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The Little Time of Trouble

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For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” Jeremiah 30:5–7.

God has not left us to wonder about the meaning of this Scripture, for the Spirit of Prophecy opens up the magnitude of this crisis. “The ‘time of trouble such as never was,’ is soon to open upon us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess and which many are too indolent to obtain. It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. The most vivid presentation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal.” The Great Controversy, 622.

The little time of trouble occurs prior to the close of probation and will be experienced by all the living saints. When they receive the latter rain, they give the loud cry with divine power, warning all the inhabitants of the earth that they must make a final decision for or against God. Then probation will close and immediately the great time of trouble will commence. “And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully.” Early Writings, 33.

There is no question. When the little time of trouble begins, the latter rain falls, the saints are sealed and the loud cry is given. This is made positively clear in the following quotation. “‘The commencement of that time of trouble,’ here mentioned, [on page 33] does not refer to the time when the plagues shall begin to be poured out, but to a short period just before they are poured out, while Christ is in the sanctuary. At that time, while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the third angel.” Early Writings, 85.

When the national Sunday law is adopted by the United States of America, the papal power will be so in control of the New World Order that it will force all nations to immediately follow the Sunday law in America, making it a universal law. It will be accepted by all nations and falsely believed to be the beginning of the great millenium of peace that will lead the entire world to be converted to God.

“Papists, Protestants, and the worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a great movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millenium.” The Great Controversy, 588.

We know what the true results will be. “When the reasoning of philosophy has banished the fears of God’s judgments; when religious teachers are pointing forward to long ages of peace and prosperity, and the world are absorbed in their rounds of business and pleasure, planting and building, feasting and merrymaking, rejecting God’s warnings and mocking His messengers —then it is that sudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape. 1 Thessalonians 5:3.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 104.

The people of the world believe that the New World Order program will bring a millenium of peace in which everyone will be saved, but God will permit calamities to awaken the honest in heart to see the need to obey God or perish. “Calamities will come—calamities most awful, most unexpected; and these destructions will follow one after another. If there will be a heeding of the warning that God has given, and if churches will repent, returning to their allegiance, then other cities may be spared for a time. But if men who have been deceived continue in the same way in which they have been walking, disregarding the law of God and presenting falsehoods before the people, God allows them to suffer calamity, that their senses may be awakened.” Evangelism, 27.

Here again we see a picture of a loving God, who, as a loving Father, is not willing that any of His children should perish. This is why these disasters gradually get worse, giving time for the Third Angel’s Message to do its work.

“Angels are now restraining the winds of strife, until the world shall be warned of its coming doom; but a storm is gathering, ready to burst upon the earth, and when God shall bid His angels loose the winds, there will be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture . . .”A moment of respite has been graciously given us of God. Every power lent us of heaven is to be used in doing the work assigned us by the Lord for those who are perishing in ignorance.” Evangelism, 704.

It is during this little time of trouble that God gives a last chance to the world to accept His law. “Soon strife among the nations will break out with an intensity that we do not now anticipate. The present is a time of overwhelming interest to all living. Rulers and statesmen, men who occupy positions of trust and authority, thinking men and women of all classes, have their attention fixed upon the events taking place about us. They are watching the strained, restless relations that exist among the nations. They observe the intensity that is taking possession of every earthly element. And they realize that something great and decisive is about to take place, that the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis.” Maranatha, 174.

This is why we will finish the work under the most dire circumstances during this little time of trouble. “While the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the third angel. At that time the ‘latter rain,’ or refreshing from the presence of the Lord, will come, to give power to the loud voice of the third angel, and prepare the saints to stand in the period when the seven last plagues will be poured out.” Early Writings, 85.

God has foreseen what is coming and has made the necessary preparations for us to be refreshed by the latter rain and with the power of the mighty angel to give the loud cry. Oh, it will not be long until the climax is reached and Jesus will come!

“Satan works through the elements also to garner his harvest of unprepared souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature and he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows. While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land; in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast.” The Great Controversy (1888 edition), 589.

Satan’s purpose in such destruction will be to blame God’s faithful for these terrible judgments. “As men depart further and further from God, Satan is permitted to have power over the children of disobedience. He hurls destruction among men. There is calamity by land and sea. Property and life are destroyed by fire and flood. Satan resolves to charge this upon those who refuse to bow to the idol which he has set up. His agents point to Seventh-day Adventists as the cause of the trouble. ‘These people stand out in defiance of law,’ they say. ‘They desecrate Sunday. Were they compelled to obey the law for Sunday observance, there would be a cessation of these terrible judgments.’ ” Maranatha, 176.

Finally the Sunday violators will be declared to be the cause of all that is taking place in this little time of trouble. “Satan puts his interpretation upon events, and they [leading men] think, as he would have them, that the calamities which fill the land are a result of Sunday-breaking. Thinking to appease the wrath of God, these influential men make laws enforcing Sunday observance. They think that by exalting this false rest-day higher, and still higher, compelling obedience to the Sunday law, the spurious sabbath, they are doing God service. Those who honor God by observing the true Sabbath are looked upon as disloyal to God, when it is really those who thus regard them who are themselves disloyal, because they are trampling under foot the Sabbath originated in Eden.” Maranatha, 176.

Thus the entire world under the papal power will turn against God’s people. Sabbath-keepers will be hated and plans will be made to utterly destroy them. “The whole world is to be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists, because they will not yield homage to the papacy, by honoring Sunday, the institution of this antichristian power. It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted from the earth, in order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed.” Testimonies to Ministers, 37.

Such wicked plans will draw the attention of the honest in heart, to the belief and teaching of God’s remnant church in such a way as is now thought impossible. In fact, the attention of the entire world will be riveted on our beliefs. “Every position of truth taken by our people will bear the criticism of the greatest minds; the highest of the world’s great men will be brought in contact with truth and therefore every position we take should be critically examined and tested by the Scriptures.” Evangelism, 69.

 

Study and Prepare

 

Now we seem to be unnoticed, but this will not always be. Movements are at work to bring us to the front, and if our theories of truth can be picked to pieces by historians or the world’s greatest men, it will be done. We must know for ourselves what the truth is and be prepared to give a reason for the hope that we have with meekness and fear. (See 1 Peter 3:15.)

We are nearing the time when we shall stand alone to answer for our beliefs. But the strength of God’s remnant will be found in their obedience and knowledge of His word. “The powers of darkness will open their batteries upon us; and all who are indifferent and careless, who have set their affections on their earthly treasure, and who have not cared to understand God’s dealings with His people, will be ready victims. No power but a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, will ever make us steadfast; but with this, one may chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight.” Maranatha, 217.

This is why we have been urged to study and prepare for what is sure to come. We will have to bear our testimony before courts and councils. “You know not where you may be called upon to give your witness of truth. Many will have to stand in the legislative courts; some will have to stand before kings and before the learned of the earth, to answer for their faith. Those who have only a superficial understanding of truth will not be able clearly to expound the Scriptures, and give definite reasons for their faith. They will become confused, and will not be workmen that need not be ashamed. Let no one imagine that he has no need to study, because he is not to preach in the sacred desk. You know not what God may require of you.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 217.

“The time is not far off when the people of God will be called upon to give their testimony before the rulers of the earth. Not one in twenty has a realization of what rapid strides we are making toward the great crisis in our history. There is no time for vanity, for trifling, for engaging the mind in unimportant matters.” Maranatha, 253.

“The Lord Jesus will give the disciples a tongue and wisdom that their adversaries can neither gainsay nor resist. Those who could not by reasoning overcome satanic delusions, will bear an affirmative testimony that will baffle supposedly learned men. Words will come from the lips of the unlearned with such convincing power and wisdom that conversions will be made to the truth. Thousands will be converted under their testimony.

“Why should the illiterate man have this power, which the learned man has not? The illiterate one, through faith in Christ, has come into the atmosphere of pure, clear truth, while the learned man has turned away from the truth. The poor man is Christ’s witness. He cannot appeal to the histories or so-called high science, but he gathers from the Word of God powerful evidence. The truth that he speaks under the inspiration of the Spirit, is so pure and remarkable and carries with it a power so indisputable, that his testimony cannot be gainsaid.” Maranatha, 252.

 

Persecution

 

God’s people will be persecuted during this time of trouble. This will take place during the loud cry before probation closes. But thank God such persecutions will be limited. “Persecution in its varied forms is the development of the principle which will exist as long as Satan exists and Christianity has vital power . . . But so long as Jesus remains man’s intercessor in the sanctuary above, the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit is felt by rulers and people. It still controls to some extent the laws of the land. Were it not for these laws, the conditions of the world would be much worse than it now is. While many of our rulers are active agents of Satan, God also has His agents among the leading men of the nations. The enemy moves upon his servants to propose measures that would greatly impede the work of God; but statesmen who fear the Lord are influenced by holy angels to oppose such propositions with unanswerable arguments. Thus a few men will hold in check a powerful current of evil. The opposition of the enemies of truth will be restrained that the Third Angel’s Message may do its work. When the final warning shall be given, it will arrest the attention of these leading men through whom the Lord is now working, and some of them will accept it, and will stand with the people of God through the time of trouble.” The Great Controversy, 610, 611.

“As Christ was hated without cause, so will His people be hated because they are obedient to the commandments of God. If He who was pure, holy, and undefiled, who did good and only good in our world, was treated as a base criminal and condemned to death, His disciples must expect but similar treatment, however faultless may be their life and blameless their character.

“Human enactments, laws manufactured by satanic agencies under a plea of goodness and restriction of evil, will be exalted, while God’s holy commandments are despised and trampled under foot. And all who prove their loyalty by obedience to the law of Jehovah must be prepared to be arrested, to be brought before councils that have not for their standard the high and holy law of God.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 7, 977.

This is not a very pretty picture. In the end time, corrupt judges will pledge themselves to uphold and honor the New World Order. “Those who live during the last days of this earth’s history will know what it means to be persecuted for the truth’s sake. In the courts injustice will prevail. The judges will refuse to listen to the reasons of those who are loyal to the commandments of God, because they know that arguments in favor of the fourth commandment are unanswerable. They will say, ‘We have a law, and by our law he ought to die.’ God’s law is nothing to them. ‘Our law’ with them is supreme. Those who respect this human law will be favored, But those who will not bow to the idol sabbath will have no favors shown them.” Maranatha, 195.

“Before the warfare shall be ended and the victory won, we as a people are to experience trials similar to those of Paul. We shall encounter the same hardness of heart, the same cruel determination, the same unyielding hatred . . . Persecutions will again be kindled against those who are true to God; their motives will be impugned, their best efforts misinterpreted, their names cast out as evil . . .God would have His people prepared for the soon-coming crisis. Prepared or unprepared, we must all meet it.” Sketches from the Life of Paul, 251, 252.

“There will come a time when, because of our advocacy of Bible truth, we shall be treated as traitors.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 394.

“Wealth, genius, education, will combine to cover them with contempt. Persecuting rulers, ministers, and church members will conspire against them. With voice and pen, by boasts, threats, and ridicule, they will seek to overthrow their faith.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 450.

“As the defenders of truth refuse to honor the Sunday-sabbath, some of them will be thrust into prison, some will be exiled, some will be treated as slaves. To human wisdom all this now seems impossible; but as the restraining Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from men, and they shall be under the control of Satan, who hates the divine precepts, there will be strange developments. The heart can be very cruel when God’s fear and love are removed.” The Great Controversy, 608.

“Throughout the land the papacy is piling up her lofty and massive structures, in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions are to be repeated.” Testimonies for the Church, volume 5, 449, 450.

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

Furthermore, Protestants will also persecute the faithful. “The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and in this work, papists and Protestants unite.” The Great Controversy, 607.

Satan has planned every detail. Listen in as God tells us of Satan’s devices as he instructs his angels and his evil men. “We [Satan and his angels] led the Romish church to inflict imprisonment, torture, and death upon those who refused to yield to her decrees; and now that we are bringing the Protestant churches and the world into harmony with this right arm of our strength, we will finally have a law to exterminate all who will not submit to our authority.” Testimonies to Ministers, 473.

