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Moses is No Mummy

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A number of years ago, Evelyn and I had the privilege of being in Cairo, Egypt, for a few days. Egypt was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with its great stores of gold. Besides being wealthy, Egyptians were sun-worshipers and devil worshipers, which was evident as we went through the Cairo museum, where we saw many mummies of the ancient kings. As I pondered the mummies, the thought came to me that had Moses made the wrong choice, he could have been one of those mummies. The story of Moses is one of the most amazing stories in all the Bible. While he was in the palace of the king, he resisted the many temptations present there. As a result of his life choices, the Lord resurrected him, and he has been in heaven for many years. (See Early Writings, 164.)

In Hebrews 11:24–26, Paul writes, “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”

Because of a miracle that God worked shortly after his birth, Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became heir to the throne, destined to become the ruler of the mightiest and wealthiest empire in the world. Ellen White says, “Moses was a great character in the world. He was the prospective heir of the throne of the Pharaohs. He had been reared for this position, and was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was fitted to take pre-eminence among the great of the earth, and to shine in the courts of its most glorious kingdom, and to sway the scepter of its power. His intellectual greatness distinguishes him above the great men of all ages.” The Signs of the Times, November 17, 1887.

From a worldly standpoint, he was one of the greatest men that ever lived. Five areas are mentioned in which Moses had intellectual greatness, superior to all other men. “As historian, poet, philosopher, general of armies, and legislator, he stands without a peer.

“But it was his moral qualities that made him valuable in the estimation of God. His faith, humility, and love are not excelled among the examples of humanity.” Ibid. The Bible comments on this very briefly in Numbers 12:3 which says, “(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)”

When Moses arrived at manhood, he had the world before him. He could become the most wealthy and most powerful leader of the world. However, his early training had taught him principles that gave him the moral strength to refuse the flattering prospects of wealth, greatness, and fame. It says in Hebrews 11:25 that he chose rather “… to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin.”

Many were the inducements held out to Moses while in the king’s court. “The magnificent palace of Pharaoh and the monarch’s throne were held out as an inducement to Moses; but he knew that the sinful pleasures that make men forget God were in its lordly courts. He looked beyond the gorgeous palace, beyond a monarch’s crown, to the high honors that will be bestowed on the saints of the Most High in a kingdom untainted by sin.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 246. So, he chose to join a humble, poor, despised nation in order to obey God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

The tragedy of this story when you think it through is that not too many people are willing to make this kind of sacrifice. Ellen White says in the Signs of the Times, November 17, 1887: “The great anxiety of men and women of today is to be held in high esteem by the lordly ones of earth. The religion of Jesus seems to be considered of no special value, and the children of men have set their hearts to seek pleasure rather than to know the will of God.” Paul told the young minister Timothy that this would be the condition of the world in the last days. He said that men will be “… lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:4).

Without the special instruction by Jesus Christ, Moses would not have been able to resist the enticements. This same instruction is relevant to all believers today. “Christ has presented before us the greatest inducement that could be offered to mortals. It is not only the gift of eternal life and everlasting joy, but a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory in the kingdom of God. Those who feel the importance of taking God’s word as the rule of their life and conduct, will have respect unto the recompense of reward.” The Signs of the Times, November 17, 1887.

Moses esteemed the reproach of Christ to be worth more than the riches of the wealthiest nation on the face of the earth unlike today when the pleasures in this world steal men’s senses so they do not care to think about God in heaven.

Moses understood that someday there will be a judgment day and the world and all of God’s children are to be judged. The decisions they have made will determine their eternal destiny.

One of the earliest statements in the Bible predicting God’s judgment is recorded in Deuteronomy 32:36 where it says, “For the Lord will judge His people …” according to the deeds done in the body. Each one of us has a case pending in God’s court. The Bible says that although Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the land, they would not be able to save either son or daughter, but only their own souls. (See Ezekiel 14:14, 20.)

Moses understood that the judgment was to involve the judging of people’s characters. He says in Deuteronomy 10:12, 13, “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you this day for your good?” He goes on to say in verses 16 and 17: “Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, Who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.”

The conditions of salvation are the same for everybody, without partiality. You have just as much an opportunity to be saved as anybody else in the world and maybe more because of the knowledge that God has allowed you to have. Can I say with Moses that I esteem the reproach of Christ to be worth more than all the riches of this world? Moses made that decision.

Every soul that enters through the gates of the city will not go there as a pardoned criminal but as a conqueror.

“There is help for every one who in humble faith seeks it. When you put all your powers to the stretch that you may become acquainted with God, you will have His power added to your weakness. Every soul that enters through the gates into the city will go in as a conqueror. There is no sickness, no sighing, no death, but everlasting joy throughout the cycles of eternity. I want to be there, for my soul is attracted to Jesus. Everything here is of minor consequence.” The Signs of the Times, November 17, 1887.

Moses understood that all the wealth and power of Egypt, was not worth losing eternity. This is one of the great examples of a person who deliberately made a choice that he would suffer rather than enjoy immediate pleasure. The reproach of Christ must be esteemed above every worldly honor, all worldly riches and all high-sounding titles, if we are to be saved. This is the kind of faith that the martyrs possessed.

Because of his choice, Moses is not a mummy in a museum with people looking at him through the glass; he is in heaven. All who make the same choice that he made will have the same eternal consequence. It is hard for people, even knowing about the eternal wealth of glory that is coming, to choose right and to do something that they know is going to cause them pain and suffering, instead of something that will bring joy and happiness at the present time.

One of my favorite stories in the Testimonies for the Church is about a person who chose to endure suffering at the present time and reproach rather than have worldly riches and honor and lose eternal life. Ellen and James White were at this meeting when J. N. Andrews told this story and Ellen White wrote it down as a first-person witness. There were some people there who were in a backslidden condition. She says as Elder Andrews was speaking, he talked about the case of Moses who refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter but chose rather to suffer affliction. She then relates the story that brother Andrews told involving the power of God that is inexplicable at the present time: “Brother Andrews related an instance of a faithful Christian about to suffer martyrdom for his faith. A brother Christian had been conversing with him in regard to the power of the Christian hope—if it would be strong enough to sustain him while his flesh should be consuming with fire. He asked this Christian, about to suffer [being burned at the stake], to give him a signal if the Christian faith and hope were stronger than the raging, consuming fire. He expected his turn to come next, and this would fortify him for the fire. The former promised that the signal should be given. He was brought to the stake amid the taunts and jeers of the idle and curious crowd assembled to witness the burning of this Christian. The fagots were brought and the fire kindled, and the brother Christian fixed his eyes upon the suffering, dying martyr, feeling that much depended upon the signal. The fire burned, and burned. The flesh was blackened; but the signal came not. His eye was not taken for a moment from the painful sight. The arms were already crisped. There was no appearance of life. All thought that the fire had done its work, and that no life remained; when, lo! amid the flames, up went both arms toward heaven. The brother Christian, whose heart was becoming faint, caught sight of the joyful signal; it sent a thrill through his whole being, and renewed his faith, his hope, his courage. He wept tears of joy.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 657.

“As Brother Andrews spoke of the blackened, burned arms raised aloft amid the flames, he, too, wept like a child. Nearly the whole congregation were affected to tears.” Ibid.

Many people in that congregation who were in a backslidden condition confessed their sins and asked everyone to pray for them that they would walk up the narrow way and not continue in the way that they had been going.

Some people talk as if it is some great condescension for them to become a Christian because of all that they have to give up. It is almost like they think that the Lord owes them something. We know that Jesus gave up far more to save us than we will ever have to give up. So do we call it condescension to grasp the chain of truth and call it humiliation to become a Christian? Actually, becoming a Christian is the only true means for you to be exalted. This exaltation is not going to come in this world, but becoming a Christian is the necessary and true provision for every human being to be exalted. In the message to the Laodicean church, Jesus promises that those who overcome will be allowed, “to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Revelation 3:21).

Moses understood this requirement and did not consider it a condescension for him to join with a nation of slaves. “He [Moses] had the privilege of living in king’s houses. He was a mighty warrior, and went forth with the armies of the Egyptians to battle; and when they returned from their successful conquest, they everywhere sung of his praise and his victories. The highest honors of the world were within his grasp ….” The Review and Herald, April 19, 1870. He made a deliberate decision to choose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than to enjoy these honors and the pleasures of sin for a season. He chose delayed gratification over immediate pleasure.

Hebrews 11:26 says, “Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; he looked to the reward” (literal translation). His mind was focused on something else rather than riches, wealth, pleasure, or honor in this world. Where are your eyes focused?

“In like manner we have fixed our minds upon the exceeding great and precious reward, and in order to obtain it, we must have a perfect character.” The Review and Herald, April 19, 1870. Some people become offended by this expectation. They say, “nobody’s perfect” and some will quote you many texts in the Bible and also in Spirit of Prophecy to support their contention. However, Romans 4:18–22 says, “Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.”

