Doctrine

The Investigative Judgment

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“I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” Ecclesiastes 3:17. The judgment of the great day is an event certain to take place. “He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.” Acts 17:31. What God hath appointed is sure to come in due time. The resurrection of Christ is an assurance to all men of the final judgment. It is not the fact of the judgment, however, but the order of its work, that at this time engages our attention. The work to be accomplished is of immense magnitude. The judgment relates (1) to all the righteous; (2) to all the wicked; (3) to all the evil angels. The number of cases, therefore, to be acted upon at this grand tribunal exceeds our powers of conception. We must not, however, suppose that there will be any difficulty on the part of the Judge in acting upon every case individually. Far from this, “there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” The judgment, indeed, pertains to an immense number of beings; yet every one of them shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:12. It will not relate to so vast a number as to make it otherwise than a strictly personal matter. Nor will there be aught of confusion or disorder in that final reckoning. God has plenty of time for the work, and He has no lack of agents to do His bidding. That He has order in this work, the Scriptures clearly teach.

  1. The righteous are to judge the wicked; yet the righteous are themselves to pass the test of the judgment. Whence it follows that the judgment must pass upon the righteous before they can sit in judgment upon the wicked.

This is a very important proposition. That it is truthful we know from the express testimony of the Scriptures.

“Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?” 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4.

“I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.” Daniel 7:21, 22.

Here is the exalted work of the saints in the judgment. They are to take part in the examination of the cases of all wicked men and fallen angels. But this is not to be till they have been changed to immortality, and exalted to thrones of glory. They do not, therefore, have their cases decided at the same time with the wicked. We believe the reader will acknowledge the justice of this reasoning. Let us state another proposition:

  1. The trump of God sounds as the Saviour descends from heaven. When the trump is heard, all the righteous are, in the twinkling of an eye, changed to immortality. There can be no examination after this to determine whether they shall be counted worthy of eternal life, for they will then have already laid hold upon it. From this it follows that the examination and decision of the cases of the righteous takes place before the advent of Christ. The resurrection of the righteous to immortality is decisive proof that they have then already passed the test of the judgment, and have been accepted of the Judge. That they are thus raised to immortality the following texts plainly teach:

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” “Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:42–44, 51, 52.

These passages are certainly convincing. The resurrection of the saints is to immortal life, and they are made immortal in the very act of the resurrection. The decision of their cases is, therefore, passed before their resurrection, for the nature of their resurrection is declarative of eternal salvation. But the fact that the decision of the judgment in the case of the righteous precedes the advent is proved by another proposition, as follows:

  1. The righteous are to be raised before the wicked have their resurrection. This shows that the examination of their cases takes place before they are raised, for the final discrimination is made in the very act of raising the just and leaving the unjust to the resurrection of damnation.

 

Second Death

 

“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:5, 6.

“But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” Luke 20:35, 36.

“If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” (Literally “the resurrection out from the dead ones.”) Philippians 3:11.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” 1 Corinthians 15:22, 23.

There is a resurrection which bears the inspired designation of the “first resurrection.” All who have part in this resurrection are pronounced “blessed and holy.” On them: “the second death hath no power.” This resurrection is out from among the dead. Paul earnestly labored to attain unto it. It is to be at the coming of Christ. Only those who are Christ’s shall have part in it. All that have part in it are the children of God because they are the children of the resurrection to life. These facts clearly prove that the examination of the cases of the righteous precedes their resurrection at the advent of Christ, that event being really declarative of their innocence in the sight of God, and of their eternal salvation. Such as are accepted of God are raised; the others sleep till the resurrection to damnation. These facts are decisive proof that the righteous are judged before they are raised.

But we have a still more explicit statement yet to notice. Says our Lord: “But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead,” etc. Then it is certain that the act of accounting worthy to obtain the resurrection from among the dead, and a part in the world to come, does precede the resurrection of the righteous. But this act of accounting men worthy of a part in the kingdom of God is the very act of acquitting them in the judgment. The investigative judgment in the cases of the righteous is, therefore, past before their resurrection. As the resurrection of the just is at the advent of Christ, it follows that they pass their examination, and are counted worthy of a place in the kingdom of God, before the Saviour returns to the earth to gather them to Himself.

It is proved, therefore, that the resurrection of the saints to immortal life is declarative of their final acceptance before God. Whatever investigation is requisite for the final decision of their cases, must take place before the Saviour in mid-heaven utters the word of command to His angels, “Gather My saints together unto Me.” Psalm 50:5; Matthew 24:31. The act of accounting them worthy must precede all this. The saints alone are to be caught up to meet Christ in the air. 1 Thessalonians 4:17. But the decision who these saints are, who shall thus be caught up, rests not with the angels who execute the work, but with the Judge, who gives them their commission. We cannot, therefore, avoid the conclusion that the investigation of the cases of the righteous precedes the coming of the Saviour. Let us now consider an important proposition.

  1. This period of investigative judgment is ushered in by a solemn proclamation to the inhabitants of the earth; and this investigative work embraces the closing years of human probation. This is a very important statement. But it is susceptible of being clearly proved.

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

The gospel of Christ is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” Romans 1:16. No other gospel than this can be preached, not even by an angel from heaven. Galatians 1:8. Whence it follows that the angel of Revelation 14:6, 7, preaching the everlasting gospel, represents some part of the great gospel proclamation. It is a part of that preaching which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. This fact alone is decisive that this proclamation concerning the hour of God’s judgment must be made while human probation still lasts. Two other solemn announcements follow. And it is evident that the human family is still upon probation, when the third angel declares that “if any man worship the beast . . . the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God . . . Here is the patience of the saints.” This is a consecutive prophecy as several expressions plainly indicate. And it is to be observed that the Son of Man is seen upon the white cloud after all these solemn proclamations have been made.

 

The Judgment Involves All

 

That this announcement of the hour of God’s judgment precedes the advent of Christ, and is addressed to men while yet in probation, the fourteenth chapter of Revelation clearly proves. That this is not some local judgment is proved by the fact that “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” are concerned in it. It is evidently that part of the judgment work which precedes the coming of Christ, and, as has been already shown, this is the work of determining who shall be accounted worthy to have part in the resurrection to immortal life, and we may add, who also of the living shall be accounted worthy to escape the troubles that shall come in the conclusion of this state of things, and to stand before the Son of Man. Luke 20:35; 21:36.

  1. When the sins of the righteous are blotted out they can be no more remembered. They are blotted out before Christ comes. There can be, therefore, no act of calling them to account for their sins after the advent of Christ. Thus we read:

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.” Acts 3:19, 20.

Mr. Wesley, in his “Notes on the New Testament,” gives a different translation, which may be more accurate:

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, that the time of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and he may send to you Jesus Christ, who was before appointed.”

Albert Barnes, in his “Notes on the Acts,” speaking of these two translations, says, “The grammatical construction will admit of either.” One of these represents the blotting out to be when the times of refreshing arrive; the other makes it the cause of that refreshing. But neither of them gives the idea that this blotting out takes place when the sinner turns to God. Both of them throw it into the future. Each of them represents it as preceding the Second Coming of the Lord. But this is especially true of the latter translation, which follows the original in using a conditional verb respecting Christ’s advent; not as though that were a doubtful event, but rather as if His coming to the personal salvation of the ones addressed depended upon their having part in the refreshing, and as if that refreshing was to come in consequence of the blotting out of sins.

The sins of the righteous are blotted out before the coming of Christ. They cannot be called to give account of their sins after they have been blotted out; whence it follows that whatever account the righteous render to God for their sins must be before the advent of the Saviour, and not at, or after, that event.

  1. The sins of men are written in the books of God’s remembrance. The blotting out of the sins of the righteous does therefore involve the examination of these books for this very purpose. That the sins of men are thus written is plainly revealed in the Scriptures.

“For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord God.” Jeremiah 2:22. And thus the Lord speaks of the guilt of Israel: “Is not this laid up in store with Me, and sealed up among My treasures?” Deuteronomy 32:34. And Paul speaks in the same manner: “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds.” Romans 2:5, 6. These statements of wrath being treasured up can have reference only to the fact that God takes notice of men’s sins, and that every sin is marked before Him. To this fact all the texts which speak of the blotting out of sins must have reference. Thus David prays that God would blot out his transgressions. Psalm 51:1, 9. And Nehemiah, and David, and Jeremiah pray respecting certain persons that their sin may not be blotted out. Nehemiah 4:5; Psalm 109:14; Jeremiah 18:23. And Isaiah, in prophetic language, speaks of this blotting out as if it were a past event, just as in the next verse he speaks of the new creation, and the final redemption. Isaiah 44:22, 23. And in the previous chapter he speaks in a similar manner of this blotting out as necessary in order that the sins of the people of God may be no more remembered. Isaiah 43:25. These texts plainly imply that the sins of men are upon record, and that there is a time when these are blotted out of the record of the righteous.

 

If the Foundations be Destroyed, part 2

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Daniel 8 reveals who and what the little horn power is. It also mentions two armies: 1. The little horn was given an army, (“a host” according to the King James Version), and 2. The army of heaven.

Who is the army of heaven? According to Luke 2 it includes the angels. They are called “the host of heaven.” But the army of heaven is not just the angels. It is also made up of God’s people in the world. Daniel 8 says that God’s army, His host, would be trampled by the little horn power.

Revelation 11 tells us that the Gentiles would trample the worshippers and the court, for forty-two months, and that a time would come to measure the temple, the altar and the worshippers. We are living in that measuring time.

What is the sanctuary spoken of in Daniel 8? This is an important question to answer because our opponents have attacked us on this point for one hundred and fifty years, and we are still being attacked. We are also being attacked from within Adventism on who and what this sanctuary is.

The Lord told His people that they were to build Him a sanctuary so that He might dwell among them. (See Exodus 25:8.) It is God’s presence that makes the building a tabernacle or a temple. The Jews had a problem with this in the days of Christ, and He rebuked them severely. “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it [he is guilty].’ ”

Jesus called them fools. He said, “Which is greater, the gold that is the building or the temple that sanctifies the gold?” The temple is not holy because of the gold or because it is a beautiful building. The temple is holy because God’s presence is there.

The Jewish temple in the old covenant is a symbol of the Christian church. (See Ephesians 2:19–22 and The Desire of Ages, 160–162.) It is also a symbol that God wants every human being and every angel to be a temple for the indwelling of the divine Spirit.

“The subject of the sanctuary was the key that unlocked the mystery of the disappointment of 1844. It opened to view a complete system of truth, connected and harmonious.” The Great Controversy, 423. In the old covenant there was an earthly sanctuary. But in the new covenant there is a heavenly sanctuary. (See Psalm 11:4; Jeremiah 17:12; Hebrews 8 and 9; Revelation 1:13; 4:5; 8:3-5; 11:19; 15:4; 14:15, 17; 16:1, 16, 17.)

In the Bible we find two sanctuaries or temples. The earthly sanctuary in the Old Covenant is a type of the heavenly sanctuary in the New Covenant. The reason there was a great disappointment in 1844 is because the people did not understand the Biblical teaching of the sanctuary. They thought that the sanctuary was the earth.

It was like that in the days of Christ. Even the disciples were confused. They did not understand the nature of the kingdom that Christ was going to set up. They were disappointed when Jesus was crucified because they longed and hoped He would set up an earthly, temporal kingdom. They were still in the Old Covenant in their thinking. But the kingdom was a spiritual, eternal kingdom, with its headquarters in heaven.

It was that way with the Adventists in 1844. Their arithmetic was right, the date they set was right, the truth they were preaching was so, but they did not understand the nature of the sanctuary, so they were terribly disappointed. Many people today still do not understand the sanctuary. As we saw stated in part one, our opponents think that in Daniel 8 it is talking about the earthly sanctuary. In this article we will look at the prophecies that pointed to the destruction of Jerusalem, contrasting them with those of Daniel 8.

Daniel 9 contains the seventy-week prophecy. Seventy weeks were cut off for the Jews, beginning in 457 B.C. and ending in 34 A.D. “After the sixty-two weeks, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself and the people of the prince who is coming shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” Daniel 9:26. What sanctuary is this? This is the earthly sanctuary.

“And the end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then He [the Messiah] shall confirm in a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined is poured out on the desolate.” Daniel 9:26, 27.

In this prophecy a short time after the Messiah is cut off, the earthly sanctuary would be destroyed. Jesus predicted this, “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.’ ” Matthew 24:1, 2.

Jesus said that it was going to happen in that generation, not sometime way down at the end of history. “Assuredly, I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation . . . Your house is left to you desolate.” Matthew 23:36, 38.

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.” Luke 21:20. Daniel predicted it and Jesus predicted it. The Apostle Paul also predicted it. “In that He says, a new covenant, He has made the first obsolete. Now that which is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” Hebrews 8:13. It was Jerusalem and the earthly sanctuary that would vanish away a short time after the book of Hebrews was written.

The Apostle Paul attempted to prepare the Christian community for what was going to happen. People were looking to the city of Jerusalem and Paul said in effect, “Do not look there.” “For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.” Hebrews 13:14. So it is clear when you read Daniel 9:26, 27; Matthew 23 and 24; Luke 21; and the book of Hebrews, that a short time after the crucifixion of Christ, the temple at Jerusalem would be destroyed.

 

The Sanctuary Destroyed Again?

 

“So he came near where I stood, [this is the angel who came to explain the vision to Daniel] and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.” Daniel 8:17. The vision here is about the twenty-three hundred days, the little horn power and the time of the end. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed a short time after the crucifixion, but this vision is not about something in the time of Christ and the apostles. This vision is to extend to the time of the end. It could not possibly be talking about the earthly sanctuary, because the earthly sanctuary was not going to extend to the time of the end.

The prophecy about this sanctuary is something that continues until the time of the end. “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time, the end shall be . . . And the vision of the evenings and mornings [the vision of the twenty-three hundred days] which was told is true. Therefore seal up the vision, For it refers to many days in the future.” Daniel 8:19, 26.

Referring to the little horn power Daniel says, “And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; Then they shall take away the daily sacrifices [the continuance in rebellion. Called the continuance in Daniel 8:12. Sacrifices should not be there], and place there the abomination of desolation.” Daniel 11:31.

“And from the time that the daily [constant rebellion] is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. But you, go your way till the end [the end of the days]; for you shall rest [stand in your lot in the judgment. See The Great Controversy, 488.].” Daniel 12:11–13. The twelve hundred and ninety days and the thirteen hundred and thirty-five days will extend to the time of the end, or the time of the judgment. Paul makes it very clear in Hebrews 9 that the judgment occurs in the end period of earth’s history.

The continuance and abomination of desolation and the twenty-three hundred days mentioned in Daniel 8, refers to something that will go to the end of time. It could not possibly be talking about the earthly sanctuary because it had been destroyed many hundreds of years before.

The “daily” or “constant rebellion,” that had been constant in the ancient world ever since the days of Cain was taken away and something else called “the abomination that makes desolate” was set up in its place, in 508 A.D.

The sanctuary that is talked about in Daniel could not possibly be the earthly sanctuary. All the lines of evidence are pointing in a different direction. The earthly sanctuary had been destroyed hundreds of years earlier as predicted, long before the prophecies in Daniel 8, 11 and 12 took place. That leaves only one other conclusion, since there are only two sanctuaries that are taught in Scripture: the earthly and the heavenly. It is talking here about the heavenly sanctuary.

