Parallels in the Time of Trouble, Part I

In 1998 I received a videotape from Tim Simkin, a close friend of mine. In this video he drew parallels between Christ’s experiences in His “time of trouble,” and the experiences of those who will pass through the final time of trouble. The message contained in that video moved me to tears, and as I studied it further, I was astonished at just how deep this subject goes. It is my hope that God will bless you as richly as He has blessed me.

A Time of Trouble Such as Never Was

Bible prophecy makes it very clear that just prior to Christ’s second advent, “…there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.…” Daniel 12:1. “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble.…” Jeremiah 30:7. “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Matthew 24:21.

The pen of inspiration has attempted to help us understand how serious this crisis will be. “It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. The most vivid presentation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal.” Great Controversy, 622. “…soon the time of trouble, such as never was, will come upon us, of which we have but little idea.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 241. “We are on the very verge of the time of trouble, and perplexities that are scarcely dreamed of are before us.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 43. “It is impossible to give any idea of the experience of the people of God who shall be alive upon the earth when celestial glory and a repetition of the persecutions of the past are blended” Last Day Events, 266. “We are standing on the threshold of the crisis of the ages.” Prophets and Kings, 278. “The conflict that is right upon us will be the most terrible ever witnessed.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 407. “The most momentous struggle of all the ages is just before us.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 711. From this perspective, let us now begin to look to Jesus, and to draw parallels between His experience and ours.

“Now [in Gethsemane] the tempter had come for the last fearful struggle. For this he had been preparing during the three years of Christ’s ministry. Everything was at stake with him. If he failed here, his hope of mastery was lost…” Desire of Ages, 686. And today, in preparation for the time of trouble, “The agencies of evil are combining their forces and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 11. And paralleling Jacob’s experience with ours Ellen White says, “The crisis in his life has come; everything is at stake.” Great Controversy, 617.

Why is God willing that His children go through such a terrible crisis? What purpose will it serve? To answer this question, we must look to Calvary where Christ triumphed over “principalities and powers,” and “made a shew of them openly.” Colossians 2:15. “Satan saw that his disguise was torn away. His administration was laid open before the unfallen angels and before the heavenly universe. He had revealed himself as a murderer. By shedding the blood of the Son of God, he had uprooted himself from the sympathies of the heavenly beings.…Yet Satan was not then destroyed. The angels did not even then understand all that was involved in the great controversy. The principles at stake were to be more fully revealed. And for the sake of man, Satan’s existence must be continued. Man as well as angels must see the contrast between the Prince of Light and the prince of darkness. He must choose whom he will serve.” Desire of Ages, 761. So in Christ’s time of trouble, God purposed to reveal Satan’s character and uproot sympathy for him. But when will “man as well as angels” have this experience? “The time of trouble is the crucible that is to bring out Christ like characters. It is designed to lead the people of God to renounce Satan and his temptations. The last conflict will reveal Satan to them in his true character, that of a cruel tyrant, and it will do for them what nothing else could do, to uproot him entirely from their affections.” Our High Calling, 321. Praise God!

“At the cross of Calvary, love and selfishness stood face to face. Here was their crowning manifestation. Christ had lived only to comfort and bless, and in putting Him to death, Satan manifested the malignity of his hatred against God. He made it evident that the real purpose of his rebellion was to dethrone God, and to destroy Him through whom the love of God was shown.” Desire of Ages, 57. Brethren, a yet greater manifestation of satanic hatred will be shown against those “through whom the love of God is shown,” for it is written: “The wrath of Satan increases as his time grows short, and his work of deceit and destruction will reach its culmination in the time of trouble.” Great
Controversy
, 623.

We Have a Law

The religious leaders of Christ’s day had cried out to the state authority: “…We have a law, and by our law He ought to die…” John 19:7. So in the time of trouble, “…the image of the beast should both speak [legislate], and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” Revelation 13:15. “…the Jews said…’We have a law, and by our law He ought to die.’ Over and over again this will be repeated.” Signs of the Times, May 26, 1898. “The religious character of professed Christians makes them act like demons. ‘We have a law,’ they say, ‘and by our law He ought to die.’ More than common contempt will be shown to those who make the Word of God their criterion. The scenes of Christ’s condemnation will be acted out in the courts by the people of this age who claim to be serving God.… Men will do the deeds of their fathers, repeating as far as possible the course of action pursued against Christ.” Signs of the Times, January 31, 1900.

Again, paralleling Christ’s experience with ours, Mrs. White says: “…the persistent refusal of a small minority to yield to the popular demand will make them objects of universal execration. It will be urged that the few who stand in opposition to an institution of the church and a law of the state ought not to be tolerated; that it is better for them to suffer than for whole nations to be thrown into confusion and lawlessness. The same argument eighteen hundred years ago was brought against Christ by the ‘rulers of the people.’ ‘It is expedient for us,’ said the wily Caiaphas, ‘that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.’ John 11:50. This argument will appear conclusive; and a decree will finally be issued against those who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, denouncing them as deserving of the severest punishment and giving the people liberty, after a certain time, to put them to death.” Great Controversy, 615. How full of meaning to us are the words of our Lord: “…the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service…. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.” John 16:2,4.

Speaking of the religious leaders of His time, Jesus said “They hated Me without a cause.” John 15:25. (See also Psalms 69:4, 109:3-5.) This hatred reached its culmination as Jesus hung upon the tree. Why? “There was never one who walked among men more cruelly slandered than the Son of man. He was derided and mocked because of His unswerving obedience to the principles of God’s holy law. They hated Him without a cause.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 32. And why will those who follow the Lamb be hated by the world in the time of trouble? “As Christ was hated without cause, so will His people be hated without cause, merely because they are obedient to the commandments of God and do His works in the place of working directly contrary to them.” Manuscript Releases, No. 19, 163. “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” John 15:18.

Infuriated Mobs Rush In

In Gethsemane, Christ “…heard the footsteps of the mob in search of Him…” Desire of Ages, 694. So too will the righteous be hunted by wicked mobs: “Houses and lands will be of no use to the saints in the time of trouble, for they will then have to flee before infuriated mobs.…” Early Writings, 56.

“Turning to the multitude he [Herod] angrily denounced Jesus as an imposter.… No sooner were these words spoken than a rush was made for Christ. Like wild beasts, the crowd darted upon their prey.” Desire of Ages, 731. The sealed remnant will have a similar experience. “…the wicked were enraged, and would rush violently up to lay hands upon us to thrust us into prison.…” Early Writings, 15.

Who was stirring up the wicked in the closing scenes of our Saviour’s conflict? “Satan with his angels, in human form, was present at the cross. The archfiend and his hosts were co-operating with the priests and rulers.” Desire of Ages, 746. What about our time of trouble? “Satanic agencies in human form will take part in this last great conflict.…” Selected Messages, vol. 2, 383. Will these agencies again work hand in hand with the rulers of this world? “Urged on by Satan, the rulers of this world are seeking to destroy them; but… angels of God encamped about them.…” Testimonies, vol. 5, 475.

Heavenly messengers also had a part to act. “Standing in advance of His disciples He said, ‘Whom seek ye?’ They answered, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus replied, ‘I am He.’ As these words were spoken, the angel who had lately ministered to Jesus moved between Him and the mob.” Desire of Ages, 694. Angels will again interpose between the wicked and the righteous in the coming conflict. “Though a general decree has fixed the time when commandment keepers may be put to death, their enemies will in some cases anticipate the decree, and before the time specified, will endeavor to take their lives. But none can pass the mighty guardians stationed about every faithful soul.” Great Controversy, 631.

To Stand Alone

“Repentant sinners stand before the Father justified, because the Innocent One has borne their guilt. ‘…I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with Me.… I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold…’” Signs of the Times, August 26, 1903. Though the 144,000 will at times have the companionship of each other and the guidance of angels, they will, nonetheless, be (collectively) alone and helpless. “In the last great conflict of the controversy with Satan, those who are loyal to God will see every earthly support cut off.Desire of Ages, 121. And during some periods they will be individually cut off. “…at this time…they will be tried singly, not in groups. Every one must stand the test for himself.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1143. “The faith of individual members of the church will be tested as though there were not another person in the world.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 983. (See also Last Day Events, 260.)

“I invite you to look to the Man of Calvary.…Look to him who was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, who was despised and rejected of men.” Review and Herald, May 10, 1892. “…his [Noah’s] message was rejected and despised. So it will be now.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 102. “Said the angel, ‘…They have rejected Jesus and despised His saints. The filthy must remain filthy forever.’” Early Writings, 281.

We Must Drink the Cup

“The awful moment had come—that moment which was to decide the destiny of the world. The fate of humanity trembled in the balance. Christ might even now refuse to drink the cup apportioned to guilty man. It was not yet too late. He might wipe the bloody sweat from His brow, and leave man to perish in his iniquity. He might say, Let the transgressor receive the penalty of his sin, and I will go back to My Father. Will the Son of God drink the bitter cup of humiliation and agony?” Desire of Ages, 690 “…the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?” John 18:11. But Jesus asked another question: “…Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto Him, We are able. And He saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.…” Matthew 20:22-23. When will the words of Jesus reach their complete fulfillment? When will people experience most deeply that cup? “The people of God must drink of the cup and be baptized with the baptism.… Yet for the elect’s sake the time of trouble will be shortened.” Great Controversy, 630.

As the mysterious cup trembled in the balance, the angel Gabriel was sent to minister to Jesus. Did he come to remove or lessen the force of that terrible cup?

“The angel came not to take the cup from Christ’s hand, but to strengthen Him to drink it.…” Desire of Ages, 693. So too, “In the time of trouble just before the coming of Christ, the righteous will be preserved [to drink their cup] through the ministration of heavenly angels.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 256.

“He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, ‘O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.’” Matthew 26:42. “Three times has He uttered that prayer. Three times has humanity shrunk from the last, crowning sacrifice. 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. He sees the helplessness of man. He sees the power of sin. The woes and lamentations of a doomed world rise 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 through Him perishing millions may gain everlasting life. He has left the courts of heaven, where all is purity, happiness, and glory, to save the one lost sheep, the one world that has fallen by transgression. And He will not turn from His mission. He will become the propitiation of a race that has willed to sin. His prayer now breathes only submission: ‘If this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.’” Desire of Ages, 690. And in the time of trouble, “Day and night their cry ceased not: ‘Thy will, O God, be done! If it can glorify Thy name, make a way of escape for Thy people!…’ All seemed to have a deep sense of their unworthiness and manifested entire submission to the will of God; yet, like Jacob, every one, without an exception, was earnestly pleading and wrestling for deliverance.” Early Writings, 272.

Paleness Sits Upon Every Face

“The disciples roused from their slumber to find their Master standing over them in a state of mental and bodily anguish such as they never before had witnessed. They saw the grief and agony of His pale face, and the bloody sweat upon His brow, for ‘His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.’” Signs of the Times, August 14, 1879. “…His pale countenance expressed a sorrow past all description.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 3, 95. Jeremiah, when shown in vision the last experience of the faithful, asked the solemn question: “…wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble.…” Jeremiah 30:6-7. “Like Jacob, all are wrestling with God. Their countenances express their internal struggle. Paleness sits upon every face. Yet they cease not their earnest intercession.” Great Controversy, 630.

“…From the pale, quivering lips of the innocent Sufferer a prayer of pardoning love was breathed for His murderers: ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’” Testimonies, vol. 2, 208. “…Those hands so often reached out in blessing, nailed to the wooden bars; those feet so tireless on ministries of love, spiked to the tree; that royal head pierced by the crown of thorns; those quivering lips shaped to the cry of woe.” Desire of Ages, 755. But in the time of trouble, those righteous lips will be shaped to a “silver trumpet” which will be heard echoing throughout the lengths of the earth. And then, “…from His lips they hear the request, presented before His Father and the holy angels, ‘I will that they also, whom thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.’ John 17:24. Again a voice, musical and triumphant, is heard, saying: ‘They come! they come! holy, harmless, and undefiled. They have kept the word of My patience; they shall walk among the angels;’ and the pale, quivering lips of those who have held fast their faith utter a shout of victory.” Great Controversy, 636.

Mental Anguish Draws Sweat of Blood

“‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.’ ‘Tarry ye here,’ said He, ‘and watch with Me.’ He was bowed to the earth with mental anguish, and in an agony He prayed to His Heavenly Father.” Signs of the Times, August 14, 1879. “His heart was broken by mental anguish.” Desire of Ages, 772. No amount of mental anguish can be compared with that of the Prince of sufferers, for no one will ever be called to bear the guilt of the sins of the world. Nevertheless, “The righteous in their mental anguish will cry to God day and night for deliverance from the hand of the wicked who surround them.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 121. What degree of mental anguish? “…I saw the saints suffering great mental anguish. They seemed to be surrounded by the wicked inhabitants of the earth.” Early Writings, 283.

“…And His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” Luke 22:44. “The temptations to which Christ was subjected were a terrible reality.… He ‘resisted unto blood’ in that hour when the fear of moral failure was as the fear of death. As He bowed in Gethsemane, in His soul agony, drops of blood fell from His pores, and moistened the sods of the earth.” Youth’s Instructor, October 26, 1899. In describing a vision of the time of trouble, God’s messenger said, “My husband was just before me. Large drops of sweat were falling from his brow, the veins in his neck and temples were increased to double their usual size, and suppressed, agonizing groans came from his lips. The sweat was dropping from my face, and I felt such anguish as I had never felt before. A fearful struggle was before us.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 596. Beloved, it would seem that the following words were penned for us, more than for any other people that have ever lived. “…let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Hebrews 12:1–4. For how long? “But ‘ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.’ We have an incessant strife, but is not the reward at the end of the conflict worthy of all the labor?” Signs of the Times, September 7, 1891.

“Could one sin have been found in Christ, had He in one particular yielded to Satan to escape the terrible torture, the enemy of God and man would have triumphed. Christ bowed His head and died, but He held fast His faith and His submission to God.” Desire of Ages, 761. So also, “…in the time of trouble, if the people of God had unconfessed sins to appear before them while tortured with fear and anguish, they would be overwhelmed.…” Great Controversy, 620.

Forsaken by God

In the first verse of the twenty-second Psalm, David prophesied as to how Jesus would feel as He was dying upon the cross. In fulfillment of this prophecy, Jesus uttered the very words that David had penned. “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice… ‘My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?’” Matthew 27:46. So too has Ellen White prophesied (brace yourself): “The remnant in the time of trouble will cry, ‘My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?’” Special Manuscript, 2a.

As we close part 1 of this study, it would be well to ponder anew the significance of the words that follow. “It will do you good, and our ministers generally, frequently to review the closing scenes in the life of our Redeemer. Here, beset with temptations as He was, we may all learn lessons of the utmost importance to us. It would be well to spend a thoughtful hour each day reviewing the life of Christ from the manger to Calvary. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination vividly grasp each scene, especially the closing ones of His earthly life.” Gospel Workers, 1892 edition, 246. In our next article we will examine even more intense parallels between our Saviour’s experience and ours.

(all emphasis supplied by the author unless otherwise noted.)

Facing the Crisis – With the Lesser and the Greater Light – Part I

Every day brings us closer to the final crisis. Inspiration describes it as a time of trouble such as never was that is soon to burst upon us as an over whelming surprise. God foreknew the intensity of this end-time conflict. He knew that we would never be able to stand before Satan’s mighty power without special assistance from the Holy Spirit, for Satan will shortly cause all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond to receive a mark in their right hands or foreheads. So that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.

How thankful we should be that God has given the Spirit of Prophecy to His church which, together with the Bible, will enable His people, through the power of Christ, to prepare for and to pass through this end-time crisis with divine assurance of victory. Only through His words can we be assured that Christ will stand by each one who faithfully fulfills the divine conditions that are revealed to us through these inspired writings.

It is Time to Awake

Before we explore heaven’s guidelines, let us seek the aid of divinity. It is time to awaken from Satan’s fearful stupor, which is enveloping God’s people. It is time to comprehend the divine instruction that He has sent that we may face this coming crisis fearlessly as soldiers of the cross.

“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:19-21.

Ellen White writes, “The Spirit was not given—nor can it ever be bestowed—to supercede the Bible; for the Scriptures explicitly state that the Word of God is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.…Isaiah declares, ‘To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.’ Isaiah 8:20.” The Great Controversy, Introduction, vii.

The Spirit of Prophecy Passes all Tests

The writings of the Spirit of Prophecy have passed every test of the Holy Scriptures. They have been proven true to the Word of God. Indeed, Ellen White magnifies the light given by ancient prophets, making their words clearer and more understandable regarding special application for our time.

“The Holy Ghost is the author of the Holy Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy.” Selected Messages, book 3, 30. And on page 32 we read: “The Bible must be your counselor. Study it and the testimonies God has given for they never contradict His word.”

Since the Holy Spirit is the author of both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, I am sure you will agree that the primary purpose of both is to lead men and women to our Saviour who is the Light and Salvation of the world.

Misinterpreted and Misrepresented

There are two quotations found in the Spirit of Prophecy that we frequently hear quoted among us. But they are often taken out of context. These statements are then misinterpreted and misrepresented, not only by individuals, but also by some of the leaders of our church.

The first quotation is taken from Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, January 20, 1903. “Little heed is given to the Bible, and the Lord has given a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light.” Immediately the question must be asked, who is the lesser light and who is the greater light? It is here that Satan has begun to destroy confidence in the writings of the Lord’s servant.

The best way to learn the meaning of a perplexing expression is to ask the author what he or she meant. Surely Ellen White explains what the Holy Spirit, who inspired her thought, meant for her to convey. It will be well for us to read this often-quoted passage in its context.

Who is the Lesser Light?

But first, there are a number of other passages in which Ellen White uses the expressions “the lesser light” and “the greater light.” In solving this statement, these should be helpful. We will begin with one that is found in The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, 83, 84. Note carefully her explanation as she describes the work of John the Baptist.

“The prophet John was the connecting link between the two dispensations. He was the lesser light which was to be followed by a greater. He was to shake the confidence of the people in their traditions, call their sins to their remembrance, and lead them to repentance; that they might be prepared to appreciate the work of Christ. God communicated to John by Inspiration, illuminating the understanding of the prophet, that he might remove the superstition and darkness from the minds of the honest Jews, which had, through false teachings, been gathering upon them for generations. But the least disciple who followed Christ, witnessing His miracles, and receiving His divine lessons of instruction and the comforting words that fell from His lips, was more privileged than John the Baptist.

