The Law of the Harvest

The flood had done its work and the earth had been devastated. The ark had rested upon the mountain and Noah and his family stepped out to see the devastated wilderness before them wondering what lay ahead. The Lord spoke to them in Genesis 8:21 and 22 NKJV saying, “The Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.’ ”

The first principle of the law of the harvest is the principle of faith. Imagine how much faith it took for Noah to believe what God said. Every living thing, man and beast, had gone out of the ark, but there was still something very precious remaining in the ark: seed. What would they do with that seed? If they decided to eat it, they would survive for a while. If they planted it and it did not grow, the human race would come to its end right at that point. Would they believe God and bury that precious seed in the earth and believe that it would grow and provide food for the family, just as God said?

Seed was the most precious thing in the ark. Have you considered that no seed is sown in knowledge, but rather in faith? Today, the most precious thing in all the storage houses and warehouses of America is still seed. Automobile factories could close and all of the lots be emptied of cars; steel mills and textile factories could close down. In fact, all industries could cease to produce, and we’d still get along. But if there is no seed, then mankind is finished. The most precious thing in all America today is seed; without it, there would be no food.

Remember, seed is sown in faith, not knowledge, so every time you plant a seed you are expressing your faith that seedtime and harvest will not cease. California grows one-third of all the fruit and one-fourth of all the vegetables that are eaten in the whole of America. The state also grows one-fourth of all the vegetables that are eaten in the 50 states. Ninety percent of the apricots, dates, figs, grapes, lemons, plums, dried prunes, walnuts, broccoli, avocadoes, nectarines, olives and almonds are grown in California.

What would happen to America if the farmers of California lost faith in sowing seed? What if they thought seed was too expensive, not worth the investment unless they know it was going to grow? The government would get itself together, all the way up to the president, who would call the governor asking what is going on in California. The governor would tell the president that the farmers have lost faith in whether the seed will grow, so they won’t plant until they know for sure. The president would insist that the governor find a way to get the farmers to plant the seed. But just how do you prove that a seed will grow? There is absolutely no way to prove it.

Every seed that has ever been planted, has been planted in faith that seedtime and harvest will not cease. Early pioneers carried seed in their wagons across the country so they could plant it when they reached their new home. One man, an apple producer from the East, wanted to move out West. He had developed some excellent apples, so he took a wagon, covered the whole bed with dirt and planted the apple seedlings in the dirt. He nurtured them all the way across the plains, finally settling close to Portland, Oregon, where he started the apple industry in the Northwest that still thrives there today.

The second principle is brought to view in Psalms 126:5, 6 NKJV: “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” This is the principle of inconvenience. What this means is there is no easy way, no easy time, no easy place to sow a seed. If you’re not willing to accept the inconvenience, there will be no harvest. Seed sowing is not easy. Ask anyone who was raised on a farm and they’ll testify to that.

I remember well springtime on the farm. The tractor was used to work the fields, but the garden plot was too small for the tractor, so the soil had to be turned with a shovel or spade. Once the soil was turned, a rake was used to make it smooth, then you would use the hoe to make furrows in the ground. For tiny seeds the furrow would be shallow and once planted, the furrow would be closed by hand, with just a little dirt; otherwise, it would kill the seeds. The same process was followed for the larger seeds, but as you pull the hoe down the row, the furrows are deeper. Once these seeds are planted down the row, the hoe is used to pull the dirt back over to cover the seeds.

To plant potatoes, the potato is cut into sections with at least one growing eye sprout on each section. The sections are loaded into a bucket or a bag and carried down the row. To dig the hole for the potato section, you used a spade pushing it deep into the soil and rocking it back and forth. A section of potato is dropped into the resulting hole, the spade removed, and the dirt packed down over the potato. This is repeated for every potato section planted.

All that digging and turning the soil and dragging the hoe back and forth from one end of the garden plot to the other begins to make you feel all twisted around and makes your muscles ache. And burying that spade deep into the soil and rocking it back and forth and packing it back down with your foot only adds to the ache.

Planting tomatoes is harder. Tomato plants are delicate and must be handled with great care. If you were planting a whole field of tomatoes, you could use a tractor or a team to create the furrow, but you would still have to handle the plants by hand. Once the furrow has been made, the tomato plant is placed carefully into the soil, gently gathering earth around it with your hands. You then move on placing one plant after another into the ground.

It doesn’t take long to begin to feel that all this bending and standing is hard on the back and maybe a waste of time and energy, so you stay bent over until finally even that begins to cause an ache and you end up on your hands and knees crawling down each row until you just have to go to the rag box in the house and find rags to tie around your knees. Can you imagine the amount of crawling you can do working on a farm? Miles and miles on your hands and knees. There’s just no easy way to sow a seed. If you do not accept the principle of inconvenience, you will never have a harvest.

The third principle of the law of the harvest is brought to view in 2 Corinthians 9:6 KJV – the principle of apparent waste. “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” He that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly.

While teaching at Atlantic Union College, I decided to look for a small church not far from the college to do some seed sowing. I found one about 50 miles away in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It was a small church with seven elderly members. I took some students with me to the Haverhill Church to see if we could get something going. We gathered the members together and laid out our plan to do outreach in the community, maybe pass out some literature. But the members said they had tried to hand out literature about ten years before and it didn’t work.

Let me ask you, how much success would a farmer have if he sowed seed once in ten years? All nature testifies with a resounding voice on this subject. If you could ask an oak how many acorns it drops in one year to make sure another oak tree grows, what do you suppose would be its response? That tree might say 10,000 every year.  Friends, “He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he that soweth abundantly shall reap also abundantly.”

My wife had a rose bush in our front yard. I asked her how many roses she thought that bush typically produced. She said probably 100 three or four times a year. Let’s do some calculating. The rose bush produces four or five hundred flowers each year and every flower becomes a seed pod with at least 30 or 40 seeds in it. How many seeds is this one rose bush producing every year to make sure that another rose bush grows?

Count the seeds in an apple. I’ve been told there are eight. I talked to a man who had an apple tree in his yard. He gave it very tender care and said that in one year he got 52 bushels of apples off that one tree. If there are about 40 apples in a bushel, that’s more than 2,000 apples and 2,000 apples multiplied by eight seeds will make 16,000 seeds from that one apple tree just to make sure that the apple trees don’t die out. All nature testifies with a single voice and the principle of apparent waste dictates that you must sow many, many, many seeds.

There is a difference in seed sowing in the ground and seed sowing in human hearts. The ground stays there. You put seeds in the ground, and you can watch what happens. But you can’t do that when you’re sowing seed in human hearts. You can put a seed in someone’s heart today, but they may not stay put; in fact, you might never see them again. But that doesn’t invalidate seed sowing. Remember, the principle is of apparent waste, not of actual waste. It’s not wasteful to sow that many seeds because the seeds are being watched over by the Holy Spirit and the Lord has promised that seedtime and harvest will not cease.

The final principle is found in Matthew 13:1–8 KJV, where we read the well-known parable of the sower who went forth to sow. “The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto Him, so that He went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: but other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.”

One day at Princeton University a little white-haired man went to the blackboard and carefully wrote down, “E=mc2.” And he stood back and looked at that for a while and he said, I think that’s it. That formula produced the hydrogen bomb, the atom bomb and nuclear fission. Powerful, formula. I’d like to suggest that Matthew 13:1–8 contains a formula greater than that, the One=3030.

We will use the lowest factor that Jesus gave, the thirtyfold. Jesus said, the one seed that grows will produce thirtyfold. Take a piece of paper and lay it on a large table. In the center of that piece of paper make a dot to represent the one seed that grew. Around that dot make thirty more dots and that’s the principle of one equals thirty. But remember, this is to the 30th power because every one of those 30 seeds is a good seed. We’re ignoring the ones that are wasted because you scattered your seed like the seeds of autumn and so you have one good seed in every one of those 30 positions. Make 30 dots around each of those 30 dots. Now you have 900. And then you make 30 dots around every one of the 900 dots; now you have 27,000. Then you make 30 dots around every one of those 27,000 dots and you come up with something like 810,000. That is the principle of enormous power.

You may not see it because man doesn’t stay in one place all the time, so you have to go by faith; you have to believe that the Lord of the harvest has guaranteed that when the seed is sown there will be wonderful fruit. For example –

A Seventh-day Adventist lady had some tracts and while shopping at the little grocery store in the small town where she lived she said to the grocer, “You might like to read this” and she lay the tract on the counter. The grocer glanced at it, but wasn’t interested. When the next customer came by with her bag of groceries, he picked up the tract and put it in her bag. She got home and emptied the bag and said, “Where did that thing come from? Well, it’s some kind of a religious tract. I’m not interested in it, but my neighbor across the fence is a religious man.” He was out working in his backyard, so she went out and leaned across the fence, “Would you like to have this, neighbor? It’s a religious tract of some kind.”

“Sure, sure, I’d like to have it.” He read it. Long story short, he was converted by that tract and subsequently, not only did he become a Seventh-day Adventist, but he also became a Seventh-day Adventist minister. His name was Leo Wheeler and through his ministry W.H. Smith and another man named Ashton, came into the faith and they also became Seventh-day Adventist ministers. Through their preaching, a man named Charles Longacre came into the faith and became a Seventh-day Adventist minister. For years he was the Secretary of Religious Liberty in the General Conference relating to the congressmen on questions of religious liberty. Under his preaching two other men became Seventh-day Adventists and became union presidents and one of the men became the president of the Inter-American Division, and he brought in others, seven ministers, two union presidents, one division president and one general conference secretary that we know about, and many, many others we don’t know anything about. That’s what one tract did, just one good seed.

Some years ago, in Colorado on the western slope hill country, two young Seventh-day Adventist ministers went into a small town, pitched a tent and held evangelistic meetings. Attendance was poor. Nobody decided to be baptized. There were only a couple of interested ladies left behind when they left. As they made their way down the mountain, they felt defeated and discouraged even discussing going into other lines of work. They left that small town, but the Holy Spirit stayed back to nurture the seeds sown.

