Heaven

Bible Study Guides – I Create New Heavens and a New Earth

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September 20, 1999 – September 27, 1999

MEMORY VERSE: “For behold I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come upon the heart.” Isaiah 65:17, marginal reading.

STUDY HELP: Revelation 21, 22, Great Controversy, pages 674, 678.

Introduction

“The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.” Great Controversy, 678.

“God Himself Shall Be Their God”

  •  How does John describe the new creation? Revelation 21:1–2.

NOTE: “This is glad news to all who love God; but is it a matter of rejoicing to those who delight in feeding the mind on commonplace and trivial things? Those who take no pleasure in thinking and talking of God in this life, will not enjoy the life that is to come, where God is ever present, dwelling among His people. But those who love to think of God will be in their element, breathing in the atmosphere of heaven. Those who on earth love the thought of heaven, will be happy in its holy associations and pleasures. The prophet says, ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.’ ‘And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him; and they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.’” Review and Herald, May 13, 1890.

  • What promise is given to those who inherit the new earth? Isaiah 65:17.

NOTE: “Fellow pilgrim, we are still amid the shadows and turmoil of earthly activities; but soon our Saviour is to appear to bring deliverance and rest. Let us by faith behold the blessed hereafter as pictured by the hand of God. He who died for the sins of the world is opening wide the gates of Paradise to all who believe on Him. Soon the battle will have been fought, the victory won. Soon we shall see Him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centred. And in His presence the trials and sufferings of this life will seem as nothingness. The former things ‘shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.’ ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.’ ‘Israel shall be saved . . . with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.’ Isaiah 65:17; Hebrews 10:35–37; Isaiah 45:17.” Prophets and Kings, page 732.

  • In view of the nearness of the day of the Lord, what admonition does Peter give to God’s people? 2 Peter 3:10–11.

NOTE: “The time has come when those who choose the Lord for their present and future portion must trust in Him alone. Everyone professing Godliness must have an experience of his own. The recording angel is making a faithful record of the words and acts of God’s people. Angels are watching the development of character and weighing moral worth. Those who profess to believe the truth should be right themselves and exert all their influence to enlighten and win others to the truth. Their words and works are the channel through which the pure principles of truth and holiness are conveyed to the world. They are the salt of the earth and the light thereof. I saw that in looking heavenward we shall see light and peace, but in looking to the world we shall see that every refuge must soon fail us and every good soon pass away. There is no help for us but in God; in this state of earth’s confusion we can be composed, strong, or safe only in the strength of living faith; nor can we be at peace, only as we rest in God and wait for His salvation. Greater light shines upon us than shone upon our fathers. We cannot be accepted or honoured of God in rendering the same service, or doing the same works, that our fathers did. In order to be accepted and blessed of God as they were, we must imitate their faithfulness and zeal,—improve our light as they improved theirs,—and do as they would have done had they lived in our day. We must walk in the light which shines upon us, otherwise that light will become darkness. God requires of us to exhibit to the world, in our character and works, that measure of the spirit of union and oneness which is in accordance with the sacred truths we profess and with the spirit of those prophecies that are fulfilling in these last days. The truth which has reached our understanding, and the light which has shone on the soul, will judge and condemn us, if we turn away and refuse to be led by them.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 262.

“According to His Promise”

  • Besides looking for the day of God, what does Peter also admonish God’s people to do? 2 Peter 3:12. (See margin)

NOTE: “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.

  • While this old world is to be destroyed by fire, what wonderful prospect does God’s people have? 2 Peter 3:13.

NOTE: “The meek ‘shall inherit the earth.’ It was through the desire for self-exaltation that sin entered into the world, and our first parents lost the dominion over this fair earth, their kingdom. It is through self-abnegation that Christ redeems what was lost. And He says we are to overcome as He did. Revelation 3:21. Through humility and self-surrender we may become heirs with Him when ‘the meek shall inherit the earth.’ Psalm 37:11. The earth promised to the meek will not be like this, darkened with the shadow of death and the curse. ‘We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.’ ‘There shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him.’ 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 22:3. There is no disappointment, no sorrow, no sin, no one who shall say, I am sick; there are no burial trains, no mourning, no death, no partings, no broken hearts; but Jesus is there, peace is there. There ‘they shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them.’ Isaiah 49:10.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 17.

“No More . . . ”

  •  What things are we assured will have no place in that new heaven and earth? Revelation 21:4, Isaiah 35:5, 6; 51:11; 65:19.

NOTE: “Let those who break God’s law and teach others to do so, denounce us as fallen from grace because we keep all ten of His immutable precepts; it will not harm us. We have the satisfaction of knowing that, while they curse, Jesus has pronounced a blessing. Says the true Witness, the only Begotten of the Father, ‘Blessed are they that do His [the Father’s] commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the City.’ Revelation 22:14. Think ye that the commandment-keepers will be sorry, and mourn when the pearly gates of the Golden City of God are swung back upon their glittering hinges, and they are welcomed in? No, never. They will then rejoice, that they are not under the bondage of the law, but that they have kept God’s law, and therefore are free from it. They will have right to the tree of life, a right to its healing leaves. They will hear the lovely voice of Jesus, richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, saying, There will be no more sorrow, pain or death; sighing and crying have fled away.” Review and Herald, June 10, 1852.

  •  What change will God’s people see in the animal creation? Isaiah 65:25; 11:6–9; 35:9; Hosea 2:18.

NOTE: “There man will be restored to his lost kingship, and the lower order of beings will again recognize his sway; the fierce will become gentle, and the timid trustful. ‘The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox . . . They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain’ (Isaiah 11:6-9), saith the Lord.” Review and Herald, July 1, 1915.

  • What changes will be seen in the plant creation? Isaiah 55:13; 35:1, 2, 7.

NOTE: “The earth promised to the meek will be a better one than this. It will be purified from all sin and defilement, and will bear the image of the divine. Satan has placed his throne in the earth; but where the usurper has set up his rule, there will Jesus place his throne, and there shall be no more curse. The glory of the Lord is to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Jesus desires to give his children a home where there will be no more sin, no more sorrow, no more death, but all will be joy and gladness. He says: ‘The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.’” Bible Echo, June 1, 1892.

“Raised in Incorruption”

  •  What great lesson does Paul draw from the resurrection of Jesus? 1 Corinthians 15:12, 23.

NOTE: “The resurrection of Jesus was a type of the final resurrection of all who sleep in Him. The countenance of the risen Saviour, His manner, His speech, were all familiar to His disciples. As Jesus arose from the dead, so those who sleep in Him are to rise again. We shall know our friends, even as the disciples knew Jesus. They may have been deformed, diseased, or disfigured, in this mortal life, and they rise in perfect health and symmetry; yet in the glorified body their identity will be perfectly preserved. Then shall we know even as also we are known. 1 Corinthians 13:12. In the face radiant with the light shining from the face of Jesus, we shall recognise the lineaments of those we love.” Desire of Ages, 804.

  • How does Paul describe the change that will take place in redeemed humanity? 1 Corinthians 15:51–54.

NOTE: “Christ is coming with clouds and with great glory. A multitude of shining angels will attend Him. He will come to raise the dead, and to change the living saints from glory to glory. He will come to honour those who have loved Him, and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten them nor His promise. There will be a relinking of the family chain. When we look upon our dead, we may think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, when ‘the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.’ 1 Corinthians 15:52. A little longer, and we shall see the King in His beauty. A little longer, and He will wipe all tears from our eyes. A little longer, and He will present us ‘faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.’ Jude 24. Wherefore, when He gave the signs of His coming He said, ‘When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.’” Desire of Ages, 632.

“Pleasures for Evermore”

  •  What will God’s people experience when they come into the presence of God? Psalm 16:11.

NOTE: “‘No sickness, sorrow, pain, or death shall reach that blissful shore:’ there is nothing in the kingdom of God to disturb or annoy. This is the life that is promised to the overcomer,—a life of happiness and peace, a life of love and beauty. This ‘exceeding great reward’ is within our reach, and can be gained simply by a life of obedience. But we have the privilege of choosing for ourselves. We can take this present life, so poor, so marred with sin, so filled with care and perplexity, or we can have eternal life where there is no sin, no distracting care, nothing to mar the peace of the inhabitant. It is strange that the majority, looking only to the pleasures of the world, choose this fleeting life, and fix their hopes here. Here, then, are two classes: one seeking for the pleasures of this mortal life, the other for the enduring joys of immortality; one class are far from Christ, and satisfied with their condition, the other are seeking for the forgiveness of sins and for the Spirit of God; one class are battling against God and his truth, the other are warring against the lusts of the flesh, the spirit of the world, and Satan. One class are dreading the appearing of Christ, the Son of man, feeling that to them it is an overwhelming calamity; the other are looking for the coming of Christ the second time, without sin unto salvation. The one class will be rejected from the presence of God, and finally suffer the pangs of the second death; the other will have everlasting life at the right hand of God, where are pleasures for evermore.’ Signs of the Times, November 10, 1887.

  • What brief picture of the new earth reveals the real and practical nature of life then? Isaiah 65:21–23.

NOTE: “In the earth made new, the redeemed will engage in the occupations and pleasures that brought happiness to Adam and Eve in the beginning. The Eden life will be lived, the life in garden and field. ‘They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of My people, and Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.’ Isaiah 65:21, 22.” Prophets and Kings, 730, 731.

  • What are we told about the worship of God in that earth made new? Revelation 21:22–26, Isaiah 66:22, 23.

