God has set His hand to finish His work and you can see it—if your eyes are open. But have you ever tried to tell somebody something and either it was so wonderful or so terrible that they just could not believe it? Did you know that God has that problem?
God talks about this problem in Isaiah 29:14 the Lord said, “I am going to work a wonder among you and you are going to be astonished. Just pause and wonder.” Then in Ezekiel He said, “You think that it is going to be a long time before these prophecies are fulfilled but it is going to happen right now.”
Friends, what has happened before is happening again. That, which some people are looking forward to a long time into the future, is happening right now, and they do not realize it.
Watch, be Utterly Astounded!
This is God speaking: “’Look among the nations and watch—Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days, Which you would not believe, though it were told you.’” Habakkuk 1:5.
The Lord says, “Look! Look and see what is happening in the world.” Do you see anything happening in the world? Do you see any signs that we are right at the end? The Lord says, “Look at what is going on in the world and be utterly astonished.” Utterly astounded by what? Well, the Lord says, “I am going to work a work in your days—not a hundred years from your day, but I am going to work a work in your generation, in your lifetime. If I told you what I am going to do, you would not believe it.”
I wonder, can you believe what God says He is going to do, or are you among the people who are astounded by what they see, and they just cannot believe that it is really happening?
Habakkuk 1:5 is quoted in the New Testament. As you know, those of you who speak more than one language, a word can be translated more than one way into another language. I want you to look at this text in the New Testament because, when they quoted it and it was translated, they used a few different words.
Wonder and Perish!
Let us see how the apostles quoted it. The apostle Paul is preaching, and he is preaching especially to his Jewish brethren. He says,
Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware [Now, notice. Here is a warning.] therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you: ‘Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, though one were to declare it to you. Acts 13:38-41.
Who are these people about whom the apostle Paul is talking? He says, “Watch out that what was spoken by the prophets does not happen to you.” Then he quotes the text from Habakkuk, “Behold, you despisers. Marvel and perish!” Or the Old King James Bible says “…Wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.”
I want to tell you, friends, this verse from Habakkuk 1:5 was fulfilled in the life and times of Jesus, and it was fulfilled again in the life and times of the apostles. Now as the Jews looked out at the world, when Jesus was here, they saw that something was happening, and they were astonished by what they saw. They were astonished when they saw people who had been blind from birth who could now see.
Astonished, but not Saved
They had reports of an individual who had been in the grave for four days and was alive. They actually saw that person, and they got so mad when they saw him that they decided to kill him. They knew that something was happening. They were astonished by what they saw. But even though they marveled, even though they wondered, they were not saved.
That is what it says, marvel and perish, wonder and perish. They knew that something was happening, but they would not confess that God was in it. They said, “This Man is working miracles by the chief of the devils.”
They knew that something big was going on when the apostles went all over the world, and they saw the Christian churches arising. In fact, there were so many churches in the lifetime of the apostle Paul that he wrote to Titus and said, “Go and ordain elders in every city.” (See Titus 1:5.) Why did he have to do that? Because there was a church in every city.
The leadership knew that something was going on, and Paul was appealing to them, “Watch out that this prophecy does not come true for you; that you marvel, that you see something is happening, but you will not believe that it is the work of God. You say it is something else.”
Marvel and perish. Who are these people? They are the people who profess to be the true people of God but they will not accept; they will not cooperate with what God is doing in the world. They fight it. Is that not what the Jews did?
The Condemnation of the Jews
Now for some reason, I do not know why, there are some people who get upset when we preach about this subject. They say, “Please do not compare us with the Jews.” Friends, I must tell you that Ellen White compared us to the Jews over and over again. In fact, she says, “Let every soul be careful lest he prove himself to be among those who despise and wonder and perish, who turn from Christ in the person of His saints, and bring upon themselves the condemnation that fell upon the Jews.” Signs of the Times, May 26, 1890.
So, what is the warning? Well, she says watch out lest the very same thing that happened to the Jews happens to you. Let us look at this Scripture about the despisers who wonder and perish from the viewpoint of a very well known parable of Jesus. This parable helps us to understand what the apostles and prophets were talking about when they said, marvel and perish, wonder and perish.
In the Greek New Testament it says that Jesus told the Jews a dark saying, or a riddle, a mystical saying, and they did not understand what He was talking about.
