In preparing for this Week of Prayer series, we believe it is important, in this first presentation, to discuss the subject of who and what is the church. Many of us have perhaps already studied this topic, but we are going to look at it from a little different perspective. I believe this study focuses on the concept of the theme for this week, “What Will it Take to Stand in the Last Days?”
Seventh-day Adventists have always had a great appreciation for the Bible books of Daniel and Revelation, because these are books about prophecy. Prophecy has established us as a people. It has given us meaning. It has given us understanding concerning end-time events.
When the end times do come, they will bring the world into a crisis and then into the end of the world, as we know it. We as Seventh-day Adventists have studied and restudied Daniel and Revelation, and we have interpreted and reinterpreted these books until it would seem that there is nothing new to uncover. But in our study of Daniel and Revelation, I believe we have neglected other books that have great prophetic significance as well.
One such book is the Book of Acts. The Book of Acts deals with end-time events, perhaps not in the same scope nor with the same focus as the books of Daniel and Revelation, but each has a special message for us.
Normally, we do not view the Book of Acts as a book of apocalypse; we only view it as a history of the early Christian church. We see it recording the acts of the elders, the deacons, and the apostles, and unfurling events of how the early church got its start and grew under the power of the Holy Spirit. But in this study, I want to take you on a journey through a passage of Scripture that I believe has real prophetic significance to us. It is the generally accepted understanding that, as we study books of prophecy and get closer to the ends of those books of prophecy, they seem to have more relevance to us as a people. The closer we come to the end of the Book of Revelation, the closer we come to the end of time and its importance to us as a people. The same thing is true of the Book of Acts. With this in mind, we will look at the next to the last chapter in Acts, chapter 27. But before we begin, there is needed a bit of background setting.
Background
The setting for this portion of Scripture centers on Paul’s arrest and his arraignment before Agrippa. It is here that we have Agrippa’s famous statement to Paul: “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Acts 26:28. Paul’s response to Agrippa was, “I would to God, that not only you, but everyone who has heard me today, would be like me, except for these chains,” with which he was bound. (Verse 29.)
The testimony was that nobody was interested. Life seemed to have too much to offer. Why should they restrict themselves by becoming Christians? No, they were satisfied to continue on as they had been doing before. The question facing them now, though, was what were they going to do with this man—Paul? He had not committed any offense worthy of death. He had not killed anyone. He had not violated any law of which they knew. “Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.” Verse 32.
I will have to confess that I do not understand everything that God does, but there is one thing I do understand: God is working to try to save as many souls as He possibly can. How God arrives at certain points where all things come together, I do not claim to understand, because I have finite vision. God is able to see, through infinite eyes, how all these things can work together for good, but in my humanity, this I cannot always see. The route that God takes, many times, is not a route that man would take to arrive at a certain point to accomplish the same thing.
Here is Paul, at one time a criminal, but now he is a converted man whose only desire is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. As a result of this service, he has been brought into a set of circumstances resulting in his arrest and has been charged with crimes that some deemed worthy of death. I do not understand this, but God works in mysterious ways.
Currently, there are individuals enrolled in Steps to Life’s ministerial training course who are behind prison bars. Their one desire is to learn as much as they can, so when they are set free, they will be able to carry the gospel message to whomever they can. When we go through experiences such as this, God has promised to be with us. Jesus said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5.)
Appeal Granted
This was not an easy time for Paul, but God was with him. You see, Paul was, in fact, a double prisoner. He was not only a prisoner of the state, but he was also a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ. This event was allowed in Paul’s life so he could stand before the emperor and give testimony for his faith. God had a purpose. Paul appealed to Caesar, and to Caesar he would go.
Preparations for the trip were made. Paul, with over 200 other people, would make his way to Rome. “And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto [one] named Julius, a centurion of Augustus’ band. And entering into a ship of Adramyt-tium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; [one] Aristar-chus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.” Acts 27:1, 2. So Paul begins his journey by ship, with the idea that he is going to stand before the emperor and bring to him the gospel message.