Who is the Greater Light?

No light has ever shone or ever will shine so clearly upon the mind of fallen man, as that which emanated from the teachings and example of Jesus. Christ and His mission had been but dimly understood and typified in the shadowy sacrifice. . . . Although not one of the prophets had a higher mission or greater work to perform than had John, yet he was not to see even the result of his own labors. He was not privileged to be with Christ and witness the divine power attending the greater light.”

Did you notice those last words? “The divine power attending” who? There is no question. The answer is Christ, “the greater light.” This sentence definitely reveals that the greater light was Christ. Whom did she name as the lesser light? The prophet John. In this passage she has defined both of these terms in unmistakable language. As we read other passages from her writings, we will find that she will be consistent.

Let us look at a second passage that is found in Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 8, 1873. Herein Ellen White writes that John was, “…one of the greatest prophets that God had sent as a messenger to the earth,… Christ had said of him that he was more than a prophet. … [that] there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.”

In the context of these words, she continues, “John was the lesser light, which was to be followed by a greater light.” Who was that greater light who followed John? Jesus!

In the third statement, in Desire of Ages, 220, “The prophet John was the connecting link between the two dispensations. As God’s representative he stood forth to show the relation of the law and the prophets to the Christian dispensation. He was the lesser light, which was to be followed by a greater. The mind of John was illuminated by the Holy Spirit, that he might shed light upon his people. . . .”

Notice these words that follow; “…but no other light ever has shone or ever will shine so clearly upon fallen man as that which emanated from the teaching and example of Jesus.” From this we can come to only one conclusion. John, the lesser light, was to show the relation of the law and the prophets of the Old Testament to Christ, the greater light, who followed him.

Christ, the “Greater Light”

The Bible confirms Ellen White’s definition to be correct. “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through Him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:6-9.

In John 5:35, 36, Jesus said: “He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness [meaning light] than that of John.” Then in John 9:5, Jesus declared plainly, “I am the light of the world.” If no other light had shown or ever will shine so clearly as Christ, surely the Old as well as the New Testament prophets were lesser lights. Friend, there is no question about this.

In the fourth passage Ellen White speaks of the Old Testament era as a lesser light and the New Testament era as a greater light. “With the first advent of Christ there was ushered in an era of greater light and glory; but it would indeed be sinful ingratitude to despise and ridicule the lesser light because a fuller and more glorious light had dawned. Those who despise the blessings and glory of the Jewish age are not prepared to be benefited by the preaching of the gospel.” This Day With God, 246.

We can clearly see Ellen White does not depart from her established definition. Christ’s first advent ushered in a time of greater light and glory. God, through the Old Testament prophets, had established the lesser light, the glory of the Jewish age. The purpose of this age was to establish the sanctuary service, which pointed toward the greater light to be ushered in with the first Advent of Christ.

Dispelling the Myth

I believe we are ready to discuss the passage in Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, January 20, 1903. From our pulpits and books this passage it has been declared that Ellen White refers to the Bible as the greater light and to her writings as the lesser light. I refer particularly to the caption in a recently published edition of Selected Messages, book 3, 30, copyright 1980.

It clearly promotes this mistaken position. The caption reads, “Relationship of E. G. White Writings to Bible—The Lesser Light.” Immediately after this, the following passage is printed. “Little heed is given to the Bible, and the Lord has given a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light.” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, January 20, 1903.

Now, let me ask you a question. Have you ever read this passage in its context? Please note the purpose of this article. From its beginning to its ending, she is promoting the sale of what? her books. To whom? to the people of the world. Why? to lead them to the Saviour, the greater light.

“I thank my Heavenly Father for the interest that my brethren and sisters have taken in the circulation of Christ’s Object Lessons. By the sale of this book great good has been accomplished, and the work should be continued. But the efforts of our people should not be confined to this one book.…The larger books, Patriarchs and Prophets, Great Controversy, and Desire of Ages, should be sold everywhere. These books contain truth for this time, —truth that is to be proclaimed in all parts of the world. Nothing is to hinder their sale.…Many more of our larger books might have been sold if church members had been awake to the importance of the truths these books contain, and had realized their responsibility to circulate them. My brethren and sisters, will you not now make an effort to circulate these books?”

“Sister White is not the originator of these books. They contain the instruction that during her life-work God has been giving her. They contain the precious comforting light that God has graciously given His servant to be given to the world. From their pages this light is to shine into the hearts of men and women, [notice] leading them to the Saviour. The Lord has declared that these books are to be scattered throughout the world. There is in them truth which to the receiver is a savor of life unto life. They are silent witnesses for God. In the past they have been the means in His hands of convicting and converting many souls. Many have read them with eager expectation, and, by reading them, have been led to see the efficacy of Christ’s atonement, and to trust in its power.…The Lord has sent His people much instruction, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. Little heed is given to the Bible, and the Lord has given a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light.” Ibid.

Surely, nothing could be stated more clearly. Some of Ellen White’s books were designed to be distributed widely to the public. Why? “From their pages this light is to shine into the hearts of men and women, leading them to the Saviour.” She expressed the same thought when, a few sentences later she said, “…The Lord has given a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light.”

Because people had neglected the Bible, which God had given to the world for this purpose, Ellen White pointed to her own writings, though they were precious and inspired, as the lesser light to lead the people of the world to Jesus Christ, the greater light. If this passage meant what is commonly believed, that the greater light is the Bible, it would not be consistent with all of her other passages in which she defines the greater light to be Christ.

Therefore, we must conclude from this article that Ellen White is not demeaning her writings as inferior to the Bible, since the Holy Spirit is the author of her writings as stated in Selected Messages, book 3, 30, and since God—not Ellen White—is the originator of her writings. Then who is it that is teaching that the writings of Ellen White are second class?

Making of None Effect

It is none other than the liberals among us who are being used by Satan to make of none effect the Spirit of Prophecy. Ellen White was taught by the same Holy Spirit of God as were the ancient prophets. If John the Baptist, the greatest of the prophets, was a lesser light, surely the Bible prophets were all lesser lights. Christ alone is the greater light.

In the creation story there is an interesting illustration which may help us to understand the difference between the lesser and the greater light. “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.” Genesis 1:16.

Jon Janiuk calls attention to this illustration in his Great Controversy Endgame, book 3. He points out that in the context of this verse, two questions are answered.

  1. What is the greater light? The answer: The sun that rules the day. The sun is the greater light for it has original light or light emanating from itself.
  2. What is the lesser light that rules the night? The moon. Does the moon have light in itself? No, all the moon can do is reflect the light of the sun. Does this not teach an important Bible principle? A greater light has light in itself while a lesser light can only reflect light.

A thousand moons together could never become the greater light because the greater light is the original light—the sun. Janiuk concludes that the writers of the Bible and Ellen White did not have light in themselves. As the moon, they could only reflect the original light of Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousness. The Bible promise in Malachi 4:2 states, as “the Sun of Righteousness, [he will] arise [upon us] with healing in His wings.” Why? for Jesus is the light of life.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ Desire of Ages, 463. When He spoke these words, Jesus was in the court of the temple specially connected with the services of the Feast of Tabernacles. In the center of this court rose two lofty standards, supporting lampstands of great size. After the evening sacrifice, all the lamps were kindled, shedding their light over Jerusalem. This ceremony was in commemoration of the pillar of light that guided Israel in the desert, and was also regarded as pointing to the coming of the Messiah. At evening when the lamps were lighted, the court was a scene of great rejoicing.…In the illumination of Jerusalem, the people expressed their hope of the Messiah’s coming to shed His light upon Israel. But to Jesus the scene had a wider meaning. As the radiant lamps of the temple lighted up all about them, so Christ, the source of spiritual light, illumines the darkness of the world. Yet the symbol was imperfect. That great light, [and here she speaks of the sun which He Himself had infused with original light] which His own hand had set in the heavens was a truer representation of the glory of His mission.”

This same thought is expressed in Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students, 54. “The sun rising in the heavens is representative of Him Who is the life and light of all that He has made.” But let us never forget that man has a part to act in the salvation of the world for Jesus said, “Ye are the light of the world.” But humanity has no light in itself. Men are likened not to the sun but to the moon.

Christ, the Source of Light

Man can only reflect the light of Jesus. “Humanity has in itself no light. Apart from Christ we are like an unkindled taper, like the moon when her face is turned away from the sun; we have not a single ray of brightness to shed into the darkness of the world. But when we turn toward the Sun of Righteousness, when we come in touch with Christ, the whole soul is aglow with the brightness of the divine presence. Christ’s followers are to be more than a light in the midst of men. They are the light of the world.” Thoughts From The Mount of Blessings, 40.

As the moon, all human beings are lesser lights, whether they be prophet, priest or king. However, when men turn their faces toward Christ and connect themselves to Him, they can reflect His light to the world. “It is the privilege of the Christian to connect with the source of light, and through this living connection become the light of the world.… As the light of the sun is the light and life and blessing to all that live, so should Christians, by their good works, by their cheerfulness and courage, be the light of the world. As the light of the sun chases away the shades of night and pours its glories on valleys and hills, so will the Christian reflect the Sun of Righteousness which shines on him.” This Day With God, 93.

Is that not beautiful? Oh, what a privilege to reflect the light that shines from the Sun of Righteousness. “O be sure you receive your illumination from the source of all light. He is the great central Light of the universe of heaven and the great Light of the world.” That I May Know Him, 341. May this beautiful counsel be fulfilled in each and every one of us.

“The princely dignity of the Christian character will shine forth as the sun and the beams of light from the face of Christ will be reflected upon those who have purified themselves even as He is pure.” God’s Amazing Grace, 341. So, friend, let us always remember that “the Sun of Righteousness has risen. “Christ our Righteousness is shining in brightness upon us.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 932.

Beloved, Christ does this for us because He loves us. “Christ ‘loved the church, and gave Himself for it.’ It is the purchase of His blood. The divine Son of God is seen walking amid the seven golden candlesticks. Jesus Himself supplies the oil to these burning lamps. He it is that kindles the flame. ‘In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.’ No candlestick, no church, shines of itself. From Christ emanates all its light.” . Ibid., vol. 6, 1118.

Looking to Jesus

Again in Selected Messages, book 2, 249, we are promised: “The trials may be severe, but look to Jesus every moment—not to struggle, but to rest in His love. He careth for you.” I like that. “We know that as trials press closer and closer, the hope grows stronger. The beams of the Sun of Righteousness shall shine into your heart with their healing power. Look beyond the clouds to the brightness, even the light of the Sun of Righteousness.”

With these glorious truths before us, we can better comprehend the damage that is being done to our church when, through misunderstanding, or various means, the writings of Ellen White are downgraded as a lesser light to the Bible. Satan understands the tremendous blessings and encouragement the Testimonies are to God’s church when they are treasured and studied by its members.

I fear this misunderstanding is one way, among others, that Satan is seeking to undermine the ministry of God’s messenger to the remnant church so that eventually her writings will become of none effect in the lives of many. For if Satan can downgrade the Spirit of Prophecy by this and other implications so that the Testimonies are neglected, left on the shelves to collect dust, he knows that God’s people may not detect his final deceptions, deceptions that the Spirit of Prophecy not only points out clearly but also tells us how to avoid.

Never forget that if it were possible, Satan would have all of us perish. “The very last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish.’ (Proverbs 29:18.) Satan works ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to unsettle the confidence of God’s remnant people in the true testimony.” Selected Messages, book 1, 48.

Oh, friend, let us not despise the last day lesser light or regard Ellen White’s writings as inferior words from God. During my sixty years of ministry for the Lord, I have constantly used both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy in my preaching to Seventh-day Adventists all over the world, and in all of my tape ministry. I have always believed that both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy originated from the same source of authority, the Holy Spirit.

Creation’s Light

May I bring one more beautiful thought? In the beginning when Christ created this world, He sent His healing light upon this void and shapeless earth. “And God said, Let there be light:” and there was light…And the evening and the morning were the first day.” Genesis 1:3, 5.

On that first day there was no light from the sun or the moon. They were not created until the fourth day. But there was light, and who was that light? It was Jesus, the Creator. In the earth made new there will come a time when, in the New Jerusalem, there will be no need of the light from the sun or from the moon for we read in Revelation 21:23, “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”

Jesus was, now is, and ever will be, the Sun of Righteousness; our greater Light forever. Oh, what a Saviour! Praise His name! I appeal to you in the name of our Lord and Master, let us face this coming crisis with absolute assurance of victory in Jesus, because we have accepted the Spirit of Prophecy and the Bible as the lesser light which leads us to the greater Light, the Sun of Righteousness; Jesus Christ, who alone is able to save us.

To be continued…

Go, Set a Watchman

As spring weather approaches, we are excited to know that God has a wonderful plan for all who commit themselves to His service. Need we remind you that we are living in a day in which the messages of the prophets must be understood and proclaimed?

All that the Prophets Have Spoken

We know that Jesus lived and preached, constantly under the knowledge that He was fulfilling the words of the prophets. “Then He took unto Him the twelve, and said unto them, ‘Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished.’” Luke 18:31. Remember, Jesus upbraided the two disciples on the road to Emmaus for not believing what the prophets spoke. “Then He said unto them, ‘O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” Luke 24:25. The Apostle Paul clearly states that the prophets speak to these last days. “Yea and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.’” Acts 3:24.

John the Baptist also understood and preached the message of the prophets. He needed no new revelation, no new doctrine, and no novel truth. He preached from Isaiah! “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is He that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!’” Matthew 3:1-3.

We do not need some new, novel thing for which itching ears now seek. We need to hear what the prophets spoke about this, our day. They were accurate regarding Christ in every detail. They must also be right about their warnings and admonitions to us!

All through the New Testament you see events unfolding in order that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled. “When the evening was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils; and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, ‘Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses.’” Matthew 8:16, 17. “But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew Himself from thence: and great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all; and charged them that they should not make Him known: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet…” Matthew 12:15-17.

A Devastating Vision

Isaiah the prophet saw the glory of Jesus centuries ago; and he preached Christ in his own day. Isaiah not only saw the future Lord and Saviour; he also had a hard, devastating vision of the very days in which we live. His vision in Isaiah 21 must be understood, heeded, and proclaimed! It is a message for this time!

Isaiah begins in 21:2: “A grievous [harsh] vision is declared unto me;” The prophet does not give us the details of this horrifying vision; but his insight into the future was so devastating, it violently agitated him. Isaiah revealed the vision’s impact on him: “Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath turned into fear unto me.” Isaiah 21:3–4.

What caused such convulsions in Isaiah’s body? Why did his heart beat wildly? Why such anguish of soul? He saw a storm roaring in from the desert. It was a massive enemy army; riders, horsemen in pairs, trains of donkeys, and camels. The prophet sees the coming downfall of the Babylonian system. He hears in his spiritual ear, he sees in his spiritual eye the downfall of all that is of this world. He sees the end of pride, ambition, wickedness, and corruption. “Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods He hath broken unto the ground.” Isaiah 21:9.

Isaiah saw the coming judgment and destruction, and he cried out,”Pay close attention, very close attention.” Isaiah 21:8. “and he harkened diligently with much heed:” He calls out, “Rise up–oil the shields.” “Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.” Isaiah 21:5. But no one is listening! Instead, Isaiah 21:5 says, “They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, and drink…”

Get Ready—Destruction Cometh!

Indescribable judgments are at the door; massive armies are marching outside of the gate; the day of reckoning has come! The prophet is shouting, “Pay attention! Get ready! Oil the shields! Put on the whole armor!” But they ignore the warnings of the prophet! They go about their ways, eating, drinking, making merry, spreading out a feast table of prosperity, success, and entertainment. They are deaf! They do not want to hear about the mounting gloom outside the gate! They have their own “Happy Days” prophets sitting at the head of their tables. While they sit with them on ivory couches, they prophesy smooth things. “…this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: which say to the seers, ‘See not,’ and to the prophets, ‘Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits.’” Isaiah 30:9, 10.

What a vivid vision Isaiah had of our present day. Here are alarmed watchmen blowing a trumpet, begging the unconcerned to wake up, to prepare for a day of disaster! But the crowds spread their tables and sit down to feast, dance, and play! It is not just that they ignore him (the prophet), they shout to him, ‘Enough of your doom and gloom! You’ve been on the wall too long! Why don’t you ever give us a good word? Why so rough, so harsh, so negative?”

I ask you, if the watchman keeps quiet, if he gets weary of warning, if he does relent and ease up, will that change anything? Will that stop the destruction? No! Whether or not the people will listen, God is setting His watchmen in place! “For thus hath the Lord said unto me, ‘Go, set a watchman let him declare what he seeth.’” Isaiah 21:6. God has set up faithful watchmen in these troubled times. They see the gathering storm of divine judgment and they are appointed to warn the people.

We know that the Old Testament prophets and shepherds were set as watchmen. Some were called seers because they walked with God so closely they could see what others could not. They could see the approaching enemy; they could see into the future, their warnings came from the very heart of God. God said to Ezekiel, “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me.’” Ezekiel 3:17.

The Watchmen on the Walls

God spoke through Isaiah, “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day or night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” Isaiah 62:6, 7.

This should greatly encourage the holy remnant! It should bring hope to all of God’s people who sigh and cry over the abominations in the house of the Lord! Those who claim to be purest and persecuted for righteousness sake when all the time they are covering up their sin. Those who are going around as talebearers should take heed before it is too late. God has set up holy watchmen who will never shut up! Night and day, they will blow the trumpet and warn the people until God’s house is cleansed and awakened!

Some are saying, “This message of impending judgment by self-styled prophets will pass away. These ridiculous warnings, these awesome thunderings, these harsh visions will die out.” Not a chance! God has posted His watchmen! God has instructed them to “Keep not silent!” I will continue to preach, “Repent” from your sin and then receive God’s forgiveness and then be restored to God’s true remnant church. These sin lovers will continue to call God’s servants, self-appointed and misinformed. They can call me any name they choose. However, I will not be hindered in my mission. I have been set in place by divine authority!

The New Testament is a call to every servant of God to watch. “Verily I say unto you, ‘This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away; but My words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, [worldliness] and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.’”

Paul warns the present day ministry, “Watch ye! Stand fast in the faith, act like men, be strong!” 1 Corinthians 16:13. For three years Paul stood watch over the Corinthian church. “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears.” Acts 20: 28–32.