A Dark, Mystical Saying
What was this proverb, this dark, mystical saying that they did not understand? It was the parable of the sheepfold. This is a very interesting parable, and it has many interesting symbols in it. It says:
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. John 10:1
The New King James Bible calls it an “illustration” in verse 6, that is a dark saying, a mystical saying, a proverb, a riddle. They did not know what He was talking about, so He goes on to explain. This is one of the most wonderful parables that Jesus told, because of its meaning.
…Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. John 10:7–11.
Jesus talks about the hireling and the wolf that enters in. He says again, “I am the good shepherd; and I know those that belong to Me and I am known by them.” And then He talks about laying down His life for the sheep, and He talks about there being only one flock, one fold, one shepherd. (See John 10:12–16.)
Then Jesus is talking to the Jews and the Jews surround Him and they say, “How long do you keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” (See verse 24.) Jesus said, “I have already told you and you would not believe what I told you. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. (See John 10:25, 26.)
Notice, these people were astonished; they were marveling; they were astounded by what they were watching, but they did not believe. So they perished.
…you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one. John 10:26–30.
Notice the symbols in this parable. We look first of all at the fold which Jesus calls the sheepfold. What is the fold? “The church of Christ is very precious in His sight. It is the case which contains His jewels, the fold which encloses His flock.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1118.
What is the Fold?
So the fold is the church. A fold is a place that has walls of protection around it. “…the church is very precious in His sight. It is the case which contains His jewels, the fold which encloses His flock, and He longs to see it without spot or blemish or any such thing. He yearns after it with unspeakable love.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 261.
There is, friends, a fold. Are you in it? The fold is the church. Now I meet some people who say, “Well, I want to go to heaven, but there are so many hypocrites in the church. I am just going to go alone.” There are a lot of people like that in the world today. “God has a people whom He is leading, guiding, and instructing. They must be subject one to another.” This Day With God, 295. You see, you cannot be subject to one another if you are all by yourself. Have you ever thought that through?
“If one undertakes to go alone, independently, to heaven he will find he has chosen the wrong path that will not lead him to life.…” Ibid. How many people do you know who have decided that they are going to go to heaven alone? They lose their way spiritually.
God would not establish the church if we did not need it. We need each other. We need to be helping each other toward heaven. We are not going to go to heaven all alone. Now, we need to be ready to stand alone at any time for Jesus, just like Daniel did, but we are not going to heaven alone.
God has a people whom He is leading, and if we try to go alone, independently, we will find we have chosen a path that will not lead us to life. There are many sheep today that are out of the fold. It is dangerous for a sheep to be out of the fold. We are not condemning anybody who is out of the fold, but we would still like to get them back in the fold. It is safer there.
Listening for the Shepherd’s Voice
“He came to help us live without sin. This He calls bringing us back to the fold.” The Story of Jesus, 77. What is it that draws us back into the fold? An eastern shepherd does not go to his sheep with a club to beat them back into the fold. That does not work. Sheep do not respond very well to that. They just get all confused and do not know where to go or what to do. In the East, where Jesus spoke this parable, they knew what He was talking about because we are told when he leads them out, he calls his own sheep by name. (See John 10:3.) As the sheep learn their name from the shepherd, they learn to respond and follow when their name is called.
We are living in a time when the true Shepherd is calling for His sheep to come back into the fold. Have you heard His voice? Are you listening for His voice? No one can return to the fold, of course, without the drawing of the Holy Spirit. “It is His love that encircles us, bringing us back to the fold.…” In Heavenly Places, 76.
The fold is where you belong. It is dangerous outside of the fold. People say, “There are hypocrites in the church.” Well, let me tell you, there are even more hypocrites out of the church. Are you in the fold? If you have strayed from the fold, would you like to come back?
Jesus said in John 10:16, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be [one fold] one flock and one shepherd.”
The Church Organization is Not the Fold
The fold is the church. Now there are some people who get a little mixed up on this, and they think that the fold is the church organization. Now, I believe in church organization. I have always believed in church organization. We have elders; we have deacons; we have church board meetings; we have church business meetings, and we try to conduct all of our business in an orderly way because heaven operates in order. It does not operate in chaos and confusion. So, we believe in church organization, but the church organization is not the fold. That is very important to understand.
Here is an illustration that will show that is the case. In John 9 the story is told of a man whom the Jews decided to kick out of the fold. He was a Jewish man, a member of the church, and they decided to disfellowship him.