Former Seventh-day Adventists will join in the persecution of God’s saints. “Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbath-keepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them.” The Great Controversy, 608.

Finally, this New World Order will determine to utterly destroy God’s faithful, just as Satan attempted in earlier centuries. “The decree which is to go forth against the people of God will be very similar to that issued by Ahasuerus against the Jews in the time of Esther . . . Satan instigated the scheme in order to rid the earth of those who preserve the knowledge of the true God. But his plots were defeated by a counterpower that reigns among the children of men . . . The Protestant world today see in the little company keeping the Sabbath a Mordecai in the gate. His character and conduct, expressing reverence for the law of God, are a constant rebuke to those who have cast off the fear of the Lord and are trampling upon His Sabbath; the unwelcome intruder must by some means be put out of the way.

“The same masterful mind that plotted against the faithful in ages past is still seeking to rid the earth of those who fear God and obey His law. Satan will excite indignation against the humble minority who conscientiously refuse to accept popular customs and traditions. Men of position and reputation will join with the lawless and the vile to take counsel against the people of God . . . By false representations and angry appeals they will stir up the passions of the people. Not having a ‘Thus saith the Scriptures’ to bring against the advocates of the Bible Sabbath, they will resort to oppressive enactments to supply the lack. To secure popularity and patronage, legislators will yield to the demand for a Sunday law. Those who fear God cannot accept an institution that violates a precept of the Decalogue. On this battlefield comes the last great conflict of the controversy between truth and error. And we are not left in doubt as to the issue. Now, as in the days of Mordecai, the Lord will vindicate His truth and His people.” Testimonies, vol.5, 450, 451.

“When this grand work is to take place in the battle, prior to the last closing conflict, many will be imprisoned, many will flee for their lives from cities and towns, and many will be martyrs for Christ’s sake in standing in defense of the truth.” Maranatha, 199.

“As he [Satan] influenced the heathen nations to destroy Israel, so in the near future he will stir up the wicked powers of the earth to destroy the people of God. Men will be required to render obedience to human edicts in violation of the divine law. “Those who are true to God will be menaced, denounced, and proscribed. They will be ‘betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends,’ even unto death.” Prophets and Kings, 587.

Such persecutions, during this little time of trouble, will bring the close of probation upon the earth. I praise God for the encouragement He has given for this soon-coming little time of trouble. “And if we are called to suffer for Christ’s sake, we shall be able to go to prison trusting in Him as a little child trusts in his parents. Now is the time to cultivate faith in God.” Our High Calling, 357.

We do not need the courage and fortitude of the martyrs of old until brought into the position that they were in. “Should there be a return of persecution there would be grace given to arouse every energy of the soul to show a true heroism.” Our High Calling, 125.

“The disciples were not endowed with the courage and fortitude of the martyrs until such grace was needed.” The Desire of Ages, 354. “When for the truth’s sake the believer stands at the bar of the unrighteous tribunals, Christ stands by his side . . . When one is incarcerated in prison walls, Christ ravishes the heart with His love. When one suffers death for His sake, Christ says, ‘I am He that liveth and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore . . . and have the keys of hell and of death.’ Revelation 1:18. The life that is sacrificed for Me is preserved unto eternal glory.” The Desire of Ages, 669.

 

The Wedding Garment

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The parable of the wedding garment opens before us a lesson of the highest consequence. By the marriage is represented the union of humanity with divinity; the wedding garment represents the character which all must possess who shall be accounted fit guests for the wedding.

To the church it is given “that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white,” “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” Ephesians 5:27. The fine linen, says the Scripture, “is the righteousness of saints.” Revelation 19:8. It is the righteousness of Christ, His own unblemished character, that through faith is imparted to all who receive Him as their personal Saviour.

The white robe of innocence was worn by our first parents when they were placed by God in holy Eden. They lived in perfect conformity to the will of God. All the strength of their affections was given to their heavenly Father. A beautiful soft light, the light of God, enshrouded the holy pair. This robe of light was a symbol of their spiritual garments of heavenly innocence. Had they remained true to God it would ever have continued to enshroud them. But when sin entered, they severed their connection with God, and the light that had encircled them departed. Naked and ashamed, they tried to supply the place of the heavenly garments by sewing together fig leaves for a covering.

This is what the transgressors of God’s law have done ever since the day of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. They have sewed together fig leaves to cover the nakedness caused by transgression. They have worn the garments of their own devising, by works of their own they have tried to cover their sins, and make themselves acceptable with God. But this they can never do. Nothing can man devise to supply the place of his lost robe of innocence. No fig-leaf garment, no worldly citizen dress, can be worn by those who sit down with Christ and angels at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Only the covering which Christ Himself has provided can make us meet to appear in God’s presence. This covering, the robe of His own righteousness, Christ will put upon every repenting, believing soul. “I counsel thee,” He says, “to buy of Me . . . white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.” Revelation 3:18.

This robe, woven in the loom of heaven, has in it not one thread of human devising. Christ in His humanity wrought out a perfect character, and this character He offers to impart to us. “All our righteousness are as filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6. Everything that we of ourselves can do is defiled by sin. But the Son of God “was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.” Sin is defined to be “the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:5, 4. But Christ was obedient to every requirement of the law. He said of Himself, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Ps. 40:8. When on earth, He said to His disciples, “I have kept My Father’s commandments.” John 15:10. By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God’s commandments. When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is united with His heart, the will is merged in His will, the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness. Then as the Lord looks upon us He sees, not the fig-leaf garment, not the nakedness and deformity of sin, but His own robe of righteousness, which is perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah.

The guests at the marriage feast were inspected by the king. Only those were accepted who had obeyed his requirements and put on the wedding garment. So it is with the guests at the gospel feast. All must pass the scrutiny of the great King, and only those are received who have put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness. Righteousness is right doing, and it is by their deeds that all will be judged. Our characters are revealed by what we do. The works show whether the faith is genuine.

It is not enough for us to believe that Jesus is not an impostor, and that the religion of the Bible is no cunningly devised fable. We may believe that the name of Jesus is the only name under heaven whereby man may be saved, and yet we may not through faith make Him our personal Saviour. It is not enough to believe the theory of truth. It is not enough to make a profession of faith in Christ and have our names registered on the church roll. “He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.” “Hereby we do know that we know Him if we keep His commandments.” 1 John 3:24; 2:3. This is the genuine evidence of conversion. Whatever our profession, it amounts to nothing unless Christ is revealed in works of righteousness.

He who becomes a partaker of the divine nature will be in harmony with God’s great standard of righteousness, His holy law. This is the rule by which God measures the actions of men. This will be the test of character in the judgment . . .Satan had claimed that it was impossible for man to obey God’s commandments; and in our own strength it is true that we cannot obey them. But Christ came in the form of humanity, and by His perfect obedience He proved that humanity and divinity combined can obey every one of God’s precepts.

Taken from Christ’s Object Lessons, 307, 310–314.

 

Messages to the World

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While the judgment hour of Revelation 14 is passing, two solemn proclamations are made to men still in probation. And the judgment scene of Daniel 7 is for the very purpose of closing our Lord’s priesthood, and of crowning Him King of kings. But the closing work of Christ as priest pertains to the acquittal of His people at His Father’s tribunal, the blotting out of their sins, and the decision accounting them worthy of that world and the resurrection to immortality. Our Lord cannot do this for people in a state of probation. His first work must therefore relate to the righteous dead. And while their cases are severally passing under examination and decision, the living righteous are being prepared for the close of their probation, and for the decision of the investigative judgment by the proclamation of the third angel. This work being accomplished, and the living righteous being accounted worthy to escape the things coming upon the earth, and to stand before the Son of man, our Lord is crowned King, and takes His seat upon the white cloud, with a crown of pure gold upon His head.

The priesthood of Christ began when He presented Himself before the Father at His ascension as our Advocate. It cannot terminate till He has secured the acquittal of His people, and the blotting out of their sins in the investigative judgment. Then His enemies, at His request, will be given Him to destroy. His Father shall crown Him king upon His throne, saying to Him, “Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.” Psalm 110:1, 2; Daniel 7:9–14; Psalm 2:6–9; Acts 3:19–21; Isaiah 44:22, 23. His entrance upon the priesthood was marked by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. John 16:7; Acts 1:4; 2:1–4, 16–18. The blotting out of sins, which terminates His priesthood, brings the people of God to the refreshing, from the presence of the Father, which precedes His act of sending His Son from heaven. Acts 3:19–21.

As a priest our Lord presents the merits of His blood in behalf of all who come to God through Him. Hebrews 7:25. Even the cases of the people of God who lived during the period of the Old Testament, have to be acted upon by Christ as priest. Hebrews 9:15. They can only have redemption through His blood; and the blotting out of their sins can only be effected through His priestly work. Hebrews 9, 10.

The whole multitude of the redeemed appear before the throne in raiment that has been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:13, 14. The work of our High Priest in behalf of His people involves an immense number of individual cases. He has not only borne the sin of all these, but He makes intercession for them, and finally obtains the blotting out of their sins on showing from the record that they have completed the work of overcoming. Our Lord does not continue in His priestly office to all eternity. When He comes again it is without sin unto salvation. But He does not leave His work unfinished. He brings every part of this immense work to a conclusion before He lays it down. The following proposition is both reasonable and scriptural:

There is a period of time at the close of this dispensation devoted to the finishing of the work of human probation, i.e., to the completion of Christ’s work as priest, and of His gospel as the means of salvation. “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets.” Revelation 10:7. The mystery of God is defined in the following passages:

“How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ); which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel.” Ephesians 3:3–6.

“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints; to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” Colossians 1:26–28.

The mystery of God is therefore seen to be the work of salvation for fallen man through the gospel of Christ. It is that which unites Jews and Gentiles in one body as fellow-heirs, having Christ in them the hope of glory. The finishing of the mystery of God is the accomplishment of the work of the gospel. This must have a twofold bearing: 1. Upon the priesthood of our Lord, to bring it to a close by completing all its immense work. 2. Upon the preaching of the gospel to the inhabitants of the earth, in causing the proclamation of its final closing messages of warning.

This work is not closed instantaneously, for a space of time is devoted to its completion. And the finishing of this work pertains both to heaven and to earth; to the priesthood of Christ, and the proclamation of His gospel to men. But the priesthood of Christ, as we have seen, is finished at the time when the Ancient of Days sits in judgment; and it is while that judgment is in session that the latest messages of warning are addressed to men. Revelation 14:6–14. We do therefore understand that the period of time devoted to the finishing of the mystery of God is precisely that space occupied by the Father in the work of the investigative judgment.

 

Mystery of God Finished

 

It is not stated that the mystery of God shall be finished when the seventh angel begins to sound; for this would denote instantaneous completion. But it is said, “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound,” etc. This shows beyond dispute that a period of time is devoted to this work. The days of this prophecy are prophetic days, i.e., years, as are those of the fifth and sixth angels. Revelation 9. These years, which are devoted to this finishing of human probation, begin with the sounding of the seventh angel. They are the earliest years of his voice. The sounding of the seventh angel begins, therefore, with the opening of that investigative judgment that finishes human probation, that determines the blotting out of the sins of the overcomers, that accounts them worthy of the world to come, that terminates the priesthood of Christ, and that witnesses the completion of the preaching of the gospel of the grace of God.

