Doctrine

Preparing for the Judgment

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Jesus emphatically told His followers that there would be a final judgment and publicity would attend it. He said,

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.”

Matthew 25:31, 32.

This judgment message was taught by God’s prophets and has been the subject of many Bible writers since the beginning of time. “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him’ (Jude 14, 15).”

Every inhabitant of the world will be judged publicly, in the presence of all the unfallen worlds. The law of God, which the majority in this world have despised, will be exalted and seen in its true nature.

The Psalmist said, “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous all around Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people: ‘Gather My saints together to Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.’ Let the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is judge” (Psalm 50:2–6).

“Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. A fire goes before Him, and burns up His enemies round about. His lightnings light the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples see His glory” (Psalm 97:2–6).

“Then there appears against the sky a hand holding two tables of stone folded together. … That holy law, God’s righteousness, that amid thunder and flame was proclaimed from Sinai as the guide of life, is now revealed to men as the rule of judgment. The hand opens the tables, and there are seen the precepts of the Decalogue, traced as with a pen of fire. The words are so plain that all can read them. Memory is aroused, the darkness of superstition and heresy is swept from every mind, and God’s ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, are presented to the view of all the inhabitants of the earth.” The Great Controversy, 639.

God’s law, that men either despise or say it was done away with, will be exalted as the standard of His government. Paul refers to this in Hebrews 12:18, where he wrote, “For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (After so many years of Egyptian captivity the Israelites were afraid of God approaching them directly.) … But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 12:18, 19, 22–24).

Paul continues, “See that you do not refuse Him Who speaks …” (verse 25).

The angels have a significant part to play in the judgment for several reasons:

  1. The angels who chose to stay on the side of Christ when the controversy erupted with Lucifer have been involved since before the world was created.
  2. Angels are given assignments. Ellen White wrote, “But angels watch the precious dust of this servant of God [referring to William Miller], and he will come forth at the sound of the last trump.” Early Writings, 258. The tombs of all the righteous dead are guarded by angels and on resurrection morning none will be forgotten. All who have not committed the unpardonable sin have a minimum of one guardian angel and some have two. While Jesus was on earth he had two guardian angels who did not leave Him even when He died; they stayed at His tomb. Ellen White wrote, “These angels were of the company that had been waiting in a shining cloud to escort Jesus to His heavenly home. The most exalted of the angel throng, they were the two who had come to the tomb at Christ’s resurrection, and they had been with Him throughout His life on earth.” The Desire of Ages, 832.

“Under God the angels are all-powerful. They are mighty, and they excel in strength. On one occasion, in obedience to the command of Christ, they slew in one night one hundred and eighty-five thousand men of the Assyrian army. They can, and will, soon visit the earth with judgments. In quick succession one angel after another will pour out vials of wrath upon the inhabitants of the earth. How easily could the angels, beholding the shameful scene of the trial of Christ, have testified to their indignation by consuming the adversaries of God! But they were not commanded to do this.” The Signs of the Times, January 17, 1900. Angels observe perfect order and only do what they are directed to do by their commanders.

We know that angels frequently disguise themselves as human beings. Paul reminds us, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels” (Hebrews 13:2).

In The Review and Herald, November 22, 1898, Ellen White wrote, “The Lord would have us understand that these mighty ones who visit our world have borne an active part in the work which we have called our own. These heavenly beings are ministering angels, and they frequently disguise themselves in the form of human beings, and as strangers converse with those who are engaged in the work of God. In the lonely places they have been the companions of the traveler in peril. In tempest-tossed ships they have spoken words to allay fear and inspire hope in the hour of danger. Many, under different circumstances, have listened to the voices of the inhabitants of other worlds. Time and again have they been the leaders of armies. They have been sent forth to cleanse away pestilence. They have eaten at the humble board of families, and often have they appeared as weary travelers in need of shelter for the night.

“We need to understand better than we do the work of these angel visitants. It would be well for us, as children of God, to consider that heavenly beings hear our words, and behold our works. Heavenly angels are co-operating with us in every good work, and thus earth is connected with heaven.”

Whether you are saved or lost in the final judgment, you will see a panorama of your whole life. Then it will be too late to get ready, for all cases will have already been decided. It is right now while probation is still open that the gospel must be preached to the whole world.

We are living in the time of grace. Right now, even the chiefest of sinners can still decide to turn around, change sides, follow Jesus and be saved. It is also true that a person who is following Jesus can lose his/her way and be lost. Decision time is running out, and soon it will be too late to make the change.

Often people are unhappy with the judgments decided by worldly courts and appeal to a higher court until the case reaches the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court refuses to accept the case at that level there is no higher appeal.

When God judges the world there is no appeal. People will put their hand over their mouth with nothing to say (see Job 40:4; Micah 7:16). They will be silent because the evidence against them will be overwhelming. Notice the evidence of this:

Angels keep a record of every thought, word and action and will be there when the Judge appears. A panoramic view of their whole life will be seen passing in front of each one. Each life will be measured by the law of God in the presence of the universe to see if that person is safe to be in the company of unfallen worlds. Jesus is the Judge. It says in John 5:22, 27: “… the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son. … and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.”

Ellen White wrote: “God has committed all judgment unto the Son, for without controversy He is God manifest in the flesh.

“God designed that the Prince of sufferers in humanity should be judge of the whole world. He who came from the heavenly courts to save man from eternal death; He Whom men despised, rejected, and upon Whom they heaped all the contempt of which human beings, inspired by Satan, are capable; He who submitted to be arraigned before an earthly tribunal, and Who suffered the ignominious death of the cross—He alone is to pronounce the sentence of reward or of punishment. He who submitted to the suffering and humiliation of the cross here, in the counsel of God is to have the fullest compensation, and ascend the throne acknowledged by all the heavenly universe as the King of saints. He has undertaken the work of salvation, and shown before unfallen worlds and the heavenly family that the work He has begun He is able to complete. It is Christ Who gives men the grace of repentance; His merits are accepted by the Father in behalf of every soul that will help to compose the family of God.” The Review and Herald, November 22, 1898.

She continues, “Solemn will be the day of final decision. In prophetic vision the apostle John describes it: ‘And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works’ (Revelation 29:11, 12). Then is it not of tremendous importance to us, individually, that our works be right works? Probationary time is granted us, opportunities and privileges are given us, to make our calling and election sure. How we should prize this precious time, and improve every talent God has given, that we may be faithful stewards over ourselves, keeping our souls in the love of God!” Ibid.

Now is the “precious time” to make our calling and election sure. Paul said, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on the earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God Who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:10–13). [Emphasis added.] We must cooperate with God in working out our own salvation with fear and trembling to receive the gift of eternal life for it is not us doing it but God working in us. So why does the Bible say that you work it out? God never works contrary to a person’s will. He allows choice. If I choose to follow my own desire, I choose to be lost. I should be afraid that when I have to make a choice that I’ll choose my way instead of God’s way. He says, “… work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

In Ephesians 6:10–18 Paul counsels to put on the whole armor of God. He talks about the battle we must fight against evil and that we need to be strong in the Lord. The battle is a spiritual battle against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, whether we want it to take place or not. There is no way to get out of it.

Our only defense against the enemy of souls is the armor of truth and the righteousness of Christ (verse 14), a right understanding of the gospel (verse 15), having faith (verse 16), the hope of salvation and the word of God (verse 17) to be able to stand, and praying always (verse 18).

It was His connection with His Father that strengthened Jesus throughout His earthly ministry. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to Peter, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Again Jesus said, “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).

Peter said the same thing: “… the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious …” (I Peter 4:7, literal translation) or be sober, watch unto prayer.

Jesus said, “… search the Scriptures, because in them you think you have eternal life; and they are they that testify of Me” (John 5:39, literal translation). Paul said, concerning the Bereans, “… they were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they … searched the Scriptures daily … with all readiness of mind … whether these things were so” (Acts 17:10–11, literal translation).

Clad in the armor of God we must avoid the way of temptation. In this life, temptation will come to all but we should not deliberately look for it. It is presumptuous to walk in the way of temptation and get into trouble and expect to be excused.

Paul says to “flee sexual immorality” (I Corinthians 6:18). In other words, run away from it as did Joseph when tempted by Potiphar’s wife (see Genesis 39:13). Another thing to flee from is idolatry (I Corinthians 10:14).

“For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life” (I Timothy 6:7–12).

Writing to Timothy, Paul said, “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).

Enquire of the Lord if you are not aware of your besetting sins, to reveal those areas in which the devil can most easily trip you up and then avoid those things. Each of us has entangling sins which we must guard against.

Paul taught Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith” (I Timothy 6:12). This can only be accomplished by fleeing from temptation. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, He said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’ ” (Matthew 4:4).

A careful study of the Bible will reveal the things that put us out of harmony with God’s will so they can be corrected. The Spirit moves us ever so gently, pointing us to exactly what we need to see at just the right time.

When the people of a Samaritan village refused to receive Jesus, James and John said, “ ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?’ But He turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them. And they went to another village’ ” (Luke 9:54–56). Though they loved Jesus and followed Him they had the wrong spirit and needed correction. There are only two spirits seeking to gain control of the world. After spending three years with Jesus, He told them that with that attitude they were under control of the wrong one.

It is crucial to study and see what spirit controls us. Ask yourself what is the motivation in the way I deal with others? It is not just what I do but what motivates the action.

The Bible records that Caleb had a different spirit. It says, “They certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of them who rejected Me see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him, and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it” (Numbers 14:23, 24).

The wise man said that “before honor is humility” (Proverbs 15:33). It was because of Jesus’ humility that He was rejected. In every generation those who represent Him in character are also rejected by the proud and haughty. Pride and humility do not mix.

A parable that has caused much concern for many is the fairness of the landowner recorded in Matthew 20 who went out and hired people to work in his vineyard. At the third hour He hired others, and then more at the sixth hour, and at the ninth hour more workers were hired, and even at the eleventh hour when He found the people standing idle in the market place he offered them work in His vineyard telling them “whatever is right you will receive. So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last unto the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius’ ” (Matthew 20:7–13)?

From a worldly point of view, it just doesn’t seem fair. Ellen White comments in Christ’s Object Lessons that the reason for this parable is that Jesus saw what would be the weakness and the curse of the church in all ages—self-righteousness. Most people, when they do more than others, think that they should receive more reward. The landowner said, “ ‘Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good? So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen’ ” (verses 14–16).

The council that Christ gave to the Laodicean church in Revelation 3 is that you think you are rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. He said, “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed … and eye salve, that you may see” (verse 18).

In the world gold means money; money means power. In the spiritual world gold is faith and love. If you have love, you have everything you need, and if you have faith, you can get everything you need. The white raiment is the righteousness of Christ and the eye salve is the ability to see and understand the spiritual warfare that is taking place.

Time is running out. We need the armor of God to fight the final battle against Satan before Jesus returns. Watch unto prayer searching the Scriptures, and flee temptation. Have faith and live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

In Romans 7, Paul recognized his own weakness and cried out saying, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God …” (verses 24, 25).

Fall down before Him now while the day of grace is still open and you can be saved.

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

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

Holiness The Fabric of Society

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When we look at the Scriptures, we realize that they are called the Holy Scriptures. When we speak of the Holy Spirit, we must never forget that He is the Holy Spirit. When we speak about the Sabbath, we speak of the holy Sabbath; and God said of His people, “You are a holy people unto Me.”

The book of Hebrews dwells largely on the earthly sanctuary, which was the ritual, the process, that God gave to the Israelite people in the Old Testament, and then to us the heavenly sanctuary, to emphasize the plan of salvation—how it works and what the holiness of God really is. It is through this system that we learn how to approach a holy God when we have been involved in sin.

“For they [our fathers] verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He [God] for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.” “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:10,14

If we do not follow after holiness, we will never see the Lord; we will never be in heaven. It will only be a holy people who inherit heaven and the new earth. It therefore behooves us, in the day in which we live, and age like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, to understand by personal experience what holiness is. In order to do this, we must have our thinking shaped all the way through with the concepts of holiness from the Scriptures.

The time brought to view in Isaiah 6 was a time of crisis for the people of God. The outlook was dismal and the future looked dark indeed. But, the Lord gave to Isaiah a vision of His holiness and His majesty in that hour of crisis. “In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” Isaiah 6:1-3. What a message at an hour of darkness and crisis!

We are facing an hour of darkness on this earth when the darkness of the apostasy will become as black as midnight, impenetrable as the sackcloth of hair, but God’s people are called upon to, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.” Isaiah 60:1

It is interesting to note that the angels, in crying to one another, did not cry, “Love, love, love.” The Bible does not substitute love for holiness. Though love is God’s self-communicating attribute and character, His holiness always dominates, controls and directs His love.

Holiness is self-affirming purity, something that this generation has lost sight of. In the place of holiness, it has sought to substitute love, failing to clearly distinguish that holiness must dominate, direct and control love. As a result, we live in a generation that has lost its respect for purity and holiness and has immersed itself in the immorality of Sodom and Gomorrah. This will inevitably result in a totalitarian world state.

Holiness, according to the Spirit of Prophecy, is wholeness for God. As it was not in Rome’s interest to promote holiness, she withheld the Holy Scriptures from the people. This understanding of true holiness involves separation from all uncleanness and impurity and, of necessity, from the world. It was the Puritans’ understanding of this concept, leading them to strive for obedience to the law of God, that made them so powerful in their opposition to the Papacy.

At Vatican II, the principles of communism gained control of the Catholic Church, and particularly of the Jesuit order. The position taken in Vatican II regarding the non-Christian religions called for involving everyone, even the pagan and spiritualistic religions, in the ecumenical movement. The Jesuits were deeply involved in fostering the peace and anti-war movement, as well as the hippie movement. It is always the concept of every revolution to gain the thinking of the young people, and immediately after Vatican II, we had the student generation in revolt. Youth who belonged to middle class families suddenly joined communes. This revolt was an international phenomenon, a tremendous twisting of the thinking of the young people. Very rapidly these principles expanded out over the youth generation.

It is interesting to note that it was at this time that the Youth’s Instructor was discarded for Insight magazine and major changes came into our own Adventist structure regarding how to deal with the youth. The battle cry on the college campuses (I was on them at that time) was, “You’ve got to be relevant.” What they meant was “relative to the world.”

Suddenly the message was no longer so much one of preaching salvation, calling people to the Word of God, calling them to holiness and purity and standing on the platform of the everlasting gospel, but rather a discarding of personal piety; a going into the inner cities, doing social gospel. The social gospel supplanted the everlasting gospel and the Jesuits were very fundamental in bringing about this change.

Just before Nazism took control of Germany, there was a hippie movement among the youth. Middle class young people suddenly left their homes, drifted around the countryside and read the philosophy of Nietsche. The philosophy of Nietsche, with his concept of replacing God with self, is now the main philosophy that Americans have accepted. The man on the street who does not even know the name Nietsche has accepted his philosophy. Now the psychiatry and psychology of our day has replaced religion, to a large extent. The self-help, self-esteem movement and the church growth movement which has brought into it these philosophies, is dominating the churches and the whole nation is being smothered with this.

It is interesting to note, that, according to Professor Allen Bloom, the very concept which originated over in Europe, resulting in Nazism, was imported into America right about the time of World War II with the flight of many German professors from the universities in Germany. They were fleeing from Hitler, but they brought with them the germs of the same thinking that brought Hitler to power. Upon their arrival, they took significant positions in our American Universities, spreading their ideology throughout society.

In the Review, July 1, 1993, the question is asked: “How should we warn the world; with billboards, magazine inserts, and books like The Great Controversy?” The article goes on to question whether we should rent billboards, place ads on subway cars in the U.S. capital or buy inserts in secular magazines to openly unveil error or question churches as being false. The question is posed: Shall we mass distribute Ellen White’s book, The Great Controversy, which clearly calls the Roman Catholic Church the dragon-controlled beast of Revelation 13? It is then pointed out that in years past, certain Adventist groups and individuals have tried all of these methods.

