second coming

Are We Prepared?

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While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22. What a wonderful promise this is, for we know that God’s promises are sure and that His hand is over all. We know that nature is not going to fail us, and that things are going to go on much the same. If we plant and harvest, God will bless us, but we sometimes fall into the snare of which Peter speaks in 11 Peter 3:4: “Since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation.” Often, however, we pass over the first part of the statement in Genesis that says, “while the earth remaineth.” That very statement should tell us something.

The world is in turmoil. Statesmen are afraid to tell the truth for fear they will not get into office. People are afraid to speak out against homosexuality for fear of losing influence in the community. All the while, Satan is gaining more and more control of the human race.

Signs Fulfilled

The signs spoken of in the Bible, which are predicted to transpire before the Lord’s return, are in the land. Revelation is being fulfilled to the very letter. In fact, the signs of the end of time are happening so quickly that we hardly realize that the great controversy is being fought right in our midst.

What is most baffling and difficult to understand is what is happening in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I dare not try to list all the apostasies that are occurring, but I will mention a few, such as sending a medallion to the Pope, selling out the medical institutions to Catholic organizations, and attending their ecumenical meetings.

What is happening within the historic Seventh-day Adventist movement is even more astounding. When we should be loving one another and upholding each other, what are we doing? We are trying to seek out one another’s faults, dispute the differences in each other’s understanding regarding the Bible and coming events, and criticize each other when something is not just like we would do it—either reading the “wrong” version of the Bible or worshiping in the wrong place or eating the wrong food. Are we really getting ready to meet Jesus, or are we stalling His coming by our self-propelled ideas and discontents—when the world needs to have the Gospel and learn that Jesus is coming soon?

Lessons From the Past

It would be beneficial to contemplate what the Spirit of Prophecy says about the children of Israel: “The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ.” Review and Herald, February 18, 1890. Ellen White also wrote that, “Satan’s snares are laid for us as verily as they were laid for the children of Israel just prior to their entrance into the land of Canaan. We are repeating the history of that people.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 160.

When we remember what happened to the children of Israel while they were out in the wilderness, it should cause us to do some serious thinking. Most of them died out there and never reached the Promised Land. When Jesus was born, very few even knew His birth had occurred.

Even at the Door

We are living in the day when we should know that the coming of the Lord is near, even at the door. We should be able to give, with humility and the fear of the Lord, to every man who asks us, a reason for the hope that we have. (See 1 Peter 3:15.) Do we know our Bibles that well? Are we really giving the world the message that Jesus is coming again? In our innermost souls, do we really know what we believe, and are we acting upon that belief?

Get Ready

We have all heard and have probably even repeated many times the words “Get ready, get ready, get ready.” Some day the time will come when we are no longer getting ready—we will have to be ready. How soon that day will be no human being knows, but we do know that it will come as a sudden surprise to those who are not ready to meet their Redeemer. There is no time to lose, if we are going to be saved in the kingdom of heaven. This world is on its final countdown.

Sunday laws are imminent. Men’s hearts are growing so hard that life and death have no sacredness. The morals of people are even lower than the instinct of animals. Homosexuality has circled the earth until the whole world is like Sodom and Gomorrah, which reminds us what Jesus said, in Luke 17:28, 29: “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all.”

The Spirit of Prophecy is full of instruction for God’s people who are living in these last days of earth’s history. We need to read, study, meditate, and devour this timely instruction. We labor and spend money trying to prolong this mortal life, which is as the grass that fades away in the sunshine, but for our eternal, immortal life, we fail to spend time or money to obtain it. Oh, how sad it would be to hear Jesus say, “I never knew you; depart from me.” Matthew 7:23.

“I saw that many were neglecting the preparation so needful and were looking to the time of ‘refreshing’ and the ‘latter rain’ to fit them to stand in the day of the Lord and to live in His sight. Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without a shelter! They had neglected the needful preparation; therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a holy God. Those who refuse to be hewed by the prophets and fail to purify their souls in obeying the whole truth, and who are willing to believe that their condition is far better than it really is, will come up to the time of the falling of the plagues, and then see that they needed to be hewed and squared for the building. But there will be no time then to do it and no Mediator to plead their cause before the Father. Before this time the awfully solemn declaration has gone forth, ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.’ [Revelation 22:11.] I saw that none could share the ‘refreshing’ unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action. We should, therefore, be drawing nearer and nearer to the Lord and be earnestly seeking that preparation necessary to enable us to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. Let all remember that God is holy and that none but holy beings can ever dwell in His presence.” Early Writings, 71.

I must ask, Are we really in earnest about shaping our lives to fit into the heavenly environment, or are we satisfied with our present condition, too busy to worry about eternity? The day will come when things are finalized, and we will either be in heaven or hell. We are told by the pen of inspiration that we should keep before us the fact that there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. (Review and Herald, January 7, 1902.)

One Probation

No one will enter the pearly gates with cherished sins in his or her heart, and we have been faithfully warned to spend time praying and agonizing with the Lord to overcome. Jesus told Peter to pray, but he went to sleep and consequently denied His Lord. We must ask ourselves, Are we asleep, or are we praying for divine assistance?

We must keep in mind that we have only one probation, and that is now, while we are on this earth. Time passes by very quickly. We have not one moment to lose. “We have but one probation in which to form character, and our destiny depends upon the manner of character we form. Those who on earth have formed characters that through the grace of Christ bear the heavenly mould, will be ripened through the gracious influence of the Holy Spirit for the eternal reward. They become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. It is a realization of the fact that our characters are Christlike, that calls forth the song of praise and thanksgiving to God and to the Lamb. Those who appreciate the goodness, mercy, and love of Christ, and by beholding him become changed into his image, will be partakers of eternal life. The attributes of their character are like those of Christ, and they cannot fail of the rest that remains for the people of God.” The Signs of the Times, July 31, 1893.

Ruth Grosboll is an employee of Steps to Life. A retired, registered nurse, she worked for many years with her husband in the mission field. She may be contacted by e-mail at: ruthgrosboll@stepstolife.org or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

The Pen of Inspiration – The First and the Second Advent

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At the first advent of Christ, which was in apparent obscurity, the angels of heaven could scarcely be restrained from pouring forth their glories to grace the birth of the Son of God. The glorious manifestations of heaven were not entirely restrained. The wonderful event was not without some attestations of a divine character. That birth, so little prepared for on earth, was celebrated in the heavenly courts with praise and thanksgiving in behalf of man.

While the shepherds on the hills of Bethlehem watched their flocks by night, “the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” [Luke 2:9–14.] The message given, the angels swept back to heaven, and the light and glory of their presence was no longer seen.

He who came in human flesh, and submitted to a life of humiliation, was the Majesty of heaven, the Prince of life, and yet the wise men of the earth, the princes and rulers, and even his own nation, knew him not. They did not recognize him as the long-looked-for Messiah. Notwithstanding mighty miracles did show forth themselves in him, notwithstanding he opened the eyes of the blind, and raised the dead to life, Christ suffered the hatred and abuse of the people he came to bless. They regarded him as a sinner, and accused him of casting out devils through the prince of devils. The circumstances of his birth were mysterious, and were remarked upon by the rulers. They charged him with being born in sin. The Prince of heaven was insulted because of the corrupt minds and the sinful, blasphemous unbelief of men. What a baleful thing is unbelief! It originated with the first great apostate, and to what fearful lengths it will lead all who enter upon its path is seen in the Jews’ rejection of their Messiah.

Understanding Prophecy

The leaders of the Jewish nation had the Old Testament Scriptures, which plainly foretold the manner of Christ’s first advent. Through the prophet Isaiah, God had described the appearance and mission of Christ, saying, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” [Isaiah 53:3–7.]

The leaders in Israel professed to understand the prophecies, but they had received false ideas in regard to the manner of Christ’s coming. Satan had deceived them; and all the glories of Christ’s second advent they applied to his first appearing. All the wonderful events clustering around his second coming, they looked for at his first. Therefore, when he came, they were not prepared to receive him. The disciple John tells of the reception with which he met. He says: “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” [John 1:10, 11.]

Wonderful Contrast

Between the first and the second advent of Christ a wonderful contrast will be seen. No human language can portray the scenes of the second coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven. He is to come with his own glory, and with the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. He will come clad in the robe of light, which he has worn from the days of eternity. Angels will accompany him. Ten thousand times ten thousand will escort him on his way. The sound of the trumpet will be heard, calling the sleeping dead from the grave. The voice of Christ will penetrate the tomb, and pierce the ears of the dead, “and all that are in the graves . . . shall come forth.” [John 5:28, 29.]

“And before him shall be gathered all nations.” [Matthew 25:32.] The very One who died for man is to judge him in the last day; for the Father “hath committed all judgment unto the Son: . . . and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.” [John 5:22, 27.] What a day that will be, when those who rejected Christ will look upon him whom their sins have pierced. They will then know that he proffered them all heaven if they would but stand by his side as obedient children; that he paid an infinite price for their redemption; but that they would not accept freedom from the galling slavery of sin. They chose to stand under the black banner of rebellion to the close of mercy’s hour.

As they gaze upon his glory, there flashes before their minds the memory of the Son of Man clad in the garb of humanity. They remember how they treated him, how they refused him, and pressed close to the side of the great apostate. The scenes of Christ’s life appear before them in all their clearness. All he did, all he said, the humiliation to which he descended to save them from the taint of sin, rises before them in condemnation.

They behold him riding into Jerusalem, and see him break into an agony of tears over the impenitent city that would not receive his message. His voice, which was heard in invitation, in entreaty, in tones of tender solicitude, seems again to fall upon their ears. The scene in the garden of Gethsemane rises before them, and they hear Christ’s amazing prayer, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” [Matthew 26:39.]

Again they hear the voice of Pilate, saying, “I find in him no fault at all.” [John 18:38.] They see the shameful scene in the judgment-hall, when Barabbas stood by the side of Christ, and they had the privilege of choosing the guiltless One. They hear again the words of Pilate, “Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus, which is called Christ?” They hear the response, “Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas.” To the question of Pilate, “What shall I do then with Jesus?” the answer comes, “Let him be crucified.” [Matthew 27:17; Luke 23:18; Matthew 27:22.]

Again they see their Sacrifice bearing the reproach of the cross. They hear the loud, triumphant tones tauntingly exclaim, “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.” “He saved others, himself he can not save.” [Matthew 27:40, 42.]

Now they behold him not in the garden of Gethsemane, not in the judgment-hall, not on the cross of Calvary. The signs of his humiliation have passed away, and they look upon the face of God,—the face they spit upon,—the face which priests and rulers struck with the palms of their hands. Now the truth in all its vividness is revealed to them. It is the wrath of the Lamb that they have to meet,—of him who came to take away the sin of the world,—of him who had ever acted toward them with infinite tenderness, long-suffering patience, and inexpressible love. They realize that they have forfeited all the riches of his great salvation. As they look upon him who died to take away their guilt, they cry out to the rocks and mountains, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon 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?” [Revelation 6:16, 17.]

Perils of the Last Days

We are now amid the perils of the last days. The scenes of conflict are hastening on, and the day of days is just upon us. Are we prepared for the issue? Every deed, small and great, is to be brought into recognition. That which has been considered trivial here will then appear as it is. The two mites of the widow will be recognized. The cup of cold water offered, the prison visited, the hungry fed,—each will bring its own reward. And that unfulfilled duty, that selfish act, will not be forgotten. In the open court around the throne of God it will appear a very different thing from what it did when it was performed. The secret sin that appears as nothing now, when placed before men in the light of God’s countenance, will appear grievous. It will be seen that these selfish pleasures and indulgences have made the human being a lover of pleasure more than a lover of God.

How stands our account in the books of heaven? Have we chosen to be partakers with Christ in his sufferings? Have we been learning in the school of Christ his meekness and lowliness of heart? Have we stood by the side of Christ to bear his reproach? Have we taken his yoke upon us, and lifted the cross in self-denial and self-sacrifice? Have we helped to bear his burdens, and co-operated with him in his work?

