Israel

Bible Study Guides – A Modern Captivity

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August 15, 2010 – August 21, 2010

Key Text

“Each of the ancient prophets spoke less for their own time than for ours. … their prophesying is in force for us. … Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel … spoke of things that … reached down to the future, and to what should occur in these last days.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 338, 419, 420.

Introduction

In our last lesson, we saw clearly that the failure of ancient Israel to promptly see the temple through to completion, would be repeated by Modern Israel. In this lesson we investigate the implications should this situation be protracted. We conclude by drawing from the history of the church in Christ’s day to see where our current situation could lead.

1 Could God’s professed people return to captivity, as happened with the Jewish church in Christ’s time? How could it end?

Apply It:

The Scriptures that could be brought to bear on such large questions are indeed extensive. Below are Scripture excerpts, largely from Isaiah and Jeremiah, which provide a sampling of potential answers to these questions.

“… O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err … The Lord will enter into judgment With the elders of His people. … ‘For you have eaten up the vineyard’ … and she [Zion] being desolate shall sit on the ground.” Isaiah 3:12, 14, 26.

“What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then … Did it bring forth wild grapes? I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall … I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned … I will also command the clouds That they rain no rain on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel. …Therefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge … Therefore as … the flame consumes the chaff, So … their blossom will ascend like dust.” Isaiah 5:4-–-7, 13, 24.

“… you have polluted the land With your harlotries … Therefore … there has been no latter rain. … Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, So have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the Lord.” Jeremiah 3:2, 3, 20.

“ ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours. Declare this in the house of Jacob … among My people are found wicked men; As a cage is full of birds … Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord. ‘ Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’ … The prophets prophesy falsely … And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?” Jeremiah 5:19, 20, 26, 27, 29, 31.

“My people do not know the judgment of the Lord … For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How we are plundered!’ “Jeremiah 8:17; 9:19.

“I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies. … Many pastors have destroyed My vineyard … They have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. … No flesh shall have peace … be ashamed of your harvest.” Jeremiah 12:7, 10, 12, 13.

“Give glory to the Lord … Before He causes darkness. … If you will not hear it, My soul will weep … Because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.” Jeremiah 13:16, 17.

“I will bereave them [this people] of children; I will destroy My people, Since they do not return from their ways. … And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword.” Jeremiah 15:7, 9.

“Woe to you who are at ease in Zion … who put far off the day of doom … the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. … Israel shall surely be led away captive. … The end has come upon My people. … They shall wander … seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it.” Amos 6:1, 3; 7:9, 11; 8:2, 12.

“And many among them [both houses of Israel] shall … be snared and captured. … They will be driven into darkness.” Isaiah 8:15, 22.

“O daughter of Zion … you will go to Babylon.” Micah 4:10.

“In all the vineyards there shall be wailing … I do not savor your sacred assemblies … Take away from Me the noise of your songs … therefore I will send you into captivity.” Amos 5.

2 Based on history, what could the start of captivity look like? Should we expect the captivity to be widely recognized?

3 Has a return to captivity already commenced? How would you determine whether or not God’s professed people are in captivity?

4 Has the Seventh-day Adventist church participated in the sins that called for the ancient captivity of God’s people? Should SDAs expect to repeat these sins with different, more positive results?

Apply It:

  • It is united with the world formally and informally.
  • Its people are without knowledge because …
  • The prophets have been despised.
  • It is led by false shepherds, crying peace and safety while the judgment closes.
  • They have united with the state to persecute other Christians through courts of law.
  • Sins such as idolatry and Sabbath breaking are common, and unrebuked.

The full investigation and explanation of the above claims is left to the student. But as a guide to some of these claims, here are some facts that may be investigated.

  • 1 At least one of the official outreach entities of the SDA church is united legally in business under the auspices of a Roman Catholic institution.
  • 2 As with other corrupt religious institutions, the SDA organization has for years used legal and/or physical force in many parts of the world to further its plans.
  • 3 The SDA church has, in various places and at various times, formally and informally united with and supported a cacophony of religious organizations.
  • 4 In practice, the Elijah prophet (Ellen G. White) has been rejected, and the resulting ignorance has seen confusion enter on every biblical point, from the Creation story to the Mark of the Beast.
  • 5 In general, many churches have for years left unchecked open sins within their borders.
  • 6 In general, a message of peace and safety has been preached to heal slightly the wounded consciences of God’s professed people.

5 Does the Seventh-day Adventist church bear the hallmark characteristics of the captivity of the Jewish church in Christ’s day?

  • Does the SDA church, as the Jewish church in Christ’s day, continue to function, maintain real property, pursue converts, and maintain a system of education—despite the deep divisions of a conservative and liberal class?
  • Are there many pastors, and yet—are the sheep as without a shepherd?
  • Are there many schools, and yet—are there none where the child Jesus could attend?
  • As in Christ’s day, is the work of those outside the official recognition of the organization automatically viewed with suspicion, or even opposed?
  • As in Christ’s day, are people taught to place their trust in the temple (church organization) and that to be put out of the synagogue (disfellowshipped from a church body under the auspices of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists) is to be put out of the saving fold of Christ?

6 How does Ellen White compare the condition and outcome of modern Israel, Seventh-day Adventists, with ancient Israel, and the Jews in Christ’s time?

Apply It:

“In His word the Lord declared what He would do for Israel if they would obey His voice. But the leaders of the people yielded to the temptations of Satan, and God could not give them the blessings He designed them to have, because they did not obey His voice but listened to the voice and policy of Lucifer. This experience will be repeated in the last years of the history of the people of God, who have been established by His grace and power. Men whom He has greatly honored will in the closing scenes of this earth’s history pattern after ancient Israel.” Manuscript Releases, 13, 379. [Emphasis supplied.]

“Modern Israel are in greater danger of forgetting God and being led into idolatry than were His ancient people. Many idols are worshiped, even by professed Sabbathkeepers. … A blessing or a curse is now before the people of God. … The sins and iniquities of rebellious Israel are recorded and the picture presented before us as a warning that if we imitate their example of transgression and depart from God we shall fall as surely as did they.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 609. [Emphasis supplied.]

“The alliances made by the Israelites with their heathen neighbors resulted in the loss of their identity as God’s peculiar people. … No semblance of nearness to God, no assertion of connection with Him, will be accepted from those who persist in dishonoring Him by leaning upon the arm of worldly power.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1155, 1156. [Emphasis supplied.]

“My heart aches day after day and night after night for our churches. Many are progressing, but in the back track … They must face square about. I know what I say. Unless they shall become Christians indeed, they will go from weakness to weakness, divisions will increase, and many souls will be led to perdition … The sin of ancient Israel was in disregarding the expressed will of God and following their own way according to the leadings of unsanctified hearts. Modern Israel are fast following in their footsteps, and the displeasure of the Lord is as surely resting upon them.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 93, 94. [Emphasis supplied.]

“The same danger [reference to Jeremiah’s time] exists today among that people who profess to be the repository of God’s law. … They refuse to be reproved of evil, and blame God’s servants with being too zealous in putting sin out of the camp. A sin-hating God calls upon those who profess to keep his law to depart from all iniquity. Neglect to repent and obey his word will bring as serious consequences upon God’s people today, as did the same sin upon ancient Israel. There is a limit beyond which he will no longer delay his judgments. The correction of God through his chosen instruments cannot be disregarded with impunity. The desolation of Jerusalem stands as a solemn warning before the eyes of modern Israel.” The Signs of the Times, February 12, 1880. [Emphasis supplied.]

“The Lord sorely chastised his people Israel, revealing their hypocrisy and rebuking their presumption, and thus left upon the pages of history the testimony for all future ages, that the iniquities of his professed people will not go unpunished. The greater the knowledge of God’s will, the greater the sin of those who disregard it. God is not dependent upon men to cause his name to be feared and honored in the earth. He accepts the labors of those who walk in faithfulness and humility before him, but he will reject all who profess to serve him, and yet follow in the course of the unrighteous. God can carry forward his work in the earth without the co-operation of those who would pervert or disgrace it.” Ibid., December 22, 1881. [Emphasis supplied.]

“There is a deplorable lack of spirituality among our people. … I have seen that self-glorification was becoming common among Seventh-day Adventists and that unless the pride of man should be abased and Christ exalted we should, as a people, be in no better condition to receive Christ at His second advent than were the Jewish people to receive Him at His first advent. … Their history should be a solemn warning to us.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 727, 728. [Emphasis supplied.]

“I have been shown that unbelief in the testimonies of warning, encouragement, and reproof is shutting away the light from God’s people. Unbelief is closing their eyes so that they are ignorant of their true condition.

“I saw that the reason why visions had not been more frequent of late is, they have not been appreciated by the church. The church have nearly lost their spirituality and faith, and the reproofs and warnings have had but little effect upon them. Many of those who have professed faith in them have not heeded them.” Ibid., 674.

“Please read the third chapter [of Jeremiah]. This chapter is a lesson for modern Israel. Let all who claim to be children of God understand that He will not serve with their sins any more than He would with the sins of ancient Israel.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1154. [Emphasis supplied.]

Studies prepared by John T. Grosboll, PE. John T. is a mechanical engineer living near Vancouver, Washington. His secular employment includes several years of experience in primary metals and transportation-related industries. He, along with his wife Teresa, is actively involved in the work of the Historic Message Church in Portland, Oregon. He may be reached at: grosbolls@yahoo.com.

Bible Study Guides – Seventh-day Adventists and the Work of Rebuilding the Church and the Wall

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August 8, 2010 – August 14, 2010

Key Text

“Each of the ancient prophets spoke less for their own time than for ours. … their prophesying is in force for us. … Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel … spoke of things that … reached down to the future, and to what should occur in these last days.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 338, 419, 420.

Introduction

Let’s summarize what we have seen thus far in our study of the history of the captivity of God’s people.

In last month’s lessons we have seen:

1 The purpose of God’s church on earth to bear His identity, be a refuge, and gain coverts.

2 The purpose of God’s church as described by trees and vines that bear fruit, and a married woman who bears children.

3 That this fruit of the tree and of the womb are symbols of purified character and converts intertwined.

4 That failure in God’s church is described by barren trees, vineyards, wombs and failed marriage.

5 The reasons for the original Babylonian captivity: union with foreigners, rejection of prophets and the requisite ignorance that follows, Sabbath breaking and the leadership of unfaithful pastors.

6 That Israel refused to acknowledge their captivity (Jeremiah 26–28, 42)!

7 Because of this rebellion, this physical captivity became much more extensive and severe than God intended, and led to the complete physical destruction of the church, wall, and city.

8 That the secular government opened the way for the church to be rebuilt after 70 years of captivity, but that few of God’s professed people heeded the call to return and rebuild.

9 That the first priority of Israel was to rebuild the church, and then the wall, and that God’s people were disowned when they did not make church restoration the first priority.

10 Specific reasons these tasks were successful (such as collective action), and reasons that they clearly were not (such as marriage with foreigners).

