Archives: Articles

IssueM Articles

Redeem the Time, Because the Days are Evil

by

“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” [Luke 17:26–30.]

Society today is fast approaching the condition of the world before the flood. As children grow up to youth, and youth to manhood and womanhood, they are becoming full of self-sufficiency, maturing rapidly in the knowledge of evil. Many, through constantly associating with thieves, with the depraved, dissolute, disobedient characters of society, learn to be cunning in avoiding detection, and become experts in deception and fraud. The youth of today are educated in crime by reading the stories which fill the popular publications. Having no regard for the right because it is right, as they read stories of theft, murder, and every other species of crime, they are led to devise means by which they could improve upon the criminals’ methods, and escape detection. Foul publications assist in perfecting the education of the youth in the way that leads to perdition. The youth of our cities breathe in the tainted, polluted atmosphere of crime; the evil influence is then communicated to the country, and the whole community becomes contaminated.

No Moral Worth

Some of the rulers of the earth are not men of moral worth. They have no desire to check the publication of this foul literature which is increasing year by year, and which feeds the passion for crime and evil. Stories of criminal life such as are found in the papers of the day, and so-called revelations of the future, are treated as realities. Revolutions are predicted, and many catch the evil spirit lurking in these representations of future horrors; and they feed upon these things until they are filled with the same spirit, and are led to do even worse, were it possible, than these sensational writers depict. Christ saw the conflict that is approaching, and has sent us word to watch and pray, lest we enter into temptation. He has warned us that “as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. . . . Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” [Luke 17:26, 27, 30.]

We are not warned against properly participating in business transactions, but against carrying to excess that which is lawful in itself, against allowing our minds to be so absorbed in earthly things that we shall not discern the important things that concern our eternal interest. We are warned against indulging perverted appetite, against surfeiting and drunkenness. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Jude describes the condition of our world as we approach the close of earth’s history, and lifts the danger-signal, that we may understand the perils of our time.

Capable of Better Things

But even in the corrupt condition in which the society of today is, there are souls capable of better things,—souls represented by Christ under the symbol of “the lost pearl.” [See Matthew 13:45, 46.] Christ gave up everything, that he might seek and save that which was lost, that he might recover the pearl that he valued at infinite cost. What are we ready to do to co-operate with him in this work? What sacrifice are we ready to make, that we may find the lost pearl, and place it in the hands of our Saviour? The cities are teeming with iniquity, and Satan suggests that it is impossible to do any good within their borders; and so they are sadly neglected. But there are lost pearls there, whose value you cannot realize until you earnestly seek to find them. There might be one hundred workers where there is but one, who might be seeking diligently, prayerfully, and with intense interest, to find the pearls that are buried in the rubbish of these cities.

Accountable

How can we find language to express our deep interest, to describe our desire that every soul should awake and go to work in the Master’s vineyard? Christ says, “Occupy till I come.” It may be but a few years until our life’s history shall close; but we must occupy till then. The fiat will go forth, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still,” [Revelation 22:11] and then there will be no more occasion to labor for souls. Every case will be decided. Are you carrying no burden for lost souls? Are you not afraid some trust has been committed unto you for which you will be held accountable? Are you sensible of the responsibility imposed by the talents entrusted to you? Have you misused your time, your strength, your influence? The despised privileges, the wasted hours, the neglected duties, are all registered in the books of heaven; and every individual must meet this record in the judgment, just as it stands. Now what are you going to do? Will you heed the admonition, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die”? [Revelation 3:2.] You may fold your hands saying, “I am only a lay member of the church; it is a hopeless task for me to undertake.” But have you yoked up with Christ? are you laboring in his way? O, let it no longer be a source of grief to the heavenly intelligences and to Him who has paid such an infinite price for souls, that you refuse to be channels of light, that you refuse to co-operate with the heavenly agencies for the salvation of souls! But let us “awake out of sleep,” [Romans 13:11] and put all our God-given abilities into the work, that it may be written in the books that we are “redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” [Ephesians 5:16.] If we keep our talents inactive, we lose all ability to make use of them. The mind is a gift of God, designed to be improved and developed, that we may be able to enlighten others; but it may be perverted and misused in doing Satan’s work.

The second chapter of 2 Peter presents the true condition of the world at this time, and the third chapter is full of warnings and counsel for the followers of Christ.
1 Peter 1:1–11 also contains the very instruction that we need. Shall we heed these admonitions of the Lord?

A Special Work

The Lord Jesus has a special work for his believing, commandment-keeping people to do. He desires that we should be faithful laborers together with God in the salvation of sinners. The servants of Jesus Christ, who know the truth and the power of the grace of God, have an extensive and important mission to fulfil; and every soul is held responsible for the proper exercise of the talents entrusted to him. We are justified by faith, but judged by the character of our works. In the parable, before the nobleman went away, he “called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability.” [Matthew 25:14, 15.] There is not one human being to whom is not committed some talent, not one but has a work to do for the Lord. Not one is to be excused. Not one is to remain in idleness; but every man is required to do his best; the talents entrusted to him are to be used in consecrated service for the Master. Each member of the family of God is a responsible agent, and all should donate gifts to carry forward his work. From the humblest to the most exalted in privilege and position, both in the church and in the world, a strict account of the entrusted talents will be required, with the improvement which they are sure to make if put to use in the Lord’s service. It is practice that enables us to use our abilities to the best advantage. Investments are to be made in such a way as to accomplish the greatest good for the cause, and to increase the revenue of the Lord’s treasury. This need not apply solely to money investments, but to the improvement of our capabilities and opportunities as well. The Lord has given to every man his work, and expects returns proportionate to the ability of each. All are expected to perform their duty intelligently, so that the amount entrusted to them shall be doubled by the use they make of it. The fidelity of every human agent is to be tested and tried, and the destiny of the worker is determined by the faithful improvement, or by the lack of improvement, of his talents, according to the amount returned. Christ has paid the penalty, the wages of sin; he has shed his own precious blood to redeem the world from eternal ruin. If we always bear this in mind, we shall understand that there is no excuse for our remaining in ignorance.

Bear the Yoke

The invitation of Christ is, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you,” engage with me to save all who will believe on him whom the Father hath sent. [Matthew 11:28, 29.] Shall we bear the yoke with Christ? shall we be co-laborers with him? Listen to what he says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [Matthew 11:30.] Those who barricade the soul, refuse the invitation to the gospel feast; those who hoard up their talents to rust, unemployed, unimproved, must not think that such action in any way relieves them from responsibility; for God holds us responsible for the good we might do if we took up the yoke with Christ, lifting his burdens, learning more of his meekness and lowliness of heart day by day. The interest continues to accumulate on buried talents; and instead of decreasing our responsibility, the burying of our talent only increases and intensifies it. Let the human agent consider the solemn fact that the day of reckoning is just before us, and that we are daily deciding what our eternal destiny shall be. The Master examines every individual case, dealing personally with the talents entrusted by him. O solemn day of reckoning!—that day which will bring paleness to many faces,—that day in which the words shall be spoken to many, “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.” [Daniel 5:27.] It will be an awful thing to be found “wanting” when the book of accounts is opened in that great day. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [the graves of those who persisted in transgression and sin until death overtook them] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” [Revelation 20:11–15.] Upon the decisions reached in that day depends the future, eternal interest of every soul. We shall have unspeakable joy, or unutterable woe and misery, the horrors of despair. O how Jesus will love to recompense every true worker! Every faithfully performed duty will receive his blessing. It is then that he pronounces the benediction, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” [Matthew 25:21.] What is the joy of our Lord? “For the joy that was set before him” he “endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” “We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)” [Hebrews 12:2; 2 Corinthians 6:1, 2.] Truth, precious truth, is not to be hidden in our hearts. “A city set on a hill cannot be hid.” [Matthew 5:14.]

When we consider that Christ died for the ungodly while they were yet sinners, we are led to realize how willing and even anxious he is to bless us, that we may be a blessing to others. This is the word which he sends unto us: “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; that in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you; so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [1 Corinthians 1:3–7.]

Review and Herald, April 21, 1896.

Ellen G. White (1827–1915) is the most translated woman writer in the entire history of literature, and the most translated American author of either gender. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Mrs. White was appointed by God as a special messenger to draw the world’s attention to the Holy Scriptures and help prepare people for Christ’s second advent.

Time

by

Do you know what time it is? I do not mean the physical time but the time in this world’s history. Is time an important subject? Is time important to God? Yes, it is.

In view of recent world developments, and in light of the fact that we are beginning another year, time has been on my mind lately. It seems to me that time is always speeding up; things are happening faster and faster. I believe it is because God and the Holy Spirit are doing something special, and certainly Satan is doing his own speeding up process.

The subject of time is important, as is the use of time. When you think about it, time is the substance of life, and our whole eternity depends on what we do with our time right here, right now. I want to share a few facts concerning time. There are 86,400 seconds in one day. Our lifetimes are measured in heartbeats, approximately 70 heartbeats a minute for the normal person; 4,200 beats an hour; 100,000 beats per day, and 36 million beats a year. I am approximately 17,000 days old. Rather depressing, is it not? I have spent almost 5,700 days sleeping, about the same amount working, and 42,565 hours eating. Kind of makes your jaws hurt just thinking about it. Yet, what concerns me, of those 17,000 days that I have lived, is how much of that time have I spent with God—in His Word, on my knees, or doing something for Him. If we each analyzed ourselves, we would be startled by how little time, of all the time we have spent on this earth, we have given to God.

A study was done of Christians several years ago which showed that the average Christian spends less than five minutes a day with God. Unfortunately, that poll also showed that a lot of those Christians are the ones who stand in the sacred desk week after week. Five minutes a day in study or prayer! That is alarming!

What is Time?

Have you ever thought about what time is; have you tried to define it? We know it is valuable. Every one of us have been freely given 24 hours in each day—we did not have to pay a penny for it; it cost us nothing, yet if we wanted to, we could not buy one minute of it. Someone might say, “Oh, you can buy time at a parking meter for such and such an amount,” but you are not really buying time; you are renting that space for a certain period of time. If you could buy time, just think of the millionaires who would give everything they have for one more year of life.

Augustine, a theologian of the Catholic Church and supposedly one of the wisest of their faith, once said that he knew what time was, but if someone asked him what it was, he could not tell them. Plato, another esteemed to be a very wise man, said, “Time is a moving image of eternity.” That sounds pretty profound, but it really does not tell us anything. Einstein was a little more careful with his definition of time. He said, “Time is simply what a clock reads.” One of Webster’s dictionaries gives this definition: “Time is the whole series of days, years, and ages without any reference to any point or period.” Then having said nothing, he refers to Scripture where it says, “And time shall be no more.” (See Revelation 10:6.) It is interesting that man does not really know what time is, but God knows.

Einstein said that “Time is one of the greatest mysteries,” and that, perhaps, is why he was so careful with his definition of time. The Bible talks about the time of the end, and it also talks about the end of time. We live in the time of the end; soon we will see the end of time.

A Beginning

If time has an end, it had to have a beginning. Let us look at when that beginning occurred. Genesis 2:16, 17 says, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” And you know what happened—Adam and Eve ate, and that day they should have died. But did they? No, we know that Adam lived to be 930 years old (see Genesis 5:5), and he died the first death only; it was not the wages of sin death, the second death. But the verses we just read in Genesis 2 meant that on that very day, when Adam and Eve sinned, they should have died, and they should have died forever, but instead, something marvelous happened.

