“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28. “These things,” are not pleasant. No one would rejoice because of the “things” that are described in this chapter. They include earthquakes, tidal waves, pestilences and famines. Then why should we rejoice? Because “these things” tell us where we are. They tell us we are nearing home.
The tropical islands scattered across the great South Pacific Ocean are beautiful beyond compare. The sky is a very bright blue. The ocean seems to reflect that color making it a deep blue around the islands.
The islands have beautiful sandy beaches and coconut palms waving in the breeze. The tropical flowers flourish there—the birds of paradise, the hibiscus, the orchids, the coleus and the plumeria. You can imagine how beautiful an island is against that backdrop of God’s own making.
There is also a lovely lagoon between the island and the reef. The reef, which is usually one hundred yards or more off shore, forms a barrier to big waves and either stops them or breaks them up so they come in gently. The lagoon is a very peaceful spot—a little harbor inside the reef. It is a lovely place to swim. There is little worry about sharks in the lagoon because they do not like to cross the reef.
The reef has its own beauty as it throws the big ocean waves into breakers with white foam spraying all around. Although it is very beautiful, it is dangerous to cross. But anyone who wants to come to the island has to cross that dangerous reef.
Because of the swelling of the waves, the water varies from deep to shallow. The currents buffet one way then another —they hit the reef, then they turn any direction. It is a real feat of seamanship to cross that reef barrier. It was especially so for those ancient mariners, the people of the South Sea Islands, who navigated in their outrigger canoes. These were just small boats with outriggers on them and a small sail, propelled by men with paddles.
We look at those islands in all their beauty, and at the great expanse of deep blue sea all around them. And we notice there are people on the islands. We cannot help but wonder how those people got there. An island can be several hundred miles away from any other island, but somehow they found it.
These islanders had some feats of seamanship that are hardly understood now, but they were very skilled at using them. They looked at the stars, like all seafaring men do, and they could tell certain things by that. But you could not tell where an island was by looking at the stars if you had never seen the island before.
They had developed great skill at reading the waves. You may have stood in the back of a ship or a boat and watched the water as it splits behind the boat—the waves going out at an angle on each side. That same thing happens when ocean currents go past an island. The island forces the waves to split. As a result, the waves past the island are at an angle. From the air that effect can be seen hundreds of miles away from the island.
Although the ancient islanders did not look down from airplanes, they understood that principle. By studying the waves—seeing the angle in the waves—they could tell when there was an island ahead. They would make their way into the trough and so find their way to the island.
Roughest Water Just Outside The Harbor
The seamen had to watch for the reef as they drew near to the island. The greatest danger, the roughest water, was just outside the harbor. They could see the island—perhaps a lovely new island to them. They wanted very much to get to it, but the reef was between them and the island.
To get across the reef they studied the waves very carefully. They watched the swells and the currents moving one way and another. Then they carefully chose the very best spot to approach, chose the very best time, and tried their best to ride a big high wave over the reef so they would not be dropped on the coral. Once in the peaceful lagoon, how happy they were!
This is much like our own journey.
Instead of looking at water, we have been watching the waves of human experience and history. Just as angled waves spreading across the sea would tell those ancient islanders: “There is an island ahead,” so the “waves” we are watching are telling us: “Home is near. It is just ahead.”
We are getting closer and closer. We will soon be inside the reef. We can almost see our homeland, but between us is the rough water. We have been told in advance that the roughest water will be just outside the harbor—just before we reach the shore. It is a wonderful privilege to be nearing home. Many people from ages past would like to be with us at this time.
What are the hazards that we have to watch out for at this particular time, the rough water that we speak of? In Revelation 12:12 we are told that the devil has great wrath because he knows that his time is short. That was written almost two thousand years ago. Surely he can now tell that his time is down to minutes, as it were. Since he could look at a span of two thousand years and say, “That is an awfully short time,” what is he thinking now?
