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The Defeat at Ai

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Is it not amazing that every story in the Bible has lessons for the people of God —lessons of present truth with warnings and admonitions? So it is with the story of Achan and Israel’s defeat at Ai. “All are doubtless familiar with Achan’s case. It is recorded in sacred history for all generations, but more especially for those upon whom the ends of the world are come.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 520. Let us see if we can learn some of the lessons for which the story of Achan and Israel’s defeat at Ai was recorded.

A short time before the defeat, Israel had just experienced the miraculous passage of the Jordan and the overthrow of Jericho. One can just imagine the excitement, eager expectation and confidence that was in the camp of Israel! Jericho, large, wealthy and one of the strongest fortresses in the land—defeated. Yes, God was with them and soon the whole land of Canaan would be theirs!

Something happened in the camp of Israel, however, after the victory at Jericho, which led to defeat. They became self-confident. “Because he [God] had promised them the land of Canaan they felt secure, and failed to realize that divine help alone could give them success. Even Joshua laid his plans for the conquest of Ai without seeking counsel from God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 493. Spies were sent out and the report was brought back to Ai, being so small, required only a few soldiers to overtake it.

Off to battle went three thousand men, without seeking counsel from God and trusting in their own strength, fully expecting an easy victory. Confidently they approached the gates of the city, but were met with determined resistance. “Panic stricken at the numbers and thorough preparation of their enemies, they fled in confusion down the steep descent. The Canaanites were in hot pursuit.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 494

Thirty-six men lay dead—casualties of self-confidence. Self-confidence blinds us to danger, leads us to presumption, prepares the way for failure and finally, leaves us without any confidence at all—timid and fearful. “The moment we begin to feel self-sufficient and confident, then we are in danger of a disgraceful failure.” This Day with God, 277. This was exactly the experience of Israel. They had gone to battle in their own strength, were humiliated in cruel defeat and returned with no confidence, now fearful of the smallest of enemies. “The hearts of the people melted, and became as water.” Joshua 7:5

The lesson for us is the danger of trusting in ourselves. “Nothing is more offensive to God than a self-sufficient spirit.” The Faith I Live By, 138. “Self-confidence will lead you into the snare of the enemy. The youth do not ask counsel of God, and make Him their refuge and strength. They enter society with all assurance, confident that they are fully able to choose the right and to comprehend divine mysteries, because of their powers of reason, as though they could discover truth for themselves. We fear more for those who are self-confident than for any others, for they will surely be entangled in the net that has been set by the great adversary of God and man….Those who are exalted in their own opinions will despise the blood of the Atoning sacrifice, and will do despite to the Spirit of grace.” Signs of the Times, April 21, 1890

What is one to do if, through the working of the Holy Spirit upon their heart, they see that they are self-confident and want to change? “Some are self-confident, self-sufficient, exalted in their opinion of themselves, because they do not have clear views of Jesus. If they lived near to Him, they would see His purity, His matchless benevolence, his self-sacrifice and infinite love, which would lead them to see their deficiencies; and when viewing the cross of Calvary, and the sufferings that Christ endured that they might be rescued from ruin, they could not have one exalted feeling in regard to self.” Review and Herald, December 18, 1883

Though Israel was humbled through defeat, God was nonetheless watching over them and when, in their ignorance and weakness, they cried out to Him, He was there. “Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. And Joshua said, ‘Alas, Lord God, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?’” Joshua 7:6-9 (NKJV)

“Joshua manifested a true zeal for the honor of God, yet his petitions were mingled with doubt and unbelief. The thought that God had brought His people over the Jordan to deliver them up to the power of the heathen was a sinful one, unworthy of a leader of Israel. Joshua’s feelings of despondency and distrust were inexcusable in view of the mighty miracles which God had wrought for the deliverance of His people, and the repeated promise that He would be with them in driving out the wicked inhabitants of the land.

“But our merciful God did not visit his servant with wrath because of this error. He graciously accepted the humiliation and prayers of Joshua, and at the same time gently rebuked his unbelief, and then revealed to him the cause of their defeat.” Signs of the Times, April, 21, 1881

“Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?” Joshua 7:10 (NKJV). The people were not to go on lamenting and mourning, but find the cause of the displeasure of the Lord. There was secret sin in the camp and it was to be dealt with. “The sin of one man caused Israel to be beaten before the enemy. Something more than prayer was required. They were to get up and cleanse the camp if Israel.” Conflict and Courage, 120

“Joshua had a work to do to search out the guilty one, and put away the sin from the congregation. Instead of concluding that the Lord had brought upon His people defeat and ruin, Joshua should rather have made diligent inquiry if all Israel had been faithful to their covenant with God.” Signs of the Times, April 21, 1881

Before the conquest of Jericho, God gave a very direct command in regard to the spoil. “And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.” Joshua 7:12 (NKJV)

Achan had taken one of the forbidden Babylonish garments, which he thought too valuable to be destroyed in the flames, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels. In taking the silver and gold, Achan had not only disobeyed, but he had stolen from the treasury of the Lord.

The sin of one man cost the death of thirty-six people. What a lesson for us today. “That our influence should be a savor of death unto death is a fearful thought, yet it is possible. One soul misled, forfeiting eternal bliss—who can estimate the loss! And yet one rash act, one thoughtless word, on our part may exert so deep an influence on the life of another that it will prove the ruin of his soul. One blemish on the character may turn many away from Christ.” Prophets and Kings, 86. No soul will be lost that will not draw other souls down with him. Are you, by your sin, to be responsible for the eternal loss of some around you?

Joshua was instructed as to how he was to deal with the situation. In His great mercy, God did not immediately deal with Achan. “The sinner was not directly pointed out, the matter being left in doubt for a time, that the people might feel their responsibility for the sins existing among them, and thus be led to searching of heart and humiliation before God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 494, 495. Notice that “the children of Israel committed a trespass” and “they have even taken some of the accursed things.” Joshua 7:1,11 (NKJV). “The nation was held accountable for the guilt of the transgressor.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 494. And so today, “The church as a whole is in a degree responsible for the wrongs of its individual members because they countenance the evil in not lifting up their voice against it.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 491. “We repeat, God holds the church responsible for its individual members.” Signs of the Times, April 21, 1881

The solemn investigation before the whole congregation commenced early the next morning. Step by step the process continues. Closer and closer came the fearful test. Opportunity after opportunity was given him to confess his sin, but none of them were taken. Finally, Achan was named as the guilty party.

In the hope of averting the terrible consequences of his crime, he confessed his sin. “When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.” Joshua 7:21 (NKJV)

“The confession of Achan, although too late to be available in bringing to him any saving virtue, vindicated the character of God in His manner of dealing with him.” The Youth’s Instructor, February 1, 1894. Doesn’t the confession of Achan remind you of the confession of the devil and all those who are lost at the end of the millennium? They will all bow down and confess to the whole universe that God is right, that He is just, that He is holy; but it will be too late. What a lesson in the need of thorough confession today.

After Achan’s confession, Joshua sent messengers to Achan’s tent who brought back the accursed things and laid them before the children of Israel. These things, along with all of Achan’s belongings, his wife, and children, were taken to the Valley of Achor, stoned and then burned with fire.

Just as cherishing known sin was Achan’s downfall, so it will be the downfall of all who delay to repent and confess. See Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol.2, 997. “God is the same yesterday, today and forever.” He requires no less of his people today than He did in Achan’s day. “Satan’s power is increasing, he is terribly in earnest, knowing that his time is short, he is working with all ‘deceivableness of unrighteousness.’ Those who would escape his wiles must be vigilant and determined. If we would meet the demands for this time, we must put on the whole armor, and go forth with energy, perseverance, and unswerving faith. In God alone is our strength. Indolence and slothfulness, presumption and self-confidence, will alike bring defeat and destruction. God takes cognizance of the works of all. Those who have sought their ease, and shunned care, anxiety and labor for God’s cause, may be sure their sin will find them out. Those who, like Achan, cherish selfishness, avarice and deception, may be sure that God’s eye is upon them. As He searched out Achan, He will search them out, as He pronounced a curse upon them.” Signs of the Times, May 5, 1881

Today God has also given us direct and specific commands about some accursed things. Why do you think He has given us these commands? Could it be that He is trying to teach us the same things that He taught the Israelites? Could it be that in the spoil of this world, there is much that is objectionable and sinful, which would lead to our moral corruption?

In writing about these accursed things, Ellen White records under that category the following:

Adultery and Fornication

Adultery is wicked in the eyes of God. No matter how bad our marriage or how lonely we may be, there is absolutely no excuse given in the Word of God for sin, and we have express direction from the prophet of the Lord to cleanse the camp of this sin, no matter what the sinner’s position. “When men and women of large experience, who have been considered patterns of piety, are revealed in their true character—unsanctified, unholy, impure in thought, debased in conduct,–then it is time for such to be dealt with in a decided manner. The greater forbearance that is exercised toward them has only had, as far as my knowledge extends, the influence to cause them to regard their fornication and adultery as a very light matter, and all their pretense has proved to be like morning dew when the sun shines upon it….

“Cleanse the camp of this moral corruption, if it takes the highest men in the highest positions. God will not be trifled with.” Testimonies to Ministers, 426, 427

2. Immodest Apparel and Extravagance

What was it that Achan took? A goodly Babylonish garment—clothes. Especially to the ladies does dress apply. “As I have seen many Sabbath keeping Adventists become worldly in thought, conversation, and dress, my heart has been saddened. The people who claim to believe that they have the last message of mercy to give to the world, are attracted by worldly fashions, and make great exertions to follow them as far as they think their profession of faith allows them to go.” Selected Messages, book 3, 243

Fashionable dress is a tool of the devil to get the youth and those that are older to use up their time thinking about what they look like on the outside so that the character is neglected and they are not ready for Jesus when He comes. If fashion is your besetting sin, God will give you the victory if you repent and make a determined effort to change. Before you make purchases, send up a prayer asking that holy angels will accompany you, guiding in the decisions you make.

Extravagance was also mentioned in the quotation above. Jesus said, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Luke 12:15 (NKJV). One’s life does not consist in what we wear, what we own, or what we have in our bank accounts. “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1Timothy 6:10 (NKJV). I would like to invite you, if you are not already doing so, to look over the things that you own and to spend some time during your devotions asking God what you can give up for Him and what he wants you to do with the funds He has given you. I don not know what God wants you to do with your funds, but I know that He wants them in his work and not in the hands of the enemy. I have spent time praying about this and afterwards I felt that the Lord was telling me, “No,” to a personal desire. “you wait on those things,” Do you do with your money what you profess? As Seventh-day Adventists we need to fulfill our profession not just in our diet and dress, but in the way we spend our money as well. Extravagance is not fitting for a Seventh-day Adventist. See also Proverbs 21:25,26; Psalm 10:3.

Intemperance.

“I would point the intemperate to a power out of and beyond themselves,–the power of Jesus. Flee to your Saviour. He has overcome in behalf of just such helpless, sinful ones as you. In His strength you may be honest, faithful men, true to your Maker. But no half-way work will suffice. You must be thorough. And do not think that you can do the work of abstaining gradually. Leave the accursed thing once and forever. ‘Touch not, taste not, handle not.’ Drink not a drop of the liquor which wets depraved appetite on fire.” Signs of the Times, January 30, 1901

False Reports.

“False reports had been circulated, and the band had been sinking and had lost the power of the third angel’s message. They were sickly, but knew not the cause. The reason was that there was an accursed thing in the camp, and by the assistance of God we were trying to get it out of the camp.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, 242

Jealousy, Evil Surmising and Evil Speaking.

“There was a time when Israel could not prevail against their enemies. This was because of Achan’s sin. God declared, ‘Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed thing from among you.’ God is the same today. If defiling sins are cherished by those who claim to believe the truth, the displeasure of God rests upon the church, and he will not remove it until the members do all in their power to show their hatred for sin, and their determination to cast it out of the church. God is displeased with those who call evil good and good evil. If jealousy, evil surmising, and evil-speaking are allowed to have a place in the church, that church is under the frown of God. It will be spiritually unhealthy until it is cleansed from these sins, for till then God cannot reveal His power to strengthen and elevate His people and give them victory.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 144

Carrying out the decisions of those we know are not in harmony with the truth.

No matter what the position, even in the professed church of God, we have no assurance that God will be with us if we fulfill the commands of those who are not in harmony with the truth. On the contrary, it is one of the accursed things and God has said He will not be with us as long as this is our practice. “I call upon God’s people to open their eyes. When you sanction or carry out the decisions of men who, as you know, are not in harmony with truth and righteousness, you weaken your own faith and lose your relish for communion with God. You seem to hear the voice which was addressed to Joshua: ‘Wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them….There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel.’ ‘Neither will I be with you anymore, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.’ Christ declares, ‘he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad.’” Testimonies to Ministers, 91

Are you willing to cleanse your heart of every accursed thing? Are you willing to lift your voice in protest of sin that the camp (church) may be cleansed of every accursed thing?

Today the church of Christ is entering into the most severe conflict with the powers of darkness it has ever faced. Are we ready? Have we made God our consultant? Have we humbled ourselves before Him and rid ourselves of every ounce of self-confidence which will lead us and the church to defeat? Have we made sure that there are none among us who are disregarding the explicit command of God? Oh, friend, Ellen White said in her day that there was an Achan in almost every congregation and every family. What would she say today?

There is sin in the camp today, preventing a full manifestation of the power of God. When sin is out of our lives, God will evidence His presence with the outpouring of His Spirit. This is as much a law as is the law of gravity. Oh, friend, God is waiting for you; he is waiting for me, to put sin out of our hearts. Will you set yourself about today to commence this solemn work? It is time, not only to cry out to the Lord for help in prayer, but it is time to cleanse the camp of every accursed thing. God is going to work; He will manifest His power, but He cannot do it while we hold sin in our hearts and grant wisdom to his people in doing the work of cleansing the entire camp from all sin.

