Issue: 2001 June

Watchman, Beware! – Part I

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As we see things of this world coming very rapidly to an end, we must rejoice! That is what Christ told His disciples to do (See Luke 21:28.) Rejoice when you see these things coming to pass because redemption is at hand. However, the things that have been happening are still a surprise to many of us. It never even came to my mind that I was going to be facing what I am facing today. [Editor’s note: Pastor Perez, the Eternal Gospel Church and its directors have been sued by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in November, 1999.]

The more that I read the Federal Judge’s ruling, the less it makes sense. It is just a secular law being applied to a religious group, to a religious institution. I invite each one of you to go to our website when you have a little time, www.eternalgospel.com. There you can see the entire 16 pages of the Judge’s decision protecting the order of the structure church. They have a trademark that they have to protect, and the Judge states that he has to protect that trademark.

I never, brothers and sisters, even dreamed that a Federal Judge from this great nation would come out with a ruling calling God’s people, the worshippers of the Most High, “customers”! And he repeats the word “customers” time after time throughout the document.

Running a Business

So what the General Conference, the structure from Silver Springs, Maryland, had requested of the civil government of this nation was that they be able to protect their business, their customers. I never thought—and I am sure that none of you ever thought—that the General Conference is running a commercial business.

This is a very serious thing! I understand that some of you still feel a need to be part of the structure, because you are trying to help some brethren over there. My heart goes out to you, and I hope you will be able to help some brethren. But if that is not the main purpose for you to still be attending a structure church, brothers and sisters, pray! I am sure the Lord will guide you to be completely separated from that structure.

How do you suppose they are going to go to the Federal government and request that their customers not be stolen away? Back in 1990, 1991, when I heard some of the Seventh-day Adventist pastors accusing me of stealing their members, I took it as a joke. I still take it as a joke; but do you know what? It is a very serious thing.

180 Degree Turn Around

We have come to a point in this nation, where the institution that God called out to give the last message of warning to mankind has been turned 180 degrees, and they are opposing the people who are, by the grace of God, giving this very message to the people. So, it has been shocking to me. It has been like a nightmare.

Is a church a commercial business? I do not think any of the brethren think of it that way. I want you to think, those of you who are still going and will be going next Saturday to your local churches; think of this: your leaders consider you a customer, just as if you were going to MacDonald’s, to Burger King, or to the grocery store.

I do not think you want to be treated like a customer. It is about time, brothers and sisters, that we try, not only with words but also with our actions, to stop this ind of action in our land.

The Judge’s ruling also says that the Plaintiff’s registration covers religious books, magazines, pamphlets, newsletters and more. And then he concluded the list by saying, “Also religious services.”

What does that mean? Do you see, brothers and sisters, the Lord is trying to wake up His people before it is too late. I have a copy of a letter from New Zealand addressed to the President of the United States. This New Zealand brother wrote a letter on my behalf, and I hope that somebody high up in government levels will read it. It says, “The only church in the whole world that has trademarked the name of the church, is the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”

Even the Roman Catholic Church has not done that. Right in the county where we live, Palm Beach County, there is an independent Catholic Church and, as far as I know, the Bishop and the Catholic Diocese are not trying to sue them. This Catholic Church calls the pope the antichrist, by the way. I mean, it is like God is trying to speak to us through the stones.

Learning a Hard Lesson

Part of the message, part of the warning that we should be giving to the world, now God is using people of the world to give us a lesson. We received one of the most beautiful letters from Bob Jones University. You know they are not Adventists, they are Baptists. Bob Jones has written a nice letter on our behalf!

I called him, and he said, “As you know, I cannot agree with everything that you are putting in these newspapers, The Earth’s Final Warning. But one thing that I agree with you 100 percent, you are under the Constitution of this nation, and you have the right to express your religious beliefs.” He went on to say, “Who do those people in Silver Springs, Maryland, think they are, trying to stop you from expressing your religious faith?”

I said, “Well, that is the question I have been trying to resolve for quite a long time.” Yet, it is so sad to see so many of our brethren being appeased. Their conscience has been compromised. The General Conference will be making them believe that the Three Angels’ Messages is being preached, because they are doing that Net ‘95, ‘96, ‘99, 2000 program.

Do a little testing, if you do not want to believe me. If some of you sincerely believe that the presentation of these global nets are giving the Three Angels’ Messages to the world, test it out. Ask your pastor, or call your Conference leader, and ask them to put those same messages out on secular television where you live and see what they do.

A Time of Double Standards

Let us not be so naïve, brothers and sisters. We put in our newsletter a copy of a letter from Pastor Doug Bachelor, the same pastor who was preaching on the so-called Net ’98 and ’99 programs. He said he was telling the people in America to pray for the heart of Pastor Perez to be converted, so he would not give so much trouble to the General Conference. He does not even know me! You see, we are living in a time of double standards.

There is a beautiful quote from Mrs. White about how no voice should be stopped in preaching the Three Angels’ Messages (See Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 308.) Yet, look what they are doing! You see, there is a double standard. The same brother out in California, after he wrote that letter, said, “Oh, we have to try to stop this terrible thing that the General Conference is persecuting a little group in Florida.” This same brother! How long are we going to be playing games with our salvation and the salvation of so many people?

