reformation

Lessons on Reformation, part 4

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Let us now see what was the state of the Church previous to the Reformation.

“The nations of Christendom no longer looked to a holy and living God for the free gift of eternal life. To obtain it, they were obliged to have a recourse to all the means that a superstitious, fearful, and alarmed imagination could devise. Heaven was filled with saints and mediators, whose duty it was to solicit this mercy. Earth was filled with pious works, sacrifices, observances, and ceremonies, by which it was to be obtained. Here is a picture of the religion of this period transmitted to us by one who was long a monk, and afterwards a fellow-labourer of Luther’s—by Myconius:

” ‘The sufferings and merits of Christ were looked upon as an idle tale, or as the fictions of Homer. There was no thought of the faith by which we become partakers of the Saviour’s righteousness and of the heritage of eternal life. Christ was looked upon as a severe judge, prepared to condemn all who should not have recourse to the intercession of the saints, or to the papal indulgences. Other intercessors appeared in His place: —first the Virgin Mary, like the Diana of paganism, and then the saints, whose numbers were continually augmented by the popes.’ ” History of the Reformation, 17, by J.H. Merle D’Aubigne.

“The two centuries intervening between 1294 and 1517, between the accession of Boniface VIII and the nailing of Luther’s Ninety-five Theses against the church door in Wittenberg, mark the gradual transition from the Middle Ages to modern times, from the universal acceptance of the papal theocracy in Western Europe to the assertion of national independence, from the supreme authority of the priesthood to the intellectual and spiritual freedom of the individual. Old things are passing away; signs of a new order increase. Institutions are seen to be breaking up. The scholastic systems of theology lose their compulsive hold on men’s minds, and even become the subject of ridicule. The abuses of the earlier Middle Ages call forth voices demanding reform on the basis of the Scriptures and the common well being of mankind. The inherent vital energies in the Church seek expression in new forms of piety and charitable deed.” History of the Christian Church, vol. VI, 1, by David Schaff.

As the world was prepared for the coming of Jesus as a babe in Bethlehem, so it was being conditioned for the coming of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. When Christ was born, the means of travel had been improved; one language was universal, the people were discontented with their religious experience and desired something better.

Similar things were beginning to take place in the thirteenth century. “The Renaissance, or revival of classical culture, unshackled the minds of men. The classical works of antiquity were once more, after the churchly disparagement of a thousand years, held forth to admiration. The confines of geography were extended by the discoveries of the continent in the West.

“To this generation, which looks back over the last four centuries, the discovery of America and the pathways to the Indies was one of the remarkable events in history, a surprise and a prophecy. In 1453, Constantinople easily passed into the hands of the Turk, and the Christian Empire of the East fell apart. In the far West the beginnings of a new empire were made, just as the Middle Ages were drawing to a close.” Ibid., 3.

By the time the Renaissance was in full bloom, the Roman Church had been in virtual control of the world for over eight hundred years. God was still in control and trying to prepare a people that would be perfect representatives of His character. The printing press was invented, making it possible to scatter the Scriptures around the world on a much larger scale. Men and women were slowly being unshackled from the bondage to the Roman Catholic heel.

 

The Reformation Begins

 

In the fourteenth century, John Wycliffe arose to become the “Morning Star of the Reformation,” because of his translation of the Scriptures into the English language. This was the greatest impetus to the freedom of man up to that time. It paved the way for the Reformation to come, nearly two hundred years later, in the person of Martin Luther and other reformers to follow.

The Reformation brought freedom not only in the religious realm but also in the secular. Withholding the Scriptures from the populace meant that there was no advance in any other area of society, particularly in education. The Papacy knew that if they kept people illiterate they would be much easier to control. Individuality was suppressed and the church then in power demanded adherence by all.

We have seen in the twentieth century the effects that attempts at control of the masses by such ideologies as Communism, Fascism and Nazism have had upon the world. Absolute control leads eventually to corruption on the part of leadership and dictatorial control of all those under their jurisdiction. It was under this type of circumstances that the Reformation began in the thirteenth century with John Wycliffe. The papal power was in almost total control of the world at that time and demanded absolute obedience to her demands.

It was not until Wycliffe and Luther translated the Bible into their respective languages that the people could see a way to obtain their freedom from the papal tyranny. “Except among the Waldenses, the Word of God had for ages been locked up in languages known only to the learned; but the time had come for the Scriptures to be translated and given to the people of different lands in their native tongue. The world had passed its midnight. The hours of darkness were wearing away, and in many lands appeared tokens of the coming dawn. In the fourteenth century arose in England the ‘Morning star of the Reformation.’ John Wycliffe was the herald of reform, not for England alone, but for all Christendom. The great protest against Rome which it was permitted him to utter was never to be silenced. That protest opened the struggle which was to result in the emancipation of individuals, of churches, and of nations.” The Great Controversy, 79, 80.

“The Reformation did not and does not consist in exposure and denunciation of the iniquities of the Roman Church.

“That is included in The Reformation, as an incident; because it is of the essence of Christianity to hate iniquity, as it is to love righteousness. “It was the iniquities, enormities, and desolations wrought by the Roman Church, that caused the universal desire and the pressing demand that there should be a reformation. Yet the Reformation was not wrought by magnifying or dwelling upon those things.

“The Reformation springs from another principle, lives in another atmosphere, and works in another field, than that.

“If exposure and denunciation of the iniquities of that church could have wrought reformation, then The Reformation would have been in the world more than five hundred years before it was.

“All men saw the iniquities practiced. They actually felt them on every side. Nobles, kings, emperors, priests, bishops, cardinals, and councils, called for reformation. Even Popes confessed the sore need of it.” Lessons from the Reformation, 102, 103, by A. T. Jones.

 

What is the Church?

 

All the reformers, in the beginning, did not plan to leave the church or think of establishing another one. Their desires were to reform the errors and evil practices within the church and bring it into line with Scripture. But even this was not a sufficient explanation for the Reformation that was to follow. There was more to it than that.

The Roman Catholic Church said that it had absolute authority over the individual both physically and spiritually. It further stated that it was only through the church, “the ark of God,” the “ship of salvation” that anyone could obtain salvation. The captain and the crew as well as the pilot could all be pirates yet the “grand old ship” was all right and would come safely to the heavenly port. The church leadership also said that it was the church, and the church only that could rightly interpret the Scriptures. The people were admonished to “stand by the old ship” and “cling to the ark” in order to land safely on the heavenly shore. Once the Bible was made available to all, it was seen that what the church had been claiming was not true at all, but that each person could, through the direction of the Holy Spirit, determine what the truth is.

The extent to which the church leaders would go in their ridiculous logic, the following quote will illustrate. This statement was made by the Pope’s legate at the General Council of Basle, in 1432. “In the time of Noah’s flood, as many as were without the ark perished.” If one is not a member in good standing he will be lost.

The study of the Bible led the reformers to the conclusion that the church was not correct in their claims but that all persons were free and only answerable to God for their faith. This brought about a disagreement between the reformers and the Roman church on the definition of the Church. According to Scripture it is the people that make up a church and not an organization or its leadership. Man’s salvation is based upon his connection with Christ and not upon what some Pope (President) decides.

“But as soon as there arose men with the courage of conviction and the confidence of truth, and spoke out plainly and flatly that the Roman system is not the Church at all in any feature or in any sense, then the Reformation had begun. “That is how The Reformation came. And without that The Reformation never could have come.” Ibid., 106.

The Roman Catholic Church could not claim Scripture for their authority; all they had was tradition that, they claimed, superceded the Bible. Unable to convince the reformers with words, their only recourse was to use the power of the state to force men to obey the their demands. The basic premise of the Roman Catholic Church was that it was supreme on the earth. It is defined to be: “The society of the validly baptized, united together in one body by the profession of the same faith, by the participation of the same sacraments, and by obedience to the same authority, Christ, its invisible head in heaven, and the Roman Pontiff, the successor of St. Peter, Christ’s visible representative and vicegerent upon earth.” Christian Apologetics, Section 300.

From this foundation, that church ruled over the earth supreme for nearly a thousand years. When the reformers began to read the Bible they saw a different picture of what constituted the Church. “Wycliffe said that the ‘Holy Church is the congregation of just men for whom Christ shed His blood . . . All who shall be saved in the bliss of heaven are members of Holy Church, and no more.’

“Matthias of Janow said: ‘All Christians who possess the Spirit of Jesus the Crucified, and who are impelled by the same Spirit, and who alone have not departed from their God, are the one Church of Christ: His beautiful bride, His body.’ “Huss said: ‘The true Church lies in nothing else than the totality of the elect.’ “Luther said: ‘We are the Church. There is no other Church than the assembly of those who have the Word of God and are purified by it.’” Lessons from the Reformation, 126, 127.

“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.” Ephesians 1:22, 23. The Church is not confined to an organization or system. It is a body of believers, whether there are two, three or a million gathered together with God in the midst.

The lesson that all the reformers learned was that every man is to be free to worship God according to his conscience and to interpret Scripture under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and not according to what a group of men decides is truth. The Reformation proclaimed Religious Liberty, not only liberty from interference from the state but also from the Church. The reformers understood the admonition of Jesus that “all ye are brethren.” Matthew 23:8.

It is sad to say that the attitude among many Adventists today is that we all must do as the leadership says, go where they say to go and preach only what they say is permissible to preach. If an individual chooses to follow the dictates of his conscience and follow the Lord’s leading, that is contrary to what the system says, he is put “out of the synagogue.”

 

A Great Awakening

 

The Reformation lay dormant for almost two hundred years before a new awakening began. Men in different parts of the world began to study the prophecies and saw that the coming of Christ was near. They began to preach their discoveries. It was in this environment that the Lord raised up a movement, in the middle of the nineteenth century, to bring about a revival of the Reformation.

At first, it seemed that this Second Advent movement would bring about a revival of the Reformation. Following the disappointment a great opposition developed against the great awakening, and most of those who had embraced the message turned away from it. There were a few who maintained their faith, and, as time passed, the Seventh-day Adventist movement grew and flourished even though there were those that exercised kingly power at times. The Church was organized and continued to develop until the problem of the 1888 General Conference, when many of the leaders rejected the message of Righteousness by Faith.

In 1901 it seemed that the organization was to be changed to what God desired it to be. However it did not go as far as the Lord desired it to. Then in 1903 all that had been accomplished in 1901 was demolished, and a papal system of organization was put in place. We are cursed with that system today. Kingly power continues to be manifested by some leaders. The freedom of the individual is slowly eroding away as more and more power is being put into the hands of fewer and fewer men. We see the virtual loss of our health institutions one by one as they ally themselves with outside institutions. The educational system is a far cry from what the Lord had His people set up in the beginning. Our schools have patterned themselves after those of the world and our young people are preparing for a lifelong career in the business world rather than a place in the Lord’s work.

Will we continue to muddle around in the wilderness for many more years and admit by our attitudes and lifestyles that we expect to be here for the rest of our lives? Or will we get serious about what the Lord wants us to do? God is waiting for a people to perfectly reflect His character so that He can use them for His purposes.

The Reformation is to be revived and if we want to be a part of that reform movement we will have to reverse our field and come into line with the Lord’s plan. God will have a people to carry the Three Angels’ Messages to the world as a final warning. Will you and I have a part in that work? If so, our priorities will have to change, and we must pattern ourselves after Christ and perfectly reflect His character. Only when our characters match that of Jesus Christ will we be safe to save and safe to be filled by the Holy Spirit.

Our God is a patient and longsuffering God but there will come a time when that patience will run out. “The Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man.” Genesis 6:3. It is up to each individual to make a decision as to what their fate will be. As Joshua said: “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15.

 

Lessons on Reformation, part 1

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“Determined men, inspired and urged on by the first great rebel, would have resisted any interference with their plans or their evil course. In the place of the divine precepts they would have substituted laws framed in accordance with the desires of their selfish hearts, in order that they might carry out their purposes.” Review and Herald, December 10, 1903.

God is love.’ 1 John 4:16. His nature, His law, is love. It ever has been; it ever will be. ‘The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,’ whose ‘ways are everlasting,’ changeth not. With Him ‘is no variableness neither shadow of turning.’ Isaiah 57:15; Habakkuk 3:6; James 1:17.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 33.

Long before the creation of this earth and long before sin entered the courts of heaven, the Father and the Son made a covenant to meet and solve the sin problem. Christ offered to become man’s substitute and to die in his place, paying the penalty of eternal death demanded by the law.

The moment rebellion arose, the plan of salvation was placed in motion. In this and future articles we will trace the reformations that were instituted throughout history—God’s attempt to purify a people so they may be restored to the original condition as they came from His hand. It has been said that, “God will purify the church.” We will look at some of the recorded incidents where reform was begun and trace them to their conclusion to ascertain whether the reformation begun was successful or not.

“The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal.’ Romans 16:25, R. V. It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s throne. From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency. So great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son, ‘that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16.” The Desire of Ages, 22.

The great love of God was manifested in the creation of “heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is.” Exodus 20:11. Lucifer complained that Christ was honored above him, therefore, God was unfair and a tyrant. “Little by little Lucifer came to indulge the desire for exaltation. The Scripture says, ‘Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.’ Ezekiel 28:17. ‘Thou hast said in thine heart, . . . I will exalt my throne above the stars of God . . . I will be like the Most High.’ Isaiah 14:13, 14. Though all his glory was from God, this mighty angel came to regard it as pertaining to himself. Not content with his position, though honored above the heavenly host, he ventured to covet homage due only to the Creator.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 35.

The result of his rebellion was exclusion from the heavenly host. Lucifer, along with one third of the angels who had made their decision to follow him, was cast out of heaven. We humans have the same problem that Lucifer had. We think that we are important and wish for exaltation of self, just as he did, and if we do not recognize our pride and surrender our will to God, we will end up in the same lake of fire with the devil. Pride gets in the way so that God cannot use us as He wishes to. We tend to defend our position, because we are right and the other person is wrong.

“Satan’s rebellion was to be a lesson to the universe through all coming ages—a perpetual testimony to the nature of sin and its terrible results. The working out of Satan’s rule, its effects upon both men and angels, would show what must be the fruit of setting aside the divine authority. It would testify that with the existence of God’s government is bound up the well-being of all the creatures He has made. Thus the history of this terrible experiment of rebellion was to be a perpetual safeguard to all holy beings, to prevent them from committing sin, and suffering its penalty.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 42, 43.