Satan has come down with great power, working with all deceivable-ness of unrighteousness in them that perish; but it is not necessary for any to be deceived; and we shall not be if we have fully taken our stand with Christ to follow him through evil as well as through good report. The serpent’s head will soon be bruised and crushed. The glorious memorial of God’s wonderful power is soon to be restored to its rightful place. Then paradise lost will be paradise restored. God’s plan for the redemption of man will be complete. The Son of Man will bestow upon the righteous the crown of everlasting life, and they shall “serve him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” [Revelation 7:15–17.]

Review and Herald, September 5, 1899.

Ellen G. White (1827–1915) wrote more than 5,000 periodical articles and 40 books during her lifetime. Today, including compilations from her 50,000 pages of manuscript, more than 100 titles are available in English. She is the most translated woman writer in the entire history of literature, and the most translated American author of either gender. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Mrs. White was appointed by God as a special messenger to draw the world’s attention to the Holy Scriptures and help prepare people for Christ’s second advent.

Bible Study Guides – The Waiting Position, Part II

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August 13, 2006 – August 19, 2006

Key Text

“As every man hath received the gift, [even so] minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10.

Study Help: Testimonies, vol. 2, 191–196.

Introduction

“A steward identifies himself with his master. His master’s interests become his. He has accepted the responsibilities of a steward and he must act in the master’s stead doing as the master would do if he were presiding over his own goods. The position is one of dignity in that his master trusts him. If a steward in any wise acts selfishly, and turns the advantages gained in trading with his lord’s goods to his own advantage, he has perverted the trust reposed in him. The master can no longer look upon him as a servant to be trusted, one on whom he can depend.

“Every Christian is a steward of God, and entrusted with his goods. Ministers and laymen have a work committed to them as individuals. All who are connected by faith with our Lord Jesus Christ have a ministry to perform. Those who do not take their position on the Lord’s side, ought to without delay; for they will have to give an account of themselves to God. Christ paid the ransom for them as verily as for every professed Christian. If they despise the gift, the question will be asked, Who bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” The Kress Collection, 154, 155.

1 Upon hearing the special instruction given to His people by the Saviour (Luke 12:35, 36), in view of His soon return, what did Peter want to know? Luke 12:41.

note: “The people whom God has made the depositaries of His law are not to permit their light to be hidden. The truth must be proclaimed in the dark places of the earth. Obstacles must be met and surmounted. A great work is to be done, and this work has been entrusted to those who know the truth. They should make mighty intercession with God for help now. The love of Christ must be diffused in their own hearts. The Spirit of Christ must be poured out upon them, and they must be making ready to stand in the judgment. While they are consecrating themselves to God, a convincing power will attend their efforts to present the truth to others, and its light will find access to many hearts. We must sleep no longer on Satan’s enchanted ground, but call into requisition all our resources and avail ourselves of every facility with which Providence has furnished us. The last warning is to be proclaimed ‘before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings;’ and the promise is given, ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.’ [Revelation 10:11; Matthew 28:20.]” Testimonies, vol. 5, 454.

2 How did Christ reply to Peter? Luke 12:42.

note: “We do not, as followers of Christ, realize our true position. We do not have correct views of our responsibilities as hired servants of Christ. He has advanced us the wages in His suffering life and spilled blood, to bind us in willing servitude to Himself. All the good things we have are a loan from our Saviour. He has made us stewards. Our smallest offerings, our humblest services, presented in faith and love, may be consecrated gifts to win souls to the service of the Master and to promote His glory. The interest and prosperity of Christ’s kingdom should be paramount to every other consideration. Those who make their pleasure and selfish interest the chief objects of their lives are not faithful stewards.

“Those who deny self to do others good, and who devote themselves and all they have to Christ’s service, will realize the happiness which the selfish man seeks for in vain. Said our Saviour: ‘Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple.’ [Luke 14:33.] Charity ‘seeketh not her own.’ [1 Corinthians 13:5.] This is the fruit of that disinterested love and benevolence which characterized the life of Christ. The law of God in our hearts will bring our own interests in subordination to high and eternal considerations. We are enjoined by Christ to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. This is our first and highest duty. Our Master expressly warned His servants not to lay up treasures upon the earth; for in so doing their hearts would be upon earthly rather than heavenly things. Here is where many poor souls have made shipwreck of faith. They have gone directly contrary to the express injunction of our Lord, and have allowed the love of money to become the ruling passion of their lives. They are intemperate in their efforts to acquire means. They are as much intoxicated with their insane desire for riches as is the inebriate with his liquor.

“Christians forget that they are servants of the Master; that they themselves, their time, and all that they have belong to Him. Many are tempted, and the majority are overcome, by the delusive inducements which Satan presents to invest their money where it will yield them the greatest profit in dollars and cents. There are but few who consider the binding claims that God has upon them to make it their first business to meet the necessities of His cause and let their own desires be served last. There are but few who invest in God’s cause in proportion to their means. Many have fastened their money in property which they must sell before they can invest it in the cause of God and thus put it to a practical use. They make this an excuse for doing but little in their Redeemer’s cause. They have as effectually buried their money in the earth as had the man in the parable. They rob God of the tenth, which He claims as His own, and in robbing Him they rob themselves of the heavenly treasure.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 397, 398.

3 Who are referred to as stewards? 1 Peter 4:10.

note: “When we accepted Christ as our Redeemer, we accepted the condition of becoming laborers together with God. We made a covenant with Him to be wholly for the Lord; as faithful stewards of the grace of Christ, to labor for the upbuilding of His kingdom in the world. Every follower of Christ stands pledged to dedicate all his powers of mind and soul and body to Him who has paid the ransom money for our souls. We engaged to be soldiers, to enter into active service, to endure trials, shame, reproach, to fight the fight of faith, following the Captain of our salvation.

“In your connection with worldly societies are you keeping your covenant with God? Do these associations tend to direct your own mind or that of others to God, or are they diverting the interest and attention from Him? Do they strengthen your connection with the divine agencies, or turn your mind to the human in place of the divine?

“Are you serving, honoring, and magnifying God, or are you dishonoring Him and sinning against Him? Are you gathering with Christ or scattering abroad?” Selected Messages, Book 2, 124.

4 What is the position of the steward? Corinthians 4: 1, 2.

note: “As followers of Christ we do not realize our true position. We do not have correct views of our responsibilities. We are stewards of our Lord, and the interests and prosperity of His cause should receive our first and best attention. In the balances of the sanctuary our gifts are not estimated according to the amount given, but according to the self-denial, prompted by love for Christ, that the gift has cost.” Pacific Union Recorder, October 24, 1901.

“[1 Chronicles 29:5 quoted.] The response [for material to build the temple] came not only in liberal offerings of treasures to meet the expense of the building, but also in willing service in the various lines of God’s work. Hearts were filled with a desire to return to the Lord His own, by consecrating to His service all the energies of mind and body. Those upon whom had been placed burdens of state, determined to labor heartily and unselfishly, using for God the skill and ability He had given them.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 1129.

5 What is the evil servant represented as saying and doing? Luke 12:45.

note: “The evil servant says in his heart, ‘My lord delayeth his coming.’ [Luke 12:45.] He does not say that Christ will not come. He does not scoff at the idea of His second coming. But in his heart and by his actions and words he declares that the Lord’s coming is delayed. He banishes from the minds of others the conviction that the Lord is coming quickly. His influence leads men to presumptuous, careless delay. They are confirmed in their worldliness and stupor. Earthly passions, corrupt thoughts, take possession of the mind. The evil servant eats and drinks with the drunken, unites with the world in pleasure seeking. He smites his fellow servants, accusing and condemning those who are faithful to their Master. He mingles with the world. Like grows with like in transgression. It is a fearful assimilation. With the world he is taken in the snare. ‘The lord of that servant shall come . . . in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.’ [Matthew 24:50, 51.]” The Desire of Ages, 635.

“My heart is filled with anguish when I think of the tame messages borne by some of our ministers, when they have a message of life and death to bear. The ministers are asleep; the lay members are asleep; and a world is perishing in sin. May God help His people to arouse and walk and work as men and women on the borders of the eternal world. Soon an awful surprise is coming upon the inhabitants of the world. Suddenly, with power and great glory, Christ will come. Then there will be no time to prepare to meet Him. Now is the time for us to give the warning message.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 37.

“The words of the Saviour in the parable of the wicked servant applies very forcibly to those who ridicule the near coming of the Son of man. [Luke 12:45, 46 quoted.]” The Signs of the Times, April 20, 1876.

6 Are the unfaithful stewards represented as unbelievers? In what does their sin consist? Luke 12:46; Matthew 24:51.

note: “Many professing Christians are cherishing the thought, ‘My lord delayeth His coming.’ [Luke 12:45.] They are becoming careless, and are following worldly policy. Eagerness to buy and sell and get gain is beclouding the spiritual vision.” Review and Herald, July 27, 1905.

“These men are saying in their hearts, ‘My Lord delayeth His coming,’ and the thought is expressed not only in action but in words. ‘Be not deceived in regard to Christ’s speedy appearing,’ these false guides are saying. ‘Peace and safety. The time is not yet. All things continue as they were from the beginning.’ They are denying the truth in their spirit, in their works, and in their words. They come under the denunciation of Christ: ‘But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth’ [Matthew 24:48–51]. See also Luke 8:12, 13; Matthew 11:20–23.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 3, 1323.

7 Will there be a difference in the punishment of these unfaithful stewards? Luke 12:47.

note: “Do not for a moment deceive yourself with the thought that your sin will not bring its merited punishment. Your transgressions will be visited with the rod, because you have had the light, yet have walked directly contrary to it. . . .

“My dear brother, your works are at variance with your professed faith, and your only excuse is the poor plea of convenience. The servants of God in past times have been called upon to lay down their lives in vindication of their faith. Your course illy harmonizes with that of the Christian martyrs, who suffered hunger and thirst, torture and death, rather than renounce their religion or yield the principles of truth.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 249, 250.

8 What solemn lesson do we learn from this when applied to those who have so great light as shines from God’s Word at the present day? Luke 12:48.

note: “God’s test of the heathen, who have not the light, and of those living where the knowledge of truth and light has been abundant, is altogether different. He accepts from those in heathen lands a phase of righteousness which does not satisfy Him when offered by those of Christian lands. He does not require much where much has not been bestowed (MS 130, 1899).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1121.

Bible Study Guides – The Waiting Position, Part I

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August 6, 2006 – August 12, 2006

Key Text

“And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this [is] our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this [is] the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isaiah 25:9.

Study Help: God’s Amazing Grace, 353.

Introduction

“By waiting and watching, God’s people are to manifest their peculiar character, their separation from the world. By our watching position we are to show that we are truly strangers and pilgrims upon the earth. The difference between those who love the world and those who love Christ is so plain as to be unmistakable. While worldlings are all earnestness and ambition to secure earthly treasure, God’s people are not conformed to the world, but show by their earnest, watching, waiting position that they are transformed; that their home is not in this world, but that they are seeking a better country, even a heavenly.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 194.

1 What will the Lord’s people exclaim when He returns? Isaiah 25:9.

note: “Christ is coming with power and great glory. He is coming with His own glory and with the glory of the Father. He is coming with all the holy angels with Him. While all the world is plunged in darkness, there will be light in every dwelling of the saints. They will catch the first light of His second appearing. The unsullied light will shine from His splendor, and Christ the Redeemer will be admired by all who have served Him. While the wicked flee from His presence, Christ’s followers will rejoice. The patriarch Job, looking down to the time of Christ’s second advent, said, ‘Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not a stranger.’ Job 19:27, margin. To His faithful followers Christ has been a daily companion and familiar friend. They have lived in close contact, in constant communion with God. Upon them the glory of the Lord has risen. In them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ has been reflected. Now they rejoice in the undimmed rays of the brightness and glory of the King in His majesty. They are prepared for the communion of heaven; for they have heaven in their hearts.