What did the little horn power do to this sanctuary? “The place of his sanctuary [the heavenly sanctuary] was cast down . . . How long will the vision be concerning the daily [the daily or constant rebellion] and the transgression of desolation [the abomination of desolation]? The giving of both the sanctuary and the host [the people of God] to be trampled under foot.” Daniel 8:11, 13.

The little horn power is especially pointed out in God’s Word as the power that would cast down the sanctuary, trample it and defile it. What does it mean when it says, “They will cast it down and trample it and defile it?” Revelation 13:16 answers this simply, “Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle [sanctuary or temple] and those who dwell in heaven.”

 

Accountable for all Slain

 

“Therefore indeed. I send you prophets, and wise men, and scribes . . . And some of them you will . . . persecute . . .That on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth.” Matthew 23:34, 35.

Jesus told the Jews that they would be accounted guilty of all the righteous blood shed upon the earth. In the end, the God of heaven will accuse Babylon of being guilty of every murder committed in the world. “The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you any more. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.” Revelation 18:23, 24.

The Lord says, “You are to blame. The responsibility is at your door for everything.” If the Jews had accepted the Messiah, the whole history of the world would have been different. And if Babylon had kept hold of the gospel, the whole history of the world would be different also.

Babylon is guilty of all the innocent blood in the world. The little horn power (in Daniel 8) is the culmination of, the continuance in rebellion—paganism. That was the universal constant of the ancient world from the time of Cain until in its second phase it developed into the apostasy of the latter times. The antichrist power, the man of sin, is judged by God as responsible for all the innocent blood shed in the latter times.

It is especially noted in prophecy as being responsible for the defiling of the sanctuary. In Revelation 13:6 this power would open its mouth in blasphemy. It will open its mouth in blasphemy against God’s sanctuary. What was this blasphemy? Let us consider two or three major factors in this blasphemy against God’s sanctuary: that cast it down to the ground and trampled on it.

When Jesus came to this world, He offered His life on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. Ellen White said that after Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven He went to the throne of God to be our Mediator. His work as our Mediator in heaven is just as important and vital to our salvation as His death on the cross.

Ellen White says in The Great Controversy, 488, that the devil hates the truths that bring to the minds of God’s people the fact that they have an all-powerful Mediator. He hates truths like those found in Hebrews 4:14–16, “Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

We have an all-powerful Mediator who can help, no matter how weak and sinful we are. No matter how much trouble we are in. Jesus said, “All power is given to me.” That means He is able to save perfectly everyone who comes to God through Him. (See Hebrews 7:25.)

One of the significant points of the blasphemy against God’s sanctuary was the removal of the Mediator, and placing instead human mediators. Christ the Mediator was completely removed from the heavenly sanctuary and, in the minds of men, human beings were put in His place. That is blasphemy. Blasphemy against the temple in heaven where there is an all-powerful Mediator.

When men look to human mediators, they do not get the help they need. Then they cannot overcome sin. They invent a theology that allows you to confess and confess and confess. You go and confess and you think you are saved. But there is no power. That is blasphemy. The gospel according to the New Testament presents an all-powerful Mediator. When you come to Him, you receive mercy and grace. That is power to help when you need it.

One of the biggest reasons for the crime and trouble that we have in the world today is because the Mediator has been taken away in many minds. Ellen White is very specific, that God lays at the door of the church the crime in society. (See The Great Controversy, 389.) We have taken away the help and unless you get men’s eyes back on the all-powerful Mediator, there is no help. There is no victory. That is not all, when you take away the divine Mediator, people are going to live in sin because without a divine Mediator to give help, there is no way out from your sin.

Jesus said to His disciples, “Without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5. I do not know about you, but that is not hard for me to believe at all. Have you ever tried it? It is easy to see from our society that people without Christ go down hill quickly, and crime, wars and every variety of sin increase.

We must be in harmony with the Law of God or we will be lost. There is no truth that is taught more succinctly than this in the sanctuary system. This theme runs throughout the Bible.

Another part of the blasphemy was to remove the Law altogether. The Law says I cannot divorce my wife except for fornication. The kings of Europe, during the Middle Ages, discovered that if they received permission from the right person, they could divorce their wives and marry someone else.

Why was the seventh commandment no longer enforced? Because the Law had been removed and people did not look to the Law of God. They looked to the church to find out what they could do and what they could not do. As one writer said, If you got permission, you could sleep in peace even if you murdered your own father. Daniel 7:25 predicted that the Law of God will be removed. That was blasphemy against the sanctuary in heaven. The Mediator was removed and the Law was removed.

How is God’s sanctuary to be cleansed or restored? To restore it in the mind of men, their eyes must be focused on God and His Law in the sanctuary. The sanctuary cannot be cleansed until the condition of things done by the little horn is remedied. In your mind you must see that that Law is still valid. It has not been changed. But you need more, you need an all-powerful Mediator that you can pray to and get help to bring your life into perfect harmony with that Law. Until that happens the sanctuary cannot be restored.

The sanctuary can only be cleansed, or restored to its rightful state, when God has a group of people that keep perfectly that Law. “Here is the patience of the saints; Here are those that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. The two things that the little horn did to trample the sanctuary, to cast it down, to defile it, have to be restored. The commandments and the High Priestly ministry of Jesus, the One Mediator, have to be restored to their rightful place.

The sanctuary is going to be cleansed. The judgment and the cleansing of the sanctuary involves three stages: first the righteous will be judged, then the wicked during the millennium followed by their execution at the end and finally the scape goat is dealt with at the end of the millennium.

The sanctuary will be cleansed and we will have a part in it. When it is over, either we will be cleansed from our sins, we will be keeping the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus, or we will be the other part of the cleansing process. Sin will be done away with. God has decided it.

When I look out in the world and see what sin has done, I am glad that God has made that decision. The question now is, Will I be cleansed of sin through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the mediation of Christ? Or will I cling to it and be destroyed when sin is destroyed?

The whole subject of the cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:10–14 has an extremely serious message for every single person in the world. That is what Adventism is about. We have a job to tell the world. The sanctuary will be restored to its rightful state and we need to decide what side we will be on when that happens.

I want the Law of God restored in my heart and to put my whole trust in Jesus as my Mediator so that my life can be changed. The best of us are not good enough and the worst of us are not so bad that the Lord cannot save us, if we put our trust in our all-powerful Mediator. I invite you to commit your life to Jesus, your all-powerful Mediator, today.

 

The Judgment

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The judgment is one of the central doctrines of our people. If we do not have a clear understanding of the judgment, we should not call ourselves Seventh-day Adventists. To help us clearly comprehend this vital subject, we will look deeply into the judgment, and why it is still in progress today.

Why is there a need for a judgment? Does God need a judgment so that He can make up His mind about who is going to have eternal life and who is not? No! God has not needed one hundred and fifty years to make up His mind.

If God does not need a judgment to help make up His mind, why do we need a judgment? We can find the answer in Daniel 7: “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9, 10.

Many are present at this judgement scene. There are thousands and thousands of angels and the inhabitants of the unfallen universe who are keenly interested in what is going on in our world. Are they spectators? Paul said that “we are made a spectacle unto the world and to angels and to men.” 1 Corinthians 4:9.

What are they interested in? To answer that question, we need to go back to a time even before this world was created when questions were raised in heaven by a mighty angel. He questioned God’s law and God’s government. This angel questioned whether it was right that the angels should have to obey God’s law. He claimed that God was a tyrant, and that the only thing God was interested in was exalting Himself. He said that changes were needed to God’s law. He claimed that the fact that God was so longsuffering and patient was a sign of His weakness and that he himself was superior to God. He tried his best with his attacks to destroy God’s character.

Sister White had a tremendous vision at Lovett’s Grove, Ohio, in 1858. She went into vision during a funeral service. While the family left the church and went out to the churchyard to bury their loved one, the rest of the congregation stayed in the church for four hours while Sister White was in vision.

This vision made such a deep impression upon her that the bulk of her writings, for the rest of her life, were given to explaining to God’s people what it was all about. We call that vision, “The Great Controversy Vision.” In it given an understanding of the great controversy going on between Christ and Satan and how we, in this world, are involved in the controversy.

It is not until that controversy is settled once and for all that sin and sinners will be done away with and we can all go to our eternal home. The central issue in the great controversy is whether God is what He says He is or whether He is what Satan says He is. Until that is settled, this whole mess of sin will go on.

God is putting His ways, His plans and everything He has done in the open, so that He can be judged. The whole universe has had ample opportunities to see whether Satan is telling the truth or whether God is telling the truth. Paul said, “God forbid: yea, let God be true, and every man a liar; as it is written, That Thou mightest be justified in Thy sayings, and mightest overcome when Thou art judged.” Romans 3:4. What an amazing thought!

Many of Satan’s accusations were proven to be false when Jesus came to this earth. The inhabitants of earth watched as Jesus walked this earth. They saw how He behaved; they saw what He did. It was hard after that to believe some of the things that Satan was saying. How could they believe that all God wanted was to exalt Himself when they saw Jesus acting the part of a humble servant?

 

Expect a Miracle

 

I love John 13. It talks about Jesus’ knowledge that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He came from God and that He went to God. What did Jesus do with that knowledge? He took on the part of a servant and with a towel and a basin and He washed his disciple’s feet. That was unexpected. You would have expected a miracle or a tremendous sermon at that point. And actually there was both a miracle and a sermon, because what He did by kneeling down and washing their feet was a sermon. It was a sermon about what the character of God is really like. It was a miracle, too, that the Creator of all things was prepared to get down and wash their feet. It was truly astonishing.

It was hard for the inhabitants of the universe to believe Satan when he said that all God wanted to do was to exalt Himself when they saw how humble He was. When they saw the love of Jesus even towards His enemies and they compared this with the hatred that Satan was inspiring, how could they ever believe that Satan was superior to God? Jesus disproved that accusation right then and there. However, Satan did not give up. Instead He created new and more deceptive accusations.

One of his most serious accusations was that although the law of God is as perfect as God claims, no one can keep it. Satan claimed that although Jesus kept it, no one else can! That is the issue in the judgment today. Is Satan right when he says that no one can keep the law of God? Or is Jesus right when He says that it can be kept.

The judgment will not be completed until every created being in this universe is convinced of issues like that. It is not going to end until Satan himself kneels down and says that he is wrong and God is right. Paul reminds us, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth; And every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10–12. The great controversy will not be finished until that has happened.

The judgment of the righteous—those who profess Christ—that has been in progress since 1844 will soon be over. A verdict will be reached and the inhabitants of the universe will have no doubts left. They will say, “Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His judgments.” Revelation 19:1, 2. As far as they are concerned the judgment is finished. But that is not the end of the judgment.

After Jesus comes and God’s people have been taken to heaven they (the redeemed) have a work to do during the millenium. “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.” Revelation 20:4. Now it is their turn. Those in heaven have bowed their knee and confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord. Now these people have to be satisfied beyond all doubt that Satan is a liar and our Lord is just and true in all His ways. What is their verdict going to be? “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.” Revelation 15:2, 3.

They are convinced. They have no doubts about it. They have examined every single dealing of God with His creation, and they will be able to say of God, “Just and true are Thy ways.” If we are faithful we will be able to see that all God’s dealings are just and true. All our questions will be answered. We will know that whatever God did was just and true, and we would not want it any other way.

Many have heartaches, questions and worries about things that have happened. I have all those, too. A year ago there was a young man who came to stay in my home. He was a spiritual young man in his mid-twenties. He helped me with my printing equipment and worked very hard at it. A few weeks later I had a telephone call to say that he had been killed in an automobile accident! I still have a hard time understanding that. But I am going to know one day why that happened. I am going to know that God’s way was best. That is why I shall praise Him and say, “Great and marvelous are Thy works, O, God Almighty.”

But the judgment is not over then. Revelation 20 tells us that there has to be a second resurrection. Those who have gone to their graves without Christ will be raised. They have to go through this same process until they too make the same confession.

The wicked fall prostrate. They worship the Prince of Life. Finally, Satan, too, kneels. “His accusations against the mercy and justice of God are now silenced. The reproach that he has endeavored to cast upon Jehovah rests wholly upon himself and Satan now bows down and confesses the justice of his sentence. ‘Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name for Thou only art holy. For all nations shall come and worship before Thee for Thy judgements are made manifest.’ ” The Great Controversy, 670.

That is what the judgment is all about. “Every question of truth and error in the long- standing controversy has now been made plain. The results of rebellion, the fruits of setting aside the divine statutes, have been laid open to the view of all created intelligences. The working out of Satan’s rule in contrast with the government of God has been presented to the whole universe. Satan’s own works have condemned him. God’s wisdom, His justice, and His goodness stand fully vindicated. It is seen that all His dealings in the great controversy have been conducted with respect to the eternal good of His people and the good of all the worlds which He has created. With all the facts of the great controversy in view, the whole universe, both loyal and rebellious, with one accord declare: ‘Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.’ ” The Great Controversy, 670, 671.

It is then that the judgment is finished. Why is that day not closer than it is? Why is it that we are one hundred and fifty years into the judgment and it does not seem to be moving? It is clearly stated in the Spirit of Prophecy that heaven is waiting for something, and that we are part of that waiting. What part do we play in the judgment that is going on at this moment? “Satan had claimed that it was impossible for man to obey God’s commandments.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 314. Satan’s claims are directly opposite the Biblical teaching that it is perfectly possible to obey God’s commandments.

We know that in our own strength it is true that we cannot obey them. But Christ came in the form of humanity, and by His perfect obedience, proved that humanity and divinity combined can obey every one of God’s precepts.

How is that issue going to be settled? By God’s people. What part do you play in this? Which side are you on? Can Jesus point to you and say, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus”? Or does Satan point to you and say,
“There is my evidence. See they cannot do it.”?

Jesus is looking for those who profess to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus to be His witnesses in the judgment. We will either witness for Christ or for Satan. We must do something about that, or the judgment is going to go on.

In the early 1920s, my mother became a Seventh-day Adventist. She was a young girl, but she sacrificed to be a Seventh-day Adventist. She never believed that she would grow old and die. But several years ago she died at age ninety. She never believed that time would go on so long.

God has given to every generation since 1844 the challenge, “Will you be My witnesses? Will you be the ones who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus?” And every single generation from 1844 has said, “No, we do not want that. We would sooner die.” We may not say it with our words, but we say it with our actions.

I want to go home. But none of us are going home until we are willing to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. It is as simple as that. The judgment is going to go on because Christ is waiting for us. “Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His people. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own. It is the privilege to every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of Christ.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 69.

Are we hastening the coming or are we delaying it? That is the question. Are we doing everything we can, day by day, to hasten the coming? Or are we, by our refusal to let go of sin, delaying the coming of Jesus?

 

Only Two Questions

 

There has been a lot of debate in the Seventh-day Adventist Church on righteousness by faith, and it has been made so complicated and theological. I do not believe it is like that. Our message is simple enough to explain to our children.

The following quotation sums up righteousness by faith in a few words: “Often the follower of Christ is brought where he cannot serve God and carry forward his worldly enterprises. Perhaps it seems that some obedience to the plain requirements of God will cut off his means of support. Satan would make him believe that he must sacrifice his conscientious convictions. But the only thing in our world, upon which we can rely, is the word of God. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Even in this life it is not for our good to depart from the will of our Father in heaven. When we learn the power of His word, we shall not follow the suggestions of Satan in order to obtain food or to save our lives. Our only questions will be, What is God’s command? and what His promise? Knowing these, we shall obey the one and trust the other.” Desire of Ages, 121.