Watch! Warn! Cry Night and Day!

To the overseers, to bishops, to pastors, he says the same thing! “Watch! Warn! Everyone, night and day with tears!” Paul said of the true ministers, “They watch for your soul.” That is the test of a true watchman! Does he watch out for his own interests, his own dreams, and his own ambitions? Or does he watch for souls? If Paul had to preach to the ministers of today, he would deliver the same message he gave to young Timothy. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry…” 2 Timothy 4:3–6.

Isaiah’s vision focused on a cry coming to his ears “out of the land of the lawless.” “The oracle [or burden, or cry] concerning Edom…one keeps calling to me from Seir.” Isaiah 21:11. Genesis 36:8 says that Edom is Esau. God said, “And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains [territory] and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.” Malachi 1:3. Malachi gives us God’s view of what Edom and Esau represents: “Men shall call them the territory of the lawless, and the people with whom Jehovah hath indignation against until times eternal.” Malachi 1:4 Rotterman’s Original Hebrew.

What is this cry coming out of the territory of the lawless? It is the very same cry arising out of religious America! We have become the land of the lawless. We are those who have rejected the Lord and against whom God is indignant! Here is the cry from the land of the lawless: “Watchman, how far gone is the night? (NAS) The King James version reads, “Watchman, what is the night?” But the Hebrew text is actually, “How far gone is the night?” Isaiah 21:11.

There was no cry, “What must we do to be redeemed? How can we repent and turn to God? How can we prepare to meet the enemy?” The only question being asked by these deluded, unrepentant children of God was, “How much longer until the good times return? How soon will a new day dawn, so we can return to our feasting and drinking?”

A New Day Dawning

Mark my words, the day has already come. Multitudes of prosperity lovers led by their success preachers share one great concern, to bring in a bright, new day of endless prosperity and bliss. When the darkness of recession and depression begins to fall all around, they cry out, ‘How long will it last? How soon until we are back in the sunlight of good times? How deep, how long will be the darkness? They prophesy great things and prosperous times just ahead. The Scripture that says, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand” means something very different to them. They see that as a promise that God is going to set up His earthly kingdom soon! No imminent return of Christ. No going up to meet the Lord in the air! They have become so earthbound, they cannot see giving it up even to meet Him in glory!

This is the cry of the New Age people! New Age Christians! Or professing Seventh-day Adventists who are hiding in sin. It is the cry of the spreading gospel of the Kingdom Preachers: “A new day is dawning! A day of earthly peace and prosperity!” they boast. “God is going to give us the wealth of the world; we will become kings—take dominion over all government, all science, all law and legislation.” They are no longer for Mark 13:26, which says, “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”

They evidently do not believe the words of Jesus when He warned, “On this earth you will suffer and be persecuted.” They reject Christ’s warning that the church will be “hated and scorned” among men. “And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake.” Luke 21:17. Christ is no longer expected to return. “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” 1 Thessalonians 5:2. They do not believe Paul’s warning in
1 Thessalonians 5:3, “For when they shall say, ‘Peace and safety;’ then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” Nevertheless, Jesus bluntly said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” His reign is in the hearts of men.

Return and Repent

Hear the answer of the watchmen. “The watchman said, ‘The morning cometh and also the night, if ye will inquire, inquire ye: Return—Come.” Isaiah 21:12. He is saying, “For those who return and repent, there is a new day coming—but for those who are living in the land of the lawless, bound by the spirit of Esau, with its lust and evil, there is nothing but night!”

Isaiah went on to describe what that meant for the backslidden and unconcerned. “For it is a day of trouble [confusion] and the treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord God of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.” Isaiah 22:5. Those who live for self, who lust for success, power, and earthly dominion, will awaken to a day of perplexity and unprecedented trouble.

I have received many newsletters from one Seventh-day Adventist physician who talks about all of the mission work he supposedly supports. The fact is, he uses these works to generate support to pay for his own overseas trips, and now to support his adulterous relationship. Yet he portrays himself as a humble purist who is persecuted by all of the other self-supporting workers because of his strong stands. Friends, he is only standing on sinking sand. He is not fooling anyone but himself, for God knows it all.

What makes this so frightening is that Isaiah is speaking of our time! Only a holy, separated remnant will comprise the Holy Zion. The city is coming down from God! While many preach about a new day of earthly might, glory and dominion—it will actually be that dreaded day of perplexity, sorrow, and cries for help!

The preachers of Paradise Restored are deluded prophets. That is easily proven by God’s Word. Here is unshakable proof that God has not sent them, but that they are deceived and speak their own imaginations.

“Then said I, ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured [lasting] peace in this place.’ Then the Lord said unto me, ‘The prophets are prophesying lies in My name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision, and divination, and a thing of naught, and the deceit of their heart [or deception of their own minds.]’”

There are holy watchmen and there are evil watchmen. We live in a day when many watchmen who were once mightily anointed are falling asleep in sin! They are justifying their sin and they continue to live in sin because they are pleasure seekers. They are ruled by their flesh.

Searching for the Bridegroom

Let me share with you one of the saddest indictments against evil watchmen in God’s Word. “By night on my bed I sought Him whom my soul loveth: I sought Him, but I found Him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek Him whom my soul loveth: I sought Him, but I found Him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me: it was but a little that I passed from them, but I found Him whom my soul loveth: I beheld Him and would not let Him go, until I had brought Him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.” Solomon 3:1–4.

Here is the bride—the church—the people of God who are truly hungering and thirsting for their Lord! They want Him! They yearn for His love and presence. It is a seeking people! They do not know how to reach Him! There is a confrontation with certain of the watchmen. If anyone should know where to find Him, the watchman should. Who could miss this Man so well described: “His head is of the most fine gold; His locks are bushy, and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers; His lips are like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: His belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet: yea, He is altogether lovely…” Solomon 5:11–16.

Of the watchman she asks, “Have you seen Him whom my soul loveth?” In other words, “Lead me to Him whom my soul longs for! You are the watchman—bring me to Him!”

How sad these words are: “It was but a little that I passed from them; but I have found Him whom my soul loveth.” The bride is confessing, “When I got away from the blind watchmen, then I found Him!”

Blind Watchmen

They could not help me, Isaiah said, “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark: sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.” Isaiah 56:10.

Think of it! In Isaiah 21 the watchmen are awake; they are calling the people to action, speaking only the truth; faithful; watching day and night. Now in Isaiah 56 some have fallen asleep. They are lying down like a bunch of lazy dogs. They refuse to blow the trumpet! They have left off warnings! Some are asleep on the wall. They have become spiritually blind and ignorant, with no discernment left.

What happened? Isaiah said they became self-centered! Greedy! Filled with lust and sensuality! They divorce their wives and marry younger ones. They need new thrills. “Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. ‘Come ye,’ say thus, ‘I will fetch wine and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.’” Isaiah 56:11, 12.

Isaiah lamented, “The righteous man perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart.” Instead, some became greedy, looking out for themselves—their own dreams and plans—having fallen into lust and love for pleasure. They have opted for comfort, acceptance, and respect among men. They have been corrupted by a lust for power, position, and money.

Look around you today, as many ministers fall! Look at the supposed health educators. They are living for self. They do not hold to the basic principles of marriage, accountability, honesty. The worm of self is eating like a cancer, destroying the love of many. So few now weep for the lost. Fewer yet are taking to heart the backsliding of God’s people! There is greed, self-promotion, self-seeking, and self-indulgence!

God’s Grief

What grief God must carry over the backslidden, blind watchmen! His grief goes beyond their spiritual blindness. Beyond the pride and greed. Beyond sensuality and self-centeredness. It is a two-fold grief!

First, grief because God can never delight in the fall of a single created being. He laments the loss of their love! The loss of their communion! The loss of a chosen son or daughter! The loss of one so important to His work on earth! Saul falls and the prophet Samuel weeps for him. Absolom rebels, is killed in rebellion, yet David laments, “Absolom, my son—my son!” Will not God lament over the loss of His rebellious, fallen watchmen?

Second, it is the grief of having to turn corrupted watchmen over to their sins! I call it the dread release. You will find it in Romans 1; but also throughout God’s Word. God never removes His offer of grace and mercy! His mercy is everlasting! But when men who once knew the truth, preached it, embraced it, then became bound and enslaved to creature lusts, and they refuse to let it go, refuse to walk in holiness before a holy God, then God must release them to their sins! You see this dread release in Ezekiel 20:39, “As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God. Go ye, serve ye everyone his idols…”

God is releasing this Christian nation to her idols. He is saying, “Go to your TV idol! Go to your secret lover! Go to your pornographic cassettes! Go to your filthy magazines! Go to your hidden sin! If you will have your idols rather than walk wholly separated in holiness, then go to the object of your desires.”

Tearing Away the Veil

This is the tragic end of the greedy, blind watchmen. “I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn Himself, and was gone: my soul failed when He spake: I sought Him, but I could not find Him; I called Him, but He gave me no answer. The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.” Solomon 5:6, 7.

Can you believe it? The blind watchmen are beating up on the bride! They are wounding the bride! They are tearing off her veil, her covering of modesty. Behind it she can blush, she can close her eyes to all others so she will not behold sin.

Think on the following points:

  1. All of the rock concerts going on in God’s house.
  2. The senseless choreographed dancing.
  3. The blatant entertainment!
  4. The emphasis on materialism, success, and self-improvement.
  5. The cancerous growth of worldliness in the churches.
  6. The lack of grief over sin among believers.
  7. The acceptance of rock, punk, and disco music in God’s house.
  8. The foolishness, the lightness, the off-color joking.
  9. The drinking and fornicating.

These are the fault of the greedy, backslidden watchmen who are tearing at the bride’s veil! Once again the blind watchmen are “taking away the veil…” The blind watchmen became candidates as rulers of darkness and angels of light. They end up preaching another Jesus, another gospel! Notice these very clear warnings. “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” 2 Corinthians 11:2–4.

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according o their works. ” 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

What of the Watchmen?

I listen to the so-called doctors, health reformers, as they talk so sweetly about loving Jesus and of their desire to take Him where the world is. They sound so pious, so humble, and so sincere. They say the right words, but their hearts do not belong wholly to the Lord. God says of them, “And the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. Oh, that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear me and keep all my Commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons, forever.” Deuteronomy 5:28, 29. NAS.

Some blind watchmen in the Northwest have introduced dancing with others’ spouses in their churches. They dance for hours with the mate of someone else, staring intently into each other’s eyes, calling the affair a spiritual connection. An intricate and evil doctrine has been concocted to support it as a so-called “new move of the Holy Spirit.” It is causing divorces, suicide among the adults, and terror among the children of those caught up in it. Many hundreds are involved, and adultery is rampant among them. The leaders of this diabolical doctrine preach so sweetly about Jesus, about the bride of Christ; and their words at times sound right. But they are the prophecies and doctrines of devils. Those involved are devil-inspired angels of light, come to deceive, if possible, even the elect. These are those referred to in the Song of Solomon who “wound the bride, smite her, and strip her veil from her! God has promised to deal with them with His holy fire of jealousy. “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.” Hebrews 10:26, 27.

Thank God, the true and faithful watchmen on the wall will never compromise! They will not stop warning the righteous about the seductions and infiltrations of the wicked one among God’s people. No sincere Christian need be in doubt about who to listen to in these days of many voices.

Tests of the True Prophetic Warnings

There are two very clear and unmistakable tests of all prophetic warnings:

1 True prophecy seeks to turn Christians away from sin. “But if they had stood in My council, then they would have announced My words to My people, and would have turned them back from their evil way and the evil of their deeds.” Jeremiah 23:22 NAS.

Heed the voice of those who seek to turn you away from wickedness. Avoid those who speak soothing words with no reference to sin. Those who are justifying their own sin. Yet, when you ask them a direct question, they talk in circles. They think they are clever, yet they are only deceived.

2 Prophetic warnings, from the beginning, spoke of judgments upon the wicked. “Yet hear now this word which I am about to speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people! The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence.” Jeremiah 28:7, 8. NAS.

Those who warn of coming judgment are in good company. They speak the same word of all the prophets “from the beginning.” I declare with all assurance that the warnings now going forth from God’s holy watchmen are the greatest evidences of His love to this generation. He loves His people enough to prepare them; to give them time to repent and prepare the way of the Lord in holiness! Those who love the Lord will be thankful. Those who are at ease in Zion will be repelled and indignant. May God richly bless all of His true children.

Facing the Crisis – Warnings of Coming Persecution

Every time I see the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor or see its picture in a book or in a magazine, I feel moisture gathering in my eyes and a heartbeat in my throat. For in America, the land that I love, its citizens will soon lose, and even now are losing, many of their freedoms. When people lose their freedom, one of the first segments to be curtailed is religious liberty—freedom to worship God and to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

America is represented in Revelation 13 as the lamb-like beast, but we are aware as well, that Revelation 13 also pictures America as becoming a persecuting dragon who will, through the papal power, set up and enforce the image of the beast. Soon there will come a time in America when true Christians will lose all their religious freedom.

There is a growing movement today within the United States for people control. This is hidden under the guise of such terms as a one-world order or a global government. Most Americans are unaware of the ultimate goals of these movements. Silently the stage is being set by the forces of evil to gain power to persecute those who obey the Commandments of God, including the fourth commandment.

Those who teach that Christ’s soon coming will end this world of sin and usher in an everlasting kingdom, not on this earth but in heaven above, will be targeted. On the other hand are the nominal churches who believe that when Christ comes He will set up His kingdom on earth and bring peace upon this world for a thousand years. These will not be subject to persecution. The real issue will be over the Sabbath day.

As the end draws near, under the leadership of the antichrist, an unstoppable movement is developing to enforce Sunday worship in the place of God’s command to keep holy the seventh-day Sabbath. Turning to the Spirit of Prophecy, we read, “In this warfare the Sabbath of the fourth commandment will be the great point of issue; for in the Sabbath commandment the great Lawgiver identifies Himself as the Creator of the heavens and the earth.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 983.

“In America, laws to exalt the false Sabbath will be passed.… all who will not bow to the decree of the national councils, and obey the national laws to exalt the sabbath instituted by the man of sin to the disregard of God’s holy day, will feel, not the oppressive power of popery alone, but of the Protestant world, the image of the beast.” Selected Messages, book 3, 385.

Sabbath laws and persecution will spread over the entire world. “The decree enforcing the worship of this day is to go forth to all the world. As America, the land of religious liberty, shall unite with the papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honor the false sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example. Foreign nations will follow the example of the United States. Though she leads out, yet the same crisis will come upon our people in all parts of the world.” Maranatha, 214. All nations and tongues and peoples will be commanded to worship this spurious sabbath.

Revelation 13:8 says, “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.” Beloved, we need divine power to comprehend the fulfilling prophecies that are now taking place in preparation of accomplishing this hellish goal. In this article we will discuss the warnings of coming persecutions to all who will stand for the right though the heavens fall. We will look at the subtle changes that are taking place.

In the Scriptures, we find that Jesus spoke of this end time when great persecutions would face His followers. “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13.

In 2 Timothy 3:12, 13, Paul writes, “…all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”

Once again, let us read from the Spirit of Prophecy. Mrs. White says the great deceiver’s “…principle concern is to silence this sect of Sabbath keepers….we will finally have a law to exterminate all who will not submit to our authority.” Testimony to Ministers, 473.

And again, “It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted from the earth, in order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed.” Ibid., 37.

These messages are speaking of the end time battle between God’s true Sabbath and Satan’s false “Sunday sabbath” which is so soon to burst upon us. Since the first Advent of Christ there have been periods of persecutions directed against the followers of Christ. No sooner had Jesus Christ started His Christian church than persecutions began and continued for the next three hundred years.

This was Satan’s gigantic effort through apostate Judaism and pagan Rome to exterminate Christianity. During these years thousands upon thousands of Christians were beheaded, buried alive, fed to lions, boiled in oil, crucified and, by other means, tortured and put to death. Then some years later, through papal Rome, Satan made his greatest attack yet against Christians for 1,260 years.

Not merely thousands but millions were persecuted and put to death during this long period of papal supremacy. In The Great Controversy, Ellen White shares the inspired revelation of the terrible atrocities hurled against the Waldenses, the Hussites, the Lutherans, the Calvinists and the Anabaptists. You will further discover there how the Church of England persecuted and burned at the stake, the Pilgrims and the Puritans, a people who believed and taught the Scriptures.

The Inquisition banned the Bible and forbade the people to read the Scriptures. Yet what was the result of all these persecutions? “Notwithstanding all these continued persecutions and horrible punishment, the church daily increased.” Storm Warnings, 12

You may be surprised to learn that in the day in which we live millions of Christians have been, and are being, persecuted and many martyred by the enemies of Christianity. This is happening in Communistic countries such as China and Cuba, and in Socialistic Regimes such as Africa.

In a book published in 1999 entitled, Storm Warnings, the author, Don Mac Elvaney, states “Today millions of Christians are being persecuted, imprisoned or martyred in Communist China, while 2.1 million Christians have been martyred in Southern Sudan by the followers of Islam in 1990 alone. Over a million Christians have been martyred in Burundi, the Central African Republic, and in the Marxist front line states of Southern Africa in recent years. About one thousand Christians a day are being martyred somewhere in the world today. The greatest number since the beginning of the Christian Church.” (see page 10.)

The reality of such a truth should be very alarming. I have received word that Christians who recently emerged from such persecutions in Russia are now preparing to go back to underground organizations in order to serve God. The hundreds of letters that I receive from around the world reveal that great changes are sweeping the entire globe and from the Adventist Network of February 1, 2000, pages 7, 8, is evidence of the persecution of Seventh-day Adventists in Mexico where thousands were baptized despite ongoing persecutions:

“In Chiapas, Mexico, 33 pastors baptized more than 3,600 people in the ocean off Puerto Madero on Sunday, January 23, 2000. The Adventist church leader in this region reports that the baptisms were the result of a week–long evangelistic campaign held in the area in mid-January. At least 10,000 from across the region crowded on the shore to watch the event.

“The baptisms came at a time of increasing difficulty for Adventists in a nearby village. Since 1994 ongoing conflict between different Christian groups in the region has forced at least 20 Adventist families to leave the area and ten homes have been burned down. The current dispute results from plans by the five remaining Adventist families to build a new church in the village on land donated by church members.