But is not the last trumpet of John’s series of seven the same as Paul’s last trump? The reasons, which forbid their identity, are perfectly conclusive. The seventh trumpet is the last of a series, not one of which is literally heard by the inhabitants of the earth. It is the accomplishment of certain events that indicates the transition from one of the seven angels to another. The seventh is like each of the preceding six in that it is the trumpet of an angel, and in that it is a symbolic and not a literal trumpet. Revelation 8, 9, 10, 11. But the trumpet, which awakens the dead, is not blown by an angel, but by the Son of God Himself. It is not a symbolic trumpet, for it is literally heard by the inhabitants of the earth. Matthew 24:31; Zechariah 9:14–16; 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17. It is called the last trump because when the Almighty descended upon Mount Sinai, in glory and majesty, like our Lord’s second advent (Exodus 19:16–19; Hebrews 12:18–27; Matthew 16:27; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8), the trump of God was heard, as it will be once more when the dead are raised. 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52.

The commencement of the seventh angel’s voice, as we have seen, is the signal for the opening of the investigative judgment; and human probation continues for a term of days, i.e., years, after that voice begins. But the trump of God is not sounded till after that investigative judgment has determined the cases of all the righteous; for when it is heard, everyone that has been accounted worthy of a part in the resurrection to immortality, is, in an instant, made immortal. We conclude,therefore, that the seventh angel begins to sound before the advent of Christ, and that the first years of his sounding are devoted to the finishing of the work of human probation.

The events under the sounding of the seventh angel, though not given in chronological order, are, from their nature not difficult to be arranged in the order of their occurrence.

  1. In the days, i.e., years of the beginning of the voice of the seventh angel, the work of human probation is finished. Revelation 10:7. This, as we have seen, involves the closing up of the immense work of our High Priest. It also requires the proclamation of the final warnings to mankind.
  2. The most holy place of the temple in heaven is opened. Revelation 11:19. This is the place where our Lord’s priesthood is finished, and as we shall hereafter see, is the place where the Ancient of Days sits in judgment.
  3. While Christ is finishing His priesthood at the tribunal of His Father, in the holiest of the heavenly temple, the judgment of the righteous dead takes place. Revelation 11:18.
  4. The coronation of Christ is announced by the great voices in heaven, and by the words of the twenty-four elders. Revelation 11:15–17. This succeeds the close of His priesthood. When Christ begins His reign, He is invested by the Father with that power which Satan usurped from Adam the first. The reign of the second Adam is the re-establishment of the empire of God in this revolted province. Christ does not take His own throne to rule His enemies with a rod of iron till He has closed up His priestly office at His Father’s right hand.
  5. The wrath of God comes upon the wicked when Christ begins to rule them with the iron scepter of His justice. It comes in the seven last plagues. Revelation 11:18, 19; 14:9–11; 18:20; 15:16; 19:11–21.
  6. The anger of the nations comes in consequence of the work of the unclean spirits under the sixth plague, who incite them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Revelation 11:18; 16:13, 14; 19:19–21.
  7. The giving of rewards to the servants of God is at the resurrection of the just. Revelation 11:18; Luke 14:14; Matthew 16:27.

The final destruction of them that corrupt the earth is at the end of the one thousand years, in the second death. Revelation 11:18; 20:7–9.

The events of the seventh trumpet do therefore extend over the whole period of the great day of judgment. The mighty proclamation, which ushers in the seventh angel and the investigative judgment and the work in the second apartment of the heavenly temple for the completion of our Lord’s priestly office, we will not consider.

We have learned that there is a space of time at the beginning of the voice of the seventh angel, which is employed in closing up the work of human probation. During this period the living righteous conclude their probation, and are accounted worthy to stand before the Son of man. Luke 21:36. This is the time of the dead that they should be judged, i.e., the time when the righteous dead are accounted worthy of a part in the first resurrection. Luke 20:35, 36; Revelation 11:18. It is when the Ancient of Days sits in judgment that Christ is crowned King; and this same event takes place under the sounding of the seventh angel. Daniel 7:9–14; Revelation 11:15–17. This shows that the judgment scene of Daniel 7 is in the days of the seventh angel, and that the judgment of the dead here brought to view is at the Father’s tribunal. Two things next claim our attention: 1. The mighty proclamation which heralds the investigative judgment at the beginning of the voice of the seventh angel. 2. The opening of the most holy place of the heavenly temple for the session of the judgment.

 

Second and Third Woes

 

The second and third woes come in consequence of the voices of the sixth and seventh angels. Revelation 8:13. There is a short space of time between the second and third woes, and hence such space must exist between the close of the sixth angel’s voice and the commencement of the seventh. Revelation 11:14. The termination of the hour, day, month and year of the sixth angel marks the conclusion of the second woe, August 11, 1840. Revelation 9:15.

At the close of the sixth angel’s voice a mighty angel descends from heaven to herald the sounding of the seventh trumpet. He has a little book open in his hand; and he places his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, and cries with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth. The seven thunders utter their voices, but John is forbidden to write what they utter. The angel, having made proclamation to the inhabitants of the earth, lifts his hand to heaven, and swears that time shall be no longer, but that in the days of the beginning of the seventh angel’s voice the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets. Revelation 10:1–7.

His act of placing one foot upon the sea, and one upon the land, implies that his proclamation pertains to all the dwellers upon the globe. He cries with a mighty voice like the roar of a lion, but it is a voice that gives instruction and warning to mankind; for he has a little book open in his hand, a fact which indicates that its contents form the subject of his proclamation. When he has finished his announcement, he confirms it with a solemn oath. The words of this oath give a definite idea of the nature of his proclamation.

  1. That it relates to the definite time of some grand event.
  2. That this event is the sounding of the seventh angel.
  3. That this proclamation is based upon the prophets.

The book of Daniel contains the prophetic periods which mark the very events of the seventh angel’s voice. Among the earliest of these events are the opening of the second apartment of the heavenly temple (Revelation 11:19), the judgment of the righteous dead (Revelation 11:18), the finishing of the mystery of God (Revelation 10:7), and the coronation of Christ for the destruction of His enemies (Revelation 11:15–19; Psalm 2:6–9). The prophecy of Daniel reveals this very session of the investigative judgment, at which Christ is crowned King upon His own throne (Daniel 7:9–14), and the final work in the sanctuary of God for the closing up of human probation (Daniel 8:14), and marks the very time for the beginning of this grand work.

The book of Daniel must therefore be that book out of which the angel makes his proclamation of definite time; for this book alone contains the prophetic periods, unless, indeed we add the book of Revelation, which is but a second edition of the prophecy of Daniel. Now it is a remarkable fact that the book of Daniel was by divine direction closed up and sealed till the time of the end, when the wise were to understand. Daniel 12:4–10. The same power, which placed the seal upon it, must be employed to take it off. It was by the agency of the angel of God that this book was closed up; and it is by the same means that the seal is removed. And hence when the angel descends to herald the work under the seventh trumpet, that prophecy which reveals the very events of that trumpet, and marks the time of their commencement, is open in his hand. Having made his announcement there from, he swears that time shall be no longer, i.e., that the events predicted shall occur where he then stands—at the end of the periods contained in the little book.

The time to the finishing of the mystery of God must be the burden of the proclamation of this mighty angel; for the oath, which he utters to confirm his proclamation plainly indicates its nature. He swears that time should be no longer, but that the mystery of God should be finished in the days at the beginning of the seventh angel’s voice. The time, therefore, to which he swears must be the time contained in the little book, which reaches to the events of the seventh angel’s voice.

That this oath uttered by the angel with the open book relates to prophetic time, is further evident from the record of the oath which was uttered at the time when that book was sealed up; for the man clothed in linen, standing at a time when the prophetic periods all lay in the future solemnly attests with an oath the time contained in the sealed book. Daniel 12:6, 7. But the angel of Revelation 10, having the book open in his hand, first proclaims their termination and then swears to the truth of his announcement. His oath marks the end of the time in question. It certainly does not mark the end of time considered as duration, measured by days, or years, for the closing words of the oath speak of days yet future under the seventh angel; nor does it mark the end of human probation, for the words of the oath place this also yet future under the sounding of the seventh angel. Verse 7.

Moreover, after the eating of the book by John, who in this personates the church at the time of the fulfillment of this prophecy, he was bidden to prophesy again before many peoples and nations—a clear proof that there is a message of mercy and of warning to men after the oath of the angel that time shall be no longer. Verses 7–11. We must therefore conclude that this oath has reference to the time, which the angel had announced from the book open in his hand. This oath is the complement of that in Daniel 12. In that, the man clothed in linen swears to prophetic time yet to be; in this, the angel having made solemn proclamation from the open book, lifts his hand to heaven and swears to the accomplishment of the time.

 

The Everlasting Gospel

 

What has been said is quite sufficient to show that the work of the mighty angel of Revelation 10 is of the same nature with that of the angel in Revelation 14:6, 7. His message is uttered while the living are yet in probation. It is termed the everlasting gospel, because it is that which contains the good news of the coming kingdom of God. Like the mighty proclamation of the angel of Revelation 10, which pertains to all the dwellers upon the globe, this also is addressed to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. As the angel of Revelation 10 proclaims definite time connected with the seventh angel’s voice, so this angel says with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.” There must be definite time to mark the proclamation of this angel; and as men are addressed while yet in probation, that time must be the prophetic periods of the Bible. And herein have we a parallel to the case of the angel of Revelation 10 with the open book in his hand, swearing to the fulfillment of time. That relates to the sounding of the seventh angel and the finishing of the mystery of God; this relates to the session of the investigative judgment, which, as we have seen, is the same work. As a further work of prophesying remains after the angel of Revelation 10 swears that time shall be no longer, so in Revelation 14, after the angel has announced that the hour of God’s judgment is come, the like work remains to be performed.

The period designated as the hour of God’s judgment, or the days when the mystery of God is to be finished, is not therefore ushered in by the advent of Christ, for its work is preparatory to that event. But it is announced to the inhabitants of the earth by a solemn proclamation, based on a definite time and confirmed by an immutable oath. The time must therefore be given rightly.

Whenever, in fulfillment of Revelation 14:6, 7, the announcement is made, “The hour of His judgment is come,” the time must be truthfully given. And certainly when the angel of Revelation 10 swears to the fulfillment of time, that time must there expire. Yet in each case there is a further work of prophesying or proclaiming truth to the children of men.

These Scriptures can never have their fulfillment by a succession of time messages, each disproving the truth of its predecessor, and each being in turn disproved by the one which succeeds it. When God gives these announcements, they will be rightly given, though they are to be followed by the proclamation of other truths before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Those time movements which follow the genuine, and which repeat themselves again and again in the persistent effort to fix the time of Christ’s advent, never can be in fulfillment of the solemn announcement, “The hour of His judgment is come,” or of the solemn oath that time should be no longer; for these later time movements are but a succession of efforts made to fix the definite time of Christ’s advent, though that is not revealed in the Bible, and though each movement is based upon the failure of all which have preceded it. But the genuine is given for the purpose of announcing the investigative judgment, and its truthfulness being attested by the oath of the angel, it will never be retracted to make way for successive announcements of the time of Christ’s revelation. The opening of the heavenly temple and the final work therein we will now consider.

The investigative judgment, the finishing of the work of human probation, the close of Christ’s priesthood, and His coronation upon His own throne, are events which transpire in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he begins to sound. They precede the revelation of Christ in the clouds of heaven and are preparatory to that grand event. The field of vision during this closing period of human probation is not simply the earth, where, indeed, the fierce battle between truth and error is being fought, but the temple of God in heaven is opened to our view, and becomes the theme of prophetic discourse. Revelation 11:19; 15:5.

We have learned that the priesthood of Christ must continue till He has secured the acquittal of His people at the tribunal of His Father, where their sins are blotted out, and themselves accounted worthy of eternal life. It is at this very time and place that the Saviour changes from His priestly to His kingly office. Hence, wherever our Lord closes His priestly office, there must be the place of the judgment session described in Daniel 7.

 

Children’s Story — Julia Make Someone Happy

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Several years ago there was a third grade class of about thirty students that was not very happy with their teacher. It seemed as if their teacher almost never smiled, and they thought she was very grumpy. They talked among themselves and complained. What could they do besides complain?

