy of the race. But all arise with the freshness and the vigor of eternal youth. . . . All blemishes and deformities are left in the grave. Restored to the tree of life in the long-lost Eden, the redeemed will ‘grow up’ (Malachi 4:2) to the full stature of the race in its primeval glory.” The Great Controversy, 644, 645.

“When Christ comes, . . .we shall then be gifted with a higher nature. The bodies of all who purify their souls by obeying the truth shall be glorified. They will have fully received and believed in Jesus Christ.” Selected Messages, vol. 3, 427.

I have discovered another gift that will be bestowed upon the saints of God when He comes. “When Christ comes, we shall then be gifted with a higher nature. The bodies of all who purify their souls by obeying the truth shall be glorified. They will have fully received and believed in Jesus Christ.” Selected Messages, book 3, 427.

It is no wonder that the apostle exclaimed in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” Let these words of inspiration from 1 Corinthians15:53 be riveted in our mind: “This corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.”

Ellen White emphasizes these word in The Great Controversy, 645. “The living righteous are changed ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.’ At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air.” “There are the columns of angels on either side . . . then the angelic choir strike the note of victory and the angels in two columns take up the song and the redeemed host join as though they had been singing the song on the earth, and they have been. Oh, what music! There is not an inharmonious note. Every voice proclaims, ‘Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain.” Sons and Daughters of God, 359. I get so thrilled when I read about the coming wonders that I can hardly wait. My heart cry is, “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.”

Picture with me the reunion of God’s saints. “Angels ‘gather together His elect from the four winds; from one end of heaven to the other.’ Little children are borne by holy angels to their mother’s arms. Friends long separated by death are united, nevermore to part. . . .” The Great Controversy, 645. (If you are interested in reading more about children in heaven, see Selected Messages, vol. 2, 260 and Early Writings, 19.)

A Big Reunion

We shall know our friends even as the disciples knew Jesus. They may have been deformed, diseased or disfigured in this mortal life, but they will rise in perfect health and symmetry. Yet, in the glorified body, their identity will be perfectly preserved. “Then shall we know, even as also we are known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12.

“He [Jesus] will come to honor those who have loved Him and kept His commandments and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten them or His promise. There will be a relinking of the family chain.” The Desire of Ages, 632.

What about those we have led to Jesus? “The redeemed will meet and recognize those whose attention they have directed to the uplifted Saviour. What blessed converse they have with these souls! ‘I was a sinner,’ it was said, ‘without God and without hope in the world, and you came to me and drew my attention to the precious Saviour as my only hope.’ . . . Others will say, ‘I was a heathen in heathen lands. You… came to teach me how to find Jesus and believe in Him as the only true God. I demolished my idols and I worshiped God, and now I see Him face to face. I am saved, eternally saved, ever to behold Him whom I love.’..

“Others will express their gratitude to those who fed the hungry and clothed the naked. ‘When despair bound my soul in unbelief, the Lord sent you to me,’ they say, ‘to speak words of hope and comfort, . . . so that I could grasp the hand of Christ that was reached out to save me. . . . You read to me the precious promises of God’s word. You inspired in me the faith that He would save me. My heart was softened, subdued, broken, as I contemplated the sacrifice which Christ had made for me…’

“What rejoicing there will be as these redeemed ones meet and greet those who have had a burden in their behalf! And those who have lived, not to please themselves, but to be a blessing to the unfortunate who have so few blessings—how their hearts will thrill with satisfaction.” My Life Today, 353.

As I recall these wonderful statements, beloved, we must be there. We must be there! Please contemplate this mighty appeal of the Holy Spirit found in Early Writings, 110. “Then only those who are holy, those who have followed fully the meek Pattern, will with rapturous joy exclaim as they behold Him, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us.’ And they will be changed ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.’—that trump that wakes the sleeping saints, and calls them forth from their dusty beds, clothed with glorious immortality, and shouting, ‘Victory! Victory over death and the grave.’ The changed saints are then caught up together with the angels to meet the Lord in the air, nevermore to be separated from the object of their love.