Period of Grace

Sin began and time began. Sin is a precursor of time as we know it. When Adam and Eve sinned, God loved them so much that instead of the death penalty being fulfilled, like they deserved, He gave them a grace period that we call time—a life time, if you please. Sin entered and time began, so when you think about it, time is the measurement of the history of good and evil on this earth, as we know it.

What did we call it before we had time? We called it eternity, did we not? We could draw a big circle on the wall which would be the opening of a tunnel going off into eternity past, and we could draw another circle on the opposite wall, representing a tunnel going off into eternity future, and where we live would be a line in between those two tunnels that we call time. Time, as we know it, is really a yardstick of the moral, mental, and physical decay that is taking place on this planet. Because of God’s great love and patience, time is also a grace period for all men, women, and children to develop characters for that future, eternal, immortal life. It is also a time to learn of the Saviour and to have His image restored in us.

Redemption Defined

When you are thinking about the definition of time, you really need to ask other questions: What is the definition of redemption? Why are we here? What is this time all about? The Spirit of Prophecy says, “The central theme of the Bible, the theme about which every other in the whole book clusters, is the redemption plan, the restoration in the human soul of the image of God. [That is what redemption is all about, that is the whole purpose. We will find that it is also the purpose of time on this planet.] From the first intimation of hope in the sentence pronounced in Eden [Genesis 3:15] to that last glorious promise of the Revelation, ‘They shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads’ (Revelation 22:4), the burden of every book and every passage of the Bible is the unfolding of this wondrous theme,—man’s uplifting,—the power of God, ‘which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ 1 Corinthians 15:57.

“He who grasps this thought has before him an infinite field for study. He has the key that will unlock to him the whole treasure house of God’s word. . . .

“This is the highest study in which it is possible for man to engage. As no other study can, it will quicken the mind and uplift the soul. . . .

“The creative energy that called the worlds into existence is in the word of God. This word imparts power; it begets life. Every command is a promise; accepted by the will, received into the soul, it brings with it the life of the Infinite One. It transforms the nature and re-creates the soul in the image of God.

“The life thus imparted is in like manner sustained. ‘By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4) shall man live.

“The mind, the soul, is built up by that upon which it feeds; and it rests with us to determine upon what it shall be fed. It is within the power of everyone to choose the topics that shall occupy the thoughts and shape the character. . . .

“With the word of God in his hands, every human being, wherever his lot in life may be cast, may have such companionship as he shall choose. In its pages he may hold converse with the noblest and best of the human race, and may listen to the voice of the Eternal as He speaks with men. As he studies and meditates upon the themes into which ‘the angels desire to look’ (1 Peter 1:12), he may have their companionship. He may follow the steps of the heavenly Teacher, and listen to His words as when He taught on mountain and plain and sea. He may dwell in this world in the atmosphere of heaven, imparting to earth’s sorrowing and tempted ones thoughts of hope and longings for holiness; himself coming closer and still closer into fellowship with the Unseen; like him of old who walked with God, drawing nearer and nearer the threshold of the eternal world, until the portals shall open, and he shall enter there. He will find himself no stranger. The voices that will greet him are the voices of the holy ones, who, unseen, were on earth his companions—voices that here he learned to distinguish and to love. He who through the word of God has lived in fellowship with heaven, will find himself at home in heaven’s companionship.” Education, 125–127.

That passage reveals to us very plainly the plan of salvation—what the whole thing is about, what the Bible is about, its purpose, and what time is actually for. It is for the purpose of restoring the image of God in man. The time in which we live is a probationary time, an interim time between two eternities, a time to form characters for that future, immortal life. That is why time remains.

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.” Ephesians 5:1, 2. Ephesians 4:30 states, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” It cost a lot for God to give us this grace period called time in which we live.

What If

Have you ever wondered what could have happened the moment Adam and Eve sinned? That very moment they basically chose a new god for themselves; they chose a new leader. God could have said, “Okay, you have your new god. I will just take My things and go home, and we will see how long your new god can sustain you.” How long could that god have sustained them? Not even for a second!

What things could God have taken home, if He had had that attitude? The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the very earth on which we stand, the sunshine, everything that sustains life God could have taken, because Adam and Eve, our first parents, had forfeited the right to any of those things.

Actually, what would have happened would have been eternal separation from God. Of course, God did not allow that. He gave His Son to stand in the place of fallen man, and His Son experienced the separation for us. He paid the penalty—that second death that was naturally ours because of sin. Everything that man had forfeited was bought back at a very high price. That is why we are told in the Spirit of Prophecy that everything that sustains life is a gift of God, stamped with the cross of Calvary. (See Education, 197, 198; Christ’s Object Lessons, 362.) It all cost a high price to be given back to us. Every breath, every cup of water—and even our time.

Redeem Time

“But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit [is] in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [them]. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore He saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil, Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord [is].” Ephesians 5:3–17.

Notice in verse 16 it says that we are to redeem the time. In other words, we are to rescue as much time back from evil as we possibly can. We need to pray for wisdom to do that. Sabbath-keeping is a real good place to start with that process, is it not? Redeeming time is what each one of us does when we attend Sabbath services. Every one could make a choice to be somewhere else. We could be out shopping, or we could be on our way to some sporting event—many of which take place on the Sabbath day. Or we could be in front of a television, letting Satan tell us his visions. We could be doing anything, be anywhere, doing whatever we felt like, but God has called us to a special place on His special day so we can rescue back some of that time from evil. That is what the Sabbath is all about. It is one of the times, the most special of times, to which God has called us. But we are to redeem our time throughout the week also. Every day we need to rescue time from evil.

People who want to be restored to God, who want to redeem time, are careful about that in which they get involved. So many things are out there to eat up our time. The commandment says to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8. If we do not remember the Sabbath all through the week, we will not be ready to keep it holy when it arrives. We will still be busy—busy trying to get all of those last minute things done right before sundown. Then we end up going over the time, do we not? We need to remember the Sabbath throughout the week to keep it holy.

There is a war going on between Christ and His angels and Satan and his angels. That battle is over our minds and over our allegiance; it is over our time. If we could just pull back the curtain on the great controversy, we would be amazed at the activity that is going on of which we are not aware, unless we let God reveal it to us.

Squandered or Wisely Used

Many people commit suicide when they reach middle age, because they become so disillusioned with their life. They look back and think about how unwisely they used their time leading up to that point—what the psychologists call a mid-life crisis, and they become very depressed and discouraged because of what they did not do with their time. They think about what they could have been, how they could have used their time to become what they wanted to be, and they become very discouraged.

Instead of discouragement, we need to look forward. We need to make the most of the time we have left. We need to do what God said, and seek to redeem whatever time is left us and not let it go to waste. The short amount of time that we have left we will be forming characters for time and eternity, if we use it wisely. How precious we should consider time to be when we really think about it.

The Spirit of Prophecy says, “Of no talent [such as time, gifts, money, homes,—the many things with which we are blessed] He has given will He require a more strict account than of our time. The value of time is beyond computation. Christ regarded every moment as precious, and it is thus that we should regard it. . . . We have but a few days of probation in which to prepare for eternity. We have no time to waste, no time to devote to selfish pleasure, no time for the indulgence of sin. It is now that we are to form characters for the future, immortal life. It is now that we are to prepare for the searching judgment. . . .

“We are admonished to redeem the time. But time squandered can never be recovered. We cannot call back even one moment. The only way in which we can redeem our time is by making the most of that which remains, by being co-workers with God in His great plan of redemption.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 342. [Emphasis Supplied.]

Are you spending your time being restored? Is that the main purpose of your time? Are you helping others to be restored into God’s image? There is someone who is trying to steal our time, as you well know.

A little boy had a Grandma who was known for being able to say something good about everybody. One day the little boy said, “Grandma, I bet I know someone that you can’t say something good about.”

“Who?” Grandma asked.

“The devil,” the little boy replied.

“Oh, yes I can,” Grandma said. “He’s not lazy.”

No, the devil is not lazy. Just look at Revelation 12:12: “Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” He knows that his time is very short, so he is very busy. But the question is, do we know how short our time is? He knows how short his time is, and he is making good use of it; but do we know, and are we making good use of our time? If we could just pull back that curtain on the great controversy, we would see just how busy he really is, and how busy his angels are in working for the destruction of souls—yours and mine.

Ellen White counseled: “Take a book with you to read when traveling on the cars [trains—the popular mode of transportation in her day; the principle still applies] or waiting in the depot. Employ every spare moment in doing something. In this way an effectual door will be closed against a thousand temptations. Had King David been engaged in some useful employment he would not have been guilty of the murder of Uriah. Satan is ever ready to employ him who does not employ himself.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 412. How are you using your time?

Time Extended

Time is apparently extended for now. Anyway it seems to us that time just goes on and on and on. Because of the apparent extension, many are tempted to become indifferent. Romans 13:11–14 says, “And that, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfill] the lusts [thereof].”

If every one of us lived the way these four verses said, imagine how things would be. People would look at us and they would take notice that we had been with Jesus. The work would go very quickly, and many people would be convinced of what we were saying. There is going to be a group of people who will live like that. Soon they will go home to Heaven for eternity.

Christ’s Soon Return

Most of us have been hearing for some time that Christ is coming soon. That message began to be emphasized very strongly back in the 1800s by William Miller. But it was not a new truth. It was a truth that had been lost during the Dark Ages, and it needed to be relearned, just as the Sabbath had been lost and needed to be relearned. Here we are in 2003, and we are still saying that Jesus is coming soon.

Let us put things into perspective. From the time that Adam and Eve sinned, standing on the brink of eternity past, about 1,656 years later was the Flood. About 2,400 years after that was the time of Christ. About 1,800 years after that was 1776, the independence of this nation. Then 1798 the time of the end began, the time that the papacy received the deadly wound (see Daniel 12:7). Then 1844 marked the great disappointment, when everybody thought that Christ was going to come back. Now here we are today, 2003, soon to witness the Second Coming, followed by the millennium, right next to eternity future. Here is basically 6,000 years spread out, and when you put it into proportion, 1844 was not very long ago. When you look at it from God’s perspective, it has not been a very long time.

Time Ticks Down

A kitchen timer ticks away the minutes and dings when its set time stops. It does not tell us what time it is; it only tells us how much time is left. Each one of us has a clock like that in heaven. We cannot see it, but we can know by faith that it is ticking away. For some there may be plenty of time left, but for others there may be very little time.

The clock of time is wound just once for each of us. We have to live today and every day like it is the last day. In this little space of time the most important issues of eternity will be resolved in the minds of God’s whole universe. Because of what took place on this little planet, in this little stretch here called time, the great controversy will be settled, and sin will never rise again a second time.

I do not know what time it is, but I know one thing for sure—it is later than it has ever been before in the history of the world. “So teach [us] to number our days, that we may apply [our] hearts unto wisdom.” Psalm 90:12. I would encourage you to ask God for wisdom to use whatever time you have left to His honor and glory.

Steve Currey is currently a Bible worker for Steps to Life Ministry.

As We Near the End of Time, Part I

by

We are living in very serious times. We must have divine power in our lives, or we will be eternally lost. As I have studied in the Spirit of Prophecy lately, I have noticed over and over that Ellen White writes, “As we draw near the end,” and then she states some things that are going to happen “As we approach the close of time.”

As we near the end, Scripture tells us, “And these things happened to them for types [some translations say for examples, or ensamples] and it is written for our warning unto whom the ends of the ages have come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11. Paul is here writing about the children of Israel, especially their experience in the wilderness between Egypt and Canaan, and he says that things happened to them there that were types. Now types do not mean anything unless there is an antitype. What is the antitype? The antitype is what is going to happen to God’s people in the end of time. It is written, Paul says, for our warning.

