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Bible Study Guides – God’s Love in the Church

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November 8, 2008 – November 14, 2008

Key Text

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:34, 35.

Study Help: The Acts of the Apostles, 9–16.

Introduction

“Christ had bidden the first disciples love one another as He had loved them. Thus they were to bear testimony to the world that Christ was formed within, the hope of glory.” The Acts of the Apostles, 547.

1 What does John say about the condition on which we can have fellowship with one another? I John 1:7.

Note: “Heaven is watching to see how those occupying positions of influence fulfill their stewardship. The demands upon them as stewards are measured by the extent of their influence. In their treatment of their fellow-men, they should be as fathers,—just, tender, true. They should be Christlike in character, uniting with their brethren in the closest bonds of unity and fellowship.” Gospel Workers, 495.

“Some had been bringing in false tests, and had made their own ideas and notions a criterion, magnifying matters of little importance into tests of Christian fellowship, and binding heavy burdens upon others. Thus a spirit of criticism, fault-finding, and dissension had come in, which had been a great injury to the church. And the impression was given to unbelievers that Sabbathkeeping Adventists were a set of fanatics and extremists, and that their peculiar faith rendered them unkind, uncourteous, and really unchristian in character. Thus the course of a few extremists prevented the influence of the truth from reaching the people.” Evangelism, 215.

2 What is the evidence that we are walking in the light? I John 2:9–11.

3 What happens when we try to love God and the world at the same time? James 4:4; Matthew 6:24.

Note: “It is not safe for Christians to choose the society of those who have no connection with God, and whose course is displeasing to Him. Yet how many professed Christians venture upon the forbidden ground. Many invite to their homes relatives who are vain, trifling, and ungodly; and often the example and influence of these irreligious visitors produce lasting impressions upon the minds of the children in the household. The influence thus exerted is similar to that which resulted from the association of the Hebrews with the godless Canaanites.

“God holds the parents accountable for disregarding His command to separate themselves and their families from these unholy influences. While we must live in the world, we are not to be of the world. We are forbidden to conform to its practices and fashions. The friendship of the ungodly is more dangerous than their enmity. It misleads and destroys thousands who might, by proper and holy example, be led to become children of God. The minds of the young are thus made familiar with irreligion, vanity, ungodliness, pride, and immorality; and the heart not shielded by divine grace, gradually becomes corrupted. Almost imperceptibly, the youth learn to love the tainted atmosphere surrounding the ungodly. Evil angels gather about them, and they lose their relish for that which is pure, refined, and ennobling.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 2, 1001.

4 What is the result of loving the world? I John 2:15–17.

Note: “As the lovers of the world make religion subservient to the world, God requires His worshipers to subordinate the world to religion. The things of the world, that perish with the using, are not to be made the first consideration; these are not the golden currency of heaven. God has not stamped upon them His image and superscription.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 949.

5 How does John define our sonship? I John 3:10, 11.

Note: “ ‘A new commandment I give unto you,’ Christ said, ‘That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.’ John 13:34. What a wonderful statement; but, oh, how poorly practiced! In the church of God today brotherly love is sadly lacking. Many who profess to love the Saviour do not love one another. Unbelievers are watching to see if the faith of professed Christians is exerting a sanctifying influence upon their lives; and they are quick to discern the defects in character, the inconsistencies in action. Let Christians not make it possible for the enemy to point to them and say, Behold how these people, standing under the banner of Christ, hate one another. Christians are all members of one family, all children of the same heavenly Father, with the same blessed hope of immortality. Very close and tender should be the tie that binds them together.

“Divine love makes its most touching appeals to the heart when it calls upon us to manifest the same tender compassion that Christ manifested. That man only who has unselfish love for his brother has true love for God. The true Christian will not willingly permit the soul in peril and need to go unwarned, uncared for. He will not hold himself aloof from the erring, leaving them to plunge farther into unhappiness and discouragement or to fall on Satan’s battleground.

“Those who have never experienced the tender, winning love of Christ cannot lead others to the fountain of life. His love in the heart is a constraining power, which leads men to reveal Him in the conversation, in the tender, pitiful spirit, in the uplifting of the lives of those with whom they associate. Christian workers who succeed in their efforts must know Christ; and in order to know Him, they must know His love. In heaven their fitness as workers is measured by their ability to love as Christ loved and to work as He worked.” The Acts of the Apostles, 550, 551.

6 What is seen by making a comparison between Cain and Abel? I John 3:12; Genesis 4:8–10.

Note: “In all ages the wicked have hated those who were better than themselves. Abel’s life of obedience and unswerving faith was to Cain a perpetual reproof. ‘Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.’ John 3:20. The brighter the heavenly light that is reflected from the character of God’s faithful servants, the more clearly the sins of the ungodly are revealed, and the more determined will be their efforts to destroy those who disturb their peace.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 74.

7 What is the evidence that we have changed direction in life? I John 3:14–16.

Note: “Supreme love for God and unselfish love for one another—this is the best gift that our heavenly Father can bestow. This love is not an impulse, but a divine principle, a permanent power. The unconsecrated heart cannot originate or produce it. Only in the heart where Jesus reigns is it found. ‘We love Him, because He first loved us.’ [I John 4:19.] In the heart renewed by divine grace, love is the ruling principle of action. It modifies the character, governs the impulses, controls the passions, and ennobles the affections. This love, cherished in the soul, sweetens the life and sheds a refining influence on all around.” The Acts of the Apostles, 551.

8 What actions does the true Christian love to produce? I John 3:17, 18; James 2:14–17.

Note: “Oh, how important it is that faithfulness in little things characterize our lives, that true integrity mark all our course of action, and that we ever bear in mind that angels of God are taking cognizance of every act! That which we mete to others shall be meted to us again. A fearfulness should ever attend you lest you should deal unjustly, selfishly. By sickness and adversity the Lord will remove from us much more than we obtain by grinding the face of the poor. A just God truly estimates all our motives and actions.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 158.

“You may believe all the truth; yet if its principles are not carried out in your lives, your profession will not save you. Satan believes and trembles. He works. He knows his time is short, and he has come down in great power to do his evil works according to his faith. But God’s professed people do not support their faith by their works. They believe in the shortness of time, yet grasp just as eagerly after this world’s goods as though the world were to stand a thousand years as it now is.

“Selfishness marks the course of many. …

“Divest yourselves of selfishness and make thorough work for eternity. Redeem the past and do not represent the holy truth you profess where you now live as you have where you have lived hitherto. Let your light so shine that others by seeing your good works may be led to glorify our Father in heaven. Stand upon the elevated platform of eternal truth. Regulate all your business transactions in this life in strict accordance with the word of God.” Ibid., 161.

9 What are the two basic conditions for receiving answers to prayers? I John 3:22–24.

Note: “To pray in Christ’s name means much. It means that we are to accept His character, manifest His spirit, and work His works. The Saviour’s promise is given on condition. ‘If ye love Me,’ He says, ‘keep My commandments.’ [John 14:15.] He saves men, not in sin, but from sin; and those who love Him will show their love by obedience.

“All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart work with Christ. And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service. When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us.” The Desire of Ages, 668.

10 When and how can we have confidence that our prayers will be answered? I John 5:14, 15.

Note: “We have sinned against Him [God], and are undeserving of His favor; yet He Himself has put into our lips that most wonderful of pleas, ‘Do not abhor us, for Thy name’s sake; do not disgrace the throne of Thy glory; remember, break not Thy covenant with us.’ Jeremiah 14:21. When we come to him confessing our unworthiness and sin, He has pledged Himself to give heed to our cry. The honor of His throne is staked for the fulfillment of His word unto us.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 148.

Additional Reading

“Of the special sense in which this love should be manifested by believers, the apostle writes: ‘A new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.’ [I John 2:8–11.] ‘This is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.’ [I John 3:11.] ‘He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.’ [I John 3:14, last part, 15, 16.]

“It is not the opposition of the world that most endangers the church of Christ. It is the evil cherished in the hearts of believers that works their most grievous disaster and most surely retards the progress of God’s cause. There is no surer way of weakening spirituality than by cherishing envy, suspicion, faultfinding, and evil surmising. On the other hand, the strongest witness that God has sent His Son into the world is the existence of harmony and union among men of varied dispositions who form His church. This witness it is the privilege of the followers of Christ to bear. But in order to do this, they must place themselves under Christ’s command. Their characters must be conformed to His character and their wills to His will.” The Acts of the Apostles, 548, 549.

“ ‘A new commandment I give unto you,’ Christ said, ‘That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.’ John 13:34. What a wonderful statement; but, oh, how poorly practiced! In the church of God today brotherly love is sadly lacking. Many who profess to love the Saviour do not love one another. Unbelievers are watching to see if the faith of professed Christians is exerting a sanctifying influence upon their lives; and they are quick to discern the defects in character, the inconsistencies in action. Let Christians not make it possible for the enemy to point to them and say, Behold how these people, standing under the banner of Christ, hate one another. Christians are all members of one family, all children of the same heavenly Father, with the same blessed hope of immortality. Very close and tender should be the tie that binds them together.” The Acts of the Apostles, 550.

“Suppose Christ should abide in every heart and selfishness in all its forms should be banished from the church, what would be the result? Harmony, unity, and brotherly love would be seen as verily as in the church which Christ first established.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 206.

©2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Tour of Waldensian Valleys

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In February, I received an invitation to join a tour of the Waldensian Valleys in northern Italy. Having read about the Waldensians in The Great Controversy, I had always been impressed by their steadfast adherence to the word of God as given in the Bible and intrigued by their determination to remain true to that word in spite of the efforts of the papacy to force them to yield to the authority of the “church.”

I eagerly signed up and looked forward with great anticipation to the trip, never having been to Europe before.

Prior to the trip, tour participants received detailed instructions regarding a rendezvous point at the airport in Milan. Each member was to have a brightly colored sign, inscribed “WALDENSIAN TOUR,” which enabled us to gather at the airport in Milan without too much difficulty.

We climbed into three nine-passenger vans and left Milan for La Gianavella, the youth hostel where we were to make our headquarters for the next week. La Gianavella is a historical structure dating back to the 17th century, built by Josué Janavel (1617-1690), a prominent hero who fought against the Savoy Duke, persecutor of the Waldensian people and representative of papal authority. The hostel overlooks the Rorà valley, hidden in a chestnut woodland. It is reached by a tortuous and winding one lane dirt road, high up in the Italian Alps.

From my previous reading about the Waldensians in The Great Controversy and in J. A. Wylie’s History of the Waldenses, I had assumed that this sect faithfully adhered to the commandments of God. I learned during this trip that the primary point of contention between the Waldensians and the papacy was where authority lay – the church versus the Bible, and was not specifically a Sabbath vs. Sunday issue. I knew that historically the Waldensians were Sabbath keepers and assumed that they continued to remain faithful to the fourth commandment to this day.