One girl, whom we will call Julia, got to thinking about how the teacher did not smile very much. What could she do to help make her teacher smile? Should she give her an apple or how about some flowers? “Maybe,” she thought, “if the class surprises the teacher with a party she will smile!” Julia was excited at the thought of it. Surprising people was something Julia loved to do. She started dreaming and planning. She called one of her friends, Karlin, and they talked it all through.

Julia soon talked to the school secretary and told her about the surprise party she wanted to have for her teacher. Julia would need to talk to the whole class about the project while the teacher was not in the room. The secretary was very helpful. She called the teacher out so Julia could talk to the class.

After the teacher left the room, Julia got up and talked to the class about the surprise party. The school secretary paged Julia and told her the teacher was coming back to the classroom, but Julia continued talking to the students. The teacher walked back into the room while Julia was still talking.

How surprised the teacher was to see Julia up out of her seat talking to the class. How surprised Julia was that the teacher returned so quickly. Julia did not think that the teacher heard about the party, but there was a rule that no students were to get out of their seats while the teacher was out of the classroom. So, Julia had her name written on the chalkboard. That meant that she could not play during all of the recess time, but since she was doing something nice for the teacher she did not really mind too much.

Before recess, the teacher called Julia over and asked her why she had been up in front of the class. Julia smiled and said she could not tell. Evidently the teacher thought that Julia had a good reason, because she let Julia play during recess.

Julia and her friend, Karlin, called all the students and asked them to bring some kind of food for the party. After all of the planning, the day of the party finally came. Some mothers of the students came to help warm the food and organize the meal. The food arrived at the classroom on a big metal cart.

Do you think that the teacher smiled? Yes, she did. The surprise party for the teacher worked! It helped to make her happy. Do you know who else smiled? Julia smiled, maybe even more than the teacher, because she had helped to make the teacher happy.

Next time you see someone that does not seem to be very happy and does not smile often, will you be able to think of a way to make them smile? Pray about it. There are many ways to cheer other people, even if it is just giving them a smile of your own. The Lord will help you to make others happy. While you help make others happy, you will find happiness yourself.

Spiritism in the Adventist Church, part 1

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The close links of Spiritism with the New Theology are rarely perceived by most Seventh-day Adventists. Many have failed to recognize that the sin-and-live theology is the most pervasive form of Spiritism in the world and the church. It was the sin-and-live theology that was presented to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden by Satan. Eve was told that if she disobeyed God by eating of the tree, she would not surely die, but would still live. Today, using all the cunning and sophistries accumulated in six thousand years of experimentation, Satan is presenting, in the most winning and persuasive way, the same concept that men and women can continue to sin until Jesus comes, and still be saved in the kingdom of heaven. As he makes his presentations, he is able to express the majority of his sophistries in truly dramatic ways though his servants. The final deception will be “confirmed” through his own impersonation of Christ. He will pretend loving and winning sentiments that only the very elect will resist.

Satan cannot bring himself to acknowledge the law of God. This law represents the very character of God. It is the transcript of that character. This is the character that Satan has maligned and has claimed is arbitrary and unloving. Therefore it is on this point alone that we can tell the difference between Satan’s army and Christ’s ambassadors. While the servants of Christ will point men and women to the sacred law of God and to the power of victory over sin that Christ provides through His death and ministry, the ambassadors of Satan will deny the saving power of Christ.

“The prophet Isaiah brings to view the fearful deception which will come upon the wicked, causing them to count themselves secure from the judgments of God: ‘We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.’ In the class here described are included those who in their stubborn impenitence comfort themselves with the assurance that there is to be no punishment for the sinner; that all mankind, it matters not how corrupt, are to be exalted to heaven, to become as the angels of God. But still more emphatically are those making a covenant with death and an agreement with hell, who renounce the truths which Heaven has provided as a defense for the righteous in the day of trouble, and accept the refuge of lies offered by Satan in its stead—the delusive pretensions of Spiritualism.” The Great Controversy, 560–561.

One has only to walk through the cemetery of any churchyard in the Christian world to realize the truth of this statement. It is almost impossible to find a tombstone which reads “Gone to hell.” Most seem to have made their way to heaven. There are many such assurances as “At home with the Lord,” “With Jesus,” or “Resting in Peace” engraved on many gravestones. It would seem that death brings instant sanctification, and that somehow, irrespective of how profligate the life may have been, the individual is instantaneously ready for the kingdom of heaven. However, such thinking is truly a covenant with death. The idea of Universalism, that all will be saved no matter what abominations they committed, is a fatal deception. The vast majority of supposed Christians will be shocked when, in the second resurrection, they recognize that that resurrection is not unto life but unto eternal destruction. While most Seventh-day Adventists do not espouse Universalism, nevertheless, a casual attitude to occasional sin will result in eternal loss by many expecting to be saved.

We believe that it is impossible for human beings to recognize the preparation that Satan has put into the deception of mankind. That satanic preparation is at least partially unveiled in the book, The Great Controversy.

“Satan has long been preparing for his final effort to deceive the world. The foundation of his work was laid by the assurance given to Eve in Eden: ‘Ye shall not surely die.’ ‘In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.’ Little by little he has prepared the way for his masterpiece of deception in the development of Spiritualism. He has not yet reached the full accomplishment of his designs; but it will be reached in the last remnant of time. Says the prophet: ‘I saw three unclean spirits like frogs; . . . they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.’ Except those who are kept by the power of God, through faith in His word, the whole world will be swept into the ranks of this delusion. The people are fast being lulled into a fatal security, to be awakened only by the outpouring of the wrath of God.” The Great Controversy, 561–562.

Satan has made an all-out effort to take control of the minds of people through the use of alcohol, mind-expanding and destroying drugs, music, permissive sexual relations, and pornographic and sadistic literature. While some of these things are not used by most members of the church, many are trapped by television and the misuse of the computer. These are mesmerizing the minds of men and women, and driving them deeper and deeper into carnal security while they are moving headlong into eternal destruction. We must not ignore the efforts of Satan to control every form of education. It is almost impossible today to carry on any course in a secular institution, and often in the institutions of the church, which is not undergirded by paganistic, spiritualistic, humanistic, New Age or evolutionary principles, all designed to deceive, and to derail the lives of unsuspecting human beings.

Spiritism reaches its greatest subtlety when Satan seeks to deceive those who are dedicated to Christ, who are members of the remnant. “As Spiritualism more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the day, it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. Satan himself is converted, after the modern order of things. He will appear in the character of an angel of light. Through the agency of Spiritualism, miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and many undeniable wonders will be performed. And as the spirits will profess faith in the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of the church, their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power.” The Great Controversy 588.

The above statement was written especially for the fallen churches of Protestantism. As Seventh-day Adventism is drawn deeper and deeper into the ecumenical web, it faces the same dilemma, and the same consequences. People who have not fortified their minds with the Word of God, who have not taken the Bible, and the Bible only as their basis of practice, and who have listened to the sophistries of men rather than the pure word of truth, are drawn unsuspectingly into the deadly web of Satan.

No matter how subtle the attempt of Satan, no matter how perfectly he has laid his plans, there is no excuse for being deceived, no excuse for failing to stand firm, for the power of God is available to every human being without exception. The power of Christ is able to destroy every attempt of the evil one to undermine the confidence of our faith, and to lead us from the fold of Christ. We have been promised that He will not allow us to be taken out of His hand against our will. (John 10:28.) We know that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), and therefore, with those assurances, and providing we never forsake Him, our victory is assured.

There has been no time in the history of the world when vigilance has been more necessary than in these last moments of probationary time. Our appeal is for every reader to daily consecrate himself to God and to the finishing of His work through witnessing to those who otherwise are moving in the pathway of death. The God of heaven patiently and longingly is waiting for His people to reflect His character so that Jesus might come to take us home to live with Him. “When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 69.

 

Spiritism and Celebration

 

Our first intimation of the movement now referred to as the “Celebration” movement within the Adventist Church goes back to the beginning of the 1980s when a pastor Eion Giller began what some people thought was an unusually Pentecostal type of worship form in the Hillview Church near Avondale College. Of course this association with the Pentecostal movement was denied, but nevertheless there were some of the evidences of it: the expressive activities commonly associated with that movement.

The next alarm was sensed by Colin when, on a tour of Europe in 1987, he was told of charismatic Adventists in France and then met about a dozen of them when the Hartland Bible Conference was being held in the Central Church in Rome. It was at that point that we wrote the chapter on Pentecostalism in the book, Keepers of the Faith, and in so doing we were able to get a warning out prior to the movement becoming an established movement within the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

But with the introduction of such churches as the Colton Church in the Southeastern Conference, and the Milwaukee Church, Portland, in the Oregon Conference, and the Buffalo Church in the New York Conference (by the way, initially under the leadership of Dr. Eion Giller), and of the Cherrybrook Church in Sydney, it was clear that not a small effort was going to be made to bring the elements of the charismatic movement and its sister, Pentecostalism, into the church.

We were alarmed when the church leaders at the General Conference level were to repeatedly declare they could not evaluate this form of worship; that they had to wait and see, for they did not have sufficient information to make a decision. It would seem that such was rather a means of allowing the movement to develop to such an extent that there would be no way of turning it back. Those with spiritual discernment saw from the very beginning that this was nothing short of the Pentecostal and spiritualistic movement that we as a church had fought against constantly over the decades. But now it was becoming more and more a part of the church. The usual denials began to flood in when churches began to move in this direction.

The pastors were urging their churches toward Celebration services, while assuring them that it wasn’t Pentecostal or charismatic, but those who looked at what was taking place had not the slightest doubt that this was the Pentecostal movement being subtly and not-so-subtly introduced into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Eventually, numerous churches began to be pressured in this direction. Some eagerly accepted this form of “worship”; others with some reservations accepted it. Still others were forced into it with many of the members clear on what was taking place, yet apparently impotent to do anything about it. The tragedy is that so many leaders, even perhaps somewhat opposed to it, keep denying the extent of this movement. There are hundreds of Seventh-day Adventist churches that have started on the pathway of the charismatic movement. Some have not reached the maturity that some of the early ones have, but they certainly have begun the pathway and we can be certain that Satan will bring them more and more into the full-fledged charismatic movement as he is able.

The whole presentation has been subtle. Colin overheard a dialogue at the General Conference session where men who were obviously supportive, and maybe leaders in the charismatic movement, were stating that the word “Celebration” had now acquired a negative connotation and that perhaps we should not use the term. This, of course, was meant to derail the efforts of faithful Adventists from identifying the charismatic movement when it came into the church. But no matter whether it is called Celebration or not, it is still the intrusion of Satan’s charismatic movement. Leaders and laity alike should have been forewarned. The counsel is clear.

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

“The Holy Spirit never reveals itself in such methods, in such a bedlam of noise. This is an invention of Satan to cover up his ingenious methods for making of none effect the pure, sincere, elevating, ennobling, sanctifying truth for this time. Better never have the worship of God blended with music than to use musical instruments to do the work which last January was represented to me would be brought into our camp meetings.” Selected Messages, vol.2, 36.

“I will not go into all the painful history; it is too much. But last January the Lord showed me that erroneous theories and methods would be brought into our camp meetings, and that the history of the past would be repeated. I felt greatly distressed. I was instructed to say that at these demonstrations demons in the form of men are present, working with all the ingenuity that Satan can employ to make the truth disgusting to sensible people; that the enemy was trying to arrange matters so that the camp meetings, which have been the means of bringing the truth of the Third Angel’s Message before multitudes, should lose their force and influence. . . .

“The Holy Spirit has nothing to do with such a confusion of noise and multitude of sounds as passed before me last January. Satan works amid the din and confusion of such music, which, properly conducted, would be a praise and glory to God. He makes its effect like the poison sting of the serpent.” Ibid., 37.

It will be noted from these statements that this movement is not under the power of the Holy Spirit, but under the power of another spirit—Satan. Therefore it is only right that faithful Adventists do not attend such churches. Our counsel is that such members look for churches where the pastors preach present truth and where they have the stirring, soul-searching messages that God has designed for this time, with the inspiring hymns of dedication, and they teach the members to lovingly serve their fellow men and train them to witness of the great message of salvation.

