Why do we continue to struggle? We find our answer in God’s Holy Word. “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Hebrews 12:4. This verse involves more than just trying, for it is true that all of our trying will end with nothing more than frustration and a deep sense of failure and discouragement. The verse goes much deeper in experience than just trying. The word resist means to sit down against or to stand firm against. The other word we want to briefly look at is striving, which means to struggle against, to box, to fight, to war, or to wrestle with. And that is what makes this verse so important.
The shaking, sifting, settling, and sealing are all about standing firmly against the opposition to God so that we cannot be moved. The Spirit of Prophecy tells us about Jacob’s little time of trouble. A study of it shows the connection it has with Hebrews 12:4.
Standing Firm
Those who successfully pass through the shaking will have “resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” This group will have cooperated with the Lord in the wrestling away of their sins, clinging to Him until the promised blessing has been realized. In the simplest language, what we must learn to do is to stay in communion with the Lord until the sin has been overcome. When temptation comes, we must, at that moment, flee to the Lord and stay there until the danger passes and the victory is gained.
The reason we are still struggling is simply that we are not letting the Lord fight our battles. For most of us, it is a matter of not realizing that all we need to do is get in the Lord’s corner and stay there, allowing Him to fight the adversary. We have been fighting him all of our lives, and it is time we realized and admitted that we, in our own power, cannot possibly win. Only then can we enter into the haven of the True Conqueror. Only in this corner is victory found. It is only then that we will find the power to apply the knowledge we have into our lives. This is the greatest need and one that must be recognized.
“It is a knowledge of practical godliness, a daily conversion, that is the great need in our world.” Bible Training School, November 1, 1916.
Settling Process
During this time of shaking, we need to understand that not only is this the process of the Lord, which means there is no other way up the path to the kingdom, but it is a settling process which will affect everyone. It is the work of Satan to divert the attention of those whose keen interest should be focused on this process.
“I [Ellen White] saw that Satan was working through agents in a number of ways. He was at work through ministers who have rejected the truth and are given over to strong delusions to believe a lie that they might be damned. . . .
“Some of these agents of Satan were affecting the bodies of some of the saints—those whom they could not deceive and draw away from the truth by a Satanic influence. Oh, that all could get a view of it as God revealed it to me, that they might know more of the wiles of Satan and be on their guard! I saw that Satan was at work in these ways to distract, deceive, and draw away God’s people, just now in this sealing time. I saw some who were not standing stiffly for present truth. Their knees were trembling, and their feet sliding, because they were not firmly planted on the truth, and the covering of Almighty God could not be drawn over them while they were thus trembling.
“Satan was trying his every art to hold them where they were, until the sealing was past, until the covering was drawn over God’s people, and they left without a shelter from the burning wrath of God, in the seven last plagues. . . .
“I saw that the mysterious signs and wonders and false reformations would increase and spread. The reformations that were shown me were not reformations from error to truth.” Early Writings, 43–45.
Read the preceding quotation again, carefully. Some may say that this applied back in Ellen White’s day, and they would be correct, but take it further. I would say that this bit of inspiration shows that the shaking time will have a snowball effect along with the false reformations that she mentions. We know for certain that this statement is squarely planted in present truth, because it says that this covering of God is for protection from the seven last plagues. This quotation describes the time through which we are now passing. The Seventh-day Adventist movement is being affected by the agents of Satan to an alarming degree—most of it coming from the inside out.
Note the words in the above quotation, “standing stiffly for present truth.” These few words are extremely important and revealing. Take a few moments to consider the implications of this statement. What does it mean to stand “stiffly for present truth”? If we are not taking this stand, what does the quotation say will happen to us? What causes the shaking?
Every individual who is striving to be among the privileged redeemed must address these questions. It will not go well in the judgment for those who are complacent and content, allowing others to stand alone for truth. The voice, which is now silent, will later, at the Second Coming, be heard calling for the rocks to fall. (Revelation 6:16.)
Those who choose not to stand for present truth will fall! This applies to everyone who claims to be a Seventh-day Adventist—not just those who are in conference congregations. I have been alarmed and deeply troubled concerning those who are proving week after week that they are no better off in an independent church than in a conference church. Error has been spoken by some that have claimed leadership in the independent movement. Dishonest methods have been used by some who have claimed to be doing an end-time work. Some who have been considered leaders have abandoned the Bible truths altogether.
Follow Christ, Not Man
What is alarming is the fact that these errors have been open; there is almost no subtlety to them. But either because of the weakness of the people’s emotions or their total lack of personal study and knowledge, they just keep following these leaders as if nothing has happened. We need to realize that every single person, with no exception, who follows a man in the place of Jesus Christ, will be lost! It will not matter how insignificant or how well-known is the congregation, leader, or ministry, if we follow it in the place of Jesus, we will be lost!