NOTE: “In the beginning the Father and the Son had rested upon the Sabbath after Their work of creation. When ‘the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them’ (Gen. 2:1), the Creator and all heavenly beings rejoiced in contemplation of the glorious scene. ‘The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.’ Job 38:7. Now Jesus rested from the work of redemption; and though there was grief among those who loved Him on earth, yet there was joy in heaven. Glorious to the eyes of heavenly beings was the promise of the future. A restored creation, a redeemed race, that having conquered sin could never fall,—this, the result to flow from Christ’s completed work, God and angels saw. With this scene the day upon which Jesus rested is forever linked. For ‘His work is perfect;’ and ‘whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever.’ Deuteronomy 32:4; Ecclesiastes 3:14. When there shall be a ‘restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began’ (Acts 3:21), the creation Sabbath, the day on which Jesus lay at rest in Joseph’s tomb, will still be a day of rest and rejoicing. Heaven and earth will unite in praise, as ‘from one Sabbath to another’ (Isaiah 66:23) the nations of the saved shall bow in joyful worship to God and the Lamb.” Desire of Ages, 769.

Heaven on Earth

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While the children of Israel were camped at Mount Sinai, Moses was called up to the mount. God said to him, “Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). A sanctuary is God’s house, a place where He longs to be. He desires that each home be a sanctuary, for He longs to be part of each one’s life and be present in every house.

In the book, Education, 258, we read this inspired comment: “It was in the mount with God that Moses beheld the pattern of that wonderful building which was to be the abiding place of His glory. It is in the mount with God—in the secret place of communion—that we are to contemplate His glorious ideal for humanity. Thus we shall be enabled so to fashion our character building that to us may be fulfilled His promise, ‘I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people’ ” (2 Corinthians 6:16).

We are called up into the mount, as Moses was, to behold the heavenly, because we also have something to build on earth that is like the heavenly pattern – the home, God’s masterpiece as far as an earthly temple is concerned. In the sanctuary of the home God wants to reveal His purpose to dwell with men.

In this mount with God, we are to contemplate His glorious ideal for humanity, but what is humanity made up of? “Society is composed of families.” The Adventist Home, 15. Often we think of the world as a whole, but it is divided up among nations. Most governments have their territory broken down into different divisions. We have the states, the counties, the smaller divisions, but as God looks at society, He thinks of it as grouped in families and those families are what the heads of families make them. “ ‘Out of the heart are the issues of life’  (Proverbs 4:23); and the heart of the community, of the church, and of the nation is the household.” Ibid. When we are dealing with the family, we are dealing with something very important and very precious to God.

When Moses was called up to the mount, he saw the temple of God and was told to make a copy of it here in this world. He accomplished that task. God recognized it and dwelt with His people during their wilderness wanderings and His presence was made manifest in that earthly copy of the heavenly sanctuary.

“Home should be made all that the word implies. It should be a little heaven upon earth.” Ibid.

Unfortunately that is not always the case and frequently, too many homes are a hell on earth. Then there are multitudes of homes that in a sense are neither heaven nor hell. The parents are ill-equipped and don’t know the best way to raise their children. Many of these homes are far from hell, but they are a long way from heaven.

We are told it is possible to experience a little heaven on earth; so why not take hold of it. After all, it has been bought and paid for by the death of Jesus. He rose and went back to heaven and is pleading for us in the heavenly sanctuary. Someday those who are faithful are going to heaven, but it will be enjoyed only by those who have already enjoyed heavenly principles on this earth. God offers us a little sample of it here if we would just taste and see whether we like it or not. If we do like it, He lets us have some more. His grace can provide an endless supply of heavenly principles. No fictitious manifestation from Hollywood or anything that money can buy can help us get there, for no eye has seen what the Lord has prepared for His people.

Though Moses spent many years in Egypt being educated the world’s way, it took another 40 years for God to prepare him to lead the children of Israel out of bondage. Pray that God will make us capable of and willing to cast much of what we have learned into the garbage can where it belongs and have that mountain top experience with Jesus and listen while He speaks and points out the right way. Our pattern is in heaven; that is the pattern of the Christian home. “Home should be made all that the word implies.”

“Every family in the home life should be a church, a beautiful symbol of the church of God in heaven.” Child Guidance, 480.

Fathers and mothers and children alike are to experience in each home a church life like the church of God in heaven. “All His [God’s] biddings are enablings.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 333. This experience doesn’t come naturally. It takes effort. To make our home like the pattern, we must behold it and then build just as Moses did. First he beheld and then went to work and built.

God said, “Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). Since “God is love” (1 John 4:8), if God dwells in the sanctuary, love abides there.

“Every home should be a place of love, a place where the angels of God abide.” The Adventist Home, 18.

On the veil at the entrance of the sanctuary that Moses built, as well as on the veil between the holy and the most holy, were embroidered angels. Angels were represented throughout the sanctuary. Your home also is to be a place where the angels of God abide. The more you sense the presence of the angel watchers, the more you will love what they love and hate what they hate.

God’s great purpose in our reproducing the heavenly plan here on earth is to enable us to know Him better. “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent” (John 17:3). To know God is to have life eternal. We get to know Him through His word, the Bible; we know Him through the life of Jesus, and we know Him through His creation.

There is yet another way to know Him. One of the sweetest statements in Inspiration is in Steps to Christ, page 10: “Through … the deepest and tenderest earthly ties that human hearts can know, He [God] has sought to reveal Himself to us.” Think of the different human relationships we have. The relationship between parents and children is one of the best. If you had a wonderful mother and father, you would have many good memories. If somehow that pattern was marred through human frailty, remember God’s ideal still stands and can be revealed to you. The close relationship between parents and children is designed to reveal God.

“His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, The everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6). God is our Father. God gave the relationship between a father and his child for two reasons. The first is so the child growing up could learn to love his father and thus learn to know God. The second reason is so the father, in loving and training the little child, could learn to know how God feels.

Remember there was a man in the Bible who was especially set forth in that connection. The Bible says that Enoch walked with God 300 years after he begat Methuselah. It is not only the children who learn to know God through being in the home; it is also the parents, both the father and the mother, who learn to know God by being parents. All of us, whether we are men or women, as we think back to our childhood, can appreciate this verse in Isaiah 66:13: “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.” That verse sparks memories of my own mother who so lovingly attended to my hurts with salve and a kiss.

God says, “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.” He uses that picture to reveal Himself to us, using father love and mother love, not just the receiving of it on the part of the children, but the giving of it on the part of the father and mother. Dear parents, every time your heart goes out to your children, every time you are concerned about their behavior, every time you seek to comfort them in sorrow or to guide them in counsel, remember, you are not only to reveal God to that child; in that experience a revelation of God is to come to you. That is the great purpose of families.

This same purpose is true also with other relationships. Take the relationships between brothers and sisters. There are so many precious things in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy about the relation of brother and brother and sister and sister and brother and sister and sister and brother – precious relationships. “There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). Jesus is set forth as our elder brother and those who know the joy of sharing in loving fellowship as brothers and sisters have a revelation of the character of God.

However, there is one relationship that is more intimate than any other—the relationship between husband and wife. Basic to the whole pattern of human life, the core and center of every successful family is the relationship between husband and wife. The relationship between parents and children is not the primary relationship. Neither is the sibling relationship. Primary to all other relationships is that between a husband and wife. It was the first relationship that God established on this planet between two individuals, Adam and Eve, who were joined in wedlock by the Creator Himself. The purpose of marriage was, “… to reveal Himself to us through the deepest and tenderest earthly ties that human hearts can know.”

Dear husbands, have you thought it through that the purpose of the marriage relation is to reveal God to you? Do you know that the purpose of the marriage relation is to reveal God to your wife through you? The purpose of marriage is that the husband and the wife shall know God as they could know Him in no other way. There are views of the character of God that you can get as a married man, a married woman, that cannot be understood in any other way. No matter how far up the ladder of achievement in successful married life you are, there is something glorious beyond. I tell you this from experience. I know that this is true.

As I think of my own experience and enter into the experience of any other people in the 40 years I have been in the ministry, this statement sums it up so wonderfully. “To gain a proper understanding of the marriage relation is the work of a lifetime. Those who marry enter a school from which they are never in this life to be graduated.” The Adventist Home, 105. You can never graduate from this course while you are alive. We are dealing with infinite riches with tremendous possibilities.

This relationship is not mere sentimentalism as is often expressed in many poems and love songs where most are dealing with people who have not made a serious commitment to each other. Today, many people are unable to weather the storms and trials that may arrive and are on their second, third or even fourth marriage. We surely need the guidance of the Lord in choosing our spouse. We need to come up into the mount with God and look at the pattern. After all, how could a carpenter put up a stable building if he never looked at the blueprint?

A healthy marriage takes work and prayer. Both partners must climb the mount and study for themselves what the Lord requires, then go together. Take time down on your knees to behold and then arise and build according to the pattern and you can experience heaven on earth.

Inspiration tells us, “There is not one marriage in one hundred that results happily, that bears the sanction of God, and places the parties in a position better to glorify Him.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 504.

Reading this can be discouraging, especially when the devil then whispers, Well that’s the trouble, you got the wrong mate. But friends, there is good news. There are glorious possibilities with the companion you have. Do not listen to the devil, for he is a liar.

Inspiration writes about a young woman beloved of God who was held in bondage to a godless youth. Her nervous system was shattered. “Her marriage was a deception of the devil. Yet now she should make the best of it.” The Adventist Home, 351. Here was a woman who had the word of the living God that her marriage was a deception of the devil, yet now she is to make the best of it. If she could do this, don’t you think you can make the best of your situation?

Many people become infatuated and are thus allured into marriage. Very soon they find out that they are incompatible, not realizing that almost everybody who has ever been married since Adam and Eve came out of Eden has been incompatible. One of the great purposes of marriage is to help people learn how to be compatible.

“Though difficulties, perplexities, and discouragements may arise, let neither husband nor wife harbor the thought that their union is a mistake or a disappointment.” Ibid., 106.

Martin Luther used to say, “You can’t keep birds from flying over your head but you can prevent them from making nests in your hair.” The devil may say that your problem is that you married the wrong person, but never harbor that thought. Don’t let it in even if it hollers around outside. Don’t open the door and argue with it or pay it any attention. Here is what to do instead.

“Determine to be all that it is possible to be to each other.” Ibid. What we learn in marriage is the science of love. Love is not selfishness, but is unselfishness. In marriage we are not to dwell on what I wish my companion would do for me, but how I can be all that is possible to be to my companion. The greater the incompatibility, the more need there is to get down to business and work at this job. This is how to make the best of it.

