second coming

We Are Living on Borrowed Time

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There is an increasing excitement among many Seventh-day Adventists that some great event is about to take place as the year 2000 A.D. approaches. This is based on the assumption that God has allotted seven thousand years to this world before He destroys and recreates it. God has often used the number seven in the Scriptures to represent completion, such as the seven days of Creation, the seven churches of Revelation, the seven seals, the seven trumpets and the seven beasts of Daniel and Revelation, which cover the time period from the creation to the return of Jesus.

If we carefully study the Bible record, we know that the earth was about four thousand years old when Christ came. We add this figure to the year 2000 A.D., and we discover that the earth is about six thousand years old. Therefore, it must be about time for the Second Coming of Christ, for when He comes, He will usher in the one-thousand-year Millenium of Revelation 20, which makes a total of seven thousand years.

The Age of the Earth

But the big question is this, How old is this earth? Surely inspiration must have something to say about the actual age of this earth, for the Scriptures say that “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7. Let us search to see what God has revealed about the coming of His dear Son, Jesus.

Jesus, speaking about the end of the earth in Matthew 24, said: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Matthew 24:29–36. [All emphasis supplied.]

These words of Christ should settle this matter forever. There can be no actual time setting for this event. Yet, there are some, within our church, teaching that Jesus will return at the end of six thousand years, and they place this event in the near future when the earth supposedly reaches the six thousand-year mark.

Now to those who are teaching such beliefs, I have some very startling news. Ellen White wrote, between the years 1869 and 1890, that the earth was already six thousand years old. Look carefully at these quotations. The first is from 1869.

“Creation week was only seven literal days, and the world is now only about six thousand years old.” Lift Him Up, 52.

“He (man) has withstood the accumulation of disease brought upon the race in consequence of perverted habits, and has continued for six thousand years.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 22.

“Ever since he (Satan) succeeded in overcoming our first parents in their beautiful Eden home, he has been engaged in this work. More than six thousand years of continual practice has greatly increased his skill to deceive and allure.” Signs of the Times, September 29, 1887.

“For six thousand years, Satan’s work of rebellion has ‘made the earth to tremble’ . . . For six thousand years his prison house has received God’s people.” The Great Controversy, 659.

Finally, in 1890 she wrote: “The continual transgressions of men for over six thousand years has brought sickness, pain and death as its fruit.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 154.

This last statement by Ellen White was written one hundred seventeen years ago. So the earth is already over six thousand one hundred seventeen years old. What has gone wrong? Why has Jesus not returned? The answer can again be found in inspiration. In 1883 Ellen White wrote: “Had Adventists after the great disappointment in 1844, held fast their faith and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of God, . . . Christ would have come ere this to receive His people to their reward . . . It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be delayed. God did not design that His people, Israel, should wander forty years in the wilderness. He promised to lead them directly to the land of Canaan, and establish them there a holy, healthy, happy people. But those to whom it was first preached, went not in ‘because of unbelief.’ Their hearts were filled with murmuring, rebellion, and hatred, and He could not fulfill His covenant with them.

“For forty years did unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case were the promises of God at fault. It is the unbelief, the worldliness, the unconsecration, and strife among the Lord’s professed people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years.” Evangelism, 695, 696.

“If all who had labored unitedly in the work in 1844 had received the Third Angel’s Message, and proclaimed it in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts. A flood of light would have been shed upon the world. Years ago the inhabitants of the earth would have been warned, the closing work completed, and Christ would have come for the redemption of His people.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 291.

Now that we have the facts before us, all taken from divine inspiration, we are still faced with the remaining question, Why is Christ now waiting to come and put an end to sin? I will tell you the conclusion that I have come to. The Lord sees so many of us who are not ready and in His great mercy He delays His coming that sinners may have the opportunity to heed His warning message and find divine shelter before the wrath of God is poured out. In 1896, Ellen White wrote: “If those who claimed to have a living experience in the things of God had done their appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would have been warned ere this, and the Lord Jesus would have come in power and great glory.” The Review and Herald, October 6, 1896.

“But because the people are disobedient, unthankful, unholy, as were ancient Israel, time is prolonged that all may hear the last message of mercy proclaimed with a loud voice. The Lord’s work has been hindered, the sealing time delayed.” The Faith I Live By, 288.

During the years 1898 to 1903, Ellen White explained the delay. “It is because the work has not been done for the wicked that time delays.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 10, 816.

“Had the Adventists in the early days still trusted to the guiding hand that had been with them in their past experience, they would have seen the salvation of God.” Testimonies, vol.8, 115, 116.

It is plain to see from these quotations that the six thousand years of earth’s history ended before 1890 and that Jesus would have come for His people had they been faithful.

Conditional Promises

As we continue, we will discover that it is absolutely impossible now for anyone on this earth to figure out a time schedule for the coming of Christ. When we compare the signs that pinpoint the time period around the Second Coming in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21 and Revelation 6, we find the actual signs of Christ’s coming. They are the following: the sun was to be darkened; the moon would not give its light and the stars were to fall.

Every Adventist knows that the signs of the sun and moon were fulfilled on May 19, 1780. The falling of the stars occurred on November 13, 1833. Keeping this in mind consider these words by Ellen White: “Those who behold these harbingers of His coming are to know that it is near, even at the doors.” The Great Controversy, 37.

“Christ has given signs of His coming. He declares that we may know when He is near, even at the doors. He says of those who see these signs, ‘This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.’ These signs have appeared. Now we know of a surety that the Lord’s coming is at hand. ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away,’ He says, ‘but my words shall not pass away.’” The Desire of Ages, 632.

So, it is safe to say that the generation that saw the last sign, the falling of the stars in 1833, was to live until Jesus would come in His Second Coming between 1869 and 1890. But that generation perished long ago. And how is this to be explained?

Twelve years after the disappointment of 1844, Ellen White was given a significant vision. She wrote about it in Spiritual Gifts: “A conference was held at Battle Creek in May, 1856 . . . At the conference a very solemn vision was given me. I saw that some of those present would be food for worms, some subjects for the seven last plagues, and some would be translated to heaven at the second coming of Christ, without seeing death.” Spiritual Gifts, 207, 208. This was written one hundred forty years ago. I am reminded of this statement: “The promises and threatenings of God are alike conditional.”

Selected Messages, vol. 1, 67. This answers why Jesus did not come before the last of those present at this conference had died. This prophecy was not fulfilled because Seventh-day Adventists, who were then living, had proved to be unfaithful, thus causing a delay in the Second Coming of Christ.

As late as 1888, Ellen White wrote when some of those at that General Conference held in Battle Creek were still living: “The hour will come; it is not far distant, and some of us who now believe will be alive upon the earth, and shall see the prediction verified, and hear the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God echo from mountain and plain and sea, to the uttermost parts of the earth.” The Review and Herald, July 31, 1888.

The church continued in unfaithfulness and that meant more delay. Ellen White, one of the last remaining in this group, died in 1915. We are over one hundred years past God’s intended time schedule and no one knows the exact time of Christ’s return. Present truth for this hour is the fact that we are living on borrowed time. I have three short quotations that emphatically stress this:

“The prophetic periods reached to 1844 . . .Prophetic time closed in 1844.” Spiritual Gifts, 138, 148.

This means that the twelve hundred sixty, the twelve hundred ninety and the thirteen hundred thirty-five-day prophecies of Daniel 12, all ended in 1844.

I have a photocopy in my files of the prophetic chart used by our pioneers as they preached the Three Angels’ Messages. This chart revealed that all the prophecies of Daniel 12 ended in the year 1844. Ellen White spoke specifically about this chart: “I have seen that the 1843 chart was directed by the hand of the Lord, and that it should not be altered; that the figures were as He wanted them.” Early Writings, 74.

And in this final quotation, Sister White makes it so clear that none can misunderstand:

“Time has not been a test since 1844, and it will never again be a test.” Ibid., 75.

Beware of False Prophets

Now, I am going to give you some names. I do not like to do that, but it is necessary because I do not want you to be caught up in the error that is being presented by these people in the church today. Marian Berry uses the prophecies of Daniel 12 to point out future events, leading to a definite time for Christ to come. Her teachings and charts declare that the prophecies of Daniel 12 are to be understood as literal days instead of prophetic years and that they will meet their fulfillment when the National Sunday Law is enacted.

Such futuristic teachings have been ensnaring thousands within our church during the last fifty years, just as was predicted: “Every phase of fanaticism and erroneous theories, claiming to be the truth, will be brought in among the remnant people of God.” Selected Messages, book 2, 14. And for what purpose? “God will arouse His people; if other means fail, heresies will come in among them, which will sift them, separating the chaff from the wheat.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 707.

Another futuristic “prophet” is Larry Wilson. He states in his paper, The Daystar, of February 1992, “I expect to see these people, the one hundred forty-four thousand, revealed by a powerful Holy Spirit manifestation during the latter part of 1993 or early 1994.” Then in June of 1993, he sent out a chart with this heading, “A survey of the possible timing of the end time events.” For the spring of 1994, the chart had this entry, “Seventy Jubilee cycles end. A hundred forty-four thousand sealed. Two witnesses begin twelve hundred sixty days of preaching.”