Words of Bondage
Now, we are going to look at words that have been used to hold Seventh-day Adventists in bondage. These words, rightly understood, will free us, so we will be able to accomplish what God has called us to do. Verse 31 says, “Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.”
This concept of the ship has been distorted; it has been twisted and made to say what is not in the teaching of this portion of Scripture. It has been used to scare people into submission, as they have been taught and repeatedly told that, except they abide in the ship, they cannot be saved. This has been used to frighten people from searching for the truth that would set them free.
The idea of the ship has been applied to the denomination, and this text has been interpreted to mean that unless we stay with denominational churches, we will never make it to heaven. I want to suggest to you that the ship is not the church. It never has been. We will see, as we study together, what the ship really is. It is imperative that we understand this, so we are not encumbered with haunting fear, and we can be free to move forward in God’s plan.
The Journey Begins
Now, we will return to the begin-ning of Acts 27 and analyze its message so we may better understand what is being said to us in these last days.
Verse 2 tells us that they boarded a ship of Adramyttium. This was a sturdy ship, known for its stability and its serviceability; plying the seas, it carried cargo safely to its destination. It was dependable. It had on board an experienced crew. The crew possessed wisdom, and when the weather and sea were threatening, they pulled into port so they and the ship were kept safe.
“And the next [day] we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave [him] liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself. And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, [a city] of Lycia.” Verses 3–5.
Contrary Winds
Any time you are in the service of the Lord, the winds will blow contrarily. At least three individuals on this boat had a mission for the Lord: Paul, Aristarchus, and Luke. Even though Luke does not mention himself by name, he speaks in the first person, so we know that he was there. The Bible says that the winds blew. You see, the devil did not want them to arrive safely at their destination. Remember, the ship was sound. This was a safe ship for them to be on—it was solid, it was seaworthy, and nothing is mentioned about it being leaky or having any problems that would cause difficulties.
Finally, they arrived at a city in Lycia. They could not go any further at that time, because contrary winds were blowing. But they were a long way from their destination.
Change Ships
Julius, the centurion, was in charge of the prisoners, and he had a decision to make. He could wait to complete his journey, staying on the same ship that they had originally taken, or he could make arrangements to secure another ship and continue on.
Verses 6–8 continue: “And there the centurion found a ship of Alex-andria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein. And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone; And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city [of] Lasea.”
This is where the story begins to take on meaning for us. They left the ship that was safe and sound and that would have carried them to their destination without any diffi-culty. We need to understand that fact! They left that ship, and they boarded another ship. Now consider this carefully. The centurion in charge of the trip was an agent of Rome. It was he that made the decision to put everyone on board another ship. It was a ship from Alexandria.
Alexandria
Alexandria was a city in the land of Egypt. The Bible has always used Egypt as a symbol for the land of sin, a place where the dragon dwells, a place known for idolatry and false doctrine. Alexandria was a metropolis of great learning. It had universities of higher education, and those with simpler educations could go there and be introduced to greater depths of philosophy, theories of knowledge, and critical study. That was what Alexandria was all about. It was a place where people could learn how to question their known truths. It was Alexandria and its universities that prepared the way for the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah at His first coming!
This came about as a result of the Babylonian captivity, where the Jewish nation had learned its lesson relative to the worshiping of false gods and idols. When they returned to their land, they determined never to be caught in that kind of situation again. They became so repulsed by the Gentiles and their worship of false gods that they would not even approach their neighbors to tell them about the soon-coming Messiah. It finally came to the place that if the shadow of someone who was unclean fell across them during the time of their special purification, they believed it made them unclean also. That is how much they were repulsed by the Gentile way of life.
Time Brings Change
But as time went on—and the progression of time is something we have to be cautious about, for time can change things—various groups developed within the nation of Israel. One group was very conservative—fundamental in its beliefs. They were known as Pharisees.
Whenever we discuss the Pharisees, there is a tendency for us to do so with disdain, because we do not like the Pharisees. They had their problems, to be sure, but it was the Pharisees who preserved what truth the church had in that day. They rejected all attempts to introduce new theology that was running rampant in those times. Do not think that the new theology is a new phenomenon. It has raged in every generation. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and he became a follower of Jesus. Paul was a Pharisee of Pharisees, and he became a follower of Jesus. But, do you know that there is not one record of any kind or any historical documentation that a Sadducee ever became a follower of Jesus?
