warning

Keys to the Storehouse – Warning Signs

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As I was washing dishes recently, I became aware of some deep scratches in my dishes. As I am a real health-nut and always concerned about lead and other impurities, the horror of the reality struck me that when hot food is placed on those plates or cups, dangerous metals can seep into the food and into our bodies, which can gradually cause health issues. We have had these dishes for many years and after inspecting every plate, bowl and cup and finding that all of them were scratched I discarded them and decided it was time for a change. I am very thankful that the Lord warned me and brought the danger to my attention.

When the Lord shows us danger in anything, it is the time to take a stand for the right and remove the item or stumbling blocks—right then. Do you choose life in all the areas of your home and in your life? Satan would love to destroy us by causing health issues. If he can do this through our food or housewares, he will do it.

Our God tells us through Joshua, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

This means we are to represent God in all areas of our lives, including the kitchen. He says, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). Anything that may cause physical or spiritual life to wither and weaken must be thrown out or removed in one way or another.

A key to eternal life begins on this earth with our choices in the home. We are God’s children and as such we want to glorify Him in all areas of our life. Shun the wrong and choose the right, whether it be in the kitchen or in our choice of entertainment or clothing, before it overcomes us in one way or another. The moment by moment choices we make each day lead us either to eternal life or eternal death. Many times, the choices we make also affect other people for good or for bad.

We have been warned to keep our eyes and ears open. Peter said, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Devour means to consume destructively, demolish. Just think how many people believe all is well when in reality they are being destroyed or demolished by the devil, little by little.

Watch for the warning signs in your life and in your home and make a stand—no matter what.

Heavenly Father: We need more spiritual discernment in our lives and in our homes, for the devil is trying to destroy us in any way he can. Wake us up Lord. Alert us to the physical and spiritual dangers present in our homes before we or family members are harmed through our ignorance. Open our eyes to the warning signs around us. Protect us Lord. Thank You. Amen.

Warn the Cities! Part II

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God’s servant has written about the things taking place in our cities. His Word tells us that these things will happen. “I have seen the most costly structures in buildings erected and supposed to be fireproof. And just as Sodom perished in the flames of God’s vengeance, so will these proud structures become ashes.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 418.

Even at the Door

September 11, 2001, was just the beginning [the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York, NY, and on the Pentagon in Washington, DC]; this is a foretaste, a warning of what is going to take place. How will we react as a nation? This one incident brought the United States to its knees. We said it did not, but it did. We have spent the time since then trying to get a grip, and many still have not bounced back. It devastated us. What if several incidents like that were to take place in different cities at the same time? Would fear be running rampant? How would the government react? Might such events bring about the Sunday law and the time that we have been talking about for years, a time when we will not be able to travel or enjoy the freedoms that we have today? We better believe it!

Jesus tells us that there is a lesson to be learned: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors.” Matthew 24:32, 33. We see the things that are taking place in the world today; do we not know that it is near, even at the door? The world is falling apart; men in high places are working very hard, but they can hold it together for only a short period of time—until God says, “That is enough.” Are you praying for the winds of strife to be held back? (See Revelation 7:1–3.) Friend, we need to be praying, because the signs all over the land today foretell His coming. We should know that we are living in a time of fulfilling prophecy.

Buried in Rubble

How many really thought, This is the end! on 9/11? Many miracles took place that day. As we listen to some of the accounts of people who were involved in this disaster, we are amazed. There were many people who cried out to God as never before; there were many people who turned to God right then and there. They had not looked for Him before in their life, but right then they needed a Saviour; they needed Somebody, and they lifted up their voice and cried, “God, if You are there, please, I need some help.” The many stories give us goose bumps, as we hear them.

One lady, trapped, prayed to God for somebody to help her. All of a sudden she saw a little ray of light; a hand came through the rubble, and she reached up and held that hand. A man talked with her, told her his name, and consoled her. When she was finally freed, she asked to meet this firefighter, but she was told there was no such man. No firefighter was there holding her hand, but Someone was there.

Do you think God does not care? Do you think God cannot get to you when you are buried beneath the rubble of this world? When it is impossible for man to reach you, God can reach you. He can be right there—reaching down to hold your hand, to encourage you and talk with you, until someone can come to your rescue. There is story after story of how God was there for His children on 9/11. He was there to hear every prayer at a very difficult time.

I have no doubt but that He was there. I believe that the only reason the fourth plane did not hit its intended target [United Flight 93 crashed in a Pennsylvania field] is because God said, No. God can rule those airplanes. God is not afraid of terrorists. He allowed so much to happen, but when it was enough, He said, That’s it! He stopped it, but He is warning us today. He is telling us that other things will take place.

Warning to the Cities

God’s servant had some things to say about New York: “His message must be given in Greater New York. The people must be shown how it is possible for God, by a touch of His hand, to destroy the property they have gathered together against the last great day.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, 310, 311. God was in such a position at that point in time to say, It is going to be destroyed; something is going to happen. All eyes are turned toward buildings and the men who built them, and all the things that are going on in the world today, and God says, Just turn back to Me. We have gathered all of this property and all of these things, but by a simple touch, they can all be gone.

“Not many years ago, a brother laboring in New York City published some very startling notices regarding the destruction of that city. I wrote immediately to the ones in charge of the work there, saying that it was not wise to publish such notices; that thus an excitement might be aroused which would result in a fanatical movement, hurting the cause of God. It is enough to present the truth of the Word of God to the people. Startling notices are detrimental to the progress of the work.

“Under date of August 9, 1903, I further wrote regarding this sensational report:—

” ‘How comes the word that I have declared that New York is to be swept away by a tidal wave? This I have never said. I have said, as I looked at the great buildings going up there, story after story, “What terrible scenes will take place when the Lord shall arise to shake terribly the earth! Then the words of Revelation 18:1–3 will be fulfilled.” The whole of the eighteenth chapter of Revelation is a warning of what is coming on the earth. But I have no light in particular in regard to what is coming on New York, only that I know that one day the great buildings there will be thrown down by the turning and overturning of God’s power. From the light given me, I know that destruction is in the world. One word from the Lord, one touch of His mighty power, and these massive structures will fall. Scenes will take place the fearfulness of which we can not imagine.

” ‘But I have sent cautions to the brethren working in New York, saying that these flaming, terrifying notices should not be published. When my brethren go to extremes, it reacts on me, and I have to bear the reproach of being called a false prophet. . . .

” ‘The destroying angels are today executing their commission. Death will come in all places. This is why I am so anxious for our cities to be warned.’ ” Review and Herald, July 5, 1906.

Do you believe the prophet of God? Do you believe God’s Word? Absolutely! Friend, it is not finished yet, it is only the beginning. How will we endure; how will we deal with these issues when we see them come to pass? How is our faith and our love for Jesus today?

Destruction of Cities

I realize that we must work the cities. We are to go in, do our work, and then get ourselves out of there. Why? Because God’s servant said that these places are going to fall down; they are going to come to naught. The cities are going to be destroyed. One day these great buildings will be thrown to the ground by God’s power. This will certainly happen at the coming of the Lord, but Ellen White warned that some of these disasters would occur before Jesus comes. She wrote, regarding one of her visions: “On one occasion, when in New York City, I was in the night season called upon to behold buildings rising story after story toward heaven. These buildings were warranted to be fireproof, and they were erected to glorify the owners and builders. . . .

“Men looked at the lofty and supposedly fireproof buildings and said: ‘They are perfectly safe.’ But these buildings were consumed as if made of pitch. The fire engines could do nothing to stay the destruction. The firemen were unable to operate the engines.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 12, 13.

On 9/11 the firemen realized how useless the fire engines were; they could not do a thing. However you associate these visions of current events, know that they are warnings that God has given us over and over.

Heed the Warnings

My question comes back as a challenge to you. I know that jobs are needed; I know that we need to support our families, but I do not know how any Bible-believing Seventh-day Adventist can decide to stay in the cities. If you stay, you can say, all you want, The Lord is going to take care of me, but friend, you may be at the bottom of the rubble pile when destruction hits your city. (Remember Lot’s family?) Because God’s servant has already told us that we need to get out, and she has told us what is going to happen. If the Lord’s servant told you, It won’t be long before the little town that you live in is going to be burned to a crisp, what would be your response? I would be saying, Get the suitcase!

How much warning do we need? Why do God’s people continue to live in these surroundings, knowing that this is just the beginning of the end. Let the government institute all the security precautions they want; they are not going to keep out the terrorists. The terrorists are living and operating right in our very midst today. They have other plans that are going to be put into action. This is simply a prelude for the devil to get his way and bring in the Sunday movement to get rid of God’s people who love Him and keep His commandments. All of these things are coming together to point a finger at God’s last day people, to rid the earth of them. The devil hates us, just as he hated Jesus, because we are a Sabbath-keeping, commandment-keeping people. This is his plan to bring in more restrictions of personal freedom by the government. After 9/11, 60–70 percent of the people who were polled said they were willing to give up a certain amount of freedom, in return for protection and security.

Have we Done Enough?

Have we not given enough already? How many of us are willing to say that we do not need to pass out literature and books anymore; we don’t need to preach our message anymore? That is right up some people’s alley, because a lot of Adventists do not want to preach the Three Angels’ Messages. They don’t want to talk about them, because it causes too many problems in the world. You better believe that God’s truth is going to cause problems in the world, when it is preached the way God wants it preached, when it is so plain and so simple that it cannot be argued against. Yes, it is going to cause an uproar. We are afraid to do it; we do not want that.

Someone once said it is good to put up signs along the highways and on marquees, but very few want to put signs in their own yard. I remember several years ago our church put a sign in the lot next to our building, and people were afraid someone would burn down the place. I said, “Let them burn it down. If God sees fit, let it burn. If He wants to keep it, He will protect it.”

Increased Disasters

God’s servant is warning us today, These buildings are coming down! “The ungodly cities of our world are to be swept away by the besom of destruction. In the calamities that are now befalling immense buildings and large portions of cities, God is showing us what will come upon the whole earth.” Counsels on Health, 268. Are you ready for it? Do you trust in God enough? Ellen White says that we are going to see trouble on every side. Is that happening? Yes, it is.

“We shall see troubles on all sides. Thousands of ships will be hurled into the depths of the sea. Navies will go down, and human lives will be sacrificed by millions. Fires will break out unexpectedly, and no human effort will be able to quench them. The palaces of earth will be swept away in the fury of the flames.

“Disasters by rail will become more and more frequent; confusion, collision, and death without a moment’s warning will occur on the great lines of travel. The end is near, probation is closing.” Messages to Young People, 89, 90.

Why are these disasters coming on the cities? Why is God saying to get out of the cities, and why will the majority of Adventists not listen? We always say that we are going to get out of the cities; how much more warning do we need? We have heard it over and over; God says to get out of the cities! When we see these things taking place, know that this is just a prelude to what is going to be happening; it is just the beginning. We must get out while we can, because He says the time will come when we cannot leave. (See Country Living, 11.) The time is coming in the United States of America when we will not be able to go from one city to another. When Martial Law is enacted, we cannot move about the country. Things are going to happen, whether or not we believe they can. God says that the cities have become the hotbed of vice. He is looking down from Heaven, and He says, That is just about enough!

Ellen White says that everywhere we look in the cities we see evil, enticements. The tide of corruption is swelling every day. Every day brings violence, robberies, suicides, murders, and crimes unnamable. Think about these things. She says that life in the cities is false and artificial. It is! It’s not real, with all the stone and concrete and with all the make believe that is going on, the intense passion for getting money, the whirlwind of excitement and pleasure. (See Country Living, 5, 6.)

I have had people tell me, “I wouldn’t live any place but the city, because there is always something going on. The best thing about New York City is that it is a city that never sleeps; everybody always has something to do. No matter when you get up or when you go to bed, something is going on.” When we were young, we always longed to stay up until 11:00 p.m. or midnight. My Dad said we never needed to stay up that late, because we would just find more things to do that we probably should not be doing. “Whatever you need to do,” he said, “you make sure you get it done before 10:00.” Strange how the most villainous things happen in the wee hours of the day.

What is our Work?

What is the answer? God tells us what to do. We must leave the cities; we must get away from them. What is our work today? Mrs. White writes: “The work of the people of God is to prepare for the events of the future, which will soon come upon them with blinding force. In the world gigantic monopolies will be formed. Men will bind themselves together in unions that will wrap them in the folds of the enemy. A few men will combine to grasp all the means to be obtained in certain lines of business. Trades unions will be formed, and those who refuse to join these unions will be marked men.” Country Living, 10. Are you seeing it? I have never before seen such gigantic corporate monopolies. God’s servant saw these things and warned us of what was to come.