I can understand that people who have had their thinking developed along certain lines might have a problem with billboards, but it is shocking, to say the very least, to have the distribution of The Great Controversy questioned.

The article, written by Paul Gordon, had as its basic thrust that, because we live in an ecumenical age when it is not welcome within the Christian community to speak against another church or its doctrines, we must, therefore, have a very careful approach, and he seems to be questioning the mass distribution of The Great Controversy. That which makes this most interesting is the fact that he is the secretary of the Ellen G. White Estate at Silver Springs, Maryland.

I would submit that if we do not understand what holiness—wholeness for God—really is and define our position and our activities solely with reference to a position of wholeness toward God and the Word of God, we will ultimately come to the other side of the great controversy.

God wants not only truth preached, but He wants error exposed so that people can find their way. The question we must consider is, are we going to let our activity be dictated and molded by ecumenical consciousness or will it be dictated and shaped by holiness—wholeness for God—and a complete dependence on His Word? Will we be daily asking, “Lord, what is the message that You want me to preach?”

The generations of Americans who made America great were generations that were founded in Christian concepts. They were founded in concepts of right and wrong, of personal purity and holiness. In our nation, we have a heritage that rests upon the effort of thousands of men of God over a period of centuries seeking after practical holiness. This is particularly true of the Puritan era. It was this seeking after practical holiness that developed the quality of character that led to obedience to God’s law—self-control under God. It was this quality, more than any other, that ultimately gave them the ability to found a great nation on these shores; a nation that promoted liberty and justice for all.

Holiness is fundamental to liberty, for involved in holiness is integrity and justice. These qualities of holiness confirm the soul in its fullness for God, who is the only source of liberty. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” 2 Corinthians 3:17, and that is the only place where liberty truly is. When, however, people forsake the concept of God’s holiness and fail to understand what personal holiness is by experiencing it in their own lives, those people are headed for totalitarianism and slavery.

The demise of these Christian principles has changed the whole face of an entire generation in this nation, and we now have a baby-boomer president, as well as vice-president, with these same kinds of philosophies. We are facing an onslaught of the New Age Movement with its spiritualism that is going to suffocate the exercise of conscience in our nation.

Holiness is the quality that our generation has lost. They wanted to supplant love for holiness, but what happened? They were the love children, the flower children. They had Woodstock, with all types of impurity being practiced. Those of you who have any knowledge of anyone who was involved in that movement know the degradation and impurity of that culture and thinking. And, even the people who were not hippies, per se, were still influenced in their thinking process by this movement.

The destruction of holiness in the baby-boomer, hippie generation has rendered its soul to the machinations of Satan and we see a flood of the occult. Whole sections of bookstores are now devoted to this type of material. Thinking of academia is being shaped by it, as is that of the churches. The eradication of holiness leaves the soul defenseless and open to demonic influence.

What has happened to music is another dimension of what has been taking place in our society, because the impact has been felt in every area of culture and the arts. This generation has abandoned holiness and has opened up its soul to rock music, inspired by demons, and is setting itself up for control under the tyranny of Satan.

The most fundamental attribute of God is His holiness, and this holiness of God is the attribute of God that is most damaged in people’s understanding by the hippie, New Age, occult and spiritualistic philosophy.

When we examine the spiritualistic, love doctrine from the Biblical perspective, we see that the idea of love, love, love, without it being controlled and informed and having its substance in holiness, means being involved in the spiritualistic, spiritual love doctrine of the last days, the most dangerous form of spiritualism.

“He who could appear clothed with the brightness of the heavenly seraphs before Christ in the wilderness of temptation, came to men in the most attractive manner as an angel of light. He appeals to the reason by the presentation of elevation themes; he delights the fancy with enrapturing scenes; and he enlists the affections by his eloquent portrayals of love and charity. He excites the imagination to lofty flights, leading men to take so great pride in their own wisdom that in their hearts they despise the Eternal One. That mighty being who could take the world’s Redeemer to an exceedingly high mountain and bring before Him all the kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them, will present his temptations to men in a manner to pervert the senses of all who are not shielded by divine power.” The Great Controversy, 554

As the people of God enter the end of all things on this earth, they will proclaim the Sabbath more fully. (See Early Writings, 85.) It is for one reason: the Sabbath is a holy day. It is a continual reminder of the call of God “Ye shall be a holy people unto Me, for I the Lord am Holy.” Leviticus 20:26. The Sabbath separates the Sabbath-keeper in holiness because separation from all iniquity is fundamental to holiness.

Sanctification, the experience of true holiness, was hit hard by the new Theology in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The New Theology, form the perspective I witnessed it from in the seminary, made it clear to me that we had a whole generation of preachers coming out who were going to be moving into the structure, who had the concepts of the New Theology and wanted to take over the church from the inside out. This is what has happened.

This change can be traced back not only to the doctrine regarding the nature of Christ, the nature of sin and righteousness by faith, but to the loss of the concept of personal holiness. When the concept of personal wholeness for God is lost, which is one of the most beautiful concepts in all Scripture, sanctification is gone. For the New Theology, sanctification was just good advice but it was not fundamental to salvation. Only justification was necessary for salvation, and that was only forensic, or “legal only” justification. A person did not want to even think about it too hard, lest works would be involved and the works would violate grace and your salvation would be lost.

The concepts of the New Theology, regarding forensic, or legal only justification, came right out of historical criticism, which Ellen White condemns as being the doctrine of Satan himself. Satan taught it, she says, to the people who advocated it. It denies the inspired dimension of the Bible as being the Word of God, placing it on the level of the common and the profane, which is another attack on holiness, because holiness means a separation from the common and the profane.

We are to sit in heavenly places with Christ. We are going to be a separate people. We must be separate even in the way we think. We will have to be separate even in our presuppositions.

Presuppositions are like glasses. When we wear glasses, the whole world looks different. Every person has presuppositions. This generation, particularly of the young children, is being shaped at the prepositional level. You see, Christianity is an exclusive religion. There is only one true God—the Creator. What does Hinduism teach? Many gods. Pantheism teaches that God is in everything, which is a part of the New Age movement. It is these concepts that are shaping children; concepts that dissolve and diffuse the laser sharp focus of true Christianity that there is one God and one Savior, Jesus Christ—something that is regarded as selfish and bigoted today.

Today, Hindu, new eastern toleration has spread through our society, making the idea of an exclusive truth very unpopular, smacking of bigotry. Suggestions that the papacy must be exposed raise fears that this will offend the ecumenical brother.

Have you ever been termed selfish and unloving because you have principles from the Scriptures that guide you along the narrow path of sanctification and holiness? This has been Satan’s charge since the very beginning. The unyielding purity in the life and cleanness, which is involved in and so fundamental to holiness, leading to separation from all impurity, is a fundamental principle that God’s people must have. This is particularly true as they enter into the final conflict.

What did Paul say the gospel is? It is an offense. It is an offense because it cuts across the grain. That is what it means to lift up your cross and follow Christ. It is offensive to the carnal heart.

The Lord has a message to break up the thought patterns, to break people out of the fog—out of the confusion of Babylon, out of the mold they have been molded in—to carve them out. It is the work of the three angels’ messages to carve a people out, to cleave them out of Babylon. It prepares a separate and distinct people. That is why the doctrine of the nature of the church is so important. It all rests upon these concepts of God’s holiness because God’s holiness demands exclusivity for God. Our soul must be solely God’s; the church must be solely God’s; and all of our affections are to be directed to Him.

In our society today, Satan’s counterfeit for this experience of personal holiness is existentialism. Most people in America do not even know these terms. They are not philosophically oriented like the Europeans are. But this concept of existentialism—the philosophy that God is not actively, personally involved directly in human life, that life is basically absurd and meaningless and meaning can only be found in having an experience—has worked its way into the church through the church growth movement. The concept of the caring church in the church-growth movement rests upon the language of existentialism, and a modified form of existentialism. These concepts are well nigh all persuasive through our society.

The charismatic movement, in reality, rests upon this tenant that holiness can be achieved only through the experience of emotional excitement. Christian existentialism leads to the idea that you have to whip yourself up into an emotional excitement, but Ellen White said that holiness is not rapture; it is the entire surrender of the will and the heart and the entire being to God. We are to worship God in the beauty of holiness.

For the true Christian, holiness is the fundamental attribute of God. It is inherent in His being. It is exercised in his relationship with His creation. It is received by righteousness by faith when the soul makes an entire surrender to the Lord, and thus is wholly the Lord’s.

This concept of holiness, when it is accepted by people and the culture, shapes the culture. This is what makes love in marriage and family wonderful; it is guided by holiness. It is the absence of this concept that has so debased the romantic life of the culture that there is no substance left in the relationship, leading to transitory relationships. As people fail to understand the holiness of God, they are unable to partake of His righteousness through faith, therefore, there is no substance to their love. When there is an understanding of the holiness of God, it completely alters the human race.

Holiness is the great Christian defense. Holiness is the characteristic that protects all of the other attributes communicated by God to the soul through faith. It is God’s holiness that moves Him to protect His people, and when His people abandon holiness they abandon His protection. When, however, they are interested in receiving that holiness by faith, the mighty arm of God is moved to act in their defense and all the power of human will throughout six thousand years of earth’s history is as nothing compared to the mighty will of God, which wills His purity, which wills His holiness, and which acts to defend and protect the integrity of the soul in holiness.

This abandonment of holiness is one reason why our generation has no sense of personal identity, leading them to feel as though they are nothing. They go to the psychiatrist and get even more deeply involved in existentialism and all these philosophies of self, self-help and self-esteem. They do not know who they are because they do not understand holiness.
Holiness is what protects the purity and integrity of the person in the wholeness of their surrender to God. To the extent that our generation has forgotten what holiness is, it has no defense against the demonic influences that are assaulting the souls of people throughout all society.

In order for souls to be saved, they must be renewed in holiness. They must be renewed in and partakers of the holiness of God. They must perfect holiness in the fear of God.

There is the enormous power of omnipotence in holiness. Holiness is the great guardian of liberty and purity, for where the presence of God is, there is liberty, and there is stability. As human relationships are breaking down among the people of God, there is to be a drawing together in holiness, a desiring to communicate holiness to other people and establish them in holiness, which is what true love really is.

“holiness of heart and purity of life was the great subject of the teaching of Christ. In His Sermon on the Mount, after specifying what must be done in order to be blessed, and what must not be done, He says, ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ Perfection, holiness, nothing short of this, would give them success in carrying out the principles He had given them.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 445

So, if we would have success in carrying out the principles of the Sermon on the Mount, we must possess holiness by faith in Christ’s righteousness.

“Without this holiness the human heart is selfish, sinful, and vicious. Holiness will lead its possessor to be fruitful and abound in all good works. He will never become weary in well-doing, neither will he look for promotion in this world. He will look forward for promotion to the time when the Majesty of heaven shall exalt the sanctified ones to His throne. Then shall He say unto them: ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ The Lord then enumerates the works of self-denial and mercy, compassion and righteousness, which they had wrought. Holiness of heart will produce right actions. It is the absence of spirituality, of holiness, which leads to unrighteous acts, to envy, hatred, jealousy, evil surmisings, and every hateful and abominable sin.” Ibid.

“’No man receives holiness as a birthright, or as a gift from any other human being. Holiness is the gift of God through Christ.” Our High Calling, 214

The Initial Steps Toward Unity

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The messenger of the Lord to the remnant church has told us explicitly that unless we press together, we will be destroyed in the storm that is coming. See Signs of the Times, October 31, 1900. Unity is not something that is just nice to study about; it has to do with your survival.

“Our only hope of reaching heaven is to be one with Christ.” Upward Look, 141. Therefore, the most important unity that we need to seek is to be one with Jesus. Unless we are one with Christ, we have no chance of being saved. If we are one with Jesus, Ellen White continues, “then, in and through Christ, we shall be one with one another.” Ibid. As we come closer to Christ, we come closer to one another.

The Christian world today is seeking for unity, but they do not know how to find it. One of these days very soon, they will believe they have finally achieved it and that the whole world is in unity. See Maranatha, 209. The whole world is going to think that they are in unity, but their harmony will be with the Antichrist.

Unity is a primary subject of Jesus’ prayer in John 17; how we might be one with him. If I am not in harmony with Jesus on something, who do you think should change his mind? The Bible is crystal clear on this subject. “For I am the Lord I do not change.” Malachi 3:6. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8. What Jesus said when He was here almost 2,000 years ago, is still what He thinks; it is still what He believes; it is still what He is like. He is the same; His character has not varied. So, if I want true unity with Jesus I must study what He is like, as recorded in his word. Then, as we come into unity with Jesus, we will come into unity with each other.

Coming into unity is like a jigsaw puzzle—it has more than one piece and we cannot look at all the pieces at once. Right now, however, we will look at one of the initial pieces, a first step toward coming into unity.

You cannot imitate or emulate someone if you do not know what they are like. Therefore, we want to study to understand what Jesus is like. Though I do not spend a lot of time giving my opinions when preaching, I am going to share one of my personal opinions with you. As I have studied the life of Jesus, it does not appear to me that there are very many Seventh-day Adventists who know what Jesus is really like.

There are many people coming to historic Adventist preachers and saying: “You should not do that, or you should not say that; it is not Christlike.” When I hear that, the first question that comes into my mind is simply this: How do you know that it is not Christlike? I personally believe that there are many Seventh-day Adventists telling us those things who have no idea what Jesus is like.

In Hebrews 1, we see a text that graphically tells us in just a few words, something about what Jesus is like. “But unto the son He saith [This is the Father speaking to the Son and He addresses Him as God—One equal in authority with the Father.] ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness.’” Hebrews 1:8-9. Jesus loves what? Righteousness!

We cannot generate love. Love is a precious gift that we receive from Jesus. See Ministry of Healing, 358. If we are to become like Jesus, coming into unity and harmony with Him, we must learn to love righteousness just as He does.

A few years ago I read a story of a beautiful young lady who experienced an automobile accident. Not having her seat belt on, she was thrown through the windshield of her car. Though she survived, her face was badly disfigured. As a result of her change in appearance, her husband divorced her. He had married a beautiful face and when that face was no longer there, there was nothing to hold the marriage together.

What is called love in the world today is often nothing short of selfishness. There are many people who have been married for years but who have never really loved each other. They have gotten married because of what the other person could do for them, and that is not godly love at all.

It took me a long time to learn that I did not have the ability to generate love of any kind, not even for my wife. But, Jesus’ heart is full of love, and He wants you to have that love. His final request in his last prayer, recorded in John 17, is that He would be in his followers and that this love would be in them.

Jesus loves righteousness, and if we ask him for this precious gift of love, he will give it to us. See Romans 8:32.

What is righteousness? Sometimes the easiest way to explain an idea is to express it in opposite terms. What is unrighteousness? In 1 John 5:17, we are told that all unrighteousness is sin. And, what is sin? “Sin is the transgression of the law.” 1John 3:4. Then what is righteousness? It is being in harmony with the law.

Did you know that there are things Jesus hates? Though there are some people who do not seem to believe this anymore, Hebrews 1:9 (last part) tells us that Jesus not only loves, but that He hates as well. So, if you are really going to be like Jesus Christ, you are not only going to have love in your heart, but you also have hatred there. Notice what it says in Hebrews 1:9 “You have hated lawlessness.” (NKJV)

Another text that also reveals this hatred is Psalm 87:10, “You who love the Lord hate evil.”

Some people think that they should just put up with everything, but Jesus is not like that. Jesus is not like that. Jesus and His father have decided that lawlessness is something that they are going to obliterate because they hate it. If you love Jesus, you will also hate lawlessness, especially when you realize that it was this lawlessness—this sin—that caused Jesus to go to the cross. You cannot love Jesus and something that caused Him to go to the cross. That is why Ellen White tells us that, even though those who teach people to break God’s laws may consider themselves Christians, God considers that they hate Him.

The first angel’s message says to fear God.

