salvation

Bible Study Guides – A Present View of Eternity

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March 22, 2009 – March 28, 2009

Key Text

“Since the beginning of the world [men] have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, [what] he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” Isaiah 64:4.

Study Help: Testimonies, vol. 2, 261–268; Education, 301–309.

Introduction

“Eternity alone can reveal the glorious destiny to which man, restored to God’s image, may attain.” Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 61.

1 What should we understand about the plan of salvation and our future? Isaiah 49:15, 16.

Note: “Through Christ alone can you make sure of heaven, where all is purity, holiness, peace, and blessedness, where there are glories that mortal lips cannot describe. The nearest we can come to a description of the reward that awaits the overcomer is to say that it is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 131.

“How little do the young suffer, or deny self, for their religion! To sacrifice is scarcely thought of among them. They entirely fail of imitating the Pattern in this respect. I saw that the language of their lives is: Self must be gratified, pride must be indulged. They forget the Man of Sorrows, who was acquainted with grief. The sufferings of Jesus in Gethsemane, His sweating as it were great drops of blood in the garden, the platted crown of thorns that pierced His holy brow, do not move them. They have become benumbed. Their sensibilities are blunted, and they have lost all sense of the great sacrifice made for them. They can sit and listen to the story of the cross, hear how the cruel nails were driven through the hands and feet of the Son of God, and it does not stir the depths of the soul.

“… ‘If such should be ushered into the city of God, and told that all its rich beauty and glory was theirs to enjoy eternally, they would have no sense of how dearly that inheritance was purchased for them. They would never realize the matchless depths of a Saviour’s love. They have not drunk of the cup, nor been baptized with the baptism. Heaven would be marred if such should dwell there.’ ” Testimonies, vol. 1, 155.

2 What aspect of the plan of redemption should we especially keep in mind? Isaiah 63:7–9; I Corinthians 1:18.

Note: “Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our Creator. All heaven suffered in Christ’s agony; but that suffering did not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity. The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin has brought to the heart of God. Every departure from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him. When there came upon Israel the calamities that were the sure result of separation from God—subjugation by their enemies, cruelty, and death—it is said that ‘His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.’ ‘In all their affliction He was afflicted: … and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.’ Judges 10:16; Isaiah 63:9.” Education, 263.

3 What promises of God, referring to the new world, can have a partial fulfillment even on this earth? Isaiah 35:5–10. On what condition can we claim these promises? Revelation 7:14.

Note: “God will do great things for His people if they will co-operate with Him. He will work upon the minds of men, so that there will be seen in their lives, even in this world, a fulfillment of the promise of the future state.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 78.

“The washing of the robes of character in the blood of the Lamb is a work that we must attend to earnestly while every defect of character is to be put away. Thus are we working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. The Lord is working in us to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Counsels to Writers and Editors, 81.

4 What privileges will be extended to the redeemed? Isaiah 33:17; 64:4.

Note: “Throughout the unnumbered host of the redeemed every glance is fixed upon Him [Jesus], every eye beholds His glory whose ‘visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.’ [Isaiah 52:14.] Upon the heads of the overcomers Jesus with His own right hand places the crown of glory. For each there is a crown, bearing his own ‘new name,’ and the inscription, ‘Holiness to the Lord.’ [Revelation 2:17; 3:12.]” My Life Today, 347.

“Those who have made the most of their privileges to reach the highest attainments here, will take these valuable acquisitions with them into the future life. They have sought and obtained that which is imperishable. The capability to appreciate the glories that ‘eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,’ [I Corinthians 2:9] will be proportionate to the attainments reached in the cultivation of the faculties in this life.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 49.

5 Mention some of the differences between the old world and the new world. Isaiah 33:24; Revelation 21:4.

Note: “The mysteries of grace will unfold before us. Where our finite minds discovered only confusion and broken promises, we shall see the most perfect and beautiful harmony. We shall know that infinite love ordered the experiences that seemed most trying. As we realize the tender care of Him who makes all things work together for our good, we shall rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

“Pain cannot exist in the atmosphere of heaven. In the home of the redeemed there will be no tears, no funeral trains, no badges of mourning. … One rich tide of happiness will flow and deepen as eternity rolls on.

“We are still amidst the shadows and turmoil of earthly activities. Let us consider most earnestly the blessed hereafter. Let our faith pierce through every cloud of darkness and behold Him who died for the sins of the world. He has opened the gates of paradise to all who receive and believe on Him. To them He gives power to become the sons and daughters of God. Let the afflictions which pain us so grievously become instructive lessons, teaching us to press forward toward the mark of the prize of our high calling in Christ.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 286, 287.

6 What conditions will characterize the eternal home of the redeemed? Isaiah 11:5–9; 32:17, 18; 65:17–19.

7 Describe the lifestyle on the new earth. Isaiah 65:21–25.

Note: “There [in the Holy City] the redeemed shall know, even as also they are known. The loves and sympathies which God Himself has planted in the soul shall there find truest and sweetest exercise. The pure communion with holy beings, the harmonious social life with the blessed angels and with the faithful ones of all ages who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, the sacred ties that bind together ‘the whole family in heaven and earth’ (Ephesians 3:15)—these help to constitute the happiness of the redeemed.” The Great Controversy, 677.

8 What do you know about the religious services that will be held on the new earth? Isaiah 66:22, 23.

Note: “The Sabbath never will be done away; but that the redeemed saints, and all the angelic host, will observe it in honor of the great Creator to all eternity.” Early Writings, 217.

9 What should characterize our daily lives now if we are planning to be there? II Peter 3:13, 14.

Note: “In heaven God is all in all. There, holiness reigns supreme; there is nothing to mar the perfect harmony with God. If we are indeed journeying thither, the spirit of heaven will dwell in our hearts here. But if we find no pleasure now in the contemplation of heavenly things; if we have no interest in seeking the knowledge of God, no delight in beholding the character of Christ; if holiness has no attractions for us—then we may be sure that our hope of heaven is vain. Perfect conformity to the will of God is the high aim to be constantly before the Christian. He will love to talk of God, of Jesus, of the home of bliss and purity which Christ has prepared for them that love Him. The contemplation of these themes, when the soul feasts upon the blessed assurances of God, the apostle represents as tasting ‘the powers of the world to come.’ [Hebrews 6:5.]” My Life Today, 293.

10 What example of the apostle Paul should we ever have in mind? II Corinthians 4:17, 18; 11 Timothy 4:7, 8.

Note: “Let your soul’s burden be, how to secure the better life than this, a title to the mansions prepared for those who are true and faithful to the end. If you make a mistake here, everything is lost. If you devote your lifetime to securing earthly treasures, and lose the heavenly, you will find that you have made a terrible mistake. You cannot have both worlds. ‘What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?’ [Mark 8:36.]

“These trials of life are God’s workmen to remove the impurities, infirmities, and roughness from our characters, and fit us for the society of pure, heavenly angels in glory. But as we pass through these trials, as the fires of affliction kindle upon us, we must not keep the eye on the fire which is seen, but let the eye of faith fasten upon the things unseen, the eternal inheritance, the immortal life, the eternal weight of glory; and while we do this the fire will not consume us, but only remove the dross, and we shall come forth seven times purified, bearing the impress of the Divine.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 706, 707.

Additional Reading

“That which will bless humanity is spiritual life. He who is in harmony with God, will constantly depend upon Him for strength. ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ [Matthew 5:48.] It should be our life work to be constantly reaching forward to the perfection of Christian character, ever striving for conformity to the will of God. The efforts begun here will continue through eternity. The advancement made here will be ours when we enter upon the future life.

“Those who are partakers of Christ’s meekness, purity, and love, will be joyful in God, and will shed light and gladness upon all around them. The thought that Christ died to obtain for us the gift of everlasting life, is enough to call forth from our hearts the most sincere and fervent gratitude, and from our lips the most enthusiastic praise. God’s promises are rich, and full, and free. Whoever will, in the strength of Christ, comply with the conditions, may claim these promises, with all their wealth of blessing, as his own. And being thus abundantly supplied from the treasure-house of God, he may, in the journey of life, ‘walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing;’ [Colossians 1:10] by a godly example blessing his fellow-men, and honoring his Creator. While our Saviour would guard His followers from self-confidence by the reminder, ‘Without me, ye can do nothing,’ [John 15:5] He has coupled with it for our encouragement the gracious assurance, ‘He that abideth in me … bringeth forth much fruit.’ [John 15:5.]” Sons and Daughters of God, 327, 328.

“The Lord reads the intents and purposes of men. Those who have exalted views of His character will feel it their highest pleasure to have everything which has any connection with Him of the very best work and displaying the very best taste. But those who can grudgingly build a poorer house to dedicate to God than they would accept to live in themselves show their lack of reverence for God and for sacred things. Their work shows that their own temporal concerns are of more value in their eyes than matters of a spiritual nature. Eternal things are made secondary. It is not considered essential to have good and convenient things to use in the service of God, but they are considered highly essential in the concerns of this life. Men will reveal the true moral tone of the principles of their hearts.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 257, 258.

“Shortsighted mortals do not comprehend the ways and works of God. Their eyes are not directed upward to Him as they should be. They do not have exalted views of eternal things. They only look at these things with a clouded vision. They take no special delight in contemplating the love of God, the glory and splendor of heaven, the exalted character of the holy angels, the majesty and inexpressible loveliness of Jesus, our Redeemer. They have so long kept earthly things before their vision that eternal scenes are vague and indistinct to them. They have limited views of God, heaven, and eternity.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 258.

Bible Study Guide — Thy Word Is A Lamp Unto My Feet

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February 13 —19

Memory Verse: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 3: 15.

Study Help: Great Controversy, pages 518 – 523

Introduction: “When you search the Scriptures with an earnest desire to learn the truth, God will breathe His Spirit into your heart and impress your mind with the light of His Word. The Bible is its own interpreter, one passage explaining another. By comparing Scriptures referring to the same subjects, you will see beauty and harmony of which you have never dreamed. There is no other book whose perusal strengthens and enlarges, elevates and ennobles the mind, as does the perusal of this Book of books. Its study imparts new vigor to the mind, which is thus brought in contact with subjects requiring earnest thought, and is drawn out in prayer to God for power to comprehend the truths revealed.” Testimonies Volume 4, 499.

 

1. WISE UNTO SALVATION

  • What are the Scriptures able to do for the one who places his faith in Jesus Christ? 2 Timothy 3: 15

 

NOTE: “What other book will teach men to love, fear, and obey God as does the Bible? What other book presents to students more ennobling science, more wonderful history? It clearly portrays righteousness, and foretells the consequence of disloyalty to the law of Jehovah. No one is left in darkness as to that which God approves or disapproves. In studying the Scriptures we become acquainted with God, and are led to understand our relation to Christ, who is the sin-bearer, the surety, the substitute, for our fallen race. These truths concern our present and eternal interests. The Bible stands the highest among books, and its study is valuable above the study of other literature in giving strength and expansion to the mind.” Special Testimonies on Education, 18.