Warnings

Some people do not like warnings, but warnings keep us out of trouble. Inspiration writes, “The history of the wilderness life of Israel was chronicled for the benefit of the Israel of God to the close of time. . . . God would have His people in these days review with a humble heart and teachable spirit the trials through which ancient Israel passed, that they may be instructed in their preparation for the heavenly Canaan.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 293. I personally feel a great need for being instructed so that I can be prepared for the heavenly Canaan.

One of the things that we are instructed against in 1 Corinthians 10:8 is, “Neither commit fornication just as some of them committed fornication and fell one day 23,000.”

This story is first recorded in Numbers 25, but it is referred to over and over again in the Old Testament. Obviously it is an important lesson that God’s people need to understand. This story occurred as the children of Israel neared the end of their wilderness sojourn. They knew the 40 years were just about up—they were going into the Promised Land! It should have been the most exciting of all times, but instead, they had the following experience: “Israel dwelt in Shittim and the people began to commit fornication with the daughters of Moab. And the people were called to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and they bowed down to their gods, and Israel was joined to Baal Peor. [Baal Peor was the heathen religion, and associated with this heathen religion were temple prostitutes and all the trappings of the central practices that went along with heathenism.] The wrath of Jehovah glowed against Israel.” Numbers 25:1–3. How did this happen?

In the book Patriarchs and Prophets, pages 453–457, Ellen White goes into great detail about this story. Here are six points concerning this story that we need to keep clearly in mind:

  1. This sin happened just before they went into the Promised Land.
  2. The children of Israel were in very attractive surroundings. They were encamped on a high plain that had a tropical climate, and there was an abundance of acacia trees. On the western border of this plain was Jericho, with an abundance of palm trees.
  3. They were living a life of ease and inaction; they were at peace. Friend, if that is your situation, pay special attention to this story. Ellen White says that the devil is never more successful than when he comes to people in their idle hours, and in the Western World, especially in the United States, we have more spare time today than any previous generation. (See Messages to Young People, 214; The Adventist Home, 284.)
  4. This country was utterly defiled by Baal worship. It was a land polluted by vileness and licentiousness and the accompaniments of Baal worship.
  5. While they were at ease and inactive, with idolatry and the practices of idolatry around them, unconsciously they came into a condition where they fell prey to temptation.
  6. The people were not forced to sin, but they were seduced into sin.

Seduction

As I looked through the statements in Patriarchs and Prophets about how they were seduced and how the same thing can happen today, I found 17 points.

1 There was friendship with the heathen, idolatrous women. Some of these women, no doubt, were temple prostitutes for the Baal worship. At first it was only friendship. Do you realize that there will be many millions of people lost because of who their friends are? You cannot have a friend without that friendship having an effect on you. Who are your friends?

2 They entered into social entertainment with these heathen people, and it seemed perfectly innocent. Is that not so often the way sin is—at first it seems as though nothing is wrong. Many people will lose their soul because of their social life. Everyone needs some social outlet, but you need social outlet with people who fear God and who keep His Commandments.

3 In these social entertainments, they did what we do today—they prepared a big meal. There was feasting. A person who has just eaten a big meal is more susceptible to sensual temptation than a person who is fasting.

4 They not only had feasting, they were “beguiled with music,” Ellen White says, brought in by the Midianitish women. Patriarchs and Prophets, 454.

5 They also had dancing. (See Ibid.)

6 They were “allured by the beauty of heathen vestals,” that is, by the heathen women who were the temple prostitutes. Ibid. Ellen White says that their consciences were defiled by lewdness. (See Ibid.) We are living in a land today where, unless we are continually on guard, our consciences are defiled by lewdness. If you are a man, you cannot even go through the checkout counter in the grocery store without having to avert your eyes, or you will be looking on women who are not properly dressed; your conscience will be defiled by lewdness. You will be looking at things you should not be looking at, and after you have done that over time, you will say things that formerly you would not say; you will do things that you would not formerly do.

7 There was mirth in these festivities. (See Ibid.) Mirth is when people are laughing and joking and acting frivolously.

8 They also had a little wine to go along with everything else. When an alcoholic beverage is consumed, one of the first things affected is the cerebrum, the very front of the brain. That is where your inhibitions, your judgment, your conscience are located. These become anesthetized—your inhibitions are gone; your judgment is gone, and the limbic system of the brain takes over. That is the pain and pleasure center of the brain. Study what Ellen White says about the animal passions controlling the higher powers of the mind when alcoholic beverages are used. (See Counsels on Diet and Foods, 433.)

It was not long before the poison had spread like a deadly infection through the camp of Israel. The children of Israel, who would have conquered these people in battle, were overcome by seduction; they seemed infatuated. The apostasy became national, and the Lord instructed Moses that these people would have to be killed. (See Numbers 25:4,5.) Between 23,000 and 24,000 people were killed that day.

In commenting on this, Ellen White says, “Satan well knows the material with which he has to deal in the human heart. He knows—for he has studied with fiendish intensity for thousands of years the points most easily assailed in every character.” Friend, do you know what your weak point is? The devil does! She continues, “Through successive generations he has wrought to overthrow the strongest men, princes in Israel, by the same temptations that were so successful at Baal Peor. All along through the ages there are strewn wrecks of character that have been stranded upon the rocks of sensual indulgence. As we approach the close of time, as the people of God stand upon the borders of the heavenly Canaan, Satan will, as of old, redouble his efforts to prevent them from entering the goodly land. He lays his snares for every soul. It is not the ignorant and uncultured merely that need to be guarded; he will prepare his temptations for those in the highest positions, in the most holy office; if he can lead them to pollute their souls, he can through them destroy many. And he employs the same agents now as he employed three thousand years ago.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 457, 458.

“A long preparatory process, unknown to the world, goes on in the heart before the Christian commits open sin. The mind does not come down at once from purity and holiness to depravity, corruption, and crime. It takes time to degrade those formed in the image of God to the brutal or the satanic. By beholding we become changed. By the indulgence of impure thoughts man can so educate his mind that sin which he once loathed will become pleasant to him.” Ibid., 459. When you watch what you are not supposed to be watching, the result is that impure thoughts come into your mind, and as you keep watching the impure, you cannot get the thoughts out of your mind and eventually you are going to do it.

Seduction in our Day

Here are some things Ellen White mentions regarding our day:

  1. “We cannot walk the streets of our cities without encountering flaring notices of crime presented in some novel.” The Adventist Home, 406. What are you reading? Somebody says, “I am just reading that for entertainment.” Oh? Do you want entertainment to take you to eternal destruction? Different people have different temptations.
  2. She continues, “. . . notices of crime to be acted out at some theatre.” Ibid. We act out, in our theatres today, all of the famous crimes that have been committed in the world. We watch them enacted in the theatres, on the television, or on video over and over again. Does that have any effect on us? “By beholding we become changed.” Ibid., 330. That is a law of the mind.
  3. Ellen White writes about the periodicals and the magazines too. She says, “The course pursued by the base and vile is kept before the people in the periodicals of the day, and everything that can excite passion is brought before them in exciting stories.” My Life Today, 87. Every time a magazine is published, if a large circulation is desired, something must be included that will grab people so they just have to read it! You know what is in those magazines, and they are getting worse and worse. It is so bad that, if you go to a bookstore to buy something, you almost feel that you have to have a blinder on so that you can only look straight ahead and not see all of the stuff scattered all over the place. It is evil, and if you look at it, evil thoughts will be injected into your mind. Concerning these periodicals, she says, “They hear and read so much of debasing crime [there are magazines that specialize in that] that the once tender conscience, which would have recoiled with horror from such scenes, becomes hardened, and they dwell upon these things with greedy interest.” IbidAfter these things have been going on, and a person has been involved in such, they still cannot seem to figure out why their marriage becomes ruined. As a pastor I hear many heartbreaking stories, and I feel terrible about each situation, but most of the time there is very little that I can do. There was not much that Moses could do either; he just ordered the transgressors to be killed.
  4. The drama. That is the motion picture industry today.
  5. The opera.
  6. The masquerade. That is pantomime. That was the beginning, in Ellen White’s day, of the motion picture industry that we have today.
  7. The dance.
  8. The card table. This is a tool of the devil’s to get people going down the road to sensuality. If you do not understand what is wrong with card playing, or
    with a deck of cards, there is a book, written by a Protestant preacher, entitled, A Deck of Cards,
    [Charles F. Weigle, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1955.] that explains exactly what is in a card game and what the symbols represent. Card games have been used for centuries as a sensual device, and it is used in the practice of fornication, even today. You have heard of something called strip poker? That is exactly what it is; it is evil. Ellen White says that Satan uses the card table to “break down the barriers of principle and open the door to sensual indulgence.” The Adventist Home, 515.
  9. “In every gathering for pleasure, where pride is fostered or appetite indulged, where one is led to forget God and lose sight of eternal interests, there Satan is binding his chains about the soul.” Ibid. That is something well worth thinking through.

Unscriptural Marriages

There are some people who feel that they are immune to these things. They think the preacher is talking to somebody else, because these things are not their problem!

During the last few years there has been an increasing discussion among historic Adventists about the identity of Babylon and whether the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is part of it, and although that is not the subject of this study, it is definitely related to it.

I want to share a statement that Ellen White wrote to the General Conference President, G. I. Butler, in 1886: “We must as a people arouse and cleanse the camp of Israel. Licentiousness, unlawful intimacy, and unholy practices are coming in among us [Seventh-day Adventists] in a large degree; and ministers who are handling sacred things are guilty of sin in this respect. They are coveting their neighbors’ wives, and the seventh commandment is broken. We are in danger of becoming a sister to fallen Babylon, of allowing our churches to become corrupted, and filled with every foul spirit, a cage of every unclean and hateful bird; and will we be clear unless we make decided movements to cure the existing evil?” Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, 380.

People have read that statement and then said, “I have read this statement, and I know what happened in the General Conference session in Toronto [Ontario, Canada] in 2000, so I believe that statement has now been fulfilled. I believe the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is in the ‘fallen sister’ category.”

If that is your criteria about who Babylon is, then friend, there are many historic Adventist churches who are also part of Babylon. First, they are led by ministers whose divorce and remarriage is not recognized in heaven; and second, they have members who are in the same category.

Remember what Ellen White said?

“All along through the ages there are strewn wrecks of character that have been stranded upon the rocks of sensual indulgence. As we approach the close of time, as the people of God stand upon the borders of the heavenly Canaan, Satan will, as of old, redouble his efforts to prevent them from entering the goodly land. He lays his snares for every soul.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 457.

Friend, he has his snares laid for you, and he has his snares laid for me. We are walking, as it were, through a mine-field. What are we going to do? We are up against somebody who has thousands of years of experience, and he knows our weak points in character and how to trip us up.

Babylon or Pharisee

There are two courses of action that are common in these situations. I have seen these two approaches taken almost universally, in both conference churches where I have been a member and in independent Adventist churches.

One course leads directly to sisterhood with Babylon. If, in your church, people can practice fornication and still be a member, you are part of Babylon already. It would be good to come out of that church. Historic Adventists say, “We are not going to do that; we will take the second course.” That course leads directly to Phariseeism. Some people go one way, some go the other way, and the devil gets you either way. From my past experience, I am more afraid of the Pharisees in Adventism than I am of the Babylonians in Adventism.

I know this is sensitive, but we need to study this business of unscriptural marriages which are found throughout Adventism, especially in the western countries. I want to make a special appeal to people who are not yet trapped in an unscriptural marriage, who are not living in sin, to listen to the advice that the apostle Paul gave to a young minister. “Do not lay hands on anyone hastily [this is referring to not ordaining deacons, elders, or ministers of whom you know nothing—do not ordain people too quickly] neither be a partaker of other men’s sins. Keep yourself pure.” 1 Timothy 5:22.