11 That in the time of Christ, God’s people were in captivity again. We focused on the spiritual nature of the captivity of the Jewish church, but saw that this captivity was both physical and spiritual in nature (John 18:31; 8:34–44).

12 That even though churches, schools and pastors were many in Christ’s day—that it was as though they had been destroyed. They effectively didn’t exist (Mark 6:34; John 9:34–39).

13 That once again, Israel refused to acknowledge this captivity (John 8:33).

14 That once again, because of this refusal to acknowledge their captivity, God’s professed people were led to the complete physical destruction of church, wall, and city.

15 The blossoming of a new and pure church along-side, but separate from the legacy church in rebellion (Luke 5:37–39).

16 That both of these churches, new and old, claimed the name of Israel.

17 That parallel promises of glory and destruction were fulfilled together to two different groups bearing the name Israel (Romans 9:6–8; 24–33).

18 That the final destruction of Jerusalem, the old church of Israel, happened after the gospel had already been taken to the entire world by the new Israel in the 1st century!

In the previous lesson, we have seen:

1 That the largest part of the Christian church, in name, returned to a Babylonian captivity during the Dark Ages.

2 That this captivity had broad physical and spiritual effects.

3 That once again, the church did not in general recognize the broad extent of the captivity.

4 That the rebuilding of God’s decimated church began in earnest with the Protestant reformation.

5 That the rebuilding work was halted (Revelation 3:1–6).

6 That through the religious liberty proffered by the civil government of the United States of America, the way was paved for church rebuilding to continue.

7 That the Protestants ultimately rejected their assignment to rebuild God’s church (Revelation 14:8).

8 That Seventh-day Adventists received the assignment to finish rebuilding the church and restore the wall, a symbol of God’s Law (Isaiah 58:12–14).

From here we pick up the story:

Notes:

From this point forward, the student should lean heavily on three groups of themes that have been explored extensively in the previous lessons:

  1. The terminology for the purposes of God’s church examined so closely in lesson one and referenced above (trees, vines, fruit, marriage, children, and offspring).
  2. The identifying characteristics of captivity, and the task of God’s people to rebuild His church following its destruction; as we studied in lessons 3, 4, and 5.
  3. The extension of the application of intertwining parallel prophecies of triumph and disaster that applied to two groups of people identified as Israel at the same time. This was the focus of our study in lesson five.

The author has made generous use of ellipses in these lessons. These perform two functions: they draw related thoughts together, and conserve time and space. The author believes that appropriate use of ellipses have been made, even at times over large spans of text, but invites the reader to examine the appropriateness of the editing for himself.

1 Has the Seventh-day Adventist denomination completed the rebuilding of God’s church?

In order to start to answer this question, we would have to have some sort of understanding of what the rebuilt church should look like, else how could we recognize its completion? There are many Scriptures to which we could refer. Here is a small sampling of verses to guide your thoughts and discussion:

John 17:19–23; Ephesians 2:18–22; Isaiah 52:8; Ephesians 5:25–27; John 13:35; 1 Timothy 3:15.

2 Has the Seventh-day Adventist denomination completed the rebuilding of the wall (repairing the breach made in God’s law)?

The reader is asked to consider this question in the context of the rest of the lesson.

3 Has there been a work stoppage?

Let’s now start to take an extensive look at what the prophets have to say about our situation, starting with Haggai’s time, chapter 1, verse 2. This chapter deals with the work stoppage on the temple. Of it, Ellen White says:

“The expression, ‘This people say,’ is significant. … Prompt obedience is expected of those whom the Lord chooses and leads. Pleas for delay are a dishonor to God. … Thus the Israelites declared that they … were broken off in their work because of the hindrances. … This is why, in a communication through his prophet, he referred to them not as ‘my people,’ but as ‘this people.’

“The Israelites had no real excuse for leaving their work on the temple. The time when the most serious objections were raised, was the time for them to persevere in building. But they were actuated by a selfish dislike to encounter danger by arousing the opposition of their enemies. … They hesitated to move forward by faith in the opening providences of God, because they could not see the end from the beginning. When difficulties arose, they were easily turned from the work.

“This history will be repeated. There will be religious failures because men do not have faith. When they look at the things that are seen, impossibilities appear; but God can lead them step by step in the course he desires them to take. His work will advance only as his servants move forward by faith.” The Review and Herald, December 5, 1907. [Emphasis supplied.]

Apply It:

Ellen White, writing in 1907, said that the history of work stoppage on the rebuilding church would yet be repeated. What exactly would a work stoppage on the temple look like? How would we know? What sign should we wait for to indicate a cessation of work has commenced? Does that mean that the Seventh-day Adventist church would run out of money to complete construction projects? Does it mean that Maranatha volunteers would cease volunteering? Or that evangelism projects would cease? Does it mean that fire or financial collapse would cripple institutions? Does it mean that individual work would completely stop, or collective work, or both? Does it mean that the organization of divisions, unions, and conferences would fall apart?

Or would the situation be more likely to appear as it did in Christ’s day? An organized church of Israel functions, despite deep divisions of conservatives and liberals. An imposing edifice (temple) on the outside, decaying on the inside (Matthew 23:27). While a motley group of disciples, at first unable to grasp the full significance of the church that Christ had founded and was raising up, and unable at times to collectively realize the full potential of unified action, forms the genesis of a modern Israel that took the gospel to the world—while the forms of the ancient church of Israel carried on.

“O Israel … You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel.” Ezekiel 13:4, 5.

“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30. [Emphasis supplied.]

Studies prepared by John T. Grosboll, PE. John T. is a mechanical engineer living near Vancouver, Washington. His secular employment includes several years of experience in primary metals and transportation-related industries. He, along with his wife Teresa, is actively involved in the work of the Historic Message Church in Portland, Oregon. He may be reached at: grosbolls@yahoo.com.

Bible Study Guides – Mind Twisting Role Reversals

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September 19, 2010 – September 25, 2010

Key Text

“Each of the ancient prophets spoke less for their own time than for ours. … Their prophesying is in force for us. … Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel … spoke of things that … reached down to the future, and to what should occur in these last days.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 338, 419, 420.

Introduction

The lesson in the previous week and this lesson are a study in polar contrasting experiences and outcomes. The outcomes are impossible to anticipate solely through the lens of human experience. They are easily unanticipated when tradition is the standard for prophetic interpretation. The student should carefully note in these lessons that modern Israel has, as Israel did in the time of Christ, been preparing for a tragic surprise by misinterpreting and misapplying promises of victory for the church. Are you ready for a surprise?

1 What does Babylon say just before her captivity and destruction?

“… ‘I shall be a lady forever,’ … ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know the loss of children;’ but these two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day: the loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness because of the multitude of your sorceries.” Isaiah 47:7–9. [Compare with the 6th plague.] [Emphasis supplied.]

“For she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ Therefore her plagues will come in one day.” Revelation 18:7, 8.

2 Does Babylon also go through any birth pains at the end?

“The king of Babylon has heard the report about them [his enemies]. … Anguish has taken hold of him, pangs as of a woman in childbirth.” Jeremiah 50:43.

“Beautiful in elevation … is Mount Zion. … God is … her refuge … the kings assembled. … They saw it, and … marveled; they were troubled. … Fear took hold of them there, and pain, as of a woman in childbirth.” Psalm 48:2–6.

“Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty. Because of this … they will writhe like a woman in labor.” Isaiah 13:6-–8.

“Sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.” I Thessalonians 5:3.

3 How is it that we find Zion so crowded, when only a tiny remnant survived the decimation of the church?

Note how Isaiah shows that the remnant will be wondering this too!

“Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, since I have lost my children and am desolate, a captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; but these, where were they?’ ” Isaiah 49:21.

“You will divide … inheritance for yourselves, and for the strangers who sojourn among you and who bear children among you. They shall be to you as native-born … they shall have an inheritance with … Israel.” Ezekiel 47:22.

“I was found by those who did not seek Me … but to Israel he says: ‘All day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient … people.’ … But you are those who forsake the Lord. … You shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen.” Romans 10:20, 21, quoting from Isaiah; Isaiah 65:11, 15.

“I will call them My people, who were not My people … in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they will be called the sons of the living God.” Romans 9:25, 26.

“I will signal for them and gather them in. Surely I will redeem them; they will be as numerous as before. Though I scatter them among the peoples, yet in distant lands they will remember Me. They and their children will survive, and they will return. I will bring them back from Egypt, and gather them from Assyria [Babylon]. … And there will not be room enough for them.” Zechariah 10:8–10.

“Enlarge the place of your tent.” Isaiah 54:2.

“In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, ‘Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.’ “… The Lord will thresh … and you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel. … They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria … who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.” Isaiah 19:24; 27:12.

“I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from the east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 8:10-–12.

“And the foreigners who convert to the Lord, … all who keep the Sabbath … I will bring them to … My house of prayer. … For My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. [This is] the declaration of the Lord God, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: ‘I will gather to them still others besides those already gathered.’ ” Isaiah 56:6–8.

4 How are we shown that the final work will happen quickly?

“I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.” Isaiah 60:22.

“For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children.” Isaiah 66:8.

“For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.” Romans 9:28. (Paul quoting from Isaiah 10 and Isaiah 28).

“For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their [Babylon’s] destruction.” Isaiah 10:25. [Emphasis supplied.]

“The last great conflict will be short, but terrible.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 419.

5 How are we shown that there will be a complete role reversal between Zion and Babylon?

“For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them. … They will take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors. It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from … the hard bondage … that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: ‘How the oppressor has ceased! … He who ruled … is persecuted, … indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon,’ saying, ‘Since you were cut down, no woodsman has come up against us.’ ” Isaiah 14:1–4, 6, -8.

6 Who completes the work of rebuilding the church and the wall?

“The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls.” Isaiah 60:10.

“Those who mourn in Zion … may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. … And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.” Isaiah 61:3–-5.

“Even those who are far away shall come and build the temple of the Lord.” Zechariah 6:15.

“Now … you are no longer … foreigners, but … members of the household of God.” Ephesians 2:19.

“The day for building your walls will come … In that day people will come to you from Assyria … from Egypt to the Euphrates.” Micah 7:11, 12.

Note

Anciently, God’s people explicitly refused to allow foreigners to help rebuild the church (see Ezra 4:1-3). The wall was also rebuilt without the aid of foreigners. Thus, the prophecies that foreigners would be part of the rebuilding, instead of being dual application prophecies, point exclusively to the work of repairing God’s church and law at the end of time.

In this context, it could be noted that the captor nation of God’s professed people, Babylon, are referred to in many Scriptures as foreigners. The foreigners who return to help rebuild God’s church can be understood then as coming out of Babylon. This fits with Revelation 18:1-4.

7 Will these foreigners who complete the work of rebuilding God’s church be recognized as part of Israel by those who claim to be modern Israel?