“With uplifted heads, with the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shining upon them, with rejoicing that their redemption draweth nigh, they go forth to meet the Bridegroom, saying, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us.’ Isaiah 25:9.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 420, 421.

2 Will the people of God know that Christ’s coming is near? Matthew 24:32, 33.

note: “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.’ [Matthew 24:34.] 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.’ [Verse 35.]

“Christ is coming with clouds and with great glory. A multitude of shining angels will attend Him. He will come to raise the dead, and to change the living saints from glory to glory. He will come to honor those who have loved Him, and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten them nor His promise. There will be a relinking of the family chain. When we look upon our dead, we may think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, when ‘the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.’ 1 Corinthians 15:52. A little longer, and we shall see the King in His beauty. A little longer, and He will wipe all tears from our eyes. A little longer, and He will present us ‘faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.’ Jude 24. Wherefore, when He gave the signs of His coming He said, ‘When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.’ [Luke 21:28.]” The Desire of Ages, 632.

3 Will the redeemed know the exact time of Christ’s coming? Mark 13:32, 33.

note: “You are not to know the day or the hour of the Lord’s appearing, for this has not been revealed, and let none speculate on that which has not been given him to understand. Let everyone work upon that which has been placed in his hands, doing the daily duties that God requires.

“When the Lord shall bid us make no further effort to build meetinghouses and establish schools, sanitariums, and publishing institutions, it will be time for us to fold our hands and let the Lord close up the work; but now is our opportunity to show our zeal for God and our love for humanity.

“We are to be partners in the work of God throughout the world; wherever there are souls to be saved, we are to lend our help, that many sons and daughters may be brought to God. The end is near, and for this reason we are to make the most of every entrusted ability and every agency that shall offer help to the work.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 440.

4 What counsel does Christ give to those waiting for Him to come? Luke 12:35.

note: “You cannot afford to sacrifice heaven or to jeopardize your safety. Do not let the deceitfulness of riches lead you to neglect the immortal treasure. Satan is a wily foe, and he is ever on your track, striving to ensnare you and compass your ruin. We are in the waiting time; let your loins be girded about and your lights shining, that you may wait for the Lord when He returns from the wedding, that when He comes and knocks you may open unto Him immediately.

“Watch, brethren, the first dimming of your light, the first neglect of prayer, the first symptom of spiritual slumber. ‘He that endureth to the end shall be saved.’ [Matthew 10:22.] It is by the constant exercise of faith and love that believers are made to shine as lights in the world. You are making but poor preparation for the Master’s coming if you are serving mammon while professedly serving God. When He appears, you must then present to Him the talents that you have buried in the earth, talents neglected, abused, misused—a divided love.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 123, 124.

“Our workers should now be encouraged to give their first attention to books that deal with the evidences of our faith, which teach the doctrines of the Bible, and will prepare a people to stand in the trying times before us. Having brought a people to the enlightenment of the truth by prayerful labor in Bible instruction, and through a wise use of our publications, we are to teach them to become laborers in word and doctrine. We are to encourage them to scatter the books that deal with Bible subjects, and whose teachings will prepare a people to stand, having their loins girded with truth, and their lamps burning.” Review and Herald, July 30, 1908.

5 Describe the circumstances from which this figure (Luke 12:35) was drawn. Exodus 12:11, 12.

note: “The Jews had been strictly enjoined to celebrate the Passover. This had been instituted at the time of their deliverance from Egypt. Then the children of Israel ate the Passover supper in haste, with their loins girded, and with their staves in their hands, ready for their journey. The manner in which they celebrated this ordinance harmonized with their condition; for they had been thrust out of the land of Egypt, and were about to begin a painful and difficult journey through the wilderness.” Review and Herald, November 4, 1902.

6 Can such a position as described in Luke 12:35 be held without others knowing it? Consider Matthew 25:8–10.

note: “What is our position in the world? We are in the waiting time. But this period is not to be spent in abstract devotion. Waiting, watching, and vigilant working are to be combined. Our life should not be all bustle and drive and planning about the things of the world, to the neglect of personal piety and of the service that God requires. While we should not be slothful in business, we should be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. The lamp of the soul must be trimmed, and we must have the oil of grace in our vessels with our lamps. Every precaution must be used to prevent spiritual declension, lest the day of the Lord overtake us as a thief. That day is not to be put far off; it is near, and no man should say, even in his heart, much less by his works, ‘My Lord delayeth His coming,’ lest for so doing his portion be appointed with hypocrites and unbelievers. [Matthew 24:48.] . . .

“God’s people are in great peril; many are dwellers upon the earth; their interest and affections are centered in the world. Their example is not right. The world is deceived by the course pursued by many who profess great and noble truths. Our responsibility is in accordance with the light given, the graces and gifts bestowed. On the workers whose talents, whose means, whose opportunities and abilities, are greatest rests the heaviest responsibility.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 276, 277.

7 How are those described who do not receive God’s truths? 1 Thessalonians 5:5–7.

note: “The Spirit of God is continually impressing the minds of men to seek for those things which alone will give peace and rest—the higher, holier joys of heaven. Christ, the Lord of life and glory, gave His life to redeem man from Satan’s power. Our Saviour is constantly at work, through influences seen and unseen, to attract the minds of men from the unsatisfying pleasures of this life to the priceless treasure which may be theirs in the immortal future.

“God would have His people, in words and in deportment, declare to the world that no earthly attractions or worldly possessions are of sufficient value to compensate for the loss of the heavenly inheritance. Those who are truly children of the light and of the day will not be vain or frivolous in conversation, in dress, or in deportment, but sober, contemplative, constantly exerting an influence to attract souls to the Redeemer. The love of Christ, reflected from the cross, is pleading in behalf of the sinner, drawing him by cords of infinite love to the peace and happiness found in our Saviour. God enjoins upon all His followers to bear a living testimony in unmistakable language by their conduct, their dress and conversation, in all the pursuits of life, that the power of true godliness is profitable to all in this life and in the life to come; that this alone can satisfy the soul of the receiver.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 580, 581.

8 What special instruction does the Saviour give to His people in view of His soon coming? Luke 12:35, 36.

note: “We are travelers, pilgrims and strangers, on earth. Let us not spend our means in gratifying desires that God bids us repress. Let us rather set a right example before our associates. Let us fitly represent our faith by restricting our wants. Let the churches arise as one, and work earnestly as those who are walking in the full light of truth for these last days. Let your influence impress souls with the sacredness of God’s requirements.

“If in the Providence of God you have been given riches, do not settle down with the thought that you need not engage in useful labor, that you have enough, and can eat, drink, and be merry. Do not stand idle while others are struggling to obtain means for the cause. Invest your means in the Lord’s work. If you do less than your duty in giving help to the perishing, remember that your indolence is incurring guilt.

“It is God who gives men power to get wealth, and He has bestowed this ability, not as a means of gratifying self, but as a means of returning to God His own. With this object it is not a sin to acquire means. Money is to be earned by labor. Every youth should be trained to habits of industry. The Bible condemns no man for being rich if he has acquired his riches honestly. It is the selfish love of money wrongfully employed that is the root of all evil. Wealth will prove a blessing if we regard it as the Lord’s, to be received with thankfulness and with thankfulness returned to the Giver.

“But of what value is untold wealth if it is hoarded in expensive mansions or in bank stocks? What do these weigh in comparison with the salvation of one soul for whom the Son of the infinite God has died?

“To those who have heaped together treasure for the last days the Lord declares: [James 5:2, 3 quoted].” Testimonies, vol. 6, 452, 453.

Behold, the Bridegroom Cometh, Part I

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Matthew 25:1–13 gives a parable of the ten virgins, which Jesus gave to his disciples in the evening. Of this parable Ellen White wrote, “Christ with His disciples is seated upon the Mount of Olives. The sun has set behind the mountains, and the heavens are curtained with the shades of evening. In full view is a dwelling house lighted up brilliantly as if for some festive scene. The light streams from the openings, and an expectant company wait around, indicating that a marriage procession is soon to appear. . . . In the scene upon which Christ looks, a company are awaiting the appearance of the bridal party, intending to join the procession.

“Lingering near the bride’s house are ten young women robed in white. Each carries a lighted lamp and a small flagon for oil. All are anxiously watching for the appearance of the bridegroom.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 405, 406.

Matthew 24 and 25 contain the instruction that Jesus gave to His disciples after they asked Him, “What shall be the sign of Your coming? When will these things [the destruction of Jerusalem] be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and the end of the world?” Matthew 24:3. In answer, He gave this dual prophecy, a prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and also concerning the end of the world.

Unexpected Delay

The story of the ten virgins is a parable that applies particularly to the time of the end, to those people who are waiting expectantly and watching the eastern sky, waiting for Jesus to come. In this parable of the ten virgins, there was an unexpected delay. Has that happened? Yes.

In the 1980s, I served for a time as the Health Ministries Director for the Texas Conference. One Sabbath I was the guest speaker in a church, and a gentleman came to me and said, “My grandfather expected to live until Jesus came. My grandfather died. My father expected to live until Jesus came, but my father died. I have been expecting Jesus to come ever since I was a young man, and now I am 70 years of age.” The generations of his family had experienced the delay that is spoken of in the parable. This delay has had a terrible effect on Adventists.

The delay in the parable was so long; what did they do? The last time you attended a wedding, did you go to sleep? These ten young ladies were not expecting, originally, to go to sleep, but they slumbered and slept. The Lord included all of this detail in His story—the unexpected delay and the devastating effect that it would have upon those who were waiting.

The long-anticipated cry, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh,” came at midnight, the darkest time of the night hours. It is predicted in this story that Jesus will return again in the darkest period of earth’s history. It is my personal conviction that we are just about at that midnight hour; we are just about at the darkest period of earth’s history.

The Midnight Hour

In Luke 17:28–30, it says, “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”

If you have studied history, you should be aware that never before in the history of man has homosexuality become socially acceptable all over the world. It was socially acceptable in Sodom, and it was socially accepted later on among the ten tribes. It became socially acceptable in the Roman government, and it became socially acceptable in France. But Jesus said that at the end of time it was going to be like the days of Lot in the world, not just in one geographic area. Friends, we are there! We live in a world that is so full of slime that we cannot allow ourselves to think about it. If we think about it too much, it is defiling for our own minds.

God foresaw all the different conditions that we would have to face and meet as we approach the last years of earth’s history. Are we living in the last years now? Yes, we are in the last years of earth’s history. We are approaching midnight.

At midnight a cry goes forth, “Behold, the bridegroom comes.”

Indulgence of Appetite

While traveling recently, I saw a billboard that was, to me, a fulfillment of prophecy. The billboard was an advertisement for International House of Pancakes (IHOP). It had a picture of about six pancakes with butter and syrup flowing over them. Then, in fairly large print, off to the right and bottom of the billboard it said, “Open 24 hours.” Shortly after that I saw another billboard advertising steaks and burgers. It also stated that this establishment is “Open 24 hours.” As I passed these signs, I thought, Do people really need to be eating syrup-smothered pancakes or steaks and burgers at 1:00 or 3:00 in the morning, or even at 11:00 at night? I thought that surely this is a fulfillment of prophecy.

Ellen White wrote about what will happen as the end of the world approaches: “As we draw near the close of time, Satan’s temptations to indulge appetite will be more powerful, and more difficult to resist.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 154. We are living in that time. When Ellen White wrote this statement, there were no International House of Pancakes restaurants that were open 24 hours.

There is a reason that we are constantly tempted on the point of appetite. The devil is trying to cause our eternal destruction through the indulgence of our appetite.