The End

Types and Shadows

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On May 6,1875, Ellen White published in the Review and Herald an article entitled “The Law of God.” In this article she gave attention to all of the rules and regulations that God (or Christ) gave to Israel through Moses. She divided these rules and regulations into three classes or categories, not only two, as we might have expected. She emphasized that although some are commonly called the Law of Moses, that “Moses himself framed no law,” and that they were all actually given by God (or Christ). She uses the terms God and Christ interchangeably, but emphasizes that Christ was deeply involved in the law-giving experience at Sinai: “Christ was the angel appointed of God to go before Moses in the wilderness, conducting the Israelites in their travels to the land of Canaan. Christ gave Moses his special directions to be given to Israel.”After having stated that Christ, the Angel whom God had appointed to go before His chosen people, gave to Moses statutes and requirements necessary to a living religion and to govern the people of God, she quotes 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, and continues:”Christ, who went before Moses in the wilderness, made the principles of morality and religion more clear by particular precepts….”What are the three kinds of laws, according to her arrangement of them? Two, as we might expect, are the moral law and the ceremonial law. She introduces the moral law, the Ten Commandments, in the first two paragraphs of her article and makes several comments on it later.

Putting these comments together, we can make a list of 10 characteristics which she ascribes to the moral law:

  • It dates back to creation. [Emphasis supplied]
  • It points back to creation.
  • It was worded to meet the case of fallen intelligences.
  • It was repeated at Sinai, where it was spoken and written by God Himself.
  • It is as unchangeable as God Himself.
  • It is based on love to God and love to man.
  • It is binding upon all men in every dispensation.
  • It will exist through time and eternity.
  • It is not a shadow.
  • It is as enduring as the throne of Jehovah.

This agrees with all that we have understood about the moral law, the Ten Commandments, and so we move on.

Next she introduces the ceremonial law and points out that it is “clear and distinct” from the moral law. From her various comments on the ceremonial law, we can also gather a list of its characteristics as she saw them:

  • It was given by Christ in counsel with God.
  • It was glorious
  • It was given because of man’s transgression of the moral law and did not exist from eternity like the moral law.
  • It “consisted in sacrifices and offerings, pointing to the future redemption.”
  • The sacrifices and offerings typified Christ.
  • She calls it a law of types.
  • She calls it the law of Moses.
  • She calls it the Jewish law.
  • She calls it “shadowy types” and “a shadowy ceremony of types.”
  • She emphasizes strongly that it lasted only to the sacrifice of Christ. Thus unlike the moral law, it had an earthly beginning and an earthly ending.

This, again, agrees with what we have understood. Agreement would probably be without exception among Seventh-day Adventists about these descriptions of the moral law and the ceremonial law.

But what of the third kind of law that she describes? Here, unfortunately, our agreement is not full and complete, without exceptions.

What is the third kind of law that she describes? She calls it statutes and judgments, and also sometimes includes it in the more general term, precepts. Let us make a list of the characteristics of these statutes and judgments as she describes them:

  • Christ gave them to Moses.
  • They were not the Ten Commandments, the moral law, but were given to guard it. “These statutes were explicitly given to the Ten Commandments.” “…guarding the sacred law of God….” [All emphasis supplied.] (They could not be part of the moral law if they were given to guard it.)
  • They were not part of the ceremonial law. “They were not shadowy types to pass away with the death of Christ.”
  • They were to govern the people of God.
  • They were to govern the everyday life.
  • They were for the purpose of protecting life.
  • They made the principles of morality and religion more clear.
  • They specify the duty of man to God and to his fellowman.
  • They clearly and definitely explained the moral law and were enforced by it.
  • They define and simplify the principles of the moral law.
  • They increase religious knowledge.
  • They applied to marriage.
  • They applied to inheritances.
  • They applied to strict justice in business affairs
  • They were to keep the people from following the customs of other nations.
  • They were to be binding upon all men in all ages as long as time should last

These are the statutes and judgments. She tells us that they are not part of the moral law nor yet part of the ceremonial law. They have an explaining, applying and enforcing relationship to the moral law, but apparently no relationship at all with the ceremonial law. They are not shadowy types, to end at the cross, but will retain their validity as long as time shall last.

Where did she find these statutes and judgments? In Exodus 21:1 and on to 23:11, right after the Ten Commandments in chapter 20.

“Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.” Exodus 21:1 (Compare Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-6, “statues and judgments.”)

Exodus Chapter 21
(Numbers indicate verse where sections begin.)

  • Laws for men servants.
  • For women servants.
  • 12. For manslaughter.
  • 16. For stealers of men.
  • 17. For cursers of parents.
  • 18. For smiters.
  • 22. For a hurt by chance.
  • 23. For an ox that goreth.
  • 33. For him that is an occasion of harm.

Exodus Chapter 22:

  • Of theft
  • Of damage
  • Of trespasses
  • 14. Of borrowing
  • Of fornication
  • Of witchcraft
  • Of bestiality
  • Of idolatry
  • Of strangers, widows, orphans
  • 25. Of usury
  • 26. Of pledges
  • 28. Of reverence to magistrates

Exodus Chapter 23:

  • Of slander and false witness
  • 3. Of justice
  • Of charitableness

Beginning with verse 12, the topic shifts back to the sabbaths, feasts and related things. These do not typify anything. They are not types and shadows. These statutes sometimes fall short of New Testament ideals, but are far in advance of other nations of that time. For example, the “man-servant” (or slave) in other nations had no rights. He could be killed by his master. Under Hebrew law a “man-servant” (or slave):

  • Could not serve longer than six years—then he was free.
  • Was still “Thy brother.” Deuteronomy 15:12
  • Was not to go away empty. Deuteronomy 15:13-14
  • In the year of Jubilee, all went free regardless of term of service.

We must look for the principles of these statutes. We could make some modern comparisons. For example, Ellen White recommends that young girls should be taught how to harness horses. In our time she would say, no doubt, they should be taught how to change a tire on a car. We do not have an ox to gore someone, but what about our dog, horse, or car? The principle of not letting them do damage to someone else still applies. These, of course, are not found in the ceremonial law.

Ellen White writes that these are not “shadowy types.” As we look them over, we recognize that this is true. There is nothing about them that points forward to the sacrifice of Christ, as the types and shadows do.

Now we come to a crucial question. We have seen several statements that define the types and shadows as sacrifices and offerings and affirm that they ended at the cross of Christ, when “type met antitype.” But what about the days upon which these sacrifices and offerings were celebrated? They are called sabbaths. Should we still honor and observe them as holy days, sabbath days, even though we do not make sacrifices?

Perhaps we can find the answer in two ways. According to Colossians 2:14-17, which Ellen White refers to in her discussions, the ceremonial sabbaths are shadows, just as the sacrifices are shadows:

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”

Clearly then, according to Paul, the days are shadows. Second, we remember that the same law that establishes the sacrifices also establishes the days, and the law, the ceremonial law, is done away. This is the message of Colossians 2:14-17 and of Ephesians 2:11-15. It is also the message of many references in Ellen White’s writings.

“There are two distinct laws brought to view. One is the law of types and shadows, which reached to the time of Christ, and ceased when type met antitype in His death.” Signs of the Times, July 29, 1886

“The Jewish ceremonial law has passed away.” Review and Herald, October 10, 1899

“If Adam had not transgressed the law of God, the ceremonial law would never have been instituted.” Selected Messages, book 1, 230

“While the Saviour’s death brought to an end the law of types and shadows, it did not in the least detract from the obligation of the moral law.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 365

“When Jesus at His ascension entered by his own blood into the heavenly sanctuary to shed upon His disciples the blessings of His mediation, the Jews were left in total darkness to continue their useless sacrifices and offerings. The ministration of types and shadows had ceased.” The Great Controversy, 430

“His lessons to His disciples are received by all who would become His disciples, to the end of time. These lessons discharge His followers from the bondage of the ceremonial law, and leave them the ordinance of baptism to be received by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as the only One who can take away sin.” Review and Herald, June 21, 1898

“When type met antitype in the death of Christ, the sacrificial offerings ceased. The ceremonial law was done away.” Review and Herald, June 26, 1900

“After Christ died on the cross as a sin offering, the ceremonial law could nave no force.” Lift Him Up, 147

“Peter here referred to the law of ceremonies, which was made null and void by the crucifixion of Christ.” The Acts of the Apostles, 194

“Many in the Christian world also have a veil before their eyes and heart. They do not see to the end of that which was done away. They do not see that it was only the ceremonial law which was abrogated at the death of Christ.” Selected Messages, book 1, 239

“This ritual law, with its sacrifices and ordinances, was to be performed by the Hebrews until type met antitype in the death of Christ, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Then all the sacrificial offerings were to cease. It is this law that Christ ‘took…out of the way, nailing it to His cross.’ Colossians 2:14.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 365

“But there is a law which was abolished, which Christ ‘took out of the way, nailing it to His cross.’ Paul calls it the ‘the law of commandments contained in ordinances.’ This ceremonial law, given by God through Moses, with its sacrifices and ordinances, was to be binding upon the Hebrews until type met antitype in the death of Christ as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. Then all the sacrificial offerings and services were to be abolished. Paul and the other apostles labored to show this, and resolutely withstood those Judaizing teachers who declared that Christians should observe the ceremonial law.” Signs of the Times, September 4, 1884

There would seem to be no reason for doubt that the ceremonial law is passed away, according to Ellen White. If we put together the various expressions that she used to describe its passing, we are left with no doubts. She writes that the ceremonial law of types and shadows is ended, ceased, has no force, has passed away, is null and void, is abrogated, was nailed to the cross and has been abolished.

It would seem strange to believe that although she argued so forcefully that the ceremonial law had passed away, nevertheless the feast days, the ceremonial sabbaths, that were established by that law yet remain. Such a position would need to be sustained by very strong evidence, since it would contradict Paul’s statement that these sabbaths are “shadows” (Colossians 2:17). And those who advance this proposition should also present a clear explanation as to why Ellen White did not lead the church to observe the feast days while she was alive.

But no such strong evidence is offered. Instead, we are led to Ellen White’s May 6, 1875 article on “The Law of God,” and in particular this paragraph:

“In consequence of continual transgression, the moral law was repeated in awful grandeur from Sinai. Christ gave to Moses religious precepts, which were to govern the every-day life. These statues were explicitly given to guard the Ten Commandments. They were not shadowy types to pass away with the death of Christ. They were to be binding upon man in every age as long as time should last. These commands were enforced by the power of the moral law, and they clearly and definitely explained that law.”

We are asked to believe that the words “these statues” in this paragraph are a reference to the feast days of the ceremonial law. This would seem to be a grievous misunderstanding of the intention of the writer.

Our first question would be: How could these words enforce the feast days of the ceremonial law without enforcing the sacrifices of the ceremonial law? Second, why should we ignore her statement that these statutes are not “shadowy types to pass away with the death of Christ?” Third, why should we ignore her own definitions and descriptions of the statutes and judgments?

There are five passages in Ellen White’s article in which she discusses the statutes and judgments. Let us place them all together and examine them.

“The statutes and judgments specifying the duty of man to his fellow-men, were full of important instruction, defining and simplifying the principles of the moral law, for the purpose of increasing religious knowledge, and of preserving God’s chosen people distinct and separate from idolatrous nations.

“The statutes concerning marriage, inheritance, and strict justice in dealing with one another, were peculiar and contrary to the customs and manners of other nations, and were designed of God to keep his people separate from other nations. The necessity of this to preserve the people of God from becoming like the nations who had not the love and fear of God, is the same in this corrupt age, when the transgression of God’s law prevails and idolatry exists to a fearful extent. If ancient Israel needed such security, we need it more, to keep us from being utterly confounded with the transgressors of God’s law. The hearts of men are so prone to depart from God that there is a necessity for restraint and discipline.

“In consequence of continual transgression, the moral law was repeated in awful grandeur from Sinai. Christ gave to Moses religious precepts which were to govern the everyday life. These statutes were explicitly given to guard the Ten Commandments. They were not shadowy types to pass away with the death of Christ. They were to be binding upon man in every age as long as time should last. These commands were enforced by the power of the moral law, and they clearly and definitely explained that law.

“Christ, the Angel whom God had appointed to go before his chosen people, gave to Moses statutes and requirements necessary to a living religion and to govern the people of God.

“God graciously spoke his law and wrote it with his own finger on stone, making a solemn covenant with his people at Sinai. God acknowledged them as His peculiar treasure above all people upon the earth. Christ, who went before Moses in the wilderness, made the principles of morality and religion more clear by particular precepts, specifying the duty of man to God and his fellow-men, for the purpose of protecting life, and guarding the sacred law of God, that it should not be entirely forgotten in the midst of an apostate world.

“Christ, to enforce the will of His Father, became the author of the statutes and precepts given through Moses to the people of God.”

A relationship between the “statutes and judgments” and the moral law is stated eight times. No relationship to the ceremonial law is suggested.

All the way through this discussion she relates the statutes and judgments to the moral law and never to the ceremonial law. Their purpose is made so clear as to require no comment. And let us note in her last paragraph a reference to the mistaken practices of the Jewish people.

“They attach as much importance to shadowy ceremonies of types which have met their antitype, as they do to the law of Ten Commandments….”

When we remember that the Jewish people honor the feast days but make no sacrifices, we are forced to the conclusion that these feast days are the “shadowy ceremonies of types” to which she is referring.

