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Bible Study Guides – “What is man that Thou art mindful of him”

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By Gordon Anderson

General Introduction

“In this degenerate age, Satan holds control over those who depart from the right and venture upon his ground. He exercises his power upon such in an alarming manner. I was directed to these words: ‘Intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.’ Some, I was shown, gratify their curiosity and tamper with the devil. They have no real faith in spiritualism and would start back with horror at the idea of being mediums. Yet they venture and place themselves in a position where Satan can exercise his power upon them. Such do not mean to enter deep into this work, but they know not what they are doing. They are venturing on the devil’s ground and are tempting him to control them. This powerful destroyer considers them his lawful prey and exercises his power upon them, and that against their will. When they wish to control themselves they cannot. They yielded their minds to Satan, and he will not release his claims, but holds them captive. No power can deliver the ensnared soul but the power of God in answer to the earnest prayers of His faithful followers.

“The only safety now is to search for the truth as revealed in the word of God, as for hid treasure. The subjects of the Sabbath, the nature of man, and the testimony of Jesus are the great and important truths to be understood; these will prove as an anchor to hold God’s people in these perilous times. But the mass of mankind despise the truths of God’s word and prefer fables. 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 11: ‘Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.’ ” Testimonies, vol. 1, 299–300.

“LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE AFTER OUR LIKENESS”

MEMORY VERSE: “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” Ecclesiastes 7: 29.

STUDY HELP: Testimonies, vol. 3, 138–140.

INTRODUCTION: “It is not enough for our ministers to have a superficial knowledge of the truth. Subjects which are handled by men who have perverted their God-given powers to tear down the truth are constantly coming up for investigation. Bigotry must be laid aside. The satanic delusions of the age must be met clearly and intelligently with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The same unseen Hand that guides the planets in their courses, and upholds the worlds by His power, has made provision for man formed in His image, that he may be little less than the angels of God while in the performance of his duties on earth. God’s purposes have not been answered by men who have been entrusted with the most solemn truth ever given to man. He designs that we should rise higher and higher toward a state of perfection, seeing and realising at every step the power and glory of God. Man does not know himself. Our responsibilities are exactly proportioned to our light, opportunities, and privileges. We are responsible for the good we might have done, but failed to do because we were too indolent to use the means for improvement which were placed within our reach.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 415, 416.

“IN THE IMAGE OF GOD CREATED HE HIM”

  1. How is the creation of man described? Genesis 1:26–28.

NOTE: “Adam was then created in the image of God and placed upon probation. He had a perfectly developed organism. All his faculties harmonized. In all his emotions, words, and actions there was a perfect conformity to the will of his Maker. After God had made every provision for the happiness of man, and had supplied his every want, He tested Adam’s loyalty. If the holy pair should be obedient, the race would after a time be made equal to the angels.” Review and Herald, February 24, 1874.

“All heaven took a deep and joyful interest in the creation of the world and of man. Human beings were a new and distinct order. They were made ‘in the image of God,’ and it was the Creator’s design that they should populate the earth. They were to live in close communion with heaven, receiving power from the Source of all power. Upheld by God, they were to live sinless lives.” Review and Herald, February 11, 1902.

  1. How does David describe the creation of man? Psalm 139:14.

NOTE: “David declared: ‘I am fearfully and wonderfully made.’ When God has given us such a habitation, why should not every apartment be carefully examined? The chambers of the mind and heart are the most important. Then, instead of living in the basement of the house, enjoying sensual and debasing pleasures, should we not open these beautiful chambers and invite the Lord Jesus to come in and dwell with us?” Testimonies, vol. 6, 375.

“Have I not the right to do as I please with my own body? No, you have no moral right, because you are violating the laws of life and health which God has given you. You are the Lord’s property, His by creation and His by redemption. Every human being is under obligation to preserve the living machinery that is so fearfully and wonderfully made.” Healthful Living, 10.

  1. How should the knowledge that we are created in the image of God affect our relationship to our Creator? Isaiah 45:9. (Read verses 5–12.)

NOTE: “Can it be that man, made in the image of God, endowed with reason and speech, shall alone be unappreciative of His gifts and disobedient to His laws? Will those who might be elevated and ennobled, fitted to be co-laborers with Him, be content to remain imperfect in character and to cause confusion in our world? Shall the bodies and souls of God’s purchased inheritance be hampered with world-bound habits and unholy practices? Shall they not reflect the beauty of Him who has done all things well, that through His grace imperfect man might hear at last His benediction: ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant: . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord’? Matthew 25:21.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 327.

“YE SHALL BE AS GODS”

  1. By what means did Satan tempt mankind to sin? Genesis 3:1– 6.

NOTE: “Man was the crowning act of the creation of God, made in the image of God, and designed to be a counterpart of God; but Satan has laboured to obliterate the image of God in man, and to imprint upon him his own image. Man is very dear to God, because he was formed in His own image. This fact should impress us with the importance of teaching by precept and example the sin of defiling, by the indulgence of appetite, or by any other sinful practice, the body which is designed to represent God to the world.” Review and Herald, June 18, 1895.

  1. What effect has the entrance of sin had on the majority of the human race? Genesis 6:5.

NOTE: See Great Controversy, 542–543.

  1. What was God’s reaction to the corruption that sin had caused in the heart of man? Genesis 6:6–7.

NOTE: “The inhabitants of the world at this time are represented by the dwellers upon the earth at the time of the flood. The wickedness of the antediluvians is plainly stated: ‘And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.’ God became weary of this people, whose thoughts were only of sinful pleasure and indulgence. They sought not the counsel of Him who had created them, nor cared to do His will. The rebuke of God was upon them, because they followed the imagination of their own hearts; and there was violence in the land. ‘And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart . . . And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.’ In His teachings, Christ referred to this: ‘But as the days of Noe were,’ He said, ‘so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.’ ” Review and Herald, August 2, 1898.

“But though men were so wicked, God would not destroy them without warning. ‘My Spirit shall not always strive with man,’ He said, ‘yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.’ During this period of probation the message of warning given to Noah was to sound in their ears.” Signs of the Times, October 9, 1901.

  1. Does sinful man retain the image of God? Genesis 9:5–6.

NOTE: “Whatever may be the nation, kindred or tongue, whether a man is white or black, he still bears the image of God, and ‘the proper study of mankind is man,’ viewed from the fact that he is the purchase of the blood of Christ. To show contempt for, to manifest hatred toward any nation, is to reveal the characteristic of Satan. God has placed His estimate upon man in giving Jesus to a life of humiliation, poverty, and self-sacrifice, to contempt, rejection, and death, in order that man, His lost sheep, might be saved. Is it then a remarkable thing that all heaven is interested in the ransom of man? Is it a wonderful fact that ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of angels are employed in ascending and descending on the mystic ladder to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation? Angels do not come to the earth to denounce and to destroy, to rule and to exact homage, but are messengers of mercy to co-operate with the Captain of the Lord’s host, to co-operate with the human agents who shall go forth to seek and to save the lost sheep. Angels are commanded to encamp round about those who fear and love God.” Signs of the Times, November 20, 1893.

“TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST”

  1. What was the purpose of Christ’s coming to earth? Luke 19:10.

NOTE: “God has commanded us, ‘Be ye holy; for I am holy;’ and an inspired apostle declares that without holiness ‘no man shall see the Lord.’ Holiness is agreement with God. By sin the image of God in man has been marred and wellnigh obliterated; it is the work of the gospel to restore that which has been lost; and we are to co-operate with the divine agency in this work. And how can we come into harmony with God, how shall we receive His likeness, unless we obtain a knowledge of Him? It is this knowledge that Christ came into the world to reveal unto us.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 743.

  1. How did Christ reveal the image of God? John 14:7–9. Compare John 17:4.

NOTE: “The love and honor and perfection revealed in the Gospel are a revelation to man of the character of God. The justice and goodness and benevolence that were seen in the character of Christ are to be repeated in the lives of those who accept the privileges of the Gospel. By a study of the word, we are to see Him as He is, and, charmed with the view of His divine perfection, we are to grow into the same image. We need to understand that the Gospel fully reveals the glory of the Lord. It is the mirror that reveals the character of God to the converted soul. The likeness of God is revealed in the perfect character of His Son, that we may understand what it means to be made in the likeness of the image of God, and what we may become if by constantly beholding we allow ourselves to be changed from ‘glory to glory.’ ” Signs of the Times, February 24, 1909.

  1. As we come to understand more and more the glory of God, what change will He make in us? 2 Corinthians 3:18.

NOTE: “Brethren and sisters, it is by beholding that we become changed. By dwelling upon the love of God and our Saviour, by contemplating the perfection of the divine character and claiming the righteousness of Christ as ours by faith, we are to be transformed into the same image. Then let us not gather together all the unpleasant pictures, the iniquities and corruptions and disappointments, the evidences of Satan’s power, to hang in the halls of our memory, to talk over and mourn over until our souls are filled with discouragement. A discouraged soul is a body of darkness, not only failing himself to receive the light of God, but shutting it away from others. Satan loves to see the effect of the pictures of his triumphs, making human beings faithless and disheartened. There are, thank God, brighter and more cheering pictures which the Lord has presented to us. Let us group together the blessed assurances of His love as precious treasures, that we may look upon them continually. The Son of God leaving His Father’s throne, clothing His divinity with humanity, that He might rescue man from the power of Satan; His triumph in our behalf, opening heaven to man, revealing to human vision the presence chamber where Deity unveils His glory; the fallen race uplifted from the pit of ruin into which sin had plunged them, and brought again into connection with the infinite God, and, having endured the divine test through faith in our Redeemer, clothed in the righteousness of Christ and exalted to His throne, these are the pictures with which God bids us gladden the chambers of the soul.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 744–745.