As time drew near to the birth of Jesus, a great persecution broke out upon the Pharisees. The persecution was so great that many of them were not only kicked out of their church offices and had their memberships taken away, but numerous ones paid the ultimate price with their lives, because they were standing for the truth that they understood and believed.
The Groups Differ
The other main party that formed in those days was the Sadducees. This group developed about the same time as the Pharisees. They were theologically similar, but there were some very major differences. The Sadducees came into being because those who were leading out in the Jewish denomination felt that the people, and those they were trying to win to the faith, could be better reached and served by an educated clergy. So certain ones were selected to go down to Alexandria in Egypt to receive the benefits of higher education. They went, and what they learned, they brought back to the nation of Judah and taught to others.
First, they learned liberal philosophies. Where the Pharisees were fundamental, the Sadducees were liberal. They learned what is today called “higher criticism,” and this led them to reject most of the Scripture. The only books that were acceptable, as far as they were concerned, were the five books of Moses.
The Pharisees were called “separatists”; they did not believe in being part of the world. They knew that they had to be in the world, but they did not get involved in all the trappings that came with it. They opted for traditions instead, and this is where they ran headlong into the teachings of Jesus.
Now, the Sadducees did not have any problem being a part of the world. They loved the world and all that it had to offer. They became involved with the politics of the day. They loved to rule. They had given up most of those characteristics that made them stand out from the other Jews. If you looked at a Pharisee, there was no question in your mind that here was a child of Israel. Not so with the Sadducees. The Sadducees wanted to look like everyone around them. They did not want to be peculiar.
Not being peculiar called for the Sadducees to give up certain fundamental doctrines for the new theology. This meant that they no longer believed in the resurrection of the dead. They did not believe in angels. They did not believe in devils. They did not believe in the punishment of those who were sinners. They were progressive. They were modernists in their thinking. The Sadducees were the ones in charge. They were holding offices in the church headquarters when Jesus began His ministry.
It was a Sadducee who, during a discussion, said, “It is better that one man die than the whole nation perish.” (John 11:50.) The Sadducees were thoroughly absorbed in their new theology, which they had learned in Alexandria, Egypt.
Prophetic Instruction
Returning to the journey of Paul and the prophetic instruction to us in these last days contained in the Book of Acts, the travelers changed ships under the direction of the leader of Rome. They boarded a ship from Alexandria, and after they were underway again, Luke records for us what was happening: “Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished [them], And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.” Acts 27:9, 10. This is very significant.
Paul respectfully goes to those in charge. Addressing them as “Sirs,” he told them that they were now on a ship that was going to cause damage to them; they were not going to come out of this trip without loss. Have you ever heard those kinds of voices before? Three things were going to be damaged—the cargo of the ship, the ship itself, and the lives of those on the ship.
Ship Defined
At this point, we need to define what is the ship. Many have tried to convince us that the ship is the denomination, and that if we will just stay with the denomination, we will sail right into the harbor with ease. Just stay with the ship. I would like to suggest to you, as I did earlier, that the ship is not the denomination at all. It is not the structure. It is not the General Conference. It is not the local conference. It has nothing to do with any structure of any kind. The ship is truth, pure and simple. Jesus is the Captain of the ship, and it is His truth that carries us along as a people.
Let me share with you some quotations from the Spirit of Prophecy, which should establish this more.
“God’s people must give to the world a representation of the character of God in Jesus Christ. The Christian churches are fast losing their knowledge of God. His character has been misunderstood and misinterpreted. But a message has come from God which must be proclaimed. The trumpet must give a certain sound. ‘I Jesus have sent mine angel to proclaim these things to the churches.’ [Revelation 22:16.] The truth, the revelation which Jesus gave to John, must be sounded forth everywhere. ‘Lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ [Isaiah 40:9–11.]” The Signs of the Times, December 23, 1897.