Are we ready today? God promised that He would do nothing but what He would warn His people, and He is warning us that the time is near, even at the door. Notice what is taking place in the economy; notice what is taking place in the cities; notice what is taking place on every side—it all tells of the soon coming of Jesus. We need to heed His warnings! If we will return to Him, if we will be still and know that He is God, He is calling us today to come back to Him before it is too late.

We have a work to do to warn the world of what is soon to come upon them as an overwhelming surprise. (See Prophets and Kings, 626.) Sad to say, most Seventh-day Adventists will be just as surprised and caught off guard, because we have not prepared.

Do we want to be ready for Jesus to come? Are we thankful for God’s servant today? Are we thankful for the Word of God today that tells us of these events? If we are, then we are going to go out and tell our neighbors and friends. Tell them what the Word of God has to say. We will not have to be embarrassed that perhaps it won’t happen, because it is going to happen; in fact, it is happening now.

Are you ready?

Pastor Kenny Shelton is speaker for the television ministry of Behold the Lamb in Herrin, Illinois. He may be contacted by e-mail at BTLM@GTE.net or by telephone at 1-800-238-2856.

Bible Study Guides – Warning and Invitation

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May 29, 2004 – June 4, 2004

Memory Verse

“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33.

Suggested Reading: The Desire of Ages, 489, 518–523; Christ’s Object Lessons, 252–259.

Introduction

“Watch and pray always. Dedicate yourself unreservedly to the Lord, and it will not then be difficult to serve Him. You have a divided heart. This is the reason that darkness, instead of light, encircles you. The last message of mercy is now going forth. It is a token of the long-suffering and compassion of God. Come, is the invitation now given. Come, for all things are now ready. This is mercy’s last call. Next will come the vengeance of an offended God.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 225.

1 What admonition is given by the apostle Paul in Hebrews 12:1?

note: “[Hebrews 12:1 quoted.] The weights that are here referred to are the evil habits and practices we have formed by following our own natural dispositions. Who are the witnesses? They are those . . . who have breasted the evils and difficulties in their way, and who in the name of the Lord have braced themselves successfully against the opposing forces of evil. They were sustained and strengthened and the Lord held them by His hand.

“There are other witnesses. All about us are those who are watching us closely, to see how we who profess a belief in the truth conduct ourselves. At all times and in all places, so far as possible, we must magnify the truth before the world.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 934.

2 What words did Jesus utter against some of the cities of Galilee? Matthew 11:20–24.

note: “It is time that we were closely examining our hearts to see whether or not we are in the faith and in the love of God. If there is not an awakening among us who have had so great light and so many privileges, we shall sink to ruin, and our fate will be worse than that of Chorazin and Bethsaida.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 529.

3 What warning is given to us? Hebrews 4:1.

note: “While God has given ample evidence for faith, He will never remove all excuse for unbelief. All who look for hooks to hang their doubts upon will find them. And those who refuse to accept and obey God’s word until every objection has been removed, and there is no longer an opportunity for doubt, will never come to the light.

“Distrust of God is the natural outgrowth of the unrenewed heart, which is at enmity with Him. But faith is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it will flourish only as it is cherished. No man can become strong in faith without a determined effort. Unbelief strengthens as it is encouraged; and if men, instead of dwelling upon the evidences which God has given to sustain their faith, permit themselves to question and cavil, they will find their doubts constantly becoming more confirmed.” The Great Controversy, 527.

4 What special warning is given to those living in the last days? Luke 21:34. Compare Luke 17:26–30.

note: “[Luke 21:34 quoted.] Our danger is presented before us by Christ Himself. He knew the perils we should meet in these last days, and would have us prepare for them. ‘As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.’ [Luke 17:26.] They were eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying and giving in marriage, and knew not until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the Flood came and swept them all away. The day of God will find men absorbed in like manner in the business and pleasures of the world, in feasting and gluttony, and in indulging perverted appetite in the defiling use of liquor and the narcotic tobacco. This is already the condition of our world, and these indulgences are found even among God’s professed people, some of whom are following the customs and partaking of the sins of the world. Lawyers, mechanics, farmers, traders, and even ministers from the pulpit are crying, ‘Peace and safety,’ when destruction is fast coming upon them.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 309.

5 What are we admonished to do that we may be kept steadfast? Luke 21:36.

note: “In consideration of the shortness of time we as a people should watch and pray, and in no case allow ourselves to be diverted from the solemn work of preparation for the great event before us. Because the time is apparently extended, many have become careless and indifferent in regard to their words and actions. They do not realize their danger and do not see and understand the mercy of our God in lengthening their probation, that they may have time to form characters for the future, immortal life. Every moment is of the highest value. Time is granted them, not to be employed in studying their own ease and becoming dwellers on the earth, but to be used in the work of overcoming every defect in their own characters and in helping others, by example and personal effort, to see the beauty of holiness. God has a people upon the earth who in faith and holy hope are tracing down the roll of fast-fulfilling prophecy and are seeking to purify their souls by obeying the truth, that they may not be found without the wedding garment when Christ shall appear. . . . The signs foretold in prophecy are fast fulfilling around us. This should arouse every true follower of Christ to zealous action.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 306, 307.

6 What warning is given against seeking after the riches of the world? 1 Timothy 6:9–11. Compare 1 John 2:15, 16.

note: “The Bible does not condemn the rich man because he is rich; it does not declare the acquisition of wealth to be a sin, nor does it say that money is the root of all evil. On the contrary, the Scriptures state that it is God who gives the power to get wealth. And this ability is a precious talent if consecrated to God and employed to advance His cause. The Bible does not condemn genius or art; for these come of the wisdom which God gives. We cannot make the heart purer or holier by clothing the body in sackcloth, or depriving the home of all that ministers to comfort, taste, or convenience.

“The Scriptures teach that wealth is a dangerous possession only when placed in competition with the immortal treasure. It is when the earthly and temporal absorbs the thoughts, the affections, the devotion which God claims, that it becomes a snare. Those who are bartering the eternal weight of glory for a little of the glitter and tinsel of earth, the everlasting habitations for a home which can be theirs but a few years at best, are making an unwise choice.” Counsels on Stewardship, 138, 139.

7 What renunciation of the world is necessary for the Christian? Luke 14:33.

note: “In giving ourselves to God, we must necessarily give up all that would separate us from Him. . . . Whatever shall draw away the heart from God must be given up. Mammon is the idol of many. The love of money, the desire for wealth, is the golden chain that binds them to Satan. Reputation and worldly honor are worshiped by another class. The life of selfish ease and freedom from responsibility is the idol of others. But these slavish bands must be broken. We cannot be half the Lord’s and half the world’s. We are not God’s children unless we are such entirely.” Steps to Christ, 44.

8 What is the result of allowing worldly things to occupy a place in the heart? Luke 8:14.

note: “The very blessings which God has given to these men [professed believers] to prove them, to see if they will render ‘unto God the things that are God’s,’ [Matthew 22:21] they use as an excuse that they cannot obey the claims of truth. They have grasped their earthly treasure in their arms and say, ‘I must take care of these things; I must not neglect the things of this life; these things are mine.’ Thus the hearts of these men have become as unimpressible as the beaten highway. They close the door of their hearts to the heavenly messenger, who says, ‘Come; for all things are now ready,’ and throw it open, inviting the entrance of the world’s burden and business cares, and Jesus knocks in vain for admittance.

“Their hearts are so overgrown with thorns and with the cares of this life that heavenly things can find no place in them.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 384.

9 What warning is given to some who are looking for the coming of Jesus? What will be the result of such unbelief? Matthew 24:48–51.

note: “[Matthew 24:48–51 quoted.] Let there be an earnest consideration of these words. Let none say, ‘That does not mean me; I am a Christian.’ Who says this, yourself or He who reads the heart? The unfaithful steward had solemn responsibilities entrusted to him; before the world he appeared as a servant of Christ; but, oh, how deplorable for himself, and for all connected with him; he is an evil servant! He is imperiling his Lord’s goods. He is teaching souls to trample upon the holy law of God. He calls Christ, ‘My Lord.’ But he says, ‘My Lord delayeth His coming.’ He does not say that Christ will not come; he does not scoff at the idea of His second coming; but he tells the people that His coming is delayed. He is removing from the minds of others the conviction that the Lord is coming quickly. His influence leads men to presumptuous, careless delay. Thus they are off their watch and they echo the words of the unfaithful watcher; still others catch them up, and the evil spirit, and men are confirmed in their worldliness and stupor. Their course is downward, not upward; they are not looking for and hasting unto the day of God. Earthly passions, corrupt thoughts, take possession of the mind.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 237, 238.

10 What admonition is given to all? Mark 13:35–37.

note: “When Jesus ceases to plead for man, the cases of all are forever decided. This is the time of reckoning with His servants. To those who have neglected the preparation of purity and holiness, which fits them to be waiting ones to welcome their Lord, the sun sets in gloom and darkness, and rises not again. Probation closes; Christ’s intercessions cease in heaven. This time finally comes suddenly upon all, and those who have neglected to purify their souls by obeying the truth are found sleeping. They became weary of waiting and watching; they became indifferent in regard to the coming of their Master. They longed not for His appearing, and thought there was no need of such continued, persevering watching. They had been disappointed in their expectations and might be again. They concluded that there was time enough yet to arouse. They would be sure not to lose the opportunity of securing an earthly treasure. It would be safe to get all of this world they could. And in securing this object, they lost all anxiety and interest in the appearing of the Master. They became indifferent and careless, as though His coming were yet in the distance. But while their interest was buried up in their worldly gains, the work closed in the heavenly sanctuary, and they were unprepared.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 191.

11 What comforting promise is given to those who remain steadfast? Revelation 3:10.

note: “In the time of trial before us God’s pledge of security will be placed upon those who have kept the word of His patience. Christ will say to His faithful ones: ‘Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.’ Isaiah 26:20. The Lion of Judah, so terrible to the rejectors of His grace, will be the Lamb of God to the obedient and faithful. The pillar of cloud which speaks wrath and terror to the transgressor of God’s law is light and mercy and deliverance to those who have kept His commandments. The arm strong to smite the rebellious will be strong to deliver the loyal.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 404.

12 On whom are we invited to cast our burdens? 1 Peter 5:7. What will this surrender bring to the trusting soul? Matthew 11:28–30.

note: “The Lord estimates every weight before He allows it to rest upon the heart of those who are laborers together with Him. Jesus has borne sorrows and burdens, and He knows just what they are. He has His eye upon every laborer. . . . The Lord invites you to roll your burden on Him for He carries you on His heart.

“Then have real practical faith in Jesus, and believe He will carry every load great or small. You must take the anxieties to Jesus, and believe He takes them, and bears them for you . . . .” Christian Leadership, 76, 77.

These lessons are reprinted from Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, 1912.

Watchmen Unto the House of Israel, Part I

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A parable is told in a book written by a prominent Seventh-day Adventist Church historian. He states that the church is like unto a fat woman returning from a shopping spree. My mind’s eye grapples with a woman as a beast, sweating profusely, with arms full of precious packages, standing before a door. Our parabolic friend faces a crisis. She is unable to open the door to enter her house to put down her bundles. If she reaches for the door handle, she will drop and ruin some of her packages, but if she continues to cling to her packages, she will never pass through the doorway. Her predicament is a “Catch-22” in that no matter what choice she makes she loses something. The only question is, which option represents the greater loss?

There she stands, sweating, frustrated, and venturing towards constructive thought from time to time, but not too much thought, lest it cause pain or force her into action. She is torn between two alternative desires—one to enter and rest, and the other to keep hold of all her packages. Torn by conflicting motivations she is unable to act on either. The result is more sweat and indecision as she stands within an arm’s reach of her goal. Now let us look at the interpretation of this parable.

Simple Symbolism

Like many of the parables in Matthew 13, this one demands an explanation. Fortunately, the symbolism is really quite simple. The woman may be likened unto the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which, in its maturity, has grown rich and increased with goods and has need of nothing. The many packages may be likened unto the church’s structures and institutions of which the Adventists have a super abundant supply in at least four different wrappings—educational, ecclesiastical, medical, and publishing. The door may be likened unto the way of the kingdom of heaven, with the door handle being the mechanism of entrance into the kingdom. In other words, the handle symbolizes the Adventist evangelistic mission to the world.

