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Life Sketches – The Called

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The New Testament teaches that all Israel will be saved, but the question is, Whom does God account as being part of Israel today? The apostle Paul said that not everyone who thinks he is part of Israel really is.

In the first part of the Bible, the Torah, written by Moses, tells the children of Israel of the curses, the awful things that will happen to them if they are not obedient. We read in Deuteronomy 28, verses 36 and 37, “The Lord will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods—wood and stone. And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you.” He goes on to explain in more detail what is going to happen. These curses that were pronounced by Moses upon the children of Israel, if they would not be obedient, were fulfilled.

“All the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy. Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand” (2 Chronicles 36:14–17).

Verses 19, 20: “They burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia.”

The reason for this is that the words of Jeremiah the prophet would be fulfilled. Jeremiah predicted that Israel would be taken captive to Babylon and they would stay there for 70 years, before coming back again. In other words, a whole generation would pass. It would be their children and grandchildren that would be able to return to the land of their fathers, on condition that they would be obedient and not go again into idolatry.

One of the people that was taken from Judah into the land of Babylon was a young man by the name of Daniel, who wrote a book in the Old Testament bearing his name; Daniel lived to be a very old man, until the end of this 70 year period. In Daniel 9:2 it says, “In the first year of his reign,” referring to Darius the Mede, “I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”

Daniel knew that these 70 years were about up, and he began to pray a long prayer, starting in verse 4: “I prayed to the Lord … and said, ‘… we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.’ ” He notes in verse 7 that they have been unfaithful. As he continues his long prayer of confession on behalf of the children of Israel, in verses 8 through 14, he prays, “We have sinned against You.” “We have rebelled.” “We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord.” “All Israel has transgressed.” “We have not obeyed His voice.” He concludes in verse 15 with “We have done wickedly.” He makes a long prayer of confession on behalf of all the children of Israel, God’s chosen people, the descendants of Abraham and those that have accepted the faith of Abraham.

In answer to his prayer, an angel was sent from heaven. In the latter part of Daniel 9 it is recorded, “While I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering” (verses 20, 21).

This angel, Gabriel, in answer to Daniel’s prayer, had a special message and prophecy to give to him. He says, in verse 23, “At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision” (of the 2300 days). Verse 24, first part, says, “Seventy weeks are determined [cut off] for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression,” or it could also be translated, “to finish the rebellion.”

Daniel mentions several times in his prayer about their lack of obedience and because of this they had been taken captive, Jerusalem was destroyed, and it was a reproach and a byword to all the peoples of the earth. They said that these people claim to be God’s special people and look, they are scattered as prisoners of war, as servants and slaves all over the earth, and their nation is desolate. Their capital city and their temple is desolate. In Daniel’s prayer, he noted that the Lord had promised that their captivity would last for 70 years. Since the 70 years were about up, he wondered what was going to happen.

The angel said, “Seventy weeks are determined,” or cut off, “for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression …” in other words, to bring to an end the rebellion, “…to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness” (verse 24, second part).

It was during this 70 week period that everlasting righteousness was to be brought in. Everlasting righteousness can only be brought in by God Himself. The Bible is very clear that you and I do not have any righteousness of our own. As the result of the sin of our first parents, we have a sinful nature and cannot generate righteousness. The only way that we can have righteousness is if it is brought to us by somebody else who does not have a sinful depraved nature like we do.

In the 70 week prophecy, the angel predicts that during these 70 weeks, that everlasting righteousness is going to be brought in and the rebellion is to be finished. It says, “To bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy” (verse 24, last part). “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times” (verse 25).

This is one of the more astounding prophecies in all of the Bible. The angel says to Daniel, “From the time that the decree goes forth …,” in other words, from the time that the decree is implemented to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince is going to be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks (or sixty-nine prophetic weeks). Sixty-nine weeks is four hundred and eighty-three days. That would be between one and two years of literal time. But when we study the prophecy carefully, by comparing it with Daniel 7 and 8, and the prophecies in Ezekiel and Numbers, we see that the angel is using a common symbolic usage of the word time as is done with other prophets.

For example, Ezekiel is told in Ezekiel chapter 4:4–6, literal translation, “Lie on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah, forty days. I have laid on you a day for a year.” Notice, every day in the prophecy equals a year of literal time. This is a common symbolic usage of the word time in both the books of Daniel and Revelation. In fact, when we start computing it this way, we find the prophecy works out exactly. If you do not use this measuring stick, then the prophecy not only doesn’t work out, but it doesn’t make any sense.

But when you use the measuring stick of one day of prophetic time to equal one year of literal time, the prophecy works out perfectly. There are differences between calendars among the different nations and ancient nations, but we will convert the time into our time and we use AD and BC. BC was the time before Christ, and AD is the time after Christ. We are living about 2,000 years after the beginning of time when Christ came.

When we go back to when this decree was issued, when it was implemented to go and restore Jerusalem, we find that it was in the later part of 457 BC.

If you are using simply literal time, then you should be looking for the Christ, the Messiah, to come approximately sometime in 455 BC. However, nobody appeared in 455 BC. But, if you use the prophetic measuring stick for prophetic time, and a symbolic time prophecy of a day of prophetic time equaling a year of literal time, you will be astonished at what you come up with, because, in the New Testament, we find in Luke the 3rd chapter, the exact time when Jesus was baptized. It was at His baptism that He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power. You can read about it in Acts 10:38.

When we look in Luke 3 we find that it happened in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar, which began in the fall of AD 27. If you go from the fall of 457 BC, which was when the decree was implemented to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until the time when Jesus was anointed; in other words, when He became the Anointed One, the Messiah, then you have a period of exactly sixty-nine weeks or four hundred and eighty-three years.

Mark 1:14, 15 says, “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel.’ ” Daniel 9:25 had just been fulfilled. The Messiah had arrived, but for how long? In Daniel 9:26, it says, “After the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off.” There were 7 weeks and then 62 weeks, for a total of 483 days, or 483 literal years, which brings us to AD 27 in the fall when Jesus was baptized, recorded in Luke 3.

But then after that time it says that the Messiah was to be cut off, but not for Himself. “Then He [the Messiah] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.” That’s the 70th week. “But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering” (verse 27), a week would be 7 years, the middle of the week would be 3 ½ years.

Did Jesus bring an end to sacrifice and offering, at the end of 3 ½ years after He was baptized? Yes, He did. Notice what it says in Hebrews 10:11–14: “Every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”

Verse 18: “Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.” Jesus came and offered one sacrifice. It is by this sacrifice that people are saved. After this, there is no more offering for sin. That one sacrifice is sufficient to take away the sins of all those who believe in Him.

So, when Jesus offered His life upon the cross of Calvary as an offering for sin, that brought an end to sacrifices and offerings. Sometimes the Lord teaches us by what He says and sometimes He teaches us by what He does.

It says, in Matthew 27:50, 51, “Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.” “The veil of the temple was torn in two.” What did that represent? Oh, friend, that showed that the way into the holy places of the heavenly sanctuary were now open to the believers, and the earthly sanctuary and the sacrifices of lambs, and goats, and bullocks had no more value, as Paul explains in Hebrews 10. The true Sacrifice had come. That happened in the middle of the 70th prophetic week, exactly 3 1/2 years after Jesus’ baptism. As you follow Jesus’ life there, you will find the first Passover after His baptism would have been the Passover in AD 28 (see John 2).

The 2nd Passover after His baptism would have been the Passover when Jesus went to the Jews and they had the huge argument in John 5. It’s very clear there that it was a feast of the Jews and this feast occurred after John 4, which had occurred just 4 months before harvest time.

Remember, Passover was harvest time. If you go then to the 3rd Passover after Jesus’ baptism, then you are at John 6, the feeding of the 5,000. That would be AD 30. And the 4th Passover after the baptism of Jesus was the time when He was crucified, during Passover time in AD 31, exactly as predicted in Daniel 9.

Jesus is the majesty of heaven. He is part of the Godhead. He is the One that made everything. What is going to happen to the people who won’t accept His lordship? They will not accept Him as the Messiah; they will not accept Him as their religious leader; they will not accept Him at all.