  1. What must be put out of the life in order for the image of God to be restored? Colossians 3:8–10.

NOTE: “The accession of members who have not been renewed in heart and reformed in life is a source of weakness to the church. This fact is often ignored. Some ministers and churches are so desirous of securing an increase of numbers that they do not bear faithful testimony against unchristian habits and practices. Those who accept the truth are not taught that they cannot safely be worldlings in conduct while they are Christians in name. Heretofore they were Satan’s subjects; henceforth they are to be subjects of Christ. The life must testify to the change of leaders. Public opinion favors a profession of Christianity. Little selfdenial or self-sacrifice is required in order to put on a form of godliness and to have one’s name enrolled upon the church book. Hence many join the church without first becoming united to Christ. In this Satan triumphs. Such converts are his most efficient agents. They serve as decoys to other souls. They are false lights, luring the unwary to perdition. It is in vain that men seek to make the Christian’s path broad and pleasant for worldlings. God has not smoothed or widened the rugged, narrow way. If we would enter into life, we must follow the same path which Jesus and His disciples trod, the path of humility, self-denial, and sacrifice.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 172.

  1. How only may victory over sin be achieved? Galatians 2:20.

NOTE: “Look away from yourselves to Jesus. He is all and in all. The merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour will avail to cleanse from the least and greatest sin. In trusting faith commit the keeping of your souls to God as unto a faithful Creator. Be not continually in fear and apprehension that God will leave you. He never will unless you depart from Him. Christ will come in and dwell with you if you will open the door of your hearts to Him. There may be perfect harmony between you and the Father and His Son if you will die to self and live unto God.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 543.

Recipe – Berry Cobbler

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Place in a large saucepan:

1 can crushed pineapple (20 oz.)

1 1/2 lb. sliced strawberries (unsweetened, fresh or frozen)

1/2 pkg. frozen peaches, diced

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 1/2 cup date sugar

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

2-3 Tbsp. Agar Agar (or Cornstarch)

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thick. Pour into a large baking dish, and top with Cashew and Oat Pie Crust. Bake at 350° until golden brown. For variety, blackberries, boysenberries or blueberries may be substituted.

Food for Life – Habits of Diet

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My, what a winter this has been! So many records broken and it is still possible that it will continue in the same way. But isn’t this prophecy? Just what does the Spirit of Prophecy say about the last days and what we may expect? In Last Day Events, 18–31, Sister White has chapters entitled Signs in the Heavens, Signs on the Earth, False Prophets, Gluttony and Intemperance, Deeds of Violence, Wars and Disasters, Earthquakes and Floods, Crimes, Famines, and Pestilences. However, despite all that has happened, we know that God has a purpose in all these calamities, and these events are in His hands. We should never fear or be distraught, but look up, for our redemption draweth nigh!

This month, we are going to look at what inspiration has to say about food preparation on the Sabbath day and the importance of temperate eating habits. The following excerpts are taken from The Ministry of Healing, 307–309:

“We should not provide for the Sabbath a more liberal supply or a greater variety of food than for other days. Instead of this the food should be more simple, and less should be eaten in order that the mind may be clear and vigorous to comprehend spiritual things. A clogged stomach means a clogged brain. The most precious words may be heard and not appreciated because the mind is confused by an improper diet. By overeating on the Sabbath, many do more than they think to unfit themselves for receiving the benefit of its sacred opportunities.

“Cooking on the Sabbath should be avoided; but it is not therefore necessary to eat cold food. In cold weather the food prepared the day before should be heated. And let the meals, however simple, be palatable and attractive. Especially in families where there are children, it is well, on the Sabbath, to provide something that will be regarded as a treat, something the family does not have every day.

“Where wrong habits of diet have been indulged, there should be no delay in reform. When dyspepsia has resulted from abuse of the stomach, efforts should be made carefully to preserve the remaining strength of the vital forces by removing every overtaxing burden. The stomach may never entirely recover health after long abuse; but a proper course of diet will save further debility, and many will recover more or less fully. It is not easy to prescribe rules that will meet every case; but, with attention to right principles in eating, great reforms may be made, and the cook need not be continually toiling to tempt the appetite.

“Abstemiousness in diet is rewarded with mental and moral vigor; it also aids in the control of the passions. Overeating is especially harmful to those who are sluggish in temperament; these should eat sparingly and take plenty of physical exercise. There are men and women of excellent natural ability who do not accomplish half what they might if they would exercise self-control in the denial of appetite.

“Many writers and speakers fail here. After eating heartily, they give themselves to sedentary occupations, reading, study, or writing, allowing no time for physical exercise. As a consequence, the free flow of thought and words is checked. They cannot write or speak with the force and intensity necessary in order to reach the heart; their efforts are tame and fruitless.

“Those upon whom rest important responsibilities, those, above all, who are guardians of spiritual interests, should be men of keen feeling and quick perception. More than others, they need to be temperate in eating. Rich and luxurious food should have no place upon their tables.”

Children’s Story – Shut Up With a Bible

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When Nicholas I became emperor of Russia, his first task was to put down a formidable sedition among the aristocracy of his realm. Many nobles, detected in guilt, and many who were simply suspected, were thrown into prison. One, who was innocent, was by nature a man of fiery temper; his wrongful arrest infuriated him, and he raved like a wild animal. Day after day, brooding over his treatment, he would stamp shrieking through his cell, and curse the emperor and curse God. Why did He not prevent this injustice?

No quiet came to him save in the intervals of exhaustion that followed his fits of rage. A visit from the venerable clergyman on the ninth day of his confinement, produced no softening effect. The good man’s prayer was heard with sullen contempt. The divine words, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” sounded like mockery to the embittered prisoner. The aged minister went away, leaving a Bible in the cell, which he begged the prisoner to read.

As soon as his visitor was gone, the angry nobleman threw the Bible into a corner. What to him was the word of a God who lets tyrants abuse him?

But when the terrible loneliness of succeeding days had nearly crazed him, he caught up the volume, and opened it, and his first glance fell on the middle of the fiftieth psalm: “Call upon me in the day of trouble: and I will deliver thee.” The text surprised and touched him, but his pride resented the feeling, and he dropped the book.

The next day, desperation drove him again to the only companion of his solitude, and from that time he read the Bible constantly. Then he began to study it, and commit whole chapters to memory. The story of the Savior’s life and death totally changed him. He saw himself a fellow sufferer with Christ who was unjustly accused and slain.

Revengeful rage gave way, and the spirit of a martyr took its place. Like the persecuted Christians shut up in the Roman catacombs, he forgave his enemies. An unworldly joy took up the time he had once spent in harsh thoughts and words. The shadows of wrong and death vanished in the new light that shone upon him from beyond.

The company of the book—the one Book in all the world that could have done it—had given the proud noble another heart.

Madame Dubois, once a beloved prison missionary in New York, from whose writings this story is taken, was in Russia when the condemned man’s aunt and sister, with whom she was visiting received a letter, which was believed to be his last. It was the outpouring of an exalted soul superior to fate.

He had undergone his trial; and, unable to prove his innocence, had been sentenced to death.

On the day set for his execution, while the ladies of his mansion walked in tears through the crape-hung parlors, suddenly the sight of their doomed kinsman himself astonished them at the door!

It was an unhoped for deliverance at the last moment. When the jailer’s key unlocked the prisoner’s cell, instead of the messenger of death, the czar of Russia stood before him. A conspirator’s intercepted letter had placed the innocence of the suspected nobleman beyond question, and the czar made what amends he could by bestowing on him a splendid castle and a general’s commission.

Seventy-five years have passed since then, and with them the life of the almost-martyred Russian; but the fruits of his devout fidelity and kindness among his fellow men, the hospital he built for the sick and friendless, and the very Bible he was shut up with in his own distress, still bear witness to a consecration that was worth all personal cost, and infinitely more.

Taken from The Youth’s Instructor, January 3, 1901.

Enslaving the Souls of Men

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EDITORS NOTE: The following is a chapter taken from, The Jesuits in North America, by Francis Parkman. The book’s preface is dated, May 1, 1867.

It was an evil day for new-born Protestantism when a French artilleryman fired the shot that struck down Ignatius Loyola in the breach of Pampeluna. A proud noble, an aspiring soldier, a graceful courtier, an ardent and daring gallant was metamorphosed by that stroke into the zealot whose brain engendered and brought forth the mighty Society of Jesus. His story is a familiar one,—how, in the solitude of his sick-room, a change came over him, upheaving, like an earthquake, all the forces of his nature; how, in the cave of Manresa, the mysteries of Heaven were revealed to him; how he passed from agonies to transports, from transports to the calm of a determined purpose. The soldier gave himself to a new warfare. In the forge of his great intellect, heated, but not disturbed by the intense fires of his zeal, was wrought the prodigious enginery whose power has been felt to the uttermost confines of the world.

