Jewish

The Jewish Rejection of Christ

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This article will be a disturbing study to many Seventh-day Adventists because of what it reveals. The subject is the rejection by the Jews of Jesus when He came to this earth as a babe. I want to be sure that we understand its application to the last days.

We are going to study history, but we are not just studying history. We are studying history that prophecy has told us is going to be repeated. I have learned that God’s people are very poor at understanding prophecy when they see it being fulfilled. We are not too bad at understanding prophecy that has been fulfilled in the past, because we can read a history book and compare history with the prophecy. We can go back and forth and see that the history book confirms what a prophet said 2,500 years before.

Such a comparison can be done with the history of the Messiah. We can look at the history and the prophecies and ask why the Jews rejected Jesus. They had been expecting the Messiah to come for over 1,000 years. They were preaching about it every week in the synagogue. They were all expecting it to happen. They were talking about it, they had been studying about it, and every Jewish boy, ever since he could remember, had been told about the wonderful things that were going to happen when the Messiah came. Yet, when He came, they rejected Him.

The Jewish people did not recognize that they were rejecting the Messiah. They said, “The Messiah has not yet come. We are expecting the Messiah to come, and we want the Messiah to come, but that event is in the future; it is not right now.” One of the great dangers of God’s people today is that when prophecy is fulfilled right in front of our eyes, we will not recognize it. We will say, “No, that is not it. It is coming in the future.”

I get telephone calls and letters from people all of the time who agree that the Lord is going to purify the church, but they are talking about the future. Friends, that is a terrible mistake. God is purifying His church right now, in front of us. While they are looking for something to start, it is going to all be over, and they will not even know it. Ellen White indicated that it had started in her day, and that was over 100 years ago. We need to ask the Lord to open our eyes so that we will be able to understand what is happening in the spiritual world right in front of us.

Devil in Control

Ellen White writes, “We want to understand the time in which we live. We do not half understand it. We do not half take it in. My heart trembles in me when I think of what a foe we have to meet, and how poorly we are prepared to meet him. The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ—how the enemy sought every occasion to take control of the minds of the Jews, and today he is seeking to blind the minds of God’s servants, that they may not be able to discern the precious truth.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 406.

She said that the devil had been trying to take control of the minds of the Jews. Was he very successful? Yes, he was. Then let me ask you another question: Those Jews, of whom the devil was able to take control of their minds, did they know that the devil was in control? No, they did not. And she said, to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the Second Coming, the Lord showed her over and over that the devil would try to do the same thing again.

By What Authority

Why did the Jews reject Jesus? In John 2:13–22 we read about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It is at the Passover time, 28 A.D. Jesus began His ministry as the Messiah by cleansing the temple. Verse 18 reads, “So the Jews answered and said to Him, ‘What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?’ ”

In Matthew we see some of the reasons they were asking for a sign. Let us see if this sounds familiar to anybody. “Now when He came into the temple [this is the time after He had just cleansed the temple the second time, at the close of His ministry], the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?’ ” Matthew 21:23.

To understand the significance of the question they were asking, you have to understand the system with which they were working. These people believed that they were God’s people, God’s church, His children. They had a worldwide representative body that they called the Sanhedrin. It is equivalent to what we call the General Conference today. This was a group of 70 individuals which, they said, had been duly appointed by God. They could prove it by the Scriptures.

“So the Lord said to Moses: ‘Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. Then I will come down and will talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that [is] upon you and will put [the same] upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear [it] yourself alone.’ ” Numbers 11:16, 17.

The Lord directed Moses to choose 70 of the elders of the people. He said He would put His spirit on these people. Now, obviously the time came when those people died, right? And after they died they selected other elders. And then after they died, they selected other elders, and they kept doing that. In Christ’s day they still had this group of 70. They said:

  • This group of 70, the Sanhedrin, is the group that is duly appointed. God directed us through Moses to have this group of people as the elders of His people.
  • These are the duly appointed leaders of God’s people.
  • These men are representatives from all parts of the field.
  • These men have been ordained since the days of Moses that they should represent the Lord to His people and that they should have divine authority. It is the responsibility of these men to plan for the prosperity and the advancement of God’s work.
  • This is the highest authority God has on earth and this authority must be respected.

Individual Responsibility

In the days of Christ, before you could be a teacher or a preacher and talk to God’s people and be known as an instructor, you needed to have authorization from this group. We have a modern name for it; today we call it credentials.

Jesus and John the Baptist did not have these credentials. You see, in order to get these credentials, you had to go through their school system and neither Jesus nor John the Baptist had done this. That is why, in Matthew 21:23 and in John 2, the question is being asked, Who gave you authority to do this? The Sanhedrin had not given authority, and the people thought that if the Sanhedrin had not given authority, then you were like what we would call an offshoot. So they accused both Jesus and John the Baptist of taking something upon their own individual responsibility.

Have you ever heard that you are not supposed to work on your own individual responsibility? that you are to be appointed and directed by the church? The Jews rejected both John the Baptist and Jesus; because they had not gone through their school system; they had not received the proper theological training, and therefore, they did not have any credentials. They were taking upon their individual responsibility when they should have not done anything except as they were directed through the Sanhedrin. They had a total misconception in those days about who the church was. That is what led to that kind of thinking.

John the Baptist talked very plain and straight to them. “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come.’ ” Matthew 3:7.

Harmony With the Law

We know that the Judgment is not based on profession but on character. The Judgment is not based on who your father is or to what organization or group you belong. Oh, no. In the Judgment the question is not going to be, Did you belong to this church organization or that organization? Ellen White says that God is only going to ask one question on the Day of Judgment: Did this person keep My law or not? That is it, because that reveals the character. (See The Signs of the Times, May 19, 1887.)

Abraham’s Children

The Jews did not understand this. They said, “We are God’s people.” How did they know that they were God’s people? Because, they said, “We are Abraham’s children.” They had all been circumcised. They were all Abraham’s children, but notice what John the Baptist had to say about this. He does not call them Abraham’s children. He calls them a brood of poisonous snakes, and in verse 8 he says, “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.” In other words, your life, your character has to be in harmony with what you say you are doing. You say you are repenting of your sins, well, your life has to be in harmony with that repentance. “And do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as [our] father.’ ” Matthew 3:9. That is what they were saying: “We are God’s people because Abraham is our father; we are the children of Israel; we are God’s chosen people.” John the Baptist told them that profession was worthless. He told them that unless their lives were in harmony with the Law of God, they were not God’s people. (See The Desire of Ages, 107.)

That was pretty strong, because they had been taught ever since they were little children that they were God’s chosen people because they were Abraham’s children. You know, you tend to believe something if you have been taught it ever since you were a little child, if you learned it from your mother’s knee.

You can see why John the Baptist was not very popular with the leaders. It was not just because he called them a bunch of poisonous snakes; it was because He was attacking something that they had cherished as a belief ever since they could remember. He was attacking one of their most fundamental beliefs—that they were Abraham’s children, God’s people.

John the Baptist said, No, that is not true. Profession is worthless unless your character backs up your profession. Unless your character is in harmony with God’s Law, you are not His people. It was a shock! They knew they were not obeying the Law of God. They knew that there was a prophecy, but they said, “We are God’s people because we are Abraham’s children.” They believed that, when the Messiah came, He would purify the church. He would straighten out the Sanhedrin. So they said, “Even though things are bad, we are just praying, hoping, and waiting. The Messiah is coming, and when the Messiah comes, He will purify the church.” Now let me ask you something. When the Messiah came, did He purify the church?