Share not Sin

My young friends, do not let the devil, or any of his agents, ever convince you that you are missing anything because you are not engaging in the temporary pleasures of sin. You are missing sorrow and grief, but you are not missing anything else. The Bible calls it the temporary pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25), but after the pleasure is the pain, the trouble, the sorrow and the grief. For a short period of pleasure, a person makes repentance for the rest of their lives.

The time to decide that you are not going to get in the devil’s trap is before you get in the trap! You see, there are some traps, especially for the young, that the devil can get you in that you will never get out of in this world, even if you repent. Paul said, do not be a sharer in other men’s sins (1 Timothy 5:22). Keep yourself pure. Do not commit fornication. The Scripture says, “If anyone destroy the temple of God, God will destroy him.” God will make good on His Word. “Those that do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:21.)

There was a man who fell into this trap, and he wrecked his life and a whole nation. He himself eventually left the way of sin that had damaged him, but the nation he had wrecked was taken captive by the heathen. His name was Solomon. Before you yield to the temptations of Satan, listen to what Solomon has to say: “The lips of a strange woman drip honey, and her palate is smoother than oil, but afterwards she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. . . . Remove your ways far from her and do not come near the door of her house lest you give to others your honor and your years to the cruel one [that is the devil] lest strangers be filled with your strength and thy toil be in the house of a stranger and you moan at the last when your flesh and body are consumed.” “Her house leads down to death. None that go to her return again. Her guests are in the depths of sheol.” Proverbs 5:3, 4, 8–11, 6.

Devil’s Trap

Oh friend, as we approach the end, the devil is going to do the same thing that he did with Israel just before they went into the Promised Land. Adventist preachers have never had so much trouble with this in the history of the church as they are having now. You do not want to be part of the 23,000 or 24,000 that went down. Those people, who were killed, not only lost their temporal life, they lost eternal life. They lost everything! There are multitudes today who are losing eternal life for a few moments of sensual pleasure. How stupid can we be!

The devil has a trap set for you. Many of the people I meet have already stepped into the trap. Let me tell you, it is a lot harder to get out of the trap than it is to just stay out of the trap in the first place. Pray that God will give you wisdom and guide your choices, so you are not caught in the devil’s snare.

Somebody may say, “I am already in an unscriptural marriage. Now what am I going to do?” Well, you are going to have trouble in this world, but you can be saved. We will study that in Part 11 of this article when we look at Babylon and at the Pharisees.

[All emphasis supplied. Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

To be continued . . .

Pastor Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life Ministry and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas.

Editorial – Divorce, Part II

by

When man broke the first commandment of God’s Law in the Garden of Eden, the world was divorced from God. That could have been the end for us all. “There was no way of escape for the offender. The whole family of Adam must die.” Early Writings, 149. But, “It is a wonderful thing that after man had violated the law of God and separated himself from God, was divorced, as it were, from God—that after all this there was a plan made whereby man should not perish, but that he should have everlasting life.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 1, 74. “The world, divorced from God by sin, has been restored to favor by the sacrifice of his Son.” The General Conference Bulletin, April 8, 1901.

After this great sacrifice was made, if the church tampers with God’s Law or teaches people to break it, our covenant with God as Christians has been broken, and a divorce is pending. “Although those standing at the head of the papacy claim to have great love for God, He looks upon them as haters of Him. They have turned the truth of God into a lie. Tampering with God’s commandments and placing in their stead human traditions, is the work of Satan, and will divorce the religious world from God . . . .” Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 182.

In the days of Caiaphas, the divorce of the Jewish nation became final. Although individuals could still be saved, the nation would never again be God’s chosen people. “Virtually Caiaphas was no high priest. He wore the priestly robes, but he had no vital connection with God. He was uncircumcised in heart. With the other priests he instructed the people to choose Barabbas instead of Christ. They cried out for the crucifixion of Christ and, as representatives of the Jewish nation, placed themselves under the Roman jurisdiction, which they despised, by saying, ‘We have no king but Caesar.’ When they said this, they unchurched themselves.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 388.

The same fate that happened to the Jewish nation at the first advent is predicted to happen again at the second advent! “When the Saviour saw in the Jewish people a nation divorced from God, He saw also a professed Christian Church united to the world and the papacy. And as He stood upon Olivet, weeping over Jerusalem till the sun sank behind the western hills, so He is weeping over and pleading with sinners in these last moments of time.” Review and Herald, October 8, 1901.

By studying the type, we get a glimpse of the future. The Jewish church was a type of God’s professed people today. (See Selected Messages, Book 1, 406.) “In the Jewish nation we behold a chosen nation divorced from God because of unbelief. Jesus, the lover of humanity, was called upon to pronounce sentence against the people for whom he had lived and labored, but from whom he had borne insult, mockery, and rejection. He had borne everything from them, he had done all that was possible that he might save them from ruin. . . . The salvation of the Jews would have been the joy of Christ, the rejoicing of the angels, but they would not. No man will be saved against his will.” Review and Herald, April 18, 1893.

“When Jerusalem was divorced from God it was because of her sins. . . . And if God spared not His people that He loved, because they refused to walk in the light, how can He spare the people whom He has blessed with the light of heaven in having opened to them the most exalted truth ever entrusted to mortal man to give to the world?” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 319, 320.

[All emphasis supplied.]

Bible Study Guides – Hebrews 7:15-26

by

March 23-29, 2003

MEMORY VERSE: “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25.

SUGGESTED READING: The Desire of Ages, 165, 166.

INTRODUCTION: “The Lord Jesus is your personal intercessor. . . . Repeat over and over many times through the day, ‘Jesus has died for me. He saw me in peril, exposed to destruction, and poured out His life to save me. He does not behold the soul as a trembling suppliant prostrate at His feet without pity, and He will not fail to raise me up.’ He has become the advocate for man. He has lifted up those who believe in Him and placed a treasurehouse of blessing at their demand. Men cannot bestow one blessing upon their fellows, they cannot remove one stain of sin. It is only the merit and righteousness of Christ that will avail anything, but this is placed to our account in rich fullness. We may draw upon God every moment. As we turn to Him, He answers, ‘Here I am.’

“Christ proclaims Himself our Intercessor. He would have us know that He has graciously engaged to be our Substitute. He places His merit in the golden censer to offer up with the prayers of His saints, so that the prayers of His dear children may be mingled with the fragrant merit of Christ as they ascend to the Father in the cloud of incense.” In Heavenly Places, 79.

1 How did the first priests receive their positions? Hebrews 7:16, first part. Compare Exodus 29:29, 30; Numbers 20:26, 28.

NOTE: “Doubtless [it is] called ‘carnal’ with reference to the fact that the commandment specified succession by physical descent.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 441.

“By divine direction the tribe of Levi was set apart for the service of the sanctuary. In the earliest times every man was the priest of his own household. In the days of Abraham, the priesthood was regarded as the birthright of the eldest son. Now, instead of the first-born of all Israel, the Lord accepted the tribe of Levi for the work of the sanctuary. . . . The priesthood, however, was restricted to the family of Aaron. Aaron and his sons alone were permitted to minister before the Lord; the rest of the tribe were entrusted with the charge of the tabernacle. . . .” The Faith I Live By, 195.

2 How was Christ made a priest? Hebrews 7:16, last part, 17.

NOTE: “The high priest was designed in an especial manner to represent Christ, who was to become a high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. This order of priesthood was not to pass to another, or be superseded by another.” Review and Herald, December 17, 1872.

3 Why was the former commandment disannulled? Hebrews 7:18, 19, first part.

NOTE: “[Matthew 26:62, 63, quoted.] According to the Jewish form of administration, Christ was placed on oath by the priest: ‘I adjure Thee by the living God, that Thou tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God.’ This appeal was made by the first magistrate of the nation. He occupied a position higher than any in earthly courts. But his religion was a cloak that hid the deformities of a hard, cruel heart. He lorded it over the people, making his supposed godliness a source of gain. He was not accepted by God as a typical high priest at any time. His fitness for the priesthood ended with the covering garment, set apart for the use of the priests, which he wore. He was incapable and unworthy.

“The priesthood itself had become corrupt. Priest after priest filled his appointment and performed his religious duties as an actor in a theater.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 399.

4 How did the Father declare the priesthood of His Son? Hebrews 7:20, 21.

NOTE: “And I saw if there was any one on earth who could consistently testify under oath, it is the Christian. He lives in the light of God’s countenance. He grows strong in his strength. And when matters of importance must be decided by law, there is no one who can so well appeal to God as the Christian. I was bid by the angel to notice that God sware by himself. Genesis 22:16; Hebrews 6:13, 17. He sware to Abraham, Genesis 26:3, to Isaac, Psalm 105:9; Jeremiah 11:5, and to David, Psalm 132:11; Acts 2:30. God required of the children of Israel an oath between man and man. Exodus 22:10, 11. Jesus submitted to the oath in the hour of his trial.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4b, 43.

5 Of what did Jesus become surety? Hebrews 7:22.

NOTE: “The word [surety] here has the meaning of one who becomes responsible for, or guarantees, the performance of some agreement, here, the ‘better testament.’ ” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 442.

“The terms of the ‘old covenant’ were, Obey and live: ‘If a man do, he shall even live in them’ (Ezekiel 20:11; Leviticus 18:5); but ‘cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them’ (Deuteronomy 27:26). The ‘new covenant’ was established upon ‘better promises’—the promise of forgiveness of sins and of the grace of God to renew the heart and bring it into harmony with the principles of God’s law.

“The blessings of the new covenant are grounded purely on mercy in forgiving unrighteousness and sins. . . . All who humble their hearts, confessing their sins, will find mercy and grace and assurance. Has God, in showing mercy to the sinner, ceased to be just? Has He dishonored His holy law, and will He henceforth pass over the violation of it? God is true. He changes not. The conditions of salvation are ever the same. Life, eternal life, is for all who will obey God’s law. . . .

“Under the new covenant, the conditions by which eternal life may be gained are the same as under the old—perfect obedience. . . . In the new and better covenant, Christ has fulfilled the law for the transgressors of law, if they receive Him by faith as a personal Saviour. . . . In the better covenant we are cleansed from sin by the blood of Christ.” God’s Amazing Grace, 136.

6 Why were there many priests under the old covenant? Hebrews 7:23. See 1 Chronicles 6 (especially verses 48, 49); Nehemiah 12:1–23.

NOTE: “I was also shown a sanctuary upon the earth containing two apartments. It resembled the one in heaven, and I was told that it was a figure of the heavenly. The furniture of the first apartment of the earthly sanctuary was like that in the first apartment of the heavenly. The veil was lifted, and I looked into the holy of holies and saw that the furniture was the same as in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. The priest ministered in both apartments of the earthly. He went daily into the first apartment, but entered the most holy only once a year, to cleanse it from the sins which had been conveyed there. I saw that Jesus ministered in both apartments of the heavenly sanctuary. The priests entered into the earthly with the blood of an animal as an offering for sin. Christ entered into the heavenly sanctuary by the offering of Hisown blood. The earthly priests were removed by death; therefore they could not continue long; but Jesus was a priest forever. Through the sacrifices and offerings brought to the earthly sanctuary, the children of Israel were to lay hold of the merits of a Saviour to come. And in the wisdom of God the particulars of this work were given us that we might, by looking to them, understand the work of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary.” Early Writings, 252. [Emphasis supplied.]