We are living in an age where it is easy to just throw up things to our partner and complain, but that is from the devil. Make the best of it. This best is not some second-rate thing, but the best. No matter how big a mess you have made of things, or what a miserable failure you or your companion are, the two of you together can have heaven on earth. God guarantees it. “Determine to be all that it is possible to be to each other. Continue the early attentions. … Study to advance the happiness of each other. … Then marriage, instead of being the end of love, will be as it were the very beginning of love. The warmth of true friendship, the love that binds heart to heart, is a foretaste of the joys of heaven.” Ibid.

“Remember, my dear brother and sister, that God is love and that by His grace you can succeed in making each other happy, as in your marriage pledge you promised to do.” Ibid., 112. God guarantees that you can succeed in making each other happy, but it will take the two of you together.

Men and women can reach God’s ideal for them if they will take Christ as their helper. “Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God’s ideal for His children.” Education, 18. “What human wisdom cannot do, His grace will accomplish for those who give themselves to Him in loving trust. His providence can unite hearts in bonds that are of heavenly origin. … Heart will be bound to heart in the golden bonds of a love that is enduring.” The Adventist Home, 112, 113.

Even for those couples who have experienced heaven on earth from the day they were married to the present hour, there is still something more wonderful ahead. Remember, no one graduates from this school of marriage. It is the work of a lifetime.

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour” (Ephesians 5:1, 2). Again this is the language of the sanctuary—the fragrant incense. “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (verse 25). When husbands love their wives, the wives will know better how to fit in to the part they are to play in the relationship. Christ’s love to each other is to be manifest in the home.

“So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.  For no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.

“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is the great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband” (verses 28–33). These verses are clearly referring to Christ and His church and husbands and wives.

“In early Christian usage, the term ‘mystery’ did not mean something that could not be understood, as it does today, but something that could be understood only by those who were initiated; that is, those who had the right to know.” A Commentary on Daniel and Revelation from The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 740.

“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery” (Ephesians 5:31, 32, first part).

Only married people can understand this mystery, but just being married does not automatically initiate you and reveal this mystery to you. The successful marriage is one in a hundred, so 99 out of 100 couples that get married still do not know the mystery. Many get caught up with the fluff and bubble of the ceremony and then become disappointed, not realizing that the mystery is only unlocked by having a heart connection.

The challenge is, just as there is something more to the union with Christ than baptism, although it includes baptism, there is something more to the union of marriage than the physical experience of man and woman joined together. Certainly, it includes that, but if all people know is the physical side of marriage then they will miss the greatest blessing.

Jesus said, “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 18:19). If any two people on earth have the right to claim this wonderful promise, it is the husband and wife.

Alone with God and each other get down on your knees and take this verse. Read it to each other and say, What is it that we want? What is it that we desire? Pick out your hardest problem and your greatest need, pick out your deepest longing and agree together to ask God for a miracle. For it is a miracle when two people can live together in happiness and love and that is what it takes to have heaven on earth. No matter how much you have already been blessed, why not reach up to get the richer gift and the larger blessing that is being offered and know what it means to be fully, completely blended. For each of us there are heights above that we have never yet reached.

Dear Lord, teach us the science of love, teach us the art of love. We need it for we are naturally selfish but teach us this wonderful experience, not just so we can get along together but so that we can know You, so that we can understand God, so that we can reveal God to our children and to others. Amen.

Elder W.D. Frazee studied the Medical Missionary Course at the College of Medical Evangelists in Loma Linda, California. He was called to Utah as a gospel medical evangelist. During the Great Depression, when the church could not afford to hire any assistants, Elder Frazee began inviting professionals to join him as volunteers. Thus began a faith ministry that would become the foundation for the establishment of the Wildwood Medical Missionary Institute in 1942. He believed that each person is unique, specially designed by the Lord, of infinite value, and has a special place and mission in this world which only he can fill. His life followed this principle and he encouraged others to do the same.

A People Preparing

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In Luke 1:17, the angel said to Zacharias concerning his son, John the Baptist, “He will go before Him [the Messiah] in the spirit and power of Elijah … to prepare a people who are prepared for the Lord.” Jesus told His disciples that “Elijah has come already, and they did not know him” (Matthew 17:12), meaning John the Baptist was the Elijah prophet for the first advent.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful [or terrible or awesome] day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5, 6). Here again it is predicted that before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, God is going to send to us Elijah the prophet.

Again in the New Testament is predicted that before the coming of Christ in the last days, God’s people are going to have the gift of prophecy. Paul wrote, “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful” (1 Corinthians 1:4–9, first part). Notice that the people waiting for Jesus to come will fall short in no gift; the testimony of Christ will be confirmed in them.

It is predicted again in Revelation the 12th chapter that God’s last day people are going to have the gift of prophecy. “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring [the remnant of her seed], who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (verse 17). The testimony of Jesus according to Revelation 19:10 is the spirit of prophecy. The dragon according to Revelation 12:9 represents the devil. A woman, all through Bible prophecy, in both the Old and New Testaments, represents a church. A pure woman represents a pure church and a harlot woman represents an apostate church.

Whole books of the Bible have been written with this symbolism; for example, the entire book Song of Solomon is a compacted, symbolic prophecy about Christ and the church. The first part of the book of Hosea is a prophecy concerning Christ and His church that has gone astray and committed harlotry. Ezekiel 23 is devoted to the church, where Israel and Judah are likened to two women who apostatized from the Lord.

The same symbolism is used in the New Testament. Paul said to the Corinthian church, “I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste [pure] virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2). In Ephesians he again uses the marriage relationship as a symbol of the relationship between Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:25–27). Revelation talks about the bride of the Lamb who has made herself ready for the marriage dressed in fine linen, clean and bright (Revelation 19:7, 8).

In the book of Revelation two women are represented, the harlot woman (Revelation 17) and the pure woman (Revelation 12). It says, “The dragon was enraged with the woman” (Revelation 12:17). Translating these symbols this would read: “The devil was enraged with the church, and he went to make war with the remnant [the last church], who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus [the spirit of prophecy].” According to Bible prophecy, God’s last day people will be a commandment keeping people. In the Hebrew language the fourth commandment with the Sabbath at its heart is the longest commandment of all, with 55 words. James says, “Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). The commandments are not ten laws, but one law.

James makes it clear what law he refers to by quoting the sixth and seventh commandments (James 2:11), and God refers to the ten commandments as one law all by itself (Exodus 24:12). Concerning this ten commandment law, in Deuteronomy 4:13, Moses told the children of Israel: “He [God] declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tables of stone.” The commandments are called God’s covenant. In Psalm 89:34, God says, “My covenant I will not break [profane], nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.”

When Jesus was on earth, He made the strongest statement possible about the ten commandments. He said, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle (just part of a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the smallest stroke in a Hebrew letter) of the law to fail” (Luke 16:17). This was spoken by the One who created the heavens and the earth and upholds them all by the power of His word. (See Hebrews 1:2, 3.) This means the One who has all power and authority would destroy the entire universe before He would allow a part of a letter of His law to fail. How audacious for any created being to think that the law is not important after Jesus makes a statement that strong. It is inconceivable that anyone could try to insult the Lord not only to change part of a letter but to change the longest commandment in the heart of the whole law.

In the book of Joel, it says, “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders [signs] in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke [timeroth]” (Joel 2:28–30). The Hebrew word timeroth is smoke that comes up in a column and spreads out like a palm tree, a description befitting an atom bomb explosion. Twenty-five hundred years ago before atom bombs were invented, the Lord knew what would happen in the last days.

“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord” (verse 31). Before Jesus returns, certain things are going to happen, a dark day, blood and fire and columns of smoke like palm trees. But during that time the Lord said He would pour out His Spirit in prophecy. He said your sons and daughters are going to prophesy.

“It shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls” (verse 32). When these things happen there will be deliverance and salvation in Mount Zion. Notice what it says in Isaiah 51:16, last part: “Say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ” Zion is God’s people.

There will be deliverance in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call (Joel 2:28–32). The remnant are the people who keep the commandments of God and have the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). When you determine who these people are, join them, for they have the truth that will open the doors of heaven to you.

“Elijah the prophet” appeared in the person of John the Baptist to prepare a people for the first coming of the Lord. The purpose of the Elijah prophet the second time is to prepare a people for His second coming.

Now is the time to take advantage of the writings of this “Elijah” prophet, the special messenger for the remnant church whose writings will help us be ready for the second coming of Christ.

No one eats a pickup load of food in one day, but over a year, the food you eat would fill that pickup. The same principle applies for spiritual knowledge. By reading just a few pages of spiritual food each morning and night you can easily read 1500 pages in a year. At that rate, in a few years you will have done quite a bit of reading. The more you read, the more you will enjoy the spiritual feast and keep coming back for more and still more.

Every wonderful gift the Lord gives to His people the devil perverts into something many people think is awful. People are often afraid to read the Spirit of Prophecy thinking God just wants to take things away from them, like not being able to eat what they want to eat, or do something they want to do, or wear the kinds of clothes they want to wear, or enjoy their entertainment. But He wants to replace the things that harm with habits that will benefit. Wouldn’t it be best to know now the changes that can be made so we will be fit for a holy atmosphere in heaven when Jesus returns?

Ellen White tells us that if we were to study our Bibles well enough, there would be no need of her writings. Interestingly, the man Elijah did not write any books like Isaiah or Jeremiah or Ezekiel. Elijah told Ahab his purpose: “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord” (1 Kings 18:18). Elijah’s purpose was to call people back to worship God and keep His commandments. This was also the purpose of John the Baptist and is the purpose of the writings of Ellen White. Those who despise these writings designed to draw the reader to the word of God actually despise the Bible also because the purpose of each is the same—to prepare a people to meet their Lord.