Church Purified

Whether you believe He purified the church or not depends upon who the church is in your thinking.

You see, if you believe that the church is those people who are Abraham’s children—the Sanhedrin, Caiaphas and company, and all of those in that whole group,—if that is who you believe the church is, then it did not get purified. The question is, Is that really the church?

Did the true church actually get purified? Yes, it did. Who is the church? That is not difficult. The Bible tells us in Colossians 1 who and what the church is. It says that the church is the body of Christ. How many heads does the body have? One! The Bible is very clear about that in Ephesians 1. The church has one head. There are beasts in the Bible that have seven heads, four heads, and all sorts of things, but the church has just one head.

When Jesus was here in the flesh, who was the head of the church? He was! There are many people who believe that Caiaphas was the head of the church when Jesus was here. Who you believe to be the head of the church has all kinds of implications. Because of the Jew’s belief about who and what the church is, they believed that Jesus and John the Baptist were tearing down the church.

Ellen White says, “Though He was the Prince of Peace, His coming must be as the unsheathing of a sword. The kingdom He had come to establish was the opposite of that which the Jews desired. He who was the foundation of the ritual and economy of Israel would be looked upon as its enemy and destroyer. He who had proclaimed the law upon Sinai would be condemned as a transgressor. He who had come to break the power of Satan would be denounced as Beelzebub.” The Desire of Ages, 111.

With all of the miracles that Jesus performed, with all of His preaching and teaching, and with the character that He brought, why was it that He could not turn the Jewish nation around? It was because of their understanding of the Scriptures!

Scriptures “Prove” Error

Do you realize that they used the Scriptures to prove that Jesus was not the Messiah? There were hundreds of Scriptures that they used. We will read only two, so you can get a feel for the way they developed Bible studies to prove to the Jewish people that Jesus was not the Messiah. These Bible studies were very effective.

You need to understand, friends, that there is a right way and a wrong way to use inspired writings. You can prove error from the Bible and from the Spirit of Prophecy. It has happened many times, and it will continue to happen. That is one of the reasons Ellen White counsels us that before we ever study the Bible, we should pray. (See The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 350.) We should say, Lord, help me to understand truth so that the devil does not work on my mind and wrest the Scripture so that the very Word of truth is taken to teach error.

“He [that is the Messiah] shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.” Psalm 72:8. The Jews would read that Scripture and ask, “Is this Jesus of Nazareth? Does He reign from sea to sea? Does His dominion go to the ends of the earth?” Everybody would see the answer was No. The Romans were ruling the world then. Jesus was not ruling to the ends of the earth. So, they reasoned, that proves that He is not the Messiah.

Another text they used says, “Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The Lord of hosts [is] His name): ‘If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the Lord, [Then] the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever.’ Thus says the Lord: ‘If heaven above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel For all that they have done, says the Lord.’ ” Jeremiah 31:35–37.

They would read this Scripture and say, “This Jesus and John the Baptist are preaching against the Sanhedrin and against the church organization, and if they get their way, they are going to destroy our nation.” That is what Caiaphas said. (See John 11.) They would ask, “Is the sun still up there? Is the moon still up there? Are the stars still up there?” Well, yes. “Then, Israel is still God’s people.”

Character Counts

Now I want you to see how much different their idea was than Jesus’ ideas. Jesus, just like John the Baptist, showed them that it was character that counted. Character is always what has counted in God’s sight.

In John 8:37, 38 is recorded Jesus’ words: “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” Jesus tells them, My Father and your father are not the same.

They said, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus immediately denied that in verse 39: “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.” In other words, If Abraham were your father, you would manifest the character of Abraham. Jesus denied their allegation. He acknowledged in verse 37 that Abraham was their father according to the flesh, but He denied in verse 39 that Abraham was their father spiritually.

He said, Abraham is not really your father. He proved to them that they were doing something completely contrary to what Abraham would ever do. In verse 41 He said, “You do the deeds of your father.” Your character shows who your spiritual father is. That was too much. They got sarcastic.

All of His life Jesus was accused of being a product of fornication and of being an illegitimate son. The Jews never accepted the fact of the virgin birth, because if they had, they would have had to acknowledge that He was the Messiah. So they said, “We have not been born of fornication. We have one Father, God.” Verse 41. They did have some standards and rules. You could not be born of fornication and be part of the Sanhedrin. Jesus immediately replied, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. . . . Your father is the devil.” Verses 42, 44.

He hit them right between the eyes! My Father is God, but your father is the devil. You say that God is your Father, but it is not true. The devil is your father. How did Jesus know that the devil was their father? “You are of [your] father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and [does not] stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own [resources], for he is a liar and the father of it.” Verse 44. How do you tell who your father is? Your character tells.

Of the Devil

The devil was a liar and a murderer, Jesus says, from the beginning. He told them they were lying and murdering, plotting His murder. That proved that the devil was their father. Or as the same writer says in 1 John 3:8, “He who sins is of the devil.”

Oh, no, we say, we are Christians. That is not what the Bible says. No matter what we profess, if we are living in sin, the Bible says our father, our spiritual father, is the devil. In fact, John is so strong about this in 1 John 3:4–10, that he says, If you really are converted, if you are born again, you will not sin. And if you are sinning, you are of the devil.

So why did the church in Jesus’ day reject Him? Why did they reject the Messiah? Oh, it was because of all these theological theories that they had built up directly from the Old Testament. Even in the face of miracles and everything else, they said, “The miracles have to be from the devil, because He could not be the right one. We can prove it from the Bible.”

The same thing is happening today. People say to me, “We just have to wait. God is going to purify the church someday, and then we will finish the work.” Let me tell you something, God will have the work all finished while these people are waiting for the purifying to happen.

The evidence right now is that God is getting ready to finish His work all over the world. And the most wonderful experience that you and I can have is if we could just be a little part of it.

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

Present Truth for Today – Are the Jewish Feast Days Included? Part I

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From II Peter 1:12, we read: “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know [them], and be established in the present truth.” The Bible clearly teaches that during the existence of our world, God at certain times has given a present truth for a particular generation. If such present truth were heeded and obeyed, it meant their salvation. On the other hand, to neglect and disobey resulted in their destruction.

There have always been some truths that are applicable in every age and are therefore to be preached and accepted by God’s children at all times—such as love, hope, repentance, obedience, thankfulness, and praise. Such truths are always in season, but when God sees a special need for a particular generation, He gives a present truth that must be obeyed to obtain salvation.

For example, in the days of Noah, God gave an urgent message of present truth. “And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood.” Genesis 6:13, 14. No doubt many were lost in the flood that had a normal faith in God but did not heed or obey the present truth of a coming flood.

The prophet Jonah was given a present truth to deliver to the people living in the city of Nineveh. “So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. … And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Jonah 3:3, 4. But notice how different was the response from that of the antediluvians. “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.” “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did [it] not.” Jonah 3: 5, 10.

John the Baptist was called by God to preach to the Jews that the Messiah had come to Israel as promised. But they rejected this present truth, for we read, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” John 1:11. The tragic results are recorded in the words of Christ, “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.” Luke 19:41, 42. “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” Matthew 23:38.