Such teachings enabled Wilson to invite his followers to join him at Round Rock, Texas, on March 19, 1994, with the expectation that shortly thereafter, God would use the one hundred forty-four thousand to complete the Three Angels’ Messages in a time period of twelve hundred sixty literal days.

Wilson has publicly stated that he believes some of God’s prophets made mistakes in their prophecies. He further states that Ellen White made similar mistakes in her book, The Great Controversy. For he writes that he does not believe that the United States is the two-horned beast of Revelation 13. This is a very solemn error. I warn you to beware of all who put themselves in the place of God’s inspired prophet!

Questions About Time Setting Answered

For the remainder of this article I would like to let the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy answer some questions about time setting that are being asked by many Adventists today.

Question: Can man fix a definite time for any future event?

“And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.” Revelation 10:5, 6.

Question: What is the meaning of the foregoing declaration of this angel?

“This time, which the angel declares with a solemn oath, is not the end of this world’s history, neither of probationary time, but of prophetic time, which should precede the advent of our Lord. That is, that people will not have another message upon definite time. After this period of time, reaching from 1842 to 1844, there can be no definite tracing of the prophetic time. The longest reckoning reaches to the autumn of 1844.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 971.

“And he said unto them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in His own power.’ ” Acts 1:7. “Should we advance in spiritual knowledge, we would see the truth developing and expanding in lines of which we have little dreamed, but it will never develop in any line that will lead us to imagine that we may know the times and the seasons which the Father hath put in His own power. Again and again have I been warned in regard to time setting. There will never again be a message for the people of God that will be based on time.” Ibid., vol. 6, 1052.

Question: Can we fix a definite time for probation to end?

“God has not revealed to us the time when this message will close, or when probation will have an end . . . .

“But there is no command for anyone to search the Scriptures in order to ascertain if possible, when probation will close. God has no such message for any mortal lips. He would have no mortal tongue declare that which He has hidden in His secret councils.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 191, 192.

Question: Can we fix a definite time for the Latter Rain?

“I have no specific time of which to speak when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will take place—when the mighty angel will come down from heaven, and unite with the third angel in closing up the work of this world; my message is that our only safety is in being ready for the heavenly refreshing, having our lamps trimmed and burning . . . ‘Watch and pray’ is the charge given us by our Redeemer . . . ‘Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.’” Ibid., 192.

Question: Can we fix a definite time for the judgment of the living to begin?

“The judgment is now passing in the sanctuary above. For many years this work has been in progress. Soon—none know how soon—it will pass to the cases of the living. In the awful presence of God our lives are to come up in review. At this time above all others it behooves every soul to heed the Saviour’s admonition: ‘Watch and pray for ye know not when the time is.’” The Great Controversy, 490.

This does not mean that we are not to give our special attention to the judgment, for our characters are being judged and evaluated daily.

“The names of all those who have once given themselves to God are written in the book of life, and their characters are now passing in review before Him. Angels of God are weighing moral worth. They are watching the development of character in those now living, to see if their names can be retained in the book of life. A probation is granted us in which to wash our robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Historical Sketches, 138.

Question: Can we fix a definite time for the fulfillment of any other future event?

“Let all our brethren and sisters beware of anyone who would set a time for the Lord to fulfill His word in regard to His coming, or in regard to any other promise He has made of special significance.” Testimonies to Ministers, 55.

“The times and the seasons God has put in His own power and why has not God given us this knowledge? —Because we would not make a right use of it if He did. A condition of things would result from this knowledge among our people that would greatly retard the work of God in reparing a people to stand in the great day that is to come. We are not to live upon time excitement. We are not to be engrossed with speculations in regard to the times and the seasons which God has not revealed. Jesus has told His disciples to ‘watch’ but not for a definite time. His followers are to be in the position of those who are listening for the orders of their Captain, they are to watch, wait, pray, and work, as they approach the time for the coming of the Lord; but no one will be able to predict just when that time will come; for ‘of that day and hour knoweth no man.’ You will not be able to say that He will come in one, two, or five years, neither are you to put off His coming by stating that it may not be for ten or twenty years.” Selected Messages, book 1,189.

Time setting disqualifies the person from giving the Three Angels’ Messages. “Satan is ever ready to fill the minds with theories and calculations that will divert men from the present truth, and disqualify them for the giving of the Third Angel’s Message to the world.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1052.

“He [Christ] distinctly states the suddenness of His coming. He does not measure the time lest we should neglect a momentary preparation and in our indolence look ahead to the time when we think He will come and defer the preparation. ‘Watch ye therefore for ye know not.’ ” Testimonies, vol. 2, 191. Satan is continually implanting within many a desire for something startling. We need a change of heart, a transformation of character fitting us to meet Jesus.

” ‘Be ye also ready for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.’ Matthew 24:44. This is our message, the very message that the three angels flying in the midst of heaven are proclaiming.” Selected Messages, book 2, 114.

We should realize that should we die today, our destiny is sealed forever. As far as we are individually concerned, we must live day by day as though it is our last day, for we may not have another day. Our full attention should be given to two major questions. First, How can I be ready to meet Jesus with victory over every sin? And second, How can I faithfully do my part in sharing the Three Angels’ Messages that Jesus may come? This is what is vital for us today.

If we are faithfully doing these things, we will someday know the day of His coming for all that are alive will know the exact day and hour of the return of Christ when God’s people are about to be delivered from the jaws of the battle of Armageddon. “The voice of God is heard from heaven declaring the day and hour of Jesus’ coming, and delivers the everlasting covenant to His people. Like peals of loudest thunder His words roll through the earth. The Israel of God stand listening with their eyes fixed upward. Their countenances are lighted up with His glory, and shine as did the face of Moses when he came down from Sinai. The wicked can not look upon them. And when the blessing is pronounced on those who have honored God by keeping His Sabbath holy, there is a mighty shout of victory.” The Great Controversy, 640.

I want to be among the living saints who hear these words of God. Is that your most earnest desire?

Bible Study Guides – “THEY THAT ARE CHRIST’S AT HIS COMING”

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By Gordon Anderson

MEMORY VERSE: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

STUDY HELP: Great Controversy, 635–647.

INTRODUCTION: “Moses upon the mount of transfiguration was a witness to Christ’s victory over sin and death. He represented those who shall come forth from the grave at the resurrection of the just. Elijah, who had been translated to heaven without seeing death, represented those who will be living upon the earth at Christ’s second coming, and who will be ‘changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump’; when ‘this mortal must put on immortality,’ and ‘this corruptible must put on incorruption.’ 1 Corinthians 15:51–53. Jesus was clothed with the light of heaven, as He will appear when He shall come ‘the second time without sin unto salvation.’ For He will come ‘in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.’ Hebrews 9:28; Mark 8:38. The Savior’s promise to the disciples was now fulfilled. Upon the mount the future kingdom of glory was represented in miniature, Christ the King. . . .” Desire of Ages, 421.

“SINCE BY MAN CAME DEATH”

  1. How did God make clear that death is the consequence of sin? Genesis 2:16, 17.

NOTE: “Satan deceives many with the plausible theory that God’s love for His people is so great that He will excuse sin in them; he represents that while the threatenings of God’s word are to serve a certain purpose in His moral government, they are never to be literally fulfilled. But in all His dealings with His creatures God has maintained the principles of righteousness by revealing sin in its true character—by demonstrating that its sure result is misery and death.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 522.

“Evil, sin, and death were not created by God; they are the result of disobedience, which riginated in Satan.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 503.

  1. Why was that death sentence on Adam not immediately executed? Genesis 3:21.

NOTE: The death sentence was carried out that very day, but an innocent substitute was killed instead to provide a covering for man’s nakedness. Thus was brought home to the guilty pair the true consequence of sin and that their only hope lay in the sacrifice of Christ on their behalf. “After Adam and Eve had sinned, they were under bondage to the law. Because of their transgression they were sentenced to suffer death, the penalty of sin. But Christ, the propitiation for our sins, declared: ‘I will stand in Adam’s place. I will take upon myself the penalty of his sin. He shall have another trial. I will secure for him a probation. He shall have the privileges and the opportunities of a free man, and be allowed to exercise his God-given power of choice. I will postpone the day of his arraignment for trial.’” Atlantic Union Gleaner, August 19, 1903.

“BY MAN CAME ALSO THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD”

  1. How certain can we be that Christ rose from the dead? 1 Corinthians 15:4, 8.

NOTE: When Frank Morrison set out to examine the life of Christ, he did so “with a very definite feeling that, if I may put it so, His history rested upon very insecure foundations.” While he had a deep respect and even reverent regard for the person of Christ, he had been taught to believe that “miracles do not happen.” He set out to study the last seven days of Christ’s life, simply because the accounts of those days “seemed remarkably free from the miraculous element which on scientific grounds I held suspect.” Carefully he examined all the alternatives to the resurrection, that Joseph of Arimathea removed the body, that the body was removed by order of Pontius Pilate, that the body was removed by the Jewish authorities to prevent possible generation of the tomb, that Jesus recovered in the tomb, that the women went to the wrong tomb, that no one went to the grave and the stories were fabricated later. One by one, he had to reject all these possibilities. He concluded: “There certainly is a deep and profoundly historical basis for that much disputed sentence in the Apostles’ Creed, ‘The third day he rose again from the dead.’” The result of his investigations was the book, Who Moved the Stone?