Loyola’s training had been in court and camps; of books he knew little or nothing. He had lived the unquestioning faith of one born and bred in the very focus of Romanism; and thus, at the age of about thirty, his conversion found him. It was a change of life and purpose, not of belief. He presumed not to inquire into the doctrines of the Church. It was for him to enforce those doctrines; and to this end he turned all the faculties of his potent intellect, and all his deep knowledge of mankind. He did not aim to build up barren communities of secluded monks, aspiring to heaven through prayer, penance, and mediation, but to subdue the world to the dominion of the dogmas which had subdued him; to organize and discipline a mighty host, controlled by one purpose and one mind, fired by a quenchless zeal or nerved by a fixed resolve, yet impelled, restrained, and directed by a single master hand. The Jesuit is no dreamer: he is emphatically a man of action; action is the end of his existence.

It was an arduous problem which Loyola undertook to solve—to rob a man of volition, yet to preserve in him, nay, to stimulate, those energies which would make him the most efficient instrument of a great design. To this end the Jesuit novitiate and the constitutions of the Order are directed. The enthusiasm of the novice is urged to its intensest pitch; then in the name of religion, he is summoned to the utter abnegation of intellect and will in favor of the superior, in whom he is commanded to recognize the representative of God on earth. Thus the young zealot makes no slavish sacrifice of intellect and will—at least, so he is taught—for he sacrifices them, not to man, but to his Maker. No limit is set to his submission: if the Superior pronounces black to be white, he is bound in conscience to acquiesce.1

Loyola’s book of Spiritual Exercises is well known. In these exercises lies the hard and narrow path which is the only entrance to the Society of Jesus. The book is, to all appearance, a dry and superstitious formulary; but in the hands of a skillful director of consciences it has proved of terrible efficacy. The novice, in solitude and darkness, day after day and night after night, ponders its images of perdition and despair. He is taught to hear in imagination the howlings of the damned, to see their convulsive agonies, to feel the flames that burn without consuming, to smell the corruption of the tomb and the fumes of the infernal pit. He must picture to himself an array of adverse armies—one commanded by Satan on the plains of Babylon, one encamped under Christ about the walls of Jerusalem; and the perturbed mind, humbled by long contemplation of its own vileness, is ordered to enroll itself under one or the other banner. Then, the choice made, it is led to a region of serenity and celestial peace, and soothed with images of divine benignity and grace. These meditations last, without intermission, about a month; and under an astute and experienced directorship, they have been found of such power that the Manual of Spiritual Exercises boasts to have saved souls more in number than the letters it contains.

To this succeed two years of discipline and preparation, directed, above all things else, to perfecting the virtues of humility and obedience. The novice is obliged to perform the lowest menial offices and the most repulsive duties of the sick-room and the hospital; and he is sent forth, for weeks together, to beg his bread like a common mendicant. He is required to reveal to his confessor not only his sins, but all those hidden tendencies, instincts and impulses which form the distinctive traits of character. He is set to watch his comrades, and his comrades are set to watch him. Each must report what he observes of the acts and dispositions of the others; and his mutual espionage does not end with the novitiate, but extends to the close of life. The characteristics of every member of the Order are minutely analyzed, and methodically put on record.

This horrible violence to the noblest qualities of manhood, joined to that equivocal system of morality which eminent casuists of the Order have inculcated, must, it may be thought, produce deplorable effects upon the characters of those under its influence. Whether this has been actually the case, the reader of history may determine. It is certain, however, that the Society of Jesus has numbered among its members men whose fervent and exalted natures have been intensified, without being abased, by the pressure to which they have been subjected.

It is not for nothing that the Society studies the character of its members so intently, and by methods so startling. It not only uses its knowledge to thrust into obscurity or cast out altogether those whom it discovers to be dull, feeble or unwilling instruments of its purposes, but it assigns to every one the task to which his talents or his disposition may best adapt him: to one, the care of a royal conscience, whereby, unseen, his whispered word may guide the destiny of nations; to another, the instruction of children; to another, a career of letters or science; and to the fervent and the self-sacrificing, sometimes also to the restless and uncompliant, the distant missions to the heathen.

The Jesuit was, and is, everywhere—in the school-room, in the library, in the cabinets of princes and ministers, in the huts of savages, in the tropics, in the frozen North, in India, in China, in Japan, in Africa, in America; now as a Christian priest, now as a soldier, a mathematician, an astrologer, a Brahmin, a mandarin—under countless disguises, by a thousand arts, luring, persuading, or compelling souls into the fold of Rome. Of this vast mechanism for guiding and governing the minds of men, this mighty enginery for subduing the earth to the dominion of an idea, this harmony of contradictions, this moral Proteus, the faintest sketch must now suffice. A disquisition on the Society of Jesus would be without end. No religious Order has ever united in itself so much to be admired and so much to be detested. Unmixed praise has been poured on its Canadian members. It is not for me to eulogize them, but to portray them as they were.

1 Those who wish to know the nature of the Jesuit virtue of obedience will find it set forth in the famous Letter on Obedience of Loyola.

The Rise of Sabbatarian Adventism

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“We now turn to the second distinguishing doctrine of the Sabbatarian Adventists—their acceptance and observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. Prophetic interpretation, as we have seen from the sources, has persisted through the vicissitudes of the passing centuries, despite certain stormy upheavals and periodic setbacks. In a similar way, though not so commonly known, the Christian observance of the seventh-day Sabbath has likewise persisted throughout the Christian era. At times it has been driven underground, into silence and obscurity. But it has inevitably reappeared to bear its witness and urge its message upon mankind. The Sabbath, and its change and restoration, are tied inseparably into the very structure of Bible prophecy, the Sabbatarian Adventists firmly believed.” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, 906.

Following the death of the apostles, Sabbath observance continued in various parts of the Roman Empire. There were some in the Celtic Church of Scotland that kept the seventh-day Sabbath. The same was true in Ethiopia and Abyssinia as well as in pre-Reformation Norway. During and after the Reformation period, Sabbath-keeping reappeared in Sweden, Finland, Bohemia, England, Poland, France and Germany. These groups developed into the Seventh-Day Baptist communion. Samuel Mumford took this movement from England to America in 1664. The years following saw the establishment of the Seventh-Day Baptists in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

“The seventeenth-century revival of the seventh-day Sabbath centered chiefly in England, touched Continental Europe slightly, and was projected into the New World. And we have seen how, in North America, agitation over the seventh-day Sabbath appeared first in the Colonial Era, and then in the early National period, and this among men of British as well as German background. And now, in the early decades of the nineteenth century, simultaneously in Argentina and Scotland, new Sabbatarian voices break forth early in the great revival of prophetic exposition, which appeared at the same time in the different countries of Christendom. Thus the Sabbath message was brought out in connection with the Old World Advent Awakening, and in the New World Second Advent Movement.

“These two doctrines combined—the second-advent and the Sabbath—were proclaimed. . . by two widely separated pioneer advent heralds—Francisco Ramos Mexia, prominent Argentine patriot (with a Scottish Protestant background on his mothers side), and Presbyterian James A. Begg, substantial bookseller, printer, and author of Glasgow, Scotland. Within a few years of each other they began to combine emphasis on the binding obligation of an unchanged seventh-day Sabbath with the heralding of the imminent second advent, planting both doctrines squarely on the foundation of Bible prophecy.” Ibid., 941.

The Sabbath Message Presented to the Adventists

During the years 1843 and 1844, the Seventh-Day Baptists, through fasting and prayer, supplicated God to raise up others that were Sabbathkeepers. In the meantime Rachel Oakes began the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath and proclaimed this truth in Washington, New Hampshire, where two ministers accepted it. One was a Methodist circuit rider named Frederick Wheeler. The other was Thomas M. Preble, the first Adventist to advocate the Sabbath in print. An article that he wrote and published in The Hope of Israel in 1845, introduced the Sabbath to J. N. Andrews and Joseph Bates. (Unfortunately, later Preble turned against the Sabbath truth and wrote against it.) It was by means of a tract, Bates wrote, that the Sabbath was brought to James and Ellen White.

For almost two hundred years the Seventh-Day Baptists were practically the only ones that upheld the seventh day as the Sabbath. The Sunday-keeping churches all rejected the appeals of the Seventh-Day Baptists. This was also the response of the Millerites in general. The leaders and editors of the Adventist journals were highly critical of the agitation among the Adventists about the seventh-day Sabbath.

In August, of 1844, an article appeared that stated: “We feel borne irresistibly to the conclusion that there is no particular portion of time which Christians are required by Law to set apart, as holy time. If the Scriptures, and the considerations presented, do not convince our readers of this, then we think there is another conclusion to which they must come, viz. The particular portion of time which God requires us to observe as holy, is the seventh day of the week, that is, Saturday.

“We regret to leave the argument at this point, but space fails and we must beg our readers to search the Scriptures to see if these things are so. They have learned to bow to no authority but God’s, and having that, to treat the decisions of men as utterly worthless.

“We love the seventh-day brethren and sisters, but we think they are trying to mend the old broken Jewish yoke, and put it on their necks, instead of standing fast in the liberty wherewith Christ makes free.” Ibid., 944.

After Bates heard about the Sabbath through Preble’s article, he met Frederick Wheeler. Bates was so interested in what he had to say that they conversed all night about the Law of God and the neglected Sabbath. Together they went to confer with Cyrus Farnsworth, an early lay pioneer of the Adventists. These three men sealed a pact among them about the Law of God and in particular the most neglected part of it, the seventh-day Sabbath. Thus by the efforts of these three men, New Hampshire became the cradle of the Seventh-day Adventists.