7 Why is the priesthood of Christ perpetual (not transferred from one to another)? Hebrews 7:24.

NOTE: “Christ rent not His robe as did Caiaphas. He gave up His body to be rent, to be bruised, to be wounded for the transgression of the world. As by His own choice He died in the presence of an assembled nation of worshipers, type met antitype. Priest and victim combined, He entered the Temple as a place of sacrifice. Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He is a true high priest, for after enduring humiliation, shame, and reproach, after being crucified and buried, He was raised from the grave, triumphing over death. He is a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 398.

8 What is Christ able to do for us? Hebrews 7:25, first part.

NOTE: “The faith that is unto salvation is not a casual faith, it is not the mere consent of the intellect, it is belief rooted in the heart, that embraces Christ as a personal Saviour, assured that He can save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. To believe that He will save others, but will not save you is not genuine faith; but when the soul lays hold upon Christ as the only hope of salvation, then genuine faith is manifested. This faith leads its possessor to place all the affections of the soul upon Christ; his understanding is under the control of the Holy Spirit, and his character is molded after the divine likeness. His faith is not a dead faith, but a faith that works by love, and leads him to behold the beauty of Christ, and to become assimilated to the divine character. [Deuteronomy 30:11–14 quoted.] ‘And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live’ (Deuteronomy 30:6).” Selected Messages, Book 1, 391, 392. [Emphasis supplied.]

9 What further assurance does Christ’s priesthood give us? Hebrews 7:25, last part.

NOTE: “Type met antitype in the death of Christ, the Lamb slain for the sins of the world. Our great High Priest has made the only sacrifice that is of any value in our salvation. When He offered Himself on the cross, a perfect atonement was made for the sins of the people. We are now standing in the outer court, waiting and looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. No sacrifices are to be offered without, for the great High Priest is performing His work in the Most Holy Place. In His intercession as our advocate, Christ needs no man’s virtue, no man’s intercession. He is the only sin-bearer, the only sin-offering. Prayer and confession are to be offered only to Him who has entered once for all into the Most Holy Place. He will save to the uttermost all who come to Him in faith. He ever liveth to make intercession for us. . . .” Lift Him Up, 319.

“Let us remember that our great High Priest is pleading before the mercy seat in behalf of His ransomed people. He ever liveth to make intercession for us. ‘If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.’ [1 John 2:1.]” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 948.

10 How is it that such a high priest became us? Hebrews 2:16, 17.

NOTE: “In stooping to take upon Himself humanity, Christ revealed a character the opposite of the character of Satan. But He stepped still lower in the path of humiliation. ‘Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ Philippians 2:8. As the high priest laid aside his gorgeous pontifical robes, and officiated in the white linen dress of the common priest, so Christ took the form of a servant, and offered sacrifice, Himself the priest, Himself the victim. ‘He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him.’ Isaiah 53:5.” The Desire of Ages, 25.

11 What characteristics of our High Priest are identified? Hebrews 7:26, last part.

NOTE: “Walking in the midst of sin, He was holy, harmless, undefiled. He was wrongfully accused, yet He opened not His mouth to justify Himself. How many now, when accused of that of which they are not guilty, feel that there is a time when forbearance ceases to be a virtue, and losing their temper, speak words which grieve the Holy Spirit (Manuscript 42, 1901)?” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1148.

“The character of Christ was one of unexampled excellence, embracing everything pure, true, lovely, and of good report. We have no knowledge of His ever visiting a party of pleasure or a dance hall, and yet He was the perfection of grace and courtly bearing. Christ was no novice; He was distinguished for the high intellectual powers He possessed even in the morning of His life. His youth was not wasted in indolence, neither was it wasted in sensual pleasure, self-indulgence, or frittered away in things of no profit. Not one of His hours from childhood to manhood was misspent, none were misappropriated. . . .” Our High Calling, 59.

12 What is meant by Jesus being “higher than the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26, last part)? 1 Peter 3:22; Romans 8:34; Acts 7:56.

NOTE: “Jesus said, ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.’ He walked once a man on earth, His divinity clothed with humanity, a suffering, tempted man, beset with Satan’s devices. He was tempted in all points like as we are, and He knows how to succor those that are tempted. Now He is at the right hand of God. He is in heaven as our advocate, to make intercession for us. We must always take comfort and hope as we think of this. He is thinking of those who are subject to temptations in this world. He thinks of us individually, and knows our every necessity. When tempted, just say, He cares for me, He makes intercession for me, He loves me, He has died for me. I will give myself unreservedly to Him.” Lift Him Up, 184.

Bible Study Guides – Hebrews 7:4-14

by

March 16-22, 2003

MEMORY VERSE: “Now consider how great this man [was], unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.” Hebrews 7:4.

SUGGESTED READING: Patriarchs and Prophets, 350–358; 370, 371.

INTRODUCTION: “With Caiaphas the Jewish high priesthood ended. The service had become base and corrupt. It had no longer any connection with God. Truth and righteousness were hateful in the eyes of the priests. They were tyrannical and deceptive, full of selfish, ambitious schemes. Such ministration could make nothing perfect; for it was itself utterly corrupt. The grace of God had naught to do with it.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1100, 1101.

1 How long will Christ serve as High Priest? Hebrews 5:6. Compare Psalm 110:4.

NOTE: “Wherever I go, I shall urge the people to keep Christ uplifted. He is always the same, yesterday, today, and forever, always seeking to do us good, always encouraging and guiding us, leading us onward step by step. What he is today,—a faithful high priest, touched with the feeling of our infirmities,—he will be tomorrow, and forevermore. He is our guide, our teacher, our counselor, our friend, ever bestowing his blessings upon us in response to our faith. He invites us to abide with him. When we do this, when we make our home with him, all friction, all ill temper, all irritation, will cease.” Review and Herald, October 6, 1904.

2 What proof is given for the greatness of Melchizedek? Hebrews 7:4.

NOTE: “Many persons will meet all inferior demands and dues, and leave to God only the last gleanings, if there be any. If not, his cause must wait till a more convenient season. Such was not the course pursued by Abraham. Upon his return from a successful military expedition, he was met by Melchizedek, ‘king of Salem, and priest of the most high God.’ [Hebrews 7:1.] This holy man blessed Abraham, in the name of the Lord, and the patriarch gave him tithes of all the spoils as a tribute of gratitude to the Ruler of nations.” Review and Herald, May 16, 1882.

3 Who took tithes in the Mosaic dispensation? Hebrews 7:5.

NOTE: “God had honored the Levites to do service in the tabernacle, because they took no part in making and worshiping the golden calf.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 296.

“The appointed ministers of the sanctuary, the Levites received no landed inheritance; they dwelt together in cities set apart for their use, and received their support from the tithes and the gifts and offerings devoted to God’s service. They were the teachers of the people, guests at all their festivities, and everywhere honored as servants and representatives of God. To the whole nation was given the command: ‘Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.’ ‘Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his Inheritance.’ Deuteronomy 12:19; 10:9.” Education, 148.

4 What fact about Melchizedek suggested he was greater than Abraham? Hebrews 7:6, 7.

NOTE: “The Scriptures mention tithing in connection with the history of Abraham. The father of the faithful paid tithes to Melchisedec, ‘priest of the Most High God.’ ” Review and Herald,December 8, 1896.

“Melchisedec was not a Levite, and yet he received tithe from Abraham. Abraham has met a man greater than he is. He recognizes Melchisedec’s superiority and pays the priest [king] tithe.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 440.

5 How did Levi pay tithe through Abraham? Hebrews 7:9, 10.

NOTE: “Abraham’s seed multiplied, and at length Jacob and his sons and their families went down into Egypt. Here they and their descendants sojourned for many years, till at last the Lord called them out, to lead them into the land of Canaan.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 505.

“Of the sons of Jacob, Levi was one of the most cruel and vindictive . . . . But repentance wrought reformation; and by their faithfulness to God amidst the apostasy of the other tribes, the curse Was transformed into a token of highest honor.” Education, 148.

“Whatever Abraham the patriarch did, his posterity did also. Thus when he paid tithe Levi paid tithe.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 440.

6 Why did Jesus, as our High Priest, come after the order of Melchizedek rather than Levi? Hebrews 7:11–14.

NOTE: “The priesthood had become so corrupt that the priests had no scruples in engaging in the most dishonest and criminal acts to accomplish their designs. Those who assumed the office of high priest prior to, and at, the time of Christ’s first advent, were not men divinely appointed to the sacred work. They had eagerly aspired to the office through love of power and show. They desired a position where they could have authority, and practice fraud under a garb of piety, and thereby escape detection. The high priest held a position of power and importance. He was not only counselor and mediator, but judge; and there was no appeal from his decision. The priests were held in restraint by the authority of the Romans, and were not allowed the power of legally putting any one to death. This power rested with those who bore rule over the Jews. Men of corrupt hearts sought the distinguished office of high priest, and frequently obtained it by bribery and assassination. The high priest, clad in his consecrated and expensive robes, with the breastplate upon his breast, the light flashing upon the precious stones inlaid in the breastplate, presented a most imposing appearance, and struck the conscientious, true-hearted people with admiration, reverence, and awe. The high priest was designed in an especial manner to represent Christ, who was to become a high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” Review and Herald, December 17, 1872.

7 When was the change made from the Aaronic to the Melchizedek priesthood? Hebrews 7:12, first part. Compare Colossians 2:14.

NOTE: “When type met antitype in the death of Christ, the sacrificial offerings ceased. The ceremonial law was done away. But by the crucifixion the law of Ten Commandments was established. The gospel has not abrogated the law, nor detracted one tittle from its claims. It still demands holiness in every part. It is the echo of God’s own voice, giving to every soul the invitation, Come up higher. Be holy, holier still.” Review and Herald, June 26, 1900.

8 In addition to the change of priesthood order, what else was changed? Hebrews 7:12, last part.

NOTE: “Many in the Christian world also have a veil before their eyes and heart. They do not see to the end of that which was done away. They do not see that it was only the ceremonial law which was abrogated at the death of Christ. They claim that the moral law was nailed to the Cross. Heavy is the veil that darkens their understanding. The hearts of many are at war with God. They are not subject to His law. Only as they shall come into harmony with the rule of His government, can Christ be of any avail to them. They may talk of Christ as their Saviour; but He will finally say to them, I know you not. You have not exercised genuine repentance toward God for the transgression of His holy law, and you cannot have genuine faith in Me, for it was My mission to exalt God’s law.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 239.

9 What direction had been given concerning the priesthood? Exodus 28:1; 40:13.

NOTE: “After the dedication of the tabernacle, the priests were consecrated to their sacred office. These services occupied seven days, each marked by special ceremonies. On the eighth day they entered upon their ministration. Assisted by his sons, Aaron offered the sacrifices that God required, and he lifted up his hands and blessed the people. All had been done as God commanded, and He accepted the sacrifice, and revealed His glory in a remarkable manner; fire came from the Lord and consumed the offering upon the altar. The people looked upon this wonderful manifestation of divine power with awe and intense interest. They saw in it a token of God’s glory and favor, and they raised a universal shout of praise and adoration and fell on their faces as if in the immediate presence of Jehovah.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 359.

10 What would have been the consequence if any other than the sons of Aaron had tried to act as priest? Numbers 3:10.

NOTE: “The Lord designated a special family of the tribe of Levi to bear the ark; and others of the Levites were specially appointed of God to bear the tabernacle and all its furniture, and to perform the work of setting up and taking down the tabernacle. And if any man from curiosity or from lack of order got out of his place and touched any part of the sanctuary or furniture, or even came near any of th workmen, he was to be put to death. God did not leave His holy tabernacle to be borne, erected, and taken down, indiscriminately, by any tribe who might choose the office; but persons were chosen who could appreciate the sacredness of the work in which they were engaged. These men appointed of God were directed to impress upon the people the special sacredness of the ark and all that appertained thereunto, lest they should look upon these things without realizing their holiness and should be cut off from Israel. All things pertaining to the most holy place were to be looked upon with reverence.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 652.