We should ask two questions. 1. What is God’s command? It is righteousness. (Righteousness is obedience to the commandments of God.) 2.What is His promise? When we trust His promises, what is that? That is faith. There you have righteousness by faith in twenty-four words.

You remember the story of the Children of Israel coming out of Egypt? When the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt He did a very strange thing. There is a direct road from Egypt to the Promised Land. It is called the way of the land of the Philistines. The Lord said, “You are not going that way. You are going by the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea.” That sounded crazy!

They went down that road a ways and the Lord said, “Turn off the road.” And He took them through the mountains and through narrow winding canyons. He brought them right to the border of the Red Sea. That was a tough place. The mountains came right down to the sea on the right hand side. When they looked back over their shoulders they saw an army. Josephus suggests that there were a quarter of a million infantry in that army and fifty thousand cavalry. And all the chariots of Egypt including the six hundred chosen chariots that Pharaoh had.

There was no where to go. Some of them began to lose their faith and they said it would have been far better if we had stayed in Egypt. The Lord gave them the command, “Go forward.” The Lord is saying that to us today. “Go forward.” The promise was, “You will go on dry land through the midst of the sea.” They obeyed the command. They trusted in the promise and they were safe.

It was an amazing scene. The Lord took them right through that sea and brought them safe to the other side. This scene of going through the sea and the water drying up goes right through the Bible, from Exodus to Revelation. It is a symbol of the deliverance of God’s people, and a symbol of the destruction of the enemies of God’s people. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 that this was a symbol of baptism. Baptism is where you come out of Egypt; you come out of sin. Before you can obtain this new life, you must get into the water. Just like the children of Israel, you do not know what is on the other side of the water.

They had to trust God that He would take them through. Baptism is just the same. The Lord gives us the command that we should be baptized. And He gives us the promise, “Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world.” That is all we need. The command and the promise. Our only question should be, “What is God’s command and what His promise? Knowing these we shall obey the one and trust the other.”

“In the last great conflict of the controversy with Satan, those who are loyal to God will see every earthly support cut off.” The Desire of Ages, 121. I have seen a beautiful painting of Ellen White’s first vision. In the vision she saw a path winding up toward heaven. All the way the path gets narrower and narrower. Along the path there are strewn wagons, horses, shoes, socks and baggage—all left behind. Every earthly support had to be left.

Those people discovered that whenever they came to a hard place, there were ropes hanging down. Those ropes are the promises of God. We lay hold on those promises of God by faith. The travelers came to the point where there was no path anymore. Where they were going was on the other side of a huge gulf. The only way to get over there was by hanging onto the ropes.

Some people asked, “Who is holding the rope up?” The answer came, “God is holding the rope.” He has not let us down so far and He is not going to let us down now. We have nothing to fear for the future except we forget the way the Lord has led us in the past. We must have faith.

Faith in the promises of God will take us through. Over the past six years my wife and I have been trying to put that into practice in our home and ministry. The Lord has been so patient and good to us and He has answered so many prayers and worked so many miracles. Many times we have knelt down in our morning devotions, together, and we have prayed that the Lord would provide the money so we could send out the mail that day, because we did not have the money. Then when we came back from work in the evening, there would be an envelope in the mailbox with the exact amount needed. Think about it. That envelope was mailed the day before we prayed. Before they call, I will answer—the Bible promised and I believe it.

When an envelope is in the mail, we are only part of the prayer. The person who put that envelope in the mail is the other part. I told this experience to a congregation and a lady came up to me afterwards and she was in tears. She said, “I had the strongest impulse that I should have sent you some money that day, but I was busy. I never got around to do it. I could have been the answer to your prayer.”

If the Holy Spirit is asking you to do something, do it now, do not put it off. There is nothing else more important. Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” If we put our priorities right, we are going to be the type of people God can take home to His kingdom. The type of people of whom God can say, “These are My witnesses. These are the ones that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

 

The Everlasting Gospel

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“Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest.” Revelation 15:4. We should realize that there will come a day when every one on earth will have to stand before God and worship Him. They will admit that He is just and righteous in everything He has done. If we want to be among the group that inherit life eternal we must accept God’s message and cooperate with it. We need to know the everlasting gospel, for time is very short.

Remember that the everlasting gospel was planned before the foundation of the world. In the Garden of Eden God revealed the gospel. The audience was only two people, but they needed the solution that the gospel provided. God said to the devil, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15.

In the Norwegian Bible it says that the woman’s Seed—that is Jesus—shall crush the serpent’s head. Unfortunately, in only a few places, today, is the everlasting gospel being preached. Many fancy gospels are being preached from different pulpits, but they contain no “crushing” of the devil’s head.

Disobedience brought sin into this world. The only solution is obedience. That means that the everlasting gospel that God has given must contain a plan for how disobedient people can be obedient. The disease, the Bible tells us, is sin and the treatment is to be born again. The result is righteousness. That is the essence of the everlasting gospel.

When Jesus left the disciples to begin His service in the heavenly sanctuary, He did not leave them alone. Through the presence of the Holy Spirit, He guided them. “He shall . . . bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26.

The gospel was founded upon the very name and character of Jesus. “Thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. But if you listen to the preaching from many churches in my country, you would think that His name was not Jesus and the salvation He offers is not from sin but from guilt only. There is no crushing of the devil’s head in such a message.

For more than three years the disciples witnessed the everlasting gospel in action in the life of Jesus. They knew His message, and what they should preach. They had no intention of inventing some kind of new gospel or doctrine. They felt an obligation, the Bible says, to teach men and women to believe and observe what the Holy Spirit showed them and what Jesus had preached. They had been there when He met the manipulative Pharisees. They heard Him preach the Sermon on the Mount and the spiritual application of the law. They learned that it was possible for a human being to break God’s commandments in his mind. They realized that salvation must change the inner man into God’s likeness. This was the only gospel they knew. They heard Him say that only the pure in heart will see God, and that He came not to destroy but to fulfill the law. They knew that God could provide the power to overcome through the Holy Spirit. This was their message. They preached it and they believed it.

The members of the early church based their decision on what they heard, and that was the everlasting gospel. They had heard Jesus say, “Turn the other cheek, love your enemies, do good to them that hate you.” They understood what He meant when He said, “If you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” They could not preach Jesus, and faith in Him, without preaching what He said and did. That was the everlasting gospel.

They heard His words to the woman taken in adultery, when He said, “Go and sin no more.” They heard Him say, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” They understood that the changing of man’s character is vital for salvation. God can forgive and God can give victory.

They also understood that circumcision is a symbol of belonging to Israel. The real circumcision is that of the heart. Even in the Old Testament God had said, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.” Deuteronomy 10:16. The Lord said in effect, “Let me perform an operation on your mind. Let Me change you. Let Me put My law into your mind.” It is a miracle that takes disobedient people and makes them obedient by writing this law into the mind. That was central to the everlasting gospel.

The disciples preached that God can purge a conscience from dead works. (See Hebrews 9:14.) They preached, “Put off the old man with his deeds.” Colossians 3:9. We can “be dead indeed unto sin.” Romans 6:11. “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Romans 6:12. They preached that any character fault, whether hereditary or developed, can be laid at the cross of Jesus. He will cleanse and change us.

You cannot be a Seventh-day Adventist without believing the everlasting gospel. A gospel that says that you can be saved while willfully sinning is not the everlasting gospel!

 

Depressing or Encouraging?

 

Some people feel that the everlasting gospel is depressing. Just think about this. When you have trouble with your car, you take it to a mechanic. If he looked it over and said he could not fix it, but that your car would be useless, you would have to live with the car’s problem for as long as you kept the car. Now, that would be depressing.

If the mechanic examined the car and said, “I can fix it. All I need to do is replace the defective part with a new one. What’s more it will not cost you anything.” You would be thrilled. That is just like the everlasting gospel. It is truly good news!

The gospel is good new, but it will not do any good for you or I if we only accept it intellectually. It must be an experience. That is the only way to be a real Christian and to be a Seventh-day Adventist.

Can you see why the devil gets angry at such a gospel? He gets angry with everyone who preaches it. Some of us have been privileged to experience that. Satan knows that the everlasting gospel contains his death sentence. He will lose control of all those who accept and experience this gospel, because it provides the receivers with an armor that stands against the wiles of the devil so his poisonous darts cannot hurt them. (See Ephesians 6:11.)

If you have experienced the everlasting gospel, you will still be tempted, but the Holy Spirit in your life will keep you from falling. That is the promise. The everlasting gospel meets us with both the grace of forgiveness and the grace of victory. Both spring out of God’s love.

For thousands of years the devil has known the effects of the everlasting gospel in men’s lives. He has had plenty of time to devise countless methods to destroy it. He has often tried force. Millions have died as martyrs for Christ as a result of years of persecution. But there is one problem. You cannot force a person who is born again to give up his belief and trust in Christ. Nebuchadnezzer tried to use force against Daniel’s three friends, but it did not work. When everyone else fell down to worship the image, they remained standing. They had made up their minds to be obedient at any cost.

When they were brought before the king, he offered them a second chance because he liked their work as rulers of the Province of Babylon, and he wanted them to continue to serve him. They replied, “we do not have to answer the king a single word.” This may sound rude to us, but in their day it was a commonly used legal phrase. It simply meant, the case is closed. They were saying, “We have made up our minds. You do not need to give us another chance. We will not fall down and worship the image no matter what.”

Soon you and I might meet the same test. When the politico-religious ruler of Babylon, described in Revelation, has an image erected, everyone will be invited to fall down and worship. A few people will stand. But we can be sure that the people who will be standing at that time will have the same experience as the three Hebrews in Babylon had. They were born again. They made their decision to die rather than sin. When Jesus is the Lord of our life, He will fill us with the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. He will give us strength. We do not now know what we will to do when that happens, but if we are born again and remain in that relationship with the Lord, we will know what to say and do to keep from breaking one of God’s commandments.

Nebuchadnezzar wanted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to break one of the Ten Commandments. But they had made up their minds. They knew they would rather die. Ahead of us is an experience where we will be asked to break one of those commandments. If we have not made up our minds before, if we do not have this relationship with the Lord before that day, we will bow down and worship.

There is no way the devil can defeat people who are born again. A Christian who is born again is not proud. Self does not rise up and cause problems. You cannot hurt the person who is born again. You will never hear a born again person say, “You have hurt my feelings.” If you say to a person who is born again, “I hate you!” and you slap him, he will look you right in the eye and he might say, “I do not hate you. I love you. I see that you have problems in your life and I want to help you.”

 

A New Method

 

As we gave seen, force does not work against born again individuals, so the devil introduced a new method to ensnare God’s people. It was a false gospel promising salvation, not from sin but in sin. With this method he has been very successful. Again and again Jesus and the disciples warned against false prophets, false preachers inside the church, who would depart from the faith. The Bible says they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They preach a different gospel that cuts the link between faith and obedience. That is the essence of the devil’s false gospel.

When a group of people, at the end, come to Jesus and say, “We have performed so many miracles and done mighty works in Your name. Let us in!” Jesus replies, “I do not know you. You did not obey Me.” The Greek says, “you who live in lawlessness.” You who believe yourself disconnected from my laws. That is His message. You did not accept the truth that says faith always leads to obedience. (See Matthew 7:21–23.)

Included in this false gospel is the message that Jesus conquered the devil because He was different from you and me. That means that His victory is not available to us. Promoters of this doctrine say we must continue sinning because we have a nature that can not be victorious. This is the essence of the false gospel. In our churches in Norway, we hear from the pulpit and in Sabbath School that we can sin knowingly and willfully, and when Jesus comes He will change our character. That is not the everlasting gospel that you find in the Bible. It is the false alternative gospel that the devil has introduced. The consequences in my country are tremendous. Sin flourishes in the church. The spiritual battle that the Bible invites us to be engaged in is nonexistent. The young people in our church live with one foot in the world and the other in the church and they think it is just fine. They will be saved anyway (so they are told)!

In this false gospel the way of salvation was altered and the nature of Christ was changed. The nature of man and sin was changed. God’s law was changed. The organization of the church was also changed to remove Jesus as High Priest and every believer as a priest. The traditions of men were placed above God’s Word, and a verbal confession were put in place of God’s power.

My wife and I have a business in Norway. We teach leadership to executives of companies and government workers. Recently, I was invited to a Norwegian city to have a seminar for ministers in the Lutheran Church. I told them my background and asked, “Since you are Christian people, could I get all my principles from the Bible?” They said, “That would be wonderful. We want you to do that.” I had the opportunity to take two hours in the middle of that seminar to teach the sanctuary service to two hundred and twenty priests from the Lutheran Church and their local bishop.

I told them about the altar where forgiveness is provided. I told them about the first apartment where God had provided all the symbolism for changing man’s character: the bread, the wine, and the light for communication with heaven.

After the seminar, I cried when the old bishop came up and said to the two hundred and twenty ministers with tears in his eyes, “What are we doing?” he asked, “People come to our churches with their sin and they leave with their sin.” He called the Lutheran Church in Norway a Laodicean Church.

This bishop realized that they did not have the full gospel to give. People had come to them with the same character faults for ten, twenty or thirty years without a change. He pleaded with the ministers, “Give the people the gospel that will not only forgive sin but will change their character in harmony with God’s law.”

A couple of the ministers came to me afterwards and said, “Would you be willing to come to our Lutheran Church and preach to our members?” “I think I can manage that,” I said, as I praised the Lord to myself.

It is interesting that at the time most Adventists have stopped giving the everlasting gospel in our churches, in churches all around us people are longing for it. In Norway we find in all the churches, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, and Pentecostal, a small minority who are dissatisfied. They realize something is wrong. They read their Bibles and listen to the preaching and find no harmony. They say they are drifting. We have contacted many of them. They are looking for light. They want the gospel the Lord has given us. We see that all of these churches are being shaken. I believe the Lord is now in the process of collecting all these minorities and creating His church with the messages of our belief.

 

The Minority in History

 

It still seems that it is such a small minority who really want the truth. But was it not always that way? It was a minority at the time of Noah. Eight people went into the ark, but the majority did not believe. It was a minority on Mount Carmel. At the time of Jesus it was a minority. In the Dark Ages there was a minority that were true believers. And so it will be a minority at the end of time as well.

The Lord has kept His people all through the ages. At one time the Roman Church was God’s church. But later in history that church developed into God’s greatest enemy. During the Papacy’s rule, God provided for the church in the wilderness: people in towns, mountains and forests. It did not matter how many. There were some here and some there, but they were the true Church. God took care of them even when the majority had fallen away from the truth.

If you belong to a church that has one thousand members and nine hundred and ninety-nine of them leave the everlasting gospel, do not believe in the Three Angels’ Messages and construct some kind of message that they like to hear, has the church fallen in that town if one person still believes? No, I believe that the one person is God’s Church. The other 999 may be lost, even if they have the structure and the system, but the faithful believer is still part of God’s Church.

When Jerusalem was destroyed in the year 70 A.D., all the true Christians left. From there the church spread to all lands: to India, Africa, England, even up to Scandinavia. The Waldensians and other early reformers protected the everlasting gospel for twelve hundred and sixty years. God raised up Knox, Zwingle, Tyndale and Luther. In Sweden He raised up the Petrie brothers. In Denmark He raised up Hans Tausen.