  1. When Christ died, did He go to heaven? John 20:17.

NOTE: “Christ did not go to heaven directly after His death. It is claimed by some that when He died, although his body was laid in the grave, His spirit went to heaven. But after His resurrection He said to Mary, ‘Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.’ If, after He bowed his head and died, He went directly to heaven, certainly He did ascend to his Father. Christ remained in the grave the allotted period of time, and then He took up His life again. In the hearing of the people He had said, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,’ referring to His body. He came forth from the grave a conqueror, proclaiming, over the rent sepulchre of Joseph, ‘I am the resurrection, and the life.’” Review and Herald, April 26, 1898.

  1. Did Christ Jesus do anything between His death on the cross and the Resurrection? 1 Peter 3:18, 20.

NOTE: Some have claimed that Christ spent the time between His crucifixion and His resurrection preaching the Gospel of salvation to those who died in Old Testament times. (Many of these same people also claim that Christ accompanied the repentant thief to Paradise at the same time.) The “He” in 1 Peter 3:19 is Christ. The “which” refers to the Spirit. (See verse 18.) Who were “the spirits in prison”? Nowhere does the Bible describe death as a prison. Galatians 3: 22, 23 describes sin as imprisonment. 1 Peter 3:20 explains that it was disobedience that imprisoned these people. These were people shut up in the prison house of sin with no power to save themselves. When did Christ preach to these people? 1Peter 3:20 explains that these were the ones alive during the 120 years while Noah was building the Ark. How did He preach to them? He preached to them through the Spirit. Verses 19, 20. Noah was the mouthpiece of the Spirit. See 2 Peter 2:5. What was the outcome of this preaching? Only a few, eight souls, were saved. Verse 20.

“AS IN ADAM ALL DIE”

  1. Why has death passed upon all men? Romans 5:12.

NOTE: “The wickedness that fills our world is the result of Adam’s refusal to take God’s word as supreme. He disobeyed, and fell under the temptation of the enemy. ‘Sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.’ God declared, ‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die.’ And, apart from the plan of redemption, human beings are doomed to death. ‘All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.’” Review and Herald, March 15, 1906.

  1. Will a person die for his own sins or for Adam’s sin? Ezekiel 18:19, 20.

NOTE: “It is inevitable that children should suffer from the consequences of parental wrongdoing, but they are not punished for the parents’ guilt, except as they participate in their sins.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 306.

“EVEN SO IN CHRIST SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE”

  1. What is the link between the resurrection of Christ and the Christian’s hope of resurrection? 1 Corinthians 15:12, 19.

NOTE: “At the very beginning of his first letter [Peter] the aged servant of God ascribed to his Lord a tribute of praise and thanksgiving. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ he exclaimed, ‘which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Acts of the Apostles, 517.

See also Prophets and Kings, 445, 446.

  1. How did Jesus Himself express the truth that all men will be raised from the dead? John 5:28, 29.

NOTE: “In consequence of Adam’s sin, death passed upon the whole human race. All alike go down into the grave. And through the provisions of the plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves. ‘There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust;’ ‘for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.’ Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:22. But a distinction is made between the two classes that are brought forth. ‘All that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.’ John 5:28, 29. They who have been ‘accounted worthy’ of the resurrection of life are ‘blessed and holy.’ ‘On such the second death hath no power.’ Revelation 20:6. But those who have not, through repentance and faith, secured pardon, must receive the penalty of transgression, ‘the wages of sin.’ They suffer punishment varying in duration and intensity, ‘according to their works,’ but finally ending in the second death. Since it is impossible for God, consistently with His justice and mercy, to save the sinner in his sins, He deprives him of the existence which his transgressions have forfeited and of which he has proved himself unworthy. Says an inspired writer: ‘Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.’ And another declares: ‘They shall be as though they had not been.’ Psalm 37:10; Obadiah 16. Covered with infamy, they sink into hopeless, eternal oblivion.” Great Controversy, 544, 545.

“EVERY MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER”

  1. Who was the first person to be raised from the dead? Romans 5:14. Compare Jude verse 9 and Matthew 17:1, 3.

NOTE: See Patriarchs and Prophets, 478.

  1. What other resurrection has taken place also? Matthew 27:50, 53.

NOTE: “As Christ arose, He brought from the grave a multitude of captives. The earthquake at His death had rent open their graves, and when He arose, they came forth with Him. They were those who had been co-laborers with God, and who at the cost of their lives had borne testimony to the truth. Now they were to be witnesses for Him who had raised them from the dead. During His ministry, Jesus had raised the dead to life. He had raised the son of the widow of Nain, and the ruler’s daughter and Lazarus. But these were not clothed with immortality. After they were raised, they were still subject to death. But those who came forth from the grave at Christ’s resurrection were raised to everlasting life. They ascended with Him as trophies of His victory over death and the grave. These, said Christ, are no longer the captives of Satan; I have redeemed them. I have brought them from the grave as the first fruits of My power, to be with Me where I am, nevermore to see death or experience sorrow. These went into the city, and appeared unto many, declaring, Christ has risen from the dead, and we be risen with Him. Thus was immortalized the sacred truth of the resurrection. The risen saints bore witness to the truth of the words, ‘Thy dead men shall live, together with My dead body shall they arise.’ Their resurrection was an illustration of the fulfillment of the prophecy, ‘Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.’ Isaiah 26:19.” Desire of Ages, 786.

“THEY THAT ARE CHRIST’S AT HIS COMING”

  1. How did Job express his confidence in the resurrection? Job 19:25, 27.

  2. When will the dead in Christ be raised? 1 Corinthians 15:23, 52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

NOTE: “Nowhere in the Sacred Scriptures is found the statement that the righteous go to their reward or the wicked to their punishment at death. The patriarchs and prophets have left no such assurance. Christ and His apostles have given no hint of it. The Bible clearly teaches that the dead do not go immediately to heaven. They are represented as sleeping until the resurrection. 1 Thessalonians 4:14; Job 14:10–12. In the very day when the silver cord is loosed and the golden bowl broken (Ecclesiastes 12:6), man’s thoughts perish. They that go down to the grave are in silence. They know no more of anything that is done under the sun. Job 14:21. Blessed rest for the weary righteous! Time, be it long or short, is but a moment to them. They sleep; they are awakened by the trump of God to a glorious immortality. ‘For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. . . . So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.’ 1 Corinthians 15:52–54. As they are called forth from their deep slumber, they begin to think just where they ceased. The last sensation was the pang of death; the last thought, that they were falling beneath the power of the grave. When they arise from the tomb, their first glad thought will be echoed in the triumphal shout: ‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’ Verse 55.” Great Controversy, 549, 550.

The Second Coming of Christ

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In this article, we will discover how the glorious appearance of Christ in His Second Coming will affect both the righteous and the wicked before the redeemed begin their long awaited journey to heaven.

When Christ comes the second time, He will come to earth in a cloud, for He is to return in “like manner” as He left the earth. (See Acts 1:9–11.) Sister White describes the great scene with these words: “Soon there appears in the east a small black cloud, about the size of a man’s hand. It is the cloud which surrounds the Saviour and which seems in the distance to be shrouded in darkness. The people of God know this to be the sign of the Son of Man. In solemn silence they gaze upon it as it draws nearer the earth, becoming lighter and more glorious, until it is a great white cloud, its base a glory like consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of the covenant.” The Great Controversy, 640, 641.

How assuring is the promise, given by the angels to the disciples at Jesus’ ascension, that “this same Jesus” would return to take us home with Him. “The disciples had beheld the cloud receive Him. The same Jesus who had walked and talked and prayed with them; who had broken bread with them; who had been with them in their boats on the lake; and who had that very day toiled with them up the ascent of Olivet,— the same Jesus had now gone to share His Father’s throne. And the angels had assured them that the very One whom they had seen go up into heaven, would come again even as He had ascended.” The Desire of Ages, 832.

A Glorified, Triumphant King

There is also an additional factor to recognize. The Savior will be a glorified Christ when He returns. “The glory of Christ’s humanity did not appear when He was upon the earth. He was regarded as a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. We hid as it were our faces from Him. But He was pursuing the path the plan of God had devised. That same humanity now appears as He descends from heaven, robed in glory, triumphant, exalted.” In Heavenly Places, 358.

The glory revealed in the Second Coming will surpass anything that has ever been beheld by mortal eyes. “Christ will come in His own glory, in the glory of His Father, and in the glory of the holy angels. Ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of angels, the beautiful, triumphant sons of God, possessing surpassing loveliness and glory, will escort Him on His way. In the place of a crown of thorns, He will wear a crown of glory—a crown within a crown. In the place of that old purple robe, He will be clothed in a garment of whitest white, ‘so as no fuller on earth can white’ (Mark 9:3). And on His vesture and on His thigh a name will be written, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.'” Our High Calling, 367. What a majestic description!