The parable dynamics are also quite self-evident. The aim of the woman is to enter the kingdom of heaven through the doorway. She stands on the brink of ultimate victory, but here is the catch: she has been trapped by her own success. Through scrimping, saving, and sacrificing, she has accumulated a large number of institutions and structures. In fact, she has so many that her chief advisors spend a large and critical bulk of their time attending board meetings and trying to solve the increasingly insurmountable problems of these institutions in a rapidly shifting complex social society and system.

These problems, however, do not tempt the woman to lay down the packages because, as time has passed, she has increasingly gained her identity through the size, number, variety, and quality of her packages. She has become addicted to packages and package holding. The threats facing her packages have actually had the opposite effect on our lady friend. She chooses to grasp the threatened packages all the more tightly. Ever more of her energies and attentions are spent tending the growing number of packages. Thus she sweats; thus her inability and even unwillingness to let them go and reach for the door handle. The end result is that the packages inhibit her entrance.

The Paradox

There is a crucial paradox in all of this. After all, the sole function of the church structures and institutions is to facilitate the fulfillment of mission. Yet, in our lady friend’s case, they have just the opposite effect. There is something definitely wrong when the church falls into the role of furthering the mission of semi-ultimatum institutions rather than those institutions furthering the mission of the church. As Robert S. Folkenberg, then president of the Carolina Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Charlotte, North Carolina, pointed out in the June 1989 Ministry magazine, “There is nothing wrong with institutions and structures within themselves, but these entities need to be examined from time to time to make sure they are serving their intended purpose efficiently. After all,” he states, “with the passage of time there is a kind of dysfunctional gravity that tends to pull organizations down from their original purpose.” (“Church Structure—Servant or Master?” Review and Herald Publishing Association, Hagerstown, Maryland, 4–9.)

In other words, the preservation of the structure and/or institution gradually overtakes mission as the predominate concern. Significant! Israel was called to be a light in a world of darkness. The prophet Isaiah describes thus, in Isaiah 60:2, “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.”

The apostle Paul talks about the condition of the Israelites and the life they lived among the Gentiles: “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them,” talking about the Gentiles, “because of the blindness of their heart.” Ephesians 4:17, 18.

We see here that the Gentiles are enshrouded in darkness, and, without Jesus, they have no hope. In God’s providence, Israel was to be the light to the Gentiles. This is why the prophet Isaiah says of them, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Isaiah 60:1–3.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church needs to arise and shine unto the world. You will agree with me, I am sure, that this world presently is covered in darkness. We are called to reflect the glory of Jesus, which is His character, to this world covered in darkness. The people of the world will come to the church because of the glory of Jesus that they see displayed in its members. They will not necessarily come because of the beautiful church buildings. As a matter of fact, some of their places of worship are better buildings than those in which we worship. They will not necessarily leave their beautiful buildings to come to ours. They will not necessarily come because of our padded pews or our air-conditioned churches. They will come because they see the love of Jesus and His righteousness in the lives of its professors. When they look at us, they see the love of Jesus radiant in us, and this draws them to us.

Purpose of the Watchmen

So, the prophet declares that God is saying to His last day church, “Arise, shine. Arise like a watchman and warn the world.”

Isaiah also says in his book, “Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise ye princes [and] anoint thy shield. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. And he saw a chariot [with] a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, [and] a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed.” Isaiah 21:5–7.

What is the job of a watchman? In ancient times, sentinels were often stationed on the walls of cities where, from points of vantage, they could overlook important posts to be guarded and give warning of approaching enemies. The safety of all within the cities depended upon their faithfulness. At designated intervals they were required to call to one another to make sure that all were awake and that no harm had fallen upon any. The cry of warning was borne from one to another, each repeating the call until it echoed around the city.

Required Duties

According to Isaiah, the watchman has several required duties: (1) The watchman is to watch! (2) The watchman is to declare whatever he sees. If he sees a lion coming, he is to call out, “A lion is coming.” If he sees a bear coming, he is to sound the alarm, “A bear is coming.” If he sees a bear coming, he is not to call it a chicken. The problem is that the watchman sometimes is not saying what he really is seeing. He is declaring a different thing, but God is dependent upon the watchman to say what he sees. It is very critical. (3) The watchman is to listen carefully. The watchman must know the time of night, for the people are waiting for direction and guidance.

Ellen White tells us that, “God has appointed the church as a watchman, to have a jealous care over the youth and children, and as a sentinel to see the approach of the enemy and give warning of danger.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 165. All of us are watchmen. “But,” she continues, “the church does not realize the situation.” Ibid. This is the reason why many of us who begin to speak as watchmen in the church are thrust out. The church is not prepared to have the truth spoken.

Mrs. White goes on to say, “She [the church] is sleeping on guard.” Ibid. When a watchman is sleeping while on guard there is trouble. There is no safety. “In this time of peril, fathers and mothers must arouse and work as for life, or many of the youth will be forever lost.” Ibid. She is warning that many of our young people will be forever lost if we do not each faithfully stay on our watch.

Warn the Wicked

Another duty of the watchman is to “warn the wicked from his way”: “ When I say unto the wicked, O wicked [man], thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.” Ezeikel 33:8, 9. I would submit to you that wicked people are not only in the world. When we talk about wicked people, quite often our minds first think of those in the world. We say the world is filled with wicked people, but there are a number of wicked people in the church. We, as watchmen, have a job to warn them all.

“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life; the same wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. You have done your job. You have delivered thy soul.” Ezekiel 3:17–19.

The Greatest Work

We quite often want to keep silent, because we do not want to offend our brethren! But consider the following counsel from the Lord’s servant: “Whatever the danger, Christ’s followers must avow their principles. They should scorn concealment. They cannot remain uncommitted until assured of safety in confessing the truth. They are set as watchmen, to warn men of their peril. The truth received from Christ must be imparted to all, freely and openly.” The Desire of Ages, 355. What is our job? Our job as Seventh-day Adventists is to warn men of the peril that is coming.

“What is a watchman for, unless it be to watch for evil and give the warning?” Testimonies, vol. 1, 314. “In a special sense Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light bearers.” Ibid., vol. 9, 19. We are set in the world as watchmen, and we are not to apologize for our job, because “To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world.” Ibid. In other words, if we do not give the warning, people are going to perish. “On them is shining wonderful light from the word of God.” Ibid. There is no other church, no other religion, no other denomination that has the message that we as a people have. We have been favored by God, but, alas, we have become ashamed of our position.

“They have been given a work of the most solemn import—the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention.” Ibid. Now, I know that your job is important; your family is important; but, believe me, if you are not involved in leading people to know the Lord, you are not doing the most important work of a watchman.

Mission

Mission is what the Seventh-day Adventist Church is all about. It was raised up for that purpose. Mission is the only reason for the denomination’s existence, yet Adventists are in danger in places—especially North America, Western Europe, and Australia—where the work is dying instead of growing. We are in danger of becoming just another nice, comfortable denomination or social club—go to church, hear a sermon, close the church at 12:00 noon, and go home or to the park, the beach, or the golf course. This is not the mission for which this church was raised up. We are called to warn people that impending doom is coming!

Some churches have become what I call man’s tenet churches. In such churches, there is no evangelism, no telling someone about Jesus; it seems they selfishly want to just keep what they have to themselves. As a matter of fact, some churches do not want anyone else to come into their church for fear that they will come in and upset the status quo. They are in the wrong place! Now is not the time for settling down. This world is not our home.

Tarrying Time Problem

What is the problem? Jesus has not come. Because there is a tarrying time, because the Bridegroom is delayed, the virgins have fallen asleep. Beyond this, some Seventh-day Adventists have begun to wonder if Jesus will ever come. Continuing time has sprung the fruits of secularism, disorientation, and institutionalism in the church. The church has become an entity—everything except a soul-winning entity.

The extension of time has mothered every problem currently faced by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and yet time goes on and Jesus has not come. He is waiting for us to perform our duty as watchmen.

Keep Not Silent

A watchman is not to hold his peace. God declares: “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, [which] shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence.” Isaiah 62:6. Yet, sometimes, as we speak the truth and what God puts upon our hearts, there are those who begin to verbalize their dissatisfaction, and the watchmen become quiet. Then Satan rejoices when the watchmen resign and look for another job.

Jesus advised that if everyone speaks well of us, we need to be cautious. “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” Luke 6:26. Do not work to be loved by everyone in the church. Make sure that your name is written down in the books of heaven.

One Voice

Seventh-day Adventists have been given special messages that have not been entrusted to any other denomination, such as the messages of the three angels, the sanctuary, health reform, dress reform, and the non-immortality of the soul. In the face of ridicule, hostility, and isolation, we must not be afraid or ashamed to proclaim these sobering, life-saving truths.

One of the problems that keeps us from sharing these messages, however, is that we are not united in what we believe. How can we be, when some of the church’s ministers are trained in the schools of Babylon? Today, the ministers are trained everywhere except where they are supposed to be trained. If a minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is trained in a Catholic institution, he cannot give us Adventism. We must not purposely allow ministers to attend non-Adventist institutions to be trained. God’s people have need of one voice. If the ministers are trained in the schools of Babylon, can they be faithful watchmen?

In order for God’s watchmen to perform effectively and warn the world, they must see eye-to-eye. We read, in Isaiah 52:8, “Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together they shall sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.” As watchmen, we must not be speaking different things. We must not have different points of view on baptism or on health reform or on the sanctuary. We must speak with one voice.

The people in the church need to be guided correctly. It has nothing to do with my opinion or your opinion. It has to do with God’s Word, and preparing a people for the coming of the Lord. So we must see eye-to-eye. We must see things the same.

Why is it important that we see things eye-to-eye? Because the world is covered in darkness and is crying out to us, asking, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” Isaiah 21:11. What answers are we giving to the world? The people of the world are asking the watchman, What of the night of sadness, the night of sorrow, of loneliness, the night of evil and wickedness, the night of violence and crime, the night of injustice and oppression? The night is a very lonely time. Many people die in the night; many are fearful of the night, and they ask, “Watchman, what of the night?”

World Wants to Know

The world wants to know. The heads of state want to know. They need answers to the significant changes taking place in the world. Mrs. White tells us: “Rulers and statesmen, men who occupy positions of trust and authority, thinking men and women of all classes, have their attention fixed upon the events taking place about us. They are watching the strained, restless relations that exist among the nations. They observe the intensity that is taking possession of every earthly element, and they recognize that something great and decisive is about to take place—that the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis.” My Life Today, 229.

Yes, people want to know. They need answers to the tsunami that destroyed a quarter of a million people. They need answers to the election of Pope Benedict and the role he will play in world events. They need answers to the position of the United States in world affairs. They need answers to the epidemic and pandemic nature of AIDS and other such deadly diseases. They need answers to the mergers that are taking place all over the world, to the decline in morality, the unrest among nations, and the destruction of our planet and environment.

Our Answer

“Watchman, what of the night?” How will it end? What is our answer to the world? Jesus Christ, in Luke 21:25–27, said, “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”

“Satan works through the elements also to garner his harvest of unprepared souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature, and he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows. . . .

“While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he 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. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous.” The Great Controversy, 589, 590.

This is all the work of Satan. The end is near, and people looking on are asking, “Watchman, what of the night?” Satan is doing his work! “Destruction will be upon both man and beast. ‘The earth mourneth and fadeth away,’ ‘the haughty people . . . do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.’ Isaiah 24:4, 5.”

“Satan is working in the atmosphere; he is poisoning the atmosphere, and here we are dependent upon God for our lives—our present and eternal life. And being in the position that we are, we need to be wide awake, wholly devoted, wholly converted, wholly consecrated to God. But we seem to sit as though we were paralyzed. God of heaven, wake us up!” Selected Messages, Book 2, 52.

“Famines will increase; pestilences will sweep away thousands. Dangers are all around us from the powers without and satanic workings within, but the restraining power of God is now exercised.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 382, 383.

Soon the full force of Satan’s power will be let loose. With all of the inquiries from the people of the world, what is our response to be? “The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.” Isaiah 21:12.

But we learn from Isaiah 56:10, 11 that, “His watchmen [are] blind: they are all ignorant, they [are] all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, [they are] greedy dogs [which] can never have enough, and they [are] shepherds [that] cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.”

We have become settled in this world and are unconcerned about the people who need help. The world is dying for the light of God’s truth while God’s people, His watchmen, are focusing on matters of minor importance.

To be continued . . .

Pastor Ivan Plummer ministers through the Emmanuel Seventh Day Church Ministries in Bronx, New York. He may be contacted by telephone at: 718-882-3900.

