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The Armada, part 1

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While Mary Stuart, the Roman Catholic Queen of Scots, lived, Rome’s hope of bringing England back under the control of the Catholic Church centered in her. Their death, however, effectively put an end to all of these hopes. The papal decree ordering all Christian princes to actively work for the destruction of Protestantism still remained as one of the infallible canons of the Council of Trent and was still acknowledged by the kings of the Catholic world. The plot to bring about the overthrow of Protestant England now took a new shape in the form of the invincible Armada.

It required no supernatural insight to recognize the approaching storm. Sixtus V, who even among popes was outstanding for his craft and daring, was just beginning his reign. Cold, selfish, hungry for power, and dedicated to the overthrow of Protestantism, Phillip II was on the throne of Spain. No Jesuit could be more dedicated in purpose, nor shrewd in disguising his purposes. His great ambition was that after-generations should be able to say of him that in his days and by his arms, heresy had been exterminated.

The Jesuits were operating throughout Europe, working to inflame the minds of kings and statesmen against the Reformation, seeking to organize them into armed combinations to put it down. Protestantism had been effectively purged from Spain and Italy. Worst of all, even among the friends of Protestantism there was fragmentation and disagreement. The spiritual influence, which like a mighty wave had rolled across all Christendom in the first half of the century, bearing on its swelling crest scholars, statesmen, and nations, was now on the ebb, and Catholicism was struggling to gain back that which it had lost. Luther, Calvin, Knox, Cranmer, and Coligny were all off the stage of action; and their successors, though men of faith and ability, were not of the same stature as those who had laid the foundation of the Reformation. In terms of facilities that generally determine the strength of a nation, there was little to compare between those who favored the Reformation and those who opposed it. To all human appearances, it seemed that the flame of the Reformation, which but a few years earlier had burned so brightly, must soon flicker and die.

Before her powerful enemies, England, with her little population of four million, and Holland, with even less, appeared completely vulnerable before the mighty armies of the Catholic world, enriched with their gold plundered from the New World. While the friends of the Reformation were divided, irresolute, cherishing illusions of peace, and making little or no preparations, there were omens that only too clearly betokened the coming conflict.

In 1584, two years before the execution of Mary Stuart, Phillip began preparations for building a fleet, the likes of which the world had never seen. For such an effort and for such a glorious cause, money and effort were now object. Stretching along nearly two thousand miles of coast line there was not a harbor or river’s mouth that could be utilized which was not taken advantage of for the building of ships that were to bear the Spanish soldiers of the Inquisition to the shores of heretical England.

The completed fleet had provisions for six months, as well as quantities of power, shot, all of the other materials that would be needed for an invasion. The Armada numbered 130 vessels, great and small. On board were 8,000 sailors in addition to 20,000 soldiers. This group was augmented by many noblemen and gentlemen who had volunteered to serve. The armor consisted of 2,650 pieces of ordnance; its burden was 60,000 tons. This was an immense tonnage at the time when the English navy consisted of twenty-eight ships and an aggregate weight that did not exceed the tonnage of a single, modern seagoing vessel.

The Spanish ships were of great capacity and amazing strength. Their strong ribs were lined with planks four feet in thickness, through which it was thought impossible that a cannon ball could pierce. Cables smeared with pitch were wound around the masts to enable them to withstand the fire of the enemy. Sixty-four of the total number of ships were galleons. Armed with heavy brass, they towered above the waves like castles.

During the time that the vast fleet was being built, Spain did everything that could possibly be done to conceal the knowledge of it from England. With poor, if any, postal communications, secrecy was more easily attainable than today. It was impossible however, to keep a complete secret. In order to ease the concerns of the English, Philip resorted to dissimulation. It was said at one time that the new fleet’s purpose was to sweep from the seas certain pirates that gave annoyance to Spain and had captured some of her ships. Later, it was said that Philip meant to punish certain unknown enemies on the far side of the Atlantic. All that craft and lying could do was done to allay the suspicions of the people of England. Even Walsingham, one of the most discerning and clear sighted of the queen’s ministers, expressed belief—just fifteen days before the Armada sailed—that it never would invade England and that Philip’s hands were too full at home to leave him leisure to conquer kingdoms abroad.

In reality, there were two Armadas being prepared to attack an unsuspecting England. In the Netherlands, at that time in the possession of Philip, there was a scene of activity nearly as great as that which was taking place in Spain. Philip’s governor in Belgium, the duke of Parma, was perhaps the most able general of his age. His instructions were to prepare an army and fleet to cooperate with the Spanish force as soon as it arrived in the English Channel.

The whole of the Spanish Netherlands suddenly burst into activity. Assembling 28 warships, along with several hundred smaller vessels, the duke gathered regiments of soldiers from every Catholic nation in Europe. There was scarcely a noble house of Spain that was not represented within the camp of Parma. Believing that the last hour of England had come, they assembled to witness her fall.

During this time of preparation, every imaginable deception was practiced toward Elizabeth and the statesmen who served her to hide from them their great danger until it should overtake them. She sent her commissioners to the Low Countries, but Parma protested, with tears in his eyes, that there lived not on earth anyone who more sincerely desired peace than himself. Did not his prayers morning and night ascend for its continuance? And as regarding the wise and magnanimous sovereign of England, there was not one of her servants that cherished a higher admiration for her than did he. This monumental hypocrisy was not without effect. The English commissioners returned, after three month’s absence, in the belief that Parma’s intentions were peaceful and confirmed Elizabeth and her ministers in dreams of peace. England did not fully awaken from this illusion of peace until just days before the guns of the Spanish Armada were heard in the English Channel.

To aid in the war effort, Sixtus V issued a bull against Elizabeth in which he confirmed the previous one by Pius V, absolving her subjects of their allegiance and conferring her kingdom upon Philip II, to have and to hold as tributary and feudatory of the papal chair. While the pope with one hand took away the crown from Elizabeth, he conferred with the other the red hat upon Father Allen. Already the archbishop of Canterbury, Allen was at once both the archbishop of Canterbury and, by order of the pope, papal legate. Allen now had the pope’s bull translated into English, intending that upon arrival of the Spanish fleet, it should be published in England.

Suddenly, as if from a deep sleep, England awoke to her great danger just before the Spanish ships were to arrive. How was the invasion to be met? England had but a handful of soldiers and a few ships to oppose the host that was coming against her.

The total English force was just over 150,000. This force was split into three groups with one group stationed for the defense of the capital, one for the personal defense of the queen, and the third was to guard the south and east as the place most likely to be selected by the enemy for landing. Beacons were prepared to be lighted at the first landing of the of the enemy on English soil, notifying the rest of the troops at what point to converge.

The English fleet that sailed to oppose the Armada consisted of thirty-four ships of small tonnage carrying 6,000 men. Besides these, the city of London provided thirty ships. In all the port towns, merchant vessels were converted into warships, bringing the total to possibly as many as 150 vessels, with a crew of 14,000. Though the total number of vessels nearly matched that of the Spanish, the figures on paper give a far more favorable appearance than is warranted. The English fleet was, in comparison to the Spanish fleet, but a collection of six or eight oared boats along with a few slightly larger vessels.

This force was divided into two squadrons: one, under Lord Howard, high admiral of England, consisting of seventeen ships which were to cruise the Channel and there wait for the arrival of the Armada. The second squadron, under Hawkins, consisting of fifteen ships, was stationed at Dunkirk to intercept Parma should he attempt to cross with his fleet from Flanders. Sir Francis Drake, in his ship the Revenge , had a following of about thirty privateers. After the war broke out, the fleet was further increased by ships belonging to the nobility and the merchants, hastily armed and sent to sea; though the brunt of the fight, it was foreseen, must fall on the queen’s ships.

England’s inferior army was simply militia, insufficiently drilled, poorly armed, and, except in spirit, could not compare in any way with the soldiers of Spain who had been seasoned on the field of battle. The Spanish army alone was deemed more than sufficient to conquer England; and how easy would the conquest become when that Armada should be joined by the mighty force under Parma, the flower of the Spanish army! England, with her long lone of coast, her unfortified town, and her four millions of population, including many thousands of Roman Catholics ready to rise in insurrection as soon as the invader had made good his landing, was at that hour in supreme peril. It was not England alone whose existence was in question. Its success or failure was the standing or falling of Protestantism. Should Philip succeed in his enterprise, Spain would replace England as the teacher and guide of the nations, some idea of the consequence of such an outcome may be seen by contrasting the political, religious, social, and moral conditions today of Latin America with those of Protestant North America.

For some time after the ships of the Armada had been collected in Lisbon, ready to sail, they were unable to move, waiting for favorable weather. When the wind finally shifted, the proud galleons spread their canvas and began their voyage toward England. For three days—May 28-30, 1588—galleon followed galleon, till it seemed the ocean must surely be filled with them. It was a breathtaking sight, as with sails spread to the breeze and banners and streamers gaily unfurled, it made its way along the coast of Spain. The twelve principal ships of the Armada bound on this holy enterprise had been baptized with the names of the twelve apostles. On board the St. Peter was Don Martin Allacon, administrator and vicar-general of the holy office of the Inquisition; and along with him were 200 barefooted friars and Dominicans. Though the guns of the Armada were to begin the conquest of heretical England, the spiritual arms of the Fathers were to complete it.

Just as the Armada was about to sail, the Marquis Santa Cruz, who had been appointed to the chief command, died. He had been thirty years in Philip’s service and was beyond doubt the most capable sea captian Spain had. Another had to be found to fill the place of the “Iron-Marquis,” and the duke of Medina Sidonia was selected for the job. The main recommendation of Medina Sidonia was his vast wealth. The “Golden Duke” was there simply to provide the armament; the real head of the expedition was to be the duke of Parma, Philip’s commander in the Netherlands and the ablest of his generals. As soon as the Armada should arrive off Calais, the duke was to cross from Flanders and, uniting his numerous army with the vast fleet, to descend like a cloud upon the shore of England.

The Armada was three weeks at sea. The huge ships, so disproportioned to the small sails, made windward progress wearisomely slow. They floated well enough upon a calm sea, but as they were about to open the Bay of Biscay, the sky began to be overcast, and dark clouds came rolling up from the southwest. The swell of the Atlantic grew into mountainous billows, tumbling around those towering structures whose bulk only exposed them all the more to the buffeting of the great waves and furious winds. The Armada was scattered by the gale. As the weather moderated, the ships reassembled and again began to move toward England. A second and more severe storm soon burst upon them. The waves, dashing against the lofty turrets at stem and stern, sent a spout of white water up their sides and high into midair, while the racing waves, coursing across the low bulwarks amidships, threatened every moment to engulf the galleons. One of the greatest of them went down with all on board, and another two were driven to the coast of France.

The storm subsiding, the Armada once more gathered itself together, and on July 29, it entered the Channel. The next day England had her first sight of the long expected enemy. Instantly the beacon fires were kindled, announcing that the Spanish had arrived. On the afternoon of July 30, the Armada could be seen from the high ground above Plymouth Harbor, advancing slowly from the southwest in the form of a crescent, the two horns of which were seven miles apart. As one massive hull after another came out of the blue distance, it was seen that rumor of its size had not been exaggerated in the least. On his great galleon, the St. Martin, in his shot-proof fortress stood Medina Sidonia, casting proud glances around him.

The night that followed was a night long to be remembered in England, as another and yet another hilltop lighted its fires in the darkness and the ever-extending line of light flashed the news of the Armada’s arrival from the shores of the Channel across all of England and Scotland. In this moment of destiny, the hearts of men were drawn together by the sense of a common terror. All controversies were forgotten in one absorbing interest; and the cry of the nation went up to God that He would place His protection over England and not suffer her to be destroyed.

Meanwhile, the harbor of Plymouth was in a fever of excitement. The moment the news arrived that the Armada had been sighted, Howard, Drake, and Hawkins began their preparations; and the rest of the night was spent in preparing the ships for sea. By morning, sixty ships had been towed out of the harbor. Their numbers were little more than a third of those of the Armada, and their inferiority in size was even greater; but manned by patriotic crews, they hoisted sail and went forth to meet the enemy. On the afternoon of the same day, the two fleets came in sight of each other. The wind was blowing from the southwest, bringing with it a drizzling rain and choppy seas. The waves of the Atlantic came tumbling into the Channel; and the galleons of Spain, with their heavy ordnance and their numerous squadrons, rolled uneasily and clumsily. The English ships, of smaller size and handled by expert seamen, bore finely up before the breeze, taking a close survey of the Spanish fleet, and then, standing off to windward, became invisible in the haze. The Spaniards knew that the English fleet was in the vicinity, but the darkness did not permit battle to be joined that night.

The End

The Body of Christ, part 1

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As we approach the Second Coming of Jesus, the signs of the times are coming in upon us so rapidly that it is difficult to keep up. We are seeing developments taking place with lightning speed just as Ellen White said that they would. We see God’s judgments in the land, and we see a new world order taking shape. We find Vatican insiders, such as Malachi Martin, writing books, The Keys of This Blood, which provide us an astounding picture of the developments taking place as the pope strives to gain control of the world, undoing all that Protestantism has done and establishing persecution once again.

One of the most significant factors facing humanity is the disintegration of the sense of reality. It is as George Orwell wrote years ago in his book 1984. The totalitarian systems rule by dislocating the people’s sense of reality. As God’s people approach the Second Coming of Jesus, one of the great challenges is to have a correct perception of truth, of reality, a correct understanding of what is happening around us in the field of human thought. This is particularly difficult and yet important when we have a media that is being used as a propaganda tool for the new world order.

Over and over again my thinking has been brought back to the fundamental statement in the first verse of the Bible. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” One of the fundamental problems with humanity at this time, which has unleashed all manner of evil in the world, is a failure to recognize and worship the Creator. It is this issue that is addressed by the first angel’s message. “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him.” Revelation 14:7. The whole concept of worship rests upon the idea of the Creator-creature distinction which our society has lost. Having lost the concept of the creatorship of God, humanity today has lost its orientation. It no longer knows who God is, who we are, and who humanity is. The entire sense of reality has been shifted and warped in preparation for totalitarian systems to revive in the world.

The first chapter of the book of John begins much the same as the first verse of the Bible. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake [that is a literal translation right out of the Greek] it.” John 1:1-5

The very foundation of all human life is the Word of God. He spake and it was done. He commanded and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. That Word is omnipotent, it is all powerful, and it is the voice of God to our souls, transforming human life and bringing us into contact with reality. So when we look at all of human life, we have to dig deep. As Ellen White says, hunt for the Rock and make sure we are grounded on the Rock, Christ Jesus, who is the Word of God.

