Spiritual Insight – Snares

I saw that Satan bade his angels lay their snares especially for those who were looking for Christ’s second appearing and keeping all the commandments of God. Satan told his angels that the churches were asleep. He would increase his power and lying wonders, and he could hold them. “But,” he said, “the sect of Sabbathkeepers we hate; they are continually working against us, and taking from us our subjects, to keep the hated law of God. Go, make the possessors of lands and money drunk with cares. If you can make them place their affections upon these things, we shall have them yet. They may profess what they please, only make them care more for money than for the success of Christ’s kingdom or the spread of the truths we hate. Present the world before them in the most attractive light, that they may love and idolize it. We must keep in our ranks all the means of which we can gain control. … As they appoint meetings in different places, we (Satan and his angels) are in danger. Be very vigilant then.

  • Cause disturbance and confusion if possible.
  • Destroy love for one another.
  • Discourage and dishearten their ministers; for we hate them. …
  • Make covetousness and love of earthly treasures the ruling traits of their character. As long as these traits rule, salvation and grace stand back.
  • Crowd every attraction around them, and they will be surely ours. And not only are we sure of them, but their hateful influence will not be exercised to lead others to heaven. …”

Satan with his angels is on the ground to hinder the work. … He leads some in one way and some in another, always taking advantage of evil traits in the brethren and sisters, exciting and stirring up their natural besetments. …

Satan took advantage of the covetous, selfish disposition of Judas and led him to murmur when Mary poured the costly ointment upon Jesus. … [He] considered the liberal offering to Jesus extravagant. Judas prized his Lord just enough to sell Him for a few pieces of silver. And I saw that there were some like Judas among those who profess to be waiting for their Lord. Satan controls them, but they know it not. …

Satan and his angels mark all the mean and covetous acts of these persons and present them to Jesus and His holy angels, saying reproachfully, “These are Christ’s followers! They are preparing to be translated!” …

  • Angels turn in disgust from the scene.
  • God requires a constant doing on the part of His people; and
  • when they become weary of well-doing, He becomes weary of them. …
  • Every selfish, covetous person will fall out by the way.
  • Like Judas, who sold his Lord, they will sell good principles and a noble, generous disposition for a little of earth’s gain.

All such will be sifted out from God’s people. Those who want heaven must, with all the energy which they possess, be encouraging the principles of heaven. Instead of withering up with selfishness, their souls should be expanding with benevolence. Every opportunity should be improved in doing good to one another and thus cherishing the principles of heaven.

Jesus was presented to me as the perfect pattern. His life was without selfish interest, but ever marked with disinterested benevolence.

Early Writings, 266–269.

Inspiration – Christ’s Followers the Light of the World

The Light of the world, the “Sun of righteousness,” was imparting His beams of light to His disciples, and illuminating their minds, sweeping away their traditions and man-made requirements, and enforcing the real principles of God’s law upon them. He taught them lessons which they should put to a practical use in order to be the lights of the world. He taught them that they should exhibit in their character the graces of His Spirit which He pronounced blessed. The acceptance of the light He urged upon His hearers, as essential for their restoration to spiritual life. And for them to have a sound, healthful, happy experience, they must exercise the best and noblest faculties of the soul. He would have them understand that if they would make their lives pleasant, and useful to others, they must be obedient to the requirements of God. He always directs safely, and we shall not go astray while following where He leads. Said Christ, “I am the light of the world. He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Christ represents the disciples who have the attributes which characterize them as children of God, as the light of the world. Without these attributes they cannot be the light of the world, and they would not correctly represent Christ Who is the Light of the world. As the sun goes forth in the heavens on its errand of mercy and love, and as the golden beams of day flood the canopy of the heavens and beautify forests and mountains, and awaken the world from their slumbers by dispelling the darkness of night, so should His followers go forth on their mission. They should gather the divine rays of light from the Light of the world, and let it shine forth in good works upon those who are in the darkness of error. Through the ministration of His ordained servants He carries forward His work through all time.

The message of light given to the assembled multitude on the mount was not alone for them, but was to be sounded in the ears of the church all along the line, through successive generations, resting with more solemn weight upon Christ’s ambassadors in the last days. Sinners are to be turned from the darkness of error to the light of truth, by the foolishness of preaching. He who accepts the light is to claim no authority himself; but as God’s messenger, with light reflected to him from the Source of light, he may claim the highest authority.

God might write the messages of truth upon the firmament of the heavens as easily as He placed the stars in their position. He might proclaim the truth and let it shine to the world through angel visitors, but this is not the way He ordained. He delegated power to His disciples to carry the light which He would communicate to them, to all parts of the world. Through His ambassadors God graciously infuses light to the understanding and warmth to the souls of those who acknowledge the message He sends, bearing light to those in darkness.

Paul writes to Timothy: “Be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them, for in so doing thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:12, 16). The ambassador must be obedient and faithful in the performance of his work as an instrument of God in the salvation of others. He cannot be saved himself if he is an unfaithful servant. He must be the light of the world. He must erect the standard of Christ in families, in villages, and cities, and in the hearts of men.

God does not select angels who have never fallen, but fallen man who has felt the redeeming power of the grace of Christ sanctifying his own life, and the bright beams of truth warming his own heart. As they have been in peril themselves, they are acquainted with the dangers and difficulties of others, and the way to reach others in like peril.

Said Paul, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us” (11 Corinthians 4:7). This is the reason why angels were not chosen to preach the truth. The gospel was committed to weak and erring men that God might have all the glory. The supremacy of God is to be discerned in the frail instrument chosen to proclaim the message of truth.

Our Saviour often spent all night in prayer to His Father, coming forth with the rising sun to shed His beams of light upon the world. With His heart all full of sympathy for the poor, the ignorant and afflicted, He labored that He might elevate fallen man, and dispel the moral darkness by the light reflected from Himself.

The Signs of the Times, January 8, 1880.

Current Events – Christian Institutions Stand up for Religious Liberty

New healthcare policy requires institutions to provide coverage for abortion. A flurry of lawsuits (now up to 45) have been filed against the rule in the Affordable Care Act. These lawsuits claim that forcing employers to pay for abortion-causing drugs violates their freedom and practice of religion, a Constitutional right.

The banner of truth and religious liberty held aloft by the founders of the gospel church and by God’s witnesses during the centuries that have passed since then, has, in this last conflict, been committed to our hands. The responsibility for this great gift rests with those whom God has blessed with a knowledge of His word. We are to receive this word as supreme authority. We are to recognize human government as an ordinance of divine appointment, and teach obedience to it as a sacred duty, within its legitimate sphere. But when its claims conflict with the claims of God, we must obey God rather than men. God’s word must be recognized as above all human legislation. A ‘Thus saith the Lord’ is not to be set aside for a ‘Thus saith the church’ or a ‘Thus saith the state.’ The crown of Christ is to be lifted above the diadems of earthly potentates.” The Acts of the Apostles, 68.

On January 20, 2012 the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, unveiled a new policy which has come to be known as the “HHS Mandate.”

