Issue: 2020 March

Life Sketches – Eternal Destiny

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It has been a mystery to many that in all ages, God’s faithful children have often been the object of unfair and malicious attacks and persecution by both the church and the state. Some may wonder why God allows this and why He does not work miracles to deliver His children from difficult circumstances.

If the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem, which included the apostles of Christ, had fully surrendered their prejudices and feelings of bitterness toward the apostle Paul and accepted him as one who was specially called by God to bear the gospel to the Gentiles, the Lord would have spared him to continue his labor for the salvation of souls. But there is One in the heavens whom the Bible says sees the end from the beginning. He understands the hearts of all men and women and saw what would be the result of the envy and jealously that was cherished toward Paul. God had not in His providence ordained that Paul’s labors should so soon end. But He did not work a miracle to counteract the train of circumstances to which their own course of the early church leaders gave rise.

We need to be careful that we do not practice presumption, assuming that because we claim to be Christians serving the Lord, He will work a miracle to stop the consequences of our own decisions. Paul was advised by his brethren in the Jewish church to go with four men who had a Nazarite vow and to pay their expenses. The term of their Nazarite vow was almost expired, and Paul was a poor man who worked with his own hands for his daily bread, yet he was asked to bear the expenses of these people. He consented and accompanied the Nazarites to the temple to unite with them in the ceremonies of the seven days of purification. This concession was a mistake. It was not something that God had actually authorized him to do and it cut short his ministry.

Those who counseled Paul to perform this act of concession had not fully considered the great peril to which Paul would be exposed by this act. At this season there were strangers from all regions of the world thronging the streets of Jerusalem. They delighted to congregate in the temple courts. As Paul, in the fulfillment of his commission had borne the gospel to the Gentiles, he had visited some of the world’s largest cities, and he was well-known to thousands of foreigners who came to attend the feast.

Because of the hatred of the Jews against Christianity and Christian leaders, for Paul to enter the temple on such a public occasion was to risk his life. However, for several days he passed in and out among the worshipers apparently unnoticed. But, before the close of the specified period of purification, as he was conversing with the priests concerning the sacrifices to be offered, he was recognized by some Jews of Asia. Now these men had been defeated in their controversy with him in the synagogue in Ephesus and had become more and more enraged against him as they witnessed his success in raising up a Christian church in that city. When they saw him in the temple, where they did not expect him to be, they rushed upon him with the fury of demons.

“When the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, ‘Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.’ (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple)” (Acts 21:27–29). The result was that in a very short period of time the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. The Bible says, “All the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut. Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. He immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done. And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another. So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks. When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the solders because of the violence of the mob. For the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, ‘Away with him’ ” (verses 30–36)!

As the apostle was carried up into a Roman barracks as a prisoner with the people wanting to kill him just as they had wanted to kill Jesus 30 years earlier, Paul made a request of the Roman commander. He addressed him in Greek. It says, “As Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, ‘May I speak to you?’ He replied, ‘Can you speak Greek? Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?’ But Paul said, ‘I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people’ ” (verses 37–39). It says in verse 40, “When he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language.” He didn’t want to leave without making some type of a final appeal to his countrymen.

Because he addressed them in the Hebrew language, a great silence fell over the crowd and they stopped to listen to what he had to say. “ ‘Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now.’ And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said: ‘I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our father’s law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. I persecuted this Way [that is, the Christians] to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished’ ” (Acts 22:1–5).

Anything that has much importance is generally spoken of at least twice in the Bible. The story of Jesus is recorded four times. This story of the conversion of the apostle Paul is so important in the history of the Christian church that it is recorded three times. This speech Paul made from the stairs addressing the Jews who had just tried to kill him is the second time it is recorded. Paul relates the story of his journey to Damascus, about thirty years before, to bring the Christians back in chains, to be bound or to be killed, three times, each successive time in greater detail. He says, “It happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shown around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ So I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. So, I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’ And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus. Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’ Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance and saw Him (Jesus) saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’ So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles’ ” (verses 6–21).

At this point the crowd was so furious that they tried to rush against him again and kill him. Unable to understand the Hebrew language, the commander did not know what was going on.

Their prejudice against the Gentiles, those who were not Jews, was the cause of their anger. Prejudice is a terrible thing. It has existed in this world for thousands of years and is still present today. People of one race are prejudiced against those of another race, or another religion, or of a different social or economic level. If we cannot overcome our prejudices against other human beings, we will never be in the kingdom of heaven, no matter how much we go to church or how many religious rituals we take part in.

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26–29).

Regardless of whether you are rich or poor, or whatever your social or economic condition is in this world, God views you the same. All the Lord wants to know is, “Whom are you accepting as your ruler? Who is the sovereign in your life? Who is the Lord of your life?” There is a great controversy going on in our world (see Revelation 12). It says war broke out in heaven and that war is still ravaging this world. It is a war over which supernatural power you yield allegiance.

Have you yielded to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

Paul taught that all men were made of one blood. Addressing the philosophical, highly educated audience in the city of Athens, He said, “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings” (Acts 17:24–26).

Notice how he expressed this in Romans, the 13th chapter, verses 9 and 10.  He says, “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:9, 10).

O, friend, how do you measure up? How do you feel about the people around you? Do you love your neighbor as yourself? If not, then how do you expect to go to the kingdom of heaven? When Jesus was here, He told His disciples a story about the end of all things. He said that when He comes back to this world, He will sit on the throne of His glory and all nations will be gathered before Him. He is going to separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. The sheep will be set on His right hand and the goats will be set on the left (see Matthew 25:31–46). What determines whether you have eternal life or eternal death is not if you have the right theology, or belong to the right church, or you were the right race.