In the time in which we live, and particularly since Vatican II, the Protestant churches, which are virtually asleep, are being led step by step back into the fold of Rome. Soon to be raised is the issue of whether a power on this earth can exalt itself against the law of God, challenging his sovereignty, and whether the rest of humanity will yield allegiance to that power. We must never forget that the fundamental question of the Sabbath-Sunday issue at the end of time is, will divine authority be in its rightful place or will human authority replace divine authority and pervert humanity? J.A. Wylie in his The History of Protestantism, which paints for us the struggle that has gone on through the centuries between the forces of Protestantism and the Papacy, points out that human liberty depends upon its recognition of divine authority.

In 1215, the barons of England forced King John to sign the Magna Charta. Wylie points out, however, that the great charter for England was not, in reality, the fundamental charter of liberty for the English-speaking people; it was the Word of God. When the Word of God sank down into the hearts of Englishmen, it transformed all of human life in England and exalted England to greatness. When divine authority is present, it demands freedom to obey God and is a fundamental principle of all liberty.

But we live in a society that has rejected the authority of God, laying the foundation for human tyranny. In England the teachings of evolution destroyed the concept of the creatorship of God. For some time the American nation has been driven hard to the left into immorality and homosexuality, and we may except to soon see a hard shift back to the right. Already, Patrick Buchanan, regarded as a staunch conservative, is holding seminars across this land asserting that the only way to save America is to make it Catholic.

Soon, every person in this nation is going to have to come to grips with issue of what they are going to do with the creatorship of God and with the authority of His Word. Even in Adventism we are wrestling with this issue, and it is the result of a regard for the authority of God’s Word that we see the independent movement today.

When Luther, in reading the Scriptures, found that Christ is the head of the body, he began questioning whether there was any head of the whole church other than Christ. There came a point in his experience where he was engaged in the Leipzig debates, and, as a result of that experience, Luther began coming to grips with the issue of authority in the church. He finally came to doubt whether, after all, any other head of the whole church had been appointed upon earth except Christ. Once he accepted the principle that the authority of God’s Word is above counsels, popes, and all human authority, it began to transform all human life, changing even people’s concept of the church.

Once Luther established the principle of the supremacy of the Word of God, he began energetically applying it to every phase of human life. The outgrowth of that principle is reflected in our Constitution in the principle of the free exercise of religion. The whole Bill of Rights rests upon this principle of the supremacy of divine authority. But what has happened in America? As the creatorship of God has been destroyed by the teachings of evolution, we have lost the concept of inalienable rights, and we now have a government that is contemptuous of the Bill of Rights.

In 1958, the year before the pope called for Vatican II, a European theologian sounded a warning. He did not know what was coming, but he pointed out that unless we begin to have an experience with the Word of God so that our entire life rests upon it and unless we have placed our feet so firmly on the Word that we can say we know with certainly what we believe, we will eventually come back under the dominion of Rome. He sent out that warning to the world. The next year, the ecumenical council was called. Vatican II met from 1962-1965, and the religious world has never been the same since.

But the people are not going deep enough. They are skimming the surface and are not rooted on the Word of God. Therefore, they do not know how to evaluate what is taking place, and after a while they begin to adjust, adapting to the new realities of Socialism as it comes in like a flood. Meanwhile, a totalitarian system of enormous proportions is being set up in our nation and around the world.

It was Luther who observed that, “A council cannot make divine right out of that which is not by nature divine right. To establish the Romish papacy by divine right is a ‘new dogma’ which is not binding. The church needs no head. The hierarchical system is not biblical, nor of divine right. The whole canon law [set up by Rome] begins to totter.” The History of Doctrines, 290

When the human being submits to the authority of God and His law of liberty, he finds true freedom; and he is delivered from human tyranny. The central orientation of the Protestant worship was the Word of God, not the charisma of the speaker. The movement of the three angels’ messages of Adventism will triumph as it adheres to this principle of the primacy of the Word of God.

And so, the principle of the supremacy of the Word of God was adopted by Luther in the Reformation, and it transformed his idea about the church. Because he had bowed to the supreme authority of Christ, who is the head of the church, he no longer felt that he had to somehow stay within the confines of the papacy. It was out of the fountain spring of personal salvation that a whole new conception of the church was born, bringing Protestantism into being.

Luther first develops this doctrine in detail in a tract in which he observed that the church is an assemblage of all Christian believers on earth and is made up of those who are of His flesh and of His bone, who are united with Him by faith. He further pointed out that as this is a community of saints and is represented as a spiritual fellowship, the principle of its unity is not to be seen in a body such as Rome, or the papacy, but in Christ. He went on to say that it is Christ operating upon the members that unites them into one community. (See Ibid., 291.)

Remember, Ellen White says that the groups of believers at the end of time are bound together by the truth; and the truth rests, of course, upon Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. As the head, Christ infuses His disposition, temper, and will into the community. The church is, therefore, the spiritual association of those who believe on Christ, those established and sustained by Him.

“Where two or three are present who love and obey the commandments of God, Jesus there presides, let it be in the desolate place of the earth, in the wilderness, in the city enclosed in prison walls.” The Upward Look, 315

The idea that the true church is the spiritual fellowship where Christ presides is an entirely new concept of the church that came about from the study of the Word of God in the Protestant Reformation.

“By the word church is also understood the organized association of those who believe on Christ, ‘an outward thing with outward actions,’ and the order of the clergy. This ‘outward, bodily church’ and the ‘inner spiritual church’ are to be carefully discriminated, but not separated. They are related to one another as body and soul in man.” The History of Doctrines, 291. And in the Protestant Reformation, the concept that Jesus enunciated when He said the kingdom of heaven is within you, is an internal, spiritual kingdom of righteousness and peace. This is the non-negotiable element of the church that Luther seized upon in the Protestant Reformation. And then that spiritual fellowship that are of His flesh and of His bone have a visible, external manifestation as they gather together for the preaching of the Word and administration of the Lord’s ordinances, such as the Lord’s Supper and Baptism.

Luther recognized that the outward, bodily church and the inner, spiritual church are related to one another as body and soul to man. He asserted that, “It is, of course, of chief importance that we belong to the spiritual church, but this membership stand in close connection with membership in the external church.” Ibid. He went on to say that it is the Word of God, the preaching of the Word, externally set forth that calls into existence the inner, spiritual church. “The church is therefore in one aspect, an external, visible association. But this is not ‘the true church which is believed.’ Since, however, the Word and the sacraments are here operative, faith concludes that here in the external association may be found a community of saints. Thus the church is an object of faith and not the visible, ‘for what is believed is not bodily nor visible.’” Ibid., 292

Basically, what Luther was saying is that the invisible, inner relationship with Christ is the foundational concept of the church, just as Paul says here in Ephesians 5:30, “For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” And out of that inner relationship with Christ, there comes a visible, external manifestation of the church as the community of faith comes together and hears the Word of God preached to them. The church is the assembly of all believers, the holy Christian nation, the regenerated. It is holy because the Holy spirit reigns in it. Those who belong to it are all priests in the spiritual sense. It is the new creation of God, the product and sphere of the redemptive work of Christ, the kingdom of God in which Christ reigns through the spirit and faith.

The Reformers went on to say that, “If the question be raised, which of the two churches, the Romish and the Evangelical, is the ‘true’ one, the answer cannot be given on the basis of their comparative morality. But, sense the object of the outward organization of the church is to bring Christ to men through the Word, therefore, it can lay claim to the title, ‘true church,’ just in proportion as its preaching of the Word is in harmony with this purpose, i.e., is truly evangelical.” The History of Doctrines, 294. And so, the mark of the true church, Luther said, is that in it, the gospel is purely preached.

This entire movement of historic Adventism rests upon this principle of the primacy of the Word of God because we believe that, where the truth is purely preached is the sign of the true church. Martin Luther said that this true church must have the “teaching, faith, and confession of Christ. This can be known from the agreement of its doctrine with the ‘Word of Christ.’ That the true church holds with me to God’s Word.’ Our doctrine is ‘the Scriptures and the clear Word of God.’ The ‘pure doctrine’ is therefore of the highest importance, since every corruption of it must immediately influence the life. Hence, the church dare not tolerate false teachers.” Ibid., 295. That is the sixteenth century Reformation.

The struggle that we are involved in in Adventism today is that we are faced on the one hand with a structure that has very subtly shifted its emphasis from the authority of God and His Word to the authority of man, as is evidenced by the fact that we find men who profess to speak for the structure exalting the church manual as being an inspired document. Recently, a man from the General Conference, who was delivering a sermon at a baccalaureate service, asserted that, yes, we have the authority of Scripture, but we also have the authority of tradition which is to be interpreted for all by the community of faith. These are Roman Catholic concepts.

On the other hand, there is the celebration movement. This movement is right out of Vatican II.

The issue that Seventh-day Adventists are now having to come to grips with is, what are they going to do with a pastor who is going in a different direction, with a conference structure that is going a different direction? This is not a situation that is taking place only in Adventism but throughout the churches. We have Baptists who, as soon as their Adventists neighbors get Freedom’s Ring, want to borrow it. They recognize that this is happening in their church. I was just talking to Texe Marrs; some of you know who he is, exposing the occult, exposing spiritualistic forces, exposing the new world order in a remarkable way. He said to me, “You know, I was brought up as a Baptist. My mother was Pentecostal. But you know, I didn’t go to church very much; and when I was in the Air Force, Wanda, my wife, and I gave our hearts to the Lord and began pursuing truth. When we got out of the Air Force, we went to attend the Baptist church.” And he said, “It was nothing like the Baptist faith I had known about.” This is happening in all of the churches. I have a friend who went, just out of the appeal of his Lutheran family, to attend a Lutheran service in North Dakota. The whole sermon was New Age, about the God within. I have a book by a conservative Roman Catholic who tells how New Age is all through their schools and all through their whole movement.

To be continued…

Judas: An Example of a Tare

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In Christ’s Object Lessons, 73, we are given the names of a number of the tares who were found in the early Christian church. We find Ananias and Sapphira listed, who, when their sin became open, were removed from the church by death. There are also Simon Magus and Demas, both of whom were at one time welcomed into church membership, but who, when their sin became open, were later openly disciplined or removed from fellowship. There is also Judas, who was perhaps the best known of all and whose name has become closely associated with being a prime example of a tare. When his sin became open, Judas took his own life, effectively removing himself from the church. It is most interesting to note, however, that Caiaphas, assumed* by many to rank close to Judas in notoriety, is not mentioned.

It also interesting to note that for at least the last year of his ministry, Jesus knew what was going on in the heart of Judas and that he was a tare, thought no one else suspected his real motives.

“Christ’s discourse in the synagogue concerning the bread of life was the turning-point in the history of Judas. He heard the words, ‘Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.’ He saw that Christ was offering spiritual rather than worldly good…

“In all that Christ said to His disciples, there was something with which, in heart, Judas disagreed. Under his influence the leaven of disaffection was fast doing its work. The disciples did not see the real agency in all this; but Jesus saw that Satan was communicating his attributes to Judas, and thus opening up a channel through which to influence the other disciples. This, a year before the betrayal, Christ declared. ‘Have not I chosen you twelve,’ he said, ‘and one of you is a devil?’” The Desire of Ages, 719, 720

The history of Judas presents a sad ending of a life that might have been honored of God. By becoming the slave of one vice, he gave himself to be driven to any lengths in sin.

I would like us to think about some of the experiences that Judas had which should have been sufficient to keep him from sin. More than that, however, his life is a warning to us that there is never a time when we can safely rest secure, believing that we have nothing to fear.

“Judas saw the sick, the lame, the blind, flock to Jesus from the towns and cities. He saw the dying laid at His feet. He witnessed the Saviour’s mighty works in healing the sick, casting out devils, and raising the dead. He felt in his own person the evidence of Christ’s power. He recognized the teaching of Christ as superior to all that he had ever heard. He loved the great Teacher, and desired to be with Him. He felt a desire to be changed in character and life, and he hoped to experience this through connecting himself with Jesus.” Ibid., 717 [All emphasis supplied]

It is significant that it was not sufficient that Judas enjoyed being in the presence of Jesus and desired to be with Him. It was not even sufficient that he recognized that his own character needed to be changed and that he even desired that Jesus should accomplish this for him. Without a willingness to put forth earnest efforts, casting sin out of the heart, he did not have a genuine relationship with Christ and his experience proved worthless.

Here is where the amazing love and patience of God is revealed. “The Saviour did not repulse Judas. He gave him a place among the twelve. He trusted him to do the work of an evangelist. He endowed him with power to heal the sick and to cast out devils. But Judas did not come to the point of surrendering himself fully to Christ. He did not give up his worldly ambition or his love of money. While he accepted the position of a minister of Christ, he did not bring himself under the divine moulding. He felt that he could retain his own judgment and opinions, and he cultivated a disposition to criticize and accuse.” Ibid.

Can you comprehend this? Jesus gave every possible benefit to Judas, even to the point of endowing him with power to heal the sick and cast out devils; but Judas failed of fully surrendering himself to Jesus.

“The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan’s control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God.” Ibid., 466

We need to get on our knees and agonize with God, as did Jacob, that our heart may be broken and we may come to the point of fully surrendering ourselves to Christ. It is not enough that we do the work of an evangelist. It is not enough that we may have chosen to connect ourselves to Jesus and have felt His power in our soul, hoping for a change in character; if we never come to the point of a full surrender to Him, there is still a connection between Satan and our souls.

“If one sin is cherished in the soul, or one wrong practice retained in the life, the whole being is contaminated. The man becomes an instrument of unrighteousness.” Ibid., 313

“Judas was blinded to his own weakness of character, and Christ placed him where he would have an opportunity to see and correct this.” Ibid., 717. If you are deceived, it is impossible for you to know it, because if you knew it, you could no longer be said to be deceived. We need to be pleading that Jesus will place us where we have an opportunity to see the defects in our character that we are blind to.

