our firm foundation -1986_06
TRANSCRIPT
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ur irm oundation
The 7th Day Sabbath
Immutable Law of God
The Everlasting Gospel
Non-Immortality of
the
Soul Three Angels Messages The Sanctuary .
VoL
I
NO 8
The Measurement
of Forces
The
Sifting
the
Shaking
and the
Straight Testimony
Preach the Word
Message
to
Laodicea
Importance
Trust in God
The
Real
Battle see p age
June
1986
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ditori l
Only a
few months ago
the
earthquake
in
Mexico City
killed
thousands and left
tens of
thousands
homeless. This
calamity
was followed
shortly
by th e e rupt ion o f a volcano
i n Columbi a,
South
America, and
more than 20,000 are still
entombed
under the
mud.
Wi th 1500 killed in
ai r
crashes, 1985 became th e worst
year for
aviation disasters.
To beg in 1986 we
were
introduced
to a severe reduction in crude oil
prices
which
has
affected
the
prices
of
gas a t the pump.
We
are now hap -
pily filling our t anks with fuel well
under a dollar a gallon. But
this
r educt ion i n p ri ce has severely jeop-
ardized
th e
in ternat ional banking
system, fo r now many oil -produc ing
nations
will be unable
to repay bil-
lions
of
dollars if the price
stays
where
it is.
The attack
on
Lybia by United
States aircraft ran shivers
down
the
backs
of
the nations of the world , fo r
they
realized that we
stand at
the
threshold
of a nuclear holocaust.
The
atomic melt-down
near
Kiev,
Russia,
recently has
se t
in action a tidal wave
o f f ear
which has
sent its
shockwaves
reeling around the earth.
In all o f th ese even ts God is trying
to awaken the Seven th -day Adven ti st
Church to the
great
responsibility
of
taking
the
three
angels' messages
to
t he wor ld
by the
experience of right-
eousness by faith.
The
Lord hath
opened His
armoury, and hath
brought
forth
th e weapons
of
His
indignation:
fo r
this is the work
of
the Lord God
of hos ts i n the land of
the Cha ldeans .
(Jeremiah 50:25) We
all know tha t the
great
controversy
has nearly reached i ts conclus ion. The
evidence is overwhelming
that
the
final hour
of
judgment is here. Only
a
moment
of time ye t r emains . (See
Testimonies vol. 9, 96, 97; Testimonies
vol. 6,
4;
Testimonies - vol. 5, 234;
Testimonies vol. 8, 50, 51; The Great
Controversy 589, 590, 629) The judg -
ments
of
God ar e in th e land--
t er rori sm, ear thquakes, famines and
diseases, wars, a nd rumo rs o f wars.
These are now t he beg inning
of
sorrows
a nd God 's s udden c hange
in
dea ling with a
rebellious
world
an d
a
rebellious
church.
There will
soon
be
a sudden change in
God's
dealings.
The wor ld in
its
perversity is being
visited by casualties,-by floods,
s to rms, f ires , ear thquakes, famines ,
wars, and bloodshed. The Lord is slow
to anger, and g reat in power; ye t Oe
will no t
at
al l
acquit the wicked. 'The
Lord
hath His way in
the
whirlwind
and
in
the s torm,
and
the c louds
are
the dust of His f ee t.' 0 that men
might
understand the patience and
longsuffering of God He is
putting
under
restraint
His own attributes.
His omnipotent power is
under
th e
control
of Omnipotence.
0
that men
would understand that God
refuses
to
be
wea ried o ut
with the
world's
perversity, a'nd
s ti ll hol ds
out the
hope of f orgiveness even to
the
most
undeserving
But
His forbearance
will
not
always
continue.
Wh o
is prepared
for the su dd en change
that will
take
place in God's dealing with
sinful
men? Who will be prepared to
escape
the
punishment that
will
certainly
fall upon
transgressors?
Fundamen
tals
0/
Christian Education 356, 357
Soon, very soon, total destruction
wil l come to
those in
rebellion.