The time has come, brothers and sisters, that we have to take seriously the calling which God has given to us. God has called you and me, not only to be part of His kingdom but also to bring souls to His kingdom. Do we understand that? Do we understand that there cannot be a greater commission, a greater appointment by anybody given—even by God—than the commission of being made an instrument of salvation to others?

Luke 21 talks a little bit about the experience that we are going to be facing in these last days. For example, it states in verse 12, “‘But before all these, [Jesus is talking about all the signs that would happen before the Second Coming], they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake.’”

Misapplied Scriptures

You know, many of us, when we used to read these verses, especially those of us who have come out of Roman Catholicism, thought that these verses meant people would be fleeing from the Roman Catholic Church. We thought it was the Roman Catholic Church that would go after us. I remember, about twenty years ago, coming out after attending a Roman Catholic Seminary, and coming to this beautiful light. I said, when I came to this message, “In the near future we are going to see the Roman Catholic Church persecuting us and taking us to the court.” To be honest with you, until seven or eight years ago, that was my mentality. All of a sudden we are learning, through experience, that our worst enemies are our own brethren!

I could imagine the Roman Catholic leaders sitting down in their big palace, crossing their arms and laughing at us: “Look at them; we have to deal with these ‘offshoots.’” But my own General Conference brothers have taken care of it for them.

Now they are laughing at each one of us. They say, “Look, we do not have to do it, we have been doing a good job by even trying those churches. They are doing what we are supposed to be doing against those ‘offshoots.’”

And, of course, Luke 21:16 goes on to say, “‘And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends, and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.’” So we see in the book of Luke, very clearly, that we would be used for the sake of testifying for Christ; for verse 13 says, “‘And it shall turn to you for a testimony.’” Like Sister White says, that may be the only means that those men and women will have to come across the message. (See The Desire of Ages, 630.)

In the book of Matthew, we see another aspect of these words from Christ that we may not have seen in Luke 21. Look what it says in Matthew 24:10. Jesus is talking about the last days, “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” Why do you suppose many were going to be offended? because of the Three Angels’ Message.

Confronted with Opposition

You know, it is the same principle, the same method that Satan has been using against mankind forever. Every time that God has raised up His people, to give a special truth for a particular generation, a hatred has developed. People get offended and they go against the message and against the messenger. That has happened time after time. Sister White says very clearly that God has a message of present truth for this time. “Who dare refuse to publish it?” The Great Controversy, 609.

Because she knew that it is part of our human makeup to want to be accepted, God created us to live together. Remember that. God created all of us as a family. And it is part of our nature to want to be accepted by everybody. Everybody wants to be popular. Everybody wants to be in accord with the rest of the people. I am sure that is the same way you feel.

Brothers and sisters, very soon, we are going to come to our heavenly place, and then, yes, there will be forever and ever that unity, that one family for the rest of eternity. But while we are here, we are going to be confronted with opposition.

You know, it is not a surprise that in Matthew 24:14 it says He presented us a clear sign for the aid of the preaching of this gospel. “‘And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.’”

Look how clearly the book of Mark presents it. Notice how Mark registered that quote: ” “‘And the gospel must first be published among all nations.’” Mark 13:10. We have been told, time after time, that the reason God raised up the Seventh-day Adventist people was to give this message, the last message.

Speak Smooth Things, Brother

On pages 94 and 95 of the book, Counsels to Writers and Editors, we are told that the people of the world will try to induce us to soften our message.

Have they done that? Of course!

For those of you who have not read it, I have a report from the General Conference, which they proudly post on their network. They have announced, how after more than 15 years of meetings between the Catholic Church in Poland and the Adventist Church, they have now come to agreement. The Catholic Church will no longer treat the Adventist Church as a sect or a new religious group. This is declared in a joint statement drawn by the Roman Catholic Church and the Adventist Church. So, again, the structure church has been doing a good job by allowing the infiltration of the Roman Catholics into the church to soften the message.

Oh, let us not preach anything negative about the people, they say. But God tells us to unveil the man of sin. God said to unmask the things of Babylon, but the world says, oh, no, no, do not do it! Do not do it! And Satan’s agents are not only saying do not do it, but they are persecuting the ones who are doing it. Satan has been very successful with the saints.

The world, Mrs. White says, will try to suppress one of our more distinctive features. “They say: ‘why do you in your teaching make the seventh-day Sabbath so prominent? This seems to be always thrust before us; we should harmonize with you if you would not say so much on this point.’” Ibid., 94.

Compromise, Compromise

Do you know what was the very first complaint from the evangelical leaders, Barnhouse and Martin, to the General Conference leaders back in 1956? It is recorded in the book, Letters to the Church, by M. L. Andreason. The very first thing that Martin noticed when he sat down in the office was a book that talked about the mark of the beast, according to Pastor Andreason’s report. He said, How can you be seeking to be accepted into the mainstream churches when you are teaching those things about the mark of the beast?

According to Pastor Andreason, the very next quarter the scheduled Sabbath School Quarterly had an entire chapter dealing with the mark of the beast. Do you know what happened to that chapter? It disappeared from the Sabbath School Quarterly.

