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The Mind Will Be Hypnotized

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No greater effort will be exerted by Satan in the last times than in the area of hypnotism. It is the most effective method of drawing men and women under his control and power. It is well known that some people are far more suggestible than others, and therefore much more vulnerable to hypnotic suggestion. It may well be that there are some so resistant to suggestion that no human being could hypnotize them. However, we must recognize that the master hypnotist, Satan, is able to hypnotize every single human being. There is only one way that we can have certainty that we will not be deceived by Satan, and that is by inviting Christ to take full control of our lives. Thus the Scripture says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5.

The mind of Christ could never be hypnotized by Satan, and therefore could not be deceived. If we invite Christ’s mind to be our mind, then that alone will preserve us from the hypnotic presentations of Satan. The servant of the Lord warned us:

“The experience of the past will be repeated. In the future Satan’s superstitions will assume new forms. Errors will be presented in a pleasing and flattering manner. False theories, clothed with garments of light, will be presented to God’s people. Thus Satan will try to deceive, if possible, the very elect. Most seducing influences will be exerted; minds will be hypnotized.” Maranatha, 59.

This passage is not talking about the world at large; it is talking about members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is fair to deduct that every individual on the face of this planet will be hypnotized by Satan with one group excluded—those whose names are written in the book of life.

In Satan’s last great effort, all are going to be deceived by his hypnotic influence and the influence of his representatives. Thus, there will be an apparent unison that will bring the world together to worship the Papacy, referred to as the beast power in Revelation 13.

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8.

Surely only mass hypnotism could lead the inhabitants of this world into one bond of worship. This brings together the Atheists and the Agnostics, the Animists, the Muslims, the Shintoists, the Taoists, the Buddhists, the Hindus, the Zoroastrians, the Protestants, the Catholics, and every non-committed person in the world. This will be the greatest mass-hypnotism of all ages. Sadly, myriads of those who once walked in the light of the Advent faith, but who have not surrendered their lives to Christ, will also be hypnotized at this point.

Almost ninety years ago Sister White sensed the great inroads of hypnotism in the Adventist Church: “This same hypnotic influence is seen working among our people today. Ever since my return to America a heavy burden has rested upon me. Everywhere I see the power of the enemy. Were it not for the armies of the Lord’s host, led by Michael, the destruction that Satan would be pleased to witness would come to the people of God. They would be discomfited and brought to shame. But the Lord will work for His people. He will not suffer them to be defeated.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, 248.

As the decades have passed, the intensification of Satan’s efforts to hypnotize have unquestionably led to more and more Adventists coming under his hypnotic spell. As men and women move more and more to the world, and less and less place their confidence in Christ, there are deep inroads of Spiritism in the church through the power of hypnosis.

As early as 1870, Sister White referred to the efforts of Satan to hypnotize God’s people. She remarked, “Some seem to have no power to keep their eyes open in meeting. Satan seems to mesmerize them when important truths are presented.” Review and Herald, March 29, 1870.

Thus the inroad of Spiritism into our church is not new.

Again during the first decade of this century, Sister White refers to the hypnotic influence exerted by Dr. Kellogg: “The men who sustain Dr. Kellogg are in a half-mesmerized condition, and do not understand the condition of the man. They honestly believe that he is to be trusted.” Arthur White, The Later Elmshaven Years 1905–1915, vol. 6, 72.

You may have wondered why it is that you can present the clearest, most unambiguous statement of the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy to men and women, and somehow they do not seem to be able to understand its meaning or its significance, or they are able to rationalize it away. Surely already so many have been hypnotized by Satan that they cannot perceive the certainty of God’s truth.

“Satan is waiting to steal a march upon everyone who allows himself to be deceived by his hypnotism. He begins to exert his power over them just as soon as they begin to investigate his theories.” Medical Ministry, 101, 102.

This statement indicates the danger of even exploring areas of error and apostasy. Satan is there to try to draw us into his trap by the use of hypnotism. Colin remembers three of his former friends or colleagues, all of whom decided that they would help people who had moved away from the truth and who had accepted the evangelical concepts of the New Theology. All three of them have joined the ranks of these evangelicals. Rather than helping the one who was deceived, they were themselves equally deceived. It is a wholly unsafe practice to dabble in the artifices of Satan. One has an obligation personally to investigate; but once error is detected, it is unsafe to continue such a study.

Predicting what would take place right at the end of time the servant of the Lord said, “This entering in of Satan through the sciences is well devised. Through the channel of phrenology, psychology, and mesmerism, he comes more directly to the people of this generation, and works with that power which is to characterize his efforts near the close of probation. The minds of thousands have thus been poisoned, and led into infidelity.” Selected Messages, vol. 2, 351.

How important it is that we do not allow our minds to come under the control of others, for in so doing we are coming under the power of Satan.

“Satan often finds a powerful agency for evil in the power which one human mind is capable of exerting on another human mind. This influence is so seductive that the person who is being molded by it is often unconscious of its power. God has bidden me speak warning against this evil, that His servants may not come under the deceptive power of Satan. The enemy is a master worker, and if God’s people are not constantly led by the Spirit of God, they will be snared and taken.

“For thousands of years Satan has been experimenting upon the properties of the human mind, and he has learned to know it well. By his subtle workings in these last days, he is linking the human mind with his own, imbuing it with his thoughts; and he is doing this work in so deceptive a manner that those who accept his guidance know not that they are being led by him at his will. The great deceiver hopes so to confuse the minds of men and women, that none but his voice will be heard.” Selected Messages, vol. 2, 352, 353.

On a number of occasions Ellen White wrote testimonies to physicians who were using hypnosis and other mind control techniques. She indicated the danger of these, and yet today there are some of our Seventh-day Adventist doctors who are routinely exercising an hypnotic influence over their patients all in the name of medicine.

In Medical Ministry she wrote as follows:

“Now, my brother, I consider you to be in positive peril. I present this because I know that you are in great danger of being seduced by Satan. We are living in a time when every phase of fanaticism will press its way in among believers and unbelievers. Satan will come in, speaking lies in hypocrisy. Everything that he can invent to deceive men and women will be brought forward.

“Just in proportion as men lose their sense of the need of vital religion, so they become filled with common, earthly ideas, which they exalt as wonderful knowledge. Physicians who lose their hold on Christ become filled with ideas of their own, which they look upon as some wonderful science, to be brought into the medical profession as something new and strange.” Medical Ministry, 114.

Some Seventh-day Adventists have thought nothing about going to a hypnotist to seek help in psychological problems, and even for various forms of child and marriage counseling. But such is the work of Satan. We are to have nothing to do with these practices.

Colin recalls talking on the telephone in 1974 to John Roth, whose life was almost destroyed by his attendance at a mind-control program. Mr. Roth was at the time, an orthodox Jew and in middle-management in an oil company. Wanting to improve his status in life, he accepted the recommendation of a friend to attend a Silva mind control program. Having paid several hundred dollars for the program, he eagerly attended. The first night a very well-presented man stood before them and explained that we only use approximately six percent of all the neurons we have during our lifetime and that this program was to help to expand dramatically the use of the neurons in our brain.

It all sounded very good and Mr. Roth couldn’t wait until the second day. On the second day, all those who were in attendance were asked to imagine that they had a counselor and to decide what kind of questions they would like to ask such a counselor. By the third night the instructor was not talking about an imagined counselor, he was talking about “your counselor.”

Being an Orthodox Jew, Mr. Roth was rather disturbed by this and called his friend who invited him over to his place and told him that this was the best part of the program; that he got such wonderful advice from his counselor. He then asked Mr. Roth, “What question would you like me to ask my counselor?” Mr. Roth almost off-handedly said, “Ask your counselor what I will be doing in twelve months time.” He watched his friend go into a trance-like state, no doubt built upon auto-hypnosis. After a while he was deeply concerned by the obvious agitation of his friend, and wondered what was taking place. Shortly afterward, his friend came out of the trance-like state and said, “I don’t know what happened. My counselor has been so kind and so helpful to me, but when I asked your question all he did was curse and swear.” This did not encourage Mr. Roth, but having paid so much money for the course he attended the fourth and fifth nights. Before the program was over, they had been led into levitation and astral projection (out-of-body experiences).

Almost immediately Mr. Roth became ill; in fact, so ill that he had to be admitted to the hospital. But there the doctors could find no physical problem. And yet, clearly, his vital forces were diminishing and they had to concede that he was dying. This, you can understand, brought great worry to himself and to his wife. One night they were visited by Christian friends. The friends were shocked to see the state of Mr. Roth and as they talked with the wife, she told them what had taken place and that they had associated this sickness with the program that he had attended. The Christian friends said, “There is one answer to this, but you may not like it, and that is to pray in the name of Jesus.”

Eventually she agreed and they went back to the bedside of Mr. Roth and asked if he would agree, which he did. So that night they prayed in the name of Christ that he would be released from the satanic power that was destroying his life. Virtually immediately, he began to recover. The physicians could give no explanation for his recovery any more than they could of his original illness. The Roths accepted Christianity and Mr. Roth became a major speaker around the United States telling people of his salvation from the satanic influence over his life.

No doubt, some way, somehow, the spirit that was the counselor of his friend, who had cursed and sworn when asked what Mr. Roth would be doing in twelve months time, realized what would take place.

In his book, The Seduction of Christianity, David Hunt quotes one of the world’s leading occult authorities and historians, Manly P. Hall, who declared, “There is abundant evidence that in many forms of modern thought—especially the so-called ‘prosperity psychology’ ‘will power building’ metaphysics and systems of ‘high-pressure’ salesmanship —black magic has merely passed through a metamorphosis, and although its name may be changed, its nature remains the same.” David Hunt, The Seduction of Christianity, 14.

More and more Seventh-day Adventists seek worldly help for their spiritual problems, which often are designated emotional problems. In reality, these stress and emotional issues are the symptoms of a lack of spiritual depth in the life. What men and women need much more than human counselors and psychologists is the power of the indwelling Christ in the life.

Colin well knows the simple means that Satan uses to hypnotize people. As an undergraduate student of the University of Sydney, he studied a little into the areas of suggestion and hypnosis. One night, in a group of Adventist youth, he was asked if he could hypnotize. Foolishly, he responded, “Of course,” never thinking that anything would take place. As he chose one of the young ladies and used the very simplest of techniques that had been explained in class, he was terrified by the fact that she soon entered a deep hypnotic state. Also, the young people watching from the darkness outside the window were terrified when they saw what took place. They came rushing into the room, urging Colin to bring the young lady out of the hypnotic state. Colin was uncertain of what to do, but in the end, given the command to wake up, she did wake up. He had to ask the forgiveness of the Lord and to make a commitment never to allow such a thing to happen again.

Most people unfamiliar with hypnosis believe it is an extraordinarily difficult art. But in reality it is simple and commonly used today in all sorts of aspects of life, including advertising, interpersonal relations and counseling.

If ever there was time when God’s people needed the mind of Christ, it is now. Hypnotism is surely the strongest avenue to lead men and women to be deceived by Spiritism. Indeed, the two are indivisibly linked one with the other. God’s people are called to keep clear of any form of hypnotism, mind control or human methods of handling the problems and issues of life.

The Sanctuary

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The finishing of the mystery of God involves the opening of the second apartment of the sanctuary in heaven, wherein is the ark of God’s testament. This is the place where our Lord finishes His priesthood, and hence this apartment of the heavenly temple must be the place of that tribunal at which the righteous are acquitted, their sins blotted out and themselves accounted worthy of the kingdom of God. The temple of God in heaven, and especially its second apartment, is therefore worthy of our most attentive study. The Scriptures contain many explicit testimonies to the existence of the heavenly temple.