What does it mean to fear God? For one thing, it means to hate evil. “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.” Proverbs 8:13. This idea that we can just live a good life, setting a good example, is not enough. If we are really going to be Christlike, we must not only love righteousness, but we must hate lawlessness. We will never achieve Christian unity until we hate lawlessness as much as we love righteousness.

So, what are you to do in a world of evil, among people who profess to follow the Lord, but are not living righteously. The first step that must be taken before we can have Christian unity is that someone is going to have to stand up and attack the evil? It is not enough just to teach the truth; not enough just to set a good example. It is not enough to be loving and kind; you must attack evil. Now we will see the evidence for this from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy.

In about the 1920s, Julius Gilbert White wrote a manuscript called The Alpha and the Omega of Apostasy. In this book he accurately describes a departure from truth that was then taking place in Adventism, and that I have seen during my whole lifetime. The result of this departure from truth is the great apostasy that we see in the church today; the greatest apostasy that has ever been seen in the 6,000 years of this world’s history, except perhaps at the time of the flood.

“Those who reject the apostasy [he is speaking to Adventists] will be severely charged with criticism because they will protest against it. [Have you ever been accused of being too critical?] A great effort has been made for a long time to eliminate ‘criticism.’” The Alpha and the Omega of Apostasy, 57

What is it that he says has been going on for a long time? “A great effort has been made for a long time to eliminate criticism.” Remember now, this was written in the 1920s. This plot of the devil was laid a long time ago.

“It [criticism] has been terribly condemned far and near in sermons, articles, conventions, institutes, camp meetings and conferences. Honest protest has been stifled and suppressed by branding it ‘criticism’ and then condemning it. A distinction must be made between ‘protest and criticism.’ For if not, no voice can be raised against wrong! Pernicious criticism is a wicked thing, and ought to be confessed and forsaken. Criticism of men is that bad. But there is another side to this question of criticism.

“If men have gone so far in criticism that they criticize the work of the Spirit of God and the messages from the Spirit of God and denounce those who are maintaining those messages as having the spirit of the devil, that would come terribly close to being a sin against the Holy Spirit and would call for alarm and utter humiliation and abasement before such men should dare lift up their heads and ask God for the gift of His Holy Spirit in the latter rain.

“This criticism of the work of the Spirit of God is more heinous and disastrous to ourselves and to the work of God than is criticism of men.

“If leaders so criticize the Spirit of Prophecy that men are moved by the Spirit of God to protest against such apostasy, there must be a distinction made between such protest and evil criticism. When men are in the wrong and do not see it and God sends brethren to counsel them and they persist in denouncing such counsel as unjust criticism, they are indeed in a great delusion, and it is most difficult for God to reach them.

“According to Inspiration, there will be various voices in the church from this time forward till after the shaking is over. There will be false reformations that will sweep in thousands; there will be great worldliness and there will be those who ‘sigh and cry’ over the condition of the church as God sees it, and these will reprove and warn and ‘will not hold their peace to obtain the favor of any.’ (See Testimonies, vol. 5,209).” Ibid., 58,59

Ellen White here describes two groups of people. One group of people put a cloak over the existing iniquity, but another group will not hold their peace for anyone. They are going to protest. Now, if you would like to know who is sealed and who is not, you need to read the rest of the chapter.

There have been times in the past when God has sent people to attack evil. Concerning these people, Ellen White says, “They have ever been received with distrust and suspicion.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 261. Anciently, when Elijah was sent with a message from God, the people did not heed the warning. They thought him unnecessarily severe.

Today, someone says, “Do you have to state it so strongly?” Yes, I do, in order to have a clear conscience.

“They [children of Israel] even thought that he must have lost his senses.” What did they think about Elijah? They thought he had gone crazy! Why? “Because he denounced them, the favored people of God, as sinners and their crimes as so aggravated that the judgments of God would awaken against them.” Ibid. (All emphasis supplied.) Many people have never noticed this.

Is there to be an Elijah message to the church just before the end? Do you know what the Elijah message is? It is a lot different than what many people have thought. Very soon the judgements of God are going to fall on apostate Seventh-day Adventists and it is going to be worse than you can imagine. It is necessary to preach a message that will shake people right down to their toes and make them realize that if they do not change their ways they will be in worse trouble than they can imagine.

“Oh,” somebody says, “Pastor John, Jesus would never do anything like that.” Well, did Jesus approve of what Elijah did or not? Who was inspiring Elijah to denounce them? Many people think that anybody that does anything like that is the devil’s instrument, but according to the Spirit of Prophecy, Elijah was the Lord’s instrument. He denounced them because he was Christlike and was filled with the Holy Spirit.

“They abhorred not the sins which had brought them under the chastening rod, but hated the faithful prophet, God’s instrument, to denounce their sins and calamity.” Review and Herald, September 23, 1873

“But,” someone will say, “don’t you realize that we must respect our leaders?” Well, let me tell you, Elijah did not. “The prophet, as God’s messenger, had reproved their sins, and denounced the judgments of God because of their wickedness. Elijah, standing alone in conscious innocence, firm in his integrity, surrounded by the train of armed men, shows no timidity, neither does he show the least reverence to the king. The man whom God has talked with, who has a clear sense of how God regards man in his sinful depravity, has no apology to make to Ahab, nor homage to give him. Elijah, now as God’s messenger, commanded, and Ahab obeyed at once the command, as though Elijah was monarch, and he subject.” Ibid., September 30, 1873

There is a time when a rebuke must be given; and when God’s people are in apostasy, if God’s messengers do not stand up and rebuke it and reprove it, we will lose our own souls.

There was a time in the New Testament when there was perfect unity. It says in Acts 2:1 that they were all of one accord in one place. That is going to happen again. I long for it and want to be part of it, but do you know that that unity which they enjoyed would never have come to pass without the cross and the resurrection? Now the cross and the resurrection would not have done for the disciples what it did if they had not been acquainted with Him first for three years and gotten to know what He was like. But, they would never have gotten acquainted with Jesus and found out what he was like if it had not been for the ministry of John the Baptist. The ministry of John the Baptist was the initial step that finally brought that unity three and a half years later. What we are studying now is one of the initial steps that finally results in unity.

When John the Baptist came, the angel told his father that he would come in the spirit and power of Elijah. So, what did John the Baptist do? “John denounced the corruptions of the Jews, and raised his voice in reproving their prevailing sins.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol.5, 1089.

From time to time, someone will say, “Your preaching is not Christlike because Jesus would speak in a calm, soft voice; He would never raise His voice like you Historic Adventist preachers do.”

But, John the Baptist did not speak in a soft, quiet voice—he raised his voice and shouted it out. “Amid discord and strife, a voice was heard from the wilderness, a voice startling and stern.” Desire of Ages, 104

Stern is another adjective that Ellen White uses quite often in regard to both Elijah and John the Baptist; they were stern in their preaching. When they were stern, were they Christlike or not? Were they filled with the Holy Spirit, or were they filled with another spirit? The Bible says that John the Baptist was full of the Holy Spirit from his mothers womb. “With the spirit and power of Elijah he denounced the national corruption, and rebuked the prevailing sins. His words were plain, pointed, and convincing.” Ibid.

We want to have unity. Who is it in the last days who is going to have unity? Well, let us consider what took place at the first advent of Christ, which is a type of our day, and find out who came into unity then. It was the people who listened to John the Baptist, accepted his rebuke and reproof, reformed their lives and followed Jesus. Three and a half years later they were in a condition of perfect harmony. Do you think there is any parallel between then and our time?

Before Gethsemane, one of the last things Jesus told His disciples was that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will reprove, that is, rebuke. See John 16. If you are receiving the Holy spirit into your life, you will be rebuked; but if you persist in rejecting that rebuke, you will eventually lose the Holy Spirit.

Who is it today that is going to come into unity? Is it those who are fighting the messengers that God has sent to denounce the apostasy and make a call to repentance? Will it be the people who are following the New Theology, who are stepping off the platform of truth, or is it the people who are listening to the messages of rebuke from the Spirit of Prophecy and reforming their lives?

The people who are going to come into unity in Adventism today are the people who allow the Holy Spirit to rebuke them in any way God chooses. It is the Historic Seventh-day Adventists, those who stand on the three angel’s messages and accept all of the Spirit of Prophecy, who believe the fundamental truths that the Lord revealed to our spiritual forefathers. These are the only people who are going to come into unity.

You can trust the One who loved you enough to be nailed to the cross for you, that He will not rebuke you more than you need. This does not mean, however, that you may not need a lot.

Sometimes we meet someone who says, “I know that there are problems and that there is apostasy, but you are never going to get reformation by talking about the problems all time. You should talk more about positive things.”

Listen to this: “They treated the warnings of the Spirit of God as a matter of indifference, as though that voice were human in place of divine. What there was to make any demonstration of on there part they could not see. If they had done wrong, why dwell upon it so much?” Special Testimony to the Battle Creek Church, 1 (published in 1882)

This is what they were thinking in their minds: “Just go on; let it all drop, and say as little about it as possible.” Ibid. Have you ever heard it said; “You are talking about this all the time; you should not talk about it so much. Talk about it as little as possible. Talk about positive things. Teach people how to develop their character and how to have love and how to be patient and kind; don’t be rebuking all the time”? That is what they thought in Battle Creek.

Do you know who Ellen White says would be pleased if they did that? The next sentence tells us. “This is the very thing the enemy of souls wants them to do.” Ibid. It was the devil! The problem, friends, is not going to be solved unless we face the issue straight on and attack it. Evil must be opposed.

Somebody has to attack what is going on today, and it has to be a firm unflinching attack. It must not be some mild little talk; it must be like Elijah, like John the Baptist.

Ellen White says, concerning the rebuke that was given to the children of Israel, “This firmness was essential; in no other way could the existing evils have been rebuked….The messengers of the Lord are never to fear the face of man, but are to stand unflinchingly for the right.” Conflict and Courage, 202

Inspired writings tell us that when Elijah rebuked Israel, he was angry. Yet, he was filled with the Holy Spirit when he was angry. He was also Christlike when he was angry.

“Never seek to cover sin; for in the message of rebuke, Christ is to be proclaimed as the first and the last, He who is all in all to the soul.” Selected Messages, book 1, 380

Friend, are you going to be one of those who come into unity? If you are, you will have to be humble enough to accept rebuke from whomever God chooses to send.

Anytime God sends anyone to reprove the evil, people do not like it and the messengers of reproof are accused of being the cause of the division. Have you ever heard anyone accuse Historic Adventists of being the cause of the division? Elijah was accused of being a troubler of Israel.

“God’s plan for the salvation of men, is perfect in every particular. If we will faithfully perform our allotted parts, all will be well with us. It is man’s apostasy that causes discord, and brings wretchedness and ruin.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 2, 999

So, what is the real cause of the lack of unity in Adventism today? It is not the people who are calling for repentance, but the apostasy that is responsible for the discord; and the only Adventists who will ever have unity again are those who will fight apostasy. Brothers and Sisters, we will never have unity until we are willing to stand up and fight the apostasy.

What is the purpose of rebuke? When we look at the preaching of John the Baptist and the early preaching of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 3 and 4, we see that the burden of both Jesus and John the Baptist was repentance. See Matthew 4:17. The purpose of the rebuke is that we may repent, and it is only when people are willing to repent that they are able to come into perfect unity.

The End

The Valley of Deceitfulness

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I believe that God has a message for his people today, which is found in Isaiah 28. I have deepening conviction that what is here portrayed, is that which we are soon to face.

“Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower which is at the head of the verdant valleys, to those who are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, who will bring them down to the earth with His hand. The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, will be trampled underfoot; and the glorious beauty is a fading flower which is at the head of the verdant valley, like the first fruit before the summer, which an observer sees; he eats it up while it is still in his hand.” Isaiah 28:1-4.

The valley of deceitfulness can look so fair; there can be so many beautiful flowers in it; those in charge of the valley can be so fat with the gifts of God’s professed people; but, friend, the judgment of God hangs over the professed people of God today because we have disregarded the voice of his messenger. We have cast it aside if it called us to reform, and we have obeyed only that which has gone along with our natural inclination. Then, to prove that we are obeying it, we have held up that part of the counsel which goes along with our inclination. It is for this reason the judgement of God hangs over His people today. However beautiful the flowers in the valley of deceitfulness may be, destruction and judgment are coming from the Lord. If God’s people today are to know where they are in the stream of time, they must have the heavenly eye salve.

Many men who once might have given godly counsel to God’s people, today, are no longer fit to give that counsel because they have failed to stand against the prevailing apostasy. They have stood, watching it take place, but they have continued to make strange alliances with the falsehood. Perhaps these men, themselves, are trying to live righteous lives, but this is not enough. If we do not stand up against apostasy, wherever it is manifest, we are no longer fit to be messengers to God’s people.

To illustrate this point, let us draw from the rich, but terrible history, of the conflict between the Waldenses and the papacy. If we do not learn from the mistakes of history, we are destined to repeat them.

Before we look at this history let me share a story with you.

A few years ago, our family visited a Pennsylvania colony called the Ephrata Cloister. Here many years ago there lived a group who kept the seventh day Sabbath. They introduced the seventh day Sabbath to the Baptists. The Baptists who accepted this truth became the Seventh-day Baptists, who in turn, later shared this truth with the Seventh-day Adventist.

I remember the guide showing us into the print room where the old-fashioned press was located. The press had a long handle, which, when pulled down, lowered the plate, leaving an impression on the paper. This process was repeated again and again, all day long. Because the labor was very wearying to the people, the handle became known as the devil’s tail.

The guide explained to us that there were more copies of the Bible printed here than of any other book. But, do you know what book ranked second in the number of copies to be printed? Fox’s Book of Martyrs. It was the second most widely read book in the United States of America. Our forefathers used to read these stories to their children. This reading helped to make us a Protestant nation. Our people knew the history then.

History of Protestantism by Wylie records the history of God’s people during the seventeenth century. It is recorded that in 1655, a decree was made calling for the complete extermination of the Waldenses. Army after army attempted to destroy them, only to meet with failure. After a short time of peace, General Pianeza determined he was going to do that which others had failed to do. As he began his march, the Waldenses became aware of his plans and they sent ambassadors down to the town of Turin to plead with the army to leave them alone.

The governor on Turin stalled the Waldensian representatives, while the papal armies were secretly gathering, hoping to deceive them as to their real intentions. A meeting was arranged with the Waldensian representatives for April 17, 1655. At about two o’clock in the morning, on the day of the meeting, General Pianeza’a army surrounded the city. Three hundred of his army of 15,000 slipped under the city wall and made an attack on Sabbath morning, April 17.

The Waldenses, totally unprepared for the attack, hastily threw up a barricade, which the invading soldiers stormed. So stoutly did the Waldenses resist that after three hours of intense fighting, the papal soldiers, who had been unable to make any advance at all, were driven back.

At one o’clock the next morning, one of General Pianeza’s colonels who knew the territory, sent a flanking recruitment to storm the town from behind. The Waldenses turned about-face, pierced the enemy rank, held the soldiers back and escaped to the mountains. In the whole encounter, which involved much bloody fighting, there were only three Waldensian soldiers killed.

The Vaudois (Waldenses) were once more in the mountains, their families having previously been transported up because of the threat of war. They watched the valley below as their orchards were cut down and their homes burned. On Monday, the nineteenth, and the day that followed, a series of skirmishes took place. The Vaudois, although poorly armed and vastly out numbered, were victorious on every point, causing the popish soldiers to fall back, carrying wondrous tales of the Vaudois’ valor and heroism and infusing panic into the rest of their troops.