11 Of what tribe was our Lord Jesus Christ? Hebrews 7:14.

NOTE: “The lion, king of the forest, is a fitting symbol of this tribe, from which came David, and the Son of David, Shiloh, the true ‘Lion of the tribe of Judah,’ to whom all powers shall finally bow and all nations render homage.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 236.

“Once again the Saviour was presented to John, under the symbol of the ‘Lion of the tribe of Judah,’ and of ‘a Lamb as it had been slain.’ These symbols represent the union of omnipotent power and self-sacrificing love. As the Lion of Judah, Christ will defend his chosen ones and bring them off victorious, because they accepted him as ‘the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ Christ the slain Lamb, who was despised, rejected, the victim of Satan’s wrath, of man’s abuse and cruelty,—how tender his sympathy with his people who are in the world! And according to the infinite depths of his humiliation and sacrifice as the Lamb of God, will be his power and glory as the Lion of Judah, for the deliverance of his people.” The Home Missionary, November 1, 1893.

12 Was there ever a priest before Christ of the tribe of Judah? Hebrews 7:13, 14.

NOTE: “By divine direction the tribe of Levi was set apart for the service of the sanctuary. In the earliest times every man was the priest of his own household. In the days of Abraham the priesthood was regarded as the birthright of the eldest son. Now, instead of the first-born of all Israel, the Lord accepted the tribe of Levi for the work of the sanctuary. By this signal honor He manifested His approval of their fidelity, both in adhering to His service and in executing His judgments when Israel apostatized in the worship of the golden calf. The priesthood, however, was restricted to the family of Aaron. Aaron and his sons alone were permitted to minister before the Lord; the rest of the tribe were entrusted with the charge of the tabernacle and its furniture, and they were to attend upon the priests in their ministration, but they were not to sacrifice, to burn incense, or to see the holy things till they were covered.” Patriarchs and Prophets,

Bible Study Guides – Hebrews 6:19-7:3

by

March 9-15, 2003

MEMORY VERSE: “Which [hope] we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” Hebrews 6:19.

SUGGESTED READING: The Great Controversy, 414–416; 420, 421.

INTRODUCTION: As the ministration of Jesus closed in the holy place, and He passed into the holiest, and stood before the ark containing the law of God, He sent another mighty angel with a third message to the world. A parchment was placed in the angel’s hand, and as he descended to the earth in power and majesty, he proclaimed a fearful warning, with the most terrible threatening ever borne to man. This message was designed to put the children of God upon their guard, by showing them the hour of temptation and anguish that was before them. . . . The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God. This atonement is made for the righteous dead as well as for the righteous living. It includes all who died trusting in Christ, but who, not having received the light upon God’s commandments, had sinned ignorantly in transgressing its precepts.” Early Writings, 254.

1 Upon what does our hope rest? Hebrews 6:18; Acts 2:26–28.

NOTE: “Hope has been set before us, even the hope of eternal life. . . . Believing in Him [our Redeemer], we have this hope as an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast. . . . We may confidently expect God’s favor not only in this world but in the heavenly world . . . .”We gain heaven not through our own merits but through the merits of Jesus Christ. . . . Let your hope not be centered in yourself, but in Him who has entered within the vail [sic].” That I May Know Him, 79.

“The cities of refuge appointed for God’s ancient people were a symbol of the refuge provided in Christ. The same merciful Saviour who appointed those temporal cities of refuge has by the shedding of His own blood provided for the transgressors of God’s law a sure retreat, into which they may flee for safety from the second death. No power can take out of His hands the souls that go to Him for pardon.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 516.

2 What is our hope called? Hebrews 6:19.

NOTE: “Mourn not as those who are hopeless and helpless. Jesus lives, and because He lives, we shall live also. From grateful hearts, from lips touched with holy fire, let the glad song ring out, Christ is risen! He lives to make intercession for us. Grasp this hope, and it will hold the soul like a sure, tried anchor. Believe, and thou shalt see the glory of God.” The Desire of Ages, 794.

3 What is said in the Scriptures of the hope of the hypocrite? Job 8:13, 14.

NOTE: “Shall we, in view of the shortness of this life, neglect to secure that life which runs parallel with the life of God? Every day it is our privilege to live for Jesus. Commence the day with prayer; morning, noon, and night let your prayers ascend for wisdom and grace to overcome every device of Satan. Jesus is your only hope; upward to God be the soul’s adoration. Christians should be the happiest people upon the earth. In the eyes of the world, houses, lands, and money make men honored and respected. Not so in the sight of God. He measures them according to their moral worth. If they live for display, to receive the praise of men, they will receive no other reward. Their names will be written in the earth to perish with all things perishable. If they live to honor and glorify God, if true goodness, benevolence, and the love of God are seen in their connection with their fellow-men, their names will be immortalized among the heavenly host, and Jesus declares that he will not blot their names out of the book of life.” Review and Herald, December 1, 1885.

4 How many hopes are recognized in the Bible? Ephesians 4:4.

NOTE: “The apostle [Paul] exhorts his brethren to manifest in their lives the power of the truth which he had presented to them. By meekness and gentleness, forbearance and love, they were to exemplify the character of Christ and the blessings of His salvation. There is but one body, and one Spirit, one Lord, one faith.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 239.

“There is one God, one faith, one baptism. There is one Lord Jesus, who must abide in the soul of every one of these brethren. When the brethren of one nationality separate themselves from the brethren of another nationality, to build up a separate interest, they are doing that which God never designed should be done. The very same truth which sanctifies my heart will sanctify the hearts of brethren of other nations.” Review and Herald, November 12, 1889.

5 What is the condition of those who have not obtained an interest in the promises of God? Ephesians 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:13.

NOTE: “As in the days of Christ, the enemy of God works constantly to lead men to place the will in his control, that God may be forgotten. He knows that if this is done, he can control the whole man. He tempts men in many ways to forget their Creator. To some he offers tobacco and alcoholic drinks. Others he tempts by pointing them to their own degradation and helplessness. Those who yield to his temptations can have no conception of the love of God. The will becomes enslaved, bound to pursue a course which the word of God does not justify. Reason is enfeebled; the power to distinguish between right and wrong is lost; sacred and eternal realities are estimated as of less value than gold, silver, houses, lands, and bank stock. The love of God fades from the mind; and the captives in the tempter’s power live on, ‘having no hope, and without God in the world,’ [Ephesians 2:12] because they do not behold the Lamb of God.” The Signs of the Times, November 19, 1896.

6 What is the nature of a true hope, and where does our hope reach? Hebrews 6:19.

NOTE: “For eighteen centuries this work of ministration continued in the first apartment of the sanctuary. The blood of Christ, pleaded in behalf of penitent believers, secured their pardon and acceptance with the Father, yet their sins still remained upon the books of record. As in the typical service there was a work of atonement at the close of the year, so before Christ’s work for the redemption of men is completed there is a work of atonement for the removal of sin from the sanctuary. This is the service which began when the 2300 days ended. At that time, as foretold by Daniel the prophet, our High Priest entered the most holy, to perform the last division of His solemn work—to cleanse the sanctuary.” The Great Controversy, 421.

7 Who has entered within the veil for us? Hebrews 6:20.

NOTE: “The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven. We must by faith enter within the veil, ‘whither the forerunner is for us entered.’ Hebrews 6:20. There the light from the cross of Calvary is reflected. There we may gain a clearer insight into the mysteries of redemption. The salvation of man is accomplished at an infinite expense to heaven; the sacrifice made is equal to the broadest demands of the broken law of God. Jesus has opened the way to the Father’s throne, and through His mediation the sincere desire of all who come to Him in faith may be presented before God.” The Great Controversy, 489.

8 Describe the veils, rooms and furnishings found in the earthly sanctuary. Exodus 26:31–36.

NOTE: “I was also shown a sanctuary upon the earth containing two apartments. It resembled the one in heaven, and I was told that it was a figure of the heavenly. The furniture of the first apartment of the earthly sanctuary was like that in the first apartment of the heavenly. The veil was lifted, and I looked into the holy of holies and saw that the furniture was the same as in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. The priest ministered in both apartments of the earthly. He went daily into the first apartment, but entered the most holy only once a year, to cleanse it from the sins which had been conveyed there. I saw that Jesus ministered in both apartments of the heavenly sanctuary. The priests entered into the earthly with the blood of an animal as an offering for sin. Christ entered into the heavenly sanctuary by the offering of His own blood. The earthly priests were removed by death; therefore they could not continue long; but Jesus was a priest forever. Through the sacrifices and offerings brought to the earthly sanctuary, the children of Israel were to lay hold of the merits of a Saviour to come. And in the wisdom of God the particulars of this work were given us that we might, by looking to them, understand the work of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary.” Early Writings, 252, 253.

9 Of the two veils (Exodus 26:31, 36), to which veil does Hebrews 6:19 refer? Hebrews 9:3.

NOTE: “The ministration of the priest throughout the year in the first apartment of the sanctuary, ‘within the veil’ which formed the door and separated the holy place from the outer court, represents the work of ministration upon which Christ entered at His ascension. It was the work of the priest in the daily ministration to present before God the blood of the sin offering, also the incense which ascended with the prayers of Israel. So did Christ plead His blood before the Father in behalf of sinners, and present before Him also, with the precious fragrance of His own righteousness, the prayers of penitent believers. Such was the work of ministration in the first apartment of the sanctuary in heaven.

“Thither the faith of Christ’s disciples followed Him as He ascended from their sight. Here their hopes centered, [Hebrews 6:19, 20; 9:12 quoted].” The Great Controversy, 420, 421.

10 Who was Melchizedek? Hebrews 7:1–3; Genesis 14:18.

NOTE: “As soon as David was established on the throne of Israel he began to seek a more appropriate location for the capital of his realm. Twenty miles from Hebron a place was selected as the future metropolis of the kingdom. Before Joshua had led the armies of Israel over Jordan it had been called Salem. Near this place Abraham had proved his loyalty to God. Eight hundred years before the coronation of David it had been the home of Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 703.

“God has never left Himself without witness on the earth. At one time Melchisedek represented the Lord Jesus Christ in person, to reveal the truth of heaven, and perpetuate the law of God (Letter 190, 1905).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1092, 1093.

“It was Christ that spoke through Melchisedec, the priest of the most high God. Melchisedec was not Christ, but he was the voice of God in the world, the representative of the Father. And all through the generations of the past, Christ has spoken; Christ has led His people, and has been the light of the world.” Review and Herald, February 18, 1890.

11 What did Abraham give to Melchizedek? Hebrews 7:2, first part; Genesis 14:20.

NOTE: “The tithing system reaches back beyond the days of Moses. Men were required to offer to God gifts for religious purposes before the definite system was given to Moses, even as far back as the days of Adam. In complying with God’s requirements, they were to manifest in offerings their appreciation of His mercies and blessings to them. This was continued through successive generations, and was carried out by Abraham, who gave tithes to Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God.” Counsels on Stewardship, 69.

“But the tithing system did not originate with the Hebrews. From the earliest times the Lord claimed a tithe as His, and this claim was recognized and honored. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God. Genesis 14:20. Jacob, when at Bethel, an exile and a wanderer, promised the Lord, ‘Of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.’ Genesis 28:22. As the Israelites were about to be established as a nation, the law of tithing was reaffirmed as one of the divinely ordained statutes upon obedience to which their prosperity depended.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 525.