Abraham was convinced that what God said, He was able to accomplish. He did not understand, even in his day, how a man a hundred years old could be a father. Neither did Sarah understand how a woman 90 years old could be a mother, but God said it and so he believed it. This is a great example of how we can be saved. God says He can save me and I am depending that He is going to make it happen in my life. Because I have no way to bring this about, I am trusting You and choosing to cooperate with You Lord, and I will never quit asking until You make it happen in my life.

“The angels of God are watching the development of character. Angels of God are weighing moral worth; and we are to obtain a fitness here to join the society of sinless angels. Do you expect that when Christ comes He will give you that fitness? Not at all. You must be found of Him without spot, without blemish, or wrinkle, or anything like it (Ephesians 5:27). Now is the watching and trying time. Now it is the time to obtain a preparation to abide the day of His coming, and to stand when He appeareth.” The Review and Herald, April 19, 1870.

One of the persons in the Bible given as an example for people living in the last days without spot or wrinkle is the man Enoch. In thinking of this standard, many become discouraged, believing that their situation is worse than that of others saying, You don’t know where I work or what I have to deal with or the people that I have to associate with to make a living. You don’t know the kind of language they use and what they discuss; so you don’t understand my situation.

My dear friend, Enoch lived in that kind of situation. “Enoch represents those who shall remain upon the earth and be translated to Heaven without seeing death. He represents that company that are to live amid the perils of the last days, and withstand all the corruption, vileness, sin, and iniquity, and yet be unsullied by it all. We can stand as did Enoch. There has been provision made for us. Help has been laid upon One that is mighty; and we all can take hold upon His mighty strength.” Ibid. That is a promise that you can claim.

Isaiah 27:5 says, “Or let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.”

There are so few people today who are willing to suffer in the present time and become overcomers in order to gain the eternal riches. “Angels of God, that excel in strength, are sent to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. These angels, when they see that we are doing the very utmost on our part to be overcomers, will do their part, and their light will shine around about us, and sway back the influence of the evil angels that are around us, and will make a fortification around us as a wall of fire.” The Review and Herald, April 19, 1870.

Unless a person is willing to make the same kind of decision that Moses made, he is not ready to be saved. The Bible not only records the right decision that Moses made, but also many instances where people made the wrong decision. One of the most prominent examples of choosing wrong—or failing to choose right— was the case of the rich young ruler, as recorded in Matthew 19. This young ruler wanted to be saved asking, “What shall I do that I may have eternal life?” Jesus said, “… Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you will enter into life, keep the commandments” (verses 16, 17, literal translation).

Jesus tried to direct his attention to the fact of His own divinity. In verse 18, first part, the young man asked which commandment. “Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to Him, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me’ (verses 18, last part, 19–21).”

Verse 22 states: “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” He wanted to be saved, but he did not want to give up his worldly wealth and honor. By the way, the Bible says that the wealthy have many friends. He did not want to give up the honor and wealth he had in this world in order to become an itinerant preacher, following Jesus of Nazareth. All he could see was trouble and affliction. Commenting on this, Ellen White says, “This was not a hard requirement; for the ruler was not handling his own property. His goods had been entrusted to him by the Lord. The choice was left with him; he must decide for himself.” The Review and Herald, December 14, 1897.

Moses had that same opportunity to decide for himself. He was a free moral agent as was the rich young ruler. We are all free moral agents. This decision each must make for himself or herself. Neither your spouse nor a friend can make it for you. “The choice was left with him; he must decide for himself. Did he accept the eternal treasure? or did he decide to gratify his desire for earthly treasure, and in so doing, refuse the eternal riches?—When he heard Christ’s words, ‘he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions’ (Matthew 19:22; Mark 10:22). He chose the earthly good, and lost the eternal weight of glory.” Ibid.

“Individually, we are tried as was the young ruler. God tests us to see if, as stewards, we can safely be trusted with the eternal riches. Shall we do as the ruler did—fasten our grasp upon the treasures lent us by God, choosing that which appears most agreeable to the natural heart, and refusing to use our possessions as God plainly states He expects us to? or shall we take up our cross, and follow our Saviour in the path of self-denial?” Ibid. God tests us to see if we can be trusted with eternal riches.

“Millions of people in our world are making the choice made by the young ruler.” Ibid. It seems sad when you think that only a few will make the correct choice, and the great majority make the wrong choice. They refuse to do God’s will by showing love to their fellow men, and by such selfishness they prove themselves unworthy of the eternal riches.

Ellen White says: “They show that they are unfit for a place in the kingdom of God; if they were allowed to enter there, they would, like the great apostate, claim everything as if they had created it, and would spoil heaven by their covetousness.” Ibid. This is especially the case in places like the United States where people are wealthier than in other countries. Moses was called to make a decision. He was a free moral agent and he could choose to go either way. The decision that he made to follow the Lord and suffer affliction cost him all that he had. He was in line to be the most powerful and wealthiest man in the world. He literally had the world before him. He could have had it all in what was at that time the mightiest and wealthiest nation in the world. However, you cannot have both this world and heaven. Moses had to make that choice. He had conflicting objects to choose between. Was he going to choose to become the ruler of the mightiest and wealthiest nation or was he going to choose to suffer affliction with the people of God and lose all that?

“The treasures of Egypt, the honor of a temporal crown, and all the worldly benefits involved in this choice, were presented by the prince of this world. The opposite side was presented by the Prince of Light, the world’s Redeemer. He held out the recompense of reward, the unsearchable riches of Christ, and showed also the path of affliction, self-denial, and self-sacrifice, that must be traveled by all who gain this reward.” Ibid. Jesus said when He was here, “If anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” Moses understood, by making that decision, that he was starting down a path that would involve affliction, and self-denial, and self-sacrifice. But that is the same path that has to be travelled by everyone who goes up the path that leads to eternal life.

The decision was left with Moses. He could have made the same decision that the rich young ruler made, although it was a much more difficult decision for Moses because he had much more at stake. Moses figured out that having worldly riches was not worth losing eternal riches, even though what Jesus was offering him involved a path of affliction, self-denial, and self-sacrifice.

Moses was a free moral agent and at liberty to choose. But the Bible says that by faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing Him Who was invisible. Moses made a choice. One of the greatest men, recorded in the Bible, who had the opportunity to become the leader of the greatest and wealthiest, and most powerful nation in the world, left it all in order to follow Christ in a path of self-denial, and affliction, and self-sacrifice.

If I’m going to be saved, I must walk in that same path. Moses was a rare example in the Bible of a person who chose to lose everything, and to be associated with a nation of slaves, and to walk in a path of affliction, of self-denial, and self-sacrifice, instead of enjoying the riches and pleasures of this world. This is a hard decision to make, and so few people are willing to make the correct decision today. Think things through and try to realize that the eternal weight of glory is of much more value than if we should be given the whole world and lose our soul. We need to think clearly about the future and to not make our decisions based on just the present, but based on what is going to happen to us in the future.

(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 – Marked and Sealed

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The book of Revelation is very clear that in the final days of this earth’s history, everybody in the world will be marked or sealed. Some will be sealed with the seal of the living God and they will be saved. (See Revelation 7:1–8; 9:4; 14:1–5; 15:2, 3.) Unfortunately, the great majority of the world’s population will receive the mark of the beast, sometimes referred to as the mark of antichrist. (See Revelation 13:1–10.) The antichrist power is also described in Daniel 7 and in 2 Thessalonians 2. Those who receive this mark will lose their souls. (See Revelation 14:9–12; Revelation 15:1; 16:2; 19:20, 21.)

The words seal and sign are used interchangeably in the Bible. (See Romans 4:11.) The sign or seal of God has always been the fourth commandment—the Sabbath commandment. (See Exodus 31:12–18 and Ezekiel 20:12–20.)

Jesus said that not even part of a letter of the law can be changed. (See Luke 16:17.) Note that the Ten Commandments were spoken verbally by God to the human family and did not come through visions or dreams of prophets. (See Deuteronomy 5:22.) To attempt to change the Sabbath is to attempt to change the longest commandment in the Ten Commandment law and in this way to exalt oneself above the Lawgiver and thereby become an antichrist power. (Compare Daniel 7:25.)]

Has anyone attempted to change the Sabbath commandment? Yes.

“Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles. … From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first.” Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August, 1900.

“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act. It could not have been otherwise as none in those days would have dreamed of doing anything in matters spiritual and ecclesiastical and religious without her. And the act is a mark of ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.” James Cardinal Gibbons, in a letter to J. F. Snyder of Bloomington, Illinois, dated November 11, 1895, and signed by H. F. Thomas, Chancellor for the Cardinal.

“Protestants … accept Sunday rather than Saturday as the day for public worship after the Catholic Church made the change … But the Protestant’s mind does not seem to realize that in accepting the Bible, in observing the Sunday, they are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the church, the Pope.” Our Sunday Visitor, February 5, 1950.