“Doubtless You are our Father, though … Israel does not acknowledge us. … Our adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary. … I was found by those who did not seek Me … a nation that was not called by My name. … I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah an heir … the Lord God will … call His servants by another name.” Isaiah 63: 16, 18; -65:1, 9, 15. [Emphasis supplied.]

“But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says: ‘I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation.’ … But Isaiah is very bold and says: ‘I was found by those who did not seek Me.’ … But to Israel he says: ‘All day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and contrary people.’ ” Romans 10:19–-21.

“There are many souls to come out of the ranks of the world, out of the churches—even the Catholic church—whose zeal will far exceed that of those who have stood in rank and file to proclaim the truth heretofore. … These [eleventh-hour workers] will see the battle coming and will give the trumpet a certain sound. … They will come to the front, gird themselves with the whole armor of God … maintain the cause of religious liberty.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 386, 387.

“If His people will not follow in His way, the Lord will employ heathen princes to do His will.” Notebook Leaflets, vol. 1, 62.

Note

Notice that, since foreigners were specifically not allowed to build the temple in Zechariah’s time, or the wall in Nehemiah’s time, the prophecies of foreigners rebuilding cannot refer to the ancient story. Also note that, while foreigners aptly applied to Adventists at the commencement of their work, it does not apply to Adventists in the Ellen G. White quote from Notebook Leaflets. Also, notice that Isaiah predicts that these foreigners will not be properly recognized for who they are by modern Israel.

8 Referencing quotes under the above question, is it possible to expect that modern Israel may have little to do with completing the work of rebuilding God’s last day church and wall?

9 Beyond an inability to recognize these foreigners who are newly joined to Israel, does the Bible predict that modern Israel (in name only) will fight and attempt to deceive the remnant?

What a question to consider! Yet, note once again that this is what happened to the church that Christ formed—the new Israel. It was persecuted by the Jewish church—the old Israel.

In the following quote, especially note the following:

Within the last half of Isaiah 8, we have a classic example of twin prophesies of destruction and success mingled and contrasted in parallel, for two groups of people.

To help pick up on this parallel contrasting, note the transition of pronouns, and follow the antecedents of they and them throughout this quote. Who in the quote is imbibing of spiritualism? Who is inviting whom to partake in spiritualism?

“… the Lord spoke … with a strong hand … that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying … He [the Lord of Hosts] will be … a rock of offense to both houses of Israel, as a trap … to Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be … taken. [Note: start of contrast.] Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait on the Lord, who hides His face from Jacob. … Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel … [End of Contrast]. And when they say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums.’ … To the law and to the testimony! If they speak not according to this word … there is no light in them … They will [be] hungry … enraged … driven into darkness.” Isaiah 8:11, 13–-22. [Emphasis supplied.]

10 Armed with the themes and terminology that we have been studying, what applications can you make to the following language of the apostle Paul?

“For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written:

‘Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband.’

“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.’ So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.” Galatians 4:24, 27–31, (quoting from Isaiah 54).

Apply It

Have you seen ample evidence that those who claim to be modern Israel, whatever they may choose to be called, have not fulfilled God’s great purposes for His church? Have you seen clearly that God will use foreigners to complete his work? The SDA church was raised up as a group of foreigners to finish the work when Protestants rejected the first angel’s message. Ellen White has told us that this will be repeated if God’s people will not fulfill His purpose for the church. And have we not seen that our situation today, however we may wish to term it, bears many of the hallmark characteristics of the Babylonian captivities—and that wall and temple building work remains, in conjunction with anticipated fruit from God’s church? We read the following:

“But let God’s people remember that only as they believe and work out the principles of the gospel can He make them [fulfill His purpose]. … If those who profess to believe in Christ as their Saviour reach only the low standard of worldly measurement, the church fails to bear the rich harvest that God expects. ‘Found wanting’ [Daniel 5:27] is written upon her record.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 14.

Studies prepared by John T. Grosboll, P.E. John T. is a mechanical engineer living near Vancouver, Washington. His secular employment includes several years of experience in primary metals and transportation-related industries. He, along with his wife, Teresa, is actively involved in the work of the Historic Message Church in Portland, Oregon. He may be contacted by email at: grosbolls@yahoo.com.

Bible Study Guides – Survivors Thrive!

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September 12, 2010 – September 18, 2010

Key Text

“Each of the ancient prophets spoke less for their own time than for ours. … Their prophesying is in force for us. … Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel … spoke of things that … reached down to the future, and to what should occur in these last days.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 338, 419, 420.

Introduction

As a continuation from the previous lesson, these last two lessons are a study in polar contrasting experiences and outcomes. The outcomes are impossible to anticipate solely through the lens of human experience. They are easily unanticipated when tradition is the standard for prophetic interpretation. The student should carefully note in these lessons that modern Israel has, as Israel did in the time of Christ, been preparing for a tragic surprise by misinterpreting and misapplying promises of victory for the church. Are you ready for a surprise?

1 Referencing the quotations we’ve studied thus far, how many survive the decimating destruction among God’s professed people?

For example, review again Isaiah 10:19, Isaiah 17:4–6, Jeremiah 11:15–-17.

“Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand by the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming … upon the whole land.” Isaiah 10:22, -23.

2 What does Zion say just before her triumph? How are the extremes of seeming defeat and victory contrasted?

“O Lord … other masters besides You have had dominion over us; but by You only we make mention of Your name. … As a woman with child is in pain and cries out in her pangs, when she draws near the time of her delivery, so have we been in Your sight, O Lord. We have been with child, we have been in pain; we have, as it were, brought forth wind; we have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth.” Isaiah 26:12-, 17, 18.

Note the contrast in the following quote:

“Sing, O heavens! be joyful, O earth! and break out in singing, O mountains! for the Lord has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted. But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.’ ” Isaiah 49:13, 14. [Emphasis supplied.]

Note

Just when Heaven starts to rejoice because of the destruction of Babylon, Zion says, “The Lord has forsaken me!” Isaiah 49:14. Compare this with the situation of Christ on the cross. Just after Christ cried out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me” [Matthew 27:46], Ellen White tells us that, “Well might the angels rejoice.” The Desire of Ages, 764. Here again we see an example of victory about to dawn, after defeat seems to have already happened!

For the saints, this scene will yet be repeated. Ellen White writes: “The remnant in the time of trouble will cry, ‘My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ ” Spalding and Magan Collection, 2, 3.

“With pity and compassion … the Lord is looking upon His tempted and tried people. For a time the oppressors will be permitted to triumph over those who know God’s holy commandments. … Everyone shall be tested and proved, to see whether he will be loyal. … God permits Satan to reveal his character. … Thus the final triumph of His people is made more marked … and complete. … People of God … should set aside days for fasting and praying.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 414.

3 We are shown that God’s church ultimately escapes and fulfills God’s purpose for her, after it seems like all has been lost! Note the language of fruit and birth, marriage and children! How is it, when only a handful survive, that Israel is so numerous?

“ ‘In that day,’ says the Lord, ‘I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast. … The stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, Even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.’ Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in your midst? Has your counselor perished? For pangs have seized you like a woman in labor. Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in birth pangs. For now you shall go forth from the city, you shall dwell in the field, and to Babylon you shall go. There you shall be delivered.” Micah 4:6, 8–10. [Emphasis supplied.]

“Lift up your eyes all around. … They all gather together. … Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side.” Isaiah 60:4.

“Break forth into singing … you who have not travailed with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman. … Enlarge the place of your tent … your descendants will inherit the nations … you … will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. For your Maker is your husband.” Isaiah 54:1–-5.

“ ‘Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children. Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?’ says the Lord. … Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad … all you who mourn for her.” Isaiah 66:7–-10.

“In that day [day of captivity] … Israelites, will be gathered up one by one. … Those who were perishing in Assyria and … exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord … in Jerusalem.” Isaiah 27:12, 13. [Emphasis supplied.]

“Surely these shall come from afar … the north and west, and from the land of Sinim. … Lift up your eyes, look around and see; all these gather together and come to you. … You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament. … For … the land of your destruction, will even now be too small for the inhabitants. … The children you will have, after you have lost the others, will say again in your ears, ‘The place is too small for me; give me a place where I may dwell.’ Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, since I have lost my children and am desolate, a captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; but these, where were they?’ ” Isaiah 49:12, 18–-21.

“Those who come [to make peace with God] He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.” Isaiah 27:6.

“Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man … like a woman in labor … faces turned pale? … It is the time of Jacob’s trouble … he shall be saved out of it. … In that day … I will break his yoke from his neck … foreigners shall no more enslave them. … Though I make a full end of nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you … They called you an outcast saying: ‘This is Zion; no one seeks her.’ Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity … I will multiply … Their children shall be as before.’ ” Jeremiah 30:6–8, 11, 17–20. [Emphasis added.]

“ ‘At that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be My people.’ … I will bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return. They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water, on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn son.” Jeremiah 31:1, 8, 9.

“You have … scattered us among the nations. … You make us a byword among the nations. … We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. … Why do You hide Your face, and forget our affliction? … Our soul is bowed down … Our body clings to the dust. … Arise for our help [transition]. … Listen, O daughter … Forget your own people also, and your father’s house; so the King will greatly desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, worship Him. And the daughter of Tyre will be there with a gift. … The royal daughter is glorious within the palace; her clothing is woven with gold. … Virgins follow her. … They shall enter the King’s palace. Instead of your fathers shall be your sons, whom you shall make princes. … I will make your name to be remembered.” Psalm 44:11, 14, 22, 24, 26; 45:10–17. [Emphasis supplied.]

“ ‘Return, O backsliding children,’ says the Lord; ‘for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land.’ ” Jeremiah 3:14–16.

“Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion city of our god! … And of Zion it will be said, ‘This one and that one were born in her.’ … The Lord will record, when He registers the peoples: ‘This one was born there.’ ” Psalm -87:3, 5, 6.

“I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold. … They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.” Micah 2:12. [Emphasis supplied.]

“The Lord will restore the splendor of Jacob Like the splendor of Israel, Though destroyers have laid them waste and have ruined their vines.” Nahum 2:2.

“I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel, they will rebuild and occupy ruined cities, plant vineyards and drink their wine … make gardens and eat their produce.” Amos 9:14.

“For the Lord hears the poor and does not despise His prisoners. … For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah, that they may dwell there. … The descendants of His servants shall inherit it.” Psalm 69:33, 35, -36.

“He will … assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah.” Isaiah 11:12.

“I will save … your seed from … captivity. … I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you.” “I will rebuild you … O virgin of Israel! … Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden.” Jeremiah 30:10, 11; 31:4, 12

“Israel will be abandoned, until the time when she who is in labor gives birth.” Micah 5:3.

“At that time … I will … gather those who have been scattered. … In every land where they were put to shame. … I will give you honor … when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes.” Zephaniah 3:19, 20.

“Call a sacred assembly. Gather … the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast … [prepare for the marriage of the bridegroom and bride]. … Spare Your people, O Lord … then the Lord will … take pity on His people. … The trees are bearing their fruit.” Joel 2:15–18, -22. [Emphasis supplied.]