The details of Jesus’ life in this world were predicted throughout the Old Testament by the various prophets. For example, Daniel predicted when He would become the Messiah. We just read about that in Daniel 9. Micah predicted that He would be born, in Bethlehem (see Micah 5:2). Isaiah predicted where He would have the largest part of His ministry in Galilee (see Isaiah 9). Isaiah also predicted that He would be rejected by the Jewish people (see Isaiah 53; Psalm 69). His death on the cross was also predicted (see Psalm 22). The various details of Jesus’ life were all predicted.

What happens, then, to people, even God’s chosen people, if they reject God Himself, if they reject the Prince of Heaven, the Majesty of Heaven? (See Matthew 21:33–39.) It is a very interesting parable about the wicked vine dressers. The vine dressers represented the Jewish leaders, and the Son of the householder whom they killed represented Jesus Christ. The others that they killed represented the prophets and servants that had been sent to them. Verses 40, 41 say, “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will He do to those vinedressers? They said to Him, ‘He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease His vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to Him the fruits in their seasons.’ ”

“Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures: “The stone which the builders rejected, [He] has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes”? ‘Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it’ ” (verses 42, 43).

Jesus, talking to God’s chosen people said, because you have rejected the Messiah, the kingdom of God is going to be taken from you, and it is going to be given to somebody else.

Then He says, “And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder” (verse 44). When would the kingdom of God be taken from them?

The kingdom of God, even after the crucifixion of Jesus, was not taken from the Jews right away. The apostles went first to Jerusalem to preach the gospel to give them even another chance. In fact, at Pentecost, Peter is talking to the people who are responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus, and he tells them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). There were many Jews who became Christians at that point in time, but, unfortunately, the majority of the nation did not. The leaders did not. In fact, their opposition to the gospel, their opposition to the idea of Jesus Christ being the Messiah, became so vehement, so fierce, and so bitter, that eventually, they came to the end of the line.

They stoned to death one of the Christian leaders. Stephen was the first Christian martyr. Before His stoning he said to them, “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you” (Acts 7:51). He accused them of becoming the murderers of the Just One who was sent to them saying, “And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, on whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers” (verse 52).

He was filled with the Holy Spirit and they were so angry that they gnashed their teeth and drew him out of the temple, and out of the town, and stoned him to death. When they were doing this, he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (verse 56)!

O friend, when Jesus is sitting down on His throne, that’s one thing, but when He stands up, that is a time of decision-making, a time of judgment. After that time the gospel went to the Gentiles and the Jews as a nation were no longer God’s chosen and special people.

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

Health – Cold Water

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In the early 1800s, Priessnitz, while watching his grazing flock, noticed a wounded doe, injured by hunters, wade into the calm backflow waters of a mountain brook. The following gives us a history of how his curiosity changed his life.

“He wondered as the doe limped away and disappeared in the forest. That night he decided there must be a reason for a wounded animal to seek water to lave [wash, bathe] its wounds. Perhaps instinct was stronger than reason. He would return the next day. He did.

“Sure enough the doe returned to the eddying water at about the same time. It stood silently, without a move, and then after awhile limped to the bank and disappeared in the deep foliage of the forest once more. For two weeks the lad Vincent Priessnitz returned daily to his vantage point and watched. For two weeks the wounded doe returned and bathed its injured leg in the brook. Each day the deer walked better and finally scampered out of the water on the last day to return no more.

“Before his very eyes he had seen a badly injured deer healed with cool sparkling brook water. Vincent Priessnitz never forgot that experience.

“Some years later Priessnitz was injured severely hauling cord wood. Night stole upon him, as did a heavy snow storm. His team bolted through a gulch. The load slipped and his ribs were crushed.

“But while he lay there he had time to reflect on what to do. A doctor was out of the question on a night like that. No help was forthcoming. Somehow he managed to get home.

“No, he could not soak his injured ribs in water as the deer had done with its leg. He conceived the idea of wrapping the injured ribs with pieces of his torn shirt soaked in cold water. This relieved him. He continued to apply cold wet wrappings and in due course his ribs were free from pain and healed.

“The news of his accomplishment spread. When a neighbor became injured he called for the young man who healed with water. Requests for aid became more frequent and further from home, and his experience grew apace.

“He gave the matter of his discovery, which had meant so much to himself and others much thought. He tried various applications with varying degrees of success. Empirically by trial and error he evolved a method or system of cold water treatment that brought help to thousands.

“He opened a modest place where people could stay. In a matter of months it became the haven of the sick. His fame spread to every corner of the globe. He treated prince and pauper alike. The medical big wigs of the day protested and closed his doors. To his patients, called to the center of the square, he said, ‘be undismayed. If they will not let me use water we shall find a cure in air.’

“He was persecuted and prosecuted. By trickery and scheming the medical fraternity sought to discredit him. The people who had been healed were evidence against any wrong doing he was accused of. The final gesture was the claim that the water was drugged. The State found he used only pure mountain water.

“To end all persecution the State decreed that no one should ever molest him, that he be permitted to heal the sick as he had been doing.

“Grafenberg became a shrine for the ill. People traveled to it from all over the world. Some of the best records we have came from the pen of Americans who crossed the ocean to take the ‘cure.’

“In 1842, twelve hundred patients from all over the world visited and were cared for at his institution at Grafenberg. During the years 1849, 1850 and 1851, the number of patients rose to as high as fourteen hundred, and came from as many as thirty different countries, such was his fame. …

“Priessnitz’s work was absorbed by other systems which followed as the Kneipp and Bilz system and so on, until we find at the turn of the twentieth century an American Hydro-therapy fostered by the genius of the late John Harvey Kellogg of Battle Creek Sanitarium fame. …” The Cold Water Cure, pg i, ii, by Vincent Priessnitz, 1843.  Reprinted by Kessinger Publishing’s Rare Reprints.

There are instances in the Spirit of Prophecy where water treatments were used. Here are several:

“I am generally up hours before any other member of my family. On rising I build my fire, take a bath in cold water before the fire, and then, after my praying season, take my pen in hand and, from two o’clock until seven, write many pages. We have family prayers just before breakfast, which is at half past seven. I generally retire at seven o’clock in the evening.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, 259.

“If you feel that you must eat at night, take a drink of cold water, and in the morning you will feel much better for not having eaten.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 177.

“Do not sit in a meeting with cold feet. If the feet are cold, wash them in cold water, and then dry them thoroughly. You will find that the blood will thus be called from the head to the limbs.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 142.

Amazing what a little water can do. Praise God for all of His blessings!

Question & Answer – What is that “standard against him” in Isaiah 59:19?

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“… When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (Isaiah 59:19, last part).

This is the Spirit of the Lord lifting up that heavenly standard in and through you. “The standard which He uplifts is His law. …” This Day With God, 199.

“Angels of God moved upon the hearts of Martin Luther, Melanchthon, and others in different places, and caused them to thirst for the living testimony of the word of God. The enemy had come in like a flood, and the standard must be raised against him. Luther was the one chosen to breast the storm, stand up against the ire of a fallen church, and strengthen the few who were faithful to their holy profession. He was ever fearful of offending God. He tried through works to obtain His favor, but was not satisfied until a gleam of light from heaven drove the darkness from his mind and led him to trust, not in works, but in the merits of the blood of Christ. He could then come to God for himself, not through popes or confessors, but through Jesus Christ alone.” Early Writings, 222, 223.

“In the daily life you will meet with sudden surprises, disappointments, and temptations. What saith the word? ‘Resist the devil,’ by firm reliance upon God, ‘and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you’ (James 4:7, 8). ‘Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me’ (Isaiah 27:5). Look unto Jesus at all times and in all places, offering a silent prayer from a sincere heart that you may know how to do His will. Then when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard for you against the enemy. When you are almost ready to yield, to lose patience and self-control, to be hard and denunciatory, to find fault and accuse—this is the time for you to send to heaven the prayer, ‘Help me, O God, to resist temptation, to put all bitterness and wrath and evilspeaking out of my heart. Give me Thy meekness, Thy lowliness, Thy long-suffering, and Thy love. …’ ”  The Adventist Home, 214.