Satan, has great mental ability, second only to the mental ability of Jesus Christ Himself. He has a higher intelligence than any angel in heaven. In Spiritual Gifts, vol. 2, 277, we read that the devil’s deceptive power is now ten times greater than it was in apostolic times. She also speaks about how Satan ensnares educated people, in Fundamentals of Education, 258. He leads learned men astray. (See Testimonies, vol. 9, 67, 68.) “Many a mind of superior intellectual attainments is now being led captive by his power.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 915. A high IQ is not good enough. How would you measure your IQ against the devil’s? Do you think you could challenge him?
It is my painful duty to give you an example of his deceptions. I am often reminded of Ezekiel 33 which is a twofold warning to the sinner and to the watchman on the walls. “So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word of My mouth, and warn them from Me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.” Ezekiel 33:7, 8. There is a job of warning to do. We dare not refrain from doing it.
Call Sin By Its Right Name
There is a remarkable passage in the book Education. “The greatest want of the world is the want of men—men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest,men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.” Education, 57. The phrase I particularly notice is: “Men who do not fear to call sin by its right name.” That used to puzzle me. Why would there be anything dangerous about calling sin by its right name? Why would anybody be afraid to do that? I know better now. Calling sin by its right name among people who want to sin, and do not want you to call it by its right name, can be dangerous.
Learned Men
In The Great Controversy, in the chapter entitled, “The Scriptures Our Safeguard,” you will find about twenty warnings against the dangers to our faith from learned men. She uses the words “teachers,” “preachers,” “ministers,” “bishops,” “leaders” and “theologians” when describing these men. The point is that the Scriptures will not be a safeguard to us if they come filtered through the minds of these learned men.
Betty and I recently finished reading a book, Receiving the Word, newly off the press, written by Samuel Koranteng Pipim, a brilliant scholar from Ghana. He is currently at Andrews University getting an advanced Theology degree. He has done something quite unusual. He took a look at the skepticism toward the Scriptures that is being nursed on our college campuses. He wrote a blistering expose, which is carefully documented. He gives names, telling you much about what is happening in Seventh-day Adventist schools today. (We will not look at this book in this article, but you can read it for yourself.) Ellen White foresaw all this. She said that learned men would distort the Scripture, which is our only safeguard.
We will look now at another book that fits the description of learned men distorting the scriptures. It also fits the description in Selected Messages about books of a new order. It is an example of the deceitful handling of the Word of God of which the apostle Paul wrote. “But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:2. Paul says, “We are not handling the Word of God deceitfully,” but obviously, somebody is.
The name of this book is The Nature of Christ, and the author is an Associate Editor of The Review, Dr. Roy Adams. We will look at a sample of what he has done. He writes about the prayer of David recorded in Psalm 32. Notice how he has dealt with this particular passage.
Chata Ah
Dr. Adams bases his commentary on Psalm 32:1: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” He calls our attention to the word “sin” and tells us that the Hebrew word, understood correctly, means something that is not really important. Let me explain. The Hebrew word is “chata-ah.” It means sin. There are three or four words in the Old Testament translated “sin.” This is one of them.
Dr. Adams believes he has an important message to give to us in regard to this word “chata-ah,” which means sin. These are his words. “In regard to chata-ah. . . God bears with completely surrendered Christians, until the end He bears with them. These aspects of sin do not intrinsically impinge on character and thus do not determine our fitness or unfitness for heaven. And while the life of surrendered Christians will demonstrate growth, we will never come to the place in this life where we are beyond the reach of these infirmities.” The Nature of Christ, by Roy Adams, 97.
Adams is saying, “We cannot stop doing them. God understands that we cannot stop doing them. He does not hold us accountable for them. He does not impute them to us. He just says, ‘I will fix that up by and by.’ ”
That statement is likely to be read to you from the pulpit if you are going to conference churches around the country. If you are down in Australia, it is almost certain to be read to you from the pulpit. I am told that the Conference Offices in Australia bought copies of the book and gave it to every pastor in the land, so they can all be preaching this from the pulpits.
Was Dr. Adams correct when he stated that these “chata-ahs,” do not impinge on your character, and do not have anything to do with your fitness or unfitness for heaven? Is that really true? Let us take a look at the Bible and examine a few “chata-ahs.”
We will start at the story of Cain and Abel. “And in the process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering; But unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin [chata-ah] lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” Genesis 4:3–8.