“The only way in which men will be able to stand firm in the conflict, is to be rooted and grounded in Christ.” General Conference Daily Bulletin, January 28, 1893. Who is Jesus? He is the truth. He is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6.) The only way men will be able to stand in the last-day conflict is to be rooted and grounded in Christ. “They must receive the truth as it is in Jesus. And it is only as the truth is presented thus that it can meet the wants of the soul. The preaching of Christ crucified, Christ our righteousness, is what satisfies the soul’s hunger.” Ibid.
It is the truth, as it is in Jesus, that will carry us along in our experience of life as we go through the world. This is the only thing that makes any sense at all. We are not to depend upon anything in this world to carry us through. We are not to depend upon any person—nothing other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only One that is going to carry us through. He is the Truth. And the Truth will carry us through. “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32.)
It is with this in mind that the next quotation, from the Review and Herald, September 20, 1892, makes any sense at all: “There is no need to doubt, to be fearful that the work will not succeed. God is at the head of the work, and he will set everything in order.” Who is at the head of the work? God is! He will take care and set things in order. “If matters need adjusting at the head of the work, God will attend to that, and work to right every wrong. Let us have faith.” Now, consider this very carefully! If you have only lightly read everything so far, concentrate on this: “Let us have faith that God is going to carry the noble ship which bears the people of God safely into port.”
The noble ship that bears the people of God is the truth. Nothing else can safely carry us into port. It is the truth, and when we begin to say that the ship is the denomination, we have missed the whole point of what inspiration is trying to teach us. I say that, because historically, we can look back and find that denominations fail. Truth never fails! Men can disappoint us and can take us into trouble, but truth never disappoints us.
Counsel of Man
“Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.” Acts 27:11. When God gives us the words of inspiration but we choose to take the counsels of men, we are headed for disaster. If this man from Rome had listened to Paul, they would not have had the problems that they encountered. “And because,” verses 12–15 say, “the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, [and there] to winter; [which is] an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west. And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained [their] purpose, loosing [thence], they sailed close by Crete. But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let [her] drive.”
The truth, distorted as it had become here, or as distorted as it may become in our own experience, is going to run into winds that are designed to totally destroy it. Any little remnant of truth—no matter where it is found—the devil will try to destroy, in any and every way that he can.
Theological Darkness
Do not ever forget that Paul was a prisoner on this journey. He was held captive. He was on board, but he was bound in chains, unable to counsel, unable to reason, unable to take any kind of command over what was going on, so the only thing that was left for him and the other two to do was to just let the ship sail. Did Paul know what was going to happen? Of course; he told them that they would experience damage.
“And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next [day] they lightened the ship; And the third [day] we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. And when neither the sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on [us], all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” Verses 16–20.
They had changed ships. They had changed from a sturdy ship to a weak vessel from Alexandria. They had taken the word of Rome over the counsel of the prophet, and as they began to run into opposition because of this, they started throwing the tackling of the ship overboard. They were frantic to try to find some way out of the mess in which they had found themselves. Verse 20 says that they were plunged into darkness. There was no light. They could not tell what was going on. Do not tell me that the Book of Acts is not prophetic!
Theological darkness is a terrible experience to go through. Right in the midst of this entire situation, it became so bad that they thought they were lost. All hope was taken away that they should be saved. Does that say anything to us? Will it be easy for us, when we get into the end of time? How are we going to be able to stand when, in the end of time, darkness is prevailing? Are we going to sail into the harbor standing on deck with clowns and balloons and the band playing? I do not think so!
The Bible tells me that the just shall live by faith! (Romans 1:17.) When everything around is nothing but darkness, it is our faith that will light our way, because our feet are firmly grounded on the truth.
Abandonment Brings Death
Verse 21 says, “But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.” Paul begins to give some counsel: “And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of [any man’s] life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.” Verses 22–24. Nobody was going to die, but the ship—the truth—was going to be broken up.
“Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island. But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country; And sounded, and found [it] twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found [it] fifteen fathoms. Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship . . . .” Verses 25–30.