“The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men.” Psalm 11:4.

“In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God; and He did hear my voice out of His temple, and my cry did enter into His ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because He was wroth.” 2 Samuel 22:7, 8. See also Psalm 18:6, 7.

“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.” Isaiah 6:1–4.

“Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is; and let the Lord God be witness against you; the Lord from His holy temple. For, behold, the Lord cometh forth out of His place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.” Micah 1:2, 3.

“And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” Revelation 11:19.

“And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire”. Revelation 14:17, 18.

“And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.” Revelation 15:5.

“And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.” Revelation 16:17.

Many other texts might be quoted in which this building is mentioned either as God’s temple, tabernacle, sanctuary, or holy habitation. To some of these texts we shall refer in the further study of this subject.

The heavenly temple consists of two holy places. This is proved by many conclusive arguments. The first of these is drawn from the statements respecting the tabernacle erected by Moses. When God called Moses into the mount to receive the tables of the law (Exodus 24:12), he first bade him make a sanctuary that He might dwell among them, and that the priests might minister in His presence. Exodus 25, 26, 27, 28. He also bade him to make an ark to contain the tables of the law, to be placed in the second apartment of the sanctuary. This building consisted of two holy places (Exodus 26), and both itself and its sacred vessels were made like the pattern showed in the mount.

“And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.” Exodus 25:8, 9.

“Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle; for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.” Hebrews 8:5. See also Exodus 25:40; 26:30; Acts 7:44.

The tabernacle thus constructed was a pattern of the heavenly temple. Thus Paul bears testimony:

“It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true [the images of the true holy places, Macknight’s translation]: but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Hebrews 9:23, 24.

This establishes one plain, incontrovertible argument, that the heavenly temple has two holy places. The temple erected by Solomon furnishes the second argument, and it is of the same character as that drawn from the tabernacle. The temple was a larger and grander building than the tabernacle, and differed from it in being an immovable structure, but it was constructed on the same plan, in that it was an edifice consisting of two holy places, with sacred vessels of the same kind, and occupied with the very same ministration, as that which had previously served in the tabernacle. 1 Kings 6, 7; 8:2; 2 Chronicles 3, 4, 5. This building with its two holy places was a pattern of the heavenly temple, as the words of David and of Solomon declare:

“Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlors thereof, and of the place of the mercy-seat, and the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things.” “All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.”1 Chronicles 28:11, 12, 19.

This is a second decisive argument that the heavenly sanctuary has two holy places. The third is drawn from the fact that the plural term “holy places” is used in the designation of the greater and more perfect tabernacle.

Thus when Paul says, as expressed in our common version (Hebrews 8:2), “A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man,” it is literally in the original, “a minister of the holy places.” And thus also when we read respecting the heavenly temple, “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing,” it is literally in the Greek, “the way of the holy places.” Hebrews 9:8. So also where we read of the greater and more perfect tabernacle, in verse 12, that Christ “entered in once into the holy place,” it is also literally “holy places.” Again, in verse 24, we read in our common version the same thing, literally rendered, “the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true,” which the last word is plural in the original, showing that there are holy places in the heavenly temple. And again in Hebrews 10:19, the term “holiest” is not, in the original “holy of holies,” as in chapter 9:3, but simply “holy places.” These passages form a most convincing argument that there must be two holy places in the heavenly temple. A fourth argument is found in the fact that each of the two holy places of the heavenly temple is definitely set forth in the description of that building not made with hands.

The first apartment is identified by the things which it contains. When John was called in vision to ascend to the place of God’s throne, the heavenly temple, a door was opened in heaven, and the throne of God was revealed to his view. This is manifestly the door of the heavenly temple, for the throne of God, which is disclosed to view, is within that temple. Psalm 11:4; Revelation 16:17. That it was the first apartment of that temple, into which he looked, is evident from what he saw therein. “And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices; and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” Revelation 4:5. Here is a plain reference to the seven lamps which burned in the first apartment of the earthly sanctuary. Leviticus 24:2–4.

And again, when the seven angels receive the seven trumpets, the scene of vision is still the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. Thus we read: “And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.” Revelation 8:2, 3.

The golden altar stood in the first apartment of the sanctuary, i.e., in the same room with the candlestick on which were the seven lamps. Exodus 40:24–26. The place of God’s throne, at the time when the book with the seven seals was delivered to Christ, and also when the seven trumpets were given to the seven angels, is the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. But when the seven vials are delivered into the hands of the seven angels who have the duty of pouring them out, the second apartment of the heavenly temple is opened, and they come out from thence to execute the wrath of God upon men. This opening of the holiest takes place under the seventh trumpet.

“And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened; and the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.” Revelation 15:5–8.

This opening of the heavenly temple, which is followed by the pouring out of the unmingled wrath of God, is an event connected with the closing up of human probation. And it is certain that we have in this case the opening of the holiest of all, here called the tabernacle of the testimony. The expression, “tabernacle of the testimony,” is a familiar term taken from the Old Testament, and is precisely equivalent to “tabernacle of the ten commandments.” In proof of this, take the use of this term in the Bible. We begin with the first use of the Hebrew word gehdooth, and trace it through the books of Moses. Thus is occurs for the first time in Exodus 16:34: “Aaron laid it up before the testimony.” That is to say, he laid up the pot of manna before the ark of the ten commandments. (See Hebrews 9:4.) The next is Exodus 25:16: “Thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.” This was the ten commandments. (See Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 10:4, 5.) Again (Exodus 25:21), “In the ark thou shalt put the testimony,” i.e., the ten commandments. (See 1 Kings 8:9.) And now the ark itself takes its name from what was put in it. “The two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony.” Exodus 25:22. “And thou shalt hand up the veil under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony; and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. And thou shalt put the mercyseat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.” Exodus 26:33, 34. Here we have the ark of the ten commandments assigned to the most holy place of the tabernacle and the mercyseat placed over the ark. Presently we shall find that this testimony gives name to the tabernacle itself. As we read onward, we find in Exodus 27:21; 30:6, 26, 36; 31:7, 18; 32:15; 34:29, the terms “testimony,” “tables of testimony,” ” ark of the testimony” each time by testimony meaning definitely the ten commandments. The term, “tabernacle of testimony,” occurs for the first time in Exodus 38:21.

Thus we see that the testimony of the Almighty gives name to the tables on which it was written, to the ark in which the tables were placed, and to the tabernacle itself, whose second apartment received the ark. Next, we thrice read of the ark of the testimony. Exodus 39:35; 40:3, 5. And now we are brought to the acts of Moses in setting up the sanctuary. It is said (Exodus 40:20), “He took and put the testimony into the ark,” i.e., he put the law of God therein. Then he placed the ark itself within the tabernacle, and covered the ark of the testimony by hanging up the second veil. Exodus 40:21. In Leviticus 16:13 the mercy-seat is said to be upon the testimony. In Leviticus 24:3, the veil which hides the ark is called the veil of the testimony. Next, we read of the tabernacle of the testimony, in Numbers 1:50, 53. Next, of the ark of the testimony,Numbers 4:5; 7:89, Joshua 4:16. Next, of the tent of the testimony. Numbers 9:15, and of the testimony itself. Numbers 17:10. Next, of the tabernacle of witness, or testimony (for the two words are synonymous). Numbers 10:11; 17:7, 8; 18:2. In all these texts it is certain that the ten commandments are called the testimony, and that they give name to the tables, to the ark, to the veil, and to the tabernacle, especially to the second apartment.

This term has, therefore, a well defined meaning in the Scriptures. By the testimony, the tables of the testimony, the ark of the testimony, the veil of the testimony, and the tabernacle of the testimony, are meant respectively the ten commandments. (Exodus 31:18), the tables of the ten commandments (Exodus 32:15), the ark of the ten commandments (Exodus 40:20), the veil of the ten commandments (Exodus 40:21; Leviticus 24:3), and the tabernacle of the ten commandments (Numbers 9:15; 10:11). The term, “tabernacle of witness,” or “testimony,” does therefore definitely signify the tabernacle of the ten commandments. Now it is remarkable that this term occurs twice in the New Testament. In Acts 7:44, the tabernacle of witness, i.e., of the ten commandments, is mentioned, referring to the earthly sanctuary; and in Revelation 15:5, the heavenly sanctuary is designated by this same term, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven; and we have proved conclusively that this is equivalent to the temple of the tabernacle of the ten commandments in heaven.

This text is therefore a plain reference to the most holy place of the heavenly temple, and to the law of God deposited therein, which gives name to the building. This apartment of the heavenly temple is opened just prior to the pouring out of the plagues. But we have a second statement of the opening of the most holy place of the temple in Heaven. Thus we read of the events under the seventh trumpet: “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and earthquake, and great hail.” Revelation 11:19.

Here is disclosed to our view the second apartment of the heavenly temple, and here is shown the grand central object, which gives name to the tabernacle itself. It is the ark of God, sometimes called the ark of the covenant, or testament (Numbers 10:33; Hebrews 9:4), and sometimes the ark of the testimony (Exodus 25:22). It is because the heavenly temple contains the ark of God’s testimony that it is itself called the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven. And the ark itself is not empty; it contains what Revelation 11:19 calls God’s testament, and what Revelation 15:5 calls “the testimony in heaven.” And these two terms must signify the ten commandments, and cannot signify anything else.

The existence of the temple in heaven, and the fact that it has two holy places, like the sanctuary of the first covenant, have been clearly proved. The judgment work in the second apartment remains to engage our attention.

When Paul says, in Romans 2:6, that God “will render to every man according to his deeds,” he adds in the next verse this important statement: “To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life.” Now it is manifest that this work of rendering to every man according to his deeds can only be wrought after the examination of those deeds in the judgment. It must be in consequence of the decision of the judgment that the things promised are rendered to men. It is also evident that the gift of immortality is one of the things thus rendered. As the righteous receive this gift in the very act of being resurrected from the grave, it is certain that the decision of the judgment passes upon them before the voice of the archangel and the trump of God awaken them to immortal life.

This part of the judgment work takes place where our Lord finishes His priesthood; for His last work as priest is to secure the acquittal of His people, and to obtain the decision that their sins shall be blotted out. We have learned from the Scriptures that the heavenly temple has two holy places. A further examination will evince the fact that there are two parts to the ministration of Christ, and that His last work is at the tribunal of His Father, in the tabernacle of the testimony, where it is determined who shall receive immortality.

The Levitical priests served “unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.” Hebrews 8:5. The most important part of the service pertaining to the earthly sanctuary was that which was performed within the second apartment on the tenth day of the seventh month. Leviticus 16. This is generally considered as typifying the events of the whole gospel dispensation. But we think the evidence conclusive that this chapter is a typical representation of that part of our Lord’s work which is embraced in the hour of God’s judgment, or in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he begins to sound.

The sixteenth chapter of Leviticus is devoted solely to the work of finishing the yearly round of service in the earthly sanctuary. This was wrought on the great day of atonement, and was of the most impressive character. First, the high priest was solemnly admonished that he was such only in a typical sense and not such in reality. For on this day, which was by far the most impressive of all, and when he entered the most holy place of the sanctuary, he must put on the plainest and humblest dress, laying aside that splendid dress which the law prescribed for him to wear on other occasions. Leviticus 16:4 compared with Exodus 28. He was also to make a public acknowledgement of his own sinfulness by proceeding to offer a sin-offering for himself. Leviticus 16:3, 6, 11–14. No part of this can be typical of our Lord’s work, for it was expressly designed to impress upon the mind the infirmity and sinfulness of the high priest.