“With such a prospect as this before us, such a glorious hope, such a redemption that Christ has purchased for us by His own blood, shall we hold our peace? Shall we not praise God even with a loud voice, as did the disciples when Jesus rode into Jerusalem? Is not our prospect far more glorious than was theirs? Who dare then forbid us glorifying God, even with a loud voice, when we have such a hope, big with immortality, and full of glory? We have tasted of the powers of the world to come, and long for more. My whole heart cries out after the living God, and I shall not be satisfied until I am filled with all His fullness.”

Is There Any Word From God?

by

“For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth He devise means that His banished be not expelled from Him.” 2 Samuel 14:14. A woman of Tekoah preached this little sermon as a rebuke to the king of Israel.

The Bible story begins when Amnon, the king’s son wronged his half sister, Tamar, who was a full sister to Absalom. Absalom took revenge by killing Amnon then fleeing into exile to avoid revenge being taken upon him. For three years he lived with a foreign king, far from his homeland. For three years he anxiously watched and waited, asking everyone whom he thought might know, “Is there any word from the king?” But the king remained silent. There was no indication that he even cared about Absalom. Finally, the woman of Tekoah, in consultation with Joab, preached this little sermon to the king as a rebuke. Pointing out that his action was unlike the action of the Lord that he professed to love and obey, she reminded him that the merciful God we serve devises means whereby the banished may be restored.

In the beginning, Adam and Eve enjoyed open communication with the Lord. We are told, “The holy pair were not only children under the fatherly care of God but students receiving instruction from the all-wise Creator. They were visited by angels, and were granted communion with their Maker, with no obscuring veil between.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 50. All that changed when sin came in.

Have you ever noticed the way nations relate to other nations in modern diplomacy? When two nations are not getting along, very often they do not communicate directly but talk to each other through a third party. They fear that direct communication would blur the message of condemnation that they are trying to give, and cause people to say, “Well, it must not be all that bad. They are still on speaking terms.” So a means is devised by which communication can go on, but still the testimony, against what is conceived to be evil, remains.

God has used a similar method to bear testimony against the evil of man’s rebellion. God recognized that to communicate directly with man would blur the testimony and cause confusion. Maybe the rebel would say, “Well, I must not be so bad, the Lord is still talking to me.” So the Lord had to break off direct communication, yet He devised a means to continue communication. He chose individuals who were not in rebellion against Him and through them He sent messages to those in rebellion. In this way He communicates to the rebel, but at the same time He declares to the universe His rejection of the evil action of the rebel. We call this Divine Diplomacy.

This special class of people, through whom the Lord communicates, we call prophets. They can declare, “Now the word of the Lord came unto me,” and this gives them a sense of commission that is unlike anything the world has ever seen. We look in amazement at prophets going before their kings and demanding that they come into line. That is certainly not something a common man would do, for it would mean risking his life.

Recall the time when a certain king of Israel asked a prophet what would happen if he went to war. The prophet told him truthfully that he would not come back because the Lord did not approve. The king in fury said, “Take this man and throw him in the prison and keep him there until I come back.” We would expect the man to drop to his knees and plead for mercy, but he did not. He said, “Your majesty, if you come back at all, the Lord has not spoken by me.”

The history of the prophets’ relationship to their kings reveals their steadfast integrity, their unflinching and unyielding demand for righteousness on every level from the highest to the lowest classes of society. There is not any class of men like them in the world, and they produced literature. Some of their messages appear to us in a Book that is unlike any other book in the world—the Bible. We value it because we believe it contains revelations from God.

Theories and Facts

What actually is revelation? To fully answer this question, I first present an example to you. Suppose that you are the king of one of the Hawaiian Islands where a horse has never been seen. Some Europeans arrive and tell you that in Europe there is a large animal called a horse. How are you going to know what a horse is like? One way that you could find out is to call a committee of the most learned men in your kingdom and commission them to collectively study this matter out and report their findings back to you. The only problem is, they have never seen a horse. They only have fragments of information about a horse, and the largest animals they know are sharks and whales. It would not be too surprising, then, if the report they brought back to you is that a horse is something like a whale or a shark. Having never seen a horse, that would be the best they could do.