One of the interested ladies was Mrs. Johns. She had two sons, Varner and Alger. Those two sons went on to pastor some of our largest churches for many years.

A gentleman in the town was concerned about Mrs. Johns after she began to keep the Sabbath. So he took his Bible one Sunday afternoon and went to her house to straighten her out. It wasn’t long before he was keeping the Sabbath. He sold his lumber yard, got what training he could get and became a Seventh-day Adventist minister. His name was Vandeman. He had a son named George, George Vandeman. All of that came from what appeared to be apparent waste up in the hills of Colorado.

I had the opportunity at a northern California camp meeting to talk to Alger Johns. I wanted to verify this tent meeting story. Alger Johns told me I didn’t know the half of it. Between him and George Vandeman they were able to name 14 individuals who through the influence of that little tent meeting became Seventh-day Adventist ministers. You see the principle of enormous power goes on and on.

On a smaller scale, I am reminded of my own mother’s experience. She married my father, who was superintendent of a logging camp in Falls City, Oregon. One Sabbath afternoon, two boys about 12 years old, came to their door passing out tracts about the Sabbath. My mother took one. Being a very devout Methodist, she instantly recognized that it was mistaken and sat down with her Bible to prove it wrong. Before very long she was keeping the Sabbath and while that didn’t make very much difference for a while, by the time she died at 88 years of age, there were 30 of her family keeping the Sabbath. And because of her, through my evangelistic work, a few more than 5,000 people were brought to the truth. Some of them became pastors and have spread the message. All from two little boys handing out tracts in a small town in Oregon.

“The good seed sown may lie some time in a cold, worldly, selfish heart, without evidencing that it has taken root; but frequently the Spirit of God operates upon that heart, and waters it with the dew of heaven, and the long-hidden seed springs up and finally bears fruit to the glory of God.” Evangelism, 64.

Years ago, I was doing evangelistic work in the Hawaiian Islands. We pitched a tent on the Makaha shore. There were probably 35 persons baptized as a result of that series. But there was a young college student spending the summer out on the islands. He came to the meetings, talked to us a great deal and asked a lot of questions. I really wanted to see this young man serving the Lord. But he disappeared, apparently back to the States. I assumed I would never see him again.

Twelve years later found me teaching in the Bible department at Atlantic Union College in Massachusetts. There was an evangelist in Vermont whom I knew slightly. It was near Christmas one year when he walked into my office and asked me if I remembered a young fellow who had come to the meetings in Makaha, Hawaii. I did remember him, I said. The evangelist told me the young man was now a Doctor of Science at the University of Vermont. The evangelist related that as he talked with the man, he asked if this was his first exposure to the truth. The man replied, “No, twelve years ago I spent a summer in the Hawaiian Islands and there was a fellow named Larson who was preaching in a tent on the Makaha Reef and that’s where I first heard the Adventist message.” It took twelve years for that seed to grow. But that young man, his wife and their 12-year-old daughter were all baptized together.

By faith, we must accept the fact that God is doing something we cannot see, but one day we will see the whole harvest and we will be astonished.

We read in Christ’s Object Lessons, 38: “A sower from a higher world, Christ came to sow the seeds of truth.” A humbling work for the King of the universe to come to sow seeds in the hearts of men.

“Christ had come, not as a king, but as a sower; not for the overthrow of kingdoms, but for the scattering of seed; not to point His followers to earthly triumphs and national greatness, but to a harvest to be gathered after patient toil and through losses and disappointments.” Ibid., 35.

“The same laws that govern earthly seed sowing govern the sowing of the seeds of truth.” Ibid., 33.

Remember the four principles of the harvest:

  • Act in faith. No seed is ever planted in knowledge; it’s always done with faith in the word of the Lord.
  • There is no easy way, no easy time, no easy place to sow a seed.
  • Apparent waste. All nature says with a single voice, scatter the seed everywhere, the harvest is sure.
  • Enormous power. The Holy Spirit nurtures the seeds planted and they grow exponentially.

Dr. Ralph Larson completed forty years of service to the Seventh-day Adventist church, as pastor, evangelist, departmental secretary, and college and seminary teacher. His last assignment before retiring was chairman of the Church and Ministry Department of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Far East. Upon retirement, he continued his service, diligently working with and giving counsel to those within the historic movement.

Editorial – Harvest Time

One of the saddest texts in all the Bible is Jeremiah 8:20: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Do not let any preacher or religious teacher rob you of the inheritance of eternal life that Jesus died on the cross to provide for you by persuading you that you do not need to keep God’s law or that you can be saved without keeping it. The forgiveness that Jesus provided on the cross of Calvary is for sins that you have committed in the past (Romans 3:25, 26; Romans 6:18–23), not so that you can continue to sin in the future. Every person who receives the Holy Spirit will quit sinning. (See Romans 8:1–14.) The standard for the judgment that every person in this world is to face is the law of God. (See James 2:8–12.) God’s children in the last days will be obedient to His law (Revelation 12:17; 14:12; 22:14) and those who claim to be Christians and yet break God’s law will not be accepted by Jesus in the judgment. (See Matthew 7:21–23.) Don’t let the religious delusions of this age rob you of eternal life.

“All the inhabitants of earth are soon to meet the great Lawgiver over His broken law. There are many, many in the popular churches who know little of the real meaning of the message for this time. I appeal to them not to disregard the fulfilling of the signs of the times, which say so plainly that the end is near. O how many who have not sought their soul’s salvation, will soon make the bitter lamentation, ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!’

“When will men learn that God is God, not man, and that He does not change? Every calamity, every death, is a witness to the power of evil and to the truth of the living God. The word of God is life, and it will abide forever. Through all eternity it will stand fast. How can man, knowing what God is and what He has done, choose Satan’s way instead of God’s way? There is only one path to Paradise restored—the path of obedience.” The Signs of the Times, January 25, 1910.

Bible Study Guides – “The Day of the Lord Will Come”

June 4-10, 2000

MEMORY VERSE: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:10.

STUDY HELP: Last Day Events, 11–17.

INTRODUCTION: “We are living in the last days. The closing scenes of this world’s history, which our Saviour foretold would take place just prior to His coming, are now being enacted before us. Concerning this time He said, ‘As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.’ The inhabitants of the antediluvian world were utterly unconcerned, and at the appointed time the flood came and took them all away. Had they believed the warning given by Noah, they would not have risked everything by going on in wickedness. Notwithstanding their unbelief, destruction came. Unbelief will not change the certainty of Christ’s Second Coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 178.

“My Lord Delayeth His Coming”

1 About what common attitude in the last days did the apostle Peter prophesy? 2 Peter 3:3–5.

NOTE: “God designs that His people shall fix their eyes heavenward, looking for the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. While the attention of worldlings is turned to various enterprises, ours should be to the heavens; our faith should reach further and further into the glorious mysteries of the heavenly treasure, drawing the precious, divine rays of light from the heavenly sanctuary to shine in our hearts, as they shine upon the face of Jesus. The scoffers mock the waiting, watching ones, and inquire: ‘Where is the promise of His coming? You have been disappointed. Engage now with us, and you will prosper in worldly things. Get gain, get money, and be honored of the world.’ The waiting ones look upward and answer: ‘We are watching.’ And by turning from earthly pleasure and worldly fame, and from the deceitfulness of riches, they show themselves to be in that position. By watching they become strong; they overcome sloth and selfishness and love of ease. Affliction’s fire kindles upon them, and the waiting time seems long. They sometimes grieve, and faith falters; but they rally again, overcome their fears and doubts, and while their eyes are directed heavenward, say to their adversaries: ‘I am watching, I am waiting the return of my Lord. I will glory in tribulation, in affliction, in necessities.’ The desire of our Lord is that we should be watching, so that when He cometh and knocketh we may open to Him immediately.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 194, 195.

2 What is the real reason for this scoffing? 2 Peter 3:3, last part. Compare 2 Timothy 4:3.

NOTE: “The apostle does not here refer to the openly irreligious, but to professed Christians who have indulged inclination until they are enslaved by their own ungoverned passions,—‘led away with divers lusts.’ Such desire to hear doctrines that will not interfere with their sinful course, or condemn their pleasure-loving propensities. Hence they are offended by the plain words of the faithful servants of Christ, and choose those teachers who will praise and flatter them instead of rebuking their sins. These teachers ‘they heap to themselves’ as special favorites. Even among the professed ministers of Christ, there are many who do not preach the word, but the opinions of men. They have turned away their ears from truth. The Lord has spoken to them in His word; but they do not care to hear His voice, because it condemns their practices.” Sketches from the Life of Paul, 323.

3 How did Christ contrast two attitudes among His professed followers concerning His Coming? Matthew 24:45, 48.

NOTE: See Desire of Ages, 635.

“The Words Which Were Spoken Before of the Apostles”

4 What is the testimony of the apostles concerning the Second Coming? Titus 2:13; James 5:7, 8; 2 Peter 3:10; 1 John 3:2, 3.

NOTE: Every New Testament writer, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter and Jude, speaks about the return of Jesus. “The apostles went forth with courage and hope, to do their Master’s work with fidelity. They knew that the most acceptable way of waiting for Christ was to work for Him. It was theirs to direct others to the coming Lord, and to teach them to wait patiently for His appearing. This work was given to every disciple of Christ.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 3, 263.

5 Who was the earliest prophet to speak of the coming of the Lord in glory? Jude 14, 15.

NOTE: See Great Controversy, 299.

“A More Sure Word of Prophecy”

6 What time prophecy brings us down to the “time of the end”? Daniel 8:14. Compare Daniel 8:17.

NOTE: See Prophets and Kings, 547.

7 When were the prophecies of Daniel to be understood? Daniel 12:4, 9.

NOTE: See Great Controversy, 355.