It is of the greatest danger for us to go deliberately into Satan’s territory. Neither one of the authors is willing to attend, knowingly, a Celebration church because of the knowledge that these churches are of Satan. We should not even allow curiosity to lead us in that direction. If Celebration is coming to your church, you have a responsibility to speak out, to urge and to counsel. But if there is no response to your counsel, and the majority of the people are determined to go with it, or lock-step follow the recommendations of the pastor in that direction, you have no alternative but to leave that church and to look for another place to worship. If there are no churches in the area, you are forced into a branch Sabbath School if that is possible, or even into home worships. This is not denying your membership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. On the contrary, it is a very important indication that you will not move away from the truth and that you are being a faithful Seventh-day Adventist.

Those who are parents of children must be especially careful. They have a responsibility not to allow their children to go to such services, for they may be led away from salvation under the influence of Satan. Colin had the tragic experience the Sabbath before Christmas, 1990, to attend with his wife and family a church in Perth, Australia. The children were sent to the Primary and Kindergarten Sabbath School respectively. You can imagine Colin’s and his wife, Cheryl’s, consternation when the children of these divisions gave special music and they sang a rock Christmas carol with much jumping about and clapping and celebration-type behavior. Of course, their children had not learned this song, but as might be expected, they were trying to do what the other children were doing. How tragic such an experience is. Parents now must carefully evaluate that the Sabbath School to which they are sending their children is a fit place for them to learn the wonderful messages of God.

In August, 1989, Russell attended a church in Melbourne, Australia. He had known the church in earlier times and was surprised to find it only about one-third full.

The following week there was a transformation. The church was full. The difference was astounding. After Sabbath School a young man, dressed extremely casually, lounged on the lectern and invited the congregation to sing some choruses projected on a screen. After about ten minutes of singing, an elder came up and made an announcement. Thereafter another ten minutes of the singing of projected choruses ensued. At this point the “pastoral prayer” was announced. For the first time it dawned on Russell that we were already twenty minutes into the “divine service” and the song leader was the young pastor. The singing, interrupted once more by a children’s story and the offering, had a duration of fifty minutes. The final ten minutes of the service were devoted to a short homily by the pastor, a special item and benediction. Russell had received his first introductory lesson in Celebration.

At the conclusion of the service one senior member remarked to Russell, “It’s wonderful when this young pastor comes, he brings all these young people with him and fills up our church. They come from all over Melbourne and follow him wherever he preaches.” Some may have thought that these young people were being spiritually fed, but Russell concluded that they were on starvation rations.

We are spending large sums of money to train our ministers in the Celebration methodology. In the Ministries Department of the seminary there is a strong training program encouraging Celebration type services. Many of our pastors and leaders from Australia and New Zealand have been taken on tours to the United States where they not only visit the more “advanced” charismatic churches of Adventism, but they attend and dialogue with pastors from non-Adventist charismatic and Pentecostal churches. It is hard to imagine that God’s sacred money could be used to train our ministers away from the great purpose of God and towards the banner of Satan.

The tragedy is that few of the laity are rising up to ask for an absolute halt. In 1991 a four-day worship seminar was held mainly for ministers in the United States. Many pastors attended it, including some from Australia. There is only one answer to this. In spite of leaders frequently saying they are waiting to see the results, they are indeed supporting these changes in worship form. Do such leaders have a right to continue as the guardians of the flock? They have betrayed their trust and they have allowed their ministry to come under the power of another spirit.

Colin could not have helped but notice some of the seminars offered by the Potamac Conference in Convention ‘91, November 1 and 2, that were promoting New Age philosophy. For example, “What you see is what you are, Christians can use meditation and visualization for peak mental health—learn how!”

In the same set of seminars, participants could attend “Batman’s Action-packed perspective of Sabbath School programming. Action—one of Batman’s trademarks. Today young people need to learn by doing, not just hearing. What is active learning and how can you use it to reach your kids? In this seminar you will hear and do activities which you can use with your Juniors, Earliteens and Youth on the following Sabbath!”

Any faithful Seventh-day Adventist will be distressed by the use of a worldly television program such as Batman as a basis for training for Sabbath School class teachers. Is it any wonder then that one of the other seminars was, “How my Sunday School can help your Sabbath School.” Or that we have another seminar by a non-Adventist presenter, “Growing kids spiritually in an unspiritual world. How come young people of the Baptist Church have such strong denominational loyalty, faith and values? Why are they so much stronger than our kids?”

To every perceptive Adventist the reason is simple. We are no longer presenting the challenges of the Three Angels’ Messages to our young people; we are no longer training them in selfless service for God and man; we are presenting to them the egocentric concepts of the world, rather than the power of God. One is also alarmed to see our great university churches, whether it be Loma Linda University Church, Pioneer Memorial Church at Andrews University, or the Sligo Church at Columbia Union College, all moving at least in one service to the Celebration format.

For example, the Pioneer Memorial Church at Andrews University put out its little brochure, “Sabbath Sunburst Celebration Saturday mornings at 8:45 a.m. Come fellowship with the Son, let Him burst across your horizon. A new dimension for your Sabbaths. Praise. Music. Fellowship. The spirit of worship, the song of encounter, the simplicity of celebration. Or choose the 11:20 service and experience the grandeur of traditional worship—the same inspirational preaching at both.”

With tragic clarity our young people are being thrown into the arms of Satan’s counterfeit and few seem to know it. Colin was concerned at the report that he received while in Brisbane at the end of 1991, where the congregation had sung the pagan hymn, “Let us break bread together on our knees.” But as the people were leaving for foot washing the pastor continued to sing, according to some who were witnesses there, “Let us break God together on our knees.” Brother Lin Harmon made this comment, “At that juncture my wife and I segregated and went home as did some others.” What a tragedy that men and women are forced to go home because of the intrusion of erroneous Catholic doctrines within the church.

Nor can one remain unmoved by the service at the La Sierra University Church the end of October, 1991. Here the program contained the ecumenical words on the front of the program, “A liturgy celebration unity in diversity.” There is no such thing as unity in diversity. Unity is in truth, unadulterated and uncontaminated. After reading some good scriptures and singing some good hymns, the program tragically moved into human words. For example, “In Thee, in me,” translated from the Sanskrit by Mohandas Gandhi. The pantheistic spiritualism of Gandhi came through very quickly in the words used in this liturgical service. “In Thee, in me, in all persons, there dwelleth the one God.”

Any Christian knows that God does not invade humanity without their permission. Revelation 3 portrays Christ as standing at the door of our hearts and knocking, and if we open the door He will come in. But pantheism believes that God is in everything and in every human being. It was this pantheism of Kellogg that God declared to be spiritualism, and yet this liturgy could be presented. Other messages were presented from John Donne, the sixteenth century English poet, “No man is an island.” Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr., the Peaceable Kingdom by Stanley Hauer was, but strangely no words from God’s end-time prophet. The folk who gave Colin the program left when a woman danced an extended liturgical dance during the divine service hour. How can it be that God’s church has fallen so far and so fully into these idolatrous practices? We are repulsed by the paganism of the Israelites and the Jews and yet we ourselves have walked headlong into the same paganistic practices.

Not only is the Celebration movement seen in the use of rock and hypnotic music, but it is seen in the entertainment that is flooding into our church with comedians holding services on Sabbath such as was held on the Friday evening at the Arco Center in Sacramento the end of October, 1991. Also “clown ministry” and “miming” are in common use today in church worship.

The spiritual becomes the profane; the holy becomes corrupted; the sanctified becomes secular. How tragic are the consequences of these activities. And yet many blindly move forward saying that this is the leading of God to help our youth stay in the church. Is it any wonder that we in the Western world are losing three-quarters of our youth from the Adventist Church? Is it any wonder that we are finding our youth growing up into self-centered, pleasure seeking young people who know not the principles of the truth and who are unready for the mighty work that God has called them to fulfill?

Now is surely a day to call our people back to true worship, the worship of the God of heaven, not the worship of the false god of Satan.

 

No Time to Celebrate, part 2

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In this article, we will review the first five points concerning central features of the Three Angels’ Messages that we looked at last month, and further develop number six:

  1. The Three Angels’ Messages are special messages to the last generation. When Jesus comes, the people who are lost are the ones who rejected the Third Angel’s Message, received the mark of the beast and worshipped his image.
  2. The Three Angels’ Messages lead men to keep God’s law. “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. Those are the distinguishing marks of God’s people in the last days. To help you understand who and what Babylon is, God gives twenty-five identifying marks so you will not miss it. But with God’s people it is straightforward: they keep the commandments and have the faith of Jesus.
  3. The whole world, in the last days, will reject the Three Angels’ Messages. That is clear in Revelation 13:14–16; 16:12–14; 18:23, 24; 19:18, 21. Since the Third Angel’s Message is the most awful threatening and warning in the Bible, the question is why would the whole world reject a threatening and warning so plain, clear and strong?
  4. They will reject this strong, plain warning because of the great deceptions that the unclean spirits will bring upon the world. “I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Revelation 16:13, 14. The reason the world rejects the message is because they are deceived. As we said in part one, if your faith is based on miracles, the chances are one hundred percent that you will be deceived.
  5. The result of rejecting the Three Angels’ Messages is that you will receive this mark, and drink of the wine of the wrath of God. What has the wrath of God seen in it? The seven last plagues, according to Revelation 15. If you reject the Three Angels’ Messages, you will receive the plagues. That is Revelation 15 and 16. Revelation 17 is about the great worldwide confederation that will oppose God. Revelation 18 is about the destruction of the people that oppose the Three Angels’ Messages. And Revelation 19 is about their final destruction when Jesus comes before the millenium.
  6. The devil will work miracles, specializing in a certain kind of miracle. This miracle is the impersonation of our dead loved ones, famous people of the past, the Virgin Mary or the apostles. Before it is over according to Great Controversy, 624, the devil is even going to personate Jesus Christ.

Ellen White says that some of the same gracious words that Jesus spoke, the devil will speak. He will appear more glorious than anyone mortal eyes have ever beheld. The people of this world will fall down and worship him as Christ. He is the great antichrist.

Ellen White says that the devil can impersonate your dead loved ones perfectly. The form, the shape, the voice, the accent, information that no one but you and that person knew, he can duplicate perfectly. The devil will deceive people through ministers, even through Seventh-day Adventist ministers. Selected Messages, vol. 2, 380 says, “Many of the ministers are half paralyzed by their own defects of character. They need the converting power of God.” If a minister is half paralyzed by his defects of character, can he preach to you about overcoming your defects of character, gaining perfection and overcoming sin? Not unless he wants to be a hypocrite; and if he does, he will shake in his boots the whole time. How can you talk to someone else about something that you yourself are not experiencing? You cannot preach about overcoming smoking if you are smoking.

I used to wonder why no one was preaching about perfection of character, sanctification, overcoming and forsaking sin? I read about these topics all the time in Ellen White’s writings, but rarely heard them preached from the pulpit. Now I understand why so few ministers preach it. It is because they themselves have never experienced these things. You cannot preach about overcoming sin if you are not in your own closet going through an experience with the Lord and overcoming. That is one of the ways the devil deceives people. They never hear about the necessity of forsaking and overcoming sin. The preachers do not preach about it because they cannot.

We talk about how the devil uses religion to deceive people. Ellen White says that he will come to the last generation in the “livery [that is the cloak] of heaven.” (See Testimonies, vol. 3, 456.)What is that talking about? He will come in a religious guise, seeking to gain control of the world.The devil will come to Adventists in church.

The devil will cause heresy to be preached. “Every conceivable message is coming to counterfeit the work of God, and always bearing the inscription of truth upon its banner. And those who are prepared for anything new and sensational, will handle these things in such a manner that our enemies will charge all that is inconsistent and overdone upon Mrs. E. G. White, the prophetess . ..There will be counterfeit messages coming from persons in all directions. One after another will rise up, appearing to be inspired, when they have not the inspiration of heaven, but are under the deception of the enemy. All who receive their messages will be led astray.” Selected Messages, vol. 3, 404.