Lucifer continued his rebellious actions by coming to earth and tempting Eve with great success, in spite of the fact that she and Adam had been warned about him. She in turn induced Adam to partake of the forbidden fruit. As sinful human beings, Adam and Eve each began to blame the other for their problem. When sin is pointed out in the church, immediately people become defensive and accuse the person who pointed out the errors as being critical and divisive. Due to their sin, Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden and the earth was cursed. But before they were put out, they were given the promise of a way of escape from the final retribution demanded by the Law. A Saviour was promised who would redeem the fallen human race.

Immediately after the fall of man, a reformation was begun by God to restore man to his rightful position. “The plan of redemption was arranged in the councils between the Father and the Son. Then Christ pledged Himself to render an account for man if he proved disloyal. He pledged Himself to make an atonement, which would unite every believing soul to God. He who lays His sins upon the substitute and surety, thus becoming a partaker of the divine nature, can unite with the apostle in saying: ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.’ ‘That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.’ In His infinite love Christ devised the plan of salvation. This plan He stands ready to fulfill in behalf of all who will co-operate with Him. In their behalf He says to the Father, Do not impute their sins to them, but lay them on Me. Be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities remember no more. They have accepted My merits, and made peace with Me; and they shall make peace with Me. My righteousness is theirs, and for My sake bless them with all spiritual blessings.” Review and Herald, May 28, 1908.

 

Man Must Cooperate

 

In order for the plan of salvation to be successful, man must cooperate with God by complete submission to His will. Jesus said, “I can of Mine own self do nothing . . . I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me.” John 5:30. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5.

Seth and Enoch are two men who submitted their wills to the will of God. In spite of the prevailing iniquity that abounded in their time, these men maintained a close connection with God. They had a holy mission to accomplish, that is, to develop a righteous character and to teach the lesson of godliness to men of their time, as well as to future generations. They were reformers of the highest order. Enoch reproved sin and proclaimed that judgments would be poured out upon those who refused to obey the commands of God. His servants are to bare a similar message in the last days. “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Isaiah 58:1. “Satan with all his angels has come down with great power, to work with every conceivable deception to counterwork the work of God. The Lord has a message for His people. This message will be borne, whether men will accept or reject it.” Manuscript 36, 1897.

God is trying to reform His church, but He cannot bring this about unless we individually surrender fully to Him and follow Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit to direct our lives. It does not pay for man to attempt to do things his way or to lean on the arm of flesh. Jeremiah warns us, “Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:5. Paul said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1.

There are many examples of men who think to fulfill God’s commands their own way. Cain is one example. God said to bring a lamb as an offering, but Cain decided to bring the offering he thought was best. His offering was not accepted and because of that he became angry and ultimately slew his brother. God attempted to reach Cain’s heart and bring about a reform in his life, but he refused to submit to the requirements of Divinity. God will not force us to obey Him, but we will suffer the consequences of our decisions if we choose our way. Cain lost his soul because of his choice to “do it his way.”

In sparing the life of Cain, it was demonstrated what the end result would be of allowing the unrepentant sinner to live forever. It was revealed that the sentence of death pronounced upon the transgressor of God’s law was both just and merciful. “It will be seen that all who have forsaken the divine precepts have placed themselves on the side of Satan, in warfare against Christ. When the prince of this world shall be judged, and all that have united with him shall share his fate, the whole universe as witnesses to the sentence will declare, ‘Just and true are thy ways, Thou King of saints.’ Revelation 15:3.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 79.

Even though the world was in its infancy, the heart of man had become so degraded and evil that God could not allow these men to continue to live. “He said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth.’ He declared that His Spirit should not always strive with the guilty race. If they did not cease to pollute with their sins the world and its rich treasures, He would blot them from His creation, and would destroy the things with which He had delighted to bless them.” Ibid., 92.

Before He does anything to correct a bad situation, God always warns people ahead of time. “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7. God sent Noah to warn the world of a coming flood upon the earth. He spent the next one hundred and twenty years not only warning the world of what was coming, but he also built an ark inviting all to enter with him into the ark to escape the judgments of God upon an unrepentant generation. Unfortunately, all that were alive when the flood came refused to listen and repent, and continued their round of pleasure and merriment until the flood came and swept them all away.

Are we so busy with our everyday duties that we do not have time to stop and take a look at where we are and what we are doing? It is necessary that we arrange our priorities making God first in our lives. We need to get serious about our lives and where we are headed. What is more important, eternal life on the earth made new, or the pleasures of sin for a season? God is waiting for a people that will reflect perfectly His character, and then He will come and take us home.

After the flood God started over again. He told Noah to “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.” Genesis 9:1. The Lord made a covenant with Noah by setting a bow in the clouds, indicating that there would never again be a universal flood. It was the Divine purpose that man would take dominion of the earth once again and fulfill God’s plan for the peopling of this world by those who would obey His Law and live without sin. The Lord waits for the same kind of people today to represent Him to the world.

 

Downward Trek

 

Alas, the inhabitants of this planet followed in the footsteps of the antediluvians in their downward trek on the broad path to destruction. “But no sooner was the earth repeopled than men resumed their hostility to God and heaven. They transmitted their enmity to their posterity, as though the art and device of misleading men, and causing them to continue the unnatural warfare, was a sacred legacy.” Letter 4, 1896.

We come now to another people who desired to have their way. Nimrod and his descendants would make a name for themselves by building a tower and a city. “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth.” Genesis 11:4. “This confederacy was born of rebellion against God. The dwellers on the plain of Shinar established their kingdom for selfexaltation, not for the glory of God. Had they succeeded, a mighty power would have borne sway, banishing righteousness, and inaugurating a new religion. The world would have been demoralized. The mixture of religious ideas with erroneous theories would have resulted in closing the door to peace, happiness, and security. These suppositions, erroneous theories, carried out and perfected, would have directed minds from allegiance to the divine statues, and the law of Jehovah would have been ignored and forgotten. Determined men, inspired and urged on by the first great rebel, would have resisted any interference with their plans or their evil course. In the place of the divine precepts they would have substituted laws framed in accordance with the desires of their selfish hearts, in order that they might carry out their purposes.” Review and Herald, December 10, 1903.

The Lord had told men to scatter over the earth, but mankind disobeyed the word of God. Once again God intervenes to stop man in his determination to have his own way. Only this time there was not a universal destruction, only the knocking down of a part of the tower and confounding of the language.

When Jesus comes the second time, He will destroy the wicked from off the face of the earth by the brightness of His coming. But the righteous will be preserved from the destruction that takes place all around them. God will be their refuge. “Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee.” Psalm 91:9, 10. May we make Christ our refuge and strength in the days that lie ahead.

 

Lessons on Reformation, part 3

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The promise made to Abraham concerning a son was fulfilled in the birth of Isaac and it was through his descendants that the Savior was to come. We pick up the narrative of God’s continuing attempts at reformation in His followers. Isaac has grown into manhood and married Rebecca who gave him two sons, Esau and Jacob. It was God’s plan that the firstborn receive the birthright, but Esau was too self-centered to submit himself to such a restriction on his activities. Coming home one day, tired and hungry, he sold his birthright to Jacob for a “mess of pottage.” “‘Thus Esau despised his birthright.’ In disposing of it he felt a sense of relief. Now his way was unobstructed; and he could do as he liked.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 179. Jacob, later named Israel, at the insistence of his mother, practiced deception on his father to gain that birthright for himself.

As the result of this deviousness, Jacob paid a heavy price. Laban, his father-in-law, deceived him with regard to Leah and Rachel, and changed his wages many times during the years he spent working for him. In addition, he never saw his mother again, and his sons lied to him about their treatment of Joseph. But God did not reject Jacob and blessed him throughout his life. He lived long enough to see Joseph and his sons and be reunited with them in Egypt where Joseph was the governor.

After Joseph’s death, “there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” As this king viewed his kingdom, he saw that the Israelites were growing in number. He feared they would become strong, join the enemies of Egypt in a war and leave the country, depriving the Egyptians of their workforce.

At first the king tried to keep the Israelites from increasing in number by issuing a decree that all male babies were to be destroyed at birth. This cruel law failed and Israel continued to increase. He also made them work under severe conditions. The hard work only made the Israelites grow stronger and continue to increase.

 

Moses, a Reformer

 

It was under these circumstances that Moses now appeared upon the scene. Having grown up in the house of Pharaoh, he was to be the next ruler of Egypt. The time had come for Israel to be delivered from bondage, and Moses decided that since he was chosen by the Lord to deliver his people, he would proceed to do it. When he saw an Egyptian attacking an Israelite, he put into motion the only method he knew to carry out that deliverance. He killed the Egyptian. This was not God’s plan for the deliverance of His people, and Moses had to flee to Midian. There he spent the next forty years herding sheep and learning the lessons of humility and patience.

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11. These are lessons that we are to learn; lessons of truthfulness and openness, of maintaining a humble spirit and exercising patience at all times under all circumstances. With that kind of spirit the Lord can use us to bring the message of salvation to a lost world.

Moses came back to Egypt ready to lead his people out to the Promised Land. Now God could use him to bring reformation to His people. Moses did not know it, but there was a long, arduous and frustrating journey ahead of him. There would be many occasions where his patience would be severely tried. When asked to go before Pharaoh and demand that he let Israel go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord, he hesitated, giving the excuse that he had a speech impediment. The Lord was patient with Moses and consented to have Aaron,his brother, speak for him to the Egyptian ruler.

It was at Sinai that the attempt at the reformation of Israel was begun in earnest. The Ten Commandments were given to Moses on the mount to help the children of Israel understand God’s character as well as His requirements for their salvation and work. The people promised to obey every word spoken by God. However, they failed to realize their own shortcomings and inability to do as they had promised. They were tested many times before arriving at the borders of the Promised Land. Most of the time they failed those tests, but the Lord continued to work with His people in spite of these failures. He wanted them to evangelize the world in order to save lost humanity.

At Kadesh-barnea Israel refused to go into Canaan. Because of unbelief and insubordination they spent the next forty years wandering in the wilderness until all those who had been twenty or older at the Exodus from Egypt had passed off the scene of action. “It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be thus delayed. God did not design that His people, Israel, should wander forty years in the wilderness. He promised to lead them directly to the land of Canaan, and establish them there a holy, healthy, happy people. But those to whom it was first preached, went not in ‘because of unbelief.’ Their hearts were filled with murmuring, rebellion, and hatred, and He could not fulfill His covenant with them . . . We may have to remain here in this world because of insubordination many more years, as did the children of Israel; but for Christ’s sake, His people should not add sin to sin by charging God with the consequence of their own wrong course of action.” Evangelism, 696.

In the history of the Advent Movement there have been several occasions when we have come to a Kadesh-barnea experience and have refused to go into the Promised Land. The most notable of these events occurred in 1888 at the refusal by many at that conference to accept the messages of righteousness by faith. We turned into the wilderness and have been there ever since.

“How sad, how deeply regrettable, it is that this message of righteousness in Christ should, at the time of its coming, have met with opposition on the part of earnest, well-meaning men in the cause of God. The message has never been received, nor proclaimed, nor given free course as it should have been in order to convey to the church the measureless blessings that were wrapped up within it. The seriousness of exerting such an influence is indicated through the reproofs that were given.” Christ Our Righteousness, 47. By A. G. Daniels, 1941.

At the close of the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel once again came to the borders of Canaan. The devil was working furiously to frustrate God’s plans for Israel. He was successful once more and seduced the Israelites into idolatry and infidelity. Through the efforts of some that stood for principle, this problem was solved and Israel finally entered the Promised Land.

“God had placed His people in Canaan as a mighty breastwork to stay the tide of moral evil, that it might not flood the world. If faithful to Him, God intended that Israel should go on conquering and to conquer. He would give into their hands nations greater and more powerful than the Canaanites. The promise was: ‘If ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, . . . then will the Lord drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.’ Deuteronomy 11:22–25.

“But regardless of their high destiny, they chose the course of ease and self-indulgence; they let slip their opportunities for completing the conquest of the land; and for many generations they were afflicted by the remnant of these idolatrous peoples, that were, as the prophet had foretold, as ‘pricks’ in their eyes, and as ‘thorns’ in their sides. Numbers 33:55.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 544.

 

Israel Desires a King

 

“Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 1 Samuel 8:5. Israel desired to be like the heathen nations around them. This was one of the consequences of not driving out the inhabitants of Canaan when Israel first entered that land. Up to this point God had been their king, but they were not satisfied with that arrangement. They wanted a king to rule over them the way the other nations were ruled. The Lord sent a warning to them regarding the consequences of having an earthly king, but they refused to listen and demanded a king. The Lord granted their wishes and Israel was led down the path into idolatry.’

The principle of becoming changed into that which we behold is one of the reasons we have been counseled to get out of the cities into a country setting. Our children would be contaminated with the lifestyle of the inhabitants of the cities and as a result would be lost. And we as adults are not immune to the influences of city life. The devil uses such settings to cause us to become so engrossed in our daily living that we lose sight of our purpose for being, that is giving the Three Angels’ Messages to the world.’

It seems that we, as modern Israel, have come to the same place as they. We desire to be like the churches around us. Two Union Conferences and one mission have joined the Council of Churches as guest members in their respective areas. That requires payment of dues. The two Unions are the North and South German Unions and the Mission is Vanuatu. Seventh-Day Adventists in the Solomon Islands have also joined as guest members. Both the German and South Pacific Councils are arms of the World Council of Churches. Will we ever learn the lessons that Old Testament history attempts to teach us? We are to be a separate and peculiar people, peculiar in that we have a unique message for fallen man.

God says, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:14–18.

 

Results of Kingly Power

 

Because of this demand for an earthly king, the ten tribes were led deeper and deeper into idolatry and eventually were scattered over the earth and lost to history. Judah fared better but they too were finally taken captive to Babylon for seventy years. After returning to Jerusalem, rebuilding the city and temple, they failed to continue their reformation and were almost lost sight of, for the next four hundred years, until the time Jesus was born.