“The general assembly, a local governing power, has refused to allow the building to go ahead and is threatening to evict the Adventists from the village. In spite of the persecutions the brethren have continued to spread the gospel while working to establish better relations and mutual respect with the locals who have persecuted them for their beliefs.”

Here in America the prosperity that has been ours since the end of World War II has caused millions of professed Christians to believe that the good life will continue forever. But a small remnant have not succumbed to this deep sleep. They are aware of a growing political power of anti-Biblical sentiments that are taking control of our country. Christian standards and beliefs are ridiculed and belittled on the television and in the movies.

Christianity is being attacked in popular books and even by the media in newscasts. “The decline of America should be obvious to any thinking American. The explosion of crime, gang warfare and drive-by shootings in our cities; the disintegration of the American family with proliferating divorce, infidelity, child abuse, single-parent families and teen age rebellion; the explosion of drug usage, the highest in the world; the rampant spread of promiscuity, pornography, homosexuality and sexually transmitted diseases; the gross immorality and corruption at the highest levels of
U. S. government are all irrefutable evidence of a country whose culture, morality conditions and spiritual life are in a free fall.” Storm Warnings, 23-24. (please note that this author is writing from a non-Adventist perspective.)

Faced with this reality, is it any wonder that the judgments of God have been steadily increasing, especially in the past two decades? God is endeavoring to awaken the inhabitants of our country to their sins and to their need of repentance. We have become so accustomed to hearing and seeing on TV the results of earthquakes, storms, fires, and other disasters, that I feel it necessary to summarize the catastrophic events that have taken place recently.

Beginning in the early 1980s America suffered a terrible drought followed by severe flooding in the Midwest and in California, which destroyed huge amounts of crops. Then came Hurricane Hugo in 1989 which caused great damage in South Carolina. Soon after, in 1992, a very powerful earthquake rocked San Francisco followed by four powerful earthquakes in California.

Next came Hurricane Andrew striking Southern Florida with the most expensive disaster in our nation’s history, some $33 billion in damage. This was followed in Los Angeles by the worst rioting in our country since the Civil War. Then in 1993 another record storm hit the East Coast followed by the worst terrorist attack in American history in New York at the World Trade Center. This was soon followed by the bombing of a government building in Oklahoma City, which killed scores of innocent men, women and children.

Incredible disasters continued. In 1994 with temperatures the lowest since recording began in 1890, a vast portion of the Midwest sustained a wind chill of 90 degrees below zero. Next, the state of Pennsylvania was hit by the strongest earthquake ever recorded in that state, centering in Reading. Two days later a large earthquake struck Los Angeles, creating some $10 billion in damage and leaving thousands homeless.

During the year 1994, America crossed the line from being the world’s largest creditor nation to being the world’s largest debtor nation. Almost 1.5 million personal bankruptcies took place in 1998 alone, a record since the great depression. Now, friend, do not miss the facts by looking at this total picture. I believe God is permitting these tragic events to happen because America is following and tolerating a lifestyle which, the Bible clearly states, removes God’s blessings.

Sins such as fornication, adultery, sodomy, sexual perversions and the shedding of blood of the unborn are everyday occurrences. Do you realize that America aborts 1.6 million babies a year, that since 1973, some forty million children have been killed in the womb? (See Storm Warning, 30.)

Morally this nation hit the bottom with its 1998 gay-lesbian celebration at the Disney World in Orlando, Florida. “A review of the gay days, 1998, scheduled events was amazing. On June 3 from 9pm to 3am was an event titled, ‘Who Is Your Daddy?’ The description of the event followed: A leather, latex and bondage party featuring live flogging and spanking; masters and slaves; plus piercings. Sponsored by the Absolute Leather ED and SM group of Florida. There were two events called Seductive Dancing. There were male strippers and female impersonators. Gay days ended on June 7 with a Sunday Gospel brunch from 10:15am until 3:30pm, an event entitled ‘Sin Tonight, Repent Tomorrow.’ And wonder of wonders, the President of the United States sent a letter of congratulations for events like this!” Ibid., 41.

Listen, friend, America cannot continue in this direction and remain a great nation. Proverbs 14:34 reads, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” I totally agree with the following found in Storm Warning, 46. “The Bible states that ‘If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?’ Psalm 11:3. The foundations of America have been destroyed. The husband and wife family unit, which is ordained by God, is being replaced with a term ‘domestic partners,’ and homosexuals are being allowed to adopt children. America is becoming unglued. The nation is full of violence as innocent blood is being shed from coast to coast. It seems every week a mass murderer kills several people. This was virtually unheard of before 1963. The violence started against children in the womb has spread like a cancer throughout the entire society. It is truly ironic that America has developed the technology to allow men to walk safely in space, yet in most of our cities it is unsafe to walk the streets.”

The Bible speaks, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20. Woe to those who acquit the guilty but deny justice to the innocent.

And now Ellen White speaks. “The earth groans under the burden of accumulated guilt, and everywhere dying mortals are compelled to experience the wretchedness included in the wages of unrighteousness. I was shown that men have carried out the purposes of Satan by craft and deceit, and a dreadful blow has recently been given. It can be truly said: ‘Justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter,’ ‘and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.’ In some of the free states the standard of morality is sinking lower and lower. Men with depraved appetites and corrupt lives have now an opportunity to triumph. They have chosen for their rulers those whose principles are debasing, who would not check evil, or repress the depraved appetites of men, but let them have full sway. If those who choose to become like the beasts, by drinking liquid poison, were the only sufferers; if they alone would reap the fruit of their own doings, then the evil would not be so great. But many, very many, must pass through incredible suffering on account of others’ sins. Wives and children, although innocent, must drain the bitter cup to its dregs. Without the grace of God, men love to do evil. They walk in darkness, and do not possess the power of self-control. They give loose reign to their passions and appetites until all the finer feelings are lost and only the animal passions are manifested. Such men need to feel a higher, controlling power, which will constrain them to obey. If rulers do not exercise a power to terrify the evildoer, he will sink to the level of the brute. The earth is growing more and more corrupt.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 362.

And what about Communism which has wrought such brutality and wickedness in past years? Do not be misled. Communism, even in America, is not dead but is much alive. Mikhail Gorbechev is still one of the most powerful leaders of the New World Order and he has headquarters in the Presidio, formerly the U. S. Army or government military base in San Francisco, California. That is amazing!

There are literally scores of organizations with papal cooperation who are pushing for a New World Order or a Global Government. When this happens, freedom will be a thing of the past. Never forget, it was through 1,260 years of papal rule by cruel persecution that the papacy once controlled the nations of earth.

One way to accomplish this goal again would be the passage of laws to punish hate crimes. A hate crime would be defined as anything derogatory that might be said of religious groups, races, lifestyle, etc. The Word of God identifies the Roman religious system as an enemy of the Law of God and of His Holy Sabbath Day. If the law against hate crimes should be passed, then if one were to teach Bible truths regarding this power or if he should pass out a book like The Great Controversy written by Ellen White or other literature that would identify the papacy and expose her sins and aims, he could be accused of breaking the law. He might be imprisoned and fined for simply sharing God’s Word.

The near future could very well bring such persecutions upon God’s people. Yet we have the divine commission to teach all the truths of God’s Word to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. In Revelation 13:15-18 God foretold that terrible persecutions will be executed under the reign of the image of the beast, “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.”

Concerning this time Jesus warns, “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake.” Matthew 24:9. “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” John 16:2.

Now let us conclude by reading the inspired instructions God has given to His remnant, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, as found in the book The Great Controversy, Chapter 35, “Liberty of Conscience Threatened.” “In the movements now in progress in the United States to secure for the institutions and usages of the church the support of the state, Protestants are following in the steps of papists. Nay, more, they are opening the door for the papacy to regain in Protestant America the supremacy which she has lost in the Old World. And that which gives greater significance to this movement is the fact that the principal object contemplated is the enforcement of Sunday observance—a custom which originated with Rome, and which she claims as the sign of her authority. It is the spirit of the papacy—the spirit of conformity to worldly customs, the veneration for human traditions above the commandments of God—that is permeating the Protestant churches and leading them to do the same work of Sunday exaltation which the papacy has done before them.

If the reader would understand the agencies to be employed in the soon-coming contest, he has but to trace the record of the means which Rome employed for the same object in ages past. If he would know how papists and Protestants united will deal with those who reject their dogmas, let him see the spirit which Rome manifested toward the Sabbath and its defenders.” Ibid., 573.

“Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor than in former years. In those countries where Catholicism is not in the ascendancy, and the papists are taking a conciliatory course in order to gain influence, there is an increasing indifference concerning the doctrines that separate the reformed churches from the papal hierarchy; the opinion is gaining ground that, after all, we do not differ so widely upon vital points as has been supposed, and that a little concession on our part will bring us into a better understanding with Rome. The time was when Protestants placed a high value upon the liberty of conscience which had been so dearly purchased. They taught their children to abhor popery and held that to seek harmony with Rome would be disloyalty to God. But how widely different are the sentiments now expressed! [Even by some of our own church leaders.]

“The defenders of the papacy declare that the church has been maligned, and the Protestant world are inclined to accept the statement. Many urge that it is unjust to judge the church of today by the abominations and absurdities that marked her reign during the centuries of ignorance and darkness. They excuse her horrible cruelty as the result of the barbarism of the times and plead that the influence of modern civilization has changed her sentiments.

“Have these persons forgotten the claim of infallibility put forth for eight hundred years by this haughty power? So far from being relinquished, this claim was affirmed in the nineteenth century with greater positiveness than ever before. As Rome asserts that the ‘church never erred; nor will it, according to the Scriptures, ever err’ (John L. von Mosheim, Institutes of Ecclesiastical History, book 3, century II, part 2, chapter 2, section 9, note 17), how can she renounce the principles which governed her course in past ages?”

“The papal church will never relinquish her claim to infallibility. All that she has done in her persecution of those who reject her dogmas she holds to be right; and would she not repeat the same acts, should the opportunity be presented? Let the restraints now imposed by secular governments be removed and Rome be reinstated in her former power, and there would speedily be a revival of her tyranny and persecution.” Ibid., 563, 564.

“The Constitution of the United States guarantees liberty of conscience. Nothing is dearer or more fundamental. Pope Pius IX, in his Encyclical Letter of August 15, 1854, said: ‘The absurd and erroneous doctrines or ravings in defense of liberty of conscience are a most pestilential error—a pest, of all others, most to be dreaded in a state.’ The same pope, in his Encyclical Letter of December 8, 1864, anathematized ‘those who assert the liberty of conscience and of religious worship,’ also ‘all such as maintain that the church may not employ force.’ [Did you get that? That the church may not employ force?]

“The pacific tone of Rome in the United States does not imply a change of heart. She is tolerant where she is helpless. Says Bishop O’Connor: ‘Religious liberty is merely endured until the opposite can be carried into effect without peril to the Catholic world.’…The archbishop of St. Louis once said: ‘Heresy and unbelief are crimes; and in Christian countries, as in Italy and Spain, for instance, where all the people are Catholics, and where the Catholic religion is an essential part of the law of the land, they are punished as other crimes.’…

“Every cardinal, archbishop, and bishop in the Catholic Church takes an oath of allegiance to the pope, in which occur the following words: ‘Heretics, schismatics, and rebels to our said lord (the pope), or his aforesaid successors, I will to my utmost persecute and oppose.’” Ibid., 564, 565.

And what about the attitude of John Paul II? We should note that it is really not different from the above testimony of the archbishop of St. Louis when he said that heresy and unbelief are crimes. John Paul’s grand design is set forth by Malachi Martin in his book, The Keys of This Blood. This book, published only ten years ago, reveals John Paul’s grand design to bring the whole world under his control. Martin refers to this as the “coming global government.”

On page 287, he writes, “…to defend every person’s right to be wrong…sets [them] apart from John Paul.” He continues by saying, “…it is axiomatic for John Paul that no one has the right—democratic or otherwise—to a moral wrong; and no religion based on divine revelation has a moral right to teach such a moral wrong or abide by it.”

Now listen to me carefully. Is not Martin actually saying here that, according to the present pope, no one, including Seventh-day Adventists, has the right to believe or teach a different doctrine than that taught by the Roman pontiff? And is not this echoing the sentiment of the archbishop of St. Louis as documented in The Great Controversy? Frightening, is it not?

Should not such a statement as this awaken us as to what the purposes of Rome really are? Prophecy shows that the great day of God is right upon us. It hasteneth greatly. (See Testimonies vol. 1, 361.)

Can we not see that even now the deadly wound is almost fully healed? Soon the pope will be in a position to persecute those whose understanding of the Scriptures differ from his own. Turning again to The Great Controversy, 581 we read, “God’s Word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the Word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution.”

And so, beloved, let us not wait until it is too late in order to escape her snare. We must understand what her purposes are now, right now.

Facing the Crisis – Preparation for Persecution, Part II

There is absolutely nothing of more importance in the preparation for persecution than to fully know, without a doubt, that you are right with God. Such a knowledge requires a person to have repented of every known sin and to have accepted Jesus Christ as one’s personal Saviour, and by the power which only Christ can give, to daily live victoriously. This is the only way an individual can be assured of eternal life.

Only One Reason to Endure Persecution

A totally surrendered life is the only reason to endure persecution. Never be misled. Suffering in any amount will never justify a person in God’s judgment. It is only a daily, living relationship with Jesus, through a love and obedience experience, that provides the needed strength to meet coming persecutions.

As the daily storm warnings reveal a coming storm of persecution that will exceed our strongest expectations, we praise God’s name that we may trust the words of His Son, for He has promised, “…lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20. In this study we pray for God’s divine Spirit to help us discover the special preparations we must make in order to withstand the united forces of Satan.

Turning to the Scriptures we read in Ephesians 6:11-18, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”

God-given Weapons

God has given us these great weapons with the assurance that we can defeat Satan. Foremost in the Christian’s arsenal is the Holy Spirit; for without the Holy Spirit no one can stand against the power of Satan. When the Christian Church began, Jesus told her members, “…ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” Acts 1:8.

Not only does the Holy Spirit provide courage and power but Jesus added that He will send us a Comforter and when He comes, ” He will guide you into all truth.” John 16:13. What is more, He will give you the fruits of the Spirit, which will make it possible to even love your enemies when they persecute you.

With this gift, in persecutions we can also experience joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. “The Spirit furnishes the strength that sustains striving, wrestling souls in every emergency, amidst the hatred of the world, and the realization of their own failures and mistakes. In sorrow and affliction, when the outlook seems dark and the future perplexing, and we feel helpless and alone,—these are the times when, in answer to the prayer of faith, the Holy Spirit brings comfort to the heart.” Acts of the Apostles, 51.

Prepared to Stand Firm

Oh, friend, how we should praise God for such a gift. Every Christian who draws such strength from the Holy Spirit will be prepared to live and suffer for God and remain steadfast to the truth. They will refuse to receive the mark of the beast of the coming world religion, even though they know that obedience to God’s seventh-day Sabbath will mean persecution, suffering and, perhaps, death.

Jesus has given us counsel that in these lasts days many will be misled by Satan’s deceptions. In Mark 13:22 we read, “…false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.”

Errors Presented as Bible Truth

Times are changing. Many of God’s people are being misled today. Instead of emphasis on a diligent study of God’s Word to teach men the way to prepare for the troublous times ahead, all too often, as Ellen White pointed out, errors are being presented to God’s people as if they were Bible truths. How sad!

Errors do not prepare anyone for the soon coming trials and persecutions. Errors can only prepare men for perdition. In Testimonies to Ministers, 409 and 410, Ellen White prophesies that “Many will stand in our pulpits with the torch of false prophecy in their hands, kindled from the hellish torch of Satan.”

At times it seems that even now we are beginning to see a partial fulfillment of this prophecy. This is why it is so important that each member of God’s faithful remnant personally obtain a knowledge of the Scriptures so they will be able to identify, resist and counteract the lies of Satan with an “It is written.”

“None need be deceived. The Law of God is as sacred as His throne, and by it every man who cometh into the world is to be judged. There is no other standard by which to test character. ‘If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.’” (See Isaiah 8:20.) Ellen White comments, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1099.

“If we have not a deep experience in the things of God, if we have not a thorough knowledge of His Word, we shall be beguiled to our ruin by the errors and sophistries of the enemy. False doctrines will sap the foundations of many, because they have not learned to discern truth from error. Our only safeguard against the wiles of Satan is to study the Scriptures diligently, to have an intelligent understanding of the reasons of our faith, and faithfully to perform every known duty. The indulgence of one known sin will cause weakness and darkness, and subject us to fierce temptation.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 58.

None Need be Deceived

But what a comfort to know that none of us need be deceived. Satan hates the Scriptures. In the past, through his agent, the papacy, Satan attempted to destroy the Scriptures by burning the Word of God and passing laws to prohibit the reading of the Bible. This could happen again.

Just notice this quote: “The time will come when many will be deprived of the written word.” Did you know that? “The time will come when many will be deprived of the written word. But if this word is printed in the memory, no one can take it from us.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, 64.

A classic example of the memorization of Scripture is the experience of U. S. soldiers in Vietnamese prison camps during the war. Their Bibles had been taken from them, but some soldiers searched their memories from childhood and wrote down portions of the memory verses they had learned in Sunday Schools. These they shared with other prisoners, and soon they possessed a facsimile of comforting Scriptures. They did likewise with gospel songs learned in their childhood, so they could sing together the songs of Zion.

It is so difficult with the freedoms that we now enjoy to realize that today, in some countries in the world, like Red China, it can mean imprisonment to possess the Scriptures. From the underground churches, we learn that they hide the folded sheets of Scripture in their shoes until an opportunity presents itself to share the good news with others.

Bible Study and Prayer

Together with Bible study, an important part of our preparation is prayer, including intercessory prayer. This could well be the secret of surviving as victorious Christians. Consider with me the way Ellen White describes prayer, “…prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven’s storehouse, where are treasured the boundless resources of Omnipotence.” Steps to Christ, 94, 95.

What a wonder that many of us pray so little! How we should praise God for the counsel, “Jesus said to His disciples, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ Mark 11:24. Do we take Him at His Word? The assurance is broad and unlimited, and He is faithful who has promised. When we do not receive the very things we ask for, at the time we ask, we are still to believe that the Lord hears and that He will answer our prayers. We are so erring and short-sighted that we sometimes ask for things that would not be a blessing to us, and our heavenly Father in love answers our prayers by giving us that which will be for our highest good—that which we ourselves would desire if with vision divinely enlightened we could see all things as they really are. When our prayers seem not to be answered, we are to cling to the promise; for the time of answering will surely come, and we shall receive the blessing we need most. But to claim that prayer will always be answered in the very way and for the particular thing that we desire, is presumption. God is too wise to err, and too good to withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly. Then do not fear to trust Him, even though you do not see the immediate answer to your prayers. Rely upon His sure promise, ‘Ask and it shall be given you.’ Ibid. 96.

“Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden Him; you cannot weary Him. He who numbers the hairs of your head is not indifferent to the wants to His children. ‘The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.’ James 5:11. His heart of love is touched by our sorrows, and even by our utterances of them. Take to Him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for Him to bear, for He holds up worlds, He rules over all the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for Him to notice. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for Him to unravel. No calamity can befall the least of His children, no anxiety harass the soul, no joy cheer, no sincere prayer escape the lips, of which our heavenly Father is unobservant, or in which He takes no immediate interest. ‘He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.’ Psalm 147:3. The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul upon the earth to share His watchcare, not another soul for whom He gave His beloved Son.” Ibid. 100.

What words of assurance! Praise God! “Jesus said, ‘Ye shall ask in My name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father Himself loveth you.’ ‘I have chosen you:…that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you.’ John 16:26, 27.” Ibid., 100.

Speaking of intercessory prayer, when open persecutions come to a group that has learned to pray together, such a prayer life can continue, even when the believers are scattered, because they can continue to pray for each other. Though Satan may win a temporary victory in scattering the believers, their prayer fellowship can continue, even though they may be unjustly imprisoned or exiled. Such a group will find prayer a source of their strength.

When God’s early church was threatened by persecution, the believers gathered together in prayer. We read of this in the fourth chapter of Acts. Here is the model for us to follow when faced with persecutions. As you read of their prayers, note that they recognize God as their Almighty Power. They also recall Bible prophecy foretelling such troubles as they face. They did not pray for deliverance from persecution but pleaded for holy boldness to stand firm.

An Overwhelming Surprise

Notice verse 29. “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak Thy word.” Though it may be peaceful now, I firmly believe that when persecutions come, they will burst upon us as an overwhelming surprise.

“Everything is preparing for the great day of God. Time will last a little longer until the inhabitants of the earth have filled up the cup of their iniquity, and then the wrath of God, which has so long slumbered, will awake, and this land of light will drink the cup of His unmingled wrath.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 363.

The wicked will then blame God’s people for bringing upon them the wrath of God. Persecutions will explode on the righteous. Accompanied by prayer, a study of God’s Word regarding those who were persecuted in Bible times will strengthen our faith. Learn why certain Bible characters reacted in the way they did to oppressive authorities. This will prove as a guide to you when you meet similar circumstances.

You will discover how God directed individuals in different ways. For instance, In 1 Kings 17, Elijah boldly defied the king. Yet on another occasion the Lord told him to hide. In Daniel 3:16–18 we read of the three Hebrews refusing to worship an image when commanded to do so by King Nebuchadnezzar.

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Daniel 3:16-18.

Satan’s Last Desperate Effort

Ellen White warns, “…some of us may be brought to just as severe a test,” Selected Messages, vol. 3, 420. Having not succeeded to induce the saints to work on the Sabbath and rest and worship on Sunday, Satan will make a last desperate effort. He will personate Christ’s Second Coming.

Just as Nebuchadnezzar of old commanded the hosts to worship the golden image representing himself, we will be commanded to worship Satan. “He will come personating Jesus Christ, working mighty miracles; and men will fall down and worship him as Jesus Christ. We shall be commanded to worship this being, whom the world will glorify as Christ.” Review and Herald, December 18, 1888.

Ellen White describes his deception further in these words: “Satan sees that he is about to lose his case. He cannot sweep in the whole world. He makes one last desperate effort to overcome the faithful by deception. He does this in personating Christ. He clothes himself with the garments of royalty which have been accurately described in the vision of John. He has power to do this. He will appear to his deluded followers, the Christian world who receive not the love of the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness [transgression of the law], as Christ coming the second time. He proclaims himself Christ, and he is believed to be Christ, a beautiful, majestic being clothed with majesty and, with soft voice and pleasant words, and with glory unsurpassed by anything their mortal eyes had yet beheld. Then his deceived, deluded followers set up a shout of victory, ‘Christ has come the second time! Christ has come! He has lifted up his hands just as He did when He was upon the earth, and blessed us.’ . . . The saints look, on with amazement. Will they also be deceived? Will they worship Satan?” Last Day Events, 164.

I repeat, Will they worship Satan? Surely not! As Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego of old, the saints will not bow down. Will they not rather say, “We are not careful to answer you in this matter. Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us out of your hand. But if not, be it known to you that we will not serve your god.” What an encouragement the Old Testament experiences, like the fiery furnace, will be to the saints at that time.

Martyred for Christ

As you study Paul’s life, you will discover that sometimes the Holy Spirit commanded him to flee, at other times to stay and preach and sometimes to ask for a miracle. As you read the great faith chapter of Hebrews 11, you will find some believers were delivered while others were tortured and killed. In fact, Paul himself was finally martyred. It is clearly revealed to us that, in the closing conflict, there will be martyrs, many martyrs.

“…prior to the last closing conflict, many will be imprisoned, many will flee for their lives from cities and towns, and many will be martyrs for Christ’s sake in standing in defense of the truth.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 397.

Many of God’s servants will be protected, as were the three Hebrews in the burning fiery furnace; yet God will, nonetheless, permit many others to lose their lives. For as in earlier ages, the blood of martyrs will serve to water the seed of truth. (See Selected Messages, Book 3, 420.)

If martyrdom is to be our lot, God will sustain His own through the ordeal. Further preparations for this time of persecution can be made by spreading the book, The Great Controversy. Here I must pause to be very frank. You must read this book, The Great Controversy, this year. This book was written especially for the small remnant who are to face unbelievable persecutions just prior to our Lord’s return. This book reveals how God’s faithful, in past ages, resisted papal oppressions. More importantly, your mind will be so fortified with truth that you will know how to meet the coming evil forces when the papal power will again rule the entire world by force just before Jesus comes.

Though faced with persecutions, God’s servants will not be in hiding when it is time for the Loud Cry to go to the world. Thousands of voices all over the world will give the Third Angel’s Message with a loud voice. At this time God Himself will take charge of the work, and the work will proceed contrary to any human planning.

“Let me tell you that the Lord will work in this last work in a manner very much out of the common order of things, and in a way that will be contrary to any human planning. There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God, to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under the direction of the angel who joins the third angel in the message to be given to the world. God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness.” Testimonies to Ministers, 300.

“Under the showers of the latter rain the inventions of man, the human machinery, will at times be swept away, the boundary of man’s authority will be as broken reeds, and the Holy Spirit will speak through the living, human agent, with convincing power. No one then will watch to see if the sentences are well rounded off, if the grammar is faultless. The living water will flow in God’s own channels.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 58, 59.

Ellen White lays down the guidelines. “In choosing men and women for His service, God does not ask whether they possess learning or eloquence or worldly wealth. He asks: ‘Do they walk in such humility that I can teach them My way? Can I put My words into their lips? Will they represent Me?’” Colporteur Ministry, 48.

Perfect Unity in Christ

Under the leadership of Christ, during the Loud Cry there will be perfect unity. In Early Writings, page 271, Ellen White describes this company as follows. “…they were clothed with an armour from their head to their feet. They moved in exact order, like a company of soldiers. . . . I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power. It had effect. . . . I asked what had made this great change? The angel answered, ‘It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.’”

At that time the saints will stand openly for the truth and for the consequences. Now, one more fact. Never trust your preparations, for your only security is in Jesus Christ. Prayer, fasting, commitment, memorizing Scriptures, knowledge of past heroes of God are all-important. But one’s personal security must come only from the Lord. Never trust in your own preparations or in your human reasoning power. There is but one example to follow. It is Jesus Christ.

In 1 Peter 2:22, 23 it says, “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.” Remember that Christ suffered for His faith. We, too, must be prepared to do likewise. Peter stated in 1 Peter 4:12, 13, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

Beloved, determine now, right now, this very moment, to mentally and spiritually be prepared to choose God’s law above any manmade law. Do not expect church leadership to make this decision for you, as this will be an individual test. Every man, woman and child will be forced to make such a decision. When the Sunday law is enacted in your country, there will be no escape.

Out of the Cities

We will have to break the laws of man in order to keep the law of God. “…Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22:21. Yes, there is one physical preparation that we each should be making by the grace of God. What is this physical preparation we should be making? God has counseled us time and time again to leave the cities now in preparation for coming persecutions.

Listen carefully to these quotes. “I could not sleep past two o’clock this morning. During the night season I was in council. I was pleading with some families to avail themselves of God’s appointed means, and get away from the cities to save their children. Some were loitering, making no determined efforts. The angels of mercy hurried Lot and his wife and daughters by taking hold of their hands. Had Lot hastened as the Lord desired him to, his wife would not have become a pillar of salt. Lot had too much of a lingering spirit. Let us not be like him. The same voice that warned Lot to leave Sodom bids us, ‘Come out from among them, and be ye separate, . . . and touch not the unclean.’ (2 Corinthians 6:17). Those who obey this warning will find a refuge. Let every man be wide awake for himself, and try to save his family. Let him gird himself for the work. God will reveal from point to point what to do next.”
Selected Messages, Book 2, 354.

“So long as God gives me power to speak to our people, I shall continue to call upon parents to leave the cities and get homes in the country, where they can cultivate the soil and learn from the book of nature the lessons of purity and simplicity. The things of nature are the Lord’s silent ministers, given to us to teach us spiritual truths. They speak to us of the love of God and declare the wisdom of the great Master Artist.” Manuscript Releases, No. 20, 153.

“The time is not far distant, when, like the early disciples, we shall be forced to seek a refuge in desolate and solitary places. As the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was the signal for flight to the Judean Christians, so the assumption of power on the part of our nation in the decree enforcing the papal sabbath will be a warning to us. It will then be time to leave the large cities, preparatory to leaving the smaller ones for retired homes in secluded places among the mountains.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 464 (1885).

However, let us not wait until such a time of crisis to leave the cities. Notice carefully, “…erelong there will be such strife and confusion in the cities that those who wish to leave them will not be able. We must be preparing for these issues.” General Conference Bulletin, April 6, 1903.

“To parents who are living in the cities, the Lord is sending the warning cry, Gather your children into your own houses. gather them away from those who are disregarding the commandments of God, who are teaching and practicing evil. Get out of the cities as fast as possible.” Counsels on Diet and foods, 400.

Friend, nothing could be written more clearly, but let me add one more. “If our people regard God’s instruction as of value, they will move away from the city, so that they will not be pained by its revolting sights, and that their children will not be corrupted by its vices. [And notice these words,] Those who choose to remain in the cities, surrounded by the houses of unbelievers, must share the disaster that will come upon them.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 17, 350.

Hide His Word in Your Heart

The following relevant spiritual quotations are taken from the book, Storm Warnings, by Don Mac Elvaney. Surely it is vital that we heed these Scriptures. “‘Thy Word have I hid in my heart.’ Hide the Word in your heart. If it is, no man can take it from you. Psalm 119:11. And Paul said, ‘That I may know Him.’ May this also be yours in all the striving to care for yourself and immediate needs. Let your highest ambition always remain to know Jesus intimately and the power of His resurrection. Philippians 3:10. Remain in a high spiritual plane instead of the more physical existence. Heap coals, words, ‘walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.’ Galatians 5:16. In times of severe testing remember ‘that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.’ Romans 8:28. And when the love of men grows cold, remember, nothing ‘shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Romans 8:38, 39. In times of great deception, which always lead to bondage, know the truth. It alone can set ‘you free.’ John 8:32. And when you wonder if the testing or temptation of the time should cause you to lose your faith, remember the promise, No man ‘is able to pluck them out of the Father’s hand.’ John 10:29. And in every circumstance fear God, not man. ‘Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ Matthew 10:28. And in time of testing remember that God knows your limits better than you, for He ‘will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’ I Corinthians 10:13. ‘Rejoice and do not be anxious.’ The words spoken by Paul as he was in prison waiting to be beheaded. ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ Philippians 4:4–7. And in every situation remember God can be trusted, but do not content yourselves by simply believing in God but rather follow the example of Abraham, of whom it is said, concerning the promise made to him, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.’ Romans 4:3. And finally, When you suffer the loss of all things, even life, nevertheless as Paul says, ‘For all things are yours; . . . or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.’ 1 Corinthians 3:21, 23. ‘For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.’ Isaiah 54:10.” Ibid., 333, 334.

The Hiding Place

How often have you read or heard these familiar words from the beloved ninety-first Psalm?

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1.

Have you ever wondered just what that “secret place” is? The Bible has more to say about it. “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” Isaiah 26: 20, 21.

Here again, as in Psalm 91, we are told of a terrible time of destruction on the world and about a hiding place where God’s people are safe and protected. Notice what the messenger of the Lord has to say about this same scenario.

A Time of Trouble

“Satan claims the world, but there is a little company who withstand his devices, and contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. Satan sets himself to destroy this commandment-keeping company. But God is their tower of defense. He will raise up for them a standard against the enemy. He will be to them ‘as an hiding place from the wind,’ and ‘as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.’ He will say to them, ‘Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” Review and Herald, September 17, 1901.

Where is the Hiding Place?

We see here that God is that ‘secret place’ where His people are to find shelter. But what exactly does that mean? The following paragraph sheds more light on the subject.

“Some of these agents of Satan were affecting the bodies of some of the saints—those whom they could not deceive and draw away from the truth by a satanic influence. Oh, that all could get a view of it as God revealed it to me, that they might know more of the wiles of Satan and be on their guard! I saw that Satan was at work in these ways to distract, deceive, and draw away God’s people, just now in this sealing time. I saw some who were not standing stiffly for present truth. Their knees were trembling, and their feet sliding, because they were not firmly planted on the truth, and the covering of Almighty God could not be drawn over them while they were thus trembling. Satan was trying his every art to hold them where they were until the sealing was past, and the covering drawn over God’s people, and they left out, without a shelter from the burning wrath of God, in the seven last plagues.” Ibid., 44.

Here we see people that God wants to place in His secret place, but they are not cooperating with Him. Instead they are unsure and doubting, fearful and unbelieving. So we realize that the true ‘hiding place’ must be opposite of this, instead of doubting and fearing, those in this safe state will be believing and trusting. This is confirmed in Isaiah 26:3. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.”

Their minds are focused on the Lord, and they are in perfect peace because they trust in Him. Another meaning of peace is rest. Hebrews 4:9–11 talks about a rest that we must enter into. By the way, the Sabbath is a symbol of that special rest, that sure hiding place that we must be in to be secure in the trials and darkness of the last days. It says, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

Notice again, that unbelief prevents them from entering into that rest—just as we see the fearful, doubting ones in the quote above, “Their knees are trembling, and their feet sliding, because they were not firmly planted on the truth.” In Revelation we are shown those who make it through. “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. Notice, they have the faith of Jesus. It is not merely faith in Jesus. It is the very faith Jesus had that He triumphed with in the battle with evil. It is a sure faith, tried in the fire of affliction and proven successful. It is that “Gold, tried in the fire,” Revelation 3 talks about. Jesus sells it to us without money. We buy it by giving Him our wretched, sin–polluted hearts, making that total surrender to His will. That total surrender, that choice to absolutely believe in Jesus, that decision to trust in Him though the heavens fall, is what it means to enter into the Secret Place of the Most High.

It takes time, study, heart searching and much quiet meditation to obtain that perfect peace. As the trials thicken around us we must reach up for more and more faith and trust. Remember, true faith can only be “planted firmly on the truth,” that is, on God’s holy Word. This kind of faith cannot be obtained in an instant—it takes effort and time—just like any other science, it is not mastered overnight. Satan’s work is to keep us busy and distracted so that the time is not available to us to perfect this saving faith, to search our own hearts, as it were, with lighted candle and find every sin, then confess them and obtain, not only pardon, but power and victory over it. You do not learn to trust perfectly in Jesus in an instant. Day by day, as the trials of the daily life hit us, are we standing stiffly for truth? Are our feet riveted firmly to that Rock?

Devil’s Plans

I urge you, that if you are not experiencing real victory in your daily life right now, that you rearrange your priorities to learn how to seek the Lord until you do have it. The last hours of earth’s allotted time are slipping through our fingers and we are so often “too busy” for spiritual things. Satan would keep us that way. Did you realize that he does not need to get you to do something “bad” for you to be lost? Oh, no! He just has to keep you too busy to gain that spiritual preparation until it is too late. You may be “too busy” with good work, with things not wrong in themselves, but if you are not daily growing in spiritual strength, Satan will have you in the end.

We all tend to think, “I am just in this situation for now. I know I am not spending time enough on my personal salvation and my family’s spiritual health is not good, but I just have to finish this course, or get this paid for, or accomplish this project, and then I will be okay, and I will make up for it.” That, my friends, is the devil’s best lie—put off salvation until tomorrow! And do you know what he does? He lets you finish one thing and then he gets you launched into another project, or some kind of trouble, and before you know it, you are dong the same thing all over again! Millions will wake up when it is too late and say, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Jeremiah 8:20.

Tragic Words

Please take time to ponder these tragic words! What if you do buy all the things you want? What if you do get all the honors, or complete all of the projects, but lose your own soul? The Bible has simple advice that will beat the devil at his evil game. It says, “…seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33. Yes, friends, sort out your priorities until you are having time for real communion with your Lord, until the Bible becomes a power in your life, until you are truly experiencing victory in your daily walk. How did Enoch walk with God? He withdrew frequently from society and spent time alone with God. Jesus did the same.

We do not gain anything worthwhile in this earth without effort, do we? Art, music, science, skills, they all take practice and time to perfect. Why do we think that we can gain the greatest prize of all, eternal life, with only a half-hearted effort once in a while?

Finding Time

There are so many frivolous things on which we waste time and energy. You sometimes have time, but are so exhausted you cannot even think. That is why you should put God first—in the morning give Him the best, not the dregs. Let us look at some of the frivolous time wasters: long, meaningless chats with friends, TV, worldly music, sports, many hobbies, excessive time used in preparing food or learning fashions, worldly holiday activities, attending meetings where the truth is not being taught (meetings where the truth is attacked are not frivolous, they are deadly!) computer games, videos, and we could go on and on. I urge each one that we seriously analyze how we are using our precious last hours of preparation time. The sands will soon run out. We do not know how soon, but we do know that most will not be ready! Do not let it be you!