Pianeza now began to have misgivings. As he recalled history, he was haunted by the memory of other mighty armies that had perished on these mountains. He determined to resort to deceit. Before daybreak on Wednesday, the twenty-first of April, he announced by the sound of trumpet, his willingness to receive the Vaudois deputies and treat for peace. Delegates set out for his camp headquarters and, on arrival, were treated with utmost courtesy and sumptuously entertained. Pianeza expressed the utmost regret for the excesses committed by his soldiers, which he assured them had been done contrary to orders. He protested that he had only come into their valleys to track a few fugitives who had disobeyed Gastaldo’s order. He said that the higher communes had nothing to fear, but that if each would admit a single regiment for a few days, in token of their loyalty, all war would be amicably ended. Despite the warnings of the more discerning pastors, especially pastor Leger, Pianeza was able to convince the Vaudois of his sincerity and accomplished by craft that which he had been unable to do by open warfare. The Waldenses opened the passes to their valleys and the doors of their dwellings to the soldiers of Pianeza.

The first two days were passed in comparative peace—the soldiers eating at the same table, sleeping under the same roof and conversing freely with their destined victims. This interval was needed to allow for every preparation to be made for what was to follow. The enemy now occupied the towns, the villages, the cottages, and the roads throughout the valleys.

At last the blow fell with the sudden crash of a thunderbolt. At four o’clock on the morning of Sabbath, April 24, 1655, the signal was given and in an instant a thousand assassins began the work of death. In a moment dismay, horror, agony, and woe overspread the Valleys of Lucerna and Angrogna. The cries and groans of the dying were echoed and reechoed from the rocks around. It seemed as if the mountains had taken up a wailing for the slaughter of their children. “Our Valley of Lucerna,” exclaimed pastor Leger, “which was like a Goshen, was now converted into a Mount Etna, darting forth cinders and fire and flames. The earth resembled a furnace, and the air was filled with a darkness like that of Egypt, which might be felt, from the smoke of towns, villages, temples, mansions, granges, and buildings, all burning in the flames of the Vatican.” History of Protestantism, 484.

The soldiers were not content with the quick dispatch of the sword; they invented new and hitherto unheard-of modes of torture and death. No man to this day dare write in plain words all the disgusting and horrible deeds of these men; their wickedness can never be all known because it never can be all told.

Uncontrollable grief seized the hearts of the survivors at the sight of their brethren slain, their country devastated and their church overthrown. “Oh that my head were waters,” exclaimed Leger, “and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow.” Ibid., 485

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own consciences seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” 1 Timothy 4:1-3

Let us look carefully at verse two: “Speaking lies and hypocrisy.” If you allow the first part of this verse, “speaking lies and hypocrisy,” to lodge in your heart, the second half of the verse is the result, “speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” Your conscience is seared by your speaking lies and by hypocrisy. If the lies start living in our heart and we start acting out these lies, we are preparing our conscience to be “seared by a hot iron” so that we have no conscience left.

Let us consider the fact that, in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, ministers are being trained in imaging, a form of mind control that is basic in the spiritual exercises of Ignatius Loyola. In this story we have seen the end result of training a priesthood to have a dead conscience. These men are now teaching these exercises to their congregations. We can already see the first fruits of the persecution through the disbanding and disfellowshipping taking place, but these persecutions will not be the last fruits.

What the Vaudois had power and valor to do in open confrontation, they were unable to do when they gave in to deceit. The deceit cloaked the murder in the wicked ones’ hearts. In Proverbs 12:5 we read: “The counsels of the wicked are deceitful.”

Friends, what do you think all these committee meetings concerning the independent ministries are really about? Do not be fooled; the devil knows that what he cannot do through open confrontation, he can often accomplish through the deceitfulness of pretended friendship. If you accept the proposals of such, it will be as fatal to your salvation and that of your family as was the Waldenses’ accepting of their murderers into their homes.

The devil has studied history; he knows what tricks will work. We would be extremely naive to believe that he will not use them on us. He is seeking to do through peace and unity what he has been unable to do by force.

“When God’s people voluntarily unite with the worldly and the unconsecrated, and give them the preeminence, they will be led away from Him by the unsanctified influence under which they have placed themselves. For a short time there may be nothing seriously objectionable; but minds that have not been brought under the control of the Spirit of God will not take readily to those things which savor of truth and righteousness. If they had heretofore any relish for spiritual things they would have placed themselves in the ranks of Jesus Christ. The two classes are controlled by different masters and are opposites in their purposes, hopes, tastes, and desires.” Counsels to Teachers, 542

This is the reason that the issue of who and what is the church is a salvational issue; one you must understand. If you are confused on this issue and you believe that there is a set of men which you need to go counsel with (regardless of their betrayal of sacred trust in upholding wickedness in others), you will lose your soul. In His instruction to His disciples, Jesus warned them to beware of men. “They were not to put implicit confidence in those who knew not God, and open to them their counsels; for this would give Satan’s agents an advantage. Man’s inventions often counterwork God’s plans. Those who build the temple of the Lord, are to build according to the pattern shown in the mount–the divine similitude. God is dishonored and the gospel is betrayed when His servants depend on the counsel of men who are not under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Worldly wisdom is foolishness with God. Those who rely upon it, will surely err.” Desire of Ages, 354

Do not go to the Pharisees and the Sadducees and try to unite with them in an evangelistic endeavor or some other seemingly worthy project. Do not get up in front of church and try to speak words that will please both the children of darkness and the children of light.

“‘The kingdom of God cometh not with outward show.’ The gospel of the grace of God, with its spirit of self-abnegation, can never be in harmony with the spirit of the world. The two principles are antagonistic.” Review and Herald, January 18, 1906. (All emphasis supplied.) What does it mean when it says never? Never! When those who were professing truth, but were not bringing forth its fruits in their life, came to John the Baptist, he refused to baptize them. In fact, he called them vipers, or deadly snakes.

Before the cobra strikes, it hypnotizes its victim. In the same manner, the Waldenses were first lulled to sleep with a treaty of peace. Then, when they least expected it, the deathblow was struck.

It says of John the Baptist’s harsh denunciation of religious leaders of his day: “This sect [the Sadducees] was largely composed of unworthy characters, many of whom were licentious in their habits. By the word ‘vipers’ John meant those who were malignant and antagonistic, bitterly opposed to the expressed will of God.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1077

Is malignant a safe situation to be in? It is deadly! Though they were the leaders of God’s professed church, it was not safe to follow them. Can we see the importance of the issue who and what is the church?

The devil is striving to lull the whole world into a fatal sleep from which they will not awaken until it is too late. I am so thankful that there are some people who are standing up and warning the people before they are struck by the poisonous snake.

“Those who have the mind of Christ will let the light shine forth to the world in good works, but that light will bring about a division. Shall the light therefore be hid under a bed or under a bushel, because it will mark a distinction between the followers of Christ and the world? It must be apparent that the believers in the truth are antagonistic to the serpent and to his seed.” Signs of the Times, April 9, 1894

The fear of being branded as “uncooperative” or ” uncharitable” leads many to join work with those they have no confidence in, and become involved in activities about which they have grave reservation. We must, brothers and sisters, stand up against the apostasy and not be content to remain in the shadows, mingling on the fringes. There are vipers in the camp today. With sublety and deceit they will seek to deceive you. Do not listen to their talk of peace.

“The words of Jesus addressed to this generation may well be regarded with sorrow and awe. He asks, ‘When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?’ Christ looked down the ages, and with prophetic eye marked the conflict between the antagonistic principles of truth and error. He saw how real Christianity would become almost extinct in the world, so that at His second advent He would find a state of society similar to that which existed before the flood. The world will be engaged in festivity and amusement, in theatrical show, in the indulgence of base passion. Intemperance of every grade would exist, and even the churches would be demoralized, and the Bible would be neglected and desecrated. He saw that the desperate revelries of the last days would only be interrupted by the judgments of God.” Signs of the Times, April, 21, 1890

Judgments are coming. Do not try to secure peace by your silence. Regardless of the motive, beware of entering into any kind of agreement for peace with the children of darkness. You will be taking a step toward Babylon. “Peace is too dearly obtained if purchased by the smallest concession to Satan’s agencies.” Signs of the Times, November 8, 1899

“The opposition of the children of disobedience is excited by a Christianity that is spiritual….That peace and harmony which are secured by mutual concessions to avoid all differences of opinion are not worthy of the name.” Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 1, 244

“We are to make no concessions to the enemy. [What is a concession? Giving in.] We are not to change one principle of the truth that we have received from God. We cannot hold converse with those who are in league with evil angels. Christ never purchased peace by compromise.” Notebook Leaflets, 124

Friend, no one should feel that he is so strong that he is safe to enter into discussions with people who are in league with evil angels in order to keep peace. None of us are safe from deception. Our only safety is in being kept by holy angels. If, however, we go where the Lord has not bidden us go, we forfeit their protection.

Do not think you are doing a soul winning endeavor when you join in peace talks with ministers who are not speaking up against the apostasy. You are preparing to be destroyed. God did not protect the Waldenses when they entered into an unauthorized treaty with the powers of darkness. Do you believe He will deal differently with us today?

If we do not learn the lessons of history, we are insuring that we will share the bitter results of the same mistakes.

Those who are teaching NLP and practicing it on our people are wicked men; and those who hold these men’s hands in quietness are partakers of their sins. The Word of God says, “Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower which is at the head of the verdant valleys, to those who are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.” Isaiah 28:1-4

The judgments of God are far bigger than any of us. Our only safety when the storm breaks is to be found under the sheltering hand of God. There is no other safety.

“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11

Everyone in this world is either going to have a new heart, a heart of truth and righteousness, or they will enter into a league with Satan’s angels and be deceived by a strong delusion. Which is it going to be for you?

The End

A Better Sacrifice

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The apostle Paul had a far better education than the other apostles, other than what Jesus gave to him. The apostles had three and a half years with Jesus, but they did not have anything like the apostle Paul’s knowledge of the Scriptures and of the history of Israel. The three and a half years that the apostles had with Jesus could be compared to the two years in which Ellen White tells us that Paul was personally instructed by Jesus in the desert of Arabia before he set out upon his ministry. The instruction by Jesus, added to the background of information that Paul had, gave him an advantage.

He understood some things more quickly and more fully than the other apostles, for example: the difference between the two laws, the moral law and the ceremonial law. I did a little exercise once that was an eye opener to myself. I isolated every New Testament witness from Jesus, John the Baptist, then all the New Testament writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul and so on. I put to each writer, as it were, the question: What do you have to say about the two laws? From every single one, except the apostle Paul, the answer was absolute silence. If you did not have the writings of the apostle Paul in the New Testament, you would have no way of knowing that the ceremonial law is passed away. He is the only one who ever mentioned it.

A possible exception is in Acts 15:10. Peter made a statement which could be understood to mean that the ceremonial law was passed away. “Why tempt ye God, to put a yoke on the neck of the disciples, which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear.” We presume that he was talking about the ceremonial law as misinterpreted by the priesthood of his time, which was indeed a yoke, very, very difficult to bear.

The apostle Paul understood clearly how the doors of the church were to be opened to the Gentiles. Paul tells us in the first two chapters of Galatians how Peter was having a little trouble with that concept, even though he had been involved in God’s instruction on the matter. If you go to Romans 10 and 11, you see how Paul reaches into his knowledge of the writings of Isaiah to show that this was right and proper and was entirely in harmony with God’s great plan of salvation.

There is one more thing that the apostle Paul understood better than the other apostles—the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the temple. “Now,” you may say, “all the disciples knew that. They were talking to Jesus about it on the Mount of Olives when Jesus said that ‘there will not be left one stone upon another.’” Yes, they understood that, but they thought it was going to be at the second coming of Christ. I do not think that Paul made that mistake. And here I am not just relying on my own thinking, I am borrowing a thought from Elder M.L. Andreason. Some of you older folks may remember Elder Andreason. He was one of the finest Bible scholars we ever had in our church—a very great and good man. He believed that the apostle Paul wrote the book of Hebrews because he knew that the temple was going to be destroyed and he knew what an awful shock that would be to the Jewish Christians. The Jewish people, even though they became Christians, loved that temple. It was to them the symbol of Israel. Paul realized that they needed some help, otherwise they would become confused and disheartened and perhaps even discouraged when that temple was torn down, which was to be only a short while ahead. Se he set out to show, in the book of Hebrews, that we have something better.

I believe the word better is the key word in the book of Hebrews. In this book you find the words better, higher, more excellent, and more perfect.

In the first chapter of Hebrews, Paul begins by arguing that Christ is better than the angels. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels.” Hebrews 1:1-4. He quotes from Psalm 110:5, and says, to what angel did the Lord ever talk like that, like he talked to His Son? In Hebrews 1:6, you see that “all the angels of God worship Him.” In verse seven and in verse 13, quoting again from Psalm 110, he makes a reference to the angels. To what angel did He ever say, “Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool”?

In chapter 3, Paul goes on to argue that Christ is better than Moses. He compares Moses to the one who is faithful in the house, but he says that Christ is the Son of the Builder of the house. And that puts him higher than Moses.

In chapter 5, verses 4 and 5 and onward, he argues that Christ is better than Abraham. He says that because Abraham paid tithe to Melchisedec and Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchisedec, Jesus is better than Abraham. Then as a sub-point, he says, the Levites descended from Abraham, so Jesus is better than the Levites. In Hebrews 5:4,5 Jesus is better than Aaron. Then in Hebrews 7:19, “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” “By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.” Verse 22. Then, in Hebrews 8:1, he considers the sanctuary and says that we have a better sanctuary, one that is made without hands, in the kingdom of God. He goes on to say we have a better High Priest. Look especially at Hebrews 8:6, “But now hath he obtained a more excellent [better] ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” So it is better, better, better all the way through.

Now, let us look back over this for just a moment. Jesus is better than the angels. Jesus is better than Moses. Jesus is better than Aaron and the Levites. Jesus is better than Abraham. We have a better hope. We have a better testament. We have a better sanctuary. We have a more excellent ministry, a better covenant and better promises. And then he settles in on the point, a better Sacrifice. Look back to Hebrews 7:26,27, “For such an high Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins, and then for the people’s: for this He did once, when He offered up Himself.” He is going to pick up this thought and enlarge on it in about fifteen more verses, which we want to notice. The sacrifice is better because it only had to be made once.

In Hebrews 9:23,24, Paul is talking about the dedication of the earthly as compared to the dedication of the heavenly tabernacle. “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens [those are the earthly things, of course] should be purified with these [that is, with the blood of calves and goats and so forth]; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. [When you meet someone who says, “What are you talking about, ‘cleanse the heavenly sanctuary’? How could anything defile the heavenly sanctuary?” you just show them Hebrews 9:23.] For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Hebrews 9:24.

Take your pencil in your hand and be prepared to do a little marking. We are going to show you the words once in contrast with the word often. I would like to suggest that you circle the word once and underline the words that mean repeated, frequent or often. Beginning with Hebrews 9:25-10:3; “Nor yet that he should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; for then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? [They would not make sacrifices again if the first sacrifice was fully adequate, fully complete.] because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.” [Verses 4-9 are parenthetical. We are going to skip those.] Let us read verses 10-14: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.”

What is Paul trying to prove? He is trying to prove that you do not compare the sacrifice of Christ with the sacrifice of an animal, except in a symbolic sense. The animal sacrifices made on earth were right; they were good, but they cannot be compared with the sacrifice of Christ, which only had to be made once. The reason it only had to be made once is that it was fully adequate; it was not weak or faulty in any way; it was absolutely perfect and complete. We need to take note of this and notice how carefully our beloved messenger to the remnant, Ellen White, followed the thinking and the writings of the apostles, especially of the apostle Paul, because she writes about the sacrifice of Christ in the very same way that Paul did. Unfortunately, this has not always been understood correctly by her readers.