It was a source of frustration to Judas that Jesus always seemed to be dwelling on the negative and discouraging side of life, talking of trial and persecution. He was offended when Jesus presented the spiritual nature of His kingdom, and he allowed doubts to begin running through his mind; he began to question Jesus. Though Judas had not yet decided that Jesus was not the Son of God, he began questioning and seeking to find some explanation of His mighty works. In spite of all this, “Judas made no open opposition, nor seemed to question the Saviour’s lessons.” Ibid., 720

You see, a tare is not a person who is in open sin. His sin is the sin of hidden doubt, and thus he becomes the embodiment of error and false principles. (See Christ’s Object Lessons, 71.) This was the experience of Judas. Though he was not openly sinning, he was secretly stealing.

Judas’ experience was not all one-sided. Even though he was plagued with doubts and uncertainty, we are told that, “he felt the satisfaction that always comes in service to God.” Ibid., 718

Although he felt the satisfaction that always comes in service to God, those feelings were not sufficient to save him. We must never forget that if we rely on our feelings as a barometer of our experience, we are on dangerous ground. Our only standard is the law of God. It matters not how good you may feel about helping the homeless and giving Bible studies; if your heart is not fully surrendered, it is to no avail. Until the root of selfishness is pulled out of the heart by the power of Christ and by our own choice, we are in a blind condition.

“John and Judas are representatives of those who profess to be Christ’s followers. Both these disciples had the same opportunities to study and follow the divine Pattern. Both were closely associated with Jesus and were privileged to listen to His teaching. Each possessed serious defects of character; and each had access to the divine grace that transforms character.” Acts of the Apostles, 558. And, though Judas might have comprehended the methods of Christ, his selfish desires blinded him and he found only disappointment and confusion.

Because of his disappointment in Jesus’ failure to fulfill his expectations in setting up a worldly kingdom, Judas decided that he was not going to unite himself with Christ quite so closely but that he could draw away easily. From that time he expressed doubts that tended to confuse the other disciples.

The scribes and Pharisees “had misinterpreted God’s promise of eternal favor to Israel: ‘Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is His name: If those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me, saith the Lord: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.” Jeremiah 31:35-37. The Jews regarded their natural descent from Abraham as giving them a claim to this promise. But they overlooked the conditions which God had specified.” The Desire of Ages, 106. They had taken the promise of God’s everlasting favor to be an unconditional promise by which God had bound Himself. They believed that no matter what the Jewish people did, they were still the people of God.

“Many who were convinced that Jesus was the Son of God were misled by the false reasoning of the priests and rabbis. These teachers had repeated with great effect the prophecies concerning the Messiah, that he would ‘reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously;’ that He would ‘have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.’ Isaiah 24:23; Psalm 72:8. Then they made contemptuous comparisons between the glory here pictured and the humble appearance of Jesus. The very words of prophecy were so perverted as to sanction error.” Ibid., 458. Because Jesus failed to meet their false expectations, they concluded that He was an imposter and sent messengers all over the country to warn the people about Him. (See Ibid., 213.) Incredibly, the Author of the Scriptures was among them and yet they used the very words He inspired the prophets to write to turn the nation against Him. Just imagine the Bible studies that were given throughout the land and the Bible based sermons that were given, all with the determined purpose of turning a nation from the truth.

The scribes and Pharisees great problem lay in their failure to understand the spiritual nature of the true church, and, they were offended that Christ did not have the due regard that they supposed He should have for the priesthood. “Christ’s oft-repeated statement that His kingdom was not of this world offended Judas.” Ibid., 718. In all that Christ said to His disciples, there was something with which, in heart, Judas disagreed. He picked up the flawed theological thinking of the church leadership and was found “repeating the arguments urged by the scribes and Pharisees against the claims of Christ.” Ibid., 719. Jesus saw that Satan was communicating his attributes to Judas, and thus opening up a channel with which to influence the other disciples. He would introduce texts of Scripture that had no connection with the truths Christ was presenting, yet he did so in such a way as to make it appear that he was conscientious. (See Ibid., 719.) In taking the truths that Jesus taught and presenting them in a different light, he was attaching to the words of Jesus a meaning that He had not conveyed.

We need to remember that, if we come to the Word of God with the selfish desire to prove our own point or to lift up ourselves, we are certain to come up with a false reasoning, just as did Judas. So, when you see professed Historic Seventh-day Adventists who are lining up theologically with the scribes and Pharisees of today, repeating their arguments about the nature of Christ’s kingdom [His church]—beware!

And so it was that a year before the betrayal, Christ declared, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” John 6:70. It was generally Judas who began the contention as to who should be the greatest. “His suggestions were constantly exciting an ambitious desire for temporal preferment, and thus turning the disciples from the important things they should have considered.” Ibid., 719. The “embodiment of error” is an apt description of Judas, though his depravity was known only to Jesus. Judas offered no open opposition to the Saviour, nor did he openly murmur against Him. No matter how hidden we think our thoughts are, any thought that leads away from truth will eventually absorb us and turn us into the “embodiment of error.” “This will be the experience of every one who persists in tampering with sin. The elements of depravity that are not resisted and overcome, respond to Satan’s temptation, and the soul is led captive at his will.” Ibid., 720

There is a lesson here for us. Because we know that we have the truth of the three angels’ messages for the world, and because we have stood against the celebration apostasy and the new theology and firmly resisted the encroachment of worldliness into the church, I am fearful of our tendency to excuse our “little” sins. We fail to remember that beyond all of these things we must still overcome anger, impatience, overeating, fretfulness, love of the world, and a myriad of other sins that all come under the heading of selfishness.

“We may flatter ourselves that we are free from many things of which others are guilty; but if we have some strong points of character, and but one weak point, there is yet a communion between sin and the soul. The heart is divided in its service, and says, ‘Some of self and some of Thee.’ The child of God must search out the sin which he has petted and indulged himself in, and permit God to cut it out of his heart. He must overcome that one sin; for it is not a trifling matter in the sight of God.” Review and Herald, August 1, 1893

“‘How may are betrayed into sin, because they have not, through prayerful study of the Word of God, realized the sinfulness of sin, and found out how they may steadfastly resist it. When temptation comes upon them, they seem to be off guard, and ignorant of the devices of the enemy. We are living in perilous times, and as we draw near the close of earth’s history, there will be no safety for those who do not become familiar with the Word of God. I would warn the disciples of Christ of the impending days of peril, and beseech you to prepare for the time of test and trial; for everything that can be shaken, will be shaken. Do we now obey the Word of God, and live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God? Are we established and settled in the present truth? There is need of closely examining yourselves whether you are in the love of God; for except Christ be in you, you are reprobates. Self-deception is dangerous, and no one of us can afford to go on in delusion.” Youth’s Instructor, May 18, 1893

Of ourselves we cannot know our error. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. We may even attempt to express our poverty with words, while all the time it goes unacknowledged by our proud hearts as they swell with conceit at their own superior humility.

“When sin has deadened the moral perceptions, the wrong-doer does not discern the defects of his character, nor realize the enormity of the evil he has committed; and unless he yields to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, he remains in partial blindness to his sin. His confessions are not sincere and in earnest. To every acknowledgment of his guilt, he adds an apology in excuse of his course, declaring that, if it had not been for certain circumstances, he would not have done this or that, for which he was reproved.” Signs of the Times, March 16, 1888

Our only safety is in the prayer, “Lord take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristlike self. Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 159

May this be the prayer of each one of our hearts.

*As students of the Word, we need to be very careful that by a lack of careful study we do not come to some conclusions for which we have no inspired support. These ideas though we fail to realize it, are assumptions. An assumption is an idea that is so taken for granted that it is not thought necessary to prove it. Assumptions, once accepted, become very powerful as they bypass the critical faculty in the thinking process, shaping all of our other thoughts and decisions. It matters not how sincerely we hold them; false assumptions cannot help but lead us to wrong conclusions.

The End

God’s Warnings

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God’s warnings serve to remind us of the conditionality of His promises to His church. If one forgets the conditionality of the promises, as the Jews did, he must first reject God’s warnings. God’s warnings often appear to contradict His promises, but properly understood, they are compatible. God always grants to us freedom of choice; and if we fail to comply with the conditions for receiving the promises, His warnings simply reveal His alternate plans.

In warning the people of Battle Creek of the danger of despising warnings and entreaties and of refusing to respect God’s counsels, Ellen White said that “By rejecting God’s warnings in this our day, men are repeating the sin of Jerusalem.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 68. To many of the Battle Creek people, these warnings were confusing and were misunderstood. Being seemingly unconscious of their wrong course, they felt Ellen White was speaking in parables or with idle tales. (See ibid.) Sincerity in believing is no protection against the result of failing to have a love for all of the truth. (See 2 Thessalonians 2.)

Today some are focusing only on God’s promises of prosperity, presenting those promises which reveal God’s optimal plan for His church while refusing to also present His warnings that reveal the conditionality of those promises and the alternative in the face of disobedience, While we all like to hear these messages, we must realize that they reflect a loss of love for part of the truth. In concentrating only on the promises of prosperity, those who present the messages are becoming sincerely deceived into believing that some of the promises for God’s church are not conditional! In seeking to prove their point, some even refer to the very same Old Testament promises which the Jews used, failing to remember that this became their fatal error.

Israel’s forty extra years of wandering was not part of God’s original plan for them. “It was not the will of God that Israel should wander forty years in the wilderness; He desired to lead them directly to the land of Canaan and establish them there, a holy, happy people. But ‘they could not enter in because of unbelief.’ Hebrews 3:19. Because of their backsliding and apostasy they perished in the desert, and others were raised up to enter the Promised Land.” The Great Controversy, 458

It was God’s plan that the Jewish organization and structure would remain pure. According to this plan, Jerusalem would have become the center of the universe; but as a people they rejected the only conditions under which this plan was open to them. Forgetting the conditionality of the prosperity of the church, the leaders, in their apostasy, still expected a future cleansing and triumph. They were thus blinded to the significance of what was taking place among them and the cleansing already going on in the minds of the faithful remnant who recognized the “good old paths” of truth which Jesus taught.

The vast majority of the leaders of the Jewish church and the structure as a whole maintained that they were the true professed church after Christ cleansed the temple. As most of the people did not study for themselves, they chose what seemed to them to be the next most reasonable approach. They followed their blind leaders into the same ditch and were lost. (See Testimonies, vol. 5, 747; Testimonies to Ministers, 109; The Great Controversy 19, 598.) They had concluded that Jesus’ warnings only confused them, so they chose not to listen to Him.

In arriving at truth, it is no less dangerous for us today to overlook God’s warnings. We are in just as great a danger of following in the tracks of the religious leaders of Christ’s day. If we fail to respond to the Laodicean message and its warnings, we, too, will go out into darkness as did the Jews. (See Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 354.) When one is deceived, he is unaware of the fact that he has been spewed from Jesus’ mouth. (See Testimonies, vol. 6, 408; Review and Herald, November 26, 1861.*)

God is merciful; but in allowing this freedom of choice, there is a limit beyond which He cannot go and still respect our freedom of choice. In the book, The Publishing Ministry, 171, Ellen White points out that a cleansing of the temple took place in the Review and Herald fire, during which the alpha of apostasy text book plates were burned. She then states that if the warning was rejected, God’s judgments of mercy would soon become judgments of retribution. “I want to tell you that if after the warnings given in these burnings the leaders of our people go right on, just as they have done in the past, exalting themselves, God will take the bodies next.” Ibid. We need to consider carefully whether or not we as a people have allowed the early rain to remove all of our inherited and cultivated tendencies to evil. Must we not admit that as a group we have employed man-made weapons, such as the Perth Declaration or the Issues book, thereby fighting against the very means that our God of mercy sends to prepare us to receive the latter rain?

While true faith leads God’s children to claim His promises, thereby partaking of godliness and overcoming sin in their lives, another class presumptuously claim the same promises in order to lightly pass over sin. In doing so, they forget God’s warnings and conditions. Inevitably, such are uncomfortable around the true “virgins” with a pure faith, just as was Cain with Abel. In continuing to presume upon God’s promises and sin by choice, they become members of the synagogue of Satan. (See Testimonies to Ministers, 16; Review and Herald, December 4, 1900.) Such can change leaders little by little without even knowing it, until God eventually sends them strong delusions and they believe a lie. (See Testimonies, vol. 7, 219; 2 Thessalonians 2.) Though they still claim to be the church of God and are often sincere in this belief, they are not telling the truth. (See Revelation 2:2,9.) Some maintain that those who comprise this group are tares and should, therefore, be retained in the church. Though this may make them more comfortable, it is failing to carry out the work that God has given us to do.

Very soon, the door of mercy will close. As in the past, it will close first for those of us with the greatest light. We have nothing to fear, however, for we can be a part of the loud cry if we will take full advantage of this present probationary time.

Our most urgent need, and that which will keep us from receiving a delusion, is a love for all of the truth. “Perilous times are before us. Everyone who has a knowledge of the truth should awake and place himself, body, soul, and spirit, under the discipline of God. The enemy is on our track. We must be wide awake, on our guard against him. We must put on the whole armor of God. We must follow the directions given through the spirit of prophecy. We must love and obey the truth for this time. This will save us from accepting strong delusions. God has spoken to us through His Word. He has spoken to us through the testimonies to the church and through the books that have helped to make plain our present duty and the position that we should now occupy. The warnings that have been given, line upon line, precept upon precept, should be heeded. If we disregard them, what excuse can we offer?” Testimonies, vol. 8, 298

It is because of God’s great love that He warns of the alternative to obedience. In mercy and love he lifts the veil from the future, revealing to us the results of a course of sin.

In the parable of the cursed fig tree, the Jewish nation was represented by the fruitless fig tree; but it also stands as a warning to us. The Jews, who did not profit by their increased blessings, were represented by the fruitless fig tree. In the parable, Jesus did not reveal the final outcome for it rested with those of His day to determine their own destiny. “In the rejection of their present mercies and warnings lay the guilt of that generation.” The Desire of Ages, 584

The leaves, representing the profession or form of godliness but which are unaccompanied by fruit, are less than worthless for they do the work of Satan in misleading others by denying God’s power. (See 2 Timothy 3:5.) The new theology which is coming into our midst is as fig leaves without fruit. Not only does it fail to urge men to bring forth the fruits of righteousness, but it actually excuses their sins. (See Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 16.)

