cleasing

Bible Study Guides – Second Cleansing of the Churches, Part 11

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April 17, 2005 – April 23, 2005

Memory Verse

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4.

Suggested Reading: The Great Controversy, 607–612.

Introduction

As we continue our study of the trials and attitudes of the leaders and people of the second advent movement, we want to keep in mind the warning that they are similar to the experiences of the leaders and people at the time of the second cleansing of the temple during the first advent of Jesus. The warning is very clearly stated as follows: “We want to understand the time in which we live. We do not half understand it. We do not half take it in. My heart trembles in me when I think of what a foe we have to meet, and how poorly we are prepared to meet him. The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ—how the enemy sought every occasion to take control of the minds of the Jews, and today he is seeking to blind the minds of God’s servants, that they may not be able to discern the precious truth.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 406.

In our last lesson, we studied about the rejection of the Christian churches regarding the instruction God has specifically given to prepare them for the closing events of the world and the Second Coming of Jesus. In this study, we are going to focus in a little closer on the events and phrases used in connection with the closing scenes leading up to the close of probation.

1 What event is identified as the “second distinct call” in the time leading up to the close of probation? Revelation 18:4.

note: “When Jesus began His public ministry, He cleansed the temple from its sacrilegious profanation [John 2:13–16]. Among the last acts of His ministry was the second cleansing of the temple [Matthew 21:12–16; Mark 11:15–18; Luke 19:45–47]. So in the last work for the warning of the world, two distinct calls are made to the churches. The second angel’s message [first distinct call] is, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’ [Revelation 14:8.] And in the loud cry of the third angel’s message, a voice is heard from heaven [second distinct call], ‘Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.’ [Revelation 18:4, 5.]” Review and Herald, December 6, 1892.

2 In the reference above, what phrase is used to identify the message of Revelation 18:1, 2?

3 What message will continue to be emphasized during this same time along with the message of Revelation 18:1–4? Revelation 14:9–12.

note: “God still has a people in Babylon; and before the visitation of His judgments these faithful ones must be called out . . . . Hence the movement symbolized by the angel coming down from heaven, lightening the earth with his glory and crying mightily with a strong voice, announcing the sins of Babylon. In connection with his message the call is heard: ‘Come out of her, My people.’ These announcements, uniting with the third angel’s message, constitute the final warning to be given to the inhabitants of the earth.” The Great Controversy, 604.

4 What do the three messages identified in Questions 2 and 3 constitute? (See above reference.)

comment: We have now documented that (1) the second distinct call, Review and Herald, December 6, 1892; (2) a voice heard from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people,” Revelation 18:4; (3) the loud cry of the third angel, Review and Herald, December 6, 1892; (4) the mighty angel coming down from heaven announcing the sins of Babylon, Revelation 18:1, 2; (5) the final proclamation of the third angel’s message, Revelation 14:9–12; and (6) the final warning, The Great Controversy, 604, all refer to the same time period leading up to the close of probation. The chapter in The Great Controversy entitled “The Final Warning” is now seen to be a detailed description of the second cleansing of the various organizations that constitute Babylon.

5 What are the messages of Revelation 18:1, 2, and 4 also said to be?

note: “Revelation 18 points to the time when, as the result of rejecting the threefold warning of Revelation 14:6–12, the church will have fully reached the condition foretold by the second angel, and the people of God still in Babylon will be called upon to separate from her communion. This message is the last that will ever be given to the world.” The Great Controversy, 390.

comment: In this statement, “the second distinct call” is described as “the last” message “that will ever be given to the world.” Just as Jesus cleansed the temple a second time to remind the people that it was His work to remove sin from the heart, so the final call to come out of Babylon is the last call to the people to separate from sin.

6 How is the message of Revelation 18:1, 2 identified in this next statement?

note: “The latter rain is to fall upon the people of God. A mighty angel is to come down from heaven [Revelation 18:1, 2], and the whole earth is to be lightened with his glory.” Review and Herald, April 21, 1891.

7 In Early Writings another term is applied to this same time period. What is it? Acts 3:19.

note: “I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered, ‘It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.’ ” Early Writings, 271.

8 What event begins during the second cleansing of the Christian world just before the close of probation? Daniel 12:1, middle part; Psalms 27:5; 91:15. What promises are given for the people of God during this time? Psalm 91.

note: “ ‘The commencement of that time of trouble’ here mentioned, does not refer to the time when the plagues shall begin to be poured out, but to a short period just before they are poured out [Revelation 16:2–9], while Christ is in the sanctuary. . . . At that time the ‘latter rain,’ or refreshing from the presence of the Lord, will come, to give power to the loud voice of the third angel.” Early Writings, 85, 86.

9 What else are we told will take place during the time of the final warning? 11 Corinthians 11:14.

note: “At every revival of God’s work, the prince of evil is aroused to more intense activity; he is now putting forth his utmost efforts for a final struggle against Christ and His followers. The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight. So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true, that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures. [Isaiah 8:19, 20.] By their testimony every statement and every miracle must be tested.” The Great Controversy, 593.