The Warning

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Because Inspiration tells us that “Each of the ancient prophets spoke less for their own time than for ours, so that their prophesying is in force for us” (Selected Messages, Book 3, 338, 339), we need occasionally to examine those prophecies to determine if and how they apply to us now. In this article, we will examine a series of Old Testament prophecies from the prophet Ezekiel.

Ezekiel said, “Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. And He said to me: ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord God.” As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.

“ ‘And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.’ Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe” (Ezekiel 2:2–10).

Who is the house of Israel today? Ellen White wrote, “I was shown that those who are trying to obey God and purify their souls through obedience to the truth are God’s chosen people, His modern Israel.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 109.

Ezekiel was to give a message that he knew would not be received. He was told: “But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted. … Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house” (Ezekiel 3:7, 9).

“So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. … Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me” (verses 14, 17). This experience was similar to that of Jeremiah when he decided that he got in so much trouble delivering God’s messages that he would not speak the word of the Lord anymore, but there was a fire in his bones and he couldn’t stop.

The Lord said, “When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand” (verse 18).

This is also a warning for today. If you are called to be a watchman and refuse to give the warning message, regardless if it is heeded or not, God will require it of you. He will ask why you didn’t give the warning? Would you rather be in trouble with men or with the Lord? Seventh-day Adventists have been given a warning message to share with the world and will be held accountable for how they handled that message.

Ezekiel 5:5, 6 says, “ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her. She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her; for they have refused My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes.” ’ ” Have you noticed the word rebellion continues to come up?

Everything in this prophecy will happen again in the modern house of Israel just before the close of probation. Read the first verses of Ezekiel 7, the prophet that says the end has come, the day of judgment has come, and the day of doom has come.

In that context, with Ezekiel sitting before the elders, the Lord gave him a vision. God knows everything. He knows all the secret things that are going on in your life, everything that you attempt to cover. Adam and Eve were the first to attempt to cover their sin by hiding from God and making for themselves fig leaf garments. The very fact that they covered up shows that they were aware that they had done something wrong. So it is with all who attempt to cover their sins.

In vision, God showed Ezekiel exactly what was going on in the house of Israel that almost nobody knew about. Ezekiel said, “He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.

“Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.’ So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance.

“Furthermore He said to me, ‘Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations’ ” (Ezekiel 8:3–6).

The Lord then said it gets worse. “So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, dig into the wall;’ and when I dug into the wall, there was a door” (verses 7, 8).

Today, this would be referred to as digging up dirt, and if the problem is brought out, the one responsible would be accused of being critical, or of church bashing. But, in reality, those who criticize the watchman are actually criticizing the One who sent him to give the warning message.

The Lord told Ezekiel to dig, to investigate. Because the apostasy was covered up, unless you dig you would not know anything was wrong. So Ezekiel dug, “Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, dig into the wall’; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door. And He said to me, ‘Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.’

“So I went in and saw, and there—every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls. And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up” (verses 8–11).

Who were they burning incense to? Ellen White said, “Anciently it was a great sin for the people of God to give themselves away to the enemy, and open before them either their perplexity or their prosperity. Under the ancient economy it was a sin to offer sacrifice upon the wrong altar. It was a sin to offer incense kindled by the wrong fire.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 300.

“Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, “The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.” ’

“And He said to me, ‘Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.’ [This is the third time Ezekiel was told to turn and see something worse.] So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz [a Samarian, Babylon deity, the god of vegetation and fertility].

“Then he said to me, ‘Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.’  [The fourth mention of greater abominations.] So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east” (Ezekiel 8:12–16).

Pagans worshiped the rising sun in the east. When God instructed His tabernacle to be built, the entrance was situated so that those walking into it faced toward the west. On entering, they would face toward the altar of incense before the veil into the Most Holy Place where God’s holy law was kept within the ark with their backs to the sun. But here Ezekiel saw people at the temple who had turned their backs on the Lord and were facing the rising sun in the east. These people had turned their backs on the cross of Christ and the way of salvation.

What we are reading about here also is to take place just before the close of probation. Ezekiel 9:1–3, first part says, “Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, ‘Let those who have a charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand.’ And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood before the bronze altar. Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple.”

It is very serious when God leaves His own temple. “And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the Lord said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.’ To the others He said in my hearing, ‘Go after him through the city and kill’ … ” (verses 3, last part–5, first part).

These are the people accused of digging up dirt. They refuse to go along with the mainstream who are not living according to Biblical principles. They recognize there is something drastically wrong and are compelled to speak up. They are not liked because they are not quiet, and if there’s anything that human organizations don’t like it is someone protesting what the majority are doing. These people are not popular because they are “crying out,” they are making a noise.

Look at the context here. It is those who cry out who are marked by the angels with a mark on their foreheads. This mark is the seal of God and is only received by those who protest the apostasy. They are hated by many people who consider them critical and negative. So the first person comes and puts a mark on people, and then after him there are several others who come and kill.

Notice what it says: “ ‘Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.’ So they began with the elders who were before the temple” (verses 5, last part, 6). Notice that it is the ministers who will feel the wrath of God first.

“Then he said to them, ‘Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!’ And they went out and killed in the city. So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel’ ” … (verses 7, 8)? Are you not going to have any people left in the world? Are all the people that profess to serve You, are they all going to be killed?

“Then He said to me, ‘The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, “The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!” And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head.’

“Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, ‘I have done as You commanded Me’ ” (verses 9–11).

This is a Scripture that needs study to understand. We are not to sit by and do nothing when we see wrong done in our families or local church, but be faithful watchmen if we want to receive the mark or seal of God in our foreheads.

Ellen White commented on this Scripture saying, “The Lord reads the heart as an open book.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 1303. Nothing escapes His attention.

The Lord declares concerning those who are not connected with God and follow their own evil imaginations: “ ‘They have turned unto Me their back, and not the face, though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them; yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction’ (Jeremiah 32:33). We are amid the perils of the last days, the time will soon come when the prophecy of Ezekiel 9 will be fulfilled; that prophecy should be carefully studied, for it will be fulfilled to the very letter. Study also the tenth chapter which represents the hand of God as at work to bring perfect method and harmonious working into all the operations of His prepared instrumentalities. The eleventh and twelfth chapters [of Ezekiel] also should receive critical, thoughtful attention. Let these prophecies be studied on your knees before God.” Ibid.

She says, “… unless you take up the stumbling-blocks which by your own perverse spirit you have laid in the way of many who have been connected with you, God will turn His face utterly from you and your associates.

“True religion is the imitation of Christ. Those who follow Christ will deny self; take up the cross, and walk in His footsteps. Following Christ means obedience in all His commandments.” Ibid., 1303, 1304.

Can we really call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ if we don’t obey His commandments? Jesus Christ is the commander of the heavenly hosts, and a commander must be obeyed. He is a general of the armies of heaven. She says, “Following Christ means obedience in all His commandments. No soldier can be said to follow his commander unless he obeys orders.” Ibid., 1304.

Notice: “Those who do not now appreciate, study, and dearly prize the word of God spoken by His servants will have cause to mourn bitterly hereafter. I saw that the Lord in judgment will at the close of time walk through the earth; the fearful plagues will begin to fall. Then those who have despised God’s word, those who have lightly esteemed it, shall ‘wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it’ (Amos 8:12). A famine is in the land for hearing the Word.” Last Day Events, 234, 235.

When that time comes, you will not be hearing any sermons like this. “The ministers of God will have done their last work, offered their last prayers, shed their last bitter tear for a rebellious church and an ungodly people.” Ibid., 235.

No more sermons, no more prayers, no more tears. It’s over. Inspiration says, “Their last solemn warning has been given. O, then how quickly would houses and lands, dollars that have been miserly hoarded and cherished and tightly grasped, be given for some consolation by those who have professed the truth and have not lived it out.” Ibid.

No minister of God will then be praying for you or giving you an offer of salvation. At that time the last prayer has been made. All will have received the mark of salvation or the mark of destruction.

O, “for the way of salvation to be explained, or to hear a hopeful word or a prayer or an exhortation from their ministers. But no, they must hunger and thirst on in vain; their thirst will never be quenched, no consolation can they get; their cases are decided and eternally fixed. It is a fearful, awful time.” Ibid.

My dear friend, that time has not come yet but we are told that probation will close suddenly and when we are least expecting it. It is dangerous to hold on to something with the intention of overcoming it at some time future. There are many stories where people waited too late and then tragedy struck. Right now is the time of our visitation, not some future time.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on His final journey, He wept, but not primarily for Jerusalem, which would soon be destroyed. He saw a much bigger catastrophe.

Our eyes need to be open to what is happening in Adventism today. As was presented to Ezekiel, we need to dig and see what has been covered up as the average Adventist has no idea how closely the Seventh-day Adventist Church today is linked up with the papacy. “When the Saviour saw in the Jewish people a nation divorced from God, He saw also a professed Christian Church united to the world and the papacy. And as He stood upon Olivet, weeping over Jerusalem till the sun sank behind the western hills, so He is weeping over and pleading with sinners in these last moments of time.” The Review and Herald, October 8, 1901.

Dear friend, if you are one of the sinners that Jesus is weeping over and pleading with, now is the time to call upon His name and repent. “Soon He will say to the angels who are holding the four winds, ‘Let the plagues loose; let darkness, destruction, and death come upon the transgressors of My law.’ Will He be obliged to say to those who have had great light and knowledge, as He said to the Jews, ‘If thou hadst known, even thou at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes’ (Luke 19:42)?” Ibid.

If you have turned your back on the Lord, now is the time to turn around. We all will have to face God one of these days. May God help us all to get the things in our lives into perspective and make sure our sins are blotted out before Jesus returns.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

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

Our Warning Message

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History shows that when a person, family, church, or nation casts aside the law of God, there are real consequences. This process started in heaven before the creation of the world when Lucifer rebelled against the government of heaven, consequently he was cast out.

“Satan stood in amazement at his new condition. His happiness was gone. He looked upon the angels who, with him, were once so happy, but who had been expelled from heaven with him. Before their fall not a shade of discontent had marred their perfect bliss. Now all seemed changed. Countenances which had reflected the image of their Maker were gloomy and despairing. Strife, discord, and bitter recrimination were among them. Previous to their rebellion these things had been unknown in heaven. Satan now beheld the terrible results of his rebellion. He shuddered, and feared to face the future and to contemplate the end of these things.

“The hour for joyful, happy songs of praise to God and His dear Son had come. Satan had led the heavenly choir. He had raised the first note; then all the angelic host had united with him, and glorious strains of music had resounded through heaven in honor of God and His dear Son. But now, instead of strains of sweetest music, discord and angry words fall upon the ear of the great rebel leader. Where is he? Is it not all a horrible dream? Is he shut out of heaven? Are the gates of heaven never more to open to admit him? The hour of worship draws nigh, when bright and holy angels bow before the Father. No more will he unite in heavenly song. No more will he bow in reverence and holy awe before the presence of the eternal God.

“Could he be again as he was when he was pure, true, and loyal, gladly would he yield up the claims of his authority. But he was lost! beyond redemption, for his presumptuous rebellion! And this was not all; he had led others to rebellion and to the same lost condition with himself—angels, who had never thought to question the will of Heaven or refuse obedience to the law of God till he had put it into their minds, presenting before them that they might enjoy a greater good, a higher and more glorious liberty. This had been the sophistry whereby he had deceived them. A responsibility now rests upon him from which he would fain be released.

“These spirits had become turbulent with disappointed hopes. Instead of greater good, they were experiencing the sad results of disobedience and disregard of law. Never more would these unhappy beings be swayed by the mild rule of Jesus Christ. Never more would their spirits be stirred by the deep, earnest love, peace, and joy which His presence had ever inspired in them, to be returned to Him in cheerful obedience and reverential honor.” The Story of Redemption, 24–26.

Peace, joy, contentment and happiness were now only a memory of the past. Everything worthwhile was lost. It was so bad that Satan himself would gladly have gone back. Ellen White saw that he entreated the Lord for readmission, but he was irretrievably ruined. The seeds of rebellion were still in him and he could not be accepted back into heaven. He then carried on his rebellion against the law of God and caused the fall of our first parents.

People today are still deceived by the same Satanic sophistry, believing that by casting off the law of God and any restriction, they will find some kind of joy and happiness. The Bible describes this as “temporary pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25), but in the process, they actually lose their happiness, they lose their joy, and they lose their peace.