The new Mandate would require nearly all private health insurance plans to include coverage for all FDA-approved prescription contraceptive drugs and devices, surgical sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs—drugs that interfere with implantation in the womb and therefore destroy the life of a human being in the earliest stage of development.

The United States Supreme Court has denied a request by a national arts and crafts chain with 500 stores in 42 states, to shield the company from the so-called contraceptive mandate, a part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, while its legal battle plays out, after a federal court similarly ruled against the Christian-owned company. Its CEO argued that his family would have to either “violate their faith by covering abortion-causing drugs or be exposed to severe penalties.” www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/26.

The American Center for Law and Justice, a pro-life legal organization that focuses on constitutional law, achieved a significant victory in the legal battle against the mandate when a federal appeals court granted an emergency motion for an injunction putting the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate on hold—preventing it from being enforced against an Illinois business and its owners.

In December 2012, a federal district court in Missouri granted an ACLJ request for an injunction—blocking the mandate from being enforced against a Missouri company. And, in November, a federal appeals court also stepped in and put a halt to the enforcement of the mandate against a St. Louis company.

Following a decision by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denying the arts and crafts chain’s request for an exemption from the administration’s HHS mandate, the Christian retail company said it will defy the mandate. www.lifenews.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com.

An extremely narrow exemption effectively only protects houses of worship. Business owners’ ability to run their businesses consistent with their religious and moral convictions is not protected. Accepting the Administration’s logic would limit the application of religious freedom to individuals acting within their houses of worship on weekends. It would further erode the free exercise of religion, restricting religious believers’ ability to live out their faiths in their day-to-day lives. blog.heritage.org/2012/12/18.

The freedom that has been enjoyed in the United States and protected by the Constitution in the past is being eroded away.
“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Wendell Phillips (1811–1884).

Let there be Light

“Then the Pharisees and the Sadducees came, and testing Him [Jesus] asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, ‘When it is evening you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red”; and in the morning, “It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.” Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.’ And He left them and departed.”

Matthew 16:1–4

Jesus often used physical realities—the things of nature—to make a spiritual point. He referred to them as signs. These signs were actual, factual, even sometimes historical events intended to direct the minds of the hearers beyond the truths of the physical world to greater spiritual truths.

Paul suggests that God has done the same thing—used physical reality to make a spiritual point—in the act of creation itself. He wrote, in II Corinthians 4:6, “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Here Paul is making an allusion to Genesis 1:1–3, which reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”

Clearly, Paul considers the creation as recorded by Moses in Genesis to be a historical, factual, and plainly understood and widely accepted fact. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. For Paul, this text points to a real event in time and history—the creation of light around six thousand years ago.

However, God revealed to Paul that the text does even more than record history. God showed Paul that His acts in creation were prophetic and eternal words, foretelling spiritual things to come. Just as God said, “Let there be light!” He now says to helpless, weak sinners, “Let there be understanding of who Christ is.” To quote 11 Corinthians 4:6 again, “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

As the divine light on day one invaded the darkness of the pre-creation void, so God’s grace invades our weak, frail, dark minds. We stand before God without spiritual light and void of goodness. Like the original creation in Genesis 1, we do not yet have spiritual life, but all that changes because of God’s grace. God says, “Let there be light,” and there is light!

God revealed a similar idea to John. John 1:4, 5 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Like Paul, John is alluding to Genesis 1:1–3, understanding that every word of the creation story is historical and literally true.

In addition, God revealed to John that the Genesis text says much more. God intended the historic light of creation to burn an even greater spiritual truth into our minds. The same God who said “Let there be light” is the God who inspired Peter to write, in I Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Allusions to the light of truth penetrating darkness are ubiquitous in both the Old and the New Testaments. Both Job and his “miserable comforters” speak of the contrast between light and dark. In Job 29:2, 3, Job remarks of his misery, “Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness.”

David spoke of it in Psalm 18:28, where he wrote, “For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness,” and again in Psalm 112:4: “Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.” (KJV)

Isaiah used the same metaphor in Isaiah 9:2: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.”

In speaking for God, Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 42:16, “I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.”

Micah as well made reference to this phenomenon in Micah 7:8: “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.”

And, of course, we are all familiar with the words of Christ Himself, as quoted in John 8:12: “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’ ”

He made a similar reference in John 12:35, 36: “Then Jesus said to them, ‘A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.’ ”

In John 3:19, in His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus remarked, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

The same God Who, in Genesis 1, transformed the earth, filling it with light, life, order, and rule, is the same God Who is transforming believers by His grace into men and women who are to be “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), and, when fulfilling the grand commission, will, as Gabriel told Daniel in Daniel 12:3, shine as the stars of heaven. The power of God that was manifested in the historic creation is the same power that is at work in our lives today.

Unfortunately, some professedly Christian leaders have mythologized the Creation, dismissing it as pre-scientific nonsense. Even Pat Robertson, a leading evangelical Christian, has maintained that the Creation is a myth, citing carbon dating and dinosaurs “frozen in time out in the Dakotas” as irrefutable evidence that the earth is vastly more than 6,000 years old. (November 27, 2012, on the “700 Club” broadcast, CBN television.)

Such statements give strength to the Catholic argument that man’s intelligence overrules the teachings of Scripture, and erodes faith in God’s word, leading one to believe that he can pick and choose what he takes as truth in God’s word.

Paul and John took the opposite view. They understood that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.

To trivialize God’s words—any of His words, from the very first words, “Let there be light,” to the very last words, “Surely, I come quickly”—deprives believers of the blessings, the faith, and the confidence in His word that God intended us to have when He gave it to us.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

John Pearson is the office manager and a board member of Steps to Life. After retiring as chief financial officer for the Grand Canyon Association, Grand Canyon, Arizona, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, to join the Steps team. He may be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org.

Where the Waters Run

In the immense universe stretching through the vastness of space is our nearest neighbor the moon. Man has actually walked on its dry dusty face. We now know for certainty it is barren, desolate and devoid of even the simplest forms of life. What a contrast to colorful planet earth, our home—a sphere of striking beauty, green, fresh, fertile and teeming with life in great profusion. A dazzling diversity of life!

What makes the difference between the lifeless moon and the living earth? There is nothing else quite like water in the entire universe. In a surprising variety of ways the peculiar properties of water seem to have been designed expressly to make the world hospitable to life, and the earth has a great abundance of water. It covers about 70 percent of the earth’s surface. That is an estimated 326 million cubic miles of water. If the surface of the earth were perfectly smooth, the waters of the oceans would cover the earth uniformly to a depth of between 8,000 and 9,000 feet. However, only a fraction of one percent of all the water of earth can be called fresh water or water suitable for our personal use.

Most of us tend to regard this remarkable substance as ordinary, but we must not take it for granted, for in reality it is the most extraordinary substance in the universe and one upon which we are totally dependent for life.

The symbol for water, H2O—two atoms of hydrogen, and one atom of oxygen, is rather short as chemical formulas go, but that is water!

Hydrogen itself is a gas, the lightest of all elements and very flammable. Oxygen is also a gas and readily supports combustion.