“… angels are round about those who are willing to be taught in divine things; and in the time of great necessity they will bring to their remembrance the very truths which are needed. Thus ‘when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him’ (Isaiah 59:19).” The Great Controversy, 600.

Pen of Inspiration – Developing Christian Character

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Christian life is more than many take it to be. It does not consist wholly in gentleness, patience, meekness, and kindliness. These graces are essential; but there is need also of courage, force, energy, and perseverance. The path that Christ marks out is a narrow, self-denying path. To enter that path and press on through difficulties and discouragements requires men who are more than weaklings.

Force of Character

Men of stamina are wanted, men who will not wait to have their way smoothed and every obstacle removed, men who will inspire with fresh zeal the flagging efforts of dispirited workers, men whose hearts are warm with Christian love and whose hands are strong to do their Master’s work.

Some who engage in missionary service are weak, nerveless, spiritless, easily discouraged. They lack push. They have not those positive traits of character that give power to do something—the spirit and energy that kindle enthusiasm. Those who would win success must be courageous and hopeful. They should cultivate not only the passive but the active virtues. While they are to give the soft answer that turns away wrath, they must possess the courage of a hero to resist evil. With the charity that endures all things, they need the force of character that will make their influence a positive power.

Some have no firmness of character. Their plans and purposes have no definite form and consistency. They are of but little practical use in the world. This weakness, indecision, and inefficiency should be overcome. There is in true Christian character an indomitableness that cannot be molded or subdued by adverse circumstances. We must have moral backbone, an integrity that cannot be flattered, bribed, or terrified.

Mental Culture

God desires us to make use of every opportunity for securing a preparation for His work. He expects us to put all our energies into its performance and to keep our hearts alive to its sacredness and its fearful responsibilities.

Many who are qualified to do excellent work accomplish little because they attempt little. Thousands pass through life as if they had no great object for which to live, no high standard to reach. One reason for this is the low estimate which they place upon themselves. Christ paid an infinite price for us, and according to the price paid He desires us to value ourselves.

Be not satisfied with reaching a low standard. We are not what we might be, or what it is God’s will that we should be. God has given us reasoning powers, not to remain inactive, or to be perverted to earthly and sordid pursuits, but that they may be developed to the utmost, refined, sanctified, ennobled, and used in advancing the interests of His kingdom.

None should consent to be mere machines, run by another man’s mind. God has given us ability, to think and to act, and it is by acting with carefulness, looking to Him for wisdom that you will become capable of bearing burdens. Stand in your God-given personality. Be no other person’s shadow. Expect that the Lord will work in and by and through you.

Never think that you have learned enough, and that you may now relax your efforts. The cultivated mind is the measure of the man. Your education should continue during your lifetime; every day you should be learning and putting to practical use the knowledge gained.

Remember that in whatever position you may serve you are revealing motive, developing character. Whatever your work, do it with exactness, with diligence; overcome the inclination to seek an easy task.

How Do You Work?

The same spirit and principles that one brings into the daily labor will be brought into the whole life. Those who desire a fixed amount to do and a fixed salary, and who wish to prove an exact fit without the trouble of adaptation or training, are not the ones whom God calls to work in His cause. Those who study how to give as little as possible of their physical, mental, and moral power are not the workers upon whom He can pour out abundant blessings. Their example is contagious. Self-interest is the ruling motive. Those who need to be watched and who work only as every duty is specified to them, are not the ones who will be pronounced good and faithful. Workers are needed who manifest energy, integrity, diligence, those who are willing to do anything that needs to be done.

Many become inefficient by evading responsibilities for fear of failure. Thus they fail of gaining that education which results from experience, and which reading and study and all the advantages otherwise gained cannot give them.

Man can shape circumstances, but circumstances should not be allowed to shape the man. We should seize upon circumstances as instruments by which to work. We are to master them, but should not permit them to master us.

Men of power are those who have been opposed, baffled, and thwarted. By calling their energies into action, the obstacles they meet prove to them positive blessings. They gain self-reliance. Conflict and perplexity call for the exercise of trust in God and for that firmness which develops power.

Help in Daily Living, 41–45.

Keys to the Storehouse – The Battle

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Christ would not be bought. Jesus would not abandon His purpose to establish a kingdom of righteousness. How about you? Would you abandon the opportunity to be part of that kingdom and to turn others also from that opportunity? Oh, if we could only comprehend the full meaning of the following statements:

“To men he [Satan] offers the kingdom of this world on condition that they will acknowledge his supremacy. He requires that they

  • sacrifice integrity [give up their uprightness of character],
  • disregard conscience [overlook that which distinguishes between right and wrong],
  • indulge selfishness [yield to their own selfish interests].

“Christ bids them seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; but Satan walks by their side and says:

  • Whatever may be true in regard to life eternal, in order to make a success in this world you must serve me. I hold your welfare in my hands. I can give you riches, pleasures, honor, and happiness. Hearken to my counsel. Do not allow yourselves to be carried away with whimsical notions of honesty or self-sacrifice. I will prepare the way before you.
  • Thus multitudes are deceived. …” The Desire of Ages, 130. [Emphasis supplied.]

Now is no time to “sacrifice integrity,” “disregard conscience,” or to “indulge selfishness.”

Whose side are you on? Are you a soldier of Jesus Christ or are you a traitor?

“One army was led by banners bearing the world’s insignia; the other was led by the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel. Standard after standard was left to trail in the dust, as company after company from the Lord’s army joined the foe, and tribe after tribe from the ranks of the enemy united with the commandment-keeping people of God. An angel flying in the midst of heaven put the standard of Emmanuel into many hands, while a mighty general cried out with a loud voice: ‘Come into line. Let those who are loyal to the commandments of God and the testimony of Christ now take their position. Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean, and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:17). Let all who will, come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty’ (Judges 5:23).

“The battle raged. Victory alternated from side to side. Now the soldiers of the cross gave way, ‘as when a standard-bearer fainteth’ (Isaiah 10:18). But their apparent retreat was but to gain a more advantageous position. Shouts of joy were heard. A song of praise to God went up, and angel voices united in the song, as Christ’s soldiers planted His banner on the walls of fortresses till then held by the enemy. The Captain of our salvation was ordering the battle, and sending support to His soldiers. His power was mightily displayed, encouraging them to press the battle to the gates. He taught them terrible things in righteousness as He led them on step by step, conquering and to conquer.

“At last the victory was gained. The army following the banner with the inscription, ‘The commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus’ (Revelation 14:12), was gloriously triumphant. …” Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, 228, 229.

Father: Give me the courage and the strength to serve under the blood-stained banner of the Lord’s army and never to allow His standard to trail in the dust of this world or to join the foe. Give me strength to never sacrifice integrity, to never disregard conscience or to indulge selfishness. May I always give glory to Thee. Amen.

Current Events – Make Friends

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June 14, 2017 —Many of the world’s most prominent religious leaders made a joint statement encouraging people everywhere to make friends across religions. Friendship and getting to know one another are the antidotes to negativity and divisions in society, enhancing understanding and unity. The following quotes are from each of the leaders:

“We are called, as we like to say, to look into one another’s eyes in order to see more deeply and in order to recognize the beauty of God in every living human being.” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomewi (Orthodox: Turkey)

“Our advice is to make friends to followers of all religions.” Ayatollah Sayyid Fadhel Al-Milani (Shia, UK)

“It’s very important, because my religious life became richer with his explanations, so much richer and I guess the same happened for him.” Pope Francis (Rome)

“It was through our religious calling that we found each other in life.” Rabbi Abraham Skorka (Argentina)

“No matter from which side of the mountain you’re climbing we should be helping each other so that we can all get to the same place.” Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh (Sikh, UK)

“And don’t focus on or search for differences between religious groups.” Grand Mufti Shawki Allam (Sunni, Egypt)

“Personal contact, personal friendship, then we can exchange a deeper level of experience.” The Dalai Lama (India)

“Honor other religions like you do your own.” Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (India)

“We need to get together and know one another just to discover and explore those commonalities.” Ayatollah Sayyid Hassan Al-Qazwini (Shia, United States)

“That starts a process where prejudices go away where new insights are born and where basically hope is born.” Archbisop Antje Jackelen (Church of Sweden)

“It’s not complicated. I would say to everyone: Start with sharing what we all share which is the pleasure of conversation.” Archbishop Justin Welby (Archbishop of Canterbury)

“One of the wonderful things about spending time with people completely unlike you is that you discover how much you have in common, the same fears, the same hopes, the same concerns.” Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (UK)

“I think it will keep it very simple, it’s probably time to talk less, listen more.” Ven. Khandro Rinpoche (Buddhist, India)

“May universal friendship become a reality.” Mata Amritanandamayi (India)

http://elijah-interfaith.org/news/wisdom-newsletter-make-friends-across-religions

Jesus said, “A am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 15:6).