For those of you who have not read the book, Letters to the Church, by M. L. Andreason, I recommend that you get the book. It is available from Steps to Life. You will be surprised.

You see, these things have been happening for quite a long time; the thing is, we have been asleep. People have been asleep. Satan has been trying to keep us just conforming. Many of us are conforming ourselves in a selfish manner. I do not even see how he knew a person could pretend to be saved by himself, because God called you and me for His kingdom, and with the same calling, He also called us to disciple others.

Run, Hide, Do Nothing!

Some feel that you can be saved, just by trying to ensure that only you are going to be saved. I have found, especially in the Spanish countries, a little wind of doctrine blowing. Recently, in Puerto Rico, some brethren have been going and hiding in places. Now it is good to be going into the country, but they are going beyond that. They said, “We do not see the need for you to be putting these messages out, because the law is going to be in control of all the message, anyway.”

I looked at one of the leaders, and said, “Who do you suppose God has been calling to get this message out?” God help us to accept this responsibility. We are going to be responsible for those souls, thousands and thousands of souls, who are perishing because of lack of knowledge, and their blood will be on us.

We were recently in Guatemala, and we were hardly able to find people to take care of a little work, because everybody was running and leaving the whole responsibility to finish the work for God.

Betraying a Sacred Trust

It does not matter which means Satan uses to keep the message from going out. He does not care which way he does it. We are not to get worried about that. But we are to be very aware. Look what Mrs. White says, “Shall we for the sake of policy, betray a sacred trust? If the world is in error and delusion, breaking the law of God, is it not our duty to show them their sin and danger? We must proclaim the Third Angel’s Message.” Ibid., 95.

This is not a matter of choice, whether we want it or do not want it. I came from a very strong Roman Catholic background. I have five or six cousins who are Roman Catholic priests. One of them was made a Bishop in the Dominican Republic not too long ago. He recently came to see me. They are still working hard to get me to go back home, so to speak, back into the “house.” They see me as the black sheep of the family.

And my heart is broken, because I know they are being deceived. I know them. They grew up with me, and still they cannot see that they have been, not only deceived, but manipulated by the Roman Catholic Institution. They are now deceiving the whole church; they are being manipulated. It is a heartbreaking experience. The message should be going out. It is so late, brothers and sisters, to be playing with the salvation of so many souls. Their blood will be on our hands.

It Has Nothing to do With the Name

We have been very anxious to go out and preach, even more than ever, because we know that the trial and the lawsuit is not really because of the name, Seventh-day Adventist. We are not deceived. It is because of the work that has been going on. Knowing that, we are trying to go as many places as possible to spread this message, even outside of North America.

There is a need for this message to go out. I just heard a brother from California. Their board has already made a decision to do some of this work out there, too, even though we have already done this several times in California. But California is huge, and I believe that some other people should start doing this, too, so the General Conference will see that it is not only a little “offshoot” people down there in Florida, but it is God’s people, around the world. Some of you told me that you took the Earth’s Final Warning to a local paper, and they refused to print it, even though you offered to pay. You can always bulk mail it to the zip codes. That is what we are doing. Also give it out; pass it out to the people. Very soon that is not going to be accepted, we know that, but sometimes the Lord opens up little opportunities and big opportunities.

Setting the Record Straight

Not too long ago somebody sent me a copy of an article that was in the Cairo, South Carolina, paper. It was almost a half page article entitled, “Thus Shall it Rest.” It says that every minister of the ministerial association officially declares a day of rest. I called the brother who sent this, and I said, “Did anybody in South Carolina answer this article? I know there are a lot of Seventh-day Adventists there.”

They said, “No, everybody has been quiet.”

“You mean not even one letter to the Editor, sent by somebody who is a Seventh-day Adventist?”

“Not as far as we know.”

So I called information, and I asked for the phone number of the newspaper. I had in front of me a copy of the articles of both the evangelical and the Roman Catholic churches. They said that they are trying to introduce the idea, or trying to implement the idea, of Sunday worship—you know, not enforcing, but presenting a day of worship.

“I am a Seventh-day Adventist,” I told the lady who was taking care of me over the phone, “and we believe that that is wrong.”

She said, “Well. . .”

“Will you allow me to write an article and put it in the paper?” I asked.

She said, “Well, let me see what can be done.” After a moment she said, “We can sell you some space.”

I said, “Okay, that is fine. I need you to give me a full-page ad.”

She said, “A full page?”

I said, “Yes, a full page. Not a quarter of a page, a full page.”

“Well, send me the material” she said. Then she wanted to charge me like a business.

I said, “No, we are a church, and we have a non-profit status.” I know, after a while of dealing with them, you have to press hard to get the cheapest rate possible. I always ask, “Do you have a stand-by program?” You know, like you set it aside.

That is what I recommend to you, if you are planning to do this. When you talk to the newspaper, tell them not only to give you the non-profit rate but also what they call Ramen, like a remnant space. If, at the last minute, they cancel an ad, they have your material right there, ready, and they will call you and say, “Okay, we have a page available, now. Do you want to go?”