When Christ arrived as a babe in Bethlehem, the Jews were looking for a messiah but not as the one portrayed by the prophets. They were expecting a great general to free them from the Roman yoke and establish Jerusalem as the leading city of the world. Because Jesus did not fulfill their desires, He seemed to them to be a usurper of the throne of David. So they decided to eliminate Him. He interfered with their plans. His gospel included humility, which hurt their pride. Caiaphas said, “Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.” John 11:50.

The Messiah had come to bring salvation and greatness to the children of Israel and they crucified Him. Yet the Spirit of God continued to plead with them until the stoning of Stephen. Then the Lord accepted Israel’s rejection of Him, and He rejected them as a people and turned to the Gentiles. Will we as a people suffer the same experience as they did and be rejected also? God is waiting for a people that will finish the Reformation that was begun in the fourteenth century with Wycliffe. He will use people; will it be you and me? If not, then who will it be?

The disciples and apostles did their best to fulfill the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18–20and they were able to reach the whole world. (See Romans 10:18.) But there came a falling away even before Paul died. He said: “the mystery of iniquity doth already work.” 2 Thessalonians 2:7.

The work Jesus had begun while he was upon the earth reached a plateau of development at the death of John and then began a steady slide down into a paganistic religion.

This descent into a false religion continued until the evils of paganism once more entered the church, leading to the establishment of the Papacy by the year 538 A.D. For the next one thousand years, that papal power ruled the consciences of men all over the world. However, there were, in various parts of the earth, groups of people that remained untainted by the false doctrines of the Papacy. These faithful souls stood steadfast and loyal to God’s Ten Commandments, including the fourth commandment.

Throughout the period known as the Dark Ages, when the Papacy was in control of most of the world, there were those who refused to be obedient to the papal demands. In many areas of the world there were people that not only obeyed the Commandments of God but also propagated the Gospel message any way they could. Because of extreme persecution by the papal power, the spread of the Gospel was limited as long as Roman Catholicism was in control. But the time was approaching when this control was to be broken. There were signs of disintegration of Papal supremacy, visible at different times and various places in the earth, revealing that God was moving upon the hearts of people. When the break came, it was like a thunderbolt to the Papacy and was to shake the Triple Crown upon the heads of the popes at Rome.

In our next article we will pick up this story of the broken shackles, and follow its movement in the world and in the hearts of men.

 

Lessons on Reformation, part 2

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” After the flood the people once more increased on the earth, and wickedness also increased. Idolatry became well-nigh universal, and the Lord finally left the hardened transgressors to follow their evil ways, while He chose Abraham, of the line of Shem, and made him the keeper of the law for future generations.” Manuscript 65, 1906.

Following the flood men decided, against the express wishes of God, to build a city and a tower in order to make a name for themselves. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. While the tower was in the process of being built, the Lord came down, destroyed it and confused their language. The effect was to scatter them over the face of the earth. Having done this He left them to their own designs.

After the flood, God had told Noah, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” Genesis 9:1. The sons of men decided that their plan was better than God’s plan and so they congregated and refused to scatter over the earth. Have we not as professed followers of the Lord fallen into the same trap that Satan laid for the men of Babel, that is, acting as though our plans are better than God’s plans? God’s instruction is, “Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14.

We cannot follow our own wishes in the building and operation of institutions. One of our large university churches is expending three million, nine hundred thousand dollars to expand its facilities. The Lord has warned us over and over not to congregate: “No one is to make an urgent appeal for means with which to erect large and expensive buildings for sanitariums, colleges [college churches], or publishing houses, so absorbing means that the work in other places is crippled. Let our brethren be careful lest by drawing largely from our people for the erection of large buildings in one place, they rob other parts of the Lord’s vineyard. Unduly to invest means and exalt this work in one part of the field when there is city work to be done in many places, is not the right thing. It is selfishness and covetousness. The Lord especially condemns such a manifestation, for by it His sacred work is misrepresented before the world. He would have His work controlled and guided by equity, justice, and judgment. He does not call for the erection of immense institutions. One corner of the vineyard is not the whole world. In many places throughout the world memorials for God are to be established to represent His truth.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 13, 406, 407.

Some may argue that we need to meet the needs of the students who attend the university. If this requires such a large outlay of funds then the whole institution is too large. The goal of most students is to obtain the best education, in order to make the most money possible, in the shortest time. Our educational institutions were intended to train young people for service to mankind, not service of self.

“It is a mistake for our people to crowd together in large numbers. It is not in harmony with God’s plans. It is His will that the knowledge which we receive of the truth should be communicated to others; that the light which shines upon us should be reflected upon the pathway of those walking in darkness, so that we may lead others to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. But where a large number are congregated together in one church, this work in a large measure is neglected, and the light of truth is often only reflected back and forth upon the church-members; the world is left in darkness, the alarm is not sounded, the warning message from Heaven is not given.” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 9, 1895.

There is another problem area that needs to be addressed ,and that is the infatuation with church growth. An SDA church we attended in the state of Washington had a Pentecostal church next door. Both churches started with 300 members. Our pastor remarked to the congregation one Sabbath that the church next door now had a membership of fifteen hundred, while we had only five hundred members. He suggested that we talk to them and find out how they were able to maintain such a large membership.

More recently, in September 1997, a seminar was held at Andrews University on church growth.

The instructor was Dr. Robert Logan, vice-president of New Church Development of Church Resource Ministries, headquartered in Anaheim, California.

We have definite instruction from the Lord about utilizing the methods of the world in our work. “The divine commission needs no reform. Christ’s way of presenting the truth cannot be improved upon. The worker who tries to bring in methods that will attract the worldly minded, supposing that this will remove the objections that they feel to taking up the cross, lessens his influence. Preserve the simplicity of godliness.” Evangelism, 525.

 

We Have Sinned

 

Israel went into captivity time and time again because of disobedience to the commands of God. From the time they asked for a king to rule over them so that they could be like the other nations around them, they were determined to have their own way. We have been admonished that we are following the same path trod by ancient Israel. Should we not, pray like Daniel did, when Israel was in captivity in Babylon?

“And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto Thy servants the prophets, which spake in Thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land . . . Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed Thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey Thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him.” Daniel 9:4–6, 10,11.

We must follow the example of Daniel and bring ourselves to the throne of God confessing our sin against Him, admitting our self-centeredness and turn back to Him for complete guidance in carrying out the great commission. Until we depend fully upon the Lord for direction, He cannot, will not, bless our efforts. Like Daniel we must plead for guidance at every step so the work may be completed in God’s way.

God told Noah’s descendants to scatter and replenish the earth, not to congregate in one area. We are told to establish many small institutions. “Instead of large establishments bringing great numbers together, let there be small institutions in different places.” Welfare Ministry, 230.

“In the centers that are formed in some places, there is constant temptation to carry the work after worldly methods. I have had presented before me the dangers before us in the future. This light I have tried to present with pen and with voice. Let the work be carried forward intelligently by men and women of sound faith and strict religious principle.” The Publishing Ministry, 63.

 

God’s Methods, Not Our Own

 

“At the ordination of the Twelve the disciples had greatly desired that Judas should become one of their number, and they had counted his accession an event of much promise to the apostolic band. He had come more into contact with the world than they, he was a man of good address, of discernment and executive ability, and, having a high estimate of his own qualifications, he had led the disciples to hold him in the same regard. But the methods he desired to introduce into Christ’ work were based upon worldly principles and were controlled by worldly policy. They looked to the securing of worldly recognition and honor—to the obtaining of the kingdom of this world.” Education, 93.

We cannot ignore God’s plan for His work and introduce our ideas, thinking they are better. The Lord has shown us plainly in His word how He desires the propagation of the Gospel to be carried forward. If we insist on doing the Lord’s work our way and refuse to heed His admonitions, we will receive the same condemnation that God gave to the wicked men after the flood. We will be left to our own devising and suffer the same fate they did. We are here to bring reformation to the world, not to join in its policies. God has placed us here as witnesses, not as attorneys, judges or juries. It is our duty and privilege to testify to the world of what God has done in our lives, thus revealing the character of Jesus to our neighbors. Then, we will not only be instruments used by God in the salvation of others, but we will save our own souls as well.

In the process of time, God called Abraham who, despite the wickedness around him, remained a worshipper of the true God. This man would be an instrument in the hand of the Lord to bring reformation to the society in which he lived. In the call to leave his home there was a promise given of a Savior that would come through his descendants.

The experiences that Abraham went through were not only for his spiritual growth but also for the benefit of all future generations. God had a problem that needed to be solved, and that problem was sin. Man cannot continue to disobey God’s expressed commands without suffering the consequences.

When years passed after the promise of a son, Abraham and Sarah became impatient and determined to take measures into their own hands. As a result there has been conflict between the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac in the Middle East ever since. It does not pay to ignore the commands of God. Our work is clearly laid out for us in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. We are to be His servants, not His board of directors.

The great Second Advent Movement was raised up by the Lord for the purpose of proclaiming to the world the full Three Angel’s Messages. He gave specifid instructions regarding the educational, publishing, evangelistic and health work. We have been blessed with a blueprint showing how to fulfill the great commission. But, like Abraham and Sarah, we have decided that the blueprint is outdated, and we will use the world’s methods to accomplish the great objective of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Our rationale is that we must keep up with the times in order to reach people. In reality, we need to get back to the primitive gospel, using God’s methods so that He can use us in His work.

 

Perfect Obedience

 

“Christ came to the world to counteract Satan’s falsehood that God had made a law which men could not keep. Taking humanity upon Himself, He came to this earth, and by a life of obedience showed that God has not made a law that man cannot keep. He showed that it is possible for man perfectly to obey the law. Those who accept Christ as their Saviour, becoming partakers of His divine nature, are enabled to follow His example, living in obedience to every precept of the law. Through the merits of Christ, man is to show by his obedience that he could be trusted in heaven.” The Faith I Live By, 114.

While Abraham was traveling south, in Palestine, a famine came upon the land. To escape it and yet be close by the Promised Land, God sent him down into Egypt where he stayed until the famine passed. “The Lord in His providence had brought this trial upon Abraham to teach him lessons of submission, patience, and faith—lessons that were to be placed on record for the benefit of all who should afterward be called to endure affliction. God leads His children by a way that they know not, but He does not forget or cast off those who put their trust in Him. He permitted affliction to come upon Job, but He did not forsake him. He allowed the beloved John to be exiled to lonely Patmos, but the Son of God met him there, and his vision was filled with scenes of immortal glory. God permits trials to assail His people, that by their constancy and obedience they themselves may be spiritually enriched, and that their example may be a source of strength to others. ‘I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil.’ Jeremiah 29:11. The very trials that tax our faith most severely and make it seem that God has forsaken us, are to lead us closer to Christ, that we may lay all our burdens at His feet and experience the peace which He will give us in exchange.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 129.

The greatest trial that Abraham had to endure was when God commanded him to sacrifice his son Isaac. What made this command more puzzling to Abraham was that a Savior had been promised that would come through Isaac’s descendants. But in spite of this seeming impossibility, Abraham obeyed without questioning God. The Lord was preparing this man to bring reformation and revival to a dying generation, and He needed someone whom He could depend upon to do the job. The effects of Abraham’s test went beyond him and his generation to future generations and to unfallen worlds: “The sacrifice required of Abraham was not alone for his own good, nor solely for the benefit of succeeding generations; but it was also for the instruction of the sinless intelligences of heaven and of other worlds. The field of the controversy between Christ and Satan—the field on which the plan of redemption is wrought out—is the lesson book of the universe. Because Abraham had shown a lack of faith in God’s promises, Satan had accused him before the angels and before God of having failed to comply with the conditions of the covenant, and as unworthy of its blessings. God desired to prove the loyalty of His servant before all heaven, to demonstrate that nothing less than perfect obedience can be accepted, and to open more fully before them the plan of salvation.” Ibid., 154, 155.

Next month we will return to our story with the raising up of Moses and God’s attempt to once again bring reformation to a lost and dying world.

 

John Wesley, An English Reformer, part 2

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John Wesley’s conversion in May of 1738, was a change from a mere intellectual belief in salvation to one of the heart. Because of this experience at Aldersgate, Wesley was truly converted. As a result, many people began to experience the same thing at his meetings. From this point on, Wesley’s preaching was marked with a zeal and enthusiasm that was not seen before.

As a result of this heart conversion, Wesley now determined to put his whole energy into laboring for the salvation of lost humanity. He spent the rest of his life preaching for the sole purpose of saving lost sinners for Jesus Christ.

Last month we left Wesley leaving for Germany to visit and observe the Moravians. He was received cordially by Count Zinzendorf, the leader of the Moravians, and spent three months observing these God-fearing people. He recorded some of their practices that he would later utilize in his own work as an evangelist.

Returning to England in August, he began preaching, uniting with a group of like-minded members of the Church of England. He also spent some time reading, studying, praying and preaching to those who were in prison, offering them free salvation and celebrating Holy Communion. The next few weeks were spent preaching at various churches in London and making a trip to Oxford.

John and his brother Charles preached wherever they had the opportunity, but the opportunities to preach in churches were rapidly diminishing. By the end of 1738 most of the churches in London were closed to the Wesleys because of their enthusiastic preaching of the doctrine of mystical conversion.

While preaching around London when the opportunities opened up, Wesley received an invitation from George Whitefield to participate in open field preaching.

Whitefield had returned to England from America in December of 1738, but because of some things he had written and published in his journal, he had lost favor with the English ministry. Consequently, all Church of England churches were closed to him. As a result he turned to preaching wherever he could. Thus began the preaching in open fields or on street corners. This was to be Wesley’s mode of preaching for the rest of his life.

“Wesley became an itinerant evangelist, preaching in the open, because only in this way could he reach those who were out of touch with God. His congregations were made up largely of those who were beyond the range of the usual ministrations of the Church. This in itself was an indictment of the Church’s failure to fulfil its proper function, for, considered in terms of the New Testament, it exists primarily for the purpose of bringing Christ to the people and the people to Christ. That this should be regarded as at all abnormal in the eighteenth century was an indication of how far the contemporary Church had fallen from its original standards. Unless the Church is an outgoing society, it is untrue to its own nature.” A.S. Wood, The Burning Heart, 137.