Another way to learn about a horse would be to send a few thousand dollars to Europe to have a horse shipped to your island. When the horse arrived in Hawaii, your learned men could examine the horse and then draw up their final conclusion. That would be a perfectly appropriate method as long as they did not try to ignore the evidence and force their previous theories on the actual horse!

Consider a theory that some of the best brains in our world adhered to before men had ever walked on the moon. They recognized the Law of Gravity in the world and in the universe. They believed that the degree of the pull of gravity was related to the size of the planet. The larger the planet, the stronger the pull; the smaller the planet, the less the pull. Since the moon is so much smaller than the earth, they reasoned that there would be very little gravitational pull there, which would mean that the surface of the moon might be extremely soft. Gravity would not have pulled it in as hard as it is here on earth and a man landing on the moon might sink in to his waist or even to his neck.

Finally, the day came when a man landed a spacecraft on the moon and stepped out onto its surface for the first time—and he only sunk in about two inches. There was not that much dust. What if the scientists had said, “We will not accept that; we know that the surface of the moon is soft”? That would have been ridiculous! Instead, they corrected their theory when the facts were in. They could not force their theory on the moon!

All of the examples I have given you are leading to a very crucial concept: there is nothing wrong with speculative thinking, but it should always be corrected by the observable data!

Man’s Theories about Revelation

As we come back to our basic question, What is revelation?, we discover that man has a very strong tendency to set up a theory about revelation and force it on the Bible instead of letting the Bible tell them what revelation is! Here are just a few of the many examples I could give you.

People theorize that if there is such a thing as revelation, if there is a Book in existence which contains information revealed by the God of the universe, certainly it would have just one heavenly literary style throughout that whole Book. But, when we look at the Book, it is not like that. There are sections of it that are purely historical in style. Sections of it are dramatical in style, like the book of Job. Others are poetical, like the Psalms, and others are apocalyptic, like Daniel and Revelation. What should we do with these facts? Will we let the facts correct our theory? Or are we determined to hold to our theory no matter what?

Another very common way that many have reasoned is that if there is something in the world called revelation, if God has spoken to man, then certainly that message would come from God in the highest language and with the most perfect vocabulary known to man. However, as men studied the New Testament, written in Greek, they saw a great difference between the Greek of the New Testament and the Greek of the classical writers. At the same time archeologists were finding written materials in the Greek language. There were contracts, deeds, instructions, bills of lading, and receipts. They finally found that the truth of the matter was that the language of the Greek New Testament was the simple everyday language of the common people. The idea that the Greek of the New Testament must be an especially elevated form of Greek had to be laid aside.

Some people had real trouble with that. They reasoned that it would be impossible that God could pass by the beautiful language of high Greek for the common language spoken on the street. It was a jolt to them. But that is exactly what God did, and we had better allow our theories be corrected by the facts.

Men speculate that if the Bible is a revelation from God then every description of a single incident should be exactly like every other description. But this is not true at all. We look at the Gospel records of the life of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and they are not contradictory, but they are different. They apparently reflect the different interests of the writer.

A study of the gospel of Mark shows that he wrote for the non-Jewish reader. His gospel contains many explanations telling why the Jews had certain customs or explaining a word that had a particular meaning for the Jews. Matthew, on the other hand, obviously wrote for the Jew and he often notes how prophecies, well known to Jews, had been fulfilled. Luke was the careful historian trying to set everything in the context of the events around it. He often says, it was in such and such a year of a certain ruler, it was such and such a time, or in such and such a place. John had a very different emphasis. He was the theologian. In his gospel, he spends very little time on locations, but he spends a lot of time on the theological meanings of what Jesus said. All of the gospels are true and contain important lessons for us, but they do not provide identical accounts. Here again we have to let our theory be corrected by the facts.