 

  • What aspect of God’s Word should especially occupy our minds? With what result? Psalm 1: 1 – 3; Psalm 119: 9 – 16

 

NOTE: ” ‘The prince of this world cometh,’ said Jesus, ‘and hath nothing in Me.” John 14: 30. There was in Him nothing that responded to Satan’s sophistry. He did not consent to sin. Not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. So it may be with us. Christ’s humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character. And how this is accomplished, Christ has shown us. By what means did He overcome in the conflict with Satan? By the Word of God. Only by the Word could He resist temptation. ‘It is written,’ He said. . . . Every promise in God’s Word is ours. ‘By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God’ are we to live. When assailed by temptation, look not to circumstances or to the weakness of self, but to the power of the Word. All its strength is yours. ‘Thy word,’ says the psalmist, ‘have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.’ ‘By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.’ Ps. 119: 11; 17: 4.” Desire of Ages, 123.

 

2. HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH

  • What precious promises may we claim as we study the Scriptures? John 14: 26, 16: 13

 

NOTE: See Testimonies Volume 5, 703.

 

  • What prayer of David’s should be ours whenever we study the Scriptures? Psalm 119: 18

 

NOTE: “Never should the Bible be studied without prayer. Before opening its pages, we should ask for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, and it will be given. When Nathanael came to Jesus, the Savior exclaimed, ‘Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.’ [John 1: 47.] Nathanael said, ‘Whence knowest Thou me?’ Jesus answered, ‘Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.’ And Jesus will see us also in the secret places of prayer, if we will seek Him for light, that we may know what is truth. Angels from the world of light will be with those who in humility of heart seek for divine guidance.” Christian Education, 59.

 

3. AT THE END IT SHALL SPEAK

  • Which people will understand the Scriptures and which will not? Daniel 12: 9 – 10. How does the Bible define wisdom? Psalm 111: 10

 

NOTE: See Great Controversy, 132.

 

  • Against what misuse of the Scriptures did Peter warn? 2 Peter 3: 16

 

NOTE: “In order to sustain erroneous doctrines or unchristian practices, some will seize upon passages of Scripture separated from the context, perhaps quoting half of a single verse as proving their point, when the remaining portion would show the meaning to be quite the opposite. With the cunning of the serpent, they entrench themselves behind disconnected utterances construed to suit their carnal desires. Thus do many willfully pervert the Word of God. Others, who have an active imagination, seize upon the figures and symbols of Holy Writ, interpret them to suit their fancy, with little regard to the testimony of Scripture as its own interpreter, and then they present their vagaries as the teachings of the Bible. Whenever the study of the Scriptures is entered upon without a prayerful, humble, teachable spirit, the plainest and simplest as well as the most difficult passages will be wrested from their true meaning.” Great Controversy, 521.

 

4. BY EVERY WORD

  • How did Jesus describe the importance of His words? John 6: 63, last part

 

NOTE: “Though inestimable treasures are in the Bible, and it is like a mine full of precious ore, it is not valued, it is not searched, and its riches are not discovered. Mercy and truth and love are valuable beyond our power to calculate; we cannot have too great a supply of these treasures, and it is in the Word of God we find out how we may become possessors of these heavenly riches, and yet why is it that the word of God is uninteresting to many professed Christians? Is it because the Word of God is not spirit and is not life? Has Jesus put upon us an uninteresting task, when He commands us to ‘search the Scriptures’? John 5: 39. Jesus says, ‘The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.’ John 6: 63. But spiritual things are spiritually discerned, and the reason of your lack of interest is that you lack the Spirit of God. When the heart is brought into harmony with the Word, a new life will spring up within you, a new light will shine upon every line of the Word, and it will become the voice of God to your soul. In this way you will take celestial observations, and know whither you are going, and be able to make the most of your privileges today.” Christian Education, 80.

 

  • How did Jesus teach us to value the treasures of His Word? Matthew 13: 44

 

NOTE: “It is proper and right to read the Bible; but your duty does not end there; for you are to search its pages for yourselves. The knowledge of God is not to be gained without mental effort, without prayer for wisdom in order that you may separate from the pure grain of truth the chaff with which men and Satan have misrepresented the doctrines of truth. Satan and his confederacy of human agents have endeavored to mix the chaff of error with the wheat of truth. We should diligently search for the hidden treasure, and seek wisdom from heaven in order to separate human inventions from the divine commands. The Holy Spirit will aid the seeker for great and precious truths which relate to the plan of redemption. I would impress upon all the fact that a casual reading of the Scriptures is not enough. We must search, and this means the doing of all the word implies. As the miner eagerly explores the earth to discover its veins of gold, so you are to explore the word of God for the hidden treasure that Satan has so long sought to hide from man.” Review and Herald, September 11, 1894.

 

5. COMPARING SPIRITUAL THINGS WITH SPIRITUAL

  • What principle of discovering the meaning of the Scriptures is given us in the Word? Isaiah 28: 9 – 10

 

NOTE: “Perilous times are before us. Everyone who has a knowledge of the truth should awake and place himself, body, soul, and spirit, under the discipline of God. The enemy is on our track. We must be wide-awake, on our guard against him. We must put on the whole armor of God. We must follow the directions given through the spirit of prophecy. We must love and obey the truth for this time. This will save us from accepting strong delusions. God has spoken to us through His word. He has spoken to us through the testimonies to the church and through the books that have helped to make plain our present duty and the position that we should now occupy. The warnings that have been given, line upon line, precept upon precept, should be heeded. If we disregard them, what excuse can we offer?” Testimonies Volume 8, 298.

 

  • What important principle does Paul give for those seeking to understand spiritual things? 1 Corinthians 2: 13 – 14

 

NOTE: “We should not take the testimony of any man as to what the Scriptures teach, but should study the Word of God ourselves. If we allow others to do our thinking, we shall have crippled energies and contracted abilities. The noble powers of the mind may be so dwarfed by lack of exercise on themes worthy of their concentration as to lose their ability to grasp the deep meaning of the Word of God. The mind will enlarge if it is employed in tracing out the subjects of the Bible, comparing scripture with scripture, and spiritual things with spiritual. There is nothing more calculated to strengthen the intellect than the study of the Scriptures. No other book is so potent to elevate the thoughts, to give vigor to the faculties, as the broad, ennobling truths of the Bible. If God’s Word were studied as it should be, men would have a breadth of mind, a nobility of character, and a stability of purpose that is rarely seen in these times. But there is but little benefit derived from a hasty reading of the Scriptures. One may read the whole Bible through, and yet fail to see its beauty or comprehend its deep and hidden meaning. One passage studied until its significance is clear to the mind, and its relation to the plan of salvation is evident, is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view and no positive instruction gained. Keep your Bible with you. As you have opportunity, read it; fix the texts in your memory.” Christian Education, 58.

 

6. SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND

  • What promise is given to those who diligently search for truth? Matthew 7: 7, Proverbs 8: 17

 

NOTE: “Our heavenly Father has a pure and inexhaustible fountain of knowledge from which we may draw, and there is no limit to His gifts to those who earnestly seek for truth. The capacities of those who add to their faith virtue will be enlarged to receive still greater virtues. There are undeveloped faculties lying dormant that will spring into life and activity when the human is united with the divine. Those who make the most of that which God has given them in this life will find their powers developed to as much greater degree in the future life as they have by wise improvement increased them in this life.” Sabbath School Worker, July 1, 1889.

 

  • What condition is needed if we are to understand the Bible’s teachings? John 7: 17

 

NOTE: “Satan can present a counterfeit so closely resembling the truth that it deceives those who are willing to be deceived, who desire to shun the self-denial and sacrifice demanded by the truth; but it is impossible for him to hold under his power one soul who honestly desires, at whatever cost, to know the truth. Christ is the Truth and the “Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1: 9. The Spirit of truth has been sent to guide men into all truth. And upon the authority of the Son of God it is declared: ‘Seek, and ye shall find.’ ‘If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine.’ Matthew 7: 7; John 7: 17.” Great Controversy, 528.

 

  • How will this obedience to God’s will be manifested? John 14: 15, 1 John 2: 3 – 5, 4: 20, 5: 2 –3

 

NOTE: See Acts of the Apostles, 562 –56 3.

 

Judas Felt a Desire to Be Changed

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In the book Christ’s Object Lessons, page 73, we are given the names of a number of the tares who were found in the church. We find Ananias and Sapphira listed, who, when their sin became open, were removed from the church by death. Also listed are Simon Magus and Demas, both of whom were at one time welcomed into church membership, but who, when their sin became open, were later removed from fellowship. In this infamous list is also Judas, who is perhaps the best known of all and whose name has become closely associated as a prime example of a tare. When his sin became open, Judas took his own life, effectively removing himself from the church. (It is interesting to note, however, that Caiaphas, assumed* by many to rank close to Judas in notoriety is not mentioned.)

For at least the last year of His ministry, Jesus knew what was going on in the heart of Judas and that he was a tare, though no one else suspected his real motives.

“Christ’s discourse in the synagogue concerning the bread of life was the turning-point in the history of Judas. He heard the words, ‘Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.’ He saw that Christ was offering spiritual rather than worldly good. . . .

“In all that Christ said to His disciples, there was something with which, in heart, Judas disagreed. Under his influence the leaven of disaffection was fast doing its work. The disciples did not see the real agency in all this; but Jesus saw that Satan was communicating his attributes to Judas, and thus opening up a channel through which to influence the other disciples. This, a year before the betrayal, Christ declared, ‘Have not I chosen you twelve,’ He said, ‘and one of you is a devil?’” The Desire of Ages, 719, 720.

The history of Judas presents a sad ending to a life that might have been honored of God. By becoming the slave of one vice, he gave himself to be driven to any lengths in sin.

 

Rich Opportunities Lost

 

In his work with Jesus, Judas had some precious experiences which should have helped him in his conquest with sin and self. His life is a warning to us. We cannot rely on our connection with the work of God or our association with a godly man to assure us of salvation. We can never rest secure in this world of sin, believing that we have nothing to beware of.

How many of us have had as rich an opportunity and experience as Judas had? “Judas saw the sick, the lame, the blind, flock to Jesus from the towns and cities. He saw the dying laid at His feet. He witnessed the Saviour’s mighty works in healing the sick, casting out devils, and raising the dead. He felt in his own person the evidence of Christ’s power. He recognized the teaching of Christ as superior to all that he had ever heard. He loved the great Teacher, and desired to be with Him. He felt a desire to be changed in character and life, and he hoped to experience this through connecting himself with Jesus.” Ibid., 717. (All emphasis supplied.)

Do you have “a desire to be changed in character and life”? Do you hope to experience this change through connecting yourself with the work of God? Judas had those same desires and aspirations.

“But Judas did not come to the point of surrendering himself fully to Christ. He did not give up his worldly ambition or his love of money. While he accepted the position of a minister of Christ, he did not bring himself under the divine moulding. He felt that he could retain his own judgment and opinions, and he cultivated a disposition to criticize and accuse.” Ibid.

Jesus gave every possible benefit to Judas, even endowing him with power to heal the sick and cast out devils; but Judas failed of fully surrendering himself to Jesus. Consequently, he failed to overcome sin.

The all-important question is how do we overcome the sin in our lives? Inspiration answers: “The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan’s control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God.” Ibid., 466.

Have we been on our knees and agonized with God, as did Jacob, that our hearts may be broken on the Rock? Have we fully surrendered ourselves to Christ? It is not enough to be a worker for God. It is not enough that we are connected to God’s work, or even that we have felt His power in our soul. It is not enough that we are hoping for a change in character. If we never come to the point of a full surrender to Him, there is still a connection between our souls and Satan. “Many while hoping and desiring to be saved will be lost.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 265. “If one sin is cherished in the soul, or one wrong practice retained in the life, the whole being is contaminated. The man becomes an instrument of unrighteousness.” The Desire of Ages, 313.