Jesus said that your eternal destiny would turn on one point. “Then the king will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King shall answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me’ ” (Matthew 25:34–40).

A person’s eternal destiny will be determined in the final day by the way they have treated their fellow men, especially those who were in trouble. How do you treat people who are in trouble? Do you just walk by on the other side and hope that somebody in the government or in the church will step in to help them out without you getting involved? Or are you willing to get involved in helping those around you who are in trouble?

Then sadly, the King will address those He has labored for but have denied Him. The Bible says, “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (verses 41–46).

Where are you headed, friend? The way that you treat your fellow men is going to determine your eternal destiny.

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

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

Keys – Bad Choices & Sad Consequences

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As I sat mourning over the surgery which was coming up in two days, my heart went out to the lady who lived with us for six months. How we urged her to join us in our meals and worship. She would laugh at us because we did not eat and drink what she ate and drank. She chain smoked. We considered her part of our family even though she chose a lifestyle unlike ours. I would talk with her about the dangers of her health condition, the foods she was eating and her smoking.

She had already suffered with diabetes for several years and was on insulin. But she regulated her blood sugar with shots and candy. The doctor told her what kind of candy to eat and she had an insatiable appetite for those sweets. She loved donuts and cookies and would say she needed them to help her with her diabetes. She smoked all hours of the day and night, going through horrendous amounts of tobacco.

I always allowed her freedom of choice and we became good friends. When she had to move into a group home, she continued her usual diet. Then she got a little sore on her toe that would not heal. The doctors tried medicines for several months, which seemed to work for a time but then the infection came back with a vengeance.

Now as I sit here praying for her, Jesus’ words came to me: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem …” (Luke 13:34). My heart sank, knowing how often the Lord tries to warn us of consequences. How often I tried to warn her with no response—she honestly thought all was well. My heart broke, both for this young lady and for each of us. Do we honestly think all is well? What is it that blinds us to reality?

Now in two days her toe will be removed and I know that this is just the beginning because her body will really be weakened and the infections will continue. More and more of her body parts will be removed because she does not have the willpower to turn from her cravings. Pray for her.

My sisters and brothers, now is the time to turn away from this world and walk in the narrow way with Jesus. We will see many along the way who make bad choices and have no courage or even a desire to change. Bad choices kill. Our Lord says, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13).

So, my heart cries over the bad choices and inevitable sad consequences made by loved ones – if only they could realize there is a better way.

Heavenly Father: Our hearts just weep over family and friends who choose not to follow the better way. Oh how Jesus must weep over us when we choose another road. So much heartache on this earth and we know it will only get worse. Give us the heart to continue to reach out and warn them even though warnings may not be received. Have mercy on the souls that are caught in the snares of the devil. Keep us strong in our walk with You continually. Amen.

Inspiration – Daniel in the Lion’s Den

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When Darius took possession of the throne of Babylon, he at once proceeded to reorganize the government. He “set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes . . .  and over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first” (Daniel 6:1, 2). And “Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm” (verse 3). The honors bestowed upon Daniel excited the jealousy of the leading men of the kingdom. The presidents and princes sought to find occasion for complaint against him. “But they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him” (verse 4).

What a lesson is here presented for all Christians. The keen eyes of jealousy were fixed upon Daniel day after day; their watchings were sharpened by hatred; yet not a word or act of his life could they make appear wrong. And still he made no claim to sanctification, but he did that which was infinitely better—he lived a life of faithfulness and consecration.

The more blameless the conduct of Daniel, the greater was the hatred excited against him by his enemies. They were filled with madness, because they could find nothing in his moral character or in the discharge of his duties upon which to base a complaint against him. “Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God” (verse 5). Three times a day Daniel prayed to the God of heaven. This was the only accusation that could be brought against him.

A scheme was now devised to accomplish his destruction. His enemies assembled at the palace and besought the king to pass a decree that no person in the whole realm should ask anything of either God or man, except of Darius the king, for the space of thirty days, and that any violation of this edict should be punished by casting the offender into the den of lions. The king knew nothing of the hatred of these men toward Daniel, and did not suspect that the decree would in any way injure him. Through flattery they made the monarch believe it would be greatly to his honor to pass such an edict. With a smile of satanic triumph upon their faces, they come forth from the presence of the king, and rejoice together over the snare which they have laid for the servant of God.

An Example of Boldness and Fidelity

The decree goes forth from the king. Daniel is acquainted with the purpose of his enemies to ruin him. But he does not change his course in a single particular.

With calmness he performs his accustomed duties, and at the hour of prayer he goes to his chamber, and with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he offers his petitions to the God of heaven. By his course of action he fearlessly declares that no earthly power has the right to come between him and his God and tell him to whom he should or should not pray. Noble man of principle! he stands before the world today a praiseworthy example of Christian boldness and fidelity. He turns to God with all his heart, although he knows that death is the penalty for his devotion.

His adversaries watch him an entire day. Three times he has repaired to his chamber, and three times the voice of earnest intercession has been heard. The next morning the complaint is made to the king that Daniel, one of the captives of Judah, has set at defiance his decree. When the monarch heard these words, his eyes were at once opened to see the snare that had been set. He was sorely displeased with himself for having passed such a decree, and labored till the going down of the sun to devise a plan by which Daniel might be delivered. But the prophet’s enemies had anticipated this, and they came before the king with these words: “Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.

“Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, He will deliver thee” (verses 15, 16). A stone was laid upon the mouth of the den, and sealed with the royal seal. “Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him” (verse 18).

“My God Hath Sent His Angel”

Early in the morning the monarch hastened to the den of lions, and cried, “Daniel, Oh Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?” (verse 20). The voice of the prophet was heard in reply, “Oh king, live for ever. My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, Oh king, have I done no hurt.

“Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God” (verses 22, 23). Thus was the servant of God delivered. And the snare which his enemies had laid for his destruction proved to be their own ruin. At the command of the king they were cast into the den, and instantly devoured by the wild beasts.

The Sanctified Life, 42–45.

Walking in the Light

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“Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.” 1 Thessalonians 5:5–7

The word of God is very clear that only those who walk in the light by the power of the Holy Spirit are His true disciples—the true and faithful. Those who are in the Laodicean condition do not know that they are wretched, miserable, poor, and spiritually blind.

“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see” (Revelation 3:16–18).

The disciples of Christ are called out of darkness into the marvelous light—developing a Christlike character through righteousness by faith and victory over all temptation and sin by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

God has chosen us to be peculiar people, walking continually in the light of God’s salvation and His requirements—His sacred law.

What makes us His peculiar people?

It is perfect obedience to all truth without a single compromise with self.

It is seeking for all truth daily in the word of God. “And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

“Walk continually in the light of God. Meditate day and night upon His character. Then you will see His beauty and rejoice in His goodness. Your heart will glow with a sense of His love. You will be uplifted as if borne by everlasting arms. With the power and light that God imparts, you can comprehend more and accomplish more than you ever before deemed possible.” The Ministry of Healing, 514.

It is striving to imitate the character of Christ; not by what we can do, but by what God can do in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit working in us that brings justification and sanctification.

“I was shown that God’s people dwell too much under a cloud. It is not His will that they should live in unbelief. Jesus is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. His children are the children of light. They are renewed in His image, and called out of darkness into His marvelous light. He is the light of the world, and so also are they that follow Him. They shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The more closely the people of God strive to imitate Christ, the more perseveringly will they be pursued by the enemy; but their nearness to Christ strengthens them to resist the efforts of our wily foe to draw them from Christ.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 405, 406.

All who are now in the state of Laodicea are in spiritual darkness. They believe they are walking in the light, but they are calling their darkness light, and they are lost.

“The message of the True Witness finds the people of God in a sad deception, yet honest in that deception. They know not that their condition is deplorable in the sight of God. While those addressed are flattering themselves that they are in an exalted spiritual condition, the message of the True Witness breaks their security by the startling denunciation of their true condition of spiritual blindness, poverty, and wretchedness.” Ibid., vol. 3, 253.

They are not seeking with heart and soul to know the truth by the power of the Holy Spirit. All who retain the Laodicean spiritual blindness will be spewed out of the mouth of God, and lost for eternity. What a tragedy!

What does it mean to be spewed out—rejected?

“To those who are indifferent at this time Christ’s warning is: ‘Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth’ (Revelation 3:16). The figure of spewing out of His mouth means that He cannot offer up your prayers or your expressions of love to God. He cannot endorse your teaching of His word or your spiritual work in anywise. He cannot present your religious exercises with the request that grace be given you.” Ibid., vol. 6, 408.

Let us seek God with our whole heart and repent of our Laodicean condition while probation lingers a moment longer.

Our Firm Foundation, vol. 19, Number 5, May 2004, 2.

How to Prepare

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Paul tells us in Romans 15 verse 4: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

The story of Joseph that is found in Genesis 40 and 41 has always been a great blessing to me. I remember when I was just a little fellow, we were poor but Mother had a little book with a gray cover with red letters on that front cover that read, “The Story of Joseph.” And there was a time in my life when every Sabbath afternoon that particular story was read. I’ve always loved to hear about the experiences of Joseph.

This 41st chapter presents Joseph as he stands before Pharaoh. You remember the background, his years in Potiphar’s house as a slave, then his years in jail under false accusation, and now suddenly in the providence of God he’s called from the prison to interpret the king’s dreams. With humility and confidence he tells Pharaoh, “The answer is not in me but God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace” (Genesis 41:16).

You remember the dreams about the cows, the skinny ones eating up the fat ones, and so the grain, the number seven in each dream. Pharaoh did not know what it meant at all. None of his counselors did either, but the Lord gave Joseph the answer. He said, Pharaoh, the two dreams mean the same thing. There are going to be seven years of plenty, and then there are going to be seven years of famine – those were the fat cows and the skinny cows, and the good grain and the blasted ears. Now he said, My advice is, you had better get to storing up grain during those seven good years so that you will have something when the seven years of famine come. (See Genesis 41.)

This is exactly what Pharaoh did and when he and his counselors had thought the thing through and looked over the kingdom, they couldn’t think of a man to head up that food conservation program better than Joseph. So the slave became the ruler of Egypt under the Pharaoh and carried through that great conservation program.

“Every institution established by Seventh-day Adventists is to be to the world what Joseph was in Egypt.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 219. In our homes, in our sanitariums, in our schools, whatever we are a part of in God’s great program, you and I, dear friends, are to be to the world today what Joseph was in Egypt.

Joseph foretold a coming time of trouble. We also have a coming time of trouble to foretell. Divine prophecy has warned us and told us to warn others. But Joseph’s message was more than a warning of trouble. Its focus was on what to do to get ready. That also should be our focus today.

Amos describes a famine bigger than the famine of Egypt and far more serious. Thank God we are told ahead of time how to get ready. We read: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it” (Amos 8:11, 12).

What a day that will be—when men are traveling, some on foot, some in automobiles, some in jet planes, all over this planet, hunting for somebody to declare to them the word of God, to make plain the way of salvation. But no, it is too late, for probation has closed. The great time of trouble has come and the plagues are falling. Memory awakens and men who have derided and scorned the messengers of God, multitudes who have neglected the offers of salvation, long now for the message to which they previously paid no attention. It was so in Noah’s day. When the rain began to fall and the rivers rose, O how many there were who started pounding on that ark, but it was too late and the door was shut. And this in Noah’s time and this in the coming time of trouble was no arbitrary action on the part of God. Even when conscience awakens and memory stirs there is no deep-seated purpose to turn from sin. Men merely want to escape the results of sin and that is not true repentance.