Bu t
the
day of the
Lord
will come as a
thief in the night; in the which the
heavens shal l pass away wit h a
great
noise, and the elements shall melt
w ith fer ven t heat, the
earth
also and
the
works
that are therein
shall be
burned
up. 2 Peter 3:10, See Seventh-
day Adventist Bible Commentary vol.
7, 982, 983;
The Desire
of
Ages 780;
Review and Herald
October 19, 1897
As
it
was
in the
days
of
Noah, so
shall it be when th e Son of
man
shall
be revealed. The Lord is
removing
His restrictions from the
earth,
and
soon there
will
be
dea th and
destruction,
increasing crime, an d
cruel , evi l-working
against
the rich
who have exa lt ed themselve s aga inst
the poor.
Those
who
a re w ith ou t
God's protection will find no safety
in any place or
posi t ion.
Human
agents are being trained and are
using the ir inventive power to pu t in
oper t i on
the mos t
powe r f u l
machinery to wound
and
to kill.
Testimonies vol. 8, 50) The l it tl e time
of t roub le , t he g re at d ay of
trouble,
and the
last
plagues are near and
hasteneth grea tly.
Probation's hour is
fast
closing and
it wil l c lose unexpectedly, suddenly,
as an
overwhelming
surprise to
the
ch urch and the
world.
(See Desire 0/
Ages
635, 636;
Testimonies
vol. 8, 37,
287;
Seventh day Adventist Bible
Commentary 989; The
Great
Controversy
338, 339) And , b ro th er s
and
sisters, when
th e
cri si s s tr ikes ,
you will be either
wise o r foo li sh , j us t
or unjus t.
The sea ling
angel
wil l soon
begin his solemn work. (See
Maranatha
297) God help us to make;:
ready
today. There
will
soon
come
no
tomorrow.
R O
SPEAR,
ITOR
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llr i rm
owzdaJioll
une 98
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Vol . 1 ,
No.8
June,
1986
able ontents
is
the
mission of Hope Interna-
t io nal and
the
editors of Our
irm
Foundation
to give
the
straight tes-
t imony and
to
pre sent Chr is t and H im
crucified. The days
that
yet
remain
of this world
are
few, and what
we
do we must do quickly. We must
boldly
proclaim
the
truths
that place
us on so firm a foundation in the
midst
of this troubled world.-THE
EDITORS
ARTICLES
Th e
Measurement
of Forces
How do you
measure
a
force?
Ralph Larson
4
Editor
Ron
Spear
Managing Edi to r Dave F iedl er
Associate
Edi to r Vern Jennings
Assistant Editor
Joseph
Leatherman
Copy
Edit or Lil a
Rae Frederick
Editorial Secretary Clarissa Fiedler
Contributing Editors Colin Standish,
Ralph
Larson,
Dennis
Priebe
Art Director
Bob
Bresnahan
Layout
Shari lyn Kendall
Typography
Phyllis Covington
Circulation Joseph Leatherman
Circulation Assistant
Karen Winkler
Words
of Assurance
E ll en G . Whi te
Real
encouragement,
not
just
pleasant thoughts
The S if ti ng , t he Shaking, and the Fernando Chaij
Straight
Testimony
Th e
future is now
Th e Real Battle
Dave Fiedler
Armageddon-the bat tl e o f that
great
day
Preach the
Word
Ellen
G.
White
The answer to But what should I say?
Message to
Laodicea Ron
Spear
A message
fo r
a s
many as I
love
6
8
10
13
16
The
Home, Education, and
Mental Health Colin Standish
To rais e a child for Chr is t is not a minor
undertaking
Importance
o f T ru st in
God
Ellen
G. Whi te
Th e
first essential
in
daily
life
Our
Greatest Need Ellen G. White
The Comfort er , and
a
great
deal
more
TO
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Persecution
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DEP
ARTMENTS
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The
Measurement
orces
aith t ha t worketh by love.
Galatians 5:6
It is surprising how many mea-
suring
devices
can be found in and
around
an ordinary home.