In the spring of 1739, Wesley traveled to Bristol and on April 2 he preached to about three thousand in a field outside the city. Wesley’s quiet manner of preaching was often enlivened. This caused him to be accused of being “enthusiastic” which was anathema to the Church of England. By actual test, Wesley’s voice was found to be heard over four hundred feet away.

Wesley’s mission was largely to the laboring class of people but he was not indifferent to all other classes. His “audiences included farmers, lawyers, clergymen and nonconformist ministers, university undergraduates and civic leaders” as well as “those from foreign lands—especially the Germans in Newcastle.” Ibid., 145.

The success of the Methodist meetings may be attributed to the singing as much as to the preaching of the Wesleys. Charles Wesley was a prolific hymn writer and many of his hymns were sung by those who attended the meetings.

Whitefield left for America in August, 1739, and the Wesleys continued their field preaching for the next three years with their headquarters located in London and Bristol.

The preaching of Whitefield moved thousands to repentance and faith, but no separate structure was provided to nurture the converts. John Wesley decided that some sort of organization was needed to take care of those who were brought to a knowledge of salvation and accepted Christ as their Savior.

He organized “society” groups patterned after the Oxford Holy Club and the Moravian groups in which he had participated. It was not his intention to establish a new church but to develop these “societies” as a part of the Church of England. These “societies” were divided into classes made up of about a dozen persons who met once a week with a leader for spiritual discussions and guidance. They enumerated their temptations, confessed their faults and shared their concerns testifying to the working of God in their lives.

These societies flourished under the direction of the leaders, most of whom were women. As Methodism grew, Wesley encouraged laymen to become his helpers and assistants as preachers. Some of these were full time itinerant preachers and served the societies by encouraging and counseling with them.

 

A New Career

 

In May of 1742, Wesley’s work was expanded to the north of England as far as Newcastle. On May 30, He walked into the poorest part of town and, introducing himself, sang the hundredth Psalm. After preaching a sermon, he announced that he would preach again at five in the evening. Thus began a career of itinerant field preaching that was to last for the next fifty years. Although his territory was mainly the triangle made up of Bristol, London and Newcastle, he journeyed into Scotland, Ireland and Wales exercising his control of the “societies” located in these lands. Until he was seventy years of age his mode of travel was almost always by horseback.

In 1744, the Annual Conferences were begun where Wesley met with his preachers each year to discuss theology, the mission of Methodism and appoint to preachers their areas for the coming year.

“Opposition to the new religious movement was inevitable. Both the conditions of the country and the character of the Methodist revival made opposition certain. The invasion of Methodist preachers was resented by high and low alike, but while the bishops replied with quartos; the mob resorted to clubs and stones. The whole story throws a flood of light on social and intellectual conditions in the middle of the century.” Umphrey Lee, The Lord’s Horseman, 92.

In the 1740’s, England was made up of isolated communities with virtually no communication between any of them. At the same time there was the fear of invasion by the French, with anticipation far worse than the event when it happened. Even the slightest suspicious act made a person liable to arrest. An uprising by the Catholics was dreaded because their cause was supposed to be the same as that of the Pretender then living in Rome.

Wesley met many kinds of opposition while he was preaching. Especially in the early years of his open air ministry he was harassed by mobs that pelted him with rocks and dirt. Cattle were driven through the audience and loud noises were emitted in an attempt to drown out the voice of the preacher. Many times Wesley and some of his preachers were threatened with physical harm. But all of the opposition they experienced did not have any lasting effect upon Wesley’s work. During the later years of his ministry the mob violence virtually ceased.

Wesley made sure that none of his preachers misinterpreted his motto, “I look upon the world as my parish,” as giving them the freedom to go wherever they chose. In the Methodist church one of the gravest mistakes is for one preacher to invade the parish of another. However, Wesley considered that he had the calling to go anywhere the Lord directed him.

Opposition to Methodism took many forms. There were a number of anti-Methodist publications including those by playwrights and novelists as well as those published by the clergy. In answer to the objections of the clergy Wesley responded by saying, “He had a mission to fulfill, and if existing protocol stood in the way then it would have to be set aside. ‘I would observe every punctilio of order, he told George Downing, chaplain to the Earl of Dartmouth, “except where the salvation of souls is at stake. There I prefer the end before the means.’” The Burning Heart, 102.

“He was determined not to be restricted by ecclesiastical barriers. Hervy had inquired how Wesley could justify the invasion of other men’s parishes upon catholic principles. It was a characteristic of Anglican Evangelicals like Hervy to adhere to the parochial system. Wesley’s reply is a classic one. ‘Permit me to speak plainly. If by catholic principles you mean any other than scriptural, they weigh nothing with me. I allow no other rule, whether of faith or practice, than the Holy Scriptures; but on scriptural principles I do not think it hard to justify whatever I do. God in Scripture commands me, according to my power, to instruct the ignorant, reform the wicked, and confirm the virtuous. Man forbids me to do this in another’s parish: that is, in effect, to do it at all; seeing I have now no parish of my own, nor probably ever shall. Whom, then, shall I hear, God or man? If it be just to obey man rather than God, judge you. A dispensation of the gospel is committed to me; and woe is me if I preach not the gospel. But where shall I preach it, upon the principles you mention?” Ibid., 105, 106.

Uniformity of opinion was not required by the Methodist Societies but uniformity of conduct was according to the following: First, by doing no harm; by avoiding evil of every kind. . . Secondly, By doing good. . . Thirdly, by attending upon all ordinances of God.

John was finally married in February of 1751 to a widow named Mary Vazeille. The marriage was a rocky one from the first because he refused to stop his itinerant preaching tours. Also he was not an attentive husband, devoting his time and energy to the Methodist work. Becoming discouraged by John’s continual absence and jealous of his correspondence with the many women in the Methodist movement, Mary separated from him many times until her death in 1781. Wesley was out of town and did not hear of her death until after the funeral.

On February 8, 1750, an earthquake struck London. A second occurred a month later creating a frenzy among the people. Charles preached a sermon on “The Cause and Cure of Earthquakes” followed by a pamphlet of hymns suitable for calamities such as this. Both John and Charles considered earthquakes as instruments of God to punish sinners. John announced publicly that he was thankful that God had so lightly warned the people by the first shocks.

 

Untiring Labor

 

The year 1753 finds John Wesley often ill, but he refused to slow down. On October 22 he went to Canterbury even though he was sick. All week he complained of sickness but had no time for treatment as he met with classes from morning to night. This was typical for the whole year.

During the fifties He visited Ireland and Scotland (twice), traveling extensively around the two countries preaching and sightseeing.

In the years 1755 and 1756 the great issue was the question of separation from the Church of England. Charles was convinced that all the preachers in the north were for separation and he agreed with them. John on the other hand refused to see the inevitable separation coming and remained a staunch supporter of the Church of England.

In 1757, Charles retired from itinerant preaching and settled down with his wife in Bristol, leaving John to continue his superintending of the Societies and itinerant preaching. Two years later, in November 1759, John preached two sermons and observed the general thanksgiving for the success of the British armies in capturing Canada from the French.

In spite of his bad experience in Georgia, Wesley maintained a lively interest in America and the American colonies. From 1768 he had preachers in the colonies. In 1769, two missionaries were sent with fifty pounds, as a gift, to the work in America.

As conflict began brewing between England and the American colonies, Wesley instructed his preachers to labor for peace. He wrote to his preachers stating, “You were never in your lives in so critical a situation as you are at this time. It is your part to be peace-makers, to be loving and tender to all, but to addict yourselves to no party. In spite of all solicitations, of rough or smooth words, say not one word against one or the other side. Keep yourselves pure, do all you can to help and soften all; but beware how you adopt another’s jar.” The Lord’s Horseman, 185.

Being a High Churchman, Wesley was loyal to the crown. However, he eventually overcame his prejudice against the colonies in their desire for freedom, but he would not condone armed rebellion and said, “If a blow is struck, I give America for lost, and perhaps England too.” Ibid., 189. In spite of this he retained his faith in the American cause.

John Wesley’s attitude on the American question was making it difficult for him to retain control over the Methodist work in America. It was becoming evident that American Methodism would be independent of Wesley or the Church of England. In 1779, some Methodist preachers took it upon themselves to administer the sacraments without being ordained. He was faced with the fact that fifteen thousand Methodists “would not be content to be members of a religious society—they would have nothing less than a church.” Ibid., 197.

In February of 1784, John Wesley met with his preachers to consider sending missionaries to the East Indies, but it was decided that the time was not right because there was no “providential opening.”

In March he started out on a seven months journey to west England, Scotland and Wales. He preached continually, reproving the people for not attending the early services. The intense cold made him sick and he said, “I shall pay no more visits to new worlds, till I go to the world of spirits.”

In the meantime, pressure for secession was building to a high pitch. The American Methodist preachers clamored for ordination that they might ordain their own successors to the ministry. Wesley finally gave in to them but stipulated that he would ordain them only for the work in America. This did not satisfy other preachers in other lands. He was persuaded to ordain for Scotland, where they had no chance to receive the sacraments as those in the American colonies.

Charles, after a lingering illness, died on March 29, 1788. John did not hear of his death until after the funeral, thus he could not attend.

“On June 28, 1782, Wesley wrote in his Journal: ‘I entered my eightieth year; but, blessed by God, my time is not labour and sorrow. I find no more pain or bodily infirmities than at five-and-twenty. This I still impute (1) to the power of God fitting me for what He calls me to; (2) to my still traveling four or five thousand miles a year; (3) to my sleeping, night and day, whenever I want it; (4) to my rising at a set hour; and (5) to my constant preaching, particularly in the morning.” Ibid., 198.

For the next nine years John Wesley continued to travel and preach until July 16, 1790. That day he made his last entry in his expense book and his diary ended on the same day. On that day he also wrote a letter to William Wilberforce encouraging him in his fight for the abolition of slavery.

At ten o’clock in the morning Wednesday, March 2, 1791, John Wesley, the greatest of the English reformers, died “without a groan or a sigh.”

“The men who survived to fight the battle of Methodism were good men, many of them capable and intelligent; and within a few years they had built a church—built, it must be said on foundations laid by John Wesley himself. But the catholic minded man, who had dreamed of a new world in which men might adventure in the spirit without clash of creed or order, was dead; and what he would have thought and said of the works of his successors, no one will ever know.” Ibid., 214.

 

Six Ways to Fight Reformation in the Nineties

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Some time ago I preached a sermon about six ways to fight reformation based on the experience of Nehemiah. It appears that it is difficult for God’s people to recognize these types of attacks. The same thing is happening again, and thousands of Adventists are falling into the same snares that Nehemiah avoided. In the Bible, seven is the number of spiritual perfection. God’s perfect day of rest is the seventh day. Man was created on the sixth day of Creation. Six symbolizes man’s imperfection. Six is also the number of the serpent—the serpent was created also on the sixth day of creation. In the story of Nehemiah there are six steps of opposition to the work of God. Today we are facing the same type of opposition. Everywhere God’s people begin to work, the devil attacks just as he did with Nehemiah.

We will look at the six steps one by one.

  1. “When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.” Nehemiah 2:10.

Sanballat and his men were deeply disturbed when they heard what Nehemiah had come to do. This is often the first kind of opposition that God’s workers face. People are concerned about our preaching, publishing, evangelism, everything we are doing. Often there is no concrete reason; they just do not feel that we should be doing what our conscience tells us that we should. In 1989, when we had a revival and reformation camp meeting in Texas, the local Seventh-day Adventist pastor was so disturbed that he preached a whole sermon against the camp meeting and the speakers. He said that he was in favor of revival and reformation, however, he was opposed to the people promoting it and their way of seeking revival and reformation. That was 8 years ago. When will the revival and reformation, that even this pastor said he was not opposed to, be seen there? This is the general pattern and has been for decades in Adventism. No doubt many Adventists have never become involved in the revival and reformation movement in Adventism because leaders in whom they have confidence have condemned it. This has happened countless times down through the ages and many people will be lost because they fall for the very first attack against the reformation. In Jesus’ time, “a nation’s sin and a nation’s ruin were due to the religious leaders.” The Desire of Ages, 738. “In order to maintain their own power, these leaders determined to break down the influence of Jesus.” Ibid., 205.

“It was not that they could not yield; they could, but would not. It was not alone because they were guilty and deserving of death, not alone because they had put to death the Son of God, that they were cut off from salvation; it was because they armed themselves with opposition to God. They persistently rejected light and stifled the convictions of the Spirit. The influence that controls the children of disobedience worked in them.” The Acts of the Apostles 61, 62.

If the revival and reformation movement in Adventism is of the Lord, if the Holy Spirit inspired and brought it about, then those that are fighting it are doing exactly what the Jewish leaders did in the time of Christ. If it is not of the Lord, “it will come to nothing” (Acts 5:38), and indeed should do so very soon, since it is being attacked from every quarter both within and without God’s professed remnant people.

As the Jews rejected and crucified Christ, it is predicted that many in Adventism will reject the Holy Spirit: “In the manifestation of that power which lightens the earth with the glory of God, they will see only something which in their blindness they think dangerous, something which will arouse their fears, and they will brace themselves to resist it. Because the Lord does not work according to their ideas and expectations, they will oppose the work. ‘Why,’ they say, ‘should not we know the Spirit of God, when we have been in the work so many years?’ ” Review and Herald, December 23, 1890.

Nehemiah did not turn around because of the pressure. He had a work to do, and he was determined to complete it by God’s grace. The people who knuckle under to social pressure, will never do God’s work. Every true Christian in this world will face opposition and sadly, millions of people will lose eternal life because they are not willing to stand against opposition. If you are not willing to stand against opposition you cannot be saved.

From the beginning there were people deeply concerned and disturbed about Nehemiah’s plans, but he made plans to build the wall anyway. In the same way there are many people deeply concerned (according to their letters and telephone calls) about the revival and reformation movement in Adventism today. Not understanding the true nature of the church, they are caught in the very same trap that the Jews were in during the days of Christ. Remember, Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin were not the church in Christ’s day, contrary to what you probably have been taught. They could say that the Lord started their organization and that they were the chosen people, but as Jesus said, they were the children of the devil and not the children of God at all. “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.” The Desire of Ages, 36.

Then Nehemiah encountered more severe opposition.

  1. “But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, ‘What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?’” Nehemiah 2:19.