Had those sinners in Antediluvia managed to get in the ark and ride through the flood they would have returned to their idolatry, their lust, and their murder as soon as they hit land again. Confirmed sinners are impossible to change and this is what the text in Amos is talking about – a famine in the land. When God’s message is no longer preached and God’s word is no longer heard, mercy’s day has ended; the day of wrath and justice has come.

If that famine is ahead, as our text says, “A famine of hearing the words of the Lord,” we are in the years of plenty. We are in the years of the fat cows and the well filled out ears of grain. And O if we believe the message of Joseph, if we believe the message of God in this momentous hour, we will be gathering up the grain and storing it to use in the time of famine, for all we will have then will be what we store up now.

It is a shame, friends, that some people are filling their storehouses with chaff. Everybody is putting away something. In these billions of brain cells everybody is storing something. But through Jeremiah God asks, “What is the chaff to the wheat” (Jeremiah 23:28, last part)?

In the book The Ministry of Healing, page 441, the servant of the Lord says, “As I see libraries filled with ponderous volumes of historical and theological lore, I think, Why spend money for that which is not bread?” And then the word is added, “The sixth chapter of John tells us more than can be found in such works.” What is the chaff to the wheat? Consider what you are putting in your storehouse because something is going in.

“The Great Teacher who came down from heaven has not directed teachers to study any of the reputedly great authors. He says: ‘Come unto Me … Learn of Me; … and ye shall find rest unto your souls’ (Matthew 11:28, 29). Christ has promised, and in learning lessons of Him we shall find rest.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 159, 160.

Men’s books with worthless chaff are stored,

God’s Book does priceless wealth afford.

Then leave the chaff and spend your pains,

In gathering up the golden grains.

Nay, were the seas one chrysolite,

The earth a golden ball,

And diamonds all the stars of night,

This Book were worth them all.

Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 21, 1863.

O what golden grain we can store in these granaries of our minds. How we shall appreciate living on this food we have stored away during that time of famine in Jacob’s trouble. How much these promises will mean to us! Again and again my heart is burdened to encourage all whom I can encourage, young and old, to memorize the Bible.

I was reading about the Waldenses, those witnesses for God that through the Dark Ages kept the torch of truth burning. There in the valleys of the Alps surrounded by those mighty mountains, often enduring persecution, they trained their children in the Bible. In The Great Controversy, page 65, we read, “The Waldenses were among the first of the peoples of Europe to obtain a translation of the Holy Scriptures. Hundreds of years before the Reformation they possessed the Bible in manuscript in their native tongue. They had the truth unadulterated.”

“From earliest childhood the youth were instructed in the Scriptures and taught to regard sacredly the claims of the law of God. Copies of the Bible were rare; therefore its precious words were committed to memory. Many were able to repeat large portions of both the Old and the New Testament.” Ibid., 67. Wonderful thought; children, youth, some of them repeating large portions of the Old and the New Testaments.

Speaking of the young men who accepted God’s call to be ministers, “While attention was given to branches of general learning, the Bible was made the chief study.” Ibid., 68. This situation was not like a popular theological seminary I heard about where a student went clear through and graduated without ever even owning a Bible. No, the chief study of the Waldensian youth was the Bible, the word of God. “The Gospels of Matthew and John were committed to memory, with many of the Epistles.” Ibid. Just fill the mind with chapter after chapter, book after book. You see, we are in Joseph’s time of plenty but the famine is coming, and coming soon. Thank God there are storehouses in which we can store the grain. Let’s not leave room for any chaff.

In thinking of this coming time of trouble I would have us ponder not merely on memorizing the Bible but there are other things we need to do in a practical way in getting ready for that time. The 91st Psalm pictures God’s people being protected from the plagues. “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee” (verses 10, 7). God is going to protect His people during that awful time of trouble from great epidemics that sweep over this world, slaughtering millions.

Now this will be without question by the special protecting power of God, but in all God’s plans for men He gives them a part to act. He protected Noah and his family from the flood but there was something Noah had to do in a practical way to get ready for it. Every day as he preached he practiced. And friends, if you and I believe that the health problems of this world are going to get so terrible that millions will die from various diseases, our faith, if it is a true faith, will find expression in two very important activities. One is learning and practicing the laws of health in our own experience. The other is reaching out to learn how to help others with their health problems.

Inspiration has told us that there will be a time when no work will be done in ministerial lines but medical missionary work and there will be suffering ones, plenty of them, and we will have opportunity to help people. We have come to a time when every member of the church should take hold of medical missionary work.

It would be better like Joseph to be called from the prison to solve problems than to languish in the dungeon because we know nothing practical to do. Now is the time to prepare. Now is the time to learn simple treatments. Now is the time to learn simple cooking. Now is the time to learn simple agriculture. Now is the time to learn physiology and hygiene and health education and be sharing these things with our friends and neighbors. We are in the years of the fat cows now and the years of the skinny cows are just ahead. We are in the time now when we can store up the information and the experience that will enable us to go through this time of trouble ahead, triumphant in our own experience and helping others. What a destiny, friends. What an opportunity. What an hour to be living in.

We want to get ready not only by committing the Scriptures to memory and by entering into the health principles and practice, but we want an experience with God in our own lives. Someone was telling me about an inmate of a state penitentiary who is serving a life term. He had committed murder and been there for many years. As a pastime he has taken to committing verses to memory and he has memorized the entire Bible, but it hasn’t saved his soul at all. He is still just as much of a sinner as when he entered the penitentiary. My point is, is it possible to fill the mind with truth and yet it not reach the heart?