4 In the context of Scriptures that we have been reading, what significance do you give to the frequent phrases, in that day or at that time? What is happening when these phrases are used?

Review and Discuss

Compare, for example, the following quotations from Joel 3 and Jeremiah 31 with Revelation 14:14–-20; Revelation 16:12–-21 and Revelation 19:11–-21. Do God’s people see with their eyes the ultimate success of the birth of offspring to the church before this time?

“In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. … Proclaim this among the nations: prepare for war! … beat your plowshares into swords. … Let the nations be rouses; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all nations. … Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes. … The Lord will be a refuge for His people … Jerusalem will be holy, never again will foreigners invade her.” Joel 3:1, 2, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, -17.

“At that time, declares the Lord, ‘I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be My people.’ … The people who survive the sword will find favor in the desert—I will come to give rest to Israel. … You will be rebuilt … the remnant of Israel … I will bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be … expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return. … He who scattered Israel will gather them.” Jeremiah 31:1, 2, 4, 8, 10.

For additional references to this same time, see Isaiah 11:11–-15; Isaiah 19:23–-25; and Isaiah 25:8; -26:2.

Studies prepared by John T. Grosboll, P.E. John T. is a mechanical engineer living near Vancouver, Washington. His secular employment includes several years of experience in primary metals and transportation-related industries. He, along with his wife, Teresa, is actively involved in the work of the Historic Message Church in Portland, Oregon. He may be contacted by email at: grosbolls@yahoo.com.

Bible Study Guides – The Results of Captivity for Modern Israel

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September 5, 2010 – September 11, 2010

Key Text

“Each of the ancient prophets spoke less for their own time than for ours. … Their prophesying is in force for us. … Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel … spoke of things that … reached down to the future, and to what should occur in these last days.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 338, 419, 420.

Introduction

This lesson (number eleven) is a pivotal lesson in our series. Several of the previous lessons, notably number five, have prepared us to examine the seeming contradictions in this lesson. In this lesson we see that Israel will be destroyed, and Israel will be saved. Much depends on the student’s ability to: first see this seeming blatant contradiction in the black-and-white narrative of the ancient prophets, and secondly, be able to explain it.

1 What are the results of captivity; to what does it ultimately lead?

Note

At this point in our study, the student must now be following Israel in prophecy; in parallel: in one case as a church that achieves stunning success when failure looks to be certain and in a second case as a church that is destroyed while claiming the protection of God.

  1. a) First, for one group, the result of captivity is a complete severance from all connection with sin:

“Behold, I will refine them and try them; For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?” Jeremiah 9:7.

“… the remnant of Israel, and the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer depend on the one who struck them, but they will faithfully depend on the Lord.” Isaiah 10:20. …

“My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray. … Move from … Babylon. Go out … I will punish Babylon … I will bring back Israel. … In that time … the iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none.” Jeremiah 50:6, 8, 18–20. [Emphasis supplied.]

“For those of Israel who have escaped. And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.” Isaiah 4:2–4.

“Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the … unclean shall no longer come to you. Shake yourself from the dust, arise; … Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion! … You have sold yourselves for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money. … My people went down at first into Egypt to dwell there; then the Assyrian [Babylon] oppressed them without cause. … For they shall see eye to eye when the Lord brings back Zion.” Isaiah 52:1–4, 8. [Emphasis supplied.]

“Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.” Psalms 14:7; 53:6.

“The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no longer send you into captivity.” Lamentations 4:22.

“The Redeemer will come to Zion … to those who turn from sin in Jacob.” Isaiah 59:20. “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong. … Sing, O Daughter of Zion! … The Lord has taken away your punishment.” Zephaniah 3:13-–15.

“For on My holy mountain … declares the Sovereign Lord … the entire house of Israel will serve Me … when I … gather you from the countries where you have been scattered.” Ezekiel 20:40, -41.

  1. b) Second, for another group—and their offspring, the result of captivity is complete destruction:

“And many among them [both houses of Israel] shall … be snared and captured. … They will be driven into darkness.” Isaiah 8:15, 22.

“Oh … that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.” Jeremiah 9:1.

“… rulers have destroyed My vineyard.” Jeremiah 12:10.

“I said, ‘You are gods, you are all sons of the Most High. But you will die like mere men, you will fall like every other ruler.’ ” Psalm 82:6, 7.

“All the sinners among My people will die by the sword, all those who say, ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’ ” Amos 9:10.

Note

The following two questions are worded identically with purpose:

2 What ultimately happens to “both houses of Israel”?

The houses of Israel will be saved!

“And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’ ” Romans 11:26, -27.

“I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be.” Amos 9:11.

“Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel.” Ezekiel 39:25.

“I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first.” Jeremiah 33:7.

“ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers.’ ” Jeremiah 30:3.

“In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north.” Jeremiah 3:18.

“… and I will take the children of Israel from among the nations … and will gather them … I will make them one nation … they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. … I will deliver … and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people.” Ezekiel 37:21–-23.

3 What ultimately happens to “both houses of Israel”?

The houses of Israel, through pride and misplaced confidence, are prepared for complete destruction!

“… priests … and … prophets [of Zion] … lean upon the Lord and say, ‘Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.’ Therefore because of you Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.” Micah 3:11, -12.

“And many among them [both houses of Israel] shall … be snared and captured. … They will be driven into darkness.” Isaiah 8:15, 22.

“I have forsaken My house … I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies. … Come, assemble all the beasts of the field, bring them to devour!” Jeremiah 12:7–-9.

“I will destroy My people, since they do not return from their ways … And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword … says the Lord.” Jeremiah 15:7, -9.

“Then he said to me, ‘Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain.’ … While they were killing … I fell facedown, crying out … ‘Are You going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem? ’ He answered me … ‘The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. … I will not look on them with pity or spare them.’ ” Ezekiel 9:7-–10.

“After seeing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, He [Jesus] went to find out if there was anything on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. He said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ ” Mark 11:13, 14.

“O Jerusalem … your house is left to you desolate.” Matthew 23:37, -38.

“My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt. … I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them.” Jeremiah 44:26, 27.

“By the wrath of the Lord … the people will be fuel for the fire. … Each will feed on the flesh of his own offspring. Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh; together they will turn against Judah. Yet for all this, His anger is not turned away.” Isaiah 9:19–-21.

Apply It

In Christ’s day, these seeming counter prophecies of victory and utter destruction for Israel were both fulfilled in parallel. Do you see the potential of this happening once again?

4 How is the destruction in God’s church described? How is the shaking, through which the remnant survive, described?

“Therefore the Lord … will kindle a burning. … It will burn and devour His thorns … in one day. … It will consume the glory of his forest. … Then the rest of the trees of his forest will be so few in number that a child may write them.” Isaiah 10:16–19.

“For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and those who are led by them are destroyed. … Wickedness burns as the fire; it shall … kindle in the thickets of the forest … Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is burned up, and the people shall be as fuel for the fire. … Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, and they together shall be against Judah.” Isaiah 9:16-, 18, 19, 21.

“What is My beloved doing in My temple? … Can consecrated meat avert your punishment? … The Lord called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form. But with the roar … He will set it on fire … The Lord Almighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you.” Jeremiah 11:15–-17.

“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. … Therefore … as men gather silver [with other elements] into the midst of a furnace … to melt it; so … you shall be melted. … You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on. … The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion … they have made many widows … they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy. … So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore … I have consumed them with fire.” Ezekiel 22:8–20, 24–26, 30, 31.

“Alas … the day of the Lord is near; It will come like destruction from the Almighty. … Has not … joy and gladness been cut off from the house of our God? … Flames have burned up all the trees of the field.” Joel 1:15, 16, -19.

“He kindled a fire in Zion, and it has devoured its foundations.” Lamentations 4:11.

“My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place [Judah and Jerusalem] — on the trees … and on the fruit. … It will burn and not be quenched.’ ” Jeremiah 7:20.

“Say to the southern forest: ‘I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees … every face from south to north will be scorched by it. Everyone will see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it will not be quenched.’ ” Ezekiel 20:47, 48.

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Where is the certificate of your mother’s divorce, whom I have put away? … For your transgressions your mother has been put away. Why, when I came, was there no man?’ ” Isaiah 50:1, 2.

“In that day it shall come to pass that the glory of Jacob will wane. … Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it, like the shaking of a olive tree, two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in its most fruitful branches.” Isaiah 17:4, -6.

“As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem.” Ezekiel 15:6.

“Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel. … Your mother was like a vine … it was fruitful and full of branches … it was stripped of fruit. … Fire spread from one of its main branches and consumed its fruit.” Ezekiel 19:1, 10, 12, -14.

“This Mount Zion … The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary. Your enemies roar in the midst … they set up their banners for signs. They … lift up axes among the thick trees. … They have set fire to Your sanctuary; they have defiled the dwelling place of Your name. … They have burned up all the meeting places of God. … O God, how long will the adversary reproach? Will the Lord cast off forever? … O God, the nations have come into … Your holy temple … They have laid Jerusalem in heaps. … We have become a reproach. … How long, Lord? … Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’ … How long will You be Angry against the prayer of Your people? Why have You broken down her hedges, so that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit? … The vineyard which Your right hand has planted. … It is burned with fire. … Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! There shall be no foreign god among you. … But My people would not heed My voice. … Your enemies have … consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.’ ” Psalm 74:2–10; 77:7; 79:1, 4, 5, 10; 80:4, 12 ,15, 16; 81:8, 9, 11; -83:2–4. [Emphasis supplied.]

“I will throw out … the inhabitants of the land. … My tent is plundered, and all my cords are broken; My children have gone from me, and they are no more. … For the shepherds have … not sought the Lord; therefore … all their flocks shall be scattered … a great commotion out of the north … To make the cities of Judah desolate.” Jeremiah 10:18-, 20–22.

“How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! How is she become as a widow! … She [Zion] has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, those whom You commanded not to enter … The Lord … has abandoned His sanctuary. … The Law is no more … your prophets have seen for you false … visions; they have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captives.” Lamentations 1:1, 10; 2:7, 9, 14.

“My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt. … I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them. Yet a small number who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs.” Jeremiah 44:26–28.

Studies prepared by John T. Grosboll, P.E. John T. is a mechanical engineer living near Vancouver, Washington. His secular employment includes several years of experience in primary metals and transportation-related industries. He, along with his wife, Teresa, is actively involved in the work of the Historic Message Church in Portland, Oregon. He may be contacted by email at: grosbolls@yahoo.com.

Bible Study Guides – The Second Babylonian Captivity

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August 29, 2010 – September 4, 2010

Babylonian Captivity, Escape and Rebuilding God’s Church

A Study for Modern Israel

Part Two:

The Second Babylonian Captivity, A Call Out, A Wall to Rebuild, the Church Reestablished

Collective Action and the Work of Rebuilding

Key Text

“Each of the ancient prophets spoke less for their own time than for ours. … Their prophesying is in force for us. … Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel … spoke of things that … reached down to the future, and to what should occur in these last days.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 338, 419, 420.