Today, in this end time, God has given a final present truth in His warning message found in the Book of Revelation 14:7–10: “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” “Babylon is fallen, is fallen.” “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.” All our energies should now be focused on this present truth. Its acceptance or rejection means the difference between life or death. This is why Satan is putting forth tremendous efforts to ensnare God’s remnant to spend their precious time on needless concerns about past requirements of God that have nothing to do with God’s end-time present truth.

Ellen White sums up this tragedy by stating, “Our people need to understand the oracles of God; they need to have a systematic knowledge of the principles of revealed truth, which will fit them for what is coming upon the earth and prevent them from being carried about by every wind of doctrine.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 273. It is thus that the devil is hoping to sidetrack the saints, so they will fail to give God’s final warning message of present truth, and lack the proper preparation for the coming crisis.

A careful study of God’s Word will reveal that there are four different categories of law found in the Bible: the moral law, the ceremonial law, the civil law, and the health laws. The Scriptures teach that one of these laws was abolished when Jesus was crucified. As we read the following biblical texts, we will discover which of these laws were done away with at the cross.

Ordinances

In Ephesians 2:15, we read: “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace.” Some clues are given in Colossians 2:14: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Please take note that both these Scriptures refer to laws called ordinances that were abolished, nailed to the cross and blotted out.

This brings us to question, Which of these four law categories deal with ordinances? The Bible gives the answer. We read of the Passover in Exodus 12:14, 43: “And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.” “And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This [is] the ordinance of the Passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof.” In these verses, the Passover feast is called an ordinance. This feast was therefore to be done away with.

The feast that followed the Passover was called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In Exodus 12:17 and 13:10 we are told, “And ye shall observe [the feast of] unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.” “Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.” Since this Feast of Unleavened Bread is also called an ordinance, it too was to be done away with.

Furthermore, we read in II Chronicles 2:4 of other ordinances involving certain sabbaths, new moons, and solemn feasts of the Lord which are also called ordinances. King Solomon is speaking: “Behold, I build an house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate [it] to him, [and] to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual showbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the Lord our God. This [is an ordinance] for ever to Israel.”

Reading further on in II Chronicles 8:12, 13, we are given the names of some of these solemn feast days. “Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had built before the porch, Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, [even] in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.” This Scripture clearly identifies that the solemn feasts were called ordinances; therefore, they were all nailed to the cross, having been abolished by the death of Christ.

We must not overlook the additional fact that these feast days were not to be kept by today’s Christians, for animal sacrifices were an integral part of these ceremonies, and such animal sacrifices pointed to the Lamb of God who was to die on Calvary. God has made it very clear that animal sacrifices and ordinances (or feast days) all ended, when in the earthly sanctuary service the veil of the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom, as we read in Matthew 27:51. No Christian in our day who truly believes in the salvation brought by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross will keep the ceremonial laws of the feasts and sacrifices.

Inspired Confirmation

The Spirit of Prophecy confirms that God will never again accept such worship. Mrs. White states: “The rending of the vail [sic] of the temple showed that the Jewish sacrifices and ordinances would no longer be received.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1, 170.

The following quotation also settles this fact once and for all: “The entire plan of sacrificial worship was a foreshadowing of the Saviour’s death to redeem the world. There would be no efficacy of these offerings when the great event toward which they had pointed for ages was consummated.

“Since the whole ritual economy was symbolical of Christ, it had no value apart from Him. When the Jews sealed their rejection of Christ by delivering Him to death, they rejected all that gave significance to the temple and its services. Its sacredness had departed. It was doomed to destruction. From that day sacrificial offerings and the service connected with them were meaningless. Like the offerings of Cain they did not express faith in the Saviour. In putting Christ to death, the Jews virtually destroyed their temple. When Christ was crucified, the inner veil of the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom, signifying that the great final sacrifice had been made, and that the system of sacrificial offerings was forever at an end.” The Desire of Ages, 165. [Emphasis added.]

To make this absolutely clear, we read further that this not only included animal sacrifices but the feast-day ordinances that were connected with them. “Through Christ the hidden glory of the holy of holies was to stand revealed. He had suffered death for every man, and by this offering the sons of men were to become the sons of God. . . . The mercy seat, upon which the glory of God rested in the holiest of all, is opened to all who accept Christ as the propitiation for sin, and through its medium, they are brought into fellowship with God. The veil is rent, the partition walls broken down, the handwriting of ordinances canceled. By virtue of His blood the enmity is abolished.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1109.

Mrs. White also wrote, “The people whom God had called to be the pillar and ground of the truth had become representatives of Satan. They were doing the work that he desired them to do, taking a course to misrepresent the character of God, and cause the world to look upon Him as a tyrant. The very priests who ministered in the temple had lost sight of the significance of the service they performed. They had ceased to look beyond the symbol to the thing signified. In presenting the sacrificial offerings they were as actors in a play. The ordinances which God Himself had appointed were made the means of blinding the mind and hardening the heart. God could do no more for man through these channels. The whole system must be swept away.” The Desire of Ages, 36.

Paul and The Ceremonial Law

Then we read, from The Signs of the Times, July 29, 1886, “Hence the ceremonial law ceased to be a force at the death of Christ.”

There are those who would still argue that Paul kept the feast days and taught that we must do likewise. However, the servant of the Lord clearly explains the nature of Paul’s preaching to the Jews, for she states of Paul, “When he had given many discourses upon these subjects, he testified that the Messiah had indeed come, and then preached the simple gospel of Jesus Christ. This was the craft which Paul mentions, saying that he caught them with guile. He thus tried to allay prejudice, and win souls to the truth. He refrained from urging upon the Jews the fact that the ceremonial laws were no longer of any force. He cautioned Timothy to remove any occasion for them to reject his labors. He complied with their rules and ordinances as far as was consistent with his mission to the Gentiles. He would not mislead the Jews nor practice deception upon them; but he waived his personal feelings, for the truth’s sake.” Sketches From the Life of Paul, 161.

“The ceremonial law was given by Christ. Even after it was no longer to be observed, Paul presented it before the Jews in its true position and value, showing its place in the plan of redemption and its relation to the work of Christ.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 367.

From The Signs of the Times, February 28, 1884, we read: “Circumcision and a strict observance of the ceremonial law had been the conditions upon which Gentiles could be admitted to the congregation of Israel; but these distinctions were to be abolished by the gospel.”

Ellen White further states of Christ, “He has swept away every ceremony of the ancient type. He has given no liberty to restore these rites, or to substitute anything that will recall the old literal sacrifices.” Review and Herald, February 25, 1896. [Emphasis added.] Nothing could be more plain!

Holydays

It is no wonder that Paul tells us in Colossians 2:14–17 that these ceremonial feast days were all nailed to the cross: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; [And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ.”

In this Scripture, Paul is urging all Christians to not be concerned with these past feast days which were called holydays, for by his actual words in the original Greek, the word holydays means a festival or a solemn feast. This does not have reference to the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, but to the yearly sabbaths that were appointed on different days of the week each year.