But this being accomplished, the high priest entered upon that work which directly shadowed forth the work of atonement. He took from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin-offering. Leviticus 16:5. On these two goats he was to cast lots; one lot was for the goat to be sacrificed, and one for the scapegoat. Then he slew the goat upon which the lot fell for a sacrifice, and with his blood he entered into the second apartment of the sanctuary. This blood he sprinkled before the mercy-seat and upon it. He did this for two purposes: (1) To make atonement for the people; (2) to cleanse the sanctuary by removing from it the sins of the people of God. Then the high priest returned into the first apartment and cleansed the altar from the sins of the people. The sanctuary being cleansed, the high priest comes out of the door of the building, and, having caused the live goat to be brought, he lays both his hands upon his head and confesses over him all the transgressions of the children of Israel and all their sins. These he puts upon the head of the goat, and sends him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat thus sent bears away all their iniquities into a land not inhabited. Leviticus 16:7–10, 15–22.

 

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

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“And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:2, 3. In other words, this first beatitude says: “Happy are they who recognize their spiritual poverty.” The Desire of Ages, 299. The beatitudes are an advancing line of Christian experience, and the very first step is to recognize our spiritual poverty, then we will seek for help. (See Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 13.) “We no less than they need to learn the foundation principles of the kingdom of God.” The Desire of Ages, 299.

The Lord has warned us, “The lips may express a poverty of soul that the heart does not acknowledge. While speaking to God of poverty of spirit, the heart may be swelling with a conceit of its own superior humility and exalted righteousness.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 159. With our lips we may speak of humility, but in our hearts we may be proud of our humility. This is a fatal state of mind because it negates the only way of cleansing that is available for us.

“One fountain only has been opened for sin. A fountain for the poor in spirit.” The Desire of Ages, 300. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Everyone that will be saved needs this fountain to cleanse them from sin and this fountain is open only to the poor in spirit.

As the multitude gathered on the mountain by the town of Gennesaret, Jesus presented this new idea to the people. This is something they had never heard from the scribes and the priests, and it startled them. However, this new idea was taught in the Old Testament.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Proverbs 1:7. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Psalm 111:10. Notice the word “beginning.” You cannot gain any true wisdom without the fear of the Lord. Without the fear of the Lord we are self-deceived if we think we are smart.

“Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18. “When pride cometh, then cometh shame, but with the lowly is wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2. Where is wisdom to be found? It will be seen at last that it is only with the lowly—the poor in spirit.

We need to settle in our minds that we are not smart enough to manage life. We are sinners and sin has robbed us of our good sense. The only source of wisdom is found in the Bible, which contains the principles that are the guidelines of life. Without these, not one of us has any wisdom.

Sometimes we are foolish enough to compare our judgment, discernment, maturity level or abilities with those around us. But even before sin Adam and Eve were infinitely lower than God was. How foolish of us to look at the sinful people around us and begin making comparisons among ourselves— how we are wiser, smarter, more mature and have more ability than someone else.

Paul says those who do this are not wise. “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” 2 Corinthians 10:12. Instead of looking at others, we need to look up and compare ourselves with our human Example—Jesus. Then we will have nothing to boast of.

Sometimes the devil tricks us into deceiving ourselves! He tricks us into believing that we have something good in ourselves. But every talent that we possess is given to us from God. We could learn a lesson from Dwight Moody. Seeing a drunk in Chicago, he pitifully turned him over and said, “Except for the grace of God, there lies Dwight Moody.” He was not saying in the language of the Pharisees, “How thankful I am that I am not as this man,” as he passed by. He recognized what he would be except for God’s grace.

Every blessing we have, every bright idea even in science, or in business has come from the mind of God. (See Fundamentals of Christian Education, 167.) We have nothing to boast of. Every good gift comes from God. We need to praise His name for what He has lent to us.

There is only one thing we completely own all by ourselves, that is our sinful hearts. (See Steps to Christ, 46.) Everything else is a gift of God. We need to plead with the Lord to help us see our true condition. We are in this world for seventy, eighty, ninety or one hundred years, on probation that by God’s grace we may yield ourselves to God to be healed of sin.

He died that we might live. If we become puffed up thinking we are something good when we are but sinners, we are defeating the purpose of His grace. “The Lord can do nothing toward the recovery of man until, convinced of his own weakness, and stripped of all self-sufficiency, he yields himself to the control of God.” The Desire of Ages, 300.

In the days of Christ, the religious leaders of the people felt that they were rich in spiritual treasure, reasonably good, and better than others. He who thinks that he is reasonably good has a problem.

We may intellectually accept the fact that we are spiritually poor, but actually we consider ourselves reasonably good. After all, we do not indulge in drinking or looking at pornographic magazines. We know that we are much better than that! According to the moral standard among men we judge ourselves good or at least better than average. But he who thinks that he is reasonably good and is content with his condition does not seek to become a partaker of the grace and righteousness of Christ.

Our “reasonable goodness” is worth absolutely nothing. We are poor. Sin made us bankrupt for eternity except the Lord stood in the gap and saved us. Our reasonable goodness needs to be laid at the foot of the cross because “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6.

“The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither nullified with ointment.” Isaiah 1:5, 6. Until we see this picture of ourselves, we cannot find forgiveness with God. But next we must realize that we are incapable to see our own condition. How then are we to find repentance and acceptance with God?

Repentance is a gift of God. (See Acts 5:31.) We need to come to Him and ask Him for this gift. Say, Lord, please show me myself as You see me. “Although it is painful for us to know ourselves as we really are, yet we should pray that God will reveal us to ourselves, even as He sees us. But we should not cease to pray when we have simply asked for a revelation of ourselves; we should pray that Jesus may be revealed to us as a sin-pardoning Saviour.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 312, 313. If we get the true picture of our condition, it will drive us to Him so that we may find forgiveness and cleansing.

The last night that Jesus was on earth, He explained to His disciples how they were to find this cleansing. He said, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” John 15:3. We are sick. We have open sores that are rotting. They have not been closed up or cleansed with ointment. The festering sores of sin need to be cleansed.

That cleansing takes place through the Word of the living God. “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But who so looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:21–25.

“Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envyings, and all evil speaking, As new-born babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 1 Peter 2:1–3.

Study the Word, memorize the Word. Let the words of Scripture be the sum and substance of your thoughts. That Word is what cleanses us. Young and old should not just be speaking their own words, talking out of the abundance of their own ideas. We should be speaking to each other in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Such should be our conversation. How does our conversation go on Saturday night when we are “letting our hair down”? It is nice to visit, but we need to keep the Lord in our visiting.

We have a high standard. We need to be encouraging each other to reach this standard. We have no time to be frivolous. We need to be raised to a higher plane. The thoughts of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy should fill our minds and our conversation so we have something profitable to talk to each other about.

There is temporal business to talk about and that is acceptable. We need to get counsel from one another. There is nothing wrong with these things as long as the point of everything we do is to uplift Jesus. When we realize how powerful the Word of God is, then we will want it in our daily conversation. We will not want to live without the Word of God. “The Centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only and my servant shall be healed.” Matthew 8:8. And Jesus said, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Verse 9. The Centurion understood that he was not worthy of Jesus’ mercy, but he never doubted Jesus’ power and Jesus healed his servant.

“And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:38. Each one of us can plead with the Lord that it will be unto us according to His word. Not that we are worthy, but He has promised.

“When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick.” Matthew 8:16. He is the same today. He can conquer sin in your life with His powerful word. Let us each one go to our closet and lay hold of the promises of God and say, Lord, I will not let Thee go until Thou bless me. He will cast sin out of us if we claim His word.

“And they were astonished at His doctrine: for His word was with power.” Luke 4:32. His power has lost none of its strength with the passing of time. “As for God, His way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to those that trust in Him.” Psalm 18:30.

“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth . . . For He spake, and it was done; He commanded and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:6, 9. The question is not if God’s word is powerful enough. His word is quicker and more powerful than any two-edged sword, faster than any bullet. It is more powerful than the most ingrained human fault. The question is will we submit to God’s Word.

I once led out in a cooking school and worked with a wonderful lady who was an alcoholic. She wanted to be healthy. She and her husband were wealthy; and had all this world’s goods, but she could not leave off alcohol. As I watched the desperate struggle, it dawned on me that every one of us has a besetting sin that is just as difficult to give up as alcohol. Our besetting sin may be the misuse of our tongue.

Alcohol can be left on the shelf in the store, but we carry our tongues with us. With our tongues we often overeat. James said that out of the same mouth we bless God and curse our fellow men. Like the alcoholic, without God’s grace each one of us will perish in our sins, thinking we are righteous and holy.

Grace is infinitely more valuable than all the gold and silver and all the houses and lands in the world. While men are seeking with such desire for a good name, for wealth, fame, power and worldly greatness, heavenly messengers are trying to give them the “unsearchable riches of Christ.” Ephesians 3:8. When Jesus was on earth He refused earthly riches, lest men would be led to seek Him for temporal gain and miss the greater gift He came to give.

 

Harlots and Tax Collectors

 

Jesus looked at the religious leaders in His day and said, The harlot and the tax collectors and the publicans will go into the kingdom of God before you! Why was it that the prostitutes and the tax collectors would go in before those who thought they were so smart? Because these despised sinners were not satisfied with their lives, and some of them would turn to God and find grace to overcome prostitution, alcoholism and cheating.

They would overcome because they were willing to seek help from Someone who had the power that they did not have. Their sinful lives made them realize that they were destitute. That is why Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to man and to angels. He was the Word of God, God’s thoughts made audible. All the principles of God’s word are perfectly painted in Jesus’ life. This Word has been handed down to us that it may become our very being. This Word can become flesh again. It can be the sum and substance of every thought, word and action.

The Word of God, when it became flesh, lived in Jesus. What did the Word look like? He came to a family poor in this world’s goods, to a manger filled with hay. He came to live the life of a common laborer. To work as a common man worked, pound a hammer and use a saw. He came to soothe the ills of sorrowing humanity because He loved us. He loved us so much that He was willing to risk eternal life that we might be saved. (See The Desire of Ages, 49.) He was unrecognized and unhonored. He often went hungry because He shared His lunch with those who were less fortunate than He was.

Why did He not come dressed in royal robes to the palaces of this world? “He shunned all outward display. Riches, worldly honor, and human greatness can never save a soul from death; Jesus purposed that no attraction of an earthly nature should call men to His side. Only the beauty of heavenly truth must draw those who would follow Him.” The Desire of Ages, 43.

He does not want us to get so enamored with earthly attractions that He cannot give us something far more beautiful, more valuable and more costly than anything this world could offer. The most beautiful thing in the world to Christ is men and women, who have been made holy by His grace. To the holy ones of earth, all other blessings are theirs. “Honor and majesty are before Him: strength and beauty are in His sanctuary . . . Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before Him, all the earth.” Psalm 96:6, 9.

He came to offer beauty to the ugly and wealth to the poor. Only in the wealth of His righteousness can we enter into His courts. Only in the beauty of holiness can we come into His presence and worship Him. Worship is something that only God can produce in the repentant heart. One can be at the right place and not be worshipping. Worship comes from holiness inside, the beauty of holiness. It is the rarest thing in the world but it is offered to each one of us. We can experience it, if we will recognize that we are nothing. Until we come to that place we can never experience His wonderful beauty and peace. “Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power, in the beauty of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of Thy youth.” Psalm 110:3.

Are you willing? Is the beauty of holiness flowing from your life? It was with Jesus. The sweetness of divine love flowed from His very presence as the fragrance from a flower. Is that how it is in your heart? Jesus makes it happen—only for the poor in spirit.