When attending the School of Health at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California, over 30 years ago, we were told, in a nutrition class, that in the third world countries only 10 percent of the people were overweight. In Western Europe, however, 25 percent of the people were overweight. That is one in four! But in the United States, we were having an epidemic of overweight. In this country, 41 percent of the people were overweight!

If you have read a newspaper or any of the national newsmagazines recently, it is being reported that over 60 percent of our population is significantly overweight. If you have studied health, physiology, epidemiology, or biostatistics, you know how ominous this is. You see, if there is an epidemic of obesity, the scene is being set up to have an epidemic of diabetes. That is already happening. When there is an epidemic of diabetes, then there is going to be an avalanche of trouble with the eyes and with the kidneys of diabetics. There will also be an increase of heart attacks.

These severe health issues as a result of indulged appetite are not just happening in the world. They are occurring throughout our churches. The devil is after us. Ellen White said that, “As we near the close of time, we must rise higher and still higher upon the question of health reform and Christian temperance, presenting it in a more positive and decided manner.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 443.

She wrote also, “As our first parents lost Eden through the indulgence of appetite, our only hope of regaining Eden is through the firm denial of appetite and passion.” Ibid., 59.

About this problem Jesus said, “Pay attention to yourselves, lest you burden down your hearts with surfeiting.” Luke 21:34. Do you know what surfeiting is? It is what we call feasting or eating. When Jesus warns us to pay attention to our condition in the last days, the first thing he talks about is feasting, surfeiting. The verse continues, “. . . and drunkenness and the anxieties of every day living.”

Do we have anxieties of everyday living? Did you have any anxious moments when the price of gasoline escalated about 75 cents a gallon within a few days? We each have a number of anxieties of everyday living. So Jesus said, “Watch out, lest because of these things that they come upon you suddenly [when you are not aware].”

We must learn to practice self-denial in regard to appetite and passions. Ellen White did not say we are to quit eating, but we must learn how to be in control of our eating.

There will not be any gluttons in heaven, so the devil is trying to lead us into a life of self-indulgence. Not only does it wreck our health, but it becomes the means of us forfeiting eternal life. This is one of the great temptations of the last days.

Apparitions

“And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.” Isaiah 8:19, 20. (See also Revelation 16:13, 14; 1 Samuel 28; Deuteronomy 18:9–12; 11 Corinthians 11:13–15.)

Ellen White wrote: “Satan is a cunning foe. And it is not difficult for the evil angels to represent both saints and sinners who have died, and make these representations visible to human eyes. These manifestations will be more frequent, and developments of a more startling character will appear as we near the close of time.” Review and Herald, April 1, 1875.

We are living in the time when more of these startling developments are taking place. Since Ellen White wrote the above statement, there has been a crescendo, a tremendous increase in the number of apparitions that are appearing to members of the human family, especially to the leaders of the world.

In Revelation 16:14, it says that these unclean spirits are going to “go out to the kings of the earth and the whole world, to gather them together for the battle of the great God Almighty.”

After Princess Diana died in a car accident in 1997, a big point was made on the news that she had been seeking advice from a spiritualist medium. If you listen carefully to the news, from time to time information such as this tidbit will be given. You will find out that the leaders of the nations are getting advice from people who are in contact with spiritists or from spiritists themselves.

More and more apparitions are appearing, and when they appear, they have a tremendous influence on people who do not know their Bible or from where these apparitions are coming. They think they are talking to the spirits of their dead loved ones. Any preacher or evangelist, any Bible worker, any man or woman who is in contact with many people, giving Bible studies to the public, can tell you stories of people with whom they have come in contact who have been in contact with some spirit.

I was told about a man in Wichita, Kansas, whose father had died. As he was driving along a road one day, he saw his father standing by the road, so he stopped, and they had a conversation. He thought he was talking to the spirit of his father. Things like this are happening more and more frequently, much more than in Ellen White’s day. We are living in the last years of earth’s history.

As we approach the end of time, if you have children, be sure that they are instructed and understand what to do if they should meet with somebody that looks just like one of their dead relatives. The devil is going to come to our children. He is going to come to us.

Ellen White said, “They [the saints] must understand the state of the dead; for the spirits of devils will yet appear to them, professing to be beloved relatives or friends, who will declare to them unscriptural doctrines. They will do all in their power to excite sympathy and will work miracles before them to confirm what they declare. The people of God must be prepared to withstand these spirits with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything, and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils.” Early Writings, 262. (See Ecclesiastes 9:5.)

Apparitions are appearing more and more in the world. Before it is over, the devil and his angels are going to impersonate, Ellen White says, the apostles. “He who is the father of lies, blinds and deceives the world by sending forth his angels to speak for the apostles, and to make it appear that they contradict what they wrote by the dictation of the Holy Ghost when on earth. These lying angels make the apostles to corrupt their own teachings and to declare them to be adulterated. By so doing Satan delights to throw professed Christians and all the world into uncertainty about the Word of God.” Ibid., 90. Can you imagine? The world is being prepared for this through all manner of spiritistic programming on television.

Several years ago, I was flying to Australia to preach in a number of different places there. On those long overnight flights, the airlines always have movies playing. I was trying to rest with my eyes shut, but I opened my eyes for a moment, and I was shocked by what was on the movie screen. It was showing experiences with spirits after people had died. This is everywhere in our society.

Society is being educated to believe in spirits. Already they believe that when an apparition of the Virgin Mary appears, it is really Mary. In Wichita, somebody reported a shadow on a window of a medical clinic that looked like a shadow of the Virgin Mary. It seemed as though people in the town went crazy. They had to go there and see this shadow.

The world is open for this today. What will happen when the apostle Paul or the apostle Peter is impersonated, and then we are told by these apparitions things that contradict what these apostles wrote in the Scriptures? Are your children educated what to do when they meet up with something like this? This is what is going to happen in the last years of this world’s history.

Murmuring

In 1 Corinthians 10, the apostle Paul mentions a number of different things that happened to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and he says, “You do not murmur like they murmured. All of these things happened to them for ensamples [or examples] for us, upon whom the ends of the ages are come.” Verses 10, 11. What was this murmuring that Paul speaks of here? If you look back to Numbers 16:11–35, you will understand that he is referring to the experience of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. This experience is a special warning to those living in the last years of earth’s history. Speaking of the rebellion of these men, Ellen White wrote: “The facts relative to Korah and his company, who rebelled against Moses and Aaron, and against Jehovah, are recorded for a warning to God’s people, especially those who live upon the earth near the close of time. Satan has led persons to imitate the example of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, in raising insurrection among the people of God. Those who permit themselves to rise in opposition to the plain testimony, become self-deceived. Such have really thought that those upon whom God has laid the burden of his work were exalted above the people of God, and that their counsels and reproofs were uncalled for. They have risen in opposition to the plain testimony which God would have his servants bear in rebuking the wrongs among God’s people. . . . The straight testimonies borne were in their way, and caused them great uneasiness; and they found relief in warring against them, and striving to make themselves and others believe that they were untrue. They said that the people were all right, but it was the reproving testimonies which made the trouble.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 306, 307.

See, this is what Korah said! He said, “The people are all right; the problem is just this Moses who is too hard on us. The people are all holy.”

Ellen White wrote: “The repeated murmurings of the Israelites, and the visitations of God’s wrath because of their transgressions, are recorded in sacred history for the benefit of God’s people who should afterward live upon the earth; but more especially to prove a warning to those who should live near the close of time.” Ibid., 270.

One of the biggest problems today is the disunity and insurrection being raised among God’s people. This was the problem that the children of Israel had, and it was so serious that they were murmuring and complaining against their leaders, sometimes only Moses, sometimes both Moses and Aaron. This was one of the major reasons that all but two did not get to enter the Promised Land.

The devil knows that if we get to murmuring or complaining because of the providences of God that we do not understand or if we are unhappy with the leadership, we are murmuring because of the straight testimony; the preachers are preaching too straight.

This was the trouble with Moses. Moses was reproving the children of Israel often. That was not pleasurable for him to do, but that was his responsibility. It became even more unpleasant because they were murmuring, and one time they even wanted to stone him.

We are living in a time now when the majority of the professed people of God will not listen to plain preaching from the Word of God. That is one of the signs of the times, the fulfillment of this prophecy. We are doing exactly what the children of Israel did.

Straight Testimony

In 1993, the pastor of the Keene, Texas, Seventh-day Adventist Church, of which I was a member, sent me a letter. I had been an elder of this church for many years, as well as a Sabbath School teacher. In his letter, he stated that on a certain date there would be a church meeting and my name would be brought up for disfellowshipping. I thought this was very interesting, and I responded in writing that I would like to be there, if I was going to be disfellowshipped, but that I was scheduled to be in Europe on that date.

Well, they decided to disfellowship me anyway, while I was in Europe. When I returned from Europe, they sent a letter to me stating four reasons why I had been disfellowshipped. All four reasons were true! One of the four reasons they gave for my disfellowshipping was that I had stated that they were in apostasy. I had said that; I had even put it in print. It was the truth, and I could not retract it, because it was the truth.

I had published a booklet entitled, None Dare Call it Apostasy. In this booklet, I included quotations from denominational newspapers and college newspapers that documented what was being done in the church. Also included were some Bible texts and Spirit of Prophecy quotations, which made it very evident that there was apostasy in the church. We cannot take such reproof any more. If we are in apostasy, but nobody can say anything about it, how can we ever get out of that condition? You see, if a church or a group of people is in apostasy, there is no hope for them unless somebody gives them a warning of their condition, and unless they accept it, there is no hope.

Walls of Separation

We are living in the last years of time. During this time, there is going to be a polarization of all the people in the world. At the very end, there will only be two groups. These two groups will be so different from one another! One group will be an exact replica or image of the character of Satan. The other group will be an exact replica or image of the character of Jesus.

In 1 John 3:2, we are told that when Jesus comes, we are going to be like Him. The same writer, in Revelation 19:19, talks about these different worldly powers and how they are going to be gathered together to fight the Lord, the One that is on the horse.

Writing of the development of these two groups, Ellen White says, “As we near the close of time the demarcation between the children of light and the children of darkness will be more and more decided. They will be more and more at variance.” Last Day Events, 215. Why are they more and more at variance? Because one of the groups is becoming more and more like Jesus. They will not look at sin. They will not listen to sin. They will not be around sin. They will not eat like the world. They will not indulge in the entertainment of the world. They will not dress like the world.

The worldly are saying to us now, “Well, just what in the world do you do? You do not do anything that we do.” This experience repeatedly occurs when people accept God’s truth. All of a sudden they have to make new friends, because their worldly friends say, “You do not go to the movies with us anymore. You do not go to the drinking parties anymore. You do not play cards, gamble, or dance anymore. You do not do anything that we do.” So they lose all of their former friends; they have to develop all new friendships.

Perhaps the devil is tempting you with the fact that since you have chosen to follow Jesus, you are a loser. Maybe you have lost your spouse or other family members or dear friends have deserted you. You feel all alone in the world. Let me tell you something. When everyone forsakes you because you are following Jesus, you are going to gain more friends, and the friends you gain are going to be of a much better quality than the ones you have lost.

“As we near the close of time the demarcation between the children of light and the children of darkness will be more and more decided. They will be more and more at variance. This difference is expressed in the words of Christ, ‘born again’—created anew in Christ, dead to the world, and alive unto God. These are the walls of separation that divide the heavenly from the earthly and describe the difference between those who belong to the world and those who are chosen out of it, who are elect, precious in the sight of God.” Ibid., 215, 216.

The difference between the two groups is going to become more and more evident, because we are attempting to imitate the life of Christ. It is the goal, if you are a Christian, to imitate, to copy the Pattern. The Bible says, “He that is in Him, it is necessary for him to walk as He walked.” 1 John 2:6.

To be continued . . .

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

Behold, the Bridegroom Cometh, Part II

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A key text for people who are living in the last years of time, approaching the end of everything in this world as we know it, is Revelation 12:12: “On account of this, rejoice, O heavens, and those who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea! Because the devil has come down to you having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.”