Paul spent much of his time in preaching to dispel the Jewish teaching that the solemn feasts were still to be continued. It is no wonder that Paul spoke in no uncertain words, as we read in Galatians 4:9–11, “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.” Did you notice the words days, months, times, and years? This is referring to the ceremonial sabbaths, the new moons, the festivals and their appointed feasts. Paul is actually questioning whether or not he had labored in vain to prove to the Christians that Christ had fulfilled all these ceremonies.

Type Met Antitype

Let us take a closer look at Ephesians 2:15: “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances . …” Concerning this verse, Mrs. White wrote, “There is a law which was abolished, which Christ ‘took out of the way, nailing it to His cross.’ [Colossians 2:14.] Paul calls it ‘the law of commandments contained in ordinances.’ [Ephesians 2:15.] This ceremonial law, given by God through Moses, with its sacrifices and ordinances, was to be binding upon the Hebrews until type met antitype in the death of Christ as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. Then all the sacrificial offerings and services were to be abolished. Paul and the other apostles labored to show this, and resolutely withstood those Judaizing teachers who declared that Christians should observe the ceremonial law.” The Signs of the Times, September 4, 1884.

In Galatians 5:4, Paul made it very clear that we are fallen from grace and removed from Christ if we obey these ordinances: “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” I trust by now that you can see how serious it is to continue to observe these Jewish ceremonies that have met their fulfillment in Christ.

Those who persist in keeping the feast days are denying that Christ came to earth and died at the appointed time in a.d. 27 and are not accepting what is given in God’s Word and the Spirit of Prophecy. How can any Seventh-day Adventist today, who claims to have the faith of Jesus as we read in Revelation 14:12, deny our precious Saviour by keeping feast days, which by their very purpose showed that Christ had not yet come the first time?

To be continued …

For over 60 years Pastor Lawrence Nelson served as an evangelist and minister for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Of that time, he served 13 years as the director of evangelism for youth at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Upon retirement from the General Conference, he continued to pastor, but when, as a result of his stand for truth, he was denied the opportunity to continue his pastorate, he started Keep the Faith Audio Tape Ministry, recording his sermons and making them available to individuals. Before his retirement from this ministry in 2004, over 18,000 audio tapes were being sent around the world each month.

Present Truth for Today—Are the Jewish Feast Days Included? Part II

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There have always been some truths that are applicable in every age and are therefore to be preached and accepted by God’s children at all times—such as love, hope, repentance, obedience, thankfulness, and praise. Such truths are always in season.

But those who persist in keeping the feast days are denying that Christ came to earth and died at the appointed time in a.d. 31 and are not accepting what is given in God’s Word and the Spirit of Prophecy. How can any Seventh-day Adventist today, who claims to have the faith of Jesus as we read in Revelation 14:12, deny our precious Saviour by keeping feast days, which by their very purpose showed that Christ had not yet come the first time?

The Lord’s Supper

The Passover, with its feast of unleavened bread, was fulfilled; for we read in 1 Corinthians 5:7 that Jesus, our Passover, was crucified for us. The unleavened bread was the offering of Christ’s sinless life, for He said, “I am the Bread of life.” John 6:35. The slain lamb, the unleavened bread, the sheaf of the first fruits represented our Saviour’s death, His sinless life, and resurrection.

As Christians, we now celebrate the Lord’s Supper, which Christ instituted in the place of the Passover. Jesus said, “As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” 1 Corinthians 11:26.

In the Review and Herald, May 31, 1898, we read: “In instituting the sacramental service to take the place of the Passover, Christ left for his church a memorial of his great sacrifice for man. ‘This do,’ he said, ‘in remembrance of me.’ [Luke 22:19.] This was the point of transition between two economies and their two great festivals. The one was to close forever; the other, which he had just established, was to take its place, and to continue through all time as the memorial of his death.”

“This ordinance [feet-washing] does not speak so largely to man’s intellectual capacity as to his heart. His moral and spiritual nature needs it. If His disciples had not needed this, it would not have been left for them as Christ’s last established ordinance in connection with, and including, the last supper. It was Christ’s desire to leave to his disciples an ordinance that would do for them the very thing they needed,—that would serve to disentangle them from the rites and ceremonies which they had hitherto engaged in as essential, and which the reception of the gospel made no longer of any force. To continue these rites would be an insult to Jehovah.” Ibid., June 14, 1898. Nothing could be spoken more clearly.

Other Fulfillments

Now, let us consider the Feast of Weeks called The Pentecost. This was fulfilled 50 days following the Last Supper. It was known as the celebration of the wheat harvest, made possible by the early rains, which provided the harvests at Pentecost. It was at this time that the Holy Spirit descended with mighty power upon the disciples.

Pentecost, called also the Feast of Weeks or Feast of Harvest, was a time of gratitude to God for the harvest. “As an expression of gratitude for the grain prepared as food, two loaves baked with leaven were presented before God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 540. Pentecost occupied but one day, which was devoted to religious service. The feasts of the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Harvest or Pentecost occurred during the spring of the year. All these feasts pointed forward to events connected with the redemption provided by Christ at the time of the first advent.

After Pentecost came the Feast of Trumpets. This feast took place ten days before the Day of Atonement. The fall feasts represent events before and after the Second Advent. The three fall feasts were the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Day of Atonement

Next came the Day of Atonement. Its fulfillment is in progress today. To keep this feast day is to deny that Christ is in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary making atonement for our sins. The keeping of this feast day would make it impossible for us to benefit from His work in the heavenly sanctuary. This is not the time to be concerned with Jewish feast days of the past.

Ellen White clearly emphasized that preparation for the atonement is the present truth of this hour:

“We are in the great day of atonement, and the sacred work of Christ for the people of God that is going on at the present time in the heavenly sanctuary should be our constant study. We should teach our children what the typical Day of Atonement signified and that it was a special season of great humiliation and confession of sins before God. The antitypical day of atonement is to be of the same character. Everyone who teaches the truth by precept and example will give the trumpet a certain sound. You need ever to cultivate spirituality, because it is not natural for you to be heavenly-minded. The great work is before us of leading the people away from worldly customs and practices, up higher and higher, to spirituality, piety, and earnest work for God. It is your work to proclaim the message of the third angel, to sound the last note of warning to the world.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 520.

“Will our churches humble themselves before the Lord in this day of atonement? Will they put away the sins which defile their garments of character, and separate them from God? The present is our day of visitation. Look not to a future, more convenient season, when the cross to be lifted will be less heavy, when the inclinations of the carnal heart will be subdued with less effort. ‘Today,’ saith the Spirit of God, ‘if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart.’ [Hebrews 3:7, 8.] Today go about the work, else you may be one day too late. The impression that you have now may not be as strong tomorrow. Satan’s snare may close about you. The candlestick may be moved out of its place, and you left in darkness. ‘See that you refuse not him that speaketh.’ [Hebrews 12:25.] Says the true Witness, ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock.’ [Revelation 3:20.] Every warning, reproof, and entreaty in the word of God, or through his delegated messengers, is a knock at the door of the heart; it is the voice of Jesus, asking for entrance. With every knock unheeded, your determination to open becomes weaker and weaker. If the voice of Jesus is not heeded at once, it becomes confused in the mind with a multitude of other voices, the world’s care and business engross the attention, and conviction dies away. The heart becomes less impressible, and lapses into a perilous unconsciousness of the shortness of time, and of the great eternity beyond. The heavenly Guest is standing at your door, while you are piling up obstructions to bar his entrance. Jesus is knocking through the prosperity he gives you. He loads you with blessings to test your fidelity, that they may flow out from you to others. Will you permit your selfishness to triumph? Will you squander God’s talents, and lose your soul through idolatrous love of the blessings he has given?” Review and Herald, November 2, 1886.