Since the fall of Adam and Eve, the enemy of God and man has taught this world to trample under foot God’s moral standard so that we are living in a time of lawlessness. Talking about the last days, Jesus said, “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).

“The signs of the times are plain and startling. Look into the papers that flood our world, filled with recitals of daily crimes, committed not only in the lower walks of life, but also among the higher classes. Those who occupy positions of trust, who are placed as guardians of the peoples’ interest, are untrue to their responsibility. There is embezzlement and fraud. Public money is stolen, and not one tithe of these corrupt transactions comes to the light of day, and we do not see to what extent the wickedness of the world exists.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

The condition of this world has not improved. We have very little idea about how wicked the world is. “The youth of our time are receiving their education from the evil doings of these wicked, but honored men of the world. Theft, murder, adultery, corruption, every sin that has a name, prevails to an awful extent.” Ibid. When God called His people out of Egypt, the children of Israel were the depository for the law of God, which was given to them to guard, keep and teach it, and be a witness in the world.

Deuteronomy 4 tells of the privileges the Jews had because of the law of God. Deuteronomy 6:6–9 says: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

It is during childhood that a person’s mind is the most plastic and most receptive to new ideas, good or bad. God’s laws were to be handed down to each generation. Had the children of Israel actually done this, the whole history of the world would have been different. However, the history of the children of Israel shows how they fell into idolatry over and over again. Had they been taught the law, they would never have been in violation of the second commandment. Children did not learn from their parents the principles of God’s law.

“Had fathers and mothers followed the direction given by Christ, we should not now read and hear of sins and crimes committed not only by adults, but even by youth and children. The evil condition of society exists because parents have disregarded this instruction, and neglected to train and educate their children to respect and honor the holy commandments of God. Even religious teachers have failed to present the holy standard by which character is measured.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

The devil has continually tried to attack any religious teacher or preacher who teaches the law of God. One favorite method of attack is to accuse people of being legalists, but is it not our duty to obey God?

People are attacked with smears or slogans in an attempt to keep them from teaching the principles of God, yet this is something that should be prominent in every Christian church. Think it through. If there is no law then there is no sin, because sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4 KJV). If there is no sin, then there is no need for the gospel. If there is no need for the gospel, there is nothing for a preacher to preach and your whole religion is an empty shell. If there is no sin or wickedness then how do we know what is right or wrong behavior? Thieves and murderers would not be held accountable because all would be doing what seemed right in their own eyes. Each government has laws and without them there would be total anarchy. The same is true within God’s government.

There are consequences to all actions. The devil says you can sin, but you don’t have to pay for it; just confess it and it will be forgiven and erased. But forgiveness does not erase. Study the life of David. When he committed that sin with Bathsheba, he repented and was forgiven, but his sin was not erased. The prophet said that the sword would dwell in his family from then on, before mentioning a whole series of terrible things that would follow.

In response to Nathaniel’s question, David said that whoever committed that crime should repay fourfold, not knowing that it was he who would repay. David lost four of his sons as a result of his crime. Each loss hurt him more than if he had died himself. Surely he was forgiven, but he had to pay the consequences.

There are both eternal as well as temporal consequences to be paid for a person’s choices. Sometimes the price is damage to a person’s health, either physical or mental. The wise man said, “Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God” (Ecclesiastes 8:12, 13).

There are limits to the forbearance of God. He has drawn a line. The nation or individual who passes the limit will experience judgments.

“O that every living teacher would teach both in word and doctrine that there are limits to God’s longsuffering. Many have gone beyond the limits of His forbearance. The world should be aroused to a wholesome fear of the Lord God of hosts. The time and age in which we live is one of marked depravity; for many disregard the precepts of the law of God. The commandment of God is treated with indifference, and even with open contempt, and the inhabitants of the world are fast approaching the limits of the forbearance of the grace of God. Erelong God will arise and vindicate His honor.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

A familiar example is in Genesis: “Then He said to Abram, ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete [full]’ ” (Genesis 15:13–16).

The Amorites had not yet crossed the line the Lord had set. But things changed in the fourth generation. “Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:40, 41).

What God spoke to Abraham came to pass on the exact same day predicted. When the children of Israel came out of Egypt they dispossessed the Amorites. The Amorites had had a long period of probation, but the time came when their transgression was so large that the Lord said, Enough! They had crossed the line and were guilty of those things recorded in Leviticus 18, a chapter that is rarely read in church because it is too awful.

The scary thing is that the types of things listed in Leviticus 18 are being done today and God has not changed.

“The time will come when all the transgressors of His law will know that God will by no means clear the guilty (Exodus 34:7).” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

It says in Exodus 34:6, 7, “The Lord passed before him [Moses] and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.’ ”

God is merciful. In God’s government there is a mingling of mercy and justice. The devil challenged that principle and asserted that God could be just or He could be merciful, but He couldn’t be both just and merciful. However, that charge was completely answered when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary. The rest of the universe has no question about that anymore. They know that God is both just and merciful. A just penalty was paid for the sins of the world and God is merciful at the same time.

We see the limits to God’s forbearance in the example of the Jews. Jesus told them, “The one that comes to Me I will in no case cast out” (John 6:37, literal translation). If I come to Him, as bad as I am, He has promised not to cast me out, but to save and cleanse me.  Paul said He died on the cross to save even the worst, the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).

But the Jewish nation rejected the great light and truth that was given to them. As a nation they refused to listen. They rejected the counsel of God against themselves and set themselves stubbornly against the messages and warnings that God sent them.

The time came when they had exhausted the patience of God. When people are going in the wrong way, first God sends them a message of reproof. When the people in Nineveh listened to Jonah’s message and turned around, the Lord did not send the judgments to destroy them.

The same God, with the same accuracy, keeps a record of what is happening in the world today. Nations, churches, and individuals are still being offered the wedding garment that is woven in the loom of heaven, to be prepared for the coming of Christ. The Bible says that God does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men (Lamentations 3:33).

The Lord says, “What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it” (Isaiah 5:4)? It is impossible to say that God could have done more, because when Jesus Christ came, that gave all of heaven in one gift.

There is a land that has had unrivaled mercies and blessings from God, a land that has been the greatest land of liberty that has ever existed. It has been the glory of the whole earth. It has been blessed by God more than any other country on the face of the globe. But sadly, instead of returning gratitude for His multitude of blessings by honoring God and His law, the inhabitants of the land are turning their backs on God’s law, and professed Christians of America have become leavened with pride, covetousness, and self-sufficiency.

Ellen White described the situation in America a hundred and twenty-five years ago when she said, “The love of money, which is the root of all evil, has had a large place in their [the professed Christians of America] hearts. Many whose names are upon the church records have oppressed the poor, and grasped every possible advantage over those who were under them. They have lived to gratify appetite, to make extravagant display; and pride is fast making a Sodom of our world. But God is keeping His reckoning. The treatment of the poor, the robbery of the widow and the fatherless by those who are lifted up against the weak and helpless, is all written in the book of heaven. The cries of those who are oppressed have reached the ears of Him who judgeth righteously.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

As judgment has fallen in the streets and equity cannot enter, and the one who departs from evil makes himself a victim, when this nation restricts religious liberty and sacrifices and surrenders the principles of Protestantism, and accepts again, the doctrines and the principles of the papacy, Ellen White says, Then “the measure of their guilt will be full, and ‘national apostasy’ will be registered in the books of heaven.” Ibid.

The result of this apostasy will be national ruin. It will also be a time of persecution for God’s children. Then we are instructed to pray the prayer found in Psalm 119:126: “It is time for You to act, O Lord, for they have made void Your law” (literal translation).

When the peoples of this world make void the law of God, God will intervene. These are the words of comfort that the Lord will give to His children who are faithful in keeping His law during this time of persecution that’s coming. “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name” (Revelation 3:10–12).

There are limits to the forbearance of God and there is no such thing as breaking the law of God without penalty, even during this lifetime.

Bible writers have this to say about the character of the law of God and our relation to it:

  • “The law of God is perfect” (Psalm 19:7, literal translation).
  • “The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide” (Psalm 37:31).
  • “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, you people in whose heart is My law: do not fear the reproach of men” (Isaiah 51:7).
  • “I delight to do Your will, O My God, and Your law is within My heart” (Psalm 40:8).
  • The righteous man says, “His delight is in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 1:2).
  • The whole of Psalm 119 is about the law of God.
  • “The commandment is a lamp, and the law a light” (Proverbs 6:23).

“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:2, 3).

The third angel’s message, to be given to the world in the last days, will be given by people who keep the commandments. The judgment hour message cannot be preached without a distinct presentation concerning the law of God. If you compare Revelation 14 with Revelation 17, you will find out that the second angel’s message is a condemnation of those who break the law.

Paul said, “The carnal [unconverted] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Romans 8:7).

We as Adventist Christians have been given the responsibility to give the warning to the world that we are in the midst of the judgment right now. The standard of judgment is the law of God. Like Noah’s unpopular message of a pending flood, our message is not popular and mostly not welcome. Soon it will be too late to do what we can do right now. May the Lord help us to be faithful witnesses in getting the message out to the world.

 

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

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

The Pen of Inspiration – A Warning Rejected

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A profession of religion has become popular with the world. Rulers, politicians, lawyers, doctors, merchants, join the church as a means of securing the respect and confidence of society, and advancing their own worldly interests. Thus they seek to cover all their unrighteous transactions under a profession of Christianity. The various religious bodies, re-enforced by the wealth and influence of these baptized worldlings, make a still higher bid for popularity and patronage. Splendid churches, embellished in the most extravagant manner, are erected on popular avenues. The worshipers array themselves in costly and fashionable attire. A high salary is paid for a talented minister to entertain and attract the people. His sermons must not touch popular sins, but be made smooth and pleasing for fashionable ears. Thus fashionable sinners are enrolled on the church-records, and fashionable sins are concealed under a pretense of godliness. . . .

Says Howard Crosby: “The church of God is today courting the world. Its members are trying to bring it down to the level of the ungodly. The ball, the theater, nude and lewd art, social luxuries with all their loose moralities, are making inroads into the sacred inclosure of the church; and as a satisfaction for all this worldliness, Christians are making a great deal of Lent and Easter and church ornamentation. It is the old trick of Satan. The Jewish church struck on that rock; the Romish church was wrecked on the same; and the Protestant is fast reaching the same doom.” [Emphasis supplied.]

In this tide of worldliness and pleasure-seeking, self-denial and self-sacrifice for Christ’s sake are almost wholly lost. “Some of the men and women now in active life in our churches were educated, when children, to make sacrifices in order to be able to give or to do something for Christ.” But “if funds are wanted now, . . . nobody must be called on to give. Oh, no! have a fair, tableaux, a mock trial, an antiquarian supper, or something to eat, anything to amuse the people.”

Governor Washburn of Wisconsin, in his annual message, declared “that church fairs, charitable raffles, concert lotteries for charitable and other purposes, prize packages, ‘grabbags,’ Sabbath-school and other religious chances by ticket, are nurseries of crime, inasmuch as they promise something for nothing, are games of chance, and are really gambling. He says that the pernicious spirit of gambling is fostered, encouraged, and kept alive by these agencies to a degree little known by good citizens; and that, but for them, the ordinary laws against gambling would be much less violated and much more easily enforced. These practices, he declares, ought not to be permitted any longer to debauch the morals of the young.”

The spirit of worldly conformity is invading the churches throughout Christendom. . . . “Apostasy, apostasy, apostasy, is engraven on the very front of every church; and did they know it, and did they feel it, there might be hope; but, alas! they cry, ‘We are rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing.’ [Revelation 3:17.]” [Emphasis in original.]

The great sin charged against Babylon is that she “made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” [Revelation 14:8.] This cup of intoxication which she presents to the world, represents the false doctrines that she has accepted as the result of her unlawful connection with the great ones of the earth. Friendship with the world corrupts her faith, and in her turn she exerts a corrupting influence upon the world by teaching doctrines which are opposed to the plainest statements of Holy Writ. . . .

When faithful teachers expound the Word of God, there arise men of learning, ministers professing to understand the Scriptures, who denounce sound doctrine as heresy, and thus turn away inquirers after truth. Were it not that the world is hopelessly intoxicated with the wine of Babylon, multitudes would be convicted and converted by the plain, cutting truths of the Word of God. But religious faith appears so confused and discordant, that the people know not what to believe as truth. The sin of the world’s impenitence lies at the door of the church. . . .