“The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience. …

“Papists, Protestants, and worldling will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium.” Maranatha, 190.

Children’s Story – The Worth of a Smile

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How much is a smile worth? A penny? A quarter? A hundred dollars?

Well, it’s worth something, isn’t it?

It surely is, but somehow you could never fix a price for a smile, could you? To do so would spoil its value at once.

Yet sometimes a smile is very valuable. What gives a smile its value? Its beauty? Its friendliness? Its sincerity? Or is it the effect it has upon another?

Many years ago there lived on one of the very poor streets of New York a little girl called Hannah. She was 11 years old and her cheerful little face often brought gladness to sad people who saw her on the street.

One day Hannah went to a children’s program at a nearby church. She had been there many times before to attend meetings of various kinds; but this time she was to take part in a program herself. You can imagine how pleased she was about it.

Now, it so happened that in the audience that afternoon was a well-known doctor, one of the supporters of that church. Whether or not he was feeling lonely or sad that day will never be known, but somehow as he looked at Hannah’s dear little face, his heart was touched. Then she turned and looked straight at him and smiled! He thought he had never seen anything so lovely before. He left the hall a happier and better man.

And he never forgot that smile. It lived with him every day until he died.

When his will was read, his executors were astonished to learn that he had left all his money—and he was a very rich man—not to any relatives, for he had none; not to any hospital, as he might have done, but, using his own words, “to those who have given me happiness during my lifetime.”

On the list was Hannah’s name, the little girl who had smiled at him in the church program twenty years before. He left her $150,000!

Think of that—$150,000 for a smile!

I can almost hear you saying, “I wish my smiles were worth as much as that.” They are! But not in money.

Think of the happiness they bring to Mother and Father. Your smiles help them bear their burdens more easily, and make them live longer, too. Isn’t that worth something?

Smiles make the wheels of a home move so much more smoothly, while frowns and scowls and pouts are like sand and gravel thrown into the works.

Who does not love the boy or girl who smiles when things go wrong—when other children annoy them or they are hurt while playing games? Such smiles are worth much more than money.

Suppose you smile someday at someone who is very sad and discouraged, and make him smile, too; what is that worth? You may never know, but it may mean everything to him—the turning of a corner on life’s dark and lonely road. And there are lots of people today like this, people who have given up hope that anybody will smile at them again.

As the familiar hymn says–

“There are hearts that are drooping in sorrow today,
There are souls under shadow the while;
Oh, the comfort from God you can gently convey,
And brighten the way with a smile!
O brighten the way with a smile,
Yes, brighten the way with a smile;
Someone’s dreariest day you can gently beguile,
And brighten the way with a smile!”
   William C. Martin, 1904.

Won’t you try to see how much good you can do with your smiles? You will be repaid in happiness untold.

The Storybook, Character Building Stories for Children, 68–71.

The Passover

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“In the last day, that great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

John 7:37, 38

In order ever to keep the fact before the minds of the Israelites that they were a separated and peculiar people unto the Lord, a people through whom He wished to reveal to the world the Messiah, and the many experiences connected with His life—a number of festivals were given to them, which were to be observed at different seasons of the year, and at a specially appointed place. …

If they would see what was intended by these services they would not only be blessed themselves, but others would be brought into the fold, and learn of the great saving plan of God for a lost and sinful world.

The Passover Feast; When Introduced

The first feast and festival which the Lord instituted was the Passover. This one was not only the first, but perhaps the most sacred of all; and was designed to teach some of the strongest and most forcible lessons concerning the Messiah.

This festival was introduced before the Israelites left their slavery in Egypt; and it was ever to be associated with the thought of their freedom from slavery (Exodus 12:1–11). Closely connected with this festival, and part of it, was the offering up of sacrifice; in fact this was the basis of all the feasts. If there were no sacrifice or offering, the entire season of its observance would be useless, as far as the real lesson which God intended to teach thereby.

The Paschal Lamb

While there were many offerings during the Passover feast, the special and most prominent of them all was the Passover, or paschal lamb. The first instruction given is found in the twelfth chapter of Exodus; and little in addition was afterward given concerning the offering of other sacrifices. There were at least six prominent things to be remembered in the offering of this lamb, every one of which was to teach some truth concerning Him who is “the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

  1. There was to be a lamb for every household.
  2. This lamb must be without blemish.
  3. The lamb must be killed in the evening (margin, between the evenings).
  4. The blood of the lamb must be sprinkled upon the side posts and upper door-post of the house, in which the lamb must be eaten. (See Exodus 12:3–7.)
  5. The lamb must be eaten the night it was killed; and under no circumstances must any part of it remain till morning; if so, it must not be eaten, but must be burned (Exodus 12:10).
  6. Not a single bone of the lamb must be broken (Exodus 12:46).

While there are other matters of interest in connection with the paschal lamb, these mentioned are the most prominent, and contain the essence of the truth to be taught.

The Lesson of the Paschal Lamb

In instituting this service while the people were yet in the land of their slavery, the Lord evidently intended they should learn from this experience the real meaning of freedom from servitude. Concerning their deliverance and the manner it was to be performed, the Lord said: “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12, 13).

After they sacrificed the lamb, they were to take of its blood and to sprinkle it upon the two places previously mentioned. When the Lord would pass over the land to smite the Egyptians, then the house which He would observe had the blood sprinkled, that house would be freed from death. It made no difference what the man might have thought or believed; it made no distinction with the Lord how many years the person claimed to be an Israelite; nor did it differ how long he had been in Egyptian servitude. Neither did it make any difference to what wing of the twelve tribes he belonged. The one thing necessary for the man of the house, or for the entire people of that house, or for all the people in all the houses of the Israelites, to escape having death in the house that night was to have the blood sprinkled in its proper place. Nothing but the blood of the lamb could save a person from death. To do this, however, was efficacious, and brought salvation to the individuals who lived in that house.

Deliverance Only Through the Blood

It would have been as easy for the Lord to have brought the people from Egypt without having this ordinance performed, if the deliverance were designed merely as a temporal affair, or a deliverance from physical servitude only. But the deliverance of the children of Israel was not alone intended to be a freedom from physical slavery, it was the intention of God to teach the people that Egypt was a synonym of the darkness of sin; their deliverance from Egypt was to be to them a deliverance from the slavishness of sin, since they were set apart as a spiritual people. The only means which God had or has to deliver people from the slavery of sin is the blood (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22). This people must see the very beginning of their exodus. They must recognize that the only way of deliverance from evil was through the blood of the great Lamb, who should sacrifice His life for them and for the world. They should learn their deliverance from spiritual Egypt was fully as great, if not greater, than their deliverance from the physical slavery of the literal Egypt.

Spiritual Egypt

That the Lord intended to use Egypt as a figure, and that there was as real a spiritual Egypt as there was a literal one, is evident from what we read in the Revelation: “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:8).

Now it is known that the Lord Jesus was not crucified literally, either in Egypt or Sodom; but it is known that these two places were particularly noted for their cruelty and sins, which called down the wrath of God upon them. It is also true that it was sin which crucified our Lord of glory; hence these two places are used as illustrations of sin. This was what the Lord wanted the Israelites to learn concerning their deliverance from Egypt.

Everything Fulfilled in Christ

Now every one of the laws connected with the lamb and its offering at the Passover, was fulfilled in Christ. This was true with no exception. We will, therefore, now consider their fulfillment in the same numerical order as we considered the distinctive features of the typical lamb.