I want to show you something that may surprise some of you if you have not had occasion to study into this. The writer of the book Seventh-day Adventists Believe, religiously followed the language of Ellen White. Let us settle something in our minds before we go any further. Ellen White wrote in Selected Messages, book 1, 20: “Different meanings are expressed by the same word; there is not one word for each distinct idea.” Would you consider for a moment the word fast. If a horse can run with speed, he is fast. If you tie him to the tree so he cannot run at all, he is fast to the tree. If you go without food, that is a fast. If a woman has loose morals, she is fast. Just think of all the different ways the word fast is used. Take, for example the word gamble. This is one of the most frequent little tricks that you will hear some people use, and it is strictly a trick. You are talking about the gambling dens in Las Vegas, shall we say, and a person says to you, “Do you gamble?” Gamble is being defined as the playing of a game of chance. You say, “No, I do not gamble.” He switches definitions and says, “You gamble every time you cross the street.” Now gamble is being defined as the acceptance of an unavoidable risk. That is quite different from playing a game of chance. You see that kind of thing in the writings of people who are either careless or deceitful; I do not know which. We will leave that to the Lord. But to switch definitions of a word in the middle of a discussion without telling the reader that you are changing your definitions, creates confusion.

Now Seventh-day Adventists should not have any trouble with the idea that people in different groups use the same words with different meanings, because their heads are filled with Adventist jargon. (Jargon is what the English teachers call this sort of thing.) For example: What does “the work” mean to you? You know what it means—taking the third angel’s message to all the world; that is “the work.” Now, if you walk up to an Episcopalian minister and ask him what “the work” means, will he tell you that it is taking the third angel’s message to all the world? I do not think so. “Are you going to have a part in the loud cry?” You ask someone who is not an Adventist that question and see what kind of a look they give you. The finishing of the message, the loud cry, the work, the truth, to take stand for the truth, the Spirit of Prophecy, to have an effort—these are examples of Adventist language. “Brother so and so had an effort down in a certain city.” You tell some non-Adventist that and see what kind of a blank look you get. We Seventh-day Adventists have a lot of words that we use with our own definitions.

Now, Ellen White uses certain words that Calvinists use, but she does not use them with Calvinistic definitions. Get that clear before we start. She is not using these words with Calvinistic definitions; she is using them with Pauline definitions (The definitions given by the apostle Paul.) For example, here are eleven references in which Ellen White uses the word atonement and puts with it the word made:

“He bore the curse of the law for the sinner, made an atonement for him.” God’s Amazing Grace, 117

“He has made an atonement for us.” In Heavenly Places, 71

“Christ has made an atonement for the sins of the world.” Lift Him Up, 245

“Christ has made an atonement for you.” Medical Ministry, 44

“But Christ has made atonement for every sinner.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1178

“Jesus has made atonement for all sins of ignorance.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1145

“He made an atonement for every repenting, believing soul.” That I May Know Him, 100

“The Saviour made an atonement for the fallen race.” Signs of the Times, Dec. 17, 1902

Look carefully at this one. This combines making and made:

“He has withdrawn from human sight into the immediate presence of God. There he is making intercession for those who by faith come to God. He presents them to the Father, saying, ‘By the marks of the nails in My hands, I claim pardon for them. I have made an atonement for them.’” Signs of the Times, December 30, 1903

He makes atonement by pointing to the cross saying, “I have done it. I have made it.” He does not shed his blood again before the Father’s throne.

“Jesus…made an atonement for us.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, 81

“He has made an atonement for sin.” Battle Creek Letters, 56

Now some examples for the words full atonement still using a Pauline definition.

“Christ made a full atonement.” Lift Him Up, 345

“How full the atonement of the Savior for our guilt! [Notice the language.] The Redeemer, with a heart of unalterable love, still pleads [not sheds] His sacred blood in the sinner’s behalf.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 124

“The precious blood of Christ was of such value that a full atonement was made for the guilty soul, and this was to Paul his ‘glory.’” Signs of the Times, November 24, 1890

In the next quote, Ellen White is talking about the soldiers outside the tomb of Christ and how they could not face the heavenly messenger sent to relieve the Son of God from the debt of sin for which He had become responsible:

“And for which He had now made a full atonement.” Youth’s Instructor, May 2, 1901

The word complete.

“God has accepted the offering of His Son as a complete atonement for the sins of the world.” The Faith I Live By, 91

“In the wisdom of God it was complete [the sacrifice of Christ].” Signs of the Times, December 30, 1889

“In every part His sacrifice was perfect; for He could make a complete atonement for sin.” The Youth’s Instructor, June 14, 1900

“We are to rejoice that the atonement is complete; Christ is our complete Saviour.” Review and Herald, November 11, 1890

“His atonement was complete in every part.” Signs of the Times, July 31, 1901

She is talking about quality, you see. “He made a complete sacrifice to God.” Faith I Live By, 50

Please notice carefully the language in the following quotation:

“He [Christ] planted the cross between heaven and earth, and when the Father beheld the sacrifice of His Son, He [the Father] bowed before it in recognition of its perfection. ‘It is enough,’ He said. ‘The atonement is complete.’” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7A, 459

These quotations are talking about quality. The sacrifice is absolutely faultless. It is total; it is complete. Nothing more needs to be added to that sacrifice.

The word perfect.

“A perfect atonement was made.” Lift Him Up, 319

“Then a perfect atonement was made.” That I May Know Him, 73

Then we have the words making an atonement. This is the present tense, now.

“Now, while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ.” Great Controversy, 623

“And now, while the precious Saviour is making an atonement for us.” Maranatha, 275

Ellen White applies the words made atonement, full atonement, complete atonement, finished atonement and perfect atonement to the sacrifice, but there is one word that she never applies to the sacrifice, that is the word final.We have references of this type:

“So in the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment.” Great Controversy, 480

“The blood of Christ, while it is to release the repentant sinner from the condemnation of the law, was not to cancel the sin; it was to stand on record in the sanctuary until the final atonement.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 357

“His work as High Priest completes the divine plan of redemption by making atonement for sin.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 10, 157

“As the priests in the earthly sanctuary entered the Most Holy once a year to cleanse the sanctuary, Jesus entered the Most Holy of the heavenly, at the end of the 2300 days of Daniel 8, in 1844, to make a final atonement for all who could be benefited by His mediation, and to cleanse the sanctuary.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1, 161

Ellen White uses this language, but not with Calvinistic definitions. She is using Pauline definitions (definitions that she gathers from the apostle Paul), and she uses all of these words made atonement, full atonement, complete atonement, finished atonement and perfect atonement referring to the perfection of the sacrifice. Then she turns her attention to the priesthood and talks about the final atonement being made now, which, again, is strictly following Scripture.

If you turn to the book of Leviticus and read the first fifteen chapters, you will find there, eighteen descriptions of a person coming to the sanctuary with a sacrifice; in every one of those eighteen cases, it says the atonement is made. Then turn to chapter sixteen and you will find five statements that on the great Day of Atonement the high priest makes atonement for those very same people who brought their sacrifice every day throughout the year, and had atonement made for themselves. So, there is perfect Biblical background for describing what Jesus is doing now in the courts of heaven as “making an atonement.”

The apostle Paul was afraid that the people were fastening their faith to a building. What happens to your faith if the building is destroyed? What is the lesson for us?

  • Do not fasten your faith to any building, any number of buildings or any worldwide aggregate of buildings. They may be swept away.
  • Do no fasten your faith to a priesthood that may be swept away—a ministry, we would say, that may be swept away. If all of the ministers were gone, would that do anything to Jesus Christ? He is still there. Do not fasten your faith to a ministry that might be swept away.
  • Do not fasten your faith to a church organization that might be swept away. I did not say will be swept away; I said might be swept away. I do not know, but I am prepared for anything now, as I see what is happening in the organization.
  • Fasten your faith to Jesus Christ. He is better than all of these things.
  • Fasten your faith to His Word and to His counsels, the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. You can sweep away the buildings; you can sweep away the organization; but you still have the Word of God.
  • Fasten your faith to His promise that where two or three are gathered together, He will be present there; and that is the church. That is the highest, purest and best definition of the church.

The End

Sermon on the Mount Series – Right Seems Strange

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Some people are persecuted because of their wrong-doing and others, because they have stirred up resentment and opposition by their extreme or rigid ideas. However, others are persecuted because they have done what is right, which sounds strange.

In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He said, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10 KJV). Before saying this, Jesus described the development of Christian character and then what would develop in the world and the attitude toward those who acquired this Christian character. Indeed, it is a strange reception that is accorded them.

When you first read the gospel story you might think that it would seem that such a character as Jesus had described—a person who is gentle, loves righteousness, is merciful, is pure in heart and who is a peacemaker—would be welcomed everywhere and that they would be congratulated on who they are. But Jesus said that it would be just the opposite. He declared that if you progressed up this beatitude ladder of spiritual growth, it would lead to opposition and persecution, that a genuine Christian character would stir up enmity and hatred on the part of other people in the world that did not have these virtues.

The Bible gives plentiful record that such is the case. Notice what the apostle Peter said about it in I Peter 5:8, 9: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

Jesus predicted that the development of a genuine Christian character would lead up to enmity, hatred and persecution. The character development produced by the experience of a person who has followed these first seven beatitudes arouses the enemy of all righteousness and He begins to persecute. He is especially incensed when those who climb this ladder that Jesus has described reach the blessed realm of purity of heart, with a vision of God so that they are qualified to become peacemakers to other alienated and troubled souls. This makes the prince of strife and confusion furiously angry with these ambassadors of peace and he makes war upon them. His fiercest anger and his most relentless persecutions will be manifested against the remnant; that is, the last of the church that exists just before Christ returns.

In Revelation 12:12 it says, “… rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest (or the remnant) of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (verse 17).

The apostle Peter says in I Peter 1:1 that the reason genuine Christians are persecuted is because they are strangers and pilgrims in the earth. Notice what the apostle Paul said in Hebrews 11:13 describing the faithful people of God in past ages: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” They are living in a land which Satan, the great adversary, claims as his and over which he claims to be the prince and ruler. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 the devil is called the god of this world. His enemies are those who have renounced allegiance to him and his kingdom. His subjects are those who sin. “He who sins is of the devil” (I John 3:8, first part) for the devil has sinned from the beginning.

On this account, “… the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (verse 8, last part). Sin is breaking God’s law (I John 3:4). As long as you live in sin, the devil will give you comparative rest because you are part of his kingdom. But when you choose to renounce the kingdom of Satan, follow Jesus Christ, and become obedient to the laws of heaven, forsaking your life of sin, you become his enemy. He is angry because he has lost you as one of his subjects.

When you transfer your citizenship to heaven by choosing to follow Jesus Christ and acknowledge Him as your Lord and Saviour, it will result in being subjected to his satanic wrath and persecution from which no real Christian can escape. Jesus said to His disciples, “… in the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). He also said, “… the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20 KJV).

The persecution that Jesus foretold was not limited to only the disciples to whom He was speaking. Neither was it limited to the Christians of the 1st century or to any certain time period. Rather, notice what the apostle Paul says about it in 2 Timothy 3:12: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Just as Christ loves righteousness and hates lawlessness (Hebrews 1:9), Satan loves lawlessness and hates righteousness. In this rebellious world in which we live, vital holiness will provoke hatred and opposition, because holiness is a disturbing element. The light of truth always exposes the darkness of error. It sweeps away the black mantel that covers the sins of the ungodly and it makes manifest the necessity of a change, the need for a reform. This revelation may be welcomed by some, but it is resented by those who cling to their sins and do not want to change.

The apostle John wrote, “He who believes in Him (Christ) is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:18–20). That is the very same problem the Christian has faced in all ages, the same problem that Jesus Himself faced. Those that are not willing to forsake their lawless deeds begin to war against the truth and its advocates. So, hatred against truth and godliness is manifested by persecuting those that possess these things and are sanctified by the truth.

Now a question could be asked, If what Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:12 is true—that all who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution—why is there comparatively little persecution in Christendom in the western world at the present time? This lack of persecution is especially true in the western world.

In the time of the apostles, the church of God suffered persecution, as recorded in the book of Acts and also in the epistles of Paul. Some of the epistles of Paul were actually written from a Roman prison. After the time of the apostles in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, there was persecution of the Christians by the pagan Roman Empire that lasted for 200 years or more.

Again, during that long period of history often called the Dark Ages, persecution raised its ugly head and millions of Christians were martyred in many parts of the world. Again, in the period of the Reformation of the 16th century, and again during the revivals in the time of John Wesley, there was persecution of the church. Persecution has appeared whenever there has been a revival of primitive godliness. The reason that there is so little persecution in the modern church today is because vital godliness is lacking.

Speaking to the church that would live in the last epochal period of Christian history Jesus says, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:15–20).

Notice what has happened. The church has compromised with the world and become lukewarm, conforming to worldly standards. Because there is so little vital godliness in the church, Christianity has become popular with the world and it awakens no opposition. A church that has lost its first love, so that it is lukewarm in its affection for both God and man, could hardly be expected to arouse the hatred of the enemy. He is so very well satisfied with the present spiritual condition of the church because he knows that few of its members have climbed the beatitude ladder.

Whenever there is a stir in the church and there is a development of primitive godliness, there will be a stir in the camp of the enemy. Let there be a revival of the faith and power of the apostolic church and there will be a revival of persecution. The enemy will become aroused as soon as the church begins to awake from its slumbering condition. But, of course, we must always remember, Jesus said, “Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” We are not talking about people that are persecuted because of their wrong-doing, because of the natural consequence of their own course of conduct. There are many today who think of themselves as martyrs. They are anxious for persecution, and they follow a course that brings persecution upon themselves. They are not happy unless they are creating resentment and stirring up opposition. This is especially true of certain extremists and fanatics. But that is not the persecution Jesus is talking about. He is talking about the persecution that results from a person being personally righteous.

Jesus declared when He was here that He was rejected and persecuted because He was not of the world and therefore different from the world. His godly life was a rebuke to sinners and it made them angry. They hated and persecuted Him because He was righteous and it exposed their unrighteousness. He was insulted, maligned, reproached, and finally murdered, not because they could find any evil in Him, but because they could not. In fact, at His trial, you recall, Pontius Pilate said three times that he found no fault in Him at all (John 18:38; 19:4, 6).

Jesus was crucified, not because they could find something wrong with Him, but because they could not. And Jesus said that His followers would receive the same treatment for the same reasons. Being like Christ they would be different from the world, and somehow, difference always awakens opposition. The genuine Christian, his very presence, his very life, is a reproof, a rebuke, to those who are selfish, to those who are proud, and they feel uncomfortable. An unselfish life offends them and arouses in them enmity and resentment. This last beatitude is the only one that Jesus enlarges upon. He emphasizes its importance with this statement in Matthew 5:11, 12 KJV: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

In these verses, Jesus explains what He means by persecution for righteousness’ sake. He enumerates some of the forms in which the persecution would come—reviling, saying evil against you—and He emphasizes the greatness of the reward. Sometimes when somebody is persecuted, we might be inclined to pity them or to sympathize with them, going through persecution. We might be inclined to pity ourselves if we are being persecuted and ill-treated by others, but Jesus offers His congratulations to those that are persecuted. He declares that “those that are persecuted for righteousness sake” should rejoice. This is true, first of all, because it is an evidence that we actually are the children of God, and we have become, thereby, a menace to Satan and his kingdom. The enemy never persecutes the lukewarm and the ungodly, but he tries rather to afflict those that live godly in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12).

So, persecution is an evidence that the person being persecuted is climbing up the ladder of spiritual growth, that he is traveling the highway of holiness that leads to the Holy City, the celestial city of God. And Jesus assures us, if we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, that we have the kingdom of heaven, and that we can rejoice. Not only that, but He also tells us that there is another reason we can rejoice and that is because of the good company we are in. Jesus said, those that went before you, the prophets, they were persecuted as well (Matthew 5:12). The brunt of Satan’s attack has always been against God’s spokesmen, against His prophets.

Many of the prophets suffered martyrdom and all of them were opposed and persecuted because they were holy men of God acting as His spokesmen (2 Peter 1:19–21). It was the fate of prophets and sages to be rejected. The reason, of course, is because the world will not bear rebukes. When we study the life of the apostles, we find that all except one of the eleven apostles died for their faith, and that one suffered banishment to the isle of Patmos.