 

Food For Life — Impurities

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“Scrupulous cleanliness is essential to both physical and mental health.” Impurities are constantly thrown off from the body through the skin. Its millions of pores are quickly clogged unless kept clean by frequent bathing, and the impurities which should pass off through the skin become an additional burden to the other eliminating organs.

“Most persons would receive benefit from a cool or tepid bath every day, morning or evening. Instead of increasing the liability to take cold, a bath, properly taken, fortifies against cold, because it improves the circulation; the blood is brought to the surface, and a more easy and regular flow is obtained. The mind and the body are alike invigorated. The muscles become more flexible, the intellect is made brighter. The bath is a soother of the nerves. Bathing helps the bowels, the stomach, and the liver, giving health and energy to each, and it promotes digestion.

“It is important also that the clothing be kept clean. The garments worn absorb the waste matter that passes off through the pores; if they are not frequently changed and washed, the impurities will be reabsorbed.

“Every form of uncleanliness tends to disease. Death-producing germs abound in dark, neglected corners, in decaying refuse, in dampness and mold and must. No waste vegetables or heaps of fallen leaves should be allowed to remain near the house to decay and poison the air. Nothing unclean or decaying should be tolerated within the home. In towns or cities regarded perfectly healthful, many an epidemic of fever has been traced to decaying matter about the dwelling of some careless householder.

“Perfect cleanliness, plenty of sunlight, careful attention to sanitation in every detail of the home life, are essential to freedom from disease and to the cheerfulness and vigor of the inmates of the home.

“In the teaching that God gave to Israel, the preservation of health received careful attention. The people who had come from slavery with the uncleanly and unhealthful habits which it engenders, were subjected to the strictest training in the wilderness before entering Canaan. Health principles were taught and sanitary laws enforced.

“Not only in their religious service, but in all the affairs of daily life was observed the distinction between clean and unclean. All who came in contact with contagious or contaminating diseases were isolated from the encampment, and they were not permitted to return without thorough cleansing of both the person and the clothing . . . No impurity was to be tolerated in the presence of God.” Ministry of Healing, 274–279.

Give this some serious thought as you enter the house of God each week to worship your Great Creator, and make sure that you meet His requirements physically as well as spiritually!

Nut, Lentil and Rice Loaf

 

1–2 T. water

2 cups steamed brown rice

1 cup mashed lentils

2 T. chopped onions

1 T. whole-wheat flour, browned

3 T. cashew milk

1/2 t. sage

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Salt to taste

 

Sauté onion and sage in a small pan with distilled water. Mix browned flour and milk, stirring until smooth. Add this to the onion. Add the remaining ingredients. Pack into a loaf pan and bake at 350° for 20–30 minutes.

 

Christ or Caiaphas

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“Why should ye be stricken anymore? Ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.” Isaiah 1:5–10.

Recently my eyes caught the following headline: “Time to close down the smaller churches.” Yes, the time has come. That is what the North American Division says in an issue of Plus Line Access, a special eight-page newsletter for Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders and pastors in the United States and Canada. The problems are spelled out and the solution is simple enough: Close the local churches. What are the problems? Any one of four is sufficient for the Conference President to close a church and pocket the key:

  1. Weekly attendance is low. The congregation does not have lots of members, and usually most of the members are aged. Such churches should be loosed so the pastor can dedicate his energies to more populous areas.
  2. Newly started churches do not get above thirty or forty members within a couple of years.
  3. The church is not sending in enough tithe to the conference office.
  4. A church becomes controlled by an independent ministry that is unsupportive of Seventh-day Adventist churches and its leadership. Such churches are like a cancer among other churches. The above four points include almost every small denominational congregation that is below thirty or forty members.

Why are the leaders so anxious to close down the small churches? The reasons are obvious, yet profound in their significance.

  1. It is invariably the smaller churches that will be the most conservative. They are the ones which stand as fortresses in defense of our historic beliefs and standards.
  2. It is the delegates from the small churches, which lead out in opposing apostasy at Conference constituency meetings.
  3. It is the delegates from smaller churches, which are the most dangerous to the agenda of getting worldly leaders elected and re-elected in the Conference.
  4. It is the smaller churches that want New Theology pastors transferred out.
  5. By eliminating the small churches, the way is cleared for the Conference leadership to more rapidly take its churches into modernism.
  6. By disbanding local churches, the members will have to join a larger church, where, because they are in the minority, they will have less influence over Board and Committee actions.

This Division-wide plan was disclosed in the January 1996 issue of the publication sent to church leaders and pastors throughout the North American Division. You were not supposed to know about this plan yet.

Our concern is the plan to close the churches of the faithful. Once these little flocks are scattered,leadership will have more control over that which remains. But there is an interesting question. What will be done with those padlocked buildings? In some incidences they will remain closed until a Conference evangelist comes along and brings in New Theology trained members.

But the temptation will be great to sell the buildings, which local church members in earlier years paid for. For over a decade Conference funds have been drying up, as the faithful have been crowded out by New Theology pastors. Throwing off these small churches will help subsidize Celebrations, Youth Congresses, Festivals and other activities intended to hold the shallow, who think more of entertainment than they do of serious study in the inspired books or in missionary work.

I must confess that as I read this amazing disclosure of what the North American Division plans to do, I felt a real heartbreak pain within me. This is what is called “institutional planning” and such a decision to close down the smaller churches demands an answer. Is such a plan ordained by God and baptized by the Holy Spirit? Or has Satan so infiltrated his leaders into God’s ranks that it is now possible to seriously wound the very small remnant that Isaiah saw that were left within God’s remnant church?

This article was taken largely from a sermon presented in 1963 by Elder Arthur L. Bietz, who was faced with a situation within his church regarding Conference leadership involved in institutional problems.

Please notice the parallel between then and now, and you decide where you should take a stand regarding such directives that are handed down from today’s structure.

I want you to be able to use your imagination to catch the meaning, the drama, the heart throb, the intensity of this situation for these are days of crisis, days of tremendous meaning.

In some ways, Caiaphas is one of the most tragic figures of the New Testament. Yet in another way he is a man of tremendous splendor. A man who was loved and probably in some respects greatly adored. The historical facts are that the people stood in awe before him, for he was indeed the symbolization of the great heritage of Israel. He embodied everything that Israel had fought for, all that Israel had prayed for, and theirs was indeed a glorious heritage.

Caiaphas had been chosen by the children of Israel as a “custodian,” of the great religious institution, but now something had happened.

Suddenly, the world, that then was, found itself polarized in two centers; on the one side stood Caiaphas, the high priest, on the other side stood Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The loyalties had congealed and the crisis was on.

This was a tragedy with a degree of splendor in it, for Caiaphas was a very notable person, with an impressive personality. Indeed, he was the most powerful man in Judaism at the time of Christ. He had not only the ecclesiastical power, but he also held the civil authority.

People have always responded to those who stand in authority. There is something splendid, something awe inspiring, about a man in this position. The children of Israel looked to Caiaphas for guidance.

Caiaphas was feared by some, greatly respected by others. Do not ever think for a moment that this man was despised, for he was not. He was the symbol embodying all religious leadership at that time. He had under him some twenty thousand priests over whom he was the absolute head and they moved under his command. They were the spiritual leaders of the nation who are now suddenly faced with a desperate situation.

Caiaphas, on the one side, leads a great religious institution with a marvelous religious heritage, while opposing him stands Jesus Christ. One or the other must go. Who shall be crucified? Can you feel the drama in your own life and heart? Where would you have stood before these two opposing powers? Would you have cast your vote with the recognized religious institutional authority? Or would you have accepted Jesus Christ?

Caiaphas who headed the religious parades in all the Jewish festivals and on the annual Day of Atonement caused all Israel to tremble before his presence. This was the high priest, their representative before God. It was to him that God would speak and bring His message of forgiveness to the people. He stood between God and the people as their representative.

When Jesus spoke to Caiaphas, He did not speak with the respect or the esteem that the people thought he should give a religious leader. This is why one of the very devout Jews struck the Lord in the face. That was a tense moment. This was a day of choice, a day of salvation. It was a day when human hearts and minds were hanging in eternal destiny. Where would you have cast your vote?

“And when He had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Him with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?” John 18:22. Our Lord, the one whom we worship, is struck with a forceful blow. I can see our Lord weaving as the blow struck Him. Then came the words, “You do not speak to our religious leader like that.”

Caiaphas had only one purpose and that was to save the religious institution that he represented. He said, “We must save the church.” Yet, on the other hand there stood the Son of God, who also came to save the church. Two forces are represented; both want to help save the church.

But Jesus had often spoken concerning the heartlessness of the religious leaders of His time. He did not mince words. Jesus had said, “They make up heavy yokes and packs and pile them on men’s shoulders.” About Himself Jesus had said, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

On another occasion, Jesus said of Caiaphas’ institutional leadership, “You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces.” Can’t you just see the high priest stand up in disbelief and shout, “This is blasphemy, I am the high priest and I am the head of the religious organization that opens the kingdom of God to mankind. But this man Jesus comes and says that we shut the door in the face of the people!”

Christ had also said that Caiaphas and the religious leaders were more interested in power and prestige and status than in the shepherding of the flock. Although there were twenty thousand religious priests paid out of the temple taxes, Jesus said, “Look at the people. There is nobody interested in people. All are serving the religious institution, but they have no shepherds.” That really stepped on some toes. Preachers do not like to hear that they are not doing their job correctly.

There is an old Negro spiritual that goes something like this: “Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there? Oh sometimes it causes me to tremble, yes, tremble. Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” Were you? Are you there today contemplating that great sacrifice and following in the steps of Christ? We have before us the destiny of our souls.

Jesus revealed the motives of the Jewish leaders when He said, “Everything they do is done for show. Places of honor at the feasts and the chief seats at the synagogue are taken by your leaders and they do it for show.”

Jesus even dared to expose the corruption in the financial structure of their organization. He said, “You eat up the properties of the widows while you say long prayers for appearance sake. But you are going to receive a severe sentence.”

Jesus also had something to say about their mission program. He said, “You travel over sea and land to win one convert and when you have won him, you make him twice as fit for hell as you are yourselves.”

Such a situation could not go on any longer. This had to come to a showdown and everyone knew it. All the people in Jerusalem and the surrounding territories recognized the moment of destiny had come. And so we will have to stand before the Almighty God and before religious institutions and give an answer.

Christ said, “You are not at all ministers of spiritual insight or spiritual values. You are blind. You are blind guides of the blind. You are falling into the ditch and the people are falling into the ditch with you. You swear by the sanctuary. You swear by the gold. You swear by the altar. You strain at a gnat, yet you gulp down a camel. The organization of the temple is more important to you than God. You are tombs covered with whitewash, full of dead men’s bones.”

Was it any wonder that these two had to meet when Christ had said, “All of your religious organization, all of your twenty thousand priests ministering in the temple, all of your financial structure and your spiritual leadership is absolutely blind and your organization, house and institution has become desolate, for God is not in it.”

For the Jews, the temple symbolized their entire religious heritage. It was very dear to the people, yet Jesus said, “It is forsaken of God.” The temple house is needed but there needs to be a loving family within it. The institution, the organization is necessary, but only as a means in helping to shepherd the people. If you have lost contact with the needs of the hearts of the people, your house is desolate.

This is a terrible indictment. Finally the high priest speaks to those who have gathered to make a decision about this man who claims to be God. He says, “You know nothing whatsoever. You do not use your judgment. The trouble with you is that you do not have good judgment. It is more to your interest that one Man should die for the people than that the whole nation should be destroyed.” And thus, the decision is made. But where would you have stood? The decision has to be made. It was religious institutionalism versus a personal human being, Christ our Saviour. It was an organizational religionism versus the gospel. It was organization versus a Person. It was vested interest against Christ, for the earthen vessel had become more the object of devotion than the treasure within the vessel. And herein lies the universal tendency of human beings toward idolatry.