Introduction

In our most recent lessons, we have been examining the fit of ancient prophecies and experiences relating to captivity and destruction for ancient Israel to modern Israel. The first three questions of this lesson deal with some large pragmatic question about what God’s church should do given our current situation. These questions should be prefaced in the mind of the student by the idea that God’s modern church really is in trouble. The final question returns to the subject of captivity, attempting to summarize what the author believes can be said about the situation of modern Israel.

Note

The student should see by this point in our lessons that the term modern Israel has been loosely defined. This is with purpose. The term certainly often includes the corporate trade-marked entity: The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, but several of the situations may be seen to fit a variety of groups of historic Seventh-day Adventist believers—itself a very loosely defined term. The first three questions in this lesson are addressed with historic Seventh-day Adventists in mind.

1 What remains to be done?

  • If we are experiencing the effects of a seeming captivity, we must escape and join with the others God is calling
  • We must help rebuild the church and the wall in troublous times by working collectively
  • We must honor God’s name
  • We must, through the aid of the Holy Spirit, bear fruit and bear offspring

Apply It

Friends, let’s be straightforward; the need for true gospel workers and teachers is not being adequately supplied by any portion of the corporate entity of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. But among historic Seventh-day Adventists, the situation of supplying and hiring trained workers is even worse. We are not in a position to exercise collective action with the Seventh-day Adventist church on all fronts. And we are absent of the collective capability to train and hire gospel workers.

However large this problem may seem, we must at minimum not ignore it, or pretend that because it takes the action of many, we are in no position to make an attempt to rectify it. You can see this is about much more than pooling our money. You will find out, as you continue to read, that God will use the heathen to fill this vacuum if nothing else is done.

It is time to consider more than theoretical future solutions; it’s time to consider pragmatic ones. It is past time to ask some very difficult questions; questions such as:

  • If someone felt called to the gospel ministry (the gospel ministry as laid out in Testimonies to Ministers, for example), what real training and employment options do they have?
  • What would it take to train and hire workers?
  • Would the historic Seventh-day Adventist church nearest me need to be better organized?
  • Could I help?
  • Would it take more than one local church to get the job done?
  • Would I be prepared to recognize and act collectively with 11th hour workers from other churches?
  • Would it take things like an identity, plans, goals, boards, and bank accounts to move forward?
  • Am I an amicable enough person so that others could get along with me well enough to prosecute a plan of action?

I know the preceding points may sound like heresy to some. But we are halfway there, and that halfway position will not long be stable. Historic Seventh-day Adventist churches do exist. There are groups of historic SDA churches working together in various places in the world. There are historic SDA teachers, and medical professionals. All of these exist because people believe that the gospel message drives and defines the identity of the remnant, and not the other way around (Revelation 14:12)! Today we are either half wrong, and need to close shop on these activities, or we are half right, and need to, “Strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees” (Isaiah 35:3).

The reader may be tempted to say that the thought of working on a large scale is preposterous given our current situation and the shortness of time. He may ask, “Do you really expect to launch some large, potentially bureaucratic edifice for training and employing workers when God has said that He will complete His work through surprisingly simple means?” But creating a bureaucracy is hardly the problem of the hour; and even though God has said He will finish His work in simple ways that will astound us, do you think that He will sanction our part in that work if we simply excuse ourselves from attempting to act collectively, because it’s hard, risky and time consuming?

2 Is there any risk in attempting to work collectively?

By way of illustration, read the story found in II Chronicles 30:2–13.

Apply It

YES! The good news for us is that Christ has already guaranteed the outcome of the war; there is zero risk that He will lose the great controversy. But there is very real risk in each battle of the great controversy, risk that souls will be lost. When you undertake a project by yourself, you are individually to a large degree in control of the risk of failure. When you engage in collective intelligence and action, you as an individual are in a much smaller way in control of the risk of failure. Act collectively with others only in prayer, and with the knowledge that you are collectively putting your efforts at the risk of each other’s good will. There is no way to make money through investment, without putting money at risk of loss—at least temporary loss. And when we invest our talents for Christ, we may indeed realize temporary loss and may not in this life realize the gain of our investment. But our risk in these endeavors pales to the very real risk that God made to save you and me, the risk of the loss of His own Son!

3 What can we learn from ancient Israel’s rebuilding of the church in regard to where and how we work together?

Apply It

Where we work:

During the rebuilding, we find that builders worked on all portions of the wall together! Today, we cannot work collectively on building God’s church, while we work exclusively from the waste places of the earth. We cannot effectively work together while all of us move to the remote mountainous regions. In Nehemiah’s time, all parts of the wall needed workers. God needs people today working together on different parts of the wall and from many places. God needs families, not satisfied to simply realize the dangers of raising a family in the city, but to devise plans for reaching other families in the cities. God needs builders on the wall to work in cities, in towns, and villages. He needs workers in the mountains, in the plains, and the coastal areas. For reference, see Testimonies, vol. 8, 119; Testimonies, vol. 7, 34, 36; Evangelism, 384–428.

How we work:

Let us review what is necessary in God’s plan to collectively accomplish large scale projects.

  • More than one person is necessary, but not sufficient
  • More than one group of people is necessary, but not sufficient
  • Knowledgeable and strong people are necessary, but not sufficient
  • Knowledgeable, strong people working on the same project are necessary, but not sufficient
  • Knowledgeable, strong groups of people working together, under Divine leadership and human leadership, is necessary, and with the Holy Spirit, is sufficient

4 Does the Bible predict captivity for God’s last day people?

Note

It is beyond question that God says He has people in captivity to Babylon in the last days. See Revelation 18:1–4. Beyond this, the author contends the following three points:

  1. What we have studied thus far clearly demonstrates that modern Israel (Seventh-day Adventists), in general, have partaken of the same sins that led to ancient Israel’s first captivity to Babylon, second captivity during the time of Christ, and ultimate destruction. And as such the potential to find God’s professed people in captivity is significant.
  2. That modern Israel, under whatever names or theologies they are identified, have also been affected to a dramatic degree by the results of these sins—and these effects have given rise to conditions in the church that closely mirror the captivity of Israel during the time of Christ.
  3. One way in which the times of trouble through which God’s people must pass is described as a captivity, and that this captivity leads both to destruction and complete purification for separate groups of people bearing an identity of Israel.

The author stops short of attempting to define and integrate, with pinpoint accuracy, the relationship of all of these sobering prophecies to modern Israel. That these prophecies are applicable to the subject is well enough demonstrated. The author suggests that it is possible to make a distinction between being captive to Babylon and fully becoming Babylon; but that for those who remain integrated with their captors (such as the majority did in Zerubbabel’s time), the distinction is ultimately of little value.

These following verses, of which only phrases are excerpted, speak to the question at hand:

  • To Babylon you shall go – Micah 4:10
  • Up, Zion! Flee from Babylon – Zechariah 2:7
  • Captive daughter of Zion! – Isaiah 52:2
  • Depart! Depart! Go out from there – Isaiah 52:11
  • The children of Israel shall … ask the way to Zion … Move from the midst of Babylon – Jeremiah 50:4–8
  • Flee from the midst of Babylon – Jeremiah 51:6

“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where He had driven them.’ ” Jeremiah 16:14, 15.

“Behold … I will punish all those who are circumcised with the uncircumcised—Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab. … For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in the heart.” Jeremiah 9:25–26.

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down … we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps. … Those who carried us away captive required of us a song … saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” Psalm 137:1–4.

“… the Lord will reach out His hand a second time, to reclaim the remnant that is left of His people, from Assyria … Egypt … Babylon. … He will gather the exiles of Israel.” Isaiah 11:11, 12.

Studies prepared by John T. Grosboll, P.E. John T. is a mechanical engineer living near Vancouver, Washington. His secular employment includes several years of experience in primary metals and transportation-related industries. He, along with his wife, Teresa, is actively involved in the work of the Historic Message Church in Portland, Oregon. He may be contacted by email at: grosbolls@yahoo.com.

Where God is Working

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The third chapter of I Corinthians is rapidly becoming one of my favorite books in the New Testament. It is really one of the great chapters in the Bible about who and what the church is. Verse 2 of the first chapter says, “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus.” We see that the church in Corinth were those people in that city who were sanctified in Christ Jesus. I Corinthians 3:9, I believe, is the most astounding verse in the whole Bible: “For we are God’s fellow workers.”

If you study the Spirit of Prophecy writings carefully, you will see that this verse is also one of Ellen White’s favorites and she used it over and over again to show how we become workers together with God. There is no higher privilege that any person could have than to actually be a fellow laborer—a fellow worker with God!

Ever since the beginning of time, God has been working. As you study the inspired writings, they always focus the attention on where God is working. It is important to know this to be one of His fellow workers.

When I studied ancient history, I found out that there were many things going on during Abraham’s time. Inspiration does not go into any of these things, but focuses all the attention on where God is working. Even though Adam had many children, inspiration focuses only on a holy line of men through whom God worked. Seth had a son named Enos, and in his time, the Bible says that men began to call on the name of the Lord. That is where God was working. Then, in the seventh generation from Adam, Enoch was born. That is where God was working, and the people who chose to be fellow workers with God worked in cooperation with Enoch. After Enoch, there was Noah; and if you had been living in Noah’s time and you wanted to be a fellow worker with God, you would be working with Noah.

By the time there had been twenty generations, the whole world had rejected God twice. God looked over the world and found a man whose name was Abraham. He said to Abraham, “I am going to fulfill the plan of salvation through you and through your seed [Christ].”

As you study the Bible record, you will find a certain characteristic in common among all those through whom God was working. In speaking of Abraham, God clearly identified what qualified a person to be a colaborer with Him. “Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” Genesis 26:5. Abraham was obedient.

When God brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, He made them a wonderful promise: “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.” Exodus 19:5.

This promise had conditions. God made a covenant with them. He said, “If you do this, I will do this for you; you will be My special people.”

Some say that there are unconditional promises, so in checking this out in the inspired writings of Ellen White, she says all of God’s promises and threatenings are conditional. See Maranatha, 61.

Israel wandered in the wilderness for thirty-eight years longer than they had to because they were not obedient and they rebelled. Finally, when they entered Canaan, they went into apostasy again and started worshiping idols which lasted for hundreds of years. During this time the tabernacle was still with them, and they continued to keep the yearly feast days.

During the period of the judges, the tabernacle was located in Shiloh, in the land of Ephraim. Many people have almost forgotten that Ephraim was the center of Divine worship for over three hundred years and the people of that time thought that it would always be that way.

Look what it says about this in the Psalms: “Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved.” Psalm 78:67, 68.

Why did God reject Ephraim and remove the tabernacle from Shiloh? “The ark remained at Shiloh for three hundred years, until, because of the sins of Eli’s house, it fell into the hands of the Philistines, and Shiloh was ruined.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 514.

As a result of the leaders of God’s people falling into apostasy and sin, the Lord told Eli, “You are not going to be a priest for Me. Your descendants are not going to be My priests forever.”