Can you imagine seeing countless angels accompany Christ as His glory fills the entire sky? He is no longer to be a man despised. He is now a conquering King! “Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror. Not now a ‘Man of sorrows,’ to drink the bitter cup of shame and woe . . . ‘He doth judge and make war.’ And ‘the armies which were in heaven’ (Revelation 19:11, 14) follow Him. With anthems of celestial melody the holy angels, a vast unnumbered throng, attend Him on His way. The firmament seems filled with radiant forms—’ten thousand times ten thousand, thousand and thousands of thousands.’ No human pen can portray the scene; no mortal mind is adequate to conceive its splendor. ‘His glory covers the heavens’ . . . As the living cloud comes still nearer, every eye beholds the Prince of Life. No crown of thorns now mars that sacred head; but a diadem of glory rests on His holy brow. His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun. ‘And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.'” The Great Controversy, 641.

Who Shall be Able to Stand?

This display of overmastering power will affect both the wicked and the righteous. At first the saints will be apprehensive, while the wicked become terrified. “Before His presence ‘all faces are turned into paleness;’ upon the rejecters of God’s mercy falls the terror of eternal despair. ‘The heart melteth, the knees smite together . . . and the faces of them all gather blackness.’ Jeremiah 30:6, Nahum 2:10.” Ibid., 641. The righteous cry with trembling: ‘Who shall be able to stand?’ The angels’ song is hushed, and there is a period of awful silence. Then the voice of Jesus is heard, saying: ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’ The faces of the righteous are lighted up, and joy fills every heart. And the angels strike a note higher and sing again as they draw still nearer to the earth.

“The King of kings descends upon the cloud, wrapped in flaming fire. The heavens are rolled together as a scroll, the earth trembles before Him, and every mountain and island is moved out of its place. ‘Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people.’ Psalm 50:3, 4.” Ibid., 641, 642.

The difference between the saints and the sinners becomes a reality. While the righteous are filled with joy, the wicked are trying to hide and flee to the mountains, crying for the rocks to fall on them. “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand.” (See Revelation 6:15–17.)

The Wicked Cry to Their God

Today the disobedient seem unaware that Satan is preparing them for this final moment. Billions, in these closing hours, are choosing the pagan worship of “mother earth” rather than the worship of the Creator, as their living God. The following quotation reveals how such people will try in vain to escape, calling on their “nature god” to hide them from their Creator. “When the earth is reeling to and fro like a drunkard, when the heavens are shaking, and the great day of the Lord has come . . . the unsaved utter wild imprecations to dumb nature—their god: ‘Mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne. (Revelation 6:16).'” That I May Know Him, 356.

The wicked will flee to the same caves, in the mountains, which have recently been vacated by the faithful. “The people, who have braved out their rebellion, will fulfill the description given in Revelation 6:15–17. In these very caves and dens they find the very statement of truth in the letters and in the publications as witness against them. The shepherds who led the sheep in false paths will hear the charge made against them, ‘It was you who made light of the truth. It was you who told us that God’s law was abrogated, that it was a yoke of bondage. It was you who voiced the false doctrines when I was convicted that these Seventh-day Adventists had the truth. The blood of our souls is upon your priestly garments. . . . Now, will you pay the ransom for my soul? . . . What shall we do who listened to your garbling of the Scriptures and your turning into a lie the truth which if obeyed would have saved us?’

“When Christ comes to take vengeance on those who have educated and trained the people to trample on God’s Sabbath, to tear down His memorial, and tread down with their feet the feed of His pastures, lamentations will be in vain. . . . Rocks and mountains cannot screen them from the indignation of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.” Maranatha, 290.

At last, the wicked, beholding the glorified Christ in the clouds of heaven, have awakened to their fate, and their attitudes change. “The derisive jests have ceased. Lying lips are hushed into silence. The clash of arms, the tumult of battle, ‘with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood’ (Isaiah 9:5), is stilled. Nought now is heard but the voice of prayer and the sound of weeping and lamentation. The cry bursts forth from lips so lately scoffing: ‘The great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?'” The Great Controversy, 642. And such is the end of the wicked who are alive when Christ comes, for they are destroyed by the brightness of His coming.

“And They Also Who Pierced Him”

However, we must not overlook another most amazing prophecy. For there are some, among the wicked dead, who must live again to see the living, glorified Christ. Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him.” Did you notice those words, “And they also which pierced Him”? These words refer to those wicked dead who played a part in the rejection and crucifixion of our Lord. These individuals, though dead for two thousand years, are to be raised in a special resurrection to behold the return of Jesus in His glory.

The servant of the Lord describes how these individuals will recall the words of Christ. “With thrilling power come to their minds the Sufferers’ words (speaking of Christ), when, adjured by the high priest, He solemnly declared: ‘Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.’ Mathew 26:64. Now they behold Him in His glory. . .

“Those who derided His claim to be the Son of God are speechless now. There is the haughty Herod who jeered at His royal title and bade the mocking soldiers crown Him king. . . . The men who smote and spit upon the Prince of Life now turn from His piercing gaze and seek to flee from the overpowering glory of His presence. Those who drove the nails through His hands and feet, the soldier who pierced His side, behold these marks with terror and remorse. . . .

“And now there rises a cry of mortal agony. Louder than the shout, ‘Crucify Him, crucify Him,’ which rang through the streets of Jerusalem, swells the awful, despairing wail, ‘He is the Son of God! He is the true Messiah!'” The Great Controversy, 643, 644.

These resurrected murderers, who mistreated the Lord, will join with the living wicked in calling for the rocks and the mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Jesus, because “they remember how His love was slighted and His compassion abused. . . . All the insult and despite offered to Christ, all the suffering caused to His disciples, will be as fresh in their recollection as when the Satanic deeds were done.

“The voice which they heard so often in entreaty and persuasion will again sound in their ears. Every tone of gracious selection will vibrate as distinctly in their ears as when the Saviour spoke in the synagogues and on the street. Then those who pierced Him will call on the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.” The Last Day Events, 275.

The Second Coming and the Righteous

We have looked at how the Second Coming will affect the wicked. Now let us consider how the appearance of Christ, in all His glory, will affect the righteous living and the righteous who have died through past ages. First we will consider the righteous who are raised when the trumpet of God sounds.

Inspiration describes the scene like this: “Amid the reeling of the earth, the flash of lightening, the roar of thunder, the voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints. He looks upon the graves of the righteous, then, raising His hand to heaven, He cries, ‘Awake, awake, awake, Ye that sleep in the dust, and arise!’ Throughout the length and the breadth of the earth the dead shall hear that voice, and they that hear shall live. And the whole earth shall ring with the tread of an exceeding great army of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. From the prison house of death they come, clothed with immortal glory, crying ‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory?’ 1 Corinthians 15:55. And the living righteous and the risen saints unite their voice in a long, glad shout of victory.” The Great Controversy, 644.

What takes place in the truly born-again individual that makes the resurrection possible? Consider these words carefully with me, for they contain the secret to eternal life. “By the power of the Savior that dwelt in them while living and because they were partakers of the divine nature, they were brought forth from the dead.” Sons and Daughters of God, 359.

What a divine truth to contemplate. Should some of us be laid to rest before He comes, let us so live that we are daily partakers of this divine nature which is so freely offered to all of God’s obedient children. For we read, “The victory of the sleeping saints will be glorious on the morning of the resurrection. . . . The Lifegiver will crown with immortality all who come forth from the grave.” Ibid.

“When our friends go into the grave, they are beautiful to us. It may be our father or our mother that we laid away: when they come forth those wrinkles are all gone but the figure is there, and we know them. . .

“We want to be prepared to meet these dear friends as they come forth in the resurrection morning. Shall we lay hold upon the hope set before us in the gospel that we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is?” In Heavenly Places, 353.

Such assurance is given to all who have been faithful. “The precious dead, from Adam down to the last saint who dies, will hear the voice of the Son of God, and will come forth from the grave to immortal life.” The Desire of Ages, 606.

My heart throbs as I read these precious promises. “For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” Hebrews 10:37. Don’t you feel like saying, “Praise God”? “The child of God will be terror-stricken at the first sight of the majesty of Jesus Christ. He feels that he cannot live in His holy presence. But the word comes to him as to John, ‘Fear not.’ Jesus laid His right hand upon John; He raised Him up from his prostrate position. So will He do unto His loyal, trusting, ones.” That I May Know Him, 360.

Again, I must re-emphasize the important truth that it is only because we become joined with Christ here on earth, that when we die we will come forth from the grave when He calls. This is stated clearly in Maranatha, 302. “Christ became one flesh with us, in order that we might become one spirit with Him. It is by virtue of this union that we are to come forth from the grave—not merely as a manifestation of the power of Christ, but because through faith, His life has become ours. Those who see Christ in His true character, and receive Him into the heart, have everlasting life. It is through the spirit that Christ dwells in us; and the spirit of God, received into the heart by faith, is the beginning of life eternal.” Is that not amazing? Here is the gospel in its fullness.