Jesus is full of mercy and He works untiringly for man’s recovery from sin. Even if we are blind to our sinful condition, God works for us as He did for Judas. “Judas was blinded to his own weakness of character, and Christ placed him where he would have an opportunity to see and correct this.” Ibid., 717. If you are deceived, it is impossible to know it, because if you knew it, you would not be deceived.

 

Clinging to Doubts

 

It was a source of frustration to Judas that Jesus always seemed to be dwelling on the negative and discouraging side of life, talking of trial and persecution. He was offended when Jesus presented the spiritual nature of His kingdom, and he allowed doubts to begin running through his mind. Though Judas had not yet decided that Jesus was not the Son of God, he began questioning and seeking to find some explanation of His mighty works. In spite of all this, “Judas made no open opposition, nor seemed to question the Saviour’s lessons.” Ibid., 720.

Judas’ experience was not all one-sided. Even though he was plagued with doubts and uncertainty, we are told that, “He felt the satisfaction that always comes in service to God.” Ibid., 718. But those feelings were not sufficient to save him. If we begin to rely on our feelings as a barometer of our experience, we are on dangerous ground. Our only standard is the law of God. It matters not how good you may feel about helping the homeless and giving Bible studies; if your heart is not fully surrendered, it is of no avail. Until the root of selfishness is pulled out of the heart, we are blind to our real condition.

“John and Judas are representatives of those who profess to be Christ’s followers. Both these disciples had the same opportunities to study and follow the divine Pattern. Both were closely associated with Jesus and were privileged to listen to His teaching. Each possessed serious defects of character; and each had access to the divine grace that transforms character.” Acts of the Apostles, 558. Though Judas might have comprehended the methods of Christ, his selfish desires blinded him and he found only disappointment and confusion.

Because of his disappointment in Jesus’ failure to fulfill his expectations in setting up a worldly kingdom, Judas decided that he was not going to unite himself with Christ so closely but that he could easily draw away. From that time he expressed doubts that tended to confuse the other disciples.

 

Reasoning of the Pharisees

 

As Judas began questioning if Jesus was the Son of God, he started using the deceptive reasoning of the Scribes and Pharisees. They “had misinterpreted God’s promise of eternal favor to Israel: ‘Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is His name: If those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever. Thus saith the Lord: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that theyhave done, saith the Lord.’” Jeremiah 31:35-37. The Jews regarded their natural descent from Abraham as giving them a claim to this promise. But they overlooked the conditions which God had specified.” The Desire of Ages, 106. They had taken the promise of God’s everlasting favor to be an unconditional promise by which God had bound Himself. They believed that no matter what the Jewish people did, they were still the people of God.

“Many who were convinced that Jesus was the Son of God were misled by the false reasoning of the priests and rabbis. These teachers had repeated with great effect the prophecies concerning the Messiah, that He would ‘reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously;’ that He would ‘have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.’ Isaiah 24:23; Psalm 72:8. Then they made contemptuous comparisons between the glory here pictured and the humble appearance of Jesus. The very words of prophecy were so perverted as to sanction error.” Ibid., 458. Because Jesus failed to meet their false expectations, they concluded that He was an imposter and sent messengers all over the country to warn the people about Him. (See Ibid., 213.) Incredibly, the Author of the Scriptures was among them and yet they used the very words He inspired the prophets to write, to turn the nation against Him. Just imagine the Bible studies that were given throughout the land and the Bible based sermons that were given, all with the determined purpose of turning a nation from the truth.

The scribes and Pharisees false reasoning lay in their failure to understand the spiritual nature of the true church, and, they were offended that Christ did not have the due regard that they supposed He should have for the priesthood. Judas picked up the flawed theological thinking of the church leadership and was found “repeating the arguments urged by the scribes and Pharisees against the claims of Christ.” Ibid., 719. “Christ’s oft-repeated statement that His kingdom was not of this world offended Judas.” Ibid., 718. In all that Christ said to His disciples,there was something with which, in heart, Judas disagreed. Jesus saw that Satan was communicating his attributes to Judas, and thus opening up a channel with which to influence the other disciples. He would introduce texts of Scripture that had no connection with the truths Christ was presenting, yet he did so in such a way as to make it appear that he was conscientious. (See Ibid., 719.) In taking the truths that Jesus taught and presenting them in a different light, he was attaching to the words of Jesus a meaning that He had not conveyed.

If we come to the Word of God with the selfish desire to prove our own point or to lift up ourselves we are certain to come up with a false reasoning, just as Judas did. So, when you see anyone lining up theologically with the scribes and Pharisees of today, repeating their arguments about the nature of Christ’s kingdom (His church) — be careful!

And so it was that a year before the betrayal, Christ declared, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” John 6:70. It was generally Judas who began the contention as to who should be the greatest. “His suggestions were constantly exciting an ambitious desire for temporal preferment, and thus turning the disciples from the important things they should have considered.” Ibid., 719.

 

Just One Sin

 

All the evil manifested in Judas came from just one sin — the sin of covetousness. If we allow one sin to be cherished in the heart, all the good traits we have will not do any good in the long run. “We may flatter ourselves that we are free from many things of which others are guilty; but if we have some strong points of character, and but one weak point, there is yet a communion between sin and the soul. The heart is divided in its service, and says, ‘Some of self and some of Thee.’ The child of God must search out the sin which he has petted and indulged himself in, and permit God to cut it out of his heart. He must overcome that one sin; for it is not a trifling matter in the sight of God.” Review and Herald, August 1, 1893.

“How many are betrayed into sin, because they have not, through prayerful study of the Word of God, realized the sinfulness of sin, and found out how they may steadfastly resist it. When temptation comes upon them, they seem to be off guard, and ignorant of the devices of the enemy. We are living in perilous times, and as we draw near the close of earth’s history, there will be no safety for those who do not become familiar with the Word of God. I would warn the disciples of Christ of the impending days of peril, and beseech you to prepare for the time of test and trial; for everything that can be shaken, will be shaken. Do we now obey the Word of God, and live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God? Are we established and settled in the present truth? There is need of closely examining yourselves whether you are in the love of God; for except Christ be in you, you are reprobates. Self-deception is dangerous, and no one of us can afford to go on in delusion.” Youth’s Instructor, May 18, 1893.

Of ourselves we cannot know our errors. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. We may even attempt to express our poverty with words, while all the time it goes unacknowledged by our proud hearts as they swell with conceit at their own superior humility.

“When sin has deadened the moral perceptions, the wrong-doer does not discern the defects of his character, nor realize the enormity of the evil he has committed; and unless he yields to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, he remains in partial blindness to his sin. His confessions are not sincere and in earnest. To every acknowledgement of his guilt, he adds an apology in excuse of his course, declaring that, if it had not been for certain circumstances, he would not have done this or that, for which he was reproved.” Signs of the Times, March 16, 1888.

Judas was a leader among leaders in the church, for he was more capable than all the other disciples. (See Education, 86.) Judas had precious traits of character that might have been a great blessing to the church. He was polished. He possessed financial ability. Christ saw great possibilities in Judas. “Christ connected Judas and impulsive Peter with himself, not because Judas was covetous and Peter passionate, but that they might learn of Him, their great Teacher, and become, like Him, unselfish, meek, and lowly of heart. He saw good material in both these men. Judas possessed financial ability and would have been of value to the church had he taken home to his heart the lessons which Christ was giving by rebuking all selfishness, fraud, and avarice, even in the little matters of life.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 486.

Have you taken home to your heart the lessons which Christ has given you? Has His rebuke of selfishness and covetousness expelled those traits from your heart? Are you becoming like Jesus? Or, are you desiring to be changed, like Judas did, but instead of expelling the sin from your soul, you are secretly fostering covetousness? Turn, oh turn, before it is forever too late.

*As students of the Word, we need to be very careful that by a lack of careful study we do not come to some conclusions for which we have no inspired support. These ideas, though we fail to realize it, are assumptions. An assumption is an idea that is so taken for granted that it is not thought necessary to prove it. Assumptions, once accepted, become very powerful as they bypass the critical faculty in the thinking process, shaping all of our other thoughts and decisions. It matters not how sincerely we hold them; false assumptions cannot help but lead us to wrong conclusions.

 

Now is the Day of Salvation

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As the disciples stood looking at the beautiful temple gleaming in the sun, in their admiration, they began to speak to Jesus. But, with these words, He dashed all their grand hopes: “And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Matthew 24:2. All their understanding, their visions, their imaginations and their hopes were centered upon Jesus as a king, who would set up an earthly kingdom. Suddenly, in one brief statement, He wiped all their hopes away.

Now Jesus starts to walk. He is going to the Mount of Olives, one of His favorite places. The disciples fall in behind and talk among themselves whispering, “What is He trying to tell us?” When they reached their resting place, the disciples came to Him and asked, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and the end of the world?” Matthew 24:3.

Christ’s first words are, “Take heed that no man deceive you.” Verse 4. Who is Jesus warning against being deceived? It is the ministers in the church. He is not talking to the Gentiles. He is warning the church people that as we come to the end of the world, there will be great deceptions in the church, and we need to beware or we will be deceived.

When I used to preach this sermon, I looked at the other churches, and thought Jesus was talking about them, but now I must look at my own church. Jesus said, “For many shall come in my name.” Verse 5. When we take the name Seventh-day Adventist, we come in His name. But if we do not allow the plan of salvation to be worked out in our own lives, we are just coming in His name. We are not truly His until we surrender our will, our mind and our lives completely to God.

 

Signs in the Earth

 

In the next three verses Jesus lists world events that will signify that His coming is near: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Verse 6.

When I was in World War II, I thought that it surely must be the end of the world. I believed that, certainly, when that war ended Jesus would come. I was just a young man in those days, and now I am old and Jesus has not come yet. Why? The sole reason lies with us. Soon after 1844, if the church had entered into the experience of the Third Angel’s Message, Jesus would have come. (See Selected Messages, vol. 1, 68.) In 1888, God made another great attempt to bring the people into line with an experience of surrendering themselves so He could pour out His latter rain. But again the message was rejected, and over one hundred years later we are still here. However, I believe Jesus is coming soon. He will not tarry much longer. We have been around the mountain too many times, and the signs of His soon coming are too clear to be mistaken.

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places.” Verse 7. This verse has been fulfilled time and time again in recent years. Nations who rise against other nations are a permanent part of the daily news. One night one man goes to sleep as the king or president of a nation, and the next morning he is in jail and someone else is in power. We call those coups, and they happen all the time in our world.

“There shall be famines.” If you have been to the mission field or a third world country, you know that famines are horrible things. I remember in Africa when the rains did not come, and the gardens did not grow and all that the people had to eat was cassava. The little children were malnourished, and the weak ones died. The ladies would come to my wife in the dispensary and ask, “What are we going to do? We have no food.” It is heart-rending to face people that are dying because there is no food.

As we come to the end, it says that there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. No one could deny that we now have pestilence and disease on every side. In Kenya, one hundred thousand cattle have died from Mad Cow disease, and now people are dying from the same thing. When I traveled to Australia some time ago, I sat beside a scientist who is working with AIDS in Australia. He told me that there are about thirteen million people who have been diagnosed with AIDS, and at the rate of increase, by the turn of the century there might be as many as sixty million people with AIDS.