The second kind of opposition Nehemiah faced was ridicule. They laughed at him and said, “What do you think you are doing?” Ridicule is hard to endure. Peter could not take it, and after a few simple questions he knuckled under and denied his Lord. Ridicule, mocking and despising are the second type of opposition that you must be willing to endure if you want to work for the Lord. Nehemiah was accused of being in rebellion to established order, just as the revival and reformation movement today is accused, and on equally absurd grounds. The truly loyal pastors and Adventist leaders will tell the truth about our present condition and situation and declare what must be changed if we are to be ready for the Lord to come. Those who despise the revival and reformation movement, scorn, deride and ridicule it, cause many more to cave in to the social pressure and decide to stay with the majority in their group.

The Bible and Spirit of Prophecy say that those who stay in a Laodicean condition will have the same destiny as Babylon: “Will the churches heed the Laodicean message? Will they repent, or will they, notwithstanding that the most solemn message of truth—the third angel’s message—is being proclaimed to the world, go on in sin? This is the last message of mercy, the last warning to a fallen world. If the church of God becomes lukewarm; it does not stand in favor with God any more than do the churches that are represented as having fallen and become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Those who have had opportunities to hear and receive the truth and who have united with the Seventh-day Adventist church, calling themselves the commandment-keeping people of God, and yet possess no more vitality and consecration to God than do the nominal churches, will receive of the plagues of God just as verily as the churches who oppose the law of God. Only those that are sanctified through the truth will compose the royal family in the heavenly mansions Christ has gone to prepare for those that love Him and keep His commandments.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 176.

Multitudes of Adventists who know what the Spirit of Prophecy teaches are disregarding it because of the social pressure from family, church members and church leaders. Friend, if you are not living up to all that you know to be right, what answer do you plan to give the judge at the end of the world? If you are persuaded, as many are today, to delay giving the Third Angel’s Message because you are told that the time is not right yet, (this is in direct opposition to the Spirit of Prophecy) what do you plan to do when there is a national Sunday law and you will have to risk loss of property, imprisonment and death in order to give God’s message to the world?

  1. “But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, ‘What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?’ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, ‘Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall’ ” Nehemiah 4:1–3.

The third type of opposition was anger and hostility, added to the sarcasm and mocking. Day after day, Nehemiah and his helpers had to listen to the taunting and the threats. Sanballat’s men were working as hard as they could to make them discouraged. But Nehemiah would not give up.

Today, the threats are first of all censure or disfellowshipping, but also various types of financial threatening or pressure has been used to try to discourage people from being involved in a movement for revival and reformation within Adventism. There is an attempt to force the faithful and true, who are trying to obey the counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy, to be ostracized from Adventism. They are threatened with lawsuits for telling the truth. If you are a Seventh-day Adventist in belief, and cannot deny it, you are threatened from those who claim that only those under their authority can be called Seventh-day Adventists. My brother, Marshall used to say, one of these days you will be the off-scouring of all things if you are a Seventh-day Adventist and then we will see who still wants to be called a Seventh-day Adventist.

When anger and hostility did not work on Nehemiah, the opposition became more open.

4.“Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.” Nehemiah 4:7, 8.

This is the fourth kind of opposition. Sanballat and the others determined to get an army together. They said, “We will attack these people and stop their work.” The sarcasm, anger and threats had failed, so they reached for means beyond words. It is no longer just words being used in the opposition against the faithful now either—it is lawsuits and even beatings.

God’s prophet predicted these things: “If we are to bear a part in this work to its close, we must recognize the fact that there are good things to come to the people of God in a way that we had not discerned; and that there will be resistance from the very ones we expected to engage in such a work.” 1888 Materials, 1024. This opposition comes from the very ones we expected would be helping us.

 

Insidious Opposition

 

Some people think that by the time you come to number four and you are dealing with open opposition, that is as bad as it can get. But open warfare is not the most serious form of opposition. There is something more serious than that. Nehemiah had to face it, and we will have to face it also.

  1. “Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, ‘Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.’ ” Nehemiah 6:1, 2.

Here we see the same men who had only a short time before been raising up an army to attack Nehemiah, asking to meet and talk with them. Nehemiah realized that their motives had not changed—they still wanted to destroy him, they were just trying a new method. This is happening in Adventism right now. We have conference and union officials who have tried to destroy us over and over again and now we are receiving letters that say, “We want to get together and talk.”

I must warn you, if you volunteer to go and talk to those who have already demonstrated that they are trying to destroy you, you are presumptuous and God will not work a miracle to save you. You could be spiritually destroyed. It is happening all over the world. Whole ministries can go down to nothing. Whole churches can be divided, disbanded and split up into individual atoms.

God did not prevent the Hussites from being destroyed when they got to this phase of opposition and went to negotiate with their enemies who now wanted to talk: “The papal leaders, despairing of conquering by force, at last resorted to diplomacy. A compromise was entered into, that while professing to grant to the Bohemians freedom of conscience, really betrayed them into the power of Rome . . . The papal authorities at last ‘agreed that the four articles of the Hussites should be accepted, but that the right of explaining them, that is, of determining their precise import, should belong to the council—in other words, to the pope and the emperor.’ Wylie, b. 3, ch. 18. On this basis a treaty was entered into, and Rome gained by dissimulation and fraud what she had failed to gain by conflict; for, placing her own interpretation upon the Hussite articles, as upon the Bible, she could pervert their meaning to suit her own purposes. The Great Controversy, 118. The Waldenses were overcome with the same methods by Pianezza. (See The History of Protestantism by J.A. Wylie.)

Since it is presumption to negotiate with those who have already demonstrated that they will try to destroy you and the work God has committed to your hand, if you do this, God will not protect you from the consequences whether you are a Hussite, a Waldensean, or an Adventist. We recently have seen large numbers of Adventists go back into the very same apostasy that they had left for conscience sake, as a result of continuing to talk to those who had demonstrated themselves enemies of the work of revival and reformation (while claiming to be friends of the same). We have watched this happen over and over again and the results are astonishing. In a relatively short time, the revival and reformation begun in the life is usually lost and, most unfortunate of all, the victim does not know that anything has happened. If you believe that there is a set of men that you need to go to for counsel, regardless of their betrayal of sacred trust in upholding wickedness in others, you will lose your soul. “They were not to put implicit confidence in those who knew not God, and open to them their counsels; for this would give Satan’s agents an advantage. Man’s inventions often counterwork God’s plans. Those who build the temple of the Lord are to build according to the pattern shown in the mount,—the divine similitude. God is dishonored and the gospel is betrayed when His servants depend on the counsel of men who are not under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Worldly wisdom is foolishness with God. Those who rely upon it will surely err.” The Desire of Ages, 354.

“There can be no unity between truth and error. We can unite with those who have been led into deception only when they are converted.” Upward Look, 88.

“But they sent me this message four times.” Nehemiah 6:4.

Four times they asked, “Will not you please come and talk to us?” But Nehemiah firmly refused. He had seen their past actions, and knew the trap they wanted him to fall into. Repentance and confession, evidence of a change of heart must come before Nehemiah could talk to them—the same is true today.

“Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king. And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together.” Nehemiah 6: 5–7.

Sanballat said, “These rumors are going around and will destroy you. We need to talk to you so that we can solve this problem.” What was Sanballat’s real plan? He had not changed. He still wanted to destroy Nehemiah. Nehemiah was not fooled, and you and I must understand what he did.

What does the Spirit of Prophecy say about those who have once betrayed us? “We must obey the orders from above. Any suggestions made by those who receive not the truth, who know not what the work of God is doing for this time, weaken the power of the work.” 1888 Messages, 934.

“If a man proves a traitor once he is apt to become a traitor the second time . . . The dreams I have had are very striking. One I had while on the boat, and one since coming to Sidney. We need to be very guarded as to how we place responsibilities upon any man who has once betrayed sacred trusts.” Ibid., 965.

You hear much today about the church going through, but there is only one way we can be certain of making it through. “I was shown that the follies of Israel in the days of Samuel will be repeated unless men have greater humility and less confidence in themselves, and greater confidence in the Lord God of Israel, the Ruler of His people. The ability and wisdom of any man is only derived from God . . . God has wisdom underived. He is the Infinite One; the human is finite, erring. He is the Fountain of the light and life and glory of the world. One leak will sink the mightiest vessel that ever rode the proud ocean; so will the church make shipwreck amid the perils of these last days unless the holy Captain of her salvation shall not only serve as Captain but Pilot.” Ibid., 919.

If we trust in the counsel of men, especially those who have been proven traitors and fought the truth in the past like Sanballat and Tobiah, and have not brought forth fruits of repentance, we will make shipwreck. The Lord has to be not only the Captain but also the Pilot.

 

Who Will Turn Traitor?

 

How can we know who will turn traitor? “Every soul who will now evade through sophistry, the plain ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ and misinterpret and evade the plainest conclusions of the written inspired Word, will become instruments to tempt and coerce, and stirred with a satanic spirit purpose to afflict and oppress and compel the human agents to dishonor God’s law.” Ibid., 1200. As in former times there will be some who “will unite their influence with the avowed enemies of God’s truth if they can only be honored among those who are honored of men.” Signs of the Times, November 16, 1888.

When God’s professed people unite with people and organizations who openly oppose God’s law and have deliberately shed the blood of His saints, you may know that anyone who goes along with this without protest will become your enemy in the great crisis which is upon us. You may be deceived now by pleasant talk, that they are part of the church, but if you are faithful to God’s Word, those who betray the cause of God in times of peace will still do so in times of trouble.

Who will turn traitor and try to compel others to dishonor God’s law? It is those who evade a plain “thus saith the Lord.” If you present an inspired statement to someone, and they do not accept it, and instead try to excuse it all away, inspiration predicts that they will eventually turn traitor. These are the people who will try to force you to disobey the law of God. They will become agents of Satan. For many years Adventists have looked forward to a time of revival and reformation when “there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times.” The Great Controversy, 464.

Over and over again the Spirit of the Lord has moved upon men and groups of Adventist believers in various parts of the world that this necessary revival and reformation might become a reality. But unfortunately, the vast majority have rejected the appeals to come into line with inspired writings so many times, that appeal has little or no weight with them anymore. The revival and reformation of all the professed church will never come. It will not ever come to even the majority. But it must come to you if you are going to be ready to meet Jesus when He comes. Instead of coming closer to this experience, the professed Adventist church has been going farther and farther away from the divine instructions into a deeper and deeper apostasy. Just as with the Jews, every reformation has been followed by deeper apostasy. (See The Desire of Ages, 28.) We are not predicting what can or will happen to the Adventist structure, the door of mercy was open to the Jews until a few days before the crucifixion of Christ, but to receive mercy, there would have had to be repentance and a willingness to come into line with God. Just as we must all be willing to do today.

There are even some people who we have been forbidden to associate with. “Some of those who know the truth but do not practice it, are trampling upon the law of God in their business transactions. We should have no intimate association with them lest we catch their spirit and share their doom.” Ibid., 1332.

“I call upon God’s people to open their eyes. When you sanction or carry out the decisions of men who, as you know, are not in harmony with truth and righteousness, you weaken your own faith and lessen your relish for communion with God.” Ibid., 1336.

In the book of Nehemiah, this is the order in which the opposition comes—first was concern; second, derision and ridicule; third, wrath and indignation and more ridicule; fourth, open opposition and an attempt to destroy, and fifth, requests to meet and counsel together. Number six is the last and most dangerous opposition of all. Many who stand firm up to number six fall because of its deceptiveness.

  1. “Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, ‘Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.’ And I said, ‘Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!’ Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all.” Nehemiah 6:10–12.

In the sixth form of opposition for Nehemiah, a religious person comes to him with a religious suggestion. The messenger seemed interested in his welfare. He said he wanted to keep him from harm, but actually he was a secret informer, he was on the other side. Nehemiah said, “Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.” Nehemiah 6:12.

Sanballat and the others knew that if they came in person, Nehemiah would never listen, so they hired a secret informer to go and pretend to be Nehemiah’s friend. Pretended friends are the most dangerous enemies we have. The devil is not foolish. His policy is deception from the beginning to the end. He knows that he can reach many more, those who are unsuspecting and unprepared, by using this guise of false friendship. “We have far more to fear from within than from without.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 122.

Does God ever use deception and secret devising? “Those engaged in the cause of reform must in no wise be dissemblers, so that it will be difficult to discern upon which side they are, there must be no underhand working, no secret devising, for this is the way in which Satan works; but those who follow Christ must be resolute and unflinching.” 1888 Materials, 970.

Beware when you meet someone who does not stand firmly on one side of an issue. Remember that God never works underhandedly. His followers will be resolute, not crowd pleasers who try to appear on two sides of the issue, but instead they will stand unflinchingly for the truth.

“Satan was at work to cause apostasy in the early church; and in accomplishing his purpose, doctrines were introduced through which the church was leavened with unbelief in Christ and His coming . . . That which Satan has led men to do in the past, he will if possible lead them to do again. The early church was deceived by the enemy of God and man, and apostasy was brought into the ranks of those who professed to love God; and to‑day, unless the people of God awake out of sleep, they will be taken unawares by the devices of Satan.” Review and Herald, November 22, 1892.

The majority of professed Seventh-day Adventists are deceived and unaware of it. Sister White predicted over 100 years ago, that the devil would do this if he could. I do not think we realize how serious this really is. Never forget that those who are deceived do not know they are. They think they are on their way to heaven. That means that you and I could be deceived. We need to go to our closets and pray earnestly, “Lord, if I am deceived, show me what my deception is and help me to get onto the narrow road that leads to the city of God.”

Today after all other manner of attacks have failed to subdue some people, historic Adventists are being skillfully attacked by the ploy of supposed friendship. The very same people in the conferences, unions and the General Conference who have demonstrated over and over again through lawsuits and threatened lawsuits, through every manner of political maneuvering, through ridicule and verbal attacks at large Adventist gatherings, through attacks from official publications and through many books and letters, without any repentance or confession or change of heart, now propose to be the friends of the historic Adventist people. Thousands who have stood firm for truth through all manner of attacks are succumbing to this one. It is a new and near the end twist in the shaking process. Thousands of Adventists are being destroyed spiritually and they do not know it. If you are not studying and praying day by day, you will be one of those destroyed and never know what happened until it is too late.