Man wishes to make himself secure within religious institutions and therefore he hides himself from the presence of God. Laodicea thinks that she has everything, but Jesus Christ stands outside the door and knocks and knocks. But the question is as alive today for you and for me as it was two thousand years ago, because Caiaphas is very much alive in every one of us.

The issue is before us today and you will have to make your own decision, if you have not already made it. Antiorganizationalism is of the rudest of follies, because we need order and organization. But when the organization becomes the means as well as the end of our devotion, then we have crucified once again our Saviour Jesus Christ. It can happen today just as verily as it happened then.

Tell me, what could have happened if Caiaphas, the high priest, had said, “Look, we are confronted with God. Let us accept Him?” What a help and inspiration for the repenting souls that could have been. If he could have only said, “Let us use this institution, this money, everything in order to glorify God, but let it be God who is the center.” Unquestionably this is what the Seventh-day Adventist Church needs now. All institutionalism becomes corrupt with itself. It begins to build and build until we have forgotten the purpose of its building and we seek security in everything except God Himself.

When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, let us remember that there will be a unity of our hearts, the binding of mind to mind, of heart to heart and spirit to spirit. Institutionalism can provide us with an outward uniformity, but only the baptism of the Holy Spirit can give us an interior union of our spirits.

Oh, that God would help us to understand that religious institutionalism can become the greatest tool of the devil. Dr. Henry P. Van Dolson who wrote in The United Church Herald, states, “The Holy Spirit has always been troublesome to officialdom and to institutionalism because He is unruly, unpredictable and radical. The call to the ministry is to be alert, to discover every moment of the living, confounding, uncontrollable Spirit of God in what someone has called His Sovereign Unpredictability. We want security but we do not want to be shaken out of our false securities. When our false securities are shattered and we stand helpless before a superior person who vitalizes our lives, suddenly we recognize ourselves to be under the guidance of the Spirit of God. When you are under the guidance of the Spirit, you cannot control it. And, of course, institutionalism is built on control. So there is an everlasting problem here.”

This is what Caiaphas had to face. How can you attack an institution and still retain it? How can you shatter that which you love? I happen to be one who has been reared in the Seventh-day Adventist Church and all my tenderest emotions and feelings are tied into Adventism. This can also become my greatest curse and damnation, because I begin to trust in it instead of the living God. If I begin to think that the structure is what makes me a Christian instead of a personal friendship with my God and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, my faith is resting on an institution instead of the Lord.

I think I can say concerning institutions that I love none better than Adventism. I was nurtured in it. I was cradled in it. I loved it. But this can also be my damnation unless I know that all of this is but for one purpose and that is to bow my head and my mind before the living Jesus and say, that unless Christ lives within the institution, it has become only desolation and hostility—nothing but empty institution.

Oh, that God would help us today to once again understand the issues clearly and make right choices. The people two thousand years ago had to make a tremendous choice and their choice was a devastating decision effecting their eternal destiny. If you have never gone through such an experience, you do not know what I am talking about. But those of you who know what I am speaking about realize the gravity of such a situation. It has shaken you completely until you have experienced a kind of death. The very thing in which you have trusted has been shattered before you and you will never be the same again, because the basis of your life now is Jesus Christ and only Jesus Christ.

“God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations; it is the people who love God and keep His commandments. ‘Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.’ Matthew 18:20. Where Christ is even among the humble few, this is Christ’s church, for the presence of the high and holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church.” The Upward Look, 315.

 

All Ye Shall Be Offended

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In Matthew 26:31, Jesus made a most startling prediction to His disciples. He said, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” In the King James Version it says, “All of you will be offended because of Me this night.” The word translated “offended” comes from the Greek word skandalizo, from which we get the word scandalize. It literally means that you will be caused to trip up, to stumble, or to fall down. In this warning, Jesus was not talking about physically falling down, He was talking about their spiritual experience. That night the disciples would stumble. They would become offended and angry. Eventually they would all forsake Christ.

Before we look at why Jesus gave this warning, we need to understand the significance of who these men were. Back in Old Testament times, God had a chosen people. When He was rejected by the descendents of Adam, and all the world was destroyed by a universal flood, except for a family of eight people, those eight were His chosen people. After the almost universal apostasy at the tower of Babel, God chose Abraham and his descendents as His people. Alas, Israel too apostatized, and the two remaining tribes were called Judah. When the Messiah arrived over a thousand years later, almost all of the Jewish nation rejected Him!

The time has come, the night when Jesus is to be betrayed. His followers have been winnowed time and time again, and there are only eleven men present who have remained faithful. (There were also a few men and women who still followed Him, but they were not present.) If you had been watching Jesus’ popularity decline, until there were just eleven followers remaining, what would you have said? Some were saying that Jesus could not be the Messiah, because if He was He would be more successful. “Look,” they said, “If He was really the Messiah, crowds would be following Him, and His disciples would be the rich and learned, not a bunch of scrappy fishermen.”

Of these eleven men who followed Jesus, Matthew was a tax collector (the group despised by the Jews as the lowest class of society), another was Simon the Zealot who belonged to a sect that wanted to overthrow the Romans. Then there was Peter who was always sticking his foot in his mouth, and James and John, who were so hot headed that Jesus Himself called them the sons of thunder.

Not only were there just eleven men left, but these eleven could not even seem to get along. That very night they had been quarreling and bickering over who would be the greatest in the earthly kingdom that they envisioned. In the middle of this Jesus makes the startling announcement, “All of you will be offended because of Me this night.”

This was incomprehensible. They are the eleven faithful ones who had gone through everything with Christ. Everyone else forsaken Him, but they still held on. And yet Jesus says to them, “You will all be offended. You will be caused to stumble because of Me this night.”

We need to understand how this could be. What reasons are revealed in Scripture for this remnant group becoming offended and losing their hold on Jesus? Here are three:

  1. Events were going to develop that night which they did not expect. It is bad to meet a crisis, when you expect it, but it is even worse when it comes as a total surprise.

I remember in 1976, my wife and I and her family went to Hawaii. There we took a tour of the memorial to what happened on December 7, 1941, in Pearl Harbor. The memorial was built on top of the sunken battleship U.S.S. Arizona. On a white marble monument are engraved the names of all the people who were on that battleship and died that morning. It was terrible what happened there, but it was worse than it needed to be because it was unexpected.

  1. The crisis the disciples would face that night was severe and they were not prepared for it.

They had no idea that in less than twenty-four hours Jesus would be dead. That night Jesus would be betrayed, mocked, scourged and spat upon. They did not know that the next morning He would be lead to the cross and crucified. They should have known, they had been given several opportunities, but they did not.

  1. The severe, unexpected trial that they would face would seem to them to be totally unexplainable and unreasonable. They would not be able to explain how or why they were going through these awful trials.

Have you ever been through a terrible experience and you could not find any reasons why? As a Pastor I hear from people in situations like this often. Sometimes a person will come to me and say, “My wife (or my husband) decided to divorce me, and until they told me they wanted to file for a divorce, I did not know that anything was wrong in our marriage.” A person in that kind of situation is in a terrible dilemma. They cannot explain what is going on, and it seems totally unfair and unreasonable.

When you have severe, unexpected trials, that seem unexplainable and unreasonable, you are tempted to become discouraged and overwhelmed with the blackness of despair. The temptation is very strong to just give up. Not just to give up on yourselves, but to give up on God.

I cannot count how many times people have asked me a question like, “If there is a God in heaven and if He is so powerful, why am I going through such an awful experience?” So often our first reaction is to blame God for all of our problems, and give up on Him because we doubt His mercy and love for us. But if this temptation is not resisted, you will lose your hold on God. As a result of despair and hopelessness, your faith will be lost and you will become a victim of unbelief. Then you are really in trouble because you are in a mental condition where the devil’s angels can tremendously influence your mind.

 

Who Would Be Offended?

 

Now that we have seen why the disciples were offended, we need to consider another part of this text. Jesus said to them, “ALL of you will be offended because of Me this night.” Why did Jesus say all? The reason that every member of the church at that time would be offended was because they all had imperfect characters. The events that would unfold that night would cause everyone in the church, who had an imperfect character, to become offended.

Why did Jesus make this statement? Was it because He just wanted to rebuke them? “Jesus stood ready to reveal Himself to Peter. In His great love, He told Peter of his denial. He sought to reveal the defects of his character and his necessity for the help which Christ alone could give.” Signs of the Times, November 11, 1897. [All emphasis supplied.]

Jesus gave Peter, and the other disciples, this warning because He loved them. This is a lesson that we need to learn as well. God speaks to His people because He loves them—even when He rebukes them, it is for their own good. Jesus wanted the disciples to know that something terrible was about to happen, and they needed to get ready for it. He revealed to Peter his character defects in hopes that he would come to Him and ask for help. By this time, He had already told Peter that he would deny Him three times before the cock crew. Peter should have said, “Lord, if you see that I am going to do this, please do something so that I can be changed and I will not deny you.” But instead he turned self-confidently away.

If the disciples had gone to the Lord and asked for special grace to resist the temptation, He would have heard their prayers. He wanted them to turn to Him for help and that is why He gave them this solemn warning.

Remember the story of Jonah? God sent Jonah to tell the nation of Nineveh that they were going to be destroyed in forty days. Why did God send this message through Jonah? He wanted the people of Nineveh to know that if they continued in the path they were taking they would be destroyed. They started praying, repenting of their sinfulness, and begging for mercy, so God gave them another chance. And that is what Jesus was trying to do for His disciples.

These men had been with Jesus for over three years. They had seen His miracles, and watched as He read the hearts and minds of men. They should have known by this time that Jesus knew them better than they knew themselves, but they were too self-confident to listen.

Later that same evening when they were in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus came to the disciples and all of them were asleep. Jesus told them, “Watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation.” But did they listen? No, they were too self-confident. When Jesus warned Peter that he would deny Him, Peter self-assuredly said, “Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you.” Matthew 26:35. He had already made his decision. He thought he knew himself, but did he really?

 

Could We Become Offended ?

 

Is there any chance that something like this could happen again? Not only is there a chance, but it is a matter of prophecy that what happened at the end of Jesus’ first coming will happen again just before His second coming. Jesus talked about it in His discussion with His disciples which is recorded in Matthew 24. He said, “All of these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended (skandalizo) and will betray one another and will hate one another.” Matthew 24:8–10. The first step in becoming offended is when you get irritated with someone. Before the irritation is passed, you do not like them and eventually you hate them so much that you are willing to betray them. These are exactly the steps that Judas took when he became offended.

Continuing on in Matthew 24 Jesus said, “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many and because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:11, 12. We are in that time right now when lawlessness is abounding. It is sickening to see how wicked this world has become, but Jesus concludes this passage with a wonderful promise: “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Verse 13.

Here in Matthew 24 there is a prediction that the same thing that happened to Jesus’ disciples is going to happen in the Christian world at the end of time. The following is a comment on the parable of the ten virgins and it sheds some light on this subject. “The coming of the bridegroom was at midnight, the darkest hour. So the coming of Christ will take place in the darkest period of this earth’s history. The great apostasy will develop into darkness deep as midnight, impenetrable as sackcloth of hair.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 414.

We are approaching that midnight right now, as the Second Coming of Christ is very near, and Jesus says to every person in His church who has an imperfect character, “This night all of you will be offended.” Many people, like Peter, are saying, “Oh, no, Lord, not me. I am going to be faithful to the end.” But Jesus says to everyone who has an imperfect character, “This night you will be offended, all of you.” Unless you have a perfect character, events will develop that will cause you to be offended.