In
our
kitchen
I found
measuring
spoons,
measuring cups
of many different
sizes, p in t- , Qua rt -, and gallon-size
containcrs,
a
cold
i nd icator for
the
freezer, a heat
ind icator for
making
yogurt,
and a hea t
indicator
on the
oven.
A the rmomete r hung
on
the bed-
room wal l a nd a no th er o f a different
type was in t he med ic in e closet. In
the sewing box I found a three-foot
f le xib le t ap e measu re, a nd
in
a
desk
drawer
three dif ferent
kinds of
rulers. On a
closet
shelf was a camera
with
a
l ight meter ,
on a
pantry
shelf
a
food
scale, and
on
t he bat hr oom
floor a scale
of
a
different
type.
In the garage I
found
steel measur-
i ng tapes 12 f oo t an d 50 foot), a tri-
square and a
framing
square, a volt-
meter for testing the electrical cur-
r ents i n hou sewir ing,
a hydrometer
fo r
testing
automobile batteries, a tire
pressure
gauge, and fe el er gauges fo r
measuring the gap in
spark
plugs . I n
the car i ts el f were a
varie ty of
gauges
with needles and/or
lights,
and
on the
water tank there
was
a gauge fo r
measuring
water pressure.
These
are
probably not unlike t he measu ri ng
devices
to be
found
in
any
home.
May I
suggest
a n exp eriment ?
Gather all the measuring
devices
you
can
find
in
your
home,
pu t them
together on
a
table
and study
them
for
a f ew moments. You will
Quickly
observe that they are of two k inds .
Some are used
fo r
measuring o jects
and some fo r measuring forces You
could separate them into two groups:
4
l lr i rm FOl rdolioll
June
986
To
measure
objects-
Spoons, cups, tapes, rule rs, squa res ,
feeler gauges.
To
measure
forces-
Thermometers
(to
measure
heat), light
meters ( to
measure
l ight ), vol t meters
(t o measure electricity) , pressure
gauges
(t o
measure air pressure,
vacuum,
or
water pressure), scales (to
measure gravity s effect on an object).
Scales
are
perhaps a
bi t
tricky.
e
think
o f u sing t hem to measure an ob-
ject s weight.
But
is
weight
an intrin-
sic qua li ty o f an object,
or
is it
the
e ffe ct of
gravity on that object? A
challenging question.
You
may set tl e
the matter by noting
th at w ith ou t
gravity an ob ject would have no
weight,
but
would
f loat
off
into
space . So, after reflection, you will
p robab ly put th e scales
in
t he force -
measuring group.
Now you have you r measu ri ng
devices separa ted in to
two
categories,
and you are
ready fo r
t he nex t Ques-
tion. How are
they used?
How
do t hey
do their
work? Again, we
see a differ-
ence. Those devices
that
measure ob-
jects do so by establishing the
physi-
ca l d imensi ons o f that object - i t s
length,
breadth,
an d depth. But those
devices
which measu re
forces
must
use a different method. Forces do no t
have length,
breadth, or dep th . e do
not ask, How long
is
this light? Or,
How wide is this heat?
These would
be considered nonsen-
sical
questions.
So-how
ca n we
mea su re such fo rc es as
heat, light,
and electricity?
Somebody,
somewhere,
had a great
idea.
Let
the force do some work
Then use
that
work as a measurement
of
the
.force.
Let the force
move
a
Ralph arson
carefully calibrated
needle
across the
face
of a gauge,
or
elevate mercury in
column, or
thrust
a
shaft
ou t of a
tube, or light test bulbs
of
different
sizes.
And
this
work
wil l t el l
us
what
we
need
to
know
about
the
force.
This technique has
proved
to be a
quite satisfactory method of measur-
ing such forces as heat, light and
e le ct ri ci ty , because the se
forces
are
r emarkably
consistent in their
bchavior.
They
act the
same
way
every
day.
An object
that is
caused by the
force of gravity to weigh
te n
pounds at
sea level will
give that
same r ea di ng any time,
anywhere
(a t
sea level) on a properly adjusted scale.