10 The time of the closing message of the third angel is referred to as a time of storm. What type of storm is it? Luke 6:22.

note: “Yet when the storm of opposition and reproach bursts upon them, some, overwhelmed with consternation, will be ready to exclaim: ‘Had we foreseen the consequences of our words, we would have held our peace.’ They are hedged in with difficulties. Satan assails them with fierce temptations. The work which they have undertaken seems far beyond their ability to accomplish. They are threatened with destruction. The enthusiasm which animated them is gone; yet they cannot turn back. Then, feeling their utter helplessness, they flee to the Mighty One for strength. They remember that the words which they have spoken were not theirs, but His who bade them give the warning. God put the truth into their hearts, and they could not forbear to proclaim it.” The Great Controversy, 609. (Compare with Revelation 12:17.)

11 This will be a time of what for the people of God? Matthew 24:9; Luke 21:12; 11 Timothy 3:12.

note: “In this time of persecution the faith of the Lord’s servants will be tried. They have faithfully given the warning, looking to God and to His word alone. God’s Spirit, moving upon their hearts, has constrained them to speak. Stimulated with holy zeal, and with the divine impulse strong upon them, they entered upon the performance of their duties without coldly calculating the consequences of speaking to the people the word which the Lord had given them. They have not consulted their temporal interests, nor sought to preserve their reputation or their lives.” The Great Controversy, 608, 609.

12 When the storm approaches, what will many who have professed faith in the third angel’s message do? Matthew 24:10; 1 Timothy 4:1.

note: “As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. . . . Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them.” The Great Controversy, 608.

13 Where will Sabbathkeepers be brought to answer for their faith during this time? See above reference. Mark 13:9; Luke 21:12.

14 As the final warning is proclaimed by the servants of God, what will all the inhabitants of the earth have to do? Joshua 24:14, 15; Revelation 14:7; 13:15–17.

note: “Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers. Satan also works, with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men. Revelation 13:13. Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.” The Great Controversy, 612.

Bible Study Guides – The Second Cleansing of the Churches, Part 1

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April 10, 2005 – April 16, 2005

Memory Verse

“After these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Revelation 18:1, 2.

Suggested Reading: The Great Controversy, 603–607.

1 What message in the second advent movement is a counterpart to the second cleansing of the temple by Jesus? Revelation 18:1, 2, 4.

note: “When Jesus began His public ministry, He cleansed the temple from its sacrilegious profanation. Among the last acts of His ministry was the second cleansing of the temple. [Matthew 21:12–16.] So in the last work for the warning of the world, two distinct calls are made to the churches. The second angel’s message [first distinct call] is, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’ And in the loud cry of the third angel’s message, a voice is heard from heaven [second distinct call], ‘Come out of her, my people . . . .’ [Revelation 18:4.]” Review and Herald, December 6, 1892.

comment: A similar statement is recorded in The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 2, 725, 726: “When Jesus began His public ministry, He cleansed the temple from its sacrilegious profanation. Almost the last act of His ministry was to cleanse the temple again. So in the last work for the warning of the world, two distinct calls are made to the churches; the second angel’s message [first distinct call], and the voice heard in heaven [second distinct call], ‘Come out of her, my people, . . . for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.’ [Revelation 18:4, 5.]”

2 List four phrases from the following reference that indicate that the attitudes of the people of the second advent movement get worse following the proclamation of the first angel’s message.

note: “This scripture [Revelation 18:1, 2, 4] points forward to a time when the announcement of the fall of Babylon, as made by the second angel of Revelation 14 (verse 8), is to be repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the various organizations that constitute Babylon, since that message was first given, in the summer of 1844. A terrible condition of the religious world is here described. With every rejection of truth the minds of the people will become darker, their hearts more stubborn, until they are entrenched in an infidel hardihood. In defiance of the warnings which God has given, they will continue to trample upon one of the precepts of the Decalogue, until they are led to persecute those who hold it sacred. Christ is set at naught in the contempt placed upon His word and His people.” The Great Controversy, 603.

“At the close of His mission He came again to the temple, and found it still desecrated as before. The condition of things was even worse than before.” The Desire of Ages, 589.

comment: The above references are clear that as the condition of the church was worse when Jesus cleansed the temple at the second Passover, so the condition of the Christian world is worse at its close than when the second advent movement began in the 1840s.

3 What instruction was banished from the minds of the disciples that found them unprepared when their time of trial came? Matthew 16:21; Luke 18:31–34.

note: “Before His crucifixion the Saviour explained to His disciples that He was to be put to death, and to rise again from the tomb, and angels were present to impress His words on minds and hearts. But the disciples were looking for temporal deliverance from the Roman yoke, and they could not tolerate the thought that He in whom all their hopes centered should suffer an ignominious death. The words which they needed to remember were banished from their minds; and when the time of trial came, it found them unprepared. The death of Jesus as fully destroyed their hopes as if He had not forewarned them.” The Great Controversy, 594.

4 What identical condition does God say is occurring among God’s people in the second advent movement? For the Jewish type, see Hosea 4:6; 8:12.

note: “So in the prophecies the future is opened before us as plainly as it was opened to the disciples by the words of Christ. The events connected with the close of probation, and the work of preparation for the time of trouble, are clearly presented. But multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths than if they had never been revealed.” The Great Controversy, 594.