Let us heed the appeal of Paul in Galatians 5:1: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

The End

The Four Prerequisites for Unity

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Surrounded by the eleven men who were going to be responsible for taking the gospel of His grace to the whole world, Jesus offered the prayer for them that we find recorded in John 17. This prayer, however, is not for those eleven men alone, because verse 20 says; “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” All who believe in Jesus are included, because we only know of Him through the testimony of these men.

Jesus continues: “That they all may be one, as You, father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” All the way to the end of His prayer inverse 26, the primary point for which Jesus expressed great concern was that there might be unity among His people.

Unity is not just something that is important; it is something the must take place before Jesus comes again. It is so important that Ellen White has told us that if we do not press together in unity, we will be destroyed.

In studying this subject, I have found that a number of areas are included. In this article we will explore two of them.

From time to time, I have been asked to meet with various individuals in administration in the Seventh-day Adventist Church organization. While I would be glad to meet with these men, I cannot do it unless some conditions are met. We can have no unity with the various branches of the organization until four things have first taken place. The first two areas which we sill consider in this article, are repentance and confession.

What do we need to repent of? We need to repent for having wandered into doctrinal error, or heresy. There was a time when the head of our medical work, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, wandered into some theological positions that were not sound. Not only were they not sound, they would have destroyed Adventism had they been accepted, as was pointed out by Ellen White.

“I leave this matter as it now stand; for I am pained beyond measure because our brother’s spiritual views ate not founded on a solid basis. The man can never be relied upon in the future, unless heart and soul, mind and strength, are entirely changed, revamped. As matters now stand, I can not see how there can be Christian unity between the medical missionary work as led by those in error, and the gospel ministry. There can be no unity without a decided change in the one who has stood as leader of our medical work.” Series B, 7,54 [All emphasis supplied.]

Notice that she said that he could never be trusted in the future. It is no different today. When a minister or leader wanders into doctrinal heresy, he can not be trusted unless he decides to repent of his error and that fact has been demonstrated by a full confession. Our problem is that we have grown up in a public relations era where people believe that you can smooth everything over with a veneer and after a time everyone will forget and life can go on, but this is not the gospel.

Because of their desire for harmony, many people are tempted to seek a type of unity with those whom they know to be in error. The devil wants us to harmonize with error, but there is a grave danger in doing so, and we must not do it.

“Oh, how deceptive is the human heart! How easy it is to harmonize with that which is evil! There is nothing more detrimental to the soul’s interest, its purity, its true and holy conceptions of God, and of sacred and eternal things, than constantly giving heed to and exalting that which is not form God. It poisons the heart, and degrades the understanding.” Selected Messages, book 2, 78

What does it mean to repent? In the Greek language, the word for repentance comes form a word that means a change of mind. In other word, you change your mind about sin, and when repentance is genuine, you will change you life. That is why we are told that genuine repentance is followed by reformation. See The Desire of Ages, 555. If there is no reformation in the life, then there has not been true repentance.

If, however, we are too proud to confess, if we are too proud to repent, we can never come into unity.

It is so easy for people who have been Christians for a long time, and have not been living openly immoral lives, to think that somehow they no longer need to confess. This is especially true of those in positions of trust. Minister, however, need to study the subject of repentance and confession just as much as anyone else, and maybe more, because their position makes repentance and confession so much more difficult to do.

“If when the Lord reveals your errors you do not repent or make confession, His providence will bring you over the ground again and again. You will be left to make mistakes of a similar character, you will continue to lack wisdom, and will call sin righteousness, and righteousness sin. The multitude of deceptions that will prevail in these last days will encircle you, [she is talking to ministers here] and you will change leaders, and not know that you have done so.

“I ask you who are handling sacred things, I ask the individual members of the church, Have you confessed your sins?” Review and Herald, December 16, 1890

It is a dangerous thing, when God reveals to a person something in their life that is wrong, for that person not to accept it with repentance and confession. When this takes place, the thinking becomes distorted so that sin appears as righteousness and righteousness as sin. It is even possible for a minister to continue preaching and call himself a Seventh-day Adventist, but to have changed leaders without realizing it. Instead of following Christ, he has become a part of Satan’s organization.

Confession is absolutely vital and of all people, ministers should be the most diligent to be sure that their sins are repented of and confessed.

“Confess your faults to one another, that you may be healed. How many there are who are carrying a load of unconfessed wrongdoing. They try to shape matters so that their dignity will not be hurt. To make wrongs right from the very first departure, looks to them like extinguishing themselves.” Signs of the Times, October 30, 1901

Where am I to go back to, to get things made right? To the very first departure from the right. This is a critical point to understand when you want to have unity. Some people ask, “Why can’t we all just all get together?”

Before we can get together in unity, we are going to have to go back to where the departure was and make it right.

Let me just give and illustration that has to do with this. Have you ever had somebody ask you, “Why can’t you just associate and fellowship with the Seventh-day Baptists? What is the difference?” Oh, there is a big difference between Seventh-day Baptists and Seventh-day Adventists. The difference is that in the 1840s, the Seventh-day Baptists did not accept the first angel’s message. When you do not accept the first angel’s message, you are not in a position to accept the second angel’s message. If you do not accept the second angel’s message, you are no in a position to accept the third angel’s messages which are present truth for today.

I worked with and evangelist once who told me that when you are explaining something sensitive, always put it on the other foot. Do not every make the person you are talking with appear in a bad light. If you are talking with Methodists, do not talk about the Methodists, talk about the Baptists or some other group, or the person to whom you are speaking is very apt to take it personally and you will have a barrier of prejudice to overcome before you can reach them. I just followed that principle. I have not talked to you about Seventh-day Adventists, but if you follow this principle through, it applies in Adventism.

“Men have in their minds justified the course that was then taken. They have viewed things, from beginning to end, in a altogether false light; and form the present showing, the same course will be followed in the future.” Spalding-Magan Collection, 178

These words are part of an appeal to our leading ministers to repent and confess of what we had done wrong. Some people urge charity and express a concern that it is hurtful to those involved to discuss these things, but notice what we are told about true charity.

“True charity never covers up unrepented and unconfessed sins.” Signs of the Times, May 11, 1876

“While we should manifest Christian courtesy, we are authorized to call sin and sinners by their right names—that this is consistent with true charity. While we are to love the souls for whom Christ died, and labor for their salvation, we should not make a compromise with sin. We are not to unite with the rebellious, and call this charity. God requires His people in this age of the world to stand, as did john in his time, unflinchingly for the right, in opposition to soul destroying errors.” Sanctified Life, 65

Some people believe that it is wrong to name names, but that is not what we are told by inspiration. It is necessary that they be named so that other people will no be led astray. We are to call sin and sinners by their right name and appeal to them to repent. We are to denounce what they are doing so that the Holy Spirit can convict their minds to repent and confess their sins, because we are very close to the time when there will longer be an opportunity to confess our sin, to repent.

Friend, in Adventism today, there is a lot to repent of and much to confess, but there can never be unity unless these steps are first followed.

“When Brother G once takes a position on the wrong side, it is not easy for him to confess that he has error; but if he can let his wrong course pass out of his mind and pass from the memory of others, and he can make some changes for the better without an open acknowledgement of his wrong, he will do so. But all these errors and unconfessed sins stand registered in heaven and will not be blotted out until he complies with the directions given in the word of God: ‘Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.’” Testimonies, vol. 4, 241

Do you see what it is that is blocking us from having unity? Can we deny that there has been scheming and prevarication in Adventism in the last few years? These things make unity impossible.

“He would teach His people that disobedience and sin are exceedingly offensive to Him and are not to be lightly regarded. He shows us that when His people are found in sin they should at once take decided measures to put that sin from them, that His frown may not rest upon them all. Bur if the sins of the people are passed over by those in responsible positions, His frown will be upon them, and the people of God, as a body, will be held responsible for those sins.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 265

The plain, straight testimony must live in the church, or the curse of God will rest upon His people as surely as it did upon ancient Israel because of their sins. God holds his people, as a body, responsible for the sins existing in individuals among them. If the leaders of the church neglect to diligently search our the sins which bring the displeasure of God upon the body, they become responsible for these sins.” Ibid. 269

Now, friends, if you understand very much at all about church history, that statement should put a great load on you. Do you have any idea of some of the things that have happened in Adventism that, as far as I can find out, have never been repented of or confessed?

What was happening in the 50s, 60s, and 70s?

Remember when the book Questions on Doctrine came out in the 1950s, introducing heresy?

Remember what took place in the Mary Kay Silvers case in the 1970s? Was it right? We have been defending it ever since. I have a whole booklet in my library defending what we did. I read the booklet and then read the accounts of what had happened and when I finished, I said, “It was not right.”

Somebody may say, “Well, she did this, that and the other.” It does not matter what the other person has done. You don not have to answer for what she did, but if we were a member of the organization at that time, we are going to have to answer for what we have don, or allowed others to do in our church, without protest. I think we have more repenting and confessing to do than many of us have ever imagined. I think that if we want to be ready for the Lord to come, we had better figure out what we are going to do and start doing something about everything that comes to our notice.

In the 1980s there was John Marik who was put in prison for religious reasons. This action was initiated by the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and I have paper work confirming this. That was a sin, friends, and what we did is registered in the book of heaven.

The first thing that is essential to unity is repentance.

Someone may ask, “Pastor John, are you speaking only about the organization?” No, I am not denying that there may be things for which I need to repent. If there are blind spots in my character that I do not see, for which I need to repent, then someone among god’s people who loves me needs to point them out to me, so that I can repent. Unity will never be obtained without repentance, and true repentance will always be followed by confession.

“All sin unrepented of and unconfessed will remain upon the books of record. It will not be blotted out, it will not go beforehand to judgement, to be canceled by the atoning blood of Jesus. The accumulated sins of every individual will be written with absolute accuracy.” Review and Herald, March 27, 1888

We are living in the Day of Atonement. Are you reviewing your life? Are you asking, “Lord, did I think a thought , speak a word or do anything today that was not pleasing in Your sight?”

If you will begin the process of repenting and confessing your faults and mistakes, you will find that it becomes progressively easier. It is certainly humbling, but as with many difficult things, it is always hardest at first.

Some of you may feel overwhelmed as you consider the formidable task before you and be tempted to say, “pastor John, if I follow your advice on repenting and confessing of sin, I would not even get all my sins repented of and confessed before the Lord comes; there are too many!” but, god is the One who said this and if you co not know how to get it all done, you had better talk to Him about it. All I can do is share with you what the Lord said. Ask the Lord to help you to get it done. The sooner you get started, the sooner you will finish.

About this time, one of the questions that makes people very nervous is, “What if I cannot remember? Am I then shut out of the kingdom of heaven?”

The Bible says: “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.” 2 Corinthians 8:12. If you have a willingness in your mind and will make a commitment with the Lord, the Holy Spirit will point out to you what you need to do to be right with God. The problem is not with our memories because god can supply our deficiencies. The real problem is that we need to have a mind that is willing to make things right.

“There are those who are supposed to be excellent men, but they have some flaw in their character which, under special temptation, becomes as a dead fly in the ointment. The whole character will be perverted by one unconfessed sin.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 13, 190

If we allow one sin in our life that is not confessed and repented of, that one sin will flaw the entire character. In Testimonies, vol. 5, 53, we are told that one sin will neutralize all the power of the gospel.

Ellen White once wrote to an elderly person who was living in sin, but who had not long to live. She said, “The sands of your life are nearly run out, and now if you will come to God just as you are, without one plea but that He has died to save the chiefest of sinners you will find pardon even in this the eleventh hour.” Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, 133

Oh, friend, whatever your situation, whatever the sin in your life, even if it is the eleventh hour of your life, you can come to Jesus and repent and confess and find forgiveness for your sin. The gospel is a wonderful thing. Not only can you find forgiveness from your sins, but you can find power to live a new life, to no longer live in sin.

“Christ did not die to have power to cover transgression unrepented of and unconfessed. Not all sins are to be confessed publicly, but some are to be confessed alone to God and the parties that have been injured.” Ibid.

We need to pray: “Lord whatever You have to do with me to prepared me for heaven, whatever experience I have to go through, whatever trial, whatever happens, please, Lord, do not let me die in sin.” If you die with your mistakes concealed and unconfessed, you are lost.

“The mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for all who love Him, will be peopled by those who are free from sin. But sins that are not confessed will never be forgiven; the name of him who thus rejects the grace of God will be blotted out of the book of life.” Ibid.

Friend, I am willing for you to correct me on anything that you can find from inspired writings, but if I am correct, we have a lot more repenting and confessing to do than most of us have ever had any idea of and we had better pray and ask the Lord to help us to get it done. We are either going to confess it now, or after the millennium. By the grace of God, let us begin now.

The End

Who are the Brethren?

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For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I hope that it is the same with you. If, however, we are going to really understand the gospel, we need to do as the Bereans did. The Bereans “were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11

It used to be that Adventists were known as people of the Bible, but those days are past. No longer are we studying as we once did, and in the place of spiritual food, we are being fed pabulum. As a result, we are being blown to and fro by every wind of doctrine that comes along. Paul told Timothy: Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed—[What?]—rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

I believe there are several scriptures that are misunderstood in Adventism today. One of the most misunderstood and misapplied passages of Scripture is the one found in Matthew 13 dealing with the wheat and the tares. This parable has been so twisted in Adventism that people today believe they are to accept any abominable thing that comes into the church. They look at you with a pious face and say; “Oh, we can’t say anything about it. Don’t you know about the ‘wheat and the tares’? The wheat and the tares grow up until the time of the harvest, and the time of the harvest is the end of the world—the Second Coming.”