Medical science has developed many “wonder drugs,” but, as we come to the end, they do not seem to have an affect on these diseases. People are dying of all kinds of diseases and many times doctors are helpless.

 

Signs in the Church

 

We could continue our list of horrors which fulfill Christ’s prophecy of the time just before His coming, but Jesus said, “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Verse 8. What could be worse than wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes? Inspiration says, “We have far more to fear from within than from without.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 122. From verse nine on, Jesus pictures trouble in the church, and warns us that our worst problems will come from within the church. “And then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake.” Verse 9.

In Matthew 10:16–22, Jesus talked about the same situation: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore as wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: [He is talking about church people here] for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues [their churches]; And ye shall be brought before Governors and Kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father the child: And the children shall rise up against the parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake: but he that endureth unto the end the same shall be saved.”

Continuing on in Matthew 24:10: “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another,and shall hate one another.” From verse nine forward, Jesus is talking about the shaking of the church when everything that can be shaken will be shaken. Only that which cannot be shaken will remain. (See Testimonies, vol. 7, 219 and vol. 9, 15–16.)

“And many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many.” Verse 11. Inside the church, there will be many false prophets. Ellen White gave a picture of what would happen with our own ministers: “Unsanctified ministers are arraying themselves against God. They are praising Christ and the god of this world in the same breath. While professedly they receive Christ, they embrace Barabbas, and by their actions say, ‘Not this man, but Barabbas.’ . . .Let the sin of deceit and false witness be entertained by a church that has had great light, great evidence, and that church will discard the message the Lord has sent, and receive the most unreasonable assertions and the false suppositions and false theories. Satan laughs at their folly, for he knows what truth is. Many will stand in our pulpits with the torch of false prophecy in their hands, kindled with the hellish torch of Satan. If doubts and unbelief are cherished, the faithful ministers will be removed from the people who think they know so much. ‘If thou hadst known,’ said Christ, ‘even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from their eyes.’ ” Testimonies to Ministers, 409–410.

False prophets are the greatest tragedy that has ever happened to Adventism. Tragically, many of these false prophets stand in very high positions. On Sabbath mornings, instead of preaching the real message that God has delivered to the Seventh-day Adventist Church to prepare a people for eternity, the message is what the Baptists or some other church is saying. It is tragic! If Ellen White were alive today, I think she would be busy night and day writing to those from the very top of this church to the bottom.

 

A Message for Laodiceans

 

The majority of Adventists do not know the truth. Why? They listen to men and are not studying the Word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy for themselves. The greatest weakness we have in Adventism today is that hardly anyone is reading the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy. They would rather just listen to a sermon and pay their tithe. It is like joining a club. You walk through the door, pay the dues, go home and go to sleep. That is why we are still here.

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Verse 12. In other words, sin is going to be tolerated because of these false prophets that have come in. When sin comes into a church unreproved, problems multiply. You can read about it in Revelation 3:14–19: “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. And as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: Be zealous therefore, and repent.”

Ellen White wrote in Testimonies, vol. 5, 136, “To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord, when champions are few—this will be our test.” Our people in the Adventist churches today are being tested, and many of them are failing. God can only trust with eternal life those that are willing to make a full surrender of the will, mind and body to Him.

It is true—we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked, but we think we are increased with goods and in need of nothing. We are so happy with our situation, that we say, “God we want you to come, but wait a little while until we get through with what we are doing.”

“The message to the church of the Laodiceans is a startling denunciation, and applicable to the people of God at the present time . . . The Lord here shows us that the message to be borne to His people by ministers whom He has called to warn the people is not a peace and safety message. It is not merely theoretical, but practical in every particular. The people of God are represented in the message to the Laodicean as in a position of carnal security . . . What greater deception can come upon human minds than a confidence that they are right when they are all wrong? The message of the true witness finds the people of God in a sad deception, yet honest in that deception. They know not that their condition is deplorable in the sight of God.

“According to the light that God has given me in a vision, wickedness and deception are increasing among God’s people who profess to keep His commandments. Spiritual discernment to see sin as it exists and then to put it out of the camp is decreasing among God’s people; and spiritual blindness is fast coming upon them. The straight testimony must be revived, and it will separate those from Israel that have ever been at war with the means that God has ordained to keep corruptions out of the church. Wrongs must be called wrongs. Grievous sins must be called by their right name. All of God’s people should come nearer to Him and wash their robes of character in the blood of the Lamb. Then will they see sin in the true light and will realize how offensive it is in the sight of God.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 252–253.

Our redemption is much nearer than our minds are capable of comprehending. We are comfortable in our daily routine, comfortable homes, comfortable cars and all our possessions, but one of these days everything will change. We talk about it. We read The Great Controversy, especially the last chapters. We believe it, but it is hard for us to get our mind into that framework.

 

Preparation for the Final Crisis

 

When Betty and I were in Africa, we went through two revolutions. It was terrible! In the late 1950s, we were at Korrinda mission near Stanleyville, in the Congo, when the place blew up. We escaped three days ahead of Lamumba’s army. They killed thousands. It was only by a miracle that we made it into Uganda. From there, we were sent to Rwanda.

We had pictures of white priests leading five hundred Bhutus, drunk from banana beer, to burn Tutsi villages. There were Belgian paratroopers sitting in their jeeps watching, and if the Tutsis began to win, they turned their machine guns on them.

One morning the Belgian paratroopers went by my house in a jeep, down to the African village, and yelled in French for a Tutsi to come out of his house. It was just daybreak and he was scared to death so he did not come out. They turned their machine gun on the hut, killed him, jumped back in their jeep, and drove by my house, never saying a word.

These are the types of experiences we may have to face one day. People will lose their lives because they refuse to bow to the beast and keep Sunday. (Revelation 20:4.) Where will you and I be in those days? We can stand up in peace and prosperity and preach the truth, but will we stand in front of the courts when we face a death sentence and preach as boldly? We need to pray, because the only way we can do what Huss and the other martyrs did is with God’s special power in our lives.

We also have a preparation to make. If I have to stand in front of a judge and cannot use my Bible, I want to have God’s Word in my mind. It cannot be taken away from me there. And God has promised that if I will put it there, He will take it out when the time comes and give me the words to speak.

 

The Endurance Race

 

In Matthew 24:13 there is a most precious promise: “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” We are all in an endurance race. Paul gives a vivid picture of what it takes to win this race in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27: “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast away.”

The symbol that Paul used was not unfamiliar to the Corinthians. Corinth was a Greek city and the Greeks were the originators of the Olympic games. I can imagine the apostle Paul looking out of his window, watching these young men prepare themselves for these Olympic games. He said, “Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.” These men wanted to be sure they were going to win the gold, and no sacrifice was too precious to be made to reach their goal.

Yet, some Seventh-day Adventists have a real struggle with the health message. Many Adventist churches now serve coffee, doughnuts and tea after services. It is a social event, not a strenuous race. But without the preparation of mind and body by temperance and exercise, we will not endure.

I want the gold. How about you? We are in the greatest Olympics that have ever taken place in the six thousand-year history of Planet Earth. Only those that are getting ready for what is about to burst upon us as an overwhelming surprise will endure. Only those who are preparing through study and prayer are going to make it through.

“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come.” Matthew 24:14. Once God’s people understand what the gospel is and bring their lives into harmony with the truth without any compromise, the end will come. It did not happen in 1844. It did not happen after 1888. And here we have lived one hundred and ten years more and it still has not happened. But it will happen when we are faithful, loyal and obedient to all truth.

The evidence that the end is near is overwhelming and our stay is short. We have to change. We have to get into the Word of God like we have never studied before.

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15. “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39.

The Bereans “were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11.

“And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13.

Anything less is lost. Why? Because sin is so terrible that God can only trust those who are complete overcomers. We must have a complete and total change: “All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power.” The Desire of Ages, 827. Transformation, how we need it! “And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we will be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service. When we know God, as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us.” Ibid., 668.

We have to hate sin! We have to stop sinning! Not by what we can do, but by what we know God will do in us. That is why we need to pray like we have never prayed before. We need to study like we have never studied before. We need to read the Spirit of Prophecy books and apply them to our lives today.

Jesus will come. There is no question about it. I wake up with it. I walk with it. I go to bed with it. I am excited about going to heaven. But we need to be ready now. We need to tell other people how to get ready for the coming of the Lord now. Now is the day of salvation.

 

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.

 

The Everlasting Gospel

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“Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest.” Revelation 15:4. We should realize that there will come a day when every one on earth will have to stand before God and worship Him. They will admit that He is just and righteous in everything He has done. If we want to be among the group that inherit life eternal we must accept God’s message and cooperate with it. We need to know the everlasting gospel, for time is very short.

Remember that the everlasting gospel was planned before the foundation of the world. In the Garden of Eden God revealed the gospel. The audience was only two people, but they needed the solution that the gospel provided. God said to the devil, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15.

In the Norwegian Bible it says that the woman’s Seed—that is Jesus—shall crush the serpent’s head. Unfortunately, in only a few places, today, is the everlasting gospel being preached. Many fancy gospels are being preached from different pulpits, but they contain no “crushing” of the devil’s head.

Disobedience brought sin into this world. The only solution is obedience. That means that the everlasting gospel that God has given must contain a plan for how disobedient people can be obedient. The disease, the Bible tells us, is sin and the treatment is to be born again. The result is righteousness. That is the essence of the everlasting gospel.

When Jesus left the disciples to begin His service in the heavenly sanctuary, He did not leave them alone. Through the presence of the Holy Spirit, He guided them. “He shall . . . bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26.

The gospel was founded upon the very name and character of Jesus. “Thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. But if you listen to the preaching from many churches in my country, you would think that His name was not Jesus and the salvation He offers is not from sin but from guilt only. There is no crushing of the devil’s head in such a message.

For more than three years the disciples witnessed the everlasting gospel in action in the life of Jesus. They knew His message, and what they should preach. They had no intention of inventing some kind of new gospel or doctrine. They felt an obligation, the Bible says, to teach men and women to believe and observe what the Holy Spirit showed them and what Jesus had preached. They had been there when He met the manipulative Pharisees. They heard Him preach the Sermon on the Mount and the spiritual application of the law. They learned that it was possible for a human being to break God’s commandments in his mind. They realized that salvation must change the inner man into God’s likeness. This was the only gospel they knew. They heard Him say that only the pure in heart will see God, and that He came not to destroy but to fulfill the law. They knew that God could provide the power to overcome through the Holy Spirit. This was their message. They preached it and they believed it.

The members of the early church based their decision on what they heard, and that was the everlasting gospel. They had heard Jesus say, “Turn the other cheek, love your enemies, do good to them that hate you.” They understood what He meant when He said, “If you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” They could not preach Jesus, and faith in Him, without preaching what He said and did. That was the everlasting gospel.

They heard His words to the woman taken in adultery, when He said, “Go and sin no more.” They heard Him say, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” They understood that the changing of man’s character is vital for salvation. God can forgive and God can give victory.

They also understood that circumcision is a symbol of belonging to Israel. The real circumcision is that of the heart. Even in the Old Testament God had said, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.” Deuteronomy 10:16. The Lord said in effect, “Let me perform an operation on your mind. Let Me change you. Let Me put My law into your mind.” It is a miracle that takes disobedient people and makes them obedient by writing this law into the mind. That was central to the everlasting gospel.