There are some that are especially in danger of being offended. Let us look carefully at some of these classes.

 

The Youth

 

Just before the end of the world, many young people will be offended. These are people that have gone through many shaking experiences with God’s people, but they are finally going to say, “We have worked hard trying to do the work of the Lord. We have invested our lives, given the strength of our blood, sweat and tears for God’s work and yet nobody appreciates our efforts. We have given everything we have to become qualified to do God’s work, and we have not gone back on the historic, New Testament teachings. We have endured many times of apostasy and trouble and now it is all for naught because no one trusts us.”

Young people have different temptations than adults. In a commentary written on this text in The Youth’s Instructor, June 5, 1902, Mrs. White said this: “Filled with self-sufficiency they make no effort to correct the objectionable traits of character that have been handed down to them as a birthright. They are constantly making mistakes, but when corrected, they show impatience.”

This is a great temptation for young people. Often young people will say to me, “Pastor John, the person that is correcting me does not know enough about the situation. He does not know as much about it as I do.” That may be true. It is possible that in certain situations a person fifty years old may not know as much as a person eighteen years old. It is possible that someone may make a mistake no matter how old and wise they are. But suppose that you are absolutely sure that you are right and that the person who is trying to correct you is wrong, can you still be patient?

Sometimes a young person says something like this, “Well, even though I am young, I am not stupid,” or “even though I am young, that does not mean I do not have any talents.” Inspiration admonishes us, “It is the superficial thinker who deems himself wise. Men of solid worth and high attainments are generally most ready to admit the weakness of their own understanding. Humility is the constant attendant of true wisdom.” Ibid. Do not be self-confident. (That applies to everyone.) There is nothing so offensive to God as a person who is full of pride and self-sufficiency.

 

The Aged and Wise

 

Young people are not the only class who are going to be offended at the end of the world. The second group in the church who are going to be offended are the aged and the wise. They are prone to say something similar to this: “We have given wise counsel to keep men and women from making serious mistakes, but no one is listening. And as a result, the work of God seems to be disorganized and in shambles.”

Many who esteem themselves experienced Christians will become offended because events are not taking place, as they believed they should. They will say, “This cannot be God’s church because if it was there would not be all this dissention and division.” And these “wise” men will seek a human organization in which to place their confidence.

 

The Rich and the Poor

 

At the end of the world, the rich people in the church are going to become offended. They will say, “We invested all these resources in God’s work because we wanted to see God’s work finished quickly. However, the people that we asked to manage the projects were not faithful to their trust, because they did not follow our instructions, and look at the terrible losses that are happening! I do not think I want to be involved any more financially in finishing God’s work because every time I try to help, the resources I give are mismanaged.”

Every poor person who does not have a perfect character is going to be offended, too. They are going to say, “I have invested my life in God’s work with no financial remuneration at all. I have sacrificed my time, my strength and all my talents in God’s work—not expecting any remuneration in this world. After I have given my entire life to God’s work and done the best that I can, all I get is criticism. I am told that I have not managed it right, or that I should have spent the money more wisely.” And so they too are offended.

 

The Ministers

 

Every minister that does not have a perfect character before Jesus comes is going to be offended. What are they going to say? I have already heard it over and over. “I have invested my whole life, gone to colleges and universities to get a training to help in God’s work for a very low salary. I have invested my whole life in God’s work and when I give people counsel, they will not listen, but when things go wrong, I get the blame for it.”

And the common people of all nations will be offended because Jesus said, “The sheep will be scattered.” Everyone that has an imperfect character will be offended.

 

The Solution

 

What is the answer to this dilemma that all of us face? What can we do when we are faced with an unexpected severe trial? What could Peter have done? Peter was always the first one to talk. The first thing Peter could have done was realize that this was the time when silence would be eloquent, and it was not the time to talk until he had done some serious thinking.

When Jesus said, “You are all going to be offended,” what He was saying to Peter was, “Look, Peter, you are a lot weaker than you think you are.” Is there any danger that we could be weaker than we think we are? If we begin to feel our personal weakness, is there anything that can be done about this weakness? There is plenty that can be done if you realize that you have a problem and you go to the Lord and ask for help.

Paul knew about this kind of experience: “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me and a messenger of Satan to buffet me lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me and He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:7–10. Paul went to the Lord and said, “I am in trouble. I want you to take me out of this trouble.” The Lord said, “No, I cannot take you out of the trouble, but I will give you sufficient grace to endure.” In other words, He is going to give you of His divine power and provide all the help you need.

We are rapidly approaching the midnight of earth’s history and while theologians are arguing over whether character perfection is necessary, Jesus says to every Christian who has an imperfect character, “This night all of you will become offended because of Me.” We must be praying night and day that the Lord will impart to each one of us a perfect character so that no matter what happens, we will not become irritated with our wife or our husband or a church member or someone we work with. No matter how unreasonable they are, no matter how unexpected the trials are, no matter how fiery the trials are.

Do you want this to happen in your life? Do you want it to happen in your home? The principles that we have looked at, if they are applied, could save a lot of marriages. If you want these principles to be applied in your life, if you want Jesus to bring His love into your heart and life, ask Him today. He has promised that He will never turn a sincere seeker away.

 

Editorial — Are you Going To Make It

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Heaven is a far more wonderful place than feeble, frail, sinful mortals can imagine. We know the negative things that will not be there—no sickness, no crying, no sorrow, no pain, no sighing, no death. We often think of the absence of these awful things and know that Heaven is a wonderful place. But the real bliss and joy of heaven far surpasses anything that we can imagine. It has not entered into the heart of man. (1 Corinthians 2:9.) Heaven is worth everything. “He [the devil] knew well the value of Heaven far exceeded the anticipation and appreciation of fallen man. The most costly treasures of the world he knew would not compare with its worth. As he had lost through his rebellion all the riches and pure glories of Heaven, he was determined to be revenged by causing as many as he could to undervalue Heaven and to place their affections upon earthly treasures.”

“He had knowledge of the inestimable value of eternal riches that man had not. He had experienced the pure contentment, the peace and exalted holiness of unalloyed joys of the heavenly abode. He had realized before his rebellion the satisfaction of the full approval of God. He had once a full appreciation of the glory that enshrouded the Father, and knew that there was no limit to His power.” Review and Herald, March 3, 1874.

Not only is heaven worth everything, but heaven costs everything. (Luke 14:33.) Although eternal life is spoken of as a gift it is also referred to as costing everything a man has. (Matthew 13:44–46.) The only people who will make it to heaven are those who pay the price and this is the reason that so many professed Christians will lose eternal life. This all-out cost can be listed as:

  1. The chains of our defects of character must be broken moment by moment and hour by hour at any cost to ourselves. “By a momentary act of will you may place yourself in the power of Satan, but it will require more than a momentary act of will to break his fetters and reach for a higher, holier life. The purpose may be formed, the work begun, but its accomplishment will require toil, time, and perseverance, patience and sacrifice. The man who deliberately wanders from God in the full blaze of light will find, when he wishes to set his face to return, that briers and thorns have grown up in his path, and he must not be surprised or discouraged if he is compelled to travel long with torn and bleeding feet. The most fearful and most to be dreaded evidence of man’s fall from a better state is the fact that it costs so much to get back. The way of return can be gained only by hard fighting, inch by inch, every hour.” Selected Messages, vol. 2, 165.
  2. We must learn the lesson of self-denial—this is a lesson of the cross that we must learn if we are to enter heaven. “Some hardly know as yet what self-denial is, or what it is to suffer for the truth’s sake, but none will enter heaven without making a sacrifice . . . Those who are willing to make any sacrifice for eternal life will have it, and it will be worth all that it costs. The far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory will eclipse every earthly pleasure.” Review and Herald, August 5, 1884.

Everyone can be saved but most will not, because they are not willing to meet the condition upon which the gift of eternal life is promised. This condition stated in simple language is that each of us, by a conscious decision, choose to surrender our own way, our own will, our own plans, our own ideas, everything that belongs to us and accept in exchange the will and mind and life of Christ. This means a rejection of our past sinful life (repentance) and trustful acceptance of an altogether new life that begins to be lived out and continues to be lived out moment by moment, by faith, until we attain “to perfection of Christian character, a full preparation for the finishing touch of immortality.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 505.

“If heaven is gained by us at last, it will be only through the renunciation of self, and the receiving of the mind of Christ. Pride and self-sufficiency must be crucified, and the vacuum supplied with the Spirit and power of God. Are we willing to pay the price required of us for eternal life? Are we ready to sit down and count the cost, and conclude that heaven is worth the sacrifice of dying to self, of having our will brought into perfect conformity with the will of God? Until we are willing, the transforming grace of God will not be manifested upon us. When we present our emptied nature to God, He will by His Holy Spirit supply the vacuum made by the renunciation of self, and give us of His fullness.” Signs of the Times, November 21, 1892.

 

Will you make it to heaven? Only if you choose now to pay the price.

 

Is the Door of Mercy Shut?

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“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; ‘These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth and no man openeth.” Revelation 3:7.

The 2300 day-year prophecy of Daniel 8:14 was to end on October 22, 1844, with an event in the heavenly sanctuary. It was assumed that the event was the Second Coming of Christ. In order to prepare for the Second Advent, a call to repentance and soul searching was given. The Advent believers thought that probation would close on October 22 and no one could be saved after that time.

There was great agitation over the thought that probation would soon close, and it created much interest in the parable of the ten virgins, found in Matthew 25:1–12. Following October 22, 1844, many believed that the “door of Mercy” was shut and probation had closed for all mankind. This prompted many of the believers to study deeply.

“And while they [the five foolish virgins] went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut.” Matthew 25:10. This text may be divided into five natural divisions: 1. The buying of oil. 2. The coming of the Bridegroom. 3. The going in with Him. 4. The marriage. 5. The shut door.

  1. The buying of oil represents wasted effort on the part of the foolish virgins to obtain oil when it was too late. The virgins had some oil at the beginning, which produced light up till the coming of the bridegroom, but at midnight when the cry was made that “the bridegroom cometh,” the foolish virgins had run out of oil. But while they went to buy more oil, the rest of the group went in to the wedding and the door was shut.
  2. The definition of bridegroom is, one that either is married or is about to be married. In this parable the Bridegroom represents Christ, and all the scenes in the parable represent the giving of the bride to Christ. This brings to mind two questions: first what does the bride represent, and second where is the marriage to be solemnized?

“Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” Revelation 21:9, 10. “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Galatians 4:26. These texts show that the holy city is the bride of Christ.

Second, where is the marriage to take place? “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he shall return from the wedding.” Luke 7:35, 36.

“He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.” Luke 19:12. “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him, And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom.” Daniel 7:13,14.

These texts indicate that the receiving of the kingdom is compared to a marriage. It takes place before the Ancient of days prior to the bridegroom’s return from a far country, in one parable, and from the wedding in the other parable. The coming of the bridegroom, mentioned in these texts, is not Christ’s coming to the earth, but rather takes place “near before” the Ancient of days. We may understand from this that the coming of the bridegroom and the Second Coming are two distinct and separate events.

  1. The “going in with Him” in the parable indicates a change not only in the position of the Bridegroom but also His relationship with the church and world. “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Hebrews 8:1, 2. To come to a correct understanding of Christ’s work in the heavenly sanctuary Paul, in Hebrews chapters 8 and 9, points us back to the Aaronic priesthood and all connected with the sanctuary and its services.

There is plenty of authority in the Old Testament for a clear picture of the ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. “These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses, and the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me.” Luke 24:44.