So, are all of these abominations that are going on, to continue until the very end; and are we to do nothing about it? Are we to just sit back and piously say: “It’s the wheat and the tares”? Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus told the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13:24-30, but he then went on to explain it to His disciples in verses 36-43.

Many times Jesus had to explain His words to His disciples because they could not understand their meaning. They had been so misled by the religious leaders—brain washed, if you please, that their minds seemed incapable of expanding. They had listened to a perversion of truth for so long, from those blind leaders, that they could not understand these simple truths. So, once again, Jesus privately explains this parable of the wheat and the tares.

“Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house, and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth His angels and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Matthew 13:36-43

What is the harvest? It is the end of the world. I am embarrassed to admit it, but for years I believed that the harvest was the Second Coming. I never really thought much about it; I just thought that somehow the Lord was going to come down and the angels were going to suddenly separate the wheat and the tares. In one sentence, however, Ellen White makes so clear how this is to take place.

“The tares and the wheat are to grow together until the harvest; and the harvest is the end of probationary time.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 72. Do you know what that means? Clearly, the harvest must take place before the close of probation. Yes, the harvest takes place in the general time period of the Second Coming, but it takes place some time before.

While at our camp meeting in Kansas—the Steps to Life camp meeting—we saw a wonderful thing taking place; the combines going through the wheat fields, and what a sight it was. All day and into the night they worked. There were long lines of trucks, large, eighteen wheelers, waiting to be weighed. I asked one old timer how long this harvesting had been going on.

He said, “Oh, this has been going on for weeks.”

I said, “Well, when is it going to be over?”

He replied, “Well, we want to get it over before the rain gets it wet.” You see, the harvest is not an instantaneous process; it takes place over a period of time.

That is the way the harvest is with God. It is not an instantaneous thing. The angels are not going to suddenly come down and with a swish, the harvest is over and boom—we all go home.

If the harvest must take place before the close of probation and the harvest is not an instantaneous thing, but a process that takes place over a period of time, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the harvest is either here, or very near.

Let us consider the process that takes place in the harvest.

First of all, the wheat are bound together, aren’t they? There is a separation taking place, but there is also a unity, as they are being bound together.

What happens to the tares? They are being bound together in bundles, too; so among the tares, we see a unity also. But what is going to happen to these bundles? They are going to be burned.

I am firmly convicted that right now the harvest is going on. As never before, we are seeing a unity in separation among those who profess to be the people of God. The tares are uniting and the wheat are uniting. There is separation and unity going on at the same time, and it is taking place right now.

Do not ever let anybody try to tell you that the parable of the wheat and the tares says that we must allow sin and corruption and every abominable thing to come into God’s church, because the wheat and tares all grow together until the end. That is not what this parable teaches at all. In fact, do you know what it does teach? This parable teaches that we are not to disfellowship the wrong people.

We are told in Christ’s Object Lessons that the parable of the wheat and the tares teaches us that we are to judge people on open sin, but we are not to judge motives. If a person is keeping the commandments of God, you are to leave them alone. The workers in the parable of the wheat and the tares said, “Master, should we pull them up?” he said, “No! Leave them alone. Let them grow together until the harvest.” Now, when is the harvest? Right now. And who does the separating? The angels.

You see, according to Matthew 13, if someone is keeping the commandments of God, you have no right to touch them.

Now let us look at Matthew 18. I believe this is the most misused chapter of the Bible. According to Matthew 18, if I have seen a brother in private sin, I am to come to him and say, “I want to talk to you brother. You are doing thus, or so, violating the commandments of God.” It is just between myself and this brother. But if he says, “I do not accept that. I’m going to keep on doing it,” I am then, and not until then, to proceed to the next step.

It is now time to go to the elders. The elders say, “Brother, we need to see you. One person has already talked to you and you refused to repent, confess and forsake your sin. If you will not repent today, we are going to have to take it to the church.” If he still refuses to repent, you are left with no choice but to take it to the church, which in turn must disfellowhsip him.

When it is not a public sin, but a private matter, you are to go to the person privately and share your concern. Now, if he will repent, confess it to the Lord and say he is sorry, then you are to forget it. That is it. That is as far as it goes. But if he will not accept it or repent, then you are to take it to the elders. If he still will not accept the counsel and repent, then you are to take it to the church and he is to be put out and disfellowshipped.

If you read the passage where Mrs. White explains Matthew 18, she says very definitely that what is bound on earth is bound in heaven only if this procedure has been followed according to God’s plan. If it has been violated in any way, God does not recognize the decision. So, before we start saying we are going to Matthew 18 somebody, we had better know what Matthew 18 says. Never tell someone that you are going to “Matthew 18 them” when they are not in sin. If you want to read with someone, study with them or even talk over theology, then do what Paul did: reason with them. See Acts 17:2; 18:4-9. When you tell someone that in coming to them you are following Matthew 18, then, according to Scripture, you are coming to them as a brother reproving them for a sin they have committed, or that you believe they have done.

Matthew 18 does not apply to anyone who is threatening the prosperity of the church and leading our people into sin. Mrs. White makes this very clear in Testimonies, vol. 2, 15.
“My husband then stated that he should understand that these words of our Lord had reference to cases of personal trespass, and could not be applied in the case of this sister. She had not trespasses against Sister White. But that which had been reproved publicly was public wrongs which threatened the prosperity of the church and the cause. Here, said my husband, is a text applicable to the case: 1 Timothy 5:20: ‘Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.’”

What is Mrs. White saying? She is saying that Matthew 18 does not apply to anyone who is leading God’s people astray—open sin. Any time that somebody, a religious leader, or whoever, does anything that threatens the prosperity of the church, you are not to Matthew 18 them. And if you do, then you do not understand Matthew 18.

I am amazed what has happened in Adventism. Open sin is to be openly rebuked, but we have become such passivists, we are afraid to even speak up against it. We have clasped hands with this ecumenical spirit, that says: “oh don’t say anything; don’t rock the boat; let’s just all be friends.” We think it is so Christian, but it is of the devil. The devil would just love to sugarcoat these differences and have us say, “Well, let’s just put aside our differences and come together on the things that we don’t agree on.” But brothers and sisters, white is white and black is black, not gray, as the ecumenical movement would have us believe.

When you read the basics of Neuro-Linguistic Programming and realize that the whole premise of NLP is that a person’s mind can be changed without them even knowing it, making white black and black white, you realize that it is the most sinister evil of the twentieth century.

Constance Cumby, author of Hidden Secrets of the Rainbow, spoke with me several times on the telephone. She said, “John, I know a lot about Adventism; maybe more than you think I know, as a non-Adventist. But, I’m here to tell you, the other churches do know what’s going on in Adventism better than Adventists know.” She said: “In my research for Hidden Secrets of the Rainbow, I came across the facts that Seventh-day Adventists were doing more to embrace Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and more Seventh-day Adventist ministers have been trained in Neuro-Linguistic programming than all other denominations of America combined.” She went on to say: “If you are blowing the whistle on NLP in Adventism, you can tell them to write or call me and I will share with them the result of my research in my book Hidden Secrets of the Rainbow. I will say without reservation, and as an attorney, it is my opinion that Neuro-Linguistic programming is the most sinister and diabolical thing that has come into Christianity in the 20th century.”

“But when he [John the Baptist] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” Matthew 3:7-10

Now, who were the Pharisees and the Sadducees? They were the religious leaders, the men who would not let John the Baptist speak at any of the churches. Was John part of the structure? He was an independent minister who said what had to be said. He had no degrees and carried no credentials. In fact, when the religious leaders came out to him, if he had had any training in public relations he would have baptized them; but instead, he turned to them and said, “You snakes.” More than that, he called them rattlesnakes—vipers. He said, “You bunch of rattlesnakes. You do the work of the Lord, and then I’ll baptize you. What you’re doing now is nothing but pretense. You are just trying to get on the right side of the people. You’re trying to be politicians.”

While they were putting up the facade of being so sweet, in their hearts, they really could not stand him.

Don’t be fooled; times have not changed. People, however, are so easily deceived. You will hear them say: “Oh, he is so sweet; any time we go to see him, he just invites us right in to his office and talks to us. We are so honored.”

It is snake oil folks. Whether you know it or not, these leaders of God’s professed people hate everything you stand for and they will try to destroy it in every way. They will use either the carrot or the stick, whichever they think will get the best result with you. If sugar coating you and rolling out the red carpet is the way to get your cooperation, they are going to do it; but don’t be deceived, because, if the carrot doesn’t work, they are going to use the stick.

John the Baptist knew what was in their hearts and he called them a bunch of rattlesnakes. There were no doubt, some who said: “Oh, John, you shouldn’t have said that to them. You did the wrong thing; don’t you know who those men are? Why, they could have given great success to your cause if you had just baptized them. Together we could all be one big happy family.”
Do you know why he said what he did? Because the Holy Spirit told him to say it. Man’s ways are not God’s ways.

“The forerunner of Christ’s first advent was a very plain-spoken man. He rebuked sin, and called things by their right names. He laid the ax at the root of the tree. He thus addressed one class of professed converts [we found out who they were—the religious leaders] who came to be baptized of him in Jordan: ‘O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruit meat for repentance….And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the tree; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.’” Testimonies, vol. 1, 321. Now listen to this. “In this fearful time, [What time is she talking about? She’s talking about the harvest] just before Christ is to come the second time, God’s faithful preachers will have to bear a still more pointed testimony than was born by John the Baptist. A responsible, important work is before them; and those who speak smooth things, God will not acknowledge as his shepherds. A fearful woe is upon them.” Ibid.

We read about Moses and Aaron. Everybody loved Aaron, but they thought Moses was so terrible. Oh, the way he yanked that golden calf down, burned it, ground it into powder, threw it into water and then made them drink it. They said, “Oh, Moses, you’re so harsh, but Aaron, is such a loving man. Why can’t you be like Aaron, Moses?’ God does not, however, see things as such. Moses was the one who was favored of God and Aaron was the one who was cursed for leading God’s people into apostasy. The same thing is taking place today. Idolatry is being brought into the church by these smooth talking Aarons, and our people are saying, “Ah, but he’s such a loving man.” Let me tell you something folks. These loving preachers who are preaching nothing but love, love, will love you right into hell.

There are people who say, “John, you ought to be more Christlike.” I could not agree more, but let’s understand what it means to be Christlike with apostate religious leaders. Did you ever notice that Jesus never talked to the laity the way He did to the apostate religious leaders? Why, Jesus addressed them just as John had done. See Matthew 23; John 8:44.

Was Jesus part of the structure? No, and yet I have had people tell me that you have to be a part of the structure. If you are not a part of the structure, then you are not a part of the church; and if you are not a part of the church, then you are out of God’s field and you are lost. Well, then John the Baptist was lost; Jesus was lost; all the disciples were lost.

Do you know what the ultimate disfellowshipping was in Jesus’ day? Crucifixion!

You may have been told that the structure is the seventh church of Revelation 3 and that there is no eighth church. Therefore, as the structure, is the church, you must stay with the structure. Let me ask you a question. Just because God started the Jewish structure, did that mean that the Jewish structure was able to hold Him hostage for eternity? No! When the structure apostatized, he separated Himself from it. While the structure can be a part of the church, it is not the church. If it apostatizes, it ceases to be a part of the church.

The structure of the Seventh-day Adventist Church began in 1862. The seventh church, however, began in 1844. What was God’s church between 1844 and 1862? Can we conclude that God did not have a church because there was no structure? Certainly not; God has always had a church. God’s church was in existence before the structure, and if the structure apostatizes, the church will continue on. The church, God’s true church, is never dependent upon the structure for its existence.

The church is what the church has always been, and Revelation 12 identifies that church. The church is made up of those who “keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” What is the testimony of Jesus Christ? The Spirit of Prophecy. See Revelation 19:10.

Today, we attribute the Spirit of Prophecy to the works of Ellen G. White, but has the Spirit of Prophecy only been in existence since 1844? God always had prophets and they have always been part of His church. If you believed on them, you were a part of God’s church, and if you did not, you were not a part of His church. This has always been the criteria for determining who was a part of God’s church and who was not. With God there is no variableness nor shadow of turning. He is not going to change the rules for the Seventh-day Adventist Church at the end of time. Where do we get this type of twisted of reasoning? He rejected the structure in A.D. 31 because they apostatized from Him, and he can and will do it again. Who do we think we are that we can hold God hostage, and no matter what we do, God has to take us into heaven, whether He wants to or not?

The question is raised: Does this mean that we are going to start another church? Nobody is starting another church. In 1844, God started the last church—the Advent Movement. And, yes, God started a structure eighteen years later; but if that structure apostatizes from Him, He still has His church because the structure never was the church. It was only a part of it; the church still goes on.

I find people who try to make Mrs. White contradict what it says in Revelation 12, making her concept of what the church is different from all the prophets that came before her.

Let us look at Revelation 12:1-6. The first five verses tell us of God’s true church, that pure woman in the first century. Then in verse 6, we are taken to the second and third century. But, we know that an amazing thing happened at the end of the second century and the beginning of the third; the church apostatizes. How did they apostatize? Over their style and day of worship. You see, there was a wild solar holiday that the pagans kept and the church members said, “Look, if we have a special evangelistic series on Sunday, we can get our pagan friends to come.” Sure enough, it worked. In fact, it became so successful that they started having these special church growth evangelistic meetings on Sunday every week, and the pagans came by the thousands. You know the story.

We do not know the exact date, history does not tell us, but some time between the second and third century, the church of Rome, the Christian apostolic church of Rome that was founded and nurtured by Paul, had an official church business meeting and decided to start keeping the first day of the week—Sunday—and to quit going to church on Sabbath. But, there was a small group of dissident trouble makers. These divisive people who caused problems in the church stood up and said, “No, we’re not going to go to church on Sunday; we’re going to keep going to church on Sabbath.” Can you believe that?