The Approaching Storm

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The basis for this study is found in Luke the 8th chapter verses 22–25, first part, which says, “Now it came to pass on a certain day, that He [Christ] went into a ship with His disciples: and He said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed He fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.  And He said unto them, Where is your faith?”

This is a scriptural record of an actual experience which took place in the life of Jesus Christ and His disciples. They had just experienced a very busy day. Since early morning Christ had been teaching and healing. They were so busy that they had not taken time for food or for rest. To make matters even worse they were constantly being surrounded by malicious criticism and misrepresentation by the Pharisees who continually pursued Christ making His labors more severe and harassing.

So now at the close of this busy day the Lord was utterly wearied and He determined to seek a retirement in a secluded place across the lake. Dismissing the multitude Jesus and His disciples hastily set off in a boat to relieve the pressure of the crowd. Overcome with weariness and hunger Jesus lies down in the stern of the little boat and is soon sound asleep. The evening is calm and pleasant and the boat gently rides upon the lake, but suddenly a strange darkness spreads over the lake and the wind sweeps wildly down the mountain gorges as a fierce tempest bursts upon them. The waves lashed by such howling wind dash completely over the tiny boat threatening to engulf them. These hardy fishermen have guided their craft safely through many a storm but this time their strength and skill avail nothing.

The disciples are helpless in the face of this tempest, for Satan is attempting to destroy both the Master and His disciples. So absorbed are these men to save themselves that they have completely forgotten that Jesus is on board. Now as death is imminent they recall that it was Christ who commanded them to cross the lake and in their helpless condition they cried, Master, Master! but in such a stormy darkness they see no one and their voices are drowned by the roaring tempest. Doubts and fears grip their hearts. Had Jesus forsaken them? Could it be that He who would conquer disease and demons and even death itself could not help them now?

Again, they called for help, for the boat is beginning to sink. Another moment and they will be swallowed up by the angry waters. Suddenly there is a flash of lightning and they see Jesus lying asleep – undisturbed by the raging storm. In amazement they cry out, “Master, carest Thou not that we perish” (Mark 4:38)? Their cry arouses Jesus and in the lightning glare they see the peace of Heaven on His face. Again, they cry, “Lord, save us! We perish” (Matthew 8:25)! Never did a soul utter that cry unheeded.

Jesus arises as the waves sweep over them. Lifting His hands He says to the angry sea, “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39). Immediately the stormy billows cease their attack. The clouds roll away, the stars shine forth, and the tiny boat rests upon a quiet sea. Jesus looks around at His disciples and asks sorrowfully, “Why are ye so fearful?” “Where is your faith” (Mark 4:40; Luke 8:25)? In this life and death crisis Jesus did not ask the questions that are so often to be found in the minds of uncertainty. He did not ask like we would today, “Don’t you have a bank account that you can count on? Don’t you have some investments? Don’t you have a lot of friends that will help you? What type of insurance do you carry, and how much?” No, He asked a very personal, heart searching question: “Where is your faith?”

As Seventh-day Adventists we believe that men are justified by faith for “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6), and we believe that “faith cometh by hearing … the word of God” (Romans 10:17). But how many of us know the faith that will be required of each one to meet the coming storm? When we are surrounded by riots and protests leading to civil strife and war here in America and with the united evangelical movement joined against us, when suddenly every security we’ve ever known has vanished in a time of trouble such as never was, what good will it be then to talk about the prestige of our great institutions? the luxury of our beautiful churches which architects have built with our sacrificial money? the well-edited literature and international broadcasts that our church presents? when every religious body in this world will be against us? I ask, Are we ready for persecution, even the facing of a universal death decree? Then to discover that our very best friends, even those within the church we love, are testifying against us. When our world collapses around us, will we be strong enough in the faith to stand alone or will we be captured in total fear as were the disciples? What will our answer be when Jesus speaks, “Where is your faith?”

In Revelation 14:12 the remnant have two characteristics. They keep the commandments of God and they keep the faith of Jesus. Let’s consider just for one more moment the faith of Jesus – literally. “When Jesus was awakened to meet the storm, He was in perfect peace. There was no trace of fear in word or look, for no fear was in His heart. But He rested not in the possession of almighty power. It was not as the ‘Master of earth and sea and sky’ that He reposed in quiet. That power He had laid down, and He says, ‘I can of Mine own self do nothing’ (John 5:30). He trusted in the Father’s might. It was in faith—faith in God’s love and care—that Jesus rested, and the power of that Word which stilled the storm was the power of God,” His Father. The Desire of Ages, 336.

Let us think now of some very serious questions which I hope will awaken your mind to the approaching storm that is so soon to break upon us. I trust we will truly keep the faith of Jesus. There is a sinister force at work in our world today to overthrow the cause of God. “The agencies of evil are combining their forces and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 11. “We are on the very verge of the time of trouble, and perplexities that are scarcely dreamed of are before us. A power from beneath is leading men to war against Heaven. Human beings have confederated with satanic agencies to make void the law of God.” Ibid., 43. [Emphasis added.]

Let’s take the word consolidation. Never in my life span have I seen such a surge of consolidation that we now see taking place. The financial structures of this world are consolidating. Bank after bank merge together in a colossal empire. Giant corporations are swallowing up one another so that a few are now controlling every aspect of life. Even denominational churches are consolidating so that today a few are emerging with a powerful political clout. Even the nations are consolidating. Take the North American Process Technology Alliance (NAPTA). You find the joining together of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. And then look at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in which the third world countries are joining together for their power. Look across the Atlantic to the European commonwealth. Here countries are uniting in a European union which has one currency and a tremendous trade power.

Now let’s look at the word confederation. We hear much today of a United Nations for a new world order, and for what purpose? for peace? so that there will be no more war? Don’t be fooled. Inspiration has made it clear that it is to make void the law of God producing a worldwide united power in which it will not be possible to buy or to sell unless you have the mark of the beast.

Things are developing fast. The Lord said the last movements would be rapid ones. How is this crisis coming? Selected Messages, Book 2, 367: “The word of God plainly declares that His law is to be scorned, trampled upon, by the world; there will be an extraordinary prevalence of iniquity.” And nobody can shut their eyes today at the evils and say this is not here. It is. “The professed Protestant world will form a confederacy with the man of sin, and the church and the world will be in corrupt harmony.

“Here the great crisis is coming upon the world. The Scriptures teach that popery is to regain its lost supremacy, and that the fires of persecution will be rekindled through the time-serving concessions of the so-called Protestant world.” Ibid., 367, 368.

Did you catch that? Did you notice a confederacy between Protestants and the man of sin? Need I tell you that this just recently happened when Protestant and Catholic leadership in 1994 signed the document called “Evangelicals and Catholics Together”? An idea that was conceived by Charles Colson, the founder of the prison fellowship and a Catholic priest by the name of Richard Neuhaus.

Christianity Today, the evangelical magazine, was so excited that it called this document the most important. It said, “All who accept Christ as Lord and Savior are brothers and sisters in Christ. Evangelicals and Catholics are brothers and sisters in Christ. However imperfect our communion with one another, however deep our disagreements with one another, we recognize that there is but One church.” [Emphasis added.] Oh, it’s here, friend!

The Great Controversy, 445, says, “When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common … .” Let me tell you, the crisis is not coming; the crisis is here now! From our pulpits is being preached peace and safety. The purpose of this great ecumenical movement is to reestablish papal power as it was before the reformation. The papacy accomplished its authority in A.D. 538 by conducting councils, conventions, and evangelical alliances and they are using the same strategy today. “Was not this the way things went with Rome? Are we not living her life over again? And what do we see just ahead? Another general council! A world’s convention! Evangelical alliance, and universal creed!” Ibid.

There have been two great Vatican councils that have been held and there are numerous evangelical alliances that are now being formed by dialogs between Catholics, Protestants and Jews. I know of this personally because one day while I was pastor in Sacramento, California, I received a call from a Catholic priest from a nearby church. He remarked that there is a great ecumenical movement now. He wanted to come speak in my church on our Sabbath day. He would then invite me to come and speak to his people on a Sunday. My answer was, no thank you. …

Let me read to you from the Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, vol. 10, of the Bible Commentary, pages 410 and 411: “The ecumenical movement will … become a concerted effort to unite the world as to secure universal peace and security by enlisting the power of the civil government in a universal religio-political crusade to eliminate all dissent. SDA’s envision this crusade as the great apostasy to which John the revelator refers to ‘Babylon the great’ (Revelation 17:5).” …

In The Great Controversy, 571, are these words: “The papacy is just what prophecy declared that she would be, the apostasy of the latter times (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4). … Shall this power, whose record for a thousand years is written in the blood of saints, be now acknowledged as a part of the church of Christ?” And then Testimonies, vol. 7, 108: “To bind ourselves up by contracts with those not of our faith is not in the order of God. We are to treat with kindness and courtesy those who refuse to be loyal to God, but we are never, never to unite with them in counsel regarding the vital interests of His work.” [Emphasis added.] These things will only lead to persecution. The Great Controversy, 445: “When this shall be gained, then, in the effort to secure complete uniformity, it will be only a step to the resort of force.”