In my country, Norway, He raised up a man called Hans Nielson Hauge. He was put in prison by the Lutheran Church in Norway because he preached in the private homes of farmers that had invited him. There was a law in Norway at that time that no one was allowed to have a religious meeting in a private home if he did not have a priest there to interpret the Scriptures.

Hauge continued to preach, and continued to be arrested. Every time they let him out, he went right to the nearest farm and invited people and started to preach again. He was in and out of prison all his life; totaling ten years in prison. While in prison he sang. He learned all the hymns by heart. Then he would kneel down in front of the door of his prison cell preaching the everlasting gospel through the keyhole! During that ten years, several of the guards were converted to Christ. Do you see why the devil has no chance with people who are born again?

God gave a tremendous light to the Adventist movement. The message of salvation from sin is found in Revelation 14. As Jesus completes His High Priestly ministry in heaven, we as His faithful people will have to realize that we have been chosen to restore the foundation of the everlasting gospel.

That means that what He is doing in the sanctuary in heaven right now has to be an experience in our lives. I found that among Adventist people in my country many say, “I believe Christ is my High Priest, I believe in 1844, I believe that He is doing a special work cleansing the sanctuary, I believe in all of that, and I also believe that I can sin willfully and knowingly until Jesus comes to change my character.”

That is not the everlasting gospel. We have to realize that there is an experience the Lord will give us that includes the cleansing of my sins and your sins. If we have not accepted that message, we have not accepted the everlasting gospel.

Read the following promises and claim them:

“For on that day shall the priest make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.” Leviticus 16:30.

“And I will turn My hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin.” Isaiah 1:25.

“Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:10.

“And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Malachi 3:3.

Do you want the Lord to cleanse your life and take away all your sins, no matter what the Holy Spirit is pointing out to you that is preventing the Lord from having full control in your life? Give it to the Lord and say, “Lord, bless me. Take it away. I do not want to be a person like that.” This prayer the Lord will answer.

May the Lord help us to cooperate with Him and help us to receive the everlasting gospel, not as a theory but as an experience. As you look ahead and realize what is going to happen, you do not need to be afraid. Place your hand in the Lord’s hand and live in a born again relationship with Him. He will take care of you. He will give you the strength to live, or to choose death rather than to sin.

 

If the Foundations be Destroyed, part 1

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As historic Seventh-day Adventists we are not teaching, believing or adopting any kind of new theology. We do not need it, because we have the truth. That does not mean that our minds are not open to believe and receive more truth, but the new light will not contradict the old light. We believe in the same old fashioned Adventist message that our pioneers preached over one hundred years ago.

In this article, I want to review the central pillar of our message. What is a pillar? It is something that is very important. Recently my wife and I were in the state of Washington visiting my wife’s father and stepmother. On the way back home we were traveling in the mountains. The freeway we were on was below a two-lane freeway going in the opposite direction that was held up by pillars. I was not worried about it because of those pillars. As long as the pillars stay in place, as long as the foundation stays in place, then there is nothing to worry about because everything will be all right.

What if a foundation is knocked loose? Psalm 11:3 says, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” If the foundations are destroyed, we are in big trouble. The whole building can come crashing down, or the freeway will break apart.

When I was attending Walla Walla College a disaster occurred along the Columbia River. A pillar from under the John Day bridge was washed away, and the bridge came down. Some people came down with it and they were never seen again.

It is easy to see then, that if a foundation or a pillar is washed away, disaster is sure to come. The devil knows that, so he does not chip away at the roof of the building, He tries to get underneath and knock the foundation out. The devil has been trying to do this over and over again with the Adventist faith. He has been trying to knock the foundation or pillar out from under it, so the whole thing will come down.

What is the foundation, the central pillar of the Advent faith? “The Scripture which above all others had been both the foundation and the central pillar of the Advent faith was the declaration: ‘Unto two thousand and three hundred days then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.’ Daniel 8:14. These had been familiar words to all believers in the Lord’s coming. By the lips of thousands was this prophecy repeated as the watchword of their faith. All felt that upon the events therein foretold depended their brightest expectations and most cherished hopes. These prophetic days had been shown to terminate in the autumn of 1844.” The Great Controversy, 409.

Here it says that the central pillar of Adventism is found in Daniel 8:14. The devil has attacked this Scripture over and over again through our theological opponents for one hundred and fifty years his attacks have not ceased.

If you are a Seventh-day Adventist, or if you are thinking of becoming a Seventh-day Adventist and you want to understand the Seventh-day Adventist faith, you should make a special study of Daniel 8:10–14. Here is the central pillar and the foundation of our message. We will study Daniel 8 in its historical, linguistic and theological context.

“Those who would share the benefits of the Saviour’s mediation should permit nothing to interfere with their duty to perfect holiness in the fear of God.” Ibid., 488. All Christians have been given the command to perfect holiness in the fear of God. “The precious hours, instead of being given to pleasure, to display, or to gain seeking, should be devoted to an earnest, prayerful study of the Word of truth. The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God.” Ibid.

We are to clearly understand the sanctuary and the investigative judgment. This is the central pillar and the foundation of our faith. If we do not understand it, then we cannot give anyone a rational reason why we are Seventh-day historic Adventists.

The faith of many Adventists today is in disarray because they do not understand Daniel chapter eight. They do not understand what the investigative judgment is or what the cleansing of the sanctuary is all about and so they do not have a rational reason to be Adventists.

Several years ago I was a teacher at Southwestern Adventist College. In one of the classes one day, after reading the daily devotional Scriptures, I asked the students a question about salvation. When they answered my question, I was shocked. Here were dozens of Adventist young people, even ministers children and they did not know the fundamentals of salvation. They were not talking like Seventh-day Adventists. They were talking like Baptists. Baptists teach that salvation is a one step process. Seventh-day Adventists know from the sanctuary that salvation involves more than a one step process.

I worked with an Inter-denominational jail ministry for a number of years. A Christian worker from another denomination would say to me, “Some people were saved tonight.” I said to myself, “What is he talking about?” As soon as a prisoner said, “I believe,” they thought this person was saved—that it was an accomplished fact. The plan of salvation is more involved than that and Adventists know it. That is one of the reasons that other Christians hated our pioneers. If the sanctuary message is true, there is more to it than merely saying, “I believe.”

We need to understand what the sanctuary doctrine is and what the investigative judgement is. Ellen White said, “All need a knowledge for themselves of the position and work of their great High Priest. Otherwise, it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith, which is essential at this time, or to occupy the position, which God designs them to fill. Every individual has a soul to save or lose. Each has a case pending at the bar of God. Each must meet the great Judge face to face.” Ibid.

Daniel 8 begins with a vision in which Daniel sees a ram and a goat, which has a big horn. The he goat destroys the ram and then the great horn is broken. Then there appear four horns. And finally a little horn appears. That is in the first eight or nine verses of Daniel 8. To understand Daniel 8:14 we need to know who and what this little horn is, because the prophecy about the twenty-three hundred days deals with this little horn.

In Daniel 8:20 the angel tells Daniel that the ram represents the kings of Media and Persia. The he-goat represents the kingdom of Greece and specifically Alexander the Great. The ram of Media Persia is described in the Hebrew text as being great. The he-goat is called exceedingly great or very great. Greece was more powerful and a greater empire than the kingdom of Medo-Persia and it took in more territory. The little horn power is described in even stronger terms, translated as “great beyond measure.” From that description it would have to be a power that is much greater than the Medo-Persian Empire which was a world empire. It would have to be even greater than the kingdom of Greece. The only kingdom that fits that description is Rome.

The little horn power was not Antiochus Epiphanes. He was a vassal king and did not have a world empire. He was definitely not greater than Alexander the Great. The theory that Antiochus Epiphanes was the little horn does not make any sense in the Scripture, no matter how our theological opponents present it.

Some people say that the Bible says that this little horn comes out of one of those four horns. It does not say that. The literal Hebrew translation reads, “And there came up four conspicuous horns in its place toward the four winds of the heavens.”

There are two nouns there, one is “horns” and the other is “winds”. “Out of one of them . . .” verse 9. Someone says, “See Pastor John, it says out of one of the horns.” No, it does not say out of one of the horns. It says out of one of “them.” The word “them” in Hebrew is masculine. The word “horn” is feminine. So “them” cannot refer to horns.

In Greek and Hebrew a pronoun always has to agree with its noun in gender. Winds can be either masculine or feminine, but horns can only be feminine. So the word “them” cannot refer to horns. It refers to the winds, which is the noun directly preceding it.

“Out of one of them,” that is, out of one of the winds of heaven, “there came a little horn.” Daniel 8:9. When we look at the linguistic context, we see that the little horn comes out of one of the winds of heaven, the west wind.

We have seen that the historical context proves this little horn to be Rome, and the linguistic context points the same way. Let us look more closely at the little horn power. Verse 10 says, “And it became great, even to the host (army) of the heavens.”

Who is the host of heaven? The armies, or the hosts of heaven, is a term in the Bible that refers often to God’s people. (See Joshua 5:14, 15 and Exodus 12:41.) The angels are also referred to as the armies or the hosts of God. (See Luke 2:13.)

When the angel explained what this meant, he said that this little horn power would “destroy the mighty and also the holy people.” Verse 24. That is God’s people—the armies of heaven.

“He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host.” Verse 11. Jesus Christ is the Ruler of the armies of heaven. Revelation 19 describes His coming back to this world as the head of the armies of heaven. “He has on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” Revelation 19:16. He is the Commander of the hosts of heaven. This little horn power would even exalt himself to oppose the Commander of the hosts of heaven.

Which government was involved in the crucifixion of Jesus? It was the Roman government. Roman soldiers nailed Him to the cross at the command of a Roman governor. It is not hard to figure out that this little horn power would exalt itself even to the Commander of the armies of heaven.

It [the little horn] cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground and trampled [destroyed] them. (Daniel 8:10.) Verse 24 says, concerning this little horn power, that he would “destroy the mighty and also the holy people.” Then notice what it says will happen. “He magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily was taken away.” Daniel 8:11.

The little horn power exalted the continuous, or the daily, or that which is continual. What is it that was continual? Verse 12 calls it the “continuance in rebellion.” Then it says that the very thing that he exalted, he later was given an army against it. The Bible translators could not figure that out, so they changed the wording to the “daily sacrifice.” They could not figure out how you could exalt something and then have an army given you to destroy it.

Ellen White said that the pioneers and William Miller had the truth on what the “daily” was. The continuance, that which was always in rebellion—even back before the flood; then at the Tower of Babel, in Egypt, in Assyria, in Babylon, in Medo-Persia, in Greece and finally it reached its epitome in Rome. It was the “continuance in rebellion” that was exalted to its highest level in Rome. For four thousand five hundred years it was a continuance in rebellion. It was paganism or heathenism which center around sun worship.

The history of Rome reveals what paganism does to a nation. The horrors and debauchery are too dreadful to be written down, but if you look in Romans chapter 1 you can get a small idea. Romans was written to the people who lived in that city and it describes the society in which they had to live.

Later on it says an army would be given to this little horn power to take away the continuance and set up an “abomination that would make desolate,” or that would depopulate it. In verse 12 it says, “Because of the transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.” The word translated “transgression” means a revolt or a rebellion.

There are two rebellions mentioned in these verses 10–12. The first one, the daily, is the daily in transgression or the “continuance in transgression” or rebellion. (Daniel 8:12.) Then there is the desolating transgression or the desolating rebellion. (See Truth Triumphant, by Benjamin Wilkinson.) The continual rebellion started before the flood and it kept on going after the flood until the beginning of the sixth century, A.D. When it was taken away, something worse was put in its place. That something is described in the Scriptures as Antichrist, the Man of Sin. The apostasy of the latter times that would last until the Second Coming of Christ.

The continuance, plus the abomination of desolation, refers to the sin problem from its beginning to its end. Somehow our detractors and opponents cannot seem to figure that out. It is one of the main thrusts of Daniel 8, 10, 11 and 12. It is connected here in Daniel 8 with the twenty-three hundred days because we read in Daniel 8:13, 14, “And then I heard a certain holy one speaking and he sent another holy one to that one who spoke. ‘Until when is the vision concerning the daily [“the continuance in rebellion”]?’” Daniel 8:13.

How long is the vision concerning the continuance and the desolating rebellion? It has been going on now for thousands of years. The time is coming when it is going to be taken away and the desolating rebellion put in its place. How long are both of these things going to continue into the future, “to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled? And he said to me, Unto two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed [made righteous, purified or restored].” Daniel 8:13, 14.

At the end of two thousand three hundred days, the sanctuary will be restored to its rightful state. “Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the Holy City under foot for forty-two months.’ ” Revelation 11:1, 2.

What does it mean for the sanctuary to be restored, vindicated? God’s sanctuary is in heaven. They knew that, even in the Old Testament time. We enter into that sanctuary by faith. “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he consecrated for us, through the Veil, that is, his flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19–22. When this sanctuary is cleansed, friend, it is God’s measuring time. He is not just going to measure a building. The sanctuary, the temple, is a symbol of the church (See Ephesians 2:19–22.) The sanctuary, the altar and the worshippers will be measured. God has a measuring rod, and He will measure the people who are in it.

When the measuring is over, you will either be in it or you will be shaken out of it. When you lose your vision, and you turn your back on the Biblical teaching of the judgment like some people are doing today, you have been shaken out. You can go to church every week for the rest of your life, but you have been shaken out of God’s church. The sanctuary cannot be restored to its rightful state as long as those who are worshipping in it by faith are still full of sin. They must be purified, cleansed.

The central pillar and the foundation of the Advent faith cannot be knocked out from under the person who studies the Biblical texts carefully. It is rooted in the Bible. You can study it historically, linguistically, and theologically—any way you want to study it, and it will stand investigation.

It is measuring time and God is doing the measuring. Either by His grace we are going to measure up or we will be shaken out. (See Hebrews 12.) The good news is, Jesus says, “My grace is sufficient for you.” If you want to be saved, He will give you enough grace so that you can be purified, so that you will measure up, so that you can be restored. When the worshippers in the sanctuary are measured, when they are all put before the measuring rod, I want to be ready for that time so I will remain and will not be shaken out. How about you?

 

The Great Feasts of the Bible — The Passover

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The precious atonement of Jesus, as portrayed by the Passover, was not an afterthought or something that came by chance. The sacrifice of God’s Son was foreseen by Deity long before the world came into existence. The atonement was planned in every detail to the very moment. The life of Christ on earth was laid out from birth to the cross, before He ever came to this world.

But more than this was entailed in the atonement. God chose to schedule events from Eden to the cross. This leaves no possible room for doubt as to its divine purpose. Christ had a schedule to meet. Not only a time to be born in Bethlehem, and a time to die on the cross of Calvary, but also an exact time for His second coming and an exact time for His third coming at the close of the millennium. Yes, Christ had a schedule to meet. “Jesus said unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.” John 2:4.

Jesus’ words, “Mine hour is not yet come,” point to the fact that every act of Christ’s life on earth was in fulfillment of the plan that had existed from the days of eternity. Before He came to earth, the plan lay out before Him perfect in all its details. His last Passover supper spent on this earth was scheduled to the exact day. “And He said, Go into the city to such a man, and say to him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with My disciples.” Matthew 26:18.

The reason Christ went to the Garden after spending the Passover with His disciples was that this, too, had been scheduled. For it was here that He was to be betrayed. “Then cometh He to His disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” Matthew 26:45.