In 1846, Joseph Bates published a forty-eight page tract entitled The Seventh Day Sabbath, A Perpetual Sign. He based his premise upon the fact that the Sabbath was instituted at Creation and was reinforced at Sinai. And since the Ten Commandments are the moral guide for everyone, the Sabbath commandment should be obeyed just like the others.

This tract was followed by another, entitled A Seal of the Living God, January 1849, where he set forth the Sabbath as being the seal of God. Bates concluded that the remnant “who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ would number 144,000.”

Prominent Adventist Leaders Accept the Sabbath

At first, Ellen Harmon and James White did not accept the Sabbath truth as presented by Bates. Ellen was brought up a Methodist and believed in “free grace and dying love.” James claimed that Christians are not “under the Law.” They both regarded the Sabbath as Jewish and felt that Bates had placed too much emphasis upon keeping it. However, after their marriage they studied Bates’ tract more closely and, comparing the clear Biblical and historical evidence, shortly began to keep the Sabbath.

John Nevins Andrews was another young man that accepted the Sabbath when Marian Stowell, a fellow Advent believer, who was staying in the Andrew’s home, gave him a copy of Preble’s Hope of Israel. The parents of both these young people, after reading the tract, accepted the seventh-day Sabbath. The Cyprian Stevens family was the next to believe in the seventh-day Sabbath. One of their daughters later became Mrs. J. N. Andrews and the other one Mrs. Uriah Smith.

“Although the seventh-day Sabbath came to the attention of a group of Adventists through the Seventh-Day Baptists, it was the light on the sanctuary and the prophecy of Daniel 7:25 coupled with that of Revelation 14:9–12 that invested it with a significance and an importance that the Sabbath had never had under the Seventh-Day Baptists. They had long held that all the Ten Commandments are moral, not ceremonial; that they are unchangeable, being a revelation of the character of God; and that the change of the Sabbath was made by the papal church without authorization from God. Their position in this was impregnable. But Mrs. Preston (Rachel Oakes), in Washington, New Hampshire, simply urging the claim of the unchanged seventh-day Sabbath, did not have much initial success. Only in the sanctuary setting did it begin to grip hearts. The belief that men were living in the judgment hour, and were to be judged by the great unchanged standard of the judgment, with the coming of Christ drawing near, drove home the conviction that the Lord was calling men to obey all of His commandments.” Ibid., 960.

In 1849, Joseph Bates went to Michigan where he raised up a company of Sabbath-keepers in Jackson. He went to Battle Creek in 1852 and when he arrived he asked the postmaster for the name of the most honest man in that town. He was given the name of David Hewitt. Bates spent all day at the Hewitt home presenting a thorough and systematic study of the Advent Movement, including the Three Angels’ Messages of Revelation 14. The family accepted the entire presentation and soon a group was meeting in their home until a building could be erected for meetings.

And this was Bates’ typical method. When he went where there were no churches, he rented a hall, schoolhouse or a home, hung up his 1843 chart and preached on the new found light. Many churches were established. The success of these churches was always based on the prophecies. In 1860, when the Sabbatarian Adventists decided to organize, Joseph Bates was made the chairman and directed the conference to a successful conclusion.

“So, to the concept of Christ entering the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, on October 22, 1844, for the final work of judgment and the receiving of His kingdom, was added the Sabbath . . . . This concept of the ‘seal’ was likewise built into the message of the Sabbath, as an added prophetic element. And this thought was similarly attested by Ellen White, who wrote, ‘This seal is the Sabbath,’ and described the most holy place in which was the ark (Revelation 11:9), containing the Ten Commandments, with a halo of light surrounding the fourth. Thus the Sabbath and the sanctuary became inseparably tied together.” Ibid., 958.

How to Be Among the 144,000, Part II

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Editor’s Note: Last month we looked at what kind of character the 144,000 must have and how they must obtain it. This month we will continue on with our study of what you and I must do to be among the 144,000 and what sanctification really means.

The closer we come to Christ, the more we will realize that within us there is no good thing. Self must be crucified every moment of every day.

Our will must be surrendered to God’s will. And we must allow God to live out His life within us. There is no one so weak that he cannot be saved, because all the power to win the victory comes from Christ. However, there also is no one so strong that he can be saved in his own strength. From the weakest to the strongest we must crucify self and turn to God for strength.

This crucifixion of self is a painful process. I wish I could give you some pleasing doctrine that would just open up the gates of heaven for you without any suffering or pain, but God in His wisdom did not make such a way. There is no way except the bloodstained path of the cross. Since this was true for Christ, should it be any different for us? Paul wrote of Christ’s experience, “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.” Hebrews 2:10. “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” Hebrews 5:8. Christ suffered with temptations. He had to daily crucify self, and having been perfected, “He became the author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him.” Hebrews 5:9.

I propose that this is good news! Now it may not be good news to think that you have to go through some suffering, but it is good news that you can be perfected by it. And we have the promise that we will not have any temptations but those which are common to man, and God who is faithful “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.” 1 Corinthians 10:13.

What type of temptations did Christ suffer? Peter wrote, “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind.” 1 Peter 4:1. Christ suffered in the flesh, what the Bible calls our fallen nature, and He overcame! That is wonderful to know, because all of us have sins of the flesh, which seem to bind us.

Some people say, “I know I lose my temper, but you have to realize that is the way I was born. You must take the good with the bad.” This is the fleshly nature, and the Bible says that if you live according to the flesh, (according to your inheritance) you will die! (See Romans 8:13).

So what do we do since we all have inherited sinful tendencies? We do not all have the same problems. Some have inherited a temper, others discouragement and others selfishness. However, in every life there is some special sin that will require a life and death struggle to overcome. These are what Paul called besetting sins (Romans 12:1), and the devil has been cultivating them in our lives since we were born.

When a baby is born the Lord says, “I died for this baby. He is mine.” But the adversary of souls says, “No, he is mine.” And the battle begins. The Lord works to keep that baby, but the devil begins to work from the day that baby is born to hold him in the bonds of sin. He seeks to develop within that little child’s heart some special desire for sin. Even if the baby is born into a worldly home, the devil does not know when he might someday have the opportunity to hear the gospel and be inclined to accept it. So he works every day to cultivate in that child a love for some besetting sin.

A Struggle to Overcome a Besetting Sin

I remember holding an evangelistic series in one of my first churches. About twelve had accepted the Lord and were preparing for baptism. In the baptismal class, I was reading some Bible verses on Christian adornment and jewelry. Suddenly, one young lady, who had been married for only six months, caught the drift of what the verses were saying. It was too much for her and she said right out loud, “If I have to take off my jewelry to get to heaven, I cannot go!” And she left!

I suppose that from the time she was born, Satan had tried to develop that desire within her. What is jewelry? A worthless piece of stone cut into a beautiful shape. I could cut a piece of glass and most people could not tell it from a diamond, but, for some reason, people have placed a special value on certain little stones. They are willing to pay thousands of dollars to wear them around on the fingers.

So it was for this young women. If you could review her life, I think you would find that the devil had arranged affairs throughout her childhood so that she had heard people comment about various ladies’ jewelry. In her mind, jewelry had come to signify success and being a woman, happily married, and all those ideals.

A few days later, I went to her home to visit her. I was surprised, when I stepped inside, to find two non-Adventist ministers standing in her living room. She had called these other preachers to tell her that she could keep all her jewelry on and still go to heaven. When I came in, it was like waving a red flag before a bull. They turned on me—this crazy, fanatical, legalistic fellow who thinks people must take off their jewelry to get to heaven.

I was not very interested in trying to discuss jewelry with these two preachers who were not really interested in the truth anyway, so I changed the subject. I said, “I can understand why you do not see any importance in jewelry. You do not even see any importance in keeping the Sabbath.” That turned the subject, and since they were little match for the Sabbath truth, they soon left.

Two days later, we had a baptism with all the other candidates and this lady came with her husband and all her jewelry on, but with a towel. She came up to me and said, “Could you go over those things again?” The church was full and everyone was there, ready for the baptism to begin, but we went into another room and we started going over the Bible texts. We were there for two hours as she struggled with a spiritual battle. Finally, the tears came to her eyes and she said, “I surrender.” She took off her jewelry and she and her husband were baptized along with the ten others.

For this dear lady, giving up jewelry was a trial. She had to suffer and sacrifice to give up this besetting sin. Your besetting sin may not be jewelry, we all have different weaknesses. But for each of us, the way to heaven is the way of the cross. We cannot just sit back and say, “Lord, make me clean.” That is not the way it is.

When Jesus cleansed the Jewish temple, He went in, uninvited, and drove all the wickedness out, but inspiration tells us that He does not cleanse the soul temple that way. (See The Desire of Ages, 161.) He is very willing to cleanse our soul temples, but He cannot do it without our invitation and cooperation.

The Right Use of the Will

“The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan’s control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God. God gives the power, but we must exercise the effort.” The Desire of Ages, 466.

We cannot do what God must do for us, but neither will God do what He has asked us to do. Ellen White wrote about a man that she was asked to anoint. She did not feel that she could do that until she had taken the matter before the Lord. During the night she was given a vision, and the Lord showed her that this man had a besetting sin which he had developed in adolescence. He knew it was a sin and he had tried to overcome it by fasting and prayer, but he was still bound by it. God showed Sister White that this man’s prayers had been answered and God had given him the power to overcome, but he had to put forth the effort. God would not do for him what He had given him the power to do for himself.