“In the movements now in progress in the United States to secure for the institutions and usages of the church the support of the state, Protestants are following in the steps of papists. Nay, more, they are opening the door for the papacy to regain in Protestant America the supremacy which she has lost in the Old World. And that which gives greater significance to this movement is the fact that the principal object contemplated is the enforcement of Sunday observance … .” The Great Controversy, 573.

Did you notice those words? “To regain in Protestant America the supremacy which she lost in the Old World.”

History reveals that in Europe during the 1260 years of papal supremacy Rome was in complete control of every kingdom and every law was based on Catholic law. Do we realize what it must have been to live there? Freedom of worship as we know it today was absolutely forbidden. You could be destroyed to think differently from than that which Rome taught. Freedom as we have experienced it in our lifetime did not exist then. Approximately a hundred and fifty million were put to death as heretics. You see, the reason why the founders of America established a strict separation of church and state was to give full freedom for religious groups to flourish as their own message would grow. But today’s religious right is not satisfied with this freedom. It feels driven by the name of God to conduct its doctrinal principles into the political arena.

I was amazed to read The Monitor of McAllen, Texas, January 24, 1995, in which the editor said some very bold things. He talks about the political principles, for example, of this new religious right. He says, “It tends to confine women to traditional roles proscribing any productive rights and impose public manifestations of religion such as school prayer. It is punitive in its outlook on people who receive government assistance and as a retributive view of criminal justice offering strong support for capital punishment.” Then are these words: “The religious right brooks no tolerance or possibility of divergent moral beliefs by equally religious folks. Perhaps for that reason it seems so full of hatred and intolerance, hardly biblical values, and for those who do not subscribe to its agenda, the religious right unleashes its version of the inquisition.” Here we see developing in America the beginning of the image of the beast.

Will churches seek the aid of the state? The Great Controversy, 443: “It was apostasy that led the early church to seek the aid of the civil government, and this prepared the way for the development of the papacy … . Said Paul: ‘There’ shall ‘come a falling away, … and that man of sin be revealed’ (2 Thessalonians 2:3). So apostasy in the church will prepare the way for the image to the beast.”

God speaks of this in the second angel’s message when He said in Revelation 14:8: “… Babylon is fallen, is fallen.” In 1935 there was a man, Professor Beltz, who sent out questionnaires to the leading Protestant ministers throughout America. The statistics speak for themselves. These ministers of Protestant churches confessed as follows, that they believe no longer in the Bible as being trustworthy. So spoke the Baptists, 37%; the Congregational Church, 91% said they no longer believe the Bible to be trustworthy; the Episcopalians, 96%; the Presbyterians, 80%.

Thirty-five years later (1970), Look Magazine sent out a survey to the students in North American seminaries, asking them a question about the Second Coming. Only one percent believed that Jesus Christ would ever return. And these are the ministers that are in the churches today. Should we be amazed when we look at the books that are coming from our presses today which are teaching the doctrines of Babylon, that we can be saved in sin, that we don’t have to keep the law, that obedience is not required, that we do not have to overcome, that Jesus did it all for us on the cross? All we have to do is just believe.

We see the image of the beast developing. The Great Controversy, 445: “When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result.”

What is meant by giving life to the image of the beast? Testimonies, vol. 5, page 712: “When our nation shall so abjure the principles of its government as to enact a Sunday law, Protestantism will in this act join hands with popery; it will be nothing else than giving life to the tyranny which has long been eagerly watching its opportunity to spring again into active despotism.”

And so, in The Great Controversy, 449: “Hence the enforcement of Sundaykeeping in the United States would be an enforcement of the worship of the beast and his image.” Have we been told when it will be formed? Yes, we have. Selected Messages, Book 2, 81: “The Lord has shown me clearly that the image of the beast will be formed before probation closes.”

And what is the mark? “The mark … is the observance of the first day of the week.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 117.

And what will the enforcement of the national Sunday law do to our church? “When the law of God is made void the church will be sifted by fiery trials, and a larger proportion than we now anticipate, will give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 368.

And what will happen to our nation? The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893: “The result of this apostasy will be national ruin.”

We see it all coming together. I believe as we have been told in Testimonies, vol. 5, 451, “The angel of mercy is about to take her flight, never to return.” “We may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.” Ibid.

Let me tell you friend, a storm is coming. May I ask you again that personal question, Is Christ on board your ship? When the storm breaks, will the Master ask, “Where is your faith?” Will you cringe in despair or will you be able to go to sleep at night just like Jesus in that little boat, without fear in a raging storm because His faith was in His God, His Father. God give us this kind of faith today is my prayer.

For more than fifty years Lawrence Nelson served the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a church pastor, evangelist, and then in Conference, Union, and General Conference leadership. When God laid upon him the responsibility to “tell it like it is” to alert the people how the church was leading them into the worldwide ecumenical movement he was forbidden to preach in any church within the Oregon Conference. Though nothing could be found in his preaching that was contrary to the doctrines of the church he was considered divisive. Thus Keep the Faith Audio Tape Ministry was born.

 

Recipe – Almond Butter Balls

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Recipe
Almond Butter Balls
½ cup almond butter         ½ cup honey
1 cup wheat germ             ¼ cup unsweetened coconut
 

Mix almond butter, wheat germ and honey and roll into little balls. Then roll in the coconut. Eat fresh, refrigerate so they will firm up, or freeze. Yummy!

 

Food – The Forgotten Wheat Germ

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I do not hear much talk about wheat germ—it could be a lost nutritional additive that may give our health a needed boost.

“Wheat germ is part of a wheat kernel and is responsible for helping the plant reproduce and spawn new wheat. While it’s removed from most processed wheat products, it is a major nutritional component of whole grain wheat.

“Wheat germ, along with the husk, is removed from refined wheat products …

“Wheat germ is added to some granolas, cereals, and cornbread, and is also available raw.

“Wheat germ … is an excellent source of vegetable proteins, along with fiber and healthy fats. It is also a good source of magnesium, zinc, thiamin, folate, potassium, and phosphorus. Wheat germ is also high in vitamin E, an essential nutrient with antioxidant properties—natural sources of antioxidants are best in preventing disease.”

Excerpts from: www.healthline.com/health/wheat-germ-benefits#2

“Unfortunately, this kernel, which includes the wheat germ, is tragically removed during the refining of whole wheat grains to white flour. In the manufacturing process, it is removed because its healthy oils can go rancid quickly, so removing it makes it easier for food production companies to keep wheat in storage much longer. The germ itself makes up only about 3% of the kernel, and you need over 50 pounds of wheat to get one pound of wheat germ.

“Because it is meant to feed the new plant, wheat germ is packed with good nutrients. Two tablespoons of raw wheat germ have about 1.5 grams of unsaturated fat, 9 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of protein, 2 grams dietary fiber, 2 grams of sugars, no cholesterol and about 60 calories. This is plenty of protein and fiber.

“Plus, it has a number of other healthy nutrients. …

“Wheat germ is fantastic food that usually is in the form of a coarse powder. You can easily incorporate it into protein shakes, oatmeal, casseroles, muffins, and sprinkled over cereal. … You can even make a tea out of it by brewing one tablespoon per two cups of water; steep for 20 minutes, then filter and drink.”

www.doctoroz.com/article/why-you-need-wheat-germ

I think it would be a good idea to return this nice little healthy germ into our recipes to increase the health benefits of our families!

 

Recipe
Almond Butter Balls
½ cup almond butter         ½ cup honey
1 cup wheat germ             ¼ cup unsweetened coconut
 

Mix almond butter, wheat germ and honey and roll into little balls. Then roll in the coconut. Eat fresh, refrigerate so they will firm up, or freeze. Yummy!

 

The Happiest Place on Earth

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God has told us that He created men and women for happiness, and yet the majority in our world today do not experience it.

Many people mistakenly think that happiness is dependent on some type of outward circumstance. In other words, the thought that if I had a better job, if I had a nicer spouse, if I had better health, if I lived in a better house, and another hundred “ifs,” then I would be happy. That is a delusion.

Unhappiness began in heaven—in a perfect society. Nobody was sick; there was not one who did not have enough of anything they wanted or needed. It was a perfect society. There was no defect in the society of heaven, and yet, in a perfect place, unhappiness developed, because a leading angel found himself dissatisfied. Why? He became dissatisfied for two of the very same reasons that people become dissatisfied today. First, because he could not be first and highest in command, so he became jealous of Jesus Christ, who was above him.

A couple of thousand years ago, one of the most famous men of antiquity, Julius Caesar, was leading a group of soldiers through a deep mountain valley. Julius Caesar was not only one of the most famous men of antiquity, he was also one of the most wicked. As they passed through the deep mountain valley they noticed on the top of the mountain a little village with smoke rising from the home hearths. Julius Caesar was reported to say to one of his aids walking with him, “I would rather be number one in that little village than to be number two in Rome.” This was the same problem that Lucifer had and it is all through the human race.