I was startled and dismayed to learn that in 1975, they entered into an “integration covenant” with the Italian Methodist churches, having ultimately capitulated to the rules of the church as opposed to the law of God.

In spite of this disappointing discovery, it was inspiring to visit several of the Waldensian churches scattered throughout the valleys of the Italian Alps and learn the history of their valiant fight against papal authority, which dates back to the 12th century. It then took less than a hundred years for the Waldensians to be declared heretical and subjected to intense persecution.

In the 16th century, Waldensian leaders embraced the Protestant Reformation and joined various local Protestant regional entities. As early as 1631, Protestant scholars and Waldensian theologians themselves began to regard the Waldensians as early forerunners of the Reformation, who had maintained the apostolic faith in the face of Catholic oppression. The group was nearly annihilated in the 17th century and was confronted with organized and general discrimination in the centuries that followed.

When the Waldensians were chased from the Pellice Valley by the Duke of Savoy, they retreated into several deep valleys in the Italian Alps, eventually establishing churches, where their presence is still very prominent. The world headquarters of the Waldensian Church, its synod, is located in Torre Pellice, a now thriving town in northern Italy. The Waldensian Museum is located across a pedestrian thoroughfare from the synod building. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovation when we were there.

Our visit included stops at one of the caves where several hundred Waldensians hid from their persecutors, similar to the one where many were suffocated when the entrance was blocked, barricaded with flammable materials, and set afire—simply because they would not capitulate to papal authority.

Another inspiring site we visited was the precipice where those faithful to God’s word were thrown to their deaths unless they acknowledged the authority of the “church” as superior to the Bible.

Being a father and a grandfather, I had quite an emotional experience as I envisioned whole families making the steep trek up the mountain to their deaths, the fathers attempting to reassure their children of the love of God in spite of their ultimate fate.

We also visited the “infirmary,” where the Waldensians attempted to hide their elderly and infirm, a narrow, almost inaccessible ledge, invisible from above, that could be reached only by an extremely difficult descent through a narrow gap between huge boulders.

The determination and strong will of these faithful souls became more and more apparent as we toured the various places where they clung so tenaciously to their beliefs, beliefs which were based solely and completely on the Bible.

Perhaps, then, you can imagine my shock when I learned that today, the majority of those adhering to the Waldensian faith are Sunday keepers. It took centuries for the papacy to gain the victory, which testifies to the relentless efforts the enemy of souls exerts to lead souls astray.

What a lesson this is for us today. Will we, individually or as a sect, eventually yield to Satan’s subtle but relentless efforts to dissuade God’s people from the path of truth and righteousness? Or will we remain faithful to God’s word, even when threatened with death?

NOTE: For further information on the current beliefs of the Waldensian Methodist church, visit their website at www.chiesavaldese.org/aria_video_category.php?video_category=2. Although the original is in Italian, Google will translate it into English. It is a sad revelation of the current state of a once-faithful people.

 John R. Pearson is the office manager and a board member of Steps to Life. He may be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org.

Bible Study Guides – Our Great Responsibility Today

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March 8, 2009 – March 14, 2009

Key Text

“[If] thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness [be] as the noonday.” Isaiah 58:10.

Study Help: The Ministry of Healing, 95–107; Testimonies, vol. 6, 305–312.

Introduction

“It is heartwork that the Lord requires, good works springing from a heart filled with love.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 146.

1 What is our privilege and duty regarding God’s word? Psalm 119:15. Name one chapter that is especially beneficial to us today, and explain why.

Note: “Portions of Scripture, even whole chapters, may be committed to memory to be repeated when Satan comes in with his temptations. The fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah is a profitable one for this purpose.” Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 1, 95.

“The whole chapter [of Isaiah 58] is applicable to those who are living in this period of the earth’s history. Consider this chapter attentively; for it will be fulfilled.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1149.

2 Describe the condition of God’s professed people and the task entrusted to the faithful remnant. Isaiah 58:1, 2.

Note: “Though they [the people described in Isaiah 58:1, 2] are called the people of God, the house of Jacob, though they profess to be linked with God in obedience and fellowship, they are far from Him. … Show them where they are making a mistake. Set their danger before them. Tell them of the sins they are committing, while at the same time they pride themselves on their righteousness.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1149.

3 Describe the contrast between false and true forms of worship. Isaiah 58:3–7; James 1:27.

Note: “In our work we shall find a high profession of piety and much outward exactness bound up with great inward wickedness. The people represented in Isaiah 58 complain that the Lord allows their services to go unnoticed. This complaint is the expression of hearts unsubdued by grace, rebellious against the truth. Those who receive the truth which works by love and purifies the soul are loyal to God, honoring Him by obedience to His law, which is holy, just, and good. The spirit of true fasting and prayer is the spirit which yields mind, heart, and will to God. …

“The house of Jacob, at the time this warning was given to Isaiah, appeared to be a very zealous people, seeking God daily, and delighting to know His ways; but in reality they were filled with presumptuous self-confidence. They were not walking in the truth. Goodness, mercy, and love were not practiced. While presenting an appearance of sorrow for their sins, they were cherishing pride and avarice. …

“There are sins of this same character among us today, and they bring the rebuke of God upon His church. Wherever such sins are found, seasons of fasting and prayer are indeed necessary; but they must be accompanied with sincere repentance and decided reformation.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1148–1150.

“In all our work the principle of unselfishness revealed in Christ’s life is to be carried out. Upon the walls of our homes, the pictures, the furnishings, we are to read, ‘Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house.’ On our wardrobes we are to see written, as with the finger of God, ‘Clothe the naked.’ In the dining room, on the table laden with abundant food, we should see traced, ‘Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry?’ Isaiah 58:7.” The Ministry of Healing, 206.

4 What promises are offered to us as we seek to follow God’s plan? Isaiah 58:8–10.

Note: “Many are in obscurity. They have lost their bearings. They know not what course to pursue. Let the perplexed ones search out others who are in perplexity, and speak to them words of hope and encouragement. When they begin to do this work, the light of heaven will reveal to them the path that they should follow. By their words of consolation to the afflicted they themselves will be consoled. By helping others, they themselves will be helped out of their difficulties. Joy takes the place of sadness and gloom. The heart, filled with the Spirit of God, glows with warmth toward every fellow being. Every such an one is no longer in darkness; for his ‘darkness’ is ‘as the noon day.’ [Isaiah 58:10.]” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1151.

5 What is Christ’s mission concerning the Law of God? Isaiah 42:21; Matthew 5:17–20; 22:36–40.

Note: “Christ came to magnify the law and make it honorable. He showed that it is based upon the broad foundation of love to God and love to man, and that obedience to its precepts comprises the whole duty of man. In His own life He gave an example of obedience to the law of God. In the Sermon on the Mount He showed how its requirements extend beyond the outward acts and take cognizance of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The Acts of the Apostles, 505.

6 What work did Isaiah foresee among God’s people, and how can we be part of it? Isaiah 58:12–14; 61:4.

Note: “The work specified in these words is the work God requires His people to do. It is a work of God’s own appointment. With the work of advocating the commandments of God and repairing the breach that has been made in the law of God, we are to mingle compassion for suffering humanity. We are to show supreme love to God; we are to exalt His memorial, which has been trodden down by unholy feet; and with this, we are to manifest mercy, benevolence, and the tenderest pity for the fallen race. ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ [Matthew 22:39.] As a people we must take hold of this work. Love revealed for suffering humanity gives significance and power to the truth.” My Life Today, 224.

7 How will God complete the number of His people? Isaiah 11:10–12.

Note: “Those who come out from the world, to stand distinct from worldlings in words and works, those who realize that it is an honor to bear God’s sign, will receive power to become His sons. The Lord will have men who can be depended on. No one will enter the courts above who does not bear the sign of God. Those who in this sin-cursed earth bear this sign in holy boldness, looking upon it as an honor, will be recognized and honored by Christ in the courts above.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 969.

8 What is expected from the remnant church in view of God’s purpose mentioned in the previous question? Isaiah 52:7–10; I Corinthians 4:9.

Note: “The Saviour has given His precious life in order to establish a church capable of ministering to the suffering, the sorrowful, and the tempted. A company of believers may be poor, uneducated, and unknown; yet in Christ they may do a work in the home, in the community, and even in ‘the regions beyond,’ whose results shall be as far-reaching as eternity.” The Ministry of Healing, 106, 107.

“When those who profess to serve God follow Christ’s example, practicing the principles of the law in their daily life; when every act bears witness that they love God supremely and their neighbor as themselves, then will the church have power to move the world.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 340.

9 What missionary program should ever be before our minds? Isaiah 60:3–5; Matthew 28:19, 20.

Note: “It is now time to take a decided stand on the side of truth; and as God has given to every one his measure of influence, he should exert it to the glory of God and for the good of his associates. Not one of the faithful stewards of Christ will be idle in such a time as this, or will be content to live simply for self. Those who are in communion with Christ will realize that there are souls on every side who may be benefited by their help, example, and influence. They will realize that they may be agents through whom Jesus will work to save those for whom He died. This should be the experience of all who profess to believe the third angel’s message. Young and old should have a rich, joyful, abundant experience in the religion of Christ.” Sons and Daughters of God, 269.

10 What responsibility has God placed upon us in connection with this program? Isaiah 60:1, 2.

Note: “The evangelization of the world is the work that God has given to those who go forth in His name. … Work, with a heart filled with an earnest longing for souls. Do medical missionary work. Thus you will gain access to the hearts of the people. The way will be prepared for more decided proclamation of the truth. You will find that relieving their physical suffering gives you opportunity to minister to their spiritual needs.

“The Lord will give you success in this work; for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation when it is interwoven with the practical life, when it is lived and practiced. The union of Christlike work for the body and Christlike work for the soul is the true interpretation of the gospel.” My Life Today, 224.

Additional Reading

“I saw that a thick cloud enveloped them, but that a few rays of light from Jesus pierced this cloud. I looked to see those who received this light, and saw individuals earnestly praying for victory. It was their study to serve God. Their persevering faith brought them returns. The light of heaven was shed upon them; but the cloud of darkness over the church in general was thick. They were stupid and sluggish. My agony of soul was great. I asked the angel if that darkness was necessary. Said he: ‘Look ye!’ I then saw the church begin to rise, and earnestly plead with God, and rays of light began to penetrate this darkness, and the cloud was removed. The pure light of heaven shone upon them, and with holy confidence their attention was attracted upward. Said the angel: ‘This is their privilege and duty.’

“Satan has come down in great power, knowing that his time is short. His angels are busy, and a great share of the people of God suffer themselves to be lulled to sleep by him. The cloud again passed over, and settled upon the church. I saw that it would be only by earnest effort and persevering prayer that this spell would be broken.