They were descendants of Aaron—God’s people; but the Lord said, “You are no longer going to be priests” and Ephraim was rejected as the religious center—something that was thought could not happen, happened. “The sanctuary service was finally transferred to the temple at Jerusalem, and Shiloh fell into insignificance. There are only ruins to mark the spot where it once stood. Long afterward its fate was made use of as a warning to Jerusalem.” Ibid.

A few hundred years later the people of Jerusalem thought the same thing. The temple there was the center of Divine worship, and they believed that this was where God was working. Hundreds of years after the worship had been transferred from Shiloh, the Lord, through Jeremiah, said, “ ‘Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, “We are delivered to do all these abominations.” ‘Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,’ says the Lord. ‘But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. And now, because you have done all these works,’ says the Lord, ‘and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, therefore I will do to this house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren—the whole posterity of Ephraim.’ ” Jeremiah 7:9–15.

As we look at history, we see that God cannot work with people who are living in sin. If you want to be a fellow worker with God, you cannot link up and work with people who are living and working in sin. With God, character is what counts; and God works with people who listen to His voice and who obey.

We are told of Israel:

“Their calamities did not come because they kept the law of God, but because they disregarded that law. God had told them that if they did not obey His commandments, He could not keep His covenant with them. The history of the Israelites is portrayed for our warning. They had great light and exalted privileges; yet they did not live up to that light nor appreciate their advantages, and their light became darkness. They walked in the light of their own eyes, instead of following the leadings of God. Their history is given for the benefit of those who live in these last days, that we may avoid following the same example of unbelief.” The Signs of the Times, July 19, 1899.

Where was God working in the time of Jesus? When Jesus was brought to the temple to be dedicated, Ellen White says that the priest did not recognize anything unusual. Commenting on this experience she says, “So it is still. Events upon which the attention of all heaven is centered, are undiscerned, their very occurrence is unnoticed, by religious leaders, and worshipers in the house of God.” The Desire of Ages, 56.

While the attention of all heaven was focused on Christ’s birth, in this world the people who claimed to be God’s true people did not even know it had taken place. How can you be a laborer together with God if you do not even know where God is working?

While on earth, God worked through His Son to bring salvation to a lost world. If you wanted to be a laborer together with God then, you had to connect yourself with Jesus and work with Him.

The New Testament writers predict that a terrible change is going to take place among those who profess to be Christians. Paul speaks, addressing the elders from the church of Ephesus: “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves [church leaders] men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” Acts 20:28–30.

Speaking of this same great apostasy, Paul wrote: “Let no one deceive you by any means: for that Day [the day of Christ] will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” II Thessalonians 2:3, 4.

Peter talked about this apostasy, too. “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destructive ways … because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.” II Peter 2:1, 2. [Emphasis supplied.] The word blasphemy means to speak evil of something. As a result of this new teaching, the real way of truth will be evil spoken of.

Notice that both Peter and Paul say that false prophets will secretly bring in destructive heresies. Whenever you find a book that is written to which the authors do not want to put their name, you ought to remember these texts.

Paul identifies this element as the mystery of lawlessness. This apostasy will, therefore, involve the breaking of God’s law and result in the way of truth being evil spoken of. Did this happen?

“The history of God’s people during the ages of darkness that followed upon Rome’s supremacy is written in heaven, but they have little place in human records. Few traces of their existence can be found, except in the accusations of their persecutors. It was the policy of Rome to obliterate every trace of dissent from her doctrines or decrees. Everything heretical, whether persons or writings, she sought to destroy. … Before the invention of printing, books were few in number, and in a form not favorable for preservation; therefore there was little to prevent the Romanists from carrying out their purpose.” The Great Controversy, 61, 62.

If you were living in that time and you wanted to be a fellow worker with God, it made all the difference in the world whether or not you understood that God was working with people who were keeping His law. If you did not understand this principle, you could not be a fellow laborer with God. Do you realize, friends, that there have been millions of people who have believed that they were working with the Lord but were working with the devil the whole time?

We find that all of the sixteenth century Reformers upheld God’s law. They did not all understand the binding claims of the fourth commandment, but they did not reject it. There is a great difference between not understanding truth and rejecting it. Martin Luther, as well as John Huss, preached a great deal on the Ten Commandments and believed in them. God was leading a people on step by step.

When you study sacred history, you find that in the latter part of the eighteenth and the early part of the nineteenth century, simultaneously, all over the world, God started raising up people from all the various Christian churches with the message that Jesus was coming soon. Out of that great Second Advent Movement emerged a group of people known first as Millerites. Later, they became known as Adventists and finally, Seventh-day Adventists.

As this group studied, they discovered the messages of the three angels of Revelation 14. Having learned the meaning of the sanctuary message in the books of Hebrews and Daniel, they realized that the Day of Judgment was to begin on October 22, 1844. This is not a message that the apostle Paul preached, because it would not have been true during his lifetime. The apostle Paul taught that the Judgment was still in the future. See Acts 24:25. Martin Luther did not preach it either. But here is a message that the hour of God’s Judgment has come. You cannot preach that the hour of God’s judgment has come unless you know it has started. But how do we know for sure that it has started? There is only one way that I know of how you know that the hour of God’s judgment has started, and that is from Daniel 8 and 9.

Now, do you understand why the devil has made our understanding of Daniel 8 and 9 a focal point of attack? If he can destroy a person’s confidence in that truth, that person can no longer preach the first angel’s message. Remember, the second and third angels’ messages are built upon the first. You cannot preach the third unless you preach the second, and you cannot preach the second unless you preach the first and if you do not understand Daniel 8:14 about the twenty-three hundred days, you are no longer a Seventh-day Adventist.

God is working today with the people who are proclaiming the Three Angels’ Messages. If you want to be a fellow laborer with God today, you have to join up with the people who are doing this.

The second angel’s message cannot be preached if you do not know who Babylon is according to Revelation 18:1–5.

The third angel’s message is a warning against the beast, his image, and his mark. Notice how the message concludes: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. If you are not even sure that you can really keep the commandments of God, how can you be a fellow laborer with God and preach Revelation 14:12? Have you noticed that it does not say that here are those who are trying to keep the commandments? It says they keep them. You cannot be a fellow laborer with God and be involved in His last work for the world if you cannot proclaim the message, and you certainly cannot proclaim the message if you do not believe it is true. The idea that “you are going to keep sinning until Jesus comes” is very dangerous.

If you want to know where God is working, look for a group of Seventh-day Adventists who really keep the commandments and do not play around and say, “Well, we are doing the best we can.” Listen, friends, the best you can do is not good enough, unless you are keeping the commandments by the power of God. If you give your life to the Lord, He has the power to give you so that you can keep them. If we fail to keep them when Jesus comes, He will be able to show us millions of people who had the same besetting sins that we had, and He will say, “I gave all of these people power to overcome.” There will be no satisfactory excuse then.

The people described in Revelation 12:17 not only keep the commandments but they have the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 19:10 says that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Ellen White fulfilled this prophecy of giving the gift of prophecy to God’s remnant people. If you want to find the people through whom God is working, you want to look for a people who have, believe and obey the spirit of prophecy. That eliminates the large portion of those who make a profession of waiting for the Lord to come.

Revelation 14:12 points out that God’s people not only keep the commandments but they have the faith of Jesus. You will never find somebody who has the first qualification and does not have the third one because you cannot keep the commandments unless you do have the faith of Jesus. People who have the faith of Jesus will be a sanctified people.

There is another characteristic that, unfortunately, disqualifies many who qualify according to the first three characteristics. Revelation 14:6 tells us that God’s last people will be giving His last message to the world. “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.” If you want to find the people through whom God is working and if you want to be a fellow laborer with God, you need to find the people who are determined to take the Three Angels’ Messages to every single person in the world.

When you find those people, you will know what group to work with; you will know how to be a co-laborer with God, because that is where God is working. He is working with the people who have these four characteristics: they keep His commandments; they have the spirit of prophecy and live by it; they have the faith of Jesus; and they are out to take the gospel to every single person in the whole world.

The catastrophe that I see taking place in Adventism today is that the great majority of Adventists are going to destruction, and when given a warning they say, “You say that we are in total apostasy.” Looking at the destruction of Jerusalem, we get just a little idea of what is ahead for Adventism. The only way to avoid being part of that destruction is to be a coworker with God, working where God is working, obedient to his law.

The gospel is not a halfway business. Either you have to get into it all the way or you might as well get out. Soon time will be no more, and when it is all over, I want to know that I have given it everything I have. I want all of my money, my time, my talents, everything I have, to be in the finishing of God’s work. How about you?

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

Bible Study Guides – Instruments of God’s Deliverance

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November 12, 2011 – November 18, 2011

Key Text

“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae.” Hebrews 11:32.

Study Help: Patriarchs and Prophets, 543–568; Gospel Workers (1892), 297–299, 309–319.

Introduction

“By the repeated manifestations of His power in behalf of Israel, God would lead them to have faith in Him—with confidence to seek His help in every emergency. He is just as willing to work with the efforts of His people now and to accomplish great things through weak instrumentalities.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 554.

1 ADDRESSING AN EMERGENCY

  • Describe one predicament in which the Israelites found themselves during the time of the judges. Judges 6:1–6.
  • How did the Lord in His great mercy plan to remedy their situation? Judges 6:11–16.
  • What was the first step Gideon took at the peril of his life? Judges 6:22–32.

Note: “The deliverance of Israel was to be preceded by a solemn protest against the worship of Baal. Gideon must declare war upon idolatry before going out to battle with the enemies of his people.

“The divine direction was faithfully carried out. Knowing that he would be opposed if it were attempted openly, Gideon performed the work in secret; with the aid of his servants, accomplishing the whole in one night. Great was the rage of the men of Ophrah when they came next morning to pay their devotions to Baal. They would have taken Gideon’s life had not Joash—who had been told of the Angel’s visit—stood in defense of his son.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 547.

2 THE HUMBLE ENCOURAGED

  • What shows the deep humility of Gideon as God’s servant, and how will we likewise be blessed by reflecting such an attitude? Judges 6:17–23, 36–40; Proverbs 15:33.

Note: “The Lord can work most effectually through those who are most sensible of their own insufficiency, and who will rely upon Him as their leader and source of strength. He will make them strong by uniting their weakness to His might, and wise by connecting their ignorance with His wisdom.

“If they would cherish true humility, the Lord could do much more for His people; but there are few who can be trusted with any large measure of responsibility or success without becoming self-confident and forgetful of their dependence upon God. This is why, in choosing the instruments for His work, the Lord passes by those whom the world honors as great, talented, and brilliant. They are too often proud and self-sufficient. They feel competent to act without counsel from God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 553, 554.