Think of it—two gases—hydrogen, which is highly combustible, and oxygen which supports combustion. When combined in precisely the right proportion they form water, man’s chief agent for putting out fires.

When you heat water to 212 F it ceases to be a liquid and becomes a gas. When you cool water to 32 F it freezes. Why water reacts precisely as it does can be understood only by examining the structure of the water molecule itself, which looks something like the head of a mouse. The parts that look like the ears of a mouse represent two hydrogen atoms, the larger part represents an oxygen atom.

The two elements are quick to join each other and once together are difficult to separate because of the strong electrical attraction between them much like a magnet.

Given enough time, water will dissolve almost any other substance, for it comes closer to any other liquid to being a universal solvent and plays an important part in erosion. As water erodes, it picks up chemicals and minerals and were it not for the ability of water to dissolve or break down the molecular structure of other substances, plants would not get the nutrients they need.

Water’s force in motion is another factor dramatically evident in its power to erode. Its relentless motion through continuing centuries has helped to shape earth’s surface in rugged artistry. Cutting and chiseling through solid rock, water has sculptured deep canyons of spectacular grandeur.

Have you ever wondered why water forms into a drop or bead, how it holds itself together? Again, the explanation is found in the molecule. Once formed, water molecules join to each other in a sort of liquid latticework. In the liquid state, the negative side of one molecule is attracted or joined to the positive side of another. These attractions or bonds are formed and broken at random. At the surface where the liquid stops, the surface molecules cling to the ones below and to the sides. This cohesion creates a sort of skin that holds the water together, providing what is called surface tension. A drop of water takes the shape of a sphere. The skin of the molecule holds the sphere together. A water strider can walk on water, for the skin provides a surface.

Water skin is also illustrated in the old saying “like water off a duck’s back.” It is surface tension, which causes water to bead and roll off the bird’s back. Actually, due to surface tension these coots (swimming or diving birds) are sealed in an envelope of air as they dive, but perhaps the greatest work of surface tension in supporting life is cohesion or capillarity. Capillarity is the force that causes water to rise in a constricted space; the greater the constriction, the greater the rise. To further illustrate this principle, split the stem of a white carnation and place the parted stems in containers of colored water and you will find the different colors rise through the stem changing the color of the flower.

As water goes up the trunks of trees, capillary action is again at work. Without the ability of water to creep upward against the pull of gravity, the chemicals and minerals needed by plants to manufacture food would remain in the ground. Cohesion or capillarity is a phenomenon of water necessary to sustain life on earth.

In its solid state, water exhibits another phenomenon essential to life. In the days when the milkman delivered his product in a glass bottle, and it was left outside with the temperature below freezing, the milk would expand popping the bottle cap. Milk is 87 percent water. It was the water in the milk that froze and expanded. Almost any other substance, whether liquid, solid or gas will shrink in volume as its temperature goes down and as it shrinks it becomes more dense.

Water also shrinks during most of the temperature drop toward the freezing point, but below 40 degrees something amazingly different happens; it expands and gets less dense. As it freezes into a solid, it becomes still less dense until it has finally gained about nine percent in volume.

Why does ice float? This is because ice occupies more space than liquid water without weighing more. Since ice floats on the surface it acts as a layer of insulation, which protects the water beneath from further freezing. If water, like other liquids, were to become more dense when frozen, ice would sink and more ice would be formed at the surface. In the wintertime the rivers and streams would freeze and stop flowing, lakes would freeze solid and even the oceans might become a solid mass of ice. In the summer the sun’s heat would only melt a thin layer on the surface forming a shallow slush and life would have little chance for survival.

But God created the earth so it would sustain life, therefore the molecule of water had to be different than the molecule of all other substances. With the warmer temperatures of spring, ice readily melts. The melting liquid flows from higher elevations to lower elevations forming bodies of water. The heat of the sun and the water lifts water vapor up. The sun, air and the force of gravity all work together, as they have for centuries, to keep the hydrologic or water cycle going. Warm wet air is lighter than cold dry air, which causes it to rise. The clouds began as rising currents of warm air laden with moisture. Borne by prevailing winds the moist air cools as it rises higher and higher up steep mountain slopes and contracts as it cools literally squeezing out most of the moisture as refreshing rain. Raindrops wash the air absorbing carbon dioxide as they fall, returning to the soil as carbonic acid vital to plants and providing pure fresh water for animal and human life.

Three thousand years before the principles involved were discovered by modern science, the Bible described the water cycle with amazing accuracy. “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” Ecclesiastes 1:7.

More energy is expended in the water cycle in one day than man has been able to generate throughout the course of history. This alone should make us stand in awe at the power of our God.

God’s power can also be seen in the conversion of salt water to fresh. Man has long sought for a simple inexpensive way to remove salt from seawater. Survival kits employ solar stills. They operate through a process of evaporation and condensation, a process that God has been utilizing for thousands of years. The process is referred to as desalination or desalting. These solar stills successfully make the conversion providing fresh drinking water from the undrinkable ocean.

Huge plants have been developed for converting larger amounts, but so far the cost of converting enough fresh water for even one city is comparatively expensive. However, desalination could well become our prime source of fresh water. Yet from the very beginning God has converted billions of tons of salt water to fresh every day.

We’ve considered many different things about water and its unique properties. All the evidence indicates that water possesses precise properties that make life possible. These properties were not acquired through a process of random change, but were designed into water from the very beginning by the master Designer, God Himself.

What does all this mean to you personally? Think again about how much we use water. Every day we use it in hundreds of ways. In a very personal way water means a great deal. Really it is a matter of life and death. Seventy percent of the average human body is water. You constantly lose this precious body liquid and if it is not replaced, and fairly soon, you will die. It is the water in your blood that carries it through 60,000 miles of arteries, veins and branching capillaries. Water plays a major role in the digestion of food and lubrication of joints. Mucous membranes would dry up without it and without water your eyes would cease to function. Water also regulates body heat. From the beginning of time to the present, water is supporting life on earth, your life! Water with its precise properties is God’s loving provision for our physical lives.

The formula of water is simple but it is also very special and very exact. Man did not create water and cannot change its formula, but he is absolutely dependent on it. Water has no man-made substitute. Where waters run there is life; where they do not, there is desolation and death. The Bible speaks of another kind of life, spiritual life, and reveals another kind of water—Living water. The living water is the Lord Jesus Christ. To a lonely and misunderstood sinful woman long ago Christ said, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” John 4:10 NKJV.

However, just as God’s provision for man’s physical life is precise, so is His provision for man’s spiritual life precise. Just as man did not create physical water, so he cannot create spiritual water. Just as he cannot change the formula for the one, so he cannot change the formula for the other. Just as man will die physically without the one, so he will die spiritually without the other. But just as physical water is abundantly available to man, so the spiritual or living water is also and the formula is simple but the formula is special, exact and precise. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Man is confronted with an awesome alternative; he can receive the spiritual water and live or he can reject it and die. Remember, just as physical water can be yours for the drinking so the spiritual water can be yours for the asking and receiving—free, without cost. Christ’s invitation given centuries ago still stands: “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. … Out of His belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:37, 38.