Ellen White comments on the experience of this blind man. She says,
The sheep was cast out of the fold for being a living witness to the power of Christ. Many have been cast out of the church whose names were registered upon the Book of Life. Wolves in sheep’s clothing were ready to cast out of the fold and devour one who was entitled to the Lord’s pasture; but Jesus, the True Shepherd, sought him, [You find that in the last few verses of John 9.] and gave him a place within the fold. Signs of the Times, December 4, 1893.
I have pondered that statement many, many times. It says that Jesus went to this man, the blind man whom He had healed, and He gave him a place in the fold. We know that the fold is the church. Now I want to ask you, How do you think that happened? Did Jesus go to Caiaphas and say, “Look, I have restored sight to this man, so I want you to put his name back in the church book”? Is that how it happened? No.
In the Fold of Jesus
Well, then, what does it mean? It says He gave him a place in the fold, in the church. You see, the church is not what people think it is. It is not the church organization. The real books of the church are kept in heaven. Did you know that? I like that. That man’s name was written in the book and Jesus gave him a place in the fold. If you are a believer in Christ, if you have chosen to surrender your life to Him and follow Him, He will give you a place in the fold. The Bible tells us that “God is no respecter of persons.” (See Acts 10:34.)
There may be some church in this world that disfellowships you. The Jewish church disfellowshipped this man, but Jesus gave him a place in the fold. Notice, in John 10:16 He says there is one shepherd. Now some people cannot figure that out. What that means is that there is one chief Shepherd, and He has other shepherds who are under Him.
One Head of the Church
Peter talks about these under-shepherds who are appointed by the Lord to do His work; but there is one chief Shepherd. That is an important point to understand. People were confused in Jesus’ day, and people are still confused today about who the shepherd is or about how many there are. There is one chief Shepherd, every other under–shepherd is under His authority. According to the Bible there is only one Head of the church, there are not two or three. (See Ephesians 1 and 4.)
But now we come to a third point, and this one is exceedingly important for you if you want to have eternal life. “’To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” John 10:3, 4.
Notice, it says, “the sheep know his voice.” We are living in a time when there are many voices. Have you noticed? And the different voices are not all saying the same thing. Here is the question: Can you distinguish the voice of the true Shepherd from all the other voices?
Let me give you a tip on how to distinguish the true Shepherd’s voice from all the other voices. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (See Hebrews 13:8.) Since He does not change, since He is the same, if the true Shepherd speaks to you through any messenger today, what He says to you now will agree with what He said 2000 years ago; it will not contradict. Does that make sense?
The Voice of the True Shepherd
Many voices today are saying that all you have to do to be saved is love Jesus, just have a relationship with Jesus; even if you sin, it is all right because He will forgive you. Do not worry about it. But that is not the voice of the true Shepherd, because that is not what Jesus said in the Bible.
Jesus talked about this in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, “’Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Law till all is fulfilled.’” Matthew 5:17, 18.
What did Jesus say about the Law? He said that it was not going to pass away, it was going to stay the same. Ellen White talked about this. In 1895 she wrote:
The voice that magnifies the Law of God we recognize as the voice of the true Shepherd; but we know that those who would make of no effect the commandments of God, are false shepherds, who would exalt tradition above the commandments of Jehovah. Signs of the Times, July 4, 1895.
If the preacher, teacher, Sabbath School teacher, friend, brother or whomever you are studying with and listening to, magnifies the Law of God, that is the voice of the true Shepherd. But if they tell you, do not worry about it; the Lord loves you, and He will save you anyway. That is the voice of a false shepherd.
Jesus said until heaven and earth pass, not the smallest part of the Law is going to be changed. This fold has a door. Did you notice that? And that door is narrow. You cannot drive a truck through it. Jesus said it is a narrow gate, a narrow way, and He said we must agonize to go through the narrow gate.
Over the Wall
Some people say, “Well, I cannot get all my baggage through the door, so I am going over the wall.” Jesus talked about that, too. Do you know the voice of the Shepherd? The true Shepherd’s voice will magnify the Law. Unfortunately there are many people in the church today, even in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, who do not recognize the true Shepherd’s voice. They cannot tell the difference between the voice of Christ and the voice of a stranger.
The result is that the church, right now, is going through some dark times, and it is going to get darker before it gets brighter.
Dark hours of trial are before the Church because they have not obeyed the warnings and reproofs and counsel of God. What a bewitching power comes upon human minds to do contrary to the oft repeated will of God, and close the eyes and stop the ears, when Jesus is calling to them to hear His voice. He says, ‘My sheep hear My voice.’ The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 3, 1002.