Do you know what the majority in the church did? They disfellowshipped those who wanted to go to church on Sabbath. Do you know what it says in verse 6? It says that the church went into the wilderness. Now, let me ask you: Who went into the wilderness, the majority that disfellowshipped them or the little group that was disfellowshipped? It was the little group (who had had been disfellowshipped by the majority) who went out into the wilderness because the majority had left the truth, attaching themselves to falsehood. What then is God’s definition of the church? The little group of disfellowshipped and persecuted believers who were faithful to the truth.

On the other hand, what was man’s definition of the church in the second and third centuries? It was the large group who made up the majority, and who were celebrating on Sunday. They were the group who had money, power and the credential card-carrying pastors. They had the church buildings; they had the wealth and the worldwide organization. The majority in Rome who had disfellowshipped them had everything, or almost everything. There was one thing, however, that they lacked, and that was the truth. But, as God defines the church as the ones who have the truth, none of the other things mattered.

Do we find Seventh-day Adventists apostatizing over their method and style of worship?

“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” Revelation 12:10. Have you ever been called an accuser of the brethren? Do you know who are the accusers of the brethren?
First, let us establish who the real brethren are.

“And they [the brethren] overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death.” Revelation 12:11

We find that throughout the book of Revelation, when it is explaining and classifying God’s people, the people who are going to be saved in the last days are referred to as overcomers. They find victory over sin in their life through the power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says, “They [the brethren] overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death.” This means that they are overcomers and they are willing to die for the truth. In verse 17 it says that they keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. That is the definition of who the brethren are. This means that anyone who does not teach victory over all sin in this life through the power and blood of Jesus Christ, is not one of the brethren. It means that if they do not keep the commandments of God and love, teach, read and practice the Spirit of Prophecy, they are not one of the brethren.

In days past I was rather careless about whom I called the brethren. I used that term for different sets of people. I want to tell you, after understanding Revelation 12, I am very careful of whom I call the brethren. Oh, yes. Now who are the brethren that it is talking about there? Well, let us go on to the next verse. If I come against a messenger that God has raised for the last days to preach the straight testimony to God’s people and I try to stop him in every thing that he does and I disfellowship him, what have I become? I have become an accuser of the brethren, because that man is one of the brethren in the eyes of God. Regardless of what men say, do not let anybody scramble your brain on this issue. The brethren are those who fulfill the criteria of Revelation 12. If a person does not fulfill the criteria of Revelation 12, he is not one of the brethren and you can just slice that any way you want. Those who come against the true and faithful brethren are doing the work of Satan and are the accusers of the brethren.

For so many years, Adventists have been led to believe that staying with the structure is synonymous with staying with the church; but, where are we told that? The definition of God’s church today is what the definition of God’s church has always been. Why is that so hard for us to see and accept?

Jesus had the same problem with His disciples when He said to them, “I can not tell you everything; you can’t handle it, You have been so brainwashed by your religious leaders that I have to couch everything I say and preach to you in parables, because if I came out and told you the truth, it would just blow you away.”

Unfortunately, God’s people are in the same condition today. Have we been brainwashed for so long that we cannot see that the definition of God’s church is what it has always been? Things have not changed. God’s last day prophet to his last day church told us: “From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth.” Acts of the Apostles, 11. Nothing has changed.

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

It is not any organizational structure that constitutes God’s church. The structure can be part of God’s church, but God’s church today is what God’s church has always been—faithful souls. Oh, may God take the blinders from our eyes. May we be Bereans. May we read and study like we have never read and studied before, because if we are not Bereans, if we are not last day Bereans, we are going to be lost.

The End

Editorial – Receiving The Latter Rain

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The message of the Loud Cry is given in Revelation 18:1-5, and constitutes the final warning of mercy to be given to the inhabitants of this fallen world before Jesus can come. The Loud Cry is not something that will drop like a bomb, rather it is something which will swell like a giant tidal wave. “The truth for this time, the third angel’s message, is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, meaning with increasing power, as we approach the great final test….The present truth for this time comprises the messages, the third angel’s message succeeding the first and the second. The presentation of this message with all it embraces is our work. We stand as the remnant people in these last days to promulgate the truth and swell the cry of the third angel’s wonderful distinct message, giving the trumpet a certain sound. Eternal truth, which we have adhered to from the beginning, is to be maintained in all its increasing importance to the close of probation. The trumpet is to give no uncertain sound.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, 291

One of the greatest privileges that God can give to anyone is that of being of this last generation, sharing in the latter rain, and the giving of the Loud Cry to a world perishing in sin. One of the great reasons why we must press together and seek for unity of spirit and doctrine is that the Loud Cry will not be given by groups of people teaching conflicting views of the prophecies, of how to be saved, and other doctrines. We must be unified before we can be used by God to give the Loud Cry.

Sadly, the vast majority of professed Seventh-day Adventists will be unable to recognize either the latter rain or the loud cry. “Many have in a great measure failed to receive the former rain. They have not obtained all the benefits that God has thus provided for them. They expect that the lack will be supplied by the latter rain. When the richest abundance of grace shall be bestowed, they intend to open their hearts to receive it. They are making a terrible mistake….Only those who are living up to the light they have will receive greater light. Unless we are daily advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues, we shall not recognize the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. It may be falling on hearts all around us, but we shall not discern or receive it.” Testimonies to Ministers, 507

Unless we are under the influence of the Holy Spirit, we will be controlled by another spirit and will not recognize what is taking place until it is too late.

“In the manifestation of that power which lightens the earth with the glory of God, they see only something which in their blindness they think dangerous, something which will arouse their fears, and they will brace themselves to resist it. Because the Lord does not work according to their ideas and expectations, they will oppose the work. ‘Why,’ they say, ‘should not we know the Spirit of God, when we have been in the work so many years?’—because they did not respond to the warnings, the entreaties of the messages of God, but persistently said, ‘I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing.’” Review and Herald-Extra, December 23, 1890

It is the enemy’s avowed purpose to keep God’s people from coming into the unity for which Jesus prayed. “There is nothing that Satan fears so much as that the people of God shall clear the way by removing every hindrance, so that the Lord can pour out His Spirit upon a languishing church and an impenitent congregation. If Satan had his way, there would never be another awakening, great or small, to the end of time. But we are not ignorant of his devices. It is possible to resist his power. When the way is prepared for the Spirit of God, the blessing will come.” Selected Messages, book 1, 124

If we are united to Christ, we will be united to one another. When this happens, the church on earth will be a symbol of the church in heaven. “It is those who are not worked by the Holy Spirit that mar God’s plan. Another spirit takes possession of them, and they help to strengthen the forces of darkness. Those who are sanctified by the precious blood of Christ will not become the means of counter working the great plan which God has devised. They will not do anything to perpetuate division.” The Kress Collection, 17

We must make it manifest that we are not only Bible readers but Bible believers, and cooperate with Christ in fostering the spirit of unity. It is to meet this need for unity that Historic Adventist Landmarks was brought into perfect unity of doctrine and spirit so that we can be ready to be part of that army who will give the Loud Cry and stand through the last great test.

Judgment Day–Are You Ready?

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Judgment Day–Are You Ready?
By Brenda Douay

“I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.” “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him” (Daniel 7:9, 10, 13).

“Every individual has a soul to save or to lose. Each has a case pending at the bar of God. Each must meet the great Judge face to face. How important, then, that every mind contemplate often the solemn scene when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened, when, with Daniel, every individual must stand in his lot, at the end of the days.” The Great Controversy, 488.

There are many compelling reasons why we should study the judgment hour message, but I will simply mention one. We know we have a subtle and powerful enemy seeking our souls. One of his greatest weapons is deception. Inspiration tells us we must understand the subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment or we will not make it through the coming times of trouble. Why is this message of such vital importance? Because it is the only means of salvation, and therefore is the central focus of Satan’s deceptions. Satan’s greatest deception is to twist the sanctuary message in our understanding so we will lose eternal life. It was so in the time of the Jews. He blinded them to the transition from the earthly sanctuary and its services to the opening of the holy place of the sanctuary in heaven and the beginning of Jesus’ ministry there. Today he is seeking to blind God’s people to the understanding of the transition of Jesus from the holy to the most holy place.

It is essential that we understand that shift or our worship and prayers will be to Satan, who has taken Christ’s place in the holy place of the heavenly sanctuary after Christ left it to move into the most holy place. (See Early Writings, 54–56.) We must understand the difference between the ministration that Christ performed while He was in the holy place, and how it changed when He left the holy place and moved into the most holy place. This is our “anchor.” (See Early Writings, 256.) The same page in Early Writings says, “Those who understand and receive them (that is, the three angels’ messages, which are synonymous with the sanctuary message) will be kept from being swept away by the many delusions of Satan.”

“Light from the sanctuary illumined the past, the present, and the future.” The Great Controversy, 423. “The third angel has lighted up the past, the present, and the future.” Early Writings, 255.

The following vision is chronicled in the book in which God shows His servant in detail about this coming judgment, and what we are to face. It is found in Testimonies, vol. 4, 384–387. God’s servant writes, “On the morning of October 23, 1879, about two o’clock, the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I beheld scenes in the coming judgment. Language fails me in which to give an adequate description of the things which passed before me and of the effect they had upon my mind.

“The great day of the execution of God’s judgment seemed to have come. Ten thousand times ten thousand were assembled before a large throne, upon which was seated a person of majestic appearance. Several books were before Him, and upon the covers of each was written in letters of gold, which seemed like a burning flame of fire: ‘Ledger of Heaven.’ One of these books, containing the names of those who claim to believe the truth, was then opened. Immediately I lost sight of the countless millions about the throne, and only those who were professedly children of the light and of the truth engaged my attention. As these persons were named, one by one, and their good deeds mentioned, their countenances would light up with a holy joy that was reflected in every direction. But this did not seem to rest upon my mind with the greatest force.

“Another book was opened, wherein were recorded the sins of those who profess the truth. Under the general heading of selfishness came every other sin. There were also headings over every column, and underneath these, opposite each name, were recorded, in their respective columns, the lesser sins. [Emphasis author’s.]

“Under covetousness came falsehood, theft, robbery, fraud, and avarice; under ambition came pride and extravagance; jealousy stood at the head of malice, envy, and hatred; and intemperance headed a long list of fearful crimes, such as lasciviousness, adultery, indulgence of animal passions, etc. As I beheld I was filled with inexpressible anguish and exclaimed: ‘Who can be saved? who will stand justified before God? whose robes are spotless? who are faultless in the sight of a pure and holy God?’

“As the Holy One upon the throne slowly turned the leaves of the ledger, and His eyes rested for a moment upon individuals, His glance seemed to burn into their very souls, and at the same moment every word and action of their lives passed before their minds as clearly as though traced before their vision in letters of fire. Trembling seized them, and their faces turned pale. Their first appearance when around the throne was that of careless indifference. But how changed their appearance now! The feeling of security is gone, and in its place is a nameless terror. A dread is upon every soul, lest he shall be found among those who are wanting. Every eye is riveted upon the face of the One upon the throne; and as His solemn, searching eye sweeps over that company, there is a quaking of heart; for they are self-condemned without one word being uttered. In anguish of soul each declares his own guilt and with terrible vividness sees that by sinning he has thrown away the precious boon of eternal life.

“One class were registered as cumberers (meaning to hinder; to overload; burden; inconvenience; trouble) of the ground. As the piercing eye of the Judge rested upon these, their sins of neglect were distinctly revealed. With pale, quivering lips they acknowledged that they had been traitors to their holy trust. They had had warnings and privileges, but they had not heeded nor improved them. They could now see that they had presumed too much upon the mercy of God. True, they had not such confessions to make as had the vile and basely corrupt; but, like the fig tree, they were cursed because they bore no fruit, because they had not put to use the talents entrusted to them.

“This class had made self supreme, laboring only for selfish interests. They were not rich toward God, not having responded to His claims upon them. Although professing to be servants of Christ, they brought no souls to Him. Had the cause of God been dependent on their efforts, it would have languished; for they not only withheld the means lent them of God, but they withheld themselves. But these could now see and feel that in occupying an irresponsible position in reference to the work and cause of God they had placed themselves on the left hand (Matthew 25:31–46). They had had opportunity, but would not do the work that they could and should have done. [Emphasis author’s.]

“The names of all who profess the truth were mentioned. Some were reproved for their unbelief, others for having been slothful servants. They had allowed others to do the work in the Master’s vineyard, and to bear the heaviest responsibilities, while they were selfishly serving their own temporal interests. Had they cultivated the abilities God had given them, they could have been reliable burden bearers, working for the interest of the Master. Said the Judge: ‘All will be justified by their faith and judged by their works.’ How vividly then appeared their neglect, and how wise the arrangement of God in giving to every man a work to do to promote the cause and save his fellow men. Each was to demonstrate a living faith in his family and in his neighborhood, by showing kindness to the poor, sympathizing with the afflicted, engaging in missionary labor, and by aiding the cause of God with his means. But, like Meroz, the curse of God rested upon them for what they had not done. They had loved that work which would bring the greatest profit in this life; and opposite their names in the ledger devoted to good works there was a mournful blank.

“The words spoken to these were most solemn: ‘You are weighed in the balances, and found wanting (Daniel 5:27). You have neglected spiritual responsibilities because of busy activity in temporal matters, while your very position of trust made it necessary that you should have more than human wisdom and greater than finite judgment. This you needed in order to perform even the mechanical part of your labor; and when you disconnected God and His glory from your business, you turned from His blessing.’