Lucifer wanted to be number one but God did not consent for him to be number one and he was dissatisfied. The Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, sometimes had council meetings together where the angels were not included. These were secret councils. The angels were not told what happened in these secret councils. Lucifer was jealous thinking that he should be included. Because he was not accorded supreme honor, he began to ask some questions in which he impugned the justice of God and talked to the angels about his dissatisfaction. Ellen White wrote, “He bent all his powers to allure the angels from their allegiance. The fact that he was an archangel, glorious and powerful, enabled him to exert a mighty influence. His complaints against God’s government, at first met with no favor; yet being urged again and again, they were finally accepted by those who had before been loyal and happy subjects of the King of Heaven. There was not the shadow of justification or excuse for disaffection; but envy and jealousy, once cherished, gained a power that paralyzed reason and destroyed honor and loyalty.” The Signs of the Times, September 14, 1882.

It is impossible to reason with a person once his reason has been paralyzed. That happens to human beings all the time. If you have that problem, if there are times in your life when you get so wrought up with depression or anger or any other emotion that your reason becomes paralyzed, you must overcome that by the grace of God, or you will not be in kingdom of heaven.

Lucifer told the angels that God had shown preference to Jesus Christ, to the neglect of himself. He then started telling some lies. Jesus called the devil the father of lies (John 8:14).

“Henceforth all the sweet liberty the angels had enjoyed was at an end.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 19. Eventually, the result was contention among the angels. Satan and his sympathizers were striving to reform the government of God because they were discontented and unhappy. Remember, this problem started in heaven, the place that we say we want to go. But here angels are discontent because they could not look into God’s unsearchable councils.

How arrogant for a created being to think that he would have a right to make demands on what his Creator should or should not do. This opened into a revolt and we see this same arrogance displayed by human beings today in all kinds of situations. The Bible says because of this, war broke out in heaven (Revelation 12:7–9).

The translation of the Hebrew word Mich-a-el, which we call in English Michael, is One who is like God. Michael [Jesus] and His angels fought and the dragon fought, and his angels. The war in heaven was angels against angels. Evil did not prevail. The dragon (Satan) and his angels were cast out to the earth. The very same technique that Lucifer used to deceive the angels, by which he eventually succeeded in persuading approximately one third of them to rebel against the government of God, he started using down here on this earth with our first mother, Eve.

He lied about God just as he had to the angels. He also lied about herself, telling her that she was immortal and that if she ate the fruit she would become like God. Only God has immortality.

Since the fall in Eden, the devil has continued to stir up dissatisfaction among the people of the world, even among God’s professed people. For example, when the children of Israel were delivered from the land of Egypt there were 600,000 men over 20 years of age, and of those 600,000 men only two of them entered the land of Canaan. That is an awful record, all because of dissatisfaction.

God had miraculously rescued them from slavery but they did not trust Him. The first time they didn’t have enough water they murmured against Moses saying, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt, to kill us …” (Exodus 17:3, literal translation). They continually complained. In Numbers 11:1 it says, “… when the people complained, it displeased the Lord … His anger was aroused … .”

Verse 4 says, “Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said, ‘Who will give us meat to eat?’ ” They craved their Egyptian diet, not satisfied with the manna that fell from heaven that sustained them in health for 40 years. Today, there are still people craving their Egyptian diet over the original diet that God gave mankind in the beginning.

Ellen White wrote in The Signs of the Times, March 7, 1906, “Do not look on the dark side. When the Israelites were content with the portion of manna that God gave, they found it sweet and full of nourishment. When they became dissatisfied, it was loathsome to them. Content is a blessing; discontent, a curse.”

Unfortunately, “Because of their dissatisfied, impatient, and rebellious spirit, they wandered for forty years in the wilderness.” Ibid., July 22, 1886.

“Whenever their appetite was restricted, the Israelites were dissatisfied, and murmured and complained against Moses and Aaron, and against God …” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1102. The Bible says that the Lord gave them angel’s food. So why were they not happy with it? “In Egypt their taste had become perverted. God designed to restore their appetite to a pure, healthy state, in order that they might enjoy the simple fruits that were given to Adam and Eve in Eden.” Ibid. If they had been willing to deny their appetite in obedience to God’s restrictions, there would have been no feeble one in all their tribes.

“God’s commands are never designed to make men unhappy.” The Signs of the Times, September 29, 1881. God never tells you to do something or not to do something for an arbitrary reason or to make you unhappy.

“They [God’s commandments] are the dictates of infinite wisdom, goodness, and love. While they secure the glory of God, they also promote the happiness of men. His restrictions are a safeguard against depravity of heart and corruption of life. The appetites and passions, indulged without restraint, enslave and degrade the higher and nobler powers.” Ibid.

We are living in a time when men want to please themselves without restrictions of any kind. However, any restriction that God gives is given for the happiness of mankind. This problem of dissatisfaction did not cease in the wilderness. Some hundreds of years later God’s people became dissatisfied with the guidance of the King of kings through the prophets. They told Samuel they wanted a human king. Now just think that through. They already had a King, the God of heaven, but they wanted to trade Him for a human king so they could be like everybody else. So God gave them what they wanted.

Human carnal nature can not help itself but be dissatisfied. Right after Jesus had fed the five thousand, the multitudes became dissatisfied with Him. “Their dissatisfied hearts queried why, if Jesus could perform so many wondrous works as they had witnessed, could He not give health, strength, and riches to all His people, free them from their oppressors, and exalt them to power and honor? The fact that He claimed to be the Sent of God, and yet refused to be Israel’s king, was a mystery which they could not fathom. His refusal was misinterpreted.” The Desire of Ages, 385. This mystery that they could not fathom caused many to leave Jesus and never come back. They became dissatisfied, one of the most successful tools of the devil.

“The world is full of dissatisfied spirits who overlook the happiness and blessings within their reach, and are continually seeking for happiness and satisfaction that they do not realize.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 640.

The reason for this is the same reason the devil had in the beginning. He wanted control as do people today. Control springs from selfishness. It is rampant in people who have not died to self, have too much idle time, and who have never been born again in the Spirit of God.

“It is in a life of service only that true happiness is found. He who lives a useless, selfish life is miserable. He is dissatisfied with himself and with every one else.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1907.

If we do not overcome the temptation to dissatisfaction, we will lose heaven. It is a habit that once it gains a hold in your mind will eventually lead to dissatisfaction with everything. If you were taken to heaven, you would eventually be dissatisfied with the Lord Himself.

The story of Abraham in Genesis 12 reveals the secret of overcoming the temptation to dissatisfaction. Abraham was seventy-five years old at the time, “Now the LORD had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’ ” (verses 1–3).

God made some wonderful promises to Abraham. First, He promises He would bless him and make his name great. Today we see that has happened. Christian, Jewish and Muslim nations all know that Abraham is great and call him their father.

Abraham knew how the world would be blessed through him. Though the nations around him worshiped idols Abraham worshiped the true God. The Lord had appeared to him and explained the plan of salvation. He knew that someday the Messiah would come through one of his descendants and as a result, salvation would be available to everybody in the world. That thrilled him more than anything else. God had promised Abraham that He would bless him and make of him a great nation. But Abraham questioned how could this be, as he had no children.

“And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘This one [Eliezer of Damascus, Abraham’s servant] shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.’ Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be’ ” (Genesis 15:4, 5).

God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. The Messiah would come from one of his descendants. His name would be great and he would be made into a great nation. But that was not all. Along with these promises would be a test.

Hebrews 11:8, 9, says, “By faith Abraham when he was called to go out into a place which he would receive as an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (literal translation).

Abraham packed up and left his home, Ur of the Chaldees, without knowing where he would be led. Ur of the Chaldees is down by the Persian Gulf in the southern part of what is now called Iraq. Nimrod had founded a whole group of cities there in Mesopotamia, which means the land between the rivers.

It was a very fertile tropical country and in ancient times a large part of the world population lived there. They were a highly civilized group of people. Modern archeology has found out some very interesting things about Ur of the Chaldees. The streets were paved. The streets in the city had lights at night. Houses were built with indoor plumbing with running water. The people did not live in tents but in houses, permanent dwellings that were built out of brick or masonry.

God called Abraham from a comfortable living from one of the most wealthy, civilized cities in the world to an unknown place and by faith he obeyed. God said, I want you to leave your country, and leave all your relatives.

Ellen White says it was no light test that was brought upon Abraham, no small sacrifice that was required of him. There were strong ties to bind him to his country, his kindred, and his home. And what was worse, Abraham was not able to explain why he was doing this or where he was going so that his friends could understand. This must have appeared to his friends and family that he was crazy.

Abraham did not question God’s instructions. When God told Abraham something, he obeyed and he did not need to ask any questions. The Bible describes Abraham as the father of the faithful. The apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:7, 29).