Jesus knew the time had come. Just as the Passover commemorated the deliverance from Egypt, so Christ understood the Passover lamb pointed to His coming sacrifice. Even the Passover in Egypt was scheduled in the time frame of God, for it took place exactly on the day that it was planned.

Abraham was told that his children would go into Egypt for four hundred and thirty years as slaves. (See Genesis 15.) “Now the sojourning of the Children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:40, 41.

It required some drastic judgments from God, such as the world had never seen before, to bring it to pass on the exact day. Water was turned to blood, there were plagues of frogs, lice and hail, darkness and finally a never-to-be-forgotten night. For in the land of Goshen the first Passover was held. Each family met together to kill a lamb and sprinkle its blood on their doorposts. The lamb was to be roasted and eaten just as the angel of death passed over each home at midnight.

While in the land of Egypt the same angel of death struck in every home including the king’s palace. Every firstborn of man and beast was slain. Never was there such a cry of death that struck every family of a whole nation at the same moment. The Israelites were commanded to leave immediately—and it all happened at the precise time God had predicted.

Israel was commanded to keep the Passover when they should reach the Promised Land of Canaan, as a memorial of this mighty deliverance by the hand of God. The Passover was kept in the day of Christ. Jesus was twelve years old when He went to Jerusalem to keep His first Passover. As He watches the priest carrying out the Passover activities, Jesus suddenly discovers a sublime truth; for He understands that every act of His life is bound up in what the priest has done with the little lamb.

New impulses awaken within Him. God is His Teacher. Like a sudden clap of thunder His mission in life opens up before Him. Silently, absorbed in divine thoughts, He studies the sin problem as never before. Finally the moment arrives. He sees Himself as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.

Immediately there is a change in this boy of twelve. His meekness as a willing child has changed to an awareness of a higher responsibility. He addresses His parents, Joseph and Mary, in a remarkable new manner. “Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” Luke 2:49. Divine inspiration tells us that as He spoke these words, He pointed heavenward, to the astonishment of His earthly parents. At this young age, he was aware of His divine Father.

His purpose in life has now become clear as crystal. Just as God delivered His people from the slavery of Egypt, so Jesus is to deliver His people from the slavery of sin. He, the Son of God, is to become the Passover Lamb by giving His own life as a sacrifice for our sins. Every moment of His life from then on was dedicated to preparation for the moment of sacrifice.

This demanded total surrender to God’s will and a full commitment to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Every day of His life was a twenty-four hour battle with Satan. “Satan was unwearied in his efforts to overcome the Child of Nazareth. From His earliest years Jesus was guarded by heavenly angels, yet His life was one long struggle against the powers of darkness. That there should be upon the earth one life free from defilement of evil was an offense and a perplexity to the Prince of Darkness. He left no means untried to ensnare Jesus. No child of humanity will ever be called to live a holy life amidst so fierce a conflict with temptation as was our Saviour.” The Desire of Ages, 71.

 

Battle with Satan

 

You and I may think we have a hard time in this battle with Satan, but we in our struggle with evil do not commence to meet the battle as He did. The Son of God experienced temptation one thousand times greater that you and I. “You have not a difficulty that did not press with equal weight upon Him nor a sorrow that His heart has not experienced. His feelings could be hurt with neglect, with indifference of professed friends, as easily as yours could. Is your path thorny? Christ’s was so in a tenfold sense. Are you distressed? So was He. How well fitted was Christ to be an example.” Our High Calling, 59.

Will we ever be tempted in a way Christ was not? “If we had to bear anything which Jesus did not endure, then upon this point Satan would represent the power of God as insufficient for us. Therefore, Jesus was ‘in all points tempted like as we are.’ Hebrews 4:15.” The Desire of Ages, 24.

He endured every trial to which we are subject and He exercised in His own behalf no power that is not freely offered to us. As a man, He met temptation and overcame in the strength given Him from God. And so it can be with you and me. “To Jesus, Who emptied Himself for the salvation of lost humanity, the Holy Spirit was given without measure. So it will be given to every follower of Christ when the whole heart is surrendered for His indwelling. Our Lord Himself has given the command, ‘Be filled with the Spirit.’ Ephesians 5:18.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 21.

This is what Paul tells us. “For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily and you have come to fullness of life in Him.” Colossians 2:9, 10. Again Peter admonishes us with the same encouragement. “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:3, 4. How we should praise God for what He has made possible for us.

After the baptism of Jesus, three years of public ministry was scheduled in which Jesus was to reveal God’s love by miracles and by teachings. This accomplished, He knew His time had finally come to attend the last Passover of His life here on this earth. He said, “Go into the city to such a man and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with My disciples.” Matthew 26:18.

The final crisis had arrived. The destiny of the whole universe was at stake. This is so serious that Christ felt He must find a place to be alone with His Father. For as a man, He can do nothing without God’s help. He chooses the Garden of Gethsemane. As He enters the Garden, He becomes sad and silent. His form begins to sway as if He is about to fall. Every step is labored. He groans aloud, for He is under a terrible burden. The sins of the entire world are being placed upon Him.

Twice His companions prevent Him from falling to the ground. He cries, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. His frame convulses with anguish as He falls prostrate to the cold ground. He was overpowered with fear as God removes His presence from Him, and He is alone with the pressure of the sins of the whole world weighing down on Him.

The gulf of sin becomes so wide, black and deep that His spirit shudders before it. He clings convulsively to the ground as if to prevent Himself from being drawn still further from God. His convulsed lips wail that bitter cry, “Oh, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not as I will but as Thou wilt.”

If you are in tune with God, these thoughts will break your heart and bring tears to your eyes. The undeniable fact is this, that sin and God cannot dwell together. In the struggle, eternal separation from God was possible. “Everything was at stake with him (Satan). If he failed here, his hope of mastery was lost; the kingdoms of the world would become Christ’s; he himself would be overthrown and cast out. But if Christ could be overcome, the earth would become Satan’s kingdom, and the human race would be forever in his power. With the issues of the conflict before Him, Christ’s soul was filled with the dread of separation from God. Satan told Him that if He became the surety for a sinful world, the separation would be eternal. He would be identified with Satan’s kingdom and would nevermore be one with God.” The Desire of Ages, 687.

What a struggle! Satan painted a picture that would discourage the strongest heart. He points to the ingratitude of man, to God’s people who will reject Him and His very own church who will seek to destroy Him. Even His disciples will forsake Him and one of them will betray Him. “Christ’s whole being abhorred the thought. That those whom He had undertaken to save, those whom He loved so much, should unite in the plots of Satan, this pierced His soul. The conflict was terrible. Its measure was the guilt of His nation, of His accusers and betrayer, the guilt of a world lying in wickedness. The sins of men weighed heavily upon Christ, and the sense of God’s wrath against sin was crushing out His life.” Ibid.

It was like a compressor forcing air into a tank, pumping away until it explodes. But now the history of the human race comes up before the world’s Redeemer. “He sees that the transgressors of the law, if left to themselves, must perish under the Father’s displeasure. He sees the power of sin, and the utter helplessness of man to save himself. The woes and the lamentations of a doomed world arise before Him. He beholds its impending fate, and His decision is made. He will save man at any cost to Himself. He accepts His baptism of blood, that perishing millions through Him may gain everlasting life. He left the courts of heaven, where all was purity, happiness, and glory, to save the one lost sheep, the one world that had fallen by transgression, and He will not turn from the mission He has chosen. He will reach to the very depths of misery to rescue a lost and ruined race.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 3, 99, 100.

Having made this decision He falls in a dying condition to the earth. Had it not been for an angel, who was sent from heaven to support Him, He would have died then and there. But the angel enabled our Saviour to drink the cup. Christ now stands in the sinner’s place, forsaken by God and forsaken by man.

“The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish, which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.” The Desire of Ages, 753. What a cost for our salvation!

Christ knew that His hour had come. He knew that the Passover lamb would be offered in the temple at the moment that He would die on Calvary’s cross. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit He sees it all. As the priest lifts the knife to slay the lamb on the altar, suddenly there is a rending noise as the veil of the temple is torn open from top to bottom. Thus opening the way into the heavenly sanctuary in which the true Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, will mediate for us before God the Father.

“All is terror and confusion. The priest is about to slay the victim; but the knife drops from his nerveless hand, and the lamb escapes. Type has met antitype in the death of God’s Son. The great sacrifice has been made. The way into the Holiest is laid open. A new and living way is prepared for all. No longer need sinful, sorrowing humanity await the coming of the High Priest. Henceforth the Saviour was to officiate as Priest and Advocate in the heaven of heavens.” Ibid., 757.

What an atonement Jesus made on Calvary for our sin! “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7. It is one thing to believe this happened for us, but in reality, more than belief is necessary. There are actions of response required by each of us.

“It is not enough that the Pascal lamb be slain; its blood must be sprinkled upon the door posts; so the merits of Christ’s blood must be applied to the soul. We must believe not only that He died for the world, but that He died for us individually. We must appropriate to ourselves the virtue of the atoning sacrifice.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 277.

That is why we must come to the place where we know of a surety that Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us. Hyssop, used to sprinkle the blood (symbol of purification), was used by the priests to cleanse the leper, and those defiled by contact with the dead. “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7.

The lamb was to be prepared whole, for not a bone was to be broken in the Lamb of God. This represented the completeness of Christ’s sacrifice. A full ransom was to be paid.

After the sacrifice, the flesh of the Pascal lamb was to be eaten. “It is not enough even that we believe on Christ for the forgiveness of sin; we must by faith be constantly receiving spiritual strength and nourishment from Him through His Word. Said Christ, ‘Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath eternal life.’ John 6:53, 54.” Ibid.

To explain what He meant, He said, The words that I speak unto you they are spirit, and they are life. What does this mean? “The followers for Christ must be partakers of His experience. They must receive and assimilate the word of God so that it shall become the motive power of life and action. By the power of Christ we must be changed into His likeness, and reflect the divine attributes.” Ibid., 278.

And there was another lesson we would do well to recognize. “The lamb was to be eaten with bitter herbs, as pointing back to the bitterness of the bondage in Egypt. So when we feed upon Christ, it should be with contrition of heart, because of our sins.” Ibid.

“The use of unleavened bread also was significant. It was expressly enjoined in the law of the Passover . . . that no leaven should be found in their houses during the feast. In like manner the leaven of sin must be put away from all who would receive life and nourishment from Christ.” Ibid.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “Purge out therefore the old leaven that ye may be a new lump . . . For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7. We have ministers today who are teaching us that we may sin until Jesus comes. God forbid!

Consider the blood that was sprinkled on the doorposts. This was a sign to show that the family was completely separated from Egypt. They must show their faith in the deliverance to be accomplished. They must separate themselves and their family from the Egyptians and gather within their own dwelling. This is the same message that has been given to the Remnant today. Come out from among them and be ye separate.

“Had the Israelites disregarded in any particular the directions given them, had they neglected to separate their children from the Egyptians, had they slain the lamb but failed to strike the door posts with the blood, or had any gone out of their houses, they would not have been secure. They might have honestly believed that they had done all that was necessary, but their sincerity could not have saved them. All who failed to heed the Lord’s directions would lose their first-born by the hand of the destroyer.” Ibid.

The atonement Christ provided for each of us on the cross of Calvary demands not only belief but also obedience. “By obedience the people were to give evidence of their faith. So all who hoped to be saved by the merits of the blood of Christ should realize that they themselves have something to do in securing their salvation. While it is Christ only that can redeem us from the penalty of transgression, we are to turn from sin to obedience. Man is to be saved by faith, not by works; yet his faith must be shown by his works. God has given His Son to die as a propitiation for sin, he has manifested the light of truth, the way of life, He has given facilities, ordinances, and privileges; and now man must cooperate with these saving agencies; he must appreciate and use the help that God has provided—believe and obey all the divine requirements.” Ibid., 279.

 

The Celestial Wedding

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“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Revelation 19:7–9.

Let us go back to the Garden of Eden where God officiated at the first marriage. How did Adam get his bride? God caused Adam to sleep, and as he slept, God took a rib from his side which He used to make woman. Charmed with her loveliness, Adam exclaimed with words that meant, “We are two of a kind,” when he said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” Genesis 2:23. And God pronounced them man and wife, saying, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Genesis 2:24.

There is a very deep spiritual lesson here. For Adam typified the second Adam—Christ. He left His Father to seek a bride in this world. Christ also slept a very deep sleep, even the sleep of death. And through the twin streams of water and blood which flowed from His side, He won His bride.

“In both the Old and the New Testament the marriage relation is employed to represent the tender and sacred union that exists between Christ and His people.” The Mount of Blessing, 64. How beautiful!

Because of the limitations of language, the Bible frequently employs symbols to help us to understand. For instance, the Old Testament writers wrote of the Messiah “as a root out of a dry ground,” and “a Man of Sorrows . . . stricken, smitten of God and afflicted . . . And brought as a Lamb to the slaughter.” Isaiah 53:2–7. What a picture of suffering is revealed to us of the Messiah who was to come.

Isaiah painted the coming Messiah in a vastly different picture in Isaiah 63:1–6. Here Christ is shown as One sitting upon the throne of David, glorious in His apparel and treading down the wicked. Because of this description, the Jews had difficulty in reconciling the Messiah’s humiliation with the glory that He was to attain.

National pride wanted a Prince to deliver them from Rome’s galling yoke. But Jesus offered a different kind of deliverance. A deliverance from sin. In rejecting the Saviour they rejected the Holy Spirit that attested to His ministry. That is why Isaiah said, “Who hath believed our report?” Isaiah 53:1. It is the same today as then.

 

Understanding the Wedding Symbolism

 

Many make a shipwreck of their faith, when they misunderstand a principle of interpretation of the Scriptures. We need to comprehend that “the Holy Ghost teacheth comparing spiritual things with spiritual . . . which are spiritually discerned,” but “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:13, 14.

Let us look at some seeming contradictions. Isaiah speaks of the church as the vine. But “Jesus said, I am the vine.” John 15:5. Christ represented Himself, in Jeremiah 3:14, as married to His people. But in Revelation 21:9, 10, it speaks of Him as married to the New Jerusalem.

We need light about the wedding. There are two parables that provide the clarification that we need. The parable of the wedding garment found in Matthew 22:2–13 shows that a person’s welcome to the wedding depends upon his wearing of the robe of Christ’s righteousness. In Matthew 25:1–13, the parable of the ten virgins teaches that attendance at the wedding depends upon the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life.

Both parables emphasize that the redeemed attend Christ’s wedding and not their own. As we dig deeper, we find in Matthew 22 that the king made a wedding celebration for His Son and the king provided a wedding garment for all the guests. These garments symbolize Christ’s character (See Christ’s Object Lessons, 310.)

This wedding garment never hides unconfessed or unforsaken sin. “No man can cover his soul with the garments of Christ’s righteousness while practicing known sin, or neglecting known duties . . . In order for man to retain justification, there must be continual obedience.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 366. This absolute truth is in direct opposition to the present false teachings of the new theology.

Before Adam and Eve sinned, God clothed them with the light of innocence. (See Christ’s Object Lessons, 310) This is further defined as “a covering of light and glory such as the angels wear.” The Story of Redemption, 21. This robe of light signified that they still faced a test of obedience, for the Bible never equates innocence with righteousness.

For example: A young lady in her innocence is pure as the new fallen snow. But when she is tempted to break her virginity before marriage, she cries, No, never! Now she has something more than innocence. For innocence tested has become virtue. So in the spiritual sense this can also be said of righteousness.