As Seventh-day Adventist Christians, it is our duty to seek out truth and stand for that truth no matter what happens or who diverts from it. It is incredible for anyone to take the attitude that individuals who stay in conference churches will be lost for putting up with error and not standing for truth—while at the same time they are doing the exact same thing in their independent churches, thinking they have somehow escaped the wrath that they say will fall on the other people!
Many are in this state of extreme danger. If they do not recognize the reality of the above principles, they will be surprised to learn, too late, that they cannot be admitted into God’s kingdom. If they switch camps for the right reason but cling to their old ways in the new camps, they will suffer the same end that they were trying to escape by switching in the first place!
We desperately need to understand that the shaking, sifting, settling, and sealing process will continue until all of us are in one group or the other. The principles working together in this process fall in line with those stated above. This being the case, as individuals we must go step by step up the path with our eyes firmly on Jesus. Mrs. White’s vision clearly shows that when the people took their eyes off Jesus, they fell. (See Early Writings, 14–20.)
We are also plainly told that, in this last moment of time, many wonderful and terrible things will be happening, and we will need to keep our eyes wide open and be empowered with the eyesalve to discern the events, thereby having wisdom from on high. (Revelation 3:18.) We are told that, in this time, many will come up to one point of faith, draw the line, and go no further, while others will draw the line at a different point. There will be those who are known for their great achievements or knowledge and, at one time, have shone brightly for the Lord, but for whatever reason, in the end, will go out into utter darkness. (See Maranatha, 43.)
There are far too many who are clearly exhibiting their loyalty to man above their loyalty to Jesus! Their actions would have us believe that they know who will end up in heaven and who will not! But this is the same foolishness they claim to recognize in others who say the church, meaning the conference, is going through.
How vitally important it is that people individually study to understand the process through which we are going—to see it as a matter of life and death, as it certainly is.
Exalt Truth
If there is any doubt about the validity of this point, read again how and why Adam made the choice to eat of the forbidden fruit, which threw the whole world into chaos. Consider the next few quotations about the shaking. Understanding them will clarify why we must deal with the above principles.
“I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, and will lead him to exalt the standard and pour forth the straight truth. Some will not bear this straight testimony. They will rise up against it, and this is what will cause a shaking among God’s people.” Early Writings, 270.
“When the shaking comes, by the introduction of false theories, these surface readers, anchored nowhere, are like shifting sand. They slide into any position to suit the tenor of their feelings of bitterness.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 112.
Practice makes perfect, not profession:
“You may point to some of our leading brethren who have not accepted and rejoiced in the light given, but have intercepted themselves between the light and the people, that it should not reach them; but they must answer to God for their position. They are certainly working away from Christ, instead of working in harmony with Him; but will their attitude and position excuse you for turning from the light which the Lord has thrown upon your pathway? I am sorry that you are in such great blindness that you are unable to distinguish the voice of God from that of the enemy. I have repeatedly presented before you and others that there would come a shaking time, when everything that can be shaken will be shaken, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. We are now entering upon that time. Your spirit is an offense to God, for you receive not the things that are of God, but range yourself on the enemy’s side to oppose God in the very work He is doing for this time.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 1, 331.
“I [Ellen White] was pointed to the providence of God among His people and was shown that every trial made by the refining, purifying process upon professed Christians proves some to be dross. The fine gold does not always appear. In every religious crisis some fall under temptation. The shaking of God blows away multitudes like dry leaves. Prosperity multiplies a mass of professors. Adversity purges them out of the church. As a class, their spirits are not steadfast with God. They go out from us because they are not of us; for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, many are offended.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 89.
“If we only knew what is before us we would not be so dilatory in the work of the Lord. We are in the shaking time, the time when everything that can be shaken will be shaken. The Lord will not excuse those who know the truth if they do not in word and deed obey His commands.” Ibid., vol. 6, 331, 332.
“The time has come when everything that can be shaken will be shaken. We are in the shaking time. Be assured that only those who live the prayer of Christ for unity among His disciples, working it out in practical life, will stand the test.” Review and Herald, June 18, 1901.
To those who are riding on someone else’s coat tails:
“There will be a shaking of the sieve. The chaff must in time be separated from the wheat. Because iniquity abounds, the love of many waxes cold. It is the very time when the genuine will be the strongest.” Last Day Events, 173.