“Everything depends on the right use of the will.” Steps to Christ, 47. We must learn that we have to choose to do what is right and refuse to do what is wrong. Then God can help us. It takes our effort and God’s strength.

The Secret of Samson’s Strength

The story of Samson, in the Bible, fitly illustrates this important spiritual lesson in physical terms. Samson had incredible physical strength. He could conquer every physical difficulty. One time he carried the iron gates of a city to the top of a hill and left them there. But was it really Samson who lifted those gates? Was the power really his own? No, he had no more natural strength before his hair was cut than after his hair was cut. It was the angels who were lifting those gates. But, the angels did not help without Samson putting forth all the effort he had.

Think of this promise. “All His [God’s] biddings are enablings.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 333. If God asks you to do something, He will provide the strength for you to do it. Nothing is impossible for Him. But He will not do anything, until you put for the effort.

“God saw it was impossible for man to overcome in his own strength, with his own feeble moral power; yet man is required to exercise all the capabilities and powers that God has given him in order to overcome, and then he needs a higher power, and help has been laid upon One who is human effort, that through Jesus man may stand free, a conqueror.” The Review and Herald, June 10, 1890.

“The pleasing fable that all there is to do is to believe, has destroyed thousands and tens of thousands, because many have called that faith which is not faith, but simply a dogma. Man is an intelligent, accountable being; he is not to be carried as a passive burden by the Lord, but is to work in harmony with Christ. Man is to take up his appointed work in striving for glory, honor, and immortality. God calls upon men for the use of every talent He has lent them, the exercise of every power He has given; for man can never be saved in disobedience and indolence.” The Review and Herald, April 1, 1890.

“There must be an earnest effort to conquer through the grace freely given of God.” The Review and Herald, January 24, 1893.

“The help of God is held in reserve for all who demand it. Divine help is to be combined with human effort, aspiration, and energy. But we cannot reach the battlements of heaven without climbing for ourselves . . . Not even divine power can lift one soul to heaven that is unwilling to put forth efforts in his own behalf.” Signs of the Times, August 14, 1884.

Judas’ Doctrine

Any doctrine that is teaching people that they do not need to put forth effort to overcome sin is preparing people to be eternally lost. This was the type of doctrine Judas held. Look for a moment at how his story is told in The Desire of Ages, and let us trace the steps that he took before his great fall.

“He [Judas] witnessed the Savior’s mighty works in healing the sick . . . He felt in his own person the evidence of Christ’s power. He recognized the teaching of Christ as superior to all that he had ever heard. He loved the Great Teacher, and desired to be with him. He felt a desire to be changed in character and life, and he hoped to experience this through connecting himself with Jesus.” The Desire of Ages, 717.

This sounds pretty good. Judas loved Jesus and he wanted to be with Him. He wanted to be changed and he believed that if he associated with Jesus he would be changed. Doesn’t that sound like pretty good theology? Today a lot of preachers are telling people that if they will just spend time reading the Bible and studying every day they will be changed. But there is something more required than just reading and praying. There must be a crucifixion of self. When we are tempted to sin, we must refuse to sin with the power God has given us.

Continuing on with Judas’ story, it says, “He gave him a place among the twelve . . . He endowed him with power to heal the sick, cast out devils. But Judas did not come to the point of surrendering himself fully to Christ.” Ibid. That was the problem. Judas was no worse than any of the disciples in the beginning, but he never surrendered himself to Christ. He never went through the struggle, agony and the suffering of crucifying self. He never took up his cross. It makes me sad when I hear the doctrine of Judas being taught today, because I know that there are many people that will be as disappointed as Judas was.

Sanctification—More than Overcoming

A crucifixion of self is only half the Christian experience. It is not enough to get you to heaven. No one can ever get to heaven by simply overcoming sin. Sanctification is our goal. But what really is sanctification? Many people have been perplexed because they have equated sanctification with the process of overcoming sin, and they also know that sanctification is the work of a lifetime. Are we then supposed to spend our whole lives focusing on sin? No!

Sanctification is not the work of overcoming sin. That is only the beginning. When you overcome sin, your Christian life has just begun. We are all to go on to develop characters of righteousness. Adam, in the very beginning, although he had never sinned, had to develop a character. Jesus never sinned but His character had to be developed.

This development of character is something that is to go on as long as life lasts and will continue on throughout eternity. (See The Great Controversy, 678). There is so much more to living a Christian life than not sinning. It is not enough to quit stealing. We must go far beyond not stealing to giving unselfishly. We will not be saved because we do not curse. We must go far beyond not cursing until we are praising the Lord. We must go far beyond not hating our brother, we have to learn to love our enemy. We have to go far beyond not sinning. We have to go on in the path of righteousness.

We know that this is not an easy path. It requires us to struggle with agonizing efforts. (See Faith and Works, 48, 49). But, although it is a blood-strewn path, although it is the way through Gethsemane and Calvary, it is the only way to go that is worth living. For there is only one reason to live and that is to live forever.

There is nothing in this life. Soon we will see the final signs of Jesus’ Second Coming. And then we will see that cloud coming closer and closer. We will see the dead arising and we “shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

When we get to heaven we will renew acquaintances. We will find people and make friends that have lived hundreds and thousands of years ago. I will look for my wife and children, my brother and sister, my parents. I will look for my friends and my church members whom I have learned to love. I will look for those with whom I have given Bible studies. Heaven will be very happy when I find someone there that I hoped would be there. It will be very sad every time I find someone not there.

I will go to the sanctuary because there is the greatest history class of the ages. A history that is in living color. I can see the battles that have been fought and I can go into the Councils with the Popes. I can see back before the flood or go to the angels and find out what happened in the great controversy in heaven. That will be so interesting! This life is passing away. It is not an easy way to heaven, but it is the only way out of this earth. It is the way of the cross. By God’s will and grace, I am willing to walk the bloodstained path. We must crucify self, every moment of every day. We must suffer in the flesh and yet we will have joy. That is one of the mysteries of the gospel. It is the only way of joy and yet it is the way of suffering.

There is no special time when God will send some mighty working miracle and all of a sudden you will be a different person. The only time there is to change character is today! There will never be any more power available than what has been given to us today.

If you cannot overcome today, you cannot overcome tomorrow. Right now in your present situation you must overcome the flesh. But you can do it! Jesus had all your weaknesses, and no more strength than He offers you and He was victorious. And you can be too. The very weakest Christians can be “more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” Romans 8:37.

Let us commit ourselves to the Lord. My prayer is that you will not be missing on that great day.

We Are Living on Borrowed Time

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There is an increasing excitement among many Seventh-day Adventists that some great event is about to take place as the year 2000 A.D. approaches. This is based on the assumption that God has allotted seven thousand years to this world before He destroys and recreates it. God has often used the number seven in the Scriptures to represent completion, such as the seven days of Creation, the seven churches of Revelation, the seven seals, the seven trumpets and the seven beasts of Daniel and Revelation, which cover the time period from the creation to the return of Jesus.

If we carefully study the Bible record, we know that the earth was about four thousand years old when Christ came. We add this figure to the year 2000 A.D., and we discover that the earth is about six thousand years old. Therefore, it must be about time for the Second Coming of Christ, for when He comes, He will usher in the one-thousand-year Millenium of Revelation 20, which makes a total of seven thousand years.

The Age of the Earth

But the big question is this, How old is this earth? Surely inspiration must have something to say about the actual age of this earth, for the Scriptures say that “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7. Let us search to see what God has revealed about the coming of His dear Son, Jesus.

Jesus, speaking about the end of the earth in Matthew 24, said: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Matthew 24:29–36. [All emphasis supplied.]

These words of Christ should settle this matter forever. There can be no actual time setting for this event. Yet, there are some, within our church, teaching that Jesus will return at the end of six thousand years, and they place this event in the near future when the earth supposedly reaches the six thousand-year mark.

Now to those who are teaching such beliefs, I have some very startling news. Ellen White wrote, between the years 1869 and 1890, that the earth was already six thousand years old. Look carefully at these quotations. The first is from 1869.

“Creation week was only seven literal days, and the world is now only about six thousand years old.” Lift Him Up, 52.

“He (man) has withstood the accumulation of disease brought upon the race in consequence of perverted habits, and has continued for six thousand years.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 22.

“Ever since he (Satan) succeeded in overcoming our first parents in their beautiful Eden home, he has been engaged in this work. More than six thousand years of continual practice has greatly increased his skill to deceive and allure.” Signs of the Times, September 29, 1887.

“For six thousand years, Satan’s work of rebellion has ‘made the earth to tremble’ . . . For six thousand years his prison house has received God’s people.” The Great Controversy, 659.

Finally, in 1890 she wrote: “The continual transgressions of men for over six thousand years has brought sickness, pain and death as its fruit.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 154.

This last statement by Ellen White was written one hundred seventeen years ago. So the earth is already over six thousand one hundred seventeen years old. What has gone wrong? Why has Jesus not returned? The answer can again be found in inspiration. In 1883 Ellen White wrote: “Had Adventists after the great disappointment in 1844, held fast their faith and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of God, . . . Christ would have come ere this to receive His people to their reward . . . It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be delayed. God did not design that His people, Israel, should wander forty years in the wilderness. He promised to lead them directly to the land of Canaan, and establish them there a holy, healthy, happy people. But those to whom it was first preached, went not in ‘because of unbelief.’ Their hearts were filled with murmuring, rebellion, and hatred, and He could not fulfill His covenant with them.