“Yes!” We do not have a specific date to come out. It can come out any time.

That is the way we have been doing it. And let me tell you, in the Los Angeles Times, we were able to get the price down from $78,000 to only $21,000 by using this method. And the U.S.A. Today ad went from $150,000–$160,000 worldwide, to $52,000. You send them the material, they keep it there; and when they have had some other advertisers cancel, they put in your ad. It works well.

One time we did that with the Miami Herald, and the day the Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, was coming to Miami, there was a cancellation of a full page ad in the Miami Herald, and our Earth’s Final Warning came through right on the same day that she was in Miami! A $5,000 ad, and we got it for $1,600.

Madeline Albright is a very, very strong Roman Catholic lady. But do you not feel that she needs to be confronted with the Three Angels’ Messages, too? Yes, of course.

Then we received a lot of letters. You know, brothers and sisters, for the grace of God 80 percent of the people were requesting more books and materials. The other 20 percent were upset. When I give the 1-800 phone number, whoever calls, it is because they are in need of calling. And whoever sits down and writes a letter is either very angry at the message or is very interested in the message.

To be continued . . .

The Last Invitation – Part I

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We live in a world and a generation of great darkness. I do a little colporteuring from time to time, and I meet various people. I can tell you that there is a lot of darkness, but I can tell you as well, there are also some bright lights. It is like the night sky. As you look into the heavens, the majority of what you see is darkness, but interspersed between the darkness, is the light.

God wants you and me to be part of the program to spread the light. There is one thing, and only one thing, that helps us bear the darkness in this world, whether it is physical darkness or spiritual darkness, and that is light. When it is dark, there is just something about light.

There Will be an End

Three or four things that I am going to mention have something in common about them. See if you can identify the common denominator. All of us, at sometime, have begun reading a book, and we have found it so interesting that sometimes we did not want to put it down. Is that right? This has something in common with making a dress, building a front porch or going on a vacation. They all share a commonality. Have you found it? There is something that is the same within all of those tasks,—there is an expected end in view. When you pick up a book, you know that there is going to be an end. And if it is a good book, the more you read, the more desirous you are to get to the end. When the ladies make a dress, as they begin cutting the fabric and putting it together, the further along they get the more desirous they are of getting it finished. Is that right?

It is the same with building a porch, and it is the same with taking a vacation. The closer we get to our completed project, the more excited we become. Is that right?

That excitement is like the experience God wants us to have with Him. You and I can gain in earnestness and desire only as we progress in the Gospel truth. As we choose to walk in the way with Jesus and make progress in the Christian life, we are going to grow in earnestness and desire to reach the expected end.

God says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, . . . thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11. You see, God has something in view for you and me and for all humanity, if we are willing to respond; He has an expected end in view for us.

No Power without His Righteousness

In Romans 1:16, 17, Paul declared, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

You see, the power of God for salvation is in His righteousness. There is no power unto salvation without His righteousness. Paul makes that very clear.

If we want power in our lives, we must have the righteousness of God within—period. The gospel of Jesus Christ is an invitation from God to all humanity. God is not in the business of coercing us into heaven. He will not twist our arms. He will not force us, but He will invite us, and He is inviting us.

There may be some reading this who have never accepted Jesus Christ as a personal Saviour. I tell you that God is beside you, and He invites you to come to Him today. There are some of us who have accepted and responded to the invitation, but God is calling us to a greater commitment. He has an expected end in view. Do you? We must have the same view that He has. We must be in harmony with His mind if we are going to reach His expectation.

The gospel is an invitation to “Come.” “Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live.” Isaiah 55:3. “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18.

High Expectations

God has a high expectation for humanity, higher than most professed Christians understand in this generation. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17.

It is an invitation, brothers and sisters, by the God of heaven to His created in this world. How you and I respond to this invitation will determine where we are when we see the reality of the expected end.

The expected end is revealed in Revelation 19:9: “And He saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And He saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” “These are the true sayings of God;” God does not lie, and what God says will happen, will happen.

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

There will be a marriage supper of the Lamb. It is the expected end that He has in view for you and for me. How we receive the invitation, brothers and sisters, will depend on whether or not we are at that supper.

Jesus brings to view the reality of the expected end in the marriage supper of the Lamb in Luke 22:29, 30. “‘And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as My Father hath appointed unto Me; That ye may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’”

Jesus wants us to someday sit down at His table, at the marriage supper of the Lamb. There we will eat and drink with the rest of the redeemed. I do not want to miss this supper. Do you want to be there?.

Jesus, the Servant

Jesus gives us a startling revelation in regard to the marriage supper of the Lamb. He lifts the veil a little bit so we can catch a view of the expected end. “Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.” Luke 12:37.

Who is going to be one of the servants to serve the redeemed at the marriage supper of the Lamb? Who will come over to you and ask, “Would you like the pineapple, the watermelon or the cantaloupe?” Our Saviour Himself will serve us!

It is all reality, brothers and sisters, because what God says will happen, will happen. The question is, are you and I going to be a part of the happening?

He wants us there. He has a place, if I may say, a placesetting, that He wants to put out for you and for me at His table. Jesus said, “‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1–3.