Some would argue that if the Bible is from God, it should be so legally precise that it is impossible to misunderstand it. But God, we discover, is not interested in forcing anyone to believe. He sets before us enough evidence that we can believe if we choose to, and with that He is finished. He will not try to force anyone. So we do not find the Bible to be legally precise. In order to be sure we have the right picture, we must compare many verses, one with another.

More of Men’s Theories

According to men’s theories, if the Bible is a divinely inspired book, we should not find any records of evil. But we find that the Bible records, in frank and honest detail, the sins of David and the apostasy and betrayal of Peter and other things that are painful for us to read. So we have to let that correct our theory again.

According to our theory, the Bible should be systematically organized. Everything should be in proper chronological order, but this is not true either. Take, for example, the book of Jeremiah. When you read it, it looks as though Baruch, Jeremiah’s secretary, collected all of the masses of Jeremiah’s writings and just bound them together in a book, without any attempt at all to put them in proper chronological order.

In the New Testament, even the parables are not recorded in the same order in the different gospels. If you tried to figure out which one came first, you would not find it easy. Ellen White suggests that the narrative of what Jesus said and what He did was called back to the authors minds by certain circumstances and so the different events of Christ’s ministry and the lessons He taught, do not always appear in chronological order in the different gospels.

We theorize that if the Bible truly is the word of God, certainly it must be entirely original. It does not seem logical that in it there would appear anything a man had copied from another man. But that does not check out either. When you look at your Bible, you find that there is clear evidence that there was some copying done.

If you begin with 2 Peter 2:4 and compare it with Jude 6, and read about the next ten verses in each chapter, you will conclude that someone did some copying. Either Peter had Jude’s epistle before him as he wrote or Jude had Peter’s epistle before him as he wrote. Matthew also must have had the book of Mark before him as he was writing, and Luke must have had both Matthew and Mark before him as he was writing. Some scholars tell us that ninety-five percent of the book of Mark is copied word for word into Matthew and Luke.

In the book of Genesis there is a strong indication that earlier records were incorporated into Scripture. Genesis chapter 1 through chapter 2 verse 3, covers the story of creation. There we see a record of the days of creation and exactly what happened on every day, including the seventh. And then, verse 4 starts in with another new story of creation. It begins, “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.” What is then recorded is not contradictory to the first account, any more than Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are contradictory, but it is different.

Look at that word “generation” in verse four. In the past scholars believed that writing was unknown in the ancient world. Some skeptics insisted that we know Moses could not have written Genesis because writing was not being done in Moses’ time. However, the archaeologists have corrected our understanding and we now know there was a great deal of writing being done long, long before Moses was born. In the days of Abraham they even kept little clay tablets with Bills of Sale and Title Deeds to their property. So certainly writing was not uncommon.

Archaeologists have discovered genealogical tablets called the towledah. These little tablets would have all the names of one’s ancestors, so it was the towledah of that man or family. And towledah is the word used in Genesis 2:4, translated “generations.” There is strong indication here that when Moses wrote the book of Genesis he incorporated some pre-existing records into his own record of the early history of our earth. We believe that the Holy Spirit would not have let him include them if they had been faulty. But they were accurate records and so Moses simply copied them right into his own record.

We could go on and compare Kings and Chronicles and add many more illustrations, but the evidence is already conclusive and leads to one point—we must correct our theories by the facts revealed in the Word of God. We must let the Bible tell us what revelation is and not force our theories upon the Bible.

God’s Penmen Not His Pen

Another theory that is commonly held by many sincere Christians is that if God spoke to a man by His Holy Spirit, then certainly the man merely copied the words spoken to him. But that does not check out, either. I learned something about this with an experience of my own.

There was a time when I feel that the Lord talked to me directly. It happened when I was pleading with the Lord for guidance in an important decision that had to immediately be made about an evangelistic series. I began to quote to the Lord one of His own Scriptures which said, “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God.” I said, “Lord, You have to tell me what to do. You have to give me a sign. I have to decide this quickly.” And the Lord responded. I did not hear a voice, but my mind was instantly illuminated with a complete thought, like a flash. I cannot quote it to you as quickly as it came, because I have to report it to you in words and the words take time. But the message came in a thousandth of a second. “What are you doing reading to Me a promise of wisdom while you ask Me for a sign? A sign is not wisdom.” That hit me so hard that I stopped praying. I said, “I guess that is right.” And so, I sat down on my chair and I said, “What would wisdom do?” Then I laid out a little plan, I tried it and it worked. It was a miraculous thing.