Jesus told a parable of ten virgins (Matthew 25:1–13). The Elijah message, to get ready to meet the Lord, must be given before the virgins go out to meet the bridegroom because it was at midnight that the bridegroom came and only the faithful ones who had made the preparation of extra oil went into the banquet hall to the marriage feast.

When the ministry of John the Baptist began, the 70 weeks of Daniel’s prophecy were just about completed. This was to signal the Jews that the Messiah was about to come. The Elijah prophet was not sent to the Romans or the Greeks or the Egyptians; the Elijah prophet was sent to God’s professed people. In the same way, when the Elijah prophet came again, it came to those people who were looking for Christ to come the second time. The Elijah prophet arose among the people who were expecting the Bridegroom to come in the year 1844. God rose up his last day prophet, Ellen G. White.

People want to know if Ellen White passes the Bible test of a prophet because Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets” (Matthew 7:15). Notice, He did not say to beware of all prophets, but of false prophets. The test to see if a person has the true gift of prophecy is found in Isaiah 8:19, 20. It says, “And when they say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums [familiar spirits], and wizards, who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

Care must always be taken that the Scripture is not taken out of context. The Scripture here is not talking simply about preachers or teachers, but the test of a prophet. There are many preachers and teachers today who have still not come to the light of the true Sabbath of the fourth commandment who are preaching truth as they know it. Many of the Protestant reformers in the 16th century were also unaware of the true Sabbath, for they had not yet come to that knowledge. Also, none of those early Protestant reformers, Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Tyndale, to name a few, claimed to be prophets. The Lord used these faithful preachers to bring great blessings to the people of their time who were seeking for truth.

Isaiah’s test of a prophet is to see by which spirit that person is influenced. A false prophet is one who does not teach according to all the law and the testimony. A human teacher can make mistakes. That does not mean there is no light in what he says. We are given Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy to check out what we hear, and only believe what we find in inspired writings. “Truth, whether in nature or in revelation, is harmonious with itself in all its manifestations.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 258.

A true prophet under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is guided and directed by angels in heaven. Their message never contradicts what has already been established as the word of God. It will be in harmony with the law and the testimony.

Ellen White’s writings do not contradict the Bible. In fact, Ellen White says her work includes much more than that of a prophet. (See Selected Messages, Book 1, 32.) There have been three times that I have known of since the history of the world that God has sent to His people somebody who was more than a prophet. The first time was Moses. The second time was John the Baptist. Jesus said that he is more than a prophet (Matthew 11:9; Luke 7:26). The third time is Ellen White.

The book of Numbers reveals another test. The Lord, speaking to Miriam and Aaron, “Then He said, ‘Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face’ ” (Numbers 12:6–8, first part).

There are only a few cases in the Bible where we have record of the Lord speaking to a prophet in a vision and a dream. The most detailed description in all the Bible of this is Daniel’s vision (Daniel 10:1–17). Daniel said, “How can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me” (verse 17). Daniel asks, How is it possible for me to even be talking to you when there is no breath in me? Here is described the condition of a true prophet while in vision.

The word of any person claiming to be a prophet cannot be accepted unless they have had public visions and dreams that can be documented because of this Bible test. It must be seen that the prophet in a vision be not breathing.

Some experienced divers have trained themselves to hold their breath for a little over 3 minutes. To hold their breath much longer than that would cause you to eventually pass out and could cause brain damage.

Ellen White in vision did not breathe for periods of over 4 hours and many times in public she had visions that lasted up to 30 minutes. In the book, Prophet Of the End, Rene Noorbergen, documents some of these occurrences.

The work of a prophet must bear good fruit. In Matthew chapter 7 verses 15–20, Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous [plundering] wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad [rotten] tree bears bad [evil] fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

We are going through the shaking period in earth’s history and the history of the church. We are told that every wind of doctrine would be blowing. Ellen White has told us that the path of truth will lie so close beside the path of error that only by the Holy Spirit will you be able to tell the difference. When you look in her writings you see a balance which is absolutely astonishing, a balance to keep you from going off on tangents.

The writings of the Spirit of Prophecy produce good fruits in the church. When the members take heed of the counsel therein the church comes into harmony and into unity; it comes into line. The members all follow their great Leader and have the same goals. All kinds of problems in the church are solved.

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1 John 4:1–3).

This is an interesting test. Every single spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus is come in the flesh is not of God. John goes on to say that this is the way you will know it is the antichrist. The antichrist teaches that Jesus did not come in the flesh. In fact, it teaches that Jesus’ mother Mary was born from an immaculate conception whereby she did not inherit any original sin, therefore Jesus did not inherit any original sin; He was immaculate.

This is a principle teaching of the antichrist and is taught in almost all the Protestant churches. It has even found its way into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But a true prophet will confess that Jesus came in the flesh. Now in the flesh is a technical term that refers to coming in a fallen nature, coming in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8). God sent His own son in the likeness of sinful flesh. Do not say that He came in sinful flesh, which neither Scripture nor Ellen White believe. The Scripture says, He came in the likeness of sinful flesh, but it also says that in Him is no sin (1 John 3:5). A true prophet will teach this. Ellen White does teach this.

I found a book in which one of our pioneers documented over 100 predictions Ellen White made that had already come to pass in his lifetime. Jeremiah said, “When the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent” (Jeremiah 28:9). Ellen White made many predictions some of which are coming to pass today.

The purpose of the Spirit of Prophecy is to prepare a people for the coming of the Lord. Our work is to get the three angels’ messages to the world. When they accept it and they have the Spirit of Prophecy, they can become part of God’s last day people.

Ellen White predicted that as we draw close to the end of time, the devil’s temptations on appetite would become more severe and more difficult to overcome. That could not be more apparent today.

In 1973, when I started going to the School of Health at Loma Linda University, we were taught in a basic nutrition class that in the United States at that time, we were having an epidemic of obesity. Our instructor said there was a higher percentage of grossly overweight people in the U.S. than in any other country in the world. In fact, it was so bad that there was slightly over 40 percent of Americans significantly overweight. Today it is far worse, with between 60 to 70 percent overweight. Health practitioners are concerned, knowing that the consequence of this obesity will be the skyrocketing incidents of diabetes, cancer, and all kinds of degenerative disease that could absolutely overload the functioning of the health care delivery system.

We are living in solemn times. We don’t know yet what is going to happen during the time of trouble, but we have been told that unless you are under the Lord’s care, it is going to be more awful than one can imagine. Everything that we think we have in place is going to break down. We’re living in the time just before that time and our only protection is that which comes from the Lord. If we had time to do the research, I believe that we would find thousands of predictions that Ellen White made that have been fulfilled but there are certainly hundreds.

Since World War II, the idea of the fast food industry has developed. Today, with fast food outlets open 24/7, you can eat anything you want any time of the day or night, unlike sixty years ago when restaurants were only open during mealtimes. Now, at 9:30 at night or even later, you often see cars lined up, waiting to get their late evening snack. That snack is not apples or oranges or grapes, but burgers and French fries, the very things that are making our country sick.

We are living in the sickest generation, and it has seriously affected our church. We ought to be preparing for heaven, changing our tastes to a heavenly diet, but many are suffering with preventable diseases the same as those in the world. We are a sick generation.  Ellen White said that if Jesus does not come, the human race would become extinct. Seventh-day Adventists have had the health message for over 150 years, but so few are prepared to put these principles into practice. God’s remnant people are the last people that God will have in this world. Concerning the second advent movement, He says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

At the end of time there will only be two groups of people: the remnant and those in spiritual Babylon. They will either be part of the second advent movement, or they will be in Babylon. The Lord has given us precious truth and it is this knowledge that is designed to get you out of this world. When you tell others about it, it can get them out of this world – alive. Study the overwhelming evidence, for it is precious truth for this last generation, not for us to hold onto jealously, but to share with others.

The world is going to end soon and when everything comes to pass and Jesus returns, I want to be one of the remnant. Do you? “In Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls” (Joel 2:32).

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Bible Study Guides – “WAR IN HEAVEN”

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By Gordon Anderson

MEMORY VERSE: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” John 8:44.

STUDY HELP: Patriarchs and Prophets, 33–43.

INTRODUCTION: “The question is asked, How is the existence of sin reconcilable with the government of a wise, merciful, and omnipotent God? Why was sin permitted to enter heaven? Why was it permitted to take up its abode on the earth to cause discord and suffering? It certainly was not God’s purpose that man should be sinful. He made Adam pure and noble, with no tendency to evil. He placed him in Eden, where he had every inducement to remain loyal and obedient. The law was placed around him as a safeguard. Evil originated with the rebellion of Lucifer. It was brought into heaven when he refused allegiance to God’s law. Satan was the first lawbreaker.” Review and Herald, June 4, 1901.

“THE ANOINTED CHERUB THAT COVERETH”

  1. By what name was Satan known when he was in heaven? Isaiah 14:12.

NOTE: “Lucifer, ‘son of the morning,’ was first of the covering cherubs, holy and undefiled. He stood in the presence of the great Creator, and the ceaseless beams of glory enshrouding the eternal God rested upon him.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 35.

[It is clear from this verse that the reference is not to an earthly king of Babylon.]

  1. What position did Lucifer hold in heaven? Ezekiel 28:14.

NOTE: “Lucifer was the covering cherub, the most exalted of the heavenly created beings; he stood nearest the throne of God, and was most closely connected and identified with the administration of God’s government, most richly endowed with the glory of His majesty and power.” Signs of the Times, April 28, 1890.

[Verse 14 shows clearly that the primary reference is not to an earthly king of Tyre.]

  1. When he was created, what was Lucifer like? Ezekiel 28:15.

NOTE: “The angels had been created full of goodness and love. They loved one another impartially and their God supremely, and they were prompted by this love to do His pleasure. The law of God was not a grievous yoke to them, but it was their delight to do His commandments, to hearken unto the voice of His word. But in this state of peace and purity, sin originated with him who had been perfect in all his ways.” Signs of the Times, April 28, 1890.