“For forty years did unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case were the promises of God at fault. It is the unbelief, the worldliness, the unconsecration, and strife among the Lord’s professed people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years.” Evangelism, 695, 696.

“If all who had labored unitedly in the work in 1844 had received the Third Angel’s Message, and proclaimed it in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts. A flood of light would have been shed upon the world. Years ago the inhabitants of the earth would have been warned, the closing work completed, and Christ would have come for the redemption of His people.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 291.

Now that we have the facts before us, all taken from divine inspiration, we are still faced with the remaining question, Why is Christ now waiting to come and put an end to sin? I will tell you the conclusion that I have come to. The Lord sees so many of us who are not ready and in His great mercy He delays His coming that sinners may have the opportunity to heed His warning message and find divine shelter before the wrath of God is poured out. In 1896, Ellen White wrote: “If those who claimed to have a living experience in the things of God had done their appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would have been warned ere this, and the Lord Jesus would have come in power and great glory.” The Review and Herald, October 6, 1896.

“But because the people are disobedient, unthankful, unholy, as were ancient Israel, time is prolonged that all may hear the last message of mercy proclaimed with a loud voice. The Lord’s work has been hindered, the sealing time delayed.” The Faith I Live By, 288.

During the years 1898 to 1903, Ellen White explained the delay. “It is because the work has not been done for the wicked that time delays.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 10, 816.

“Had the Adventists in the early days still trusted to the guiding hand that had been with them in their past experience, they would have seen the salvation of God.” Testimonies, vol.8, 115, 116.

It is plain to see from these quotations that the six thousand years of earth’s history ended before 1890 and that Jesus would have come for His people had they been faithful.

Conditional Promises

As we continue, we will discover that it is absolutely impossible now for anyone on this earth to figure out a time schedule for the coming of Christ. When we compare the signs that pinpoint the time period around the Second Coming in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21 and Revelation 6, we find the actual signs of Christ’s coming. They are the following: the sun was to be darkened; the moon would not give its light and the stars were to fall.

Every Adventist knows that the signs of the sun and moon were fulfilled on May 19, 1780. The falling of the stars occurred on November 13, 1833. Keeping this in mind consider these words by Ellen White: “Those who behold these harbingers of His coming are to know that it is near, even at the doors.” The Great Controversy, 37.

“Christ has given signs of His coming. He declares that we may know when He is near, even at the doors. He says of those who see these signs, ‘This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.’ These signs have appeared. Now we know of a surety that the Lord’s coming is at hand. ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away,’ He says, ‘but my words shall not pass away.’” The Desire of Ages, 632.

So, it is safe to say that the generation that saw the last sign, the falling of the stars in 1833, was to live until Jesus would come in His Second Coming between 1869 and 1890. But that generation perished long ago. And how is this to be explained?

Twelve years after the disappointment of 1844, Ellen White was given a significant vision. She wrote about it in Spiritual Gifts: “A conference was held at Battle Creek in May, 1856 . . . At the conference a very solemn vision was given me. I saw that some of those present would be food for worms, some subjects for the seven last plagues, and some would be translated to heaven at the second coming of Christ, without seeing death.” Spiritual Gifts, 207, 208. This was written one hundred forty years ago. I am reminded of this statement: “The promises and threatenings of God are alike conditional.”

Selected Messages, vol. 1, 67. This answers why Jesus did not come before the last of those present at this conference had died. This prophecy was not fulfilled because Seventh-day Adventists, who were then living, had proved to be unfaithful, thus causing a delay in the Second Coming of Christ.

As late as 1888, Ellen White wrote when some of those at that General Conference held in Battle Creek were still living: “The hour will come; it is not far distant, and some of us who now believe will be alive upon the earth, and shall see the prediction verified, and hear the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God echo from mountain and plain and sea, to the uttermost parts of the earth.” The Review and Herald, July 31, 1888.

The church continued in unfaithfulness and that meant more delay. Ellen White, one of the last remaining in this group, died in 1915. We are over one hundred years past God’s intended time schedule and no one knows the exact time of Christ’s return. Present truth for this hour is the fact that we are living on borrowed time. I have three short quotations that emphatically stress this:

“The prophetic periods reached to 1844 . . .Prophetic time closed in 1844.” Spiritual Gifts, 138, 148.

This means that the twelve hundred sixty, the twelve hundred ninety and the thirteen hundred thirty-five-day prophecies of Daniel 12, all ended in 1844.

I have a photocopy in my files of the prophetic chart used by our pioneers as they preached the Three Angels’ Messages. This chart revealed that all the prophecies of Daniel 12 ended in the year 1844. Ellen White spoke specifically about this chart: “I have seen that the 1843 chart was directed by the hand of the Lord, and that it should not be altered; that the figures were as He wanted them.” Early Writings, 74.

And in this final quotation, Sister White makes it so clear that none can misunderstand:

“Time has not been a test since 1844, and it will never again be a test.” Ibid., 75.

Beware of False Prophets

Now, I am going to give you some names. I do not like to do that, but it is necessary because I do not want you to be caught up in the error that is being presented by these people in the church today. Marian Berry uses the prophecies of Daniel 12 to point out future events, leading to a definite time for Christ to come. Her teachings and charts declare that the prophecies of Daniel 12 are to be understood as literal days instead of prophetic years and that they will meet their fulfillment when the National Sunday Law is enacted.

Such futuristic teachings have been ensnaring thousands within our church during the last fifty years, just as was predicted: “Every phase of fanaticism and erroneous theories, claiming to be the truth, will be brought in among the remnant people of God.” Selected Messages, book 2, 14. And for what purpose? “God will arouse His people; if other means fail, heresies will come in among them, which will sift them, separating the chaff from the wheat.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 707.

Another futuristic “prophet” is Larry Wilson. He states in his paper, The Daystar, of February 1992, “I expect to see these people, the one hundred forty-four thousand, revealed by a powerful Holy Spirit manifestation during the latter part of 1993 or early 1994.” Then in June of 1993, he sent out a chart with this heading, “A survey of the possible timing of the end time events.” For the spring of 1994, the chart had this entry, “Seventy Jubilee cycles end. A hundred forty-four thousand sealed. Two witnesses begin twelve hundred sixty days of preaching.”

Such teachings enabled Wilson to invite his followers to join him at Round Rock, Texas, on March 19, 1994, with the expectation that shortly thereafter, God would use the one hundred forty-four thousand to complete the Three Angels’ Messages in a time period of twelve hundred sixty literal days.

Wilson has publicly stated that he believes some of God’s prophets made mistakes in their prophecies. He further states that Ellen White made similar mistakes in her book, The Great Controversy. For he writes that he does not believe that the United States is the two-horned beast of Revelation 13. This is a very solemn error. I warn you to beware of all who put themselves in the place of God’s inspired prophet!

Questions About Time Setting Answered

For the remainder of this article I would like to let the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy answer some questions about time setting that are being asked by many Adventists today.

Question: Can man fix a definite time for any future event?

“And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.” Revelation 10:5, 6.

Question: What is the meaning of the foregoing declaration of this angel?

“This time, which the angel declares with a solemn oath, is not the end of this world’s history, neither of probationary time, but of prophetic time, which should precede the advent of our Lord. That is, that people will not have another message upon definite time. After this period of time, reaching from 1842 to 1844, there can be no definite tracing of the prophetic time. The longest reckoning reaches to the autumn of 1844.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 971.

“And he said unto them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in His own power.’ ” Acts 1:7. “Should we advance in spiritual knowledge, we would see the truth developing and expanding in lines of which we have little dreamed, but it will never develop in any line that will lead us to imagine that we may know the times and the seasons which the Father hath put in His own power. Again and again have I been warned in regard to time setting. There will never again be a message for the people of God that will be based on time.” Ibid., vol. 6, 1052.

Question: Can we fix a definite time for probation to end?

“God has not revealed to us the time when this message will close, or when probation will have an end . . . .

“But there is no command for anyone to search the Scriptures in order to ascertain if possible, when probation will close. God has no such message for any mortal lips. He would have no mortal tongue declare that which He has hidden in His secret councils.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 191, 192.

Question: Can we fix a definite time for the Latter Rain?

“I have no specific time of which to speak when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will take place—when the mighty angel will come down from heaven, and unite with the third angel in closing up the work of this world; my message is that our only safety is in being ready for the heavenly refreshing, having our lamps trimmed and burning . . . ‘Watch and pray’ is the charge given us by our Redeemer . . . ‘Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.’” Ibid., 192.

Question: Can we fix a definite time for the judgment of the living to begin?

“The judgment is now passing in the sanctuary above. For many years this work has been in progress. Soon—none know how soon—it will pass to the cases of the living. In the awful presence of God our lives are to come up in review. At this time above all others it behooves every soul to heed the Saviour’s admonition: ‘Watch and pray for ye know not when the time is.’” The Great Controversy, 490.

This does not mean that we are not to give our special attention to the judgment, for our characters are being judged and evaluated daily.

“The names of all those who have once given themselves to God are written in the book of life, and their characters are now passing in review before Him. Angels of God are weighing moral worth. They are watching the development of character in those now living, to see if their names can be retained in the book of life. A probation is granted us in which to wash our robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Historical Sketches, 138.