The Condition of the Resurrected Righteous

Have you ever wondered what the appearance and size of the righteous dead will be like when they are resurrected? That answer is found in inspiration also. “All come forth from their graves the same in stature as when they entered the tomb. Adam, who stands among the risen throng, is of lofty height and majestic form, in stature but little below the Son of God. He presents a marked contrast to the people of later generations; in this one respect is shown the great degeneracy of the race. But all arise with the freshness and the vigor of eternal youth. . . . All blemishes and deformities are left in the grave. Restored to the tree of life in the long-lost Eden, the redeemed will ‘grow up’ (Malachi 4:2) to the full stature of the race in its primeval glory.” The Great Controversy, 644, 645.

“When Christ comes, . . .we shall then be gifted with a higher nature. The bodies of all who purify their souls by obeying the truth shall be glorified. They will have fully received and believed in Jesus Christ.” Selected Messages, vol. 3, 427.

I have discovered another gift that will be bestowed upon the saints of God when He comes. “When Christ comes, we shall then be gifted with a higher nature. The bodies of all who purify their souls by obeying the truth shall be glorified. They will have fully received and believed in Jesus Christ.” Selected Messages, book 3, 427.

It is no wonder that the apostle exclaimed in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” Let these words of inspiration from 1 Corinthians15:53 be riveted in our mind: “This corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.”

Ellen White emphasizes these word in The Great Controversy, 645. “The living righteous are changed ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.’ At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air.” “There are the columns of angels on either side . . . then the angelic choir strike the note of victory and the angels in two columns take up the song and the redeemed host join as though they had been singing the song on the earth, and they have been. Oh, what music! There is not an inharmonious note. Every voice proclaims, ‘Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain.” Sons and Daughters of God, 359. I get so thrilled when I read about the coming wonders that I can hardly wait. My heart cry is, “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.”

Picture with me the reunion of God’s saints. “Angels ‘gather together His elect from the four winds; from one end of heaven to the other.’ Little children are borne by holy angels to their mother’s arms. Friends long separated by death are united, nevermore to part. . . .” The Great Controversy, 645. (If you are interested in reading more about children in heaven, see Selected Messages, vol. 2, 260 and Early Writings, 19.)

A Big Reunion

We shall know our friends even as the disciples knew Jesus. They may have been deformed, diseased or disfigured in this mortal life, but they will rise in perfect health and symmetry. Yet, in the glorified body, their identity will be perfectly preserved. “Then shall we know, even as also we are known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12.

“He [Jesus] will come to honor those who have loved Him and kept His commandments and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten them or His promise. There will be a relinking of the family chain.” The Desire of Ages, 632.

What about those we have led to Jesus? “The redeemed will meet and recognize those whose attention they have directed to the uplifted Saviour. What blessed converse they have with these souls! ‘I was a sinner,’ it was said, ‘without God and without hope in the world, and you came to me and drew my attention to the precious Saviour as my only hope.’ . . . Others will say, ‘I was a heathen in heathen lands. You… came to teach me how to find Jesus and believe in Him as the only true God. I demolished my idols and I worshiped God, and now I see Him face to face. I am saved, eternally saved, ever to behold Him whom I love.’..

“Others will express their gratitude to those who fed the hungry and clothed the naked. ‘When despair bound my soul in unbelief, the Lord sent you to me,’ they say, ‘to speak words of hope and comfort, . . . so that I could grasp the hand of Christ that was reached out to save me. . . . You read to me the precious promises of God’s word. You inspired in me the faith that He would save me. My heart was softened, subdued, broken, as I contemplated the sacrifice which Christ had made for me…’

“What rejoicing there will be as these redeemed ones meet and greet those who have had a burden in their behalf! And those who have lived, not to please themselves, but to be a blessing to the unfortunate who have so few blessings—how their hearts will thrill with satisfaction.” My Life Today, 353.

As I recall these wonderful statements, beloved, we must be there. We must be there! Please contemplate this mighty appeal of the Holy Spirit found in Early Writings, 110. “Then only those who are holy, those who have followed fully the meek Pattern, will with rapturous joy exclaim as they behold Him, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us.’ And they will be changed ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.’—that trump that wakes the sleeping saints, and calls them forth from their dusty beds, clothed with glorious immortality, and shouting, ‘Victory! Victory over death and the grave.’ The changed saints are then caught up together with the angels to meet the Lord in the air, nevermore to be separated from the object of their love.

“With such a prospect as this before us, such a glorious hope, such a redemption that Christ has purchased for us by His own blood, shall we hold our peace? Shall we not praise God even with a loud voice, as did the disciples when Jesus rode into Jerusalem? Is not our prospect far more glorious than was theirs? Who dare then forbid us glorifying God, even with a loud voice, when we have such a hope, big with immortality, and full of glory? We have tasted of the powers of the world to come, and long for more. My whole heart cries out after the living God, and I shall not be satisfied until I am filled with all His fullness.”

It Is Finished

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“ ‘And every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever’ (Revelation 5:13).

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

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

Editorial – Preparation for the Second Coming of Christ

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Jesus is coming back to this earth again (Acts 1:9-11). For this event we need to prepare (Amos 4:12). In the judgment the question will not be “What did you profess?” but rather “What have you done” (Luke 12:42, 43, 47)?

Those who are saved will be those who have washed their robes of character and made them white in the blood of the lamb (Revelation 7:14). This means that at an infinite cost a fountain has been prepared for our cleansing (Zechariah 13:1). Those who are cleansed will secure a place among the homes being prepared in the New Jerusalem for those who love Him, but how do we do that?

All our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Everything we can do of ourselves is defiled by sin. But Jesus was manifested to take away our sins (1 John 3:5) and there is no sin in Him. Sin is the breaking of God’s law, but Jesus was obedient to every precept of the law (see Psalm 40:8; John 15:10). By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God’s commandments.

“When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is united to His heart (see Proverbs 23:26), the will is merged to His will (see Philippians 2:12, 13), the mind becomes one with His mind (see 1 Corinthians 2:16), the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him (see 2 Corinthians 10:5); we live His life (see Philippians 1:21).” Christ’s Object Lessons, 311.

“There will be no second probation in which to prepare for eternity. It is in this life that we are to put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness. This is our only opportunity to form characters for the home which Christ has made ready for those who obey His commandments.

“The days of our probation are fast closing. The end is near. Solemnly there come down to us through the centuries the warning words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: ‘Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares’ (Luke 21:34). Beware lest it find you unready. Take heed lest you be found at the King’s feast without a wedding garment. ‘In such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh’ (Matthew 24:44). ‘Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame’ (Revelation 16:15). ‘Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man’ (Luke 21:36).” The Signs of the Times, November 22, 1905.

Preparation for Christ’s Coming

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“We take the words of Brother [O. A.] Olsen in regard to the coming of the Lord, and we think how it has been presented to us in a striking manner that the end of all things is at hand; the Lord is at the door. What influence has it had to solemnize our minds and arouse in us an earnestness to separate from us everything that is offensive to God? Then to think that, after all, He is nearer now than when we first believed. The day of the Lord is right at hand, and it is not safe for us to delay [to prepare for] His coming.

Do you think that any of us, when He comes, will be brought before the great Judge and will feel that we have devoted too much time to preparation? Will such thoughts come into our minds? Shall we think that we have been altogether too sympathetic, that we have devoted too much time in winning souls back to Christ, and binding up the brokenhearted? No indeed. Our thoughts will be these as we look back to those who stand before the Judge: “Why didn’t I help them at such a time when I ought to?” or, “O, I am glad I did deny myself and help them to stand on the solid rock.” These are the very thoughts that will come up to us in the judgment when everyone is judged according to the deeds done in the body.

And as many are weighed in the balance, they will be found wanting. Then they will proclaim their sins upon the housetop. They will not be afraid to have everybody know their sins, if they can only make restitution for them and save one soul. But let us thank God today that we are not yet before the judgment seat of God, but we have an Intercessor, one who has loved us so that He gave His own precious life for us individually, just as though there was not another soul in the universe. He died for us, and we are of infinite value to Jesus Christ. How can we measure the sacrifice He has made for us? Then we should feel how we have wounded and bruised the Son of God and put Him to an open shame when we deny Him. It is not that you come out in words and deny Him, but in your actions you deny Christ so that He is ashamed to call you brethren. We want every one of us to be consecrated to God. You want to exercise all that Christian politeness and respect because you are the purchase of the blood of Christ, and He has died upon Calvary’s cross that we might live. Christ Himself has bridged the gulf for us. It is our duty to help those who are downcast. Recollect what their privileges are, and don’t talk of the difficulties, but go right to them and try to bind up the brokenhearted. These are right in the church all around us. Never have an idea that you know more than your brethren, but just keep humble. It was this spirit of surmising that brought all the weakness into the Jewish nation.

We want to learn in the school of Christ meekness and lowliness of heart, and from whom are we to learn these lessons? Jesus says, “I am meek and lowly of heart.” “Learn of Me.” Now, if there is anything in us like self, then Christ cannot dwell there. We want to represent Christ to the world. We must have self hid with Christ in God, and when this is the case we will represent Christ to the world. Oh, there is something wonderful about it—He loves us as He loves His Son (See John 17:23.) Just think of it—loves us as He does His Son! This is wonderful, wonderful. In Him we have all heaven presented to us, and the more we see in Jesus the less we see that is good in self.