Facing the Crisis – With Supernatural Intervention

This is such an important article that you will probably wish to read it several times in order to understand every detail. May I suggest that you encourage other church members to also read this article.

The greatest hope of the Christian today is centered in the coming final climax when Jesus returns to gather His saints and take them to their eternal home. Jesus has promised, “…I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John

Today we are surrounded by scores of signs that Jesus is coming soon. But one of the signs that He foretold we seem to have ignored. It is the one sign that tells us exactly when the Second Coming is to take place. In Matthew 24:14 Christ states, “…this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

This truth is emphasized by the Three Angels of Revelation 14:6 in which it is proclaimed that the everlasting gospel is to be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.

Christ’s Soon Return Not Possible

Here I must level with you. The fulfillment of a soon-coming Saviour is absolutely impossible without divine intervention. For at the present rate of progress, to reach every nation, tongue and people with the everlasting gospel will take thousands of years.

In the Review and Herald of December 17, 1987, we were told that 80% of the world’s population today has no knowledge of Christianity. At present, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is witnessing, by its presence, to only fifteen percent of the people of the world. Over 2.4 billion people living on this planet have never been reached by any church with the gospel.

Now let me clarify that. I have traveled across India by train and car. In this densely populated country there are approximately one-half million villages. Of these, 475,000 villages have never received any knowledge of Christianity by any denomination. The alarming truth is that we have done so little.

“Our penetration in the Indian languages is, likewise, scant. India has sixteen languages but more than 1,600 dialects. The Bible is available in only 74 of these languages and dialects. The Oriental Watchman Publishing House publishes Adventist literature in only 21 languages. And so we have no publications in hundreds of Indian languages and dialects. The language problem is further compounded by an average literacy rate of 36%.” North Pacific Gleaner, November 11, 1989.

And what about China—over one billion people, and other unentered lands? Yet we find this precious promise. “For He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.” Romans 9:28. So comes the question, “Just how can this be accomplished?”

Will you pray, with me, that God will help us discover the answer to this perplexing situation? We must acknowledge that our loving Father created us by His hands. He made us with an inquisitive mind, unable to foresee the future as He sees it. But we read in His Word that He will do nothing without revealing it to His prophets. We must ask for heavenly guidance as we search for an answer in the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy, so we may grasp, by faith, the answer of how the Three Angels’ Messages can be preached quickly to every nation and people and tongue so Jesus may come.

The Eleventh Hour Workers

Let us look in the Bible, to the parable of the eleventh-hour workers. (See Matthew 20:1-9.) In this parable we will note that the kingdom of heaven is compared to a vineyard owner who hires laborers at different times of the day. In fact, he hired five separate groups of men to work in his vineyard. At the end of the day these men were all given the same wages, irrespective of how long they had worked.

The basic lesson being taught is that salvation is by faith. The redeemed will receive eternal life, not according to their works, but according to the generosity and the grace of God. (See Christ’s Object Lessons, 394–404.) However, take note that their works were not ignored, for only those who worked were paid. Furthermore, this vineyard owner was in great need to quickly gather in his harvest, for no employer pays a full day’s wage for one hour of labor.

As you read the Scripture, you will realize that the one-hour workers, at the close of the day, were indispensable for the need to quickly finish the task. Now let us look at this parable.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.”

Ellen White, as an agent of the Holy Spirit, gives us an understanding insight as to how God plans to quickly finish the work with the help of these eleventh-hour workers. Scattered through her writings, you will find that she made seven clarifying statements concerning this parable.

We will examine each statement carefully and discover that this parable is actually a prophecy of what is soon to take place. It will change your thinking of what we have been taught that only the remnant will finish the work. As we study these quotations, you will be enlightened and encouraged, but, I also must add, be prepared for some very painful information.

The Storm Within

Now let us discuss the bad news first. As the coming storm of persecutions burst upon us by the beast and its image from without the church, Ellen White also describes an internal storm, which will face the faithful from within the church. These quotations which, when read together, reveal that apostasy will become so bad within the church that only a small remnant will be left to participate in giving the Loud Cry. But God is prepared.

“Already the judgments of God are abroad in the land, as seen in storms, in floods, in tempests, in earthquakes, in peril by land and by sea. The great I AM is speaking to those who make void His law. When God’s wrath is poured out upon the earth, who will then be able to stand? Now is the time for God’s people to show themselves true to principle. When the religion of Christ is most held in contempt, when His law is most despised, then should our zeal be the warmest and our courage and firmness the most unflinching. To stand in the defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few—this will be our test. At this time we must gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their cowardice, and loyalty from their treason…. All who will gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their defections, and loyalty from their treason, will triumph with the Third Angel’s Message.” Sons and Daughters of God, 201. Praise the Lord for such assurance.

How sad to learn, from this quotation, that few within the church will remain faithful; the majority will forsake the truth. Those that are left will need courage as they witness such deflection. How painful as these thoughts may be, yet this is but the beginning.

We have far more to fear from within than from without. The hindrances to strength and success are far greater from the church itself than from the world…. But how often have the professed advocates of the truth proved the greater obstacle to its advancement! The unbelief indulged, the doubts expressed, the darkness cherished, encourage the presence of evil angels, and open the way for the accomplishment of Satan’s devices.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 122.

Oh, what a terrible picture of what is to come! “As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the Third Angel’s Message, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren.” The Great Controversy, 608.

Promoting Sunday Sacredness

Now, as the result of this, let us see what takes place within our church. “Men in responsible positions will not only ignore and despise the Sabbath themselves, but from the sacred desk, will urge upon the people the observance of the first day of the week, pleading tradition and custom in behalf of this man–made institution.” Signs Of The Times, January 17, 1884.

Beloved, this sounds unbelievable! But do not forget, it is true, for the tares within the remnant church are not going to change. “The forms of religion will be continued by a people from whom the Spirit of God has been finally withdrawn; and the satanic zeal with which the prince of evil will inspire them for the accomplishment of his malignant designs, will bear the semblance of zeal for God.” The Great Controversy, 615.

But take courage! The remaining wheat, though few in number, will be filled with the Latter Rain and will give the Loud Cry. The results will be amazing! “Servants of God, endowed with power from on high with their faces lighted up, and shining with holy consecration, went forth to proclaim the message from heaven. Souls that were scattered all through the religious bodies answered to the call, and the precious were hurried out of the doomed churches, as Lot was hurried out of Sodom before her destruction.” Early Writings, 278, 279.

It is at this time that we will discover that God has a plan by which He will quickly finish the work, for the honest souls who have answered the call and who have come out of Babylon will join the remnant and become the eleventh-hour workers, making it possible to quickly give the everlasting gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. Then we will see “…the Lord can do more in one hour than we can do in a whole lifetime, and when He sees that His people are fully consecrated, let me tell you, a great work will be done in a short time, and the message of truth is to be carried into the dark places of the earth, where it has never been proclaimed.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, 347, 348.

Who are the Eleventh Hour Workers?

Now we are ready to explore these seven quotations describing the eleventh-hour workers. The first quotation tells us who the eleventh-hour workers are. “The laborers for the Master were His official servants, upon whom He laid the weightiest responsibilities to do His work…. Some were found waiting for work at the eleventh hour, only one hour before the close of the working–day.” Review and Herald, June 28, 1898. So these are going to be His official servants.

In the second quotation we find where these workers are now located. “There are diligent students of the word of prophecy in all parts of the world, who are obtaining light and still greater light from searching the Scriptures. This is true of all nations, of all tribes, and of all peoples. These will come from the grossest error, and will take the place of those who have had opportunities and privileges and have not prized them. These have worked out their own salvation with fear and trembling, lest they should become deficient in doing the ways and will of God, while those who have had great light, through the perversity of their own natural heart, turned away from Christ because they were displeased with His requirements. But God will not be left without witnesses. The one-hour laborers will be brought in at the eleventh hour, and will consecrate their ability and all their entrusted means to advance the work. These will receive the reward for their faithfulness, because they are true to principle, and shun not their duty to declare the whole counsel of God. When those who have had abundance of light throw off the restraint which the Word of God imposes, and make void His law, others will come in to fill their places and take their crown.” Review and Herald, June 15, 1897.

They are Not Seventh-day Adventists

Now let us analyze these two paragraphs.

  1. The eleventh hour people are scattered all over the world. They are native citizens of every country.
  2. They are not Seventh-day Adventists. How do we know this? Because the eleventh hour people are in gross doctrinal error. Adventists are not in doctrinal error. Ellen White specifically defines gross error as belief in Sunday sacredness, and in the immortality of the soul. (See The Great Controversy, 588.)
  3. Her use of the expression “great light” and “abundance of light” is confined to Seventh-day Adventists.
  4. She says that these (Seventh-day Adventists) would be the ones to throw off the restraints because they were displeased with God’s requirements.
  5. The eleventh-hour workers will take the place of the early workers who have not been true to principle for they had turned away from Christ. And here we find her most astounding prediction that these Seventh-day Adventists will make void the law of God.

The eleventh-hour people will take the crowns of those who failed to walk in the light.

How amazing!

Now we come to the third quotation, which tells us from where these eleventh-hour workers will come. “At the eleventh hour the Lord will gather a company out of the world to serve Him. There will be a converted ministry. Those who have had privileges and opportunities to become intelligent in regard to the truth, and yet who continue to counterwork the work God would have accomplished, will be purged out, for God accepts the service of no man whose interest is divided. He accepts the whole heart, or none.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, 320.

As we meditate upon this third quotation, we discover it is not referring to some reform movement that comes out of the body of Adventism, but to a people who come out of the world, for the problem of the early workers was that they lacked conversion. Worse than that, they have counterworked God’s will. Their interests are divided. They will be purged out. The eleventh-hour workers, who are coming, come out of the world and will take their place. What painful words are these.

Who Will Finish the Work?

Now the fourth quotation reveals how the eleventh-hour worker will finish the job. “At the eleventh hour the Lord will call into His service many faithful workers. Self-sacrificing men and women will step into the places made vacant by apostasy and death. To young men and young women, as well as to those who are older, God will give power from above. With converted minds, converted hands, converted feet, and converted tongues, their lips touched with a living coal from the divine altar, they will go forth into the Master’s service, moving steadily onward and upward, carrying the work forward to completion.” The Youth’s Instructor, February 13, 1902.

Did you notice that the word “converted” was used three times? This is the problem of our church today. Only faithful workers will be called to the work. The eleventh-hour people carry the work to completion.

The fifth quotation describes the speed and the special power bestowed upon the eleventh-hour worker. “But I speak not my own words when I say that God’s Spirit will pass by those who have had their day of test and opportunity, but who have not distinguished the voice of God or appreciated the movings of His Spirit. Then thousands in the eleventh hour will see and acknowledge the truth.… These conversions to truth will be made with a rapidity that will surprise the church, and God’s name alone will be glorified.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 16.

A previous quote said the early workers within the church were purged. Quotation five said they were passed by. Why? Because they failed to understand their day of opportunity. The early workers did not know God’s voice when they heard it. They did not appreciate the work of the Holy Spirit. They did not glorify God. Thousands of people will see and acknowledge the truth at the eleventh hour. The work will be finished so fast that the church will be surprised.

“A great work is to be done in a short time.” Review and Herald, December 18, 1888. “In Ezekiel’s vision… The bright light going among the living creatures with the swiftness of lightning represents the speed with which this work will finally go forward to completion.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 754. What a promise!

The sixth quotation reveals that these eleventh-hour workers will enter the vineyard and make possible a finished work. It says, “There are many souls to come out of the ranks of the world, out of the churches—even the Catholic Church—whose zeal will far exceed that of those who have stood in rank and file to proclaim the truth heretofore. For this reason the eleventh hour laborers will receive their penny. These will see the battle coming and will give the trumpet a certain sound. [Praise God!] When the crisis is upon us, when the season of calamity shall come, they will come to the front, gird themselves with the whole armor of God, and exalt His law, adhere to the faith of Jesus, and maintain the cause of religious liberty which reformers defended with toil and for which they sacrificed their lives.…” Selected Messages, Book 3, 386, 387.

Keeping the Commandments of God

Now let us take note. These eleventh-hour people come out of the world and out of other churches, even the Catholic Church. They are not a movement coming out of Adventism. The people who will finish God’s work are still in the ranks of the world, that is, in other churches. Nothing could be more plainly stated. And, consider carefully, will these eleventh-hour workers observe the Sabbath? The answer is “Yes, beyond any doubt.”

How do we know this? Because they will “exalt His law.” How could they possibly exalt His law and not keep the Sabbath? How could they have the faith of Jesus and not understand the conditional immortality and other connected and essential truths? They are the eleventh-hour people.

The sixth quotation ties the parable beyond any doubt to a future time. We have not yet entered a season of calamity as a church. As yet there has been no overwhelming religious liberty crisis. I believe this will take place when the mark of the beast is enforced. We will be faced with a crisis of persecution and difficulty such as we have never dreamed. But praise the Lord! God has a plan to finish the work with the eleventh-hour workers.

The seventh and last quotation reveals the saddest information of all, for it tells us that the early workers within the church will find that their lamps will go out. “Many souls who have come from other denominational churches and, at the eleventh hour, will obey all the truth because they have not set themselves in array against heaven’s light but lived up to all the light they had; while those who have had great light, large privileges and opportunities and have failed to live in the light and walk in the light will drop out by the way. Their light will shine less and less until their lamps will go out for the want of the oil of the grace in their vessels with their lamps.” Letter 36a, 1890.

Remember, “As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the Third Angel’s Message,… abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy popular side….They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren.” The Great Controversy, 608.

Opposing Heaven’s Light

These quotations are painful for us to read, but they are not difficult to understand. With slight variation they each tell the same basic story. For want of grace the lamps of the early workers go out. Why? Because they have opposed heaven’s light. “The majority forsake us.” That means more than half. Half may be a conservative estimate. Ellen White says a large class currently in our pews will unite with the world and become our bitterest enemies. They will deceive and mislead souls.

Finally, it is clear beyond any misunderstanding that, in the last hour of time, God will call a new team of workers into His vineyard. People from other churches will pick up the torch of truth and finish the work. We have always felt that no one else could take our place. Ancient Israel had the same false security—and how wrong they were.

Mrs. White has made plain that God’s people will go through, but shaken and sifted. There is no question that truth will triumph. God has expanded this parable in her writings, not to sadden us, but to give us courage for the future. God has His people everywhere. They will come from unexpected places. Praise the Lord! Thus unfamiliar names and unfamiliar faces may largely lead the work of God in the eleventh hour.

We may try to avoid the unpleasant character of these predictions. We might look for a fulfillment sometime in the past, but the internal evidence in these quotations rules out any past fulfillment. These eleventh-hour events are obviously all still future. These are final hour events, eleventh-hour events, to take place just before our Lord returns.

Humble and Uneducated

“Those who have trusted to intellect, genius, or talent will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They did not keep pace with the light. Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. They are self-sufficient, independent of God, and He cannot use them. The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing time will be disclosed to view. There are precious ones now hidden who have not bowed the knee to Baal. They have not had the light which has been shining in a concentrated blaze upon you. But it may be under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine Christian character will be revealed. In the daytime we look toward heaven but do not see the stars. They are there, fixed in the firmament, but the eye cannot distinguish them. In the night we behold their genuine luster.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 80, 81.

On examining this comment it is clear that education and talent are not the ultimate qualifications of the eleventh-hour workers, for “few great men will be engaged.” What God needs is a total dependence on Him. We are told that the faithful servants are not yet disclosed to view. They do not have our light, but they have a genuine Christian character.

When everything turns dark, we will see them. Beloved, here is a description of the coming massive interchange. “In vision I saw two armies in terrible conflict. One army was led by banners bearing the world’s insignia; the other was led by the bloodstained banner of Prince Emmanuel. Standard after standard was left to trail in the dust as company after company from the Lord’s army joined the foe and tribe after tribe from the ranks of the enemy united with the commandment-keeping people of God.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 41.

Thank God for such heavenly insight. “As trials thicken around us, both separation and unity will be seen in our ranks…. Those who have had great light and precious privileges, but have not improved them, will, under one pretext or another, go out from us.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 400.

So we have been given the nature of this final conflict to come. It is a time of mortal conflict, when company after company will leave us. Such an exodus has not yet taken place. We have not yet seen the day that tribe after tribe, from the ranks of the enemy, have joined us. It is true that, from time to time, individual ministers from other faiths have joined us, but the picture given here is one of an enormous interchange, not an individual or a few people here and there.

Filling the Ranks

The scenes appear to be simultaneous. While the companies leave us, whole tribes will join us.. It would be rational to believe that these tribes are the eleventh-hour laborers. Soon we may expect a manifestation of the great power of God, for Ellen White says, “The Lord can do more in one hour than we can do in a lifetime, and when He sees that His people are fully consecrated, let me tell you, a great work will be done in a short time, and the message of truth is to be carried into the dark places of the earth, where it has never been proclaimed.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, 347, 348.

As you have read these inspired quotations, I trust you have felt the divine impression that God is only waiting for an adequate number of fully consecrated people who will cooperate with Him in finishing the work. Will you be ready? I hope so, for God will soon put His hand to His final work. He will call faithful, humble people wherever He can find them. He will finish His work using only consecrated people. This work will be accomplished against incredible resistance. God will do His work quickly, and He will do it to the eternal glory of Jesus Christ.

Beloved, it is now time for the faithful remnant to prepare for this coming crisis in total consecration to God and His message. The servant of the Lord has told us in The Great Controversy, 464, “Before the final visitation of God’s judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. The Spirit and power of God will be poured out upon His children.”

We, as God’s end-time people, have now come to the time of this last great revival and reformation which is to take place among the remaining wheat. This will prepare the faithful few for the great outpouring of the Latter Rain which will enable the sealed saints to call out of Babylon the eleventh-hour workers, who will then join with us and together, with converted minds, converted hands, converted feet and converted tongues, with lips touched with a living coal from the divine altar, carry the work forward to completion.

Praise God! It will happen! And Jesus will come for His saints. Will you not pray and prepare for this final revival of primitive godliness, which has not been seen since apostolic times, that we, with the eleventh-hour workers, may quickly gather in the harvest that Jesus may come?