Cain’s bitter hatred toward Abel and his final murder of Abel was a “chataah.” Dr. Adams says that is the kind of sin we do not worry about. “God does not hold that against you. God does not count them against you.” Hatred and murder!?
More Chata-Ahs
In Genesis 18 we find one of the most horrible things in the whole Bible, the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. The chapter begins by telling us how the Lord visited Abraham on the plains of Mamre where he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day, and how the Lord and His two companions were entertained by Abraham. “And the men [that is the Lord and His companions] rose up from thence and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way . . . And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin [chata-ah] is grievous.” Genesis 18:16–20.
How grievous was it? Genesis 19 says that Lot saw two strangers approach the gate of Sodom. He greets them and invites them into his home. They say, “No, we are going to sleep in the streets.” Lot says, “No, no, you cannot do that in Sodom. You must come inside the walls of a safe house in Sodom.”
They went into his house, and before long the men of the city were gathered around clamoring and shouting: “Bring these men out that we may know them.” They were talking about sex, perversion, the vilest of all things. And this is “chataah”!! “Their sin [chata-ah] is very grievous.” Genesis 19:20.
Are you encouraged now to believe that these are “safe sins” that you can indulge in? Are these sins that the Lord does not count?
Another example is found in Genesis 39. This is the story of Joseph in the house of Potiphar. “And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favored. And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; There is no one greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin [chata-ah] against God?” Genesis 39:6–9. This also is one of those little sins, according to Dr. Adams, that do not count.
Next we see Joseph’s brothers standing before him in Egypt. It has been a long time since they sold him into slavery. Joseph has become the Prime Minister of Egypt. His brothers are there trying to get food. When they are standing before him he tells them that he suspects that they have come to spy out the land and he is about to throw them into prison. They openly talk to each other, not knowing that Joseph understood the Hebrew language, because they thought he was an Egyptian: “And they said one to another, we are very guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, do not sin [chata-ah] against the child; and you would not hear? Therefore, behold, also his blood is required of us.” Genesis 42:21, 22. They sold their brother into slavery and that was a “chata-ah” that Dr. Adams would say is one of those little sins that does not count!
It does not get any better as we go along. Look at Exodus 32. Here Moses and Joshua are coming down the mountain and they find the people dancing around a golden calf without any clothing on. You have idol worship and immorality, which always was associated with idol worship. This is “chata-ah.” “And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou has brought so great a sin [chata-ah] upon them?” Exodus 32:21.
In Leviticus 24:11 we have the example of a man cursing God. This man was of mixed blood. His father was an Egyptian and his mother was an Israelite and it says that he cursed God. “And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin [chata-ah].” Leviticus 24:15.
Then we have Eli who was the priest of the sanctuary. “Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; They knew not the Lord.” I Samuel 2:12. It goes on to describe how they mistreated the people who came to the sanctuary. “Wherefore the sin [chata-ah] of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.” 1 Samuel 2:17. Does God not count “little” things, like defiling His worship? Of course He does!
We have a summary statement in Jeremiah 32:30–35 which tells how the Israelites became so wicked that they even imitated the pagan human sacrifices, burning their little babies in fire as an offering to the pagan god. That is called a “chata-ah.”
We have now seen many “chata-ahs.” These sins, according to Dr. Adams, are perfectly safe to commit. He claims that they do not impinge on your character, they have nothing to do with your fitness or your unfitness for heaven. And even though we will grow in the Lord, we will never overcome “little” sins like hate, murder, sodomy, adultery, rape, selling a brother into slavery, kidnapping, defying God, dancing around a golden calf without any clothing on, cursing God, defiling the worship ceremonies, and sacrificing your child to a heathen god.
“Men cannot depart from the counsels of God and still retain that calmness and wisdom which will enable them to act with justice and discretion. There is no insanity so dreadful, so hopeless, as that of following human wisdom, unguided by the wisdom of God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 658. [All emphasis supplied.]
In 2 Thessalonians 2:10, Paul writes about people who receive not the love of the truth and God gives them up to believe a lie. I call that a “Manner of Madness.” I have no question that it is real. It is a serious mental condition, an awful condition that comes to people who do not love the truth. In contrast to this, notice what God’s messenger says.