Receive Christ now and you can experience eternal life and your spiritual life will be fully and finally satisfied. “Come … you who are thirsty; accept the water of life, a free gift to all who desire it.” Revelation 22:17 NEB.

A Moody Institute of Science Presentation, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Illinois.

Knowing God

Abraham was called a friend of God. “Art not thou our God, Who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend for ever?” II Chronicles 20:7. James also said, “And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” James 2:23. In the book, Patriarchs and Prophets, 128, Ellen White wrote these words: “Abraham, ‘the friend of God,’ set us a worthy example. His was a life of prayer. Wherever he pitched his tent, close beside it was set up his altar.”

To become a friend of God, Abraham spent much time with Him on his knees praying. He set up an altar—morning and evening worship. I cannot think of anything more wonderful than having the Creator of the universe, the One Who holds all of the stars and planets in their place and conducts all of the little duties here on this earth and watches over each little thing, as a personal friend. Can you imagine what that means? We need to come to the place where we consider God not only our God and our Creator, which He is, and we do not want to take any of the reverence from that, but we also consider Him as a friend Who hears us, watches what we do and tends to things that happen around us so that our life can walk straight on to the kingdom of heaven.

Considering God as a friend helps to have Him closer to us and helps us to realize that we can turn and talk to Him. It is necessary to come to the place that when you are talking to God you realize that you are talking to a real person. He is your friend. He loves you.

One time, when I was a child, I heard a minister make the remark that the Bible is a love story from God to man. I thought that was funny and I didn’t understand that. But as the years have gone by and I study and read my Bible, I understand from the promises and from the loving things God has told us that it really is a love book to us as human beings. As we read and study we become conscious of His presence. That experience is crucial if someday we are going to be able to walk into the kingdom of God. We have to be able to recognize down here on earth that we have God’s presence, and as we talk and work, or whatever we do, we do it to please Him and not to please man.

Jesus told us, in John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” To know Jesus Christ is to have eternal life. We all have a desire to have eternal life, so what we need to do is learn to know God, to know Him better.

Jeremiah 9:23, 24 says, “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches.” This is the part of the verse I want you to pay close attention to. “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”

He says, “in these things I delight.” He delights in loving kindness.

He has given us a whole chapter in the Bible dedicated to teaching us about this subject. This is found in I Corinthians 13:1: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” Just to talk and talk is like sounding brass and tinkling cymbals, unless it is in love. We should love one another as we talk to them and think of them.

Paul continues in verses 2 and 3: “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. [Charity is the same as love.] And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” The most important thing is that we love one another, and if we love one another we will love God.

Continuing with verse 4, “Charity [love] suffereth long, and is kind … .” You know, sometimes it takes a long time for a thought to get through, but “love suffereth long.” Sometimes people forget, and we say, “Well, I told you that before.” These quick answers, like, “I told you that before; why don’t you see it?” are not really love. Love suffereth long, and if a person has to be told the same thing ten times, it is still to be with love—it is to be kind and thoughtful.

“Charity [love] envieth not … .” Don’t try to get better than the next fellow. Enjoy who and what he is and be happy for his accomplishments and that he is where he is. And “charity [love] vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.” It is not trying to show himself and say, “Hey, this is me; would you pay attention to me?”

“Love doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own …” Verse 5. If you watch children, you quickly acknowledge that they have to be trained. Children do so many things for one purpose, and that is to get attention. But according to I Corinthians 13, we don’t do that. Love does not behave itself unseemly, does not seek her own but seeks others.

It “is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.” Sometimes we forget, and it is so easy to get provoked. We may lose something and find out that somebody has put it where it does not belong, and we are provoked at these things. But love does not do this, because you love the other person so much that it does not bother you. You don’t think evil about people. It is very easy to see somebody do something and then judge their motive in your mind. But love does not think evil about others.

“Charity [love] never faileth: whether there be prophecies, they shall fail …” Verse 8. Now, that really used to bother me, because I always thought that prophecies were supposed to be for sure. But if you stop and think about it, there are prophecies that fail because the conditions of the promises are not lived up to. There were prophecies for Jerusalem that it would stand forever, but look at what happened to it. The city was destroyed. However, in the end the prophecy will be fulfilled and it will stand forever in the New Jerusalem making the prophecy sure. The prophecy that it would stand here on earth failed because men failed God. So, prophecies may fail. “Whether there be tongues, they shall cease … .” We all eventually pass away. “Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” There have been a lot of really bright people in this world, but when their time comes, they too vanish away.

“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” Verses 9, 10.

It is so wonderful that the Lord has described the meaning of loving kindness. What else does it say in Jeremiah 9:24? “Let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” He wants us to know that He exercises loving kindness—so He has given us the description of it. The next thing He says is that He exercises judgment. I read a little bit about this in the Spirit of Prophecy. God’s judgment is true, and you and I need not worry about being mistreated. We do not need to worry about when we get a raw deal on money, care or any other thing, or somebody thinks something about us that is not so and we get treated wrongly. We do not need to worry about those things, because God says He exercises judgment. He takes care of those things. He says, in Romans 12:19, “Vengeance is Mine.” You and I do not need to worry about vengeance or, if you have gotten a wrong deal, about paying somebody back, because the Lord is taking care of those things. He will exercise judgment. We on this earth need to let God take care of the judgments.

The last gift mentioned in Jeremiah 9:24 is so important and so wonderful. He exerciseth “righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” He wants to give us His robe of righteousness! Not one of us can really do right. We just cannot do the right thing all of the time. It is impossible, except as God exercises His righteousness and gives us His robe of righteousness. We must claim this robe of righteousness and practice it, because He says, “for in these things I delight.”

The three things that He says He delights in are: loving kindness, judgment and righteousness. Those are the three things that, as we study, we will become acquainted with God, Whom to know is to have eternal life. Surely each one of us wants to have eternal life. That is one reason we believe. He wants us to enter His kingdom, but the only way we can enter it is to have His beautiful robe of righteousness. We must wear this robe made up of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (Galatians 5:22, 23). These are the fibers that make up His robe. It is well for us to contemplate what God has for us, the wonderful things He will do for us and the goal that He has for us. His goal is that one day we will be with Him in glory. The only way we will do that is to accept His robe of righteousness and wear it day by day.

Remember, love suffers long and is kind. With this love we can perfect a character that will fit into the society of heaven. We are told to practice the kind of life that will be accepted in the society of angels. In The Signs of the Times, July 18, 1878, it says, “The principles of the commandments, carried out in the daily life ennoble and sanctify the heart and mind and give one a moral fitness through Jesus Christ, for the society of holy angels. Our all wise heavenly Father knew what rules were required to guard man from sin and to regulate his life, leading him to practice such virtues as would make him a fit subject for heaven.”

Just think, down here on earth we can begin to enjoy those blessings. It is here that we need to build a character that can stand and be clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness.