You know, just as soon as the heavenly Messenger came from heaven and revealed Himself to Daniel he said, ” My comeliness was turned in me into corruption” Daniel 10:8. He had such a view of the glory of God that he fell as one dead. He could not talk; he could not see; but the angel took him and set him upon his knees, and yet he could not look at Him. Then what did he have to do? Veil His glory, and come to him just as Christ came to this world. He took upon Him humanity, then He could talk with Daniel. Brethren, the more we see in Jesus, the less we will see in self; and the more self-esteem we have, the more we are puffed up by the devil. May God help us to put away self and cling to Jesus; then we will spring up and bear fruit to the glory of God.

Taken from Sermons and Talks, vol. 1, 102–104.

Bible Study Guides – “This Same Jesus”

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April 23-29, 2000

MEMORY VERSE: “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11, last part.

STUDY HELP: Desire of Ages, 829–835.

INTRODUCTION: “The promise of Christ’s Second Coming was ever to be kept fresh in the minds of His disciples. The same Jesus whom they had seen ascending into heaven, would come again, to take to Himself those who here below give themselves to His service. The same voice that had said to them, ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end,’ would bid them welcome to His presence in the heavenly kingdom.” Acts of the Apostles, 33.

“The Glorious Appearing of the Great God, Our Saviour, Jesus Christ”

What promise was made to the disciples as they watched the Lord ascending to heaven? Acts 1:10–11.

NOTE: See Desire of Ages, 832.

What does the Bible tell us about the identity of “this same Jesus”? John 1:1–3, Titus 2:13.

NOTE: “In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived.” Desire of Ages,530.

“It was Christ who from the bush on Mount Horeb spoke to Moses saying, ‘I AM THAT I AM…” Desire of Ages, 24.

“The Word Was Made Flesh and Dwelt Among Us”

How complete was Christ’s assumption of human nature? Hebrews 2:11, 14–18.

NOTE: “If He did not have man’s nature, He could not be our example. If He was not a partaker of our nature, He could not have been tempted as man has been. If it were not possible for Him to yield to temptation, He could not be our helper. It was a solemn reality that Christ came to fight the battles as man, in man’s behalf. His temptation and victory tell us that humanity must copy the Pattern; man must become a partaker of the divine nature.” Selected Messages, Book 1,408. (See also Desire of Ages, 117.)

In taking upon Himself man’s fallen nature, did Jesus participate in man’s sin? Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 5:7–9.

NOTE: “In taking upon Himself man’s nature in its fallen condition, Christ did not in the least participate in its sin. He was subject to the infirmities and weaknesses by which man is encompassed, ‘that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. (Matthew 8: 17.) He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and was in all points tempted like as we are. And yet He knew no sin. He was the Lamb ‘without blemish and without spot.’ (1 Peter 1:19.) Could Satan in the least particular have tempted Christ to sin, he would have bruised the Saviour’s head. As it was, he could only touch His heel. Had the head of Christ been touched, the hope of the human race would have perished. Divine wrath would have come upon Christ as it came upon Adam. Christ and the church would have been without hope.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 256.

“Even As I Also Overcame”

What was the secret of Christ’s victory over temptation? Hebrews 5:7.

NOTE: “Jesus came to bring moral power to combine with human effort, and in no case are His followers to allow themselves to lose sight of Christ, who is their example in all things. He said, ‘For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth.’ Jesus presents the truth before His children that they may look upon it, and by beholding it, may become changed, being transformed by His grace from transgression to obedience, from impurity to purity, from sin to heart-holiness and righteousness of life.” Review and Herald, December 22, 1891.

What example did Jesus give of “the faith of Jesus”? John 11:41–42.

NOTE: “For any gift He has promised, we may ask; then we are to believe that we receive, and return thanks to God that we have received. We need look for no outward evidence of the blessing. The gift is in the promise, and we may go about our work assured that what God has promised He is able to perform, and that the gift, which we already possess, will be realized when we need it most. To live thus by the word of God means the surrender to Him of the whole life. There will be felt a continual sense of need and dependence, a drawing out of the heart after God. Prayer is a necessity; for it is the life of the soul.” Education, 258.

“Looking Unto Jesus”

How may we receive all things that are needed for us to attain to eternal life and godliness? 2 Peter 1:3–4.

NOTE: See Desire of Ages, 123.

What was Peter able to do by “looking unto Jesus;” and what happened when he looked away? Matthew 14:24–31.

NOTE: “When trouble comes upon us, how often we are like Peter! We look upon the waves, instead of keeping our eyes fixed upon the Saviour. Our footsteps slide, and the proud waters go over our souls. Desire of Ages, 382.

“Ask and Ye Shall Receive”

In order to receive God’s blessings, what must we do? Matthew 7:7.

NOTE: See Steps to Christ, 94.

What are the conditions under which we must ask? James 4:3; 1 John 3:22.

NOTE: “He makes it plain that our asking must be according to God’s will; we must ask for the things that He has promised, and whatever we receive must be used in doing His will. The conditions met, the promise is unequivocal.” Education, 257.

“True faith rests on the promises contained in the word of God, and those only who obey the Word, can claim the glorious promises contained in it. ‘If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ John 15:7. Whatsoever we ask we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.’ 1 John 3:22.” Experience and Views of Ellen G. White, 59.

“When Ye Pray, Believe That Ye Receive”

What further condition must we fulfil for answered prayer? Matthew 21:22.

NOTE: “’Ye let go of the arm of the Lord too soon. Press your petitions to the throne, and hold on by strong faith. The promises are sure. Believe ye receive the things ye ask for, and ye shall have them.’ I was then pointed to Elijah. He was subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly. His faith endured the trial. Seven times he prayed before the Lord, and at last the cloud was seen. I saw that we had doubted the sure promises, and wounded the Saviour by our lack of faith.” Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, 127.

What does James say of the one who does not believe that his prayer will be answered? James 1:6–7.

NOTE: “True faith lays hold of and claims the promised blessing before it is realized and felt. We must send up our petitions in faith within the second veil, and let our faith take hold of the promised blessing, and claim it as ours. We are then to believe that we receive the blessing, because our faith has hold of it, and according to the Word it is ours. ‘What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ Mark 11:24. Here is faith, naked faith, to believe that we receive the blessing, even before we realize it. When the promised blessing is realized and enjoyed, faith is swallowed up.” Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, 126.

In presenting our requests to God, what must we not forget to do? Philippians 4:6. Compare John 11:41–42.

NOTE: “Not because we see or feel that God hears us are we to believe. We are to trust in His promises. When we come to Him in faith, every petition enters the heart of God. When we have asked for His blessing, we should believe that we receive it, and thank Him that we have received it.” Desire of Ages, 200.

Bible Study Guides – “I Make New Heavens and a New Earth”

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April 9-15, 2000

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

STUDY HELP: Patriarchs and Prophets, 111–116.

INTRODUCTION: “I love to see everything that is beautiful in nature in this world. I think I would be perfectly satisfied with this earth, surrounded with the good things of God, if it were not blighted with the curse of sin. But we shall have new heavens and a new earth. John saw this in holy vision and said, ‘I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God’ Revelation 21:3. Oh, blessed hope, glorious prospect!” Last Day Events, 285.

“It Was Very Good”

What does the Bible tells us about the creation of the world? Exodus 20:11.

NOTE: “’By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.’ ‘For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.’ Psalm 33:6, 9. The Bible recognizes no long ages in which the earth was evolved from chaos. Of each successive day of creation, the sacred record declares that it consisted of the evening and the morning, like all other days that have followed.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 191. (See also Patriarchs and Prophets, 111.)

How did the Lord describe His creation? Genesis 1:31.

NOTE: “‘And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.’ Eden bloomed on earth. Adam and Eve had free access to the tree of life. No taint of sin or shadow of death marred the fair creation. ‘The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.’ Job 38:7.” Sons and Daughters of God, 23.

“Sin Entered into the World, and Death by Sin”

What went wrong with God’s perfect creation? Romans 5:12.

NOTE: “Human beings have degenerated. One after another they fall under the curse, because sin has entered the world, and death by sin. The truth is not made precious by practice. It does not sanctify the soul. It fades from the mind because the heart does not appreciate its value. In consequence the mind becomes more and more darkened by the atmosphere which is malarious because of the perpetuating of Adam’s sin. The conscience has lost its sensitiveness. Through a repetition of sin, the impression made on the conscience by sin has no longer force enough to arrest the transgressor, diseased, depraved, and dying. The voice no longer echoes the voice of God, or gives expression to the music of a soul sanctified through the truth. The heart, in which God should be enthroned, is a place from which come forth all kinds of abominations. How has the fine gold become dim? Man has lost the reflection of God’s character. This calamity is well nigh universal. There is no place upon earth where the track of the serpent is not seen and his venomous sting felt. The whole earth is defiled. The curse is increasing as transgression increases. The earth is preparing for purification by fire.” Bible Echo, May 21, 1900.

Who introduced evil and death into this world? John 8:44; 1 John 3:8; Revelation 12: 9–12.