Jesus told a story in Matthew 25:1–10 about the ten young women who were waiting for the bridegroom to come. And as the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept and at midnight the cry came that the bridegroom was coming! Go out to meet him! All ten woke up; all ten trimmed their lamps, but then the difference showed up. Five of the young women, along with the oil that was in their lamps, had provided some extra oil that was poured into the lamps which were about to go out. In the story there were five of those young women who had neglected to provide for that contingency. They were left without in the blackness of the night and only five went in to the marriage supper.

When the great time of trouble comes, it will be too late to get the oil. When that crisis hour strikes it will be apparent who has stored up extra oil in advance. So, whether we use the figure of storing up the grain in the storehouse or of storing up extra oil in anticipation of the tarrying, the lesson is clear in either case—we must get ready before the crisis comes. The ark must be built before it starts raining. O I thank God that He is giving us the opportunity day by day of developing not only in our knowledge of truth but in an experience of personal fellowship with Christ.

One of the great aids in this comes in a box labeled trials. Did you ever get a package in the mail, or perhaps by special delivery? Usually we don’t say thank you when we get one of those boxes, but it is through trials and difficulties and problems that Jesus is developing an experience of fellowship with Him in those who permit Him thus to work. Trials themselves do not automatically thus develop us. Trials make some people bitter instead of sweet. Trials leave some people weak instead of strong. Trials fill some minds with doubt instead of faith, but it need not be so. Faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17) and if we will take these promises that abound in the Scripture and read them and claim them as we enter these trials from day to day we can develop an experience which will fit us to go through this coming time of trouble.

Jesus gives some very practical counsel from the Sermon on the Mount. He says, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19–21).

In the coming time of trouble, the wealth of this world will be of no value. But there is opportunity now to transfer our wealth, whether it be little or great, to a bank where there is no discount, no inflation and no recession, where our wealth can be eternally secure and where we can draw compound interest on the investment through all eternity.

We can actually turn money that we have in our possession into something that will be of enduring worth all through eternity. Thank God that He doesn’t take these tiny little bits that used to be gold and silver but now are paper and cheap metal. We don’t have to think of transferring these paltry little sums into a tiny corner of one of those golden streets up there. Heaven does not value gold that way; that is why gold is used to pave streets.

The unit of value in heaven is a soul. We call it the dollar. Heaven calls it a soul. What is the rate of exchange? “One soul is of more value to heaven than a whole world of property, houses, lands, money.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 21, 22. If you could take all the money in this world and all the houses in this world, and all the jewels in this world, the diamonds and the rubies, and all the rest, every bit of value that people list on the stock exchange or in banks or the CPAs work over in their records, take it all and pile it up all together in one pile—one soul is of more value to heaven than all that pile.

We have a tremendous opportunity as we think about the coming famine, the coming time of trouble, to get our assets transferred from the shrinking experiences that money is going through now into assets that will be of eternal worth and eternal value forever and forever. It is too bad that Wall Street cannot hear of this. God has made it possible for the poor to get in on this deal. Even our tiny offerings, if they are given from hearts of love, are in the providence of God translated into souls that will shine as the stars forever and ever.

As we think of Joseph’s dream and His counsel to get ready now for what is ahead, we are thinking, first of all, of storing up the word of God in our minds. Then we are thinking of building better health and equipping ourselves more and more to minister to the physical needs of others in anticipation of the awful sicknesses ahead. We are thinking of entering into an experience of fellowship with God so that no matter what trial comes, our anchor will hold because we know His promises are sure. And we are thinking of so relating ourselves to Him in a practical way with our material wealth, whether it be little or great, so that under the leading of His Spirit we can transfer our assets from earth to heaven, from money and property to human souls saved in the kingdom of God, and thus we can enter into the riches of Jesus’ rewards to those who share with Him in the work of soul-winning.

Let us fill our granary with golden grain.

Elder W.D. Frazee studied the Medical Missionary Course at the College of Medical Evangelists in Loma Linda, California. He was called to Utah as a gospel medical evangelist. During the Great Depression, when the church could not afford to hire any assistants, Elder Frazee began inviting professionals to join him as volunteers. Thus began a faith ministry that would become the foundation for the establishment of the Wildwood Medical Missionary Institute in 1942. He believed that each person is unique, specially designed by the Lord, of infinite value, and has a special place and mission in this world which only he can fill. His life followed this principle and he encouraged others to do the same.

The Door into the Holiest

by

I needed to get to a business in a downtown area but got caught in rush-hour traffic. An accident had stopped the traffic, which resulted in my getting there five minutes past closing hours. The door was shut and the gate was padlocked. Most people have experienced something similar.

Isaiah 22:22 talks about the key to the house of David and a door that was open and no man can shut and a door that was shut that no man can open.

Revelation 3:7 says, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.’ ”

It was the third hour of the day, 9:00 o’clock in the morning, when Jesus was crucified (Mark 15:25). For three hours He was mocked and derided by the chief priests and elders of the people, but at the sixth hour something happened that startled the mockers. Suddenly everything blacked out with a supernatural darkness that lasted for the next three hours.

Notice what it says in verses 33 and 34: “Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ”

His words struck terror into the heart of the disciples who felt that if God had forsaken Jesus, then what hope was there for anyone else? The Bible says, “Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, ‘Look, He is calling for Elijah!’ Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, ‘Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down’ ” (verses 35, 36).

“And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (verses 37, 38).

This veil was not like a house curtain but more like a rug or carpet made of a thick, heavy material. No human being could tear it apart. A supernatural power tore the veil of the temple from the top to the bottom, exposing the Most Holy Place.