8 What prophecy describes the opening of the book of Daniel? Revelation 10:1–11.

NOTE: “John sees the little book unsealed. Then Daniel’s prophecies have their proper place in the First, Second, and Third Angels’ Messages to be given to the world. The unsealing of the little book was the message in relation to time. The books of Daniel and the Revelation are one. One is a prophecy, the other a revelation; one a book sealed, the other a book opened. John heard the mysteries which the thunders uttered, but he was commanded not to write them. The special light given to John which was expressed in the seven thunders was a delineation of events which would transpire under the First and Second Angels’ Messages. It was not best for the people to know these things, for their faith must necessarily be tested. In the order of God, most wonderful and advanced truths would be proclaimed. The First and Second Angels’ Messages had done their specific work. This is represented by the angel standing with one foot on the sea, proclaiming with a most solemn oath that time should be no longer. This time which the angel declares with a solemn oath, is not the end of this world’s history, neither of probationary time, but of prophetic time, which should precede the advent of our Lord. That is, the people will not have another message upon definite time. After this period of time, reaching from 1842 to 1844, there can be no definite tracing of the prophetic time. The longest reckoning reaches to the autumn of 1844. The angel’s position with one foot on the sea, the other on the land signifies the wide extent of the proclamation of the message. It will cross the broad waters and be proclaimed in other countries, even to all the world. The comprehension of truth, the glad reception of the message is represented in the eating of the little book. The truth in regard to the time of the advent of our Lord was a precious message to our souls.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 99, 100.

“With Power and Great Glory”

9 Will the coming of Christ be secret or visible? Revelation 1:7; Matthew 24:27, 30; Acts 1:9–11.

NOTE: “Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror. Not now a ‘man of sorrows,’ to drink the bitter cup of shame and woe, He comes, victor in heaven and earth, to judge the living and the dead. ‘Faithful and True,’ ‘in righteousness He doth judge and make war.’ And ‘the armies which were in heaven followed Him.’ Revelation 19:11, 14. With anthems of celestial melody the holy angels, a vast, unnumbered throng, attend Him on His way. The firmament seems filled with radiant forms—‘ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.’ No human pen can portray the scene; no mortal mind is adequate to conceive its splendor. ‘His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as the light.’ Habakkuk 3:3, 4. As the living cloud comes still nearer, every eye beholds the Prince of life. No crown of thorns now mars that sacred head, but a diadem of glory rests on His holy brow. His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun.” The Faith I Live By, 349.

10 What sounds will accompany the return of our Lord? 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Psalm 50:3, 4.

NOTE: See Great Controversy, 644.

“The Harvest of the Earth is Ripe”

11 How are those described who are ready for Jesus’ coming? Ephesians 5:27. Compare Ephesians 1:4; 1 John 3:2.

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.” Great Controversy, 425.

12 What will happen to God’s people when Jesus comes? 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

NOTE: We are told in this verse that “the dead in Christ” and “we which are alive and remain” will meet the Lord together. The Bible does not teach that the dead in Christ meet Him at some earlier time.

“There appears in the East a small black cloud.…The people of God know this to be the sign of the Son of man. In solemn silence they gaze upon it as it draws nearer the earth,…until it is a great white cloud, its base a glory like consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of the covenant. Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror.…As the living cloud comes still nearer, every eye beholds the Prince of life. No crown of thorns now mars that sacred head; but a diadem of glory rests on His holy brow. His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun. ‘And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.’ …The heavens are rolled together as a scroll, the earth trembles before Him, and every mountain and island is moved out of its place. …Amid the reeling of the earth, the flash of lightning, and the roar of thunder, the voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints.…Throughout the length and breadth of the earth the dead shall hear that voice, and they that hear shall live.…All arise with the freshness and vigor of eternal youth.…The living righteous are changed ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.’ At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal, and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air. Oh, what a glorious meeting!” My Life Today, 345.

13 What are we told of the fate of those who are not ready to meet the Lord? 2 Thessalonians 1:7–9; Compare 2 Peter 3:10.

NOTE: See Great Controversy, 657.

14 What counsel are we, who look for Christ’s coming, given? 2 Peter 3:14, 1 John 3:3.

NOTE: “I cannot express to you the intense desire of my soul that you should all seek the Lord most earnestly while He may be found. We are in the day of God’s preparation. Let nothing be regarded as of sufficient worth to draw your minds from the work of preparing for the great day of judgment. Get ready. Let not cold unbelief hold your souls away from God, but let His love burn on the altar of your hearts.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 590.

“’I was pointed to the earth and saw that there would have to be a getting ready among those who have of late embraced the Third Angel’s Message. Said the angel, ‘Get ready, get ready, get ready. Ye will have to die a greater death to the world than ye have ever yet died.’ I saw that there was a great work to do for them and but little time in which to do it.” Early Writings, 64.

Bible Study Guides – “Prepared For the Lord”

September 24-30, 2000

MEMORY VERSE: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matthew 24:14.

STUDY HELP: Christian Service, 266–275.

INTRODUCTION: “It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, (2 Peter 3:12, margin). Were all who profess His name bearing fruit to His glory, how quickly the whole world would be sown with the seed of the gospel. Quickly the last great harvest would be ripened, and Christ would come to gather the precious grain.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 69.

“To Make Ready a People”

1 What is the purpose of our witnessing? Luke 1:17.

NOTE: “…the end is right upon us, and is it reasonable to think that there is no message to make ready a people to stand in the day of God’s preparation? Why is there so little eyesight? So little deep, earnest, heartfelt labor? Why is there so much pulling back? Why is there such a continual cry of ‘peace and safety,’ and no going forward in obedience to the Lord’s command? Is the Third Angel’s Message to go out in darkness, or to lighten the whole earth with its glory? Is the light of God’s Spirit to be quenched, and the church to be left as destitute of the grace of Christ as the hills of Gilboa were of dew and rain?” Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, 295.

2 What message is God’s people to give to the entire world? Revelation 14:6–12.

NOTE: “…in The Great Controversy, the last message of warning to the world is given more distinctly than in any of my other books.” Colporteur Ministry, 127.

See also Testimonies, vol. 6, 61 and Christ’s Object Lessons, 415, 416.

“The Sheep and the Goats”

3 What will be the outcome of the Gospel work? Matthew 13:30.

NOTE: “There are only two classes in the world today, and only two classes will be recognized in the Judgement,—those who violate God’s law, and those who keep His law. Two great opposing powers are revealed in the last great battle. On one side stands the Creator of heaven and earth. All on His side bear His signet. They are obedient to His commands. On the other side stands the Prince of darkness, with those who have chosen apostasy and rebellion.” Review and Herald, May 7, 1901.

See also Testimonies, vol. 6, 129.

4 How will the message of the Three Angels divide the people of the earth into these two groups? Revelation 14:9–12.

NOTE: See Testimonies, vol. 5, 455.

“His Wife Hath Made Herself Ready”

5 How are those described who are ready for the coming of Christ? Revelation 14:1–5. Compare Revelation 7:1–4.

NOTE: “One of the marked features in the representation of the 144,000 is that in their mouth there was found no guile. The Lord has said, ‘Blessed is the man…in whose spirit there is no guile.’ They profess to be children of God, and are represented as following the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. They are prefigured before us 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 will first have followed Him on earth, in trustful, loving, willing obedience, followed Him not fretfully and capriciously, but confidently, truthfully, as the flock follows the shepherd.” Selected Messages, book 3, 424.

See also Great Controversy, 425.

6 What picture of the church ready for Christ’s coming does Paul give? Ephesians 5:25–27.

NOTE: “One brother said to me, ‘Sister White, do you think the Lord will come in ten years?’ [I replied] ‘What difference does it make to you whether He shall come in two, four, or ten years?’ ‘Why,’ said he, ‘I think I would do differently in some things than I now do if I knew the Lord was to come in ten years.’ ‘What would you do?’ said I. ‘Why,’ said he, ‘I would sell my property and begin to search the Word of God and try to warn the people and get them to prepare for His coming, and I would plead with God that I might be ready to meet Him.’ ‘Then,’ said I, ‘If you knew that the Lord was not coming for twenty years would you live differently?’ Said he, ‘I think I would.’” Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 28.

See also Christ’s Object Lessons, 325.

“Whom Shall I Send?”

7 What sort of people will give the final message? Isaiah 52:6–8.

NOTE: See Testimonies, vol. 9, 107.

8 What sort of person does God choose for His work and why? 1 Corinthians 1:26–28.

NOTE: “We have before us a great work,—the closing work of giving the last warning message to a sinful world. There are men who will be taken from the plow, from the vineyard, from various other branches of work, and sent forth by the Lord to give this message to the world.” Evangelism, 48.

“…the Lord Himself will call men, as of old He called the humble fishermen, and will Himself give them instruction regarding their field of labor and the methods they should follow. He will call men from the plow and from other occupations to give the last note of warning to perishing souls. There are many ways in which to work for the Master, and the Great Teacher will open the understanding of these workers, enabling them to see wondrous things in His word.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 170.

“Unexpected talent will be developed in those in the common walks of life. If men and women can only have the message of truth brought to them, many who hear will receive it. Those of every rank of life, high and low, rich and poor, will accept the truth for this time. Some who are regarded as uneducated will be called to the service of the Master, even as the humble, unlearned fishermen were called by the Saviour. Men will be called from the plow, as was Elisha, and will be moved to take up the work that God has appointed them. They will begin to labor in simplicity and quietness, reading and explaining the Scriptures to others. Their simple efforts will be successful. House-to-house work will be done by men and women who will realize that they can labor for the Lord because He has put His Spirit upon them. As they go forth in humble faith, Christ will impart to them grace that they will impart to others. The Lord will give them the same love for perishing souls that He gave to the disciples of old.” This Day With God, 115.

“Times of Refreshing”

9 What promise of divine power is given to those who follow the light they have been given? Hosea 6:3.

NOTE: See Great Controversy, 612.

10 What work must be done now in order to ensure a bountiful harvest? Psalms 126:5; 2 Corinthians 9:6.

NOTE: See Great Controversy, 612.

“It is true that some who buy the books will lay them on the shelf or place them on the parlor table and seldom look at them. Still God has a care for His truth, and the time will come when these books will be sought for and read. Sickness or misfortune may enter the home, and through the truth contained in the books God sends to troubled hearts peace and hope and rest. His love is revealed to them, and they understand the preciousness of the forgiveness of their sins. Thus the Lord cooperates with His self-denying workers.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 313, 314.