“Delusions and deceptions will come in among us and will multiply as we near the end.” 1888 Materials, 1243. We are living in the time when these delusions and deceptions are multiplying.

Here is another way the devil deceives people. “Those who feel at liberty to question the Word of God, to doubt everything where there is any chance to be unbelieving, will find that it will require a tremendous struggle to have faith when trouble comes. It will be almost impossible to overcome the influence that binds the mind which has been educated in the line of unbelief, for by this course the soul is bound in Satan’s snare and becomes powerless to break the dreadful net that has been woven closer and closer about the soul.” Last Day Events, 68, 69.

If you sow unbelief, questioning and doubting, that is what you will reap. The time will come when you will be so steeped in unbelief that there will be no way to reach you. There are a lot of people in that condition all around us today, even in the church. There is one more deception we have not looked at: “The warfare against God’s law commenced in heaven. Satan was determined to bring God to his ideas, his way, to force Him to change the law of His government. This was the cause of the war in heaven. Satan worked upon the sympathies of the angelic host by his deceptive attitude.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 37.

Can you have sympathy without any feeling? Sympathy has to do with the way you feel toward another person. The devil was successful in getting a third of the angels on his side by working on their sympathy. He still knows how to do that. The devil uses this technique to get control, not only of individuals or families, but of whole churches and conferences in the Adventist Church.

 

The Way of the Transgressor is Hard

 

God created human beings to be happy. But He says there are certain conditions under which you cannot have happiness. The Bible says that “in Your [God’s] presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forever more.” Psalm 16:11. “Good understanding gains favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard.” Proverbs 13:15. For those who follow the Lord there is peace and joy, but not for the wicked. ” ‘There is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked.’ ” Isaiah 48:22. Paul clearly describes what it is like for the wicked:

“As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one; There is none who understands. There is none that seeks after God. They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Romans 3:10–19.

Paul says for sinful men, “Destruction and misery are in their ways, the way of peace they have not known.” There is no chance for them to have joy and happiness. They will experience destruction and misery. That is what the Bible teaches from the beginning to the end.

The Bible says that if you sin and try to cover it up, you will not prosper. “He who covers his sin will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13. But for six thousand years the devil has been trying to convince people that you can sin and still have joy and happiness. The Bible says, “No, you cannot!”

During the time of the children of Israel, the Lord gave them a special service once a year called The Day of Atonement. On this Day they were to afflict their souls. “For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day he shall be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.” Leviticus 23:29, 30.

“This shall be a statute for ever for you; in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins.” Leviticus 16:29–31. God’s plan is to get rid of your sins. If your sins are forgiven and forsaken, then you will be happy. That is one of the central points of the whole ceremonial service.

“It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.” Verse 31. The old covenant Day of Atonement came once a year. The new covenant Day of Atonement began in 1844. We are living in the anti-typical Day of Atonement. Right now, the Lord is reviewing the records of every individual.

 

Search for Hidden Sins

 

“In this great day of atonement our work is that of heart-searching, of self-abasement, and confession of sin, each humbling his own soul before God, and seeking pardon for himself individually . . . If each will search and see what sins are lurking in his own heart to shut out Jesus, he will find such a work to do that he will be ready to esteem others better than himself.” Historical Sketches, 213.

We have to go to the Lord and say, “Lord, is there anything in my life that is wrong and needs to come out.” If you ask the Lord that question, you will be surprised how fast He might answer your prayer! The Holy Spirit will put His finger right on something and say, “How about this?”

“Every man is required to afflict his soul before God. Every heart is required to be in harmony with the divine will.” Review and Herald, August 12, 1884. “Investigate the motives of every action and know that the eye of God reads all, searches out every hidden thing.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 124. I am to ask myself, “What are my motives?” That is afflicting my soul.

“An effort was made to arouse them by presenting our true position in the anti-typical day of atonement, when every man should afflict his soul before God, when sins should be confessed and go beforehand to judgment that when the times of refreshing shall come, they may be blotted out.” Review and Herald, October 21, 1884. “Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment . . . and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.” 1Timothy 5:24, 25.

There was another special occasion on the Jewish calendar, which was very different from the Day of Atonement. “The Feast of Tabernacles was the great holiday of the nation.” Review and Herald, July 7, 1896. The Feast of Tabernacles represented the great celebration that the saints will enjoy when the Lord takes them to heaven. We believe in celebrating! We are getting ready for the biggest celebration of all time, but it will take place in heaven after the Day of Atonement that we are still in now.

The Day of Atonement prepares you for the great celebration. The devil’s trick is to get people celebrating when they are not ready to go to heaven. They are not ready to have their sins blotted out. He knows that they are headed straight for hellfire if they do not get sin out of their lives.

Do you want to celebrate a few years down here and then go to hellfire? Or do you want to celebrate up there forever. “The Feast of Tabernacles was the great holiday of the nation. This feast was preceded by a Day of Atonement, which occurred on the tenth day of the seventh month, when everyone was to afflict his soul by confessing his sins, both to the Lord and to his brethren. This humiliation was to prepare the way for the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles.” Ibid.

The Lord says, “If you desire to have joy, peace and happiness, sin has to come out of your life.” And the devil says, “No, it does not. You can have a celebration right now!” That is deceptive. But the Christian world is falling for it. A large part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is falling for it. The Adventist Review took a random survey of 1738 Adventists (printed in the October 30, 1997 edition); twenty-nine percent of those polled said they attend celebration churches right now.

I want to show you from the Bible how serious this is. It is impossible for me to state it too strongly. If you are going to a celebration church, you had better repent and get out of there or you will commit the unpardonable sin and go straight to hellfire. I will read it to you right now in the Bible. “You are full of noise, a tumultuous city, a joyous city. Your slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle . . .Therefore I said, ‘Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me because of the plundering of the daughter of my people. For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity by the Lord God of Hosts in the valley of vision—breaking down the walls and of crying to the mountain . . .He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the house of the forest . . .You also saw the damage to the city of David that it was great. You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses you broke down to fortify the wall . . .And in that day the Lord God of Hosts called for weeping and for mourning, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth.” Isaiah 22:2, 4, 5, 8–10, 12.

There is a time when it is not appropriate to sing, dance, wave our hands and have a good time. Do you laugh at a funeral? A funeral, the Bible says, is for mourning. The Lord tells us in verse twelve that it is time to weep and mourn. Why? Because a large percentage of Seventh-day Adventists today are going straight to destruction.

A man came along in the seventies by the name of Desmond Ford, saying you cannot find the investigative judgment in the Bible. That is not true. But people did not and still do not want to hear about the judgment. They want to feel good and to say, “Our sins are forgiven and it is all right.” The Lord says the opposite: “Search your heart, examine your life, look at your motives and ask Me to help you get sin out.”

It is time to pray, to weep between the porch and the altar and plead for God’s people. It is not time to cover up sin and to have a good time. That kind of a good time will not last. When God called for weeping and mourning, the people did not do it. “But instead, joy and gladness, slain oxen and killing sheep, and eating meat and drinking wine: Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Verse 13.

They said, “we will not weep and mourn. We will celebrate and have a good time. We will tell the people, Be joyful and happy!” If you are joyful and happy when you are living in sin, you insult the deity and God will respond to that insult.

The Lord said, “It is time to afflict your soul. It is time to search your heart.” They said, “Oh, no, we will have a good time.” The God of heaven is a loving God. He loves us all very much, but He is not to be trifled with. Soon it will be impossible to save the rebellious. Jesus is coming in the clouds of heaven. He will tell us that there is no more sacrifice for sin. If there is sin on your record at that time, you will be lost forever. There will be plenty of gnashing of teeth when the Lord comes. Jesus said that when He comes there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, no celebrating then, because the people have not overcome their sins.

While there is still time, the Lord says, “You need to afflict your soul. You need to search your heart.” Neither the preacher, the elder nor the Sabbathschool teacher can do it for you. You have to do it for yourself. You have to go to your closet and pray saying, “Lord, is there anything in me that needs to come out so I can be ready to meet Jesus in peace?”

The people said, “We will have a good time.” The Lord said, “Yes, you will have a good time, but look what will happen to you.” “Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of Hosts, ‘surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, even to your death,’ says the Lord of hosts,” Verse 14. This means you have committed the unpardonable sin. People say, “Oh, it does not matter. You can worship any way you choose!” But according to Isaiah 22, when God says, “It is time to weep and mourn,” the decision you make to obey or disobey, has eternal consequences.

I am to go to my closet and say, “Lord, are my motives right? I may be doing good things, but are my motives right? Is there secret sin in my life, Lord? If so, I want it to come out now while there is time and not after probation when it is too late.” If I do that now, the time is coming when I will go to a great celebration! It is likened to the marriage supper of the Lamb. It will be the happiest time in my life and it will never end.

Ellen White said, “The command is ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that [celebrate?] sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.’ [Ezekiel 9:4.] These sighing, crying ones have been holding forth the works of life; they had reproved, counseled, and entreated. Some who had been dishonoring God repented and humbled their hearts before Him. But the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel; although many still continued the forms of religion, His power and presence were lacking. In the time when His wrath shall go forth in judgments, these humble, devoted followers of Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their soul anguish, which is expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings. While others try to throw a cloak over the existing evil, and excuse the great wickedness everywhere prevalent, those who have a zeal for God’s honor and a love for souls will not hold their peace to obtain favor of any.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 210.

The sin that is all around is going to send these people to destruction. The day of salvation is almost over. She talks about two classes: The people who are not grieved over their sins and the people who are sighing, crying, mourning, weeping, lamenting, reproving and counseling others to get sin out of their lives.

The people who receive the seal of God are those who look at their lives and ask, “Lord, is there anything in me that needs to be changed so that I will be ready for heaven?” If all Adventism decides to stomp their feet and clap their hands, wave, have drums and music, sing, dance, play and be joyful, I will not do it!

We are now in the preparation time. The only people who attend God’s great celebration are the ones whose robes of character have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. All the wrinkles are removed, and they are ready. When Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven, the saints will ask only one question, “Is my garment spotless? Are all the wrinkles out?”

I have visualized in my mind over and over again what it will be like to see the cloud coming and know that I am either saved or lost. There will be no changing then. The time to make your calling and election sure is now.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout . . . and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. What a celebration!

 

Editorial — When Christians Work for the Devil

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It has often been the case that the most dedicated Christians end up working for the devil! We rarely glimpse our own weaknesses and narrowness of mind. We can feel it when we are on the receiving end of some other “Christian” doing the work of the devil, but rarely do we have the gift to see ourselves as we are seen (and felt).

It took Servetus three hours to die, by burning (with green wood), and this was instigated, at least in part, by John Calvin. Melanchthon wrote to the instigators of this murder, and said that “the church will always owe a debt of gratitude to you for putting the heretic to death!”

If we are going to heaven we must repent and quit doing the work of the devil. Don’t you agree A transformation must come in our speech and actions. Ellen White said about this subject: “Do not strive to have your own way. If other people do not agree with you, do not make a mountain [out] of a mole-hill and feel that you can no longer be united with them in the Lord Jesus. Do not lose your affection and love for those who do not wholly agree with you. Let not the little differences that arise be made an occasion to break up the unity that should exist among brethren. This is the work of Satan. When you quarrel with your brethren, when you are selfish and are jealous if you do not get your own way, you show that you are not meek and lowly.

“Do not allow your individuality to become prominent. If differences arise, do not insist on having your own way, thereby creating strife. Let your individual preferences be unexpressed, when you see that they would create discord. “Unless some question of vital importance is involved, be ready to yield your own opinion rather than to create a dispute. Even though you may by argument gain your point, yet you may place a burden upon someone else, far outweighing the advantage you think you will gain. It is hard to heal the wounds caused by harsh words.