NOTE: “Man through sin has been severed from the life of God. His soul is palsied through the machinations of Satan, the author of sin. Of himself he is incapable of sensing sin, incapable of appreciating and appropriating the Divine nature. Were it brought within his reach there is nothing in it that his natural heart would desire it. The bewitching power of Satan is upon him. All the ingenious subterfuges the devil can suggest are presented to his mind to prevent every good impulse. Every faculty and power given him of God has been used as a weapon against the Divine Benefactor. So, although He loves him, God cannot safely impart to him the gifts and blessings He desires to bestow. But God will not be defeated by Satan. He sent His Son into the world, that through His taking the human form and nature, humanity and divinity combined in Him would elevate man in the scale of moral value with God. There is no other way for man’s salvation. ‘Without Me,’ says Christ, ‘ye can do nothing.’ (See John 15:5).” Selected Messages, Book 1, 340.

Apart from the moral damage caused by Satan, how was the earth itself affected as a consequence of sin? Genesis 3:17–19.

NOTE: “Although the earth was blighted with the curse, nature was still to be man’s lesson book. It could not now represent goodness only; for evil was everywhere present, marring earth and sea and air with its defiling touch. Where once was written only the character of God, the knowledge of good, was now written also the character of Satan, the knowledge of evil. From nature, which now revealed the knowledge of good and evil, man was continually to receive warning as to the results of sin.” Child Guidance, 46. (See also Conflict and Courage, 19.)

“Death is Swallowed Up in Victory”

How many have sinned and thus incurred the penalty of death? Romans 5:12.

NOTE: “The wickedness that fills our world is the result of Adam’s refusal to take God’s word as supreme. He disobeyed, and fell under the temptation of the enemy…And, apart from the plan of redemption, human beings are doomed to death. ‘All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.’ But Christ gave His life to save the sinner from the death sentence. He died that we might live. To those who receive him He gives power that enables them to separate from that which, unless they return to their loyalty, will place them where they must be condemned and punished.” Review and Herald, March 15, 1906.

How does Paul describe the triumph of Christ over death? Romans 6:9–10; 2 Timothy 1:10.

NOTE: See Desire of Ages, 785.

How should Christ’s victory over death affect our own lives? Romans 6:3–4.

NOTE: “Everyone is to discern his weak points of character and guard against them with vigor. Those who have been buried with Christ in baptism, and been raised in the likeness of His resurrection, have pledged themselves to live in newness of life.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students, 258.

How does Paul describe the time when mortals will become immortal? 1 Corinthians 15:51–55.

NOTE: See Desire of Ages, 421.

“That He Might Destroy Him”

What action did God take after Satan introduced sin and warfare into heaven? Revelation 12:9.

NOTE: “The only way to show the disposition of Satan was to give him a chance to develop himself as one who would be worthy of condemnation and death. So the God of heaven, while He did not destroy Satan, gave His Son to counteract the influence of Satan; and when He gave His Son He gave Himself, and here was the image of God that was brought to our world. What for? That we might become mighty with God.” 1888 Materials, 122. (See also Desire of Ages, 759.)

What was an important reason for Christ to take human nature? Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8.

NOTE: “Satan not only bore the weight and punishment of his sins, but the sins of all the redeemed host had been placed upon him; and he must also suffer for the ruin of the souls which he had caused. Then I saw that Satan, and all the wicked host, were consumed, and the justice of God was satisfied; and all the angelic host, and all the redeemed saints, with a loud voice said, ‘Amen!’” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1, 218. (See also The Great Controversy, 673.)

“Behold I Make All Things New”

Once Satan and all who have been corrupted by him are destroyed, what promise will God make? Revelation 21:5.

NOTE: “The work of redemption will be complete. In the place where sin abounded, God’s grace much more abounds. The earth itself, the very field that Satan claims as his, is to be not only ransomed but exalted. Our little world, under the curse of sin, the one dark blot in His glorious creation, will be honored above all other worlds in the universe of God. Here, where the Son of God tabernacled in humanity; where the King of glory lived and suffered and died, here, when He shall make all things new, the tabernacle of God shall be with men, ‘and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself, shall be with them, and be their God.’” Review and Herald, February 25, 1915.

How does the apostle Peter link belief in the creation with the promise of the Second Coming? 2 Peter 3:4–5.

NOTE: “Looking down through the ages to the close of time, Peter was inspired to outline conditions that would exist in the world just prior to the second coming of Christ. ‘There shall come in the last days scoffers,’ he wrote, ‘walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.’ But ‘when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them.’ Not all, however, would be ensnared by the enemy’s devices. As the end of all things earthly approached, there would be faithful ones able to discern the signs of the times. While a larger number of professing believers would deny their faith by their works, there would be a remnant who would endure to the end.” Review and Herald, September 26, 1912.

Bible Study Guides – “A More Sure Word of Prophecy”

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April 2-8, 2000

MEMORY VERSE: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19.

STUDY HELP: The Great Controversy, 299–316.

INTRODUCTION: “The prophecies which the great I AM has given in His Word, uniting link after link in the chain of events, from eternity in the past to eternity in the future, tell us where we are today in the procession of the ages, and what may be expected in the time to come. All that prophecy has foretold as coming to pass, until the present time, has been traced on the pages of history, and we may be assured that all which is yet to come will be fulfilled in its order. Today the signs of the times declare that we are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Everything in our world is in agitation. Before our eyes is fulfilling the Saviour’s prophecy of the events to precede His coming.” Prophets and Kings, 536.

“Enoch Also, The Seventh From Adam, Prophesied”

Who was the first prophet to speak of the Second Coming of Christ? Jude 14.

NOTE: “Enoch was the first prophet among mankind. He foretold by prophecy the Second Coming of Christ to our world, and his work at that time. His life was a specimen of Christian consistency. Holy lips alone should speak forth the words of God in denunciation and judgments. His prophecy is not found in the writings of the Old Testament. We may never find any books which relate to the works of Enoch, but Jude, a prophet of God, mentions the work of Enoch.” Manuscript 43, 1900.

How did Job show his understanding of the closing events of this earth’s history? Job 19:25–27.

NOTE: “The doctrine of the Second Advent is the very keynote of the Sacred Scriptures. The coming of the Lord has been in all ages the hope of His true followers. The patriarch Job in the night of his affliction exclaimed with unshaken trust: ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: . . . in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.’” The Faith I Live By, 348.

“Our God Shall Come”

How does the Psalmist describe the Second Coming of Christ? Psalm 50:3–6.

NOTE: See The Great Controversy, 300.

What insights does Isaiah give to the Second Coming of Christ? Isaiah 25:8–10, 66:15–16.

NOTE: See Prophets and Kings, 727–728.

How does Zephaniah describe the Day of the Lord, so far as the wicked are concerned? Zephaniah 1:14–15.

NOTE: See Prophets and Kings, 389.

What contrasting picture does the prophet give of the Day of the Lord for God’s people? Zephaniah 3:17.

NOTE: “All heaven appreciates the struggles of those who are fighting for the crown of everlasting life, that they may be partakers with Christ in the city of God, the very streets of which are pure gold, ‘as it were transparent glass.’ God wants you there, Christ wants you there, the heavenly host wants you there. The angels are willing to stand in the outer circle, and let those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus stand in the inner circle. Do you realize your value in the sight of God?” Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 114. (See also Testimonies, vol. 6, 63.)

“The Lord Himself Shall Descend”

How does Paul describe the Second Coming of Christ? Titus 2:13.

NOTE: “We are pilgrims and strangers who are waiting, hoping, and praying for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. If we believe this and bring it into our practical life, what vigorous action would this faith and hope inspire; what fervent love one for another; what careful holy living for the glory of God; and in our respect for the recompense of the reward, what distinct lines of demarcation would be evidenced between us and the world.” Manuscript 39, 1893.

How does Paul picture the fate of the unrighteous? 2 Thessalonians 1:7–8.

NOTE: See Patriarchs and Prophets, 339.

“The Dead in Christ Shall Rise”

What comfort does Paul give to those who mourn the death of loved ones? 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18.

NOTE: See Acts of the Apostles, 258.

How does Paul describe the transformation that will take place when Christ returns? Philippians 3:20–21; 1 Corinthians 15:51–54.

NOTE: “Those who believe the important truths that we profess, should act out their faith. There is too much seeking after amusements and things to take the attention in this world; the mind is left to run too much upon dress, and the tongue is engaged too often in light and trifling conversation, which gives the lie to our profession, for our conversation is not in heaven, whence we look for the Saviour.” Early Writings, 111.

“Be Patient Therefore”

What counsel does James give to those awaiting the Second Coming of Christ? James 5:7–8.

NOTE: “It will not be long till we shall see Him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. And in His presence, all the trials and sufferings of this life will be as nothingness….Look up, look up, and let your faith continually increase. Let this faith guide you along the narrow path that leads through the gates of the city of God into the great beyond, the wide, unbounded future of glory that is for the redeemed. ‘Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.’” Christian Experience and Teachings, 236.

What consolation does Peter reveal for those whose faith is being tested? 1 Peter 1:7.