The message of the second angel did not reach its complete fulfillment in 1844. The churches then experienced a moral fall, in consequence of their refusal of the light of the Advent message; but that fall was not complete. As they have continued to reject the special truths for this time, they have fallen lower and lower. Not yet, however, can it be said that “Babylon is fallen, . . . because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” She has not yet made all nations do this. The spirit of world-conforming and indifference to the testing truths for our time exists and has been gaining ground in churches of the Protestant faith in all the countries of Christendom; and these churches are included in the solemn and terrible denunciation of the second angel. But the work of apostasy has not yet reached its culmination.

The Bible declares that before the coming of the Lord, Satan will work “with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness;” and they that “received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,” will be left to receive “strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” [11 Thessalonians 2:9–11.] Not until this condition shall be reached, and the union of the church with the world shall be fully accomplished, throughout Christendom, will the fall of Babylon be complete. The change is a progressive one, and the perfect fulfillment of Revelation 14:8 is yet future.

Notwithstanding the spiritual darkness, and alienation from God, that exist in the churches which constitute Babylon, the great body of Christ’s true followers are still to be found in their communion. There are many of these who have never seen the special truths for this time. Not a few are dissatisfied with their present condition, and are longing for clearer light. They look in vain for the image of Christ in the churches with which they are connected. As these bodies depart farther and farther from the truth, and ally themselves more closely with the world, the difference between the two classes will widen, and it will finally result in separation. The time will come when those who love God supremely can no longer remain in connection with such as are “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” [11 Timothy 3:4, 5.]

Revelation 18 points to the time when, as the result of rejecting the threefold warning of Revelation 14:6–12, the church will have fully reached the condition foretold by the second angel, and the people of God still in Babylon will be called upon to separate from her commu-nion. This message is the last that will ever be given to the world; and it will accomplish its work. When those that “believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteous-ness,” [11 Thessalonians 2:12] shall be left to receive strong delusion, and to believe a lie, then the light of truth will shine upon all whose hearts are open to receive it, and all the children of the Lord that remain in Babylon will heed the call, “Come out of her, my people.” [Revelation 18:4.]” The Great Controversy (1888), 386–390.

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.

Lessons from the Children of Israel, Part III

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There are literally hundreds of instances in Scripture where God places an emphasis upon the keeping of His Commandments. That is emphasized so much, because it, in reality, is a manifestation of a relationship that we are to have with God and with our fellowman. This is why Solomon, who has been called the wisest man that ever lived, wrote, as a conclusion to his life’s experiences, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13.

Previously, in this series, we have looked at the travels of the children of Israel and the experiences in which they became involved at Kadesh. There we saw a working out of what God wanted for His people all along, but just because God has a congregation does not necessarily mean that congregation is following everything that He has outlined for them or that they are all keeping the Commandments of God. Nonetheless, God has a plan for His people.

In this series on “Lessons from the Children of Israel,” we have seen, in Numbers 14, that the people had sinned, but Moses interceded on their behalf, and because of his intercession, God pardoned the people. As a result of this pronouncement, conversion flourished among the children of Israel. They decided that they wanted to go in and take the land that God had promised to them.

Verse 40 says, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!” But there is more involved in gaining God’s acceptance than just saying, “I have sinned.” Moses warned them against such action “for the Lord [is] not among you,” but they went anyway. Verse 42.

We are told, “Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah.” Verse 45. Thus ends this sad chapter in the story of the children of Israel.

The Love Chapter

Then, interestingly, this chapter in the history of the children of Israel is followed by a chapter that could be titled, “How to Deal with the Unintentional Sin.”

If we were to study 1 Corinthians 12 about the gifts of the Spirit, we would find a lot to learn there about how the gifts of the church are applied. Then we could go to 1 Corinthians 14 and study more about the gifts. But sandwiched in between those two chapters is 1 Corinthians 13, which is known as the love chapter. It is there for a very specific purpose. It is indeed contextual, for we can have many gifts, but if we are not in harmony with God and with our fellowman and do not love as God has called us to love, we are doomed to destruction and failure.

The love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, is inserted between the chapters telling us about the gifts to give balance to them. There is—and was for those in the church at Corinth—the tendency to become puffed up thinking, “Look what God has done for me. I am some great person, because I can speak in tongues; I can do miracles.” Paul says of that church, “They came behind in no gift.” (1 Corinthians 1:7.) Yet, in reality, they did not have the love that they should have had. Basically, this was the experience of the children of Israel. Numbers 15 is inserted as a balance between two chapters of rebellion.

Unintentional Sin

The nation of Israel had become involved in a tremendous rebellion against God. It was a rebellion orchestrated by proud hearts and spirits that were in harmony with the devil himself. God said to them, “I am merciful, but I am not going to clear the guilty. Let me show you how I deal with the issue of unintentional sin.” Numbers 15 details the kinds of sacrifices that were to be brought for certain kinds of offenses. Those sacrifices were designed so the people could see that God does make provision. He wants us to be obedient to His will, but if we should unintentionally sin, provision is made so we can find acceptance again with Him.

Rebellion Again

I wish that Numbers 16 were different, but it is not. It begins with the account of another rebellion. It is unfortunately quite easy to focus on the sin to the neglect of the Saviour, and I do not want to do that. I want to try to be as balanced as I can, not only pointing out the sins but also pointing out the Saviour who is able to save from those sins. We must each do that, because if we do not, we may become extremely Pharisaical and lax in our understanding of the mercy of God and His plan. We may lean toward the rigidness of being obedient, and then we multiply the traditions until finally we are in such a narrow box that even we ourselves cannot live in it. We must understand that there needs to be not only the justice of God but also the mercy of God. We are not to skip over the times of rebellion that are placed in Scripture. They are there for a reason. Just as, at the beginning of this article, I mentioned how we could enumerate the number of times in Scripture that God says to keep His Commandments, it is repeatedly mentioned to put into our minds the fact that God requires obedience of us. In Numbers, several accounts showing each type of rebellion are given, so we might learn the lessons and not fall into the same kinds of traps. Even though it may seem at times that we are concentrating on the sin to the neglect of a Saviour, it is just because these things are all foundational for us, and we need to make sure that we are on the right foundation.

“Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took [men]: And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, [Ye take] too much upon you, seeing all the congregation [are] holy, every one of them, and the Lord [is] among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? And when Moses heard [it], he fell upon his face.” Numbers 16:1–4.

Most of the time when we read about someone falling on his or her face, we are usually thinking in the aspect of intercession. We consider this as a posture of prayer—bowing down in a sign of humility and intercession before the Lord. Actually, Moses had just come through one experience where he fell on his face (Numbers 14:5). In this passage, it seems as if he was covering his head in an effort to save his body from being blown apart by the fire that could come from the Lord against the current rebellion. What was it that was happening?

A Better Idea

“Korah, Dathan, and Abiram first commenced their cruel work upon the men to whom God had entrusted sacred responsibilities. They were successful in alienating two hundred and fifty princes who were famous in the congregation, men of renown. With these strong and influential men on their side, they felt sure of making a radical change in the order of things. They thought they could transform the government of Israel and greatly improve it from its present administration.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 344.

This did not happen overnight. It took awhile to gain the sympathies of these princes. The interesting part about this is that Korah was a cousin to Moses, Miriam, and Aaron. He was of the tribe of Levi who had distinguished themselves and to whom God was giving special attention. He had watched how God had been leading Moses and Aaron, how Miriam had prophesied, and he now complained that they had taken on what we could call kingly power. He declared that they were taking too much upon themselves, that they were exalting themselves where they should not be exalted.

I do not believe for a moment that Moses and Aaron were guilty of self-exaltation. They were just following what and where God wanted them to follow, but Korah came along and gathered Dathan and Abiram, brethren from the tribe of Reuben, and they began to solicit support to undo Moses and Aaron.

The Lesson

How should we look at designated leadership? The foundational question we really should ask ourselves is, “Were Moses and Aaron doing God’s will?” The answer unquestionably is, “Yes, they were doing God’s will.”

If they were not doing God’s will, then God would have perhaps supplanted Moses and Aaron with Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and the 250 princes in a heartbeat. God is always open to change—if it is for the better, if the change will further His cause. If the people in leadership are doing God’s will in all things when advances are made against that leadership, all I can say is, “Woe be unto the person who could be categorized as Korah, Dathan, and Abiram when that kind of thing takes place.”

Charm of Flattery

How was Korah able to gather 250 princes of the assembly—famous men of renown in the congregation—to his cause and to his side? It was through means of flattery.

You know, it is very easy, if we are wanting to get someone on our side, to go to them and pump them up a little bit as far as their personal virtues are concerned—“You have really been successful . . . . You have been able to accomplish this, and you have been able to accomplish that.” Suddenly the person stands straighter, and they adjust their shoulders a little bit—and then the bomb usually drops: “I would like to have your support of me here.” When people are in darkness and in error and deserving of reproof, there is nothing that will please them more than to be praised and flattered. We do not like to be told that what we are doing is wrong. That is just a response of the human heart.

“Korah gained the ears of the people, and next their sympathies, by representing Moses as an overbearing leader. He said that he was too harsh, too exacting, too dictatorial, and that he reproved the people as though they were sinners when they were a holy people, sanctified to the Lord, and the Lord was among them.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 345. Error never really can go anywhere unless it has a certain amount of truth to it.

As It Was

The people in those days usually perpetuated their history by the telling and retelling of stories that were pertinent to their history. Their history would usually start with Abraham and continue on down through his descendants. The people were a holy people—at least they had been called to be that in the beginning. Every father of every family was the spiritual leader. They did not have a sanctuary; they did not have a priesthood; they did not offer sacrifices at the tabernacle. They all did that in their own homes. For centuries they did that. As they entered into that experience, that made them holy, as far as God was concerned.

To Korah’s thinking, this was the way it should still be. To establish the tabernacle and to take control away from the people, who used to sacrifice at home, and to centralize the leadership, putting Moses in control, he felt was totally wrong. Not only was it wrong, but Korah thought that Moses had become very harsh and dictatorial in the process. His requirements were way too high, and Korah thought something needed to be done about the situation. Oh, how I wish we could say that that spirit died centuries ago, but that spirit has not died at all. It is very much with us today.

“Korah rehearsed the incidents in their experience in their travels through the wilderness, where they had been brought into strait places, and where many of them had died because of murmuring and disobedience.” Ibid. Korah rehearsed all of this to the children of Israel in an effort to separate their affections from the leadership.

“With their perverted senses they thought they saw very clearly that all their trouble might have been saved if Moses had pursued a different course. He was too unyielding, too exacting, and they decided that all their disasters in the wilderness were chargeable to him.” Ibid. This kind of situation did not develop overnight. It had been working for a long time. The children of Israel had come out of Egypt; they had camped at Mt. Sinai where they constructed the tabernacle. It took around two years to do all of that. It could very well have been that Korah was starting his campaign even then.

Hard Decisions

Moses had to make a very difficult decision. Remember that I mentioned earlier that Korah and Moses were cousins. Moses surely pondered what he should do with family—how he should address the issues being raised by his own blood, by his own kinfolk. He had to make a decision, and the decision that he made was: “I am going to serve the Lord and not my family.”

This can be a very hard decision sometimes. Husbands are influenced by wives, and wives are influenced by husbands. Parents are influenced by children, and children are influenced by parents. Jesus could very well have been reflecting upon this instance when He said, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37.

Was Jesus being too unyielding and too exacting when He made such a pronouncement as that? I do not think so. It was a painful experience that He was calling the people to go through at that point in time. It was a very painful experience, because there is nothing so close as kindred ties, and there is nothing so painful as the severing of those ties. But if a situation is of such a nature that it will cause you to be drawn away from God and from the plan and purpose that God has for you, then the ties must be severed.

Ultimately, God will bless us in the end, but we know that if we make one little compromise, there will usually be another. Many times they are not of enough notice to demand any attention. It is like being in the ocean and moving out with the tide. People can be playing in the ocean near the beach, and they can begin to bob along in the water without their feet touching the ground. If the tide is moving out, it is imperceptibly slow, and they may suddenly find they have been carried a greater distance from the beach than they are able to swim back. Many people have drowned in the ocean, because they were having a good time and not paying attention, and imperceptibly they were swept away from safety. If we begin to make compromises—things that are imperceptibly observed by others—we are going to find ourselves adrift far from the shore. That is exactly how the devil would have it.

Focus on the Stationary

There is only one way that we drift without knowing it, and that is by taking our eyes off of that which is stationary. If our eyes are on the shore rather than on the water, we will notice that the distance is starting to widen. We must keep our eyes on that which is stationary.