“Will the churches heed the Laodicean message? Will they repent, or will they, notwithstanding that the most solemn message of truth—the third angel’s message—is being proclaimed to the world, go on in sin? This is the last message of mercy, the last warning to a fallen world. If the church of God becomes lukewarm, it does not stand in favor with God any more than do the churches that are represented as having fallen and become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Those who have had opportunities to hear and receive the truth and who have united with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, calling themselves the commandment-keeping people of God, and yet possess no more vitality and consecration to God than do the nominal churches, will receive of the plagues of God just as verily as the churches who oppose the law of God. Only those that are sanctified through the truth will compose the royal family in the heavenly mansions Christ has gone to prepare for those that love Him and keep His commandments.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 176

Some are forgetting God’s warnings* and are seeking to downgrade the importance of the issue of who and what the church really is as it applies to Seventh-day Adventists. Let us not forget, however, that this issue had to be understood by God’s people when Jesus taught that it was not mere profession which counted but obedience to the truth.

Though some seek to distance the early Christian church from the papacy, disavowing that the papacy was derived from it, inspiration is very clear that it was through corruption and by a departure from the simplicity of the gospel that the early church found itself in need of the secular power of the state. “The result was the papacy, a church that controlled the power of the State, and employed it to further her own ends, especially for the punishment of ‘heresy.’” The Great Controversy, 443. So today, by ignoring the Spirit of Prophecy counsels and resisting the cleansing of God’s church, currently in progress, we are preparing to receive the mark of the beast. (See Testimonies, vol. 5, 81.)

If it was crucial for the Jews, the early Christians, the churches in 1844, and the eight souls who walked into the ark to know who and what is the church, can we possibly be so naive as to believe it is not significant to God’s people today? Is it possible that we could still be found waiting for what we believe will be our ultimate denominational triumph when, because of disobedience and rebellion, we no longer have any warrant for such expectations?

After pointing out the failure of the Jewish church to fulfill God’s expectations for them and the results that followed, the servant of the Lord poses the question: “Is not the church of today doing the same thing?…Are they less guilty than was the Jewish church?” (See Christ’s Object Lessons, 303-306.) Do we believe that these are merely rhetorical questions, or do we love the truth enough to dig deep to find out answers to these questions?

“Men cannot with impunity reject the warnings that God in mercy sends them. From those who persist in turning from these warnings, God withdraws his spirit, leaving them to the deceptions that they love.” The Acts of the Apostles, 266

Because the Jews allowed God’s Word to be replaced by the Talmud (their church manual) as their guide, they disfellowhiped Christ at Calvary. In reality, this did not remove Christ from His church but secured the fact that corporately they were not a part of God’s church. If John the Baptist was today in our midst calling for our repentance, could he not be disfellowshiped according to our church manual? Would we do so?

In writing to the Thessalonian church, Paul not only admonished them to faithfully adhere to the truth but told them to separate from their fellowship those persisted in disregarding instruction. Because we have failed to follow this counsel, the time has come when church committees and boards have as members such a significant proportion who are Seventh-day Adventists by name and profession only, but who deny in their lives the truths that were given to this church, that there is extreme danger that they cannot be depended on to differentiate between light and darkness. “The minds of many have been so darkened and confused by worldly customs, worldly practices, and worldly customs, worldly practices, and worldly influences that all power to discriminate between light and darkness, truth and error, seems destroyed.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 62

Past history reveals that in times of great apostasy, those who are most involved in apostasy, are most often promoted while those who are standing for truth are put out of the way. Jesus clearly warned us of this when He said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me.” John 16:1-3

We are not left to wonder as to what God’s alternate plan will be if we fail to accept His counsel. “Many will stand in our pulpits with the torch of false prophecy in their hands, kindled from the hellish torch of Satan. If doubts and unbelief are cherished, the faithful ministers will be removed from the people who think they know so much.” Testimonies to Ministers, 409-410

Notice that the words to follow this prophetic statement are the same that were pronounced over Jerusalem (see Luke 19:42) when in their deception, they knew not their hour of visitation. “‘If thou hadst known,’ said Christ, ‘even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes.’” Ibid., 410

At this time of crises, when above all other times there is need of faithfully rebuking sin and preparing a people for the latter rain, is the very time when, in the name of preserving the church, the confederacy of evil has brought in its unholy guns for warfare—the Perth Declaration and the Issues book. These are aimed at silencing those who are most faithful in reproving and upholding all of Gods’ truths, including His warnings. Such weapons are turned against the true church militant—those who are most faithful in reproving and upholding all of God’s truths, including His warnings. Such weapons are turned against the true church militant—those who are on God’s side in the great controversy, engaging their energies against the synagogue of Satan. We need to be surprised that this synagogue of Satan profess to be Jews while exalting apostasy over truth. “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” 2 Corinthians 11:14, 15. While professing to be and speaking as the church, they fight against God’s reproofs and corrections; but God does not own them as His.

“I am filled with sadness when I think of our condition as a people….And yet the general opinion is that the church is flourishing and that peace and spiritual prosperity are in all her borders.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 217

In the last analysis, it is not the profession or name but an adherence to God’s Word that draws the line of distinction between the professors and the true church of Christ. The history of the Jewish church is an eloquent testimony to the importance of recognizing this reality and that we not be found in the end with unrealistic expectations.

* “Those who separate from God and lose their spirituality, do not fall back all at once into a state which the True Witness calls lukewarm. They conform to the world little by little. As its influence steals upon them, they fail to resist it and maintain the warfare. After the first step is taken to have friendship with the world, darkness follows and they are prepared for the next. At every step they take in the downward course darkness gathers about them, until they are enshrouded. As they conform to the world they lose the transforming influence of the spirit of God. They do not realize their distance from God. They think themselves in good case because they profess to believe the truth. They grow weaker and weaker, until the Spirit of God is withdrawn, and God bids his angels, ‘Let them alone!’ Jesus spues them out of his mouth. He has borne their names to his Father; he has interceded for them, but he ceases his pleadings. Their names are dropped, and they are left with the world. They realize no change. Their profession is the same. There has not been so glaring a departure from the appearance of right. They had become so assimilated to the world that when heaven’s light was withdrawn they did not miss it.”

The End

Who and What is Babylon?

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“And another angel followed, saying, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’” Revelation 14:8

“It was by departure from the Lord, and alliance with the heathen, that the Jewish church became a harlot; and Rome, corrupting herself in like manner by seeking the support of worldly powers, receives a like condemnation.” The Great Controversy, 382. If you do not understand that truth, you cannot understand what Babylon is. Let me explain that. The true church is a spiritual thing. Some people think that if you are in this organization, you are in Zion, and if you are in that organization, you are in Babylon. We must get over childish ways of thinking. Both Babylon and the true church are spiritual entities.

You see, the true church has to do with the mystery of godliness. Babylon has to do with the mystery of iniquity, or mystery of lawlessness, as Paul calls it in 2 Thessalonians 2. In Revelation 17, Babylon is referred to as a woman who is a great harlot. As a woman represents a church, and a harlot represents a church that is unfaithful, any church that becomes a harlot is part of Babylon. More than one church forms a part of Babylon because in Revelation 17:5 it says: “on her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the abominations of the earth.” As she is the mother and she has daughters, clearly there are other churches that belong to this great system.

Notice some identifying marks about Babylon in Revelation 14:8.

  • It says that Babylon has fallen. If you are already lying on the floor, you cannot fall. To fall, at some time in the past you have to have been up in an elevated position so that you could fall. In other words Babylon is a church that at one time was in a pure and elevated, spiritual condition.

 

  • We see that Babylon uses force or coercion. It says, “She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” So, she uses some kind of trickery, deceit, insinuation, force, or coercion to cause all of the people of the earth to drink this wine.

 

  • Babylon is a church or a spiritual organization that has world-wide influence. All of the nations in the world have been influenced by her.

 

  • As we saw in Revelation 17:5, Babylon is more than one church organization or group.

 

  • Babylon has to be a religious organization because it is a woman. (See 2 Corinthians 11:2; Jeremiah 6:2)

How does a church become a spiritual harlot? Let us go back to the Old Testament. We find in both the Old and New Testaments that those organizations that are referred to as Babylon were formerly in an elevated position. In fact, the prophets tell us that the nation of Israel became what you would call the equivalent of Babylon. In Isaiah 1, the prophet talked to Jerusalem, and he called her a harlot. That is the same as calling her Babylon, though she was still called Jerusalem. Obviously, you can call yourself Jerusalem and yet spiritually be a part of Babylon. When your spiritual condition indicates that you have fallen, the prophet says you are spiritually a harlot. (See The Great Controversy, 382.)

In Ezekiel 23, there is a whole chapter about two sisters. These two sistesr have become harlots. Who are these two harlots? It says in verse 4 that one is Samaria and the other is Jerusalem. I want you to see how a church becomes spiritually a harlot and becomes part of Babylon.

“The Lord also said to me: ‘Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. For they have committed adultery [they are harlots], and blood is on their hands.’” They worshiped idols, and worshiping idols constituted spiritual adultery. But that is not all. “‘And even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths.’” How did they become spiritual harlots? They defiled God’s sanctuary and profaned His Sabbaths. When you break God’s law and teach others to break God’s law, you are committing spiritual adultery against Him. A person or group who claims to be the church of God and teaches others that they cannot keep the law of God is in a spiritual, adulterous situation as Ezekiel says very plainly here in Ezekiel 23:36-38.

Is it possible for a church, in the most literal sense, to become a harlot and still think they are keeping God’s law? Turn in your Bible to Ephesians 5, where Paul is talking about the church. In verse 30 it says, “For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’” Now let me ask you, friends, when Paul says here, and he is quoting from Genesis 2:23, 24, that a man shall leave his father and mother and should be joined to his wife and they two shall be one flesh, what is he talking about? He is talking about the sexual relationship of marriage. Let us read that right in the Bible. Turn back to 1 Corinthians 6:15-17. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? [He is talking to the church.] Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ‘the two,’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh.’” If you are an adult, you cannot misunderstand what Paul is talking about. When the Bible says the two shall become one flesh, what it is talking about? It is talking about the sexual relationship of marriage.

Just as a man is physically joined to his wife in marriage, in the same way the Christian is spiritually united to the Lord Jesus Christ, one body, one bone, and one flesh with Him. (See 1 Corinthians 6:16.) “We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” Ephesians 5:30-32. Now, if you cannot understand it, you will be excused, because when the apostle Paul says something is a great mystery it is, but it remains that, he says, he is talking about the sexual relationship of marriage. Then he explains that he is really talking about Christ and the church. You are members of the body of Christ. He says, in 1 Corinthians 6:16, “The one who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”

I have a question for you. Is marriage holy? Yes, the Bible teaches that marriage is holy, but it has some stipulations. Notice what it says in Ephesians 5:31. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Now, this should not be difficult to understand. If you have two, it is holy; but if you have three it is wicked. Is that understandable?

The church is to be one spirit with Christ, but when she unites herself with the governments of this world, with the kings of this world, what do you have? You have the church, the Lord, and the governments of the world. It is no longer two, but three; and that is wicked. That church has become a harlot, and, therefore, a part of Babylon. It does not matter whether it is done through the executive, the judicial, or the legislative branch. If she unites herself with the governments of this world, she becomes a part of Babylon. For a hundred and fifty years, Historic Seventh-day Adventists have preached the separation of church and state and that the church could not be united with the state without becoming part of Babylon. What have we forgotten!

“The world must not be introduced into the church, and married to the church, forming a bond of unity. Through this means the church will become indeed corrupt, and as stated in Revelation, ‘a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.’” Testimonies to Ministers, 265. How does the church become converted to Babylon? When she becomes united to the world; when she goes and unites herself with the world, with the governments of this world.

It says in Revelation 14 that this Babylon has made all of the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. The Bible speaks here about intoxicating wine, and intoxicating wine makes you drunk so that you cannot think. You become all confused, and, for the time, you are insane—gone mad—because you have drunk all of this wine.

“They also have erred through wine, and through intoxicating drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, they are swallowed up by the wine, they are out of the way through intoxicating drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filth; no place is clean.” Isaiah 28:7, 8. What happens when people drink wine? They are intoxicated and they err in vision and stumble in judgment.

In Revelation 14 it is not talking so much about physical wine as about spiritual wine. We find out what this spiritual wine is in Isaiah 29. “Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with intoxicating drink. For the Lord has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, namely the prophets; and He has covered your heads, namely, the seers. The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, ‘Read this, please.’ And he says, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.’ Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, ‘Read this, please.’ And he says, ‘I am not literate.’ Therefore the Lord said: ‘Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandments of men.” Isaiah 29:9-13. These people are drunk with spiritual, not physical wine. They are drunk because they are teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, and as a result, the people are deceived and confused!

It is time for Seventh-day Adventists to recognize that when they see that it is the commandments of men being taught that contradict the Word of God, it is the wine of Babylon. It does not matter what publishing house published it or what the name of the person is who wrote it; if it is the commandments of men and it contradicts the Word of God, it is the wine of Babylon. If you listen to it, you are going to become confused—drunk.

“And another angel followed, saying, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’” Revelation 14:8. If you drink of this wine, you are also going to drink of the wrath of God.

Who is it that is going to receive the wrath of God?

Concerning God, He “will render to each one according to his deeds,” “there is no partiality with God,” “eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek.” Romans 2:6, 11, 7-10.

Notice that it is the people who obey unrighteousness who drink of the wrath of God. The third angel’s message teaches that if you receive the mark of the beast, you are going to receive the wrath of God. The only people who receive the wrath of God, according to Paul in Romans 2:8, are those who obey unrighteousness. So, there is something about the wine of Babylon and the mark of the beast that is unrighteous.

Well, what is unrighteousness? “All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.” 1 John 5:17. The sin that does not lead to death is the sin that is repented, forsaken, and confessed. That sin does not lead to death because the cross of Jesus Christ will save you from the consequences. The only people, according to Romans 2:8, who are going to receive the wrath of God are those who obey unrighteousness; but unrighteousness is sin. What is sin? Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). All right, is there something in the wine of Babylon that teaches people to break God’s law? Yes, there is.

Have you ever heard the idea that you really cannot overcome sin, that you really cannot keep God’s law perfectly, that you are going to go on sinning some and confessing? Oh, you will not sin great big, but you are going to go on sinning and confessing until Jesus comes.

“Success in any line demands a definite aim.” Education, 262. I want to ask you this question, Will a person overcome sin who is not aiming to do so? Obviously, the person who is led to believe that you cannot overcome your sins perfectly, that you are going to go sinning and confessing, sinning and confessing, is never going to overcome the sin in his own life. The name of the church where this is taught is not important; it comes from Babylon and it will lead you to the seven last plagues.