The Royal Table

I would suggest to you that it is more than a mansion that Jesus is preparing; it is a place at the table of the Lamb. It is reality, brothers and sisters, because these are the true sayings of God.

In Matthew 22, Jesus brings to view the marriage supper of the Lamb through a parable. This parable is fraught with all kinds of warnings for us. “And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid [invite] to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.’” (Verses 1–10.)

What a hard time the God of heaven has! You can sense it right there, can you not? He has a hard time getting humanity to respond to an invitation to eternal life. It is hard to understand! “‘

And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him in the outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Verses 11, 12.)

Quite a revealing parable, to say the least, in regard to the marriage supper of the Lamb, which is the expected end that God has in view for His redeemed at the beginning of their eternal life with Him. You and I have the potential, by our choice, to make Jesus glad or sad in regard to this invitation.

Jesus is Preparing for You

There are seven things in this parable I want to review with you. Let us go back to some of the statements Jesus made.

“‘All things are ready.’” (Verse 4.) “‘Behold, I have prepared My dinner.’” All things are ready? Yes, God the Father, the Son and the Spirit have made all things ready that are necessary for us to be there at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Everything has been taken care of. Everything! God has not missed one point. He has taken care of it all. He is waiting for you and for me to choose to be in harmony with His readiness. They are ready, are we? Are we getting ready?

“‘But they made light of it.’” (Verse 5.) They made light of the invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb. You see, ultimately, you and I choose whether we are going to be earnest or whether we are gong to make light of it. It is our choice. They made light of it. They came to a decision within themselves to think it was not all that necessary to make all of these preparations to be ready for the supper. They allowed their minds to be focused somewhere else.

But, they remained being professed people of God. There is a total distinction between being professed and being possessed. God wants a people who are possessed with His righteousness. It is the only thing that will prepare us for the supper.

“‘They were not worthy.’” (Verse 8.) The wedding is ready, but they, which were bidden, were not worthy. Why were they not worthy? Because they were not ready. To be worthy is to be ready. Again, our choice is involved.

They went out in the highways and the byways and they gathered in people. (Verse 10.) There were two categories of people who responded to the invitation. What were they? the bad and the good. Now, do you and I have the ability to distinguish between those two categories within the church? No, God does. God reads the heart. God knows why you are reading this article. God knows where your thoughts are as you read. God knows where your heart is at this moment.

The Wedding Garment

As you read on in the parable, you find that heaven views those who are not putting on the wedding garment as bad. All you have to do is be reluctant to put on the robe of His righteousness to be deemed of heaven as one of the “bad ones.”

This should alarm us, brothers and sisters, because in every congregation of professed Christians, God tells us there are bad and good. The ultimate question is, which are you; which am I?

So, Paul, the great apostle, says, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.” II Corinthians 13:5. It does not matter if you are in the church. It does not matter how faithful you are in coming to church. Examine your heart, whether you are in the faith. Faith has everything to do with His righteousness, as we read in Romans 1:16, 17. Look at this phrase: “‘Which had not on a wedding garment.’” (Verse 11.) He came in and saw one of the guests. In the parable, this is the only item that is given that qualifies for sitting down at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Do not miss it. It is the only thing. It is the wedding garment. We must understand what that wedding garment is, and what it is not, if we are to some day sit at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

No Excuses

There will be no excuses. When he found that there was no wedding garment on this man, he asked him about it (Verse 12). What was the man’s response? He was speechless. There was nothing to say. All the excuses, all the self-justifying had just vaporized, and this man knew why he was lost. In the second resurrection, after the millennium, when God brings up every soul who is lost, who chose not to receive the invitation, there is no one with a voice saying, “I did not have a chance. This was unfair.”

There is no voice raised in that vast crowd, that sea of lost souls. Sad to say, they are speechless, because they all know why they are where they are. Then, in verse 13, Jesus says of those who will be lost: “‘Cast him away into outer darkness.’”

This parable brings time to view, brothers and sisters. There is a time to get ready, a time to be ready, and then there is no more time. The time will soon come when it is too late; it is over. Those who die no longer have a choice. It is over. It is done. There are no more choices; there are no more opportunities in the grave. So now, while we are living and breathing and moving, oh, what an opportunity we have to accept this invitation extended by a marvelous God. It is sad to see what a slow response God is getting.

Now, I want you to notice something. When the king came in and he saw this man, this guest, without a wedding garment, the man had come into the marriage supper believing he was all right. I have heard some people, as I go from door to door colporteuring, say, “I am good. I am ready. I am ready to go. I am good to go, I do not need any books.”

Well, this man thought that he was good and ready. The man was deceived. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. God can. So David, in Psalm 139:23, 24, says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Believing Does Not Make it So

That is the attitude you and I need to have. That is the spirit you and I need to have. Do you want to be at the expected end that God has in view for you? I do. I want to cooperate. You see, apart from God’s grace upon our hearts, we will be deceived. Our hearts will deceive us. I do not care how long you have known the Gospel truth; I do not care how much of the truth you know. If you walk outside of God’s grace, you are opening the door to being deceived by your own heart into thinking everything is right when everything is wrong.

To be continued . . .