“The alarming truths of the word of God had stirred the people of God a little. Now and then they would make feeble efforts to overcome, but they soon tired and sank back into the same lukewarm state. I saw that they did not have perseverance and fixed determination. Let the seeker for the salvation of God possess the same energy and earnestness that he would have for a worldly treasure, and the object would be gained. I saw that the church may just as well drink of a full cup, as to hold an empty one in the hand or at the mouth.

“It is not the plan of God to have some eased and others burdened. Some feel the weight and responsibility of the cause, and the necessity of their acting that they may gather with Christ and not scatter abroad. Others go on free from any responsibility, acting as though they had no influence. Such scatter abroad. God is not partial. All who are made partakers of His salvation here, and who hope to share the glories of the kingdom hereafter, must gather with Christ. Each must feel that he is responsible for his own case, and for the influence he exerts over others. If these maintain their Christian walk, Jesus will be in them the hope of glory, and they will love to speak forth His praise that they may be refreshed. The cause of their Master will be near and dear to them. It will be their study to advance His cause and to honor it by holy living. Said the angel: ‘Every talent God will require with usury.’ Every Christian must go on from strength to strength, and employ all his powers in the cause of God.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 178, 179.

Bible Study Guides – The People, Part 11

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December 25, 2005 – December 31, 2005

Key Text

“To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Hebrews 4:7. “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” 1 Thessalonans 5:4.

Study Help: Testimonies, vol. 5, 212–216.

1 What are the true people of God referred to in comparison to the population of the world? Revelation 12:17. Compare Acts 1:12–15.

note: “In comparison with the millions of the world, God’s people will be, as they have ever been, a little flock; but if they stand for the truth as revealed in His word, God will be their refuge. They stand under the broad shield of Omnipotence. God is always a majority. When the sound of the last trump shall penetrate the prison house of the dead, and the righteous shall come forth with triumph, exclaiming, ‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’ (1 Corinthians 15:55)—standing then with God, with Christ, with the angels, and with the loyal and true of all ages, the children of God will be far in the majority.” The Acts of the Apostles, 590.

2 Why will only a small proportion of the people who profess to be depositaries of God’s law ultimately be saved? Zephaniah 3:7, 13. Compare Isaiah 10:20–22.

note: “In Jeremiah’s time, the Jews believed that the strict observance of the divinely appointed services of the temple would preserve them from the just punishment of their evil course.

“The same danger exists today among the people who profess to be the depositaries of God’s law. They are too apt to flatter themselves that the regard in which they hold the commandments will preserve them from the power of divine justice. They refuse to be reproved for evil, and charge God’s servants with being too zealous in putting sin out of the camp. A sin-hating God calls upon those who profess to keep His law to depart from all iniquity. Neglect to repent and obey His word will bring as serious consequences upon God’s people today as did the same sin upon ancient Israel. There is a limit beyond which He will no longer delay His judgments.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 166, 167.

3 What experience do the true people of God pass through that prepares them to stand on the sea of glass before the great white throne? Malachi 3:2–4; Revelation 3:8–11.

note: “Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth.” The Great Controversy, 425.

4 How does Zechariah represent the condition of God’s people at this time, and how does the Lord intervene to help them? Zechariah 3:1–3.

note: “As the people of God afflict their souls before Him, pleading for purity of heart, the command is given, ‘Take away the filthy garments’ from them, and the encouraging words are spoken, ‘Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.’ [Zechariah 3:4.] The spotless robe of Christ’s righteousness is placed upon the tried, tempted, yet faithful children of God. The despised remnant are clothed in glorious apparel, nevermore to be defiled by the corruptions of the world. . . . And the remnant are not only pardoned and accepted, but honored. ‘A fair miter’ [verse 5] is set upon their heads. They are to be as kings and priests unto God.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 475.

5 In the vision, what is Satan doing? Zechariah 3:1.

note: “Satan will work his miracles to deceive; he will set up his power as supreme. The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out—the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouths.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 380.

6 On what condition are the people of God permitted to keep the robe of Christ’s righteousness? Zechariah 3:7.

note: “The true people of God, who have the spirit of the work of the Lord and the salvation of souls at heart, will ever view sin in its real, sinful character. They will always be on the side of faithful and plain dealing with sins which easily beset the people of God. Especially in the closing work for the church, in the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand who are to stand without fault before the throne of God, will they feel most deeply the wrongs of God’s professed people.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 266.

“I also saw that many do not realize what they must be in order to live in the sight of the Lord without a high priest in the sanctuary through the time of trouble. Those who receive the seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble must reflect the image of Jesus fully.

“I saw that many were neglecting the preparation so needful and were looking to the time of ‘refreshing’ and the ‘latter rain’ to fit them to stand in the day of the Lord and to live in His sight. Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without a shelter! They had neglected the needful preparation; therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a holy God.” Early Writings, 71.

“While Satan was urging his accusations and seeking to destroy this company, holy angels, unseen, were passing to and fro, placing upon them the seal of the living God. These are they that stand upon Mount Zion with the Lamb, having the Father’s name written in their foreheads. They sing the new song before the throne, that song which no man can learn save the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. ‘These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.’ [Revelation 14:4.]” Lift Him Up, 377.

7 How are the 144,000 described in relationship to all of those who are redeemed? Revelation 14:4.

note: “ ‘These are they which follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.’ Revelation 14:4. The vision of the prophet pictures them as standing on Mount Zion, girt for holy service, clothed in white linen, which is the righteousness of the saints. But all who follow the Lamb in heaven must first have followed Him on earth, not fretfully or capriciously, but in trustful, loving, willing obedience, as the flock follows the shepherd.” The Acts of the Apostles, 591.

8 How many who had gotten the victory over sin did John see in vision standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb? Revelation 7:9, 10.

note: “Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honored the law of God when the Christian world declared it void, and the millions, of all ages, who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the ‘great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, . . . before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.’ Revelation 7:9. Their warfare is ended, their victory won. They have run the race and reached the prize. The palm branch in their hands is a symbol of their triumph, the white robe an emblem of the spotless righteousness of Christ which now is theirs.” The Great Controversy, 665.

9 What one requirement did all of the redeemed fulfill? Revelation 7:14.

note: “In the parable of Matthew 22 the same figure of the marriage is introduced, and the investigative judgment is clearly represented as taking place before the marriage. Previous to the wedding the king comes in to see the guests, to see if all are attired in the wedding garment, the spotless robe of character washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. Matthew 22:11; Revelation 7:14. He who is found wanting is cast out, but all who upon examination are seen to have the wedding garment on are accepted of God and accounted worthy of a share in His kingdom and a seat upon His throne. This work of examination of character, of determining who are prepared for the kingdom of God, is that of the investigative judgment, the closing of work in the sanctuary above.” The Great Controversy, 428.

10 Identify the similarities between Revelation 7:15–17 and 22:1–5. See if you can find seven similarities.

note: “In the City of God ‘there shall be no night.’ None will need or desire repose. There will be no weariness in doing the will of God and offering praise to His name. We shall ever feel the freshness of the morning and shall ever be far from its close. ‘And they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light.’ Revelation 22:5. The light of the sun will be superseded by a radiance which is not painfully dazzling, yet which immeasurably surpasses the brightness of our noontide. The glory of God and the Lamb floods the Holy City with unfading light. The redeemed walk in the sunless glory of perpetual day.” The Great Controversy, 676.

Bible Study Guides – The People, Part 1

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December 18, 2005 – December 24, 2005

Key Text

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17.

Study Help: Testimonies, vol. 5, 207–211.

Introduction

“But that which causes me to tremble is the fact that those who have had the greatest light and privileges have become contaminated by the prevailing iniquity. Influenced by the unrighteous around them, many, even of those who profess the truth, have grown cold and are borne down by the strong current of evil. The universal scorn thrown upon true piety and holiness leads those who do not connect closely with God to lose their reverence for His law. If they were following the light and obeying the truth from the heart, this holy law would seem even more precious to them when thus despised and set aside. As the disrespect for God’s law becomes more manifest, the line of demarcation between its observers and the world becomes more distinct. Love for the divine precepts increases with one class according as contempt for them increases with another class.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 209.

1 Against whom has the wrath of Satan been mainly manifested throughout the ages? Revelation 12:13–16.

note: “The great controversy between good and evil will increase in intensity to the very close of time. In all ages the wrath of Satan has been manifested against the church of Christ; and God has bestowed His grace and Spirit upon His people to strengthen them to stand against the power of the evil one. When the apostles of Christ were to bear His gospel to the world and to record it for all future ages, they were especially endowed with the enlightenment of the Spirit. But as the church approaches her final deliverance, Satan is to work with greater power. He comes down ‘having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.’ Revelation 12:12. He will work ‘with all power and signs and lying wonders.’ 11 Thessalonians 2:9. For six thousand years that mastermind that once was highest among the angels of God has been wholly bent to the work of deception and ruin. And all the depths of satanic skill and subtlety acquired, all the cruelty developed, during these struggles of the ages, will be brought to bear against God’s people in the final conflict.” The Great Controversy, ix, x.

2 What warnings are the people of God to give in this time of peril, and what are they to do for themselves before this time begins? Revelation 19:11–16; 18:4; 11 Peter 3:14.

note: “In this time of peril the followers of Christ are to bear to the world the warning of the Lord’s second advent; and a people are to be prepared to stand before Him at His coming, ‘without spot, and blameless.’ 11 Peter 3:14. At this time the special endowment of divine grace and power is not less needful to the church than in apostolic days.” The Great Controversy, x.

3 What phase of God’s church will come under special attack from the dragon? Revelation 12:17.

note: “Zechariah’s vision of Joshua and the Angel applies with peculiar force to the experience of God’s people in the closing up of the great day of atonement. The remnant church will be brought into great trial and distress. Those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus will feel the ire of the dragon and his hosts.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 472.

4 What will be the final destiny of God’s last church? Revelation 15:2, 3.

note: “ ‘O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion.’ Micah 4:8. The time has come to which holy men have looked with longing since the flaming sword barred the first pair from Eden, the time for ‘the redemption of the purchased possession.’ Ephesians 1:14. The earth originally given to man as his kingdom, betrayed by him into the hands of Satan, and so long held by the mighty foe, has been brought back by the great plan of redemption. . . . God’s original purpose in the creation of the earth is fulfilled as it is made the eternal abode of the redeemed. ‘The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.’ Psalm 37:29.” The Great Controversy, 674.

5 Before Christ’s true disciples will stand on the sea of glass, through what experience will they have to pass? Matthew 24:9; Luke 21:12. Compare 1 Peter 4:13.

note: “Christ’s true disciples follow Him through sore conflicts, enduring self-denial and experiencing bitter disappointment; but this teaches them the guilt and woe of sin, and they are led to look upon it with abhorrence. Partakers of Christ’s sufferings, they are destined to be partakers of His glory. In holy vision the prophet saw the ultimate triumph of God’s remnant church.” The Acts of the Apostles, 590.