“TILL INIQUITY WAS FOUND IN THEE”

  1. What went wrong with Lucifer’s thinking and led him into sin? Ezekiel 28:17, first part.

NOTE: “The change from perfection of character to sin and defection did come even in heaven. Lucifer’s heart was lifted up because of his beauty, his wisdom was corrupted by reason of his brightness. Self-exaltation is the key to his rebellion, and it unlocks the modern theme of sanctification. Satan declared that he had no need of the restraints of law, that he was holy, sinless, and incapable of doing evil; and those who boast of holiness and a state of sinlessness, while transgressing the law of God, while willfully trampling under-foot the Sabbath of the Lord, are allied on the side of the first great rebel. If the sanctified, holy angels became unsanctified and unholy by disobedience to God’s law, and their place was no longer found in heaven, think you that men, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, will be received into glory who break the precepts of that law which Christ came to magnify and make honourable by His death upon the cross? Adam and Eve were in possession of Eden, and they fell from their high and holy estate by transgression of God’s law, and forfeited their right to the tree of life and to the joys of Eden.” Signs of the Times, April 28, 1890.

  1. Because of his pride, whose position did Lucifer wish to seize? Isaiah 14:13, 14.

NOTE: Notice the self-centerdness of these verses, the number of times Lucifer spoke of “I” and “my.” “Pride in his own glory nourished the desire for supremacy. The high honors conferred upon Lucifer were not appreciated as the gift of God and called forth no gratitude to the Creator. He gloried in his brightness and exaltation, and aspired to be equal with God. He was beloved and reverenced by the heavenly host. Angels delighted to execute his commands, and he was clothed with wisdom and glory above them all. Yet the Son of God was the acknowledged Sovereign of heaven, one in power and authority with the Father. In all the councils of God, Christ was a participant, while Lucifer was not permitted thus to enter into the divine purposes. ‘Why,’ questioned this mighty angel, ‘should Christ have the supremacy? Why is He thus honoured above Lucifer?’” Great Controversy, 495.

“None are too high to fall. Sin originated with Satan, who was next to Christ. Lucifer became the destroyer of those whom heaven had committed to his guardianship. Satan has a church in our world today. In his church are all the disaffected ones and the disloyal. All who harbor pride, ambition, vain-glory, or selfishness, will be found wanting when weighed in the balance of the Lord.” Australasian Union Conference Record, October 1, 1906.

  1. What was the outcome of Lucifer’s ambition? Revelation 12:7.

NOTE: “Until this time all heaven had been in order, harmony, and perfect subjection to the government of God. It was the highest sin to rebel against His order and will. All heaven seemed in commotion. The angels were marshaled in companies, each division with a higher commanding angel at its head. Satan, ambitious to exalt himself, and unwilling to submit to the authority of Jesus, was insinuating against the government of God. Some of the angels sympathized with Satan in his rebellion, and others strongly contended for the honor and wisdom of God in giving authority to His Son. There was contention among the angels. Satan and his sympathizers were striving to reform the government of God. They wished to look into His unsearchable wisdom, and ascertain His purpose in exalting Jesus and endowing Him with such unlimited power and command. They rebelled against the authority of the Son. All the heavenly host were summoned to appear before the Father to have each case decided. It was there determined that Satan should be expelled from heaven, with all the angels who had joined him in the rebellion. Then there was war in heaven. Angels were engaged in the battle; Satan wished to conquer the Son of God and those who were submissive to His will.” Early Writings, 145.

  1. What was the outcome of the war in heaven? Revelation 12: 8, 9.

NOTE: “Even when it was decided that he could no longer remain in heaven, Infinite Wisdom did not destroy Satan. Since the service of love can alone be acceptable to God, the allegiance of His creatures must rest upon a conviction of His justice and benevolence. The inhabitants of heaven and of other worlds, being unprepared to comprehend the nature or consequences of sin, could not then have seen the justice and mercy of God in the destruction of Satan. Had he been immediately blotted from existence, they would have served God from fear rather than from love. The influence of the deceiver would not have been fully destroyed, nor would the spirit of rebellion have been utterly eradicated. Evil must be permitted to come to maturity. For the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages, Satan must more fully develop his principles, that his charges against the divine government might be seen in their true light by all created beings, that the justice and mercy of God and the immutability of His law might forever be placed beyond all question.” Great Controversy, 498, 499.

“Satan is a deceiver. When he sinned in heaven, even the loyal angels did not fully discern his character. This was why God did not at once destroy Satan. Had He done so, the holy angels would not have perceived the justice and love of God. A doubt of God’s goodness would have been as evil seed that would yield the bitter fruit of sin and woe. Therefore the author of evil was spared, fully to develop his character. Through long ages God has borne the anguish of beholding the work of evil, He has given the infinite Gift of Calvary, rather than leave any to be deceived by the misrepresentations of the wicked one; for the tares could not be plucked up without danger of uprooting the precious grain. And shall we not be as forbearing toward our fellow men as the Lord of heaven and earth is toward Satan?” Christ’s Object Lessons, 72.

“THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW”

  1. How does God’s Word define sin? 1 John 3:4.

NOTE: At a time when theologians are proposing multiple definitions of sin, like “inherited guilt,” “a broken relationship,” “missing the mark,” “our natural spiritual condition, the condition of sinfulness,” “being by nature spiritually bent,” etc., it is important to know what God Himself defines as sin.

“Our only definition of sin is that given in the Word of God; it is ‘the transgression of the Law.’” Great Controversy, 493.

“The only definition given in God’s Word is: ‘Sin is the transgression of the Law,’ and the apostle Paul declares, ‘Where no law is, there is no transgression.’” Bible Echo, June 11, 1894.

  1. Why do we choose to sin when tempted by the devil? James 1:14, 15.

NOTE: “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed. He is turned away from the course of virtue and real good by following his own inclinations. If [you] possessed moral integrity, the strongest temptations might be presented in vain. It is Satan’s act to tempt you, but your own act to yield. It is not in the power of all the host of Satan to force the tempted to transgress. There is no excuse for sin.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 623.

  1. What will cause our attempts to obey God’s Law to fail? Romans 14:23.

NOTE: ” ‘Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’ In order to be prepared for the judgement, it is necessary that men should keep the law of God. That law will be the standard of character in the judgement. The apostle Paul declares: ‘As many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law, . . . in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.’ And he says that ‘the doers of the law shall be justified.’ Romans 2:12–16. Faith is essential in order to the keeping of the law of God; for ‘without faith it is impossible to please Him.’ And ‘whatsoever is not of faith is sin.’ Hebrews 11:6; Romans 14:23.” Great Controversy, 436.

“THAT HE MIGHT DESTROY THE DEVIL”

  1. What was Christ’s purpose in coming to earth and taking our nature? Hebrews 2:14.

NOTE: “We need not place the obedience of Christ by itself as something for which He was particularly adapted, because of His divine nature; for He stood before God as man’s representative, and was tempted as man’s substitute and surety. If Christ had a special power which it is not the privilege of a man to have, Satan would have made capital of this matter. But the work of Christ was to take from Satan his control of man, and He could do this only in a straightforward way. He came as a man, to be tempted as a man, rendering the obedience of a man. Christ rendered obedience to God, and overcame as humanity must overcome. We are led to make wrong conclusions because of erroneous views of the nature of our Lord. To attribute to His nature a power that it is not possible for man to have in His conflicts with Satan, is to destroy the completeness of his humanity. The obedience of Christ to His Father was the same obedience that is required of man. Man cannot overcome Satan’s temptations except as divine power works through humanity. The Lord Jesus came to our world, not to reveal what God in His own divine person could do, but what He could do through humanity. Through faith man is to be a partaker of the divine nature, and to overcome every temptation wherewith he is beset.” Signs of the Times, April 10, 1893.

  1. When will the sins of the righteous be finally blotted out of the books of record? Revelation 22:11, 12. Compare Acts 3:19.

NOTE: “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.” Great Controversy, 613, 614.

  1. How complete will the destruction of Satan and sin? Malachi 4:1, Psalm 37:9, 10, Ezekiel 28:19.

NOTE: “Then the end will come. God will vindicate His law and deliver His people. Satan and all who have joined him in rebellion will be cut off. Sin and sinners will perish, root and branch (Malachi 4: 1), Satan the root, and his followers the branches. The word will be fulfilled to the prince of evil, ‘Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; . . . I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire . . . Thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.’ Then ‘the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be;’ ‘they shall be as though they had not been.’ Ezekiel 28:6–19; Psalm 37:10; Obadiah 16.” Desire of Ages, 763.

Bible Study Guides – Deliverance from Death

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April 26 – May 2, 2020

Key Text

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory” (1 Corinthians 15:55)?

Study Help: The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 351–369; Sons and Daughters of God, 229, 230.

Introduction

“God’s chosen ones may fall at their post of duty, but they have only fallen asleep, to rest till Jesus awakes them to share with Him an eternal weight of glory.” The Upward Look, 272.

Sunday

COMPONENTS OF LIFE

  • Describe the process of how God gave life to man. Genesis 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:45, first part.

 Note: “When God had made man in His image, the human form was perfect in all its arrangements, but it was without life. Then a personal, self-existing God breathed into that form the breath of life, and man became a living, intelligent being. All parts of the human organism were set in action. … Man became a living soul.” The Ministry of Healing, 415.

  • When man dies, how does this process work in reverse? Psalms 146:4; 104:29.

Note: “Physical life is something which each individual receives. It is not eternal or immortal; for God, the Life-giver, takes it again. Man has no control over his life.” Maranatha, 302.

Monday

WHAT IS DEATH?

  • What is the condition of man in death? Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6; Psalm 6:5.

Note: “If the dead are already enjoying the bliss of heaven or writhing in the flames of hell, what need of a future judgment? The teachings of God’s word on these important points are neither obscure nor contradictory; they may be understood by common minds. But what candid

Note: “To the believer, death is but a small matter. Christ speaks of it as if it were of little moment. ‘If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death,’ ‘he shall never taste of death.’ To the Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The life is hid with Christ in God, and ‘when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory’ (John 8:51, 52; Colossians 3:4).” The Desire of Ages, 787.