 

Quotations about Pretended Friends

 

“At the present day, Satan gains power over God’s people, by means of those false brethren who, while at heart friends of the world, exert an influence in the church. These are the most efficient workers that the great deceiver can employ. They are constantly seeking to lessen the enmity between the church of Christ and his deadliest foe. They supply the connecting link whereby he can unite the church and the world. Here lies our present danger,—a danger against which we must constantly guard. While we should make all possible effort to save souls, deeming no self‑denial or sacrifice too great to effect this purpose, we must at the same time maintain our allegiance to God.” Review and Herald, July 18, 1882.

“The gospel of Christ has little to fear from its open opponents. Its most dangerous foes are the pretended friends of Christ . . . He who is a friend of Christ studies the word of God, and brings its principles into his daily life, making every thought, word, and deed subject to the control of the Spirit of God.” Youth’s Instructor, June 14, 1894.

“The opposition and discouragement that the builders in Nehemiah’s day met from open enemies and pretended friends is typical of the experience that those today will have who work for God. Christians are tried, not only by the anger, contempt, and cruelty of enemies, but by the indolence, inconsistency, lukewarmness, and treachery of avowed friends and helpers.” Conflict and Courage, 266.

“All that he [Martin Luther] had endured from the opposition of both the pope and the emperor had not caused him such perplexity of mind or anguish of soul as did this deceptive work now linking itself with the Reformation. From the cause itself had arisen its worst enemies. Pretended friends were tearing down what he had labored at tremendous odds to build up. The very truths which had brought peace to his troubled heart had been made the cause of dissension in the church.” Signs of the Times, October 18, 1883.

Concerning the opposition that Ezra and Nehemiah had, Ellen White said: “That which made their work most difficult was not the open hostility of the heathen, but the secret opposition of pretended friends. Who, by lending their influence to the service of evil, increased tenfold the burden of God’s servants.” Prophets and Kings, 675.

The opposition that Nehemiah met is the kind of opposition that we are now meeting. Now is the most deceptive time in the history of the world. All the experience that the devil gained before and after Nehemiah’s time he is bringing to bear upon the people of God. We cannot put our confidence in men, they can fail us. Counseling a conference worker, Ellen White said: “You who are finite, erring, and unsanctified, have supposed that God’s children were put under your jurisdiction, for you to plan for them, and bring them to your terms. The policy you have labored so hard to establish in your connection with the work is an offense to God. He has never justified any arrangement, through organization, discipline, or laws, whereby men who have evidenced that they are not susceptible to the Holy Spirit’s moving shall use their power to sustain others in a like disregard of the Spirit’s work.” 1888 Materials, 1367.

It does not matter if a person is a member of any organization or a leader in an organization. If they do not give evidence that they are under the control of the Holy Spirit, they could lead you astray. Anyone you associate with will have an influence on your mind and spirituality. The more you associate with that person, the greater effect he will have on you. The devil is working full time to get God’s people tied up by marriages or friendships with those who pretend to be friends of the cross of Christ, but are not under the control of the Holy Spirit.

What will we do when we are in a situation similar to the one Nehemiah was in? If the Holy Spirit is not leading our minds, we will be trapped. It is so deceptive that we cannot even tell from outward evidence what is going on. It may look so holy, righteous and so religious, but it is really a trap. If we trust in ourselves or in men we will be deceived. Our only refuge is in God. There is nothing that the devil can do that the Holy Spirit does not know all about. If your mind is under the control of the Holy Spirit, He will protect you from all of these things. Every time we make decisions we need to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit and develop the habit of saying, “Lord, is this the decision that You want me to make?” If you do this, God will be your constant help, and He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.

 

Hus the Heretic

by

One of the most heart-moving books you will ever read, Hus the Heretic by Poggius the Papist, is new from the press. Reprinted from very old book, and translated into English for this printing, it tells the inspiring story of one of the greatest reformers, as seen through the eyes of Poggius, the papist. Poggius delivered the summons to John Hus to appear at the council of Constance, and participated as a voting member on the council. As the trial unfolds, so potent is John Hus’ humble testimony contrasted with the amazing rudeness and injustice of priests and cardinals, even some of his ardent foes become his defenders. Even Poggius himself is profoundly affected.

The following is taken from Hus the Heretic by Poggius the Papist, 71–75:

Great shouting silenced the noble martyr. They tore the priestly garb from his body and ripped it to pieces, which they tied to their clothes as a remembrance of their victory over Hus. After that, they fought and argued among themselves whether they should disfigure his head with shears or razor, until they procured shears and pressed his head downward, cutting a star into his hair, while they were deriding him. This displeased many and caused remonstrating. A majority was glad about it and they raised their weapons against Hus’ protectors. There were only a few Bohemians, whom it had been forbidden to bring weapons into the church and they were searched at the door. The Bohemian Knight von Meneczesch, who had hidden a long dagger in the leg of his boot, was in the midst of the crowd and when he perceived his friend’s distress, he drew the dagger and plunged it between the ribs of the man who held Hus’ head, so that he dropped without a sound. Immediately Hus’ enemies turned upon Meneczesch with their knives and tried to kill him, but he was a courageous man, defended himself well and escaped without a scratch, through the small door in the choir. Hus, however, cried and clasped his hand above his shorn head and prayed God for a blissful end.

When Hus stood thus shorn before his enemies, they ridiculed him, threw clumps of earth, moistened by saliva, at him and found it funny when they hit his face. Despite this derision, the poor man remained without hate and consoled himself with the thought of his redeemer, who had borne in silence the scourge and the fists of his enemies. “Why do you mock me? Your shouting cannot destroy the triumph of my heart! I hear sweet music above the heights of Golgotha and the sounds of joyful Hallelujah, so that Jerusalem’s foolish battle cry cannot hurt me at all!” Such praise-worthy words spoke Hus, while they cast him out, half-naked, from the temple of the Lord. Outside the church, the bishop of Constance placed a paper cap, upon which three ugly devils had been painted, on his head, saying: “Now we deliver you to the worldly courts and your soul we turn over to the devil and his disciples!”

Hus answered to this terrible curse by folding his hands and by praying: “O Lord, Jesus Christ, into thine hands I deliver my soul, which thou hast redeemed by thy blood. Father in Heaven, do not hold against them the sins which my enemies commit against me, and let mine eyes see them blissfully with thee, when their souls fly to they throne after an easy death. O Holy Ghost, enlighten their deceived hearts, so that the truth of the holy gospel may open their eyes and its praise be spread everywhere, for ever and ever, Amen” The town soldiers had formed a wide circle in front of the church portal, into which the expulsed man was being led. A small fire was lit and several books by Wycliffe and Hus were cast into it, with a lot of shouting. A red-garbed jester moved the books about with a long poker, while he executed peculiar and comical jumps over the fire, so that his feather-tail caught fire and he ran about, crying in feigned distress, for water. These shameless doings lasted for an our, during which Hus was often brushed with this feather-tail, from which water was dripping. The sun was high in the skies and sent down much heat. This made many people thirsty and they drank very much of the wine, which was distributed free. They drank so much that they began to be unsteady on their feet, rioted and sang, without regard for Hus’ feelings, like barbarians.

These event put off the last moments of the unhappy priest for several hours. During this time there was a kirmess, everybody feasted with viands and drink and they were eager for the coming spectacle for the evening, young and old, boys and girls and especially the Latin papists, among whom were several who had never seen the roasting of an heretic before. Meanwhile the wood pile had been decorated with motley hangings, tassels, flags, stars and other tinsel, and many women believed it to be good handiwork to burn pieces of their underwear or clothing with the condemned, to atone for their sins or for the sins of those who roast in purgatory. “Give me a drink of water,” asked Hus of his guard, “so that I might refresh my tongue and not die from thirst, lest your joy, to see me at the stake, might be taken from you. I would regret this for the sake of those who have come here to see me burn and have spent much money on my account.”

Full of pity a soldier offered his filled goblet to Hus, but he did not drink from it and asked for pure water, which was given to him at once. This equanimity and pity shown by Hus impressed the heart of the guard. He rose, approached his sergeant and resigned from the service with these words: “I have fought many a battle in my day and I have seen many a brave man die at Raefels in the Glarner lands, at Buergen, Niedau, Unterfern and in the lands of Appenzell, but my old eyes have never seen such courage and fearlessness in the face of certain death. Therefore I think that this Bohemian is a just man, suffering in innocence and I have no wish to serve masters who persecute the feeble and protect the lewd papists. Take back my spear and my sword, for I shall leave Constance today, before the smoke rises to smother Hus and the fires blaze, which will consume his bones.”

And so the hour of five of the afternoon came, when the procession started, with Hus, for the Bruehl gate, where, on the left side, the woodpile had been erected and had been splendidly decorated. Three trumpeters upon black horses rode in advance and their loud trumpeting called together the people from afar and drew everybody from the chambers of the houses to the windowsills.

There were only few streets in Constance through which the procession did not wind its way and its duration was longer than two hours. Many cried, many made fun and many prayed for Hus. He sang the praise of God in Latin songs; called out many times with Job the Visited: “My harp also is turned to mourning and my pipe into the voice of them that weep. Doth not he see my ways and count all my steps? If I have walked with vanity or if my foot hath hastened to deceit; if my step hath turned out of the way and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved mine hands; if I rejoiced because my wealth was great and because mine hand had gotten much; and my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand; this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge; for I should have denied the God that is above? I would be joyous like a King although I go to my death.” Then he sang in verse, with elated voice, like the psalmist in the thirty-first psalm, reading from a paper in his hands:

“In thee, O Lord, I put my trust,

Bow down thine ear to me.”

With such Christian prayers, Hus arrived at the stake, looking at it without fear. He climbed upon it, after two assistants of the hangman had torn his clothes from him and had clad him in a skirt drenched with pitch. At this moment the elector of Palatinate, Ludewig, rode up and prayed Hus with fervor to recant, so that he might be spared a death in the flames. But Hus replied: “Today you will roast a lean goose, but a hundred years from now you will hear a swan sing, whom you will leave unroasted and no trap or net will catch him for you.” Full of pity and filled with much admiration, the Prince turned away . . .

You may order your copy of Hus the Heretic by Poggious the Papist from Steps to Life.

The Reformation in Scotland

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“The Reformation in Scotland seems to have been accompanied by greater violence than elsewhere in Europe. It has been stated that the corruption of the Catholic Church had reached a greater height in Scotland than in any other country, unless it was Italy.” Gideon D. Hagstoz, Heroes of the Reformation, 85.

The Reformation in England dealt with the freedom of the throne from the supremacy of the pope, whereas in Scotland the reform movement was concerned primarily with the religious center.

“The more prominent outcome of the Reformation in England was a free state; the more immediate product of the Reformation in Scotland was a free Church. But soon the two countries and the two Reformations coalesced: common affinities and common aims disengaged them from old allies, and drew them to each other’s side; and Christendom beheld a Protestantism strong alike in its political and in its spiritual arm, able to combat the double usurpation of Rome, and to roll it back, in course of time, from the countries where its dominion had been long established, and over its ruins to go forward to the fulfillment of the great task which was the one grand aim of the Reformation, namely, the evangelising and civilising of the earth, and the planting of pure churches and free governments.” J. A. Wylie, The History of Protestantism, Book 24, 466.

Scotland, before the ninth century, was inhabited by savage tribes who practiced the rites and worshipped the same gods as the Assyrians. This country had no harbor where ships could put into port. Because of this no mariner visited this land, ensuring that Scotland would remain a backward country for many years.

Caesar had attempted to conquer Scotland without success. He was followed by missionaries who were more successful in gaining a foothold. Columba, born in 521, began evangelizing the northern and western parts of Scotland, as well as England, from the island of Iona off the Scottish coast.

 

Catholicism Enters Scotland

 

In the twelfth century, the light of Iona was waxing dim, paving the way for Roman Catholicism to establish itself in Scotland. This did not come about as the result of the conversion of the inhabitants of that land, but by the power of the king. The men, as well as the system, came from another land.

The limits imposed upon ecclesiastics of other countries, such as France, were not set up in Scotland. “Bishops and abbots filled all the great posts at court, and discharged all the highest offices in the state.” Ibid., 467.

“Scotland had no centralized government. The prince bishops owned about one half of the land, and the secular nobility owned or controlled the other half. The king had very little power. He had no standing army of his own and no personal body-guard, but had to depend on the feudal militia for protection and support.” Lars Qualben, A History of the Christian Church, 312.

Darkness covered the land, but there was a glimmer of light, and Pope John XXII complained that there were heretics in the land. The first martyr John Resby, was burned in 1406. He was an Englishman and a follower of Wycliffe. Others followed him to the stake in the next few years. In the same year, the University of St. Andrews was founded. A requirement for the Master of Arts degree was that the applicant must agree to defend the Roman Church against all accusers.

Because the writings of Luther were so eagerly read, the Parliament, in 1525, prohibited the printing and distribution of his literature. The two most prominent men to be burned at the stake were Patrick Hamilton, who was arrested by order of Cardinal Beaton in 1528, and George Wishart in 1546. Their teaching of the reform faith came to the attention of the Cardinal whose only goal was to completely control all Scotland. His efforts to destroy the heretics only added fuel to the fire. For every martyr who perished, a little company of followers arose to fill his place. From this time on, the Reformation in Scotland was dependent upon the political power in control.

It can be said that the Reformation in Scotland began with the entrance of Tyndale’s New Testament into that country, the circulation of Luther’s and Reformed writings, and by returning students from universities on the Continent and in England. By Act of Parliament, March 15, 1543, all the people had access to the Bible in their own tongue.

When Margaret, the daughter of Henry VII of England, married James IV, King of Scotland, the Scottish nobility feared that Scotland would come under the control of England. To prevent this happening, they made alliances with France against England. James V married Mary of Lorraine, sister of the Duke of Guise, who was violently opposed to Protestantism.

At the death of James V the crown was left to his infant daughter, Mary Stuart. The Queen, Mary of Guise, was made the Queen-regent until her death in 1560. It was her policy to suppress Protestantism. Mary Stuart was sent to France for her education and while there she married Francis II, King of France. She made an agreement with Francis that Scotland would be controlled by France at her death, when she left no heirs.