“Often you may preserve peace by guarding the tongue. Never introduce into your conversation matters that will create strife, hurting your own soul and the souls of others. Keep your differences to yourself. Tell them only to God.

“Do not let Satan mold and fashion you. He ever stands ready to put evil insinuations into your mind. He seeks to justify himself in his course of rebellion against God, by demonstrating that human beings upon the earth can no more keep the law of God than could he and his angels in heaven.

‘Ye are not your own.’ The Lord Jesus has a right to your wholehearted and faithful, persevering energies. ‘For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.’ 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20. “The home is a school, where all may learn how they are to act in the church. When all are members of the royal family, there will be true politeness in the home life. Each member of the family will seek to make it pleasant for every other member. The angels of God, who minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation, will help you to make your family a model of the heavenly family. “Let there be peace in the home, and there will be peace in the church. This precious experience, brought into the church, will be a means of creating a kindly affection one for another. Quarrels will cease. True Christian courtesy will be seen among church members. The world will take knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus and have learned of Him. What an impression the church would make upon the world, if all the members would live Christian lives.

“Much may be gained by self-discipline in the home life. If the husband and wife show respect for each other, a healthful, wholesome atmosphere will pervade the home. Let each make life as pleasant as possible for the other. Cultivate respect in the speech. Preserve unity and love. Satan will have no power over those who fully control themselves in the home.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 67–70.

 

Bible Study Guides – Behold, I Come Quickly — A Personal Relationship with Jesus

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August 19 – 25, 2018

Key Text

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Study Help

The Ministry of Healing, 81–85; Selected Messages, Book 1, 40–48.

Introduction

“When we turn toward the Sun of Righteousness, when we come in touch with Christ, the whole soul is aglow with the brightness of the divine presence.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 40.

Sunday

LIGHT SHINES AMID THE DARKNESS

  • How does Scripture depict our hopeless state? Job 14:4; Romans 3:23; 8:7.

Note: “It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken. Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them.” Steps to Christ, 18.

“Many are unhappy because they are unholy. Purity of heart, innocence of mind, only can be blessed of God. When sin is cherished, it can in the end produce nothing but unhappiness.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 53.

  • In His great love and mercy, what has God revealed to us in the last days, and how is it to affect our life in a practical way? Romans 3:24–26; 8:1–4.

Note: “Our Lord and Saviour laid aside His dominion, His riches and glory, and sought after us, that He might save us from misery and make us like Himself. He humbled Himself and took our nature that we might be able to learn of Him and, imitating His life of benevolence and self-denial, follow Him step by step to heaven.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 170.

Monday

GOD’S LOVE FOR US

  • Explain the completeness of the plan of salvation. 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:19–21.

Note: “Christ gave Himself, an atoning sacrifice, for the saving of a lost world. He was treated as we deserve, in order that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. ‘With His stripes we are healed’ (Isaiah 53:5).

“Christ was tempted in all points like as we are, by the one who once stood in loyalty by His side in the heavenly courts. Behold the Son of God in the wilderness of temptation, in the time of greatest weakness assailed by the fiercest temptation. See Him during the years of His ministry, attacked on every side by the forces of evil. See Him in His agony on the cross. All this He suffered for us.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 208, 209.

  • Who can experience the blessings of God’s love? Matthew 11:28; John 6:37.

Note: “Coming to Christ does not require severe mental effort and agony; it is simply accepting the terms of salvation that God has made plain in His Word. The blessing is free to all. …

“In the name that is above every name, the only name given among men whereby men can be saved, claim the promise of God, saying, ‘Lord, forgive my sin; I put my hands into Thy hand for help, and I must have it, or perish. I now believe.’ ” Selected Messages, Book 1, 333, 334.

“A deep sense of our need and a great desire for the things for which we ask must characterize our prayers, else they will not be heard. But we are not to become weary and cease our petitions because the answer is not immediately received. ‘The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force’ (Matthew 11:12). The violence here meant is a holy earnestness, such as Jacob manifested. We need not try to work ourselves up into an intense feeling, but calmly, persistently, we are to press our petitions at the throne of grace.” That I May Know Him, 272.

Tuesday

A NEW LIFE IN CHRIST

  • What new attitude and behavior become apparent as we trust in Jesus? 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:6; Philippians 2:12, 13.

Note: “The faith which avails to bring us in vital contact with Christ expresses on our part supreme preference, perfect reliance, entire consecration. This faith works by love and purifies the soul. It works in the life of the follower of Christ true obedience to God’s commandments; for love to God and love to man will be the result of vital connection with Christ.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 334.

“Nothing but divine power can regenerate the human heart and imbue souls with the love of Christ, which will ever manifest itself with love for those for whom He died. . . . When a man is converted to God, a new moral taste is supplied, a new motive power is given, and he loves the things that God loves. …

“But those who are waiting to behold a magical change in their characters without determined effort on their part to overcome sin will be disappointed. We have no reason to fear while looking to Jesus, no reason to doubt but that He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto Him; but we may constantly fear lest our old nature will again obtain the supremacy, that the enemy shall devise some snare whereby we shall again become his captives.” Ibid., 336, 337.

  • What deep desire is to continually fill the heart of every believer, and how is this to affect us on a consistent basis? John 15:4, 5, 10; Romans 6:6, 10, 11.

Note: “Union with Christ, once formed, must be maintained. … This is no casual touch, no off-and-on connection. …

“Abiding in Christ means a constant receiving of His Spirit, a life of unreserved surrender to His service.” The Desire of Ages, 676.

“Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life. By yielding up your will to Christ, you ally yourself with the power that is above all principalities and powers. You will have strength from above to hold you steadfast, and thus through constant surrender to God you will be enabled to live the new life, even the life of faith.” Steps to Christ, 48.

Wednesday

GROWTH IN GRACE

  • When the heart is surrendered to Christ with prayer for His enlightenment, what change occurs in the character? Galatians 5:22, 23; Psalm 119:18.

Note: “By beholding we are to become changed; and as we meditate upon the perfections of the divine Model, we shall desire to become wholly transformed, and renewed in the image of His purity. It is by faith in the Son of God that transformation takes place in the character, and the child of wrath becomes the child of God. He passes from death unto life; he becomes spiritual and discerns spiritual things. The wisdom of God enlightens his mind, and he beholds wondrous things out of His law. As a man is converted by the truth, the work of transformation of character goes on. He has an increased measure of understanding. In becoming a man of obedience to God, he has the mind of Christ, and the will of God becomes his will.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 338.

  • Why is open-hearted study and meditation on the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy an important key in this process? Psalm 119:24–27.

Note: “It is not alone those who openly reject the Testimonies, or who cherish doubt concerning them, that are on dangerous ground. To disregard light is to reject it.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 680.

“Says the psalmist, ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path’ (Psalm 119:105). But this is not the case when it is left unopened and unread.” The Review and Herald, January 4, 1881.

“By looking constantly to Jesus with the eye of faith, we shall be strengthened. God will make the most precious revelations to His hungering, thirsting people. They will find that Christ is a personal Saviour. As they feed upon His word, they find that it is spirit and life. The word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and imparts a new life in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes to the soul as a Comforter. By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature. Love takes the place of hatred, and the heart receives the divine similitude. This is what it means to live ‘by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4). This is eating the Bread that comes down from heaven.” The Desire of Ages, 391.

Thursday

REFLECTING THE LIGHT

  • What is the most pressing need of this dark world? Matthew 5:14–16.

Note: “It is the privilege of every soul to be a living channel through which God can communicate to the world the treasures of His grace, the unsearchable riches of Christ. There is nothing that Christ desires so much as agents who will represent to the world His Spirit and character. There is nothing that the world needs so much as the manifestation through humanity of the Saviour’s love. All heaven is waiting for channels through which can be poured the holy oil to be a joy and blessing to human hearts.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 419.

  • What is to be the focus of our life, and what results will be achieved through this? Galatians 2:20; Isaiah 60:1–3.

Note: “ ‘Abiding in Christ is choosing only the disposition of Christ, so that His interests are identified with yours. Abide in Him, to be and to do only what He wills. These are the conditions of discipleship, and unless they are complied with, you can never find rest.’ ” Selected Messages, Book 1, 110.

“Through the Holy Spirit, God’s word is a light as it becomes a transforming power in the life of the receiver. By implanting in their hearts the principles of His word, the Holy Spirit develops in men the attributes of God. The light of His glory—His character—is to shine forth in His followers.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 414.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1     Explain the predicament of the human race, and what can be done about it.

2    Why is a casual connection with Christ insufficient?

3    What would you tell a person who is disappointed with the gospel?

4    What role do the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy have in our sanctification?

5    Explain how your influence can become a source of refreshment to others.

Copyright © 2017 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Bible Study Guides – Behold, I Come Quickly — Waiting and Watching`

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August 12 – 18, 2018

Key Text

“He [our Saviour Jesus Christ] gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).

Study Help

Christ’s Object Lessons, 353–365.

Introduction

“He [Christ] showed what it means to watch for His coming. The time is to be spent, not in idle waiting, but in diligent working.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 325.

Sunday

CALLED FOR SERVICE

  • What parable did Jesus present in connection with His return? Matthew 25:13–15.

Note: “The man traveling into a far country represents Christ, who, when speaking this parable, was soon to depart from this earth to heaven. The ‘bondservants’ (RV), or slaves, of the parable, represent the followers of Christ. …

“Our Lord teaches that the true object of life is ministry. Christ Himself was a worker, and to all His followers He gives the law of service—service to God and to their fellow men.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 325, 326.

  • With what were the talents compared, and how are they significant? 1 Corinthians 12:7–11.

Note: “All gifts and endowments, whether original or acquired, natural or spiritual … are to be employed in Christ’s service. In becoming His disciples, we surrender ourselves to Him with all that we are and have. These gifts He returns to us purified and ennobled, to be used for His glory in blessing our fellow men.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 328.

Monday

A RIGHT USE OF ENTRUSTED GOODS

  • In view of the seriousness of our times, what should we learn from Christ’s parable about the use of the talents entrusted to us? Matthew 25:16–18.

Note: “The question that most concerns us is not, How much have I received? but, What am I doing with that which I have? The development of all our powers is the first duty we owe to God and to our fellow men. No one who is not growing daily in capability and usefulness is fulfilling the purpose of life. In making a profession of faith in Christ we pledge ourselves to become all that it is possible for us to be as workers for the Master, and we should cultivate every faculty to the highest degree of perfection, that we may do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 329, 330.

  • What can be achieved by a right use of our gifts? Matthew 25:19, 20, 22.

Note: “He [the Lord] does not supernaturally endow us with the qualifications we lack; but while we use that which we have, He will work with us to increase and strengthen every faculty. By every wholehearted, earnest sacrifice for the Master’s service our powers will increase. While we yield ourselves as instruments for the Holy Spirit’s working, the grace of God works in us to deny old inclinations, to overcome powerful propensities, and to form new habits. As we cherish and obey the promptings of the Spirit, our hearts are enlarged to receive more and more of His power, and to do more and better work. Dormant energies are aroused, and palsied faculties receive new life. …

“Through faith in the power of God, it is wonderful how strong a weak man may become, how decided his efforts, how prolific of great results. He who begins with a little knowledge, in a humble way, and tells what he knows, while seeking diligently for further knowledge, will find the whole heavenly treasure awaiting his demand. The more he seeks to impart light, the more light he will receive. The more one tries to explain the word of God to others, with a love for souls, the plainer it becomes to himself.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 353, 354.

Tuesday

GRATEFUL OR GRUMBLING?

  • How was the unfaithful servant reproached for having misused his talent, and why is such an attitude a warning for us? Matthew 25:24–28.

Note: “There are many who in their hearts charge God with being a hard master because He claims their possessions and their service. But we can bring to God nothing that is not already His. … All things are God’s, not only by creation, but by redemption. All the blessings of this life and of the life to come are delivered to us stamped with the cross of Calvary. Therefore the charge that God is a hard master, reaping where He has not sown, is false.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 362.