6 What victory will God’s remnant church have to win before they can stand on the sea of glass? Revelation 15:2.

note: “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.’ [Revelation 15:2.]” The Great Controversy, 648.

7 What song will they sing before God on the sea of glass? Revelation 15:3, 4.

note: “With the Lamb upon Mount Zion, ‘having the harps of God,’ they stand, the hundred and forty and four thousand that were redeemed from 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 new song’ before the throne, a song which no man can learn save the hundred and forty and four thousand. [Revelation 15:2; 14:2, 3.] It is the song of Moses and the Lamb—a song of deliverance.” The Great Controversy, 648, 649.

8 What two characteristics identify God’s remnant people? Revelation 14:12.

note: “In order to be prepared for the judgment, it is necessary that men should keep the law of God. That law will be the standard of character in the judgment. . . . Faith is essential in order to the keeping of the law of God; for ‘without faith it is impossible to please Him.’ And ‘whatsoever is not of faith is sin.’ Hebrews 11:6; Romans 14:23.” The Great Controversy, 436.

9 What is required to be saved? Luke 3:8.

note: “How few bear in mind that the tempter was once a covering cherub, a being whom God created for His own name’s glory. Satan fell from his high position through self-exaltation; he misused the high capabilities with which God had so richly endowed him. He fell for the same reason that thousands are falling today, because of an ambition to be first, an unwillingness to be under restraint. The Lord would teach man the lesson that, though united in church capacity, he is not saved until the seal of God is placed upon him, and he is made complete in Christ.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, 367.

10 From among what group will “the little company” who are standing in the light arise? Ezekiel 9:3, 4.

note: “The leaven of godliness has not entirely lost its power. At the time when the danger and depression of the church are greatest, the little company who are standing in the light will be sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the land. But more especially will their prayers arise in behalf of the church because its members are doing after the manner of the world.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 209, 210.

“Mark this point with care: Those who receive the pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, represented by a mark by the man in linen, are those ‘that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done’ in the church.” Ibid., vol. 3, 267.

“The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn over the sins of others, will be left without the seal of God. The Lord commissions His messengers, the men with slaughtering weapons in their hands: ‘Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.’ [Ezekiel 9:5, 6.]” Ibid., vol. 5, 211.

11 In the midst of the prevailing apostasy, what character preparation do the true people engage in? Revelation 7:13, 14; 22:14.

note: “Satan will work his miracles to deceive; he will set up his power as supreme. The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out—the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouths. . . .

“The remnant that purify their souls by obeying the truth gather strength from the trying process, exhibiting the beauty of holiness amid the surrounding apostasy.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 380.

12 Why will not all professed Sabbath keepers be sealed and ready for the latter rain? Hebrews 6:4–6. Compare John 6:60–66.

note: “Not all who profess to keep the Sabbath will be sealed. There are many even among those who teach the truth to others who will not receive the seal of God in their foreheads. They had the light of truth, they knew their Master’s will, they understood every point of our faith, but they had not corresponding works. These who were so familiar with prophecy and the treasures of divine wisdom should have acted their faith. . . .

“Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us as the early rain fell upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 213, 214.

Seventh Day Adventist Roots — The Parting of the Ways

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Following the Great Disappointment on October 22, 1844, opposition arose against the preaching of the advent message and against those proclaiming it. Most of the churches refused to admit the ministers that were preaching the coming of Christ. “Thus the impressive Millerite movement came to its tragic close, so far as its original form is concerned. The great stream ceased its onward flow and was dissipated, to use the figure aptly employed by Nichol (F. D.), like a river absorbed in the torrid sands of the desert. Here is his graphic portrayal.

” ‘The erstwhile fast-moving stream poured out over an arid, uncharted waste. The scorching sun of disappointment beat down, and the burning winds of ridicule swept in from every side. The river suddenly lost its velocity. There was no momentum to cut a clearly marked channel in this new, parched land. Sun and wind quickly began to play havoc with this directionless body of water, now spread thinly over a wide area. While a central stream of what had once been an impressive river, was more or less well defined, there were many lesser streams, which often ended in miniature dead seas, where stagnation and evaporation soon did their work. Indeed, no small part of the once large river, when evaporated under the scorching sun of disappointment, was finally returned to the sources from whence it came, the other rivers in the religious world.’ ” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, 827.

Following the Disappointment, the leaders were concerned over the confusion of opinions that became prevalent. I. E. Jones describes the confusion at that time: “Our brethren this way are catching at every conceivable hypothesis to reconcile the movement of the tenth [day of the seventh month, or October 22] . . .But supremely ridiculous, painful and dangerous, as is this state of things among ourselves, it is not as much so as the ranks of our opponents present. Who can think of the endless diversity of opinion among them on the prophecies and atonement, free will, baptism, conversion, and every Bible truth; and not say in view of his temptations to leave this [Advent] cause, ‘To whom shall we go?’ . . . Oh, I sigh, for home. Home; sweet home. But, patience my soul.” Ibid., 828.

William Miller was very perturbed by the discord that existed among the various factions that grew out of the Millerite Movement. He said, “I must confess I am pained at heart, to see the battle we are now in . . . after having silenced our common enemy . . . Every [Adventist] paper which has come into my hands recently is full of fight, and that too against our friends.” Ibid.

He was openly opposed to all the various “new theories” that had arisen in an attempt to explain the Disappointment. He denied the application of the parable of the “Midnight Cry” to the seventh month movement and stated that that was not a fulfillment of the prophecy.

“The controversy as to whether the seventh-month movement was the logical and legitimate climax of the Millerite message, or whether it was a tragic mistake, hinged on what came to be known as the ‘shut door’ doctrine. The seventh-month movement, it will be remembered, was based on two premises: (1) The typical cleansing of the ancient sanctuary on the Day of Atonement, on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month; and (2) the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, who, after passing the expected time of the wedding, fell asleep and were roused at midnight by the cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh!’ The wise virgins, who are ready to meet the coming bridegroom, enter with him into the wedding, where the door is shut after them. But the foolish ones, who failed to use their opportunity to be ready, then find themselves outside.” Ibid., 829.

In midsummer, of 1844, the cry went forth at “midnight” that the Bridegroom was to come, not in 1843, but in the seventh month of 1844. The cleansing of the sanctuary at the end of the 2300 years was to occur on the tenth day of the seventh month—the day when the sanctuary was cleansed in ancient Israel’s time. At the close of the 2300 years and the passing of the tenth day of the seventh month there were two courses open to those who refused to be discouraged by the passing of the time. Either the message containing the “midnight cry” was a delusion and the time a mistake or, the period had ended but the anticipated event was wrong.

After 1844, those that rejected the “Midnight Cry” message decided that the time was a mistake, the seventh-month a blunder and concluded that the “Midnight Cry” and the “Shut door” were still future. They said that “if the parable of the Bridegroom was yet to be fulfilled in the second advent, at a future ending of the 2300 days, they would be right in saying that the Bridegroom had not come and the door of the parable had not yet been shut. But if the time calculation had been correct —if the 2300 days had really ended in October, 1844—and the ‘Midnight Cry’ of the seventh month had been the true climax of the God-given message of a great prophetic movement, then those who held this view must necessarily believe that the parable of the virgins and the prophetic Day of Atonement had been fulfilled and that the ‘door’ of the parable—whatever it might be—had been ‘shut.’ ” Ibid., 830.

The Millerites taught that the door of the parable meant that the door of salvation would be closed at the Second Coming of Christ, when everyone would either be ready or lost. After the Disappointment, Miller and others thought that their work for the world was ended and that they were now in the tarrying time—a few days or months—until Christ should come.

In 1840, Himes and Litch had taught that after the sixth vial and trumpet ended, when the seventh trumpet sounded, the mystery of God was to be finished, the time of grace would end and probation’s door would be shut. Miller agreed with this interpretation, but added that there would be a little time to separate the good from the bad. Miller stated: “We have done our work in warning sinners, and in trying to awake a formal church. God, in His providence has shut the door; we can only stir one another up to be patient; and be diligent to make our calling and election sure.” Ibid., 831.

As time passed, this view was abandoned by the Millerites. Himes had never, since the Disappointment, believed that their work for the world had come to an end. Miller, along with some other leaders, soon came to be of the same opinion. The controversy over the “shut door” increased so dramatically that the leaders of the Millerite movement decided to convene a conference in Albany, New York, to attempt to resolve the conflicting views. The conference unanimously passed a report listing ten principles similar to the “Fundamental Principles” published in the Millerite papers, upon which they could unite. They opposed: “(1) The postmillennialists’ dream of world conversion before the advent. (2) The ‘Judaizing doctrine’ of the restoration of the literal Jews as a fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant. (3) Any of the new tests advocated by various minority groups.” Ibid., 834.

But their attempt for unity was not altogether successful, and the Millerite movement was split into three groups.

The first group included J. V. Himes and others that repudiated the “shut door” and denied the validity of the seventh-month movement and that Christ’s coming was imminent. Having rejected all the views, which had made them a part of the Advent movement, they had no reason to exist and so soon, the group faded out of the picture. Litch also refused to accept the “shut door” idea and eventually broke with the Adventist groups and became a Futurist. The second group was concentrated in Maine and New York and they took extreme views stating that all probation had closed and the doom of the world was fixed. That the 2300 days were fulfilled in 1844 and the door was shut on Christ’s mediatorial work and no one else could be saved. Only those who had entered with Christ on October 22 would be saved.

The third group was smaller than the first group but soon far surpassed them in numbers. They believed and taught the validity of the seventhmonth movement and adopted Edson’s view of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary as an explanation of the Disappointment. They rejected the idea of the “shut door” (meaning the close of probation) and continued to preach the soon coming of Christ to all that would listen.

“This group, holding to the validity of the 1844 movement as a fulfillment of prophecy, saw in the Disappointment a test of those who were willing to make every sacrifice to be ready to meet their Lord, and then to hold their faith in the face of bitter disappointment. They insisted that the working of the Holy Spirit on the hearts of the participants in that movement had been proof that the Lord was in it; and consequently they felt that those who declared it all a mistake were repudiating the leading of God, and murmuring against the path in which He had led them.” Ibid., 841.

It was out of this third group that the Seventh-day Adventist Church developed. Joseph Bates, who had played a prominent role in the Millerite Movement, James White, a Millerite evangelist, Hiram Edson and others were prominent leaders. They rejected both formalism and fanaticism and became the nucleus of the Sabbatarian Adventists.