“The Harvest Truly is Plenteous”

11 What prayer does Jesus call upon us to pray? Matthew 9:37, 38. (See John 4:35.)

NOTE: “We are not, as a people, sufficiently aroused to the short time in which we have to work, and we do not understand the magnitude of the work for the time. The night soon cometh, in which no man can work. God calls for men and women to qualify themselves, by consecration to His will and earnest study of the Scriptures, to do His special work for these last days. He calls for men now who can work. As they engage in the work in sincerity and humility to do all they can, they will be obtaining a more thorough experience. They will have a better knowledge of the truth and better know how to reach souls and help them just where they need to be helped. Workmen are needed now, just now, to labor for God. The fields are already white for the harvest, and yet laborers are few.” Life Sketches (1915 edition), 211, 212.

12 What promise of ultimate success in the Lord’s harvest field are we given? Psalms 126:6; Romans 9:28.

NOTE: “We need now to awake out of sleep, and to labor earnestly to warn those in the highways and in the byways. Soon the work will be finished, and now is our time to labor with intense energy and untiring industry. The judgements of God are in the earth, and, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, we must give the message of warning that He has entrusted to us. We must give this message quickly, line upon line, precept upon precept. Men will soon be forced to great decisions, and it is our duty to see that they are given an opportunity to understand the truth, that they may take their stand intelligently on the right side. The Lord calls upon His people to labor,—labor earnestly and wisely, while probation lingers.” Southern Watchman, April 16, 1907.

CLOSING WORDS:

“When the Third Angel’s Message closes, mercy no longer pleads for the guilty inhabitants of the earth. The people of God have accomplished their work. They have received ‘the latter rain,’ ‘the refreshing from the presence of the Lord,’ and they are prepared for the trying hour before them. Angels are hastening to and fro in heaven. An angel returning from the earth announces that his work is done; the final test has been brought upon the world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received ‘the seal of the living God.’ Then Jesus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary above. He lifts His hands and with a loud voice says, ‘It is done;’ and all the angelic host lay off their crowns as He makes the solemn announcement: ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.’ Revelation 22:11. Every case has been decided for life or death. Christ has made the atonement for His people and blotted out their sins. The number of His subjects is made up; ‘the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven,’ is about to be given to the heirs of salvation, and Jesus is to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.” Great Controversy, 613, 614.

Bible Study Guides – “He That Goeth Forth and Weepeth”

September 10-16, 2000

MEMORY VERSE: “From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?” John 6:66, 67.

STUDY HELP: Christian Service, 257–265.

INTRODUCTION: “…When we give ourselves wholly to God and in our work follow His directions, He makes Himself responsible for its accomplishment. He would not have us conjecture as to the success of our honest endeavors. Not once should we even think of failure. We are to cooperate with One who knows no failure. We should not talk of our own weakness and inability. This is a manifest distrust of God, a denial of His word. When we murmur because of our burdens, or refuse the responsibilities He calls upon us to bear, we are virtually saying that He is a hard master, that He requires what He has not given us power to do.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 363.

“Will Ye Also Go Away?”

1 What discouraging experience did Jesus have in His work? John 6:60–66.

NOTE: See Desire of Ages, 393, 489.

2 When was Paul’s witness not accepted? Acts 24:24, 25; Acts 26:27–30.

NOTE: See Acts of the Apostles, 425, 426.

“I, Even I Only, Am Left”

3 What picture are we given of Elijah’s discouragement and how did God treat him? 1 Kings 19:4, 9–13, 18.

NOTE: “If, under trying circumstances, men of spiritual power, pressed beyond measure, become discouraged and desponding, if at times they see nothing desirable in life, that they should choose it, this is nothing strange or new. Let all such remember that one of the mightiest of the prophets fled for his life before the rage of an infuriated woman.…Those who, while spending their life energies in self-sacrificing labor, are tempted to give way to despondency and distrust, may gather courage from the experience of Elijah.” Conflict and Courage, 216.

See also Acts of the Apostles, 23.

4 What lesson may we learn from the story of Jonah? Jonah 1:1–3; 3:1–5.

NOTE: See Prophets and Kings, 266.

“Leap For Joy!”

5 What response did Jesus recommend in times of persecution? Luke 6:22, 23.

NOTE: “Shall we, then, seek for the glory and honor of the world? I thank God that we must renounce the love of the world, and pride of heart, and everything which tends to idolatry, in order to be followers of the Man of Calvary. I present before you, my brethren and sisters, His self-denying life. Why are we so sensitive to trial and reproach, to shame and suffering, when our Lord has given us such an example? Who would wish to enter into the joy of their Lord while they were unwilling to partake of His sufferings? What! the servant unwilling to bear the suffering and shame which the Master unselfishly bore for him! Shall the servant shrink from a life of sacrifice by which he may secure eternal happiness in the Paradise of God? The language of my heart is, “Let me be a partaker with Christ of His sufferings, that I may finally share with Him in His glory.” Review and Herald, May 26, 1885.

6 What example of rejoicing in a time of persecution are we given? Acts 16:25.

NOTE: “In every condition of trial, we may have the consolation of His presence. We may live in the very atmosphere of heaven. Our enemies may thrust us into prison, but prison walls cannot cut off the communication between Christ and our souls. One who sees our every weakness, who is acquainted with every trial, is above all earthly powers; and angels can come to us in lonely cells, bringing light and peace from heaven. The prison will be as a palace, for the rich in faith dwell there; and the gloomy walls will be lighted up with heavenly light, as when Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises at midnight in the Philippian prison. Bunyan was confined in Bedford jail; and thence issued a light that has illuminated the pathway to the celestial city.” Gospel Workers, (1892 edition.) 424, 425.

“Jesus Christ and Him Crucified”

7 What approach did Paul use in witnessing to the philosophers of Athens and with what result? Acts 17:22–34.

NOTE: See Acts of the Apostles, 235, 236.

8 What lesson did Paul learn from his experience at Athens? 1 Corinthians 2:1–4.

NOTE: See Acts of the Apostles, 244.

“Because of Your Unbelief”

9 What failure did the disciples experience and for what reason? Matthew 17:14–21.

NOTE: See Desire of Ages, 431.

10 What results will follow the exercise of faith? Acts 11:24.

NOTE: “This is the science of the gospel. The Scripture declares, ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God.’ The knowledge of what the Scripture means when urging upon us the necessity of cultivating faith, is more essential than any other knowledge that can be acquired. We suffer much trouble and grief because of our unbelief, and our ignorance of how to exercise faith. We must break through the clouds of unbelief. We can not have a healthy Christian experience, we can not obey the gospel unto salvation, until the science of faith is better understood, and until more faith is exercised. There can be no perfection of Christian character without that faith that works by love, and purifies the soul.” Review and Herald, October 18, 1898.

“Bringing His Sheaves With Him”

11 When our witness is rejected, whom are men really rejecting? 1 Samuel 8:7.

NOTE: “True missionary work can be done only in the spirit of the first Missionary who visited our world. He was often in prayer to His Father, and at times presented His petitions with strong crying and tears, pleading that the power of God might save those who knew not that they needed salvation. We must have the spirit that actuated Christ, that led Him to entreat and persuade the rebellious to come unto Him. Even when men turn away from us in hardness of heart, refusing the gift of eternal life, we are to imitate the example of Christ. He did not look with indifference upon those who slighted and rejected Him.” Review and Herald, July 4, 1893.

12 What promise of ultimate success is given to those who work in the Lord’s harvest? Psalms 126:5, 6.

NOTE: “Those who are impressed to enter the work, whether in the home field or in the regions beyond, are to go forward in the name of the Lord. If they depend on God for grace and strength, they will succeed. At the beginning their work may be small, but if they follow the Lord’s plans, it will enlarge. God lives. He will work for the unselfish, self-sacrificing laborer, whoever and wherever he may be.” Christian Service, 258. See also Ministry of Healing, 150.

“Those who become co-laborers with God will increase in moral and spiritual power, while those who devote their time and energies to serving themselves will dwarf, and wither, and die. Christian women, the youth, the middle-aged, and those of advanced years, may have a part in the work of God for this time; and in engaging in this work as they have opportunity, they will obtain an experience of the highest value to themselves. In forgetfulness of self, they will grow in grace. By training the mind in this direction, they will learn how to bear burdens for Jesus, and will realize the blessedness of the service. And soon the time will come when ‘they that sow in tears shall reap in joy.’” Signs of the Times, September 16, 1886.

The Great Feasts of the Bible — The Harvest Feast

The feasts in the sacrificial system all symbolized important events in the plan of salvation. The first feast, Passover, was intended to reveal, in miniature, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The second feast was called Pentecost, and was a type of Christ’s resurrection. It was a pledge that all who died in the faith of the atoning sacrifice would be resurrected to eternal life when Jesus comes the second time. The third feast, which is called the Feast of the Harvest, was to portray the glorious celebration that will soon take place when the wedding between Christ and His church is finally consummated.

“In the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a Sabbath and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees and the willow of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generation: Ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days.” Leviticus 23:39–43.

“The Feast of the Tabernacles was not only commemorative but typical. It not only pointed back to the wilderness sojourn, but, as the Feast of the Harvest, it celebrated the ingathering of the fruits of the earth, and pointed forward to the great day of final ingathering, when the Lord of the harvest shall send forth His reapers to gather the tares together in bundles for the fire, and to gather the wheat into His garner. At that time the wicked will all be destroyed. They will become ‘as though they had not been.’ Obadiah 16. And every voice in the whole universe will unite in joyful praise to God, says the revelator. ‘Every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory. and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.’ Revelation 5:13.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 541.

In order to comprehend how this feast will affect you and me, we must understand the preparations being made which began the moment the Christian church was born. Christ commanded, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:19, 20.