I cherish the memory of the few times in my experience that I believe the Lord spoke to me directly. I cannot tell you by what method it was done, but it was immediate and the whole message was there in my mind.

I tell people that experience in different words from time to time, words calculated to reach the understanding of the person I am talking to. I do not think that does any violence at all to the experience. It was not given to me in words that I either heard or saw.

Ellen White tells us that the writers of the Bible had to do something like that. “The Bible must be given in the language of men. Everything that is human is imperfect. . . . 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.” Ibid., 20, 21. (See also Selected Messages, vol. 1, 20–48.)

I have listened with great interest to many earnest and sincere scholars in the university classroom, as they struggled desperately to describe how God speaks to a man in revelation. They could not do it. I cannot do it either. But Ellen White reminds us that we see the same thing in revelation that we see in the incarnation. No man can tell precisely how humanity and divinity are blended in Jesus Christ. No man can tell precisely how humanity and divinity are blended in the Word of God. It is beyond the human understanding. This is probably a subject we will be studying through the ages of eternity.

She goes on: “It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man’s words or his expression but on the man himself. . . . The words receive the impress of the individual mind. The divine mind is diffused. The divine mind and will is combined with the human mind and will, thus the utterances of the man are the Word of God.” Ibid. And then summing it up, she says, “I take the Bible just as it is, the inspired Word. I believe its utterances in the entire Bible.” Ibid., 17.

The Bible can be compared to a tall man bending down to talk to a child, then getting down on one knee so that his eyes are level with the child’s and trying to communicate with him. It is God stooping down to communicate with us in language that we can understand. Human language is not adequate to fully contain the thought of God, but God devised a means to communicate the truths vital to our salvation in a way that we mortals could understand.

God Calls Us Back

David devised means whereby Absalom could be brought back. But notice the difference. David did not act until he was urged. God devised the means long before there was a need. He was ready with His plan that His banished would not be expelled and that those separated from Him by sin would not be hopelessly separated. He devised a means to bring them back, to restore them.

David’s restoration of Absalom was not complete. He told Joab to bring him back to Jerusalem and let him live in his own house free, but not to let him see his face. That is not like God. Remember in the story of the Prodigal Son, the father saw his prodigal son returning and he did not say, “Well, I see my son is coming back. Send one of the servants to take him to the servants quarters and we will send some clothing down there. But see to it that he does not come to this house.” Oh, no, Jesus describes the father, himself, going out to meet him. He wraps his arms around him and draws him close to his heart of love. Then he commands that a robe be brought to cover his filthy rags and he calls everyone to celebrate his restoration so that all will know that his restoration is complete. The son is restored as fully and completely as if he had never sinned. That is the way the Lord works. His ways are much higher than the ways of men.

How thankful we are that God devised means for rebellious mankind. It is as if the rope tying man’s boat to the dock is cut and man is on the boat drifting ever farther and farther away from God. But God was not content to sit in silence in His palace, like David did, and say, “That is too bad. It is not My problem.” God made it His problem. He devised a means and because He did, we have His Book in our hands.

This precious, invaluable Book is the greatest treasure we can have because it comes from God. I suggest that we lay aside all of our preconceived theories and let this Book tell us what revelation is and does and what it does not do. Let us thank God that He devised the means so that everywhere man may go, there is always this Book waiting for him. Whenever man in his exile asks, “Is there any word from the King?” the answer is always “Yes, there is a word from the Lord.” You can turn to it anytime, anywhere and discover that the Lord is waiting to welcome you home.

“Come, every soul by sin oppressed.

There’s mercy with the Lord,

And He will surely give you rest,

By trusting in His Word.”

That Word is always there. There is always a word from the Lord saying, “Come home and be forgiven. Be as fully restored as if you had never sinned.”