Overcome or Be Overcome
“We must conquer in the name of Jesus or be conquered.” Signs of the Times, vol. 4, 293. If we do not get the victory over the “chata-ahs,” they will conquer us. “The wages of sin is death. Sin, however small it may be esteemed, can be persisted in only at the cost of eternal life. What is not overcome will overcome us and work out our destruction.” Review and Herald, vol. 2, 197. “We must be sanctified through the truth; every defect of character must be overcome, or it will overcome us. Review and Herald, vol. 1, 431.
“Every indulgence in sin prepares the way for renewed and excessive indulgence, until at last the tempter has full control of the mind.” Signs of the Times, vol. 1, 437. “We shall find ourselves beset with countless temptations; and we must find strength in Christ to overcome them, or be overcome by them and lose our souls.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 453.
“Every defect in the character, unless it is overcome by the help of God’s Spirit, will become a sure means of destruction.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 573. “The natural faults of character, if not determinedly overcome for Christ’s sake, will completely master the human soul.” Signs of the Times, vol. 3, 494.
“We either conquer through the grace given us by God or we are conquered.” Review and Herald, vol. 6, 435. “We can overcome fully, entirely. Jesus died to make a way of escape for us that by prevailing prayer, by His grace we might overcome every temptation, every subtle snare of the adversary and at last sit down with Him in His kingdom. “Signs of the Times, vol. 2, 74.
“All who enter heaven’s gates will enter as conquerors.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 384. “No one shall go into that city unless he is pure in heart. Everything that is polluting, everything that defiles is outside the city. All who enter there pass in as conquerors. They hold the palm branch of victory in their hands, they wave it before the throne singing praises to the Lamb of God.” Review and Herald, vol. 1, 540.
In the book, Tell of His Power, I compiled hundreds of statements about overcoming. In it is included one hundred and seventeen quotations where Ellen White said that Christ will send us all the strength we need. She writes seventy-eight times that He makes ample provision. “Ample provision has been made that the people of God may obtain perfection of character.”Review and Herald, vol. 3, 522.
“Christ has made every provision for us to be strong.” Review and Herald, vol. 5, 456. “Abundant provision has been made that all who desire to live a godly life may have grace and strength through Jesus, our Divine Redeemer.” Review and Herald, vol. 2, 485. He gives us strength. He enables us. He sends us help.
“The help of the three great powers is placed at your disposal. When in the name of Christ you ask for grace to overcome, it will be given you.” Review and Herald, vol. 5, 143. Why do some get so confused? We have an answer here: “One reason why many theologians have no clearer understanding of God’s Word is, they close their eyes to truths they do not wish to practice.” The Great Controversy, 599. “Disguise it as they may, the real cause of doubt and skepticism, in most cases, is the love of sin.” Steps to Christ, 111. The love of sin does not have to be the love of vulgarity, the love of immorality, impurity or anything like that. It can be the love of recognition, the love of honor, the love of acceptance.
Just Before the Calm
My friend, what does all this rough water—these angled waves tell us? It tells us we are very close to home, we are nearing the shore. We are coming to the place where we can see that peaceful lagoon inside the reef. We can see that beautiful homeland. We can see the trees and flowers, all in our mind’s eye. But between here and there lies the rough water of the reef and the coral and the rocks.
We must choose our pathway very carefully. We must have that lifting power of the Holy Spirit to carry us over the reef into the lagoon.
Not everybody is going to be deceived. Some will say, “I do not care what anybody says, whether an ordinary man or a great theologian, I have the Bible and that is good enough for me.” Let us determine that we are going to be among that group of people. Let us determine that we are not going to be discouraged because of what we see all around us. No matter how many people turn against the Lord, the Lord is still true and strong. It has not been easy for the Christians in any generation, and it certainly will not be easy for the Christians in the last generation. But by the promises of God, whereby He transmits His power to us, we can conquer anything that comes. Let us determine that we are going to do that. We are not going to be disheartened, we are not going to be discouraged. We may sigh and cry for the abominations, but we are never going to lose courage, never lose heart. Let us steadfastly move on, trusting in the Lord.