“Three key teachings, each developing independently, began to characterize the group which erelong became the Sabbatarian Adventists. And these features came to be regarded by them as interrelated in what they believed to be the prophetic charter of their mission. These three were: (1) The sanctuary, as embracing the special, or final ministry of Christ in the holy of holies of the heavenly sanctuary, thus giving new meaning to the message, ‘the hour of God’s judgment is come’ (2) the Sabbath, that is, observance of the seventh day, as involved in the keeping of the ‘commandments of God,’ and (3) the Spirit of Prophecy, or the ‘testimony of Jesus,’ to be manifest in the ‘remnant’ church, or last segment of God’s church of the centuries.” Ibid., 844, 845.

These three beliefs developed in various places. Hiram Edson and his group, after study in western New York, began to preach the sanctuary phase. Joseph Bates and others began to proclaim the Sabbath in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In Maine, Ellen Harmon’s experience and influence established confidence in God’s past leadership and in His future guidance in the Advent Movement. These three groups eventually united.

“These three primary teachings—the Sabbath, the sanctuary, and the Spirit of Prophecy, along with the old basic, established, and fundamentally evangelical positions, as well as immortality only in Christ and the foundational Adventist teachings on the second advent and the Bible prophecies —formed the basis for the emergence of a new theological system, balanced in form and Scriptural in emphasis. Slowly the doctrinal framework of the Sabbatarian Adventists took definite shape. Their convictions were crystallizing as the thinking of different leaders began to be published in 1846 and 1847—the writings of Hiram Edson, O. R. L. Crosier, and F. B. Hahn, Joseph Bates, James White, and Ellen Harmon.

“As this merging of views began to take place, and the adherents of the Edson view of the sanctuary and the Bates view of the seventh-day Sabbath first began to coalesce, there was as yet no semblance of an organization, much less of an emerging denomination. But in this way, in three separate places in three different States, and all by the close of 1844, these three distinctive teachings that were to become major doctrinal features, in a distinctive Sabbatarian Adventist setting and movement, now reached out and touched each other.” Ibid., 848–850.

“A series of six Sabbath conferences, held in 1848, with an aggregate of several hundred in attendance, was the next step. Here these three distinctive features, with their already established positions, began to be forged into a single unified body of belief. And before long the essentials of an integrated system of evangelical, doctrinal, and prophetic truth were developed as held by Seventh-day Adventists around the world.” Ibid., 850, 851.

God was leading His remnant people.

 

Seventh Day Adventist Roots, part 7

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Joseph Bates, the next personality in our list of four prominent men to associate with the Millerite movement, was born in 1792, in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. His parents were members of the Congregational Church. His father had been a captain in the Revolutionary War. At the age of fifteen, Bates took to the sea, sailing for Europe as cabin boy. He had many thrilling experiences while at sea, including surviving a collision with an iceberg; being commandeered as a gunner on the HMS Rodney, serving on blockade duty in the war between England and France; spending two and a half years as a prisoner of war and finally returning home after a six year absence. Bates married Prudence Nye, in 1818, and continued his work on ocean going vessels, rising to the rank of captain.

On his first trip as captain, he forbade anyone to drink “ardent spirits” aboard ship. On the next trip he determined to stop drinking, and later gave up smoking. In 1826, his wife placed a New Testament in his trunk. This turned out to be the beginning of a spiritual awakening for him. When one of his crewmembers became sick, Bates became anxious and, after a struggle, he began to pray. The death of the crewmember and his own responsibility, as captain, for the funeral service, brought him closer to God. At this point, he surrendered his life to Christ and began to study the Bible and pray every day. When he arrived home, Bates was baptized, and, in 1827, joined the New Bedford Christian Church, the church to which his wife belonged. The minister that baptized him refused to join Bates in his fight against liquor. With the help of the Congregationalist minister in Fairhaven he formed the Fairhaven Temperance Society. At this point, Bates gave up the use of tea and coffee.

Joseph Bates had strong convictions. While aboard ship, he gathered his crew and read them the rules for the voyage. These rules included prohibiting the use of intoxicants, swearing or washing of clothes on Sunday and the mandatory attendance at daily worship. Two of the crew were converted on the voyage. In 1826, he retired from sea service with a comfortable fortune. He turned his energies to serious church work and reform movements, always taking the side of the oppressed. Over the next few years, Bates formed a number of reform movements, each time losing some friends. In the face of opposition, he formed an antislavery society. He planned for a manual training school and, to provide labor, he planted three mulberry orchards to produce silk for market.

In 1839, a ministerial friend invited him to attend a lecture on the Second Advent. When Bates heard the message he exclaimed, “That is the truth.” He and Joshua Himes had been associated in various reform activities. Now Himes also became interested in Miller’s views on the Second Advent. Shortly after obtaining a copy of Miller’s Lectures, Bates fully accepted their teaching regarding premillennialism as the most important reform for that time.

As a member of the authorizing committee for the first General Conference, at Boston, in 1841, Bates invited Miller to hold a series of meetings in Fairhaven. He soon after became an active and successful Millerite minister. He was chosen chairman of the conference that authorized the production of lithographs of Fitch’s “1843 Chart,” and approved the conducting of campmeetings that were very successful.

Opposition to the advent message soon developed among the members of the Fairhaven Christian Church, leading him to withdraw from its membership. “In 1843 he sold his home, and most of his other real estate, and prepared to go where needed to herald the Second Coming of Christ. He had a burden to go down to the slaveholding States of the South, where other lecturers had been driven out by hostile inhabitants. Bates was warned that he would probably be killed because of his well-known abolitionist principles. Undeterred, he went into Maryland and preached to large numbers, H. S. Gurney, baritone singer, accompanying him. Their success aroused resentment and opposition, and a fiery Methodist class leader threatened to have them ridden out of town on a rail. Bates made the instant but telling rejoinder, ‘If you will put a saddle on it, we would rather ride than walk.’ This nimble reply disconcerted the man, and Bates continued: ‘You must not think that we have come six hundred miles through the ice and snow, at our own expense to give you the Midnight Cry, without first sitting down and counting the cost. And now, if the Lord has no more for us to do, we had as lief [gladly] lie at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay as anywhere else until the Lord comes. But if He has any more work for us to do, you can’t touch us.’

“The Baltimore Patriot learned of the episode and after relating the story, said significantly: ‘The crush of matter and the wreck of worlds would be nothing to such men.’ In another incident in a little Maryland town, Bates made this reply: ‘Yes, Judge, I am an abolitionist, and have come to get your slaves and you too! As to getting your slaves from you, we have no such intention, for if you should give us all you have (and I was informed he owned quite a number), we should not know what to do with them. We teach that Christ is coming, and we want you all saved.’ ” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, 548.

On the journey home, by boat, Bates hung up the prophetic chart, sang an advent hymn and gave a lecture on the coming crisis. When they transferred to a train he continued lecturing. He visited a number of islands along the coast of Massachusetts and many were converted to the Second Advent faith.

By 1848, Bates had accepted the Sabbath and was instrumental in the proclamation of that message. He held key positions all through the Advent Movement from 1840 on. He wrote a short history of the advent cause from 1840 –1847 titled, Second Advent Way Marks and High Heaps, the first of its kind.

“Bates pioneering spirit led him west to Michigan in 1849, where, in time, he gathered a company of converts in Jackson. In 1852, he went on to Battle Creek. Arriving early in the morning, and asking the postmaster for the name of the most honest man in town, he was directed to a Presbyterian by the name of David Hewitt. Bates was soon rapping on Hewitt’s door, telling him that he had some important Bible truth for him. The Hewitts became the first converts in Battle Creek, and their home the meeting place for a growing group.

“That episode was characteristic of Bates. He would go where there were no believers, secure a schoolhouse, hall, church, or even a home, hang up his chart, and preach the new-found light on the prophecies, and churches would come into being. When, in 1860, the Sabbatarian Adventists met in conference to effect their first organization, Bates, in the chair guided the conference.

“Bates played a prominent part in the ‘Sabbath Conferences,’ which began in 1848, and helped to give shape to the infant SDA movement. He, together with White, Edson, Pierce, Andrews, and others, studied out the doctrines from the Bible. In fact Joseph Bates, with James White, was widely recognized as cofounder of the SDA denomination.” Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, 108, 109.

 

Joshua Himes—Energetic Leader

 

The fourth in our list of ministerial associates close to William Miller is Joshua V. Himes. “Judged by any standard of measurement, Joshua Vaughan Himes (1805-1895) was a remarkable character. Courageous, versatile, and a born leader, he was the great publicist, promoter, and organizer of the Millerite movement. While he was a power in the pulpit, he was an even greater power in the editorial chair. He was a really remarkable publisher, with the knack of knowing how to appeal to the public. His daring and his swiftness of action are illustrated by the speed with which he produced the first copy of the Signs of the Times. After Miller’s first suggestion, coupled with his own conviction of its need, it was under way within one week, starting from nothing.

“He had business acumen and organizational ability to a marked degree—managing conferences and giant campmeetings, as well as evangelistic and revival meetings, and keeping a great publishing and distribution project going smoothly and without needless duplication. Under his guidance the best publishing facilities the country afforded were enlisted to send forth the advent message. It was perhaps not too much to say that his was a feat unequaled in the annals of American church history, or of any other land so far as we know.” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, 549, 550.

Himes was born in Rhode Island. His father wanted him to attend Brown University, but, because of a financial crisis in the family, Joshua went to New Bedford to learn a trade. His conversion

occurred in 1823 and he joined the First Christian Church. His ability as an evangelist quickly surfaced and he felt called to preach. He was invited to begin holding meetings in various schoolhouses and soon was holding many types of revival meetings.

In 1825, Himes began his life work in the ministry and began to preach in Plymouth. Eventually, he was appointed evangelist by the Massachusetts Christian Conference. He raised up a church of 125 at Fall River and he was soon called to become pastor of the First Christian Church of Boston. He resigned in 1837 to organize and build the Second Christian Church, with its Chardon Street Chapel. The Advent message first came to him in that chapel.

Being a reformer at heart, Himes was constantly crusading against the evils of his day. He was an assistant to William Lloyd Garrison in the battle against slavery, and it was in this chapel that Garrison’s New England Antislavery Society was initiated. He promoted a manual labor school and was a cofounder of the Peace Society, for the prevention of war. The Chardon Street Chapel became the center for many kinds of reform meetings.

On November 12, 1839, a conference of Christian Connection ministers was convened in Exeter. The day before, William Miller began a series of meetings, and out of curiosity the conference adjourned to go listen to Miller and asked him every sort of question. Himes was among the group. “Greatly impressed with Miller’s humble yet effective answers to the many pointed and sometimes tricky questions put to him, Himes invited him to hold a series of meetings in his own church in Boston. Miller accepted, and that eventful day marked a turning point in both lives and launched a new epoch in the advent cause and movement.” Ibid., 551.