Question: Can we fix a definite time for the fulfillment of any other future event?

“Let all our brethren and sisters beware of anyone who would set a time for the Lord to fulfill His word in regard to His coming, or in regard to any other promise He has made of special significance.” Testimonies to Ministers, 55.

“The times and the seasons God has put in His own power and why has not God given us this knowledge? —Because we would not make a right use of it if He did. A condition of things would result from this knowledge among our people that would greatly retard the work of God in reparing a people to stand in the great day that is to come. We are not to live upon time excitement. We are not to be engrossed with speculations in regard to the times and the seasons which God has not revealed. Jesus has told His disciples to ‘watch’ but not for a definite time. His followers are to be in the position of those who are listening for the orders of their Captain, they are to watch, wait, pray, and work, as they approach the time for the coming of the Lord; but no one will be able to predict just when that time will come; for ‘of that day and hour knoweth no man.’ You will not be able to say that He will come in one, two, or five years, neither are you to put off His coming by stating that it may not be for ten or twenty years.” Selected Messages, book 1,189.

Time setting disqualifies the person from giving the Three Angels’ Messages. “Satan is ever ready to fill the minds with theories and calculations that will divert men from the present truth, and disqualify them for the giving of the Third Angel’s Message to the world.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1052.

“He [Christ] distinctly states the suddenness of His coming. He does not measure the time lest we should neglect a momentary preparation and in our indolence look ahead to the time when we think He will come and defer the preparation. ‘Watch ye therefore for ye know not.’ ” Testimonies, vol. 2, 191. Satan is continually implanting within many a desire for something startling. We need a change of heart, a transformation of character fitting us to meet Jesus.

” ‘Be ye also ready for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.’ Matthew 24:44. This is our message, the very message that the three angels flying in the midst of heaven are proclaiming.” Selected Messages, book 2, 114.

We should realize that should we die today, our destiny is sealed forever. As far as we are individually concerned, we must live day by day as though it is our last day, for we may not have another day. Our full attention should be given to two major questions. First, How can I be ready to meet Jesus with victory over every sin? And second, How can I faithfully do my part in sharing the Three Angels’ Messages that Jesus may come? This is what is vital for us today.

If we are faithfully doing these things, we will someday know the day of His coming for all that are alive will know the exact day and hour of the return of Christ when God’s people are about to be delivered from the jaws of the battle of Armageddon. “The voice of God is heard from heaven declaring the day and hour of Jesus’ coming, and delivers the everlasting covenant to His people. Like peals of loudest thunder His words roll through the earth. The Israel of God stand listening with their eyes fixed upward. Their countenances are lighted up with His glory, and shine as did the face of Moses when he came down from Sinai. The wicked can not look upon them. And when the blessing is pronounced on those who have honored God by keeping His Sabbath holy, there is a mighty shout of victory.” The Great Controversy, 640.

I want to be among the living saints who hear these words of God. Is that your most earnest desire?

The Word From Heaven

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In this article I would like to share with you some memories. Memories that go back twenty years, to when, as far as I was concerned, the whole historic Adventist movement began.

At that time I received an assignment from the brethren that I found very difficult to understand. It just did not make any kind of sense to me. Throughout all of my forty years of ministry for the Lord in the Adventist Church, my main interest has always been the soul winning work. I sympathize with Elder W. A. Spicer, one of the early pioneer Presidents of our General Conference, who used to say, “In this work there is only one thing that is worthwhile, and that is bringing a soul to Jesus Christ. All of the rest is just muss and fuss and bother.”

That is how I have always felt. So, when I was pastoring a church, I kept evangelism going as much as I could. When I was teaching in college, I did the same thing. And when I was teaching in the Theological Seminary, I did the same thing. I also spent fifteen years in full time evangelism, which was the cream of my years of life.

In 1977, in the fall of the year, I was conducting an evangelistic experiment in another Conference that I fully believed was going to revolutionize the whole picture of evangelistic work among Seventh-day Adventists. During this time I began to get calls from leaders in the conference and they told me, “We want you to go to the Campus Hill Church, in Loma Linda, and be the senior pastor there.” I said, “Why? That church is an institutional church with no new territory for evangelism whatsoever. It is surrounded by other churches.” I just could not make sense of it. I turned down the offer three times. But finally, when the Union Conference President pressed me, I decided I had better be a good soldier and start obeying orders. But I still kept wondering why?

Watching Prophecy Be Fulfilled

When I began pastoring the Campus Hill Church, I ran into something that I had never seen before in my whole life as a Seventh-day Adventist, even though, as an evangelist and as a Ministerial Secretary, I had come in close contact with many churches. The congregation was divided over theological issues and the tensions were severe. One could walk around on Sabbath morning and go into the different Sabbath School classes and hear two different theologies being presented on any Sabbath morning. I was absolutely dumbfounded. I had never seen anything like it, and never dreamed that anything like it existed in Adventism. I had to dig in and figure out what it was all about.

At that time, I did not realize that I was watching a fulfillment of prophecy. Later, however, I discovered that Ellen White had written about exactly what I saw happening in Loma Linda. She said in Selected Messages, vol. 2, 114: “Divisions will come in the church. Two parties will be developed.”

I saw the two parties being developed in the Loma Linda Campus Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church, and since then I have seen the division spread throughout our churches all over the country. It is no longer in isolated places; it is throughout Adventism. Who are these two parties? The first group was made up of people who were very thoroughly convinced that the message they had been taught when they joined the church, the message they had been taught when they went to Seventh-day Adventist academies, colleges and seminaries, was true. There was nothing wrong with the message they had learned to love and they had no intention of changing it for another gospel.

The other group was insisting that we change traditional, Biblical Adventist theology into something called New Theology. Actually their “new theology” is very old. Just like many of the doctrines that are promoted as “new light,” New Theology dates back a long, long time to errors the Reformers made and even earlier.

For example, a few years back we started hearing a great deal about a new morality in the world. When you took the curtains off and looked at it, you could see that this was something that began in Sodom and Gomorrah a long, long time ago.

And progressive theology is not much different. It is really regressive. I read with a strange mixture of feelings, recently, a prediction made by the president of a Seventh-day Adventist College in our country, in which he said something like this: “We have theological minds among us who are going to bring us into vistas of truth that the apostles could not even dream of.” I thought for a moment, “Man you have me on the edge of my seat. Show it to me!” Then I thought, “Oh, come on, relax, Larson. When the curtains are parted, it will have originated in Sodom and Gomorrah or back in some ancient time.” That is the way it always works.

When I came to Loma Linda and I found the New Theology apostasy, that is now a tide flowing through all Adventism, it was in its beginning there. The question I faced was, “What shall I do?” I did not feel as though I had any choice. As an evangelist, I had been defending the Seventh-day Adventist faith for years and years and I was not about to change—unless God showed me some good reason why I should—and He did not!

Consequently, I took a public stand against this apostasy and for a little while I felt all alone. However, I soon began to find out that there were people all over the country who shared my feelings. They, too, were astonished at what was happening around them. One by one, people scattered across this nation began to sound the cry, “This is terrible! I am going to do something about this if I can.”

After a while I became acquainted with Ron Spear in Washington and then with Doctors Russell and Colon Standish. We soon learned that the apostasy was really creeping through the whole ranks of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. And people all around the country were beginning to rise up and say, “I do not know what I can do, but I am going to try to do something.”

In a short time there was a Hope International Ministry, which is now putting out a hundred million pages of truth filled literature every year as a part of their worldwide work. There was a Steps to Life Ministry which sends out thousands of videos, magazines, tapes and books. There was a Remnant Publications, which has published hundreds of thousands of Spirit of Prophecy books for use worldwide. And there was a little tiny Cherrystone Press out in Cherry Valley, CA, which was my own ministry, publishing scholarly books.

In these ministries, and many others, there have been an innumerable number of cities of refuge started. Cities of refuge that are needed because of the warnings we have against listening to and receiving error.

The Danger of Error

I want to share with you in these pages several inspired statements about error, and the danger that exists for all who go to listen to it. Consider carefully these inspired messages for God’s people: “Error is falsehood and deception. Those who partake of it must suffer in consequence.” The Upward Look, 125.

“Error is never harmless. It never sanctifies but always leaves confusion and dissention. It is always dangerous.” Counsels to Writers and Editors, 47.

“There is in error and unbelief that which bewilders and bewitches the mind.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 46.

“I was shown the necessity of those who believe that we are having the last message of mercy, being separate from those who are daily imbibing new errors. I saw that neither young nor old should attend their meetings . . . God is displeased with us when we go to listen to error, without being obliged to go; for unless He sends us to those meetings where error is forced home by the power of the will, He will not keep us. The angels cease their watchful care over us, and we are left to the buffetings of the enemy, to be darkened and weakened by him.” Early Writings, 124, 125.

If anyone challenges you about using this statement from Early Writings, which was written quite a while ago, just remind them that Bible writers, including Jesus Himself, when a question was placed before them, gave principles of truth to answer issues which were much bigger than the individual question they were being asked.

When the Pharisees brought Jesus a coin in the temple and said, “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or no?” Jesus said, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22:17, 21. No theologian of any faith has ever argued that those words apply only to taxes. All theologians hold that those words apply to all relationships between a Christian and the state. Similarly, when Ellen White says, “Where error is being preached we have no business going,” it applies to all times and all circumstances.

Inspired messages such as these have been the mandate that has required many faithful Adventists, in order to be faithful to God’s Word, to leave the conference churches and begin attending homechurches.