“This is our washing and ironing time—the time when we are to cleanse our robes of character in the blood of the Lamb. John says, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29). . . . Shall we not let our sin go? . . .

“I entreat you, brethren and sisters, to labor earnestly to secure the crown of everlasting life. The reward will be worth the conflict, worth the effort. . . . In the race in which we are running, everyone may receive the reward offered―a crown of everlasting life. I [Ellen White] want this crown; I mean by God’s help to have it. I mean to hold fast to the truth, that I may see the King in His beauty.” In Heavenly Places, 356.

Feast of Tabernacles

Let us consider the last feast of the Jewish year, which was called the Feast of Tabernacles. Here we must again ask a very important question: Have the prophetic requirements of this Feast of Tabernacles been fulfilled for God’s people today? The answer is, No.

The purpose of this feast for Israel of old was to bring to memory how God had delivered them from the Egyptian bondage and by His loving care had protected and brought them to the Promised Land. This is why they were commanded to go to Jerusalem, at the close of each Jewish year, and abide in temporary shelters made from the branches of trees. During this feast, they were to celebrate. The Day of Atonement had been completed; all of their past sins had been carried away out of the sanctuary into the wilderness by the scapegoat.

For us who are living in the end-time, we cannot celebrate this Feast of Tabernacles, for our Day of Atonement is still in progress. Our past sins have not been blotted out of the heavenly sanctuary, as of yet. Furthermore, we have not reached the Promised Land and entered into the heavenly New Jerusalem where we shall abide in temporary homes until we are finally restored to the earth made new, there to build houses and inhabit them. (Isaiah 65:21.)

Camp Meetings

In reference to these facts, the Spirit of Prophecy encourages the people of God today to hold and to attend camp meetings. At these gatherings, a rehearsing of how God has led in the development of His church is to be given. In addition, studies should be given, as the end draws near, on how to meet the final test and be ready to see Jesus. By such suggestions, Ellen White is not telling us to keep the feast days, but that our camp meetings should become presentations filled with glorious truths of the Second Coming of our Saviour that will bring to an end our wandering in this sin-cursed world.

She further states in the Review and Herald, January 9, 1883, “The opinion is widely held, that the sacrifices and offerings of the Hebrews possess no significance for Christians, and can be of no interest to them. This opinion is without foundation. It is true that the ceremonies of the Mosaic law are not now to be observed; but, when rightly understood, they are seen to be all aglow with sacred and important truths. These rites, appointed by Jehovah himself, were like so many beacons to light up the path of God’s ancient people, and to direct their minds to the great sacrifice to be offered for the sins of men. Viewed in the light of the cross, they contain most precious lessons for the people of God today.”

This is what Ellen White had in mind when she spoke of camp meetings in the Review and Herald, November 17, 1885. “Well would it be for us to have a feast of tabernacles, a joyous commemoration of the blessings of God to us as a people. As the children of Israel celebrated the deliverance that God wrought for their fathers, and his miraculous preservation of them during their journeyings from Egypt to the Promised Land, so should the people of God at the present time gratefully call to mind the various ways He has devised to bring them out from the world, out from the darkness of error, into the precious light of truth. . . . We should gratefully regard the old way-marks, and refresh our souls with memories of the loving-kindness of our gracious Benefactor.”

Several years later, Mrs. White wrote: “The forces of the enemies are strengthening, and as a people we are misrepresented; but shall we not gather our forces together, and come up to the feast of tabernacles? Let us not treat this matter as one of little importance, but let the army of the Lord be on the ground to represent the work and cause of God in Australia. Let no one plead an excuse at such a time. One of the reasons why we have appointed the camp meeting to be held at Melbourne, is that we desire the people of that vicinity to become acquainted with our doctrines and works. We want them to know what we are, and what we believe. Let everyone pray, and make God his trust. Those who are barricaded with prejudice must hear the warning message for this time. We must find our way to the hearts of the people. Therefore, come to the camp meeting, even though you have to make a sacrifice to do so, and the Lord will bless your efforts to honor his cause and advance his work.” The Bible Echo, December 8, 1893.

Present Truth

There is no doubt as to the conclusion as we read from Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, 270: “Will you listen to the voice of Christ? Will you break away from self and respond, ‘We come, Lord, we come. With joy shall we draw water out of the wells of salvation’? Then shall your life henceforth be a continual Feast of Tabernacles, a continual thank offering for unnumbered and unmerited blessings.”

Finally, let us ever keep in mind,

“The people whom God had called to be the pillar and ground of the truth had become representatives of Satan. They were doing the work that he desired them to do, taking a course to misrepresent the character of God, and cause the world to look upon Him as a tyrant. The very priests who ministered in the temple had lost sight of the significance of the service they performed. They had ceased to look beyond the symbol to the thing signified. In presenting the sacrificial offerings they were as actors in a play. The ordinances which God Himself had appointed were made the means of blinding the mind and hardening the heart. God could do no more for man through these channels. The whole system must be swept away.” The Desire of Ages, 36.

So, let us fill our minds with present truth. May we not be ensnared by the great deceiver and become so involved with past Old Testament feast days that we shall fail to meet heaven’s requirements for the final atonement and to give the last warning message of present truth—the Three Angels’ Messages.

For over 60 years Pastor Lawrence Nelson served as an evangelist and minister for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Of that time, he served 13 years as the director of evangelism for youth at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Upon retirement from the General Conference, he continued to pastor, but when, as a result of his stand for truth, he was denied the opportunity to continue his pastorate, he started Keep the Faith Audio Tape Ministry, recording his sermons and making them available to individuals. Before his retirement from this ministry in 2004, over 18,000 audiotapes were being sent around the world each month.

Bible Study Guides – The Jewish Church in Christ’s day; a return to captivity

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July 25, 2010 – July 31, 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 result of renewed apostasy, what did the professed church in Christ’s day look like? How was the situation of the church in Christ’s day comparable to the church during the time of the Babylonian captivity? What were the contrasts?

Here the story gets even more complicated. The Jewish leaders in Christ’s time seemed to understand, at least by way of terminology, that the purpose of God’s church was to bear children—and that’s exactly what they claimed to be, the children of the true church. This is what they claimed when they said, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.” It may seem simple in hindsight to see that they missed the most obvious spiritual applications of the seed bearing church, but it was missed nonetheless. In reality, and contrary to the claims of its leaders, the professed church of the Jewish nation in Christ’s day had actually returned to a Babylonian type captivity—a captivity that contrasted physically and paralleled spiritually the ancient Babylonian captivity.

The Jewish church had become spiritually bankrupt—in aggregate an old wine bottle such as Jesus referred to in Luke 5:37–39. A new church arose alongside the decaying edifice of the Jewish church before anyone, either founders of the new or guardians of the old, fully understood what was happening! Let’s proceed to highlight a few of these details.