The King’s examination of the guests, represents a work of judgment. (See Christ’s Object Lessons, 310.) The King sees a man who came to the wedding in his citizen’s garb. He now stands speechless as God asks, “Why did you ignore wearing the special robe that I prepared for you?”

When does the wedding between Christ and His bride take place? “I saw that while Jesus was in the Most Holy Place He would be married to the New Jerusalem.” Early Writings, 251. “While Jesus had been ministering in the Sanctuary . . . The subjects of the kingdom were made up . . . the marriage of the Lamb was consummated.” Ibid., 280.

According to the parable of the ten virgins, there were only five with oil who had made the needed preparation. How is this? “All had lamps, that is, an outward semblance of religion; but only five of them had inward piety. Five of them were wanting in the oil of grace. The spirit of life in Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit, was not abiding in their hearts.” Sons and Daughters of God, 118.

In speaking of Adventist believers, Ellen White stated in Early Writings, 255, “As they by faith entered the Most Holy, they found Jesus . . . It was represented to me that the remnant followed Jesus into the Most Holy.”

The five foolish virgins represent all those who refuse this light and “are destitute of the Holy Spirit.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 408. From these parables we learn that attendance at the wedding depended on two points. First, wearing the robe of Christ’s righteousness and second having the Holy Spirit abiding within them, controlling the entire life.

 

Going in to the Wedding

 

What does the symbolism of this message have as a spiritual lesson for us today? “The marriage represents the reception by Christ, of His kingdom.” The Great Controversy, 426. And in the book of Revelation, John in vision heard a voice saying, “Come hither, and I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife . . . And showed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem . . . prepared as a bride adorned for her Husband.” Revelation 21:9, 10, 2.

“The Holy City, the New Jerusalem, which is the capital and representative of the kingdom, is called, ‘the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ ” Ibid., 426. In the Revelation the people of God are said to be the guests at the marriage supper. If guests, they cannot be represented as the bride. How do we harmonize these statements?

The guests were not to be present in person at the marriage. For, it takes place in heaven while they are upon the earth. (See The Great Controversy, 427.) The followers of Christ are to wait for the Lord when He will return from the wedding. But we are to understand His work and to follow Him by faith as He goes in before God. It is in this sense that they are said to go into the marriage.

It is clear that we become the bride by first becoming the guests. The phrases, “not present in person,” and “to follow Him by faith,” help us to grasp the significance of the celestial wedding as it relates to each of us. Like Moses, we must follow Jesus by faith, “seeing Him who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:27. Ever since the disappointment of 1844, the wise virgins with oil in their lamps have entered, by faith, into heaven’s Most Holy Place to attend the marriage of the Lamb. And so today, everyone who is led by the Holy Spirit enters the Most Holy Place by faith. This is how God counts us as being present today. “All who through the testimony of the Scriptures accept the same truths, following Christ by faith as He enters in before God to perform the last work of mediation, and at its close to receive His kingdom—all these are represented as going into the marriage.” The Great Controversy, 427.

Have we entered the Most Holy Place by faith? Does the knowledge of what takes place in heaven’s sanctuary stir a deep devotion within our hearts to be ready for His soon coming? Why do I ask these questions? Because in 1890, many of the professed believers were unprepared. Ellen White said at that time, “The people have not entered into the Holy Place, where Jesus has gone to make an atonement for His children.” The Review and Herald, February 25, 1890.

That was a startling pronouncement for those living then. Have we changed for the better? Do we today live as wise virgins, keeping our lamps trimmed and burning with the oil of the Holy Spirit? “I am often referred to the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom were wise, and five foolish. This parable has been and will be fulfilled to the very letter, for it has a special application to this time, and like the third angel’s message, has been fulfilled and will continue to be present truth till the close of time.” The Review and Herald, August 19, 1890.

Ask yourself the question, “Has the subject of Christ’s righteousness become my daily object to be obtained in life? Can my neighbors see a living Christ enthroned in all that I do?” Why do I press this point? Because, “Not one in one hundred understands for himself the Bible truth on this subject.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 360.

This is why Satan is determined to keep God’s people from obtaining a clear presentation of Christ’s work for us in the heavenly Sanctuary. “For he knows that if the people receive it fully, his power will be broken.” The Review and Herald, September 3, 1889.

 

Righteousness is Right Doing

 

What does this term, “righteousness by faith,” mean? If you will search the Spirit of Prophecy you will find some forty definitions. Here are some sample statements. “Righteousness is right doing.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 312.

“Righteousness is holiness . . . Righteousness is love . . . The righteousness of God is embodied in Christ. We receive righteousness by receiving Him.” The Mount of Blessing, 18.

“The righteousness which Christ taught is conformity of heart and life to the revealed will of God.” The Desire of Ages, 310.

This doctrine may seem simple to understand, but we will never obtain the righteousness of Christ if we are not daily filled with the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. In Selected Messages, vol. 1, 374, we read, “Through faith the Holy Spirit works in the heart to create holiness therein; but this cannot be done unless the human agent will work with Christ. We can be fitted for heaven only through the work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart; for we must have Christ’s righteousness as our credentials if we would find access to the Father. In order that we may have the righteousness of Christ, we need daily to be transformed by the influence of the Spirit, to be a partaker of the divine nature. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to elevate the taste, to sanctify the heart, to ennoble the whole man.”

“Our only ground of hope is in the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. In that wrought by His Spirit working in and through us.” Steps to Christ, 63. Christ’s righteousness provides both an instant and a continual experience.

God wants us to take Him at His word, and God makes no idle promises. A story has been told of Napoleon and his horse that illustrates this point. During a battle, Napoleon’s white charger got away from him. A Private rushed out and caught the horse by the bridle and led him to the General.

Pleased, the General said, “Thank you, Captain.”

The Private saluted. “What regiment, Sir?” he asked.

The Private had accepted as a fact, what Napoleon had intended as a thank you. Napoleon could not go back on his word, so he made the Private a Captain.

We should take God at His word and press our petitions with a determination that cannot be denied. “If you believe the promise—God supplies the fact . . . It is so, if you believe it.” Steps to Christ, 51. The astounding truth is that at the moment a sinner becomes a believer, he stands before God as though he had never sinned.

What a glorious truth! Praise His name! The true believer always accepts God’s conditions—obedience, made possible by the help of the Holy Spirit. The believer receives even more than forgiveness. God places to His account the perfect righteousness of Christ. What a God of love! It sounds unbelievable, but it is true.

How can God make this possible? It is through the agency of the Holy Spirit that we become new creatures. “Made the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21. God holds nothing back. The Bible tells us of God’s righteousness. “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness.” Psalm 119:142.

Ellen White observes: “The provision made is complete, and the eternal righteousness of Christ is placed to the account of every believing soul.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 394. The eternal righteousness! God offers nothing less. God could not have offered more.

The term “righteousness by faith” in Christ, includes both imputed and imparted righteousness, for the Holy Spirit provides both. “Ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” 2 Corinthians 6:11. We must understand that it is the Holy Spirit who gives us a fitness for heaven.

“It is by the Spirit of truth, working through the Word of God, that Christ subdues His chosen people to Himself . . . Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil.” The Desire of Ages, 671.

“When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is united with His heart, the will is merged in His will, the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 312.

This is what was stated at the beginning of this article. When God united Adam and Eve in marriage (Genesis 3:24), He said, “They shall be one flesh.” So now we can understand the statement that righteousness by faith is the third angel’s message in verity. Evangelism, 190. Because it represents the uplifted Saviour. (See Testimonies to Ministers, 91).

“Only those who are clothed in the garments of His righteousness will be able to endure the glory of His presence when He shall appear with power and great glory.” Sons and Daughters of God, 368.

“The essence of all righteousness is loyalty to our Redeemer. This will lead us to do right because it is right.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 97, 98.

Thus, we shall be imbued with the latter rain’s power. The Adventist message is to throb with such divine energy that it will go to the world. “Everyone is to hear the last call to the marriage supper of the Lamb. From town to town, from city to city, from country to country, the message of present truth is to be proclaimed, not with outward display, but in the power of the Spirit.” Gospel Workers, 27.

 

The Fellowship of The Spirit

 

No amount of preparation you make will avail you of a place at the marriage supper unless you personally experience the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. “The fellowship of the Spirit . . . could alone make you one with the joyous throng at the marriage feast.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 413.

This heaven sent light of the sealing, the shut door, and the wedding call, demands our whole hearted response—for this is our present truth. To look for more or greater light while neglecting these truths will result in spiritual darkness.

The apostle Paul describes such persons. “Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of truth.” 2 Timothy 3:7. Jesus pleads, “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you.” John 12:35.

Some today imagine that the church needs more research, a new clarification of her doctrines, in other words, more new light. But what is needed now is to act upon the light already given. “The Lord does not propose to perform for us either the willing or the doing.” Testimonies to Ministers, 240. “Unless the human agent inclines his heart to do God’s will, and takes up God’s service, the light will shine in vain. A thousandfold more light and conviction would accomplish nothing. God knows He has sufficient evidence already.” Letter 135, 1898. (See Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, 35.)

 

The Significance of 666

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The number of the beast power in Revelation 13:1–10 is 666, and it is also the number of a man. (Revelation 13:18.) As explained in the Catholic Bible in the note under Revelation 13:18: “The numeral letters of his name shall make up this number.”

  1. The beast power was to be a superpower over all the nations and tribes and languages of the earth. (Revelation 13:7.)
  2. It was to receive its seat of government or throne from the dragon power, (Revelation 13:2) which represented in its celestial sense the devil, (Revelation 12:9) but in its human or terrestrial form the pagan Roman Empire. (Revelation 12:4.)
  3. It was to be a religious power because all would worship it. (Revelation 13:8.)
  4. It was to persecute God’s saints (Revelation 13:7) and to overcome them.
  5. It was to make great claims against the God of heaven (Revelation 13:5) that is blasphemy. Blasphemy in the Bible was understood to refer to a man claiming to be God (John 10:33) and a man claiming the authority to forgive sins. (Matthew 9:2,3.)
  6. It was to have persecuting power, or authority, to continue for forty-two months or 1260 days or 1260 literal years. In the Douay Bible Father Reaves says: “The prophet’s weeks are, by all interpreters of the Holy Scriptures, understood to include years for days.” Bible History, 345.
  7. This power was to have a number. His number is 666. (Revelation 13:18.)

Is there a power whose official title has a numerical value equal to 666, and who also fulfills all the identifying marks of the beast described in Revelation 13:1–10?

In an early collection of canon law first published in 1148 (the “Decretum of Gratian” we read (latin) “Beatus Petrus in terris Vicarius Filii Dei videtur esse constitutus.” Translated into English this is, “Blessed Peter is seen to have been constituted vicar of the Son of God on the earth.” Gratian is considered the founder of the science of canon law.

In the Corpus of Canon revised and published by order of Gregor XIII it was stated by Pope Gregory XIII to be corrected by “the plenitude of apostolic power,” so that it is “entirely freed from faults,” we find the same statement: “Beatus Petrus in terris vicarius Filii Dei esse videtur constitutus.”

  1. Lucii Ferraris, another Catholic writer states, “Ut secut Beatus Petrus in terris vicarius Filii Dei fuit constituts, ita et Pontifices eius successores in terris principatus potestatem amplius, quam terrenoe imperialis nostroe serenitatis mansuetudo habere videtur.” Translated: “As the blessed Peter was constituted Vicar of the Son of God on earth, so it is seen that the Pontiffs, his successors, hold from us and our empire the power of a supremacy on the earth greater than the clemency of our earthly imperial serenity.”

Philippe Labbe, a Jesuit writer, in his historical work Sacrosancta Concilia and Regiam Editionem Exacta, vol. 1, 1534 (Paris 1671), used “Vicarius Filii Dei” as the official title of the pope.

“What are the letters supposed to be in the Pope’s crown, and what do they signify, if anything?

“The letters inscribed in the Pope’s miter are these: Vicarius Filii Dei, which is the Latin for Vicar of the Son of God. Catholics hold that the Church which is a visible society must have a visible head. Christ, before His ascension into heaven, appointed St. Peter to act as His representative. Upon the death of Peter the man who succeeded to the office of Peter as Bishop of Rome, was recognized as the head of the Church. Hence to the Bishop of Rome, as head of the Church, was given the title of ‘Vicar of Christ.’

“Enemies of the Papacy denounce this title as a malicious assumption. But the Bible informs us that Christ did not only give His Church authority to teach, but also to rule. Laying claim to the authority to rule in Christ’s spiritual kingdom, in Christ’s stead, is not a whit more malicious than laying claim to the authority to teach in Christ’s name. And this every Christian minister does.” Our Sunday Visitor, April 18, 1915, thirteenth question under “Bureau of Information,” on page 3.

In addition to these Catholic sources there are a number of Protestant eye-witnesses to this official title being inscribed on tiaras (crowns) which were worn by the Pope.

Count the number of: Vicarius Filii Dei

I=1; V or U=5; L=50; C=100; D=500

” Vicarius Filii Dei “

V=5 I=1 C=100 A=0 R=0  I=1 U=5 S=0    F=0 I=1 L=50 I=1 I=1    D=500 E=0 I=1

      5 + 1  +  100   +  0  +   0 +  1  +  5 +  0           0 + 1   +  50 + 1  + 1          500 +   0  +  1
        
             = 112                                                                   = 53                                   = 501

              112 + 53 +  501 = 666

Who is Antichrist?

 

The Bible teaches that there are many antichrists 1 John 2:18. Although there are many antichrists, the Bible speaks of “the antichrist.” 1 John 2:18. The Greek word ‘anti” is equivalent to the latin word “vicar.” It means primarily, one who stands in the place of another. The antichrist, then, is a person who stands in the place of Christ. If a person claims to be the vicar of Christ, he is claiming to be the antichrist. Since God says that He will not give His glory to another, (Isaiah 42:8) if a human being claims to stand in the place of Christ he places himself against Christ. This is the common understanding of antichrist. (See Matthew 23:8–12.)

The antichrist, in its celestial form is the devil—he is the ultimate antichrist or false Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 11:13–15) However, the antichrist has a human or terrestrial form also and is identified in several places in the scriptures. (See Daniel 7; 2 Thessalonians 2; Revelation 13.)

The identifying marks given are:

  1. He “will oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple [church] of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4.
  2. It is described three times in this chapter in association with breaking God’s law and teaching men to break God’s law.
  3. This power had it’s roots, or beginnings, in the time of the apostles. (2 Thessalonians 2:7.)
  4. It will continue until the second coming of Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:8.)
  5. It will work miracles and deceptive wonders.
  6. It will deceive everybody in the world who did not receive the love of the truth.
  7. It ill arise among the ten nations which divided up the Western Roman Empire. (Daniel 7:8.)
  8. It will persecute the saints. (Daniel 7:25.)
  9. It will arise to political authority after 476 A.D. (Daniel 7:8, 24.)
  10. In the process of arising to power it will destroy three of the original ten nations that divided up the Roman empire.
  11. It will persecute the saints of God for 1260 prophetic days, or 1260 literal years.
  12. It will speak great words against the Most High.
  13. It will intend to changed times and laws.
  14. It will have eyes like the eyes of a man.
  15. This power does not confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh (2 John 7; 1 John 4:1–3. Compare with Galatians 5 and Romans 8 and 1 John 2:15–17 for the technical meaning of the world “flesh” in Scripture.)
  16. Would receive a deadly wound at the end of the 1260 year period.
  17. This deadly wound would be healed
  18. It will be worshipped by all the world in the end of time except those who are saved.
  19. It would have worldwide influence and authority during the 1260 year period and again at the end of time.
  20. It would have a number, and this number would be the number of a man.