There is nothing more stationary than stone, and there is nothing that is more suitable for us to keep our eyes upon than the Law of God. It is indeed the reflection of the very character of God. It is a reflection of His very will for our lives. If we begin to move away from that, we are going to find ourselves in severe trouble.

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were not looking to the Rock; they were looking at themselves, and they were drifting. It seems impossible that these men, who were allowed to climb the mountain with Moses and there experience that sheltered glory of the Lord, could be caught in this kind of a situation, but they were. (See Patriarchs and Prophets, 396.)

They had witnessed the glorious light that covered the divine form of Jesus Himself. These men were in the presence of the glory of Christ, and they ate and drank without being destroyed by the purity and the unsurpassed glory that reflected upon them. Yet as they came down that mountain, they went out and began their movement of subterfuge against what they perceived was not where they wanted things to go.

A Warning to Us

“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 testimonies borne against hurtful indulgences . . . have irritated a certain class, because it would destroy their idols. Many for awhile were undecided whether to make an entire sacrifice of all these hurtful things, or reject the plain testimonies borne, and yield to the clamors of appetite. They occupied an unsettled position. There was a conflict between their convictions of truth and their self-indulgences. Their state of indecision made them weak, and, with many, appetite prevailed. Their sense of sacred things was perverted by the use of these slow poisons; and they at length fully decided, let the consequence be what it might, that they would not deny self. This fearful decision at once raised a wall of separation between them and those who were cleansing themselves, as God has commanded, from all filthiness of the flesh, and of the spirit, and were perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord. 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. And when the rebellious unfurl their banner, all the disaffected rally around the standard, and all the spiritually defective, the lame, the halt, and the blind, unite their influence to scatter, and to sow discord.

“Every advance of God’s servants at the head of the work has been watched with suspicion by those who have had a spirit of insurrection, and all their actions have been misrepresented by the fault-finding, until honest souls have been drawn into the snare for want of correct knowledge. Those who lead them astray are so affected themselves by blind prejudice, and by rejecting the testimonies God has sent them, that they cannot see or hear aright. It is as difficult to undeceive some of these who have permitted themselves to be led into rebellion, as it was to convince the rebellious Israelites that they were wrong, and that Moses and Aaron were right.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 306–308.

To be continued . . .

God Raises Up a Man to Meet a Crisis

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From the time of Jeroboam’s death to Elijah’s appearance before Ahab the people of Israel suffered a steady spiritual decline. Ruled by men who did not fear Jehovah and who encouraged strange forms of worship, the larger number of the people rapidly lost sight of their duty to serve the living God and adopted many of the practices of idolatry.” Prophets and Kings, 109. [Emphasis supplied.]

Did you notice the italicized words above? When was it that the Lord raised up Elijah the prophet? What were the leaders at that time teaching the people who professed Ancient Adventism?

The above statement, found in Prophets and Kings, makes it clear that as a direct result of the leaders directing the people into strange forms of worship they lost sight of their duty and adopted many of the practices of idolatry. Many might be surprised to find out that you do not have to worship a figure carved from wood or stone to be guilty of idolatry.

 

Following is Webster’s Dictionary definition of an idol:

  1.  A representation or symbol of an object of worship; broadly: a false god.
  2.  A likeness of something b: pretender, imposter.
  3.  A form or appearance visible but without substance.
  4.  An object of extreme devotion.
  5.  A false conception: fallacy.” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition. [Emphasis supplied.]

 

So brothers and sisters, an idol worshiper can be someone who worships a false idea or a concept, just as much as someone who bows down to a carving of a false god. If this is true, it certainly says something about leaders who encourage others into strange forms of worship—celebration—and those who are willingly ignorant or defiant concerning the true worship of God.

It also makes it very interesting to note that it is at this time that we are told that God would send the Elijah message one last time. It will have the same effect as it had so many years ago. We are told, during this time of Earth’s last moments, that the church (God’s true people) will appear as about to fall, but it will not fall. This statement should give us courage and confidence in our Lord’s ability to save us. But it should also be a warning to all that times are going to get very difficult, and only through God’s help and plan—not man’s—do we have any hope of salvation.

There was a parallel to this in Elijah’s day. In the time of Israel’s great apostasy, the tribe of Judah had a king who served God. King Asa had stood firm during his reign and had led his people away from idolatry and false worship. Many years after King Asa began to reign, Zerah, the Ethiopian, invaded his kingdom. This warrior brought with him a host of a million soldiers, and three hundred chariots. (See 2 Chronicles 14:9.) This army could have easily wiped out the tribe of Judah and King Asa knew it.

During the years of prosperity, King Asa did not waste his time in idle amusement and pleasure, but spent the greater part of his time preparing for just such an emergency as he was now facing. He had used the times of peace to train an army for the conflict, which was now before him. He had bent his energies into educating his people in the faith of the true God and encouraged them to put their trust and faith explicitly in Him. Now the test of battle and trial of their faith was before them.

Because the King and his people had remained faithful to the Lord in times of peace they could now, with confidence, call upon Him in a time of crisis. The odds were unquestionably against them by all appearance. Their army, though well trained, was much smaller than their opponent’s, but the kingdom of Judah could rightfully claim the Lord’s promises of protection and this they did.

Their prayer was given to every Christian as well: “The prayer of Asa is one that every Christian believer may fittingly offer. We fight in a warfare, not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, and against spiritual wickedness in high places. See Ephesians 6:12. In life’s conflict we must meet evil agencies that have arrayed themselves against the right. Our hope is not in man, but in the living God. With full assurance of faith we may expect that He will unite His omnipotence with the efforts of human instrumentalities, for the glory of His name. Clad with the armor of His righteousness, we may gain the victory over every foe.” Prophets and Kings, 111.

The God of the Remnant (Revelation 12:17) is the true God. We can have confidence in Him as long as we are truly cooperating with Him. In fact, the only way we can claim the promises of God is by our willingness to obey what He asks of us. The very good news for Adventism is not that we do not have to fight—that is a lie that most professors of Adventism want to believe—but the good news is that although we have a battle to fight we will win! Not we can win, not we might win, but we will win! This is tremendous news and we need to invest our whole lives in the fulfilling of this eternal promise.

Just as the Lord answered the prayer of righteous King Asa for the salvation of his people against a humanly unconquerable enemy, so today He will answer the same prayer for help to overcome the spiritual wickedness in high places.

It was through the influence of wicked rulers (Ahab and Jezebel), that a gross spiritual crisis had come to the majority in Israel. These two rulers had brought the spiritual worth of Israel so low that only the message of the prophet Elijah could bring revival and reformation. It was their only chance for salvation and salvation would only come to those who accepted the message, with the whole heart, no matter how severe it seemed.

“Alas, how had the glory of Israel departed! Never before had the chosen people of God fallen so low in apostasy . . . Nothing short of the miracleworking power of God could preserve the nation from utter destruction. Israel had voluntarily separated herself from Jehovah, yet the Lord in compassion still yearned after those who had been led into sin, and He was about to send them one of the mightiest of His prophets, through whom many were to be led back to allegiance to the God of their fathers.” Prophets and Kings, 116. [Emphasis supplied.]

It is amazing that the vast majority, even many who claim to continue in the historical paths, do not seem to realize that the Elijah message, with all its seeming harshness, is the chosen method of redemption for certain levels of apostasy. It is incredible that many who support historic Adventism still want to change the methods of God, and either water down the message or do away with it all together, calling and treating it as something sinful.

Our need to be honest with the Elijah message is paramount if we will ever have any hope for salvation. First of all we should admit that it is God who is calling for the Elijah message and not men who have nothing better to do than go around shouting at everybody. We must understand that it is God’s plan to use men to give this message, men of His own choosing. These men will not find the job any more agreeable than did the prophet whose name the message bears. The job is so disagreeable that God has a hard time finding anyone who will do it and that is why there have been so few throughout the earth’s history who have taken on the task. After we have properly analyzed these truths, we must ask God to give us the conviction and the courage to support the message and the messengers that God Himself has raised up to give His message. We must not find ourselves fighting against God while professing to serve Him. To continue to do this would lead to self-deception so deep and so dark that one becomes eternally blinded to the light before him. The role of Elijah is the one of a man who fights the depths of apostasy head on and in the very strongholds of hell. He does this because he has been equipped to do so by the God Who is the author of the message he gives and because he wishes God’s people to live and not die. The reason the love of these messengers is so easily misunderstood is because it is not based on feeling but an abiding principle that most people have rejected.

“As Elijah saw Israel going deeper and deeper into idolatry, his soul was distressed and his indignation aroused.” Prophets and Kings, 119.

“To Elijah was entrusted the mission of delivering to Ahab Heaven’s message of judgment. He did not seek to be the Lord’s messenger; the word of the Lord came to him. And jealous for the honor of God’s cause, he did not hesitate to obey the divine summons, though to obey seemed to invite swift destruction at the hand of the wicked King.” Prophets and Kings, 120, 121.

Even though the words of Elijah were coming true before Israel’s very eyes, they would not repent of their apostasy. But can we truthfully say anything different about present day Israel? Although much evidence continues to come forth explaining and bringing the apostasy of modern-day Israel into clear focus, how many have allowed themselves to judge honestly the truth set before them. How many have repented of their stubbornness or rebelliousness toward the God of truth? We are repeating the same history as our ancient counterparts.

Those in power, those who were encouraging the “New Theology” and “Celebration Worship” of their day, not only refused the invitation of the Lord to repentance but went further into the depth of their apostasy agenda—an agenda to ruin Adventism from the inside out. It would be advantageous for us to recognize that when Jezebel could not kill the Elijah message by seeking out and destroying the one who gave it, she then set out to kill all those who supported it. Dear friends, do you realize that the Lord has been most gracious by giving us this true story from history? Why do you suppose He wanted us to have it? Could it be because He knows that we are repeating the history of man from the inside of “the church” and we are on a course that will bring the same results.

God has given us all the power and moral right of personal choice in all these matters. But having the right to make a choice should not be understood as having the benefit of choice without its corresponding consequences. We can, and most do, choose to ignore or willfully disbelieve that God means what He says. We can choose to believe that God loves us “too much” to destroy us in our sins. But this choice totally ignores the fact that God loves us and everyone too much not to punish sin. God has proven His love in a myriad of ways, not the least of which is giving His Son to die and giving us the freedom to choose our own way. But those who think that God would ignore what has happened over the last six thousand years with the sin problem that has >brought devastation to heaven and this earth, and killed His Son, are covered with self so heavily that they either will not or cannot think logically. Why would God sacrifice the safety of the entire universe because He loves us “too much” to get rid of sin and sinners who refuse the better life of victory? The only reason we sin is because we love it more than we love God. So, in reality, it is not God’s love which is in question but who or what the sinner loves.

The apostasy of ancient Adventists and modern Israel was and is so deep and so dark that the only way for people to have a real opportunity for life is through the Elijah message. If this were not so, then why would God choose it? It will serve its intended purpose, but far too many people look toward the unconverted among us and, because of a lack of response from the crowd, blame the Elijah message. This is not only a misguided conclusion but can be fatal if not discontinued. The apparent failure or division is never the fault of the truth, but of a rebellion against the truth! Even in the face of apparent failure, true faith dictates that the Elijah message will succeed.

“God had sent messengers to Israel, with appeals to return to their allegiance. Had they heeded these appeals, had they turned from Baal to the living God, Elijah’s message of judgment would never have been given. But the warnings that might have been a savor of life unto life had proved to them a savor of death unto death. Their pride had been wounded, their anger had been aroused against the messengers, and now they regarded with intense hatred the prophet Elijah . . . In the face of the calamity they continued to stand firm in their idolatry. Thus they were adding to the guilt that had brought the judgments of Heaven upon the land.” Prophets and Kings, 127–128.

“I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen, and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, and will lead him to exalt the standard and pour forth the straight truth. Some will not bear this straight testimony. They will rise up against it, and this will cause a shaking among God’s people.” Testimonies, vol.1, 181.

Two things we can see in the above quotations for sure. The Elijah message, in the face of great spiritual darkness among God’s chosen people, and their hatred for truth, will fulfill its intended purpose. The Elijah message, the pouring forth of the straight testimony, will receive decided opposition from those that hate its exposure and this rebellion is what causes the shaking—not the truth.

Elijah was under a heavy burden for his people who he wished to see come to salvation. He did not want to see them die. He took on the terrible task before him because he knew that it was God’s message and not his own. He accepted the calling because he believed that the message would accomplish the purpose God intended it to and he was willing to leave the consequences with God.