To obey this command a divine power was needed, by His church, so that it could shake the world. Remember that God never gives a command without providing the power. “The Pentecostal outpouring was heaven’s communication that the Redeemer’s inauguration was accomplished.” Acts of the Apostles, 39. Pentecost provided the church with power so that it could give the gospel to the whole world in one generation. “The commission that Christ gave to the disciples, they fulfilled. As these messengers of the cross went forth to proclaim the gospel, there was such a revelation of the glory of God as had never before been witnessed by mortal man. By the cooperation of the divine spirit, the apostles did a work that shook the world. To every nation was the gospel carried in a single generation.” Ibid., 593.

Imagine unlearned men becoming mighty in the truth as they were filled with the Holy Ghost. They were anointed with divine power and could speak fluently their mother tongue. But more, “They could now proclaim the truths of the gospel abroad, speaking with accuracy the languages of those for whom they were laboring. This miraculous gift was a strong evidence to the world that their commission bore the signet of heaven. From this time forth the language of the disciples was pure, simple, and accurate, whether they spoke in their native tongue or in a foreign language.” Ibid., 40.

This will happen again during the Loud Cry when Pentecost will be repeated with even greater power. “It is with earnest longing that I look forward to the time when the events of the day of Pentecost shall be repeated with even greater power than on that occasion. John says, ‘I saw another angel come from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.’ Then, as at the Pentecostal season, the people will hear the truths spoken to them, every man in his own tongue. God can breath new life into every soul that sincerely desires to serve Him, and can touch the lips with a live coal from off the altar, and cause them to become eloquent with His praise. Thousands of voices will be imbued with the power to speak forth the wonderful truths of God’s word. The stammering tongue will be unloosened, and the timid will be made strong to bear courageous testimony to the truth. May the Lord help His people to cleanse the soul temple from every defilement, and to maintain such a close connection with Him that they may be partakers of the Latter Rain when it shall be poured out.” The Review and Herald, July 20, 1886.

Those humble disciples at Pentecost became submerged in the depths of God’s love. They believed that their Saviour was alive and that He alone possessed the keys to hell and death. This gospel of the crucified and risen Saviour electrified their every action. Jehovah was their God, His honor their honor, and His trust their trust. God anointed such surrender with heavenly oil, which made it possible for them to preach the gospel with such power. “Priests and rulers trembled. Conviction and anguish seized the people. ‘They were pricked in their heart, and said . . . Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ . . . The traditions and superstitions inculcated by the priests were swept away from their minds, and the teachings of the Saviour were accepted.” The Acts of the Apostles, 43, 44.

 

History of the Church Prophesied

 

Divine prophecy portrayed step by step the outcome of this work, as outlined in the seven seals of Revelation 6. Here, the Christian church is described from Pentecost to the final harvest. “And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” Revelation 6:2. A white horse reveals the purity of the gospel maintained by men who knew it by personal experience with Jesus. They could say: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life.” 1 John 1:1. For sixty-nine years, from A.D. 31 to 100 A.D., the Christian church went forth conquering and to conquer.

“And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.” Revelation 6:4. Here we see the mystery of iniquity infiltrating the Christian church, while it was still in its infancy. Thus its purity, represented by white, slowly changes to red as the union of church and state comes into being.

“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” Revelation 6:5, 6.

Black portrays the depth of apostasy that took place during Papal control from 325 to 538 A.D. Paganism was merged with “Christianity:” “Confiding then in the power of Christianity to resist the infection of evil and to transmute the very instruments and appendages of demon worship to an evangelical use, the rulers of the church were prepared to adopt, to imitate or sanction the existing rites and customs of the populace as well as the philosophy of the educated class. We are told by Josephus and Constantine in order to recommend the new religion to the heathen transferred into it, the outward ornaments to which they had been accustomed, the use of temples and these dedicated to particular saints and ornamented on occasion with branches of trees, incense, lamps and candles, votive offerings on recovery from illness, holy water, asylums, holy days and seasons, use of calendars, possessions, blessings on the field, sacerdotal vestments, the touchier, the shaving of the head, the ring in marriage, turning to the east, images at a later date, perhaps the ecclesiastical chant are all of pagan origin and sanctified by their adoption into the church.” John Henry Newman, The Development of Christian Doctrine, 371–373.

“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” Revelation 6:8.

“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, Holy and True, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” Revelation 6:9, 10. This is a description of the Dark Ages, from 538 to 1798 A.D.

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.” Revelation 6:12, 13.

In fulfillment of this prophecy, the great Lisbon earthquake took place on November 1, 1755. This was the mightiest earthquake ever recorded in history. Next there was a dark day on May 17, 1780. That very night the moon appeared as blood. Finally the falling of the stars took place on November 13, 1833.

The next event prophesied is the Second Coming of Christ. “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Revelation 6:14–17.

 

Silence in Heaven

 

“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” Revelation 8:1. Since a day equals one year in prophetic time, and a day contains twenty-four hours, one hour would represent about fifteen days, and half an hour would be about seven days. This silence in heaven for about seven days, will be when Christ is coming in the clouds of heaven with all His angels to gather His saints. The Feast of the Harvest was also to last seven days. So, you can easily see from both the Old and the New Testament that the event of Christ’s Second Coming will require about seven days.

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written that no man knew, but He himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:11–16.

In this harvest process, the angels will gather the remnant saints who are living and the resurrected saints who have been resurrected, making possible a glorious celebration of the final harvest feast. Seven days are set apart by God for this occasion. “Ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days.” Leviticus 23:39.

“The feast of the harvest celebrated the ingathering of the fruits of the earth, and pointed forward to the great day of final ingathering, when the Lord of the harvest shall send forth His reapers to gather the tares together in bundles for the fire, and to gather the wheat into His garner.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 541.

The whole universe will participate in this celebration. Do we plan to participate in this thrilling event? If so, there are some serious preparations that we must make now; for probation ends a short time before the appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. When this moment arrives, Christ will pronounce that, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I come quickly and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Revelation 22:11, 12.

What will be taking place on the earth at this time? “The righteous and the wicked will still be living upon the earth in their mortal state—men will be planting and building; eating and drinking, all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision has been pronounced in the sanctuary above.” The Great Controversy, 491.

Seven days before the flood Noah and his family entered the ark. Then, God shut him in and shut the ungodly out. For seven days the people, not knowing that their doom was fixed, continued their careless, pleasure-loving lives and mocked the warnings of impending judgment. “So,” says the Savior, “shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.”

“Watch ye therefore: . . . lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping.” Mark 13:35, 36. “Perilous is the condition of those who, growing weary of their watch, turn to the attractions of the world. While the man of business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the pleasure lover is seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion is arranging her adornments—it may be in that hour the Judge of all earth will pronounce the sentence: ‘Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.’ Daniel 5:27.” The Great Controversy, 491.

 

Protection from Deception

 

We thank God that He has not left us helpless, He has unmasked Satan’s final moves. “Satan is now using every device in this sealing time to keep the minds of God’s people from the present truth and to cause them to waver. I saw a covering that God was drawing over His people to protect them in the time of trouble; and every soul that was decided on the truth and was pure in heart was to be covered with the covering of the Almighty.

“Satan knew this, and he was at work in mighty power to keep the minds of as many people as he possibly could wavering and unsettled on the truth . . . I saw that Satan was working through agents in a number of ways. He was at work through ministers who have rejected the truth and are given over to strong delusions to believe a lie that they might be damned. While they were preaching or praying, some would fall prostrate and helpless, not by the power of the Holy Ghost, but by the power of Satan breathed upon these agents, and through them to the people. While preaching, praying, or conversing, some professed Adventists who have rejected present truth used mesmerism to gain adherents, and the people would rejoice in this influence, for they thought it was the Holy Ghost.” Early Writings, 43.

We see this happening in the churches of Babylon today, but how sad to learn that this false revival will take place in some of our Adventist churches also. “I saw that Satan was at work in these ways to distract, deceive, and draw away God’s people, just now in the sealing time. I saw some who are not standing stiffly for present truth. Their knees were trembling, and their feet sliding, because they were not firmly planted on the truth, and the covering of the Almighty God could not be drawn over them while they were thus trembling.” Early Writings, 44.

In order to be protected during this time, we must be covered by God. We are told that this covering of the Almighty consists of two garments: the righteousness of justification, which is imputed and the righteousness of sanctification, which is imparted. If we are to participate in the wedding activities, each of us must put on this wedding garment.

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And He said unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” Revelation 19:7–9.

God calls this experience the sealing process. Under the power of the latter rain, the daily struggle to overcome sin will finally be realized and our characters will become like Christ. We will be sealed and enrobed in Christ’s righteousness, making it possible for the angels to separate the wheat from the tares. Then the angels will gather the sealed saints to the wedding with their Saviour to be united with Christ for eternity. When this has happened, the greatest Harvest Celebration will be held throughout the universe.

Let your mind imagine what this tremendous occasion will be like. We will meet loved ones again, who have been separated from us by death for years, nevermore to part. Our guardian angels will tell us of the many times we have been saved from the power of destroying angels. Imagine sitting down with Bible characters such as Peter, Abraham, David, Moses and Noah, Adam and Eve, and listening to the thrilling stories of their salvation? Can you fathom beholding a city three hundred seventy-five miles square with streets of pure gold and little children spreading their wings to fly to the top of the transparent walls? Can you conceive what it will be like to have the eternal vigor of youth never again to experience sickness, pain or death? What a thrill it will be to eat of the tree of life, and to drink from the river of life.

Have you ever dreamed what it will be like to take the hand of Jesus? And to see and feel the marks of the crucifixion and to look into that face of love and be invited to sit with Him on His throne? You will never cease to praise His holy name. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. Let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17

 

Children’s Corner — Trapped

When I was eight years old I lived with my family on a farm in Nebraska. My favorite time of the year was harvesttime. At harvesttime, the leaves on the trees were yellow, and the air was fresh and chilly and scented with the smell of freshly harvested grain. My brother Nathan and I loved to ride with our Dad in the big combine as he went back and forth, down the rows in the field, harvesting the corn. The golden pile of corn grew as more corn streamed into the combine’s holding bin. When that was full Dad would empty the load into a grain cart that was pulled by a tractor. From there it was moved into a large grain trailer and finally into the huge grain bin.