12 How does the meaning of the name Melchizedek apply to Jesus? Hebrews 7:2, last part.

NOTE: ” ‘The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.’ [Isaiah 32:17.] From the beginning to the end of the history of the church, Christ will be to his people all that these words express . . . .” Review and Herald, September 24, 1903.

“It was at the cross that mercy and truth met together, that righteousness and peace kissed each other.” Ibid., April 4, 1899.

Bible Study Guides – Hebrews 6:9-18

by

March 2-8, 2003

MEMORY VERSE: “Be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Hebrews 6:12.

SUGGESTED READING: Testimonies, vol. 1, 141–146.

INTRODUCTION: “We expect to see defects in the characters of youth who are not controlled by love and faith in Jesus Christ. We see youth wavering between right and wrong, vacillating between fixed principle and the almost overpowering current of evil that is bearing them off their feet to ruin. But of those of mature age we expect better things. We look for the character to be established, for principles to be rooted, and for them to be beyond the danger of pollution. But the case of Solomon is before us as a beacon of warning. . . . What a lesson for all who desire to save their souls to watch unto prayer continually! What a warning to keep the grace of Christ ever in their heart, to battle with inward corruptions and outward temptations!” Conflict and Courage, 197.

1 What was the condition of the people to whom Paul wrote this letter? Hebrews 5:12, 13.

NOTE: “[In Hebrews 6] the author continues the exhortation he began in chapter 5. His readers have been subsisting on milk when they should have had stronger food. They were still children,and were satisfied to remain so. He wants them to go on to the deeper things of God and not continue to be satisfied with their present attainments.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible commentary,vol. 7, 432.

2 What words did Paul use to give the “milk drinkers” a most solemn warning? Hebrews 6:4–8.

NOTE: “All who join themselves to the church but not to the Lord will in time develop their true character. ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits.’ Matthew 7:16. The precious fruit of godliness,temperance, patience, kindness, love, and charity, does not appear in their lives. They bear only thorns and briers. God is dishonored before the world by all such professors. . . . They are, Satan knows, his best working agents while they are unchanged in heart and life, and their works are in such marked contrast to their profession that they are a stumbling block to unbelievers and a great trial to believers. . . .” The Faith I Live By, 92.

3 How did Paul express his hope for these people? Hebrews 6:9.

NOTE: “Even in the corrupt condition in which the society of today is, there are souls capable of better things—souls represented by Christ under the symbol of ‘the lost pearl.’ [See Matthew 13:45, 46.] Christ gave up everything, that he might seek and save that which was lost, that He might recover the pearl that He valued at infinite cost. What are we ready to do to cooperate with Him in this work? What sacrifice are we ready to make? . . .” Lift Him Up, 353.

4 For what did Paul commend the people? Hebrews 6:10.

NOTE: “There have been some who have done what they could with self-denying, self-sacrificing effort. God is not unmindful of their works of love and devotion. . . . Every act of self-denying benevolence and loving service is precious in the sight of God. Some have ever manifested a willingness to do for his cause, and the Lord has prospered these willing ones, making them channels for his gifts, that they might continue to do and be blessed in doing. . . . Neither will he [God] overlook the lack of these labors in the members of his church who make themselves first and his cause second. Every one will be rewarded as his works have been.” Review and Herald, December 14, 1886.

5 How does the Lord regard His erring people? Revelation 3:19.

NOTE: “The True Witness declares that when you suppose you are really in a good condition of prosperity you are in need of everything. It is not enough for ministers to present theoretical subjects; they should also present those subjects which are practical. They need to study the practical lessons that Christ gave His disciples and make a close application of the same to their own souls and to the people. Because Christ bears this rebuking testimony, shall we suppose that He is destitute of tender love to His people? Oh, no! He who died to redeem man from death, loves with a divine love, and those whom He loves He rebukes.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 257, 258.

6 What was God’s desire for the Hebrew people? Hebrews 6:11.

NOTE: “The Lord looks with approval upon the works of his faithful servants. . . . But while he takes account of faithful service, he is no less exact to mark neglect of duty or its unwilling performance. It has always been the duty of God’s chosen people to labor unselfishly; but some neglect the work they ought to do, and others are overburdened to make up for their deficiencies. If all would cheerfully do their part, they would be sustained; but those who complain and murmur at every step will receive neither help nor reward.” The Signs of the Times, June 12, 1884.

7 What should the Christian not be? Hebrews 6:12, first part. Compare Romans 12:11.

NOTE: “There is something for everyone to do in this world of ours. The Lord is coming, and our waiting is to be not a time of idle expectation, but of vigilant work. We are not to spend our time wholly in prayerful meditation, neither are we to drive and hurry and work as if this were required in order that we should gain heaven, while neglecting to devote time to the cultivation of personal piety. There must be a combination of meditation and diligent work. . . . Worldly activities are not to crowd out the service of the Lord. The soul needs the riches of the grace of God, and the body needs physical exercise, in order to accomplish the work that must be done for the promulgation of the gospel of Christ. . . .” Our High Calling, 221.

8 What action is a Christian counseled to take? Hebrews 6:12, last part.

NOTE: “The grace of Christ must be an abiding principle in the heart and be exemplified in the life. Self will then be laid at the foot of the cross, and Christ will be accepted as all and in all. . . .There are great possibilities open to every sincere worker, if all the powers of mind and body are consecrated to God, to do his will, and not to serve self. The very thoughts are to be brought into subjection to the will of Christ. Then the affections will be refined and ennobled; those who carry the burden of the work will not be impure in thought or word or act, neither will they be light and trifling. All frivolity, all cheapness of conversation, all jesting and joking, weakens the soul, and weans the heart from prayer. Like Paul, the true followers of Christ will ever bear about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus; they cannot keep in mind the sufferings of Christ for them, and yet be light and trifling. They will manifest a true, Christ-like dignity and holy solemnity; yet there will be no Phariseeism. There will be cheerful faith and courage in the Lord; for they trust the keeping of their souls unto God as to a faithful Creator.” Gospel Workers, 1892 edition, 233, 234.

“God positively enjoins upon all His followers a duty to bless others with their influence and means. . . . In doing for others, a sweet satisfaction will be experienced, an inward peace which will be a sufficient reward. When actuated by a high and noble desire to do others good, they will find true happiness in a faithful discharge of life’s manifold duties. This will bring more than an earthly reward; for every faithful, unselfish performance of duty is noticed by the angels and shines in the life record. In heaven none will think of self, nor seek their own pleasure; but all, from pure, genuine love, will seek the happiness of the heavenly beings around them. If we wish to enjoy heavenly society in the earth made new, we must be governed by heavenly principles here.” In Heavenly Places, 233.

9 Of what is God willing that we should have full proof? Hebrews 6:17 (immutable means unchangeable).

NOTE: “By His life and His death, Christ has achieved even more than recovery from the ruin wrought through sin. It was Satan’s purpose to bring about an eternal separation between God and man; but in Christ we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen. In taking our nature, the Saviour has bound Himself to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken. Through the eternal ages He is linked with us. ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son.’ John 3:16. He gave Him not only to bear our sins, and to die as our sacrifice; He gave Him to the fallen race. To assure us of His immutable counsel of peace, God gave His only-begotten Son to become one of the human family, forever to retain His human nature. This is the pledge that God will fulfill His word.” The Desire of Ages, 25.

10 What two immutable things are referred to in Hebrews 6:18? Hebrews 6:16, 17. Compare Galatians 3:16, 17.

NOTE: “As the Bible presents two laws, one changeless and eternal, the other provisional and temporary, so there are two covenants. The covenant of grace was first made with man in Eden, when after the Fall there was given a divine promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head. To all men this covenant offered pardon and the assisting grace of God for future obedience through faith in Christ. It also promised them eternal life on condition of fidelity to God’s law. Thus the patriarchs received the hope of salvation. . . .

“Though this covenant was made with Adam and renewed to Abraham, it could not be ratified until the death of Christ. It had existed by the promise of God since the first intimation of redemption had been given; it had been accepted by faith; yet when ratified by Christ, it is called a new covenant. The law of God was the basis of this covenant, which was simply an arrangement for bringing men again into harmony with the divine will, placing them where they could obey God’s law.

“Another compact—called in Scripture the ‘old’ covenant—was formed between God and Israel at Sinai, and was then ratified by the blood of a sacrifice. The Abrahamic covenant was ratified by the blood of Christ, and it is called the ‘second,’ or ‘new,’ covenant, because the blood by which it was sealed was shed after the blood of the first covenant. That the new covenant was valid in the days of Abraham is evident from the fact that it was then confirmed both by the promise and by the oath of God—the ‘two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie.’ Hebrews 6:18.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 370, 371. [Emphasis supplied.]

11 To whom are God’s promise and oath intended to give assurance? Hebrews 6:17.

NOTE: “His [God’s] word is pledged. The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but His kindness shall not depart from His people, neither shall the covenant of His peace be removed. His voice is heard, ‘I have loved thee with an everlasting love’ ( Jeremiah 31:3). ‘With everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee’ (Isaiah 54:8). How amazing is this love, that God condescends to remove all cause for doubt and questioning from human fears and weakness and takes hold of the trembling hand reached up to Him in faith; and He helps us to trust Him by multiplied assurances and securities. He has made us a binding agreement upon condition of our obedience, and He comes to meet us in our own understanding of things. We think that a pledge or promise from our fellow men, if recorded, still needs a guarantee. Jesus has met all these peculiar fears, and He has confirmed His promise with an oath: [Hebrews 6:17 quoted.] What more could our Lord do to strengthen our faith in His promises?” That I May Know Him, 262.

12 Of what do Christians lay hold? Hebrews 6:18, last part.

NOTE: ” ‘We are saved by hope.’ Romans 8:24. The fallen must be led to feel that it is not too late for them to be men. Christ honored man with His confidence and thus placed him on his honor. Even those who had fallen the lowest He treated with respect. It was a continual pain to Christ to be brought into contact with enmity, depravity, and impurity; but never did He utter one expression to show that His sensibilities were shocked or His refined tastes offended. Whatever the evil habits, the strong prejudices, or the overbearing passions of human beings, He met them all with pitying tenderness. As we partake of His Spirit, we shall regard all men as brethren, with similar temptations and trials, often falling and struggling to rise again, battling with discouragements and difficulties, craving sympathy and help. Then we shall meet them in such a way as not to discourage or repel them, but to awaken hope in their hearts. As they are thus encouraged, they can say with confidence, ‘Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.’ He will ‘plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness.’ Micah 7:8, 9.” The Ministry of Healing, 165, 166.

Bible Study Guides – Hebrews 5

by

February 23–March 1, 2003

MEMORY VERSE: “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” Hebrews 5:8.

SUGGESTED READING: The Acts of the Apostles, 576; Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 33, 34.

INTRODUCTION: “How exactly their [the Jewish converts’] condition represents the condition of many of the people of God today, who have had every advantage, every privilege, and who, feeling the burden of God’s work, ought to be saying with the whole heart, Here I am, Lord; send me. But in the place of being teachers, as they might be, they themselves can not bear the plain application of the Word of God. They do not discern the value of Bible truth. They are not a strength to the church. Had they thoroughly consecrated themselves to the Lord from their first reception of the truth, surrendering themselves unreservedly to him, and obeying the call, ‘Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me,’ [Mark 8:34] they would have walked in the companionship of Christ, learning his lessons, receiving his divine impress. They would have recognized the claims of Christ, and would not have been half Christians and half worldlings, but whole-hearted Christians, believing and practicing the word, enlightened continually, not dwelling on vague generalities, but proclaiming Christ as the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” Review and Herald, June 16, 1903.