“Himes combined deep spirituality and strict integrity with a true instinct for popular presentation. He was just thirty-five, pleasant and genial, neat in dress, and possessed of a charming personality. He was the embodiment of energy, and had marked initiative. And his entire manner begot confidence and gave assurance of his honesty and sincerity. He was dignified in bearing, but was ever a restless and energetic promoter of some cause in which he believed. Miller stayed in Hime’s home while giving his first series of lectures in Boston. Here they had many talks about Miller’s position on the second advent and on the millennium and the prophecies related thereto.” Ibid., 552.

Himes was convinced of the general points and felt a burden to get the premillennial truth before the public. He asked Miller why he had not preached in the larger cities. Miller replied that he had not been invited but that he would go wherever he was invited to preach. Himes told Miller to prepare for a great campaign, that the doors would be opened in every state east of the Mississippi. This prediction was literally fulfilled far beyond Miller’s expectations.

Feeling the need for a publication to get his views before the public and to shield him from abusive stories circulated, Miller conveyed this to Himes who immediately agreed to start the Signs of the Times. The next week (February 28, 1840), without any subscribers and only one-dollar, Himes produced the first edition.

Believers in the advent received the paper with joy while opponents were alarmed. At the outset it was a forum for both believers and opponents to voice their opinions. With the passing of time the paper was restricted to the presentation of the positions of the Adventists.

Himes published two more editions of Miller’s Lectures and was henceforth in charge of the publication and distribution of Advent literature. Among his publications were charts, pamphlets, books, tracts, songbooks, broadsides and handbills. In order to acquaint New York City with the message of the advent, Himes began publishing the Midnight Cry in connection with an evangelistic series. Ten thousand copies each day were printed and distributed in the city. When the meetings closed, the publication continued as a weekly.

“Himes was noblehearted, generous, and selfdenying. The funds accruing from the publication venture were turned to the spread of the tidings of the second advent. He traveled some twenty thousand miles, giving a lecture a day much of the time, and held some five thousand meetings, including a remarkable series of all-day camp meetings. In many ways Himes was the leading figure in the Millerite movement—a human dynamo of energy, ever pushing the cause of publishing and preaching, organizing the various enterprises connected with the movement. Although Miller was the actual leader, he delegated much authority to Himes, who had his complete confidence. The relationship between the two was like that of father and son. Of this fellowship Himes touchingly said: ‘We had rather be associated with such a man as William Miller, and stand with him in gloom or glory, in the cause of the living God, than to be associated with his enemies, and enjoy all the honors of this world.’ ” Ibid., 554.

 

Editorial — Our Need of God’s Power

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Question 1: Through whom will the Lord reveal His power?

  1. Through people who are converted and devoted to Him and trust Him and not the arm of flesh:

“God is waiting to see revealed in His people a faith that works by love and purifies the soul; for this alone will fit them for the future, immortal life. There is a great work to be accomplished, and little time in which to do it. The cause needs converted, devoted men who will make the Lord their dependence. Through such workers the Lord will reveal the power of His grace.” Review and Herald, August 26, 1909.

  1. Through those who are seeking for spiritual light and accept every instruction from inspired writings. (They do not profess to believe the Spirit of Prophecy and then not obey its instruction.): “To souls that are earnestly seeking for light and that accept with gladness every ray of divine illumination from His holy Word, to such alone light will be given. It is through these souls that God will reveal that light and power which will lighten the whole earth with His glory.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 729.
  2. Those who reveal the spirit and character of Jesus: “There is nothing that the Savior desires so much as agents who will represent to the world His Spirit and His character. There is nothing that the world needs so much as the manifestation through humanity of the Savior’s love. All heaven is waiting for men and women through whom God can reveal the power of Christianity.” Acts of the Apostles, 600.

God wants to use you and your local, even if it is only two or three, to reveal His power to save lost humanity. The church is “the theater of His grace, in which He delights to reveal His power to transform hearts.” Acts of the Apostles, 12. However, there are roadblocks that can be set up in your church or in your heart that will prevent this most wonderful power from being displayed.

 

Question 2: What conditions will prevent the power of the Lord from being manifested in the church or in the church-members’ lives?

  1. If sin is cherished in church-members’ lives the power of God cannot work for them: “There was a time when Israel could not prevail against their enemies. This was because of Achan’s sin. . . . God is the same today. If defiling sins are cherished by those who claim to believe the truth, the displeasure of God rests upon the church, and He will not remove it until the members do all in their power to show their hatred for sin, and their determination to cast it out of the church. God is displeased with those who call evil good and good evil. If jealousy, evil surmising, and evil-speaking are allowed to have a place in the church, that church is under the frown of God. It will be spiritually unhealthy until it is cleansed from these sins, for till then God cannot reveal His power to strengthen and elevate His people and give them victory.” 1888 Materials, 144.
  2. When the church trusts to human wisdom and brings herself under the control of men: “The reason why His professed people have no greater strength is that they trust so much to their own wisdom, and do not give the Lord an opportunity to reveal His power in their behalf. He will help His believing children in every emergency if they will place their entire confidence in Him and faithfully obey Him.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 493.

“Organizations, institutions, unless kept by the power of God, will work under Satan’s dictation to bring men under the control of men; and fraud and guile will bear the semblance of zeal for truth and for the advancement of the kingdom of God. Whatever in our practice is not as open as day belongs to the methods of the prince of evil. His methods are practiced even among Seventh-day Adventists, who claim to have advanced truth.” Testimonies to Ministers, 366.

  1. Until every faulty and unlovely trait of character is transformed, God’s power cannot be revealed: “Unless this converting power shall go through our churches, unless the revival of the Spirit of God shall come, all their profession will never make the members of the church Christians. There are sinners in Zion who need to repent of sins that have been cherished as precious treasures. Until these sins are seen, and thrust from the soul, until every faulty, unlovely trait of character is transformed by the Spirit’s influence, God cannot manifest Himself in power. There is more hope for the open sinner than for the professedly righteous who are not pure, holy, and undefiled.” Review and Herald, February 7, 1857.

It is evident from these statements that God’s power cannot be revealed in the church, where it is supposed to be revealed, until the church is cleansed and purified. Since we are living in the days of the purification of the church, we plan to look at how that is to be accomplished, next month.

 

SDA Roots, part 6

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We pause in our perusal of the history of the rise of the Advent Movement to take a look at four men that unreservedly gave themselves to the propagation of the Second Advent message in 1838. We will consider their “backgrounds, talents, training, standing and diverse religious affiliations.” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, 528.

The first of this quartet of men is Dr. Josiah Litch (1809–1886). Litch was a well-known minister in the New England Methodist Conference. He was born in Higham, Massachusetts, and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church at his conversion, at the age of 17.

Near the beginning of 1838 he received a copy of Miller’s Lectures with the request that he read it and render his opinion on the truth of what it advocated. Litch disagreed with the notion of setting a time for Christ’s coming. He at first refused to read the book. However, to please his friend and to satisfy his own curiosity to discover what evidences could be summoned to support such a doctrine, Litch read the book.

The more he read the more he was convinced of the solid foundation of Miller’s position. He felt that if all the evidences Miller presented in that book were true then he, Litch, had a responsibility to also preach the messages Miller had been giving around New England and elsewhere. Being fully persuaded, of the truth of Miller’s position, he decided to present the truth as he saw it, at any cost to himself.

Litch was studious and keen of mind and immediately began to write on the theme of the Second Coming. His first product was a forty-eight page synopsis of Miller’s views entitled Midnight Cry, or a Review of Mr. Miller’s Lectures on the Second Coming of Christ, About A.D. 1843. A wide distribution of this work resulted in bringing in many friends to the Advent cause. Wherever he went, Litch preached the imminent return of Christ. Throughout New England, Litch was one of only two ministers closely identified with Miller. The other was Charles Fitch who, for a time, had taken his stand with Miller. However, shortly thereafter, he returned to his former views that there would be a temporal millenium before Christ’s coming.

In April of 1838, Litch produced a two hundred-page book entitled The Probability of the Second Coming of Christ About A.D. 1843. Because so many of the prophecies had been fulfilled, he declared, in the preface, his belief in the certainties of prophecy and that the prediction of the Second Coming would be fulfilled in due time. During this same year “He prepared articles for the public print on the subject of the seven trumpets of the Revelation. He took the unqualified position that the sixth trumpet would cease to sound and the Ottoman power would fall on the 11th day of August, 1840, and that that would demonstrate to the world that a day in symbolic prophecy represents a year of literal time.” The Great Second Advent Movement, 129.

The fulfillment of the prediction “intensified the interest of the people to hear upon the subject of fulfilled and fulfilling prophecy. Dr. Litch said that within a few months, after August 11, 1840, he had received letters from more than one thousand prominent infidels, some of them leaders of infidel clubs, in which they stated that they had given up the battle against the Bible, and had accepted it as God’s revelation to man. Some of these were fully converted to God, and a number of them became able speakers in the great second advent movement.” Ibid., 132.

It was not until 1839, in Lowell, Massachusetts, that Litch first met Miller personally. He was on the Committee of Arrangements for the first general conference that was held in October of 1840. He was one of the leading speakers at that convocation as well as in subsequent general conferences.

“In June, 1841, Litch attended the Methodist Episcopal Conference at Providence, Rhode Island. Here he was closely interrogated by the presiding bishops as to his relation to the Millerite teachings. After Litch had expounded his convictions, the bishop asked, ‘Do you think that is Methodism?’ Litch replied, ‘I do. At least it is not contrary to the articles of the Methodist Episcopal Church.’ After considerable discussion the conference also came to the conclusion that Litch held nothing contrary to Methodism, though he had at points gone beyond it. They granted his request to ‘locate’, that is, to retire from the itinerant ministry. This allowed him to devote most of his time to preaching the second advent.” The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers, 532.

Litch came to the conclusion that he had to divorce himself from the Methodist ministry that he had carried on for eight years and utilize all his energies in the advent movement. He soon became one of the leading editors of the Millerite paper, The Signs of the Times. He continued traveling and lecturing and was Miller’s companion on his trips to Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and New York. Eventually he resided in Philadelphia where he became the leading Millerite representative.

Next in our list of ministers, that became closely associated with the Millerite movement is Charles Fitch who lived from 1805–October 14, 1844. He was born in Hampton, Connecticut. After graduating from Brown University, Fitch was ordained to the Congregational ministry and served at Abington, Connecticut, Warren, Massachusetts, and Hartford, Connecticut, successively. In 1836 he went to the Marlboro Congregational Chapel in Boston, and later to Newark, New Jersey, and Haverhill, Massachusetts. Fitch’s greatest contribution was made at Cleveland, Ohio, after he became the western proponent of the advent message. His other interests included his membership in the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

He was a strong opponent to slavery as revealed by a pamphlet he produced entitled, Slaveholding Weighed in the Balance of Truth, and Its Comparative Guilt Illustrated. In it he stated, “Every man has a tongue, and he can use it; he has influence, and he can exert it; he has moral power, and he can put it forth. Up my friends and do your duty, to deliver the spoils out of the hands of the oppressor, lest the fire of God’s fury kindle ere long upon you.” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, 534.