So, Abraham left his home and went to Haran. Eventually he landed in southern Palestine in a place that was later called Shechem.

Abraham no longer had a masonry house. There were no paved streets or city lights at night. He lived in a tent and was not dissatisfied because, “God has spoken, and His servant must obey; the happiest place on earth for him was the place where God would have him to be.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 126.

If you are a child of Abraham and you know that you are where God wants you to be, that is all you need to know and you will be satisfied. Unfortunately, dissatisfaction is still a problem for God’s children all over the world today. Have you ever met somebody who is dissatisfied with where they are? In fact, often people come to work at places like Steps to Life and they are so dissatisfied in Wichita, Kansas, that they want us to move the ministry somewhere else. That has happened many times. We are asked why we do not move this ministry to Hawaii or some other place they would desire to be. Why not move the ministry to Colorado where there are some mountains to look at?

If you are a Christian, the question is the same as was the question for Abraham: Where does God want me to be? That’s it. If I know that, then that is all I need to know. It is not important if there are mountains, or how the economy is, or the condition of the soil, or any number of other things. All I need to know is, Is this where God wants me to be? That was all Abraham needed to know.

The happiest place on earth is where God wants you to be. The happiest place on earth for Abraham was where God wanted him to be, even without the temporal comforts of the city he had left.

Then came more trials. It had stopped raining and the land was in a famine. Abraham had a lot of livestock that he had the potential of losing, as well as not being able to get enough food for his family. They were threatened with starvation. What would he do now?

Often when trials come, people start to question if that is really where the Lord wants them to be. But not Abraham; he knew the Lord had led him there so he did not go back to where he had come from. To avoid starvation and losing everything he went as close as he could to the land of promise. He went down to the land of Egypt a while to sojourn there.

Abraham could not explain the leadings of providence and had not realized his expectations but he never questioned Him who knows all. Ellen White wrote, “God leads His children by a way that they know not, but He does not forget or cast off those who put their trust in Him.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 129.

God has always sent His children trials of various kinds to prepare them for heaven and Abraham had to go through some very severe trials. In Canaan he found that the whole land, populated with Canaanites, not only worshiped idols, but on the mountains they offered human sacrifices. It was a terrible place to be, but Abraham stayed, knowing that the Lord had led him there. For him it was where God had put him. There would be a purpose because the happiest place on earth for him was where God would have him to be.

My friend, if you surrender your life to God, it will cut short the thousands of problems the people of this world have, because you need to ask far fewer questions. All you need to ask is, What do You want me do and where do you want me to live?

It worked for Abraham; he was at the place where God would have him be. He would then rest in the Lord and wait to see the bright side of what God was going to do in his life. Do you see how simple it is? You just need divine guidance in your life and you don’t need to get in all the quandary the people in this world have.

Thank God for the example of Abraham in Scripture and for the faith that he manifested. Pray that God will impart to us that same faith that Abraham had and that we may learn the lesson of satisfaction in this life and overcome the temptation to be dissatisfied. Remember, the happiest place on earth is where God wants you to be.

(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 in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

 

 

Editorial – The Secret of Christian Success

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Many people are striving to be or become successful. Although it is important to be successful, the most important success of all is to be successful in becoming fitted to receive the gift of eternal life. If you gain this, you will gain everything; but if you fail to obtain eternal life, Jesus said, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul” (Matthew 16:26)?

Like Naaman, some people think that success comes by some wonderful or dramatic action, but the truth is just the opposite of this. The secret of success is the faithful conscientious attention to what are called the little things—things that many people consider insignificant. (See John 20:6, 7 and The Desire of Ages, 789.) “Only by faithfulness in the little things can the soul be trained to act with fidelity under larger responsibilities.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 356.

Heaven is a place where each citizen is constantly seeking ways to be of service to others. This world on the other hand is a place where most people serve themselves first and only serve others after themselves. None of these people will be in the kingdom of heaven: “They consent to live for the service of self, and Satan is satisfied.” The Desire of Ages, 130.

“In the great judgment day those who have not worked for Christ, those who have drifted along, carrying no responsibility, thinking of themselves, pleasing themselves, will be placed by the Judge of all the earth with those who did evil. They receive the same condemnation.

“Many who profess to be Christians neglect the claims of God, and yet they do not feel that in this there is any wrong. They know that the blasphemer, the murderer, the adulterer, deserves punishment; but as for them, they enjoy the services of religion. They love to hear the gospel preached, and therefore they think themselves Christians. Though they have spent their lives in caring for themselves, they will be as much surprised as was the unfaithful servant in the parable to hear the sentence, ‘Take the talent from him.’ ” Christ’s Object Lessons, 365.

This is a major reason professed Christians do not receive the Holy Spirit even when they pray for it: “The continual misuse of their talents will effectually quench for them the Holy Spirit, which is the only light.” Ibid.

If we want to receive the Holy Spirit we must be seeking to be about our Master’s business.

Bible Study Guides – The Prosperity of the Church

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December 25, 2016 – December 31, 2016

Key Text

“From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:16).

Study Help: Testimonies, vol. 3, 445, 446.

Introduction

The true prosperity of the church depends upon separation from the world and a true connection with God.

Sunday

1 FIRST THINGS FIRST

  • What should be our first interest? Ephesians 2:21.

Note: “Every believer should be wholehearted in his attachment to the church. Its prosperity should be his first interest, and unless he feels under sacred obligations to make his connection with the church a benefit to it in preference to himself, it can do far better without him.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 18.

  • What will promote the prosperity of the church? Ephesians 4:16.

Note: a. A living connection with Christ. (The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1144.) b. Unity and mutual confidence. (Testimonies, vol. 3 445, 446.) c. Religious education of the young people. (Fundamentals of Christian Education, 388, 389.) d. The proper food given her. (The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 942.) e. Personal effort. (Evangelism, 338.) f. Financial contributions. (Testimonies, vol. 3, 405.) g. Order, rules and discipline. (Ibid., 294, 445, 446.) h. Cherishing the precious plant of love. (Ibid., vol. 5, 123.)

Monday

2 RIGHT AND WRONG CONCEPTS OF PROSPERITY

  • By what must the prosperity of the church and her institutions be measured? John 15:4.

Note: “If you lower the standard in order to secure popularity and an increase of numbers, and then make this increase a cause of rejoicing, you show great blindness. If numbers were evidence of success, Satan might claim the preeminence; for in this world his followers are largely in the majority. It is the degree of moral power pervading the college that is a test of its prosperity. It is the virtue, intelligence, and piety of the people composing our churches, not their numbers, that should be a source of joy and thankfulness.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 31, 32.

“Our professions are worthless unless we abide in Christ; for we cannot be living branches unless the vital qualities of the Vine abound in us. In the genuine Christian the characteristics of his Master will appear, and when we reflect the graces of Christ in our lives and characters, the Father loves us as He loves His Son. When this condition is fulfilled in those who profess to believe the present truth, we shall see a prosperous church; for its members will not live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them, and they will be flourishing branches of the living Vine.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1144.

  • Give the distinction between essential and apparent prosperity. Acts 7:48; Isaiah 57:15.

Note: “It is when the vital principles of the kingdom of God are lost sight of, that ceremonies become multitudinous and extravagant. It is when the character building is neglected, when the adornment of the soul is lacking, when the simplicity of godliness is despised, that pride and love of display demand magnificent church edifices, splendid adornings, and imposing ceremonials. But in all this God is not honored. He values His church, not for its external advantages, but for the sincere piety which distinguishes it from the world. He estimates it according to the growth of its members in the knowledge of Christ, according to their progress in spiritual experience. He looks for the principles of love and goodness. Not all the beauty of art can bear comparison with the beauty of temper and character to be revealed in those who are Christ’s representatives.” Prophets and Kings, 565, 566.

Tuesday

3 SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD

  • What may be learned from the mistake made by the founding Fathers of America? What has always resulted from attempting to build up the church by the help of the state? James 4:4.

Note: “A profession of religion being the condition of suffrage and office holding, many, actuated solely by motives of worldly policy, united with the church without a change of heart. Thus the churches came to consist, to a considerable extent, of unconverted persons; and even in the ministry were those who not only held errors of doctrine, but who were ignorant of the renewing power of the Holy Spirit. Thus again was demonstrated the evil results, so often witnessed in the history of the church from the days of Constantine to the present, of attempting to build up the church by the aid of the state, of appealing to the secular power in support of the gospel of Him who declared: ‘My kingdom is not of this world’ (John 18:36). The union of the church with the state, be the degree never so slight, while it may appear to bring the world nearer to the church, does in reality but bring the church nearer to the world.” The Great Controversy, 297.

  • Where should be the real citizenship of true Christians? From what will they abstain? Hebrews 11:10, 13; John 18:36.

Note: “In regard to the world, Christians will say, We will not dabble in politics. They will say decidedly, We are pilgrims and strangers; our citizenship is above. They will not be seen choosing company for amusement. They will say, We have ceased to be infatuated by childish things. We are strangers and pilgrims, looking for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 131.