Ruth Grosboll, matriarch of Steps to Life, lived a long life in the service of her Master. She served as a missionary nurse in Myanmar, formerly Burma. In her later years she held the position of receptionist and correspondent at Steps to Life Ministry, blessing many people with her heartfelt encouraging letters. She is sadly missed to this day.

The Sabbath

A clear understanding of the origin and purpose of the seventh-day Sabbath and the part it occupies in the lives of God’s faithful people is necessary in the closing scenes of the great controversy between Christ and Satan.

The Sabbath was set apart on the seventh day of creation and is also the fourth commandment, which is evidence that the law of God was given to Adam and Eve on the very day of creation and was in effect at creation. The seventh-day Sabbath has also been a very prominent commandment all through the history of the controversy between Christ and Satan. It says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:8–11 NAS.

The sojourner and the Gentile are also advocated to keep the commandments, and if they are in your home, they are to keep the Sabbath with you. All ten commandments are for everybody, not just the Jews.

The Sabbath was introduced at creation. It has been in effect and will be in effect throughout eternity, “from one new moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 66:23. All will gather from one new moon to another in the new earth, from one Sabbath to another.

The only ones that do not want to keep the Sabbath are the rebellious of this earth who are the minority in this universe. Sabbath keepers belong to the great majority of people in the universe. On this earth it looks like you are the outcasts, but in comparison to the whole universe and with God and with His Son, we are the great majority of Sabbath keepers. So be of good courage.

In Genesis 2:2 we are told that God rested on the seventh day. “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.”

In Patriarchs and Prophets, 47, it says, “The great Jehovah had laid the foundations of the earth; He had dressed the whole world in the garb of beauty and had filled it with things useful to man; He had created all the wonders of the land and of the sea. In six days the great work of creation had been accomplished. And God ‘rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made’ (Genesis 2:2, 3). God looked with satisfaction upon the work of His hands. All was perfect, worthy of its divine Author, and He rested, not as one weary, but as well pleased with the fruits of His wisdom and goodness and the manifestations of His glory.”

This is a very clear statement of where the Sabbath came from and its purpose. So it was on the seventh day of creation that He set aside the Sabbath day as a day of rest.

We are told in Genesis 2:3 there were three things that God did for the seventh-day Sabbath that He did not do for the other six days. It says, “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.”

God blessed the seventh day; He sanctified it and then He rested on it.

Often some people will say that they worship every day of the week, or they keep every day holy. Nobody can keep a day holy that God has not sanctified or made holy. But the seventh-day Sabbath He sanctified and therefore you can keep it holy because it is a holy day. The other six days do not have that blessing; they were not made holy. You cannot keep holy something that is not holy.

Many people recognize the association of the seventh day with the seventh-day Sabbath, but to avoid it they worship on Sunday in honor of the resurrection as justification. It is up to us to strive for holiness each and every day of the week, but there is only one Sabbath day. We are preparing for heaven, and in heaven the occupants keep the seventh-day Sabbath, and we want to fit into that heavenly environment. We need to understand the depth of meaning in the Sabbath.

God told us to remember. It is man’s duty to rest on the seventh-day Sabbath; he is to reflect upon God’s great work of creation and to behold the evidences of God’s wisdom and goodness. As we do this, we will be filled with love and reverence for our Maker. By observing the seventh-day Sabbath we acknowledge that God is our Creator and that we are the work of His hands and are subject to His authority.

The fourth commandment points to God as the Maker of the heavens and the earth, and it also gives the law its authenticity and binding force because it contains the seal of God which shows His authority as Creator and His claim to reverence and worship above all others. This seal gives the name of the Lawgiver, which is the Creator, and it identifies His territory, which is the heavens and the earth.

In Patriarchs and Prophets, 307, we are told: “God has given men six days wherein to labor, and He requires that their own work be done in the six working days. Acts of necessity and mercy are permitted on the Sabbath, the sick and suffering are at all times to be cared for; but unnecessary labor is to be strictly avoided. ‘Turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and … honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure.’ Nor does the prohibition end here. ‘Nor speaking thine own words’ (Isaiah 58:13), says the prophet. Those who discuss business matters or lay plans on the Sabbath are regarded by God as though engaged in the actual transaction of business. To keep the Sabbath holy, we should not even allow our minds to dwell upon things of a worldly character. And the commandment includes all within our gates. The inmates of the house are to lay aside their worldly business during the sacred hours. All should unite to honor God by willing service upon His holy day.”

We find specific principles showing us that we are not to get involved in things that involve our worldly needs. We are to turn our thoughts heavenward.

  • We are not to do our own ways.
  • We are not to find our own pleasure; this includes sports and things like that.
  • Man’s own work is not to be done on the seventh-day Sabbath.
  • Unnecessary labor is strictly forbidden.
  • We are not to discuss business matters or lay plans.
  • Our minds are not to dwell upon things of a worldly character.

One of the big snares that Satan has introduced into God’s remnant people is the Saturday night entertainment, because many times the thoughts, especially with young people, are, throughout the Sabbath hours focused on “What is going to happen tonight?” Having parties for children and showing films are the talk of the day, and it is very hard for them to keep their minds upon things of eternal value when those kinds of incentives or plans are made for their entertainment. This does much to desecrate the Sabbath in the lives of the youth and the adults.

Looking at the law of God in a positive manner is a blessing to us. If we followed His commandments we would have a very safe society; we would not need police or jails because society would be living at peace with everybody and respectful toward each other’s needs. The law of God is a blessing to us, and we need to approach it as God would like us to. It is a wonderful blessing for the people of God and to all who observe the seventh-day Sabbath.

In The Desire of Ages, 285, we are told: “Christ would teach His disciples and His enemies that the service of God is first of all. The object of God’s work in this world is the redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the Sabbath law. Jesus then crowned His argument by declaring Himself the ‘Lord of the Sabbath’—One above all question and above all law. This infinite Judge acquits the disciples of blame, appealing to the very statutes they are accused of violating.”

Looking at the positive side of the law, this is to be a blessing to the fallen race. The whole purpose of God is to restore man to freedom from sin and to restore him to the kingdom of glory. Anything that can further that objective is appropriate to do on the Sabbath. That is another principle, and God leaves it up to us to decide the actual things we should or shouldn’t do in light of that principle. The things necessary to be done on the Sabbath for the accomplishment of the redemption of man is in accord with the Sabbath law. The law is a positive blessing.

“They were performing those rites that pointed to the redeeming power of Christ, and their labor was in harmony with the object of the Sabbath. But now Christ Himself had come. The disciples, in doing the work of Christ, were engaged in God’s service, and that which was necessary for the accomplishment of this work it was right to do on the Sabbath day.” Ibid., 285.

Isaiah 58:13 tells us, “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words.”

There are also several other things that are appropriate to do on the Sabbath.

  • Acts of necessity and mercy. Ask yourself if this is something that is a necessity to help somebody in their physical needs, etc.
  • The sick and suffering are at all times to be cared for.
  • We are to call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and honor Him in His character, doing those things that He would like to see us doing to help in the plan of redemption.
  • All should unite to honor God by willing service.