“The Pharisees opposed the teachings of Jesus with all their force, and Jesus turned from the recognized religious leaders to find in others new bottles for the new wine. In the untutored fisherman, in the publican at the market-place, in the woman of Samaria, in the common people who heard him gladly, he found his new bottles for the new wine. …

“God’s people must go on from light to a greater light, or they will become, as did the Pharisees, unwilling to receive additional light. They will find themselves in the condition represented by withered, dried-up bottles. In their religious faith they will be unmovable, inflexible, like the withered fig tree dried up by the roots. …

“The lessons which Jesus taught in the parables should be carefully studied; they contain instruction for his people in these last days … Christ, the consolation of Israel, had come unto his own, but his own received him not. He must find new bottles to contain his new wine.” The Signs of the Times, September 19, 1892.

1 What did the Jewish church look like in the time of Christ? How did the experience of the Jewish church in Christ’s day parallel the experience of the Babylonian captivity? In what ways was the experience in contrast to the Babylonian captivity?

Review and Discuss:

The captor nation now in question was Rome. (It is interesting to note in this context that Peter later was to refer to the capital, Rome, as “Babylon.” I Peter 5:13.)

The nation/church of Israel was in near complete captivity to Rome—its civil and spiritual leaders, vassals to Rome, as Zedechiah and his immediate predecessors had been to Nebuchadnezzar. Yet instead of reducing the church to rubble, the captors had helped to beautify and embellish the temple. (Despite outward beautification, the church, as in the time of Jeremiah, was desolate—destitute of the Spirit of Christ. Matthew 23:38.) The temple church had become a “den of thieves.”

Once again, God’s people were in complete denial about the fact that they were in bondage! Note the claim made by one faction of the leaders of the professed church to Christ: “They [the Pharisees] answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?” John 8:33.

There now seemed to be many pastors (priests), but yet there were no shepherds! “… Jesus … was moved with compassion for them [multitudes], because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.” Mark 6:34.

Unlike the previous Babylonian captivity, there were now schools for religious instruction associated with the churches—yet not in any of them was there found a place fit for proper instruction! “In the days of Christ the town or city that did not provide for the religious instruction of the young was regarded as under the curse of God. Yet … tradition had in a great degree supplanted the Scriptures. … The principles of the law were obscured.” The Desire of Ages, 69.

As in Jeremiah’s time, a false trust was placed in the professed church—in the ordinances and buildings that had been dedicated by and to God. The forms of religion continued despite the deep divisions of a conservative and liberal class.

The forms of this church carried on, largely uninterrupted clear past the zenith of the early Christian church. The Jewish temple-church soldiered on after the gospel had gone to every person in the world (Colossians 1:23)! It continued on after the key leaders of the early Christian church; Stephen, James, Peter and Paul all had been martyred for their faith.

2 Did Christ also profess to be the head of the church? Was it the same church described above? See Matthew 16:18; John 10:1–9, 11, 16; Matthew 23:32–39; John 15:1, 5, 7, 8; John 8: 34–36.

Note:

Christ also professed to be the leader of the true church. It consisted largely of outcasts, but anyone and all were invited to join: foreigner or Pharisee; fisherman or lawyer; man, woman, or child. Here are some of the claims of Christ regarding this: “on this rock [Christ] I will build my church” and “I am the door. … I am the Good Shepherd … other sheep I have … there will be one flock and one Shepherd … my sheep hear my voice.” Christ explained captivity and the church’s purpose of bearing fruit and bearing children in terms like these:

“I am the true vine … you are the branches … if you abide in Me, and my Words abide in you … you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples” and “you must be born again” and “whoever commits sin is a slave … a slave does not abide in the house forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

3 What did the prospects for this new church look like in Christ’s day? What was their experience?

Review and Discuss:

Christ’s own people reject Him (Luke 4:16–30).

The glory Christ brought to the temple was unrecognized.

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while, I will once more shake the heavens, and the earth, the sea, and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. … ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house.’ ” Haggai 2:6, 7, 9.

An apparent early victory by the Sea of Galilee is followed by a massive shaking among Christ’s followers! Nearly all forsake Him (John 6:60–68).

“Christ sifted His followers again and again, until at one time there remained only eleven and a few faithful women to lay the foundation of the Christian church. There are those who will stand back when burdens are to be borne; but when the church is all aglow, they catch the enthusiasm, sing and shout, and become rapturous; but watch them. When the fervor is gone, only a few faithful Calebs will come to the front and display unwavering principle. These are salt that retains the savor. It is when the work moves hard that the churches develop the true helpers. These will not be talking of self, vindicating self, but will lose their identity in Jesus Christ.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 130.

Christ’s disciples are nearly completely confused about which church they belong to (Matthew 17:24–27; Matthew 16:6–12).

Christ, at the last left by all, treads the winepress of God’s wrath—alone (Isaiah 59:14–17)!

Peter, a key disciple, publically disavows connection with Christ and His church.

On the cross, seemingly a failed traitor of the church, Jesus cries out: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46.

With unspeakable sorrow and bitterness, Christ’s disciples see an end to all they understood to be of Christ’s church (Luke 24:21).

4 Do the above descriptions of the Jewish church and Christ’s church complete the story?

Christ predicted the above situation, and the reversals that came, and so had the prophets before Him. Notice here again how Jesus is consistent with the Old Testament imagery of the purpose of God’s church when He tells His disciples, “A woman when she is in labor has sorrow, because her hour has come: but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for the joy. … Therefore you now have sorrow: but … your heart will rejoice.” John 16:21, 22.

5 Although unrecognized by nearly all, what was the true situation of the Jewish church?

Review and Discuss:

Unrecognized, Christ comes a last time, seeking fruit from Israel (Mark 11:11–22).

Unrecognized, probation closes on the Jewish nation-church (Matthew 23:32–39).

Unrecognized, spiritual bondage is at last followed by physical bondage and destruction.

Unrecognized, a new church of spiritual Jews was born to replace the old.

6 And what was the position of the Church that Christ was raising?

Review and Discuss:

Christ declared that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18). The work of Christ prior to and on the cross of Calvary had indeed prepared the new church for victory in the midst of defeat! At the very close of Christ’s agony, Ellen White writes:

“Well, then, might the angels rejoice as they looked upon the Saviour’s cross; for though they did not then understand all, they knew that the destruction of sin and Satan was forever made certain, that the redemption of man was assured, and that the universe was made eternally secure. Christ Himself fully comprehended the results of the sacrifice made upon Calvary. To all these He looked forward when upon the cross He cried out, ‘It is finished’ [John 19:30].” The Desire of Ages, 764.

With Christ’s victory in Gethsemane, at trial, and on Calvary, the church was prepared to fulfill the purposes for which she was ordained:

Bearing the fruit of Spiritual rebirth, at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Bearing the fruit of offspring (converts) on the day of Pentecost.

Representing the name of God to the world (Christian).

The promised triumphs of the church by Old Testament prophets were indeed fulfilled. But no one, not even the disciples, recognized the omens of coming victory. In parallel, the promised decimation of the church by Old Testament prophets was also fulfilled, first spiritually and then physically. Very few of God’s originally called and professed people had any part of the triumph, while most experienced the fulfillment of prophecies of destruction! God’s new Christian church had triumphed, had been born, unrecognized as such by the Jewish nation, from a gathering of all nations. (Note: Even this triumph, though, could have been more complete, had Jewish nationalism among the disciples been seen for what it was earlier, and completely put away (Galatians 4:19–31; Ephesians 2:10–22; Acts 9, 10; Romans 9, 10, 11). Christ looked forward to this birth of a new church when:

In these strangers (the Greeks who came to the temple) He (Christ) saw the pledge of a great harvest, when the partition wall between Jew and Gentile should be broken down, and all nations, tongues, and peoples should hear the message of salvation. The anticipation of this, the consummation of His hopes, is expressed in the words, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” John 12:23. The gathering in of the Gentiles was to follow His approaching death.