NOTE: “The apostle’s words were written for the instruction of believers in every age, and they have a special significance for those who live at the time when ‘the end of all things is at hand.’” His exhortations and warnings, and his words of faith and courage, are needed by every soul who would maintain his faith ‘steadfast unto the end.’ Hebrews 3:14.” Acts of the Apostles, 518.

Bible Study Guides – “I Will Come Again”

by

March 26- April 1, 2000

A Daily Bible Study Guide for April 2000

General Introduction

“When the time came for Christ to ascend to His Father, He led the disciples out as far as Bethany. Here He paused, and they gathered about Him. With hands outstretched in blessing, as if in assurance of His protecting care, He slowly ascended from among them. ‘It came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.’ Luke 24:51.

While the disciples were gazing upward to catch the last glimpse of their ascending Lord, He was received into the rejoicing ranks of heavenly angels. As these angels escorted Him to the courts above, they sang in triumph, ‘Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord, to Him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens. . . . Ascribe ye strength unto God: His excellency is over Israel, and His strength is in the heavens.’ Psalm 68:32–34, margin.

The disciples were still looking earnestly toward heaven when, ‘behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, ‘Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.’ Acts 1:10, 11.

The promise of Christ’s Second Coming was ever to be kept fresh in the minds of His disciples. The same Jesus, whom they had seen ascending into heaven, would come again, to take to Himself those who, here below, give themselves to His service. The same voice that had said to them, ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end,’ would bid them welcome to His presence in the heavenly kingdom.

As in the typical service, the high priest laid aside his pontifical robes and officiated in the white linen dress of an ordinary priest; so Christ laid aside His royal robes and garbed Himself with humanity and offered sacrifice, Himself the priest, Himself the victim. As the high priest, after performing his service in the Holy of Holies, came forth to the waiting congregation in his pontifical robes; so Christ will come the second time, clothed in garments of whitest white, ‘so as no fuller on earth can white them.’ Mark 9:3. He will come in His own glory, and in the glory of His Father, and all the angelic host will escort Him on His way.

Thus will be fulfilled Christ’s promise to His disciples, ‘I will come again, and receive you unto Myself.’ John 14:3. Those who have loved Him and waited for Him, He will crown with glory and honour and immortality. The righteous dead will come forth from their graves, and those who are alive will be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air. They will hear the voice of Jesus, sweeter than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, saying to them, ‘Your warfare is accomplished. Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ Matthew 25:34. Well might the disciples rejoice in the hope of their Lord’s return.” Acts of the Apostles, 32–34.

“This Same Jesus Shall So Come in Like Manner”

MEMORY VERSE: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1–3.

STUDY HELP: Testimonies, vol. 8, 251–254.

INTRODUCTION: “When the Saviour was about to be separated from His disciples, He comforted them in their sorrow with the assurance that He would come again: ‘Let not your heart be troubled. . . . In My Father’s house are many mansions. . . . I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself.’ John 14:1-3. ‘The Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him.’ ‘Then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations.’ Matthew 25:31, 32.” The Great Controversy, 301.

“I Will Come Again”

Upon what promise of Christ is the Christian’s hope of the Second Coming based? John 14:3.

NOTE: “Long have we waited for our Saviour’s return. But nonetheless sure is the promise. Soon we shall be in our promised home. There Jesus will lead us beside the living stream flowing from the throne of God and will explain to us the dark providences through which on this earth He brought us in order to perfect our characters. There we shall behold with undimmed vision the beauties of Eden restored. Casting at the feet of the Redeemer the crowns that He has placed on our heads, and touching our golden harps, we shall fill all heaven with praise to Him that sitteth on the throne.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 254.

How did Peter express his confidence in the Master’s promise? 2 Peter 3:9–10.

NOTE: See Acts of the Apostles, 535–536.

“Every Eye Shall See Him”

Who will see Christ come? Revelation 1:7.

NOTE: “Whether we be saved or lost, we shall sometime see the Saviour as He is, in all His glory, and shall understand His character. At His Second Coming, conviction will be brought to every heart. Those who have turned from Him to the trivial things of this earth, seeking selfish interests and worldly honor, will in the day of His coming acknowledge their mistake.” Signs of the Times, January 28, 1903.

Who especially were told that they would witness the Second Coming of Jesus? Mark 14:61–62. (Compare Revelation 1:7 and Zechariah 12:10.)

NOTE: “Not only does this apply to those who last saw Christ when He hung on the cross of Calvary, but to those who by wrong words and actions are piercing Him today. Daily He suffers the agonies of crucifixion. Daily men and women are piercing Him by dishonoring Him, by refusing to do His will.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 214.

“As The Lightning”

How did Christ describe His return? Matthew 24:27; Luke 17:24. (Compare Zechariah 9:14 and Daniel 10:5–6.)

NOTE: “In the day of the Lord, just before the coming of Christ, God will send lightnings from Heaven in His wrath, which will unite with fire in the earth. The mountains will burn like a furnace, and will pour forth terrible streams of lava, destroying gardens and fields, villages and cities; and as they pour their melted ore, rocks and heated mud into the rivers, will cause them to boil like a pot, and send forth massive rocks and scatter their broken fragments upon the land with indescribable violence. Whole rivers will be dried up. The earth will be convulsed, and there will be dreadful eruptions and earthquakes everywhere. God will plague the wicked inhabitants of the earth until they are destroyed from off it. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and be removed as a cottage. The elements shall be in flames, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll. The earth’s crust will be rent by the outbursts of the elements concealed in the bowels of the earth. These elements, once broken loose, will sweep away the treasures of those who for years have been adding to their wealth by securing large possessions at starvation prices from those in their employ. The great general conflagration is but just ahead, when all this wasted labor of life will be swept away in a night and day.’ Maranatha, 283.

How does Peter describe the coming of Christ? 2 Peter 3:10–12.

NOTE: See Desire of Ages, 780.

“Our God Shall Come and Shall Not Keep Silence”

How does Paul describe some of the sounds of the Second Coming of Christ? 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:52. (Compare Exodus 19:16; Zechariah 9:14 and Matthew 24:31.)

NOTE: “The voice that cried, ‘It is finished,’ was heard among the dead. It pierced the walls of sepulchres, and summoned the sleepers to arise. Thus shall it be when God’s voice shall be heard shaking the heavens and earth. That voice will penetrate the graves and unbar the tombs. A mighty earthquake will then cause the world to reel to and fro like a drunkard. Then Christ, the King of Glory, shall appear, attended by all the heavenly angels. The trumpet shall sound, and the Life-giver shall call forth the righteous dead to immortal life.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 3, 223.

How does the Psalmist describe the Second Coming of Christ? Psalm 50:3–6.

NOTE: “The King of kings descends upon the cloud, wrapped in flaming fire. The heavens are rolled together as a scroll, the earth trembles before Him, and every mountain and island is moved out of its place. Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror. Not now a ‘man of sorrows,’ to drink the bitter cup of shame and woe, He comes, victor in heaven and earth, to judge the living and the dead. ‘Faithful and True,’ ‘in righteousness He doth judge and make war.’ And ‘the armies which were in heaven followed Him.’ Revelation 19:11, 14. With anthems of celestial melody the holy angels, a vast, unnumbered throng, attend Him on His way. The firmament seems filled with radiant forms, ‘ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.’ No human pen can portray the scene; no mortal mind is adequate to conceive its splendor. ‘His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as the light.’ Habakkuk 3:3, 4. As the living cloud comes still nearer, every eye beholds the Prince of life. No crown of thorns now mars that sacred head, but a diadem of glory rests on His holy brow. His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun. ‘And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.’ Rev. 19:16.” The Faith I Live By, 349.

“This Same Jesus”

How were the disciples assured that the One who returns in power and great glory will be the same One with whom they had walked and talked on earth? Acts 1:10–11.

NOTE: “Precious, indeed, was this promise to those sorrowing disciples, that they should again see Jesus, who was greatly beloved by them all. Precious also is this promise to every true follower of Christ. None who truly love Jesus will be sorry that He is coming again. Jesus is coming…Jesus is coming as He ascended into heaven, only with additional splendor. He is coming with the glory of His Father, and all the holy angels with Him, to escort Him on His way. Instead of the cruel crown of thorns to pierce His holy temples, a crown of dazzling glory will deck His sacred brow. He will not wear a plain seamless coat, but a garment whiter than snow, of dazzling brightness. Jesus is coming!” The Faith I Live By, 351. (See also

Southern Watchman, October 3, 1905 and Sons and Daughters of God, 366.)

How did Paul express his conviction that it would be “this same Jesus” who would return”? 1 Thessalonians 4:16, first part.

NOTE: See The Great Controversy, 301.

“What Manner of Persons?”

What should be the effect on our lives of studying these things? 2 Peter 3:11, 14; 1 John 3:2–3.

NOTE: See Acts of the Apostles, 431.

How does Paul describe the preparation needed by the Christian for the Coming of Christ? 1 Thessalonians 5:2–8.

NOTE: “Only those who are living up to the light they have will receive greater light. Unless we are daily advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues, we shall not recognize the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. It may be falling on hearts all around us, but we shall not discern or receive it.” Last Day Events, 196. (See also Acts of the Apostles, 55.)