Among different Bible students and scholars, there is a difference of opinion as to what exact time this text in Revelation 12 applies. I am not interested in getting into a controversy about it. I will mention the two positions, and you can study this whole chapter and try to figure it out for yourselves. Some people believe that this applies particularly to 31 a.d., after the resurrection of Jesus. I have no real argument with those people. I personally believe that this Scripture has more particular application to 1798, the end of the 1260 day period. Study it out for yourself and make your own decision. Whichever way it is, we are living in that time now.

With a Whisper

“The devil has come down to you having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.” What does this text predict? This text predicts that as we approach the last years of earth’s history, the controversy between Christ and Satan is going to become more fierce and intense.

Ellen White wrote: “The Lord Jesus Christ came to dispute the usurpation of Satan in the kingdoms of the world. The conflict is not yet ended; and as we draw near the close of time, the battle waxes more intense.” Review and Herald, April 14, 1896. Then she discussed how Satan will personate Jesus Christ and how he will work upon the human imagination. The devil is cunning; even though he has great wrath, sometimes he comes with a whisper.

How does the devil get to your imagination? He can get to it through billboards, magazines, radio, television, novels, plays, videos—all of those are ways the devil can use to introduce things into your imagination and to start working on it. You need to be careful what you are looking at, what you are listening to, and what your imagination is dwelling upon.

After Ellen White says that the battle will wax more intense, she continues: “He will exercise his power, and work upon the human imagination.” Ibid. The devil wants to work on your imagination and on my imagination. We sometimes may not even know we are being tempted. We may think that we are just daydreaming, that we are just enjoying a little reverie, but the devil is working on the imagination.

A special warning is given for the young people: “Through the pleasures and ambitions of the world, the enemy is working to draw the youth into his ranks, and he has much success. As we approach nearer to the close of time, he will invent every possible attraction to draw their minds into worldly channels.” Ibid., February 1, 1912.

Attack upon Marriage

Another sign that the end of this earth is near is the severe attack we see upon marriage. Divorce seems to be used as the solution to a myriad of issues.

A young lady who was contemplating divorce once asked me for counsel. In her situation, I could only tell her, “Jesus said that if you divorce your spouse and marry somebody else, for some reason other than adultery, you are in adultery.” She did not like my answer. She divorced her husband and married somebody else anyway. That is one of the signs of the times.

Ellen White wrote, “A woman may be legally divorced from her husband by the laws of the land, and yet not divorced in the sight of God and according to the higher law. There is only one sin, which is adultery, which can place the husband or wife in a position where they can be free from the marriage vow in the sight of God.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 159.

When Jesus comes again, there will be many people who have remarried after divorce, with no biblical grounds. It is a problem that we are facing all over the world. It is one of the signs of the times.

Fashionable Sins

Speaking about a certain class of people, Ellen White said, “Those who cannot sustain their position by the Scriptures are stubbornly determined that it shall be sustained at all hazards, and with a malicious spirit they attack the character and motives of those who stand in defense of unpopular truth. Though very unbelieving in regard to the sure word of prophecy, they manifest the utmost credulity in accepting anything detrimental to the Christian integrity of those who dare to reprove fashionable sins. This spirit will increase more and more as we near the close of time.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 292.

If you study history, you will learn that in every period of history in this world there have been certain sins in different cultures that have been acceptable. There are sins today that are acceptable in Adventism. When some of us have decided that we have to write, preach, teach, and say what God says about these fashionable sins, people get angry. There is hatred of those who reprove fashionable sins.

There are sins that were fashionable in other periods of time that are not fashionable today. People fall into fashionable sins because they are looking around at other people, and they may not even realize something is sin, because everybody is doing it.

When we lived in Keene, Texas, my son attended the Keene Adventist Elementary School. One evening when we were talking, I was admonishing him about certain things that he should not do, and he said to me, “But dad, everybody is doing it.”

I was ready for that! I said, “Son, what if all those people who are doing that burn up some day? Would you like to burn up with them?”

There was a time, during Old Testament times, when one of the fashionable sins was the practice of polygamy. Was it a sin? Of course it was a sin. That is not fashionable right now, although today we have consecutive polygamy—we marry and divorce, marry and divorce. We have multiple spouses; we just have them one at a time.

One of the fashionable sins in Adventism today is lewdness. Do you know what lewdness is? Maybe I should use a simpler word: immodesty. Ellen White says that lewdness defiles the conscience. (Patriarchs and Prophets, 454.) Concealed Sin

“As we near the close of time, Satan will work with masterly activity to undermine principle, and corrupt moral character. Sin is committed by many who think their crime is effectually concealed. But there is One who says, ‘I know thy works.’ ‘There is nothing covered, which shall not be revealed; and hid, which shall not be known.’ [Revelation 2:2; Matthew 10:26.] When the mind is infatuated with the idea of sin, there will be deception practiced; lies will be told; for those who commit such sins will not be slow to lie as well. But all sin shall be revealed.” Review and Herald, May 24, 1887.

“The small sins will swell into the greater sins. Impure thoughts, private, impure actions, unrefined, low, and sensual thoughts and actions in the marriage life, the giving loose reins to the baser passions under the marriage vow will lead to every other sin, the transgression of all the commandments of God.” Ibid.

We need to face up to the divine counsel in the Spirit of Prophecy. Impure thoughts lead to impure actions. God has given you the right to eat. He gave Adam and Eve the right to eat, but did He give them the right to eat anything they pleased at any time? No. There was one tree of which God said, “Do not eat.” (Genesis 2:17.)

Whether you are a man or a woman, God has given you the right to get married. That is honorable. The Bible says that marriage is honorable, but just as it is not right for a person to eat anything, any time, any way, so the marriage privileges can be abused.

If you are concerned as to whether or not you and your spouse are living in a way that is honorable and glorifying to God, obtain the book, Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, by Ellen White. In it her counsel and advice is very, very specific.

Lose to Win

Matthew 24:10, 11 has some specific counsel as to what will happen as we approach the end of time: “And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall arise and shall deceive many.” These verses say, “many.” How many are these many? Ellen White states very specifically that the majority will forsake us. (Testimonies, vol. 5, 136.)

What is going to happen? She says, “We are living in these last days, when lukewarmness and apostasy abound.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 7, 171. “The development of those who are not of the truth, will become of more frequent occurrence, as we near the close of time. Many will show that they are not one with Christ, that they are not dead to the world, that they may live with him; and frequent will be the apostasies of men who have occupied responsible positions. To be dead with Christ, means to be dead to all sin,—dead to the pleasures, the enjoyments, the profits, the honors, of the world; and, if we are partakers of Christ’s self-denial and suffering, we shall lose nothing by it, for we shall be partakers with him of his glory. It is at the peril of our souls that we prove unfaithful.” Review and Herald, September 11, 1888.

Remember that whatever we lose when we follow Jesus is not really a loss. As we approach the end, we are going to lose everything, from a worldly standpoint. But if we have faith, that is going to be a very exciting time. When it seems as though everyone around us has forsaken us and we lose everything for Jesus’ sake, then we know, if we have faith, that we are going to gain everything.

The day that we lose everything and the day that we gain everything is not the same day. There will be some time when it will appear, from a worldly point of view, that we have lost out on everything completely. Our friends or our relatives who are not in the faith, who are not walking up the narrow road, will think we are absolutely crazy. Some of us have had some experiences like that already.

Accuser of the Brethren

Revelation 12:12 says that as we approach the end of time, “On account of this, rejoice, O heavens, and those who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea! Because the devil has come down to you having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.”

Verse 10 says, “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Now has come salvation and power, the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, because the accuser of our brethren has been cast out, the one accusing them before our God day and night.”

The devil is the accuser of the brethren. You can study about that in Zechariah 3. He stood at the right hand of Joshua to oppose him. Ellen White writes, “Satan studies every indication of the frailty of human nature, he marks the sins which each individual is inclined to commit, and then he takes care that opportunities shall not be wanting to gratify the tendency to evil.” The Great Controversy, 555.

As we approach the close of time, she writes that, “Satan commenced his work as an accuser in heaven. This has been his work ever since the fall, and it will be his work in a special sense as we approach nearer to the close of time.” Review and Herald, September 22, 1896. We are going through this right now.

What To Do

What should we do since we are in this situation? Divine counsel has been given. I do not see God’s people doing this very much, but we should start doing it: “Now and onward till the close of time the people of God should be more earnest, more wide-awake, not trusting in their own wisdom, but in the wisdom of their Leader. They should set aside days for fasting and prayer. Entire abstinence from food may not be required, but they should eat sparingly of the most simple food.” Ibid., February 11, 1904.

This is a very interesting statement. If Ellen White were not inspired, she would not have known to write this. But, you see, we are living in a time when we are the weakest generation there has ever been. There are people all around us who have diabetes and various other health problems, which make it difficult to easily fast. They have to be very careful. I have friends who are on insulin, and they cannot just decide that they are not going to eat anything for a day. They have to be careful.

We are facing a crisis in the church and in the world that we have never before faced. We are not going to make it through these last years successfully unless we have special divine help. I believe that because, as I have prayed, I have been impressed that unless I have special divine help from the Lord, I am not going to make it. Jesus said to the disciples, when they could not cast out the devil, “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17:21.

We will be opposed, in a very short time, by a monolithic worldwide church led by the antichrist. How are we going to make that? It is written in The Great Controversy, 384, that, “The Protestant churches have much of antichrist in them, and are far from being wholly reformed from . . . corruptions and wickedness.” The Seventh-day Adventist church is a Protestant church, and many Adventists will be right along with this worldwide church. We are not going to make it through this time unless we devote some days to fasting and prayer.

What is Happening

A most startling statement is given in Manuscript Releases, vol. 13, 379. This is a prediction of what is going to happen in the last years. I believe that we are living in the last years, and I believe this is being fulfilled right in front of our eyes. This quotation explains to me why Adventists are exclaiming, “What is going on? I cannot believe that this is happening.” But it is happening.

“In His Word the Lord declared what He would do for Israel if they would obey His voice. But the leaders of the people yielded to the temptations of Satan, and God could not give them the blessings He designed them to have, because they did not obey His voice but listened to the voice and policy of Lucifer.”

What was the problem? God promised His people, “If you obey My voice, I will do these things for you.” But she continued, “God could not give them the blessings He designed them to have, because they did not obey His voice but listened to the voice and policy of Lucifer.”

That is the setting for the statement that applies to us: “This experience will be repeated in the last years of the history of the people of God, who have been established by His grace and power. Men whom He has greatly honored will in the closing scenes of this earth’s history pattern after ancient Israel.” Ibid.

Who are the people of God in the last years of earth’s history that have been established by God’s grace and power? Seventh-day Adventists.

What happened to Israel? God said, “If you obey My voice, I will do this for you.” They did not obey His voice but listened to the voice and policy of Lucifer. This is why so many things are happening today. People wonder why the Vatican flag was in the Parade of Nations at the General Conference Session. What is happening? Why are Catholic priests giving testimony and monsignors addressing the leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church? What is happening?

What did Ellen White say would happen in the last years? The experience of leaders of God’s people not obeying His voice but listening to the voice of Lucifer, she said, would be repeated. Just like it happened in ancient Israel, she said, “Men whom He has greatly honored will in the closing scenes of this earth’s history pattern after ancient Israel.”

We are in the closing scenes of this earth’s history, and that is why we see things happening in the church that cause us to say, “What is happening?” We cannot understand it. We cannot believe it. It is so confusing that we cannot make any sense out of anything. That is what is happening.

True or False

One more thing that is going to happen as we approach the end is:

“Falsehood will be so mingled with truth, that only those who have the guidance of the Holy Spirit will be able to distinguish truth from error.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 7, 359.