The disciples preached that God can purge a conscience from dead works. (See Hebrews 9:14.) They preached, “Put off the old man with his deeds.” Colossians 3:9. We can “be dead indeed unto sin.” Romans 6:11. “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Romans 6:12. They preached that any character fault, whether hereditary or developed, can be laid at the cross of Jesus. He will cleanse and change us.

You cannot be a Seventh-day Adventist without believing the everlasting gospel. A gospel that says that you can be saved while willfully sinning is not the everlasting gospel!

 

Depressing or Encouraging?

 

Some people feel that the everlasting gospel is depressing. Just think about this. When you have trouble with your car, you take it to a mechanic. If he looked it over and said he could not fix it, but that your car would be useless, you would have to live with the car’s problem for as long as you kept the car. Now, that would be depressing.

If the mechanic examined the car and said, “I can fix it. All I need to do is replace the defective part with a new one. What’s more it will not cost you anything.” You would be thrilled. That is just like the everlasting gospel. It is truly good news!

The gospel is good new, but it will not do any good for you or I if we only accept it intellectually. It must be an experience. That is the only way to be a real Christian and to be a Seventh-day Adventist.

Can you see why the devil gets angry at such a gospel? He gets angry with everyone who preaches it. Some of us have been privileged to experience that. Satan knows that the everlasting gospel contains his death sentence. He will lose control of all those who accept and experience this gospel, because it provides the receivers with an armor that stands against the wiles of the devil so his poisonous darts cannot hurt them. (See Ephesians 6:11.)

If you have experienced the everlasting gospel, you will still be tempted, but the Holy Spirit in your life will keep you from falling. That is the promise. The everlasting gospel meets us with both the grace of forgiveness and the grace of victory. Both spring out of God’s love.

For thousands of years the devil has known the effects of the everlasting gospel in men’s lives. He has had plenty of time to devise countless methods to destroy it. He has often tried force. Millions have died as martyrs for Christ as a result of years of persecution. But there is one problem. You cannot force a person who is born again to give up his belief and trust in Christ. Nebuchadnezzer tried to use force against Daniel’s three friends, but it did not work. When everyone else fell down to worship the image, they remained standing. They had made up their minds to be obedient at any cost.

When they were brought before the king, he offered them a second chance because he liked their work as rulers of the Province of Babylon, and he wanted them to continue to serve him. They replied, “we do not have to answer the king a single word.” This may sound rude to us, but in their day it was a commonly used legal phrase. It simply meant, the case is closed. They were saying, “We have made up our minds. You do not need to give us another chance. We will not fall down and worship the image no matter what.”

Soon you and I might meet the same test. When the politico-religious ruler of Babylon, described in Revelation, has an image erected, everyone will be invited to fall down and worship. A few people will stand. But we can be sure that the people who will be standing at that time will have the same experience as the three Hebrews in Babylon had. They were born again. They made their decision to die rather than sin. When Jesus is the Lord of our life, He will fill us with the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. He will give us strength. We do not now know what we will to do when that happens, but if we are born again and remain in that relationship with the Lord, we will know what to say and do to keep from breaking one of God’s commandments.

Nebuchadnezzar wanted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to break one of the Ten Commandments. But they had made up their minds. They knew they would rather die. Ahead of us is an experience where we will be asked to break one of those commandments. If we have not made up our minds before, if we do not have this relationship with the Lord before that day, we will bow down and worship.

There is no way the devil can defeat people who are born again. A Christian who is born again is not proud. Self does not rise up and cause problems. You cannot hurt the person who is born again. You will never hear a born again person say, “You have hurt my feelings.” If you say to a person who is born again, “I hate you!” and you slap him, he will look you right in the eye and he might say, “I do not hate you. I love you. I see that you have problems in your life and I want to help you.”

 

A New Method

 

As we gave seen, force does not work against born again individuals, so the devil introduced a new method to ensnare God’s people. It was a false gospel promising salvation, not from sin but in sin. With this method he has been very successful. Again and again Jesus and the disciples warned against false prophets, false preachers inside the church, who would depart from the faith. The Bible says they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They preach a different gospel that cuts the link between faith and obedience. That is the essence of the devil’s false gospel.

When a group of people, at the end, come to Jesus and say, “We have performed so many miracles and done mighty works in Your name. Let us in!” Jesus replies, “I do not know you. You did not obey Me.” The Greek says, “you who live in lawlessness.” You who believe yourself disconnected from my laws. That is His message. You did not accept the truth that says faith always leads to obedience. (See Matthew 7:21–23.)

Included in this false gospel is the message that Jesus conquered the devil because He was different from you and me. That means that His victory is not available to us. Promoters of this doctrine say we must continue sinning because we have a nature that can not be victorious. This is the essence of the false gospel. In our churches in Norway, we hear from the pulpit and in Sabbath School that we can sin knowingly and willfully, and when Jesus comes He will change our character. That is not the everlasting gospel that you find in the Bible. It is the false alternative gospel that the devil has introduced. The consequences in my country are tremendous. Sin flourishes in the church. The spiritual battle that the Bible invites us to be engaged in is nonexistent. The young people in our church live with one foot in the world and the other in the church and they think it is just fine. They will be saved anyway (so they are told)!

In this false gospel the way of salvation was altered and the nature of Christ was changed. The nature of man and sin was changed. God’s law was changed. The organization of the church was also changed to remove Jesus as High Priest and every believer as a priest. The traditions of men were placed above God’s Word, and a verbal confession were put in place of God’s power.

My wife and I have a business in Norway. We teach leadership to executives of companies and government workers. Recently, I was invited to a Norwegian city to have a seminar for ministers in the Lutheran Church. I told them my background and asked, “Since you are Christian people, could I get all my principles from the Bible?” They said, “That would be wonderful. We want you to do that.” I had the opportunity to take two hours in the middle of that seminar to teach the sanctuary service to two hundred and twenty priests from the Lutheran Church and their local bishop.

I told them about the altar where forgiveness is provided. I told them about the first apartment where God had provided all the symbolism for changing man’s character: the bread, the wine, and the light for communication with heaven.

After the seminar, I cried when the old bishop came up and said to the two hundred and twenty ministers with tears in his eyes, “What are we doing?” he asked, “People come to our churches with their sin and they leave with their sin.” He called the Lutheran Church in Norway a Laodicean Church.

This bishop realized that they did not have the full gospel to give. People had come to them with the same character faults for ten, twenty or thirty years without a change. He pleaded with the ministers, “Give the people the gospel that will not only forgive sin but will change their character in harmony with God’s law.”

A couple of the ministers came to me afterwards and said, “Would you be willing to come to our Lutheran Church and preach to our members?” “I think I can manage that,” I said, as I praised the Lord to myself.

It is interesting that at the time most Adventists have stopped giving the everlasting gospel in our churches, in churches all around us people are longing for it. In Norway we find in all the churches, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, and Pentecostal, a small minority who are dissatisfied. They realize something is wrong. They read their Bibles and listen to the preaching and find no harmony. They say they are drifting. We have contacted many of them. They are looking for light. They want the gospel the Lord has given us. We see that all of these churches are being shaken. I believe the Lord is now in the process of collecting all these minorities and creating His church with the messages of our belief.

 

The Minority in History

 

It still seems that it is such a small minority who really want the truth. But was it not always that way? It was a minority at the time of Noah. Eight people went into the ark, but the majority did not believe. It was a minority on Mount Carmel. At the time of Jesus it was a minority. In the Dark Ages there was a minority that were true believers. And so it will be a minority at the end of time as well.

The Lord has kept His people all through the ages. At one time the Roman Church was God’s church. But later in history that church developed into God’s greatest enemy. During the Papacy’s rule, God provided for the church in the wilderness: people in towns, mountains and forests. It did not matter how many. There were some here and some there, but they were the true Church. God took care of them even when the majority had fallen away from the truth.

If you belong to a church that has one thousand members and nine hundred and ninety-nine of them leave the everlasting gospel, do not believe in the Three Angels’ Messages and construct some kind of message that they like to hear, has the church fallen in that town if one person still believes? No, I believe that the one person is God’s Church. The other 999 may be lost, even if they have the structure and the system, but the faithful believer is still part of God’s Church.

When Jerusalem was destroyed in the year 70 A.D., all the true Christians left. From there the church spread to all lands: to India, Africa, England, even up to Scandinavia. The Waldensians and other early reformers protected the everlasting gospel for twelve hundred and sixty years. God raised up Knox, Zwingle, Tyndale and Luther. In Sweden He raised up the Petrie brothers. In Denmark He raised up Hans Tausen.

In my country, Norway, He raised up a man called Hans Nielson Hauge. He was put in prison by the Lutheran Church in Norway because he preached in the private homes of farmers that had invited him. There was a law in Norway at that time that no one was allowed to have a religious meeting in a private home if he did not have a priest there to interpret the Scriptures.

Hauge continued to preach, and continued to be arrested. Every time they let him out, he went right to the nearest farm and invited people and started to preach again. He was in and out of prison all his life; totaling ten years in prison. While in prison he sang. He learned all the hymns by heart. Then he would kneel down in front of the door of his prison cell preaching the everlasting gospel through the keyhole! During that ten years, several of the guards were converted to Christ. Do you see why the devil has no chance with people who are born again?

God gave a tremendous light to the Adventist movement. The message of salvation from sin is found in Revelation 14. As Jesus completes His High Priestly ministry in heaven, we as His faithful people will have to realize that we have been chosen to restore the foundation of the everlasting gospel.

That means that what He is doing in the sanctuary in heaven right now has to be an experience in our lives. I found that among Adventist people in my country many say, “I believe Christ is my High Priest, I believe in 1844, I believe that He is doing a special work cleansing the sanctuary, I believe in all of that, and I also believe that I can sin willfully and knowingly until Jesus comes to change my character.”

That is not the everlasting gospel. We have to realize that there is an experience the Lord will give us that includes the cleansing of my sins and your sins. If we have not accepted that message, we have not accepted the everlasting gospel.

Read the following promises and claim them:

“For on that day shall the priest make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.” Leviticus 16:30.

“And I will turn My hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin.” Isaiah 1:25.

“Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:10.

“And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Malachi 3:3.

Do you want the Lord to cleanse your life and take away all your sins, no matter what the Holy Spirit is pointing out to you that is preventing the Lord from having full control in your life? Give it to the Lord and say, “Lord, bless me. Take it away. I do not want to be a person like that.” This prayer the Lord will answer.

May the Lord help us to cooperate with Him and help us to receive the everlasting gospel, not as a theory but as an experience. As you look ahead and realize what is going to happen, you do not need to be afraid. Place your hand in the Lord’s hand and live in a born again relationship with Him. He will take care of you. He will give you the strength to live, or to choose death rather than to sin.

 

The Great Feasts of the Bible — The Passover

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The precious atonement of Jesus, as portrayed by the Passover, was not an afterthought or something that came by chance. The sacrifice of God’s Son was foreseen by Deity long before the world came into existence. The atonement was planned in every detail to the very moment. The life of Christ on earth was laid out from birth to the cross, before He ever came to this world.