Wednesday

4 MUTUAL HELP

  • How can church members strengthen the hand of the leaders? Quote an example from the days of Moses. Exodus 17:10–13. What will give members power to support the church?

Note: “Let each church member feel that he himself must be right with God, that he must be sanctified through the truth. Then he can represent Christian character to others and can set an example of unselfishness. If each will do this, the church will increase in spirituality and in favor with God.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 481.

“The churches would realize one hundredfold more of the workings of the Holy Spirit if ministers would educate all to bear in mind that they have a God nigh at hand, and not afar off, and that they can honor God by seeking Him for help and wisdom just where they are. They will then have ability which will strengthen the General Conference.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 326.

  • How can the leaders strengthen the local churches? Quote an example from the days of the apostles. Acts 6:1–3.

Note: “The disciples of Jesus had reached a crisis in their experience. Under the wise leadership of the apostles, who labored unitedly in the power of the Holy Spirit, the work committed to the gospel messengers was developing rapidly. The church was continually enlarging, and this growth in membership brought increasingly heavy burdens upon those in charge. No one man, or even one set of men, could continue to bear these burdens alone, without imperiling the future prosperity of the church. There was necessity for a further distribution of the responsibilities which had been borne so faithfully by a few during the earlier days of the church. The apostles must now take an important step in the perfecting of gospel order in the church by laying upon others some of the burdens thus far borne by themselves.” The Acts of the Apostles, 88, 89.

Thursday

5 THE HOME AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

  • Where is the foundation for the prosperity of the church to be laid? I Timothy 3:4, 5.

Note: “In the home the foundation is laid for the prosperity of the church. The influences that rule in the home life are carried into the church life; therefore church duties should first begin in the home.” The Adventist Home, 318.

  • On what power is the prosperity of the church always dependent? John 14:12–18.

Note: “The promise of the Spirit is a matter little thought of; and the result is only what might be expected—spiritual drought, spiritual darkness, spiritual declension and death. Minor matters occupy the attention, and the divine power which is necessary for the growth and prosperity of the church, and which would bring all other blessings in its train, is lacking, though offered in its infinite plenitude.

“It is the absence of the Spirit that makes the gospel ministry so powerless. Learning, talent, eloquence, every natural or acquired endowment, may be possessed; but, without the presence of the Spirit of God, no heart will be touched, no sinner won to Christ. On the other hand, if they are connected with Christ, if the gifts of the Spirit are theirs, the poorest and most ignorant of His disciples will have a power that will tell upon hearts.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 21, 22.

Friday

REVIEW AND THOUGHT QUESTIONS

1 What should have a high priority in our lives?

2 What constitutes real prosperity?

3 What dangers are in seeking material help and support?

4 What examples do we have for cooperation with the ministers in their work?

5 What is necessary for prosperity in the home and the church?

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

Bible Study Guides – The Kingdom in You

by

December 18, 2016 – December 24, 2016

Key Text

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7, 8).

Study Help: The Great Controversy, 674–678.

Introduction

“Those whose lives have been hidden with Christ, those who on this earth have fought the good fight of faith, will shine forth with the Redeemer’s glory in the kingdom of God.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 287.

Sunday

1 IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH

  • What did Jesus declare regarding His kingdom in this present world? Luke 17:20, 21; John 4:20–24.

Note: “Not by seeking a holy mountain or a sacred temple are men brought into communion with heaven. Religion is not to be confined to external forms and ceremonies. The religion that comes from God is the only religion that will lead to God. In order to serve Him aright, we must be born of the divine Spirit. This will purify the heart and renew the mind, giving us a new capacity for knowing and loving God. It will give us a willing obedience to all His requirements. This is true worship.” The Desire of Ages, 189.

  • To whom is the kingdom given? Luke 12:32; Matthew 5:3; 7:21.

Note: “Wherever a soul reaches out after God, there the Spirit’s working is manifest, and God will reveal Himself to that soul. For such worshipers He is seeking. He waits to receive them and to make them His sons and daughters.” The Desire of Ages, 189.

Monday

2 A CONSTANT HOPE

  • What is our hope as believers in Christ? Titus 2:13.
  • What is to be given to those who enter heaven? 2 Timothy 4:8. How should this encourage us to steadfastness? Revelation 3:11.

Note: “To the overcomer is promised a crown of unfading glory, and a life that measures with the life of God. ‘To him that overcometh,’ Christ declares, ‘will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.’ ‘Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him’ (Revelation 2:7; I Corinthians 2:9). Let us strive to obtain an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord. Let us diligently study the Gospel that Christ came in person to present to John on the Isle of Patmos—the Gospel that is termed, ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass.’ Let us remember always that ‘blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein; for the time is at hand’ (Revelation 1:1, 3).” The Signs of the Times, February 4, 1903.

  • Though at times evil appears to triumph, what assurance do we have? Romans 8:28; 2 Corinthians 13:8.

Note: “Through centuries of persecution, conflict, and darkness, God has sustained His church. Not one cloud has fallen upon it that He has not prepared for; not one opposing force has risen to counterwork His work, that He has not foreseen. All has taken place as He predicted. He has not left His church forsaken, but has traced in prophetic declarations what would occur, and that which His Spirit inspired the prophets to foretell has been brought about. All His purposes will be fulfilled. His law is linked with His throne, and no power of evil can destroy it. Truth is inspired and guarded by God; and it will triumph over all opposition.” The Acts of the Apostles, 11, 12.

Tuesday

3 HASTENING THE KINGDOM

  • What should we pray regarding the kingdom of God? Matthew 6:10. How should this prayer influence our priorities? Verse 33.

Note: “My dear brethren and sisters, let the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ be in your minds continually and let them crowd out worldly thoughts and cares. When you lie down and when you rise up, let them be your meditation. Live and act wholly in reference to the coming of the Son of man. The sealing time is very short, and will soon be over. Now is the time, while the four angels are holding the four winds, to make our calling and election sure.” Early Writings, 58.

  • What part do we have in the nearness of Christ’s coming? Matthew 24:14; 2 Peter 3:12.

Note: “It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:12, margin). Were all who profess His name bearing fruit to His glory, how quickly the whole world would be sown with the seed of the gospel. Quickly the last great harvest would be ripened, and Christ would come to gather the precious grain.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 69.

“In the kingdoms of the world, position meant self-aggrandizement. … Influence, wealth, education, were so many means of gaining control of the masses for the use of the leaders. …

“Christ was establishing a kingdom on different principles. He called men, not to authority, but to service, the strong to bear the infirmities of the weak. Power, position, talent, education, placed their possessor under the greater obligation to serve his fellows. …

“Among His disciples Christ was in every sense a caretaker, a burden bearer. He shared their poverty, He practiced self-denial on their account, He went before them to smooth the more difficult places, and soon He would consummate His work on earth by laying down His life. The principle on which Christ acted is to actuate the members of the church which is His body. … In the kingdom of Christ those are greatest who follow the example He has given and act as shepherds of His flock.” The Desire of Ages, 550.

Wednesday

4 REMINDERS

  • What is the ceremony that reminds us of the coming kingdom? Luke 22:14–20; I Corinthians 11:26.

Note: “The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper was given to commemorate the great deliverance wrought out as the result of the death of Christ. Till He shall come the second time in power and glory, this ordinance is to be celebrated. It is the means by which His great work for us is to be kept fresh in our minds.” The Desire of Ages, 652, 653.

“It is at these [ordinances], His own appointments, that Christ meets His people and energizes them by His presence.” Ibid., 656.

  • Though we may face affliction and persecution, what should we bear in mind? Matthew 5:10; 2 Corinthians 4:16–18.

Note: “Many of your afflictions have been visited upon you, in the wisdom of God, to bring you closer to the throne of grace. He softens and subdues His children by sorrows and trials. This world is God’s workshop, where He fashions us for the courts of heaven. He uses the planing knife upon our quivering hearts until the roughness and irregularities are removed and we are fitted for our proper places in the heavenly building. Through tribulation and distress the Christian becomes purified and strengthened, and develops a character after the model that Christ has given. The influence of a true, godly life cannot be measured. It reaches beyond the immediate circle of home and friends, shedding a light that wins souls to Jesus.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 143.

“The bright and cheerful side of our religion will be represented by all who are daily consecrated to God. We should not dishonor God by the mournful relation of trials that appear grievous. All trials that are received as educators will produce joy. The whole religious life will be uplifting, elevating, ennobling, fragrant with good words and works. The enemy is well pleased to have souls depressed, downcast, mourning and groaning; he wants just such impressions made as to the effect of our faith. But God designs that the mind shall take no low level. He desires every soul to triumph in the keeping power of the Redeemer.” Ibid., vol. 6, 365, 366.

Thursday

5 A KINGDOM WITHOUT END

  • In view of the exhortations of the apostles, what should we do from today forward? I John 2:28; John 3:2, 3; 2 Peter 1:10, 11.
  • How will we spend eternity in the everlasting kingdom? Revelation 5:13.