“He who sins is of the devil.” 1 John 3:8. Let me tell you, friend, if your pastor is teaching you that you can sin, you had better got our of that church and go to a church where they do not teach that sort of thing, because he who sins is of the devil.

“Will the churches heed the Laodicean message? Will they repent, or will they, notwithstanding that the message—is proclaimed to the world, go on in sin? This is the last message of mercy, the last warning to a fallen world. If the church of God becomes lukewarm, it does not stand in favor with God any more than do the churches that are represented as having fallen and become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Those who have had opportunities to hear and receive the truth and who have united with the Seventh-day Adventist church, calling themselves the commandment-keeping people of God, and yet possess no more vitality and consecration of the plagues of God just as verily as the churches who oppose the law of God. Only those that are sanctified through the truth will compose the royal family in the heavenly mansions Christ has gone to prepare for those that love Him and keep His commandments.” [All emphasis supplied] Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 176

Some people say, “Oh, we are Zion. Don’t ever talk to us about Babylon. We are out of that organization.” Listen friends, you may be baptized and call yourself a Seventh-day Adventist but be just as bad off as the fallen churches that oppose the law of God and receive the plagues just the same.

“It is now the duty of God’s commandment-keeping people to watch and pray, to search the Scriptures diligently, to hide the Word of God in the heart, lest they sin against Him in idolatrous thoughts and debasing practices, and thus the church of God become demoralized like the fallen churches whom prophecy represents as being filled with every unclean and hateful bird.” Review and Herald, May 17, 1887

“We must as a people arouse and cleanse the camp of Israel. Licentiousness, unlawful intimacy, and unholy practices are coming in among us in a large degree; and ministers who are handling sacred things are guilty of sin in this respect. They are coveting their neighbors’ wives, and the seventh commandment is broken. We are in danger of becoming a sister to fallen Babylon, of allowing our churches to become corrupted, and filled with every foul spirit, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird; and will we be clear unless we make decided movements to cure the existing evil?” Manuscript Release, no. 449, 17. Just try to make movements to cure the existing evil and see what happens. Friend, it is time to read the Spirit of Prophecy and read all of the statements.

“When Jerusalem was divorced from God it was because of her sins. She fell from an exalted height that Tyre and Sidon had never reached. And when an angel falls he becomes a fiend. The depth of our ruin is measured by the exalted light to which God has raised us in His great goodness and unspeakable mercy. Oh, what privileges are granted to us a people! And if God spared not His people that he loved, because they refused to walk in the light, how can He spare the people whom He has blessed with the light of heaven in having opened to them the most exalted truth ever entrusted to mortal man to give to the world?” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 319

If we fall and become spiritually like Babylon, it is going to become worse for us because we had more light.

The End

Editorial – The Most Dangerous Religion

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When the disciples came to Jesus as recorded in Matthew 24 and asked Him about the sign of His coming and of the end of the world, the very first thing that is recorded in Jesus’ answer is a warning that they be not deceived. This warning is given in different language three times in Matthew 24. When our Lord gives us a warning three times, would you think that there is something there that we would need to pay close attention to?

Not only are we warned against false Christs, false prophets, and wonder workers, but we are given the plain warning that these deceptions will arise among God’s people. (See Matthew 24:24; 2 Peter 3:17.) “Do not forget that the most dangerous snares which Satan has prepared for the church will come through its own members who do not love God supremely or their neighbor as themselves.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 477

So the most dangerous deceptions will come from professed Seventh-day Adventists. “The gospel of Christ has little to fear from its open opponents. Its most dangerous foes are the pretended friends of Christ, who say, ‘I go,’ but do not go. They profess to love the Lord Jesus, but through the deceptions of Satan, they work against Christ, because they are not doers of the word.” Youth’s Instructor, August 14, 1894

Of these various infiltrators or pretenders, the most dangerous teachers or preachers are not those who preach a radically different theology, although some have been taken in by these. The most dangerous are those who preach mostly the truth with some sly errors built in which negate the power of the gospel. If the truth is received in the love of it, it will sanctify the life and prepare a person for heaven. But if a vital ingredient is missing, the soul will be left bankrupt for eternity. Ellen White had much to say on this subject:

“The most dangerous falsehoods are those that are mingled with truth. It is thus that errors are received that captivate and ruin the soul.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 338

“Many are in reality fighting his [Satan’s] battles while they profess to serve under the banner of Christ. These traitors in the camp may not be suspected, but they are doing their work to create unbelief, discord, and strife. Such are the most dangerous of foes. While they insinuate themselves into our favor, and gain our confidence and sympathy, they are busy suggesting doubts and creating suspicion.” Review and Herald, August 28, 1883

“Those temptations are the most dangerous which come from the professed servants of God, and from our friends.” Signs of the Times, January 3, 1884

“In every age false prophets have been the most dangerous enemies Christianity has had. Men have appeared who claimed to be champions of truth, professing to have a great burden for the souls of their fellowmen. But they taught false doctrines, and perverted the truth. The spirit they manifested, the work they wrought, testified to the character of their religion. Such men have arisen and do arise, and will continue to arise, in our own day. They will criticize, judge others, will be always ready for controversy, and will resist the truth. They will put false interpretations upon the Scriptures. They will misstate the words of those who advocate truth and some who listen to them, who do not have spiritual discernment, will be misled by these false teachers, and be found fighting under the black banner of the adversary of God and man.” Ibid., July 1892

So what is the most dangerous religion or religious teacher? The most dangerous religion or religious teacher is that which claims to be Seventh-day Adventist but which does not include all of the vital truth or is interwoven with subtle error. The closer it is to the truth, the more dangerous it is.

“Our faith is not to stand in the ability of men but in the power of God. There is danger of trusting in men, even though they may have been used as instruments of God to do a great and good work. Christ must be our strength and our refuge. The best of men may fall from their steadfastness, and the best of religion is found in obedience to every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Righteousness exalts a nation, and the absence of it degrades and ruins man.” Ibid., May 19, 1890

Somebody is probably asking now, Who are you talking about? That is a question that you must become able to answer through your study of the Word and your vital connection with Christ through the Holy Spirit. If you are going to go through to the end, your faith must be in God and His Word and not on any many or you will not make it.

“As we near the end of time, falsehood will be so mingled with truth, that only those who have the guidance of the Holy Spirit will be able to distinguish truth from error.” Maranatha, 192

The End

Persecution Revived: Enter in Through the Right Gate

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After Henry died in 1547, young and reforming Edward succeeded him to the throne. The Popish faction was still powerful. Had Edward VI lived, it is probable that many things in the worship of the Church of England, borrowed from the Roman Church, would have been removed.

It was a great work that was accomplished in England during Edward’s reign, especially when we consider that it was all accomplished in six short years. Before the Reformation was to be firmly established in England, however, it would yet pass through another severe trial and test.

Following the death of Edward, July 17, 1553, Mary daughter of Henry VIII, began to reign at thirty-seven years of age. Her accession was met with satisfaction, if not with enthusiasm, by the great majority of the nation. It was the general belief that the throne was rightfully hers, though an earlier parliament had annulled her right of succession on the grounds of the unlawfulness of Henry’s marriage to Catherine. Later, another parliament had restored it to her, which was in keeping with Henry’s last will and testament. Under this arrangement, she placed next after Edward, Prince of Wales, and heir to the crown. Few indeed anticipated the terrible changes that would soon sweep the nation. Mary’s education had been conducted mainly by her mother, who had taught her little besides a strong attachment to the Roman Catholic faith. No sooner had the way to the throne been cleared for her than she sent a message to the pope to the effect that she was his faithful daughter and England had returned to Rome. The knowledge of the joy of this would bring to the Eternal City enabled the messenger to make the trip in nine days, something that had taken Campeggio three months to accomplish when he came to pronounce Henry’s divorce.

Realizing that these same tidings would be far from welcome in England, Mary hid her true feelings. To the Reformers of Suffolk, who before espousing her cause sought a commitment from her as to the course she intended to pursue, she bade them put their minds at rest; no man would be molested on the grounds of his religion. Upon entering London, she sent the Lord Mayor the message that she meant not to compel other people’s consciences otherwise than God should persuade their hearts of truth. By these words, her right to the throne was confirmed. No sooner, however, was she firmly established than she threw off all disguise and left no one in doubt that it was her settled purpose to suppress the Protestant faith.

All of the circumstances that had made progress of the Reformation so difficult in England worked in Mary’s favor as she sought to restore the Catholic religion. Large numbers of the people were still attached to the ancient beliefs, as there had not been sufficient time for the light to fully dispel the darkness. A large portion of the clergy, though professing the Protestant faith because of the pressure that had been applied to them as a result of the laws passed during Henry’s reign, were still papal at heart.

Throughout all of England, all men who held any position of influence and who were known to be favorable to the Reformation were removed. During the months of August and September, Ridley, Bishop of London; Rogers; Latimer, the most eloquent preacher in all of England; Hooper of Gloucester; Coverdale; Bradford; Saunders; and others were deprived of their liberty. In addition, some noblemen and gentlemen were deprived of their lands which the king had given them. Many churches were changed, altars were set up, and masses said, even before a law had been passed making it legal.

All of the foreign Protestants were given passports, with orders to leave the country. Nearly 1,000 Englishmen under various guises left with them. Providence had arranged that just as the storm was about to break in England, it had begun to abate on the Continent.

Soon after being confirmed to the throne, Mary considered a marriage to the emperor’s son, Philip of Spain. Parliament begged the queen not to marry a stranger; and the queen, not liking to have her matrimonial interests interfered with, dismissed the members and sent them to their homes. Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor of England, learning that a galleon loaded with gold had just returned to Spain from South America, wrote the emperor, suggesting that for the price of a few millions of his wealth he might be able to buy sufficient votes of influential men, thereby assuring that England would be rescued from heresy. At the same time, it was suggested that it would be an opportunity to add another to the many kingdoms that were already under the Spanish scepter. The idea was agreed to and plans for a wedding moved ahead.

With the year 1555, the stake returned to England. Secret informers were appointed in each district to report on all who did not attend the mass or who otherwise failed to conduct themselves as good Catholics. Among the first victims to suffer for their faith were Rogers and Hooper. The men who were burned during Mary’s reign died mainly because of their denial in the belief of transubstantiation—the actual presence of the body of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. The question was direct and there was no reasoning the matter. “What sayest thou?” was the question put to each of them. If in answer they said “flesh,” they were acquitted; if in reply they said “bread,” they were condemned to be burned.

Rogers had been an associate of Tyndale and Coverdale in translating the Scriptures. On the morning of February 4, he was awakened and led to Smithfield. In the crowd he saw his wife with their eleven children, the smallest still an infant. His persecutors thought that his fatherly instincts might prevail where they had failed, but in this they were mistaken. Refusing the pardon that was offered him, he replied; “That which I have preached will I seal with my blood.” Accused of being a heretic, he calmly replied that this would be determined at the last day.

After this beginning, the work moved ahead rapidly. In order to strike terror to the populace as a whole, stakes were raised all over England. The clergy, thinking that seeing their pastors burned would terrorize the flock, arranged to have the Reformers burned in various places throughout England. Little did they realize that the people might be moved to pity by the sight and, admiring their heroism, would come to despise the tyranny that doomed them to such an awful death. A thrill of horror swept the nation.

Hooper, who had been a companion of Rogers at his initial trial, had expected to accompany him to the stake. Instead, however, he was told that he was to be transported back to Gloucester where he had been bishop. Though he welcomed the privilege of dying anywhere for Christ, to seal his testimony before the flock to which had preached filled him with joy. Arriving in Gloucester, he was met by a crowd of tearful people. Three days were allowed him before his execution. On February 9, he was led out. It was market day and not less than 7,000 people assembled to watch. He did not address those assembled, as he had been forced to give his promise to remain silent by the threat of having his tongue cut out. His courage and the serenity of his countenance, however, preached a more eloquent sermon than any words he might have framed.

Men were able to contrast the leniency with which the Romanists had been treated under Edward VI with the fierce cruelty of Mary. When Protestantism was in the ascendancy, not a single papist had died for his religion. A few priests had been deprived of their offices and revenue, but the vast majority had saved their livelihood by conforming. Now that popery had revived, no one could be a Protestant but at the peril of his life. All over England fires raged. From the child, to the elderly, without regard to sex, the victims were brought, sometimes singly, at other times by the dozens. An England that till now had placed a small price on the Reformation, awoke to a better idea of the value what Edward VI and Cranmer had given it.

The gloomiest year in the history of England was the last year of Mary. Drought and tempests had brought about a scarcity of food. Famine brought plague in its wake. Strange maladies attacked the population and a full half of the inhabitants fell sick. Many towns and villages were almost depopulated, and a sufficient number of laborers could not be found to even reap the fields. In many places the grain, instead of being carried to the barn, stood rotting in the fields. The kingdom was rapidly becoming a satrapy of Spain, and its prestige was year by year sinking in the eyes of foreign powers.

Between February 4, 1555, when Rogers was burned at Smithfield, and November 15, 1558, when five martyrs were burned in one fire at Canterbury just two days before Mary died, no less than 288 persons were burned alive at the stake.

Mary breathed her last on the morning of November 17, 1558. On the same day, but a few hours later, Cardinal Pole died. He along with Carranza, the Spanish priest who had been Mary’s confessor, had been chief counselor in carrying out the deeds that were to crown her reign with such infamy in England. The news of Mary’s death spreading rapidly through London caused general rejoicing. Wherever the news was told, it was heralded with great joy. The nation awoke as from a horrible nightmare.

Elizabeth ascended the throne with the sincere purpose of restoring the Protestant religion. She was faced, however, with a work that was as difficult as it was great. The learned and eloquent preachers who had been the strength of Protestantism in the reign of her brother Edward had perished at the stake or been driven into exile, leaving the pulpits in the possession of the Roman Catholic clergy. On all sides she was surrounded by great dangers. The clergy of her realm were mostly of the Catholic faith. As the daughter of one of those wives of Henry that they disputed, in the eyes of these bishops her claim to the throne was more than doubtful. Abroad, the dangers were equally great.

During the first year of Elizabeth’s reign, the qualified Protestant clergy in England were few indeed, but their numbers rapidly increased as the news reached the cities to which they had been driven by persecution. Their arrivals in England greatly strengthened the work of restoring the Reformation.