Tuesday

THE PLACE OF THE DEAD

  • How is the permanence of death described? Job 7:9, 10; Psalm 146:4. As we consider these thoughts, what should this lead us to do? Psalm 90:12.

Note: “It is a solemn thing to die, but a far more solemn thing to live. Every thought and word and deed of our lives will meet us again. What we make of ourselves in probationary time, that we must remain to all eternity. Death brings dissolution to the body, but makes no change in the character. The coming of Christ does not change our characters; it only fixes them forever beyond all change. …

“I appeal to the members of the church to be Christians, to be Christlike. Jesus was a worker, not for Himself, but for others. … If you are Christians you will imitate His example.” The Faith I Live By, 169.

“Look upon every duty, however humble, as sacred because it is part of God’s service. Do not allow anything to make you forgetful of God. Bring Christ into all that you do. Then your lives will be filled with brightness and thanksgiving.” In Heavenly Places, 226.

“Every moment is freighted with eternal consequences. We are to stand as minute men, ready for service at a moment’s notice. The opportunity that is now ours to speak to some needy soul the word of life may never offer again. God may say to that one, ‘This night thy soul shall be required of thee’ (Luke 12:20) and through our neglect he may not be ready.” The Faith I Live By, 158.

  • Where do all men go when they die? Acts 2:29, 34, 35; Psalm 89:48; Ecclesiastes 9:10.

Note: “Nowhere in the Sacred Scriptures is found the statement that the righteous go to their reward or the wicked to their punishment at death. The patriarchs and prophets have left no such assurance. Christ and His apostles have given no hint of it. The Bible clearly teaches that the dead do not go immediately to heaven. They are represented as sleeping until the resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:14; Job 14:10–12). In the very day when the silver cord is loosed and the golden bowl broken (Ecclesiastes 12:6), man’s thoughts perish. They that go down to the grave are in silence. They know no more of anything that is done under the sun (Job 14:21). Blessed rest for the weary righteous!” The Great Controversy, 549, 550.

Wednesday

DELIVERANCE FROM DEATH

  • What is the sting of death? 1 Corinthians 15:56.

Note: “Let us have the spirit of Christ. He left His royal throne, clothed His divinity with humanity, and came to this earth, all marred and seared by the curse, to meet man’s adversary, and deliver us from the bondage of sin and death.” The Review and Herald, July 16, 1889.

  • What can we then say as we see the triumph of Christ? 1 Corinthians 15:55, 57. How does He deliver us from death? Verse 3; 1 Timothy 2:5, 6.

 Note: “With His life Christ has purchased every human being. He died a cruel death to save human beings from eternal death. He gave His sinless life to obtain for the sinner a life that measures with the life of God. Through His death, He provided a way whereby man may break with Satan, return to his allegiance to God, and through faith in the Redeemer obtain pardon. …

“He who has all power in heaven and earth will restore every repenting, believing soul. … He has a deep interest in every soul, for He paid the price of His own life that no one should be eternally lost.” Sons and Daughters of God, 230.

  • Through His own death, what does Christ destroy? Hebrews 2:14.

Note: “In the Saviour’s expiring cry, ‘It is finished,’ the death knell of Satan was rung. The great controversy which had been so long in progress was then decided, and the final eradication of evil was made certain. The Son of God passed through the portals of the tomb, that ‘through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil’ (Hebrews 2:14). Lucifer’s desire for self-exaltation had led him to say: ‘I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: … I will be like the Most High.’ God declares: ‘I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth … and never shalt thou be any more’ (Isaiah 14:13, 14; Ezekiel 28:18, 19).” The Great Controversy, 503, 504.

Thursday

DELIVERANCE FROM THE FEAR OF DEATH

  • What fear places many in bondage today? Through His death, what does Christ desire to do for us? Hebrews 2:15.

Note: “In every time of distress, Christ turned to His Father. He ‘resisted unto blood’ (Hebrews 12:4) in that hour when the fear of moral failure was as the fear of death. As He bowed in Gethsemane, in His soul agony, drops of blood fell from His pores, and moistened the sods of the earth. He prayed with strong crying and tears, and He was heard in that He feared. God strengthened Him, as He will strengthen all who will humble themselves, and throw themselves, soul, body, and spirit, into the hands of a covenant-keeping God.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 131.

  • Of what should we not be afraid? Why? Matthew 10:28–31; 1 John 4:4.

 Note: “God has always had a care for His people. … Christ taught His disciples that the amount of divine attention given to any object is proportionate to the rank assigned to it in the creation of God. He called their attention to the birds of the air. Not a sparrow, He said, falls to the ground without the notice of our heavenly Father. And if the little sparrow is regarded by Him, surely the souls of those for whom Christ has died are precious in His sight. The value of man, the estimate God places upon him, is revealed in the cross of Calvary.” My Life Today, 292.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1    Describe the process of how man became a living soul.

2    What is death to a Christian?

3    How does death affect the character?

4    How did Christ triumph over death?

5    How did Christ experience the fear of death, and how did He gain the victory?

Copyright 2019, Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24019-5048, U.S.A.

Question – Least in the Kingdom of Heaven

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Explain the “least in the kingdom” and if they will be in heaven?

Jesus said, “Whosoever … shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19.

After stating Matthew 5:19, Ellen White says: “That is, he shall have no place therein. For he who willfully breaks one commandment, does not, in spirit and truth, keep any of them. ‘Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all’ (James 2:10).” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 51.

“It is not the greatness of the act of disobedience that constitutes sin, but the fact of variance from God’s expressed will in the least particular; for this shows that there is yet communion between the soul and sin. The heart is divided in its service. There is a virtual denial of God, a rebellion against the laws of His government.

“Were men free to depart from the Lord’s requirements and to set up a standard of duty for themselves, there would be a variety of standards to suit different minds and the government would be taken out of the Lord’s hands. The will of man would be made supreme, and the high and holy will of God—His purpose of love toward His creatures—would be dishonored, disrespected. …

“By venturing to disregard the will of God upon one point, our first parents opened the floodgates of woe upon the world. And every individual who follows their example will reap a similar result. The love of God underlies every precept of His law, and he who departs from the commandment is working his own unhappiness and ruin.” Ibid., 51, 52.

Children’s Story – Who Will be in Heaven?

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“Mother, who will be in heaven?” Scott asked one bright sunny day as he watched her weed the garden.

Mother looked up from her weeding.

“Who will be in heaven?” Mother repeated the question. “Hmmm, let’s see.” Scott knew this meant she was thinking what to tell him.

“You know, I believe this garden has the answer for you,” Mother told him after awhile. “Let’s look at it.” She pointed to the plants she had been weeding.

“What plants are these?” she asked.

“Carrots,” Scott answered. He knew because he had eaten them.

“And these?” she asked, pointing to a different row.

“Onions.”

“And these?” Mother asked again.

“Corn,” Scott answered quickly.

“Why do carrots grow in one place, onions in another, and corn over there?” Mother asked.

Scott grinned. He thought that everyone should know the answer to that question. “Because that’s what was planted,” Scott said.

“True,” Mother told him. “And this is the thing you should remember. Like seeds, people die and are buried in the ground. If they belong to Jesus when they die, they will belong to Him when they are raised from the dead. God has said this is so. So, the people who go to heaven will be the ones who love Jesus here on earth.”

Just as the old seed dies in the ground, our bodies will disappear and we will get new bodies for heaven. We will be with Jesus forever if we loved and served Him when we lived on earth.

“Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, shall enter into heaven, just those who do the will of their Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

Dear Jesus, we thank You because You are the Resurrection and Life. We know no one will come to the Father but by You. Help us to love You always so that when You come to get us we will be ready to go to heaven. In Thy dear name, Amen.

Happy Moments With God, Margaret Anderson, ©1962, 141, 142.

It Is Finished

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For many years I have been intrigued with a verse of Scripture which I believe is one of the most sublime of all inspiration. It is found in Psalm 85 verse 10:

“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”

When one reads this text for the first time, he is captured by its poetic nature and aroused by its romantic thought, but when one gives himself to prayerful study of this text he is filled with amazement as he begins to realize the very thoughts of God in achieving victory in the great controversy between Christ and Satan.

Today, mankind is faced with many unsolved questions. Each differs widely depending on where one lives, but our subject is of more importance than any problem found in this world today. We are dealing with a question of how to find permanent peace. I am not talking about the present war with terrorists around the world, nor the present peace movements on foot, yet in a way, these world efforts to obtain peace are connected with Satan’s ambition to destroy the peace of the universe.

Perhaps we should first question, How can this be? And the answer is: Because Satan had attempted to prove that the righteousness of God’s law is the enemy of peace. This is why the Son of God came to live on this earth, to reveal His Father’s eternal peace plan proving that His law and everlasting peace are inseparably joined together, that mercy and truth cannot exist without each other.

May the Holy Spirit guide us in our search for Divine understanding that we may realize the meaning of Christ’s final words on the cross when He cried, “It is finished.” His words forever ended any doubt throughout the universe as to the final outcome of the war with Satan.

The Scripture declares without question in Psalm 119:142, last part, “Thy law is the truth.”

The life of Christ on this earth proved beyond a doubt that God’s law is righteous and can be perfectly obeyed with Divine help. By the death of Christ on the cross He proved that Satan’s charges were utterly false, that justice did not destroy mercy in forgiving sin, that heaven’s peace will extend throughout all eternity and can be realized only on God’s terms.

I trust by now that we are beginning to comprehend a small portion of those dramatic words that Christ uttered on the cross when He cried, “It is finished.” It is no wonder when these words were uttered from His dying lips that all heaven broke forth in a mighty shout of victory. Usually when death comes in this life, it brings great anguish, for all hope has finally vanished. Death is the state of hopelessness. But this was not so when Christ died. Those dying words of Christ, “It is finished” was a cry of victory. The battle had been won. It was a time for rejoicing, for Christ had accomplished the task He had come to do. In dying He became a conqueror. All heaven participated in the Savior’s victory. Shouts of triumph echoed from one unfallen world to another throughout the vast universe.