In 1838, while he was pastor of the Marlboro Street Congregational Church in Boston, he was given a copy of Miller’s Lectures, containing his views on the Second Advent. Fitch wrote to Miller, in March, confessing his “overwhelming interest such as I never felt in any other book except the Bible.” Ibid. After carefully studying the book and comparing the message with Scripture, Fitch stated that he came to believe in the correctness of Miller’s views. On March 4 he preached two sermons on the Second Advent, creating a deep interest among his hearers. He proposed to present the whole subject of the Second Advent to a meeting of the Ministerial Association on March 6. He secured a dozen copies of Miller’s Lectures for distribution stating, “I trust that I may thereby do something to spread the truth.” Ibid.

The Association’s reaction was so negative and accompanied with so much searing ridicule and contempt that Fitch lost confidence in the advent message and he lapsed into his former views of the world’s conversion.

But his mind could not rest. He thirsted for truth and longed for holiness of life. While serving as pastor of the Free Presbyterian Church of Newark, New Jersey, in 1839, he wrote his Views of Sanctification. This was his statement of faith and he stressed sanctification by divine grace through Scripture. This prompted the appointment of a committee by the presbytery to counsel Fitch on his views on perfection. This meeting resulted in the passage of a Resolution of Censure, declaring his views to be a dangerous error and asking him to preach his views no more. Fitch replied in a Letter to the Newark Presbytery in 1840, wherein he November 1998 31 defended his views. He stated that “‘I cannot regard your admonition,’ and offered his reasons.” Ibid.

“After years of unsatisfactory living, he had found, personally and experimentally, the enabling grace of Christ. He had learned the secret of reckoning himself dead to sin. The world had lost its charm, and his heart was filled with joy. He had entered into a new life—and supported his position with an imposing array of texts. He took this stand, he adds, ‘in view of an approaching judgment.’ Then he avers, ‘If you still adhere to that opinion, I must consider myself as no longer of your number.’ The presbytery must do to him as they think our Lord requires. This he soon followed with his Reasons for Withdrawing From the Newark Presbytery, the title page adding, ‘By Charles Fitch, Pastor of the Free Presbyterian Church, Newark.’ The Preface states that he felt called to preach the ‘blessed doctrine of sanctification by faith in Christ.’ He recognized that if he did not withdraw he would be excommunicated. So he states, ‘I do hereby withdraw from you.’ Thus he bade adieu to his Presbyterian brethren.” Ibid.

When Fitch explained his perplexities to Litch the latter said, “What you need is the doctrine of the second advent to put with the doctrine of holiness.” Fitch again studied Miller’s teachings comparing them with the Bible while studying all other available writings on the subject of the Second Advent. After pursuing this course of study for a time and reviewing the Lord’s leading since leaving Brown University, he brought all this before the Lord in fasting and prayer. He stated:

“When Dear Bro. Litch named the second advent, I went to the Lord; I read my Bible, and all the works that I could obtain. I possessed myself of all the evidences in the case that I could; and then with fasting and prayer I laid them and myself with my all before the Lord, desiring only that the Blessed Spirit might guide me into all truth. I felt that I had no will of my own, and wished only to know the will of my Saviour. Light seemed breaking in upon my mind, ray after ray, and I found myself more and and more unable to resist the conviction that it was indeed the truth, that the coming of the blessed Saviour was at the door.” Ibid., 537.

Having made his decision, Fitch threw all his energies into the proclamation of the advent message. He now found doors opening wide on every hand as he joined Miller, Litch and soon Himes, along with a steadily growing number of Adventist preachers.

“And now so soon as I was ready to come out on the Second Advent, the door before me was thrown wide open, and I have been wholly unable for the last 8 months to meet one half the calls which I have received. Wherever I have been God has been with me. Since the first of Dec. last, I have preached as often as every day and about sixty times besides. I have been in all the New England States, congregations have been large in all places. Wherever I have been I have preached holiness. My usual practice has been to preach on Holiness in the afternoon, and on the Second Advent in the evening. I have seen saints sanctified and sinners led to Christ.” Ibid.

While some rejected the message and turned against Fitch, many others accepted the advent truth. Among them were Dr. and Mrs. W. C. Palmer that wrote many advent hymns, including, Watch Ye Saints, number 549 in the old Church Hymnal.

One of Fitch’s most notable productions, at least as far as Seventh-day Adventists are concerned, was his famous “1843” prophetic chart (1842) with the able assistance of Apollos Hale, who usually attended Fitch’s church.

Fitch presented his chart to the Boston General Conference in May, chaired by Joseph Bates. Plans were laid to proclaim the “Midnight Cry” more vigorously. Three hundred copies were authorized for use by the Adventist preachers.

Fitch received more calls to preach than he could fill. Wherever he spoke, large crowds gathered to hear him. The following is his own description of a typical speaking trip: “I reached this place(Montpelier) at about half past twelve o’clock on Wednesday. I had then preached thirteen times in a week, and attended many prayer meetings and then at the end of it instead of taking rest I had had a most fatiguing ride of 75 miles. A meeting however was appointed for me here on the evening of my arrival. Accordingly I went to bed, and after sleeping two hours and a half, I arose exceedingly refreshed, and preached in the evening. The audience was tolerable for numbers—though by no means such as I had left at Claremont. Yesterday I preached twice, and the audience in the evening was much increased. The spirit of the Lord was present, and truth had power.” Ibid., 540.

Toward the end of 1842, Fitch carried the advent message to Cleveland, Ohio, and to Oberlin College near Cleveland. He reveals how the faculty reacted to his messages: “I have never seen the glorious truths of the Bible, teaching the kingdom and coming of Christ, met with more determined opposition, contempt and scorn, than they have been by the Oberlin Faculty; and never, in all my life have I felt such anguish at my heart’s core, or shed such bitter, burning tears as I have at their rejection of the Word of the Lord.” Ibid., 541.

In the spring of 1843, Fitch preached a sermon entitled, “Come Out of Her My People.” He “contended that Babylon was no longer limited to the Roman Catholic Church, as held back in Protestant Reformation days, but now included also the great body of Protestant Christendom. He maintained that, by their rejection of the light of the advent, both branches of Christendom had

fallen from the high estate of pure Christianity. Protestantism was either cold to the doctrine of the second advent or had spiritualized it away.” Ibid., 544.

“But Fitch did not have much longer to live and labor. He was in Buffalo, New York, in October, 1844, when a large number of new believers requested baptism. Others had not yet fully made up their minds. Arrangements were made, and the company who were ready went with him to the lake shore and were baptized in the chilly autumn water. A cold wind was blowing as Fitch started for home in his wet garments—for they had no protective baptismal robes or waterproof waders in those days. But just then he was met by another company of tardy candidates, on their way to the lake, who similarly desired baptism. So, cold as he was, Fitch went back with them and immersed them. And then came a belated third company who had at last made their decision. At their request he turned back a second time, and baptized them also. But Fitch was seriously chilled.

“Ill as he was from the effects of this prolonged exposure, he nevertheless rode several miles the next day in the cold wind to meet another appointment. This proved too much for him, and he was stricken down with fatal illness, doubtless pneumonia, which speedily brought on his death at the early age of thirty-nine. His last triumphant words on October 14, shortly before the day of expectation, were, ‘I believe in the promises of God.’ It may confidently be said that none of the Adventist preachers were more widely loved than Charles Fitch. Couragous and resourceful, helpful and hopeful, he interpreted the love of God in word and deed, in the light of the second advent, to the thousands to whom he ministered.” Ibid., 545.

Next month we will consider the other two prominent Second Advent preachers: Joseph Bates and Joshua V. Himes.

 

Aim High

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I know little about guns, but I remember that, as a child at home, we would occasionally shoot a BB gun. My brother, Ronnie, was the best BB shooter, probably because he practiced more. In using some of the guns that are available today, a person has to learn to aim a little higher to hit the intended target, because of the way they project.

So often, in this life, we aim low. We are afraid, by faith, to aim high. We may ask God, every day, “Lord, send me one soul to whom I may witness.” This is a wonderful prayer, and we should continue praying it, but friends, why not say, “God, I want more than one today; let me be Your witness for dozens or maybe for hundreds”? Why not aim high? If you ask Him for one, He can give you ten. If you ask for ten, He can give you even more! Do not aim so low. Aim high, because there is something better. The Bible says, “Without a vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18.) Without hope, we are a most miserable people.

If I did not have the hope of tomorrow, of spending eternity with the Lord, I would feel like giving up, at times. How about you? There are times when feelings and emotions flood in and circumstances overwhelm—circumstances that may make me say, “Why continue on?” But, you know, there is a hope instilled within my heart that keeps me keeping on. Then is when I know that I need to take aim, a higher aim, because that is what God wants for my life today.

In Adventism, today, it seems that we are perishing a little bit. I know there is good here and there, and I am convinced that, to the very end of time, the Holy Spirit is promised to God’s last day church. Now, think about that. The Holy Spirit is promised to the true church until the end of time. Where the Holy Spirit is, there things will be happening. There cannot be a lifeless church, if the Holy Spirit is there. There cannot be a church in existence that could be doing what God would have it do, without the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot do it alone. Men can work hard; they can have meetings, but without the Spirit, their works have no effect. Their efforts are not lasting; they will not take hold.

The True Church

It is easy for us to identify the true church of today. I do not say this boastingly, because God’s Word identifies it, for anyone who wants to open His Book and read about it in Revelation 12:17: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

It is easy to identify God’s last day, true church. Will it have a name written on the outside? I doubt it. But God’s last day people will be known by specific, identifying marks, and it is much more than mere lip service. If you have been raised in Adventism, you know that it is easy to have lip service, because you continually hear the gospel, if you are consistent in your churchgoing. But it is not until it is heartfelt and the born again experience is realized that it really takes root and holds real meaning for you.

To identify, in a very real way, God’s last day church, look at those around you who are on fire for the Lord. Look at those with whom the devil is angry.

In verse 9, it says, “The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” When reading verse 17, where it says that the “dragon was wroth,” or angry, we know, from verse 9, that the dragon refers to the devil. So, the devil is angry. He is furious. It is important to understand why he is furious. The devil does not really care whether or not you pay tithe. He does not care whether or not you attend church every week. He does not care whether or not you claim, “I am a Christian.” He does not care whether or not you witness. But he really becomes angry when you get on fire—when you want to talk about Jesus, when you want to tell others, “This is what Jesus has done for me . . . .”