 

Most fun of all was when Dad would let Nathan and me play in the grain trailer full of corn. We would jump from the sides, and slide down into the corn. What fun!

 

One day, when Dad was out in the field, Nathan and I decided we were going to play in the grain trailer. This time though, the corn in the grain trailer was being augured into the grain bin, where it would be stored for the winter. That means that the corn flowed through a trap door at the bottom of the grain trailer, and was then carried up to the grain bin by a piece of equipment called an auger.

 

We were having a wonderful time, jumping into the corn, and then climbing out before the corn pulled us down very far. In and out we went for a while until we were ready for something new. My brother decided that it would be fun if, when I jumped into the corn, he would hold me there for just a minute and then pull me out. And that is what he did.

 

Unfortunately, the pull of the corn was much stronger than he had imagined. It pulled me down, and down. When he tried to pull me out, I just sunk down deeper. Very quickly I was being buried in the corn. In seconds the corn was over my waist, then it was up around my shoulders. Both of us were really scared by now. Nathan tried as hard as he could to dig me out, but the pull of the corn was too strong. I felt the corn coming up—it was right around my face. Nathan shoveled with his hands as fast as he could to keep the corn from covering up my head so that I could breathe.

 

He started calling to my Grandfather, to stop the auger, but the machines were so loud that he could not hear. We screamed as loudly as we could, and finally, after what seemed like a very long time, the auger stopped. My Grandfather quickly climbed up the ladder of the grain trailer to see what was the matter.

 

I can still remember his look of fear at that moment. He and my brother started digging me out of the corn. Now that the corn was not pulling me down anymore it was not difficult, and soon I was out, safe and sound.

 

You know, our sins are like the corn in that grain cart. The devil tempts us to do wrong, and if we sin we start sinking. We might think that a sin is so small that it will not hurt us, but each time we sin we sink a little deeper. We become trapped in a pit of sin.

 

Jesus is like my Grandfather was for me. If we accept Jesus as our Savior, and give our lives to Him, He will dig us out of the pit of sin. Not only that, He will help us to overcome, so that the devil can not drag us down anymore with sinful habits.

 

I hope that you have chosen to give your life to Jesus completely. Every morning pray to Him and ask Him to take care of you that day, and help you to say NO when the devil tempts you to do wrong. Remember this verse found in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

 

Jesus and the Sickle

Revelation 14:14 describes a scene of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.” It is very clear that this text is talking about the coming of Christ, as many times the Bible describes His coming in clouds accompanied by all of His angels. He will come as King of kings with glory and power wearing a golden crown upon His head. Interestingly, He will come not only as a King, but also with a sharp sickle in His hand. A sickle is a tool of farmers, so why will Jesus come as a King of kings, and at the same time come as a farmer?

The season in which the farmer uses his sickle is at the time of harvest. Jesus Christ is coming back with a sickle in His hand because the second coming of Christ is the time of harvest. The harvest is the children of God, those who reflect His image. “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Verse 15. A similar picture is seen in Mark 4:29: “But when the fruit is brought forth [ripe], immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” These verses give us an idea that Jesus is coming back as soon as the earth is “ripe.”

With this in mind, who is waiting for whom? Is the farmer waiting for the fruits, or are the fruits waiting for the farmer? Are we waiting for Christ, or is Christ waiting for us? Christ is waiting for us to be ripe, although we can also say that we are waiting for Christ as well.

Virginia and South Carolina are two of the fruit growing states in the United States. If you were to go to an apple orchard around the end of September, you would see acres of apple trees all laden with an abundance of fruit, some red, some green, and some yellow. Even before the fruit is ripe, it looks as if it would be juicy and sweet and ready to eat. You may be hungry and reach out to pluck that apple when it is not ripe, but it will hang on tight to the branch, and you will have to pull at it, having a war with the branch, twisting and pulling it hard before you can pluck it and then bite into it. Only then do you realize it is not ripe; it does not taste good because it is very sour and if you eat it you may get a stomachache.

However, if you go to that same orchard around the beautiful time of autumn the fruit will be ripe. At the first bite the delicious sweet juice will run down your chin because it is ready with a sweet taste; it is ripe. Jesus Christ is coming back, not for sour people, but for sweet people. He is coming back, not to fight with the world over you, not to twist you, not to turn you, or pull you. All that Jesus needs to do when He returns the second time is just touch you, and you will be ready. Those are the kinds of people that Christ is waiting for—sweet people of God.

How then do we get ready for the Second Coming of Christ?

It is very simple! We must become ripe and sweet fruit. This can be confirmed one more time from the Bible to make it clear. “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman [farmer] waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.” James 5:7.

There you have it. Christ is waiting for His people to become ripe fruit. But to become a ripe fruit, you have to receive the early and the latter rain. Before even considering the early and latter rain, a seed must be planted into the ground. Planting yourself into the ground is the beginning or the start of preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ. That tree is dependent upon how the seed grows in its first three years.

Once the seed is planted, it must die. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:24. According to the Bible, to bring forth much fruit the seed must first go into the ground and die. Without the death of the seed, there is no life in that plant and hence no fruit.

The only way to be ready for the coming of Christ, to be harvested by the sickle of Jesus and be taken away by the heavenly Farmer, is to first die. As soon as a baby is born into this world, it begins to die. In this world, you are born to die.

However, in the Christian world, you die to live. The worldly philosophy is to ask what life is all about. Let us eat; let us drink; let us party and have a good time. If it feels good, do it; if it tastes good, eat it! If you want to get it, get it now and have a good time, because tomorrow you will die. But the Christian’s philosophy is totally opposite. It says, let us die with Jesus today that we may live with Him tomorrow.

A strong Biblical concept is that those who want to have life must experience death with Christ in baptism. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” Romans 6:3. Here we see that baptism represents death with Christ. So, baptism represents death to the old life and the beginning of the new.

The Bible says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Verse 4.

The three most important ceremonies that you will celebrate in this life are your birthday, wedding, and funeral. All three of these events happen on the day you are baptized: birthday, marriage to Christ, and the most important aspect, the funeral to the old self. What kind of person is buried in the ground? A dead person! If a live person was buried it would be considered murder, so only those who are dead—dead to self—should be baptized. There are many people being baptized who can say, “I know the doctrines; I don’t eat pork; I don’t drink alcohol; I will keep God’s holy day, and I will pay my tithe; I know about the second coming, and I know about the law of God.” Yet they are still full of selfishness, impatience, jealousy and evil surmising; are still envious, revengeful, backbiting, gossiping and greedy, having all these things in their hearts.

To have doctrinal understanding only and be baptized is to be buried alive. When people are baptized alive, not understanding the meaning of dying to self by surrendering himself or herself to God, it brings trouble into the midst of Christian fellowship. Understanding the true meaning of baptism is essential to the new candidate, to prevent him/her from making such a solemn vow. Baptism is clear—dying with Jesus and living with Christ. “For if we have been planted [in the ground] together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, [you had better know this!] that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Verses 5, 6.

So what needs to die?

The old man! Whether you like it or not, all have an old man that must be slain day by day. You see, baptism is the occasion that you commit yourself to die to self, the day that you allow Christ to crucify the old man. But after baptism it does not feel as if the old man is completely dead. That is the reason why Paul says, “I die daily.” 1 Corinthians 15:31. That old man wants to live again and again and again. But, by the power of God you can keep him dead day by day. That is the power of the message of salvation for mankind.

But let us go a little deeper than this. What kind of man is the old man? The Bible says when the old man is dead, then you should not serve sin. So if the old man is alive, that means we are still serving sin. Consider this: If I am serving you, that would mean that I am your slave or servant and you are my master. So I have a master named old man. That master named old man is to die in order for me, as a servant of this master, to be free. When the master is dead, I am free. The Bible says, “For he that is dead is freed from sin.” Verse 7.

Is it possible to be free from sin?

The Bible answers this and reveals the secret how to be free from sin—to be dead. This means surrender, to be completely surrendered to God. He that is dead to the old man, it is he who is free from sin.

When first learning how to type, it seems so awkward and difficult to hit the right key, but with practice, doing it over and over again, you find that it is no longer necessary to look at the keys because it just happens automatically. Repetition forms habits. And when a habit is formed, it is acted upon without any thought. Habits can be good or dangerous. So what kind of old man is this? It is an old man that causes you to commit sin automatically, and the sins committed are habitual sins to which you are enslaved.

As a young person I had a bad habit of stealing. At first I found it very difficult. My heart pumped with fear as I looked at the storeowner and looked around making sure no one was watching as I grabbed the candy and put it in my pocket. My whole body shook, and I was sweating as I slowly walked out of the door when the owner was not watching. I took off and then stopped, looking around to make sure that no one was watching, before I ate my candy with fear and trembling. Each time after that it became easier and easier, until after years walking into a store, stealing became automatic without any nervousness. Sin becomes automatic, and you become a slave to it until it is impossible to give it up.

Some have habits of smoking or drinking alcohol, and others have a bad temper that they claim to have inherited from their family and it seems impossible to change. There are young people who are addicted to drugs, cocaine, crystal meth, marijuana, sex and alcohol, and some husbands are so addicted to anger that they beat up their wives. Children are addicted to video games that consume their every thought, playing games for hours each day. Some mothers are addicted to shopping, and that is all they can think about doing—shop, shop, shop, ’til they drop! All of these habits consume a person and take so much time and energy that those who are trapped often think they are too far in sin for God to change them, so they try to kill that old man themselves by making resolutions to quit their habit. They muster all of their strength, and with great effort tear that cigarette apart, flush it down a toilet, and then say, “Ok, from this day I’m not going to smoke!”

The first week is often fine and even the second week goes well, but on the third week the boss may speak as though they might get fired. The fourth week their child starts being a bother. Then on the fifth week the wife starts nagging because there is no money coming in. Nervousness sets in and then worry. Then starts the search for something to give some comfort. The old habit kicks in—just one time, one more! After all, isn’t there a reason? I am stressed out. I am full of anxieties; let me relax; just one more! And they do it. Next day they do it again, and then, in half a week they are back to where they were before, but even worse.