  • How does Inspiration depict our tendency to complain and make excuses for ourselves, and why should we heed the Master’s earnest desire for every one of us before His return? Proverbs 30:15, 16; Isaiah 29:24.

Note: “Fretting, faultfinding, and making strong statements must be given up. What time have you set to gain the victory over your perverse will and the defects in your character? With the advancement you now make, your probation may close before you have made the determined efforts essential to give you the victory over self. You will, in the providence of God, be placed in positions where your peculiarities, if existing, will be tried and revealed.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 341, 342.

“Many decide to serve themselves and Satan by not making determined efforts to overcome their defects of character. While many are petting sinful propensities, expecting to be overcomers sometime, they are deciding for perdition. … In the name of Jesus Christ you may be victorious even now ‘in this thy day’ (Luke 19:42). Do not plan and study for self. You cannot be wholly the Lord’s while encouraging any degree of selfishness. Such great love as the Redeemer has shown you should be received with great humility and continual rejoicing. In order to be happy, you must control your thoughts and words. It will require a masterly effort on your part; nevertheless it must be done if you are to be the acknowledged children of God. Be not weary in your efforts. Satan is battling for your souls, and he must be disappointed.” Ibid., 344.

Wednesday

UNMASK THE DECEPTION AND FLEE FROM IT!

  • How does the Son of God’s example refute the false accusations of the archenemy of our souls? Genesis 3:4, 5; Philippians 2:5–8.

Note: “Satan led men to conceive of God as a being whose chief attribute is stern justice—one who is a severe judge, a harsh, exacting creditor. He pictured the Creator as a being who is watching with jealous eye to discern the errors and mistakes of men, that He may visit judgments upon them. It was to remove this dark shadow, by revealing to the world the infinite love of God, that Jesus came to live among men.” Steps to Christ, 11.

“Satan represents God’s law of love as a law of selfishness. He declares that it is impossible for us to obey its precepts.” The Desire of Ages, 24.

“Could our eyes be opened, we should see forms of evil angels around us, trying to invent some new way to annoy and destroy us. And we should also see angels of God guarding us from their power; for God’s watchful eye is ever over Israel for good, and He will protect and save His people, if they put their trust in Him. …

“Said the angel, ‘Remember, thou art on the enchanted ground.’ I saw that we must watch and have on the whole armor and take the shield of faith, and then we shall be able to stand, and the fiery darts of the wicked cannot harm us.” Early Writings, 60.

  • What reveals God’s eager willingness to help us overcome our defects and slothfulness? Psalms 20:1, 2, 7–9; 94:17, 18.

Note: “Every impulse of the Holy Spirit leading men to goodness and to God, is noted in the books of heaven.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 361.

“The Lord desires His people to reach the highest round of the ladder that they may glorify Him by possessing the ability He is willing to bestow. Through the grace of God every provision has been made for us to reveal that we act upon better plans than those upon which the world acts. …

“Those who have not a large endowment of gifts need not become discouraged. Let them use what they have, faithfully guarding every weak point in their characters, seeking by divine grace to make it strong.” Ibid., 358.

Thursday

VICTORIOUS LABORERS WITH GOD

  • As we prepare for our Lord’s return in full surrender to His service, what is our main interest, and His? Titus 2:13, 14; Luke 17:10; Psalm 145:10–12.

Note: “When the Lord takes account of His servants, the return from every talent will be scrutinized. The work done reveals the character of the worker.

“Those who have received the five and the two talents return to the Lord the entrusted gifts with their increase. In doing this they claim no merit for themselves. Their talents are those that have been delivered to them; they have gained other talents, but there could have been no gain without the deposit. They see that they have done only their duty. The capital was the Lord’s; the improvement is His. Had not the Saviour bestowed upon them His love and grace, they would have been bankrupt for eternity.

“But when the Master receives the talents, He approves and rewards the workers as though the merit were all their own. His countenance is full of joy and satisfaction. He is filled with delight that He can bestow blessings upon them. For every service and every sacrifice He requites them, not because it is a debt He owes, but because His heart is overflowing with love and tenderness.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 360, 361.

“Our heavenly Father requires no more nor less than He has given us ability to do. He lays upon His servants no burdens that they are not able to bear. ‘He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust’ (Psalm 103:14). All that He claims from us we through divine grace can render.” Ibid., 362.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1     What is often misunderstood about God’s purpose in giving talents?

2    Although you may be weak and faulty, what is God’s plan for helping you?

3    Compare the servant with one talent to typical human behavior of today.

4    How can we bypass the enemy’s strategy to try to block our sanctification?

5    Explain how we can gain the victory to become real, active agents for God.

Bible Study Guides – Behold, I Come Quickly — With Great Power and Glory

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August 5 – 11, 2018

Key Text

“And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation” (Isaiah 25:9).

Study Help

The Great Controversy, 479–484; 641–645.

Introduction

“The black, angry clouds that covered the firmament are parted, and like Stephen they [the people of God] look up steadfastly into heaven and see the glory of God and the Son of man seated upon His throne.” The Great Controversy, 636.

Sunday

INCREDIBLE WOE, WOE, WOE

  • When Christ arrives, what reveals the fearful reaction to come upon those who have despised His offer of salvation? Revelation 6:15–17; Nahum 2:10.

Note: “Upon the rejecters of God’s mercy falls the terror of eternal despair.” The Great Controversy, 641.

“When sinners are compelled to look upon Him who clothed His divinity with humanity, and who still wears this garb, their confusion is indescribable. The scales fall from their eyes, and they see that which before they would not see. They realize what they might have been had they received Christ, and improved the opportunities granted them. They see the law which they have spurned, exalted even as God’s throne is exalted. They see God Himself giving reverence to His law.”  “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1069.

  • What will actually happen to them, and why? 2 Thessalonians 1:7–10; 2:8.

Note: “The light of the glory of God, which imparts life to the righteous, will slay the wicked.” The Desire of Ages, 108.

Monday

THE SPECIAL RESURRECTION

  • From among all who, throughout history, went to their graves trusting in God, which category of believers will have already been raised just before Christ’s arrival? Revelation 14:12, 13; Daniel 12:1, 2.

Note: “Dark, heavy clouds came up and clashed against each other. But there was one clear place of settled glory, whence came the voice of God like many waters, shaking the heavens and the earth. There was a mighty earthquake. The graves were opened, and those who had died in faith under the third angel’s message, keeping the Sabbath, came forth from their dusty beds, glorified, to hear the covenant of peace that God was to make with those who had kept His law.” Early Writings, 285.

  • Who from among the wicked will be resurrected just prior to Christ’s return? Matthew 26:62–64; Revelation 1:7.

Note: “Those who derided His [Christ’s] claim to be the Son of God are speechless now. There is the haughty Herod who jeered at His royal title and bade the mocking soldiers crown Him king. There are the very men who with impious hands placed upon His form the purple robe, upon His sacred brow the thorny crown, and in His unresisting hand the mimic scepter, and bowed before Him in blasphemous mockery. The men who smote and spit upon the Prince of life now turn from His piercing gaze and seek to flee from the overpowering glory of His presence. Those who drove the nails through His hands and feet, the soldier who pierced His side, behold these marks with terror and remorse.

“With awful distinctness do priests and rulers recall the events of Calvary.” The Great Controversy, 643.

  • How is this special resurrection distinct from the resurrections that take place at the voice of Jesus? John 5:28, 29. Compare with Daniel 12:2 (“many” versus “all”).

Tuesday

UNSPEAKABLE AWE

  • What will be the initial response of all mortals—including God’s faithful few—as they first behold the arrival of the awesome Creator of the universe seated on His throne in majestic splendor? Jeremiah 30:6.

Note: “The righteous cry with trembling: ‘Who shall be able to stand?’ The angels’ song is hushed, and there is a period of awful silence.” The Great Controversy, 641.

  • What heart-warming assurance promptly comforts those genuinely longing for their Lord’s appearing? 2 Corinthians 12:9, first part.

 Note: “Then the voice of Jesus is heard, saying: ‘My grace is sufficient for you’ (2 Corinthians 12:9). The faces of the righteous are lighted up, and joy fills every heart. And the angels strike a note higher and sing again as they draw still nearer to the earth.” The Great Controversy, 641.

  • What will Christ’s followers say at the return of Him in whom their hopes have centered, and how should this motivate us now? Isaiah 25:9.

Note: “To His faithful followers Christ has been a daily companion and familiar friend. They have lived in close contact, in constant communion with God. Upon them the glory of the Lord has risen. In them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ has been reflected. Now they rejoice in the undimmed rays of the brightness and glory of the King in His majesty. They are prepared for the communion of heaven; for they have heaven in their hearts.

“With uplifted heads, with the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shining upon them, with rejoicing that their redemption draweth nigh, they go forth to meet the Bridegroom.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 421.

“Are we preparing to meet the Saviour in peace, or are we absorbed in worldly business and pleasure? Shall we not strive to be among the number who will welcome Christ?” The Signs of the Times, April 17, 1901.

Wednesday

HONORABLE DISCHARGE FROM EARTH

  • Describe the amazing miracle to occur at the resurrection of the just. 1 Corinthians 15:51–55.

Note: “The Son of God … looks upon the graves of the righteous, then, raising His hands to heaven, He cries: ‘Awake, awake, awake, ye that sleep in the dust, and arise!’  Throughout the length and breadth of the earth the dead shall hear that voice, and they that hear shall live.” The Great Controversy, 644.

  • How does this relate to the investigative judgment that had accounted them worthy of eternity, and what should this make us pause to consider? 1 Peter 4:17–19; Luke 20:35, first part, 36.

 Note: “As the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all who have believed on Jesus come in review before God. Beginning with those who first lived upon the earth, our Advocate presents the cases of each successive generation, and closes with the living. Every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated. Names are accepted, names rejected. …

“All who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against their names in the books of heaven; as they have become partakers of the righteousness of Christ, and their characters are found to be in harmony with the law of God, their sins will be blotted out, and they themselves will be accounted worthy of eternal life.” The Great Controversy, 483.

  • What happens to the righteous—both those who are alive when Jesus returns plus those who are resurrected at His voice? 1 Corinthians 15:49.

Note: “At the voice of God they [the living righteous] were glorified; now they are made immortal and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air.” The Great Controversy, 645.

Thursday

THE FIRST AND SECOND RESURRECTIONS

  • Explain the timing of the general resurrection of the just, and describe the joy of it. Revelation 20:1–6 (compare again 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17).

Note: “Until that triumphant hour, when the last trump shall sound and the vast army shall come forth to eternal victory, every sleeping saint will be kept in safety and will be guarded as a precious jewel, who is known to God by name. By the power of the Saviour that dwelt in them while living and because they were partakers of the divine nature, they are brought forth from the dead.” The Faith I Live By, 185.

  • b. We studied how the wicked guilty of crucifying Christ are raised up at the special resurrection; but when do the rest of the wicked dead face their Maker before their final destruction, and why is this a sobering thought? 1 Corinthians 6:3, first part; Revelation 20:4, 5, 12–15.

Note: “At the close of the thousand years, Christ again returns to the earth. He is accompanied by the host of the redeemed, and attended by a retinue of angels. As He descends in terrific majesty, He bids the wicked dead arise to receive their doom. … What a contrast to those who were raised at the first resurrection! The righteous were clothed with immortal youth and beauty. The wicked bear the traces of disease and death.” The Faith I Live By, 355.

“Day by day God is testing and proving His people. The inspired Word plainly declares that by our works we are deciding our eternal destiny.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 278.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1     Who is instantly slain when Christ comes in the clouds, and why?

2    For whom is the special resurrection, and what is its twofold purpose?

3    Am I focusing on the Isaiah 25:9-moment, or am I hoping He will delay?

4    Why must the investigative judgment occur before Jesus arrives?

5    Why must the thousand years occur before the wicked face their doom?