The new church was indeed formed by a combination of Jew and Gentile. Praise the Lord for the power of the gospel to make the true Christian church from: Jew (Paul) and Gentile (the Ethiopian eunuch); former Pharisees (Simon): former harlots (Mary), Roman centurions (Cornelius), and former zealots (Simon).

Reader, an understanding of what is really happening in the above parallel mingling of triumph-tragedy for the professed Jewish church and tragedy-triumph of the Christian church is critical to an understanding of Old Testament prophecy. The Old Testament prophecies themselves are, on a large scale, a grand-parallel mingling of stunning triumph in the face of disaster and monumental defeat in the face of misplaced confidence. This history of the church in Christ’s time gives us the tools to understand how these seemingly contradictory prophecies can be fulfilled simultaneously.

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.

The Rending Of The Robe

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In the Scriptures, our robe, or our clothing, is used as a symbol of our character. We see this in the experience of Adam and Eve. They had a robe of light, representing a righteous character. When they sinned and lost that covering, they made some fig leaf garments to replace it. These artificial garments have become synonymous with righteousness by works, but they are not acceptable.

In place of the garment of leaves, the Lord prepared a garment for them from the skin of an animal. This garment, which cost the life of the innocent animal, was symbolic of the garment of Christ’s righteousness, which cost the life of His own Son and which all must wear who will be saved. In Revelation 19:7-8, we find our clothing referred to as our works. “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” As acts are repeated, they become habits, and those habits become character.

You can read in Ephesians 5 concerning the church, that the church will be arrayed in linen, a garment of character that will be without spot or wrinkle, without blemish. Speaking of Armageddon, we read: “Behold I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame” Revelation 16:15. If your garment is torn or becomes spotted or wrinkled, you will not be ready for Armegeddon.

In the Old Testament, there is one robe that was a special symbol, and that was the robe worn by the high priest. Speaking of this robe, we are told: “The pattern of the priestly robes was made known to Moses in the mount. Every article the high priest was to wear, and the way it should be made, were specified. These garments were consecrated to a most solemn purpose. By them was represented the character of the great antitype, Jesus Christ.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1104

Because it represented Christ’s character, under no condition was this robe to be torn or rent. The penalty for failing to comply with this requirement was death. The Jews, however, had gotten together and had written a church manual that contained rules differing from those in the Bible. According to their church manual, there was one exception to God’s rule. In the case of blasphemy, in order to show his horror, the high priest was allowed to tear his robe. It is quite obvious that Caiaphas placed a higher value on the church manual than on the Bible. By the way, in those days you could not even be a high priest unless you were willing to go along with the church manual. That was a prerequisite.

So, when Caiaphas tore his robe, though his action was approved of by the church manual, according to God’s Word, he was deserving of death. Of course, nothing like this could ever happen again, could it?

“We want to understand the time in which we live. We do not half understand it. We do not half take it in. My heart trembles in me when I think of what a foe we have to meet, and how poorly we are prepared to meet him. The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ.” Selected Messages, book 1, 406

The condition of Israel then, according to Ellen White, was representative of our experience just before the second coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus told the people of His day, “You have made the commandments of God of no affect by your tradition.” Matthew 15:6

Have you ever heard of a “duly appointed leader”? Or have you ever heard the phrase, “properly constituted church authority”? Was Caiphas a duly appointed leader? Well, who is a duly appointed leader? This is something that we need to understand.

“For thus rending his garment in pretended zeal, the high priest might have been arraigned before the Sanhedrin. He had done the very thing that the Lord had commanded should not be done. Standing under the condemnation of God, he pronounced sentence on Christ as a blasphemer. He performed all his actions toward Christ as a priestly judge, as an officiating high priest, but he was not this by the appointment of God, the priestly robe he rent in order to impress the people with his horror of the sin of blasphemy covered a heart full of wickedness. He was acting under the inspiration of Satan.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1105

Was he duly appointed? He was not appointed by God. Who was directing his actions? Do God and the devil ever work in partnership? No! Never! The Bible is very clear on that. First Corinthians 10:20-21 says, “You can not drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils.” It does not say you should not; it says you cannot. You can have it one way or the other but not both.

“Under a gorgeous priestly dress, he was fulfilling the work of the enemy of God.” Ibid.

Is it properly constituted church authority to do the work of the devil? Now notice the next sentence.

“This has been done again, and again.” Ibid.

Let me ask you this question. How much authority did Caiphas have?

“With Caiaphas the Jewish high priesthood ended. This proud, overbearing, wicked man proved his unworthiness ever to have worn the garments of the high priest. He had neither capacity, nor authority from heaven.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 387

How much authority did he have? Though he had what they called properly constituted authority, he had no authority from heaven.

“He had not one ray of light from heaven to show him what the work of the priest was, or for what the office had been instituted. Such ministration could make nothing perfect, for in itself it was utterly corrupt. The priests were tyrannous and deceptive, and full of ambitious schemes. The grace of God had nought to do with this.” Ibid., 388

“Oh,” but someone says, “he was the high priest.” Well, let us just look at that for a moment. Was he the high priest? Now remember, it was several years before A.D. 34. Was Caiaphas the leader of God’s people? No, no he was not. “Virtually Caiaphas was no high priest.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1101

Was he the high priest or was he not the high priest? He was not the high priest, though he may have been so by profession. Do you see why we say that there is a difference between the professed church and the true church? There is a difference, and in a time of apostasy, there is a great difference. We have been trying to teach people this for a few years now, but it is so ingrained that unless the Holy Spirit works on their minds, they never understand the point. Profession and reality are not necessarily the same thing.

How is it with you today, friend? Is your character in harmony with your profession? If it is not, your profession is telling a lie and you can never go to heaven, although you call yourself a Seventh-day Adventist. If the things you profess to believe are not a reality in your life, your life is a lie because your character is not in harmony with your profession.

“He [Caiaphas] was uncircumcised in heart. With the other priests he instructed the people to choose Barabbas instead of Christ.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 388

When Caiaphas asked Jesus if He was really the Christ and Jesus replied that He was, Caiaphas tore his robe. Why did Caiaphas tear his garment? He did it deliberately, and he did it for a reason. It was a custom among the Jews that whenever one of your relatives had died, you would tear your clothes as a way of expressing extreme sorrow and grief. The Lord had prohibited the priests from doing this, but, as was pointed out earlier, they had found a way around God’s clear command.

The experience Christ was subjected to was repeated many times during the Protestant Reformation. First, the Protestant Reformers were excommunicated, or disfellowshipped, from their churches. When this did not stop the Reformation, they were placed in prison. Finally, when other measures had failed to suppress their activities, it was determined that they must die. The men who were responsible would maintain that they certainly hated to treat them so, but they were left no choice. This is what Caiaphas was telling Jesus. He was saying, in essence, “I’m going to have to kill you because of your theological errors, but I’m so sorry about it.” The trouble with such a statement was that Caiaphas was not really sorry at all. Ellen White makes this very clear.