Because they tried to kill their old man with human strength, it did not happen. There are many ways to kill a person. You can shoot him, strangle him, hang him, poison him, cut him, beat him or drown him, but there is only one way to kill the old man. That old man must be brought to Jesus at the foot of the cross and see Him dying there; see Jesus bleeding for his/her sins; see Jesus suffering for his/her transgressions. See Jesus agonizing before God, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46.

That old man must be brought to the cross, not in your own effort alone. The only effort you can put forth is to drag that old man to the cross and fall at the feet of Jesus helplessly. Tell Him all about the pains in your life and the guilt that you face. Tell Him about the bondage that you are in. Tell Him you are sick of falling again, and again, into the same old sins, that you are tired of it. Jesus will cleanse you with the power of the love of God if you will allow Him, He will crucify that old man.

Christ has the power. “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. Ephesians 4:22.

When the Bible says, “put off,” it gives the idea of putting off a garment. It goes on to say, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Verse 23. Putting off the old man means the transformation of the heart and mind. The Bible says, “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Verse 24. Praise God! Through Christ you can put off the old man and put on the new man. But the question is, How do we put off the old man?

“Crucify him.” Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20.

When we pray as Paul prayed, we receive power to live a new life with Christ dwelling in our hearts. That old man must die. What is the condition of a dead person? “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they anymore a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished.” Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6.

According to this Scripture, a dead person cannot talk, cannot love, and cannot hate. So when your old man is dead, he cannot hate; he cannot love, and he does not know anything.

We as human beings, living in this world, see, hear, smell, and feel temptations. Many times Satan is so clever that when he tempts, he tempts you in such a way that he causes you to think you have already committed sin while you are only being tempted. He turns your feelings, emotions and thoughts in such a way that he causes you to think you already committed the sin. The devil manipulates and plays with your mind. Temptation is not sin, but when yielding to that temptation, then it is sin. So, between the temptation and yielding, the Christian has the power to say, “Stop! Before I yield to this. I claim that I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; but Christ liveth in me.” If Christ is living in you, you will respond just the way that Christ would respond to the temptation.

Christ was tempted in all points as we are, but without sin (See Hebrews 4:15). Christ must live within your heart and you must surrender to Him moment by moment to receive His power. But how is that possible when we see, feel, hear and even smell temptation? While living by feelings, it is impossible; you must live by faith. Faith and feelings are as different as east and west—totally different. Some people depend upon feelings to determine the strength of their faith. When feeling good, they have strong faith, but if they feel bad, they are low in spirituality. Feelings may fluctuate, but faith remains steady without listening to feelings, relying on the word of God. The power that is available can only be received by making the right choice.

Though temptations come, respond by faith in the love of Christ, which is the power and secret of the Christian life. When a body is buried, it is put six feet under the ground, and so should the old man be buried, six feet under, but why not make it seven feet under—a perfect burial, and then put a little mountain on top of it so that the old man will not come back up again.

If only a part of the old man is buried, then a foot or hand may come back out and grab something that he likes. That old man wants to live, but by faith you must tell Jesus, “Lord, keep my old man dead, every day, and by faith I live by You and not by him.”

If you have this kind of commitment with the Lord, you will have a victorious Christian experience. The old man has wounded some of you and some others make mistakes here and there, but Jesus is saying, “My child, come to Me. My son, come to me. Let Me explain to you how you can overcome your own self. Let’s walk together again. Die with Me so you can live with Me and walk with Me.”

Do you know how to live the life of humility and obedience? “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not.” I John 3:6. To dwell on the sin, saying, I cannot commit sin, I better not commit sin, keeps the focus always on the sin, but this misses the crucial point. In order to have strength to overcome sin, the first effort must be to abide with Christ, day by day learning to abide in Him: “nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Galatians 2:20.

Why then are there so many fights in the church?

Church members are so often not talking to each other, or competing with each other, or jostling over who will be the next head elder and fighting for position or power. They say, “Who’s paying the most money into church?” “Who has the best education?” Why is it that so often in the board meeting there is dissention, which ends up in fighting? The root of the problem is that we have not learned to die to self, daily. If the church members are dead to self and Christ is living in them, automatically and naturally there will be complete unity and power.

God arranged that there would be order. He planned it, and we must follow His example and follow His steps. Are you fighting for a position or power? How often we see the bigger brother pull rank on the younger brother, pushing the responsibilities his way. When young men show their muscle and their magnificence comparing themselves one against another, self is not dead. When girls gather together and compare who is the thinnest, who is the most beautiful, who has the best-looking boy friend, self is not dead. And then when watching television with every soap opera saturated with adultery, fornication, and self-exaltation by beholding, we become changed. Self is not dead. When young people play computer games of destruction, bloodshed and blowing things up, self is not dead. Do you understand?

Satan is in this world, and he is doing all he can to deceive the people. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, he caused the people watching to say, “If you are the Son of God, come down and save Yourself and we will believe You.” Matthew 27:40. But Christ said, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34. They beat Him, whipped Him, spat upon Him, dragged Him, mocked Him, reviled Him, and nailed Him on the cross, but Jesus, ever so softly and tenderly looked down and said, “My child, I love you. I cannot come down because I want to save you.”

Oh, my brothers and sisters, look to Jesus. Look to Christ. If you do, your old man will become nothing. The only thing you will see is Jesus Christ Who is all in all. Jesus says, “Let us go; let us live together.”

Judy Hallingstad is part of the LandMarks team. She may be contacted by email at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Editorial – The Time of the Harvest

The harvest time that we are now in is the reason so many unbelievable things are happening in both the world and in the church.

“When Pharaoh hardened his heart on the first exhibition of God’s power, he made himself more capable of a second rejection of God’s power. Pride and stubbornness held him in bondage, and hindered him from acknowledging the warnings of God. It was contrary to the nature of Pharaoh to change after once having given expression to his purpose not to believe.

“What Pharaoh has done, will be done again and again by men until the close of probation. God destroys no man; but when a man stifles conviction, when he turns from evidence, he is sowing unbelief, and will reap as he has sown. As it was with Pharaoh, so it will be with him; when clearer light shines upon the truth, he will meet it with increased resistance, and the work of hardening the heart will go on with each rejection of the increasing light of heaven. … You are not to say that God is to blame, that He has made a decree against you. No, He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to the knowledge of the truth, and to the haven of eternal bliss. No soul is ever finally deserted of God, given up to his own ways, so long as there is any hope of his salvation. …

“Those who claim to be Christians are in continual need of a power outside of, and beyond, themselves. They need to watch unto prayer, and to place themselves under the guardianship of God, else they will be overcome by the enemy. … When he yields himself to the control of the Spirit of God, he will be renewed, transformed into the image of Christ. …

“But the sinner who refuses to give himself to God, is under the control of another power … . Passion controls him, his judgment is blinded, reason is dethroned, and impetuous desires sway him, now here, now there. The truth will have but little influence over him, for there is in human nature, when separated from the Source of truth, a continual opposition to God’s will and ways. … Inclination moves, passion holds the control, and his appetites are under the sway of a power of which he is not aware. He talks of liberty, of freedom of action, while he is in most abject slavery. … The mind controlled by Satan is weak in moral power. Can such a one without change be taken into a holy heaven?—Oh, no; it would be no mercy to the impenitent sinner to place him in the society of the angels.”  The Review and Herald, February 17, 1891.

A Purified Church

There are two texts of scripture upon which to build our study. The first is found in Ephesians 5:27. “That He may present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” That sounds exciting! For as we look at our church today, it is a far cry from perfection; but God states in His holy Word that His church will become holy and without blemish. John the Revelator describes this purified church in these words of which you are very familiar, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12.

There will be a violent shaking within God’s remnant church, which will leave only the precious wheat within the city of Jerusalem. Of this we read in Joel 2:24: “And the floor shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.” “In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.” Isaiah 26:1. Jerusalem will be a completely united city. Her inhabitants will be fully armed, covered with the protection of Christ’s righteousness. She shall be enabled to stand against the enemy.

“The forces of the enemy will no more be able to overpower her than is the chaff to resist the whirlwind.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 11. In Early Writings, 270, this is explained: “Said the angel, ‘Look ye!’ My attention was then turned to the company I had seen, who were mightily shaken. I was shown those whom I had before seen weeping and praying in agony of spirit. The company of guardian angels around them had been doubled, and they were clothed with an armor from their head to their feet. They moved in exact order, like a company of soldiers.”

Concerning the remnant, the Word of God describes this purified and victorious church with these words: “Thus saith the Lord, I am returned unto Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.” Zechariah 8:3. “And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem.” Isaiah 4:3.

Polishing the Jewels

We are nothing but rough stones; we have no light or beauty in ourselves. We are nothing but common, warped and drab. “None is good, save One, that is, God.” Luke 18:19. But when the true light of Christ shines through us, we become living stones and emit His light. We become purified, polished, tested and tried, fitly representing the perfection that God wishes as He places us without a flaw to mar the reflection of Christ. Isaiah describes it in this way, “Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.” Isaiah 62:3. Then in that beautiful book, Our High Calling, 167: “The company of believers may be few in number, but they have been taken by the cleaver of truth as rough stones from the quarry of the world . . . to be fitted up by test and trial for a place in God’s heavenly temple, and they are very precious in the sight of the Lord . . . Even in the rough, they are precious in the sight of God. The ax and the hammer and the chisel of trial and test are in the hands of the One who is skillful, and are used not to destroy, not to bring to nothingness, but to work out the perfections of every soul. The divine Worker spends little time on worthless material. Only the precious jewels does he polish after the similitude of a palace, cutting away all the rough edges. This process is severe and trying; it hurts human pride. Christ cuts deep into the experience that man in his self-sufficiency has regarded as complete, and takes away self-uplifting from the character. He cuts away the surplus surface, and putting the stone to the polishing wheel, presses it close, that all roughness may be worn away. Then, holding the jewel up to the light, the Master sees in it a reflection of Himself, and He pronounces it worthy of a place in his casket.” [All Emphasis Supplied]

We must allow Christ to measure, test, cleanse, and polish us; to fit us into the very temple of God. In the judgment all will be measured, whether we are good or evil, and all who do not measure up to the pattern will be rejected. But those who are wise, that is they are willing to be made ready, will be used in God’s building. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house . . . acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” I Peter 2:5.