God’s Special Gift for His Last Day Church, Part I

If you are interested in evangelism, you need to be well acquainted with the writings and the speeches of the apostle Peter, because there are hundreds of millions of people in the world who have a special regard for the apostle Peter. They say that he was the first head of their church.

I love to talk to my Roman Catholic friends about the apostle Peter. I just love it! They are shocked when they find out what the apostle Peter said. Did you know that it is recorded in Acts 10 that a man by the name of Cornelius was so happy to see the apostle Peter that he knelt down to worship him?

The apostle Peter said, “Stand up, I am just a man.” Did you know that the first pope would not even allow anybody to get down on their knees in front of him? Something has changed, has it not? Well, the apostle Peter had something to say about the last days.

Where is the Promise?

“Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days [Some translations say “mockers.”], walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:3.

Now notice what the apostle Peter says is going to happen in the last days, the days in which you and I are living. He says there are going to be scoffers. What are they going to scoff at? They are going to scoff at the idea of creation. They are going to scoff at the idea that the world came into existence by the word of God.

The apostle Paul talked about this, too. Paul said in the last day perilous times will come. (See 2 Timothy 3.)

Spiritual Suicide

Let me list for you three things that have happened in the last 200 years, things which have brought the world into greater spiritual peril than at any previous time in world history.

  1. The Development of Higher Criticism.

I attended Andrews University. Do not let anybody think that I am recommending that you go there. That is one of the most dangerous places in the world that you could go for an education. My son is an engineer, and he went to a Seventh-day Adventist College in Washington State. When he went there, I talked to him. I said, “Son, it is all right with me if you go to this place and study engineering, but I do not want you to study theology there.”

Now that seems strange. I studied theology at that very place. I told my son, I do not want you to study Bible, and I do not want you to study theology there. Why? Because in our time, theology has become one of the most dangerous things to study in the universities and colleges.

Why? Well, there are a number of reasons, but one of the reasons has to do with the development of higher criticism. The net result of higher criticism is that after you have studied for several years under teachers who have imbibed these theories (and they have imbibed them from other universities where they got their doctoral degrees in theology) you have a completely different idea about the Bible. You do not have nearly as much confidence in the Bible anymore.

You no longer look at it as the infallible Word of God. Christian leaders need to know that we are up against a world of unbelief.

The Age of Unbelief

We are producing a series of programs for television on the age of unbelief—the time in which we are living. Higher criticism is a big part of this. It has destroyed faith in the Bible for the majority of Christian ministers and priests.

There are preachers all over the world who claim to be Protestant preachers and Catholic priests, and they do not believe what the Bible says about how the world came into existence. They do not believe that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. They do not believe in the virgin birth. They do not believe in the blood atonement, and they do not believe in the Second Coming of Christ.

Have you ever read, in the papers or magazines, about meetings where theologians get together and discuss the Second Coming of Christ? Most of them do not believe in it. Why? the outgrowth and development of higher criticism. Christian religious leaders all over the world do not believe the Bible the way Martin Luther, John Calvin and our spiritual forefathers did.

This has brought the world into the most perilous time since the creation of the world. But there are two other things that have happened in the last 200 years that have also brought the world into these perilous times.

  1. The Development of the Theory of Evolution and Uniformitarianism.

In 2 Peter 3, Peter specified that in the last days the theory of uniformitarianism would be taught. That is the theory that all things continue as they were from the beginning.

In 1979, during the Christmas season, my sister’s family, my parents and I were all visiting my brother, Marshall. He and his family were pastoring a church in Pennsylvania. We decided one day to take a trip to the Smithsonian Institute, one of the largest museums in the world. It has many, many different buildings; you cannot visit everything in one day. I decided I was going to go through the geology building.

I knew what I would find. They would say that the earth was millions of years old. By the way, you can figure out from the Bible, within fifty years, how old the world is. It is around 6000 years old right now.

Of course geologists say that the world is billions of years old; the common figure is four and one-half billion years. So I went into their geology building, because I wanted to know what their evidence is.

One Piece of Evidence

Do you know what evidence they have? They have only one piece of evidence for the whole thing. I went through the whole building. I looked at all the exhibits and the explanations and found they only have one piece of evidence—a theory. It is the theory of uniformitarianism. Do you know what the theory of uniformitarianism is? They look at the depth of the sediment at the bottom of a lake. Then they measure and they say that the sediment is gathering at the rate of 1/16 of an inch per year, so that means that this lake is x many years old.

Everything just continues the same. That is the theory of uniformitarianism. That, along with the theory of evolution, has worked to destroy the confidence of men in the Bible and the inspired writings of God.

I am glad that at least some evolutionists are candid, that they know what they believe. One of the leading educators, who is an evolutionist, has written “Now if the theory of evolution is really true, it has to mean the following. It has to mean that there is no God, or gods, there is no such thing as a moral law, and there is no such thing as a future. When you die, that is the end of everything. Also, there is no such thing as free choice.”

He just listed those four things. If evolution is true, then those four things have to be so. We are living in a time when, if you go to any university anywhere in the world—not just the United States—but Europe, Africa, South America, Australia, this theory has permeated all fields of learning.

Made in the Image of Whom?

Has that brought the world into a spiritual crisis? When you are bringing up a young child, does it make a difference in their behavior whether they think they are made in the image of God or they think that they descended from an ape? It makes all the difference in the world in their behavior. Do you want your children to act like animals, or like sons and daughters of God?

The first development has affected the entire religious world. The second development has involved the entire educational and scientific world, every field of human thought. The third development in the world has involved just about everybody except the people who believe in the Bible and know some things in the Bible.

  1. The Development of Modern Spiritualism

This development, which started in 1848, has affected the entire world, and it is affecting everybody It affects atheists, agnostics, evolutionists, scientists, government leaders and church leaders in both Catholic and Protestant faiths. It has permeated the whole world.

Those three things show us how dangerous the world has become and why we are living in an age and world of unbelief. Peter talked about it, Paul talked about it, and God knew about it.

What Would You Do?

Let me ask you this question, and I want you to think about it. If you were in God’s position thousands of years ago, and you foresaw what was going to happen in the world in the last days, and you knew what the devil was going to do to deceive the whole world, (God had His prophet record in Revelation 12:9 how the devil would deceive the whole world); and you wanted to save as many people as you could, what would you do?

Let us see what God said He was going to do about it. In the Old Testament, one of the greatest prophets. Elijah, came to the Children of Israel at a time when they were in a time like we are in today, when there was an apostasy and people did not believe in the God of heaven, and they were kneeling down to Baal and idols.

Elijah came with a message. It was a stern message, but it woke up a lot of people.There was a great that went throughout the land and throughout the Children of Israel.

Ever after that time whenever a prophet arose who brought a great reformation, they would call them an Elijah prophet. God talked about this through the prophet Malachi: “‘Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.’” Malachi 4:5, 6.

The Elijah Prophet for the End Times

Our heavenly Father, foreseeing the great crisis that the world would be brought into in the last days because of the theories of higher criticism, the theories of evolution, and because of the working of spiritualism which has inundated the world with deception, said, “Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, I know that you are going to go into perilous times. You are going to be in very deceptive times. The devil is going to deceive the whole world, but I am going to do something special for My people. I am going to send you Elijah the prophet.”

So the Jews began to look for the coming of Elijah the prophet. When Jesus came, the Jews were looking for the coming of Elijah the prophet. “Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ [That is the prophet Moses predicted in Deuteronomy 18:15.] And he answered, ‘No.’ Then they said to him, ‘Who are you that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?’ He said: ‘I am “The voice of one crying in the wilderness;’ Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said.’ Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him saying, ‘Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’ John answered them, saying, ‘I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.’” John 1:19–26.

Spiritual Blindness

Here is what the problem was with the Jews. It is a problem among many Christians today; I hope it is not your problem. You know the Bible says that spiritual things are spiritually discerned. (See 1 Corinthians 2:14.) You read that and if you cannot discern spiritual things and all you can see is literal things, you are going to be in trouble. You are not going to understand the Word of God.

The Jews knew that God had taken Elijah in a chariot up into heaven in the days of Ahab. Elijah was up there, and they said, “Before the Messiah comes (this is what they taught) God is going to send Elijah, the same one who spoke to Ahab and Jezebel. God is going to send him back down from heaven to us.” And so they asked John, “Are you Elijah? You know, the one that talked to Ahab and Jezebel,” and John said, “No, no I am not.”

Do you know what they said then? They said, “Well, then the Messiah cannot be coming yet, because before the Messiah comes Elijah has to come back down from heaven.” What was their problem? They did not discern spiritual things. Was John the Baptist the Elijah prophet who was promised? Yes, he was. Jesus said so.

In Matthew 11:11–14 it says, “‘Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he [that is greater in privilege]. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.’”

More than a Prophet

Was John the Baptist the Elijah prophet? Yes, he was. And notice what Jesus said about the Elijah prophet. He said, “This person is a prophet all right, but he is more than a prophet.”

Now let me tell you something. This is the very best news on the face of the earth right now. There have been three times since the beginning of the world that God has sent His children, because of the crisis they were in, not just a prophet, but somebody who was more than a prophet.

The first time God sent His children somebody who was more than a prophet was when He sent Moses. Miriam and Aaron were prophets, too. One time they got jealous of Moses, and they said, “Well, has God spoken through Moses and has He not also spoken through us?” (See Numbers 12:2.) Do you remember what the Lord said to them? He said, “Why were you not afraid to speak like this about My servant Moses?” And the Lord said to them, “If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make Myself known to him in a vision and dream, but My servant Moses is not so. I will speak to him face to face or mouth to mouth.” (See Numbers 12:6–8.) Moses was more than just a prophet.

The second time God sent His children somebody who was more than a prophet was when He sent John the Baptist. When Jesus came, that was the most important event of the ages. Before Jesus came God sent His children somebody who was a prophet all right, but somebody who was more than a prophet because that was a crisis period and they needed it.

The third time God sent His children somebody who was a prophet, who was more than a prophet, was in the last days. God said, “I am going to send you Elijah the prophet.” Now the Elijah prophet before the first coming was more than a prophet, and the Elijah prophet before the Second Coming is more than a prophet, too. We will see that soon. This is the best possible news I could tell you

Confidence Lost

You and I are living in the most spiritually dangerous time of all the ages, and we need special instruction from heaven to keep us focused in Bible truth. We are dealing with the world. Even the people who are the spiritual leaders of the world do not have confidence in the Scriptures anymore because of the theories of higher criticism.

The scientific community and the educated people do not have confidence in the Bible because of the theories of geology and evolution, which they have been taught since they were young. And nobody, believes, in what this Book teaches anymore, who has been involved in spiritualism because they have been taught opposite theories that are contrary to this Book.

God knew that this would happen, Jesus predicted it in Luke 18, and so He promised through Malachi the prophet. He said that before the great and dreadful day of the Lord, He was going to do something special for us. He knew we were going to be in trouble: we were going to be in perilous times. There were going to be scoffers; there were going to be mockers. It was going to be an age of unbelief.

So the Lord said, “I am going to send to you Elijah the prophet, somebody who is more than a prophet.” John the Baptist was more than a prophet. The Elijah prophet is to be more than a prophet. We know that from the words of Jesus in Matthew 11.

Jewish Tragedy

The great tragedy that happened to the Jews is that the Elijah prophet came. They asked him, “Are you Elijah? Are you the one that talked to Ahab and Jezebel?” He said, “No, I am not.” So they said, “That is not the Elijah prophet” and they left, and they missed out. Here they had had contact with the man whom Jesus said there had never been anybody born of a woman who was greater than this man. (See Matthew 11:11.) He was more than a prophet. He was a special messenger sent to prepare the people for the Messiah.

Do you know whom it was that became Jesus’ disciples? If you study the New Testament, you will find that when Jesus came it was the people who had been with John the Baptist. Was it important whether or not they knew whom the Elijah prophet was? Well, it made all the difference in the world whether or not they would be ready to meet the Messiah.

Now the Jews had the Bible, that is the Old Testament. That was all that had been written so far. Sometimes I meet people who say, “Pastor John, I do not need any more prophecy. I have the Bible.” I say, “Oh, bless your heart, I have the Bible, too, and I love every word of it.”

But do you realize, my dear friend, that those Jews in the time of Christ missed what God wanted them to know because they did not accept the gift of prophecy that God sent to them just before Jesus came? They missed it! The most wonderful thing that God sent to them and they missed it! That was part of the reason they rejected the Messiah.

To be continued……

God’s Special Gift for His Last Day Church, Part II

“Now as they came down from the mountain [this was coming down from the Mount of Transfiguration,] Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.’ And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first.’” Matthew 17:9, 10.

Looking for Elijah

You see, the Jews were looking for the Elijah who had talked to Ahab and Jezebel to come down from heaven. That had not happened. “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.’ Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.” Matthew 17:11–13.

Can you imagine a greater tragedy than this? God sends to you, His chosen people, a special messenger, somebody who is more than a prophet. Since the days of Moses there had never been anybody like this with the people of God. Yet you do not know who it is, so you miss the blessing God has for you. The religious leaders turned their backs on him. They would not listen.

This is what happened to the Jews. I do not want this to happen to me or to you. “‘But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, “Son, go, work today in my vineyard.” He answered and said, “I will not.” but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, “I go, sir,” but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said to Him, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him.…’” Matthew 21:28–32.

They did not believe the special messenger whom God sent. Jesus said the harlots and the tax collectors were going to be saved before they would be, because they believed. It is a dangerous thing, a very dangerous thing, to reject a messenger whom God sends. It is supremely dangerous, because you are turning your back on the Lord Himself. That is the way God accounts it.

Rejecting the Lord

Do you remember when the children of Israel came to Samuel, the prophet, and said, “We want a king”? And Samuel went to the Lord, and he wept all night. He said, “Lord, they have rejected me.” And the Lord said, “No, they have not rejected you. They have rejected Me.” (See 1 Samuel 8.) What we are talking about is so deadly serious; I must convey to you how serious it is.

If I reject a messenger whom God sends, I have turned my back on the Lord Himself. I will never be right with the Lord again unless I repent. This is serious! “…John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but tax collectors and harlots believed him, and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent [repent] and believe him.’” Matthew 21:32.

What did God mean when He said “I will send you Elijah the prophet?” (See Malachi 4:5.) He meant, as the angel said to Zacharias concerning John the Baptist, “‘He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah.’” Luke 1:17. In the spirit and the power—not the same body, not the same person that talked with Ahab and Jezebel, but an Elijah prophet.

The Lord promised that we would have an Elijah prophet again in the end times, because the Lord knew these perilous times would come. He knew what would happen to the world on account of the theories of higher criticism that would destroy the faith in the Christian churches. He knew what would happen in the scientific world because of the theory of evolution. It would destroy confidence in the Bible. He knew what would happen to the world because of the development of modern spiritualism.

So God promised His children a special messenger; He promised to send them Elijah the prophet. God considered this so important that in the book of Revelation, when He is talking about the end of the world, the end times of world history, God says, “I am going to have a people, a remnant, and if you want to find My remnant in the last days, My remnant are going to have two characteristics.” Notice what they are in Revelation 12:17. It says, “And the dragon [the devil] was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring [the remnant of her seed], who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 19:10 tells us that the testimony of Jesus Christ is the Spirit of Prophecy. We are living in a time when God is in the process of calling millions of people to become a part of this remnant.

Spiritual Gifts will Continue

Ephesians 4 makes it clear to us that the gifts of the Spirit exist until we come into the unity of the faith, into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ unto a perfect man. (Verse 13.) Now that has not yet happened. That will not happen until the church is ready for Jesus to come in the clouds of heaven. So we know from that Scripture that spiritual gifts are to continue until the Second Coming, including the gift of prophecy.

Some people are terribly mixed up about spiritual gifts. They think that the main spiritual gift is talking in tongues. But if you look at spiritual gifts in Romans 12 or in 1 Corinthians 12 or in Ephesians 4, you will find that tongues is just one of many gifts, and it is never even mentioned as the most important one. The most important gifts are the gifts of apostleship and of prophecy.

Let us compare Revelation 12:17 with Revelation 19:10, and let me just write it with what the words mean. The dragon is the devil; the woman is the church; and the rest of her offspring, or the remnant of her seed, are the last church. The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. So it would read like this:

“And the devil was enraged with the church, and he went to make war with the last of the church who keep the commandments of God and have the Spirit of Prophecy.” Ibid. So God’s last people in the world will be keeping the commandments. They will be a Sabbath–keeping church because that commandment is right in the heart of the Ten Commandments, and they will have the gift of the Spirit of Prophecy.

In 1988 while I was preaching in Australia, I was given some material by someone I met there. (Everywhere I go people give me things, and I appreciate that very much. It helps me get a lot of information easily without doing the research myself.) The material I was given was documentation about something that had occurred on a radio program in Australia. I do not know what religious topic was being studied on this radio program, but it was probably about the antichrist. The documentation I was given is a photostat of a letter. I do not know the writer. I have no way of authenticating the letter, but it is very interesting that he sent this letter to the radio station.

Thoroughly Infiltrated

In the letter the writer said, “I am a teacher in a Church of England, or an Anglican, School.” He indicated he was an SJ, which means that he belonged to the Society of Jesus, commonly called the Jesuits. So he was a Jesuit priest who apparently was working under cover in an Anglican School as a teacher. He wrote, “There is a church spoken of in Revelation 12:17 and 19:10.”

I thought that was interesting, that the Jesuits know that there is a church described in Revelation 12:17 and 19:10. And then the next statement he made is very revealing. He said, “We [Who is “we”? the Jesuits.] have thoroughly infiltrated that church.” Which church? The church that keeps the commandments of God and has the Spirit of Prophecy! Maybe that will help explain why there are some things happening in the world that some people have a hard time understanding.

Do not think that is the only church that has been infiltrated. But it was interesting to me to find out that even the Jesuits know that there is such a church, and they know who it is, because it says it is the people who keep the commandments and have the Spirit of Prophecy.

More than a Prophet

I want to tell you; I am so happy to tell you; I am not the least bit embarrassed to tell you; God has sent His people not only a prophet, but also somebody who is more than a prophet, a special messenger. If we would listen to this special messenger, we would be guided back to all the truth in God’s Word.

God is going to have a perfect church. To have a perfect church, the members have to be adhering to everything in the Bible. We cannot come up to the Day of Judgment, when Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven, and say, “Oh, Lord, I did not see that text. I am sorry, Lord, I was not living according to that, because I just did not notice it.”