As long as Scotland was Catholic in faith, it was a threat to Protestant England. The establishment of its Reformation in 1560 under John Knox, however, made it one in policy, as in faith, with England. At the time when Elizabeth was weakest, this sudden conversion of an ancient foe into a firm ally brought her unexpected help.

The Reformer, John Knox, landed in Scotland on May 2, 1559. A messenger immediately set off to bear the unwelcome news to the Scottish queen. A few days later, by royal proclamation, he was declared a rebel and an outlaw. If the proclamation accomplished nothing else, it succeeded in electrifying all of Scotland with the news.

Until the coming of Knox, a close alliance had existed between Scotland and France, a union of the gravest concern to Elizabeth. Francis II, upon ascending the throne of France, had openly assumed the title and arms of England. He made no secret of his purpose to invade the country and place his wife, Mary Stuart, heiress of the Scottish kingdom, upon its throne. The most obvious way to achieve his purpose, as it appeared to him, was to pour his soldiers into his wife’s hereditary kingdom of Scotland and then descend on England from the North. The scheme was proceeding with every promise of success, when the progress of the Reformation in Scotland and the consequent expulsion of the French from that country of France and converted that very country, in which the Papists trusted to be the instrument of Elizabeth’s overthrow, into her firmest ally.

It now became clear to Pope Pius V that the Reformation was centering itself in England, and, from there, influencing all of Europe. In the throne of England, Protestant forces were finding a focus and developing into a more consolidated and effective Protestantism than had ever before existed in Christendom. It was here, therefore, that the great battle must come which would determine whether the Reformation of the sixteenth century was to establish itself or to end in failure.

On May 3, 1570, Pius V issued his bull excommunicating Queen Elizabeth. Nearly three years before, the Jesuits had begun to infiltrate England. Professing themselves to be Protestant clergymen, they worked to widen the differences and create animosities between the various Protestant groups, eventually breaking the union and peace that had so largely prevailed in England during the first ten years of Elizabeth’s reign. The Massacre of St. Bartholomew, which occurred soon after, in 1572, sent a thrill of terror through the nation. The doom of the Huguenots taught Elizabeth and the English Protestants that Roman Catholic pledges and promises of peace were no security whatever against sudden and wholesale destruction.

To counter the influence of the Reformation movement in England, the Catholic Church founded a university at Douay in the northeast of France. To this school a small group of English youth came to be educated as seminary priests and later were employed in undermining the Reformation in their native land. The Pope so completely approved of the entire plan that he created a similar institution in Rome—the English College.

Before these foreign seminaries had had sufficient time to complete the work of training qualified agents, two students of Oxford, Edward Campion and Robert Parsons, traveled to Rome. While there, they arranged with the Jesuits to carry out the execution of the Pope’s bull against Queen Elizabeth. Returning to England in 1580, they began operations. Assuming new names and different dress each day of the week, they began to traverse England. In their travels, they lodged in the houses of Catholic nobles, seeking to arouse Roman Catholic zeal and the spirit of mutiny. At length, Campion addressed a letter to the Privy Council, boldly avowing to revive in England “the faith that was first planted, and must be restored,” and boasting that the Jesuits of all countries were leagued together for this object. He concluded by demanding a disputation at which the queen and members of the Privy Council should be present. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was seized while in the disguise of a soldier and taken to the Tower. According to the act already passed, he was found guilty and, along with Sherwin, Kirby, and Briant, his accomplices, was executed for high treason.

Rome recognized that any hope of reestablishing the faith of Rome in England was hopeless as long as Elizabeth reigned. Finding themselves unwilling to wait for natural causes to make vacant her throne, they watched their opportunity to accomplish her removal. The record of England during the years following 1580 is a continuous record of these murderous attempts, all springing out of and justifying themselves by the bull of excommunication. Not a year passed, after the arrival in England of the Jesuits Campion and Parsons, that there was not a plot to insurrection in some part of the queen’s dominions.

In 1586 came the Babington conspiracy. It originated with John Ballard, a priest who had been educated in the seminary at Rheims. Respecting the bull of excommunication as the product of infallibility, he held that as Elizabeth had been excommunicated by the Pope, for him to deprive her of both her life and throne would be the most acceptable service he could do to God and the surest way of earning a crown in Paradise. The affair was to begin with the assassination of Elizabeth. The Catholics in England were then to be summoned to arms; and while the flames of insurrection were raging within the kingdom, a foreign army was to land upon the coast, besiege and sack the cities that opposed them, raise Mary Stuart of Scotland to the throne, and establish the Catholic religion in England.

By means of intercepted letters and the information of spies, Walsingham, one of Elizabeth’s leading secretaries, early learned of the secret. Soon he was in possession of as clear and exact a knowledge of the plot as the conspirators themselves. Quietly he stood by, watching the conspiracy develop until all was ready. He then stepped in and crushed it. The Englishmen who had plotted to extinguish the religion and liberties of their native land in the blood of civil war and the fury of foreign invasion paid for their crimes on the scaffold. The life of Mary, Queen of Scots, ended for her, not on the throne of England but with a headsman’s ax.

An attempt has been made to present the men executed for their share in this, and similar conspiracies, as martyrs for religion. The fact is, however, that it is impossible to show that a single individual was put to death under Elizabeth simply because he believed in or professed the Roman Catholic faith. In every case, the charges were for promoting or practicing treason. Surely had the Protestant government of Elizabeth thought to put to death Catholics for their faith, those others who had acted such prominent parts in the bloody tragedies under Mary would have been the first to fall. But these men who had murdered hundreds were never called to account for the deeds they had done. Instead, they lived out their lives in ease and peace amid the relations and contemporaries of the men they had dragged to the stake.

As the Bible began to freely circulate in Britain, it soon changed the character of the people, putting an end to the barbaric and bloodthirsty methods that had been the tools long employed by the Church of Rome to suppress all who were in opposition to her authority. In some instances it might be argued that Roman Catholics were treated with unnecessary cruelty, but it must be remembered that England was in a period of transition. The nation was just emerging from the Romish school of blood after centuries of training. Britain and North America are today what the Bible made them; Spain and Latin America are what Romanism made them.

The End

The Coming Crisis

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In the field of religious liberty, there are two poles. On the one hand, there are the sons of God, who have the glorious liberty that comes when Jesus Christ is accepted into the human heart. It is founded in and anchored to the authority of God, His Word, and His law; and it is the secret of all human liberty. When a people or a nation espouse Jesus Christ and His teachings, there can be found true liberty.

On the other extreme, there are the developments that are marked by the marshaling of the nations as Babylon weaves together the new world order. In order to understand the developments that are taking place, it is necessary to go beyond the superficial activities of everyday life. Only then is it possible to see the powerful movements that are taking place in our world.

I recently viewed a video depicting the life of Martin Luther. This film was produced with the assistance of the Lutheran Church long before the Vatican II Council took place. It reflected the respect that at that time was given to Martin Luther for his stand in the sixteenth century Reformation. At one point, there is a very dramatic scene when the vicar general of the order of the Augustines confronted Luther. The vicar said, “If you take away all the symbols, all these images, [all of these things that prop up the people’s faith in the thinking of the Roman Catholic Church], what are you going to put in their place?”

Martin Luther replied, “Christ. I will put Christ there.”

In producing the Bill of Rights, the founders of this country ushered in a new era for humanity; and in doing so, a cradle was made from which the proclamation of the three angels’ messages could take place. In the developments of the last thirty years, however, we have the product of blood, toil, and sacrificed lives being removed to make way for communism and socialism, which are taking hold in America with lightning speed.

If we could look from the perspective of the throne of God, where angels are rushing in and out doing His bidding, upon the diabolical elements working to bring about the final holocaust in earth’s experience, what a peace of mind we would have. That experience is to be ours because we are to sit in heavenly places with Christ. When you are aligned with God, there is nothing to fear.

In his book, The Keys of This Blood, Malachi Martin tells what is being planned in the Vatican. He writes, “Willing or not, ready or not, we are all involved in an all-out, no-holes-barred, three-way global competition. Most of us are not competitors, however. We are the stakes. For the competition is about who will establish the first one-world system of government that has ever existed in the society of nations. It is about who will hold and wield the dual power of authority and control over each of us as individuals and over all of us together as a community.” Notice how he puts it, authority and control—and that is the issue addressed by the third angel’s message.

There have been windows of opportunity throughout this century when the new world order people have sought to seize control, but the present time is the greatest window of opportunity that they have yet been presented with. When you consider the rapidity with which the supporters of the one-world order are moving and the speed with which the resistance against them is crumpling, it appears that we have very little time left.

We just produced a video this fall entitled “The Military Take-Over of America,” dealing with the behind the scenes developments. Things are changing rapidly, with lightning speed, in America.

We used to have years of food reserves in this nation. Today we have only a sixteen day supply. We first knew that something was taking place about a year ago when the General Conference told all of the pastors to keep a year’s supply of food in their home and to increase the food supplies in the community service centers. We did not then know the gravity of the situation.

In this country, ninety-five percent of the food supply is produced and marketed by about five or six multinational corporations. Recently, my brother-in-law was sitting on an airplane next to a representative of a major food supplier in the United States. He asked this person, “How many day’s food supply does your corporation have in reserve?” The representative replied, “About sixteen days. When it comes to perishables, we have about three day’s food supply.” Those who have studied the new world order believe that the ultimate weapon of the new order will be food.

Do you remember that Ellen White wrote, “The Protestant world have set up an idol sabbath in the place where God’s Sabbath should be, and they are treading in the footsteps of the Papacy. For this reason I see the necessity of the people of God moving out of the cities into retired country [places].” Country Living, 21

Soon it will be very, very difficult for people who live in cities. In Ellen White’s day, it was typical in an agrarian society of ninety percent or more farmers in the nation, that they had a year’s food supply at any given time. In the fall they stored up in their root cellar a year’s food supply so that it would last them until the next summer. That was typical then, it is now considered hoarding. Were you aware that there are laws against hoarding?

Under the Federal Emergency Management Agency executive orders, forty-three detention camps have been set up here in America and provided for with funding. These processing centers are to provide a place where dissenters can be dealt with.

Incidentally, the only people who are going to be able to stand up to this new world order are people who have the fear of the Lord, who tremble at the word of the Lord. There is no power in mere reaction, but there is power in Jesus Christ. If, because of your allegiance to His Word, His law, and His authority, you are put in a position that you must dissent from laws that conflict with that divine authority, you have the protection of the Almighty. “He that dwelleth in the secret place.”

Did you know that God has secret places? I have started looking up the secrets and the places of God. Does God know about privacy? Oh, yes, He does. But what does the new world order want to do with privacy? Utterly eliminate it. They are acting as if the Constitution did not even exist!

As this crisis comes upon humanity, the contrast between the kingdom of God—a kingdom of righteousness and peace, a kingdom whose only weapons are spiritual weapons of truth and righteousness—and the new world order will become more and more distinct.

Jesus knew that for humanity to change, the gospel had to reach the person individually; therefore, he did not involve Himself in armed insurrection. He preached the gospel, and the kingdom of God seized hold of people’s hearts. Even though that kingdom is not something that is materially visible, its effects are visible. When Christ rules in the human heart and takes possession of it, He rules over every aspect of the human life. Satan finds that he has a power to contend with that is more powerful than he is. “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” 1John 4:4. This is the most powerful force in the world—Jesus Christ! His principles of His kingdom of love and peace and righteousness are principles that will win in the end in the great controversy.

Yes, there is going to be a holocaust in this world that will dwarf into almost insignificance what happened in Nazi Germany and the Stalinist famines where thirty million people in western Russia were systematically starved to death. There will be utter desolation everywhere; but there will be a people who will be safe under God’s protection. Now that does not mean that there will not be martyrs in the little time of trouble, but we have the promise that nothing can touch those who are in Christ Jesus, except by His permission. (See Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 71.) And if you are called to suffer, it will be for the glory of God!

“Satan is now using every device in this sealing time to keep the minds of God’s people from the present truth and to cause them to waver. I saw a covering that God was drawing over His people to protect them in the time of trouble; and every soul that was decided on the truth and was pure in heart was to be covered with the covering of the Almighty.” Early Writings, 43. The only way the people of this world are ever going to have that covering is to be decided on the truth of the three angel’s messages, because the ultimate protection is from God.

When the new world order moves decidedly against God’s faithful, commandment-keeping people, they will be touching the apple of God’s eye; and “the Lord will come with fire and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.” Isaiah 66:15

Yes, we are entering the climax. Things are going to look pretty grim for some time; but in the end, the Lord will assert his mastery as the King of kings and Lord of lords who has omnipotent power.

The crime wave sweeping America today is a result of failure to preach the law of God from the pulpits of our land. It is directly due to the rejection of the authority of God’s law. Because of that, human laws have been disregarded; and violence and crime—crimes unimaginable—are sweeping across our land. When this takes place, it is the time of opportunity for tyrants to remove liberty. They use the crime as an excuse for the removal of liberty.

Do we understand, do we grasp the significance of the three angels’ messages? The protection of humanity depends upon their acceptance of these messages. The Lord’s servant saw a covering that God was drawing over His people to protect them in the time of trouble; and every soul that was decided on the truth and was pure in heart was to be covered with the covering of the Almighty.

“Satan knew this [that the covering of the Almighty would be over these ones] and he was at work in mighty power to keep the minds of as many people as he possibly could wavering and unsettled on the truth.” Early Writings, 43. [All emphasis supplied] You see, we have to be decided on the truth; we have to be settled into the truth, intellectually and spiritually, to have the seal of the living God.

Isaiah 26:20 is a very precious passage on what we are talking about here. “Come My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut they doors about thee.” You see, this storm of human and satanic wrath will be such that there is only one safe place, and that is in the chambers of the Lord.

“Come My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.” Ellen White comments on this and she says, “when tempted to sin, let us remember that Jesus is pleading for us in the heavenly sanctuary. When we put away our sins and come to Him in faith, He takes our names on His lips and presents them to His Father, saying, ‘I have graven them upon the palms of my hands; I know them by name.’ The command goes forth to the angels to protect them.” And, we are told, the weakest angel in heaven’s military is more powerful than Satan and all of his evil—the weakest one. God not only has one angel but He has an innumerable company, and they are all worshipers with us in the same congregation.