But more than this was entailed in the atonement. God chose to schedule events from Eden to the cross. This leaves no possible room for doubt as to its divine purpose. Christ had a schedule to meet. Not only a time to be born in Bethlehem, and a time to die on the cross of Calvary, but also an exact time for His second coming and an exact time for His third coming at the close of the millennium. Yes, Christ had a schedule to meet. “Jesus said unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.” John 2:4.

Jesus’ words, “Mine hour is not yet come,” point to the fact that every act of Christ’s life on earth was in fulfillment of the plan that had existed from the days of eternity. Before He came to earth, the plan lay out before Him perfect in all its details. His last Passover supper spent on this earth was scheduled to the exact day. “And He said, Go into the city to such a man, and say to him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with My disciples.” Matthew 26:18.

The reason Christ went to the Garden after spending the Passover with His disciples was that this, too, had been scheduled. For it was here that He was to be betrayed. “Then cometh He to His disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” Matthew 26:45.

Jesus knew the time had come. Just as the Passover commemorated the deliverance from Egypt, so Christ understood the Passover lamb pointed to His coming sacrifice. Even the Passover in Egypt was scheduled in the time frame of God, for it took place exactly on the day that it was planned.

Abraham was told that his children would go into Egypt for four hundred and thirty years as slaves. (See Genesis 15.) “Now the sojourning of the Children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:40, 41.

It required some drastic judgments from God, such as the world had never seen before, to bring it to pass on the exact day. Water was turned to blood, there were plagues of frogs, lice and hail, darkness and finally a never-to-be-forgotten night. For in the land of Goshen the first Passover was held. Each family met together to kill a lamb and sprinkle its blood on their doorposts. The lamb was to be roasted and eaten just as the angel of death passed over each home at midnight.

While in the land of Egypt the same angel of death struck in every home including the king’s palace. Every firstborn of man and beast was slain. Never was there such a cry of death that struck every family of a whole nation at the same moment. The Israelites were commanded to leave immediately—and it all happened at the precise time God had predicted.

Israel was commanded to keep the Passover when they should reach the Promised Land of Canaan, as a memorial of this mighty deliverance by the hand of God. The Passover was kept in the day of Christ. Jesus was twelve years old when He went to Jerusalem to keep His first Passover. As He watches the priest carrying out the Passover activities, Jesus suddenly discovers a sublime truth; for He understands that every act of His life is bound up in what the priest has done with the little lamb.

New impulses awaken within Him. God is His Teacher. Like a sudden clap of thunder His mission in life opens up before Him. Silently, absorbed in divine thoughts, He studies the sin problem as never before. Finally the moment arrives. He sees Himself as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.

Immediately there is a change in this boy of twelve. His meekness as a willing child has changed to an awareness of a higher responsibility. He addresses His parents, Joseph and Mary, in a remarkable new manner. “Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” Luke 2:49. Divine inspiration tells us that as He spoke these words, He pointed heavenward, to the astonishment of His earthly parents. At this young age, he was aware of His divine Father.

His purpose in life has now become clear as crystal. Just as God delivered His people from the slavery of Egypt, so Jesus is to deliver His people from the slavery of sin. He, the Son of God, is to become the Passover Lamb by giving His own life as a sacrifice for our sins. Every moment of His life from then on was dedicated to preparation for the moment of sacrifice.

This demanded total surrender to God’s will and a full commitment to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Every day of His life was a twenty-four hour battle with Satan. “Satan was unwearied in his efforts to overcome the Child of Nazareth. From His earliest years Jesus was guarded by heavenly angels, yet His life was one long struggle against the powers of darkness. That there should be upon the earth one life free from defilement of evil was an offense and a perplexity to the Prince of Darkness. He left no means untried to ensnare Jesus. No child of humanity will ever be called to live a holy life amidst so fierce a conflict with temptation as was our Saviour.” The Desire of Ages, 71.

 

Battle with Satan

 

You and I may think we have a hard time in this battle with Satan, but we in our struggle with evil do not commence to meet the battle as He did. The Son of God experienced temptation one thousand times greater that you and I. “You have not a difficulty that did not press with equal weight upon Him nor a sorrow that His heart has not experienced. His feelings could be hurt with neglect, with indifference of professed friends, as easily as yours could. Is your path thorny? Christ’s was so in a tenfold sense. Are you distressed? So was He. How well fitted was Christ to be an example.” Our High Calling, 59.

Will we ever be tempted in a way Christ was not? “If we had to bear anything which Jesus did not endure, then upon this point Satan would represent the power of God as insufficient for us. Therefore, Jesus was ‘in all points tempted like as we are.’ Hebrews 4:15.” The Desire of Ages, 24.

He endured every trial to which we are subject and He exercised in His own behalf no power that is not freely offered to us. As a man, He met temptation and overcame in the strength given Him from God. And so it can be with you and me. “To Jesus, Who emptied Himself for the salvation of lost humanity, the Holy Spirit was given without measure. So it will be given to every follower of Christ when the whole heart is surrendered for His indwelling. Our Lord Himself has given the command, ‘Be filled with the Spirit.’ Ephesians 5:18.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 21.

This is what Paul tells us. “For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily and you have come to fullness of life in Him.” Colossians 2:9, 10. Again Peter admonishes us with the same encouragement. “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:3, 4. How we should praise God for what He has made possible for us.

After the baptism of Jesus, three years of public ministry was scheduled in which Jesus was to reveal God’s love by miracles and by teachings. This accomplished, He knew His time had finally come to attend the last Passover of His life here on this earth. He said, “Go into the city to such a man and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with My disciples.” Matthew 26:18.

The final crisis had arrived. The destiny of the whole universe was at stake. This is so serious that Christ felt He must find a place to be alone with His Father. For as a man, He can do nothing without God’s help. He chooses the Garden of Gethsemane. As He enters the Garden, He becomes sad and silent. His form begins to sway as if He is about to fall. Every step is labored. He groans aloud, for He is under a terrible burden. The sins of the entire world are being placed upon Him.

Twice His companions prevent Him from falling to the ground. He cries, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. His frame convulses with anguish as He falls prostrate to the cold ground. He was overpowered with fear as God removes His presence from Him, and He is alone with the pressure of the sins of the whole world weighing down on Him.

The gulf of sin becomes so wide, black and deep that His spirit shudders before it. He clings convulsively to the ground as if to prevent Himself from being drawn still further from God. His convulsed lips wail that bitter cry, “Oh, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not as I will but as Thou wilt.”

If you are in tune with God, these thoughts will break your heart and bring tears to your eyes. The undeniable fact is this, that sin and God cannot dwell together. In the struggle, eternal separation from God was possible. “Everything was at stake with him (Satan). If he failed here, his hope of mastery was lost; the kingdoms of the world would become Christ’s; he himself would be overthrown and cast out. But if Christ could be overcome, the earth would become Satan’s kingdom, and the human race would be forever in his power. With the issues of the conflict before Him, Christ’s soul was filled with the dread of separation from God. Satan told Him that if He became the surety for a sinful world, the separation would be eternal. He would be identified with Satan’s kingdom and would nevermore be one with God.” The Desire of Ages, 687.

What a struggle! Satan painted a picture that would discourage the strongest heart. He points to the ingratitude of man, to God’s people who will reject Him and His very own church who will seek to destroy Him. Even His disciples will forsake Him and one of them will betray Him. “Christ’s whole being abhorred the thought. That those whom He had undertaken to save, those whom He loved so much, should unite in the plots of Satan, this pierced His soul. The conflict was terrible. Its measure was the guilt of His nation, of His accusers and betrayer, the guilt of a world lying in wickedness. The sins of men weighed heavily upon Christ, and the sense of God’s wrath against sin was crushing out His life.” Ibid.

It was like a compressor forcing air into a tank, pumping away until it explodes. But now the history of the human race comes up before the world’s Redeemer. “He sees that the transgressors of the law, if left to themselves, must perish under the Father’s displeasure. He sees the power of sin, and the utter helplessness of man to save himself. The woes and the lamentations of a doomed world arise before Him. He beholds its impending fate, and His decision is made. He will save man at any cost to Himself. He accepts His baptism of blood, that perishing millions through Him may gain everlasting life. He left the courts of heaven, where all was purity, happiness, and glory, to save the one lost sheep, the one world that had fallen by transgression, and He will not turn from the mission He has chosen. He will reach to the very depths of misery to rescue a lost and ruined race.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 3, 99, 100.

Having made this decision He falls in a dying condition to the earth. Had it not been for an angel, who was sent from heaven to support Him, He would have died then and there. But the angel enabled our Saviour to drink the cup. Christ now stands in the sinner’s place, forsaken by God and forsaken by man.

“The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish, which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.” The Desire of Ages, 753. What a cost for our salvation!

Christ knew that His hour had come. He knew that the Passover lamb would be offered in the temple at the moment that He would die on Calvary’s cross. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit He sees it all. As the priest lifts the knife to slay the lamb on the altar, suddenly there is a rending noise as the veil of the temple is torn open from top to bottom. Thus opening the way into the heavenly sanctuary in which the true Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, will mediate for us before God the Father.

“All is terror and confusion. The priest is about to slay the victim; but the knife drops from his nerveless hand, and the lamb escapes. Type has met antitype in the death of God’s Son. The great sacrifice has been made. The way into the Holiest is laid open. A new and living way is prepared for all. No longer need sinful, sorrowing humanity await the coming of the High Priest. Henceforth the Saviour was to officiate as Priest and Advocate in the heaven of heavens.” Ibid., 757.

What an atonement Jesus made on Calvary for our sin! “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7. It is one thing to believe this happened for us, but in reality, more than belief is necessary. There are actions of response required by each of us.

“It is not enough that the Pascal lamb be slain; its blood must be sprinkled upon the door posts; so the merits of Christ’s blood must be applied to the soul. We must believe not only that He died for the world, but that He died for us individually. We must appropriate to ourselves the virtue of the atoning sacrifice.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 277.

That is why we must come to the place where we know of a surety that Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us. Hyssop, used to sprinkle the blood (symbol of purification), was used by the priests to cleanse the leper, and those defiled by contact with the dead. “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7.

The lamb was to be prepared whole, for not a bone was to be broken in the Lamb of God. This represented the completeness of Christ’s sacrifice. A full ransom was to be paid.

After the sacrifice, the flesh of the Pascal lamb was to be eaten. “It is not enough even that we believe on Christ for the forgiveness of sin; we must by faith be constantly receiving spiritual strength and nourishment from Him through His Word. Said Christ, ‘Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath eternal life.’ John 6:53, 54.” Ibid.

To explain what He meant, He said, The words that I speak unto you they are spirit, and they are life. What does this mean? “The followers for Christ must be partakers of His experience. They must receive and assimilate the word of God so that it shall become the motive power of life and action. By the power of Christ we must be changed into His likeness, and reflect the divine attributes.” Ibid., 278.

And there was another lesson we would do well to recognize. “The lamb was to be eaten with bitter herbs, as pointing back to the bitterness of the bondage in Egypt. So when we feed upon Christ, it should be with contrition of heart, because of our sins.” Ibid.

“The use of unleavened bread also was significant. It was expressly enjoined in the law of the Passover . . . that no leaven should be found in their houses during the feast. In like manner the leaven of sin must be put away from all who would receive life and nourishment from Christ.” Ibid.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “Purge out therefore the old leaven that ye may be a new lump . . . For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7. We have ministers today who are teaching us that we may sin until Jesus comes. God forbid!