  1. The Passover Lamb is Christ

The Prophet Isaiah, when speaking of the death of Christ, said: “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

Soon after the baptism of Christ, He was introduced by John the Baptist to the multitudes as follows: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh [margin, beareth] away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). “And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:36)!

And again, John the beloved says of Him: “And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, …” (Revelation 5:8).

“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne, … stood a Lamb as it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6).

And that He was directly called the Lamb, the Passover sacrifice, Paul says: “For even Christ our Passover, is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

  1. His Life without Blemish

Nowhere in the history of the life of Christ can we find where it ever was marred by the least performance of sin. “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, … but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18, 19; 2:22).

  1. He Died Between the Evenings

The great paschal Lamb, Jesus, died at the very hour the lamb was to be offered, between the evenings; about three o’clock in the afternoon. (b) The Scripture saith He was crucified, beginning at the sixth hour; and at the ninth hour he died, which was three o’clock, (c) the very time they sacrificed the paschal lamb.

  1. His Sprinkled Blood Only Saves

Soon after the apostles began the preaching of the crucified and risen Savior, they told the people everywhere that it was only through the blood which Jesus shed that they could have the forgiveness of sins; because the blood of Jesus only cleanses from all sins. And Peter, in his first epistle, evidently using the figure spoken of in the sprinkling of the blood of the lamb, says: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:2).

Thus we see that the sprinkled blood refers to the sprinkling of the blood of the Son of God which saves and purifies the hearts of men and women.

  1. Christ’s Body Not Allowed to Remain Over Night

When Christ was crucified, it being on Friday, the sixth day, the preparation day for the Sabbath, the Jews came to Pilate and asked that the body of Jesus, and those of the thieves, might not be allowed to remain over the Sabbath as that was a high Sabbath day. And it was not allowable to have bodies hanging over night, as this would be defiling to the people, to the Sabbath, as well as to the festival. Hence Pilate gave orders to have them taken down, and it was done. Thus we have the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the lamb that it should not be kept over night. Yes, in Christ we find the Scriptures all fulfilled.

  1. Not a Bone in Christ’s Body Broken

When the soldiers came to the bodies of the thieves, finding them still alive, they broke their legs, in order to kill them quickly before the sun should set. But when they came to the body of the Savior, supposing that He was not dead, they were ready to treat Him the same as they had done to the thieves. But to their surprise they found Him dead (John 19:33). In order to be certain that all life had departed, they took the sword and pierced His side, whence flowed blood and water. Hence the Scripture was truthfully and literally fulfilled that not a bone of Him should be broken (John 19:36). The real lesson of the paschal Lamb was Jesus Christ. Not only as a whole was it fulfilled in Him, but every specification met its completeness in Him, the Lamb of God. Yet strange as it may seem the Jews did not see this. Are there not many at the present time who act as did the ancient people? …

The True Passover

But the true Passover, and all its meaning, is to be found in Jesus Christ only. He is the Passover; and we are to eat Him with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:7, 8). This is the meaning of the unleavened bread; this is the meaning of the Passover. It was a longing desire on the part of the Savior to eat the Passover with the disciples before He suffered, for then these traditions and burdens would be removed from them, and they would know in all its fullness the meaning of the Passover.

If the church of Christ of today could only see that instead of the observance of many of the festivals which are being observed as memorials, whether they be Easter, or Christmas, or some other day, which is similar in effect to the traditions of the Jewish rabbis, would they be more obedient to His will they would then enjoy much more of Jesus Christ, the great Lamb of God, and have a continuous feast in Him who is the great and blessed Passover.

[All emphasis supplied.]

Excerpts from Practical Lessons, F.C. Gilbert, 228–245; Copyright 1902 by F.C. Gilbert. (Facsimile Reproduction printed 1972 by Southern Publishing Association, Nashville, Tennessee.)

Rise and Shine

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The only hope we have for this world’s suffering and woe is for Jesus’ Second Coming. This is my ardent hope. I daily pray for it, and I dream every night for it. I am trying to implement methods and projects to hasten Jesus Christ’s coming. I believe Jesus is the only answer for the problems of humanity.

As I travel to many different countries, especially to Asian countries, Korea, China, and Japan, I see many, many problems, tragedies, and sufferings, especially sufferings of the saints. Jesus Christ must come soon and we must do everything in our power to hasten His coming.

When I think about, talk about and pray about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, it always brings tears to my eyes, because when Jesus Christ comes, I will again meet people that I have been separated from through death, especially my mother. My mother has been very special to me. She was the one who brought me to Jesus Christ. Without her prayers I would not be here standing before you. I know that many have a yearning heart to be reunited with many people, especially family members.

When Jesus Christ comes, a shout of joy is going to fill the air of this earth. We will not be separated again. This reunion and fellowship will not be just temporary, but will be throughout eternity.

My heart especially suffers right now. Four members of our China staff workers – two pastors, our business manager, one young lady and one of the treasurers have received prison sentences; one for 10 years, two of them for 9 years, and the young lady for 7 years. I cannot see them or hear their voices again. They are locked into jail and from time to time I just receive their letters through some mediums. It just breaks my heart. We need the latter rain of the Holy Spirit soon so that we can finish the work and go home together, even with those poor people who are locked into jails, simply because they have printed millions of books, Spirit of Prophecy books, and truth-filled books, and scattered them into many, many different provinces in China. Simply because of their dedication of giving truth-filled books to the people, they are locked into jail.

I am the one who taught them about the truth, baptized them, and assigned them the work, so they are like my own children. I experience heartache every day when I think about them. I want Jesus to come, soon.

We do not have any might or strength of our own to hasten Jesus Christ’s coming, but God is going to do something for us so that we can rise and shine with His truth, throughout the world, so that all the inhabitants of the earth are going to focus on God’s people. Sooner or later we will be surprised that all the eyes of the world will give their attention to us. They will focus on the remnant of the woman, that small number of people of God, the true church. That time will come.

We are living in a very difficult time to draw the attention of the people to our messages. I have been an evangelist for many years and I find it more and more difficult to grab the attention of the people. Someday soon God is going to do something very special for you and me. We are going to arise and shine like never before and the people’s attentions, kings and presidents, queens, princes, royal people, common people, farmers, carpenters and everybody alike are going to give their attention to our messages. It will be at that time that we are going to really hasten Jesus Christ’s coming.

Isaiah 60:1–5 says, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.”

Do you really believe this prophecy is going to be fulfilled before our eyes in your future? I believe it with all my heart. Various ministries are asking donations for the support of outreach projects. But actually Isaiah says that the treasures of the world, the treasures of Egypt, are going to flow into our fund. There will be no more problem of financing. Our ministries and evangelism are going to be supported by the people who did not know this truth. I begin to see that many ministries, especially ours, are being supported by non-Adventists, non-believers. This is a miracle, and I can see the possibility of the treasures of the world are about to flow into us and support God’s work.

This prophecy will be fulfilled before our eyes, and I believe it with all my heart that the sons and daughters who left our houses because they were sick and tired of seeing formalism in our homes and especially in our churches, are going to come back. They will return to the church and to our homes. That is what the Bible prophecy says because they see God’s people arise and shine. They will say, “That’s what I heard when I was young. That’s what I expected when I was a young child. That is what I have been waiting for, expecting for, in my own homes and in my own churches.”

These prodigal sons and daughters, from all over the world, are going to stand up and say, “I am going back to my father’s house,” and they will come. Maybe they will wear ragged clothes, but we don’t care. They are going to stand and return to our homes and our churches. I am yearning for that day before Jesus Christ comes, when these wonderful promises of the Lord will be fulfilled. Now, he says, “Arise and shine for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” The glory of the Lord became our light. We are going to arise and shine because the Lord’s light became ours in our hearts. That light is “… the glory of the Lord.”

In Christ’s Object Lessons, 420, it says, “Christ does not bid His followers strive to shine. He says, Let your light shine.” Why do we not strive to shine? Because the glory of the Lord came upon us; it is not our light, but the light of the glory of God. It will shine throughout the world. This is a very important experience. We may call it the “latter rain” or “loud cry” experience. No matter what you call it, it is the same experience. We just arise, and the glory of God is going to shine throughout the world. [Emphasis author’s.]