Many millions of Christians were persecuted and martyred during the pagan Roman persecutions. And many millions more, during what we call the Middle Ages or the Dark Ages. So, Jesus said, if you are persecuted, remember that you are in the company of the best people that have ever lived. To join the company of the persecuted, therefore, is cause not for sorrow, but for rejoicing. Another cause for rejoicing is that persecution is one of the best of all purifiers and developer of character.

When we study Christian history, we find over and over again that the church has always been in its purest and most godly state while passing through persecution, and therefore at such times the church had its greatest power. Why? Because godliness awakens opposition and Christian character develops faster and becomes more vigorous under the strain, under the opposition of being persecuted. Because godliness always precedes the persecution and the persecution then performs an important part of burning out the dross and perfecting Christian character, the two blend together. Persecution increases with the increase of godliness and vice versa. If you want to be ready to meet Jesus Christ when He returns to this world, you must be willing to follow Him through evil report as well as good report.

The book of Revelation describes those who live in the final generation and are ready to meet Jesus before He comes. In Revelation 7:13, as John provided details of a vision, he wrote, “Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, ‘Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?’ ” John answers, “Sir, you know” (verse 14, first part). The elder tells him: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (verse 14, last part).

If you want to be ready to meet Jesus when He returns, you must be ready, by His grace, to go through the great tribulation. The Bible is very clear that before Jesus comes again, there will be a time of trouble in this world such as has never been since there was a nation (Daniel 12:1). We are rapidly approaching that time. Now is the time for you and for me to prepare to go through it and to be ready to meet the Lord when He returns.

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

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

Drinking the Cup of Trembling

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We live in a moral universe, a society where there is right and wrong and if a wrong has been committed, a price has to be paid. Without morality there is no equity. The principle of morality is that there is a reward for right-doing and punishment for wrong-doing. God could not remain just and forgive a sinner if the price was not paid for the sin. For this reason, Jesus had to go to the cross and pay the penalty for man’s sin. This principle of equity or morality runs through the whole universe and is present in every time period of earth’s history. This is also true for any group of people, for a church, a family, or for an individual. Many people today are very lackadaisical believing by simply confessing the sin, it will all be erased, forgetting the consequences that have to be dealt with.

David committed a terrible sin when he took Bathsheba in adultery and then attempted to cover it up by having Uriah the Hittite killed. When confronted by Nathan the prophet, he confessed his sin. We know he was forgiven and will be in the kingdom of heaven, but there were temporal consequences to pay for his sin that are still felt today. 2 Samuel 12:10–12 states: “Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ” Remember, David had passed judgment on himself in 2 Samuel 12:5, 6: “… David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.’ ”

The judgment took effect and he did pay four-fold. David killed one person, Uriah, and the Bible record says that he lost four sons as a result of his sin. The son of Bathsheba died and before David’s life was over he lost three other sons, Adonijah, Absalom, and Amnon.

There are consequences to sin. Young people are especially tempted of the devil to think they can go out and have a fling and it will not matter as long as they confess and repent later, but this is a delusion.

Most people that are middle-aged or older look at it more seriously and realize that they are already, and have been, paying some consequences for things that they have done earlier in their lives. God laid on Jesus the consequences of our sin so we would not have to pay the ultimate price. This was not a pleasant experience for Him. Let’s look at some texts about this.

This story begins in Matthew 20:20 when James and John wanted to sit on the right hand and the left hand in the kingdom. Jesus said in verse 22, “ ‘You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ They said to Him, ‘We are able.’ ”

Ellen White comments in The Desire of Ages, 689: “The Redeemer had spent entire nights praying for His disciples, that their faith might not fail. Should Jesus now put to James and John the question He had once asked them, ‘Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ they would not have ventured to answer, ‘We are able’ (Matthew 20:22).”

Incidentally, the apostle Paul refers to this in Hebrews 12:4 where he says, “You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.” Jesus had a cup to drink. If He had refused to drink the cup of suffering, there would be no way for you and me to be saved. We would be lost. The Bible records that He prayed three times, “Lord, if it is possible, let this cup pass.” It would have been impossible for the cup to pass if man was to be delivered from this world. So Jesus determined to drink the cup. (See Matthew 26:39–42.) As we draw near the end of earth’s history, everybody in the world is going to have a bitter cup to drink.

Let’s look now at the devil’s table. In 1 Corinthians 10:21 we are told, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.”

Notice, you can choose which table you will eat from and whose cup you are going to drink, but you cannot have both of them. He does not say not to do it, but you “cannot” do it. Adam and Eve had that very same choice with free access to the tree of life. When they chose to eat at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they never again ate from the tree of life; they were cut off. In their garden home they were free to choose this one or that one, but they could not have both. If you choose the devil’s table you are cut off from the Lord’s table.

Many sit in front of their television set, internet screen or video recorder feasting at the devil’s table all week long and then they come to church and can’t figure out why they are not blessed by the Holy Spirit. You cannot switch tables one day each week and expect miracles. God knows where you are the happiest.

John the Revelator makes a prediction concerning a cup that the people who refuse to accept the third angel’s message of warning will drink. “He himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation” (Revelation 14:10). This cup is not optional; it will be drunk to the dregs.

Another Scripture which tells us what is in the cup is found in Jeremiah 25:14–16: “ ‘(For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’ For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: ‘Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.’ ”

What does this mean, “because of the sword that I will send”? Jesus said to Peter, “Put up your sword into your sheath, because all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52, literal translation).

The people that have led other people into captivity will be led into captivity. The people that have killed with the sword will be killed with the sword.

“Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the Lord had sent me: Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day: Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people; all the mixed multitude, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines (namely Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the sea; Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed multitude who dwell in the desert; all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

“Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Drink, be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you” ’ ” (Jeremiah 25:17–27).

This is a prophecy about the cup that people are going to drink when we come to the end of the world. There will be many people who are not going to want to drink it.

“And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “You shall certainly drink!” ’ ” (verse 28). What you have done is going to return on you. Some people do not like to believe that. They don’t want to believe that we live in a moral universe and want to think, “I will confess it and it will all be erased and it won’t come back.”

The prophets talk a lot about this. For instance, in Obadiah 15, it says, “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you.” That describes a moral universe. As you have done, it will come back. Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.

See, people think that you can sin and then just say, “I am sorry” and then go on and it will be erased. It says, “… as you have done, it shall be done to you.” Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. “For as you drank on My holy mountain, so shall all nations drink continually; yes, they shall drink, and swallow, and they shall be as though they had never been” (Obadiah 16).

We have often thought that we are the Lord’s people and that divine retribution is just for the other people and doesn’t apply to us, but notice what it says in the book of Jeremiah 25:29: “ ‘For behold, I begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

If you keep reading in Jeremiah 25, you will see that when the Lord comes, all the wicked in the whole world will be killed. There will not be a single person left (see verses 30–33). “… at that day the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground” (verse 33).

Notice that Jeremiah 25:29 warns that the people that drink the cup first are God’s people. “… I begin to bring the calamity on the city which is called by My name …” The people that drink the cup first are God’s people.

Do you understand that, if we go into apostasy, the deeper the apostasy we go into, the bigger is the cup that we are going to drink. If we go contrary to God’s word in anything, we will drink the cup of consequences.

God’s people will actually drink of a cup. I call it the cup of trembling for when Jesus took it He trembled. God’s people are going to drink the cup first. Then after they have drunk the cup, the Lord is going to take the cup from them and the rest of the people are going to drink.

In Zechariah 12 and 13 there is a prophecy about the end times and what is going to happen. God’s people are going to become a cup of trembling to all the surrounding peoples when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:3 says, “And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.” All the nations of the earth are gathered against Jerusalem, against God’s people, but even though they want to do away with her, they themselves end up getting cut in pieces when they try to do away with Jerusalem.

“ ‘In that day,’ says the Lord, ‘I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness’ ” (verse 4).

Verse 6 says, “In that day [same time] I will make the governors of Judah like a panfire in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left … .”

This is still talking about that very same time and it says again in verse 8, “In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them.”

Zechariah 12 is used by Ellen White over and over again in her writings to describe the situation among God’s people during the Sabbath-Sunday controversy when there is agitation to enforce Sunday worship by a national law, thereby initiating the mark of the beast. Verse 8 says, “The weak person is going to be like David” (literal translation). David was a person who in his youth, when he was considered almost a boy, went out and challenged Goliath. He not only challenged Goliath, but he picked up stones. When Goliath drew near, he got angry. It says, “David ran” (1 Samuel 17:48). David didn’t just challenge him, but he ran toward Goliath with his sling intending to use it. He would have been killed if the Lord had not intervened and blessed him. David was a person that had unbelievable energy and courage to face incredible odds. The weakest person in the church, at the time depicted in verse 8, is going to be like David. The person that would be naturally like David, a warrior, is going to be like the angel of the Lord. Under God, the angels are all powerful. There is coming a time when the church is going to have that kind of an experience when the weakest will be like David. However, that is not going to happen until we receive the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 9 says, “It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” There is going to be destruction from the Lord over all the earth. The Lord is going to walk through the land and destroy it. This prophecy is not talking primarily about after probation closes but about the time just shortly before. Notice what it says in verse 11: “In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem … .” Verses 11 to 14 talk about the great mourning and grieving in Jerusalem over the sins in Jerusalem.

Zechariah 13:1 says, “In that day [the same day] a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.”

This will be the last opportunity to get cleaned up before probation closes, and those who are truly repentant of their sins will get rid of their idols at the same time.

Still talking about the same time it says in verse 2: “ ‘It shall be in that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.’ ” You can’t get rid of the sins and the uncleanness unless you cut off the idols.

And finally, verse 4 says, “And it shall be in that day …” at that same time, false prophets are going to be all cut off from the land.

Zechariah chapters 12 and 13 repeat “in that day, at that time,” almost ten times reiterating what is going to happen. This is at the time when Jerusalem is made a cup of trembling. The whole world will be gathered against God’s people.

Isaiah 51 tells us what is going to happen. Verse 13 says, “… you have feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor.” In other words, this is a time of persecution. Notice verse 17: “Awake, awake! Stand up O Jerusalem, you who have drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of His fury; you have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, and drained it out.” This is a description of God’s people who have drunk clear to the bottom of the cup. This cup is the temporal consequences of their sins.

“There is no one to guide her among all the sons she has brought forth; nor is there any who takes her by the hand among all the sons she has brought up. These two things have come to you; who will be sorry for you?—Desolation and destruction, famine and sword—by whom will I comfort you? Your sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, like an antelope in a net. They are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of your God. Therefore please hear this, you afflicted, and drunk, but not with wine. Thus says your Lord, the Lord and your God, Who pleads the cause of His people: ‘See, I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My fury; you shall no longer drink it. But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to you, “Lie down, that we may walk over you. And you have laid your body like the ground, and as a street, for those who walk over.” ’ ” Verses 18–23.

When Jerusalem has drunk to the bottom of the cup, the Lord is going to take the cup from them and give it to those who cause the affliction, and they will drink.

We live in a moral universe where actions have consequences. The time of judgment is the time when the consequences are meted out.

Isaiah 40:1, 2 says: “ ‘Comfort, yes, comfort My people!’ says your God. ‘Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.’ ”

In other words, she has to drink the consequences. Most people would like for that cup to be easy. It is especially important for young people to realize that the cup that they are to drink in the future will be the result of what they have lived in the past. See Isaiah 40 and Obadiah.

What you have done will be done to you. Those who have never gone out and sown wild oats will not have as big a cup of remorse to drink as those who did, for it is measured by what you have done.

Understanding this will affect your behavior now if you would rather not have such a bitter cup to drink in the future. Every sin that you have committed in the past is still stored in your memory bank. It may be unconscious, but physicians who have done experiments on the human brain are well aware that those things that you think you have forgotten can be brought to your consciousness instantly under the right stimulus. Every sin committed is stored until the record is reviewed during the investigative judgment and He is the only One able to blot sin out. If you are a Christian, He is going to blot them out, but until that time, whatever you have done wrong in the past provides the devil with a weapon to tempt you and enable him to get access to you in the future.

Just because the devil can tempt you does not mean that the Lord cannot give you the power to overcome, but it can be a bitter cup to drink on the way to victory. There will be a cup of consequences for things that have been done in this world both for the wicked and for the righteous, whether you go to church or do not go to church, whether you are God’s child or the devil’s child.

We have seen from the Bible that everyone is going to drink of a cup. If you do not want to drink such a large, bitter cup then you must decide when you are young to follow the Lord. At whatever age you are, today is the best time to make that decision, because the longer you sit at the devil’s table and drink his cup, the bigger the cup you are going to have to drink in the future.

The decisions you make today impact tomorrow. May we all recognize that we live in a moral universe and that even though we can confess our sins and they can be forgiven, there are temporal consequences that come to us as a result of what we have thought, what we have said, and what we have done.

May the Holy Spirit transform us in character and help us to become Christ-like in the way we think, the way we speak, and the way we act, so that our future may be less difficult as we come to that time of the judgment of the living.

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

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

Who is an Historic Seventh-day Adventist?

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Today, our people are being taunted with: “You people call yourselves ‘Historic Seventh-day Adventists,’ but you don’t even know what being an historic Seventh-day Adventist really is.” Sooner or later someone is going to ask you this question and you have to have something to say, so let us look at, “What is an Historic Seventh-day Adventist?”.
If you are not familiar with the little book Issues: The Letter the NAD Officers Did not Publish, The Church, it is part two of the Issues books printed by Steps to Life. The first half is a letter to the NAD, and the last is material written by John Grosboll. There is a section in the back called “Fundamental Principles.” The material contained there first appeared in an article by James White in the Signs of the Times in 1874. In this article, he outlined the beliefs of Historic Seventh-day Adventists. It should also be said that an Historic Seventh-day Adventist believes Ellen G. White to have been a prophet of God and that her writings have divine authority. Therefore, an Historic Seventh-day Adventist will give precedence to God’s last day prophet, to his last day church, over his own opinion. An Historic Seventh-day Adventist will never say, “Well, she did not know what she was talking about,” or “You know, she didn’t understand everything.” You see, God does not have junior prophets—a prophet of God is a prophet of God. There are no percentage scales; either you are a prophet of God or you are not. Either Ellen White was a prophet of God on the same par as the Biblical prophets or she was not a prophet at all.

Fundamental Principles:
By James White
[Comments by John Osborne in brackets and italicized]

In presenting to the public this synopsis of our faith, we wish to have it distinctly understood that we have no articles of faith, creed, or discipline aside from the Bible.
[John Osborne—So, an Historic Seventh-day Adventist absolutely has no creed outside of Inspiration—bottom line. Now, if you take any other book of spiritual significance, aside from Inspiration, then you are not a Historic Seventh-day Adventist. If you take any other book and place it on a par, or pattern your life or the church, or anything else after it, then you are not an Historic Seventh-day Adventist.]

We do not put forth this as having authority with our people, nor is it designed to secure uniformity among them, as a system of faith, but is a brief statement of what is, and has been, with great unanimity, held by them. We often find it necessary to meet inquiries on this subject, and sometimes to correct false statements circulated against us, and to remove erroneous impressions which have obtained with those who have not had an opportunity to become acquainted with our faith and practice. Our only object is to meet this necessity. With these remarks, we ask the attention of the reader to the following propositions which aim to be a concise statement of the more prominent features of our faith. That there is one God, a personal, spiritual Being, the Creator of all things, omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal, infinite in wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, truth, and mercy; unchangeable, and everywhere present by his representative, the Holy Spirit. Psalms 139:7.

That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, and Son of the Eternal Father, the One by whom God created all things, and by whom they do consist; that He took on Him the nature of the seed of Abraham for the redemption of our fallen race; that He dwelt among men, full of grace and truth, lived our example, died our sacrifice, was raised for our justification, ascended on high to be our only Mediator in the sanctuary in heaven, where, with His own blood, he makes atonement for our sins; which atonement, so far from being made on the cross, which was but the offering of the sacrifice, is the very last portion of His work as priest, according to the example of the Levitical priesthood, which foreshadowed and prefigured the ministry of our Lord in heaven. See Leviticus 16; Hebrews 8:4,5; 9:6,7; etc.