 

Defenders of Scottish Freedom

 

The defenders of Scottish freedom, and the friends of Protestant reform merged to form a strong party which was friendly toward England. The secular nobility saw that the Reformation would aid them in crushing the power of the detested prince bishops. A large number of the prominent noble families openly accepted Protestantism.

It was at this point that John Knox enters the picture. By 1546 he was well known as a powerful preacher. In his preaching he proclaimed that the Roman Catholic Church was the Synagogue of Satan and that the Pope was the anti-Christ. In 1547, Knox was captured by the French and made a galley slave for nineteen months. On his release he spent some years in England and in Europe, but always wrote to his countrymen encouraging and instructing them. Knox returned to Scotland in 1556, preaching against the mass, and made a petition to Mary of Guise begging her to support the Gospel. The petition was refused by the Queen-regent. This refusal forced Knox to flee to Europe. In 1559, when Elizabeth became Queen of England, he returned to Scotland.

Mary Stuart, Queen of the Scots, denounced Elizabeth as an illegitimate usurper, and proclaimed herself as the rightful queen of England. This claim by Mary threatened to bring both Scotland and England under the control of France. Knox began preaching powerful sermons, proclaiming that Scotland must be free and upholding the idea that the secular power was not to control the religious. “Wherever Knox went, his preaching was like a match set to kindling wood.” Ibid., 315. He was supported militarily and politically by John Erskine, the leader of the First Scottish Covenant. This Covenant was formed by a number of Scottish nobles on December 3, 1557, stating that the signatories would “stand by one another with life and fortune to ‘establish the most blessed Word of God and His Congregation.’ ” Ibid.

The Scottish people revolted against the Catholic Church, breaking images, storming and looting monasteries, and commanding priests to cease saying mass. The result of all this “rebellion” on the part of the people was that the Queen ordered French troops to put it down. Knox encouraged the people to meet force with force and the combat ended in a draw. France then sent reinforcements in order to maintain her hold on Scotland.

John Knox appealed to Queen Elizabeth to send a fleet to resist the French. She sent both an army and a fleet to help the Protestants in Scotland. Knox worked as chaplain and liaison officer negotiating with the English government that the cause of Protestantism might continue to be victorious. The presence of an English army induced the French to withdraw and leave the government of Scotland under the control of the Council of Lords. The treaty was signed on July 6, 1560, shortly after the death of Mary of Guise, the Queen-regent. The Treaty stipulated that all foreign troops and arms should be removed from Scotland and that no Frenchman could hold any important office of state.

Following this treaty, the most important parliament met on July 1, 1560. It was attended by a large number of barons, nobles, and lords—Knox being among them—and it abolished the celebration of the mass and the jurisdiction of the pope. The law against the mass was so strong that any offender was threatened with the death penalty on the third conviction.

Knox became the church leader in Scotland and at the request of Parliament he prepared a Confession of Faith, the Confessio Scoticana, which was adopted on August 17, 1560. The following week the Parliament passed the Laws of the Estate resulting in the complete rupture with Rome. In January, 1561, the Parliament adopted the “First Book of Discipline” which had been written by Knox. “The system worked out by Calvin was applied to the entire nation. In each parish the pastor and the presbyters constituted an administrative and disciplinary board. The presbyters were elected by the congregation. In the larger centers meetings for discussion were held which later developed into ‘presbyteries.’ Pastors and congregations within specified regions were governed by synods, and over all was the ‘General Assembly’.” Ibid., 316.

 

Knox and Mary, Queen of Scots

 

“Knox had still another battle to fight. Mary, Queen of Scots, the unfortunate Mary who by her own unwise acts lost her crown and later her life, returned from France as a widow at eighteen, in August, 1561. She was determined to restore Scotland to the Catholic Church.

“The most dramatic period of Knox’s life doubtless falls during her reign as he tilted and sparred verbally with Mary when she repeatedly summoned him into her presence. The first such skirmish resulted when Knox condemned the mass which she had celebrated her first Sunday after arriving in Scotland. He had said that one mass was more terrible to him than 10,000 armed invaders. Five times, some say six, she called him before her.

“The second occasion was Knox’s sermon against the persecution of the Huguenots in France, an event Mary celebrated with a ball at Holyrood. The next also concerned the mass. The fourth, which left an aftermath of peril, resulted when Knox had vehemently spoken against her proposed marriage to a Catholic, the son of the king of Spain. This time she dissolved in tears and sobs as she railed against him; but Knox maintained that he was not preaching his own words, but the words that were given him out of the Scriptures.” Heroes of the Reformation, 86.

Knox was charged with treason among other things, and brought to trial before Queen Mary. The future of Knox and the Reformation in Scotland hung in the balance at this trial. The great Scottish Reformer was acquitted and the Queen, because of her indiscretions, was imprisoned and removed from the throne. John Knox died in 1572 and his work was ably carried on by Andrew Melville who died in 1622. When Queen Elizabeth of England died in 1603, England and Scotland were united under one crown.

“It would have but little availed Scotsmen in the nineteenth century if Knox had wrought up their fathers to a little political enthusiasm, but had failed to lead them to the Bible, that great awakener of the human soul, and bulwark of the rights of conscience. If this had been all, the Scots, after a few abortive attempts, like those of misguided France, to reconcile political freedom with spiritual servitude, would assuredly have fallen back under the old yoke, and would have been lying at this day in the gulf of ‘Papistrie.’ Discarding this narrow visionary project, Knox grasped the one eternal principal of liberty, the government of the human conscience by the Bible, and planting his Reformation upon this great foundation stone, he endowed it with the attribute of durability.” The History of Protestantism, 515.

The void left by the death of Knox was more than ably filled by Andrew Melville (1545–1622). Melville was one of the greatest teachers and administrators of his day. It was under his guidance that the educational system in Scotland was established, and in fact made it one of the most noted systems anywhere in the western world. In 1572 the system of episcopacy, which was not in reality episcopacy, for it had no authority and exercised no oversight over the churches in Scotland, was introduced into that country. Knox had opposed the introduction and work of the Tulchan bishops and Melville continued the fight to his dying day. (A tulcan is a calf’s skin stuffed with straw, set up to make a cow give her milk freely. The Tulcan bishops, known only in Scotland, were introduced into the Presbyterian Church by some nobles wishing to take a portion of the churches income through appointment to rich benefices.)

Melville carried on a running battle for the firm establishment of the Presbyterian form of church government free of all secular control. He not only opposed the Roman prelates in Scotland but he also had to deal with the king, James VI. For it was this James whose first goal was to obtain the throne of England, which he did upon the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, and then to make the Roman Catholic Church supreme in both countries. This war for supremacy he waged to his death in 1625.

Melville’s fight was an uphill battle for the people and ministers were not strong enough to establish sufficient power in the Parliament and other ruling bodies to completely eliminate the Roman prelates from maintaining a firm control over the secular arm of the government.

Melville, after spending some years in Paris and Geneva, pursuing his studies and teaching, returned to Scotland in 1574 and began his battle against the Tulchan episcopate, which was joined onto the Presbyterian church. He was successful in getting the General Assembly of 1580 to unanimously declare, by resolution, “‘the office of a bishop, as then used and commonly understood, to be destitute of warrant from the Word of God, and a human invention, tending to the great injury of the Church, and ordained the bishops to demit their pretended office simpliciter, and to receive admission as ordinary pastors de novo, under pain of excommunication.’ ” Ibid., 518.

“The first part of the mighty task which awaited Protestantism in the sixteenth century was to breathe life into the nation . . . The second part of the great task of Protestantism was to make the nations free . . . It was not the State in Scotland that gave freedom to the Church: it was the Church that gave freedom to the State.” Ibid., 530, 531.

We will leave the story of the Reformation in Scotland at this point for it was to be a continuing struggle between Episcopacy and Presbyterianism on the one hand and the King of England and Roman Catholicism on the other which was to be waged even to the present day. The light continued to shine at times brighter, then dimmer, but never extinguished. The Great Controversy continues to go on in that land.

“Thus the Scottish Vine, smitten by the tyranny of the monarch who had now gone to the grave, was visited and revived by a secret dew. From the high places of the State came edicts to blight it; from the chambers of the sky came a ‘plenteous rain’ to water it. It struck its roots deeper, and spread its branches yet more widely over a land which it did not as yet wholly cover. Other and fiercer tempests were soon to pass over that goodly tree, and this strengthening from above was given beforehand, that when the great winds should blow, the tree, though shaken, might not be overturned.” Ibid., 536.

 

John Knox the Reformer

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Many, many years ago, about the year 1505, a man was born in Scotland in whose hands rested the continuation and success of the Reformation. His name was John Knox. The parents of Knox were well off financially enough to give him a liberal education.

He first entered grammar school in Hadington where he learned the principles of the Latin language. From there his father, in 1524, sent him to St. Andrews to the University of Glasgow, the most celebrated seminary in Scotland. The curriculum in this institution of learning consisted of the philosophy of Aristotle, scholastic theology, along with canon and civil law, and the study of Latin.

The studies in scholastic philosophy were not satisfying, so he turned to the study of Divine truth and the labor of the ministry. At the end of his studies he received the Master of Arts degree. He then taught philosophy for a time, and his abilities excelled those of his master in the dialectic art. In 1530, at the age of 25, he was ordained a priest before he had reached the age required by the canons of the church.

Not satisfied with the things he was reading from the excerpts of the ancient authors, he decided he would go to the authors themselves. Jerome and Augustine appealed to him. Jerome led him to read the Scriptures in their original language. In the works of Augustine he discovered sentiments quite opposite to the Papal church. “Augustine and Jerome led Knox to the feet of a Greater. The future Reformer now opens the Sacred Oracles, and he who had once wandered in the dry and thirsty wilderness of scholasticism finds himself at the fountain and well-head of Divine knowledge.” J. A. Wylie, The History of Protestantism, 483. As a result of this study, Knox in 1535, turned from scholastic theology to evangelical religion. He renounced the Roman Catholic church and commenced his career as a Reformer.

The corruptions within the Roman church reached greater heights in Scotland than any where else within the western church. “Superstition and religious imposture, in their grossest forms, gained an easy admission among a rude and ignorant people. By means of these, the clergy attained to an exorbitant degree of opulence and power; which were accompanied, as they always have been, with corruption of their order, and of the whole system of religion.” Thomas M’Crie, The Life of John Knox, 20.

Half of the wealth of Scotland belonged to the clergy, although most of it was in the hands of a few who had control of the larger body, because they had taken advantage of the ignorance and superstition of the masses. “The ignorance of the clergy respecting religion was as gross as the dissoluteness of their morals. Even bishops were not ashamed to confess that they were unacquainted with the canon of their faith, and had never read any part of the sacred Scriptures, except what they met with in their missals.” Ibid., 21.

 

Reforms Begin

 

A light was beginning to shine in Scotland, and, before Knox had embraced the Reform doctrine, a young man by the name of Patrick Hamilton was moved by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Reformed doctrine. He went to Germany and spoke with Martin Luther, then went to the Protestant university in Marburg to study the Scriptures.

After completing his studies, Hamilton had an irresistible desire to return to Scotland where he exposed the corruption of the popish clergy. Because of this work he soon came to the attention of the Roman Catholic authorities. He was condemned as a heretic and burned at the stake in 1528.

Knox began his career as an educator at the seminary of St. Andrews in 1547, which lasted only a short time. A call came to him from the Protestant ministers of Scotland to join them as a public speaker. He at first declined, saying that he had not been called to that employment, but shortly accepted. His preaching was so successful that many at St. Andrews, and in the towns surrounding the university, were won to the Protestant cause.

In June of that year, a French fleet appeared and captured the Castle of St. Andrews, and Knox was taken prisoner and confined to the galleys for the next two years. The Reformation in Scotland seemed to came to a standstill with Knox out of the country.

He was released in 1549, and he repaired to England where he preached for a time in Berwick. It was here he met and married Marjory Bowes who bore him three children before her death. From Berwick, Knox went to London and busied himself with preaching against the corruption within the church as well as nurturing the followers of the reform.

Because of the anger he aroused in the leadership of the Roman church, Knox left England in 1554, and sailed to Dieppe in France. He remained there for a time before going to Geneva, Switzerland, meditating, preaching, studying and writing letters of encouragement to those reformers remaining in Scotland.

In 1555, Knox returned to Scotland for a brief visit, but it was long enough to consolidate and advance the Reformation in that land. He left Scotland in 1556 because he felt his continued presence would draw strong persecution upon this young community of believers. He went to Geneva once more to pastor an English church.

In April of 1557, two men from Edinburgh arrived with a letter of invitation to return to Scotland and continue the work of reform. They told him that the followers of the reform doctrine remained steadfast, and their adversaries were rapidly losing credibility among the Scottish people. He accordingly secured a replacement for himself in the church, set his affairs in order, and returned to Dieppe, in preparation for sailing to Scotland.

However, before he sailed, further news arrived of a different nature from the first intelligence he had received, telling him the Roman church had gained new power in Scotland and things were not as good as first related to him. Therefore, Knox spent some time traveling in France and preaching.

In December, he returned to Geneva. During the following year he was engaged, along with several other men, in translating the Bible into English. Their Bible became known as the Geneva Bible.

In January of 1559, Knox left Geneva for the last time. “The nation had now found what it needed, a man able to lead it in the great war in which it was entering.” J. A. Wylie, The History of Protestantism, 490.

 

Battles and Victories

 

Mary, the Queen regent, was a strong supporter of the Roman Catholic church and did all she could to stop the Reformation in Scotland. She used everything within her power to gain her ends, not excluding deceit, flattery, and force. She would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. Knox met with her on several occasions to answer the charges laid against him, but he felt no fear because he knew that he stood on the banner of truth.

On one occasion the queen arrived before the city of Perth with an army of 8000 men, but the reformers were so well prepared that she readily saw that any attempt to take the city was useless. She offered to make a peace settlement with them which they accepted, and the queen entered Perth without any resistance.

Knox preached a sermon describing the corruptions which had been introduced into the church by the papacy, using the story of Christ cleansing the temple. “When he had ended, and sat down, it may be said that Scotland was Reformed.” Ibid., 493.

Following this famous sermon, Knox spent the next year in incessant labor. He spent the days in preaching and the nights in writing. By this means he aroused and kept the country awake. “His voice like a great trumpet rang through the land, firing the lukewarm into zeal, and inspiring the timid into courage.” Ibid., 494.