In Exodus chapters 33 and 34, Moses sensed that God did not want to go along with them to the land of Canaan. I can just imagine the conversation between Moses and God. God might have said, “Well, Moses, I’ll send one of My angels to drive away all the Amorites and Canaanites from the land and let you settle down there, but I am not going to go among you lest I consume you in the way.”

Moses worried very much, and probably replied to the Lord, “Lord, I’m not one who volunteered for this job. You are the One who called me to lead this people to the land of Canaan. But in the middle of the ways, You said that You changed your mind and You are not going to come with us. This people is called by Thy name. If you let this people die in the wilderness, Your name is going to be dishonored. Lord, don’t You do that. Please come with us.”

Regardless of the exact conversation that occurred, God agreed to go with them, but Moses was not yet satisfied. He asked something humanity should not ask. He said, “Lord, show me Thy glory” (Exodus 33:18).

This request was accepted with a condition. God would put him in the cleft of the rock and cover him with His hand before passing by. God said that no man can live after he sees His glory. But for Moses He would do a very special thing, something never done before for any humanity.

In order to make the explanation short, the words of a beautiful hymn explains this experience. “Rock of Ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.” What beautiful words. “Let the water and the blood, from Thy riven side which flowed” (Augustus Toplady, 1763). That is the symbolism of the Rock of Ages, Jesus Christ. There is a cleft left for us, the riven side of Jesus Christ. On His side, there is a place where the spear of the Roman soldiers pierced. In that cleft you and I can hide ourselves for that is our salvation. It is the only place we can go and hide ourselves and to behold the glory of God.

When Moses asked the Lord, “Show me Thy glory,” God responded, “I am going to proclaim My name, My goodness, before you.” In Exodus 34:6, Jesus Christ proclaimed His goodness, which is His character. “I am the Lord God, merciful, gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (literal translation).

His glory, His character, His name, and His truth—all are descriptions of the Lord. How can we really understand His character, His truth, His name, properly and how are we able to bear His glory and behold His character and His truth? We can rise and shine with His glory only when we go into the cleft, the cleft of the Rock of Ages and hide ourselves in Jesus Christ. When we truly understand that Jesus Christ was wounded so that we can be healed, why Jesus Christ stretched both His hands on the cross so that we can be saved, when we truly understand through the Holy Spirit, the meaning of the cross, the true sacrifice and love coming down from the heart of the Father, only then will we be able to understand His character.

When we truly understand and experience it as it is in Christ, then we will be able to behold the glory of God and experience it in our hearts. The presence of the Lord may be in us, and then we will have light. We will have a power that this earth has never seen and the work is going to be finished and Jesus will return.

We have about 600 Bible workers in our ministry and we are adding many more numbers in China alone. The director of colporteurs in China gave me this report. He said: “Pastor Kang, now we have covered all of the provinces in China with millions of books.” It is done already by the grace of God. Many of the workers went to jail for a few days and others for a few weeks and were released, but many of them have received sentences of many years. He told me that we covered just about all major areas and cities in China with our books, except Tibet.

With that report, I wept, not because our ministry has done something great, but because we have done something to hasten Jesus’ coming. I want Jesus to come soon.

I have been praying to God for many years, “Lord, You put that burden in my heart. You put that burden in our ministry as far as Chinese-speaking, Korean-speaking, and Japanese-speaking people are concerned. Help us to do something to make a dent so that we can hasten Jesus Christ’s coming.”

I do not preach a wishy-washy, mellow, soft message. If I do that I would be damned by the Lord. I preach the straight three angels’ messages of Revelation 14. I tell clearly what constitutes Babylon and the condition that leads to Babylon and how to come out of her. I preach about the seventh-day Sabbath and many listen. I also teach about the everlasting gospel. I have found out as an evangelist that you don’t have to argue doctrinal points. I did that for many years, but not anymore. I evangelize according to the blueprint laid out in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. I preach the everlasting gospel. When the people are touched by the Holy Spirit with that gospel, they realize that is what they have been searching for and that is what they have missed. When a person experiences the everlasting gospel, the state of death is easily accepted, as well as the seventh-day Sabbath, for their hearts are wide open.

We need to rise and shine with the glory of God. When we truly understand the everlasting gospel, we understand the meaning of the cross.

The gospel power is the power of creation. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 24:14: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Jesus said this eternal gospel is not wishy-washy and compromised, as has been preached by many Protestant as well as Seventh-day Adventist preachers. When the true gospel is preached as a witness to all the nations, then the end shall come. The essence of the three angels’ messages, which is the everlasting gospel, is understood intellectually and when we truly experience it in our hearts, we will always come to Jesus Christ with a contrite heart and with a humility. Lord, have mercy upon us and let Jesus Christ live in us. If Jesus Christ lives in us, the words we preach, the words we teach, are going to be so powerful that the Holy Spirit will persuade the people, will convert people and will convince people of the truth.

In speaking of those who will be saved, the Holy Spirit inspired Isaiah to write, “Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by My name: for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him” (Isaiah 43:5–7).

You are made by His power for His glory. If you are called by God’s name, you must be created for His glory. The gospel power is the power of creation. When God says something, it is done. He said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), and there was light. It did not take any seconds. When God said, “Let there be sun” (verse 14), there was sun, dazzling bright and big, hanging in the sky and giving the dazzling bright light and energy, continuously preserved so that we can be preserved. That is the power of creation.

When we believe the gospel, when we believe Jesus’ death on the cross, something happens in our hearts and in our lives. Our guilt is gone and we are freed from the bondage and the power of sin. Because we are created and made by His power, we will be able to walk freely and become true overcomers of our sins and our sinful nature, which includes sinful impulses and all different kinds of temptations and evils coming from the devil. That is the people who are called by the name of the Lord. It is not our work; it is not by our own merits and strength, but by the grace of Jesus Christ.

This new creation includes true humility. Humility is more than just outward behavior and words. Humility is genuine when you feel that you do not have anything to boast about. That is true humility.

The Bible calls me a saint, but only through God’s grace. The Bible calls me righteous, but only by the grace of God. All I can say before God is, “I am a sinner and I confess.” When we become a people who are really touched by God’s creative heart, humbly united in the truth, we all are going to someday rise up and shine together before the world, no matter what kind of miracle power Satan brings. All will see the power of the gospel, and many of them are going to make their decision either for God or against. The probation is going to be closed and Jesus Christ will come. I know and I believe it with all my heart and that is why I give my life and everything that I have for this cause.

Revelation 14:6 and 7, the first angel’s message says, “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.” And then the next sentence says, “And worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” It says to “worship the Creator.” Proclaim this gospel power, the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, of the cross. This is a creative power that creates salvation within. It is not by our own efforts and strength but by the power of God that we become new creatures, not only in intellectual understanding, but in our hearts, every day.

In The Desire of Ages, 409, it says,  “The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God’s glory is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit. …” Jesus implants His motivations, His nature, within us. That is the gospel power. That is how we become righteous. We think righteously, we behave righteously, because we are implanted with the motivation of God’s nature, through the Holy Spirit.

“When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is united with His heart, the will is merged in His will, the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 312.

“The sanctification of the soul by the working of the Holy Spirit is the implanting of Christ’s nature in humanity.” Ibid., 384.

The ancient Jewish people knew the truth intellectually in their minds but they did not understand the power of the gospel. Their knowledge was a curse to them. It is better not to know it than to know it and not truly understand it. Many Adventist families have been so cursed in our day—“knowing” the truth without truly knowing it.

There are two ways to understand the glory of God – one is through His gospel and the second, through an understanding of His truth. Jesus Christ is going to come soon and we have to do everything in our power to hasten His coming. It first has to start from the true repentance experience in our own hearts today.

We do not want to stay on this earth any longer. We want to go home. We must get ready today. We must rise and shine today.

 Pastor David Kang was the director of Light for Life U.S. Ministry operating out of Commerce, Georgia. His sermons are broadcast weekly on New York and Virginia Korean television stations. Pastor Kang passed away in 2016 awaiting the return of His best friend, Jesus to reunite him with those with whom he labored and tirelessly worked for while he could. He is sadly missed.