“So perverted had the priesthood become that when Christ declared Himself the Son of God, Caiaphas, in pretended horror, rent his robe, and accused the Holy One of Israel of blasphemy.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1104

It is wrong to pretend under any circumstance, but the worst kind of pretense is when you pretend to be pious, and that is the kind of pretension this was—he was pretending to be in terrible sorrow and shock, and it was not even so. This made the act even more wicked than it would have been otherwise.

By the way, have any of you ever received any letters that begin something like, “I’m so sorry to have to inform you,” and then go on to explain the unpleasant action they have been forced to take? Friend, you had better never tell someone you are sorry if it is not really the truth, because God hates pretense.

Caiaphas also showed that he did not realize, if he ever knew, what his robe represented. It represented the character of the One standing before him. It was terrible blasphemy for him to tear his robe because Christ’s character had not been torn; it had never been defiled.

When he tore his robe, he said, in effect, we will not have this Man to rule over us. What had he done? He separated himself—remember now, he was a representative of the whole Jewish nation—from God.

God has given to you and me the power of choice, but I want to tell you, He honors our power of choice. People say, “Well the church is going through.” Do you believe that we have the power of choice? Did Caiaphas have the power of choice? Certainly he did, but he made a choice, and God honored his choice. I want to tell you, friend, God honors people’s choices.

“In Christ the shadow reached its substance, the type its antitype. Well might Caiaphas rend his clothes in horror for himself and for the nation; for they were separating themselves from God, and were fast becoming a people unchurched by Jehovah. Surely the candlestick was being removed out of its place.” Ibid., 1109

What were they doing? They were become a people unchurched. Do you want a synonym for that? That means they were disfellowshipping themselves. By this act, Caiaphas was separating, or divorcing himself from God; and everyone who followed his example, yielding to his influence, was doing the same thing. Because of this choice, millions of people lost their lives.

By the way, they still went to church; they went to the building; they said the same prayer; they went through the same service. They still had the same organization; they still had the same bank account; they still had the same name; but they were disfellowshipped, and they did not even know it.

If they had been striving to be in harmony with God’s will and to obey Him, Caiaphas would have been killed for the crime he had committed; but they decided instead to follow him.

What was God’s response?

“When Caiaphas rent his garment, his act was significant of the place that the Jewish nation as a nation would thereafter occupy toward God. The once favored people of God were separating themselves from Him, and were fast becoming a people disowned by Jehovah.” The Desire of Ages, 709

God accepted the choice that Caiaphas made; and God is watching the choices that you and I are making, the choices that every minister is making and the choices that every church is making God is going to respond in keeping with the decision of each person.

Here is what happened when Jesus died on the cross:

“It was not the hand of the priest that rent from top to bottom the gorgeous veil that divided the holy from the Most Holy Place. It was the hand of God. When Christ cried out, ‘It is finished,’ the Holy watcher that was an unseen guest at Belshazzar’s feast pronounced the Jewish nation to be a nation unchurched.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1109

Do you realize that this was some time before A.D. 34?

When Caiaphas rent his garment, there was more than one rending that took place. We have been looking at the outward rending of the garment of the high priest and its spiritual significance. It was a symbolic act of the separation, the divorcing of God’s people from Himself. When was this act completed? It was completed when the priest said, “We have no king but Caesar.” John 19:15

The Church is to be the bride, the wife of Christ; but if that church chooses to depart from the Lord and to form an alliance with the state, it has said in effect, we will no longer have the Lord to be our ruler. You cannot have two masters; it is impossible. No church or religious group can go to the state for the enforcement of their religious teachings without having left the Lord, and God will recognize that choice.

Are you aware that the Spirit of Prophecy says that there are three things the Lord will do when the church goes to the state for assistance in enforcing her decrees? First, He says that He will not hear their prayers. If that was the only thing to happen, that would be so serious that it should shake us to the bottom of our foundation. Second, she says that He will take the Holy Spirit away from them. Without the Holy Spirit you are lost. The third thing that the Lord will do is write them in the book of heaven as unbelievers. See Selected Messages, book 3, 299-302. If you are written in heaven as unbelievers, you are not even part of the church. You have torn the garment; you have separated yourself from the Lord.

There is a true rending of the garment.

“Christ mourned for the transgression of every human being. He bore even the guiltiness of Caiaphas, knowing the hypocrisy that dwelt in his soul, while for pretense he rent his robe. Christ did not rend His robe, but His soul was rent. His garment of human flesh was rent as He hung on the cross, the sin-bearer of the race. By His suffering and death a new and living way was opened.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1105

Jesus had an inner rending of His soul, and, friend, we are to enter into that experience if we are going to be saved.

“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;…Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil. Joel 2:1, 12, 13

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son.” Zechariah 12:10

what are these verses talking about? Oh, friend, when Jesus hung on the cross, it was your sin that pierced Him; and it was my sin that pierced Him. The past, the present and the future are all alike to God. God saw you, and that is why Jesus came and died on the cross. When he hung on the cross, His heart was pierced; it was torn for you. The tearing of His flesh, His hands and His feet is just a symbol or a type of the real pain that was in His heart. The pain in His heart was so great, Ellen White says in the Desire of Ages, that the physical pain was hardly felt. We do not realize how bad sin is until we come to Calvary, and even then we cannot fully comprehend it.

Have you ever met parents who had only one child and that child died? The Lord says, that is the way My people are going to mourn in the last days. They are going to mourn as parents mourn who have lost their only child and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

“Many today who claim to be Christians are in danger of rending their garments, making an outward show of repentance, when their hearts are not softened nor subdued. This is why so many continue to make failures in the Christian life. An outward appearance of sorrow is shown for wrong, but their repentance is not that which needs not to be repented of. See 2 Corinthians 7:10. May God grant to His church true contrition for sin. Oh that we might feel the necessity of revealing true sorrow for wrong-doing!” Review and Herald, June 12, 1900

Did you know that there was one garment that was not torn that day? Jesus had on an outer garment that the Bible says was without seam. As it had no seam, the soldiers decided not to tear it. Prophecy said that it would not be torn; it said they would cast lots for it. Do you realize the significance of this?

“Christ’s seamless garment is a representation of the unity that should exist in the church.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, 371

You are never going to have unity with just profession; but if you have a group of people who have had the true rending of the heart and not the garment, you are going to have a true unity. One of the most exciting things that I am finding as I travel is that all over the world God is drawing together faithful, Historic Seventh-day Adventists—just little groups here and there—and they are having the most marvelous experience of unity that I have ever seen. There is no question that God is going to have a united movement at the end. The only question is, Am I going to be part of it?

The devil is determined that this unity will never happen, but it is going to happen anyway. I would consider it the greatest privilege of my life if I could just have a little part in it. How about you?

That seamless robe represents the unity that is to exist among Christ’s true believers, and it must never be torn. We must always think of that seamless robe in all of our dealings with each other. We are not to tear it. The body of Christ is one body, and when one part suffers, all of the rest suffer. Oh, friend, Christ’s seamless robe represents the unity that is to exist among His true followers until the end of time. Do you want to be a part of it?

The End