On August 24, 1560, Parliament abolished the Pope’s jurisdiction, abolished the mass, and rescinded the laws in favor of the Romish church.

“Knox’s idea of the church was, in brief, a divinely originated, a divinely enfranchised, and a divinely governed society. Its members were all those who made profession of the Gospel; its law was the Bible, and its king was Christ.” Ibid., 496.

August of 1561, Mary Stuart, queen of Scotland, arrived and took the reins of government in her hands. She proceeded to consolidate her power and establish the Roman Catholic religion as supreme in the land. In December of 1563, Knox was put on trial, before the council and queen Mary, for treason. He was acquitted by a unanimous vote.

By the year 1567, a new monarch, the infant James, came to the throne of Scotland with the Earl of Murray, a close friend of Knox, as regent. The parliament ratified all the acts that had been passed in 1560, accepting the Protestant faith as the religion of the country, and abolishing the Papal jurisdiction. “From this point Knox could look back over the battles he had waged, and the toils he had borne, and contemplate with thankfulness their issue in the overthrow of the Papal tyranny, and the establishment of a Scriptural faith in Scotland.” Ibid., 511.

The years 1568 and 1569, were the happiest years in the life of the reformer and the most prosperous for his beloved country in that century. All was going well for the church, and she was enlarging her borders. His last years were spent in opposing the introduction into the Presbyterian church of the Tulchan bishops, which were unique to Scotland.

He objected to the institution of this new order of ecclesiastics into the church because he believed it to be a robbery of the patrimony of the church, and because it was an invasion of the Presbyterian equality which had been settled in the Scottish Kirk. His opposition delayed the introduction of this arrangement until the year of his death.

In 1570, Knox, never enjoying a strong constitution, became very feeble. A stroke of apoplexy affected his speech and necessitated his removal to St. Andrews where he had to be lifted up into the pulpit to preach. He continued preaching until he could no longer do so due to weakness. On the 24th of November, 1572, John Knox breathed his last and was laid to rest.

“From the time that he embraced the Reformed doctrines, the desire of propagating them, and of delivering his countrymen from the delusions and corruptions of popery, became his ruling passion, to which he was always ready to sacrifice his ease, his interest, his reputation and his life. An ardent attachment to civil liberty held the next place in his breast, to love of the reformed religion. ” Thomas M’crie, The Life of John Knox, 207.

“His ministerial functions were discharged with the greatest assiduity, fidelity, and fervour. No avocation or infirmity prevented him from appearing in the pulpit. Preaching was an employment in which he delighted, and for which he was qualified by an extensive acquaintance with the Scriptures, and the happy art of applying them, in the most striking manner, to the existing circumstances of the Church, and of his hearers.” Ibid., 208.

“The two master-qualities of Knox were faith and courage. The fundamental quality was his faith; courage was the noble fruit that sprang from it.” The History of Protestantism, 514.

 

Last Call to the Church

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The primary concern and most happy thought of the Seventh-day Adventists church today is the nearness of the second coming of Jesus. I remember as a boy how time used to go by so slowly. It seemed like it was almost an eternity from one birthday to the next. We anticipated some special event coming up in a week or a month, and time just seemed to stand still.

As we get older, all of that changes. Now it seems like I have two or three birthdays a year. Time just keeps going faster and faster. But it was not like that when I was a boy.

I remember one Sabbath morning, when I was a young child, a visiting minister had come to our little church. I do not remember all that he spoke about that Sabbath, but I do remember that over and over again, he kept repeating the statement, “Jesus is coming soon!”

In my childish mind, that indicated something extremely imminent. I could almost imagine that Jesus would be back before the very next Sabbath! “What does he mean,” I asked myself.

On the way home from church that Sabbath morning, I decided to consult with the best authority that I knew, my father. My father tried to put my mind at ease by saying, “Son, Jesus is coming soon, but we do not know exactly when He is coming.”

My birthday was only a couple of months away and I was afraid that Jesus might come back before my birthday. So I asked, “Daddy, is it possible that Jesus will be back before my birthday.”

He smiled, and said, “He may not come back before your birthday, but I know that He is coming soon.”

Jesus did not come back before my birthday, or even within the next year. In fact, that conversation took place fifty years ago.

A half century has passed since my childish mind was disturbed with a message of the nearness of Jesus’ coming. I am still wondering when Jesus is coming. I cannot tell you, but certainly His coming is nearer than when we first believed.

Today Jesus gives, to you and to me, a final warning message. It is a call specifically to His chosen people—His church. We find this last call recorded in Revelation 2:7: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”

This is an invitation to those who have spiritual discernment. Invitations should always create excitement. I remember the very first invitation I received to visit the home of my wife’s parents. Charlotte and I were attending the same college. Our friendship was growing, but I had never met her parents who lived in Colorado.

Charlotte and I both sang in the college choir, which was planning a tour to Colorado and the western part of Nebraska. One day, not long before the planned tour, I found a strange looking envelope from Boulder, Colorado, in my mailbox.

I tore that envelope open and, to my amazement, inside I found an invitation to go and visit Charlotte’s parents. You can be sure that because of the excitement that the invitation created, I made great preparations for that day. I made sure that my clothes were cleaned and pressed. I began studying politeness and manners, in order to leave a good impression. I believe invitations always create an excitement.

Today there is a special invitation to each of us from Jesus Christ Himself. He says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 2:7. Are we listening?

It seems that we are too busy to listen. We seem to live on the basis of “business as usual,” when neither business nor anything else is as usual, nor will it ever be again. We too often determine what kind of program we want for the church. We make our plans with a long range planning strategy. But today we need to be planning for a short range emergency. Time is very short. We do not have time to be doing some of the things we are doing.

As a people we do not spend the time in meditation and prayer or in active service that we should. We think that because we have to make a living, and are so busy, we are excused. It is easy to put a dollar or two or even a hundred in the offering plate, but to spend time with the Lord and spend time telling others about the wonderful plan of salvation, we do not have time to do that.

We are listening to many other voices but the Spirit. It says, “Listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” We decide what kind of revival we want, what kind of evangelism we want, and then if the results are not what we anticipated, we are disappointed. We need to let God direct in our lives.

Ask yourself the questions, “Am I really doing all I can to hasten Jesus’ return? How much time do I spend in meditation? In the study of God’s Word? In the study of the Spirit of Prophecy And on my knees?” We are negligent when it comes to the amount of time that we spend making our daily bread, in proportion to how much time we spend laying up treasure in God’s kingdom.

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.” The church, according to Scripture, is the bride of Jesus Christ. It is the body. It is the organism that God has ordained to carry forward His work.

The church is not an organization or an institution. The church is God’s people, and God’s program will never bypass His people. This message is for God’s people. God’s church is where two or three are met together. This is an invitation to them. Spend time trying to discern what the Holy Spirit wants you to do. Spend time with God fasting, pleading for an outpouring of His Holy Spirit. His Spirit will never bypass the church—His people. The Spirit speaks to the churches.

Look at your own sphere of influence. What about your home? Some are pained because they live in divided homes. The Lord’s servant said that in a divided home, the shadows are never lifted. (See Adventist Home, 67.) Some are troubled because it is difficult to serve the Lord with all the heart when one is being opposed by members of his own family. They use this as an excuse not to overcome.

I have an older brother who has wandered in the ways of the world for some sixty years. In his heart there is conviction that he wants to come back to the church. He knows what is right. He knows the message. He was brought up in it as a boy. But somewhere along the way he gave it up and drifted away. Because of family opposition and uncertainty, he is reluctant to come back.

We can never influence anyone in favor of the truth by waffling around in sin. We have to make a firm decision regardless of what happens with our friends and our family. There are some today who are suffering because members of their family oppose them. Jesus said, “A man’s foes or enemies) shall be they of his own household.” Matthew 10:36.

What is happening in our circle of activity? What is happening in our homes? What is happening in our communities? What is happening in our towns or cities? This is a desperate hour for the world, for the cause of the Gospel and for the individual experience that we are going through. If anything can be shaken, it will be shaken. It is the time for us to stand firmly for the right.

 

He that Hath An Ear, Let Him Hear What the Spirit Says to the Church

 

The Spirit is trying to say something to us. In the Gospels, our Lord repeated eight times, “He that hath an ear, let him hear.” Again in the book of Revelation eight times we have this message, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

To the Laodiceans Jesus said, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him.” Revelation 3:20. This invitation is wide enough to include everyone. It says, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door.” It is limited, however, in its fulfillment to those who hear His voice and who open the door. Our ears must be open. We have to be listening to what the Spirit is saying.

The message of the Holy Spirit to each of the seven churches was, “Repent.” That has become a very unpopular message. There are those who say, “Just leave sin alone. Do not disturb the status quo. Leave that stone rolled up against Lazarus’ tomb. Let Achan keep his wedge of gold. Let Jezebel raise up her altar to Baal in Thyatira. Do not worry about that immoral brother over there in Corinth. Just leave sin alone.”

There are those who are watching and praying, and who are trying to bring about a revival and reformation. Sometimes they become discouraged and want to give up. But we must follow the example of our Savior who tried in every possible way to awaken the churches to their great spiritual need. Five of these seven churches in Asia Minor were in a lamentable spiritual condition. He called them to repentance.

What a wonderful change would take place in our churches today if we would all get on our knees and say, “I am sorry.” Some people, when they reach a certain level of responsibility in the church, feel that they cannot say they are sorry. They think they are too big to say, “I am sorry.”

God expects us to be able to say, “I am sorry. I am a sinner. I have done wrong.” The Bible tells us that we are all sinners. None of us have reached the level where we do not have to repent of our sins. We must each do this individually. It is not something that can be done corporately.

We have all reached different levels in our spiritual pilgrimage. We cannot be the judge for someone else. We need to be careful that we do not try to set up a measuring stick that we expect everyone else to live up to. As individuals we must make sure that our relationship is right with God, and repent of what we have done to bring pain, suffering and anguish to our Savior.

Jesus, who is our example in all things, told His disciples, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. All of us have problems and trials, but it is wonderful to know that we serve a God who has already been there. He knows what we are going through, and He suffers with us. Although He tells us we will have tribulation, He says, “I have overcome and through my grace you can also.”

“To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and am sat down with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 3:21. We can each overcome all sin and its influence in our lives.

We all have the same basis to overcome that Jesus had. Just as He said, “I can of mine own self do nothing . . .because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which sent me.” John 5:30. The answer to sucessfully overcoming sin in our lives is to make a complete surrender to Jesus. This is not a once and for all transaction. We must die daily as Paul did. Every day he was aware of the fact that he had to crucify self.

Self is our biggest enemy. The big “I” is the thing that gets in the way of Christ working out His will in us. We have to make a complete surrender of our selfish will, and choose God’s will instead. Not just when we are baptized and join the church, but we must do it daily.

In our own strength it would be completely impossible to make that surrender. “Whatever may be our inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong, we can overcome through the power that He is ready to impart . . . We cannot change our hearts, we cannot control our thoughts, our impulses, our affections . . . But we can choose to serve God, we can give Him our will . . . By yielding up the will to Christ, we ally with divine power . . . A pure and noble life, a life of victory over appetite and lust, is possible for everyone who will unite his weak, wavering human will to the Omnipotent,unwavering will of God.” Ministry of Healing, 176. [All emphasis supplied.]

Who says we cannot overcome all sin? There it is! It is wonderful to be able to link up with Jesus and His divine power. To be able to overcome through the power that He is willing to give. Do not let anyone tell you that you cannot be an overcomer. If we will grasp the divine hand, God has unlimited strength to impart to us.

 

A Panoramic View

 

The panorama of heaven and earth passed before the enraptured eyes of John there on that lonely island of Patmos. In vision he saw the glories of the new earth. He saw the gates of pearl. He saw that wall around the city, glistening in the glorious radiance of Jesus Christ Himself. He saw the throne of God with the Tree of Life silhouetted on both banks of the river as it flowed from God’s throne. He saw those glistening streets paved with pure gold. He saw the radiance shining in the faces of the redeemed. Can we imagine anything more wonderful than a world bathed in the rays of sunshine and love without the least trace of suffering, of hatred, of prejudices, of disease or of death?

In the mind of poor, lonely John, there on that little rocky island all by himself, came the question, “Who is going to inherit all of this?” The answer came back, “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Revelation 21:7. A beautiful promise was given to each of the seven churches if they would overcome.

To the church in Smyrna, was given the promise of a crown of life. To the church in Pergamus, He says, “And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” Revelation 2:17. I like this promise because I do not think there is anything on this earth more devastating than to have your name destroyed. I know what that experience is like. I am looking forward to the day when I get a new name. The same promise was also given to the church in Philadelphia, as well as the promise to make them a pillar in the temple and to write upon them the name of God.

To the church in Thyatira He will give power over the nations and give them the Morning Star if they would be overcomers. To the church in Sardis He will give white robes. Finally, to the church in Laodicea, “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 3:21.

It is not easy to overcome. There are many things that get in the way. One of the powerful things that impede us is the power of appetite. “The controlling power of appetite will prove the ruin of thousands, when, if they had conquered on this point, they would have had moral power to gain the victory over every other temptation of Satan. But those who are slaves to appetite will fail in perfecting Christian character . . . And as we near the close of time, Satan’s temptations to indulge appetite will be more powerful and more difficult to overcome.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 491, 492.

” ‘He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ If you ‘hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches’ and meditate upon the instruction given to them, your ears will be closed to the folly and nonsense which surround you. You will neither hear and repeat these things, nor will you ever hanker after them. When Christ satisfies the soul hunger, these trivialities are to you distasteful and disgusting. You have no desire to feast on them, but choose instead the bread of heaven.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 957.

May God give us the strength to reach the point in our experience as overcomers, when the things of the world appear to us distasteful and disgusting. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:7. Soon the time of trial will be over. Soon our problems, our difficulties, will all be past. Jesus is coming to take His faithful home. Before that day, terrible scenes will come upon the world and before God’s people, a time of trial that will try our faith without parallel.

My invitation to you today is to open your ears to the message of the Holy Spirit and surrender your heart and lives to His power. Let us lift up our heads, our redemption draws nigh.