Mrs. White talks about people in the church who close their ears and shut their eyes so they will not hear and see what Jesus is trying to communicate to them. Jesus is saying, “If you are My sheep, you would hear My voice.” What is going to happen?
The dark hours of trial are to come to every one as a part of his education for higher work, for more devoted, consecrated effort.… Before the great trouble shall come upon the world such as has never been since there was a nation, those who have faltered and who would ignorantly lead in unsafe paths will reveal this before the real vital test, the last proving, comes, so that whatsoever they may say will not be regarded as voicing the True Shepherd. Ibid.
Revealed
Now that is a very interesting statement. Did you get what it is talking about? Before the great time of trouble comes, those who would ignorantly lead in wrong paths, it says, the Lord is going to arrange things so that they are going to be revealed. That is why you see some of the strange things happening today. The Lord expects you to be learning from what you are seeing and hearing. Do not be like the people who are just astonished, and go ahead and perish.
Mrs. White says, “…so that whatsoever they may say will not be regarded as voicing the True Shepherd.” A time of trouble is coming, friends, and if you are listening to the wrong voice, you are not going to make it. Mrs. White said, “The time of our educating will soon be over. We have no time to lose in walking through clouds of doubt and uncertainty because of uncertain voices.” Ibid.
To whom are you listening, friend? There is counsel after counsel in inspired writings, and in the Bible, about people who used to be in the light but are not now. If you are reading the word of the true Shepherd, you know that what they are saying today is not the voice of the true Shepherd, even though 20 years ago what they were saying might have been.
They are revealing who they really are. Are your eyes open? Are your ears open? Are you comparing what you are hearing with the Bible? Does it agree?
The fourth point is, to me, one of the most interesting points in the story. Notice this sheepfold, this church in John 10, has a door, and the sheep go in and out through the door. Jesus goes in and out through the door. In verse 2 it says, “’But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.’”
I am the Door
But notice also it says in verse 7, “…Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.’” A double symbol is used here. Jesus says He goes through the door, but then He says that He is the door. This door is the same door that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 7. It is the narrow gate, a narrow door. Jesus says that He Himself goes through this door. If you want to be part of the flock, if you want to be in the fold, you have to go through this door.
Now let us think, for just a moment, about going through the door. Any time you go through a door, there is a time before you go through the door, then you are going through the door, and then there is a time after you have gone through the door and are on the other side. Does that make sense? Remember that.
Now I am going to ask you some questions. Was it always true, throughout all eternity, that Christ was a Divine Person equal with the Father? Yes. There are many Scriptures and many inspired passages to show that. Jesus said there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with His Father. He was a Divine Person. So, when Jesus says that He goes through the door, that could not at all apply to His divinity because there never was a time when He was not divine.
But let me ask you the second question. Was there a time before Jesus Christ had become a man? Yes, there was. You see, going through the door has to do with the divinity of Christ. He always had that. It has to do with the fact that there was a time before He went through the door and there is a time after He went through the door. It has to do with the humanity of Christ.
This is one of the major themes of the New Testament! Remember Jesus used to say you are to be in Me and I am to be in you? (See John 14:20; 15:4.) And a Christian is a person who is Christ–like. In other words, Christ is living His life in Him. Not the life of a god, but the life of a man, because Christ had a perfect humanity.
Going Through the Door
To go through the door means that, just as Christ united His divinity with humanity, we unite our humanity with His divinity. Going through the door represents a union of divinity and humanity. In order for Jesus to go through the door He had to unite humanity to His divinity. If He had not done that, Ellen White says there is no way we could have been saved. (See Review and Herald, December 30, 1909.) There is no way.
If He had not come down to this world and become one flesh with us, there would be no way that we could be saved. But it is also true that unless we become one spirit with Him, there is no way we can be saved either. We have to go through the door just like He went through the door. He went through the door by uniting His divinity with humanity. We go through the door by uniting our humanity with His divinity.
Peter talks about that in 2 Peter 1:3, 4. It says we have become “partakers of the divine nature.” Oh, friends, that is what is involved in going through the door and becoming part of the church. If you have not gone through that door, even if you have been baptized by water, you are just playing church.
There are some people who decide to get inside the church without going through the door. Have you ever met someone who said, “I am listening to what you are preaching. I see that I am supposed to keep the Law of God; you say I am supposed to keep it perfectly, and I want to, but I cannot. I want to overcome this; I want to overcome that, and I cannot do it; I have tried a hundred times.”