Because God has seen fit to place this event in the written history of the Bible we can have confidence that He knows what He is doing. Just as the Elijah message met the crisis thousands of years ago it will have the same results today. There was nothing that anyone did or could do in the days of Elijah to stop the message given and today, when we find ourselves steeped in apostasy for one last time, is there anything that anyone can do to stop God from His work? It may be true that few who now call themselves Adventists will respond, and certainly the majority of those in the Adventist movement will end up being the most aggressive in seeing to it that the true and faithful are exterminated if possible. However, our faith must not be like that of the apostate or the half-educated infidel, but instead like that of the prophet who, with child-like faith, does what God asks of him even though it might be disagreeable.

Let us never forget that “we have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.” Life Sketches, 196. Let us remember that Elijah is now in heaven and represents those who with his message will be translated without seeing death. Let us be wise unto salvation and press toward the mark of our high calling, with confidence in the Author and Finisher of our faith.

 

Where God is Working

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The third chapter of I Corinthians is rapidly becoming one of my favorite books in the New Testament. It is really one of the great chapters in the Bible about who and what the church is. Verse 2 of the first chapter says, “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus.” We see that the church in Corinth were those people in that city who were sanctified in Christ Jesus. I Corinthians 3:9, I believe, is the most astounding verse in the whole Bible: “For we are God’s fellow workers.”

If you study the Spirit of Prophecy writings carefully, you will see that this verse is also one of Ellen White’s favorites and she used it over and over again to show how we become workers together with God. There is no higher privilege that any person could have than to actually be a fellow laborer—a fellow worker with God!

Ever since the beginning of time, God has been working. As you study the inspired writings, they always focus the attention on where God is working. It is important to know this to be one of His fellow workers.

When I studied ancient history, I found out that there were many things going on during Abraham’s time. Inspiration does not go into any of these things, but focuses all the attention on where God is working. Even though Adam had many children, inspiration focuses only on a holy line of men through whom God worked. Seth had a son named Enos, and in his time, the Bible says that men began to call on the name of the Lord. That is where God was working. Then, in the seventh generation from Adam, Enoch was born. That is where God was working, and the people who chose to be fellow workers with God worked in cooperation with Enoch. After Enoch, there was Noah; and if you had been living in Noah’s time and you wanted to be a fellow worker with God, you would be working with Noah.

By the time there had been twenty generations, the whole world had rejected God twice. God looked over the world and found a man whose name was Abraham. He said to Abraham, “I am going to fulfill the plan of salvation through you and through your seed [Christ].”

As you study the Bible record, you will find a certain characteristic in common among all those through whom God was working. In speaking of Abraham, God clearly identified what qualified a person to be a colaborer with Him. “Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” Genesis 26:5. Abraham was obedient.

When God brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, He made them a wonderful promise: “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.” Exodus 19:5.

This promise had conditions. God made a covenant with them. He said, “If you do this, I will do this for you; you will be My special people.”

Some say that there are unconditional promises, so in checking this out in the inspired writings of Ellen White, she says all of God’s promises and threatenings are conditional. See Maranatha, 61.

Israel wandered in the wilderness for thirty-eight years longer than they had to because they were not obedient and they rebelled. Finally, when they entered Canaan, they went into apostasy again and started worshiping idols which lasted for hundreds of years. During this time the tabernacle was still with them, and they continued to keep the yearly feast days.

During the period of the judges, the tabernacle was located in Shiloh, in the land of Ephraim. Many people have almost forgotten that Ephraim was the center of Divine worship for over three hundred years and the people of that time thought that it would always be that way.

Look what it says about this in the Psalms: “Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved.” Psalm 78:67, 68.

Why did God reject Ephraim and remove the tabernacle from Shiloh? “The ark remained at Shiloh for three hundred years, until, because of the sins of Eli’s house, it fell into the hands of the Philistines, and Shiloh was ruined.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 514.

As a result of the leaders of God’s people falling into apostasy and sin, the Lord told Eli, “You are not going to be a priest for Me. Your descendants are not going to be My priests forever.”

They were descendants of Aaron—God’s people; but the Lord said, “You are no longer going to be priests” and Ephraim was rejected as the religious center—something that was thought could not happen, happened. “The sanctuary service was finally transferred to the temple at Jerusalem, and Shiloh fell into insignificance. There are only ruins to mark the spot where it once stood. Long afterward its fate was made use of as a warning to Jerusalem.” Ibid.

A few hundred years later the people of Jerusalem thought the same thing. The temple there was the center of Divine worship, and they believed that this was where God was working. Hundreds of years after the worship had been transferred from Shiloh, the Lord, through Jeremiah, said, “ ‘Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, “We are delivered to do all these abominations.” ‘Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,’ says the Lord. ‘But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. And now, because you have done all these works,’ says the Lord, ‘and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, therefore I will do to this house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren—the whole posterity of Ephraim.’ ” Jeremiah 7:9–15.

As we look at history, we see that God cannot work with people who are living in sin. If you want to be a fellow worker with God, you cannot link up and work with people who are living and working in sin. With God, character is what counts; and God works with people who listen to His voice and who obey.

We are told of Israel:

“Their calamities did not come because they kept the law of God, but because they disregarded that law. God had told them that if they did not obey His commandments, He could not keep His covenant with them. The history of the Israelites is portrayed for our warning. They had great light and exalted privileges; yet they did not live up to that light nor appreciate their advantages, and their light became darkness. They walked in the light of their own eyes, instead of following the leadings of God. Their history is given for the benefit of those who live in these last days, that we may avoid following the same example of unbelief.” The Signs of the Times, July 19, 1899.

Where was God working in the time of Jesus? When Jesus was brought to the temple to be dedicated, Ellen White says that the priest did not recognize anything unusual. Commenting on this experience she says, “So it is still. Events upon which the attention of all heaven is centered, are undiscerned, their very occurrence is unnoticed, by religious leaders, and worshipers in the house of God.” The Desire of Ages, 56.

While the attention of all heaven was focused on Christ’s birth, in this world the people who claimed to be God’s true people did not even know it had taken place. How can you be a laborer together with God if you do not even know where God is working?

While on earth, God worked through His Son to bring salvation to a lost world. If you wanted to be a laborer together with God then, you had to connect yourself with Jesus and work with Him.

The New Testament writers predict that a terrible change is going to take place among those who profess to be Christians. Paul speaks, addressing the elders from the church of Ephesus: “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves [church leaders] men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” Acts 20:28–30.

Speaking of this same great apostasy, Paul wrote: “Let no one deceive you by any means: for that Day [the day of Christ] will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” II Thessalonians 2:3, 4.

Peter talked about this apostasy, too. “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destructive ways … because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.” II Peter 2:1, 2. [Emphasis supplied.] The word blasphemy means to speak evil of something. As a result of this new teaching, the real way of truth will be evil spoken of.

Notice that both Peter and Paul say that false prophets will secretly bring in destructive heresies. Whenever you find a book that is written to which the authors do not want to put their name, you ought to remember these texts.

Paul identifies this element as the mystery of lawlessness. This apostasy will, therefore, involve the breaking of God’s law and result in the way of truth being evil spoken of. Did this happen?

“The history of God’s people during the ages of darkness that followed upon Rome’s supremacy is written in heaven, but they have little place in human records. Few traces of their existence can be found, except in the accusations of their persecutors. It was the policy of Rome to obliterate every trace of dissent from her doctrines or decrees. Everything heretical, whether persons or writings, she sought to destroy. … Before the invention of printing, books were few in number, and in a form not favorable for preservation; therefore there was little to prevent the Romanists from carrying out their purpose.” The Great Controversy, 61, 62.

If you were living in that time and you wanted to be a fellow worker with God, it made all the difference in the world whether or not you understood that God was working with people who were keeping His law. If you did not understand this principle, you could not be a fellow laborer with God. Do you realize, friends, that there have been millions of people who have believed that they were working with the Lord but were working with the devil the whole time?

We find that all of the sixteenth century Reformers upheld God’s law. They did not all understand the binding claims of the fourth commandment, but they did not reject it. There is a great difference between not understanding truth and rejecting it. Martin Luther, as well as John Huss, preached a great deal on the Ten Commandments and believed in them. God was leading a people on step by step.

When you study sacred history, you find that in the latter part of the eighteenth and the early part of the nineteenth century, simultaneously, all over the world, God started raising up people from all the various Christian churches with the message that Jesus was coming soon. Out of that great Second Advent Movement emerged a group of people known first as Millerites. Later, they became known as Adventists and finally, Seventh-day Adventists.

As this group studied, they discovered the messages of the three angels of Revelation 14. Having learned the meaning of the sanctuary message in the books of Hebrews and Daniel, they realized that the Day of Judgment was to begin on October 22, 1844. This is not a message that the apostle Paul preached, because it would not have been true during his lifetime. The apostle Paul taught that the Judgment was still in the future. See Acts 24:25. Martin Luther did not preach it either. But here is a message that the hour of God’s Judgment has come. You cannot preach that the hour of God’s judgment has come unless you know it has started. But how do we know for sure that it has started? There is only one way that I know of how you know that the hour of God’s judgment has started, and that is from Daniel 8 and 9.

Now, do you understand why the devil has made our understanding of Daniel 8 and 9 a focal point of attack? If he can destroy a person’s confidence in that truth, that person can no longer preach the first angel’s message. Remember, the second and third angels’ messages are built upon the first. You cannot preach the third unless you preach the second, and you cannot preach the second unless you preach the first and if you do not understand Daniel 8:14 about the twenty-three hundred days, you are no longer a Seventh-day Adventist.

God is working today with the people who are proclaiming the Three Angels’ Messages. If you want to be a fellow laborer with God today, you have to join up with the people who are doing this.

The second angel’s message cannot be preached if you do not know who Babylon is according to Revelation 18:1–5.

The third angel’s message is a warning against the beast, his image, and his mark. Notice how the message concludes: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. If you are not even sure that you can really keep the commandments of God, how can you be a fellow laborer with God and preach Revelation 14:12? Have you noticed that it does not say that here are those who are trying to keep the commandments? It says they keep them. You cannot be a fellow laborer with God and be involved in His last work for the world if you cannot proclaim the message, and you certainly cannot proclaim the message if you do not believe it is true. The idea that “you are going to keep sinning until Jesus comes” is very dangerous.

If you want to know where God is working, look for a group of Seventh-day Adventists who really keep the commandments and do not play around and say, “Well, we are doing the best we can.” Listen, friends, the best you can do is not good enough, unless you are keeping the commandments by the power of God. If you give your life to the Lord, He has the power to give you so that you can keep them. If we fail to keep them when Jesus comes, He will be able to show us millions of people who had the same besetting sins that we had, and He will say, “I gave all of these people power to overcome.” There will be no satisfactory excuse then.

The people described in Revelation 12:17 not only keep the commandments but they have the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 19:10 says that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Ellen White fulfilled this prophecy of giving the gift of prophecy to God’s remnant people. If you want to find the people through whom God is working, you want to look for a people who have, believe and obey the spirit of prophecy. That eliminates the large portion of those who make a profession of waiting for the Lord to come.

Revelation 14:12 points out that God’s people not only keep the commandments but they have the faith of Jesus. You will never find somebody who has the first qualification and does not have the third one because you cannot keep the commandments unless you do have the faith of Jesus. People who have the faith of Jesus will be a sanctified people.

There is another characteristic that, unfortunately, disqualifies many who qualify according to the first three characteristics. Revelation 14:6 tells us that God’s last people will be giving His last message to the world. “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.” If you want to find the people through whom God is working and if you want to be a fellow laborer with God, you need to find the people who are determined to take the Three Angels’ Messages to every single person in the world.

When you find those people, you will know what group to work with; you will know how to be a co-laborer with God, because that is where God is working. He is working with the people who have these four characteristics: they keep His commandments; they have the spirit of prophecy and live by it; they have the faith of Jesus; and they are out to take the gospel to every single person in the whole world.

The catastrophe that I see taking place in Adventism today is that the great majority of Adventists are going to destruction, and when given a warning they say, “You say that we are in total apostasy.” Looking at the destruction of Jerusalem, we get just a little idea of what is ahead for Adventism. The only way to avoid being part of that destruction is to be a coworker with God, working where God is working, obedient to his law.

The gospel is not a halfway business. Either you have to get into it all the way or you might as well get out. Soon time will be no more, and when it is all over, I want to know that I have given it everything I have. I want all of my money, my time, my talents, everything I have, to be in the finishing of God’s work. How about you?

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.