The number would be 666.

 

What is the Mark of the Beast?

 

  1. It must be something that is a characteristic of the beast power for which the identifying marks have already been listed. (One of the main identifying characteristics of the beast power or the antichrist power is its intention to change God’s law thereby setting itself up above God. (Daniel 7:25; 2 Thessalonians 2:4–8.)
  2. If you receive it you will receive the wrath of God. (Revelation 14:9–11.)
  3. The only people who receive the wrath of God are those who obey unrighteousness. (Romans 2:8.)
  4. All unrighteousness is sin. (1 John 5:17.)
  5. Sin is the transgression of the law. (1 John 3:4.) Therefore the mark of the beast must involve breaking the law of God.
  6. This breaking of the law of God is deliberate—“shall think to change times and laws.” Daniel 7:25.
  7. It will be enforced by human law, and all who do not receive it will not be able to buy or sell. (Revelation 13:15–17.)

The Bible uses the symbol of a beast to represent a nation or a kingdom in Bible prophecy. We use this symbolism in our everyday speech. Just think of the bald eagle, the bear, the elephant and the donkey.

The only power that meets all the identifying marks found in Revelation 13:1–10, is the papacy. What part of God’s law has been deliberately changed by the papacy? And what change is spoken of as a mark of her power and authority?

Lucius Ferraris, in his Prompta Bibliotheca, an official Catholic book, declares: “The pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God, and the vicar of God . . . Moreover the superiority and the power of the Roman Pontiff . . . are even over angels, than whom he is greater . . . The pope is as it were God on earth . . . (and) is of so great authority and power that he can modify, explain, or interpret even divine laws.”

In the 18th General (or Ecumenical) Council of the Catholic Church, the Council of Trent, held from 1545 to 1563, the church officially stated: “It pleased the church of God, that the religious celebration of the Sabbath day should be transferred to ‘the Lord’s day’ [meaning Sunday].” Catechism of the Council of Trent, 4.

The Catholic Church admits that she changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Reverend John A. O’Brien of Notre Dame University, wrote: “Let me address myself to my dear non–Catholic reader: You believe that the Bible alone is a safe guide in religious matters. You also believe that one of the fundamental duties enjoined upon you by your Christian faith is that of Sunday observance. But where does the Bible speak of such an obligation? I have read the Bible from the first verse of Genesis to the last verse of Revelation, and have found no reference to the duty of sanctifying the Sunday. The day mentioned in the Bible is not the Sunday, the first day of the week, but the Saturday, the last day of the week.” The Faith of Millions, 136, 137, published by Our Sunday Visitor, Copyright 1974.

The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, a catechism that received the “apostolic blessing” of Pope Pius X, also speaks of this change in a question–answer form:

“Question: Which is the Sabbath day?

“Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day?

“Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?

“Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 364), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.”

History shows that the Catholic Church is the one that changed the day. The Catholic Church herself admits to it. In fact, this is what she claims as the proof of her power. God’s authority is based upon His ability to make laws. The pope claims to be equal with God, and claims to be in effect above God, when he claims that he can change God’s law.

The mark of the beast is enforced Sunday observance which will become a worldwide oppressive law just before the end of the world. (See Revelation 13:15–17.)

What is the Seal of God?

The terms “seal” or “sign” or “mark” are synonymous (though not identical) terms. A seal is something that gives a law, reality, force and legality. It shows (1) who gave the law, (2) their jurisdiction or territory governed and (3) their title or office or authority.

God does have a seal, (Revelation 7:1–3) and it will be received by the 144,000 before the end of the world. (Revelation 7.) Although this is a special seal or mark is placed on a special group of people, God has always had a seal or mark that He placed on His children. (See 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13.)

God’s seal or mark has always been the Sabbath. (See Exodus 31:12–17; Ezekiel 20:12, 20.) The Sabbath commandment is the seal of God’s law (Isaiah 8:16). God’s seal shows who gave His law, His jurisdiction or territory governed and His title and authority. (See Exodus 20:8–11.)

The special sign of God’s people in the last days is that they keep the commandments of God (Revelation 12:17; 14:12; 22:14) and this could not be said of them if they were not Sabbath-keepers. Because, if you keep the whole law, and yet break one you are not a commandment-keeper. (James 2:8–12.)

The Sabbath commandment above all other commandments, points out a person as a worshipper of (1) the God who created the heavens and the earth in six days (2) that this person is under the authority of this creator as His subject,. (3) that this person will keep all other commandments of God’s law since he cannot keep the Sabbath “holy” unless he is holy (Romans 7:12.) To be holy one must be in harmony with all of God’s law which is holy.

The Sabbath is the seal or mark that a person is a subject of God’s government and not under the authority of any antichrist power.

 

What does it mean to receive the Holy Spirit?

 

  1. When a person receives the Holy Spirit He will overcome sin in his life. (Romans 8:1–14.)
  2. When a person receives the Holy Spirit He will witness for his faith. (Acts 1:8.)
  3. Only those who choose to obey can receive the Holy Spirit. (John 14:15–18; Acts 5:32.)
  4. The Holy Spirit is given only to those who desire and request Him in their life. (Luke 11.)
  5. The Holy Spirit has nothing to do with the bedlam and noise and gibberish which has come into many Christian churches today. (See 1 Corinthians 14:40.) No church can receive any gifts of the Holy Spirit if it is in open and deliberate violation of God’s law.

“The things you have described as taking place in Indiana, the Lord has shown me would take place just before the close of probation. Every uncouth thing will be demonstrated. There will be shouting, with drums, music, and dancing. The senses of rational beings will become so confused that they cannot be trusted to make right decisions. And this is called the moving of the Holy Spirit.” Selected Messages, vol. 2, 36.

“Some of these persons have exercises which they call gifts and say that the Lord has placed them in the church. They have an unmeaning gibberish which they call the unknown tongue, which is unknown not only by man but by the Lord and all heaven. Such gifts are manufactured by men and women, aided by the great deceiver. Fanaticism, false excitement, false talking in tongues, and noisy exercises have been considered gifts which God has placed in the church. Some have been deceived here. The fruits of all this have not been good. ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits.’ Fanaticism and noise have been considered special evidences of faith. Some are not satisfied with a meeting unless they have a powerful and happy time. They work for this and get up an excitement of feeling. But the influence of such meetings is not beneficial. When the happy flight of feeling is gone, they sink lower than before the meeting because their happiness did not come from the right source. The most profitable meetings for spiritual advancement are those which are characterized with solemnity and deep searching of heart; each seeking to know himself, and earnestly, and in deep humility, seeking to learn of Christ.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 412.

 

The Sealing and the Sealer

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“And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seal s. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much.” Revelation 5:1–4.

In order to understand the meaning of the seals, we must realize that according to Revelation 14, those who commit high treason against the government of God and receive the mark of the beast must drink the wine of the wrath of God poured out into the cup of His indignation. Those sealed with the seal of the living God, we are told in Revelation 7, will, as a part of their reward, serve their Lord in His heavenly temple.

“And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel . . . And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 7:4, 13.

A burst of song accompanied the announcement that the Lion of the tribe of Judah had prevailed to unlock this mysterious scroll. But when John looked to see the Lion, he sees a Lamb as our High Priest, pleading His blood in our behalf. “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” Revelation 5:9.

And someday soon, Jesus as the Lion will execute the vengeance of God upon the finally impenitent. But Jesus is yearning for your friendship today. Oh, how He loves you! But those who reject His love develop an enmity toward Him, and Jesus cannot take an avowed enemy to heaven. The choice belongs to you.

“With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; . . . and with the froward, Thou wilt show Thyself froward.” Psalm 18:25, 26. Men and women must decide whether they will obey God’s government and receive His seal or join Satan’s rebellion and receive the mark of the beast.

“The observance of God’s rest day is a mark of distinction between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.” The Review and Herald, April 23, 1901. “ But when Sunday observance shall be enforced by law, . . . those who continue in transgression will receive the ‘mark of the beast.’ ”The Great Controversy, 449.

 

God’s Seal

 

“Seal the law among my disciples.” Isaiah 8:16. Within the ten commandments we find the seal of God with its three identifying elements: One. The name. Two. The title. Three. The jurisdiction. “The fourth commandment is the only one of all ten in which are found both the name and the title of the Lawgiver. It is the only one that shows by whose authority the law is given. Thus it contains the seal of God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 307.

The sealing of the believer is a progressive experience beginning with conversion and continuing as long as life shall last. “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.” Ephesians 1:13.

But Bible prophecy also speaks of a special sealing of the believers just before the close of probation. This sealing involves the Sabbath. “In a little while everyone who is a child of God will have His seal placed upon him.” The Review and Herald, May 28, 1889.

The functions of the seal are: First, the seal assures the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so that God’s character is revealed in our deportment and behavior. The sealed “must reflect the image of Jesus fully.” Early Writings, 71. And how is this accomplished? “As the wax takes and retains the impression of the seal, so should the soul take and retain the image of God . . . The character, the spirit of God, is to be revealed in finite man.” The Review and Herald, July 28,1891.

Second: The seal is irreversible. “Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads—it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1161.

Third: Seals denote ownership. The Lord of the Sabbath claims Lordship of observers. “The Sabbath is a sign of the relationship existing between God and His people, a sign that they are His obedient subjects, that they keep holy His law.” Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, 198.

 

Seal Expresses Final Approval

 

Fourth: The seal expresses final approval. “Upon those who uphold the principles of the Word . . . and who labor faithfully for . . . souls, God will put His seal of approval.” The Review and Herald, July 8, 1909.

Fifth: God’s seal includes the sanctification of the Spirit. “The world can only be warned by seeing those who believe the truth sanctified through the truth . . . The sanctification of the Spirit signalizes the difference between those who have the seal of God and those who keep a spurious rest day.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 980.

Sixth: God’s seal denotes perfection of character. “Are we seeking . . . the perfection of His character? When the Lord’s people reach this mark, they will be sealed in their foreheads filled with the Spirit, they will be complete in Christ.” Seventh-day Adventist Commentary, vol. 6, 1118. The sealing, like sanctification, represents the inner spiritual development which is made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Seventh: The seal denotes abhorrence of sin. This is why the faithful earnestly pray over the abominations which exist within the church.

Summarizing these seven points: “Brethren, how long before you will be ready for the seal of God? . . . Terrible destruction is forbidden to come in full . . . until the servants of God are sealed . . . Get ready, get ready, I beseech you, get ready . . . The ministers of vengeance will pour all the terrible judgments upon a God-forsaken people.” The Review and Herald, June 7, 1887.

“The living righteous will receive the seal of God prior to the close of probation.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 66. “Before the work is closed up and the sealing of God’s people is finished, we shall receive the outpouring of the Spirit of God.” Ibid., 111. “The image of the beast will be formed before probation closes . . . This is the test that the people of God must have before they are sealed.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 976.

There are some who believe that church membership insures them of salvation. Satan before his fall enjoyed church leadership. “The Lord would teach men the lesson that, though united in church capacity, he is not saved until the seal of God is placed upon him.” Ibid. Nothing could be more plainly stated.

“Mark this point with care: Those who receive the pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, . . . are those ‘that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done’ in the church.” Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, 267. The remnant must also prepare the world for the impending crisis. Our lives must testify to the sacredness of the Sabbath.

We must experience the deep movings of the Holy Spirit. Ellen White saw this experience in a vision. “We were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully.” Early Writings, 33. Soon the Sabbath/Sunday issue will be headlines in all the news. The Spirit of God will arouse every religious body on the face of this earth—Christian and non-Christian. A terrible conflict is coming.

 

The Four Babylons

 

The responsibilities frighten us. But a still greater crisis awaits the saints. Have we so lived that the Holy Spirit has placed the seal of the living God upon us? In order to fully comprehend this life-and-death issue, we must review the four Babylons.

Number one: The first Babylonian kingdom began with the tower of Babel. Nimrod was inspired by Satan to unify the whole world in rebellion against the God of heaven. This led to the building of the first skyscraper which Satan hoped to make his throne. This is the first example of using the power of the majority to defy God, using the means of ecumenical power. “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven and let us make us a name lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4. But God used lightening to knock the tower down, and confused their language and the inhabitants scattered.

Number two: The second kingdom of Babylon was under the rulership of Nebuchadnezzar. “The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon which I have built for the house of the kingdom by my might and of my power and for the honor of my majesty? Daniel 4:30. Nebuchadnezzar’s unholy ambition was to rule men’s souls as well as their bodies. Satan inspired Nebuchadnezzar to build an image entirely of gold, contrary to the dream God gave that his kingdom would end. Then he sent out a decree that all the world must worship his image or be cast into the fiery furnace. Satan would force all to forsake God or be cremated in the furnace. But God delivered His three faithful believers. Religious despotism always tries to force obedience. On the other hand, the Spirit of God never uses pressure, economic sanction, or police state methods to force the conscience.

Number three: Papal Babylon. The prophet Daniel foresaw the rise of this persecuting power. The little horn, “would make war with the saints . . . and would wear out the saints of the Most High.” Daniel 7:21, 25. It was a religious super power shedding the blood of millions. Again, God had to intervene to stop this diabolical power. “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: But for the elects’ sake those days shall be shortened.” Matthew 24:22. God shortened the reign of the Papal power by bringing in the Protestant Reformation.

Number four: Protestant Babylon. The Bible-based people of the Reformation might have become God’s spiritual bride. But in 1844, the bride turned away from her Lover. The thought that the Bridegroom might come, distressed the nominal churches. They did not want a marriage. As time continued, Protestantism substituted evolution for the Creation story. Their higher criticism cast doubts on the virgin birth and their modernism and liberalism denied the inspiration of the Bible. Since man is incurably religious, a union of church and state is now in the making.

John, on Patmos, saw this one world church developing in which Protestantism would wonder after Papal Babylon and eventually join with her to become a part of Babylon. “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded unto death, and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:3, 4, 7, 8.

This union of church and state is now developing and so an unscriptural day of worship will be offered to the people. And when it happens, we can expect a reincarnation of Papal Babylon. Ecumenism now applauded by the Adventist hierarchy will turn with a vengeance to persecute any dissenter who would dare to keep holy God’s seventh-day Sabbath.

Apostasy will increase until these fallen ecclesiastical bodies will become Babylon. “And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon, the great, is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Revelation 18:2. The spirit of intolerance will displace liberty. Those filled with the Holy Spirit will discern this and alert the entire world. “And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4.

God in His mercy will have a qualified people to give a faithful warning by the unction of His Spirit. “The sins of Babylon will be laid open . . . The stealthy but rapid progress of the Papal power—all will be unmasked . . . Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words like these. In amazement they hear the testimony that Babylon is the church . . . The power attending the message will only madden those who oppose it . . . In this time of persecution the faith of the Lord’s servants will be tried . . . God’s Spirit, moving upon their hearts, has constrained them to speak . . . Christ’s ambassadors have nothing to do with the consequences . . . The contest grows closer and sharper.” The Great Controversy, 606–610.

The results are certain. “Souls that were scattered all through the religious bodies answered to the call, and the precious were hurried out of the doomed churches.” Early Writings, 279. God could have used any one of the Protestant churches in 1844. But Protestantism in 1844 grieved the Holy Spirit. Thus the remnant church was born. “And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:16,17.