I do not argue with anybody like that because what he or she is telling me is the truth. But do you know why it is the truth? Because there is no union of divine power with their humanity. Do you know how long we can keep ourselves from sinning if we are not united to divinity? Mrs. White says we cannot do it for one moment. (See The Ministry of Healing, 180.)
Why cannot we overcome? People are looking for a new gospel, a new theology, a different way to get to heaven because they have tried and tried, and they cannot do it. They think the Lord is going to have to save them in their sins.
Baptized into One Body
The reason that the sheep cannot overcome is because they have not yet gone through the door. That is what baptism represents. (See Romans 6 or 1 Corinthians 12.) It says in 1 Corinthians 12:13 “…by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…” The body is the church, the fold. And we become members when we are baptized with one Spirit—that is the Holy Spirit.
Baptism by water represents baptism by the Holy Spirit. Romans 8 says that when you are baptized by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit gives the power to put to death the deeds of the body so you can overcome sin. You could not do it before, but the Holy Spirit will give you the power to do it. The only way you will overcome a besetting sin is through the power of the Holy Spirit. Are you asking for the power of the Holy Spirit to come into your life every day?
I hope you will pray about this and ask the Lord to help you to go through the door and not try to just climb over the wall to get into the church. There are a lot of people doing that today.
Jesus is the Door
There is not room to enter in at the strait gate and carry the things of this world along. He who would enter in at the strait gate must make an entire consecration of his all to God.… he who would carry the world with him, will never enter in at the strait gate. There is no room for one to walk the narrow way and yet carry along evil surmisings, doubts, criticisms, jealousies, and unkindness. Review and Herald, March 28, 1912.
Do you want Him to lay that aside so you can go through the door? Do you want to go through the door? That is where the safety is.
Oh, yes, we come now to some other people who are inside. Do not get discouraged about it, because the Shepherd is still watching over His sheep, whether they are outside the fold or inside the fold. When people become members of the church, after awhile they come to the pastor and they say, “I thought, when I became a member of the church, that it was going to be heavenly in here and that I was going to be with the saints. I am with some people that I cannot understand what is happening!”
Well, the reason that people have those kinds of experiences is because there are people in the church who did not go through the door. They climbed over the wall. Jesus called them wolves in sheep’s clothing. (See Matthew 7.) As I studied this, I found out that these wolves in sheep’s clothing, who are also called the blind leaders of the blind and hirelings, are the people specified in inspiration who will “wonder and perish.”
They will be astonished at what they see happening. They cannot comprehend some of the things that they see going on in the church because there are people in there who have not gone through the door, the thieves and the robbers.
Not Really Part of the Flock
Ellen White talked about these people. She said,
This strait, and self-denying path is too narrow for many to walk in who profess godliness. They want an easier path and are climbing up some other way. They refuse to follow in the footsteps of our Redeemer. Christ calls all such thieves and robbers. They take the name of Christian” [Notice, they have come into the church, and they call themselves Christians, and they are in the fold with the sheep.] which does not belong to them. This Day With God, 155.
In other words, they are not really part of the flock; they are not really in the church. They are in the fold but they are not really part of the group. Just like a person who does not go through the door into your house but climbs through the window. They are not part of your household, even though they are inside. There are people like that in the church. They are not part of the flock, even though they are inside, all zipped up in their sheep’s clothing.
They take the name of Christian, which does not belong to them, because they do not represent in their life the life of Christ. They claim the privileges which belong to the sons of God while they are none of His. They live selfish lives upon the earth and have done nothing for the truth and the salvation of souls as they ought to have done. Sad indeed for these self-deceived ones. They will never see heaven, because they are not willing to share the shame, the reproach, that Jesus suffered for them. Ibid.
…we should consider it the highest exaltation to be accounted a child of God, an heir of Heaven; and we should rejoice that we can walk with Jesus in His humiliation. But our Saviour assures us that there are some who would like to climb up some other way than the toilsome, self-denying way of the cross. They would avoid reproach and shun sacrifices. Christ calls such thieves and robbers. If we are not willing to breast the storm of opposition, if we choose to float with the current, we shall lose eternal life.” Signs of the Times, July 31, 1884.
Do not say, “I am too weak.” Remember, if you go through the door, you have Omnipotent power on your side. You could be the weakest person around; it does not matter. If you have been united to divine power, you are going to have all the strength and power that you need.