Note: “And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption, and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise. …

“The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him Who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.” The Great Controversy, 678.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 How do we ensure our place in the spiritual kingdom of God?

2 What promises can encourage us in the midst of the battle between good and evil?

3 What can you do to hasten the coming of Jesus?

4 Explain some things that can help us keep eternity in view.

5 What are your plans for eternity?

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

Bible Study Guides – The Millennium and the New Earth

by

December 11, 2016 – December 17, 2016

Key Text

“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

Study Help: Early Writings, 17–20, 288–295.

Introduction

“God’s entire universe was clean, and the great controversy was forever ended. Wherever we looked, everything upon which the eye rested was beautiful and holy. … The beautiful new earth, with all its glory, was the eternal inheritance of the saints.” Early Writings, 295.

Sunday

1 ENTERING THE KINGDOM OF GLORY

  • Where will the faithful be after Christ’s second coming? I Thessalonians 4:15–17.

Note: “We all entered the cloud together, and were seven days ascending to the sea of glass, when Jesus brought the crowns, and with His own right hand placed them on our heads. He gave us harps of gold and palms of victory. … All were perfectly satisfied with their crowns. And they were all clothed with a glorious white mantle from their shoulders to their feet.” Early Writings, 16, 17.

  • What gives the saints the right to enter the New Jerusalem? Psalm 87:3–6; Galatians 4:26; Revelation 22:14; Isaiah 26:1, 2.

Note: “Angels were all about us as we marched over the sea of glass to the gate of the city. Jesus raised His mighty, glorious arm, laid hold of the pearly gate, swung it back on its glittering hinges, and said to us, ‘You have washed your robes in My blood, stood stiffly for My truth, enter in.’ We all marched in and felt that we had a perfect right in the city.” Early Writings, 17.

Monday

2 THE MILLENNIUM

  • How long will the saints spend in heaven? Revelation 20:4. What will we be doing during this time? I Corinthians 6:2; Matthew 19:28.

Note: “During the thousand years between the first and the second resurrection the judgment of the wicked takes place. … In union with Christ they [the righteous] judge the wicked, comparing their acts with the statute book, the Bible, and deciding every case according to the deeds done in the body. Then the portion which the wicked must suffer is meted out, according to their works; and it is recorded against their names in the book of death.” The Great Controversy, 660, 661.

  • Where will Satan be during the millennium? Revelation 20:1–3. In what state will the earth be during this time? Jeremiah 4:23–27.

Note: “Here [on this earth] is to be the home of Satan with his evil angels for a thousand years. Limited to the earth, he will not have access to other worlds to tempt and annoy those who have never fallen. It is in this sense that he is bound: there are none remaining, upon whom he can exercise his power. He is wholly cut off from the work of deception and ruin which for so many centuries has been his sole delight. …

“For six thousand years, Satan’s work of rebellion has ‘made the earth to tremble’ (Psalm 60:2). He has ‘made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof.’ And he ‘opened not the house of his prisoners’ (Isaiah 14:17). For six thousand years his prison house has received God’s people, and he would have held them captive forever; but Christ has broken his bonds and set the prisoners free.

“Even the wicked are now placed beyond the power of Satan, and alone with his evil angels he remains to realize the effect of the curse which sin has brought. …

“For a thousand years, Satan will wander to and fro in the desolate earth to behold the results of his rebellion against the law of God. During this time his sufferings are intense. Since his fall his life of unceasing activity has banished reflection; but he is now deprived of his power and left to contemplate the part which he has acted since first he rebelled against the government of heaven, and to look forward with trembling and terror to the dreadful future when he must suffer for all the evil that he has done and be punished for the sins that he has caused to be committed.” The Great Controversy, 659, 660.

Tuesday

3 MOVING THE HEADQUARTERS

  • What will take place at the conclusion of the judgment in heaven? Revelation 21:2, 3.

Note: “With Jesus at our head we all descended from the city down to this earth, on a great and mighty mountain, which could not bear Jesus up, and it parted asunder, and there was a mighty plain. Then we looked up and saw the great city, with twelve foundations, and twelve gates, three on each side, and an angel at each gate. We all cried out, ‘The city, the great city, it’s coming, it’s coming down from God out of heaven,’ and it came and settled on the place where we stood.” Early Writings, 17, 18.

  • Where will the New Jerusalem be located? Zechariah 14:4.

Note: “As the place of His ascension, Jesus chose the spot so often hallowed by His presence while He dwelt among men. Not Mount Zion, the place of David’s city, not Mount Moriah, the temple site, was to be thus honored. There Christ had been mocked and rejected. There the waves of mercy, still returning in a stronger tide of love, had been beaten back by hearts as hard as rock. Thence Jesus, weary and heart-burdened, had gone forth to find rest in the Mount of Olives. The holy Shekinah, in departing from the first temple, had stood upon the eastern mountain, as if loath to forsake the chosen city; so Christ stood upon Olivet, with yearning heart overlooking Jerusalem. The groves and glens of the mountain had been consecrated by His prayers and tears. Its steeps had echoed the triumphant shouts of the multitude that proclaimed Him king. On its sloping descent He had found a home with Lazarus at Bethany. In the garden of Gethsemane at its foot He had prayed and agonized alone. From this mountain He was to ascend to heaven. Upon its summit His feet will rest when He shall come again. Not as a man of sorrows, but as a glorious and triumphant king He will stand upon Olivet, while Hebrew hallelujahs mingle with Gentile hosannas, and the voices of the redeemed as a mighty host shall swell the acclamation, Crown Him Lord of all!” The Desire of Ages, 829, 830.

Wednesday

4 A NEW EARTH

  • When the wicked are no more, what will happen to the earth? Revelation 21:1; Psalm 102:25, 26.
  • What will the redeemed do on the new earth? Isaiah 32:18; 65:21, 22.

Note: “Then we began to look at the glorious things outside of the city. There I saw most glorious houses, that had the appearance of silver, supported by four pillars set with pearls most glorious to behold. These were to be inhabited by the saints. In each was a golden shelf. I saw many of the saints go into the houses, take off their glittering crowns and lay them on the shelf, then go out into the field by the houses to do something with the earth; not as we have to do with the earth here; no, no. A glorious light shone all about their heads, and they were continually shouting and offering praises to God.” Early Writings, 18.

“In the earth made new, the redeemed will engage in the occupations and pleasures that brought happiness to Adam and Eve in the beginning. The Eden life will be lived, the life in garden and field.” Prophets and Kings, 730, 731.

  • How does the Bible describe the environment of the new earth? Isaiah 11:6–9; 65:25.

Note: “I saw another field full of all kinds of flowers, and as I plucked them, I cried out, ‘They will never fade.’ Next I saw a field of tall grass, most glorious to behold; it was living green and had a reflection of silver and gold, as it waved proudly to the glory of King Jesus. Then we entered a field full of all kinds of beasts—the lion, the lamb, the leopard, and the wolf, all together in perfect union. We passed through the midst of them, and they followed on peaceably after. Then we entered a wood, not like the dark woods we have here; no, no; but light, and all over glorious; the branches of the trees moved to and fro, and we all cried out, ‘We will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.’ ” Early Writings, 18.

“Their [children’s] minds should be filled with stories of the life of the Lord, and their imaginations encouraged in picturing the glories of the world to come.” Child Guidance, 488.

Thursday

5 INHERITING THE EARTH

  • What is prophesied of those who, though outcasts from the present world, will inherit the next? Psalm 37:8–11.

Note: “The meek ‘shall inherit the earth’ (Matthew 5:5). It was through the desire for self-exaltation that sin entered into the world, and our first parents lost the dominion over this fair earth, their kingdom. It is through self-abnegation that Christ redeems what was lost. And He says we are to overcome as He did (Revelation 3:21). Through humility and self-surrender we may become heirs with Him. …

“The earth promised to the meek will not be like this, darkened with the shadow of death and the curse. …

“There is no disappointment, no sorrow, no sin, no one who shall say, I am sick; there are no burial trains, no mourning, no death, no partings, no broken hearts; but Jesus is there, peace is there.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 17.

  • What will be the character of those who dwell in the new earth? 2 Peter 3:13.

Note: “The feet of the wicked will never desecrate the earth made new. Fire will come down from God out of heaven and devour them—burn them up root and branch. Satan is the root, and his children are the branches.” Early Writings, 52.

“The same fire from God that consumed the wicked purified the whole earth. The broken, ragged mountains melted with fervent heat, the atmosphere also, and all the stubble was consumed. Then our inheritance opened before us, glorious and beautiful, and we inherited the whole earth made new.” Ibid., 54.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 On what condition is a person counted as a citizen of the New Jerusalem?

2 What happens during the Millennium in heaven and on earth?

3 Why will God choose the earth for the new location of His headquarters?

4 Describe the earth made new.

5 What kinds of people will inherit the new earth?

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