5 In the reference above, what two points of instruction are specifically mentioned that the multitudes do not understand? See Isaiah 33:14–17 concerning preparation for the time of trouble.

6 Describe the attitude of the chief of the priesthood and the leading men of the nation that finally led the Jews to reject Jesus and His work to remove sin from their hearts. Isaiah 59. (The Desire of Ages, 458, says that Isaiah 59 describes the character of the priests and rabbis.)

note: “When Christ came to speak the words of life, the common people heard Him gladly; and many, even of the priests and rulers, believed on Him. But the chief of the priesthood and the leading men of the nation were determined to condemn and repudiate His teachings. Though they were baffled in all their efforts to find accusations against Him, though they could not but feel the influence of the divine power and wisdom attending His words, yet they incased themselves in prejudice; they rejected the clearest evidence of His Messiahship, lest they should be forced to become His disciples. . . . It was the influence of such teachers that led the Jewish nation to reject their Redeemer.” The Great Controversy, 595, 596.

7 What spirit and attitude is manifested by many in the Christian world? For the Jewish type, see John 12:37–40.

note: “The spirit which actuated those priests and rulers is still manifested by many who make a high profession of piety. They refuse to examine the testimony of the Scriptures concerning the special truths for this time. They point to their own numbers, wealth, and popularity, and look with contempt upon the advocates of truth as few, poor, and unpopular, having a faith that separates them from the world.” The Great Controversy, 596.

8 What did Christ say about the undue assumption of authority by church and state over the consciences of men? Matthew 20:25, 26; Mark 10:42, 43.

note: “Christ foresaw that the undue assumption of authority indulged by the scribes and Pharisees would not cease with the dispersion of the Jews. He had a prophetic view of the work of exalting human authority to rule the conscience, which has been so terrible a curse to the church in all ages. And His fearful denunciations of the scribes and Pharisees [Matthew 23:1–39], and his warnings to the people not to follow these blind leaders, were placed on record as an admonition to future generations.” The Great Controversy, 596.

9 How will the popular ministry today respond when their authority is questioned? For the Jewish type, see Matthew 21:45, 46; 22:15.

note: “As the people go to their former teachers with the eager inquiry, Are these things so? the ministers present fables, prophesy smooth things, to soothe their fears, and quiet the awakened conscience. But since many refuse to be satisfied with the mere authority of men, and demand a plain ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ the popular ministry, like the Pharisees of old, filled with anger as their authority is questioned, will denounce the message as of Satan [Mark 3:22] and stir up the sin-loving multitudes to revile and persecute those who proclaim it.” The Great Controversy, 607.

10 Why are people today deceived, as were the Jews? 11 Thessalonians 2:9–12.

note: “Many are deceived today in the same way as were the Jews. Religious teachers read the Bible in the light of their own understanding and traditions; and the people do not search the Scriptures for themselves, and judge for themselves as to what is truth; but they yield up their judgment, and commit their souls to their leaders.” The Desire of Ages, 459.

11 Upon what foundation may all, both Jew and Gentile, safely build that will keep them safe through the final struggle over the Law of God? Matthew 21:42–44; John 7:17.

note: “In quoting the prophecy of the rejected stone, Christ referred to an actual occurrence in the history of Israel. The incident was connected with the building of the first temple. While it had a special application at the time of Christ’s first advent, and should have appealed with special force to the Jews, it has also a lesson for us.” The Desire of Ages, 597.

“Upon this living stone, Jews and Gentiles alike may build. This is the only foundation upon which we may securely build. . . . Our eternal safety depends upon our building upon the sure foundation. Multitudes are today building upon foundations that have not been tested. When the rain falls, and the tempest rages, and the floods come, their house will fall, because it is not founded upon the eternal Rock, the chief cornerstone Christ Jesus.” Ibid., 599, 600.

12 What was it that destroyed the Jews and will also destroy the careless and unrepentant sinner in the closing hour of the kingdom of grace? Luke 20:17–19.

note: “And what was it that destroyed the Jews? It was the rock which, had they built upon it, would have been their security. It was the goodness of God despised, the righteousness spurned, the mercy slighted. Men set themselves in opposition to God, and all that would have been their salvation was turned to their destruction. . . . So it will be in the great final day, when judgment shall fall upon the rejecters of God’s grace. Christ, their rock of offense, will then appear to them as an avenging mountain. The glory of His countenance, which to the righteous is life, will be to the wicked a consuming fire. Because of love rejected, grace despised, the sinner will be destroyed.

“By many illustrations and repeated warnings, Jesus showed what would be the result to the Jews of rejecting the Son of God. In these words He was addressing all in every age who refuse to receive Him as their Redeemer. Every warning is for them. The desecrated temple [Luke 19:45, 46], the disobedient son [Matthew 21:28–32], the false husbandmen [Matthew 21:33–41], the contemptuous builders [Matthew 21:42–46], have their counterpart in the experience of every sinner.” The Desire of Ages, 600.