Do You Know the Issues at Stake?

How many historic Adventists are there now? After twenty years, there are thousands and thousands of those who have seen the issues at stake. But there are tens of thousands of those who do not yet comprehend what is going on.

In the Adventist Church today there are three kinds of people. On the one side, at the extreme end of the scale, there is a small group of Seventh-day Adventists who know exactly what they are doing. They are trying to change our faith from Adventism to Calvinism. At the other end there is another small group that knows exactly what they are doing. They are trying to defend the faith so it will not be changed from Adventism into Calvinism. In between there is a larger group who do not know what the score is. They have not figured out the enormous issues at stake yet. That is why we are trying to help them understand what is happening.

There is a line in The Great Controversy, 640, that makes me tremble when I read it, because it is so applicable to our time and our situation. It says, “Religious teachers have led souls to perdition while professing to guide them to the gates of Paradise.” [All emphasis supplied.] Throughout the Biblical story and throughout the history of the modern church from Christ to this day, apostasy in churches has usually begun with the leadership and come down to the common people, especially through schools and institutions of higher education.

Those who today are standing for the truth against the wave of error that is sweeping through Adventism are being treated just as God’s people of all ages have been treated when they stand firm for the truth. Sister White wrote: “Now as in former ages, the presentation of a truth that reproves the sins and errors of the times will excite opposition. ‘Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.’ John 3:20. As men see that they cannot maintain their position by the Scriptures, many determine to maintain it at all hazards, and with a malicious spirit they assail the character and motives of those who stand in defense of unpopular truth. It is the same policy which has been pursued in all ages. Elijah was declared to be a troubler in Israel, Jeremiah a traitor, Paul a polluter of the temple. From that day to this, those who would be loyal to truth have been denounced as seditious, heretical, or schismatic . . . This spirit will increase more and more.” The Great Controversy, 458, 459.

On the same page she poses this question, “In view of this, what is the duty of the messenger of truth? Shall we conclude that the truth ought not to be presented, since often its only effect is to arouse men to evade or resist its claims?” Her answer is a most emphatic NO! We must keep pressing on, giving the straight truth no matter the odds. And this is what we have done. They have not been able to frighten us—although they have tried very hard. Despite all of the things that were intended to frighten us away from our defense of the historic faith, we are still hanging on.

The Unity Problem

However, there is another problem, which many historic Adventists have been increasingly concerned about as the years have passed by, and that is the lack of unity among the historic Adventists. It is easy to understand why we have this problem when you realize that this movement did not start with all of us gathering for a big council meeting before going out to do our job. This was a grass roots movement. People came forward to do the work in different places, without the knowledge that there were others involved in the same work and who shared the same burden to defend our faith. So, the way things began did not contribute to unity.

Then, of course, the devil wants to keep us apart. He tries to work hard on his policy of divide and conquer—which he practices with skill. Consider thoughtfully these inspired statements: “Unity is the strength of the church. Satan knows this, and he employs his whole force to bring in dissension. He desires to see a lack of harmony among the members of the church of God.”Selected Messages, vol. 2, 159. “The unity of the church is the convincing evidence that God has sent Jesus into the world as its Redeemer. This is an argument which worldlings cannot controvert. Therefore Satan is constantly working to prevent this union and harmony, that unbelievers, by witnessing backsliding, dissension, and strife among professed Christians, may become disgusted with religion and be confirmed in their impenitence. God is dishonored by those who profess the truth while they are at variance and enmity with one another.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 619.

And there is something that has contributed to our lack of unity. We were very sensitive about the accusation that we were trying to start a second church to compete with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. That was not a true accusation. It never has been and it never will be. It is not our purpose or intention to try to start a second church. However, because we were all so sensitive on this subject, many of us hesitated to join ourselves in united, organized ways.

Nevertheless, these reasons for our disunity in no way diminish the fact that God has called us to unity. “Press together, press together,” is what the angel said. (See Selected Messages, vol. 2, 374.)

This has been a concern to many of us. We have been praying, thinking and studying about it for years. There have been many conversations and very many prayers sent heavenward asking the Lord what we should do. Finally, all of this bore its fruit. In a meeting in February, 1998, in Florida, a group of more than twenty ministry leaders spent three days together. It was a heavenly sitting together. We wept together. We prayed together. We studied together. We confessed our sins together and we vowed we were going to find some way to mold this movement into unity like it ought to be—still without violating the principles we stand for.

One of the first things we had to settle was, Are those who charge us with divisiveness correct when they say that we are destroying the unity of the church and that we should just come back and unite with them? Is their argument correct?

When we studied this together, these are the types of inspired instructions that we found: “I am instructed to say to our people, unify, unify. But we are not to unify with those who are departing from the faith.” Selected Messages, vol. 3, 412.

“Christ calls for unity but He does not call for us to unify on wrong practices. The God of heaven draws a sharp contrast between pure, elevating and ennobling truth and false misleading doctrines. He calls sin and impenitence by the right name. He does not gloss over wrong doing with a coat of untempered mortar. I urge our brethren to unify upon a true scriptural basis.” Notebook Leaflets, vol. 2, 164.

“The Lord calls upon us to unify in harmony with Bible truth.” The Upward Look, 149.

“Harmony and cooperation must be maintained without compromising one principle of truth.”Counsels to Writers and Editors, 79.

“We are to unify but not on a platform of error.” Battle Creek Letters, 111.

So that question was very quickly and easily settled in our discussion. Are those in the conference correct when they say, “It does not make any difference which way we go, what we teach or what we do not teach. You must stay together with us.”? No, that is pure falsehood. We are to have unity, but not with those who are teaching error.

However, that does not lessen our obligation to seek for unity with those who are standing on the platform of eternal truth. We have been given many divine commands on this point:

“Unity of thought, unity of prayer, unity of action is essential.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 15, 165.

“He [Christ] calls for unity and unity we must have.” The Upward Look, 141. This is not just good advice. This is a command from the Lord Himself. We must unify!

“In unity there is a life, a power, that can be obtained in no other way. There will be a vast power in the church when the energies of the members are united under the control of the Spirit. Then will God be able to work mightily through His people for the conversion of sinners.”Testimonies, vol. 7, 236.

“The Lord is greatly dishonored when disunion exists among His people.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 174.

“Union brings strength, disunion weakness. Those who refuse to work in harmony greatly dishonor God.” The Southern Watchman, February 2, 1904.

“The world is looking on with gratification at the disunion among Christians. Infidelity is well pleased. God calls for a change among His people.” Review and Herald, December 30, 1902.

“Let us not think that our churches can enjoy God’s blessing while in a state of disunion.” Upward Look, 172.

“The Spirit of God will not abide where there is disunion and contention among believers in the truth.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 221.

After studying these solemn warnings, we had no choice. We must do something about the disunion that exists among us. We resolved that things must be changed drastically, dramatically, fully and completely because God has commanded it and we must do it.

After much study and prayer, we chose to endeavor to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3.) While recognizing our differences of opinions on various points we also recognized that the Lord wanted to lead us to a higher level that would finally result in perfect unity of faith as expressed in the following paragraph: “It is the same to-day as it was in the days of Christ. As the disciples were brought together, each with different faults, some inherited or cultivated tendency to evil, so in our church relations we find men and women whose characters are defective; not one of us is perfect. But in Christ, and through Christ, we are to dwell in the family of God, learning to become one in faith, in doctrine, in spirit, that at last we may be received into our eternal habitation. We shall have our tests, our grievances, our differences of opinion; but if Christ is abiding in the heart of each, there can be no dissension. The love of Christ will lead to love of one another, and the lessons of the Master will harmonize all differences, bringing us into unity, till we shall be of one mind and one judgment. Strife for supremacy will cease, and no one will be disposed to glory over another, but we shall esteem others better than ourselves, and so be built up into a spiritual temple for the Lord.” Signs of the Times, April 20, 1891.

This spiritual temple, which can only be completed with love and unity (while at the same time refusing to unite with error of any kind), must be finished before Jesus comes. We recognize that much more work needs to be done before God’s spiritual temple is completed and ready for Jesus to come, but we are completely dedicated to cooperating with the Holy Spirit for the finishing of this task.

This experience of perfect unity must take place in every institution and in every church. If it does not, then some of the people in these institutions or churches will be purged out by the fan of God, as the chaff is sifted from the wheat. We are in “the days of purification of the church.”

Testimonies, vol. 5, 80. Is it not time that every Adventist in the world should fast and pray that we may be purified and brought into the experience described in Ephesians 4—the experience of unity, not only in spirit, but in faith, so that we are not purged out by the trials that are thickening around God’s people?

May you be one of the people described in the next sentence: “God will have a people pure and true. In the mighty sifting soon to take place we shall be better able to measure the strength of Israel. The signs reveal that the time is near when the Lord will manifest that His fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor.” Ibid.

They Professed to Be Wise

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

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

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

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

A Final Message to Worship the Creator

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

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

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

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

Continuing on Paul says: “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” Romans 1:21, 22.

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

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

Creation Evidence in the Rocks

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

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

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

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

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

The Work of a Divine Designer

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Three Suppositions of Evolution

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

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

Let us look briefly at the first two:

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

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

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

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

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

Magical Mutation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For helpful information on Creation see these internet sites:

www.carm.org/evquotes.htm

www.icr.org

www.origins.swau.edu