1 As the Son of God, was Christ subject to suffering and temptation? Hebrews 5:8. Compare Hebrews 2:18; 4:15.

NOTE: “In Christ were united the human and the divine. His mission was to reconcile God and man, to unite the finite with the infinite. This was the only way in which fallen men could be exalted through the merits of the blood of Christ to be partakers of the divine nature. Taking human nature fitted Christ to understand man’s trials and sorrows, and all the temptations wherewith he is beset. Angels who were unacquainted with sin could not sympathize with man in his peculiar trials. Christ condescended to take man’s nature and was tempted in all points like as we, that He might know how to succor all who should be tempted. [See Hebrews 2:18.]” Testimonies, vol. 2, 201.

2 What did Christ learn by suffering? Hebrews 5:8, last part.

NOTE: “It was not only on the cross that Christ gave Himself for humanity, not only in the wilderness of temptation and in Gethsemane that He overcame in our behalf. Every day’s experience was an outpouring of His life; every day he learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And because the life of Jesus was a life of perfect trust His service for heaven and earth was without failure or faltering. He met and resisted all the temptations that man must meet because in his humanity he relied upon divine power.” The Columbia Union Visitor, October 2, 1912.

3 Being made perfect, what did He become? Hebrews 5:9.

NOTE: “He [Christ] was the Son of Jehovah, and the Author of our salvation. He labored and suffered for us. He denied Himself, and His whole life was one continued scene of toil and privation. Had He chosen so to do, He could have passed His days in a world of His own creating, in ease and plenty, and claimed for Himself all the pleasures and enjoyment the world could give Him. But He did not consider His own convenience. He lived not to please Himself, but to do good and lavish His blessings upon others.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 18.

4 What is meant by the expression, “when for the time”? Hebrews 5:12, first part.

NOTE: “Those who have long known the truth need to seek the Lord most earnestly, that their hearts may be filled with a determination to work for their neighbors. My brethren and sisters, visit those who live near you, and by sympathy and kindness seek to reach their hearts. Be sure to work in a way that will remove prejudice instead of creating it. And remember that those who know the truth for this time and yet confine their efforts to their own churches, refusing to work for their unconverted neighbors, will be called to account for unfulfilled duties.” The Publishing Ministry, 370.

“We are not to conceal the truth for this time. It is to stand forth in its power and purity. The trumpet is to give a certain sound; for there are those who, though they have long known the truth, need to be awakened. They have closed their eyes to the result of walking contrary to the light that God has given.” Review and Herald, November 5, 1903.

5 How were those who were not quick to discern the truths of God described? Hebrews 5:11, last part.

NOTE: “Paul could not speak to the Jewish converts as plainly as he desired regarding the mystery of godliness. Because of their spiritual weakness, their lack of perception, he could not utter the truth, which, could they have heard aright, with intelligent comprehension, would have been to them a savor of life unto life.

“The fault was not with their instructors, but with themselves. They were dull of understanding. Abundant advantages had been given them. They could have increased in understanding regarding Christ, his work, his power to save to the uttermost all who come to him. But they had not pressed onward and upward, improving their opportunity to learn more and still more of the Saviour. Because they had not received in faith the truths imparted to them, their memory was weak. They could not retain in their minds the truths essential to success in character-building.” Review and Herald, June 16, 1903.

6 Of what need had the dull of hearing? Hebrews 5:12.

NOTE: “Unbelief will ever find cause to doubt and reason away

the most positive proof. The Jews stood constantly upon guard, lest they should be forced by overwhelming evidence to yield their prejudice and unbelief. Though their understanding was convinced, they refused to surrender their pride and self-righteousness, admitting that they, who had boasted of their wisdom over all the rest of the world, themselves needed a teacher.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, 277.

7 How was the dull of hearing’s need for the primary truths of Christian doctrine described? Hebrews 5:12, last half.

NOTE: “Let the truth be presented as it is in Jesus, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little. Speak of the love of God in words easy to be understood. Bible truth, presented in the meekness and love of Jesus will have a telling influence upon many minds.” Evangelism, 199.

“But let laborers have discretion and not give strong meat to those who are babes; feed them with the sincere milk of the Word. In no case mingle your own spirit and ideas with the truth and cover up the precepts of God by traditions or suppositions. Let the people have the truth as it is in Jesus.—Manuscript 39, 1895.” Evangelism, 252.

8 What is meant by “leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ”? Hebrews 6:1.

NOTE: “We are not always to remain children in our knowledge and experience in spiritual things. We are not always to express ourselves in the language of one who has just received Christ; but our prayers and exhortations are to grow in intelligence as we advance in experience in the truth. The language of a child of six in a child of ten years of age would not be pleasing to us, and how painful would it be to hear expressions of childish intelligence in one who had arrived at years of maturity. When a person becomes of age, we expect from him a corresponding intelligence, according to his years and opportunities. . . . But if we expect this manifestation of growing intelligence in the child, as he advances in years, should we not also expect to see the Christian grow in grace and experience? . . .” Sons and Daughters of God, 330.

“It is positively necessary for those who believe the truth, to be making continual advancement, growing up unto the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus. There is no time for backsliding and indifference. Each one must have a living experience in the things of God. Have root in yourselves. Become grounded in the faith, so that having done all you may stand, with unwavering confidence in God, through the time that will try every man’s work and character. Exercise your powers in spiritual things, till you can appreciate the deep things of God’s word, and go on from strength to strength.” Review and Herald, January 10, 1888.

9 What principles of the doctrine of Christ are given? Hebrews 6:2.

NOTE: “We may safely seek to be of one accord in doctrine and spirit, and if this were done, we would be in harmony with God’s will. If selfishness and pride and vanity and evil surmising were put away, we would become strong in God, and the door of our heart would be open for the entrance of Christ; the baptism of the Holy Ghost would fall upon us, and we should be filled with all the fullness of God.” Review and Herald, April 22, 1890.

10 What is said of those who were once enlightened and fall away? Hebrews 6:4–6.

NOTE: “In heaven God is all in all. There, holiness reigns supreme; there is nothing to mar the perfect harmony with God. If we are indeed journeying thither, the spirit of heaven will dwell in our hearts here. But if we find no pleasure now in the contemplation of heavenly things; if we have no interest in seeking the knowledge of God, no delight in beholding the character of Christ; if holiness has no attractions for us—then we may be sure that our hope of heaven is vain. Perfect conformity to the will of God is the high aim to be constantly before the Christian. He will love to talk of God, of Jesus, of the home of bliss and purity which Christ has prepared for them that love Him. The contemplation of these themes, when the soul feasts upon the blessed assurances of God, the apostle represents as tasting ‘the powers of the world to come.’ [Hebrews 6:5.]” My Life Today, 293.

“Jesus says, ‘I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.’ John 12:32. And as one is drawn to behold Jesus uplifted on the cross, he discerns the sinfulness of humanity. He sees that it is sin which scourged and crucified the Lord of glory. He sees that, while he has been loved with unspeakable tenderness, his life has been a continual scene of ingratitude and rebellion. He has forsaken his best Friend and abused heaven’s most precious gift. He has crucified to himself the Son of God afresh and pierced anew that bleeding and stricken heart. He is separated from God by a gulf of sin that is broad and black and deep, and he mourns in brokenness of heart.

“Such mourning ‘shall be comforted.’ God reveals to us our guilt that we may flee to Christ, and through Him be set free from the bondage of sin, and rejoice in the liberty of the sons of God. In true contrition we may come to the foot of the cross, and there leave our burdens.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 9, 10.

11 What lesson is taught in Hebrews 6:7?

NOTE: “The Christian is represented by the figure of the earth, which drinks in the rain that comes upon it, and brings forth fruit to the one who dresses and cares for it. The follower of Christ is to gather sap and nourishment from the living Vine. He is to produce fruit to the glory of God. The Lord requires that every plant in his garden should be thrifty, and bear fruit in abundance,—some thirty, some sixty, and some an hundred fold. We are not to be satisfied with momentary flashes of light; but we are constantly to seek for the illumination of the Spirit of God. It is our privilege to study the word of truth, and to obey it. We are not safe unless we are often found before God, offering up, in faith, fervent and effectual prayers. We must draw water from the wells of salvation. We may raise the soul from its common earthliness into a heavenly atmosphere which will purify, elevate, and refine it for the paradise of God. Those who keep the commandments of God, have a right to appropriate the rich promises that he has given.” Review and Herald, July 31, 1888.

12 What warning against slighting the grace and blessing of Heaven is given? Hebrews 6:8.

NOTE: “Whenever pride and ambition are indulged, the life is marred, for pride, feeling no need, closes the heart against the infinite blessings of Heaven. He who makes self-glorification his aim will find himself destitute of the grace of God, through whose efficiency the truest riches and the most satisfying joys are won. But he who gives all and does all for Christ will know the fulfillment of the promise, ‘The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.’ [Proverbs 10:22.]” Conflict and Courage, 194.

Food for Life – Potato Waffles and Tofu Omelet

by

It is the custom and order of society to take a slight breakfast. But this is not the best way to treat the stomach. At breakfast time the stomach is in a better condition to take care of more food than at the second or third meal of the day. The habit of eating a sparing breakfast and a large dinner is wrong. Make your breakfast correspond more nearly to the heartiest meal of the day.” ounsels on Diet and Foods, 173.

“In every family there should be order, and regular habits. There should be a fixed time to rise in the morning, a time for breakfast, and a time for prayer, either directly before or directly after the morning meal. How appropriate it is for parents to gather their children about them before their fast is broken, and direct their young minds to our heavenly Father, who bestows upon us the bounties of his providence. Let them thank God for protecting them during the night, and ask for help and grace and the watchcare of angels through the day.” The Signs of the Times, August 7, 1884.

“In many families, there is no positive rudeness among the members, only a lack of those simple, affectionate attentions which awaken a spontaneous return; a want of that consideration and gentleness of demeanor which are well-springs of comfort in every household. The well-bred host does not fail to bid his guest ‘Good night,’ and ‘Good morning;’ why should not this simple expression of good feeling be always exchanged between parents and children? The kindly morning greeting will often nip in the bud some rising fretfulness; and the pleasant ‘Good-by,’ from old and young, when leaving the house for office, shop, or school, is a fragrant memory through the day of separation. When the family gather alone around breakfast or dinner table, the same courtesy should prevail as if guests were present. Reproof, complaint, unpleasant discussion, and scandal, no less than moody silence, should be banished. Let the conversation be genial, and suited to the little folks as far as possible.” The Health Reformer, February 1, 1874.

Potato Waffles or Pancakes

6–8 potatoes, grated

1/2 onion, grated

1 Tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon salt

Equivalent substitute for 2 eggs

Squeeze the water out of the potatoes. Add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Place in a prepared waffle iron and bake until done, or cook as pancakes. Serve with lots of applesauce.

Tofu Omelet

1 brick of firm tofu

1 small clove garlic, pressed

1 Tablespoon minced green onion

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

Salt to taste fillings of choice.

Grate the tofu and then very gently mix in the seasonings (garlic, onion, turmeric, and salt). The long strands of tofu create a lattice that gives the omelet structural integrity. Once the tofu is mixed, pour off any water that has collected in the bottom of the bowl, and then arrange the mixture in two omelet-shaped patties on a heated, oiled nonstick or well-seasoned skillet. Cook the omelets at a medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until much of the moisture is evaporated and the edges look a bit dry. Add your choice of filling, fold and serve.