“The question was then asked: ‘Why have you not washed your robes of character and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14)? God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that through Him it might be saved. My love for you has been more self-denying than a mother’s love. It was that I might blot out your dark record of iniquity, and put the cup of salvation to your lips, that I suffered the death of the cross, bearing the weight and curse of your guilt. The pangs of death, and the horrors of the darkness of the tomb, I endured, that I might conquer him who had the power of death, unbar the prison house, and open for you the gates of life. I submitted to shame and agony because I loved you with an infinite love, and would bring back my wayward, wandering sheep to the paradise of God, to the tree of life. That life of bliss which I purchased for you at such a cost, you have disregarded. Shame, reproach, and ignominy, such as your Master bore for you, you have shunned. The privileges He died to bring within your reach have not been appreciated. You would not be partaker of His sufferings, and you cannot now be partaker with Him of His glory.’ Then were uttered these solemn words: ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still’ (Revelation 22:11). The book then closed, and the mantle fell from the Person on the throne, revealing the terrible glory of the Son of God.

“The scene then passed away, and I found myself still upon the earth, inexpressibly grateful that the day of God had not yet come, and that precious probationary time is still granted us in which to prepare for eternity.”

What are you doing with the “precious probationary time” we are granted? Are you using the time as God intends that we use it—“to prepare for eternity?” My friends, God does not tell us these things for any other reason than a yearning for your soul that He may be reunited with the children of His heart. God so loved you that He allowed His Son to be born, a helpless babe, into the world where Satan claimed dominion—Satan who hated Christ three times over—subject to the weakness of humanity, “to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss.” The Desire of Ages, 49.

Can we possibly doubt the love of such a God? He gives us this information that we may know what is coming that we may prepare. He gives explicit directions as to how to prepare. Let us heed these words from His great heart of love. As Inspiration states it, “Make it your first business to gain the kingdom of heaven and the righteousness of Christ. Live for God and heaven, and the eternal reward will be yours at the end of the race.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 225.

My friends, what is the status of your soul today? Have you heeded the pleadings of God on your behalf? Are you daily fulfilling His will in permitting nothing “to interfere with your duty to perfect holiness in the fear of God?”

Judgment Day – Are you Ready?

Brenda Douay is a staff member at Steps to Life. She may be contacted by email at: brendadouay@stepstolife.org.

Selfishness
Covetousness Ambition Jealousy Intemperance
Falsehood Pride Malice Lasciviousness

(Unbridled lust)
Theft Extravagance Envy
Robbery Hatred Adultery
Fraud Indulgence of animal passions, etc.
Avarice

 

 

Made Perfect in Weakness

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I was sitting with a gentleman who had traveled a good many miles to spend a little time in counsel and study. He was a new Christian and had just a few weeks previous heard the Seventh-day Adventist message; so he had a number of questions to ask. He was burdened about the healing of someone connected with the group he had been with that had cancer and he was anxious to have him healed. It was apparent from his questions that he thought that according to the Scripture if a man had enough faith that there would certainly be no question about the healing. So together we opened the word of God and began to look at some things.

First we looked at 2 Timothy 4:20. This is an interesting question: If we have enough faith, will we and the people we pray for be healed and if not, does it prove that we or the individual prayed for lacks faith? Here Paul is writing from Rome to Timothy, his dearly beloved son in the ministry. “Erastus (one of Paul’s helpers) abode in Corinth: Trophimus (another fellow minister) have I left in Miletus sick.” I asked my new friend, Why did Paul, who had healed many people, go off and leave Trophimus sick in Miletus? The Bible does not say, but the point is that Paul certainly had faith enough to heal hundreds perhaps thousands of people but somehow Trophimus was not healed.

In 1 Timothy 5:23 is an earlier letter Paul wrote to Timothy apparently dealing with some sick spells that Timothy suffered from time to time. He did not tell Timothy that he needed to pray more or have more faith but gives him some practical suggestions. “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine” that is, pure grape juice, “for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.” This was not just once that Timothy felt bad, under the weather as we would say, but it happened every now and then. Paul said, Timothy, you need something more than water; get some grape juice when you feel like this for your often infirmities.

My new friend began to see some things in the Bible that he had not seen before. We considered the experience of the apostle Paul himself. In the earlier part of 2 Corinthians 12, Paul describes some of the wonderful visions that the Lord gave him of the glorious things in heaven. But in the 7th through 10th verses he describes the program that God allowed him to be on so that he would not get exalted about what he had seen. “Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” Notice, He did not say Paul, the matter with you is that you don’t have enough faith; you haven’t prayed enough. No!

The apostle Paul, one of the greatest men of faith, perhaps, in all the sacred Scripture history, was not only able to heal hundreds of people and win thousands to Christ, but we read that he, himself, had to put up with infirmities. After he prayed so earnestly about it, finally the Lord said, Paul, that’s enough! God was more anxious to save Paul than He was to heal him. Apparently, God saw that if Paul was too full of zip and energy and had these wonderful revelations and felt good every day he might get exalted. It was exultation that caused Lucifer’s fall, but do not misunderstand—a person who is exalted does not have to fall. Lucifer did not have to fall. Because of the abundance of the revelation Paul was given from God, it was safer for his salvation that the thorn in Paul’s flesh remain there. He said that it was going to hurt you every now and then, but never mind, I’ve got it all taken care of. “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

With this new information my friend said he did not know how to put it all together. He asked, “What thermometer is there for measuring faith? The man had in his mind that the more faith a person had, the more answers to prayer there would be and if they prayed for people and they got well, it would prove they had a lot of faith and if they did not get well, the faith thermometer would show that the temperature was not very high. I suggested that my friend was actually thinking about hope. Hope and faith are not the same thing at all. I can hope for a lot of things, but one must understand what faith is. Romans 10:17 tells how faith comes, what it is based on: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

The word faith is sometimes used in a rather loose way. We may speak of a man buying some stocks on the stock exchange and say that he has faith in that company. I would say that he had hope in it, and faith after a fashion, but when the Bible talks about faith, it is not talking about believing in something; it is believing that what God has promised will come to pass. That is faith.

Now I can hope for all kinds of things, but I can only have faith when the thing that I ask for and expect is what God has promised. My friend began to understand and began to help me finish the little study I was sharing with him. His mind was led to the Savior’s prayer in Gethsemane when three times Jesus prayed that the cup might pass, but each time he added, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt” (Luke 22:42, literal translation). Certainly Jesus did not lack faith. In fact, He exhibited the highest expression of faith. Can you think of any greater expression of faith? Jesus was there in the garden, faced with that awful agony and longing to be relieved from it and hoping that He might be. Yet His faith said, Father, I know that You will do the thing that is best; so not what I ask, but what You will be done. He had taken our humanity and in our human flesh He was crying out. Only the burden that He carried was infinitely heavier than ours.

There is wonderful encouragement as you meditate on that promise to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:8: “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.” Most everyone has pleaded with God for relief from a problem or concern, maybe physical, or mental concern, or some spiritual struggle. Paul had that experience and “He [God] said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (verse 9). He did not honor the apostle’s faith by taking away the thing that Paul longed to get rid of, but He gave him the grace to bear it and to go ahead and accomplish something for God with that thorn in the flesh afflicting him.

My heart thrills that I can bring you this wonderful fact: that you do not have to wait until you get your problems solved to come to God. You do not have to wait until God removes all the difficulties from your life before you step out to do something for Him. The glorious good news of the gospel is this: No matter what situation you are in, no matter how many problems surround you, no matter how many weaknesses and infirmities you have, God has a way to use you right where you are with all the difficulties and problems that beset and upset you. God has a way to do it. His grace is indeed sufficient for you.

There are people who have been praying a lot longer than Paul prayed for something to be removed from their life so they could do something, but Jesus said, My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in your weakness. Do you have weakness to deal with? Well, He has got the strength to go with it! Which is bigger, your weakness or His strength? Our infinite God has infinite power, infinite might and infinite strength. If you were ten times as weak as you are, He could still handle the matter. Oh, you may say, I wish that He would do it so that I would just feel strong, but Paul said, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Dear friends, it would be far better to have God work through a weak man than to be strong and God not have so much chance to work. Some may say, But can God not work through a strong man? Yes, He could if they would let Him. But remember Samson, the strongest man that ever lived. God had him born for that very job and he was given strength for that job, but God had a very hard time with Samson. I believe the reason God had this story recorded was so that you and I could understand that being strong is not always the answer; it has its problem. It is so easy for a strong man, whether it is strong in muscle or strong in any other way, to depend upon that strength instead of the power of God. There have been plenty of weak men who have accomplished far more than Samson ever did.

Think of Solomon’s uniqueness. He was the wisest man that ever lived, but do you know of anybody that ever did any more foolish things than he did? What was his problem? Solomon got to the place where he depended on his own wisdom instead of the Source of his wisdom. He had the right answer so many times that he got to the place where he thought he always had the right answer.

Some of us thank the Lord that we get the wrong answer often enough to humble us. If that is what it takes, so be it. I so wish that God could trust a lot of us with much more power and strength and wisdom than we had ever thought of having. He would like to, for God takes no pleasure in our sickness, our infirmities, these thorns in the flesh. He would like to deliver all of us from ulcers, cancers, high blood pressure, nervous breakdowns, and all the rest of our infirmities. He would like to lift us out of every trial and difficulty. When we weep, He weeps. But listen, He is taking the long view; He wants to save us and He would rather that we have some problems now that help us to feel our need of Him and stay close to Him and be saved at last than miss that fellowship throughout all eternity.

“He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” And if that means hobbling along with one lung, it is all right. It is better to go to heaven with one lung than to miss it with two. It is better to be used in God’s work with one leg or even no legs at all, one hand or no hands at all; it is better to be used in God’s work, to spend our time and energy working for the world which will come to an end with all kinds of handicaps than it is to be strong and healthy and full of vigor and do nothing.

Why, think of Ellen G. White, the young woman called at 17 to be God’s messenger to the remnant and to the world. This was God’s channel through which these wonderful revelations for the last generation were to be given, and whom does He pick out? The weakest of the weak. There were others that were called before her. They were educated, they were strong, they had the things that she lacked, but she had what they lacked. God chose to use her weakness because He could not get full opportunity to use their strength and wisdom. Finally, when the Lord kept pressing her on accepting this call, young Ellen prayed, Oh Lord, I know there are others that You have used and they have been exalted and lost their way. Oh Lord, if this is what you want me to do, will you please keep me from being exalted? God heard her prayer and He said, Your prayer is heard and it will be done, and if you are in danger of being exalted, trials and things will come that will humble you.

Look at her life. From Portland, Maine, to St. Helena, California, from 1844 to her call unto 1915, her final call, her call to rest, is one long series of difficulties and problems. Think of the diseases that she suffered, her experience with tuberculosis, cancer, heart trouble, neuritis and all kinds of afflictions. Think of her sorrow and bereavement, losing her little baby in her arms, losing her teenage oldest son, Henry, a beautiful singer at the age of 16. Think of her husband, cut down in the prime of life, leaving her to struggle on through many years. Nevertheless, God always sustained her. Think of the many problems she had with those that should have appreciated her message and instead circulated lies about her, or what was sometimes even more frustrating, to see those she was instructed to help simply have read the messages and put them aside, doing nothing about it. Problem after problem!

Think of the financial burden in New England and New York as a young wife with her husband, when it was hard to know just how to get enough food to keep them living from day to day, as they were struggling to get the publishing work started and to preach the message. Abundance of revelations, yes. Abundance of afflictions, yes. Some people would rather have fewer revelations and fewer trials and some people are content to have no trials and no revelations. But thank God, the apostle Paul, called by the Master Himself, got the view and He was willing to accept God’s program. He was willing to let God use what he had regardless of what it cost him. He did not wait until he got strong but allowed God to use his weakness. More was accomplished by him than ten strong men could have done.

What are you struggling with? Whatever it is, it is your privilege to pray as Paul did, Lord, please remove this. God may do it; He does sometimes. God answers prayer. “Sometimes when hearts are weak, He gives the very gift believers seek; but often faith must learn a deeper rest, and trust God’s silence when He does not speak.” Myra G. Plantz, (1856–1914).

Oh, let me tell you, friends, if short division is learning to get answers to your prayers so that you see the answers, long division is learning to pray when the answers are not apparent, while still maintaining your faith. If kindergarten is praying and things happen just like that, real school is getting down to the practical business of letting God use your weakness to magnify His strength. “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10). [Emphasis added.] What a paradox! Let us be willing for God to use us, all there is of us.

If you have a problem, whatever it is – whether tobacco or liquor or any other problem concerning some physical craving, perhaps it’s overeating, what is your prayer? Do you pray, oh Lord, deliver me from this craving and I’ll never fall again? There is nothing wrong with asking God to remove the craving for any of these things, but we must always pray, nevertheless, not as I will but as You will. Remember, there is one thing that we can know is always God’s will, and that is for you to have victory. There is no question about that. Can you furnish the weakness? Well, let God furnish the strength. Put Him to the test, His strength is made perfect in weakness.

A man may come face to face with God’s message for today and see that the seventh day is the Sabbath and that God’s true creation Sabbath is the seal of the living God. He sees that it is a great issue in this last generation but asks, What can I do? I have got to make a living; I have got to support my family and the job that I have requires me to work at least part of the time during the 24 hours from Friday sundown till Saturday sundown. What can I do? He may pray and get his family to pray and he may get others to pray, Lord, open the way so I can keep your commandment. This is a good prayer. He steps out in faith and obeys his conviction and says, “Dear Lord, I’m going to obey You whether I know how it will work out or not.”