The Lord knows that you and I are living 6,000 years from the Garden of Eden, and we all, compared with our forefathers, have very feeble minds. So the Lord chose to send us a special messenger to lead us back to Bible truth. There is a text in Isaiah 55 that says, “My ways are not like your ways.” Oh, no? God’s ways are not like our ways.

1 Corinthians 1:19–24 shows how different God’s ways are from our ways. Look at this. This is really something! “For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

Let us look at the power and the wisdom of God, which is supremely higher than anything that we would figure out or imagine. Notice what it says, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.” Verses 25–29.

And when God chose to send His people in the last days a special messenger, He chose to send somebody who would not only be a prophet, but who would be more than a prophet. A special messenger who, if they would listen, would lead them back to the truths of the Bible, so they would be ready for the coming of Christ. Because when Christ comes, He is coming to receive a perfected church—not a backslidden church, not an apostate church, a perfected church—and not a lukewarm church, either.

The Weakest Vessel

So, we read in the Bible that God chose to use an instrument that would be so weak that we would be forced to recognize, if we were willing to recognize, that this was the power and the wisdom and the might of God. God chose to send His message through the weakest of the weak.

Now who are the weak? Please do not be insulted, ladies, but in the Bible Peter does say that the wife is the weaker vessel. (See 1 Peter 3:7.) I did not say that; please do not be offended. It is in the Bible.

So if God said He was going to send a message through the weakest of the weak, who would it have to be? It first of all would have to be a woman. But it would not be just a woman. There are some women who are much stronger than other women. It would have to be a woman who was weak. Not just weak as a woman but a weak woman.

Somebody might say, “Pastor John, that is impossible. If God was going to send somebody who was going to be more than a prophet, obviously He would send a man. John the Baptist was a man. Moses was a man. God would have to send a man.” Some people do not believe in women prophets.

Have you ever checked that out in the Bible? In both the Old Testament and the New Testament there were women who were chosen as prophets. It did not even matter what their status was as women. Sometimes men judge women by a woman’s status. But whatever her family status was, I have found that there were women in all different family relations or status, and God still chose them as prophets.

For instance, in the New Testament in the book of Acts it says Philip had four daughters who were prophets and these daughters were virgins. (See Acts 21:8, 9.) So can a virgin be a prophet? Yes. But would you have to be a virgin to be a prophet? No, because in both the Old and the New Testament there are recorded married women who were prophets. Sometimes it even records their husbands’ names.

So, according to both the Old and New Testament, you could be a virgin and be a prophet or you could be married and be a prophet. And then, there were women who were prophets whose husbands had died. Just because their husbands had died and they were widows did not disqualilfy them from being a prophet. In fact, when Jesus was born, they brought Him into the temple and one of the persons who came and held Him, adored Him and admired Him, was Anna, a prophetess. (See Luke 2:36, 37.)

Anna was a widow, but she was a prophetess. Since she was a prophetess, the Lord had given her special instruction. She knew, when she looked at this Baby, that this Baby was the Messiah. She was a prophet. The Lord showed her that. So there is much information in the Bible about women prophets.

The Lord said, “I am going to choose the weakest of the weak.” The person whom God chose as a special messenger to His people in the last days was a person 17 years of age who was so weak the she could not write without her hand shaking. She had been in an accident when she was about nine years of age. A girl had become angry with her and had thrown a rock, and that rock had hit her in the nose and she had a deformed nose for the rest of her life.

There are many fine blood vessels in the nose, so when the rock hit her in the nose, the blood gushed out, and she lost so much blood that she had to be carried home. She was so weak from loss of blood that she could not go back to school. After some months, she was able to go back to school but when she tried to write, her hand would shake so bad, she could not write. So she had to quit school. She was not expect to live very long. The first thing her father would ask when he came home was, “Is Ellen still alive?” That is the way she grew up. “Is Ellen still alive? Is she still here?”

She only had a second—or maybe a third–grade education. That is the person whom God chose, because He was going to do something to show the difference. He was going to show that the foolishness of God was wiser than men and the weakness of God was more mighty than men. That woman, at 17 years of age, received her first vision. After she received her first vision, a number of times she had very serious medical problems and again it was thought she would die—soon.

Given a Death Sentence

One such time she went to see a physician. There were three ladies there waiting to see the physician. She was the third one. The first one went to see the physician; the second one went to see the physician, and then Ellen went to see the physician. He said, “All three of you have heart trouble, but (he said to Ellen) your heart is far worse than the others.’” She was not expected to live because of heart disease.

She only lived about 60 more years after that, but that is a miracle. The Lord healed her of that. Another time she had cancer. Because of the cancer, she should have died. But the Lord healed her of that. She was not supposed to live. She could not write. She was too weak. She was too timid. The Lord allowed these things to happen so men would find out that He was the One in charge. This person had a special message.

She said to the Lord, at first, “I could never address anybody in public! I cannot write; my hand shakes.” How much did she write? She wrote more pages of manuscript than any other woman in recorded history—over 100,000 pages! That from somebody who was shaky, with a second, or third grade education, who, at the age of 17, was supposed to die in a few months from tuberculosis.

To be continued…..

God’s Special Gift for His Last Day Church, Part III

In Matthew 24, Jesus said that there would be many false prophets. Ellen Harmon, later Ellen White after she married James White, a minister, told the people to check her out. She said, “Now, I know my work is a supernatural work and it is either of God or the devil, but you will have to check it out and decide.” (See Testimonies, vol. 5, 671.)

We must check out anyone who claims to be a prophet. A few years ago when I was at a camp meeting that we were conducting, a man came up to me and said, “I am a prophet.” I do not scoff at anybody who claims to be a prophet, because the Lord could send us a prophet at any time. But there us a text in the Bible that says to prove all things. It is 1 Thessalonians 5.

So when this man told me that he was a prophet (actually it was his friend standing by me who told me that the man was a prophet), I had some questions. Then there was a lady from France several years ago who said that she had the gift of prophecy. I do not scoff at that, but I have some questions for her, too. In fact, if you, or I or anybody said, “I believe that the Lord has sent me the gift of prophecy,” we should be checked out by the church to see whether we meet the tests of a prophet, which are in the Bible.

Tests of a True Prophet

I will list ten, and I will give some texts.

If a person is a true prophet, they will tell the truth. The Bible says that it is impossible for God to lie. They will make predictions that come true, according to Jeremiah 28:9.

A true prophet will prophesy in the Lord’s name. 2 Peter 1:21.

A true prophet will not give some private interpretation of Scripture. 2 Peter 1:20.

A true prophet will point out the sins of the people of God. Isaiah 58:1. If a person is a true prophet, they will not just come to you with some lovey-dovey message and never tell you about your character defects, which need to be changed. That is a hard test for many so-called prophets to pass.

A true prophet will warn God’s people of coming judgment. Isaiah 24:20, 21 would be one example.

A true prophet will build up, or edify, the church. They will not tear it apart. 1 Corinthians 14:3, 4.

A true prophet will teach in harmony with preceding prophets and with the Law of God. Isaiah 8:20 says, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word,…there is no light in them.” This is one of the most important ones of all, and many so-called prophets cannot pass this test.

A true prophet will recognize the incarnation that Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh. 1 John 4:1-3. This is an exceedingly important test, also. Many so-called prophets cannot pass this one either.

A true prophet will not lead people into some kind of fanaticism, some crazy idea that you find out too late has ruined your health, or your family, or something else in your life. They must have good fruit. When you listen to what a true prophet says, you will have good results in your life. Let me give you a quick example.

Sometime past there was a person, I do not know if this person actually claimed to have the prophetic gift, but they professed to have a special message from God for His people. They went around to different churches in the West Coast of the United States, then moved eastward. Wherever they went, one of the things we began to notice was that families would break up. Wives would be leaving their husbands, and they would follow this man here and there. When I saw that, I said, “That man is not a true prophet. It is not good fruit. A true prophet does not go around breaking up families in God’s church.” Jesus said that a true prophet would bear good fruit. (See Matthew 7:15-20.)

Some day I am going to show the evidence in the life and work of Ellen White, and let me tell you there is a mountain of evidence, to prove that she was a prophet. I am not embarrassed; I am not afraid; I have studied this. I do not believe this because somebody told me; I checked it out myself for several months. I wanted to know for sure, and there is no question! The evidence is overwhelming! God sent us a special messenger who was more than a prophet. When we read what she wrote, it leads us right back to the Bible. I have been reading her writings for over 40 years, and over and over again I have read something that she wrote which I did not know. I said, “Does the Bible teach that?” So I would start checking out the Bible and there it was. I had not noticed it.

But I do want to spend just a little time on the last test of all:

A true Bible prophet must have visions and dreams—period. That is what the Bible says. “Then He said, [This is God speaking to Aaron and Miriam.] ‘Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to Him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.’” Numbers 12:6. Notice, if anyone claims to be a prophet, the Lord says if he or she is really a prophet He will make Himself manifest to that person. How? In a vision and in a dream.

Now what happens to a prophet when they are in vision? The book of Daniel gives us a fuller description of a prophet in vision than any other place in the Bible, although there are a few other descriptions. The most complete description of a prophet in vision is in Daniel 10:7. Daniel gives the record of this vision. He says, “And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men that were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.”

So the other men realized that something supernatural was happening. That is what occurs when a prophet is in vision. Other people in the room realize that something supernatural is happening. What is this supernatural thing? Look what it says in Daniel 10:8. “…I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength.”

Continuing in verse 9 we read, “Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground. Suddenly, a hand touched me.…” Then he receives instruction from the angel about the latter day; and then it says, “And suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men [That is Jesus Christ.] touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to Him who stood before me, ‘My Lord, because of the vision my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. For how can this servant of my Lord talk with you, my Lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.’” Daniel 10:16, 17.

A Prophet in Vision, Does not Breathe

Daniel says, “How can I talk to You Lord, when I am not breathing? There is no breath left in me.” You know, if you took a mirror right now, and if you put this mirror right in front of your face and speak, moisture will gather on the mirror, because when you talk the air is coming out of your mouth. It is only one of the ten signs, but it is a significant one. A prophet in vision does not breathe. That is a supernatural experience. Now, friends, this is something that is pretty hard to fake.

When I was a freshman in college, I was in a swimming class and, of course, we had to swim under water and do different things. One of the things the instructor had us do was to hyperventilate then we would hang onto the side of the pool and put our head in the water. We were timed to see how long we could hold our breath.

The longer you can hold your breath, the better you can swim underwater. There are professional divers whom, I am told, can hold their breath under water for three and a half minutes after they have hyperventilated. There is some danger involved in that. I could not do it for three and a half minutes. I tried, and I was one of the last ones in the class to lift my head out of the water. My head was under the water for one minute and fifty seconds.

Do you know how long Ellen Harmon White held her breath while she was in vision? I would like to share a few eyewitness accounts. You see, you have to have eyewitnesses if you are going to know that a person is a prophet.

Eyewitness Account

Merritt Kellogg, md, writes on May 29, 1853: “Sister White was in vision about twenty minutes or half an hour. As she went into vision, everyone present seemed to feel the power and presence of God and some of us did indeed feel the Spirit of God resting upon us mightily. We were engaged in prayer and social meeting Sabbath morning at about nine o’clock. [Generally Ellen White went into vision in public when she was in a religious meeting, and often when she was praying.] Brother White, my father, and Sister White had prayed and I was praying at the time. There had been no excitement, no demonstrations. We did plead earnestly with God, however, that He would bless the meeting with His presence and that He would bless the work in Michigan.

“As Sister White gave the triumphant shout, ‘Glory, glory, glory,’ which you have heard her give so often as she goes into vision, Brother White arose [That is her husband.] and informed the audience that his wife was in vision. After stating the manner of her visions and that she did not breathe while in vision, he invited anyone who wished to do so to come forward and examine her.

“Doctor Drummond, a physician, who before he saw her in vision had declared her visions to be of hypnotic origin and that he could give her a vision, stepped forward and after a thorough examination turned very pale and remarked, ‘She does not breathe.’ I am quite certain that she did not breathe at that time while in vision nor in any of several others, which she has had, when I was present.

“The coming out of the vision was as marked as her going into it. The first indication that we had that the vision was ended was in her again beginning to breathe. She drew her first deep breath long and full in a manner showing that her lungs had been entirely empty of air. After drawing the first breath, several minutes passed before she drew the second, which filled the lungs precisely as did the first. Then a pause of two minutes and a third inhalation after which the breathing became normal.” This was written by a medical doctor. (See General Conference Bulletin, 1893, 59, 60, by M. G. Kellogg, M.D., Battle Creek, Michigan, December 28, 1890.)

The Unbeliever

In 1857, there was a man present when she went into vision who did not believe in the visions, did not believe there was anything supernatural. In the same way, Elder White stood up and invited anybody who was present to examine her. They tried all kinds of things. They would take a candle and put it in front of her mouth when she was talking to see if there was any air coming out. The fire would not flicker. They would take a mirror and put it in front of her mouth to see if any moisture gathered on the mirror. No moisture collected on the mirror.

But this man, Brother Bordeau, decided to be much more direct. He put his hand right over her mouth to see if there was breath; there was not any evidence of breath. He had been told that she did not breathe and he said, “Well, I am going to check this out.” So do you know what he did? He took one hand and put it over her nose, closing off the air passages, and he put the other hand over her mouth. And then everybody began to watch. Would you not watch such an experiment?

Everybody watched. One minute went by. Two minutes went by. Three minutes went by. Five minutes went by. What happens in five minutes? A few years ago when I was in Texas, a lady was choked for four or five minutes by somebody who was in her garage. Now she was still alive, but after that she was a vegetable for as long as she lived. If you are choked for four or five minutes and if you survive, you have such severe brain damage that you are a vegetable the rest of your life. You cannot talk; you cannot hear; you cannot understand; you cannot communicate. You just lie there in bed. You are a vegetable. That is it after four or five minutes.

However, Brother Boredau kept holding on for more than five minutes. He kept on six minutes. Seven minutes. Eight minutes. Nine minutes. Ten minutes. (See Statement of D. T. Bourdeau, February 4, 1891, quoted in J. N. Loughborough, The Great Second Advent Movement, 210.)

At ten minutes all of a sudden he became very frightened and he just got up and went out of the room. He could not take it any longer. Now, nothing happened. There were times when she was in vision for over two hours without breathing. The people who saw that said, “The Lord has sent to us a prophet. The Lord has sent us somebody who is more than a prophet, a special messenger to prepare us for His Second Coming.” (See Statement of D. T. Bourdeau, February 4, 1891, quoted in J. N. Loughborough, The Great Second Advent Movement, 210.)

Special Light from Heaven

I want to tell you, friends, I have read Mrs. White’s books. I consider these books to be of greater value than all the books I studied to get my Master’s Degree, my Doctor’s Degree or any other degree. These books are more valuable to me than any of those things, because these books contain special light from heaven.

Suppose somebody reading this knew a world famous physician, and I was sick. So you said to me, “I have a relative who is a world famous physician. I think He could help you, and I would like to get you an appointment so that you can see Him.” If you were sick, would you want to see this person?

But, friend, these books contain the wisdom of the Great Physician. The information I have found in these books has saved me from great, great suffering.

We still have these books available. Today we can get the writings of Mrs. White in three volumes. We have taken many, many of the books and put them into three volumes so that we can take them with us wherever we go. I have the entire Ellen White writings now on CD ROM on my computer. I take it with me wherever I go, anywhere in the world, so I can check things. I am asked questions, because some people think that I am a theologian. I am not actually that smart. It is just that I have access to light from heaven that leads me back to Bible truth.

Knowing Him Better

I want to tell you, friends, I have read these books for over forty years and I have checked them over, I believe, thousands of times. I have checked them over and over again with the Bible. They always agree. The knowledge in these books and this writing has led me closer to Jesus, they have helped me to know Him better.

My dear friends, if there is somebody reading this who has never been exposed to this information before, if you are that person, let me tell you something. I am not trying to push something off on you. All I am saying is, “Check it out. Check it out. Just get down on your knees and say, Lord, is this really true? Have you really sent to us a special messenger? Please help me to see the evidence. Check it out.”

The Bible says to prove all things. Hold fast that which is good. I have checked it out, and I found that it is good.

Here are a few things in Ellen White’s writings about what is going to happen in our time. See if she told the truth. This was written before the First World War, before the development of worldwide Communism, before the Second World War, the development of the atomic bomb and the riots in our cities. This was written before all of those things happened.

Current Events

She said the conditions in our cities were going to get more and more objectionable. (See Testimonies, vol. 7, 82.) Has that happened? The time was going to come when the power of the labor unions would be very impressive. (See Ibid., 84.)

She said the time was going to come when the atmosphere was going to be polluted in our cities. (See Ministry of Healing, 262.) They did not have cars when she wrote that. She said the time was going to come when there was going to be great unrest among the nations and there was going to be great wars and millions of lives were going to be lost. (See Review and Herald, May 26, 1891; Ibid., November 17, 1910.)

By the way, back when she said that, because of the recently discovered theories of evolution, people were saying, “The world is getting better and better.” Ellen White said the time was coming when there was going to be more trouble than there had ever been in the world. There was going to be millions of lives lost in great wars. (See Signs of the Times, April 21, 1890.) Has that happened?

Right after the turn of the twentieth century she wrote that very soon grievous troubles were going to break out among the nations that would not cease until Jesus comes.” (See Review and Herald, November 24, 1904.) Has that happened? She said a time of great anarchy is coming in the world. (See Patriarchs and Prophets, 101.) She said there was going to come a time when gigantic monopolies would be formed. Has that happened? You are seeing it happen right in front of your eyes.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

But why are we happy anyway? Because we have special light from heaven that not only explains the darkness around us, but shows us also the light at the end of the tunnel and how to be ready for the soon coming of Jesus.

Friend, I have so much in my heart. I want to invite you, oh, please, if you have never checked these things out, do so. It will be one of the greatest blessings that will lead you to an understanding of Bible truth.

Over and over again I have been in situations where people ask me how I know so much about the Bible. They think that I must be smart. It is not that I am smart; it is just that I am like the early disciples who went to listen to John the Baptist. I want to listen, to read the special messenger, to get information about how to get ready for the Second Coming, and I have been greatly blessed. I would like for you to have the same blessing that I have had. Just check it out.