“When we realize what is involved in our service to Christ, we are driven to the throne of grace to ask the Lord for the very things we need. He whose eyes are anointed with spiritual discernment feels that it means something to be a worker together with God. He will realize that it is perilous to trust in self; for self-confidence is vain. It is only when we accept solemn responsibility, relying upon God and distrusting self, that we can become efficient workers in His cause. To be clothed with humility does not mean that we are to be dwarfs in intellect, deficient in our aspirations, and cowardly in our lives, shunning all burdens for fear we shall not carry them successfully. In the strength of Christ we are to take up our responsibilities, bearing them for His sake, and ever going to Him for rest.” The Signs of the Times, August 15, 1892.

  • What added encouragement did God give to boost Gideon’s faith? Judges 7:9–15.

Note: “The apparently powerless condition of that little company of Israelites, compared with the vast host of the enemy, was fitly represented by the cake of barley bread. But as that loaf overthrew the tent upon which it fell, so would the handful of Israelites destroy their numerous and powerful enemies.” The Signs of the Times, July 14, 1881.

3 AMAZING METHODS

  • What are we to learn from the way Gideon was to select his army? Judges 7:1–8.

Note: “There is a lesson to be learned from Gideon’s army. It was not because of their great numbers that they prevailed, but because they were willing to follow the special directions of God by living faith. Those that were soon to press on to the battle, and who would scoop up the water and drink as they went, were the ones whom God accepted to engage in this enterprise; but those who prepared to have a good time, and bowed down leisurely and drank, were sent back to their homes.

“The Lord God of Israel looks upon us individually, and He sees whether we are in earnest in this matter. He sees whether we carry the burden of souls upon our hearts. He sees whether or not we touch these living interests with the tip ends of our fingers. If we have the interest that Knox had when he pleaded before God for Scotland, we shall have success. He cried, ‘Give me Scotland, Lord, or I die.’ And when we take hold of the work and wrestle with God, saying, ‘I must have souls; I will never give up the struggle,’ we will find that God will look upon our efforts with favor. He sees that if He gives you souls as the result of your ministry, it will not make you proud or lifted up. You will not be in a position where you will feel for an instant that someone else will get the credit for these souls; but you will feel so grateful to God that they are saved, that His praise will be in your hearts and on your lips day and night. It is such men that God will make mighty instruments to do His work.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 45.

  • What was the main way that God miraculously gave this victory? Judges 7:16–22.

Note: “The light of three hundred lamps, piercing the midnight darkness, and that mighty shout from three hundred voices, suddenly aroused the sleeping army. Believing themselves at the mercy of an overwhelming force, the Midianites were panic-stricken. A terrible scene of confusion ensued. In their fright they fled in all directions, and mistaking their own companions for enemies they slew one another.” The Signs of the Times, July 14, 1881.

4 THE EXPERIENCE OF BARAK

  • Describe another time when Israel was in trouble. Judges 4:1–3. What was to be the solution? Judges 4:4–9.

Note: “Barak knew the scattered, disheartened, and unarmed condition of the Hebrews, and the strength and skill of their enemies. Although he had been designated by the Lord Himself as the one chosen to deliver Israel, and had received the assurance that God would go with him and subdue their enemies, yet he was timid and distrustful. He accepted the message from Deborah as the word of God, but he had little confidence in Israel, and feared that they would not obey his call. He refused to engage in such a doubtful undertaking unless Deborah would accompany him, and thus support his efforts by her influence and counsel. Deborah consented, but assured him that because of his lack of faith, the victory gained should not bring honor to him; for Sisera would be betrayed into the hands of a woman.” The Signs of the Times, June 16, 1881.

  • How was Deborah’s prophecy of victory gained, and why? Judges 4:10–22; 5:1, 2.

Note: “The Israelites were but poorly prepared for an encounter, and looked with terror upon the vast armies spread out in the plain beneath them, equipped with all the implements of warfare, and provided with the dreaded chariots of iron. These were so constructed as to be terribly destructive. Large, scythe-like knives were fastened to the axles, so that the chariots, being driven through the ranks of the enemy, would cut them down like wheat before the sickle.

“The Israelites had established themselves in a strong position in the mountains, to await a favorable opportunity for an attack. Encouraged by Deborah’s assurance that the very day had come for signal victory, Barak led his army down into the open plain, and boldly made a charge upon the enemy. The God of battle fought for Israel, and neither skill in warfare, nor superiority of numbers and equipment, could withstand them. The hosts of Sisera were panicstricken; in their terror they sought only how they might escape. Vast numbers were slain, and the strength of the invading army was utterly destroyed. The Israelites acted with courage and promptness; but God alone could have discomfited the enemy, and the victory could be ascribed to Him alone.” The Signs of the Times, June 16, 1881.

5 SAMSON AND JEPHTHAH

  • Though Samson’s life shows little sign that he ever appreciated God’s calling, what evidence shows that he finally repented? Judges 16:21–31.

Note: “In suffering and humiliation, a sport for the Philistines, Samson learned more of his own weakness than he had ever known before; and his afflictions led him to repentance.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 566.

  • Describe the chronic problem of Israel, and how God felt about it. Judges 10:6–16. What should we realize when tempted by the same problem today? I John 3:13.
  • What was Jephthah’s background, and what was he called to do? Judges 11:1–11. What reveals his sense of reverence and trust in God? Judges 11:14, 27–32.
  • How did Jephthah show his integrity and deep understanding of the solemnity of speaking before God? Judges 11:33–40; Psalm 15:1, 4, last part; Ecclesiastes 5:4, 5.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 How does the life of Gideon demonstrate the link between humility and victory?

2 In what aspects of life can the lessons from Gideon’s military strategy apply today?

3 What action is needed in order for us to become more successful soul winners?

4 Why did God choose to deliver Israel at the hand of a woman in the time of Barak?

5 In what ways do the experiences of Samson and Jephthah offer us hope?

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

Bible Study Guides – The Conquest of Jericho

by

November 6, 2011 – November 12, 2011

Key Text

“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.” Hebrews 11:30.

Study Help: Patriarchs and Prophets, 487–493; Testimonies, vol. 4, 156–164.

Introduction

“God works mightily for a faithful people who obey His word without questioning or doubt. The Majesty of heaven, with His army of angels, leveled the walls of Jericho without human aid.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 164.

1 WILL WE BETRAY OR PROTECT?

  • What will be seen more and more as the present truth, which leads to salvation, becomes increasingly unpopular? I John 2:18, 19.

Note: “Whenever persecution takes place, the spectators make decisions either for or against Christ. Because of persecution, many will be offended. The principles of the truth cut directly across their practice, and they will stumble and fall, apostatizing from the faith they once advocated. Many who have professed to love the truth will then show that they have no vital union with the True Vine. They will be cut away, as branches that bear no fruit, and will be bound up with unbelievers, scoffers, and mockers.

“Those who apostatize in time of trial will bear false witness and betray their brethren, to secure their own safety. They will tell where their brethren are concealed, putting the wolves on their track. Christ has warned us of this, that we may not be surprised at the cruel, unnatural course pursued by friends and relatives.” The Review and Herald, December 20, 1898.

  • Instead of betraying the faithful to condemnation and death, what woman in the Bible stood firm to protect the endangered worshipers of Jehovah? Joshua 2:1–7.

2 GOING FORWARD BY FAITH

  • How did Rahab express her faith in the God of Israel, and how were the spies encouraged by this? Joshua 2:8–24.
  • What were the people to keep their eyes on, and why? Joshua 3:1–3.

Note: “The priests obeyed the commands of their leader and went before the people, carrying the ark of the covenant. The Hebrew hosts took up the line of march and followed this symbol of the divine presence.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 157.

  • Describe the miracle that was to inspire the faith of the people. Joshua 3:11–17. What can we learn from this miracle and the way it can apply to us today?

Note: “In the upbuilding of His work the Lord does not always make everything plain before His servants. He sometimes tries the confidence of His people by bringing about circumstances which compel them to move forward in faith. Often He brings them into strait and trying places, and bids them advance when their feet seem to be touching the waters of Jordan. It is at such times, when the prayers of His servants ascend to Him in earnest faith, that God opens the way before them and brings them out into a large place.” The Acts of the Apostles, 357.

  • Why could Joshua face the battle of Jericho with full assurance of faith? Joshua 5:13–15.

Note: “The city of Jericho was devoted to the most extravagant idolatry. The inhabitants were very wealthy, but all the riches that God had given them they counted as the gift of their gods. They had gold and silver in abundance; but, like the people before the Flood, they were corrupt and blasphemous, and insulted and provoked the God of heaven by their wicked works. God’s judgments were awakened against Jericho. It was a stronghold. But the Captain of the Lord’s host Himself came from heaven to lead the armies of heaven in an attack upon the city.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 264.

3 ANGELS OPEN THE WAY

  • Describe the Lord’s method given for the toppling of Jericho. Joshua 6:12–17. How can we be inspired by this?

Note: “The vast army [of Israel] marched solemnly around the devoted walls. All was silent, save the measured tread of many feet, and the occasional sound of the trumpet, breaking the stillness of the early morning. The massive walls of solid stone seemed to defy the siege of men. The watchers on the walls looked on with rising fear, as, the first circuit ended, there followed a second, then a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth. What could be the object of these mysterious movements? What mighty event was impending? They had not long to wait. As the seventh circuit was completed, the long procession paused. The trumpets, which for an interval had been silent, now broke forth in a blast that shook the very earth. The walls of solid stone, with their massive towers and battlements, tottered and heaved from their foundations, and with a crash fell in ruin to the earth. The inhabitants of Jericho were paralyzed with terror, and the hosts of Israel marched in and took possession of the city.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 491.

“The Captain of the Lord’s host communicated only with Joshua; He did not reveal Himself to all the congregation, and it rested with them to believe or doubt the words of Joshua, to obey the commands given by him in the name of the Lord, or to deny his authority. They could not see the host of angels who attended them under the leadership of the Son of God. They might have reasoned: ‘What unmeaning movements are these, and how ridiculous the performance of marching daily around the walls of the city, blowing trumpets of rams’ horns. This can have no effect upon those towering fortifications.’ But the very plan of continuing this ceremony through so long a time prior to the final overthrow of the walls afforded opportunity for the development of faith among the Israelites. It was to be impressed upon their minds that their strength was not in the wisdom of man, nor in his might, but only in the God of their salvation. They were thus to become accustomed to relying wholly upon their divine Leader.

“God will do great things for those who trust in Him. The reason why His professed people have no greater strength is that they trust so much to their own wisdom, and do not give the Lord an opportunity to reveal His power in their behalf. He will help His believing children in every emergency if they will place their entire confidence in Him and faithfully obey Him.” Ibid., 493 (author’s italics).

4 IDOLATRY DEFEATED AND DESTROYED

  • In what sense was this battle such an utter demonstration of faith? Hebrews 11:30. What are we to learn from it?