Nobody had ever looked into the Most Holy Place, which was covered by the veil, except the high priest, who would enter there only once per year on the Day of Atonement. This differed from the Holy Place which could be seen by a person who was in the courtyard when the door of the tabernacle was partially opened.

However, when the veil was ripped open, the Most Holy Place was visible to the common people standing in the courtyard. This was so disturbing for many, even of priests, that they lost faith in the Jewish religion, for this was the place where God manifested His presence.

In Acts 6:7 it says, “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.”

These priests were the ones who had been there and had seen the veil of the temple ripped in two. They knew it was a supernatural act and that the God of heaven was making a statement.

“When Christ’s life ended, the veil of the Temple was rent in twain. This veil was very significant to the Jewish nation. It was of most costly material, of purple and gold, and was of great length and breadth. At the moment that Christ breathed His last, there were witnesses in the Temple who beheld that strong, heavy material rent in two by unseen hands, from top to bottom. He who had hitherto dwelt in the Temple made with hands, had gone forth never again to grace it with His presence.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 386.

Jesus said to the Jews the last time He walked out from the temple: “Your house is left unto you desolate” (Matthew 23:38 KJV).

The last high priest was called Caiaphas, although he lacked the true qualifications of the position. He may have worn the priestly garments, but he had no vital connection with God. He was not circumcised in heart. Notice how the chief priest responded at the trial. John 19:15 says, “They cried out, ‘Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar!’ ”

God had been their King. They had been ruled by a theocracy. Theos is the Greek word for God. A theocracy is a government that is ruled, controlled, or directed by God. But now the priests claimed to have no king except Caesar. When they said that, they un-churched themselves. Will people do that again? Ellen White, writing about this said, “It is righteousness that exalts a nation. A disregard for the law of God will be the ruin of the religious world in the last days of this earth’s history.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 388.

There had been some members of the council that had protested and didn’t want Jesus to be crucified, but the great majority sided with Caiaphas when he said “nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish” (John 11:50). Expedient is tending to promote some proposed or desired object; proper under the circumstances.

So, it was expedient in their minds for Jesus to be sacrificed for the nation. However, the effect of their decision would bring the Aaronic priesthood to an end forever. A study of the last events in the life of Christ shows that the results of what people did were actually the opposite of what was intended. When Caiaphas said it was expedient for Jesus to die that the whole nation not perish, his death actually ensured that the nation would perish.

Three times Pilate said he could find no guilt in Jesus, but he was afraid the mob would get him in trouble with the Romans. So He was willing to sacrifice an innocent man in order to keep his job. However, a few years later, he was dismissed from his position. Depressed after that weekend knowing what he had done was wrong, he finally committed suicide. What he thought would be accomplished by his decision turned out to be the opposite.

We often do not comprehend how totally the events in our world are actually under the control of unseen agencies. It was not by chance that Caiaphas was the high priest at that time.

Ellen White describes it this way: “Caiaphas was the one that was to be in office when types and shadows [antitypes] were to meet the reality, when the true High Priest was to come into office. Each actor in history stands in his lot and place.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 390.

So Caiaphas said that it is expedient to get rid of this man in order to save the nation. By getting rid of Him they unchurched themselves and divorced themselves from the Lord because they said in John 19:15, “We have no king but Caesar!”

Too late they realized what they had done. “When Christ cried out, ‘It is finished,’ the Holy Watcher that was an unseen guest at Belshazzar’s feast pronounced the Jewish nation to be a nation unchurched. The same hand that traced on the wall the characters that recorded Belshazzar’s doom and the end of the Babylonian kingdom, rent the veil of the Temple from top to bottom, opening a new and living way for all, high and low, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile. From henceforth people might come to God without priest or ruler.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 392.

When the veil of the temple was rent in two, the Most Holy Place was open to the common people. This is what Paul is talking about in Hebrews 10:19–22: “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

A new and living way was opened so that every human being could come directly to God through the merits of Jesus as High Priest, with no need to depend on a ruler or a priest. The human priesthood, the Aaronic priesthood, was only a part of the old covenant.

One of the main reasons the people did not recognize Jesus was that His divinity was completely veiled in humanity. You could not tell unless the Holy Spirit was working on your mind that He was anything other than a common man. They killed Him thinking He was just a common man claiming to be the Son of God. His humanity completely veiled the glory of His divinity. This was so true that Ellen White said even His disciples had trouble believing on Him.

The people were horrified when Jesus said, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30) and they took up stones to stone Him. It was the reason Jesus was mocked while on the cross. “Those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross’ ” (Mark 15:29, 30)!

Most do not understand that this was one of the devil’s final efforts to break up the plan of salvation. At any moment while on the cross, Christ could have decided to come down and destroy all of those people. This should make you shudder when you think about that. He could have similarly manifested His divinity in Gethsemane. Ellen White says He could have wiped the blood sweat from His brow and ascended to His Father (see The Great Controversy, 348). He could have come down from the cross. Some said, taunting Him, that if He came down, they would believe in Him.

Had Jesus come down from the cross, the devil would have won the great controversy and the world would have been in his hands. Because He remained, we have hope of salvation. It was not only human beings that were watching the agony of the cross. Angels of heaven who fully knew who He was also watched.

Ellen White wrote, “It was a marvel to the angelic beings that He did not seal the lips of the scoffers and paralyze the hand that smote Him. It was a mystery to them that He did not flash forth His righteous indignation upon the hardened and corrupt soldiers.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 394.

It is a mystery that Jesus was not compelled to do any of these things to save fallen man. He was not compelled to live a life of poverty or to go to the cross. No obligation was laid upon Him. Everything about the life of Christ, including His death, was a voluntary sacrifice. He was equal with God the Father, He was infinite and omnipotent, but He chose voluntarily to leave God’s right hand and come to this world as a human being, live the life of a poor man and offer His life as a sacrifice to save fallen humanity.