Let us compare God’s last day remnant church with the following found in Bible Commentary, vol. 2, 1029. “The Jewish temple was built of hewn stones quarried out of the mountains; and every stone was fitted for its place in the temple, hewn, polished, and tested, before it was brought to Jerusalem. And when all were brought to the ground, the building went together without the sound of ax or hammer. This building represents God’s spiritual temple, which is composed of material gathered out of every nation, and tongue, and people, of all grades, high and low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned. These are not dead substances, to be fitted by hammer and chisel. They are living stones, quarried out from the world by truth; and the great Master-Builder, the Lord of the temple, is now hewing and polishing them, and fitting them for their respective places in the spiritual temple. When completed, this temple will be perfect in all its parts, the admiration of angels and men; for its Builder and Maker is God.”

The Harvest of Babylon Ripened

There is another city, Babylon, embracing the whole world, that must also be ripened for the harvest before Christ comes the second time. How can this be accomplished? Just as God is able to transform His subjects into living stones, so He produces the circumstances that will prepare the harvest of Babylon for the reapers. Even though the people of God, His very small remnant, have experienced victory over the beast and over its image and over every sin, there is still a great work for them to do on this earth. The remnant are to give the harvest producing message, the Loud Cry, designed to ripen the harvest within Babylon.

Who will give the Loud Cry? Many suppose it will be given by the whole church, those represented as the wheat and the tares, but the Spirit of Prophecy is very plain; this will never happen. “The third angel’s message is to lighten the earth with its glory; but only those who have withstood temptation in the strength of the Mighty One will be permitted to act a part in proclaiming it when it shall have swelled into the loud cry.” Review and Herald, November 19, 1908. Now that can mean only one thing: those represented by the tares will not be permitted to give the Loud Cry.

This is also explained in Testimonies, vol. 9, 40. “In the future the earth is to be lightened with the glory of God. A holy influence is to go forth to the world from those who are sanctified through the truth.” You see, the loud cry will be a demonstration given by those who have been sanctified. In this last call, the world is to be warned not by theories of the truth alone, nor of judgments, terrible as they are as foretold in the third angel’s message. No! They are to be given a demonstration! “The world can only be warned by seeing those who believe the truth sanctified through the truth, acting upon high and holy principles, showing in a high, elevated sense, the line of demarcation between those who keep the commandments of God and those who trample them under their feet. The sanctification of the Spirit signalizes the difference between those who have the seal of God and those who keep a spurious rest day.” Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 980.

God’s Noblemen

During the Loud Cry, the Sabbath will be preached to the world by a sanctified group who are showing the difference between keeping the Sabbath as commanded by God, and keeping Sunday as commanded by men. Merely representing the arguments of worship on the seventh day is not the third angel’s message. It is sanctification that draws a distinct line between those who proclaim the true Gospel and those who proclaim the Devil’s false theories. Sad to say, few of us today seem to realize this, nor do we fully comprehend the meaning of the third angel’s message, for it contains the glory of God that will lighten the whole earth. This is explained in Testimonies, vol. 6, 19: “The message of Christ’s righteousness is to sound from one end of the earth to the other to prepare the way of the Lord. This is the glory of God, which closes the work of the third angel.” How is this revelation of Christ’s character to be proclaimed to the world by men? “To give glory to God is to reveal His character in our own, and thus make Him known. And in whatever way we make known the Father or the Son, we glorify God.” Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 979. Then compare this with Christ’s Object Lessons, 414: “The light of His glory—His character—is to shine forth in His followers. Thus they are to glorify God, to lighten the path to the Bridegroom’s home, to the city of God, to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

In Christ’s Object Lessons, 415, are these amazing words: “It is the darkness of misapprehension of God that is enshrouding the world. Men are losing their knowledge of His character. It has been misunderstood and misinterpreted. At this time a message from God is to be proclaimed, a message illuminating in its influence and saving in its power. His character is to be made known. Into the darkness of the world is to be shed the light of His glory, the light of His goodness, mercy and truth. Those who wait for the Bridegroom’s coming are to say to the people, Behold your God.” They will see in us the revelation of God’s character.

“God will make known the mystery which has been hidden for ages, He will make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of glory.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 386. So you see, Christ will be within us. And as Christ represented the Father, so with Jesus in us, we will represent God. In Testimonies, vol. 8, 50, we read: “In the time of confusion and trouble before us, a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, the uplifted Saviour will be presented to the people of all lands, that all who look to Him in faith may live.”

Now during this little time of trouble, the attention of the entire world will be directed upon those who cannot be moved from their position of truth. This is exactly what God has proposed should take place. In vision, the Lord’s messenger was shown the remnant who had passed through the shaking, and had obtained the victory over every sin. They are the ones that will now go to Babylon and will give the truth with great power. “My attention was then turned to the company I had seen, who were mightily shaken. The company of guardian angels around them had been doubled, and they were clothed with an armor from their head to their feet. They moved in exact order, like a company of soldiers. . . The numbers of this company had lessened. Some had been shaken out and left by the way . . . I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power. It had effect . . . 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 Writing, 270, 271.

“Clad in the armor of Christ’s righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict. ‘Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners, she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer.’” Prophets and Kings, 725. The message of a purified church is to go forth triumphant as a conqueror.

“They are made indeed a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. They are marked characters because of their purity of heart and life, their strength of purpose, their firmness and usefulness in the cause of God. They are God’s noble men.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 578. Just to think that we will be God’s noblemen! The church will give not only a final demonstration, but the full display of God’s character will be revealed within every individual. “The members of the church, those whom he has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, are to show forth His glory. The church is the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ; and through the church will eventually be made manifest, even to ‘the principalities and powers in heavenly places,’ the final and full display of the love of God.” The Acts of the Apostles, 9.

“While multitudes are devoted to mammon, and serve not the Holy One of Israel, there are a few who have not defiled their garments, but have kept them unspotted from the world; and these few will be a power.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 482. “Character is power. The silent witness of a true, unselfish, godly life, carries an almost irresistible influence. By revealing in our own life the character of Christ we cooperate with him. And the wider the sphere of our influence, the more good we may do. 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. “He will restrain the forces of darkness until the warning is given to the world and all who will heed it are prepared for the conflict.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 453.

As an example, do you remember how Nebuchadnezzar persecuted the truth, yet it only served to spread the truth? The king thought to force the worship of the golden image by casting the three Hebrews into the fiery furnace, but God preserved His servants in the midst of the flames. Thus the knowledge of the true God was presented to all the assembled princes and great men. “The efforts made to retard the progress of truth, will serve to extend it.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 554. That is encouraging. What is holding us back from having this wonderful experience? It is because God’s people are not ready to receive the great power of the Latter Rain.

Unfitted to Receive the Latter Rain

“Ministers and people are unprepared for the time in which they live, and nearly all who profess to believe present truth are unprepared to understand the work of preparation for this time . . . They are wholly unfitted to receive the latter rain . . . Ministers and people must make greater advancement in the work of reform. They should commence without delay to correct their wrong habits of eating, drinking, dressing, and working.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 466.

“God’s people are not prepared for the loud cry of the third angel. They have a work to do for themselves which they should not leave for God to do for them. He has left this work for them to do. It is an individual work; one cannot do it for another. ‘Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.’” Testimonies, vol. 1, 486.

“The great outpouring of the Spirit of God, which lightens the whole earth with his glory, will not come until we have an enlightened people, that know by experience what it means to be laborers together with God. When we have entire, wholehearted consecration to the service of Christ, God will recognize the fact by an outpouring of His Spirit without measure; but this will not be while the largest portion of the church are not laborers together with God.” Review and Herald, July 21, 1896. This experience will not take place until the shaking first shakes out the tares. And this will happen when the Sunday Law bursts upon us. Why did the lamps of the foolish virgins go out? Because character, not theology, lightens the way to the Bridegroom. This is why the tares are ruled out of having a part in giving the Loud Cry.

The false brethren have never fully comprehended the third angel’s message. Thus they will be left in darkness, and Satan will so delude these that they will actually denounce the Loud Cry as a false, spiritualistic phenomena. Where do I get this? In Review and Herald, May 27, 1890: “The third angel’s message will not be comprehended, the light which will lighten the earth with its glory will be called a false light, by those who refuse to walk in its advancing glory.” At Pentecost, the foolish virgins declared the demonstration of the Former Rain to be the result of the use of alcohol by the leaders of the church.

Only the members of the purified church will receive the Latter Rain, and give the Loud Cry. The storm of persecution perpetrated by Babylon in the Sunday Law harassment will finally separate the tares from the wheat and leave a small remnant perfectly united and holy. “As trials thicken around us, both separation and unity will be seen in our ranks . . . Those who have had great light and precious privileges, but have not improved them, will, under one pretext or another, go out from us.”

“The promises of God now repeated as if the soul had never tasted of His love, will then glow upon the altar of the heart, and fall in burning words from the lips of the messengers of God. They will then plead with souls with an earnestness that cannot be repulsed. Then the windows of heaven will be open for the showers of the latter rain. The followers of Christ will be united in love.” Review and Herald, February 25, 1890. “It is not numerous institutions, large buildings, or great display that God requires, but the harmonious action of a peculiar people, a people chosen by God and precious. Every man is to stand in his lot and place, thinking, speaking, and acting in harmony with the Spirit of God. Then, and not till then, will the work be a complete, symmetrical whole.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 293.

Oh, how God wants to prepare His people now for this marvelous work of presenting the last message of mercy! As millions leave the true and faithful, as the tares separate, so millions from Babylon will take up the ranks of those that leave, because of the Divine Power of the Loud Cry which will sweep the world like fire in stubble. May we be among those faithful few who will have a part in the closing work; for there is a bright and glorious day just ahead for the church—a purified church, a triumphant church.

The End