Some of those on board saw that there was a change in the situation, and they wanted to abandon ship. They were not an offshoot, as such. They were part of Rome. They did not have any better wisdom than to take off. (These were not the ones in Paul’s party.) Paul told the centurion about this, and said, “Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.” Verse 31.
God does not save heathen just because they follow the counsel of the prophet. We need to understand that. Every person must have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Truth, in and of itself, does not save anyone. The Holy Spirit blesses it, and it leads us into a born-again experience. When that happens, the truth becomes more blessed to us. Nicodemus had the truth. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, but Jesus told him that he had to be born again. Just staying with the ship was not enough.
Ellen White tells us that if these sailors had left the ship, it would have been certain death for them. They could not have survived the raging sea, and the rocks would have torn them to pieces. (See The Acts of the Apostles, 439–445.) And so Paul, wanting them to be saved from death, said what he did. Staying with the ship was important. It was designed by God to give them one last opportunity to see His wonderful grace. But seeing it still meant that they had to make their own decisions on an individual basis—not on a corporate basis.
Iceberg of Error
Do you remember the story that Ellen White told in 1904 about the raging Alpha of apostasy? One night she had a vision from God. In this vision, she said, “A vessel was upon the waters, in a heavy fog. Suddenly the lookout cried, ‘Iceberg just ahead!’ There, towering high above the ship, was a gigantic iceberg. An authoritative voice cried out, ‘Meet it!’ There was not a moment’s hesitation. It was a time for instant action. The engineer put on full steam, and the man at the wheel steered the ship straight into the iceberg.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 205.
Under normal circumstances, the ship would have collided with that iceberg, and it would have gone to the bottom of the sea. But she said that when the ship hit that iceberg with a tremendous crash, it split the iceberg right in half in such a way that ice thundered down on the deck of the ship. She said that the ship rebounded from the contact and trembled like a living creature. It was damaged, but there were no lives lost. And after they hit that iceberg, the ship went right on and kept on its course. Do you know what that iceberg represents? It represents error. Do you know what the ship represents? The ship represents truth. This message comes through in the story of Paul as well. The ship had to meet error. The truth came into collision with error. The ship suffered damage, but it survived.
Working Together
“Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.” Verse 32. Problems were not yet over. It would take everyone at this point in time working together. God makes it very plain through inspiration that the heathen will be used of God to further His cause, and here is an instance of it right here in Acts 27.
They had been fasting. They had not been eating anything. Now the time had come for them to take some nourishment to deal with what was ahead. Notice what it says in verses 33 and 34: “And while the day was coming on, Paul besought [them] all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take [some] meat: for this is for your health.” Ah! I could mention here that the health message is part of the last-day scenario for God’s people.
“For there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you. And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken [it], he began to eat. Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took [some] meat. And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea.” Verses 34–38. They started throwing all the cargo of the ship overboard. That tells us something about the purging of theological error.
“And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship. And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed [themselves] unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore.” Verses 39, 40.
There is going to come a time for us when we will come under such trying circumstances that the only thing that will uphold us is the fact that we have committed ourselves wholly and completely to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will carry us through. That is what the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is about in these last days. We are to be sealed with the latter rain experience, and let that experience carry us on into the shore.
That is what the sailors did. “And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.” Verses 41, 42.
The Ship is Truth
Do you think it is going to be easy when we get into the last days? It is not going to be easy at all. Everything we know as the truth is going to go through some of the most wrenching, twisting, breaking-up experiences it can possibly experience. But notice verses 43 and 44: “But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from [their] purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast [themselves] first [into the sea], and get to land: And the rest, some on boards, and some on [broken pieces] of the ship . . . escaped all safe to land.”
The ship was the truth, and even though the ship hit the rock and began to break apart, there were still preserved elements of truth there that would carry the survivors safely onto the shore.
If there is ever a message that we need to read, understand, and incorporate into our hearts, it is the fact that God’s truth will go through—regardless of what men do to it, regardless of what the winds blowing from the breath of Satan do to it. God is going to use, if necessary, just parts and pieces to carry His people on to safety.
If this ship were a denomination, it would have been scattered everywhere. Only the truth of God will carry us safely into port!