“Then in the day of fierce trial He will say, ‘Come My people, enter thou into thy chambers [it is time to hide now], and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast’ (Isaiah 26:20). What are the chambers in which they are to hide? They are the protection of Christ and holy angels. The people of God are not at this time all in one place. They are in different companies and in all parts of the earth, and they will be tried singly, not in groups. Everyone must stand the test for himself.” Ibid. What does that mean? That means that once again, Christ must assume the priority in our life. The Word of Christ, the relationship with Christ, must assume the priority. It must not be replaced by human relationships.

In Revelation 14:1 and following, we have pictured the Lamb standing on mount Zion and “with Him and hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads.” What is the significance of the Father’s name written in their foreheads? The name, in the Bible, is of great significance. The name signifies the character. When Jacob wrestled with the Lord that night at the brook Jabbok, hour after hour wrestling, finally, as the light began dawning in the east, he realized who had had been wrestling with—the Lord of Hosts, Jesus Christ Himself. Jacob clung to Him and said, “I will not let You go except You bless me. I did not know it was You; but now, bless me. I need Your blessing. I am not going to let You go unless You bless me.” It was not a presumptuous statement. It was was a pleading in self-surrender. Through self-surrender he gained the victory, and his name was changed from Jacob the supplanter to Israel, prince with God. “For as a prince thou hast prevailed,” Jesus said to him. So, these people have whose name written in their foreheads? They have the character of God Himself so deeply embedded in their cerebrum, in the area of their brain that does the thinking, the conscience decision making area where character is formed, that it is as the Father’s name written in their foreheads. They will be completely imbued with the character of the Father. These are the ones who make up the hundred and forty-four thousand.

“And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.” Revelation 14:2, 3. We are told in the Great Controversy that these hundred and forty-four thousand who have lived through this awesome time have lived through the time when the earth has been wasted with famine, when utter desolation was everywhere, and they are alive at the second coming of Jesus.

“Upon the crystal sea before the throne, that sea of glass as it were mingled with fire,—so resplendent is it with the glory of God,—are gathered the company that have ‘gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name.’” The Great Controversy, 648, 649

The hundred and forty-four thousand have resisted every form of evil that could be brought against them. And they stand, “With the Lamb upon Mount Zion, ‘having the harps of God.’” At that time, we will see where the real physical location of the real church is, won’t we? That is the physical location of the church, right there in heaven. Then it will be brought down here to the new earth after the thousand years. “With the Lamb upon Mount Zion, ‘having the harps of God,’ they stand, the hundred and forty and four thousand that were redeemed form among men; and there is heard, as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of a great thunder, ‘the voice of harpers harping with their harps.’ And they sing a ‘a new song’ before the throne, a song which no man can learn save the hundred and forty and four thousand. It is the song of Moses and the Lamb—a song of deliverance.” Ibid.

Not only will we have all of the forces of evil unleashes but as those forces are unleashed, suddenly the seven last plagues will be poured out on those who have received the mark of the beast. And the judgments of God will be in the land, unmixed with mercy. Ellen White in vision looked around and saw utter desolation everywhere. But you see, the people of God are under special protection. They have that covering; they are under His wing.

I remember the first time that I read the story of a vision that Ellen White had that is recorded on page 270 of Maranatha. There was a heavenly messenger who suddenly appeared before her and said, “Gather your things and come and follow me.” She gathered her things and followed. Through a dark passageway they went through the forest, through the clefts of the mountains, to a remote location. There the messenger of the Lord turned to her and said, “The great time of trouble has come, but here you will be safe.” And there were others who had been similarly led there. The angels will lead God’s people to special hiding places.

Brothers and Sisters, there is a better land. And the hope of that better land sustains God’s people through whatever they may be called to face. In the days to come, we can sit in heavenly places with Christ. We can have within us One, even Jesus Christ, who is mightier than all of the powers that are on this earth. We can have the covering of the Most High because we are decided upon the truth of the three angels’ messages.

The End

Sinfulness of Sin

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When our teacher would ask for someone to choose a favorite song, Bruce would usually choose number 174 from the Singing Youth “Whosoever Meaneth Me.” This seemed to be the favorite song of this schoolmate of mine back in the Seventh-day Adventist Elementary School in Longmont, Colorado. Since that day, the words from the refrain have again and again coursed through my mind—”Whosoever, surely meaneth me.” These words have been etched deep into my mind and have often brought me the courage to press ahead in faith towards Jesus, in spite of my awareness of my great unworthiness.The inspiration for this song probably comes from Revelation 22:17. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.” [All emphasis supplied] What a wonderful promise. It can bring total and complete restoration to the worst wreck of humanity, even though we must say with Paul, “I am the chief of sinners.” But whosoever will may find healing and victory in the grace of Jesus! Christ’s grace is sufficient—for even me!Recently while reading from John, chapter 8, I connected another verse with the word whosoever in this song. In John 8, Jesus was having a discussion with the Jews. As usual, He had given offense to them. But some were impressed with His words and believed on Him. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31, 32. On, how irritated they were at this statement! “These words offended the Pharisees. The nation’s long subjection to a foreign yoke, they disregarded, and angrily exclaimed, ‘We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest Thou, ye shall be made free?’ Jesus looked upon these men, the slaves of malice, whose thoughts were bent on revenge, and sadly answered, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.’” The Desire of Ages, 466

The word whosoever triggered my mind to the words from the old favorite song, “Whosoever, Surely Meaneth Me.” For a moment the solemn connection of this song and the words of Jesus did not dawn on me. But soon the absolute reality tripped my mind—”Whosoever, surely meaneth me.” “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house forever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:34-36

“Whosoever” does mean me. If I sin—in thought, word, or activity—I am the servant of sin. “God’s method of dealing with sin is not in harmony with the views cherished by a large class who occupy a prominent position among the professed followers of Christ. Many of these men cherish sin, and laud the benevolence and long-suffering of God, and dwell upon the loving character of Jesus—all mercy, all tenderness,—while they pass over the threatening of God’s wrath against sin and sinners, and our Saviour’s scathing denunciations of hypocrisy and self-deception.” Signs of the Times, January 6, 1881

Are you free of sin? Am I free? Or are we standing under the threats of God’s wrath against sin? As long as sin is in the life, we are in bondage. The Pharisees were bitterly angry that Christ would offer them freedom. They did not like the obvious inference that they were captive. The thought that since they were children of Abraham, they already were free and had a perfect right to all the blessings of God, including possessing the promised land. But Jesus denied their claim to be Abraham’s seed. He said, “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill Me, a Man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father…ye are of your father the devil.” John 8:39-41, 44. Jesus’ words were straight as an arrow. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow.” Hebrews 4:12

Was Jesus contradicting Himself a few moments later when he said, “Your father Abraham”? (See John 8: 56.) How could it be that in the same discussion Jesus said that their father was the devil and moments later their father was Abraham? The key to understanding is found in verse 34. “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” “The Pharisees had declared themselves the children of Abraham. Jesus told them that this claim could be established only by doing the works of Abraham. The true children of Abraham would live, as he did, a life of obedience to God…A mere lineal descent from Abraham was of no value. Without a spiritual conection with Him, which would be manifested in possessing the same spirit, and doing the same works, they were not His children.” The Desire of Ages, 466, 467

Jesus was most concerned about us learning this same startling reality. In fact, it was the all absorbing thought in His mind as He hung upon the cross. “Christ was the prince of sufferers; but His suffering was from a sense of the malignity of sin, a knowledge that through familiarity with evil, man had become blinded to its enormity. Christ saw how deep is the hold of sin upon the human heart, how few would be willing to break from its power. He knew that without help from God, humanity must perish.” Ibid., 752, 753

The all important question that must be settled in every heart is this: Do my thoughts, words, and actions testify that my spiritual father is the devil or Abraham? “If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29. “Every soul that refuses to give himself to God is under the control of another power. He is not his own. He may talk of freedom, but he is in the most abject slavery. He is not allowed to see the beauty of truth, for his mind is under the control of Satan. While he flatters himself that he is following the dictates of his own judgment, he obeys the will of the prince of darkness. Christ came to break the shackles of sin-slavery from the soul.” The Desire of Ages, 466

Friend, could it be that we do not have the view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin? Could it be that we have fallen into the same mind set as the Jews: ‘because in times past the Lord had shown them so great favor, they excused their sins”? Ibid. 106. Are we deceiving ourselves that God will excuse sin in us because of how markedly the Lord has blessed us in the past? This, we are told, will be the condition of many: “In the day of judgment many will be shut out of the city of God by sins which they supposed to be unworthy of notice.” Signs of the Times, December 17, 1896. That makes me cry out in anguish of spirit to the Lord. “Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak unchristlike self. Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of They love can flow through my soul. Christ’s Object Lessons, 159

You see, the Jews knew that sin was terrible in the Gentiles. Though the Pharisees accepted that there were certain lower classes of Jews who were sinners, such as Zachaeus and Mary Magdalene, they saw themselves as better than other men. They had studied the Old Testament Scriptures. “The Jewish leaders had studied the teachings of the prophets concerning the kingdom of the Messiah; but they had done this, not with a sincere desire to know the truth, but with the purpose of finding evidence to sustain their ambitions hopes. When Christ came in a manner contrary to their expectation, they would not receive Him; and in order to justify themselves, they tried to prove Him a deceiver.” The Desire of Ages, 212. And so with the assurance that their cause was right, “They sent messengers all over the country to warn the people against Jesus as an imposter.” Ibid., 213

Just imagine the Bible studies that these messengers gave in hundreds of homes all over Judea and the Bible based sermons that were delivered in vast numbers of synagogues throughout the land, all to prove that Jesus was an imposter. “Many who were convinced that Jesus was the Son of God were misled by the false reasoning of the priests and rabbis. These teachers had repeated with great effect the prophecies concerning the Messiah, that He would ‘reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously;’ that He would ‘have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.’ Isaiah 24:23; Psalm 72:8. Then they made contemptuous comparisons between the glory here pictured and the humble appearance of Jesus. The very words of prophecy were so perverted as to sanction error. Had the people in sincerity studied the Word for themselves, they would not have been misled.” Ibid., 458

“The Jews had misinterpreted God’s promise of eternal favor to Israel: ‘Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is His name: If those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever. Thus saith the Lord: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.’ Jeremiah 31:35-37. The Jews regarded their natural descent from Abraham as giving them a claim to this promise. But they overlooked the conditions which God had specified. Before giving the promise, He had said, ‘I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people. Jeremiah 31:33, 34” Ibid., 106

Friends, when will we ever learn that God’s promises are given only on condition of obedience? When will we learn that sin is exceedingly sinful and no many, no institution, no church can harbor sin and still claim God’s promises and God’s ownership? There is no half-way point. The choice lies between sin and righteousness, between eternal death and eternal life. “To a people in whose hearts His law is written, the favor of God is assured. They are one with Him. But the Jews had separated themselves from God. Ibid.

This is why the Lord’s messenger gave us the following counsel: “The exceeding sinfulness of sin is to be held before the people just as it is.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 10, 296. Every sin, however small, if held on to and not overcome, will bar us from the city of God. Instead, we will be faced with eternal death. My mind tries to take it in, but the Lord has told us, “We must be terribly in earnest to impress upon every soul that there is a heaven to win and a hell to shun. Every energy of the soul must be aroused to force their passage, and seize the kingdom by force. Satan is active, and we must be active too. Satan is untiring and persevering, and we must be the same. There is no time to make excuses and blame others for our backslidings; no time now to flatter the soul [that] if circumstances had only been more favorable, how much better, how much easier [it would be] for us to work the works of God. We must tell even those who profess to believe in Christ, that they must cease to offend God by sinful excuses.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 336

Have you recently considered the solemn fact that we have a heaven to win and a hell to shun? Each one of us will live forever in heaven or face hell, and after that eternal death—that is to never, never live again. Only as we grasp this realization, can we begin to understand the burden Jesus carried as He looked upon the Jews in their deceived condition. “He carried the awful weight of responsibility for the salvation of men. He knew that unless there was a decided change in the principles and purposes of the human race, all would be lost. This was the burden of His soul, and none could appreciate the weight that rested upon Him. Filled with an intense purpose, He carried out the design of His life that He Himself should be the light of men.” The Desire of Ages, 92

Unless we gain the reality of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, we most certainly will fit the description of the people Jesus addressed. “In view of the light they had received from God, they were even worse that the heathen, to whom they felt so much superior.” The people whom God had called to be the pillar and ground of the truth had become representatives of Satan.” Ibid., 106, 36

We are warned that Seventh-day Adventists could also become the representatives of Satan. “The Lord would have His people divested of everything unscriptural in regard to the ministry. The men called to the ministry should not be made idols of; they should not be looked upon with superstitious reverence; and because of the power vested in them more exceedingly sinful, for in committing sin they make themselves the ministers of sin, the agents of Satan, through whom he can work with success to perpetuate sin.” 1888 Materials, 1644

I am fearful of our tendency to excuse our “little” sins because we know that we have the truth of the three angels’ messages for the world. We tend to take pride in the fact that we have stood against the great celebration apostasy and that we have firmly resisted the encroachments of worldliness into the church. But beyond these things, we must also overcome anger, impatience, fretfulness, disorder, worship of men, love of the world, and a myriad of sins listed under selfishness.

Friend, do not think that it makes any difference that you are a Seventh-day Adventist if you harbor sin in your heart. It will only be held against you in the day of judgment.