Another man’s problem is losing his temper. Every now and then he tells his family off, he scolds his children and talks mean to his wife. He feels sorry about it and gets down on his knees and prays, “Oh Lord, help me; I wish You would take that angry temper out of me so that I would never feel mad again and always feel like a meek lamb for this is what I want.” He means it and God hears his prayer but the way God answers may not be to fix him up so that he never feels anything but a lamb. The book of Romans teaches that it is possible for the righteousness of the law to be fulfilled in us even though the flesh is clamoring against the spirit (Romans 8:4). Thank God the Spirit can rule in our lives if we allow it to. There are many people with angry tempers, but believe this wonderful promise of God that you do not have to act like you feel. You do not have to say everything that you feel like saying. There is victory in Jesus Christ. It is not necessarily the victory of a calm summer evening with everything peaceful and feeling that this is wonderful and I wouldn’t want to hurt anybody. No, but the victory comes in knowing that we don’t have to act like we feel, that we can talk about Jesus and His love. Victory is, if necessary, to close our lips through faith in God and say nothing rather than dishonor our Redeemer.

Whatever your problem, whether it be physical, mental or spiritual, pray anything you want and ask God for any method of deliverance, but remember to ask as did Jesus, Nevertheless, not as I will but as Thou wilt. I wish I didn’t have to drink the cup but if that is the way then I’ll drink it. I wish I could feel strong, but if it is necessary for me to feel weak lest I be exalted above measure, Lord, I’ll carry that thorn in the flesh, I’ll let Your strength be made perfect in weakness. And if I can’t be as strong as Samson, if I’m as weak as Ellen Harmon was back there in Portland, Maine, in 1844, I say, here I am Lord; use whatever you can of me and I’ll let Your name and Your throne get the glory.

Step out in faith today and do what God says no matter how you feel, and if you believe God will give you the strength, you will find victory. Jesus is our wonderful Savior; He will carry you through.

Elder W.D. Frazee studied the Medical Missionary Course at the College of Medical Evangelists in Loma Linda, California. He was called to Utah as a gospel medical evangelist. During the Great Depression, when the church could not afford to hire any assistants, Elder Frazee began inviting professionals to join him as volunteers. This began a faith ministry that would become the foundation for the establishment of the Wildwood Medical Missionary Institute in 1942. He believed that each person is unique, specially designed by the Lord, of infinite value, and has a special place and mission in this world which only he can fill. His life followed this principle and he encouraged others to do the same.

Identification Mark

by

Many years ago I read a book that was authored by a man that was supposedly one of the most successful sales trainers conducting seminars in large cities of the United States. During one of his seminars, he recognized a salesman who attended every year. Inquiring about the company he worked for and if any other of his colleagues were in attendance he discovered that this man was the top producer in his company. The younger salesmen that were invited felt that the course dealt with elements that were too fundamental and they did not have time to waste on things they had already studied. It was only the successful salesman that saw the necessity in reviewing the basics at least once a year.

Successful Bible workers must also review from time to time what they really understand and believe about the Bible. Jesus talked about this in Matthew 13:52. He said, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” There are some people who only want to study about new things, failing to realize the importance of understanding those things that are basic and fundamental so that they will have them indelibly imprinted in their mind.

In this article we will consider five Bible facts.

  1. It is in this life before you die that whether you are saved or lost is determined. When a person dies, their position never changes. This fact is clear in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19–31.
  2. All who are alive in the final generation will worship either Christ or anti-christ. Revelation 13:8 reveals how many will worship anti-christ: “… all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” All who are not saved will worship the anti-christ. Revelation 14:12 says, “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”
  3. There are three chapters in the Bible that identify the anti-christ power. The word anti-christ comes from two Greek words, “anti” and “christos.” The primitive meaning of the word anti is somebody or something that stands in the place of somebody else. Later on in history it came to mean against. Although most people today believe this later meaning, anti-christ is someone that stands in the place of Christ. Also, the Latin word that means the same as the word anti is the word vicar. So a vicar of Christ is anti-christ. The three chapters in the Bible that explain in detail who the anti-christ power is are Daniel 7, 2 Thessalonians 2, and Revelation 13.
  4. In the last generation every person will be marked. However, not all receive the same mark. Some will be marked for destruction and others will be marked for everlasting life. Revelation 7:1–4 talks about God’s children receiving a mark of deliverance which is called the seal of God. However, many people will not receive this mark but a different seal or mark. The other mark is described in Revelation 13:16 and 17. It says, “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” In Revelation 14:9–12 the Lord says that if you receive this mark you will receive His wrath and suffer eternal separation from Him which is His judgment of condemnation.
  5. God raised up the second advent movement to prepare a people who would not receive the mark of the beast and who would live in a way that would prepare them to receive the seal of God.

To understand those last brief Bible points we first need to know who the beast is so we can avoid his mark. Then we need to understand what the seal of God is and how to receive it.

Who is this beast in Revelation 13 and 14? Revelation 13:1–10 gives a lengthy description of this beast. In fact, in just these 10 verses there are approximately 15 different descriptions or identifying marks of this beast or anti-christ. We know that it is an anti-christ because of what it says, “… then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven” (Revelation 13:6). This is an anti-christ power.

At the close of Revelation 13:2 it says, “… the dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.” In the Greek language it says, “his throne.” In some English translations it says, “his seat,” which means his seat of government or his throne.

Revelation 12 tells us the dragon is the devil, but although the devil is the chief anti-christ, he works through appointed or selected human agencies just as God works in this world through appointed or selected agencies. You will see that it was the devil in Revelation 12:1–6 who used Herod, the Roman governor, in an attempt to destroy Jesus Christ when He was born. Herod sent forth his soldiers to go to the homes in Bethlehem and kill the children two years old and under. It is a most horrible story. This was not a work that God authorized. This was the work of the dragon using the pagan Roman Empire to do his dastardly work. So the pagan Roman Empire in a secondary sense is the dragon.

During the first 300 years of Christianity the pagan Roman Empire attempted to obliterate all Christians and it was a miracle that they did not succeed. The capital of the Roman Empire had moved to Constantinople and in A.D. 532, 533, Justinian, the Roman governor, appointed the bishop of Rome to be the head of all the churches and gave three months for all to submit to his authority or get out of the Empire and be stripped of all of their possessions.

There were Christians who refused to submit to the bishop of Rome and his religion. They fled, leaving all of their possessions behind so that they could practice their religion in the way they saw fit. Many Christians lost their lives attempting to flee. Their enemies called them Aryans.

First fact: One of the key identifying marks of the beast is to receive its power from the dragon. We have already identified that Justinian did the work of the dragon. The Bishop of Rome then received his throne, his seat of government, and great authority. Justinian put him over all Christendom, declaring that everybody had to do what he said.

Second fact: We know in Revelation 13 that this power was a religious power because to submit to it involved worship.

Third fact: It says, “… all the world worshiped this power” (verses 3, 4). In other words, it is a world-wide religion. There is not a country in the whole world where the Roman Catholic church is not present today including Moslem, Hindu, and atheist countries.

Fourth fact: This power would receive a deadly wound. This happened in 1798 when Napoleon captured the pope.

Fifth fact: Its deadly wound would be healed. That happened in the earlier part of the 20th century.

Sixth fact: This power would speak great things. Remember the word anti-christ means someone who stands in the place of Christ. This power has stated in public, official documents: “In this world we stand in the place of God Almighty.” “We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.” Pope Leo XIII Encyclical Letter, June 20, 1894.

Seventh fact: This power would continue for 42 months. It would make war with the saints and overcome them.

We will never know until the day of final judgment just how many people have been killed for religious reasons, not because they did anything wrong or transgressed any civil law, but simply because they refused to worship the way this power commanded them to worship God. The Society of Friends says that the number killed could be around 70 million, but it could have easily been many more. We do know of a few times when almost a million were killed, such as the massacre of Saint Bartholomew under Pope Innocent III. In one year the church was able to kill almost a million Waldenses.

Several years ago, it was my privilege to visit the headquarters of the Huguenots in southeastern France. The Huguenots were Protestants in the early days of the Protestant Reformation. There in the museum is recorded the history of the Huguenots and how they suffered at the hands of the church. In a 100-year period almost a million people were killed. That was just in France and did not include what happened in Italy, or England, and any other country. One Protestant historian made the statement: “The fact that the Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history.” History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, Volume II, p. 32. Unfortunately, most people today do not have that knowledge of history.

The description of anti-christ continues in Revelation 13, stating that this power would receive authority over every tribe, tongue, and nation (verse 7), that all who dwell on the earth would worship him (verse 8), and that he who leads into captivity will go into captivity (verse 10). This latter event occurred in 1798 when the pope was led into captivity by the French. He died in Valence, France, in 1799.

There are a few other identifying marks in Revelation 13 not covered here, as a thorough reading of the chapter will reveal. However, it is not enough to know who the beast and anti-christ are; we must also know what constitutes the mark of the beast, mentioned in Revelation 13 and 14.

The basic principle of the Protestant was, “In religious matters we stick to the Bible and the Bible only.” One writer said, “The Bible and the Bible alone is the religion of Protestants.” William Chillingworth, 1602–1644.

This saying hit the papacy like a bomb. It was in a desperate situation because millions of people were leaving the Roman Catholic church. There were even some of their theologians who said, “We (the Catholic church) need to get back to the Bible and the Bible only.”

This caused a debate amongst the theologians, some of whom wanted to get back to the Bible and others who insisted that they hold on to their tradition. A council was convened to decide what to do about the Protestants, resulting in what is recorded in history as the Council of Trent. It was the lengthiest council ever held by the church. It did not meet continuously but lasted for 18 years, from 1545 to 1563. Protestantism at that time was a serious threat to the church.

A decision was finally made when, on the 18th of January, 1563, the Council of Trent ruled that tradition takes precedence over Scripture. A powerful speech was made by one of the arch-bishops in which he maintained that the fact that the church had changed the fourth commandment clearly proved that tradition was greater than Scripture. That was the argument: tradition was more important than God’s word.

During that time there were a number of famous debates or disputes between the Protestants and the Catholics. Martin Luther was a powerful debater however, there was one debate with Dr. Ek that he lost. Dr. Ek said, “If … the church has had power to change the Sabbath of the Bible into Sunday and to command Sunday-keeping, why should it not also have this power concerning other days, many of which are based on the Scriptures—such as Christmas, circumcision of the heart, three kings, etc. If you omit the latter, and turn from the church to the Scriptures alone, then you must keep the Sabbath with the Jews, which has been kept from the beginning of the world.” Dr. Eck’s Enchiridion, 1533, pp. 78, 79.

Martin Luther lost the debate. He could not answer that question because he was not a Sabbath keeper. The church claims that it was by her own authority that Rome changed the Sabbath. Her argument is that Protestants who say they adhere to the Bible and the Bible only are in error when they observe Sunday. The Catholic Church alone is responsible for Sunday observance.

The Augsburg confession, a Lutheran document written about 1530, acknowledges the following: “They [Roman Catholics] refer to the Sabbath Day, as having been changed into the Lord’s Day, contrary to the Decalogue, as it seems. Neither is there any example whereof they make more than concerning the changing of Sabbath Day. Great, say they, is the power of the Church, since it has dispensed with one of the Ten Commandments.” Augsburg Confession of Faith art. 28; written by Melanchthon, approved by Martin Luther, 1530; as published in The Book of Concord of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Many people do not understand the significance of the change of day but it is so important to the papacy that in the great hour of her crisis, the change of the Sabbath to Sunday was the deciding factor that determined which way the Catholic church would go. The Augsburg confession makes it clear that no example is held up so high by Catholics, so forcefully pointed to by them, as the change of the Sabbath. This fact has appeared in Roman Catholic publications over and over ever since that time. For example, in 1856, a Roman Catholic publication said, “The command to keep holy the seventh day is one of the Ten Commandments. You believe that the other nine are still binding. Who gave you (the Protestants) the authority to tamper with the fourth?” Library of Christian Doctrine: Why Don’t You Keep Holy the Sabbath-Day? (London: Burns and Oates, Ltd.), pp. 3, 4. Good question!

A Roman Catholic document in 1868 said, “It was the Catholic church which, by the authority of Jesus Christ, has transferred this rest to the Sunday. … Thus the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] church.” Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today, by Mgr. Louis Segur, 1868, p. 213.

A Roman Catholic spokesperson wrote the following in 1903: “It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic church and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic church.” Priest Brady, in an address, reported in the Elizabeth, NJ ‘News’ on March 18, 1903.

The Catholic catechism, which is used for education, said the following in 1876:

Question – “Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?”

Answer – “Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all other religionists agree with her. She could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.” Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism 3rd ed., p. 174.

Around the turn of the 19th century, Cardinal Gibbons, who was head of the Catholic church in the United States, had a chancellor who was responsible for answering letters on his behalf. In a letter sent in 1895, he was asked whether the act of changing the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday was recognized by Rome as a mark of power. On October 28, 1895, this was his reply:

“Of course the Catholic church claims that the change (from Sabbath to Sunday) was her act and is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.”

The Bible agrees that this is the mark of her authority. Daniel 7:25 states that this would be the mark of authority of anti-christ. Under the symbol of the little horn it says, “He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and laws. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.”

Notice it says, “he shall intend.” He tries to change a law that actually cannot be changed. We are not talking about human laws. The papacy has changed human laws so many times that they probably could never be counted, but he intends to change a law that actually cannot be changed. In Revelation 13:15–17 you will see a great crisis is coming upon our world, where there will be an attempt to force everyone alive to accept this mark of authority. To accept it would be a mark of submission to the power that changed the day of worship—the papacy. To force everybody to accept that mark, a law must be made to worship on Sunday.