[John Osborne—Now, what this is saying is that we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God. His life was our example; in his death he was our substitute—he died as our Sacrifice. He is now acting as our High Priest in heaven, pleading his blood for the forgiveness of our sin. Do you believe that? Amen.]

That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, contain a full revelation of His will to man, and are the only infallible rule of faith and practice.

That baptism is an ordinance of the Christian church, to follow faith and repentance, an ordinance by which we commemorate the resurrection of Christ, as by this act we show our faith in His burial and resurrection, and, through that, of the resurrection of all the saints at the last day; and that no other mode fitly represents these facts than that which the Scriptures prescribe, namely, immersion. Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12.
That the new birth comprises the entire change necessary to fit us for the kingdom of God, and consists of two parts: First, a moral change, wrought by conversion and a Christian life; second, a physical change at the second coming of Christ, whereby, if dead, we are raised incorruptible, and, if living, are changed to immortality in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. John 3:3,5; Luke 20:36.

We believe that prophecy is a part of God’s revelation to man; that it is included in that Scripture which is profitable for instruction (2 Timothy 3:16); that it is designed for us and our children (Deuteronomy 29;29); that so far from being enshrouded in impenetrable mystery, it is that which especially constitutes the Word of God a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105; 2 Peter 1:19); that a blessing is pronounced upon those who study it (Revelation 1:1-3); and that, consequently, it is to be understood by the people of God, sufficiently to show them their position in the world’s history, and the special duties required at their hands.

[John Osborne—As Historic Seventh-day Adventists, we not only believe in all of Scripture, but especially in the books of Daniel and Revelation. We do not believe the book of Revelation is a sealed book, but that it is very important, revealing to us where we are in earth’s history and outlining the place of God’s church in the last days.]

That the world’s history from specified dates in the past, the rise and fall of empires, and the chronological succession of events down to the setting up of God’s everlasting kingdom, are outlined in numerous great chains of prophecy; and that these prophecies are now all fulfilled except the closing scenes.

[John Osborne—So, if you are going to be an Historic Seventh-day Adventist, you not only have to believe in prophecy, you must also understand and believe the true applications of prophecy, including the day for a year principle. See Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel 4:6]

That the doctrine of the world’s conversion and temporal millennium is a fable of these last days, calculated to lull men into a state of carnal security, and cause them to be overtaken by the great day of the Lord as by a thief in the night; that the second coming of Christ is to precede, not follow the millennium; for until the Lord appears, the papal power, with all its abomination, is to continue, the wheat and tares grow together, and evil men and seducers wax worse and worse, as the Word of God declares.

That the mistake of Adventists in 1844 pertained to the nature of the event then to transpire, not to the time; that no prophetic period is given to reach to the second advent, but that the longest one, the two thousand and three hundred days of Daniel 8:14, terminated in that year, and brought us to an event called the cleansing of the sanctuary.

[John Osborne-Everyone who calls himself an Historic Seventh-day Adventist ought to be listening to what the husband of God’s prophet wrote in 1874, when he wrote that all time prophecy came to an end in 1844. Just a short time before this, his little wife had said exactly the same thing. If you do not believe that, you do not believe in Historic Adventism.]

That the sanctuary of the new covenant is the tabernacle of God in heaven, of which Paul speaks in Hebrews 8, and onward, of which our Lord, as great High Priest, is minister; that this sanctuary is the antitype of the Mosaic tabernacle, and that the priestly work of our Lord, connected therewith, is the antitype of the work of the Jewish priests of the former dispensation (Hebrews 8:1-5, etc.); that this is the sanctuary to be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days; what is termed its cleansing being in this case, as in the type, simply the entrance of the High Priest into the Most Holy Place, to finish the round of service connected therewith, by blotting out and removing from the sanctuary the sins which had been transferred to it by means of the ministration in the first apartment (Hebrews 9:22,23); and that this work, in the antitype, commencing in 1844, occupies a brief but indefinite space, at the conclusion of which the work of mercy for the world is finished.

That God’s moral requirements are the same upon all men in all dispensations; that these are summarily contained in the commandments spoken by Jehovah from Sinai, engraved on the tables of stone, and deposited in the ark, which was in consequence called the “ark of the covenant,” or testament for under the sounding of the seventh trumpet we are told that “the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament” (Revelation 11:19).

That the fourth commandment of this law requires that we devote the seventh day of each week, commonly called Saturday, to abstinence from our own labor, and to the performance of sacred and religious duties; that this is the only weekly Sabbath known to the Bible, being the day that was set apart before Paradise was lost (Genesis 2:2,3), and which will be observed in Paradise restored (Isaiah 66:22,23); that the facts upon which the Sabbath institution is based confine it to the seventh day, as they are not true of any other day; and that the terms Jewish Sabbath and Christian Sabbath , as applied to the weekly rest day, are names of human invention, un-Scriptural in fact, and false in meaning.
That, as the man of sin, the papacy has thought to change times and laws (the laws of God, Daniel 7:25), and has misled almost all Christendom in regard to the fourth commandment; we find a prophecy of a reform in this respect to be wrought among believers just before the coming of Christ, Isaiah 56:1,2; 1 Peter 1:5; Revelation 14:12, etc.

[John Osborne—Do you believe that God’s people in the last days are going to stand up and expose the man of sin, the papacy, and how he has changed the seventh day Sabbath? This is Historic Adventism.]

That, as the natural or carnal heart is at enmity with God and His law, this enmity can be subdued only by a radical transformation of the affections, the exchange of unholy for holy principles; that this transformation follows repentance and faith, is the special work of the Holy Spirit, and constitutes regeneration or conversion.

[John Osborne—This means that you are going to have a lifestyle change. When a person gives their heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, they change; they are a new creature in Jesus Christ.]

That, as all have violated the law of God, and cannot of themselves render obedience to His just requirements, we are dependent on Christ, first for justification from our past offenses, and, secondly, for grace whereby to render acceptable obedience to His holy law in time to come.

[John Osborne—Through the power and strength of Jesus Christ, you can be victorious over all sin in your life. Do you believe that?]

That the Spirit of God was promised to manifest itself in the church through certain gifts, enumerated especially in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4; that these gifts are not designed to supersede, or take the place of, the Bible, which is sufficient to make us wise unto salvation, any more than the Bible can take the place of the Holy Spirit; that in specifying the various channels of its operation, that Spirit has simply made provision for its own existence and presence with the people of God to the end of time, to lead to an understanding of that Word which it had inspired, to convince of sin, and work a transformation in the heart and life; and that those who deny to the Spirit its place and operation do plainly deny that part of the Bible which assigns to it this work and position.

That God, in accordance with His uniform dealings with the race, sends forth a proclamation of the approach of the second advent of Christ; that this work is symbolized by the three messages of Revelation 14, the last one bringing to view the work of reform on the law of God, that His people may acquire a complete readiness for that event.

[John Osborne—If you are not willing to stand up, proclaim, teach and believe in the three angels of Revelation 14, you are not an historic Seventh-day Adventist.]

That the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary (see proposition 10), synchronizing with the time of the proclamation of the third message, is a time of investigative judgment, first, with reference to the dead, and, at the close of probation, with reference to the living, to determine who of the myriads now sleeping in the dust of the earth are worthy of a part in the first resurrection, and who of its living multitudes are worthy of translation—points which must be determined before the Lord appears.

That the grave, whither we all tend, expressed by the Hebrew sheol and the Greek hades, is a place of darkness in which there is no work, device, wisdom, or knowledge. Ecclesiastes 9:10.

[John Osborne—The grave is a place of sleep where the dead know not anything—waiting for the resurrection. What a beautiful message that is.]
That the state to which we are reduced by death is one of silence, inactivity and entire unconsciousness. Psalm 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5,6; Daniel 12:2; etc.

That out of this prison house of the grave, mankind are to be brought by a bodily resurrection; the righteous having part in the first resurrection, which takes place at the second resurrection, which takes place a thousand years thereafter. Revelation 20:4-6.

[John Osborne—Now do you understand that? There are going to be two resurrections—the righteous come forth when Christ comes; then there is the thousand year millennium; and after the thousand year millenium, the wicked come forth. Now the righteous come forth perfected, changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. The wicked, when they come up a thousand years later, come up the same way they went into the grave. Is that clear?]

That at the last trump, the living righteous are to be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and with the resurrected righteous are to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, so forever to be with Lord.

That these immortalized ones are taken to heaven, to the New Jerusalem, the Father’s house in which there are many mansions (John 14:1-3), where they reign with Christ a thousand years, judging the world and fallen angels, that is, apportioning the punishment to be executed upon them at the close of the one thousand years (Revelation 20:4; 1 Corinithians 6:2,3); that during this time [thousand years] the earth lies in a desolated and chaotic condition (Jeremiah 4:20-27), described, as in the beginning, by the Greek term abussos, bottomless pit (Septuagint of Genesis 1:2); and that here Satan is confined during the thousand years (Revelation 20:1,2), and here finally destroyed (Revelation 20:10; Malachi 4:1); the theater of the ruin he has wrought in the universe, being appropriately made for a time his gloomy prison house, and then the place of his final execution.

[John Osborne—Christ comes in the clouds of heaven, the righteous are taken, the wicked are destroyed by the brightness of his coming. This earth is desolate, as Scripture says in Jeremiah 4:22,23. Satan is here with all his angels, but with no one to tempt. They cannot go anywhere; they have to just sit there bound with a great chain—a chain of circumstances—for a thousand years and think about the desolation they have caused.
The righteous living in heaven at this time are going over the records of the wicked dead. This is when you are going to be able to have your questions answered. If you have a question about a loved one that did not make it to heaven, you can see how the Holy Spirit worked on that person’s heart, but how they rejected His work. You are going to have all of your questions answered, and then your tears are going to be wiped away. There are going to be some tears when your loved ones do not make it to heaven; you are not going to have amnesia, but your tears will be wiped away.]

That at the end of the thousand years, the Lord descends with His people and the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2), the wicked dead are raised and come up upon the surface of the yet unrenewed earth, and gather about the city, the camp of the saints (Revelation 20:9), and fire comes down from God out of heaven, and devours them. They are then consumed root and branch (Malachi 4:1), becoming as though they had not been (Obadiah 15, 16). In this everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 1:9), the wicked meet the everlasting punishment threatened against them (Matthew 25:46). This is the perdition of ungodly men, the fire which consumes them being the fire for which “the heavens and the earth, which are now,” are kept in store, which shall melt even the elements with its intensity, and purge the earth from the deepest stains of the curse of sin. 2 Peter 3:7-12.

[John Osborne—At the end of the thousand years, the New Jerusalem will come down. The wicked are resurrected and Satan says, “We can take the city.” He is going to convince the wicked that they are the righteous and that the Antichrist and the wicked are inside the city, This is exactly what the secret rapture doctrine teaches. The dear people who believe the secret rapture doctrine believe that the Antichrist is going to have the Holy City and that the wicked are inside and the righteous are outside. They are being prepared to be deceived.
But, when the wicked try to take the city, fire is going to come down from God out of heaven and devour them. The Bible calls this God’s strange work, but he has to purify the universe of sin, once and for all, never to rise up again. ]

That a new heavens and earth shall spring by the power of God from the ashes of the old, to be, with the New Jerusalem for its metropolis and capital, the eternal inheritance of the saints, the place where the righteous shall evermore dwell. 2 Peter 3:13; Psalm 37:11, 29; Matthew 5:5.

[John Osborne—When somebody asks: “What is an Historic Seventh-day Adventist?” you may tell them: One who believes what our historic pioneers believed and taught, what they struggled, prayed, and pled with God to show them, and that which he confirmed for them through the Spirit of Prophecy. This is what it means to be an Historic Seventh-day Adventist.]

The End

Sermon on the Mount Series – God’s Eternal Law

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Many people today are very confused about the meaning of the word love. It is mistakenly thought to refer to a wonderful romantic feeling or sexual passion, but it actually refers to a spiritual condition that multitudes of people desire but do not seem to experience.

There was a time when Moses, the man of God, made a request of the Lord. He said, “Show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18). We read in Exodus 33 and 34 that the Lord would reveal as much as it was possible for him to see and live. It says, “And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.’ ” (Exodus 34:6, 7). On this occasion it was His character that the Lord revealed to Moses; He was gracious, and merciful, and longsuffering, and He kept mercy for thousands. These principles of the kingdom of heaven were enunciated when the Lord spoke His law to the children of Israel upon Mount Sinai. That law is a pronouncement of the principle of love, but what is that really like?

The Bible mentions many times that the person who has love in his heart will keep God’s commandments. (See I John 5:2, 3; Romans 13.) The giving of the commandments was a Revelation to the children of Israel, as well as to all the people of this earth, a reiteration of the law that governs the kingdom of the heavens. This law was ordained in the hand of a mediator, spoken by Him Who has the power to change the hearts of men and bring them into harmony with its divine principles.

Before God had given His law on Sinai, He had revealed His purpose for the children of Israel. He said, “…you are to be holy men to Me …” (Exodus 22:31, literal translation). Without holiness no one can ever see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 clearly states that none can have eternal life and see the Lord if they are not holy.

Israel’s problem was and probably still is that she did not perceive the spiritual nature of the law. The people looked at it as a list of things they were not to do. Paul however, when writing to the Romans referring to the law said, “For we know that the law is spiritual …” (Romans 7:14). He goes on to say that he is not spiritual, but, he says, the law is spiritual.

Too often their professed obedience was simply an observance of forms, rituals, or ceremonies instead of a surrender of the heart to the sovereignty of love. In Jesus’ character, teachings and work, He represented to men what God was like—the holiness of His character, His benevolence and His paternal attributes. And at the same time, Jesus presented to them the worthlessness of mere ceremonial obedience. When He did these things the Jewish leaders did not understand or receive what He was talking about. They thought He was dwelling too lightly upon the requirements of the law, when He was actually setting before them the foundational principles on which the law is based.

So, looking at the externals without understanding the principles underlying those externals, the Jewish leaders accused Jesus of trying to overthrow the law. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus revealed in unmistakable language that that was not His purpose at all. In Matthew 5:17, 18, He said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

It was Jesus Christ, the One Who created the world and upholds everything by the word of His power, the One Who gave the law on Mount Sinai Who declared that it is not His purpose to set aside any of its precepts, not even the smallest letter or part of a letter of the law. Whatever you study in science or nature, no matter what it is, from the smallest microscopic insect to the study of planets requiring the use of a telescope, everything in the natural world operates under law. Upon obedience to these natural laws, the order and harmony of the natural world depends.

In the same way that natural laws govern nature, there are also great principles of righteousness that control the life of all created beings. Upon conformity to these righteous principles, the well-being of the entire universe depends. Before this world was ever called into existence, God’s law existed. The angels of heaven were governed by it and in order for earth to be in harmony with heaven, man also must be obedient to the divine statutes.

Psalm 103:20 tells us that the angels obey God’s commandments. To man in Eden, Christ made known the precepts of the law. When Jesus came to earth His mission was not to destroy the law or to remove even the smallest part of a letter from it. His purpose, by His grace, was to bring man back into obedience to the precepts of the law. Many decades later when writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, His beloved disciple, John, speaks of this law as a perpetual obligation. He says, “Sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4, last part, KJV). And He says that “whoever commits sin transgresses also the law” (verse 4, first part, literal translation).

Not only that, he makes it very clear that the law Jesus spoke of is not some new commandment but an old commandment that has been in effect from the beginning, at creation, which was later reiterated on Mount Sinai. (See I John 2:7).

A study of the first book of the Bible will reveal that the people in the times of Genesis understood every single one of the commandments. They knew that to violate those principles was wrong and worthy of death. All the principles therein expressed can be found in the book of Genesis.