This statement is an excellent one to follow after the quotation about listening to the voice of Lucifer. You see, when you listen to the voice of Lucifer, that does not mean that you are not going to hear truth. The devil knows what the truth is, and the devil can teach you a lot of truth. By the way, everything that the antichrist believes is not a lie. Much of what the antichrist teaches is the truth.

Does the antichrist power believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sin? They teach it. Do they believe that you should pray? Yes. They are even teaching now—they did not teach this in the Dark Ages—that you should read your Bible. They believe in missions.

I was given an official Catechism of the Catholic Church. I have looked through it, and it is actually quite amazing, the tremendous amount of truth it contains. But, of course, it is mixed up; it is the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

The Book of Revelation predicts that the whole world is going to be deceived by the devil at the end of time. Do not think that all they will believe are lies. A lot of what they believe will be the truth. That is what will make it so deceptive. There will be truth mingled with error, and you will not be able to figure it out unless you have the help of the Holy Spirit.

This perhaps helps you to understand why we need to be praying every day. This is why we pray before we preach. This is why we pray before we study God’s Word. This is why we pray, “Lord, help us to understand the truth,” before we study our Bibles at home.

The devil stands beside some people when they are studying the Bible. He teaches them lots of things—a lot of truth mixed up with error. We cannot tell the error unless the Holy Spirit is working in our mind s. When we understand this, we no longer have self-confidence. Instead, we ask the Lord to keep us. We surrender our lives totally to Him because we recognize that only He can keep us from being deceived.

Lust of the Flesh

What is happening as we approach the end of time, the last years of earth’s history? Ellen White wrote, in the January 2, 1900, Review and Herald, “Many who profess to believe the word of God do not seem to understand the deceptive working of the enemy. They do not realize that the end of time is near; but Satan knows it; and while men sleep, he works. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life are controlling men and women. Satan is at work even among the people of God, to cause disunion. Selfishness, corruption, and evil of every kind are taking a firm hold upon hearts.”

The day of probation is not over yet. If selfishness, corruption, the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life has a firm hold on your heart, if you cry out to the Lord Jesus, He can set you free from the devil’s firm hold.

From the few things we have addressed in this article, you know that the Lord Jesus can save you if you make a complete surrender and dedication to Him. I hope you understand that it is necessary to make a total surrender to the Lord, because if you do not, the devil is going to get you.

We are living in the shaking period, in the last years of earth’s history. There is going to be a group of people that will be ready when Christ returns. I want to be one of those people. If you want to be one of those people also, make a covenant with the Lord right now; pray, “Lord, I want to make a covenant with You. Whatever I lose in this world, whatever opposition I have, I want to be one of the people that is ready when Jesus comes. Lord, if there is anything in my life that is wrong, please point it out to me. I want every wrinkle, every spot, to come out of my character. Lord, I am really serious about being saved.”

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

How Will God Finish His Work? Part II

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Angels are holding the four winds, represented as an angry horse seeking to break loose, and rush over the face of the whole earth, bearing destruction and death in its path. . . .

“I tell you in the name of the Lord God of Israel that all injurious, discouraging influences are held in control by unseen angel hands, until everyone that works in the fear and love of God is sealed in his forehead.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 409.

If you study this carefully, Ellen White is talking about firstfruits. You may read about firstfruits in Revelation 14. The 144,000 are called firstfruits. Why? In the Old Testament, the Levitical feast days and customs were observed. When the harvest was ready, the farmers would not harvest their crops until a sheaf of the firstfriuts had been waved before the Lord by the High Priest. (Leviticus 23:10, 11.)

“From the harvest fields the first heads of ripened grain were gathered, and when the people went up to Jerusalem to the Passover, the sheaf of firstfruits was waved as a thank offering before the Lord. Not until this was presented could the sickle be put to the grain, and it be gathered into sheaves.” The Desire of Ages, 786.

That offering was waved up and down, up and down, as the Lord’s acceptance of the firstfruits was sought. The firstfruits offering was brought with the query, Lord, are they ripened correctly? Are these firstfruits acceptable unto Thee? When God accepted that firstfruits offering, the harvest could then proceed.

So it is that the harvest must have one condition: the firstfruits must be approved. Spiritually speaking, that has to do with the understanding of the truth and sanctification by the truth. One must not only know the truth intellectually but also spiritually. That is why Mrs. White said that the sealing experience is a settling into the truth in two ways, intellectually and spiritually, so that we will not be moved anymore.

“Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads—it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved—just as soon as God’s people are sealed and prepared for the shaking, it will come. Indeed, it has begun already; the judgments of God are now upon the land, to give us warning, that we may know what is coming.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1161.

The Harvest

We must understand the truth and know what it is. We must be deeply grounded spiritually. We must experience the truth. When we experience the truth, we will then be sealed in our foreheads. Then, God is going to ready the firstfruits, bundled up, offered, and accepted. The High Priest will direct the harvest to commence. All of the tares will be taken out and burned, and the wheat will be taken into the storage.

Jesus Christ is still lingering and waiting in the heavenly sanctuary because the firstfruits are not ready. The Bible says the 144,000 are the firstfruits. As you study history, Jesus Christ was the firstfruits, was He not? Twelve disciples were the firstfruits. About 120 people in the upper room were the firstfruits, and, as you continue down through the ages, other firstfruits may be identified, but at the end, God must have 144,000 who are sealed with the seal of the living God, who have the true Sabbath-keeping experience.

No Fakes Accepted

If you truly keep the Sabbath, you can keep all of the other nine commandments. How can you keep the Sabbath while you are coveting? How can you keep the Sabbath while you are committing adultery? How can you keep the Sabbath when you hate someone? How can you truly keep the Sabbath while you are not obeying the other commandments, while you have idols in your heart? How can you keep the Sabbath, let alone go to church and pretend that you love Jesus Christ? Oh, you can pretend it; you can fake it, but faking cannot be accepted by God.

The seal of the living God is the Sabbath-keeping experience, because that is the outward sign for our inner experience with Jesus. We must become firstfruits, and then Jesus will let the four winds loose. This life then will soon be finished, and we will go home.

Winds Loosed

“The restraining Spirit of God is even now being withdrawn from the world. Hurricanes, storms, tempests, fire and flood, disasters by sea and land, follow each other in quick succession. Science seeks to explain all these. The signs thickening around us, telling of the near approach of the Son of God, are attributed to any other than the true cause. Men cannot discern the sentinel angels restraining the four winds that they shall not blow until the servants of God are sealed.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 408.

“The work which the church has failed to do in a time of peace and prosperity she will have to do in a terrible crisis under most discouraging, forbidding circumstances.” Ibid., vol. 5, 463.

I tell you, Adventist churches are boasting about their growth, but in many, many of their programs, they are following the growth programs of Babylonian churches, which is devastating. To follow and implement those programs, the churches must lower the standard of righteousness and truth in order to accommodate the people who are not ready to come in. Many times we are increasing our future persecutors within the church.

I say this because I love God’s people, and I pray that someone may read my article or hear a sermon I preach and maybe think again.

Happenings of Our Time

Sometimes I receive Signs and Wonders for Our Times, a Catholic magazine. (Signs and Wonders for Our Times, Herndon, Virginia.) It features articles about all the signs of Jesus’ coming, keeping God’s Commandments, miracles of supernatural power of the Virgin Mary, and even about Satan talking about Jesus’ coming and about his keeping God’s Commandments. Interesting!

Recently, some conservative groups have started saying that God’s judgment day is 2007!

Recently we have heard and seen a great controversy over the display of the Ten Commandments in public places, especially in government buildings. Tremendous things are happening.

Even though the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments being displayed says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” when someone in the secular world refers to this, they are talking about the Sunday.

Have you ever heard about Christian Churches Together (C.C.T.)? This ecumenical movement states on its web site that, “34 churches and national Christian organizations, representing over 100 million Americans, have officially formed the broadest, most inclusive fellowship of Christian churches and traditions in the U.S.A.” Formed in January 2003, it is a significant force now. It is pushing for the Sunday law. Incidentally, this organization was initiated by a Catholic priest.

To All The World

Matthew 24:14 says, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

I do believe this gospel of the kingdom has been preached to all the world already. Why do I believe this? In Colossians 1:23, the apostle Paul said, “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and [be] not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, [and] which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”

He said, very plainly, “The gospel, which ye have heard, [and] which was preached.” That is already past tense, right? “Was preached to every creature which is under heaven.” Is that not clear? This gospel has been preached to everybody under heaven once before.

Upon what basis did he say this? He did not say, “The gospel of the kingdom of God persuaded everyone.” Nor did he say, “The gospel of the kingdom of God convinced everyone.” What he did say is, “This gospel of the kingdom has been scattered so widely in the world, at this time, that if there is anyone, even on an island or on a mountainside, who is really sincerely seeking for the truth, he can look around and find it.”

So the gospel and truth have been scattered that much! That is what he was talking about. In the same sense, the same principle, I tell you that I believe that the Three Angels’ Messages have been preached to all the parts of the world. Any person who is sincerely seeking for the truth and prays to God can look around and find it. Those living in any country in the world can do this.

If you do not understand this, you do not understand that God is doing wondrous things in the world. He is making sure that this gospel of the kingdom is being made ready, so, as the firstfruits appear, He can seal them and say, “Let us go and harvest.”

Read Leviticus 23:10, 11: “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.”

“Genuine conversion is needed, not once in years, but daily. . . . Divine grace must be received daily, or no man will stay converted.” Our High Calling, 215. There are those who will say, “Oh, I was converted and born again two years ago.” You must be converted every day, by the grace of God.

“Excitement is not sanctification. Entire conformity to the will of our Father which is in heaven is alone sanctification, and the will of God is expressed in His holy law. The keeping of all the commandments of God is sanctification. Proving yourselves obedient children to God’s Word is sanctification. The Word of God is to be our guide, not the opinions or ideas of men.” Review and Herald, March 25, 1902.

A Finished Work

But, how will God finish this work?

  1. By simple methods.

“God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 300.

  1. By wonderful workings of divine providence.

“Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers. Satan also works, with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men. Revelation 13:13. Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.” The Great Controversy, 612.

“While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he [Satan] will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence.” Ibid., 589, 590.

Allow me to illustrate. Suppose that there is a tremendous earthquake in your area today. It registers as a 9.5 earthquake on the Richter scale. Every building is collapsed, and many, many people are killed, yet you are safe. Do you know what would happen? All of the media would surround you; helicopters would swarm above you. They will come from every direction and will start to ask you questions: “What kind of person are you? What kind of God are you worshipping? What do you believe? There is tremendous devastation all around this area. What is happening?”

Do you think you would be a testimony? Yes, you definitely would be. Do you think all of the world would watch you? Just think, your testimony would receive free airtime throughout the world. God is going to use very wonderful workings of divine providence that His truth will be known to the people.

  1. With the help of the holy angels.

In the Book of Acts, you may read about the assistance of holy angels. The same thing is going to take place in our time. Angels are going to come to us in the form of humanity to aid us.

“When divine power is combined with human effort, the work will spread like fire in the stubble. God will employ agencies whose origin man will be unable to discern; angels will do a work which men might have had the blessing of accomplishing, had they not neglected to answer the claims of God.” Review and Herald, December 15, 1885.

God is going to finish this work in His own way.

  1. With the help of the eleventh hour workers. This is very important.

“God has children, many of them, in the Protestant churches, and a large number in the Catholic churches, who are more true to obey the light and to do [to] the very best of their knowledge than a large number among Sabbathkeeping Adventists who do not walk in the light. The Lord will have the message of truth proclaimed, that Protestants may be warned and awakened to the true state of things, and consider the worth of the privilege of religious freedom which they have long enjoyed.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 386. Do you need to read this paragraph again?

“There are many souls to come out of the ranks of the world, out of the churches—even the Catholic Church—whose zeal will far exceed that of those who have stood in rank and file to proclaim the truth heretofore. For this reason the eleventh hour laborers will receive their penny.” Ibid., 386, 387.