We do not want to get into the area of making statements for what to do and what not to do. The Jews got into that and became all mixed up and then missed the true meaning of the Sabbath. We need to look at the general principles and ask ourselves if this can help in the plan of redemption or help somebody in their necessity or needs. We need to understand what can be done on the Sabbath, because someday we will be tested. Many are watching us, and we may need to give a reason for the things we do and not do. We need to stand with the principle that it is lawful to do good and to promote the plan of redemption and to work with Jesus in the saving of souls.

God calls the Sabbath a “sign between me and you.” “Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily My sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.” Exodus 31:13.

Keeping the seventh-day Sabbath is a sign that we believe in the new covenant and that Jesus is ministering in the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary of the new covenant in heaven. Here is the reason this is true. To keep the Sabbath holy the individual must be holy himself. We are all sinners, unholy. To become holy we must have our sins removed. We can be freed from our sins in one way only. That way is to go to Jesus in the Most Holy Place, confess our sins and plead with our Redeemer to atone for these confessed sins with His blood. Jesus is just and will cleanse us from these sins and also give us strength to keep from committing sin. He then presents this humble one to the Father as if he had never sinned. God the Father now sees him as one “of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.” Revelation 14:12 NIV. The sinner is now free from sin and can keep the Sabbath holy because he is holy.

The Sabbath is a time to spend with the Lord. How are you going to know that He is the Lord and how are you to know that He is holy unless you spend time with Him in His word and keep your thoughts on things of eternal value? You will not know unless you observe the Sabbath.

Maurice Hoppe is Director of the Steps to Life training programs and a member of the Steps to Life Board. The Training Program for Ministers and Church Leaders is a correspondence course that prepares individuals to serve as a pastor or Bible worker. Preparing for the Final Conflict is a correspondence course for the laity. Both of these courses teach present truth that will be an anchor for the soul during the storm of opposition and persecution just ahead. He and his wife also have a correspondence course offered through Revelation Ministry. He can be contacted at: mauricehoppe@stepstolife.org.

The Cords that Bind

Jesus said that when the Lord comes, everybody in the world will be bound into bundles. “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?” He said to them, “An enemy has done this.” The servants said to him, “Do you want us then to go and gather them up?” But he said, “No, lest while you gather up the tares, you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, [Another version says, “at the time of the harvest.” A more accurate translation would be, “during the time of the harvest”] and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ” Matthew 13:24–30.

Notice, it says the tares are gathered together and they are bound. To bind anything, you need to have some kind of a cord or rope or something with which to bind them. Jesus explained what these cords were: “Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.’ He answered and said to them: ‘He who sows the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’ ” Verses 36–43.

We read here that Jesus will send forth His angels to bind the tares in bundles and cast them into the fire before the wheat is gathered for the heavenly garner. This is surely not a physical binding but a mental or spiritual binding. But what are the cords that bind?

Binding the Tares

“Satan is busily at work in our crowded cities. His work is to be seen in the confusion, the strife and discord between labor and capital, and the hypocrisy that has come into the churches. That men may not take time to meditate, Satan leads them into a round of gayety and pleasure-seeking, of eating and drinking. He fills them with ambition to make an exhibition that will exalt self. Step by step, the world is reaching the conditions that existed in the days of Noah. Every conceivable crime is committed. The lust of the flesh, the pride of the eyes, the display of selfishness, the misuse of power, the cruelty, and the force used to cause men to unite with confederacies and unions—binding themselves up in bundles for the burning of the great fires of the last days—all these are the working of Satanic agencies. This round of crime and folly, men call life.” Evangelism, 26.

Notice the two things mentioned that bind them: confederacies and unions. Men are bound up in bundles by joining certain organizations. How does this happen? “In all our great cities there will be a binding up in bundles by the confederacies and unions formed. Men will rule other men and demand much of them. The lives of those who refuse to unite with these unions, will be in peril.

“The work of the people of God is to prepare for the events of the future, which will soon come upon them with blinding force. In the world gigantic monopolies will be formed. Men will bind themselves together in unions that will wrap them in the folds of the enemy. A few men will combine to grasp all the means to be obtained in certain lines of business. Trades unions will be formed, and those who refuse to join these unions will be marked men. …

“These unions are one of the signs of the last days. Men are binding up in bundles ready to be burned. They may be church members, but while they belong to these unions, they cannot possibly keep the commandments of God; for to belong to these unions means to disregard the entire Decalogue.” Maranatha, 182.

If you are a member of an organization that is breaking the law of God, you are a part of it, and when you give your time, money and influence to it, you will be acknowledged as guilty of the same sins if you stay in it. You will be bound in a bundle.

Very often somebody says, “I’m not doing it.” But you are a member of an organization that is doing it, and supporting what they are doing with your influence, time, and your money. And so, it says, “They cannot possibly keep the commandments of God, for to belong to these unions means to disregard the entire Decalogue.”

In Notebook Leaflets, 48, Ellen White has this to say about the subject: “I am instructed to say that in the future great watchfulness will be needed. There is to be among God’s people no spiritual stupidity. Evil spirits are actively engaged in seeking to control the minds of human beings.”

Notice the way evil spirits try to control the minds of human beings. She says, “Men are binding up in bundles, ready to be consumed by the fires of the last days. Those who discard Christ and His righteousness will accept the sophistry that is flooding the world. Christians are to be sober and vigilant, steadfastly resisting their adversary the devil, who is going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Men under the influence of evil spirits will work miracles.” Ibid.

We don’t understand how rapidly this work of binding people in bundles is going on. Once people are bound, it appears to them that they can never get loose. They say that they will lose their job and won’t have a way to make a living. Of course, they could decide that they are going to lose anything to gain eternal life and the Lord could provide for them. But you can see how it takes a tremendous amount of faith to get loose from this bundle once you have been bound.

“Can we not see how earnestly Satan is at work binding the tares in bundles, uniting the elements of his kingdom, that he may gain control of the world? This work of binding up the tares is going forward far more rapidly than we imagine. Satan is opposing every obstacle to the advancement of the truth. He is seeking to create diversity of opinion and to encourage worldliness and avarice. He works with the subtlety of the serpent and, when he sees it will do, with the ferocity of the lion. The ruin of souls is his only delight, their destruction his only employment; and shall we act as though we were paralyzed? Will those who profess to believe the truth listen to the temptations of the wily foe and allow themselves to become selfish and narrow, and their worldly interests to interfere with efforts for the salvation of souls?” Testimonies, vol. 5, 384.

Notice what Satan is introducing to bind people in bundles. Three things are mentioned. He is seeking to create diversity of opinion, to encourage worldliness—the love of the world, and avarice—a desire and craving to gain possessions. The devil tries to break down people’s barriers so their soul is weak, that without moral force, they can be overcome and then become polluted and debased and easily bound together in bundles.