Understanding the Cross

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A study of the cross of Jesus teaches many things. In the following study, we will consider just seven of the things that the diligent student can learn. These are not in any order of importance, either ascending or descending.

  1. The exalted character of the Law of God.

The Bible says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

There is so much lawlessness in the world today because the people of this world do not understand the meaning of the cross.

Ellen White wrote, “Jesus suffered the severest temptation, and finally died upon Calvary’s cross, thus demonstrating to the human family that the law of God is immutable, [unchangeable] not one jot or one tittle can be changed; but Satan has deceived the Christian world with the story that Christ died to abolish the law. It was the cross of Calvary that exalted the law of God and made it honorable, and showed its immutable character, and thus it is demonstrated before all the worlds God has created, and before the heavenly angels, that the law is changeless. If God could have changed one iota of His law, Jesus need not have come to our world and died. But our Saviour, who was equal with God Himself, came into our world and suffered the death upon the cross, to give man another probation.” The Review and Herald, June 10, 1890.

Although sin caused separation from God. “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3) so that you and I would not have to pay the price ourselves.

Again, regarding the atoning sacrifice and what it accomplishes, “It testifies to the world, to angels, and to men, the immutability of the divine law. The death of God’s only begotten Son upon the cross in the sinner’s behalf is the unanswerable argument as to the changeless character of the law of Jehovah.” The Review and Herald, May 23, 1899.

Another statement says, “The need for the service of sacrifices and offerings ceased when type met anti-type in the death of Christ. In Him the shadow reached the substance. The Lamb of God was a complete and perfect offering. Types and shadows, offerings and sacrifices, had no virtue after Christ’s death on the cross; but God’s law was not crucified with the Saviour. Had it been, Satan would have gained all that he attempted to gain in heaven. For this attempt he was expelled from the heavenly courts, and today he is deceiving human beings in regard to the law of God. But this law will maintain its exalted character as long as the throne of Jehovah endures.” Ibid., October 10, 1899.

The cross shows that neither God’s law nor the penalty for breaking it could be changed. In mercy for lost sinners, Jesus stepped in and paid that penalty for all who would accept Him as Lord. Those who refuse the gift of salvation and are lost will pay the penalty for their own sins and experience the separation from the Father, which is the second death that Jesus tasted when He suffered and died alone on the cross of Calvary.

  1. The character of sin.

“Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree. … What must sin be, if no finite being could make atonement? What must its curse be if Deity alone could exhaust it?” Our High Calling, 44.

That only One who was equal with the Father could make atonement for sin should help us to realize how terrible sin is and give us an overwhelming desire to have nothing to do with it. However, society has become so decrepit today that we barely comprehend the magnitude of sin.

“The cross of Christ testifies to every man that the penalty of sin is death. … Oh, must there be some strong bewitching power which holds the moral senses, steeling them against the impressions of the Spirit of God? I entreat of you, as Christ’s ambassador, … to be diligent in securing the grace of God. You need it every day, that you make no mistake in your life. …” Ibid., 44.

In another statement, it says: “He bore the sin of the world, endured the penalty, yielded up His life as a sacrifice, that man should not eternally die. Contrast His suffering and humiliation with the riches of His glory, with the wealth of praise pouring forth from immortal tongues, with the anthems of adoration, with the homage of millions of holy angels in the heights of the sanctuary, and seek to comprehend what manner of love inspired the heart of Jesus.” The Signs of the Times, February 27, 1893.

In that same article she wrote, “How much has God loved the race of men?—Look to Calvary. As you behold Jesus upon the cross, does not the heinous character of sin appear? It was sin that caused the death of God’s dear Son, and sin is the transgression of the law.” Ibid.

Jesus did not die from being scourged and nailed to a cross. He died because of the weight of your sins and my sins that were placed on Him. All past, present, and future sins were placed on God’s dear Son, so that He could pay the ransom so that you and I would not have to die. (See Isaiah 53:10.)

It was our sins that killed Jesus on the cross. It was not the nails. It was not the Roman spear, for He was already dead when the soldier pierced His side, causing blood and water to pour forth.

Crucifixion was a cruel death, with many lingering up to even four days, but Jesus died within six hours, crushed by the weight of this world’s sin and His separation from His Father.

  1. The union of justice and mercy.

God is both just and merciful. This fact the devil has challenged, claiming to all creation that God cannot be both just and merciful at the same time.

Ellen White said that challenge baffled the whole universe. “This problem, How could God be just and yet the justifier of sinners? baffled all finite intelligence.” The Youth’s Instructor, August 31, 1887. There was no intelligence in the universe that could answer that question.

At the cross the challenge was answered. In mercy, the penalty for sin was paid. Justice had been met. In mercy, the sinner can be forgiven, for the penalty was paid. Forgiveness is offered freely to all who believe and accept the Lifegiver.

Paul said that Christ came into the world to forgive sinners, of whom he believed he was chief. No matter what sin you have committed, God can forgive you, for He is proven to be both just and merciful.

“It had been Satan’s purpose to divorce mercy from truth and justice. He sought to prove that the righteousness of God’s law is an enemy to peace. But Christ shows that in God’s plan they are indissolubly joined together; the one cannot exist without the other. ‘Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other’ (Psalm 85:10 KJV).

“By His life and His death, Christ proved that God’s justice did not destroy His mercy, but that sin could be forgiven, and that the law is righteous, and can be perfectly obeyed. Satan’s charges were refuted. God had given man unmistakable evidence of His love.

“Another deception was now to be brought forward. Satan declared that mercy destroyed justice, …” The Desire of Ages, 762.

Today, the devil’s challenge has changed. Where he once claimed that God could not forgive the sinner and be just, he now claims God’s mercy destroys justice. The Christian world today believes that God is so merciful that He will save them in their sins.

“Another deception was now to be brought forward. Satan declared that mercy destroyed justice, that the death of Christ abrogated the Father’s Law. Had it been possible for the law to be changed or abrogated, then Christ need not have died. But to abrogate the law would be to immortalize transgression, and to place the world under Satan’s control. It was because the law was changeless, because man could be saved only through obedience to its precepts, that Jesus was lifted up on the cross. Yet the very means by which Christ established the law Satan represented as destroying it. Here will come the last conflict of the great controversy between Christ and Satan.” Ibid., 762, 763.

On the cross of Calvary, infinite justice, infinite mercy, infinite wisdom, and infinite love are all seen at the same time. Under the devil’s government there is no justice or mercy, but when you are a child of God and belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, you belong to a government that has both justice and mercy.

“While men are sleeping, Satan is actively arranging matters so that the Lord’s people may not have mercy or justice.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 452. Know that the devil is diligently working now to get things lined up so that there will be neither mercy or justice.

“The Sunday movement is now making its way in darkness. The leaders are concealing the true issue, and many who unite in the movement do not themselves see whither the undercurrent is tending. Its professions are mild and apparently Christian, but when it shall speak it will reveal the spirit of the dragon.” Ibid.

  1. The fatal mistake of self-exaltation.

This one we must learn if we are going to be in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus said in Matthew 23:12, literal translation, “… whoever exalts himself will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” There are no ifs, ands or buts about this.

The devil accused God of self-exaltation and of not being willing to deny Himself. That accusation has been leveled by the devil against God for thousands of years. Ellen White wrote, “Satan’s lying charges against the divine character and government appeared in their true light. He had accused God of seeking merely the exaltation of Himself in requiring submission and obedience from His creatures, and had declared that, while the Creator exacted self-denial from all others, He Himself practiced no self-denial and made no sacrifice. Now it was seen that for the salvation of a fallen and sinful race, the Ruler of the universe had made the greatest sacrifice which love could make; for God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself’ (2 Corinthians 5:19). It was seen, also, that while Lucifer had opened the door for the entrance of sin by his desire for honor and supremacy Christ had, in order to destroy sin, humbled Himself and become obedient unto death.” The Great Controversy, 502.

The fatal mistake of self-exaltation is pride which is often undetected, like a cancer that is not painful until it affects other organs and nerves, but is indeed lethal. A person can be full of cancer and within weeks of their death and still not know that they are sick. That is the way pride is. It is lethal and will kill you. The time is coming when all the proud will burn up (Malachi 4:1).