Eleventh hour workers are the people who are going to come out from the Babylonian churches. In Matthew 20, Jesus Christ said that this work is going to be finished by the eleventh hour workers in the vineyard. Eleventh hour workers are going to come in to help us.

“These will see the battle coming and will give the trumpet a certain sound. When the crisis is upon us, when the season of calamity shall come, they will come to the front, gird themselves with the whole armor of God, and exalt His law, adhere to the faith of Jesus [another expression of keeping God’s Commandments and having the faith of Jesus], and maintain the cause of religious liberty which reformers defended with toil and for which they sacrificed their lives.” Ibid., 387.

Eleventh hour workers are outside right now, and God is going to bring them to the harvest to finish the work so that we can go home. When God takes the reins into His own hands, He is going to use simple people and simple methods, and it is going to take no time at all. He has to finish the work, and we have to let Him. How? You and I must become firstfruits.

Pastor David Kang is Director of Light for Life Ministry operating out of Hartwell, Georgia. His sermons are broadcast weekly on New York and Virginia Korean television stations. Pastor Kang also frequently travels to Asia where he trains pastors who often work “underground.” Pastor Kang may be contacted by telephone at: 706-377-1004.

Pen of Inspiration – Some Who Will Not Be There

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CAIN – Notwithstanding that Cain had by his crimes merited the sentence of death, a merciful Creator still spared his life, and granted him opportunity for repentance. But Cain lived only to harden his heart, to encourage rebellion against the divine authority, and to become the head of a line of bold, abandoned sinners. This one apostate, led on by Satan, became a tempter to others; and his example and influence exerted their demoralizing power, until the earth became so corrupt and filled with violence as to call for its destruction.

LOT’S WIFE – If Lot himself had manifested no hesitancy to obey the angels’ warning, but had earnestly fled toward the mountains, without one word of pleading or remonstrance, his wife also would have made her escape. The influence of his example would have saved her from the sin that sealed her doom. But his hesitancy and delay caused her to lightly regard the divine warning. While her body was upon the plain, her heart clung to Sodom, and she perished with it. She rebelled against God because His judgments involved her possessions and her children in the ruin. Although so greatly favored in being called out from the wicked city, she felt that she was severely dealt with, because the wealth that it had taken years to accumulate must be left to destruction. Instead of thankfully accepting deliverance, she presumptuously looked back to desire the life of those who had rejected the divine warning. Her sin showed her to be unworthy of life, for the preservation of which she felt so little gratitude.

KING SAUL – Saul knew that in this last act, of consulting the witch of Endor, he cut the last shred which held him to God. He knew that if he had not before willfully separated himself from God, this act sealed that separation, and made it final. He had made an agreement with death, and a covenant with hell. The cup of his iniquity was full.

JUDAS – God has appointed means, if we will use them diligently and prayerfully, that no vessel shall be shipwrecked, but outride the tempest and storm, and anchor in the haven of bliss at last. But if we despise and neglect these appointments and privileges, God will not work a miracle to save any of us, and we will be lost as were Judas and Satan.

HEROD, HERODIAS, PILATE, AND INDIVIDUALS DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN JESUS’ CRUCIFIXION – And now before the swaying multitude are revealed the final scenes—the patient Sufferer treading the path to Calvary; the Prince of heaven hanging upon the cross; the haughty priests and the jeering rabble deriding His expiring agony; the supernatural darkness; the heaving earth, the rent rocks, the open graves, marking the moment when the world’s Redeemer yielded up His life.

The awful spectacle appears just as it was. Satan, his angels, and his subjects have no power to turn from the picture of their own work. Each actor recalls the part which he performed. Herod, who slew the innocent children of Bethlehem that he might destroy the King of Israel; the base Herodias, upon whose guilty soul rests the blood of John the Baptist; the weak, timeserving Pilate; the mocking soldiers; the priests and rulers and the maddened throng who cried, “His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matthew 27:25)! all behold the enormity of their guilt. They vainly seek to hide from the divine majesty of His countenance, outshining the glory of the sun, while the redeemed cast their crowns at the Saviour’s feet, exclaiming: “He died for me!”

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. There are the very men who with impious hands placed upon His form the purple robe, upon His sacred brow the thorny crown, and in His unresisting hand the mimic scepter, and bowed before Him in blasphemous mockery. 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.

With awful distinctness do priests and rulers recall the events of Calvary. With shuddering horror they remember how, wagging their heads in satanic exultation, they exclaimed: “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him” (Matthew 27:42, 43).

Vividly they recall the Saviour’s parable of the husbandmen who refused to render to their lord the fruit of the vineyard, who abused his servants and slew his son. They remember, too, the sentence which they the mselves pronounced: The lord of the vineyard “will miserably destroy those wicked men” (Mathew 21:41). In the sin and punishment of those unfaithful men the priests and elders see their own course and their own just doom. 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!” They seek to flee from the presence of the King of kings. In the deep caverns of the earth, rent asunder by the warring of the elements, they vainly attempt to hide.

NERO AND HIS MOTHER; PAPAL PRIESTS AND PONTIFFS – Amid the ransomed throng are the apostles of Christ, the heroic Paul, the ardent Peter, the loved and loving John, and their truehearted brethren, and with them the vast host of martyrs; while outside the walls, with every vile and abominable thing, are those by whom they were persecuted, imprisoned, and slain. There is Nero, that monster of cruelty and vice, beholding the joy and exaltation of those whom he once tortured, and in whose extremest anguish he found satanic delight. His mother is there to witness the result of her own work; to see how the evil stamp of character transmitted to her son, the passions encouraged and developed by her influence and example, have borne fruit in crimes that caused the world to shudder.

There are papist priests and prelates, who claimed to be Christ’s ambassadors, yet employed the rack, the dungeon, and the stake to control the consciences of His people. There are the proud pontiffs who exalted themselves above God and presumed to change the law of the Most High. Those pretended fathers of the church have an account to render to God from which they would fain be excused. Too late they are made to see that the Omniscient One is jealous of His law and that He will in no wise clear the guilty. They learn now that Christ identifies His interest with that of His suffering people; and they feel the force of His own words: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me” (Matthew 25:40).

Heaven, 106–110.

Bible Study Guides – Preparation for Translation

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June 24, 2007 – June 30, 2007

Key Text

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2.

Study Help: Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4b, 34-37.

Introduction

“God leads His people on, step by step. He brings them up to different points calculated to manifest what is in the heart. Some endure at one point, but fall off at the next. At every advanced point the heart is tested and tried a little closer. If the professed people of God find their hearts opposed to this straight work, it should convince them that they have a work to do to overcome. . . . Some are willing to receive one point; but when God brings them to another testing point, they shrink from it and stand back, because they find that it strikes directly at some cherished idol. Here they have opportunity to see what is in their hearts that shuts out Jesus. They prize something higher than the truth, and their hearts are not prepared to receive Jesus. Individuals are tested and proved a length of time to see if they will sacrifice their idols. . . . Those who come up to every point, and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counsel of the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for translation.” Maranatha, 43.

1 What yearning of heart did the Saviour express in prayer the night of His betrayal? John 17:24.

note: “Before the foundations of the earth were laid, the Father and the Son had united in a covenant to redeem man if he should be overcome by Satan. They had clasped Their hands in a solemn pledge that Christ should become the surety for the human race. This pledge Christ has fulfilled. When upon the cross He cried out, ‘It is finished,’ He addressed the Father. [John 19:30.] The compact had been fully carried out.” The Desire of Ages, 834.

2 Before His ascension, what cheering promise did the Saviour give His people? John 14:1–3.

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.

3 What assurance did the apostle Paul give of the translation of the righteous when Jesus appears? 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18.

note: “The living righteous are changed ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.’ [1 Corinthians 15:52.] 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. Angels ‘gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.’ [Matthew 24:31.] Little children are borne by holy angels to their mothers’ arms. Friends long separated by death are united, nevermore to part, and with songs of gladness ascend together to the City of God.” The Great Controversy, 645.

4 What physical change will those who are translated experience? 1 Corinthians 15:51–54. What will be their spiritual condition? 1 John 3:2; Matthew 5:8.

note: “Soon I [Ellen White] heard the voice of God which shook the heavens and the earth. [See Joel 3:16; Hebrews 12:26; Revelation 16:17.] There was a mighty earthquake. Buildings were shaken down, and fell on every side. I then heard a triumphant shout of victory, loud, musical, and clear. I looked upon this company, who, a short time before, were in such distress and bondage. Their captivity was turned. A glorious light shone upon them. How beautiful they then looked! All weariness and marks of care were gone; health and beauty were seen in every countenance.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 184.

5 While the righteous will be “caught up” at the coming of the Lord, what will be the experience of the wicked? 11 Thessalonians 1:7–10; Jeremiah 25:30–33.

note: “In the mad strife of their own fierce passions, and by the awful outpouring of God’s unmingled wrath, fall the wicked inhabitants of the earth priests, rulers, and people, rich and poor, high and low. [Jeremiah 25:33 quoted.]

“At the coming of Christ the wicked are blotted from the face of the whole earth consumed with the spirit of His mouth and destroyed by the brightness of His glory. Christ takes His people to the City of God, and the earth is emptied of its inhabitants. [Isaiah 24:1, 3, 5, 6 quoted.]” The Great Controversy, 657.

6 As a preparation for translation, what solemn call to a deeper consecration comes to us from the Lord? Amos 4:12; Joel 2:11–17. How is the same solemn call voiced by another prophet? Zephaniah 2:1–3.

note: “I [Ellen White] saw that many were neglecting the preparation so needful and were looking to the time of ‘refreshing’ and the ‘latter rain’ to fit them to stand in the day of the Lord and to live in His sight. Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without a shelter! They had neglected the needful preparation; therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a holy God. Those who refuse to be hewed by the prophets and fail to purify their souls in obeying the whole truth, and who are willing to believe that their condition is far better than it really is, will come up to the time of the falling of the plagues, and then see that they needed to be hewed and squared for the building. But there will be no time then to do it and no Mediator to plead their cause before the Father. . . . I saw that none could share the ‘refreshing’ unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action. We should, therefore, be drawing nearer and nearer to the Lord and be earnestly seeking that preparation necessary to enable us to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. Let all remember that God is holy and that none but holy beings can ever dwell in His presence.” Early Writings, 71.

7 What was Enoch’s experience before his translation? Hebrews 11:5; Genesis 5:22–24.

note: “Pray in your closet, and as you go about your daily labor let your heart be often uplifted to God. It was thus that Enoch walked with God.” Steps to Christ, 98, 99.

8 What is said concerning the translation of Elijah? 11 Kings 2:9–11.

note: “Elijah was a type of the saints who will be living on the earth at the time of the second advent of Christ and who will be ‘changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump,’ without tasting of death. 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52. It was as a representative of those who shall be thus translated that Elijah, near the close of Christ’s earthly ministry, was permitted to stand with Moses by the side of the Saviour on the mount of transfiguration. In these glorified ones, the disciples saw in miniature a representation of the kingdom of the redeemed. They beheld Jesus clothed with the light of heaven; they heard the ‘voice out of the cloud’ (Luke 9:35), acknowledging Him as the Son of God; they saw Moses, representing those who will be raised from the dead at the time of the second advent; and there also stood Elijah, representing those who at the close of earth’s history will be changed from mortal to immortal and be translated to heaven without seeing death.” Prophets and Kings, 227.

9 Who only will ascend into the hill of the Lord? Psalm 24:3, 4. (Compare Psalm 15.) What description is given of those who will be redeemed from the earth when the Lord comes? Revelation 14:1–5.

note: “I [Ellen White] was shown that quite a number who were thinking it their duty to teach the word of God publicly had mistaken their work. They had no call to devote themselves to this solemn, responsible work. They were not qualified for the work of the ministry, for they could not instruct others properly.