Satan’s Last Attempt to Thwart God’s People, Part I

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“The Waldensian missionaries were invading the kingdom of Satan, and the powers of darkness aroused to greater vigilance. Every effort to advance the truth was watched by the prince of evil, and he excited the fears of his agents. The papal leaders saw a portent of danger to their cause from the labors of these humble itinerants. If the light of truth were allowed to shine unobstructed, it would sweep away the heavy clouds of error that enveloped the people. It would direct the minds of men to God alone and would eventually destroy the supremacy of Rome.” The Great Controversy, 76. That was the reason for persecution.

The devil is just as afraid of the Three Angels’ Messages today. He is just as angry against God’s Word today, as he was then. We read in Revelation 12:17 that he was wroth. The dragon was angry. He was furious with the woman, that is God’s people, the church, and he went to make war with the last church.

The devil is furious. He is as afraid today, as he was afraid of the Waldensian missionaries then and for the very same reason. An acceptance of the Three Angels’ Messages and an understanding of the truth of those messages will destroy large religious movements today that are based and founded on error. The Three Angels’ Messages will sweep away all the clouds of darkness. So the devil is afraid, and he has reason to be fearful, because he is going to lose. He is furious, and his ferocity is the ferocity of an animal that has been wounded by his fight for life.

Satan’s Attack

Satan’s last attempt to thwart God’s purpose involves an attack, an attack from satanic forces, an attack from the dragon. We see very clearly, in Revelation 12:17: “The dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

This attack has two phases, a long preliminary phase and then a short final phase, which we are rapidly approaching. The first, long preliminary phase of this attack scheme is to deceive as many of God’s professed people as possible, so they will not realize that they have changed leaders and that they are on a different side than they think they are.

Ellen White wrote that, “The time is right upon us when every kind of deception will be practiced. [Every kind of deception.] Christ says, ‘Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing.’ [Matthew 7:15.]” The Youth’s Instructor, July 31, 1902.

What does it mean when it says, “come to you in sheep’s clothing”? That means that outwardly they appear to be members of the church. The most deceptive attacks will come from those who profess to be Seventh-day Adventists.

“As we near the end, temptations will be stronger and more seductive.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 13, 89. What does seductive mean? It means the temptations will be attractive and deceptive. This will result in the shaking and the sifting.

To completely understand Satan’s last attempt to thwart God’s purpose, you have to first understand what God’s two great objectives are in the end time.

God’s Two Objectives

God has two objectives in the last generation. You can read about the first objective in Ephesians 5:25–27, where it is predicted that Jesus is going to have a church in the last generation that is without spot or wrinkle, one that is holy and without blemish. God is going to have a perfected people. Satan’s first purpose is to attempt to keep that from happening.

That is the reason for all kinds of heresies. Satan is trying to keep people sidetracked into some kind of heresy, so they will never reach perfection of character.

You can read about God’s second end-time objective in Revelation 14:6, 7; it says that these messages are going to go to the world’s population. There are people who believe that it is all right to send out advertising and invite people to come to a meeting. If they come to the meeting, you tell them about the Three Angels’ Messages, but if they do not come to the meeting, you just leave them alone. So over 99 percent of the population of that town never finds out about the Three Angels’ Messages. Are we only to give the Three Angels’ Messages to those who will consent to come to one of our meetings, or does the whole world have to find out about it? Revelation 14:6, 7 says the whole world has to find out.

When Will the Time be Right?

Now when and how is the whole world going to find out? “Well,” somebody says, “We will just have to wait until the right time.” When will the right time be? Do you want to wait until we are all in prison and try to do it from there?

Now God is not going to force anybody to accept these messages. God never uses force. But everyone has to know about them. Why? They have to know, so they have an opportunity to make an intelligent decision, whether or not they are going to receive the mark of the beast.

They cannot make that decision if they have no idea what the mark of the beast is. And that is what the Third Angel’s Message is about. They cannot make that decision if they have no idea what Babylon is. That is what the Second Angel’s Message is about. And they cannot make an intelligent decision to receive the seal of God unless they understand that there is a Creator Who made the earth and Who is going to judge the world. That is what the First Angel’s Message is about.

The devil is determined that God’s second objective will never happen. That is one of the reasons for this lawsuit down in Florida. It is to stop people who are trying to get the message out to all the world. They say, You are doing it wrong. Okay, fine. Do you have a better way? We have a message that we have to get to the entire world population and if we are doing it wrong, show us a better way. Show us a way that will be more productive, that will get to more people, quicker and faster.

The result of God’s two objectives is that He has a special testimony for His people in this last generation. A special testimony, a straight testimony or the testimony of Jesus, as it is called in Revelation 12:17, has been vouchsafed to Seventh-day Adventists. We have the Spirit of Prophecy. We have the straight testimony, and Ellen White says it will result in a shaking in the church. It will do two things; some will be shaken out, and others will receive the seal of God. (See The Kress Collection, 124.) The sealing, the sifting and the shaking are in process now. A refining process is going on in every church; people are coming in; people are going out.