Consider the blood that was sprinkled on the doorposts. This was a sign to show that the family was completely separated from Egypt. They must show their faith in the deliverance to be accomplished. They must separate themselves and their family from the Egyptians and gather within their own dwelling. This is the same message that has been given to the Remnant today. Come out from among them and be ye separate.

“Had the Israelites disregarded in any particular the directions given them, had they neglected to separate their children from the Egyptians, had they slain the lamb but failed to strike the door posts with the blood, or had any gone out of their houses, they would not have been secure. They might have honestly believed that they had done all that was necessary, but their sincerity could not have saved them. All who failed to heed the Lord’s directions would lose their first-born by the hand of the destroyer.” Ibid.

The atonement Christ provided for each of us on the cross of Calvary demands not only belief but also obedience. “By obedience the people were to give evidence of their faith. So all who hoped to be saved by the merits of the blood of Christ should realize that they themselves have something to do in securing their salvation. While it is Christ only that can redeem us from the penalty of transgression, we are to turn from sin to obedience. Man is to be saved by faith, not by works; yet his faith must be shown by his works. God has given His Son to die as a propitiation for sin, he has manifested the light of truth, the way of life, He has given facilities, ordinances, and privileges; and now man must cooperate with these saving agencies; he must appreciate and use the help that God has provided—believe and obey all the divine requirements.” Ibid., 279.

 

The Vistorious Life

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Dear Friend:  The Lord has given me a message for you, and not for you only, but also for other faithful souls who are troubled by doubts and fears regarding their acceptance by the Lord Jesus Christ. His word to you is, “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.” You desire to please the Lord, and you can do this by believing His promises. He is waiting to take you into a harbor of gracious experience, and He bids you, “Be still, and know that I am God.” You have had a time of unrest; but Jesus says to you, “Come unto Me, . . . and I will give you rest.” The joy of Christ in the soul is worth everything. “Then are they glad,” because they are privileged to rest in the arms of everlasting love.

Put away your distrust of our heavenly Father. Instead of talking of your doubts, break away from them in the strength of Jesus, and let light shine into your soul by letting your voice express confidence and trust in God. I know that the Lord is very nigh to give you victory, and I say to you, Be helped, be strengthened, be lifted out of and away from the dark dungeon of unbelief. Doubts will rush into your mind, because Satan is trying to hold you in captivity to his cruel power; but face him in the strength that Jesus is willing to give you, and conquer the inclination to express unbelief in your Saviour.

Do not talk of your inefficiency and your defects. When despair would seem to be sweeping over your soul, look to Jesus, saying, He lives to make intercession for me. Forget the things that are behind, and believe the promise, “I will come to you,” and “abide with you.”

God is waiting to bestow the blessing of forgiveness, of pardon for iniquity, of the gifts of righteousness, upon all who will believe in His love and accept the salvation He offers. Christ is ready to say to the repenting sinner, “Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.” The blood of Jesus Christ is the eloquent plea that speaks in behalf of sinners. This blood “cleanseth us from all sin.”

It is your privilege to trust in the love of Jesus for salvation, in the fullest, surest, noblest manner; to say, He loves me, He receives me; I will trust Him, for He gave His life for me. Nothing so dispels doubt as coming in contact with the character of Christ. He declares, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out;” that is, there is no possibility of My casting him out, for I have pledged My word to receive him. Take Christ at His word, and let your lips declare that you have gained the victory.

Is Jesus true? Does He mean what He says? Answer decidedly, Yes, every word. Then if you have settled this, by faith claim every promise that He has made, and receive the blessing; for this acceptance by faith gives life to the soul. You may believe that Jesus is true to you, even though you feel yourself to be the weakest and most unworthy of His children. And as you believe, all your dark, brooding doubts are thrown back upon the archdeceiver who originated them. You can be a great blessing if you will take God at His word. By living faith you are to trust Him, even though the impulse is strong within you to speak words of distrust.

Peace comes with dependence on divine power. As fast as the soul resolves to act in accordance with the light given, the Holy Spirit gives more light and strength. The grace of the Spirit is supplied to cooperate with the soul’s resolve, but it is not a substitute for the individual exercise of faith. Success in the Christian life depends upon the appropriation of the light that God has given. It is not an abundance of light and evidence that makes the soul free in Christ; it is the rising of the powers and the will and the energies of the soul to cry out sincerely, “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.”

I rejoice in the bright prospects of the future, and so may you. Be cheerful, and praise the Lord for His loving-kindness. That which you cannot understand, commit to Him. He loves you and pities your every weakness. He “hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” It would not satisfy the heart of the Infinite One to give those who love His Son a lesser blessing than He gives His Son.

Satan seeks to draw our minds away from the mighty Helper, to lead us to ponder over our degeneration of soul. But though Jesus sees the guilt of the past, He speaks pardon; and we should not dishonor Him by doubting His love. The feeling of guiltiness must be laid at the foot of the cross, or it will poison the springs of life. When Satan thrusts his threatenings upon you, turn from them, and comfort your soul with the promises of God. The cloud may be dark in itself, but when filled with the light of heaven, it turns to the brightness of gold; for the glory of God rests upon it.

God’s children are not to be subject to feelings and emotions. When they fluctuate between hope and fear, the heart of Christ is hurt; for He has given them unmistakable evidence of His love. He wants them to be established, strengthened, and settled in the most holy faith. He wants them to do the work He has given them; then their hearts will become in His hands as sacred harps, every chord of which will send forth praise and thanksgiving to the One sent by God to take away the sins of the world.

Christ’s love for His children is as tender as it is strong. And it is stronger than death; for He died to purchase our salvation, and to make us one with Him, mystically and eternally one. So strong is His love that it controls all His powers, and employs the vast resources of heaven in doing His people good. It is without variableness or shadow of turning—the same yesterday, today, and forever. Although sin has existed for ages, trying to counteract this love and obstruct its flowing earthward, it still flows in rich currents to those for whom Christ died.

God loves the sinless angels, who do His service and are obedient to all His commands; but He does not give them grace; they have never needed it, for they have never sinned. Grace is an attribute shown to undeserving human beings. We did not seek after it; it was sent in search of us. God rejoices to bestow grace upon all who hunger and thirst for it, not because we are worthy, but because we are unworthy. Our need is the qualification which gives us the assurance that we shall receive the gift.

It should not be difficult to remember that the Lord desires you to lay your troubles and perplexities at His feet, and leave them there. Go to Him, saying: “Lord, my burdens are too heavy for me to carry. Wilt Thou bear them for me?” And He will answer: “I will take them. ‘With everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee.’ I will take your sins, and will give you peace. Banish no longer your self-respect; for I have bought you with the price of My own blood. You are Mine. Your weakened will I will strengthen. Your remorse for sin I will remove.”

“I, even I, am He,” the Lord declares, “that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put Me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.” “I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye Me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.” “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” Respond to the calls of God’s mercy, and say: “I will trust in the Lord and be comforted. I will praise the Lord; for His anger is turned away. I will rejoice in God, who gives the victory.”

The last writings of Ellen White, written in California, June 14, 1914. Taken from Testimonies to Ministers, 216–220.

 

The Mystery of Godliness

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For the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, the church was a club for the saints. But the church that Jesus came to establish was not a club for the saints, it was a hospital for sinners. A place where they would be changed and healed. We must never forget that. Sometimes when we come to church we look around us and say, “Look at that brother or that sister.” But that is not what we are supposed to be looking at. When you go to the hospital, do you say, “Oh, no, I should not be here. Look at that man. He is sick! Look at that lady. She is sick! Everybody in this building is sick. I do not think I should be here”? Of course not! You are all there to get well. It is the same with the church. We do not go to look at each other with our faults. We go to look at Jesus, the Great Physician. Jesus wants to heal us from the sting of sin. That, Paul says, is the great mystery. “Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16. Satan hates this verse of Scripture. The devil does not like any part of the Bible, but there are certain parts that he especially hates. 1 Timothy 3:16 is one of those verses.

In the early centuries, before the printing press was invented, the only way you could get a copy of the New Testament was if someone copied it out by hand. There were professional copyists in those days, called scribes.

There were many scribes who copied the entire New Testament. We have over five thousand ancient manuscripts of the New Testament, although not all are complete. That is more than the writings of Homer or of any of the Greek philosophers or historians. In fact, there are more copies of the New Testament than any other ancient document.

In the ancient world, after the time of the apostles, there were two places where a gigantic apostasy developed against the true Christian faith. One was in Rome and the other in Alexandria, Egypt.

In Egypt by the second and third centuries there developed a counterfeit Christianity. Because Egypt is a desert country, we have many manuscripts from the third and the fourth centuries, whereas most of the other manuscripts we have, from other parts of the Middle East, are later copies.

In all the manuscripts there are mistakes. But in the Egyptian manuscripts we find not just random mistakes, but the type of mistakes that indicate to us that there was a conscious attempt by someone to weaken the testimony of the New Testament about the divinity of Jesus Christ.

That is one of the major reasons why many conservative Bible scholars, for many years now, have said that they do not have confidence in the Egyptian manuscripts. They instead have confidence in the great majority of the manuscripts of the New Testament from different areas.

In this text, I Timothy 3:16, it says, “God was manifested in the flesh.” In the Egyptian Manuscripts the word “God” is left out. This is the way it was done. The word for “God” in the Greek language is Theos. If the first two letters (“Th” in Greek is one letter) are removed, then just os is left. “Os” is a pronoun, and this makes the verse completely nonsensical. There is no appropriate antecedent for this pronoun in the sentence. Versions translated from the Egyptian manuscripts read like this, “He was manifested in the flesh.”

The majority of the modern translations of the English Bible are translated from the Egyptian text and are, therefore, not as accurate as Bibles that are translated from the great majority of Greek manuscripts. Read 1 Timothy 3:16, in your Bible. If the word “God” is left out it means that your Bible was translated from an Egyptian text. It would be well to get a Bible that is more accurate, such as the King James or the New King James versions.

 

God In the Flesh

 

The New Testament states unequivocally that Jesus is God. He is a divine person. “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. This is the prediction that Mary, who was a virgin, would produce a child, conceived by the Holy Spirit. His name was to be called Jesu, or in the Hebrew language Joshua, or in English Jesus. That name means a Savior, or a Deliverer.

Who is this Jesus, who is going to save us from our sins? It says in Matthew 1:23, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, God with us.” Matthew 1:23. He is God, God with us, God in the flesh.

The New Testament states this over and over again. Jesus existed before He was born of Mary. “John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, ‘This was He of Whom I said, He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” John 1:15.

John the Baptist was six months older than Jesus, yet, he said that Jesus was before him. How much before? “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” John 17:5. “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:24. Jesus said to His Father, “I remember the love You had for Me before the world existed.”

How long before the world was? “But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2. God the Father is saying that the one born in Bethlehem had been with Him from the days of eternity.

God has always been. In our human speech, when we go as far back as we can, we call that the beginning. The Bible says that in the beginning God already was. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1. “In the beginning (you cannot go back beyond that) was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1–4, 14.

A person would have to be God in order to fully reveal God, because God is infinite. No created person could reveal the Father completely. Jesus could do what no angel, or created person could do. “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, Who is the Head of all principality and power.” Colossians 2:8–10.

Many Christians do not believe that verse. Yet, it is still in the Bible. “You are complete in Him Who is the Head.” That is the Chief, the One who is in control. The head is the top of the body. He is the head of all principality (rulers) and powers.