Do you question why? Because Heaven’s peace had now become a reality. Satan, who for ages had harassed the angels of God and the inhabitants of sinless worlds, was no longer permitted to disrupt heaven’s harmony. He had become a defeated foe and, what’s more, he knew it. This is why his hatred for God has now turned to revenge. This is why he is going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

Those divine words, “It is finished,” mean that redemption was no longer a possibility but was now an accomplished fact, not only for us but for the peace of the unfallen worlds. It was not until the moment of Christ’s death on the cross that the character of Satan was clearly revealed to the angels of God and to the unfallen worlds. The arch apostate had so clothed himself with deception that even the remaining holy angels did not fully understand the principles of Satan’s kingdom. How could this be? We must realize that Satan was a created being, so wonderful, so powerful, and so great in his glory that he was above all created beings. He was actually next to the divine Godhead.

Inspiration speaks of him as “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12, last part). Lucifer was of the highest order of all creation. He was used by God to carry out the purposes of the Godhead to the universe. Angels trusted him. They never questioned any of his commands, but after Satan made the decision to take the place of Christ, God could no longer use him. The power and wisdom that he had used to achieve God’s purposes he now used to deceive. It was a most difficult task for God to unveil Satan’s character.

One often wonders why God didn’t immediately destroy Satan when he determined to overthrow God’s throne, but at that time, only God in His divine wisdom knew that rebellion is never overcome by force. Therefore, God rightly chose to resist such evil by revealing His goodness, His mercy, His truth and His love. Henceforth Satan would try to prove his false claims by using the power of force while God chose His divine principles as the only means to prove that truth and love can achieve a peaceful kingdom.

So, in Heaven’s council God took action with eternity in mind. It was decided that time should be given Satan to develop his government so that the universe might see the final results. Thus, during the next four thousand years Christ worked by truth and love to uplift man while Satan worked with his deception to ruin man.

Finally, the time came for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem. Satan immediately attempted to kill the Babe. No child has ever been tried as the Christ Child. Satan used every possible means within his power to keep Christ from developing a perfect character in childhood and to prevent Him from maintaining a faultless manhood. The devil did everything possible to disrupt His three years of holy ministry, which was dedicated to providing an unblemished sacrifice. Satan’s storm of wrath continually beat upon Him, but the more Satan attempted to force Him to sin the more firmly Christ clung to His Father.

Unnumbered created beings were absolutely captivated as they beheld Christ’s struggle with death in the Garden of Gethsemane, a death that exceeded that of the cross, forcing bloody sweat that fell to the ground from His pores. These sinless creatures watched and wondered. Three times they heard Him pray for deliverance until heaven could no longer endure the sight and the angel Gabriel was sent to strengthen Jesus.

All heaven beheld as Christ was betrayed into murderous hands. They watched the violence with which He was treated as He was hurried from one tribunal to another. They heard the sneers spoken of His lowly birth. The angels were amazed at the denial and cursing of His beloved disciple. They beheld thousands of demons turning the hearts of men against their Creator. What a picture is revealed! Jesus seized at midnight in the garden and mistreated from palace to judgment hall, two times arraigned before priest, twice before the Sanhedrin. By mob violence He is taken to Pilate who chastised Him and then sent Him to King Herod who cruelly handled Him. Finally, He is brought back to Pilate who condemned and scourged Him.

All heaven was watching as that whip with sharp metal attached to the many strands dug deep into the Saviour’s back, removing strength from His body, making it impossible for Him to carry the cross and He falls to the ground. Surely your heart is touched as we have joined with the universe in watching the nails driven through His hands and feet. We can actually sense the pain as the cross is lifted and dropped into the hole. And our eyes fill with tears as we watch His labored breath grow quick and deep. All this and more because the sins of the world have been heaped upon Him.

We cannot but marvel with heaven that Jesus prays amid such suffering, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Watch with contempt as we see the devil’s legions of demons inspiring the mob with the words, “If Thou be Christ, save Thyself” (Luke 23:39, last part). But in all this Satan gained absolutely nothing. Not one sin could be found in Jesus Christ. Suddenly Jesus gives that astonishing cry, “It is finished” as His head falls forward in death.

John tells us what happened in heaven at that very moment. Revelation 12:10 says, “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” At last Satan’s disguise is torn away. His administration is laid wide open before the unfallen angels and the universe. Satan had revealed himself a murderer. How true were the words of Christ, “He was a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Never again would the angels of God in heaven have to listen to Satan’s accusations as he had taunted them at Jerusalem’s pearly gates. The last link of sympathy for Satan was forever broken.

Yet the angels of God did not know the depth of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. This mystery of iniquity must be fully revealed, so Satan’s existence must continue a little longer. For some two thousand years more they must see the full contrast between the Prince of Life and the prince of darkness.

Satan had declared that God’s law could not be obeyed, that God’s justice was inconsistent with His mercy, that it was impossible for a sinner to be pardoned for sin. He must be punished. And if sin should be forgiven, God could no longer be a God of justice because Satan himself had been banished from heaven and refused pardon. But beloved, let us pause for a moment and think this thing through clearly. Lucifer had been the covering cherub next to God. No one in the universe knew more fully and understood more clearly God’s government of love. Yet he openly rebelled, knowing full well that God is a God of love. But man was deceived by Satan’s sophistry. Man, at creation, had lived but a very short time and did not know the heighth and breadth and the depth of God’s love. There was hope for fallen man when given time to realize God’s love and thus be drawn back to God by beholding His character. God’s mercy and justice must be made manifest to sinful man. He must understand that mercy did not set aside God’s justice, that God’s law revealed the attributes of His character and in heaven’s sanctuary not one jot or tittle could be changed in that divine law.

So, wonder of wonders, what does the Godhead do? In order to prove to man that God is filled with love and mercy, Christ sacrifices Himself. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:19: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” Since the law requires righteousness, no man of himself can become righteous, but Christ can embrace men with God’s attributes. Jesus can give to us His character; thus, the righteousness of the law can be fulfilled in the believer. God can be just, “the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). Thus, Jesus revealed the way to God. Since the law is truth, Christ revealed that mercy and His law were insolubly joined together, that one cannot exist without the other. This is why our text states, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”

This brings us to the most important truth for those living in this end time. It is here that we discover Satan’s final deception. Since the cross reveals such unquestionable love of Divinity, Satan now declares that Christ’s love had destroyed the law. Let’s think this through. If it had been possible for God to alter or to change His law, Christ need not have died. So, Satan in this end time has decided to use the love of God to immortalize transgression. Since Jesus’ love was so great that He died for mankind, Satan now uses God’s mercy as the means to do away with the requirements of the law. So today we need only to love God and not obey Him. This is the final deception of Satan in this end time.

Satan is working through the fallen Protestant churches and the Papacy to lead men to disobey one precept of God’s law, knowing full well that God has stated, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). Thus, in our world today most all have swallowed Satan’s lie, hook, line, and sinker, which is his masterly deception in keeping Sunday holy instead of the seventh day Sabbath. And by doing this they are making it possible for Satan to be worshiped as the God of this world.

I am sorry to say that this deception is gaining ground in the Seventh-day Adventist church. Never before has there been so much love-preaching. Never has there been so little preaching of obedience. The result is very obvious. Since God loves you so much, you do not have to obey Him anymore; you may sin until Jesus comes. The results are very evident. Two separate classes are being developed within God’s true church: those who love Jesus so much that they would rather die than sin, and, on the other hand are those who only want to hear of love and no obedience, believing that God’s mercy is so great that they can continue to sin and still be saved.

Beloved, Jesus is soon coming and will vindicate His law with the seven last plagues while at the same time He will deliver those who keep the commandments of God. Sin and sinners will be punished both root and branch – Satan the root, and those who accept his last deception, the branches. God’s word will be fulfilled of Satan and his followers. “I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire” (Ezekiel 28:16, last part). “Thou shalt be a terror, and never shall be any more” (Ezekiel 27:36). “The wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be” (Psalm 37:10). They shall be as though they had not been.

To those individuals who chose to believe Satan’s final deception that God’s love is so great that He will save them even in their sins will discover that they have actually cut themselves off from the peace of eternal life, for as Proverbs 8:36 states, “All they that hate Me love death.” The glory of God’s love will destroy them.

Let us never forget that at the beginning of the great controversy one third of the angels in heaven were deceived. The unfallen worlds did not comprehend what you and I have discovered in this study. If Satan and his angels had been destroyed by God the moment they had rebelled, the universe would never have known the results of sin and they may also have produced the deadly roots of rebellion, but this will not be so when this controversy ends, for God’s character will be fully vindicated. Every created intelligence of heaven and on earth will fully understand the character of God and they will know His precepts are perfect and immutable. Every created being will delight to do God’s will, for in their heart God’s love has been fully understood. Love has not destroyed His law but established His law. Peace, perfect peace will eternally reign, for mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

“And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise.

“ ‘And 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 for ever and ever’ (Revelation 5:13).

“The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.” The Great Controversy, 678.

For more than fifty years, Lawrence Nelson served the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a church pastor, evangelist, and then in Conference, Union, and General Conference leadership. When God laid upon him the responsibility to “tell it like it is” to alert the people how the church was leading them into the worldwide ecumenical movement, he was forbidden to preach in any church within the Oregon Conference. Elder Nelson passed to his rest on April 18, 2012.

Editorial – The Inheritance We Are Preparing For

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“In imagination I gathered with the saints around the wide-spreading tree of life. Friends and dear home relatives who had been separated from us by death were gathered there. The redeemed, white-robed multitude, who had washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, were there. No flaming guard stood around the tree of life, barring our approach. With happy, joyous songs of praise, the voices were blended in perfect harmony as we plucked of the fruit from the tree of life.