Revelation 13:16, last part, describes two places where this mark can be received—in the forehead or in the hand. In fulfillment of this prophecy, every nation in the world will pass a Sunday law. The only people who do not receive the mark will be those who receive the seal of God. Revelation 13:8 says that all whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life are going to worship this power. Romans 6:16 tells us how people will be submitting to this power: It says, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” When put into place, the Sunday law is going to divide the whole world into two classes—those who obey God and those who do not. Whom do you obey?

After the law is passed, pressure will be put on the people to obey it. Revelation 13:16, 17 says that unless you submit, you will not be able to buy or sell. During the Second World War when rationing was in force, God’s people thought they understood a little of how the government could prevent a person from buying and selling, but that was nothing compared with what is possible today. Today, many things cannot be purchased without showing a card, whether it is a driver’s license, or a credit card for identification. Cards can be scanned instantly into a central computer and if your name is flagged you will not be able to buy a thing. Many people will fold from their commitment under such a test. They may not believe it at all but will compromise in order to be able to continue buying and selling.

But the Lord states in His word that by accepting this mark, you are living in violation of His Law. And if you do accept this mark, you are also going to accept something from Him. That is written in Revelation 14:9–12 where it says, if you receive this mark, you are going to receive of God’s wrath. People are not yet receiving the mark today because the law has not yet been passed. But the time is coming when religious laws will be made in America. Other countries will follow suit. When there is an attempt made to force people to accept this mark and they understand the truth about the third angel’s message, then all must decide whom they will serve.

Those who accept the third angel’s message are described in Revelation 14:12: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” The one that you worship is the one to whom you submit and obey. By submitting to the beast power and receiving this mark, you cast a special dishonor upon your Creator.

The whole theme from Revelation 13 to the end of the book of Revelation is the seal of God versus the mark of the beast. What you receive determines your destiny. Will you receive the mark of the beast or the seal of God? This is important enough that it forms the major theme of the last half of the book of Revelation, which describes the end-time scenes of our world’s history. Those that accept the mark of the beast will be in the great majority.

Revelation 12:17 says, “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the remnant (offspring) of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (literal translation). It continues in Revelation 13:1 where John saw the dragon, a symbol for the mass of the world’s population rising out of the sea. Those that keep the commandments of God are described as a remnant, or the rest of her offspring. Revelation 15:2, 3 describes the people who receive the seal of God. It says: “… I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. …” These are the people that are saved. They are protected and secure, acknowledged by all heaven that they do not belong to this world but the heavenly kingdom, part of the kingdom of Christ. When Jesus comes back they will be taken out of this world and be with Him.

In speaking of Abraham in Romans 4:11, it says: “… he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also.” Notice, he received a sign, which is also called a seal. The words are interchangeable.

God also has a seal. The Sabbath is God’s sign or seal. This was told to God’s people clear back when the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt. “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord Who sanctifies you.’ ” Exodus 31:13. This seal sets you apart and makes you holy.

Verse 17 says, “It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” The Sabbath is called God’s sign. It identifies His people. Ezekiel 20:12 says, “Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord Who sanctifies them.” Verse 20 says, “Hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and You, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.”

There is a misunderstanding that God’s seal is the Holy Spirit. The New Testament teaches that you are sealed by the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is not the seal. God’s seal or sign is the Sabbath. God’s people are those that keep His commandments and have the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:12). Revelation 12:17 says the same thing. God’s people in the last days are the people that keep His commandments. They could not be thus described if they break one.

James says in James 2:10 that if you keep the whole law and offend in one you are guilty of all. The ten commandments are not ten laws but just one law with ten parts. If you break any one of them you are a commandment breaker. This is spelled out in James 2:10–12. People with a shallow understanding have interpreted James as saying if you keep the Sabbath you will receive the seal of God. Exodus 20:8 starts out by saying, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy …” Can you keep the Sabbath holy while living a wicked life contrary to the other commandments? No. You cannot keep the Sabbath holy unless you are holy.

The ten commandments are God’s definition of holiness and a holy person is one who is in harmony with the commandments.

Many people say it is just a day but it is a day that determines whose side of the great controversy you are on. All must come to a decision. Are you on God’s side?

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Editorial – The Work in the Cities

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“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city” (Jonah 1:2).

“In every city the standard must be planted and a memorial for God established.

“It is God’s design that our people should locate outside the cities, and from these outposts warn the cities, and raise in them memorials for God. There must be a force of influence in the cities, that the message of warning shall be heard … .” Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, 80.

“Unmistakable evidences point to the nearness of the end. The warning is to be given in certain tones. The way must be prepared for the coming of the Prince of Peace in the clouds of heaven. There is much to be done in the cities that have not yet heard the truth for this time. We are not to establish institutions to rival in size and splendor the institutions of the world; but in the name of the Lord, with the untiring perseverance and unflagging zeal that Christ brought into His labors, we are to carry forward the work of the Lord.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 25.

“In every city in America the truth is to be proclaimed. In every country of the world the warning message is to be given.” General Conference Bulletin, March 30, 1903.

“The world is now reaching the boundary line in impenitence and disregard for the laws of the government of God. In every city of our world the warning must be proclaimed.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 32.

“Voices are to be heard in every city proclaiming the last message of mercy to the world.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, 220.

“I am very glad to hear that you have been led to understand for yourself the condition of the unworked cities. … If this work had been undertaken years ago, large numbers would have been brought to a knowledge of the truth. … I am intensely in earnest, and Oh, I beg of you to encourage our people to redeem the time.” Ibid., 223.

“The question is sometimes asked, ‘Why build schoolhouses, sanitariums, food stores, or churches, when time is so short?’ The Lord’s money is to be invested wisely. In many places where the work has been shamefully neglected plants must be established that will be producers as well as consumers. Memorials for God should be established in every place as an aid in the proclamation of the last message of mercy. Missionary work should be done in every city.” Ibid., 17, 287.

Bible Study Guides – “Speak, Lord”

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September 18, 2016 – September 24, 2016

Key Test

“Hear, O my people, and I will speak; … I am God, even thy God” (Psalm 50: 7).

Study Help: Faith and Works, 121, 122.

Introduction

“Be always ready, saying, ‘Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth’ (I Samuel 3:9).” The Review and Herald, July 26, 1898.

1 MARY, THE HANDMAID OF THE LORD

  • What was the attitude of Mary when God sent her a message? Luke 1:38.

Note: “[Notice] the sweet, childlike faith of Mary, the maiden of Nazareth.” The Desire of Ages, 98.

  • Who also prophesied of Christ to strengthen Mary’s faith? Luke 1:41–43, 67–69; 2:25–32, 36–38. Who tried to destroy her faith in Jesus?

Note: “Mary often remonstrated with Jesus and urged Him to conform to the usages of the rabbis. But He could not be persuaded to change His habits of contemplating the works of God and seeking to alleviate the suffering of men or even of dumb animals. When the priests and teachers required Mary’s aid in controlling Jesus, she was greatly troubled; but peace came to her heart as He presented the statements of Scripture upholding His practices.

“At times she wavered between Jesus and His brothers, who did not believe that He was the Sent of God; but evidence was abundant that His was a divine character. She saw Him sacrificing Himself for the good of others. His presence brought a purer atmosphere into the home, and His life was as leaven working amid the elements of society.” The Desire of Ages, 90.

2 SAMUEL, A SERVANT OF GOD

  • What experience should be our model every day? I Samuel 3:7–10.

Note: “When you place yourselves where you should be in order to hear the voice of God, you will come before Him every day, saying, ‘Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth.’ ‘Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?’ (I Samuel 3:9; Acts 9:6).” General Conference Daily Bulletin, March 20, 1891.

“We need now to humble our hearts before God. We need now not to wait in a careless attitude, but in an attentive, reverent attitude.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 28.

  • How should we regard every talent, opportunity, and resource that we have? I Chronicles 29:12–14. What can destroy this attitude and ruin our spiritual experience?

Note: “However large, however small, your talents, remember that what you have is yours only in trust. Thus God is testing you, giving you opportunity to prove yourself true. To Him you are indebted for all your capabilities. To Him belong your powers of body, mind, and soul, and for Him these powers are to be used. Your time, your influence, your capabilities, your skill—all must be accounted for to Him Who gives all. He uses his gifts best who seeks by earnest endeavor to carry out the Lord’s great plan for the uplifting of humanity.

“Persevere in the work that you have begun, until you gain victory after victory. Educate yourselves for a purpose. Keep in view the highest standard that you may accomplish greater and still greater good, thus reflecting the glory of God.” The Youth’s Instructor, January 25, 1910.

“Self has far more to do with our religious experience than we imagine. When self is crucified, when the stubborn will is subdued, then the language of the heart will be, ‘Not my will, but Thine, be done, O God, Whose I am and Whom I serve.’ ‘Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth.’ None will be as fixed stars, cold and immovable. This selfish, worldly dignity will no longer be maintained. There will be a beautiful blending of purity, elevation and nobility, which is wisdom from above and the meekness and lowliness of Jesus Christ. An innocent lamb was chosen as a representation of Christ.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 191.

3 BE LIKE SAMUEL

  • What is the source of success for every Christian? I Corinthians 15:10.

Note: “The success of every work depends upon the blessing of God. If the Lord works with you, you will be able to do what He has appointed you to do. With God, one can chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight. But just as long as you maintain this spirit of Pharisaism, God’s spirit will not, cannot, work with you, because you do not feel your utter dependence upon Him. When you become learners in the school of Christ, you will have the simplicity and meekness of little children, and will be willing to counsel with your brethren and sisters, and will pray earnestly for help from God. Your ears will then be opened, and you will be enabled to say from the heart, ‘Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth.’ ” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 410.

  • What is the source of failure for any Christian? Proverbs 12:15; Isaiah 5:20.

Note: “God wants to put His spirit upon you; but He cannot do this while you are so full of self. When self dies, you will feel the quickening influence of the spirit of God. God’s people are enjoined to seek for unity. … This is no time for alienation and discord, for the indulgence of a selfish, perverse spirit. Will you take yourselves in hand, or will you be ready to regard your stubborn, unyielding disposition as an evidence of faithful integrity? God forbid that you should be blinded, as were the Pharisees, and place good for evil, and evil for good. You will never have any greater evidence than you have had as to where the spirit of God is working. The Lord never proposes to remove all occasion for men to doubt. He will give sufficient evidence to bring the candid mind to a right decision; but if you are determined to have your own way, if you are like Saul, unwilling to change your course because of pride and stubbornness of heart, because of ignorance of your own condition of spiritual destitution, you will not recognize the light. You will say with Saul, ‘I have done the commandment of the Lord’ (I Samuel 15:13).” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 410, 411.

4 AN ADMONITION

  • What will happen to those who rely on human reasoning instead of following the counsel from God? Proverbs 1:24–26.

Note: “As we ponder the solemn words of warning addressed to Israel, we are in imagination brought before the great white throne, where in the presence of the assembled universe, every man will be judged according to the deeds done in the body. …

“None then to pity the folly of those who have despised and forsaken God. None to relieve their distress. They have forsaken their true and loving Friend, to follow the path of convenience and worldly pleasure. They intended at some time to return to God. But the world, with its follies and deceptions, absorbs the attention. Frivolous amusements, pride of dress, indulgence of appetite, harden the heart and benumb the conscience, so that the voice of truth is not heard. Duty is a despised word. Things of infinite value are lightly esteemed, until the heart loses all desire to sacrifice for Him Who has given so much for man. But in the reaping time they must gather the crop sown. …

“ ‘Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: they would none of My counsel: they despised all My reproof. Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices’ (Proverbs 1:28–31).” The Signs of the Times, August 18, 1881.

  • What is the promise to those who listen to God? Proverbs 1:33.

Note: “Can we ever find a surer guide than the Lord Jesus? True religion is embodied in the word of God and consists in being under the guidance of the Holy One in thought, word, and deed. He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life takes the humble, earnest, wholehearted seeker, and says, Follow Me. He leads him in the narrow way to holiness and heaven. Christ has opened this path for us at great cost to Himself. We are not left to stumble our way along in darkness. Jesus is at our right hand, proclaiming, ‘I am the Way’ (John 14:6).And all who decide to follow the Lord fully will be led in the royal path, yea more, in the path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in.” The Review and Herald, March 29, 1906.

5 AN APPEAL

  • What can we learn from David’s prayer? Psalm 119:33–38.

Note: “The sinner who refuses to give himself to God is under the control of another power, listening to another voice, whose suggestions are of an entirely different character. Passion controls him, his judgment is blinded, reason is dethroned, and impetuous desires sway him, now here, now there. The truth will have but little influence over him, for there is in human nature, when separated from the Source of truth, a continual opposition to God’s will and ways. The physical, mental, and moral being are all under the control of rash impulses. The affections are depraved, and every faculty entrusted to man for wise improvement is demoralized. The man is dead in trespasses and sins. Inclination moves, passion holds the control, and his appetites are under the sway of a power of which he is not aware. He talks of liberty, of freedom of action, while he is in most abject slavery.” The Review and Herald, February 17, 1891.

  • Explain how we can avoid being overcome by the enemy. James 4:7–10; Philippians 4:13.

Note: “Those who claim to be Christians are in continual need of a power outside of, and beyond, themselves. They need to watch unto prayer, and to place themselves under the guardianship of God, else they will be overcome by the enemy. The Christian must look to God, as a servant to his master, as a handmaid to her mistress, saying, ‘Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?’ (Acts 9:6).” Ibid.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 What can we learn from Mary?

2 What can we learn from Samuel’s experience as a young child?

3 How do we show that we are learners in the school of Christ?

4 How can we walk in the royal pathway?

5 How can we hear God and have His power in our life?

Copyright © 2015 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.