If a church is working, the devil will be present to disrupt it. Where there is unity, he will cause disunity. He will use whatever means he can to upset the members. He will use little things, little differences of opinion that, I say, do not amount to a hill of beans.

Where do you think the dragon wants to work, and where does he work the hardest? He works among those of whom he is afraid, those who will rightly represent Jesus Christ, not just in word but in deed.

Woman Represents Church

So, “the dragon was wroth with the woman.” Some may wonder whom the woman represents. In the Old Testament, God compares the church to a woman. “I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate [woman].” Jeremiah 6:2. (See also Isaiah 54:5, 6.)

There will be only two churches at the end of time. In Revelation 12, Christ speaks of the pure woman, the pure church, the one that is like Jesus, the one without spot and wrinkle. Then, in Revelation 17, the harlot is described.

Godly Jealousy

When Scripture says, “The devil was angry with the woman,” to which woman is this text referring? It would have to be God’s true church, if the devil is angry with the church. God’s true church is not a building; it is not a ministry; it is not a conference church; it is not an independent church. The woman in Revelation 12:17 represents God’s people—we say God’s church—His true and faithful people.

God talks about the pure woman; then He talks about the harlot. He talks about His people when they are serving Him, and He talks about His people when they are in apostasy. He refers to those things.

The Bible says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God.” 11 Timothy 2:15. So, to help get this straight in your mind, read 11 Corinthians 11:2: “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy.” The word jealousy may denote the feeling that is felt by an apprehension of departure from fidelity on the part of those whom we love; or it may denote a fervid and glowing attachment. Paul loved the Corinthians, and he feared that they were in danger of being seduced from the simplicity of the gospel.

Do you realize that there is a difference between human jealousy and godly jealousy? Godly jealousy is a jealousy that has God’s honor at heart. (For example, see 1 Kings 19:10.) Our human jealousy is of the devil. “All selfishness comes from Satan.” Lift Him Up, 292. We must be careful to guard ourselves from such jealousy. Self is the greatest enemy any of us will ever have, because selfishness affects the choices we make.

If you ask someone, “Why did you do this?” he or she may respond, “Because I wanted to.”

“Why did you eat this?”

“Because it is what I like to eat,” he or she tells you.

It all has to do with self—even becoming jealous of someone.

Two Identifying Marks

11 Corinthians 11:2 continues: “For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ.” Once again, Christ refers to His church as His people. The devil is angry at the true church, and he has gone to make war with the remnant. The remnant refers to those few who are standing for truth just before Jesus comes, those few that are faithful to the end. Inspiration is quite clear that a very small number are going to stand the test. (See Last Day Events, 180.) A lot of people will profess Christ, but when the going gets tough, most of them will get going.

With whom is Satan angry? He is angry with those who keep the Commandments of God. You may hear churches or people say, “Let us not worry about keeping God’s Ten Commandments,” or “Yes, we believe in all of the Ten Commandments, except for the fourth one.” Dear friends, we must remove that kind of thinking from our minds. The Bible is very clear that the devil is angry with those who keep all of the Commandments of God. That is why the majority of the world does not keep them.

Do you see why the majority of the world today is living by situational ethics, in which absolute standards are considered less important than the requirements of a particular situation? The standards used may vary from one situation to another, and may even contradict one another. People think that in a given situation, something is all right to do, if they need or want to do it, even though it may not normally be okay.

Satan is mad at those who keep the Commandments of God. He likes for us to profess to be commandment keepers while breaking them in thought or action, because that is damaging to the cause of Christ.

Satan is also angry with those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ. What is the testimony of Jesus Christ? Revelation 19:10 tells us very plainly that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

If a group states, “We go to church on Sabbath,” that is wonderful, but they are still missing one of the identifying marks. In the Seventh-day Adventist Church today, if you hear a preacher say, “Yes, we keep the commandments,” but you see him and his congregation take their Spirit of Prophecy books and throw them into the trash can, would you think they are God’s last-day, remnant church? How may I be so bold? Because the Bible is so bold as to say that the remnant has these two identifying marks. That is clear for us today. It is easy to identify the true church.

What Motivates You?

What are some of the things that motivate you in this life? What, day by day, are some of the things that motivate you to do what you do? What are some of the things that motivate you to be a Christian? There are many Christians who are not motivated. There are many people who are not motivated to do anything. They just want to sit and do nothing or fill their minds with rubbish. A born again Christian will be a motivated individual. If we are not motivated, someone needs to encourage us to become motivated.

Grandpa Shelton wanted to know how motivated my brothers and I were when he gave us two shovels, on a day when we would rather have been out in the pond swimming, and put us in the grain bin to shovel corn. We were not too motivated, young as we were, to be in that old, windowless, hot barn, shoveling corn. But as Christians, we have to be motivated, no matter what tasks we are given.

One Step at a Time

One time, I was clearing glass and tin cans from under a house. In earlier years, someone must have used that spot as his or her trash disposal dump. As I shoveled and removed the trash, it was not long before I could almost stand up underneath the floor joists. But I began to get discouraged, because it seemed that the more I shoveled, the more trash there was. I knew, when I filled the five-gallon bucket and emptied it, that I was removing something, but there seemed to be more trash there. I said, “Something has got to motivate me here. I am getting a little discouraged.” Then a simple thought came to me: “If I take this one piece of glass, shovel it into the bucket, and then go empty the bucket, that piece of glass will not be here when I return.” When I dumped it out onto the trash pile, it was not coming back to be cleared again. I needed to realize that every time I removed a bucketful, it was one less bucketful I would have to take, and eventually the job would be completed. It would be done right.

That is the way it is in everything we do. We need to take each job, each challenge, one step at a time. It is that way even in our Christian growth. It is one step at a time, not a dozen steps at a time.

What motivates us in the spiritual realm of things? Maybe some of you are thinking that you do not really need to be motivated. But there is not a single person who, at times, does not need to be motivated. You will have a dirty house if you are not motivated, but perhaps your motivation to clean your house comes from knowing that you may at any time have unexpected guests. Most of you keep your house clean and your dishes washed, because you are motivated. No one has to tell you to do that. But when children are young, a lot of times the parents have to motivate them to complete their chores.

Definite Aim

The success in this life and in the life to come depends on being motivated, with a definite aim in mind. Friends, where do you want to spend eternity? What, in this life, would you like to see accomplished for God while you are here? Are you aiming low when you should be aiming high? When you are aiming low, friend, you are aiming for hell. You have to aim high, because God is high and uplifting. He wants to do great things for you and for me.

Drawing Power

Another question to consider is, What is the drawing power that has brought you to the present point in your life? Something has worked in every one of our lives to bring us to where we are today, but we are not to stay where we are now. God does not want us to become stale and stagnant, because then we are not motivated to go on or to go higher or to exercise more faith. God has another purpose in mind for each of us.

What is the drawing power in our lives? The power we each need in our lives is described in 11 Timothy 3:10: “But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience.”

Do you fully know the doctrine? Perhaps you have been cautioned to avoid attending a certain church or listening to a certain speaker, because all they teach is doctrine. We need doctrine! Doctrine is simply a teaching. If we did not have teaching, everyone would believe whatever they wished. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned, and we all need that spiritual discernment, that doctrine. Those who do not have spiritual discernment easily fall for erroneous teachings, simply because they do not compare “line upon line.” (Isaiah 28:10.)

God wants us to have good, sound doctrine, because there is truth. There is a truth about heaven and hell. There is a truth about which day should be held sacred and upon which we are to worship. There is a truth about the sanctuary. There is a truth about what happens when we die. There is a truth about whether or not there is a rapture. It makes a difference. There is a truth about whether or not the plagues are going to fall. There is a truth about probation, which is soon to close . . . and then what? These are truths that God has put in His Word. There is a truth that there is an enemy and that he is alive and well, working among the last day people who keep the Commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus.

The Purpose

If you wonder why people treat you like they sometimes do and why it seems as though everything you do goes wrong, maybe it is because the enemy has targeted you as someone he must discourage and try to destroy. He has realized that you love Jesus, and he is attempting to stop your witness. What is your manner of life, your purpose? We each have a purpose.

I keep a quote from Ellen White’s writings in my Bible, and I read it often; I am trying to learn from it. You may wonder why I have not yet learned it, if I read it often. Our problem is that we read something once, and we think we have learned it. But have we experienced it? Has it made a difference in our lives? We can read our Bibles from Genesis to Revelation, but what is the purpose? Are the truths we read changing our lives? We have to read with a purpose in mind.

The quote from which I am trying to learn is this:

“There is a counterfeit Christianity in the world as well as a genuine Christianity. The true spirit of the man is manifested by the way in which he deals with his fellow man.” The Upward Look, 66.

There is a true Christianity and there is a false Christianity, and we can tell them apart by how we treat our fellow man. Why? Because the motives are different.

Do our motives play a part? “Every action derives its quality from the motive which prompts it, and if the motives are not high, and pure, and unselfish, the mind and character will never become well balanced.” The Youth’s Instructor, April 7, 1898. Motives. Why do you do what you do?

Work From Principle

Sometimes, when you do not feel like doing what you know to be right, what do you do? Do you remember the motto, “Work from principle”? If you do not feel spiritual in the morning when you wake up, let principle motivate you; get your Bible and read it. If you do not really feel like praying, let principle motivate you, and begin praying. If you are tempted to skip church on Sabbath morning, let principle motivate you. I tell you, it works for hundreds and thousands.

Everything we do must be supported by high, pure, and unselfish motives. Do not do something just because your best friend wants you to do it, or your family pressures you to do it. Do it because, from the time you have devoted to Bible study and prayer, you really feel motivated to action. You really desire to do it.

If you want to be like Jesus, you need to daily behold the Lamb of God. Counterfeit Christians will not answer God’s call, when He calls them into action. I challenge you to remember that the true spirit of man is manifested by the way in which he treats his fellow man. What will you see in every person you meet in the coming days? Are you going to see the color of the skin? Are you going to muse whether they are wealthy or poor? Will you see a soul for whom Christ died—one whom He loves just as much as He loves you?

When we see each person as an individual whom Jesus loves, that person becomes valuable to us. That is what He requires of us. Unless we have the same kind of love for others that Jesus has in His heart for each of us, heaven will never be our home. Remember, every person you see is a person for whom Christ died; they are valuable. The world may not value them, but you and I should, as a child of God. If we do this, we will be motivated to labor and help where we can in times of need. We need to come to a point in our lives where we never meet a person whom we do not want to see in heaven.

May God help us to aim high—higher than we have ever before imagined!

Pastor Kenny Shelton is speaker for the television ministry of Behold the Lamb in Herrin, Illinois. He may be contacted by e-mail at: BTLM@GTE.net, or by telephone at: 1-800-238-2856.