 

Seen by Angels

 

“Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels.” As being part of this great mystery Paul talks about Jesus being seen by angels. What was it that was seen by angels that was so mysterious? When Paul said Jesus was seen by angels, he was not only talking about God’s angels. He was talking about the devil’s angels, also.

The book of Revelation teaches that the devil has angels. There were angels that joined the devil in his rebellion against the government of heaven.(See Revelation 12:7–9.) Part of this great mystery is that when Jesus came down to this world, He was manifest in the flesh. The angels—the people in the heavens —saw something. What was it that they saw?

They saw what the great men of the earth saw as described in Psalm 48: “For behold the kings assembled, They passed by together. They saw it, and so they marveled; They were troubled, they hastened away. Fear took hold of them there, and pain, as of a woman in birth pangs, as when you break the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.” Psalm 48:4–7.

Jesus was crucified during the celebration of the Passover. At that time there were kings, representatives from foreign courts, nobles, princes—men who exerted a wide influence in the world, assembled from all parts of the world in Jerusalem for the Passover. These people witnessed the scenes of Christ’s death.

Many Jews read the inscription on the cross, and it caused such a stir that the chief priests went to Pilate and said, “Please change what you wrote, because it is having such an effect on the people.” It was at that time, when the kings, nobles, and so many important peoples were watching, that Jehovah struck a blow that was felt and has been felt all over the world. The tidings of Christ’s trial and crucifixion were taken by these people to all parts of the world.

This was by divine foreknowledge and decree, because God wanted all the people of the world to focus their attention on the meaning of what happened when Jesus died on the cross. That is to be the all absorbing theme. Everyone in the world is invited to look, to study, and to understand. That is to be the great center of attraction in our world.

The angels of heaven want to understand what happened. Peter, when writing to the Christians later in his life, said the angels desire to understand this great mystery.

What was seen on Calvary? One of the things seen was that God’s throne is a throne of justice. Many today have forgotten all about God’s justice. But the cross proves that our God is a God of justice. When His law is broken, the price has to be paid. It cannot be overlooked. The sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross paid the price for our sin. It also restored honor to God’s government which had been under attack.

Satan said to God, “You cannot be just and forgive the human race of their sins.” God said, “Yes, I can.” The cross is an unanswerable argument. At the end of the world the result of the cross upon the heavenly universe, upon satanic agencies, and upon everyone in this world will be, as the Bible predicts—every mouth will be stopped. In making this infinite sacrifice, Christ exalted and honored the law.

Many things are revealed at the cross besides God’s justice. God could have been just and destroyed the whole world. When man rebelled against God, God could have been just and righteous and destroyed every sinner in the world. God is just, but His character is infinite, it involves more than justice. It is merciful. Even though the devil claimed that God could not be just and merciful, the cross proved this also.

The cross proved that God is right, and the devil wrong. Was the penalty paid, terrible? Jesus exhausted the wrath of God against a broken law. He exhausted the penalty so that you and I would not have to pay it.

The cross shows that God is just and shows at the same time that He is merciful. It shows that His hatred against sin is as strong as death, but it shows that His love for sinners is even stronger than death. When it is all done, and God presents to the entire inhabitants of the world a panoramic view of the life and death of Christ, every mouth will be stopped, every rebellious voice silenced. God will have done everything that He could do to save each one. No one will be able to say to the Lord, “Lord, I had a bad inheritance, I had a poor marriage partner, I had bad health, or I had trouble on my job.” Every mouth will be silenced. God will say, “I did everything possible to save you. There were abundant opportunities for you to be saved. All you had to do was accept, all you had to do was commit your life to Me and I would have helped you. The plan of salvation would have worked out in your life.” What are you going to say when the Lord presents to you millions of other people that were just as weak as you were?

He will be able to show you people who had just as bad a marriage as you had, just as bad health as you had, just as much trouble on their job as you had, and all the kinds of trouble you had. Yet they committed their lives to Christ and He saved them, why didn’t you? What will you say? The Bible says every mouth will be stopped. It is the cross that will stop the great controversy.

 

Thoughts Revealed

 

The cross of Jesus has a dark side and a light side. The light side is how much God loves you and me. God loves you enough that He would rather die than leave you lost.

The dark side is this: God’s Son was permitted to endure the enmity of an apostate, called Satan, against the commander of all heaven. It was demonstrated what Satan was like.

This was predicted in the Bible. “Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, behold, this child is destined for the rise and fall of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes a sword will pierce through your own soul also) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Luke 2:34, 35. What does it mean that the thoughts of many hearts are going to be revealed?

When Jesus came, the character of God was revealed to the whole universe. His justice, His mercy, His love for the lost, His kindness, His tact, His courtesy, His cheerfulness, His helpfulness, and His tender compassion. The character of God was perfectly reflected to us through the life of Christ.

The thoughts of God are revealed through the life of Jesus. God loves you so much that He would rather His Son die on the cross than you be lost. This is impossible to explain. We cannot understand the love of God, but it is real. The life of Christ revealed the thoughts of God’s heart.

The heart of the devil was also revealed. The heart of the devil had never been revealed before like it was when Jesus was on earth. It was the devil who inspired the men who crucified Christ. It was the devil who stimulated the people to taunt Christ, and the Roman soldiers to mock Him. He persuaded Pilate to condemn Jesus to crucifixion, even after Pilate said three times in the most emphatic language, “I find in Him no fault at all.”

The thoughts of the devil were revealed. But that is not all. In the life and death of Christ your heart is revealed. When you read the story you will take one side or the other. Either you accept Christ, or you deny Him and become His enemy. You cannot be neutral. When you read the story of Christ, especially about His crucifixion, you have to go one way or the other.

When you see that the devil has no mercy, but is only cruel, do you want to follow him any more? “Oh,” somebody says, “I have never been following the devil.” Oh? I wish I could say that.

Who is following the devil and who is not following the devil? “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8. Jesus wants to destroy the works of the devil. He was manifested to deliver us from sin.

The people who are given eternal life will be people in whom the Lord Jesus has destroyed the works of the devil, delivered them from sin. Do you want to be part of that group? Do you want Jesus to deliver you?

Sin is cruel. Sin is not something that anyone would want to have anything to do with. We see when we study the cross, it would be better for us to lose our lives than to be involved in sin.

“Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh . . . seen by angels.” Is this mystery going to change your life? Are you studying about it, thinking about it, praying about it? Are you saying, “Lord, I want this salvation that was worked out for me in the life of Jesus on the cross. I want this salvation to change my life. I do not want to follow the devil any more. I do not want to live a life of sin any more.”

Has this been your experience? It is a great mystery. It is beyond our understanding. But we serve a God of mysteries, a God of miracles, a God that wants to work a miracle in your life and mine.

 

Getting Physical

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Recently, a historic Adventist minister was visiting believers in another historic Adventist church in a nearby city in Papua New Guinea. Before he left some members of a mission church connected with the union, division and General Conference) said they wanted to speak with him. He consented to this, but when he went to speak with them, instead of speaking with him they began to beat him up, slugging and kicking him. Fortunately he escaped without mortal injuries and went to Australia. I talked with him on the telephone while he was recovering.

Let us ask some simple, basic questions. Are people in the New Jerusalem going to invite you to talk with them and then to beat you because you do not understand something the way that they do? That is unthinkable isn’t it? If I have invited another Adventist to talk to me and instead I kicked and slugged him, will I be allowed to go through the pearly gates? The whole angelic host would stand up to bar my entrance. They have gone through this before and will not tolerate it again. (See Revelation 12:7–9.) People who do this sort of thing are manifesting who their real ruler is and it is not Jesus Christ. Is there any way for individuals who do things like this to be saved? There is only one way. Peter said to those who were guilty of killing Jesus, to repent and be converted (Acts 2 & 3). (These people were professed Sabbathkeepers, they were the true church by profession but their character proved them children of the devil, John 8:44.) To repent means to have a change of heart, to be sorry enough for your sins, to quit. My dear friend in structure Adventism, nobody can be saved in sin. To be forgiven of the guilt of stoning or any violence first must come repentance, then confession. (“If I have sinned against my neighbor in word or action, I should make confession to him.” Review and Herald, February 9, 1897.)

You can never be saved just by having your sins forgiven. You must overcome—quit sinning—that is the fruit that shows the repentance was real (Matthew 3:8). No doubt other differences will arise, we will again have opportunity to demonstrate to the universe how we will behave when somebody else sees the evidence entirely different than we do—we will have more opportunities to demonstrate that we are at last overcomers. The universe is watching to see which of us will finally overcome—quit sinning and thereby prove our repentance to be more than profession.

 

An Adventist’s Problem

 

There are other perspectives to this incident that we need to ponder. If a brother stones or beats up another brother, are the rest of us who profess the same faith innocent if we do not protest? If we are silent when somebody is injured, if we put off the day of doom and “cause the seat of violence to come near,” if we go on singing, eating and drinking, being anointed with the best ointments and not being grieved for the “affliction of Joseph” eternal destruction will result (Amos 6:3, 6).

What if somebody says in his heart, “I feel really bad about it,” but is silent?

“Silence gives consent.” 1888 Materials, 1298.

Structure Adventists cannot say that “we” are not involved because that person is in a different family or church or conference or union or division because in reality they are a part of the sisterhood of churches throughout the world that are part of the same general conference—the people who did the beating up are part of the same General Conference that you are a part of if you belong to a mission or conference church. If you do not protest evil you will be accounted part of the evil that you supported by your money, membership and influence. “We are to be our brother’s keeper, not his destroyer.” Review and Herald, May 29, 1894. Every professed Adventist church and institution and minister in the world who remains silent is implicated in this crime. It is very serious to support those who are fostering an evil work. “There are fearful woes for those who preach the truth, but are not sanctified by it, and also for those who consent to receive and maintain the unsanctified to minister to them in word and doctrine.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 261, 262.

We cannot say before the recording angel that we did not know. Could you say, I did not know that any Adventists were stoning one another or beating up one another or seeking the arm of the state to enforce the rules of the church? Can any Adventist not know of even one of these things? Are you sure that you want to claim ignorance to the judge at the end of the world? Do you want to explain to Him why you were silent and did not protest iniquity among God’s professed people? Surely you would acknowledge that people who belong to mission or conference churches are God’s professed people. Surely you do not believe that God’s professed people can take other Adventists with whom they disagree about religion and beat them up or stone them. Pertinent Ellen White statements: “When he [Nehemiah] saw wrong principles being acted upon, he did not stand by as an onlooker, and by his silence give consent. He did not leave the people to conclude that he was standing on the wrong side. He took a firm, unyielding stand for the right.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 1135

“We need men who will not hold their peace when they see evils coming in and wrongs being done. We need men who will refuse to give consent by silence to unjust actions.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, 156.

I have decided by the grace of God to be one of those men, how about you? “I shall no longer hold my peace. I am bidden to cry aloud, and spare not. I have tried in every way to bring about the needed reformation, and save the souls of those who are following a wrong course. But I cannot go on as I have been going. When every effort has been made to save their souls, and yet all is in vain, we must cry aloud and spare not, lest our silence be interpreted to mean consent. The time has come when each one must stand in his lot and place, prepared to call sin, sin, and righteousness, righteousness.” Loma Linda Messages, 48.