In the closing events in the life of Christ, the result of what people thought they were doing was the opposite of what they intended. It was that way with Judas and Caiaphas. It was even that way with the devil. After Adam and Eve had sinned, the devil exulted that now he had control of this world; but the Lord told him, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heal” (Genesis 3:15).

Christ’s heels were literally bruised when they drove through the nails and the cross was slammed into the ground, fulfilling this prophecy. It appeared the devil might be able to win the great controversy if he could in some way get Christ to be impatient, lose His temper, or choose to destroy the cruel people, or simply entice Him to come down from the cross and not go through with the crucifixion. Satan exulted at the cross that he had destroyed God’s Son, but what appeared to be his triumph was actually his defeat.

By Christ’s death on the cross, “The emancipation papers of our race were signed by the blood of the Son of God, and a way was opened for the message of hope and mercy to be carried to the ends of the earth. Now, whoever will may reach forth and take hold of God’s hand, and make peace with Him.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 399.

By His suffering and death, He opened the door. When Christ opens the door, nobody can shut it and when He shuts it, nobody can open it. When Caiaphas rent his robe, he actually brought himself under the penalty of the death sentence because the high priest was never, ever, to tear his garments. Jesus did not tear His garments; His flesh was torn or rent. But the rending of His flesh, the rending of the veil of the temple, is symbolic of opening a door into the Most Holy Place where every human being who is willing may enter. If you are to benefit from that open door, you must open the door of your heart to Him. Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Revelation 3:20, 21).

What does it mean to open the door of your heart to the Divine Knocker?

Many ministers and people who have been Christians for a long time have somehow overlooked this. If you want to go in through the door, you have to have your sins forgiven. Sin cannot exist in the presence of God. All sin and sinners will eventually get destroyed.

Ellen White said she was terrified because there were so many people in the church in her day with only a superficial conversion. A superficial conversion is that of a person who is not really sorry for his or her sins, but only for the consequences. Repentance is something that only the Holy Spirit can produce in the human being. True repentance, which is sorrow for sin and turning away from it, occurs when that person confesses their sins, not only to God, but to whomever they have injured. Any sin covered up instead of being repented of and confessed will prevent that person from entering through the door.

“As they [the angels] looked upon their loved Commander, and heard His cry [‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me’], they asked with intense emotion, ‘Will not the Lord Jehovah save Him?’ ” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 407.

Why did God not save Jesus from the agony and humiliation?

Before this world was created, the Father and the Son had made an agreement, sometimes called the everlasting covenant or the new covenant. Either is correct. God’s Son, the One we call Jesus Christ today, said that if the people they were about to create fall because of Satan’s sophistry, He would pay the price of their sin to give them another chance at everlasting life.

John 19:30 records the last words of Jesus on the cross: “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ and bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”

When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He was addressing His Father in heaven. He knew that He had completely fulfilled the agreement He and His Father had made before the world was created. When He ascended to heaven He took with Him those whom He had resurrected, the first fruits of those who are dead. He said to the Father that if His sacrifice was accepted, to accept also those who belong to Him, those who have chosen to follow Him and the Father said, “Let all the angels of God worship Him” (Hebrews 1:6). And when the Father said that, the representatives from the unfallen worlds and the angels of heaven, with excitement and joy, prostrated themselves before Him because He had won the victory.

When Christ said on the cross, “It is finished,” He knew at that moment He had won the victory, that the battle was over and that He had won the war.

“The darkness rolled away from the Saviour and from the cross. Christ bowed His head and died. In His incarnation He had reached the prescribed limit as a sacrifice, but not as a Redeemer. The controversy in regard to the rebellion was answered. The human race has an open door set before them.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 409.

The door was opened by Christ’s death on the cross. “These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth” (Revelation 3:7). Ibid.

“When Christ cried, ‘It is finished,’ God’s unseen hand rent the strong fabric composing the veil of the Temple from top to bottom. The way into the Holiest of all was made manifest. God bowed His head satisfied. Now His justice and mercy could blend. He could be just, and yet the justifier of all who should believe on Christ. He [God the Father] looked upon the victim expiring on the cross, and said, ‘It is finished. The human race shall have another trial.’ The redemption price was paid, and Satan fell like lightning from heaven.” Ibid.

Satan had fallen from heaven at the beginning, but now he fell from heaven again. Christ looked forward to this before His death. Notice what He says in Luke 10:18: “He said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’ ”

Jesus knew Satan’s ultimate fall from heaven would occur when He had finished His work, but what does that mean?

Satan had physically fallen from heaven when he was forced out by Christ and the loyal angels, but there was a void left in heaven on his departure. There were still unfallen beings that felt sorry for him. But when Christ said, “It is finished,” the angels who had been watching and the representatives of unfallen worlds who were watching, all knew who was really behind this atrocity. Human beings did not understand but angels knew who was behind the crucifixion of Christ. Satan was the one who inspired the chief priests, Pilate, Herod, and the soldiers in their evil deeds. He was the one directing them to say all of the loathsome epithets and mocking cruelties.

Unfallen beings in heaven witnessed it all, and when Christ died on the cross every feeling of sympathy for Satan was wrenched from their hearts. Satan fell like lightning from heaven at that time. Ellen White wrote, “All heaven saw the cruel work done to Christ. In the dreadful scenes transacted in the judgment hall, God showed to the heavenly universe the spirit that would be manifested by those that are unwilling to yield obedience to His law. God then presented the once-hidden principles of Satan’s power. All heaven saw them as they were. The sympathies of the heavenly angels were with Christ, and Satan was uprooted.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 412.