Thieves and Robbers
So who are the thieves and robbers? Oh, they are the Pharisees. They are the blind leaders of the blind. They are the wolves in sheep’s clothing. They are those who wonder and perish. They are in the church, but they are not actually part of the church. In Christ’s day, they were the leaders of God’s professed people. Ellen White says that these people are counted as true by many of their brethren but they end up being part of the synagogue of Satan. They are none of Christ’s and He does not accept them as being His own.
These people who wonder and perish are in the fold, but they end up being part of the devil’s church, the synagogue of Satan, just like the Jews in Christ’s day. (See Early Writings, 30.) They say, “We are God’s professed people” and Jesus said, “You are actually the children of the devil.” (See I John 3:10.)
The Lord has shown me that we are in just as much danger [of rejecting truth] in our day as were the people in the days of Christ. The Lord is speaking through His delegated messengers; but the same unbelief is exhibited. Men close their hearts against Jesus and hold themselves in the veriest bondage to Satan, supposing that they are preserving their dignity as free men; that they are maintaining their right to think and act for themselves, to believe or doubt; and like the despisers of the gospel in the apostolic times, they wonder and perish. Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, 283.
What is Our Danger?
What is our danger? Our danger is rejecting what God is doing in the world. We have leaders in Adventism today who say, “Oh, all these newspaper ads, you ought to just stop that. All this distribution of The Great Controversy, just stop that. It is not time now.” Well, friends, if it is not time now, when is it going to be time? Do you want to wait until you are in prison and then try to distribute it?
The Bible says, “wonder and perish.” I want to tell you this is not just about apostolic times. This is happening today! We have multitudes of professed Adventists today who are wondering; they are astonished; they see that something is happening—but they do not believe that they are going to perish.
There will be, even among us, hirelings and wolves in sheep’s clothing who will persuade the flock of God to sacrifice unto other gods before the Lord. We have reason to know how Paul would act in any emergency. ‘The love of Christ constraineth us.’ (II Corinthians 5:13.) Youth who are not established, rooted and grounded in the truth, will be corrupted and drawn away by the blind leaders of the blind; and the ungodly, the despisers that wonder and perish, who despise the sovereignty of the Ancient of Days and place on the throne a false god, a being of their own defining, a being altogether such an one as themselves—these will be agents in Satan’s hands to corrupt the faith of the unwary. The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 2, 484, 485.
It says they despise the sovereignty of the Ancient of Days. Well, what sovereignty do they want? They set up a false god. What is the false god? It is the same false god that the Jews set up in the days of Christ. The false god that they set up was their church organization, which they put in the place of God Himself.
Friends, it is no idle talk when somebody says that Jesus is the Head of the church. And watch out what Jesus impresses a group of people to do, lest in fighting it you be found to be fighting the Lord Himself. Let us get right down to the bottom of the problem. Seventh-day Adventists have been given the mission to take the Three Angels’ Messages to every single person in the world.
There is a Cross Involved
But here is the catch. Here is what keeps people from doing it. Here is why they are afraid to do it. It is the same thing as in the days of Christ. You see, there is a cross involved in taking the Three Angels’ Messages to all the world, because the majority of people will not accept it, and they will oppose it. Obviously, Babylon will oppose it.
In order to avoid going through the strait gate, enduring persecution, enduring opposition, we are in the time right now when the majority of Adventists are in the process (I am not saying it is final, I am not saying they cannot turn around.) of turning traitor to the Three Angels’ Messages because of the cross involved in promulgating it.
That is the bottom line. In Jesus’ day you could not be saved if you were not willing to take up your cross, and you cannot be saved if you are not willing to take up your cross today. It is not enough to know the truth. These people who were astonished, who were wondering and who have perished, they knew truth but they would not submit to it and follow it.
How is it going to be with you, friend? Are you willing to take up your cross and say, “Lord, I am willing to do whatever you want me to do to get Your work finished in all parts of the world.” Or are you just going to stand back and be astonished at what you see going on and say, “No, it is not time now, there would be too much trouble if we did it now. We have to wait for a different time.”?
Let me tell you, it is not going to get easier next year. It is not going to be easier in three or four years. It will only get harder. Do not be one who is astonished at what you see, but you do not have any part in it and end up perishing. Millions of Jews lost eternal life that way. Millions of Seventh-day Adventists are about to lose eternal life today. Do not let it be you.