“He expounded and testified the kingdom of God persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the Law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.” Acts 28:23.

“Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come.” Acts 26:22.

“Remember ye the Law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel.” Malachi 4:4. We are not only directed to the law of Moses but we are admonished strongly to remember it. Those ordinances are a positive representation of Christ’s priestly work in the sanctuary in heaven which is “the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” It is clear from Hebrews 8 and 9 that Christ is officiating in a sanctuary that has two compartments with all the same furniture contained in the typical sanctuary of ancient Israel. (See Hebrews 9:2; Exodus 40:24–26; Hebrews 9:3–5; Exodus 26:33, 34.)

In the typical sanctuary, all the services that occurred in one year typified the services of Christ in the pattern in the heavens. Christ, the antitype, closed the antitypical daily administration in the first apartment and clothed Himself with the holy garments having on the breast-plate of judgment on which was inscribed the names of true Israel “they that were ready.” Then He passed into the Holiest of all before the Ancient of days on the mercy seat. They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage as He went to receive His bride, “and the door was shut.”

The cleansing of the sanctuary, blotting out Israel’s sins, and the sending away of the scapegoat in the type, were performed on the tenth day of the seventh month. They were shadows of the services Christ performed in the heavenly sanctuary after His ministration in the Holy Place closes.

  1. Marriage in Scripture, referring to Christ, is found three times in the Bible. The parable of the king’s son in Matthew 22:2–14, the ten virgins Matthew 25:1–12 and Revelation 19:7–9.

The marriage ceremony used in connection with Christ represents his receiving of the kingdom. “Thy land shall be married”(Isaiah 62:4), means that the territory of the kingdom is to be brought into close connection with the King of kings and Lord of lords. When the New Jerusalem with the saints as guests go in with Christ to the marriage, He then receives the capitol of His promised kingdom.

When God shall have judged the “great whore . . .avenged the blood of His servants at her hand . . . the voice of a great multitude,” “as the voice of mighty thunderings,” shall proclaim . . . “Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready . . . And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” Then the subjects of the Kingdom become the bride and with Christ possess the Kingdom. (See Revelation 19:1–9.)

  1. A door indicates a change from one apartment to another. In the parable, it represents a change in the position of the bridegroom (Christ), revealing a change in His relation to the world. On the Day of Atonement, there was a change in the services to be performed on that day. The high priest washed himself, put on the holy garments and entered into a new work. He blotted out Israel’s sins and removed them from the altar and passed into the Most Holy Place. He bears upon the breast-plate of judgment the names of all who have confessed their sins through the blood of the sin offerings. The high priest officiated on that day only for those that had asked for forgiveness of sins.

Just as surely as the Aaronic priesthood is a type of Christ, the sanctuary and all connected with it are a type of the true sanctuary in heaven and Christ’s ministration there. This explains that a time would come when Christ’s daily priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary would end. Then He would enter into the Most Holy with true Israel inscribed upon His breastplate of judgment. He would go in before the mercy seat with a golden censor, offering the prayers of all saints wise virgins) before the throne. This happened on October 22, 1844.

Now He officiates in the Most Holy Place as a merciful high priest cleansing the heavenly sanctuary of all the sins of true Israel, placing them upon the head of the scapegoat (Satan). Following this He will remove His priestly garments, put on garments of wrath, come to the earth to gather His elect from the four winds and destroy the wicked.

In the opening text of Revelation 3:7, 8, a door was opened and another was shut. This text refers to the Philadelphia church period that includes the events around 1844. As a door was shut in the parable, so a door was shut in 1844. When the door to the Holy Place was closed, Christ entered upon His work of cleansing the sanctuary in the Most Holy Place.

“By the king’s examination of the guests at the feast is represented a work of judgment. The guests at the gospel feast are those who profess to serve God, those whose names are written in the book of life. But not all who profess to be Christians are true disciples. Before the final reward is given, it must be decided who are fitted to share the inheritance of the righteous. This decision must be made prior to the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven . . . It is while men are still dwelling upon the earth that the work of investigative judgment takes place in the courts of heaven. The lives of all His professed followers pass in review before God. All are examined according to the record of the books of heaven, and according to his deeds the destiny of each is forever fixed.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 310.

“In the typical service only those who had come before God with confession and repentance, and whose sins, through the blood of the sin offering, were transferred to the sanctuary, had a part in the service of the Day of Atonement. So in the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment the only cases considered are those of the professed people of God. The judgment of the wicked is a distinct and separate work, and takes place at a later period. ‘Judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel?’ 1 Peter 4:17.” The Great Controversy, 480.

“Every case had been decided for life or death. While Jesus had been ministering in the sanctuary, the judgment had been going on for the righteous dead, and then for the righteous living. Christ had received His kingdom, having made the atonement for His people and blotted out their sins. The subjects of the kingdom were made up. The marriage of the Lamb was consummated.” Early Writings, 280.

“The idea that the door of God’s mercy is closed, or ever was to be closed to those who do not reject the offers of mercy is not found in the Bible. No such door is mentioned in Scripture. But that there has been a point, beyond which men may go, where, according to the plan of salvation, the intercession of Christ could not benefit them, is evident. The Jewish church, having rejected and condemned Christ, could not be benefited by His mediation in the Holy. The nominal Gentile church, as a body, having rejected the Second Advent, cannot be benefited by his intercessions in the Most Holy.” The Parable, (Matthew 25:1–12), By James White.

“And afterward came also the other virgins, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But He answered and said, ‘Verily, I say unto you, I know you not.” Matthew 25:11,12. The wise virgins had entered and the door was shut, but the foolish virgins came knocking at the closed door, expecting to enter. “When once the Master of the house is risen up and hath shut the door, and ye begin to stand without and to knock at the door, Saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open unto us; and He shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are.’ ” Luke 13:25.

The foolish virgins knocked at a literal door and this event Christ has shown to be a representation of Advent history. This experience of knocking, entreating and entrance is explained thus: “They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; [a mediator for all the world, in the Holy Place] but they shall not find Him; He hath withdrawn himself [to the Most Holy] from them. They have dealt treacherously against the Lord, for they have begotten strange children; [apparent converts] now shall a month devour them with their portions.” Hosea 5:6, 7.

Those that expect to gain entrance to the shut door cannot enter because they refused to study the prophecy and learn where Christ had gone. Therefore they will not benefit from His atoning ministry in the Most Holy Place.

Some might say that those represented by the foolish virgins will not knock until Jesus comes. But as the foolish in the parable expected admission, so will those knock after the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door. At the Second Coming, the foolish will not seek entrance but will call for the mountains and rocks to fall upon them and hide them from His consuming glory. (See Revelation 6:16, 17.)

“For a time after the disappointment in 1844, I did hold in common with the Advent body, that the door of mercy was then forever closed to the world. This position was taken before my first vision was given me. It was the light given me of God that corrected our error, and enabled us to see the true position. I am still a believer in the shut door theory, but not in the sense in which we at first employed the term or in which it is employed by my opponents. There was a shut door in Noah’s day. There was at that time a withdrawal of the Spirit of God from the sinful race that perished in the waters of the flood. God Himself gave the shut door message to Noah: ‘My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.’ There was a shut door in the days of Abraham. Mercy ceased to plead with the inhabitants of Sodom, and all but Lot with his wife and two daughters, were consumed by the fire sent down from heaven.

“There was a shut door in Christ’s day. The Son of God declared to the unbelieving Jews of that generation, ‘Your house is left unto you desolate.’ Looking down the stream of time to the last days, the same infinite power proclaimed through John: ‘These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.’

“I was shown in vision, and I still believe, that there was a shut door in 1844. All who saw the light of the first and second angels’ messages and rejected that light, were left in darkness. And those who accepted it and received the Holy Spirit which attended the proclamation of the message from heaven, and who afterward renounced their faith and pronounced their experience a delusion, thereby rejected the Spirit of God, and it no longer pleaded with them.

“These might have a form of godliness, and profess to be followers of Christ, but having no living connection with God, they would be taken captive by the delusions of Satan. These two classes are brought to view in the vision—those who declared the light which they followed a delusion, and the wicked of the world who, having rejected the light, had been rejected of God. No reference is made to those who had not seen the light, and therefore were not guilty of its rejection.

“In order to prove that I believed and taught the shut door doctrine, Mr. C gives a quotation from the Review of June 11, 1861, signed by nine of our prominent members. The quotation reads as follows: ‘Our views of the work before us were then mostly vague and indefinite, some still retaining the idea adopted by the body of Advent believers in 1844 with William Miller at their head, that our work for the world was finished and that the message was confined to those of the original Advent faith. So firmly was this believed, that one of our number was nearly refused the message, the individual presenting it having doubts of the possibility of his salvation because he was not in the ’44 move.’ “To this I need only to add that in the same meeting in which it was urged that the message could not be given to this brother (J. H. Waggoner), a testimony was given me through vision to encourage him to hope in God and to give his heart to Jesus, which he did then and there.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 63, 64.

If God’s mercy was not still extended today to all who seek forgiveness and cleansing, there would be no need for this caution: “Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” Revelation 15:15. Christ’s invitation is just as valid today as when He gave it. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28–30.

 

God Raises Up a Man to Meet a Crisis

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From the time of Jeroboam’s death to Elijah’s appearance before Ahab the people of Israel suffered a steady spiritual decline. Ruled by men who did not fear Jehovah and who encouraged strange forms of worship, the larger number of the people rapidly lost sight of their duty to serve the living God and adopted many of the practices of idolatry.” Prophets and Kings, 109. [Emphasis supplied.]

Did you notice the italicized words above? When was it that the Lord raised up Elijah the prophet? What were the leaders at that time teaching the people who professed Ancient Adventism?

The above statement, found in Prophets and Kings, makes it clear that as a direct result of the leaders directing the people into strange forms of worship they lost sight of their duty and adopted many of the practices of idolatry. Many might be surprised to find out that you do not have to worship a figure carved from wood or stone to be guilty of idolatry.

 

Following is Webster’s Dictionary definition of an idol:

  1.  A representation or symbol of an object of worship; broadly: a false god.
  2.  A likeness of something b: pretender, imposter.
  3.  A form or appearance visible but without substance.
  4.  An object of extreme devotion.
  5.  A false conception: fallacy.” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition. [Emphasis supplied.]

 

So brothers and sisters, an idol worshiper can be someone who worships a false idea or a concept, just as much as someone who bows down to a carving of a false god. If this is true, it certainly says something about leaders who encourage others into strange forms of worship—celebration—and those who are willingly ignorant or defiant concerning the true worship of God.

It also makes it very interesting to note that it is at this time that we are told that God would send the Elijah message one last time. It will have the same effect as it had so many years ago. We are told, during this time of Earth’s last moments, that the church (God’s true people) will appear as about to fall, but it will not fall. This statement should give us courage and confidence in our Lord’s ability to save us. But it should also be a warning to all that times are going to get very difficult, and only through God’s help and plan—not man’s—do we have any hope of salvation.

There was a parallel to this in Elijah’s day. In the time of Israel’s great apostasy, the tribe of Judah had a king who served God. King Asa had stood firm during his reign and had led his people away from idolatry and false worship. Many years after King Asa began to reign, Zerah, the Ethiopian, invaded his kingdom. This warrior brought with him a host of a million soldiers, and three hundred chariots. (See 2 Chronicles 14:9.) This army could have easily wiped out the tribe of Judah and King Asa knew it.