 

Silence the Sabbathkeepers

 

Thus prophecy predicts that the four Babylons will have persecuted God’s chosen people and for some six millenniums the devil has used these powers to fight God’s church. Now Satan plans more terror. Ellen White was given a vision of Satan’s assemblies in which Satan discusses his final strategy.

“Our principal concern is to silence this sect of Sabbath keepers . . . The Sabbath which I have set up shall be enforced by laws the more severe . . . We led the Romish church to inflict imprisonment, torture, and death . . . We will finally have a law to exterminate all who will not submit to our authority. When death shall be made the penalty of violating our Sabbath, then many who are now ranked with commandment keepers, will come over to our side.” Testimonies to Ministers, 473.

Satan plans to do this before probation closes. He is using every wind of doctrine to unsettle the faith of God’s commandment keepers, to recruit them to his side. And he will go so far as to employ death as his weapon. But those sealed with the seal of the living God will demonstrate to the Universe “that humanity, combined with divinity does not commit sin.” Ministry of Healing, 180.

Nothing in the history of this world has ever generated the intensity that will flare up as the coming Sabbath/Sunday crisis. Sabbath keepers will suffer the most stringent economic sanctions ever planned by Satan. The hatred of Babylon the great and her daughters will demand that all who will not worship the image of the beast should be killed. (See Revelation 13:15). Before probation closes, some of God’s children will suffer martyrdom rather than yielding up their faith.

Church and state will combine to suspend religious liberty. The faithful will be harassed and driven from society. Christ’s faithful will inhabit earth’s desolate wastes, but thank God, no martyrs blood will flow during the seven last plagues. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the time has arrived when God’s people must offer the love, the joy and peace to the world which we have discovered in God’s heavenly sanctuary.

Having finally attained to perfect characters by the power of God, we shall be able to stand the searching test of the judgment. Thus we shall openly proclaim God’s presence in the Most Holy Place in a judgment hour message and the glorious second coming. And His Holy Spirit will provide the flame of the living fire.

Oh, for that flame of living fire, Which shone so bright in saints of old;

Which bade their souls to heaven aspire, Calm in distress, in danger bold.

Where is that Spirit, Lord, which dwelt in Abram’s breast, and sealed him Thine?

Which made Paul’s heart with sorrow melt, And glow with energy divine?

That spirit which from age to age Proclaimed Thy love, and taught Thy ways?

Brightened Isaiah’s vivid page, And breathed in David’s hallowed lays?

Is not Thy grace as mighty now As when Elijah felt its power?

When glory beamed from Moses’ brow, Or Job endured the trying hour?

Remember, Lord, the ancient days; Renew Thy work, Thy grace restore;

And while to Thee our hearts we raise, On us Thy Holy Spirit pour.

 

Who Is Master of Your Church?

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Although Christ was the Master of earth, sea and sky—He could do nothing for those who did not feel their need. “He who was ever touched by human woe, who healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and speech to the dumb, who fed the hungry and comforted the sorrowful, was driven from the people He had labored to save. He who walked upon the heaving billows, and by a word silenced their angry roaring, who cast out devils that in departing acknowledged Him to be the Son of God, who broke the slumbers of the dead, who held thousands entranced by His words of wisdom, was unable to reach the hearts of those who were blinded by prejudice and hatred, and who stubbornly rejected the light.” The Desire of Ages, 541, 542. To the weakest, He gave strength. To the sickest, He gave healing. To the most sinful, He offered forgiveness. Why did not the whole world accept Him? And above all, why did the “good” men reject Him? How could religious teachers and elders reject the kind and gentle Saviour? It is a great mystery—the mystery of iniquity, that those He came to save, who claimed to be the best of men, rejected Him—the Way, the Truth and the Life. While we can never fully understand this terrible mystery, we need to learn enough about it to avoid making the same mistake—the mistake of missing the true church while thinking we are a part of it.

When on this earth, Jesus spoke instructive words to these “good” men, the religious leaders. These words will help us to avoid the mystery of iniquity that the Jewish nation fell into. Before we look at these words we need to remind ourselves that the servant of the Lord has told us that we are repeating their history: “Sometimes the case seems hopeless to me, because you have been treading in the very footsteps of the Jewish nation. You are repeating their history. The whole heavenly universe is astonished at the spiritual condition of things at Battle Creek. Now and then there is a comfortable, easy feeling, but this is not the deep moving of the Spirit of God. All heaven sees that if you had a more correct experimental knowledge of the truth, you would never assume jurisdiction and command over your fellow-men as you have done. You would never think that you could take control of the great interests all over the field, nigh and afar off. It is because of a departure from God that such gross ignorance in regard to the management of His work has come in.” 1888 Materials, 1631, 1632. [All emphasis supplied.] “We want to understand the time in which we live . . . The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 406.

Since we are repeating the history of these “good” men, the words that Jesus spoke to them also apply to us. The words that we will study together are found in John 8. What Jesus said, teaches us a great and simple truth—that everything, absolutely everything, can be understood in the light from God’s law. These are the words: “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” John 8:34. (Sin is breaking God’s law. See 1 John 3:4.) How profound and magnificent, how all inclusive and timeless are these words. They settle every difficulty on the great question as to who are God’s true people.

Instead of jumping to another thought—let us drive this one closer home: if anyone sins, they are not the servant of God. They are the servant of sin. Jesus taught us that no man can serve two masters. (Matthew 6:24.) One cannot be the servant of God and obey Him and also be the servant of sin. That is an absolute impossibility. Whose servant would one be who taught others that it is “OK” to sin? Could that person possibly be a servant of God? The servants of Christ will never be confused on the point of overcoming sin. So if one claims to be a servant of God and yet teaches people that they need not overcome their besetting sins, that teacher has a different master than Christ.

Here is another question. Would servants of Christ hire pastors who teach that people cannot overcome sin? The ones who hire those kind of teachers are servng the wrong master.

 

True Jews

 

If people, Jews or Adventists, are servants of sin, who is their father? Whose children are they? Jesus answers this question in the same discourse we have been studying from John 8. Jesus said, “I know you are Abraham’s children . . . but really you are not Abraham’s children, but you are children of the devil” (Some people today want to make Jesus contradict Himself! But truth never contradicts itself.) The Jews could prove their blood relationship to Abraham and in that respect were his children. But since they were not acting like the righteous Abraham—they were not really his children. Abraham was a servant of Christ, and desired to behold Him, but these so-called descendants of Abraham crucified Christ. They were the children of sin, they broke God’s law and taught others to break it. Paul explains this apparent contradiction, clearly placing it beyond all human questioning: “For he is not a Jew, [Seventh-day Adventist] which is one outwardly . . . But he is a Jew, [Seventh-day Adventist] which is one inwardly.” Romans 2:28, 29. These men were not really Jews at all! Thus is forever settled the question of who God’s true people are. It is those who love and obey Him and teach others to do the same, those who are like Him in character.

“The Pharisees had declared themselves the children of Abraham. Jesus told them that this claim could be established only by doing the works of Abraham. The true children of Abraham would live, as he did, a life of obedience to God. They would not try to kill One who was speaking the truth that was given Him from God. In plotting against Christ, the rabbis were not doing the works of Abraham. A mere lineal descent from Abraham was of no value. Without a spiritual connection with him, which would be manifested in possessing the same spirit, and doing the same works, they were not his children.

“This principle bears with equal weight upon a question that has long agitated the Christian world—the question of apostolic succession. Descent from Abraham was proved, not by name and lineage, but by likeness of character. So the apostolic succession rests not upon the transmission of ecclesiastical authority, but upon spiritual relationship. A life actuated by the apostles’ spirit, the belief and teaching of the truth they taught, this is the true evidence of apostolic succession. This is what constitutes men the successors of the first teachers of the gospel.

“Jesus denied that the Jews were children of Abraham. He [remember He always portrayed brotherly love] said, ‘Ye do the deeds of your father.’ . . . “Their works testified of their relationship to him who was a liar and a murderer. ‘Ye are of your father the devil,’ said Jesus, ‘and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, because there is no truth in him . . . Because I say the truth, ye believe Me not.’ John 8:44, 45, R. V. The fact that Jesus spoke the truth, and that with certainty, was why He was not received by the Jewish leaders. It was the truth that offended these self-righteous men. The truth exposed the fallacy of error; it condemned their teaching and practice, and it was unwelcome. They would rather close their eyes to the truth than humble themselves to confess that they had been in error. They did not love the truth. They did not desire it, even though it was truth.” The Desire of Ages, 466, 467.

Whoever sins is the servant of sin; his master is the devil. The reality of this truth bears with equal weight today on Seventh-day Adventists. Many claim to be Seventh-day Adventists—but it is only a righteous character that truely makes one a Seventh-day Adventist. This is the very message that is needed to prepare a people for Christ’s coming. It is the same message that the forerunner of Christ gave at His first coming: “Not by its name, but by its fruit, is the value of a tree determined. If the fruit is worthless, the name cannot save the tree from destruction. John declared to the Jews that their standing before God was to be decided by their character and life. Profession was worthless. If their life and character were not in harmony with God’s law, they were not His people.” The Desire of Ages, 107.

It is time to boldly declare this message again: Not by its name, (Seventh-day Adventist) but by its fruit, (lawsuits against those using the “name,” stoning and beating up faithful pastors who are giving the message, disfellowshipping those who are standing for truth, new theology, NLP, celebration worship style, etc.) is the value of a tree determined. Profession (claiming to be a Seventh-day Adventist) is worthless. If our life and character is not in harmony with God’s law, we (Seventh-day Adventists) are not His people.

 

The Dividing Line

 

God’s law gives us a perfect understanding of how to know who God’s people are. It is the great dividing line of protection between God’s people and the world. “They [God’s people] were hedged about by the precepts of His law, the everlasting principles of truth, justice, and purity. Obedience to these principles was to be their protection, for it would save them from destroying themselves by sinful practices. And as the tower in the vineyard, God placed in the midst of the land His holy temple. Christ’s Object Lessons, 287.

God’s true people will be raising a voice of warning against sin, but those who are not protesting against sin and apostasy are in a serious condition. We are either for it or against it. “There are fearful woes for those who preach the truth, but are not sanctified by it, and also for those who consent to receive and maintain the unsanctified to minister to them in word and doctrine.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 261, 262. “As there are woes for those who preach the truth while they are unsanctified in heart and life, so there are woes for those who receive and maintain the unsanctified in the position which they cannot fill.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 552.

If the upholding of God’s law is the great dividing line between God’s people and His enemies, what of those apparently unconditional promises to certain groups of people? Do there exist unconditional promises that make some people “the” church, even if they do not support God’s law? Is there a “once” true church, “always” true church promise somewhere? These look like weighty theological questions which would frighten away the bravest. But is it really that difficult?

Jesus gave us a test by which we can settle these questions. The reason the answer becomes difficult for us to accept is because there are certain organizations that we tend to think should be exempt from Jesus’ test.

 

God ’s Test

 

“Jesus gives a test by which false teachers may be distinguished from the true. ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits,’ He says. ‘Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?’

“We are not bidden to prove them by their fair speeches and exalted professions. They are to be judged by the Word of God. ‘To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them.’ ‘Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.’ Isaiah 8:20; Proverbs 19:27. What message do these teachers bring? Does it lead you to reverence and fear God? Does it lead you to manifest your love for Him by loyalty to His commandments? If men do not feel the weight of the moral law; if they make light of God’s precepts; if they break one of the least of His commandments, and teach men so, they shall be of no esteem in the sight of heaven. We may know that their claims are without foundation. They are doing the very work that originated with the prince of darkness, the enemy of God.

“Not all who profess His name and wear His badge are Christ’s. Many who have taught in My name, said Jesus, will be found wanting at last. ‘Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.’

“There are persons who believe that they are right, when they are wrong. While claiming Christ as their Lord, and professedly doing great works in His name, they are workers of iniquity. ‘With their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.’ He who declares God’s word is to them ‘as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear Thy words, but they do them not.’ Ezekiel 33:31, 32.

“A mere profession of discipleship is of no value. The faith in Christ which saves the soul is not what it is represented to be by many. ‘Believe, believe,’ they say, ‘and you need not keep the law.’ But a belief that does not lead to obedience is presumption. The apostle John says, ‘He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.’ 1 John 2:4. Let none cherish the idea that special providences or miraculous manifestations are to be the proof of the genuineness of their work or of the ideas they advocate. When persons will speak lightly of the word of God, and set their impressions, feelings, and exercises above the divine standard, we may know that they have no light in them.

“Obedience is the test of discipleship. It is the keeping of the commandments that proves the sincerity of our professions of love. When the doctrine we accept kills sin in the heart, purifies the soul from defilement, bears fruit unto holiness, we may know that it is the truth of God. When benevolence, kindness, tenderheartedness, sympathy, are manifest in our lives; when the joy of right doing is in our hearts; when we exalt Christ, and not self, we may know that our faith is of the right order. ‘Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.’ 1 John 2:3.” Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 145, 146.

The knowledge of God’s law lived out in the life is the only thing that will save us from destruction. “In these days of peril, nothing but obedience will keep man from apostasy.” Manuscript 135, October 31, 1902. Quoted in Manuscript and Letters, Last Day Events, 80. A much different picture than that of obedience meets the eye today.

Hosea describes our condition: “Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away . . . My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.” Hosea 4:1–3, 6–9.

Although, Jesus came to save the most sinful, the wicked will no go unpunished. While mercy’s door is still open, anyone that turns to Him for help will be rescued from the snares of Satan. All we have to do is believe on Him. But that belief will always lead to obedience to God’s law. The group of the faithful may become very small, and the work difficult, but even if all appearances are against the truth, we must be wholehearted for Jesus! The true church will go through, there is absolutely no question. The question is if we will be a part of it.

One time (before 34 A.D.) the church got so small that it consisted of a handful of disciples. To this small group Christ promised that the gates of hell would never prevail against them. “How feeble the church appeared when Christ spoke these words! There was only a handful of believers, against whom all the power of demons and evil men would be directed; yet the followers of Christ were not to fear. Built upon the Rock of their strength, they could not be overthrown.” The Desire of Ages, 413. (Here is something to study for those who say that the apostate Jewish nation was God’s true church until 34 A.D.)

” ‘He that is not with Me,’ said Christ, ‘is against Me.’ It is wholehearted, thoroughly decided men and women who will stand now. Christ sifted His followers again and again, until at one time there remained only eleven and a few faithful women to lay the foundation of the Christian church. There are those who will stand back when burdens are to be borne; but when the church is all aglow, they catch the enthusiasm, sing and shout, and become rapturous; but watch them. When the fervor is gone, only a few faithful Calebs will come to the front and display unwavering principle. These are salt that retains the savor. It is when the work moves hard that the churches develop the true helpers. These will not be talking of self, vindicating self, but will lose their identity in Jesus Christ. To be great in God’s kingdom is to be a little child in humility, in simplicity of faith, and in the purity of love. All pride must perish, all jealousy be overcome, all ambition for supremacy be given up, and the meekness and trust of the child be encouraged. All such will find Christ their rock of defense, their strong tower. In Him they may trust implicitly, and He will never fail them.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 130.

What is the fruit that is growing on the tree? Is it meekness or pride? Is obedience or the new theology? If the fruit is sin—we can know for sure that the master of the tree is Satan. May the Lord help us to have spiritual discernment!