“I seemed to be there where all was peace, where no stormy conflicts of earth could ever come—heaven, a kingdom of righteousness where all the holy and pure and blest are congregated, ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, living and walking in happy, pure intimacy, praising God and the Lamb who sitteth on the throne.

“Their voices were in perfect harmony. They never do each other wrong. Princes of heaven, the potentates of this mighty realm, are rivals only in good, seeking the happiness and joy of each other. The greatest there is least in self-esteem, and the least is greatest in his gratitude and wealth of love.

“There are no dark errors to cloud the intellect. Truth and knowledge, clear, strong, and perfect, have chased every doubt away, and no gloom of doubt casts its baleful shadow upon its happy inhabitants. No voices of contention mar the sweet and perfect peace of heaven. Its inhabitants know no sorrow, no grief, no tears. All is in perfect harmony, in perfect order and perfect bliss.

“The Great Shepherd was leading His flock to living fountains of water and to green pastures, new and delightful scenery opening continually before His people. Heaven, sweet heaven, the saints’ eternal home, the abode for the toilers, where the weary who have borne the heavy burdens through life find rest, peace, and joy! They sowed in tears, they reap with joy and triumph. Heaven is a home where sympathy is alive in every heart, expressed in every look. Love reigns there. There are no jarring elements, no discord or contentions or war of words.

“With our deepest study and our broadest experience we shall never be able to describe heaven or our senses to comprehend it. All that is pure, all that is excellent and lovely is there. The possession of heaven is endless bliss, infinite glory, riches, and knowledge. The character of heaven is perfect love, holiness, peace. We know these things now only in part. ‘Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.’ 1 Corinthians 2:9. It is the discipline imposed upon us all to walk by faith and not by sight.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, 104, 105.

“Remember that if you speak cross words to fellow church members, you would speak the same kind of words in heaven, were you permitted to enter there. But you never will be unless you change.” General Conference Bulletin, April 6, 1903.

“No unpleasant words are spoken in heaven. There no unkind thoughts are cherished. There envy, evil surmising, hatred, and strife find no place. Perfect harmony pervades the heavenly courts.” Upward Look, 163.

“(John 14:15, 21, 23, 24 quoted.) Here are the conditions upon which every soul will be elected to eternal life. Your obedience to God’s commandments will prove your right to an inheritance with the saints in light. God has elected a certain excellence of character; and every one who, through the grace of Christ, shall reach the standard of His requirement, will have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of glory. All, who would reach this standard of character, will have to employ the means that God has provided to this end. If you would inherit the rest that remaineth for the children of God, you must become a co-laborer with God. You are elected to wear the yoke of Christ,—to bear His burden, to lift His cross. You are to be diligent ‘to make your calling and election sure.’ 2 Peter 1:10.”  Christian Education, 118.

“Both you and ourselves fully believe that holiness of life is necessary to fit us for the inheritance of saints in light.” Review and Herald, June 6, 1878.

“Those who have been tested and proved on this matter of loving others as themselves, will be pronounced meet for an inheritance with the saints in light.” Signs of the Times, July 2, 1894.

“By looking unto Jesus, by talking with Jesus, by fashioning the life after Christ’s example, they become meet for the inheritance of the saints in light, for our taste is perfected for the purity of heaven.” Signs of the Times, September 5, 1895.

“This present life is only our training-school. Here we are to be purified that at Christ’s coming we may be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,—prepared to receive the inheritance of the saints in light.” Signs of the Times, July 17, 1901.

Bible Study Guides – “He Shall Appear the Second Time without Sin unto Salvation”

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April 30 – May 6, 2000

MEMORY VERSE: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:28.

STUDY HELP: Christ’s Object Lessons, pages 155–163.

INTRODUCTION: “We are looking for the Second Coming of Christ. Our hope of His soon appearing in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory fills our hearts with joy. When the Saviour comes, those who are prepared to meet Him will exclaim, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation’ (Isaiah 25:9.)” Sermons and Talks Vol. 2, 179.

“The End of Your Faith”

1 What is the aim or purpose of the Christian’s life of faith? 1 Peter 1:8, 9.

NOTE: “Only those who practice holiness in this life will see the King in His beauty. Put away all vain, trifling talk, and everything of a frivolous and sensational nature. Do not engross your mind with thoughts of worldly entertainments and pleasures. Engage in the work of saving your soul.…You may use every moment of this God–given life to His name’s glory. Strengthen yourself to resist the powers of darkness, that they shall not obtain a victory over you.” Sermons and Talks Vol. 2, 176. (See also Acts of the Apostles, 387.)

2 When will our salvation be revealed? 1 Peter 1:5.

NOTE: “We must begin in earnest to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. There are many who give no decided evidence that they are true to their baptismal vows. Their zeal is chilled by formality, worldly ambition, pride, and love of self. Occasionally their feelings are stirred, but they do not fall on the Rock, Christ Jesus. They do not come to God with hearts that are broken in repentance and confession. Those who experience the work of true conversion in their hearts, will reveal the fruits of the Spirit in their lives.” Educational Messenger, September 4, 1908.

“Blessed Are They”

3 How does the Lord Himself describe those who will have the right to enter the City of God? Revelation 22:14.

NOTE: “None who have had the light of truth will enter the city of God as commandment–breakers. His law lies at the foundation of His government in earth and in heaven. If they have knowingly trampled upon and despised His law on the earth, they will not be taken to heaven to do the same work there; there is no change of character when Christ comes. The character building is to go on during the hours of probation. Day by day their actions are registered in the books of heaven, and they will, in the great day of God, be rewarded as their works have been. It will then be seen who receives the blessing.” Faith and Works, 43.

4 What heavenly proclamation is made concerning God’s people prior to the Second Coming of Jesus? Revelation 14:12.

NOTE: See The Great Controversy, 435.

“The Hope of Salvation”

5 What preparation should the Christian make to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ? 1 Thessalonians 5:8–9.

NOTE: “…It is the duty of every servant of God to withstand firmly and decidedly these perverters of the faith and by the word of truth fearlessly to expose their errors.” Acts of the Apostles, 387.

6 What counsel did Christ give to one who sought to receive eternal life? Matthew 19:16, 17.

NOTE: See The Desire of Ages, 518, 520.

“The Faith of Jesus”

7 How may we be kept from sin until the time when our salvation shall be revealed? 1 Peter 1:5.

NOTE: See Acts of the Apostles, 530.

8 Does the faith of Jesus free us from obedience to God’s Law? Romans 3:31.

NOTE: “There are two errors against which the children of God—particularly those who have just come to trust in His grace—especially need to guard. The first.…is that of looking to their own works, trusting to anything they can do, to bring themselves into harmony with God. He who is trying to become holy by his own works in keeping the law, is attempting an impossibility.…It is the grace of Christ alone, through faith, that can make us holy. The opposite, and no less dangerous, error is that belief in Christ releases men from keeping the law of God; that since by faith alone we become partakers of the grace of Christ, our works have nothing to do with our redemption. But notice here that obedience is not a mere outward compliance, but the service of love. The law of God is an expression of His very nature; it is an embodiment of the great principle of love, and hence is the foundation of His government in heaven and earth.…Instead of releasing man from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes us partakers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render obedience. As Jesus was in human nature, so God means His followers to be. In His strength we are to live the life of purity and nobility which the Saviour lived.” The Faith I Live By, 93.

“We Deceive Ourselves”

9 What solemn warning does John give to those who claim to have been saved from their sins? 1 John 1:8.

NOTE: “Those who accept Christ, and in their first confidence say, ‘I am saved,’ are in danger of trusting to themselves. They lose sight of their own weakness and their constant need of divine strength. They are unprepared for Satan’s devices, and under temptation many, like Peter, fall into the very depths of sin. We are admonished, ‘Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.’ 1 Corinthians 10:12. Our only safety is in constant distrust of self, and dependence on Christ.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 155. (See also Faith and Works, 121.)

10 What counsel is given to those who think that they are in no danger of falling into sin? 1 Corinthians 10:12.

NOTE: “We are never to rest in a satisfied condition, and cease to make advancement, saying, ‘I am saved.’ When this idea is entertained, the motives for watchfulness, for prayer, for earnest endeavor to press onward to higher attainments, cease to exist. No sanctified tongue will be found uttering these words till Christ shall come, and we enter in through the gates into the city of God. Then, with the utmost propriety, we may give glory to God and to the Lamb for eternal deliverance.” Maranatha, 236.

“We Will be Glad and Rejoice”

11 When will the people of God know that their salvation has arrived? Isaiah 25:8, 9.

NOTE: “As we behold Christ we shall be changed into His image and made fit to meet Him at His coming. Now is the time to prepare for the coming of our Lord. Readiness to meet Him cannot be attained in a moment’s time. Preparatory to that solemn scene there must be vigilant waiting combined with earnest work. The union of these two makes us complete in Christ. The active and devotional must be combined as were the human and divine in Christ. So God’s children glorify Him. Amid the busy scenes of life their voices will be heard speaking words of encouragement, hope, and faith. The will and the affections will be consecrated to Christ. Thus they prepare to meet their Lord; and when He comes, they will say, with joy: ‘This is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us.’” In Heavenly Places, 250.

12 As we see the signs of Christ’s soon coming, what should be the reaction of God’s people? Luke 21:28, Romans 13:11.

NOTE: “There is great need that our weakening faith should be quickened, and that we should ever keep before the mind the evidences that our Lord is soon coming, that we may ever be found not only waiting, but watching and working. We are not to be found in idle expectancy; for this leads to carelessness of life, and deficiency of character.” Review and Herald, November 22, 1892.

“This knowledge of the nearness of Christ’s coming should not be allowed to lose its force, and we become careless and inattentive, and fall into slumber—into an insensibility and indifference to realities. In slumber we are in an unreal world, and not sensible of the things which are taking place around us. Dangers very great may threaten, but there is no sign that they are appreciated. This spiritual sleep is to be avoided. The exhortation is given by the apostle, ‘The night is far spent, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore put off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.’” Youth’s Instructor, August 25, 1886.