During the years of prosperity, King Asa did not waste his time in idle amusement and pleasure, but spent the greater part of his time preparing for just such an emergency as he was now facing. He had used the times of peace to train an army for the conflict, which was now before him. He had bent his energies into educating his people in the faith of the true God and encouraged them to put their trust and faith explicitly in Him. Now the test of battle and trial of their faith was before them.

Because the King and his people had remained faithful to the Lord in times of peace they could now, with confidence, call upon Him in a time of crisis. The odds were unquestionably against them by all appearance. Their army, though well trained, was much smaller than their opponent’s, but the kingdom of Judah could rightfully claim the Lord’s promises of protection and this they did.

Their prayer was given to every Christian as well: “The prayer of Asa is one that every Christian believer may fittingly offer. We fight in a warfare, not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, and against spiritual wickedness in high places. See Ephesians 6:12. In life’s conflict we must meet evil agencies that have arrayed themselves against the right. Our hope is not in man, but in the living God. With full assurance of faith we may expect that He will unite His omnipotence with the efforts of human instrumentalities, for the glory of His name. Clad with the armor of His righteousness, we may gain the victory over every foe.” Prophets and Kings, 111.

The God of the Remnant (Revelation 12:17) is the true God. We can have confidence in Him as long as we are truly cooperating with Him. In fact, the only way we can claim the promises of God is by our willingness to obey what He asks of us. The very good news for Adventism is not that we do not have to fight—that is a lie that most professors of Adventism want to believe—but the good news is that although we have a battle to fight we will win! Not we can win, not we might win, but we will win! This is tremendous news and we need to invest our whole lives in the fulfilling of this eternal promise.

Just as the Lord answered the prayer of righteous King Asa for the salvation of his people against a humanly unconquerable enemy, so today He will answer the same prayer for help to overcome the spiritual wickedness in high places.

It was through the influence of wicked rulers (Ahab and Jezebel), that a gross spiritual crisis had come to the majority in Israel. These two rulers had brought the spiritual worth of Israel so low that only the message of the prophet Elijah could bring revival and reformation. It was their only chance for salvation and salvation would only come to those who accepted the message, with the whole heart, no matter how severe it seemed.

“Alas, how had the glory of Israel departed! Never before had the chosen people of God fallen so low in apostasy . . . Nothing short of the miracleworking power of God could preserve the nation from utter destruction. Israel had voluntarily separated herself from Jehovah, yet the Lord in compassion still yearned after those who had been led into sin, and He was about to send them one of the mightiest of His prophets, through whom many were to be led back to allegiance to the God of their fathers.” Prophets and Kings, 116. [Emphasis supplied.]

It is amazing that the vast majority, even many who claim to continue in the historical paths, do not seem to realize that the Elijah message, with all its seeming harshness, is the chosen method of redemption for certain levels of apostasy. It is incredible that many who support historic Adventism still want to change the methods of God, and either water down the message or do away with it all together, calling and treating it as something sinful.

Our need to be honest with the Elijah message is paramount if we will ever have any hope for salvation. First of all we should admit that it is God who is calling for the Elijah message and not men who have nothing better to do than go around shouting at everybody. We must understand that it is God’s plan to use men to give this message, men of His own choosing. These men will not find the job any more agreeable than did the prophet whose name the message bears. The job is so disagreeable that God has a hard time finding anyone who will do it and that is why there have been so few throughout the earth’s history who have taken on the task. After we have properly analyzed these truths, we must ask God to give us the conviction and the courage to support the message and the messengers that God Himself has raised up to give His message. We must not find ourselves fighting against God while professing to serve Him. To continue to do this would lead to self-deception so deep and so dark that one becomes eternally blinded to the light before him. The role of Elijah is the one of a man who fights the depths of apostasy head on and in the very strongholds of hell. He does this because he has been equipped to do so by the God Who is the author of the message he gives and because he wishes God’s people to live and not die. The reason the love of these messengers is so easily misunderstood is because it is not based on feeling but an abiding principle that most people have rejected.

“As Elijah saw Israel going deeper and deeper into idolatry, his soul was distressed and his indignation aroused.” Prophets and Kings, 119.

“To Elijah was entrusted the mission of delivering to Ahab Heaven’s message of judgment. He did not seek to be the Lord’s messenger; the word of the Lord came to him. And jealous for the honor of God’s cause, he did not hesitate to obey the divine summons, though to obey seemed to invite swift destruction at the hand of the wicked King.” Prophets and Kings, 120, 121.

Even though the words of Elijah were coming true before Israel’s very eyes, they would not repent of their apostasy. But can we truthfully say anything different about present day Israel? Although much evidence continues to come forth explaining and bringing the apostasy of modern-day Israel into clear focus, how many have allowed themselves to judge honestly the truth set before them. How many have repented of their stubbornness or rebelliousness toward the God of truth? We are repeating the same history as our ancient counterparts.

Those in power, those who were encouraging the “New Theology” and “Celebration Worship” of their day, not only refused the invitation of the Lord to repentance but went further into the depth of their apostasy agenda—an agenda to ruin Adventism from the inside out. It would be advantageous for us to recognize that when Jezebel could not kill the Elijah message by seeking out and destroying the one who gave it, she then set out to kill all those who supported it. Dear friends, do you realize that the Lord has been most gracious by giving us this true story from history? Why do you suppose He wanted us to have it? Could it be because He knows that we are repeating the history of man from the inside of “the church” and we are on a course that will bring the same results.

God has given us all the power and moral right of personal choice in all these matters. But having the right to make a choice should not be understood as having the benefit of choice without its corresponding consequences. We can, and most do, choose to ignore or willfully disbelieve that God means what He says. We can choose to believe that God loves us “too much” to destroy us in our sins. But this choice totally ignores the fact that God loves us and everyone too much not to punish sin. God has proven His love in a myriad of ways, not the least of which is giving His Son to die and giving us the freedom to choose our own way. But those who think that God would ignore what has happened over the last six thousand years with the sin problem that has >brought devastation to heaven and this earth, and killed His Son, are covered with self so heavily that they either will not or cannot think logically. Why would God sacrifice the safety of the entire universe because He loves us “too much” to get rid of sin and sinners who refuse the better life of victory? The only reason we sin is because we love it more than we love God. So, in reality, it is not God’s love which is in question but who or what the sinner loves.

The apostasy of ancient Adventists and modern Israel was and is so deep and so dark that the only way for people to have a real opportunity for life is through the Elijah message. If this were not so, then why would God choose it? It will serve its intended purpose, but far too many people look toward the unconverted among us and, because of a lack of response from the crowd, blame the Elijah message. This is not only a misguided conclusion but can be fatal if not discontinued. The apparent failure or division is never the fault of the truth, but of a rebellion against the truth! Even in the face of apparent failure, true faith dictates that the Elijah message will succeed.

“God had sent messengers to Israel, with appeals to return to their allegiance. Had they heeded these appeals, had they turned from Baal to the living God, Elijah’s message of judgment would never have been given. But the warnings that might have been a savor of life unto life had proved to them a savor of death unto death. Their pride had been wounded, their anger had been aroused against the messengers, and now they regarded with intense hatred the prophet Elijah . . . In the face of the calamity they continued to stand firm in their idolatry. Thus they were adding to the guilt that had brought the judgments of Heaven upon the land.” Prophets and Kings, 127–128.

“I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen, and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, and will lead him to exalt the standard and pour forth the straight truth. Some will not bear this straight testimony. They will rise up against it, and this will cause a shaking among God’s people.” Testimonies, vol.1, 181.

Two things we can see in the above quotations for sure. The Elijah message, in the face of great spiritual darkness among God’s chosen people, and their hatred for truth, will fulfill its intended purpose. The Elijah message, the pouring forth of the straight testimony, will receive decided opposition from those that hate its exposure and this rebellion is what causes the shaking—not the truth.

Elijah was under a heavy burden for his people who he wished to see come to salvation. He did not want to see them die. He took on the terrible task before him because he knew that it was God’s message and not his own. He accepted the calling because he believed that the message would accomplish the purpose God intended it to and he was willing to leave the consequences with God.

Because God has seen fit to place this event in the written history of the Bible we can have confidence that He knows what He is doing. Just as the Elijah message met the crisis thousands of years ago it will have the same results today. There was nothing that anyone did or could do in the days of Elijah to stop the message given and today, when we find ourselves steeped in apostasy for one last time, is there anything that anyone can do to stop God from His work? It may be true that few who now call themselves Adventists will respond, and certainly the majority of those in the Adventist movement will end up being the most aggressive in seeing to it that the true and faithful are exterminated if possible. However, our faith must not be like that of the apostate or the half-educated infidel, but instead like that of the prophet who, with child-like faith, does what God asks of him even though it might be disagreeable.

Let us never forget that “we have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.” Life Sketches, 196. Let us remember that Elijah is now in heaven and represents those who with his message will be translated without seeing death. Let us be wise unto salvation and press toward the mark of our high calling, with confidence in the Author and Finisher of our faith.

 

Food For Life — Healthy Blood

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“The knowledge that man is to be a temple for God, a habitation for the revealing of His glory, should be the highest incentive to the care and development of our physical powers. Fearfully and wonderfully has the Creator wrought in the human frame, and He bids us make it our study, understand its needs, and act our part in preserving it from harm and defilement.

“In order to have good health, we must have good blood; for the blood is the current of life. It repairs waste and nourishes the body. When supplied with the proper food elements and when cleansed and vitalized by contact with pure air, it carries life and vigor to every part of the system. The more perfect the circulation, the better will this work be accomplished.

“At every pulsation of the heart the blood should make its way quickly and easily to all parts of the body. Its circulation should not be hindered by tight clothing or bands, or by insufficient clothing of the extremities. Whatever hinders the circulation forces the blood back to the vital organs, producing congestion. Headache, cough, palpitation of the heart, or indigestion is often the result.

“In order to have good blood, we must breathe well. Full, deep inspirations of pure air, which fill the lungs with oxygen, purify the blood. They impart to it a bright color and send it, a life-giving current, to every part of the body. A good respiration soothes the nerves; it stimulates the appetite and renders digestion more perfect; and it induces sound, refreshing sleep.

“The lungs should be allowed the greatest freedom possible. Their capacity is developed by free action; it diminishes if they are cramped and compressed. Hence the ill effects of the practice so common, especially in sedentary pursuits, of stooping at one’s work. In this position it is impossible to breathe deeply. Superficial breathing soon becomes a habit, and the lungs lose their power to expand . . .

“The lungs are constantly throwing off impurities, and they need to be constantly supplied with fresh air. Impure air does not afford the necessary supply of oxygen, and the blood passes to the brain and other organs without being vitalized.

Hence the necessity of thorough ventilation. To live in close, ill-ventilated rooms, where the air is dead and vitiated, weakens the entire system. It becomes peculiarly sensitive to the influence of cold, and a slight exposure induces disease . . .

“In the construction of buildings, whether for public purposes or as dwellings, care should be taken to provide for good ventilation and plenty of sunlight . . .

“So far as possible, all buildings intended for human habitation should be placed on high, well-drained ground. This will ensure a dry site and prevent the danger of disease from dampness and miasma. This matter is often too lightly regarded. Continuous ill-health, serious diseases, and many deaths result from the dampness and malaria of low-lying, ill-drained situations.” The Ministry of Healing, 271–274.

Isn’t God wonderful to have loved us, unworthy mortals though we be, and entrusted us with these Divine Love Letters to help us on our journey to the heavenly Canaan?

Oatmeal Pecan Crisps

 

2 c. oat flour

1 c. millet flour

1 c. chopped pecans

1/2 t. sea salt

1/2 c. Fruit Source

Nut milk for proper consistency

 

Spread out on cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 30–35 minutes. If you have no access to the Fruit Source, you may substitute date sugar.