“The matter is placed before us in the correct light. The question is asked, ‘And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God … Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing’ (II Corinthians 6:16, 17). What does this mean—the suggestions, the evil workings in the children of disobedience. You are not in any case to become contaminated with the spirit or influence of unbelievers. Be afraid of uniting or binding up in bundles with them. Be afraid of communicating the works connected with the Lord’s cause to those who have no part with God, or sympathy with those who love the truth of God.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 271, 272.

The devil seeks to get us bound up by being contaminated with the spirit or the influence of unbelievers. Of course, this Scripture (II Corinthians 6:14–16) is usually used to teach that as Christians we should not marry those that are not Christians, those that do not have the same faith. That is a true application of this Scripture, but it does not refer simply to a marriage covenant. When you are in close business relationships with a non-Adventist, disagreements can arise on whether or not to keep the establishment open on Saturday, when to close it on Friday or how to distribute the means that are made. An Adventist will want to pay tithe on his increase while a non-Adventist will generally not want to pay tithe on anything. When you are bound up with an unbeliever you are headed for trouble, and the Bible says not to do it.

In the book This Day With God, 163, it says, “The inhabitants of the world, under Satan’s leadership, are binding up in bundles ready to be burned. We have no time, not a moment, to lose. The judgments of God are in the land, and those who stand obstinate, unconvinced by the warnings God sends, will be bound up in bundles ready to be burned.”

We are not to bind ourselves with them. In Special Testimonies for Ministers and Gospel Workers, 10, Ellen White said, “Let not God’s people in any of our institutions sign a truce with the enemy of God and man.” She then quotes from II Corinthians 6:14, “Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers.”

In our institutions there is a continual temptation to try to become more successful by uniting with the world. Ellen White wrote, “Christian consistency marked the course of Daniel and Joseph in all the actions of their lives. There are men binding in bundles by vows that will end in sacrificing conscience for professional success.” Pamphlet, 167.

Elder Burden was the principle leader that helped the Seventh-day Adventist church establish today what is called Loma Linda University. Ellen White wrote to him and Mrs. Burden: “How long will the Lord suffer oppression of the poor that rich men may hoard wealth? These men are heaping together treasures for the last days. Their money is placed where it does no one any good. To add to their millions, they rob the poor and the cries of the starving are no more to them than the barking of a dog. But the Lord marks every act of oppression. No cry of suffering is unheard by Him. Those who today are scheming to obtain more and more money, putting in operation plans that mean to the poor starvation, will in the last great day stand face to face with their deeds of oppression and injustice. Those who claim to be the children of God are in no case to bind up with the labor unions that are formed or that shall be formed. This the Lord forbids. Cannot those who study the prophecies see and understand what is before us. The transgressors of the law of God have taken sides with their leader, the general of rebellion. He understands how to devise his satanic schemes and through whom to work for the carrying out of them. He is striving to lead every soul to take sides with him, and under the influence of his temptations, thousands are binding themselves up in bundles, ready to be consumed by the fires of the last day. Those who yield to his temptation become in their turn tempters, standing among the ablest of his helpers.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, 78.

Most do not understand how the labor movement began. A few decades ago a Seventh-day Adventist minister who was a leader of the religious liberty department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, came to talk to ministers about this problem and the problems that they were facing, at that time, in the State of California where people were saying, in certain big cities, that if you want to get a job and earn a living here, you have to belong to a labor union. Sharing the problems they were dealing with, he told us how the modern labor movement got started. It was very interesting to hear the dates that he gave, compared with the statements that Ellen White wrote around the turn of the twentieth century. He told us that at the end of the nineteenth century a pope was elected in 1878 who continued in his office until 1903. In 1891, he wrote an encyclical that initiated the modern labor movement. Most people are unaware of the very close connections that the labor movement has had from its very inception with the Roman Catholic Church. Ellen White goes on to say to Elder Burden, “In the time of the harvest the Lord will say to His reapers, ‘Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into My barn’ (Matthew 13:30). God has a people on the earth who will see the evil of every phase of oppression, and will refuse to unite with the enemy in carrying out his plans.” Ibid., 79.

Are we going to become sanctified through the truth or are we going to become the subjects of Satan’s temptations? “Let all walk and work circumspectly, under the molding influence of the Holy Spirit. There is little wisdom in binding about the work in any line. God has not given His sanction to any branch of His work’s being bound about. But unbelief has strengthened, and those who have not been sanctified through the truth will be subjects of Satan’s temptations. They will be his most successful allies. … There are now those who will show just what they will do under temptation and in an emergency.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 383. When you are under temptation and in an emergency, what will you do?

Concerning these people, “They cannot be depended upon. The Lord has given them great light, but they choose Barabbas rather than Christ. This is being enacted in our very midst. They crucify afresh the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. But the unsetting Sun of Righteousness is to shine forth, and those who have worked to counterwork what God has appointed will be gathered in bundles with the tares.” Ibid., 383.

There is always somebody to object, criticize and counterwork any time God is doing a work in the world. Those people guilty of this will be bound together in bundles. We all need to be very careful when we are analyzing and listening to somebody criticize something. If you are found criticizing something that God is in, then you are counterworking something that God is doing and are in a very dangerous situation.

Ellen White wrote a letter while she was in Australia, around 1892, to a gentleman that was a member of a secret society. There are many, many lodges, fraternities and secret societies of all kinds in the world today. These secret societies are another means by which people are bound in bundles. This man was a member of a Masonic Lodge. This is what she wrote to him: “I am anxious that you shall be a free man from the slavery of all bondage. You have been binding yourself in bundles with those who are an offense to God. Your brethren, or many of them, do not know that which you yourself and the Lord know—the inward workings of the association with which you are connected. You do not yourself know its character.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, 281.

Often times these organizations look very bland and mild on the outside, disguising the inner secret workings that go on within. Ellen White went on to say, “You are like a man intoxicated; every advancement perverts your senses.” Ibid.

That man finally freed himself from his association with the secret society. There are other people today who are members of these secret associations who will cut loose when the loud cry goes out. During the time of the latter rain, the people who want to be saved are going to cut loose from everything that keeps them from obeying the truth.

Today there are many obstacles that prevent people from obeying the truth. Some people refuse to obey because of their spouses; others hold back because of family connections. There are people who don’t obey the truth because of their business or connections with secret societies and labor unions. This connection makes them responsible to a degree for what is done by those associations in breaking the law of God.

As mentioned previously, when we come to the end of time, everybody is going to be bound. There is a big difference in the outcome, which depends upon the bundle in which you are bound. The parable says that the tares will be bound first, but later on, the wheat also will be bound.

Let us consider the cords and what it is that binds the wheat and holds it together. Some people believe that it is the church organization to which you belong.

In the book Early Writings, 88, 89, Ellen White wrote, “I saw the rapidity with which this delusion was spreading. [She was referring to spiritualism.] A train of cars was shown me, going with the speed of lightning. The angel bade me look carefully. I fixed my eyes upon the train. It seemed that the whole world was on board, that there could not be one left. Said the angel, ‘They are binding in bundles ready to burn.’ Then he showed me the conductor, who appeared like a stately, fair person, whom all the passengers looked up to and reverenced. I was perplexed and asked my attending angel who it was. He said, ‘It is Satan. He is the conductor in the form of an angel of light. He has taken the world captive. They are given over to strong delusions, to believe a lie, that they may be damned. This agent, the next highest in order to him, is the engineer, and other of his agents are employed in different offices as he may need them, and they are all going with lightning speed to perdition.’