Ellen White wrote about this in 1895. She said, “The Lord is soon to come; there must be a refining, winnowing process in every church, for there are among us wicked men who do not love the truth. There is need of a transformation of character. Will the church arise and put on her beautiful garments, the righteousness of Christ? It is soon to be seen who are vessels unto honor.” Review and Herald, March 19, 1895.

Front Page, Worldwide News

We know, from Revelation 12:17, that we will be attacked. Now we have had a few skirmishes in the past, but we are going to have an attack that will be front-page, worldwide news. This point of the attack will be a religious liberty issue over Sabbath and Sunday. You can read about that in Revelation 13:13–17. This crisis is just before us. There is going to be a fierce conflict of mind with mind, of principle with principle and of truth with error. We are fast approaching this crisis. It will be an all out attack from the devil. Do you see the battle coming? If you see the battle coming, what should you and I do about it? Shall we just say, “Well, Lord, Satan is determined’ it is going to come; just get us through it,” and then sit back and watch it happen?

No, friends, that is avoiding the issue, and it is exactly what the devil is trying to get many Adventists to do—just sit back and watch it happen. Do you know that you cannot be involved in the victory that is coming to God’s people unless you are also involved in the conflict that precedes the victory? We must pray, each one of us, for faith and strength to be active in the battle.

“This world is the great field where the last battle is to be fought. Now every man who is on the Lord’s side will come up to the battle of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty, and the walls of antichrist shall fall before the Captain of the Lord’s host.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 1038. Is that not encouraging? We have a promise that the walls of antichrist are going to fall.

Unfortunately, there are some Adventists today who talk as though they do not even know who antichrist is. Do you think you can attack a city, a wall, if you do not even know where the wall is? Something to think through, is it not? God wants you to know for sure who the antichrist is and what his program is.

God Will Have Men Who Stand Firm

“God never leaves the world without men who can discern between good and evil, righteousness and unrighteousness. God has men whom He has appointed to stand in the forefront of the battle in times of emergency.” Review and Herald, November 19, 1903. “These will see the battle coming and will give the trumpet a certain sound. When the crisis is upon us, when the season of calamity shall come, they will come to the front, gird themselves with the whole armor of God, and exalt His law, adhere to the faith of Jesus, and maintain the cause of religious liberty.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 16, 238.

Oh, friends, this crisis is upon us, and we must not be paralyzed. We must go to the Lord in prayer and claim the promises of Scripture. Some of you may say, “Well, Pastor John, I am just so weak.” Do you know what the Bible says? In Hebrews 11:34 it talks about some people who, by faith, “out of weakness were made strong.”

We are approaching this last battle, this major attack that Satan will bring against the remnant, and this attack will be a most determined effort to blot from the face of the earth all those who keep the commandments of God. He is going to be so successful that, just a few days before Jesus comes, it is going to look like every single person in the world who is keeping the commandments of God will be killed and blotted out of existence.

It is going to take some faith, let me tell you. We need to be memorizing the promises. Concerning the Bible, Ellen White said, “Let us commit its precious promises to memory, so that, when we are deprived of our Bibles, we may still be in possession of the Word of God.” Review and Herald, January 6, 1910.

Some people today do not know who antichrist is; at least it does not appear that they do. They ask why we have to talk so plain. Let me tell you why. Do you know, friends, that if you do not know for sure exactly who antichrist is, that one of these days you are going to join antichrist and be part of it and not even know what happened?

Ellen White says, “Those who become confused in their understanding of the word, who fail to see the meaning of antichrist, will surely place themselves on the side of antichrist.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 949. Now that is quite a prophecy. If you do not know who antichrist is, you are going to be with antichrist.

A lot of people do not know what the Greek word “anti” means. The derived meaning is “against.” That is what everybody thinks it means, but that is not the original, primitive meaning. The original meaning of the Greek word “anti” is somebody who stands in the place of somebody else. If we would convert it to Latin, the Latin word, meaning the same, is “vicar.” An antichrist is the vicar of Christ, someone who stands in the place of Christ.

Deluded Christians

Unless the Holy Spirit is in control of your mind, the delusion is going to be so much like the real thing that you will be deceived. You will believe that you are worshipping Jesus Christ; you will believe that you are having the greatest religious experience that you ever had, but you will be deluded. Let me tell you, the devil can give people wonderful feelings.

We are headed toward this major attack. It is right around the corner. We have had some skirmishes, but there is going to be a major, all out, attack against the remnant. We must be careful that we never manifest the spirit of the enemy. We are to stand for the truth, but we are never to manifest the spirit of the enemy while standing for the truth.

In 1893, Ellen White wrote, “Although we are to stand firm as a rock to principle, we should be courteous and Christ-like in our dealings with all men. In meekness and love we should tell the people why we cannot accept the papal Sabbath, because it is a mark of special dishonor to God, whom we love and worship. But while we sacredly observe the Sabbath of the Lord, it is not our work to compel others to observe it. God never forces the conscience. That is Satan’s work.” Review and Herald, February 7, 1893.

As we approach this final attack, remember the first thing is for the devil to move in and to deceive as many of God’s people as he can. Ellen White says that he will come dressed in angel robes. (See Review and Herald, January 11, 1887.) Is he going to be successful? With the majority of Seventh-day Adventists, he will be successful.