It was Satan who inspired the mob to choose Barabbas and crucify Jesus. They knew Barabbas was a rebel and that he was a thief and a murderer. In Satan’s government, the innocent are crucified and the guilty are set free.

My friends, this is going to happen again. Ellen White describes it this way: “The scenes of persecution enacted during Christ’s life will be enacted by false religionists till the close of time. Men think that they have a right to take into their charge the consciences of men, and work out their theories of apostasy and transgression. History will be repeated. Christ declared that prior to His second coming the world would be as it was in the days of Noah, when men reached such a pass in following their own sinful imagination that God destroyed them by a flood.

“Every power that has been exercised since the betrayal of Christ to force the consciences of men, every court that has taken upon itself to decide man’s destiny by its measurement of what constitutes religion, has revealed satanic attributes. Men have betrayed and persecuted God’s chosen ones. They have taken the life that God alone can give.” Ibid., 413.

When the Lord comes, He will ask those who have done these things, “Who gave you the authority to do this?” “Who required this from your hand?” “Who authorized you to imprison and kill God’s children?”

In Jesus’ day the people thought they were dealing with just a man, but they were dealing with God Himself because Christ had not ceased to be God when He assumed humanity. By His death on the cross, He opened the door into the Most Holy Place with no veil in between.

“The Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world, is dead. The way into the Holiest of all is laid open. A new and living way, which has no veil between, is offered to all.” Ibid., 417.

It is up to each individual to go through the door while it is still open. The time is coming when the door that is open will finally be shut. Then, the prophecy, “He who is holy, He who is true, … He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” (Revelation 3:7) will be fulfilled.

Before the flood destroyed the earth there was an open door in the ark for all to go through and be saved. But the time came when the door was shut and it was too late to enter. By His sufferings, Jesus has opened the door into the throne room of God. All those who enter there the Bible says, “They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4).

Right now, that door is still open for all, even for the most awful sinner to go through the door of salvation into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary.

Enoch had to go into the Most Holy Place as did Elijah and Moses. If you cannot go into the Most Holy Place because you are not willing to forsake your sins, you cannot be taken to heaven.

There were many people who, when the veil of the temple was ripped in two, never again participated in the paschal rites involved in the slaying of animals. They understood that the whole system was now invalid.

Three people watching at the cross that day understood what was really happening. One was Mary Magdalene. She saw Christ dying on the cross and knew He was there because of her sins. She was the first one to whom Christ appeared after His resurrection.

The second person who understood was a man not considered a believer, but a criminal. He was a thief on the cross. Ellen White said the Holy Spirit helped him piece together the events of that day. He believed Christ’s claim to be the Son of God. He knew this One dying beside him had done nothing wrong and decided to commit his life to Him. So, he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). He knew that if Jesus didn’t answer his prayer, he would be lost.

Jesus is the only One who can save you. Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in paradise” (verse 43). When Jesus spoke that word, immediately his guilt was gone, and he died a believer. Those who are saved will meet him some day.

There was a third person there that day watching it all. He had been in a high position and an instructor in the church and figured out for the first time that what he thought was the church really wasn’t the true church. He understood as never before the evil of the religious leaders. As Nicodemus watched, he remembered what Jesus had said to him on a mountain three years before. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). He saw Him lifted up and he understood that Jesus is the only way of salvation.

There is only one way you can be saved and one Person who can save you. That is only possible if you commit your life to Him. Remember the thief on the cross called Jesus, Lord. He didn’t call Him sir, but Lord. Do you want Him to be the Lord of your life? When Jesus went back to heaven, the unfallen universe prostrated themselves, exceedingly joyful to be able to worship Him and obey Him.

My dear friend, in heaven today no one questions Jesus’ absolute authority anymore. If you are planning on going there you must allow Him to be the Lord of your life.

If you want to be saved, you have to commit yourself to the only Person that can save you—the One whose death made it possible for the veil to be ripped in two so that the door was opened into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary.

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

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

Editorial – Preparation for the Second Coming of Christ

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Jesus is coming back to this earth again (Acts 1:9-11). For this event we need to prepare (Amos 4:12). In the judgment the question will not be “What did you profess?” but rather “What have you done” (Luke 12:42, 43, 47)?

Those who are saved will be those who have washed their robes of character and made them white in the blood of the lamb (Revelation 7:14). This means that at an infinite cost a fountain has been prepared for our cleansing (Zechariah 13:1). Those who are cleansed will secure a place among the homes being prepared in the New Jerusalem for those who love Him, but how do we do that?

All our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Everything we can do of ourselves is defiled by sin. But Jesus was manifested to take away our sins (1 John 3:5) and there is no sin in Him. Sin is the breaking of God’s law, but Jesus was obedient to every precept of the law (see Psalm 40:8; John 15:10). By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God’s commandments.

“When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is united to His heart (see Proverbs 23:26), the will is merged to His will (see Philippians 2:12, 13), the mind becomes one with His mind (see 1 Corinthians 2:16), the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him (see 2 Corinthians 10:5); we live His life (see Philippians 1:21).” Christ’s Object Lessons, 311.

“There will be no second probation in which to prepare for eternity. It is in this life that we are to put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness. This is our only opportunity to form characters for the home which Christ has made ready for those who obey His commandments.

“The days of our probation are fast closing. The end is near. Solemnly there come down to us through the centuries the warning words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: ‘Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares’ (Luke 21:34). Beware lest it find you unready. Take heed lest you be found at the King’s feast without a wedding garment. ‘In such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh’ (Matthew 24:44). ‘Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame’ (Revelation 16:15). ‘Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man’ (Luke 21:36).” The Signs of the Times, November 22, 1905.