“I asked the angel if there were none left. He bade me look in an opposite direction, and I saw a little company traveling a narrow pathway. All seemed to be firmly united, bound together by the truth, in bundles, or companies. Said the angel, ‘The third angel is binding, or sealing, them in bundles for the heavenly garner.’ This little company looked careworn, as if they had passed through severe trials and conflicts. And it appeared as if the sun had just risen from behind a cloud and shone upon their countenances, causing them to look triumphant, as if their victories were nearly won.”

The result of the Three Angels’ Messages ends in Revelation 14:12, “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” It is the third angel that binds the wheat into a separate bundle from the rest of the world.

“However much man may pervert the words of God, His purposes will be accomplished. Men may reject the truth, but it is the truth still. To us is committed the most solemn warning ever given to man; for us who are now upon the stage of action are reserved the most important scenes in this world’s history. Many who gave the first and second messages (Revelation 14:6–8) greatly desired to see this day which we see, and saw it not. And not all who now believe will remain to the coming of the Lord; some will sleep for a moment. The Master is binding the precious grain in bundles for the heavenly garner, while the wicked are gathering together as fagots for the fires of the last day. The church and the world are preparing for the last great contest, in which all must act a part. The kingdoms of the whole world are gathering their forces to the battle of the great day, when the wrath of God will be manifested against the nations that have made void His law.” The Review and Herald, January 27, 1885.

“The third angel’s message must go over the land, and awaken the people, and call their attention to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Another angel unites his voice with the third angel, and the earth is lighted with its glory. The light increases, and it shines out to all the nations of the earth. It is to go forth as a light that burneth. It will be attended with great power, until its golden beams have fallen upon every tongue, every people, and every nation upon the face of the whole earth. Let me ask you, What you are doing to prepare for this work? Are you building for eternity? You must remember that this angel represents the people that have this message to give to the world. Are you among that people? Do you really believe that this work in which we are engaged is truly the third angel’s message? If so, then you understand that we have a mighty work to do, and that we ought to be about it. We must sanctify ourselves by a strict obedience to the truth, placing ourselves in right relation to God and His work. As the truth goes forth, Satan intensifies his zeal to defeat its progress by presenting pleasing delusions. As we urge the truth, he urges his errors. He will stir up his agents, in view of the coming of the Lord, to go out and cry, ‘Lo! here is Christ, and lo! there is Christ.’ And here arises this superstition, and there arises that heresy. And tell me, what are we to do about it? I will tell you: we can become familiar with the Bible, and read what saith the Lord. Not only the ministers but all who love and fear God are to do the Master’s work; and that is to let the light that He has given you shine before all. Here are two companies; one of them is being bound in bundles to burn, the other is being bound by the cords of truth and love. Satan is binding his followers with the work of iniquity. Christ is binding together His people in love and faith in the keeping of His commandments. And this work will increase more and more, and Satan will work to divide and separate God’s people one from the other.” The Review and Herald, August 18, 1885.

The devil is trying to separate and divide God’s people. “Satan will work to divide and separate God’s people one from the other. And while he is doing this kind of work, be careful that none of you are found helping him. We want to put away our cold-heartedness, and let love, tender compassion, true courtesy, and the spirit of tenderness come into our midst. Here we are in the waiting time, in the day of God’s preparation. Here in this world we are to fit up for these great trials that are soon coming upon us. And yet some of us act as though we had a whole millennium before us in which to accomplish the work. But, says the text, ‘Watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is’ (Mark 13:33). And what Christ said to His disciples, I say unto you, ‘Take ye heed, watch and pray,’ that when the Master comes to reckon with His servants, you may receive from Him the crown of life laid up for the overcomer, and rejoice with Him in His kingdom.” Ibid.

In Ellen White’s day, the following was a prophecy of what was going to happen in the future, in our day. It is happening all around us. She says, “I see perplexities on every side. As character develops man and woman will take their position, for varied circumstances brought to bear upon them will cause them to reveal the spirit which prompts them to action. Every one will reveal the character of the bundle with which he is binding himself.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 995, 996.

Every bundle has its own character. We will reveal the character of the bundle with which we are being bound. If I intend to be in the kingdom of heaven but belong to an organization that is in open sin, I will have to cut loose from it before Jesus comes. The multitude of God’s people is still in Babylon, but before Jesus comes, the cry of Revelation 18:4 is going to go out, “Come out of her My people.” Babylon is in open sin and God’s people have to come out.

Two groups, both bound—one group ready to be burned. Jesus is coming for the heavenly garner that is bound about with the cord of truth. Make sure you choose the right bundle!

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Editorial – The Fragrant Christian

Do you have enough perfume? The fragrance of Christ’s character in His people will win many souls to Christ. “The grace of Christ is to control the temper and the voice. Its working will be seen in politeness and tender regard shown by brother for brother, in kind, encouraging words. An angel presence is in the home. The life breathes a sweet perfume, which ascends to God as holy incense. Love is manifested in kindness, gentleness, forbearance, and long-suffering.

“The countenance is changed. Christ abiding in the heart shines out in the faces of those who love Him and keep His commandments. Truth is written there. The sweet peace of heaven is revealed. There is expressed a habitual gentleness, a more than human love.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 102.

“When you open your eyes in the morning, thank God that He has kept you through the night. Thank Him for His peace in your heart. Morning, noon, and night, let gratitude as a sweet perfume ascend to heaven.” The Ministry of Healing, 253.

“God would have our families symbols of the family in heaven. Let parents and children bear this in mind every day, relating themselves to one another as members of the family of God. Then their lives will be of such a character as to give to the world an object-lesson of what families who love God and keep His commandments may be. Christ will be glorified; His peace and grace and love will pervade the family circle like a precious perfume. A beautiful offering, in the child life of Christian missionaries, will be made to God. This will make the heart of Jesus glad, and will be regarded by Him as the most precious offering He can receive.” The Review and Herald, November 17, 1896.

“The grace of Christ changes the whole man, making the coarse refined, the rough gentle, the selfish generous. It controls the temper and the voice. Its outworking is seen in politeness and tender regard shown by brother for brother, in kind, encouraging words and unselfish actions. An angel-presence is in the home. The life breathes forth a sweet perfume, which as holy incense ascends to God. Love is manifested in kindness, gentleness, forbearance, and longsuffering. The expression of the countenance is changed. The peace of heaven is revealed. There is seen a habitual gentleness, a more than human love. Humanity becomes a partaker of divinity. Christ is honored by perfection of character. As these changes are perfected, angels break forth in rapturous song, and God and Christ rejoice over souls fashioned after the divine similitude.” Ibid., August 20, 1959.