Those of that generation knew those things that were wrong and they called the breaking of them sin. So, speaking of the law, Jesus said, Don’t think that I’ve come to destroy it, or take it away. I have come to fulfill it. He uses the word “fulfill” in the same sense that He declared to John the Baptist when He said in Matthew 3:15, literal translation: “Allow it to be so now, that we might fulfill all righteousness,” that is, fulfill the measure of the law’s requirement, to give an example of perfect conformity to the will of God.

In the Old Testament we see in prophecy that the mission of the Messiah would be to magnify the law and to make it honorable (Isaiah 42:21). The Messiah was to show mankind the spiritual nature of the law. He would present its far-reaching principles and make plain its eternal obligation. Jesus did this in His Sermon on the Mount. This sermon is primarily a sermon about the spirituality of the law. He talks by name of different commandments and shows that they extend not merely to outward observances, but to the heart and to the mind, revealing thoughts and feelings.

When we look at the character of Jesus, we see in His character a divine beauty, of whom the most noble and the gentlest among mankind are but a faint reflection. Concerning His character, the wise man wrote in prophecy concerning Him, in Song of Solomon 5:10, 16, that He is the chiefest among 10,000; yes, He is altogether lovely.

When David saw Him in prophetic vision, he wrote, “You are fairer than the children of men …” (Psalm 45:2, literal translation). Jesus is spoken of in the New Testament as the express image of the Father’s person, the effulgence of His glory (Hebrews 1). And the self-denying Redeemer, throughout all of His pilgrimage of love on earth, was a living representation of the character of the law of God. To keep the law in its purpose and intent from your heart is to reveal the character of Jesus Christ. He said, “I have kept My Father’s commandments” (John 15:10). “I do always those things that please Him” (John 8:29 KJV).

So, He made manifest in this world what heaven-born love is like, how it reveals itself, how it lives. Christ-like principles underlie the principles of the ten commandments. Jesus said, “… until heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle will in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18, literal translation). His own life and character showed the unchangeable nature of God’s law. He proved that by His grace God’s law can be perfectly obeyed by every son and daughter of Adam. He said, not the smallest letter, not even a part of a letter can be changed. Notice how it is recorded in the gospel of Luke 16:17 ASV: “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle (part of a letter) of the law to fail.”

So Jesus proved, and showed, and taught that the law of God, the ten commandments, is unchangeable and will last forever.

Jesus did not teach that the law would ever be abrogated. He fixes the eye of the human race upon the most distant object that we can focus on, and He assures us that until that point is reached, the law will retain all of its authority and that none need suppose that it was His mission to do away with even part of it. As long as heaven and earth continue, the holy principles of God’s law will remain. Because the law of the Lord is perfect, therefore it cannot be changed. It is impossible for sinful men, of course, in themselves, to meet the standard of its requirement. That is why the apostle Paul said in Romans 7:14: “… the law is spiritual, but I am carnal (fleshly), sold under sin” (Romans 7:14).

For that reason, you and I need the gospel. That is why Jesus came as our Redeemer. It was His mission, not only to pay the price in His own body for our sins, but to make us partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3, 4). It was His mission to bring us back into harmony with the law that governs the entire universe of heaven. Remember—sin is the transgression of the law, 1 John 3:4, the law that we have had since the beginning, I John 2:7.

When we forsake our sins; in other words, when we choose to quit breaking God’s law and choose to come to Jesus, and see Him as our Saviour from sin and Lord of our life, then the law is not done away with, but exalted.

Remember, sin is the transgression of the law, 1 John 3:4, and when we choose to forsake our sins and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and choose to follow Him, then He gives to us the Holy Spirit and enables us, by His grace and power, to live a life that is in harmony with His law. Notice what the apostle Paul said about this in Romans 3:31: “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” Why is the law established? When a person repents of his sin and comes to Jesus forsaking his/her sin, then the law of God is exalted. That person realizes that he/she needs to come into harmony with the law that governs the whole universe of God. And Jesus gives to him the Holy Spirit and enables him to keep the law (Romans 8). That is one of the main reasons that the Holy Spirit is given to the believers.

In fact, if you receive the Holy Spirit and do not begin to obey God, then you are insulting the Holy Spirit. Notice what Hebrews 10:16 says is the new covenant promise: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.”

It is true that the systems of types and ceremonies that pointed to Christ as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world were to pass away at His death. But the principles of righteousness embodied in the commandments are just as unchangeable as God’s throne. Not one command has ever been annulled. Not one precept has been changed. Those principles were made known to man in paradise as the great law of life and will exist unchanged in paradise restored.

When Eden will again bloom on the earth, God’s law of love will be observed by all beneath the sun. The book of Genesis makes it very clear that those living in those generations knew the precepts. The 7th commandment says, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). This commandment is one of the most widely broken all over the world today. But even before the ten commandments were ever given, the people in the times of Genesis knew that it was wrong to commit adultery.

Notice what Joseph said about it. Joseph was the enslaved manager of Potiphar’s house. “It came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, ‘Lie with me.’ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?’ So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her” (Genesis 39:7–10).

As a result, he landed up in prison for his refusal to commit adultery. Joseph would rather go to prison than sin against his God. He said, “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”

The Bible says that in heaven, God’s word is forever settled (Psalm 119:89). Nobody in heaven has any question about God’s law. We also read in Psalm 111:7, 8: “All His precepts [commandments] are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.”

Again in Psalm 119:152 KJV, it says, “Concerning Thy testimonies, I have known of old that Thou hast founded them for ever.” If you really love God, you will keep His commandments. Notice what the apostle John said about this in I John 4:7, 8: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

How do you know that you really love God? I John 5:2, 3 says, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

The apostle John had the same problem in his day that we see in the Christian world today. People claimed to love God while hating their neighbor and refusing to keep God’s commandments. He addresses that over and over again in his book. He said in I John 3:7–10: “Little children, let no one deceive you …” on this point. “He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” Then he goes on to say, “… this is the message that you heard from the beginning …” (verse 11).

O, friend, is the love of God really in your heart?

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

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

Light Through Orion

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Jesus reproved His disciples for being slow to believe in the prophets and their writings. “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken” (Luke 24:25). Then to establish and ground them in the truth, it is recorded, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself” (verse 27).

God speaks to His people through human agents who are moved by the Spirit of God. “I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets” (Hosea 12:10). “The prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21). Not only holy men but women also are given the gift of prophecy. “It shall come to pass in the last days saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy” (Acts 2:17).

An important evidence of a true prophet is found in the predictions made coming to pass, and in facts stated proving true. “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously” (Deuteronomy 18:22). “When the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him” (Jeremiah 28:9).

Ellen G. White was shown the following in vision:

“December 16, 1848, the Lord gave me a view of the shaking of the powers of the heavens. …

“Dark, heavy clouds came up and clashed against each other. The atmosphere parted and rolled back; then we could look up through the open space in Orion, whence came the voice of God. The Holy City will come down through that open space.” Early Writings, page 41.

Elder Bates, a man who had followed the sea for fifty years, filling all positions from cabin-boy to master and owner of vessels; one who had understanding of astronomy, said he tried to talk with Ellen White about the stars, but found she knew nothing about astronomy. She told him that she did not know that she had ever looked into a book treating on that subject. Because of an accident, her formal school education had ceased at about the third or fourth grade level.

A few years ago Edgar Lucien Larkin, director of Mount Lowe Observatory, Pasadena, California, said:

“Recent photographic transparencies made on glass plates at the Mount Wilson Observatory reveal the optical property of perspective. What has all along appeared to be a flat surface of nebulous matter, the beautiful shimmer and sheen in the great nebula in the sword of Orion, is shown, in the central regions of these negatives, to be the mouth of a cavern, a deep opening receding into the mighty distance beyond. These large negatives, … actually show depths below the shining surface of the nebula, the effect being that the eye looks into the opening and along the apparent sides to the rear.”

“The opening in Orion … stretches many trillions of miles. And this is the enormous width of the colossal opening which leads into the cavern.

“Then 90,000 little rings of the dimensions of the earth’s orbit, each with a sun in the center, could enter this abyss side by side and be engulfed. And all these dimensions are less than the reality, without doubt.

“These negatives reveal the opening and interior of a cavern so stupendous that our entire solar system, including the orbit of Neptune, would be lost therein. In all ordinary telescopes, the nebula looks like a flat surface. I have watched it since the days of youth, in many telescopes of many powers, but never dreamed that the central region is the mouth of a colossal cave.” Quoted in The Message of the Stars, by J. Walter Rich, pp. 82–85.

In the National Geographic Magazine, August, 1919, in an article entitled, “Exploring the Glories of the Firmament,” by William Joseph Showalter, beginning on page 153 is a fine description of many heavenly wonders. On page 181, we read:

“Look on a winter’s night at Orion. Between Betelgeuse and Rigel in his belt, and suspended from his belt his sword. The central star of this sword appears to the naked eye as merely a fuzzy little fellow that might be passed over without thought.

“But train a big telescope on it and instead you see the most magnificent nebula in the heavens. Its diameter is thought to be twenty million times as great as that of our sun.”

Again on page 175, “The central portion of the huyghenian region in the nebula of Orion is the opening of a colossal cavern in the primordial stellar floor. The nebula is no longer a flat surface. One peers within cosmic deeps, one looks into a chasm before which all powers of imagination are submerged, and feasts the eye with supernal splendors. It is like looking in at a door to the rear of a cave, deep within glittering nebulosity. The chasm is the most beautiful object visible to human sight. Pillars, columns, walls, facades, bulwarks, stalactites, and stalagmites are within deeps of deeps. They glow and shine superbly with pearly light.”

What an evidence of divine revelation! Seventy or more years after the testimony of this young woman who had never studied astronomy, science discovers this great opening in Orion. Should not this verifying of the accuracy of this statement strengthen our confidence in the events mentioned with the statement?—the voice of God, delivering His people, and the coming down of the Holy City? Should it not also strengthen our confidence in the testimonies given to the church through this messenger?

Other evidences of inspiration are found in the instruction given through Ellen G. White in the fields of nutrition and education. Beginning in 1863 to the last years of her life, she gave instruction in proper diet and the care of the sick. Much of this instruction was given before the development of the science of nutrition.

In recent years Dr. Clive M. McCay, professor of nutrition at Cornell University, examined Ellen G. White’s counsels on nutrition. A question that came to his mind was, “How do you explain the fact that Mrs. White, with very little formal education and no special training in nutrition, so accurately set forth nutrition principles that are only now scientifically established?” To the answer that she probably borrowed her ideas from her contemporaries, Dr. McCay raised another question: “How would Mrs. White know which ideas to borrow and which to reject out of the bewildering array of theories and health teaching current in the nineteenth century?”

In a series of articles written for the Review and Herald, Dr. McCay said in the opening paragraphs:

“Among the thousand historical acquaintances in my files, one of the most worth-while is Ellen G. White. As near as one can judge by the evidence of modern nutritional science, her extensive writings on the subject of nutrition, and health in general, are correct in their conclusions. This is doubly remarkable: Not only was most of her writing done at a time when a bewildering array of new health views—good and bad—were being promoted but the modern science of nutrition, which helps us to check on views and theories, had not yet been born. Even more singular, Mrs. White had no technical training in nutrition, or in any subdivision of science that deals with health.” The Review and Herald, February, 12, 1959.

Continuing, this expert observed: “When one reads such works by Mrs. White as The Ministry of Healing or Counsels on Diet and Foods he is impressed with the correctness of her teachings in the light of modern nutritional science. One can only speculate how much better the health of the average American might be, even though he knew almost nothing of modern science, if he but followed the teachings of Mrs. White.” Ibid.

In a lecture given at the Unitarian Church, April 9, 1958, in Ithaca, N. Y., Doctor McCay said: “In spite of the fact that the works of Mrs. White were written long before the advent of modern scientific nutrition, no better overall guide is available today. Her basic concepts about the relation between diet and health have been verified to an unusual degree by scientific advances of the past century.”

Turning now to the field of education we find three books devoted to the subject plus hundreds of pages of magazine articles and of letters giving instruction and counsel. A high and broad philosophy of education has been taught beginning back in 1880s. Many of the early articles and counsels culminated in the book Education.

How do the modern experts in the field of education regard the principles given in these books on education by Ellen G. White? Let Dr. Florence Stratemeyer, professor of education, Teacher’s College, Columbia University answer:

“Recently the book Education by Ellen G. White has been brought to my attention. Written at the turn of the century, this volume was more than fifty years ahead of its time. And I was surprised to learn that it was written by a woman with but three years of schooling.

“The breadth and depth of its philosophy amazed me. Its concepts of balanced education, harmonious development, and of thinking and acting on principle are advanced educational concepts.

“The objective of restoring in man the image of God, the teaching of parental responsibility, and the emphasis on self-control in the child are ideals the world desperately needs.

“Mrs. White did not necessarily use current terms. In fact she did not use the word curriculum in her writing. But the book Education in certain parts treats of important curriculum principles. She was concerned with the whole learner—the harmonious development of mental, physical, and spiritual powers. …

“I am not surprised that members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church hold the writings of Mrs. White in great respect and make them central in developing the educational programs in their schools.” The Review and Herald, August 6, 1959, p. 13.

Doctor Stratemeyer was amazed to discover that a woman with only three or four grades of common schooling should become the author of books like Education, Counsels to Teachers, and Fundamentals of Christian Education—books as modern as mid-twentieth century works from outstanding experts in the field.

“Be happy always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants of you, in your life in Christ Jesus. Do not restrain the Holy Spirit; do not despise inspired messages. Put all things to the test: keep what is good, and avoid every kind of evil” (I Thessalonians 5:16–22, Today’s English Version).

“Do not believe everyone who claims to have the Spirit, but test them to find out if the Spirit they have comes from God. … This is how you will be able to know whether it is God’s Spirit: everyone who confesses that Jesus Christ became mortal man has the Spirit who comes from God. But anyone who denies this about Jesus does not have the Spirit from God” (I John 4:1–3 Today’s English Version).

False prophets do not exalt Christ. They rather draw attention to themselves. They “draw away disciples” after themselves (Acts 20:30). In Mrs. White’s teachings Christ is recognized and exalted. Note this instruction to ministers and gospel workers which she carried out in her own practice:

“Christ crucified, Christ risen, Christ ascended into the heavens, Christ coming again, should so soften, gladden, and fill the mind of the minister that he will present these truths to the people in love and deep earnestness. The minister will then be lost sight of, and Jesus will be made manifest. Lift up Jesus, you that teach the people, lift Him up in sermon, in song, in prayer. Let all your powers be directed to pointing souls, confused, bewildered, lost, to the ‘Lamb of God.’ (John 1:29). Lift Him up, the risen Saviour, and say to all who hear, Come to Him Who ‘hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us’ (Ephesians 5:2). Let the science of salvation be the burden of every sermon, the theme of every song. Let it be poured forth in every supplication. Bring nothing into your preaching to supplement Christ, the wisdom and power of God. Hold forth the word of life, presenting Jesus as the hope of the penitent and the stronghold of every believer. Reveal the way of peace to the troubled and the despondent, and show forth the grace and completeness of the Saviour.” Gospel Workers, 159, 160.

“Do not advocate theories or tests that Christ has never mentioned, and that have no foundation in the Bible. We have grand, solemn truths for the people. ‘It is written’ is the test that must be brought home to every soul. Let us go to the word of God for guidance. Let us seek for a ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ We have had enough of human methods. A mind trained only in worldly science will fail to understand the things of God; but the same mind, converted and sanctified, will see the divine power in the Word.” Ibid., 309, 310.

Elder W.D. Frazee studied the Medical Missionary Course at the College of Medical Evangelists in Loma Linda, California. He was called to Utah as a gospel medical evangelist. During the Great Depression, when the church could not afford to hire any assistants, Elder Frazee began inviting professionals to join him as volunteers. This began a faith ministry that would become the foundation for the establishment of the Wildwood Medical Missionary Institute in 1942. He believed that each person is unique, specially designed by the Lord, of infinite value, and has a special place and mission in this world which only he can fill. His life followed this principle and he encouraged others to do the same.