Many do not know they are sick. It may be a minister, an elder, or a deacon, or someone working for the Lord and not know they have a problem. Notice what Ellen White says about this: “It is because men and women lack the spirit of self-denial and self-sacrifice that they cannot comprehend the sacrifice made by Heaven in giving Christ to the world. Their religious experience is mingled with selfishness and self-exaltation.” To Be Like Jesus, 219.

A really scary statement is found in The Review and Herald, February 14, 1899: “All desire for self-exaltation places the human agent where the Holy Spirit can not work with him.”

It continues, “It is not for any to seek to be great preachers, wonderful evangelists.” Ibid. Just hide in Christ. In His life incarnate, Christ demonstrated the truth of what He meant when He said that everyone who wants to exalt himself will be abased. Everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.

In The Signs of the Times, February 20, 1893, Ellen White discussed this subject in some detail. She said, “Christ was God, but He did not appear as God. He veiled the tokens of divinity, which had commanded the homage of angels and called forth the adoration of the universe of God. He made himself of no reputation, took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. For our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich.

“He humbled Himself to pass through man’s experiences, and He would not turn aside from the plan by which salvation could come to man. Knowing all the steps in the path of His humiliation, He refused not to descend step by step to the depths of man’s woe, that He might make expiation for the sins of the condemned, perishing world. What humility was this! It amazed the angels. Tongue can never describe it. Pen can never portray it. The imagination cannot take it in.

“Sinless and exalted by nature, the Son of God consented to take the habiliments of humanity, to become one with the fallen race. The eternal Word consented to be made flesh. God became man.

“But He stepped still lower; He humbled Himself to bear insult, reproach, accusation, and shameful abuse. In the world which he had made, which was sustained by the word of His power, there seemed to be no room for Him. He had to flee from one place to another until His life work was accomplished. He was betrayed by one of His followers, and denied by another. He was mocked and taunted. He was crowned with thorns, and forced to bear the burden of the cross. He was not insensible to ignominy and contempt; He submitted to it, but He felt its bitterness as no other being could feel it. Pure, holy, and undefiled, He was yet arraigned as criminal before the eyes of the world. From the highest exaltation the adorable Redeemer took step after step in the path of humiliation. He consented to die in the sinner’s stead, that by a life of obedience man might escape the penalty of the law. He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death. And what a death! It was the most shameful, the most cruel—the death upon the cross as a malefactor. He died not as a hero in the eyes of men, loaded with honors; he died as a condemned criminal, suspended between the heavens and the earth—died a lingering death, exposed to the tauntings and revilings of a debased and profligate mob. ‘All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head’ (Psalm 22:7). He was numbered with the transgressors, and even His kinsmen according to the flesh disowned him. He was forced to see the sword pierce the heart of his mother—he beheld her sorrow. He expired amidst derision. But all his sufferings were counted as of small account in consideration of the result He was working out in behalf of man, and for the good of the whole universe. He expired on the cross exclaiming, ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30), and that cry rang through every world, and through heaven itself. The great contest between Christ, the Prince of Life, and Satan, the prince of darkness, was practically over, and Christ was Conqueror. His death answered the question as to whether there was self-denial with the Father and the Son.” Ibid. Self-exaltation is fatal.

  1. A deeper understanding of the love of God.

When Jesus was suffering the most intense agony of mind and body, He thought only of others. Ellen White describes it: “O pitiful, loving Saviour; amid all His physical pain, and mental anguish, He had a tender, thoughtful care for His mother! …

“Christ was not upheld by triumphant joy. All was oppressive gloom. It was not the dread of death that weighed upon Him. It was not the pain and ignominy of the cross that caused His inexpressible agony. Christ was the prince of sufferers; but His suffering was from a sense of the malignity of sin, a knowledge that through familiarity with evil, man had become blinded to its enormity.” The Desire of Ages, 752, 753.

His suffering was caused by “… a knowledge that through familiarity with evil, man had become blinded to its enormity.” When you become familiar with sin, after a while it doesn’t shock you anymore. By familiarity with evil, you become blinded to its enormity. That’s what caused the suffering of Jesus on the cross. You need to think that through.

“Christ saw how deep is the hold of sin upon the human heart, how few would be willing to break from its power. He knew that without help from God, humanity must perish, and He saw multitudes perishing within reach of abundant help. …”

“It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.

“With amazement angels witnessed the Saviour’s despairing agony. The hosts of heaven veiled their faces from the fearful sight.” Ibid., 753.

His flesh was lacerated with stripes. His hands that had so often been held out in blessing, were nailed to the wooden bars. The feet, tireless in ministry of love, were spiked to the tree. The royal head was pierced with a crown of thorns. And His quivering lips were shaped to the cry of woe and distress. And all that, He endured. The blood drops that flowed from His head, His hands, His feet, the agony that racked His whole body, the unutterable anguish that filled His soul at the hiding of His Father’s face, all that says to you and to me, it’s for you. It’s for you that the Son of God consents to do this, to bear this burden of death. This burden of guilt He consents to bear for you, to spoil the domain of death, and to open up for you the gates of paradise.

The same person who stilled the angry waves on the sea of Galilee, who walked the foam-capped billows, who made devils tremble and made disease flee, and who opened the eyes of the blind, and raised the dead to life, the same person offered Himself as a sacrifice on the cross to open up for you the gates of Paradise to give you everlasting life.

When you begin to see that, then you will immediately see that there is no second probation after the Lord comes, because the Lord has already done everything that can be done to provide for your salvation. And if what He has done for you doesn’t impress you to serve and follow Him, there is nothing more He can do. You are lost.

  1. The necessity of doing your best.

If we understand the cross, we should understand that only the best effort is acceptable. Remember when Mary poured the ointment on Jesus’ head and on His feet and anointed Him and Judas said, What purpose was this waste? Why wasn’t this ointment sold for 300 denari and given to the poor?

Jesus thought differently. “ ‘To what purpose is this waste?’ brought vividly before Christ the greatest sacrifice ever made—the gift of Himself as the propitiation for a lost world. The Lord would be so bountiful to His human family that it could not be said of Him that He could do more.” The Desire of Ages, 565. It cannot be said of God that He could have done more.

“In the gift of Jesus, God gave all heaven.” Ibid. In The Home Missionary, December 1, 1894, it says, “He has given us the greatest gift He could possibly make, a gift of infinite value, so that it could not be said He could give a greater gift.” He has done everything that can be done so that you can be saved.

“He gave to our world so abundantly that it could not be said that He could love us more.” The Ellen White 1888 Materials, 712. It cannot be said that He could have loved more or given more. All of heaven was given in this one gift. Nothing better could have been given.

Should I do the best I can for Him? Ellen White wrote: “I am constantly holding up the necessity of every man doing his best as a Christian, training himself to realize the growth, the expansion, the nobility of character which it is possible for us to have.” A Place Called Oakwood, 108.

Are you doing the best you can do for Jesus? If not, do you really love Him? If you are not giving Him your best, how can you claim to be a Christian? Love requires a response. God has given everything, given all heaven in the gift of His Son.

  1. On time.

The hour for the coming of Christ had been determined in heaven’s council thousands of years beforehand. Prophecy foretold exactly when Jesus would come, His birth place, when His ministry would begin and the exact time and even the hour of day that He would offer His life for the sins of the world.

God operates on time. The Bible says that when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son. “The Saviour knew what awaited Him at Jerusalem, He knew that the malice of the Jews would soon bring about His death, and it was not His place to hasten that event by prematurely exposing Himself to their unscrupulous hatred. He was to patiently await His appointed time.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, 338.

He was not early, nor was He late, but when it was the right time, He was there. When met with opposition He would say to His disciples, Let us go to another place, for the time is not yet come. “By this He meant that the time of His final suffering and the closing of His earthly work had not yet come.” The Review and Herald, April 8, 1909.

To be like Jesus means also to learn to be on time. On time has to do with both the beginning of something and the ending of something else.

What a price has been paid. What an opportunity has been given us to accept this great truth of salvation and put our lives in order to be part of the true and faithful that are waiting for the return of their Redeemer.

(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.