Note: “As a people we lack faith. In these days few would follow the directions given through God’s chosen servant as obediently as did the armies of Israel at the taking of Jericho. …

“Would those who today profess to be God’s people conduct themselves thus under similar circumstances? Doubtless many would wish to follow out their own plans and would suggest other ways and means of accomplishing the desired end. They would be loath to submit to so simple an arrangement and one that reflected upon themselves no glory save the merit of obedience. They would also question the possibility of a mighty city being conquered in that manner. But the law of duty is supreme. It should hold sway over human reason. Faith is the living power that presses through every barrier, overrides all obstacles, and plants its banner in the heart of the enemy’s camp.

“God will do marvelous things for those who trust in Him. It is because His professed people trust so much to their own wisdom, and do not give the Lord an opportunity to reveal His power in their behalf, that they have no more strength. He will help His believing children in every emergency if they will place their entire confidence in Him and implicitly obey Him. …

“Let the people give up self and the desire to work after their own plans, let them humbly submit to the divine will, and God will revive their strength and bring freedom and victory to His children.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 162–164.

  • What specific directions were given for the procedure once the city was entered? Joshua 6:18–21, 24, 26. What parallel is soon to occur in the time of the end? Revelation 18:1, 2, 7–18, 23.

Note: “God was very particular in regard to Jericho, lest the people should be charmed with the things that the inhabitants had worshiped and their hearts be diverted from God.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 264.

“The city itself was burned; its palaces and temples, its magnificent dwellings with all their luxurious appointments, the rich draperies and the costly garments, were given to the flames.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 492.

5 RAHAB

  • How was Rahab cared for? Joshua 6:22, 23, 25.

Note: “All the inhabitants of the city, with every living thing that it contained, ‘both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass’ [Joshua 6:21], were put to the sword. Only faithful Rahab, with her household, was spared, in fulfillment of the promise of the spies.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 491.

  • What are we to learn from the history of Rahab? Hebrews 11:31; James 2:24, 25.
  • Rahab can be viewed as a symbol of souls who come from wicked circumstances, yet choose to depart from evil to follow the pathway to Heaven. In the Judgment, how does God take into account all the factors of our life? Psalm 87:4–6; Luke 12:48.

Note: “No distinction on account of nationality, race, or caste, is recognized by God. He is the Maker of all mankind. All men are of one family by creation, and all are one through redemption. Christ came to demolish every wall of partition, to throw open every compartment of the temple courts, that every soul may have free access to God. His love is so broad, so deep, so full, that it penetrates everywhere. It lifts out of Satan’s influence those who have been deluded by his deceptions, and places them within reach of the throne of God, the throne encircled by the rainbow of promise. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free.” Prophets and Kings, 369, 370.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 Why did God reward the faith of Rahab?

2 How can I better cooperate with the plans of a God whose angels topple obstacles?

3 What distinguishes the conquest of Jericho among the battles of Israelite history?

4 What things in my life may be in need of destruction, just as the idols of Jericho?

5 In my sphere of influence, how can I best serve those who may be sincere Rahabs?

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

Bible Study Guides – Moses

by

October 30, 2011 – November 5, 2011

Faith of Our Fathers

Key Text

“I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses.” Micah 6:4.

Study Help: Patriarchs and Prophets, 469–480; Testimonies, vol. 1, 290–302; vol. 4, 20–27.

Introduction

“Moses was selected to be the shepherd of God’s own people, and it was through his firm faith and abiding trust in the Lord that so many blessings reached the children of Israel.” Special Testimonies on Education, 117.

1 THE CHILDHOOD OF MOSES

  • Through God’s providence, Joseph was able to supply the Hebrews with a goodly heritage in the land of Goshen. But what happened after his death? Acts 7:15–19.

Note: “They [the descendants of Jacob] had kept themselves a distinct race, having nothing in common with the Egyptians in customs or religion; and their increasing numbers now excited the fears of the king and his people. …

“The king and his counselors had hoped to subdue the Israelites with hard labor, and thus decrease their numbers and crush out their independent spirit. Failing to accomplish their purpose, they proceeded to more cruel measures. Orders were issued … to destroy the Hebrew male children. … The whole nation was called upon to hunt out and slaughter his helpless victims.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 242.

  • By a miracle of God, Jochebed was able to keep her infant son, Moses, throughout his early childhood before he would have to be given over, to be reared by the daughter of Pharaoh. How did she utilize this precious time? Hebrews 11:23; Proverbs 6:22.

Note: “She [Jochebed] endeavored to imbue his [Moses’] mind with the fear of God and the love of truth and justice, and earnestly prayed that he might be preserved from every corrupting influence.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 243, 244.

2 PREPARATION FOR A LIFEWORK

  • How did Moses develop in Egypt? Acts 7:21, 22. With all the splendor of the world’s greatest nation at his future command, what did he decide? Hebrews 11:24–27.
  • How and why was God to train Moses, and what were the results? Acts 7:23–35.

Note: “In the wilds of Midian, Moses spent forty years as a keeper of sheep. Apparently cut off forever from his life’s mission, he was receiving the discipline essential for its fulfillment. Wisdom to govern an ignorant and undisciplined multitude must be gained through self-mastery. In the care of the sheep and the tender lambs he must obtain the experience that would make him a faithful, long-suffering shepherd to Israel. That he might become a representative of God, he must learn of Him.

“The influences that had surrounded him in Egypt, the affection of his foster mother, his own position as the grandson of the king, the luxury and vice that allured in ten thousand forms, the refinement, the subtlety, and the mysticism of a false religion, had made an impression on his mind and character. In the stern simplicity of the wilderness all this disappeared.

“Amidst the solemn majesty of the mountain solitudes Moses was alone with God. Everywhere the Creator’s name was written. Moses seemed to stand in His presence and to be overshadowed by His power. Here his self-sufficiency was swept away. In the presence of the Infinite One he realized how weak, how inefficient, how short-sighted, is man. …

“To Moses faith was no guesswork; it was a reality. He believed that God ruled his life in particular; and in all its details he acknowledged Him. For strength to withstand every temptation, he trusted in Him.

“The great work assigned him he desired to make in the highest degree successful, and he placed his whole dependence upon divine power. He felt his need of help, asked for it, by faith grasped it, and in the assurance of sustaining strength went forward.

“Such was the experience that Moses gained by his forty years of training in the desert. To impart such an experience, Infinite Wisdom counted not the period too long or the price too great.” Education, 62–64.

3 MIRACLES AT THE EXODUS

  • How was Moses able to establish before the people the authority entrusted to him by God, and how did Satan counterfeit it? Exodus 7:8–12; 8:16–18. What must we understand about the parallel to this phenomenon in the last days?

Note: “I [Ellen White] was pointed back to the time of Moses and saw the signs and wonders which God wrought through him before Pharaoh, most of which were imitated by the magicians of Egypt; and that just before the final deliverance of the saints, God would work powerfully for His people, and these modern magicians would be permitted to imitate the work of God.

“That time will soon come, and we shall have to keep hold of the strong arm of Jehovah; for all these great signs and mighty wonders of the devil are designed to deceive God’s people and overthrow them. Our minds must be stayed upon God, and we must not fear the fear of the wicked, that is, fear what they fear, and reverence what they reverence, but be bold and valiant for the truth. Could our eyes be opened, we should see forms of evil angels around us, trying to invent some new way to annoy and destroy us. And we should also see angels of God guarding us from their power; for God’s watchful eye is ever over Israel for good, and He will protect and save His people, if they put their trust in Him. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.” Early Writings, 59, 60.

  • What miracles further accompanied the exodus, and how did the Lord endorse the leadership of Moses at this amazing time? Acts 7:36, 37; Psalms 103:6, 7; 105:26–42.

Note: “The Lord brought up His people from their long servitude in a signal manner, giving the Egyptians an opportunity to exhibit the feeble wisdom of their mighty men, and array the power of their gods in opposition to the God of heaven. The Lord showed them by His servant Moses that the Maker of the heavens and the earth is the living and all-powerful God, above all gods. That His strength was mightier than the strongest—that Omnipotence could bring forth his people with a high hand and with an outstretched arm. The signs and miracles performed in the presence of Pharaoh were not given for his benefit alone, but for the advantage of God’s people.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 204, 205.

4 LESSONS FOR TODAY

  • Why should we deeply appreciate some of the important illustrations cherished by the faithful ones participating in the exodus? I Corinthians 10:1–4; Hebrews 11:28.

Note: “Here [the Passover sprinkling of blood] was a work required of the children of Israel, which they must perform on their part, to prove them and to show their faith by their works in the great deliverance God had been bringing about for them. In order to escape the great judgment of God which he was to bring upon the Egyptians, the token of blood must be seen upon their houses. And they were required to separate themselves and their children from the Egyptians, and gather them into their own houses, for if any of the Israelites were found in the houses of the Egyptians, they would fall by the hand of the destroying angel. …

“The Passover pointed backward to the deliverance of the children of Israel, and was also typical, pointing forward to Christ, the Lamb of God, slain for the redemption of fallen man.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 223–225.

  • How can the miracle at the Red Sea apply to us? Hebrews 11:29; Exodus 14:10–16.

Note: “There are times when the Christian life seems beset by dangers, and duty seems hard to perform. The imagination pictures impending ruin before, and bondage or death behind. Yet the voice of God speaks clearly above all discouragements: ‘Go forward.’ We should obey this command, let the result be what it may, even though our eyes cannot penetrate the darkness and though we feel the cold waves about our feet.

“The Hebrews were weary and terrified; yet if they had held back when Moses bade them advance, if they had refused to move nearer to the Red Sea, God would never have opened the path for them. In marching down to the very water, they showed that they had faith in the word of God as spoken by Moses. They did all that it was in their power to do, and then the Mighty One of Israel performed His part, and divided the waters to make a path for their feet.

“The clouds that gather about our way will never disappear before a halting, doubting spirit. … It is only through faith that we can reach heaven.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 26, 27.

5 DELIVERANCE TO THE FAITHFUL OBEDIENT

  • What should we learn from the real purpose for which God so graciously led and protected His heritage through that wilderness journey? Psalm 105:43–45.

Note: “There is great similarity between our history and that of the children of Israel. God led His people from Egypt into the wilderness, where they could keep His law and obey His voice. The Egyptians, who had no regard for the Lord, were encamped close by them; yet what was to the Israelites a great flood of light, illuminating the whole camp, and shedding brightness upon the path before them, was to the hosts of Pharaoh a wall of clouds, making blacker the darkness of night.

“So, at this time, there is a people whom God has made the depositaries of His law. To those who obey them, the commandments of God are as a pillar of fire, lighting and leading the way to eternal salvation. But unto those who disregard them, they are as the clouds of night.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 27.

  • How is our experience to reflect the experience of Moses? Micah 6:3, 4; Revelation 15:2, 3.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 In guiding the young, what can I learn from the focus of Jochebed, Moses’ mother?

2 How might God be leading me to learn what Moses did during his period of solitude in the desert?

3 How can I cultivate the discernment to distinguish between true and false miracles?

4 In what areas of my life may God be saying right now, “Go forward by faith”?

5 Why do the 144,000 sing the song of Moses and the Lamb?

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