“The experience of some had been obtained among a class of religious fanatics who had no true sense of the exalted character of the work. The religious experience of this class of professed Seventh-day Adventists was not reliable. They had not firm principles underlying all their actions. They were self-confident, and boastful. Their religion did not consist in righteous acts, true humility of soul, and sincere devotion to God, but in impulse, in noise and confusion, spiced with eccentricities and oddities. They had not felt, neither could they feel, the necessity of being clothed with Christ’s righteousness. They had a righteousness of their own, which was as filthy rags, and which God can in no case accept. These persons had no love for union and harmony of action. They delighted in disorder. Confusion, distraction, and diversity of opinion were their choice. They were ungovernable, unsubdued, unregenerated, and unconsecrated, and this element of confusion suited their undisciplined minds. They were a curse to the cause of God and brought the name of Seventh-day Adventists into disrepute.

“These persons had not experienced the work of reformation, or sanctification through the truth. They were coarse and uncultivated. They had never tasted of the sweet, pure refinement of the world to come. They had never experienced, neither had their hearts been awed by, the mystery of godliness. They placed divine and eternal things upon a level with common things, and would talk of heaven and the coming of Jesus as they would of a horse. They had a superficial knowledge or theory of the truth, but further than this they were ignorant. Its principles had not taken hold of their lives and led them to an abhorrence of self. . . . They had never been slain by the law of God, and had not separated themselves from their impurities and defilement. It is the favorite occupation of some of this class to engage in trifling conversation and levity. This habit they contracted, and indulged upon occasions which should have been characterized by solemn meditation and devotion. In doing this, they manifested a lack of true dignity and refinement, and forfeited the esteem of sensible persons who had no knowledge of the truth. This class threw themselves into a current of temptation and kept where the enemy led them successfully, and he has so easily controlled their minds and corrupted their entire experience that in all probability they will be unable to recover themselves out of his snare and obtain a healthful experience.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 553, 554.

10 What song of victory was sung by those who were raised from the dead and ascended with our divine Lord? Revelation 5:9, 10. (Compare Matthew 27:50–53; Ephesians 4:8.)

note: “All heaven was waiting to welcome the Saviour to the celestial courts. As He ascended, He led the way, and the multitude of captives set free at His resurrection followed. The heavenly host, with shouts and acclamations of praise and celestial song, attended the joyous train. . . .

“Then the portals of the city of God are opened wide, and the angelic throng sweep through the gates amid a burst of rapturous music.

“There is the throne, and around it the rainbow of promise. There are cherubim and seraphim. The commanders of the angel hosts, the sons of God, the representatives of the unfallen worlds, are assembled. The heavenly council before which Lucifer had accused God and His Son, the representatives of those sinless realms over which Satan had thought to establish his dominion, all are there to welcome the Redeemer. They are eager to celebrate His triumph and to glorify their King.” The Desire of Ages, 833, 834.

11 What spiritual change will have been experienced by those who are saved when the Lord comes? Colossians 1:13, 14.

note: “Satan cannot hold the dead in his grasp when the Son of God bids them live. He cannot hold in spiritual death one soul who in faith receives Christ’s word of power.” The Desire of Ages, 320.

12 What reward awaits the overcomer? 1 Corinthians 2:9; Psalm 17:15; Revelation 21:3–7.

note: “Those who accept the teachings of God’s Word will not be wholly ignorant concerning the heavenly abode. . . . Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous. It will be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can comprehend the glory of the Paradise of God.” The Story of Redemption, 430, 431.

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

Adapted from “The Victorious Life,” Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, 1924.

Bible Study Guides – Looking for Christ

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July 22, 2007 – July 28, 2007

Key Text

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28.

Study Help: Testimonies, vol. 5, 98−105.

Introduction

“Did those who profess to be looking for Christ but realize how near is the end of all work for the salvation of souls, they would sacrifice their possessions as freely as did the members of the early church. ‘The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own. . . . As many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles’ feet.’ [Acts 4:32, 34, 35.] Those who had money or possessions freely sacrificed them to the existing emergency. The believers had one common interest—the success of the mission intrusted [sic] to them. Their love for Christ was far greater than their love for money. They acted out their faith, and by their works testified that they accounted the souls of men of more worth than any earthly treasure. Have we not even greater reason to sacrifice than they had? Have we not far less time than they in which to accomplish our work?” Review and Herald, December 6, 1887.

1 When did Peter say the restoration of all things would take place? Acts 3:20, 21. Who does he say has spoken of this time? Verse 21, last part.

note: “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 angels who lingered upon Olivet after Christ’s ascension repeated to the disciples the promise of His return: ‘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. And the apostle Paul, speaking by the Spirit of Inspiration, testified: ‘The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God.’ 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Says the prophet of Patmos: ‘Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him.’ Revelation 1:7. [Emphasis in original.]

“About His coming cluster the glories of that ‘restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.’ Acts 3:21. Then the long-continued rule of evil shall be broken.” The Great Controversy, 301.

2 What promise was made to Abraham? Genesis 17:7, 8. Who are heirs of this promise made to Abraham? Hebrews 11:9.

note: “There was given to Abraham the promise, especially dear to the people of that age, of a numerous posterity and of national greatness: ‘I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.’ [Genesis 12:2.] And to this was added the assurance, precious above every other to the inheritor of faith, that of his line the Redeemer of the world should come: ‘In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.’ [Verse 3.]” Patriarchs and Prophets, 125.

3 Did Isaac and Jacob receive the promise while they were living? Hebrews 11:9−13. For what did they look? Verses 10, 16.

note: “It is recorded of the holy men of old that God was not ashamed to be called their God. The reason assigned is that instead of coveting earthly possessions or seeking happiness in worldly plans or aspirations they placed their all upon the altar of God and made disposition of it to build up His kingdom. They lived only for God’s glory and declared plainly that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth, seeking a better country, that is, an heavenly. Their conduct proclaimed their faith. God could entrust to them His truth and could leave the world to receive from them a knowledge of His will.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 188.

4 To what time did Job look for final deliverance? Job 19:25−27.

note: “One of the most solemn and yet most glorious truths revealed in the Bible is that of Christ’s second coming to complete the great work of redemption. . . . 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.’ Job 19:25−27.” The Great Controversy, 299.

5 What was revealed to Balaam when he was seeking to prophesy against Israel? Numbers 24:17, 19.

note: “All the world should wonder at the marvelous work of God in behalf of His people—that a man [Balaam] determined to pursue a sinful course should be so controlled by divine power as to utter, instead of imprecations, the richest and most precious promises, in the language of sublime and impassioned poetry. . . .

“Balaam uttered a most beautiful and sublime prophecy of the world’s Redeemer and the final destruction of the enemies of God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 449, 451.

6 What does the Psalmist say about the coming of the Lord? Psalm 50:3−6; 97:3−6; 37:10, 11, 29.

note: “Mercy and truth are promised to the humble and penitent, but judgments are prepared for the sinful and rebellious. ‘Justice and judgment are the habitation of Thy throne.’ [Psalm 89:14.] A wicked and adulterous people will not escape the wrath of God and the punishment they have justly earned. Man has fallen; and it will be the work of a lifetime, be it longer or shorter, to recover from that fall, and regain, through Christ, the image of the divine, which he lost by sin and continued transgression. God requires a thorough transformation of soul, body, and spirit in order to regain the estate lost through Adam. The Lord mercifully sends rays of light to show man his true condition. If he will not walk in the light he manifests a pleasure in darkness. He will not come to the light lest his deeds shall be reproved.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 448, 449.

“The psalmist had in mind the . . . final restoration of man’s original inheritance when he declared, ‘The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.’ Psalm 37:29.

“This hope of redemption through the advent of the Son of God as Saviour and King, has never become extinct in the hearts of men.” Prophets and Kings, 682.

7 What warning is given by Zephaniah? Zephaniah 2:3. Why were they commanded to seek the Lord? Verses 1, 2.

note: “We are near the close of time. I [Ellen White] have been shown that the retributive judgments of God are already in the land. The Lord has given us warning of the events about to take place. Light is shining from His word; yet darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people. ‘When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them; . . . and they shall not escape.’ [1 Thessalonians 5:3.]

“It is our duty to inquire the cause of this terrible darkness, that we may shun the course by which men have brought upon themselves so great delusion. God has given the world an opportunity to learn and to obey His will. He has given them, in His word, the light of truth; He has sent them warning, counsel, and admonition; but few will obey His voice. Like the Jewish nation, the majority, even of professed Christians, pride themselves on their superior advantages, but make no returns to God for these great blessings. In infinite mercy a last warning message has been sent to the world, announcing that Christ is at the door and calling attention to God’s broken law. But as the antediluvians rejected with scorn the warning of Noah, so will the pleasure lovers of today reject the message of God’s faithful servants. The world pursues its unvarying round, absorbed as ever in its business and its pleasures, while the wrath of God is about to be visited on the transgressors of His law.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 99, 100.

8 What did Jesus say His people should do after they saw certain signs in the heavens? Luke 21:28.

note: “The attention of the people should be called to the momentous event which is so near at hand. The signs of the times should be kept fresh before their minds. The prophetic visions of Daniel and John foretell a period of moral darkness and declension; but at the time of the end, the time in which we are now living, the vision was to speak and not lie. When the signs predicted begin to come to pass, the waiting, watching ones are bidden to look up and lift up their heads and rejoice because their redemption draweth nigh.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 9, 10.

9 What does Paul say of the coming of the Lord? Hebrews 9:28.

note: “The very best preparation we can have for his second coming, is to rest with firm faith, with trust and unshaken confidence, in the great salvation brought to us at his first advent. We must believe that Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. Is he your personal Saviour? Are you, because the love of Jesus is abiding in your heart, saved from making mistakes and errors? Is the love of Christ a living, active agent in your soul, correcting, reforming, refining you, and purifying you from your wrong practices? There is need of cultivating every grace that Jesus, through his suffering and death, has brought within your reach. You are to manifest the grace that has been so richly provided for you, in the small as well as in the large concerns of life.” The Youth’s Instructor, September 7, 1893.

10 What admonition did Jesus leave for His people? Mark 13:35−37.

note: “Jesus has left us this warning: ‘Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping.’ [Mark 13:35, 36.] The church of God is required to fulfill her night watch, however perilous, whether long or short. Sorrow is no excuse for her to be less watchful. Tribulation should not lead to carelessness, but to double vigilance. Christ has directed the church by His own example to the Source of their strength in times of need, distress, and peril. The attitude of watching is to designate the church as God’s people indeed. By this sign the waiting ones are distinguished from the world and show that they are pilgrims and strangers upon the earth.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 205.

11 What effect should this theme have on all believers? 1 Thessalonians 4:18.

note: “We know that as trials press closer and closer, the hope grows stronger. The beams of the Sun of Righteousness shall shine into your heart with their healing power. Look beyond the clouds to the brightness, even the light of the Sun of Righteousness. Thank God that in the tempest of trial the anchor holds. We have an ever-living, ever-prevailing Intercessor, who is pleading our individual cases before the Father. The joys of an eternal reward have been purchased at an infinite cost.

“May the Lord comfort and strengthen and bless you is my [Ellen White] daily prayer. Oh, when we see the King in His beauty, what a day of gladness that will be. We will rest in the rich promises of God. He will never fail us, but be to us a present help in every time of need.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 249, 250.

12 How can we comfort one another? Hebrews 10:25.

note: “If there is ever one time above another when men need to preserve their connection with God, it is when they are called to bear special responsibility. It is not safe for us, when going into battle, to cast away our weapons. It is then that we need to be equipped with the whole armor of God. Every piece is essential.

“Never entertain the thought that you can be Christians and yet withdraw within yourselves. Each one is a part of the great web of humanity, and the nature and quality of your experience will be largely determined by the experiences of those with whom you associate. Jesus says: ‘Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst.’ Matthew 18:20. Then let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhort one another; and so much the more, as we see the day approaching.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 190.