“Just as long as God has a church, he will have those who will cry aloud and spare not, who will be his instruments to reprove selfishness and sins, and will not shun to declare the whole counsel of God, whether men will hear or forbear. I [Ellen White] saw that individuals would rise up against the plain testimonies. It does not suit their natural feelings. They would choose to have smooth things spoken unto them, and have peace cried in their ears. I view the church in a more dangerous condition than they ever have been. Experimental religion is known but by a few. The shaking must soon take place to purify the church.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 2, 284.
“Our faith cannot be vested in any man. We need Christ’s righteousness. We need Jesus ever by our side. He is our Rock. It is by His might that we conquer, and by his righteousness that we are saved. When I [Ellen White] see men exalted and praised, extolled as almost infallible, I know that there must come a terrible shaking. When God’s lamp of life shines into the heart with clear and steady ray, darkness will instantly be dispelled. Every idol will be dethroned, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding will reign in the heart. Truth, precious truth, will be seen, appreciated, and obeyed. The standard will be elevated, and many will rally round it.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, 91.
Sifting and Settling
The sifting and settling is that part of the process which determines where you and I will end. This process is very closely tied to the shaking, and its progression is brought about by events. Our choices relating to those events determine our status in the sifting and settling process. How sad it will be for some having come so far up the path to glory to find they have traded in the everlasting kingdom for some sentimental offering to a man.
The process of the sifting is one that winnows out the chaff from the pure wheat. We should be very sensitive to and ready for it. It is a continued testing time, which will come to every professor of truth. It will be telling on those who have received the love of the truth, and on those who have not taken the time to study these testing truths for themselves. In this time, which I believe we have already entered, those who have spent precious hours studying to know God’s will, will receive protection and discernment which are vital. Those who receive not of this gift and know not the truth through personal experience will not be protected but will end up on the wrong side, even though they think they are right.
“Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive. By the Bible testimony these will detect the deceiver in his disguise. To all the testing time will come. By the sifting of temptation the genuine Christian will be revealed. Are the people of God now so firmly established upon His word that they would not yield to the evidence of their senses? Would they, in such a crisis, cling to the Bible and the Bible only? Satan will, if possible, prevent them from obtaining a preparation to stand in that day. He will so arrange affairs as to hedge up their way, entangle them with earthly treasures, cause them to carry a heavy, wearisome burden, that their hearts may be overcharged with the cares of this life and the day of trial may come upon them as a thief.” The Great Controversy, 625, 626.
There are those who may have the inclination to say that this is speaking of the time when Satan will walk the earth. They know the deception in this event, so they think that they could not possibly be deceived. I implore that they honestly and prayerfully consider the part of the quotation that asks, “Are the people of God now so firmly established upon His word that they would not yield to the evidence of their senses?”
In these few words, we find a wonderful, and terrible, revelation—one that gives us insight so that we need not be deceived if we choose not to be; one that may challenge our honesty. If we know we could not be deceived by Satan’s appearing, yet we find ourselves following a group, a man, or a ministry, based on an emotional attachment rather than the principles of truth, then, friend, we are already deceived! As incredible as it may seem to our logic, Inspiration guarantees that those who allow their emotions to rule their principles will be deceived, even if they have a head knowledge of the truth. We need to understand that when the Lord withdraws His Spirit from individuals who have simply chosen not to do things His way, they will do whatever Satan tells them to do.
To realize this truth, we do not have to go very far. Just look at who literally wanted to tear Jesus to shreds when He was here! They were not those whom we would have called heathen, but those who claimed to know the truth and who were a part of the ancient Adventist movement!
Good News!
The good news is that it still is not too late to allow the Lord to rule in our lives. If we have made some mistakes, if we have gone our own way, if we have placed another’s influence above God’s, we still can ask for the Lord’s forgiveness, find out what we need to do, and do it. But the precious hours of this testing time are running apace, and we must be making our decisions for God now!
“Do all in your power to gain perfection; but do not think that because you make mistakes you are excluded from God’s service. The Lord knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. As you use faithfully the talents God has given you, you will gain knowledge that will make you dissatisfied with self. You will see the need of sifting away harmful habits, lest by a wrong example you injure others.” Messages to Young People, 226.
“Satan will work his miracles to deceive; he will set up his power as supreme. The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out—the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouths. . . . The remnant that purify their souls by obeying the truth gather strength from the trying process, exhibiting the beauty of holiness amid the surrounding apostasy. “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 911.
[All emphasis supplied.]
Cathy Summers Timmons, a Steps to Life staff member, a member of LandMarks’ editorial staff, and Director of Pacific Missionary Outreach, writes from her home in Wichita, Kansas. She may be contacted by e-mail at: cathytimmons@stepstolife.org.