Patterned After Ancient Israel

They are going to be deceived. They will believe that they are having these marvelous religious experiences, but it will be the wrong spirit. “In His Word the Lord declared what He would do for Israel if they would obey His voice. But the leaders of the people yielded to the temptations of Satan, and God could not give them the blessings He designed them to have, because they did not obey His voice but listened to the voice and policy of Lucifer. This experience will be repeated in the last years of the history of the people of God, who have been established by His grace and power. Men whom He has greatly honored will in the closing scenes of this earth’s history pattern after ancient Israel.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 13, 379.

What will happen? Among Seventh-day Adventists, men, whom God has greatly honored, will pattern after ancient Israel. What was that? They listened to the voice and policy of Lucifer, and when people do that it looks like they are doing the right thing from a human standpoint. That is the way it is presented.

Unless you are praying, unless the Holy Spirit is leading and guiding you as you are memorizing the Bible promises and as you are searching God’s Word, you will be led astray, You will not even know what has happened. It happened to the Jews, and it is happening all around us today.

I cannot keep you from being deceived. Only the Lord can do that; only the Holy Spirit can do that. But you have something to do, if you are not going to be deceived. You must study God’s Word and ask the Holy Spirit to guide your mind to understand, to follow and to obey it.

To be continued . . .

Editorial – Living by Every Word, Part II

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Before the Protestant Reformation, there was only one Bible.  Now, there were many manuscripts of the Scriptures, and the manuscripts of the New Testament in Greek (the language in which the New Testament was written) had many variant readings in them.  For example, in mainly those manuscripts of the Byzantine text-type (a major text-type of the New Testament which is the text type from which the “Received Text” was developed in the Sixteenth  and Seventeenth centuries),  John Mill published, in 1707, a Greek New Testament with a listing of about 30,000 variant readings, most of which did not alter the sense of the passages.

In addition to this, the New Testament had been translated into many other languages in the early Christian centuries.  It had been translated into Aramaic, and today we have several different ancient translations of the New Testament into Aramaic, the most famous of which is the Peshitta. We have over 1,000 manuscripts of the Aramaic Scriptures, and these manuscripts agree closely with one another, making us confident that they were copied with great care and accuracy.

The New Testament was also translated early into Latin. People in the Western part of the Roman Empire could read Latin much better than Greek.  Many, of course, could not read Greek, so very early in Christian history the New Testament was translated into Latin.  Relatively few of these old Latin manuscripts survive, and we have very few of the earlier copies.  It was called the Itala.  This Old Latin, or Itala, New Testament was the Bible that the Waldenses had and later translated into the Romaunt language, which was the language of the people in Northern Italy and Southern France several hundred years later. In the fourth century, Jerome gathered the best Greek manuscripts that he could find of the New Testament and revised the Old Latin text to harmonize with these Greek manuscripts. This version (the Old Testament he translated directly from Hebrew) became known as the Vulgate.  The Vulgate was about the only Bible in existence in Europe for most of the Dark Ages.  It was the Bible that Martin Luther studied in the library in the university and later in the convent.  It was the Bible that John Wycliffe used to translate the Scriptures for the first time into English.  We have more copies of the Vulgate than we have even of the Greek New Testament.  Unfortunately, as the Vulgate was copied over and over, it became corrupted so that the later copies were very far from the actual Latin Vulgate that Jerome had translated.

In addition to these two most important ancient versions of the New Testament, we also have several other ancient versions such as the Sahidic (Coptic dialect), the Bohairic (Coptic dialect), the Armenian translation, the Georgian translation (language spoken by a group of people living between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea), the Gothic translation (East Germanic language translation  by Ulfilas), the Ethiopic and a few others.

Although there are thousands of variant readings in the different versions and in the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament themselves, any one of them, if studied carefully, will lead the reader to the gospel and salvation.  They are an infallible guide to salvation, even though we do not possess a single autograph of a single verse of the New Testament.  The Protestant Reformation started as a result of men like Martin Luther and John Wycliffe studying from the Latin Vulgate, which was the only Bible available to them at first.

But when the Protestant Reformation began, the future of the papacy was in jeopardy.  If the new teachings were not met and opposed and proved in error, the future of the papacy was at an end.  Because the Roman church was burning people for even printing the Bible, and because the Bible that was being printed before the middle of the Sixteenth century taught a completely different religion than was being taught by Tetzel and the leaders of the Roman church, it was becoming evident that there was an irreconcilable difference between the Church of Rome and the religion of the Bible.  Both could not be right, because their teachings contradicted.  For example, the Bible forbids a person to bow down in front of an image (Exodus 20:4–6) and commands men to keep the Sabbath holy (Exodus 20:8–11), but the Roman church teaches men to adore images and to keep Sunday instead of the Sabbath.  The Bible forbids not only adoration or worship of dead images but also of living images; we are forbidden to give the adoration of worship to any man (Acts 10:26), in direct contradiction to Roman practice.

Because of the threat of Protestantism to the papacy, the Council of Trent was called from 1545–1563.  At this council four propositions were made which have affected Bible translations ever since that time.

(to be continued)