Where can we get this view of the malignant nature of sin that was the source of Jesus’ great concern for us? “The exceeding sinfulness of sin can be estimated only in the light of the cross.” The Faith I Live By, 60. Where is the only place we can rightly estimate sin? At the cross. The word only is an absolutely restrictive word. There we will learn how terrible sin is. “Upon Him who knew no sin, must be laid the iniquity of us all. So dreadful does sin appear to Him, so great is the weight of guilt which He must bear, that He is tempted to fear it will shut Him out forever from His Father’s love. Feeling how terrible is the wrath of God against transgression, He exclaims, ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death’” “Could mortals have viewed the amazement of the angelic host as in silent grief they watched the Father separating His beams of light, love, and glory from His beloved Son, they would better understand how offensive in His sight is sin.” The Desire of Ages, 685, 693

Jesus had always before clearly taught that He and the Father are one, that without the Father He could do nothing. He had plainly stated, “The Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things that He Himself doeth.” John 5:20

But as Jesus became the Substitute for man, this blessed unity between the Father and the Son was not realized by Christ. This quotation bears careful study. “And in that dreadful hour Christ was not to be comforted with the Father’s presence. He trod the wine press alone, and of the people there was none with Him.” The Desire of Ages, 753. “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

Christ knew the right value to place upon sin. “He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal.” Ibid., 753. Amid the awful darkness of Calvary, “apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father’s acceptance heretofore given Him.” Ibid., 756. But He was willing to undergo all of this because of love for us. “All that He endured,—the blood drops that flowed from His head, His hands, His feet, the agony that racked His frame, and the unutterable anguish that filled His soul at the hiding of His Father’s face,—speaks to each child of humanity, declaring, it is for thee that the Son of God consents to bear this burden of guilt; for thee He spoils the domain of death, and opens the gates of paradise.” Ibid., 755

“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4. And, friends, we must be partakers of Christ’s sufferings and death. We have a cross to take and follow in His footsteps. Paul said, “I die daily.” But we are also to share in His resurrection power and be raised to walk in newness of life. “and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead.” Ephesians 1:19, 20. Only in this resurrection power can we live forever. Whosoever will, to the Lord may come. Yes, and “whosoever” surely meaneth me. But, “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” John 8:34

“Whosoever, surely meaneth me, surely meaneth me, oh, surely meaneth me. Whosoever, surely meaneth me, whosoever meaneth me.”

The End

Ordinances in the Lord’s House

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In June and July of 1897, Ellen White wrote a number of articles in the Review and Herald about the ordinances of the Lord’s house and the symbols that Christ has given to us. They are simple and they can be easily and plainly understood.

There are the three ordinances of the Lord’s house in the new covenant. One is the foot washing service, or the ordinance of humility; one is the communion; and the other is baptism.

The sacramental service that we call the Lord’s Supper has the deepest significance. Ellen White said that this service, instituted by Jesus, was to take the place of the Passover. “Christ left for His church a memorial of his great sacrifice for man. ‘This do,’ he said, ‘in remembrance of Me.’ This was the point of transition between two economies and their two great festivals. The one was to close forever [that is the Passover of the old covenant]; and the other, which He had just established, was to take its place, and to continue through all time as the memorial of His death.” Review and Herald, June 22, 1897

This service is so important that we find it recorded in a number of places in the Bible. I suppose that everyone has his favorite places where this event is described. Matthew 26:26-30 is mine. It is also recorded in Mark 14:22-26 and in Luke 22:14-23. The apostle John in writing his gospel does not record in detail the Lord’s Supper, but he records in great detail the ordinance of humility that precedes it. In fact, John 13 is dedicated almost wholly to recording this event. This is so important that it is recorded in other places in the Bible in addition to the gospels.

Many ministers, when they conduct a communion service, use 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. This passage is probably the one most commonly used and is not in the gospels at all. The apostle Paul says, “The Lord instructed me about this,” and then goes on to describe the service.

Jesus said, “This do, in remembrance of Me.” Do you have anyone in your life of whom you have some remembrances? The other day while working at the office, I reached into my pocket and felt a slide. I knew I would not have placed it there if there had not been a reason to do so, and immediately I said to myself, “It is a picture of Marshall.” I pulled it out and held it up; and sure enough, it was a picture of my brother.

You have remembrances of people that include both those who are with you now and those you used to know who are new dead. Possibly, you have a book or a picture or a letter that they wrote to you, or you have other things that remind you of them. When Jesus instituted this service, he said, “Do this, to remember Me.” This is a remembrance of Him; and every time we celebrate this service, we do it as a commemoration of our Lord, our Master. When we do this, we may know that God comes sacredly near to us.

One of the wonderful things about the story of Jesus is that it helps us to understand the character and the personality of God. We learn that he loves us so much that He sent His Son to this world when we were ruined, to save us. And if we appreciate what He has done, he says, “do this in memory of Me.”

When Jesus was here, he invited all men to come to Him. This is why, as Seventh-day Adventists, when we conduct this service, we do not exclude anyone. Anyone who desires may participate. Jesus was not exclusive, so neither are we.

As we meditate upon the meaning of this symbol, our heart needs to be broken and the selfishness and pride need to be cut away from our life. All sin needs to be removed. That is why, in the Passover service, they were not allowed to have anything in the house that was fermented. Now we ferment our bread. Yeast plus sugar produces carbon dioxide and alcohol. The carbon dioxide is what makes the bread raise, which is why the yeast is used. Of course, as the bread bakes, the alcohol is baked off and what traces of it remain after baking will evaporate if the bread is allowed to sit for twenty-four hours before it is sliced.

Before the fermentation process is a symbol of sin, unleavened bread is the only correct representation of the Lord’s Supper. And we must use only pure grape juice of the grape, or unfermented wine. This is what we call grape juice and is in harmony with the Scriptures.

If you look at Matthew 26:29 in the Greek language, it is very clear indeed. Now in the English it says, “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new.” New is the word in English, and it means fresh, or just squeezed. That word can never be used in regard to fermented wine. We do not know that they had fresh-squeezed grape juice when Jesus instituted this service, but they had ways of preserving grape juice in those days just as we do. Jesus said, “I’m going to drink it the same with you in heaven.”

As we participate in this service, we cannot do it without thinking about the cross. The cross has a dark side. It is the most terrible thing that the human race has ever done; but Ellen White tells us that when we come to the communion service, “We are not to stand in the shadow, but in the saving light of the cross.” Review and Herald, June 22, 1897. What is the bright side of the cross? It is the side where you see the love that Jesus has for you. His eye looked down the stream of time, down to where you would be in the world. He went to the cross for you because He loves you. And when we come to this service, we are not to allow ourselves to spend all the time thinking about the sorrow and agony of the cross. We are to concentrate our mind on the love that was manifested for us at the cross. When we receive that love into our heart, it changes our life.

“On these occasions,” Ellen White says, “heaven is brought very near.” Ibid. Isn’t it wonderful to know that heaven is very near? In fact, Ellen White says that Jesus is there in person. “They,” that is, those who participate, “are brought into sweet communion one with another. These things we are never to forget. The love of Jesus, with its convincing power, is to be kept fresh in the memory. We must not forget Him who is our strength and our sufficiency.” Ibid.

Only by love is love awakened. As we receive His love for us, we respond to it; and when two, three, six, or a whole church full of people start to respond to His love, then he says to us, “This is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.” That is the miracle of the Christian’s religion. People have to see that Christians love each other the way Christ loves them. This is the greatest witness that can be given to the world.

Every communion service is a reminder. We are participating in this as a remembrance of Him until he comes. So it is a memorial and a reminder of His second coming. When Jesus instituted this service, there was dissension among the disciples as to who should be the greatest. Their hearts were not ready to have communion with each other or with their Lord. Sometimes as human beings, we try to teach someone something when their heart is not ready to be taught, and we meet with failure. Jesus understood that, and he did not institute the communion supper until He had prepared them with the foot washing service to enter into communion with Him.

“Christ gave His disciples to understand that the washing of their feet did not cleanse away their sin, but that the cleansing of their heart was tested in this humble service. If the heart was cleansed, this act was all that was essential to reveal the fact.” Review and Herald, June 14, 1898

Is your heart cleansed? The ordinance of foot washing or humility is a time for us to search our hearts and to say, “is there any sin cherished in my heart that needs to be cut away by confession?” One of the most wonderful things about Jesus is that if you choose to confess and make things right by going to Him, or going to a brother or sister, when you take one step toward Him, He takes more than one step toward you. It is not a fifty-fifty relationship. “The first look, the first act, of contrition and repentance that you direct toward Christ, does not escape His notice. The first step you take toward Him will bring Him more than a step toward you. All things, especially on this occasion, are ready for your reception. He will meet you in your weakness, repenting, broken-hearted soul, with His divine strength; he will meet your emptiness and spiritual poverty with his inexhaustible fullness.” Ibid.

None need to feel that they are so spiritually poor that they cannot participate. If you realize that you are spiritually poor and if you choose and say, “Lord Jesus, I’m choosing to come to You,” no matter how spiritually poor you are, the first look is noticed. He takes more than one step toward you. There is no one who is so spiritually poor that they cannot receive a blessing from Christ. Surrender your heart to Him, open your heart to Him, and He will give you a wonderful spiritual blessing.

Today we are in a time of theological controversy. Perhaps you have noticed a theological controversy that has developed over such things as the feast days. I want to share with you some very plain statements from the Spirit of Prophecy about the feast days. They have to do with the ordinances of the Lord’s house in the new covenant. I want you to notice how clearly Ellen White spells out the difference between what we are to do in the time of the new covenant and what the Jews did.

“In this ordinance,” she is writing about the Lord’s Supper, “Christ discharged his disciples from the cares and burdens of the ancient Jewish obligations in rites and ceremonies. These no longer possessed any virtue; for type was meeting antitype in Himself, the authority and foundation of all Jewish ordinances that pointed to Him as the great and only efficacious offering for the sins of the world. He gave this simple ordinance that it might be a special season when He Himself would always be present.” Ibid. Do you know what it means to be discharged because that one time, he was discharged from the army. It means that you are no longer responsible to that whole system. You are discharged. Notice that in this ordinance, Christ discharged them from all of these Jewish rites and ceremonies.

Now if that was the only sentence you had, you should be able to figure it out; but here is another one. (All of these sentences appear in this same series of articles that she wrote in June and July of 1897 in the Review and Herald.) “It was Christ’s desire to leave His disciples an ordinance that would do for them the very thing they needed,—that would serve to disentangle them from the rites and ceremonies which they had hitherto engaged in as essential, and which the reception of the gospel made no longer of any force.” Ibid.

Do you know what the word disentangle means? It means that you just completely cut loose form something.

Now that statement is quite clear, but I want you to especially notice the next sentence. Notice what she says, “To continue these rites would be an insult to Jehovah.” What does it mean to continue to participate in these Jewish rites and ceremonies? She says that it is an insult to Jehovah. Do you want to insult the Lord?

Here is a third statement. “The great Teacher’s wisdom in limiting the measure of our researches in earthly directions, called the attention of all to His legislation from the very foundation of our world,—to a code of morals, pure, simple, and practical, unencumbered by the long years of types and sacrifices, which passed away when the only true Sacrifice, Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, was offered for the sins of the world. His lessons to his disciples are received by all who would become His disciples , to the end of time. These lessons discharged His followers from the bondage of the ceremonial law, and left them the ordinance of baptism to be received by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as the only One who can take away sin. The ceremony of feet-washing and the Lord’s Supper, in its simplicity, and spirituality, is to be observed with true true solemnity, and with hearts full of thankfulness. It s participants are not to exhaust their powers of thought or their physical powers on outward forms and ceremonies.” Ibid., June 21, 1898

There are people spending their time studying Jubilee cycles, the 6,000 year theory, and all manner of mathematical numbers, signs and symbols. They are seeking to determine when probation will close and when Jesus will return. Friend, what is important for you and me is to have our heart changed so that we will be ready in character for Him to come. The central issue for us to understand is the necessity of entering into communion with Jesus. We are to stand in the saving light of the cross, receiving His love into our hearts, entering into communion with Him. The result of this is that we will each one be led into communion with all of the other people who are having the same experience with Jesus.

Concerning the disciples, we are told, “When they were so eager to pluck from the tree of knowledge, He presented them with the fruit of the tree of life. They found every avenue closed to them, which should not advance them in spiritual understanding of the narrow way, leading to eternal life. They found every fountain sealed, save the fountain of eternal life.” Ibid.

Oh, friend, do not let the devil trap you into spending your whole life seeking the fruit from the tree of knowledge, trying to figure out things that God has warned us not to. You know that the Lord has told us in the Spirit of Prophecy that we are not to know when probation will close and when the Second Coming will occur; nor are we to spend our time trying to figure that out! That is not our job! Our job is to enter into communion with Jesus.

What does Jesus see when He looks into your heart today? “The Lord understands all the defects in human character. He desires to save man. It was for this purpose that He came to this world. In Him all sufficiency dwells. In Him dwells all ‘the fullness of the Godhead bodily.’ The defective characters that remain thus, when One is among them who came to our world for the express purpose of taking away the sin of the world, make manifest that they do not appreciate the attributes of Christ sufficiently to hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Ibid., June 28, 1898. One of the great lessons of the communion supper is that if you hunger and thirst after righteousness, Jesus says that He will fill you with Himself.

Do you know that you do not have a single craving in your heart that Jesus cannot satisfy. “No man, woman, youth, or child can say, I have cravings that he cannot satisfy. All cravings that He does not fill are supplied with a superior sufficiency, which is for the perfection of Christian character.” Ibid. The communion supper is a symbol of the fact that if you come to Jesus, you are going to be satisfied. Have you ever thought of the fact that among the saved, throughout all eternity, there will never be a time when you will hear one person desire something that they cannot have. It will never happen. In Jesus, all will find satisfaction for every craving of the soul. There is no one else who can do this, but Jesus; and the communion supper is a symbol of that fact.

When the disciples met, they had been striving as to who would be the greatest. After He had waited a little while, Jesus got up from the table, filled a basin with water and began to wash their feet. I do not know of any place in the whole Bible where the Lord of Glory has given to the human race a greater rebuke. The disciples were so ashamed.

Do you know what is going to happen when we go to heaven? Ellen White saw it in vision. Jesus will say to his people, “Come, My people. You have suffered for My sake. Sit down. I am going to serve you.” The only way that you will be able to accept a service like that is if all of the pride is gone and you have a servant’s heart yourself. In the Christian religion, as we read in Ephesians 5, we are all to be in submission or in subjection to each other; that is, we serve each other. That is the way heaven is.

When the disciples saw Jesus washing their feet, they were so ashamed and humbled that they became teachable. They quit their dissension about who should be the greatest.

Is there any danger in the Christian Church today of dissension? Listen to this sentence, “Dissension always creates hatred.” Ibid., July 5, 1898. Did you know that? That is why dissension is so dangerous. If dissension is among us and we do not correct it, it will develop into hatred. That is one of the great reasons for the ordinance of humility. If there is any dissension among us, if we have something against each other, if there is something between us that we do not straighten out, it will develop into hatred every time.

This humble service is to recover man from the difficulties of sin. I want to have the experience that this service symbolizes, do you? We must not procrastinate till some future time. We do not know if we even have that future time. We need this experience today. Let us pray that the Lord will work this miracle out in our hearts.

The End