A fifty-thousand
pound
tractor
t ra il er com bina ti on speeding down
th e
highway must
be
stopped,
if
necessary,
by a relat ively t iny amount
of compressed ai r in a small tank
benea th the
tractor s
frame. (It may
be as little as 60
pounds
of air
pressure.) Yet the
driver
is uncon-
c erned bec ause
on th e
dashboard
befor e h im is a gauge
with
a small
needle tha
t
accurately
measure s the
force
of the air
pressure by the work
tha t i t does, that is,
pressing
against
the carefully calibrated needle. Thus
the
driver
a lways knows how much
braking power
is at his
disposal.
is
the
same every
day.
Let us remind ourselves that the
driver cannot estim ate the fo rce in
the braking s ys tem by even th e most
careful examination
of
the ai r tank,
the
ai r
lines, or the
a ir pot s tha t
are located
nea r t he
wheels.
Neither
ca n
he learn anything
about th e
system s
braking
power by
careful
measurement of these components .
The
force
ml st be mea su re d by its
work. There is no other way.
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With these facts
in
mind, we are
ready to consider some
forces
of a
different kind
that
also need to be
measured, such
as
intelligence,
love,
and f ai th . Thes e fo rces
are l ike hea t,
light, and
electricity
in
that
they
have
no physical
dimensions
of
length,
width,
and
depth, so
that
they
must be measured
by their
work.
They ar e unlike these
forces in that
they ar e
less
specific in their effects,
yet measuring them
by their
work can
be effective, for
A
man will a ct out
al l th e
faith
he has. Selected
Messages Book I, 93) With these
forces,
however , gauges
and meters
a re not effective.
It would be convenient if
there
were an
intelligence-meter that
would
make
lengthy
IQ
tests unneces-
sary.
Most people
would
be glad to
have a
love-meter
by whieh they
could quickly
and
accurately measure
the fecl ings of
persons in
whom they
have
a special interest. Mission boards
would
like
to have a faith-meter to
use on
candidates for
mission service.
Bu t
no such things exist. These spiri-
tual forces, like the other forces, can
be measured by
their
works,
bu t
ob-
servations
must
be wider and over a
longer
period
of time. Faith and love
do
no t
move needles, elevate
columns
o f mer cu ry , or turn on lights. But
they
do
produce
works, and
it
is only
by
these works that we can
measure
th em and know
their
quality.
When we hear someone attempt to
summari ze the New
Testament
teach-
ing about f ai th and works by
saying,
You
can't be
saved
by works, bu t
you can't be
saved
without
works, we
should not find
thi s asser tion
dif-
to understand. To try to
be
saved by works would be put ting the
measurement in t he p lace o f
the
force
(faith).
This,
as we have seen, is
impossible.
To
tr y to
be saved
without
wQrks would
be equally
impossible ,
s ince
a i th th t
produces
no
works
is
no t
a genuine
saving faith.
It
is a spurious counter-
feit,
a non-faith, a dead fai th . (James
2:17) is pre sumption . Thi s is
the
verdict
of
the measurement.
The verdict
of
t he measu rement
must be accepted.
No
light
means
no
electrical force is present. No move-
ment o f the needle on a brake system
gauge means no force
of
ai r
pressure
is present. Do not
try
to
drive
the
truck.
No
works means no genuine saving
faith
is present. Do not tr y to reach the
kingdom God in this pitiable
cO/ldition
Let the
Spi ri t o f
t he L iv ing
Christ breathe
into
your soul a living,
dynamic
faith, and the
works will
appear as surely as night follows day,
works
that
will
truly
measure and
verify your fai th .
The
mighty
works of Jesus provide
us with a
measurement
of
His
faith.
It was
by
faith that
He l iv ed
a pure
and
holy life, worked amazing m ir-
acles,
overpowered
the
elements
of
nature,
and rai sed the
dead.
was
by
f ai th tha t
He
endured
the
contradic-
tion
of
sinners,
surrendered Himself
to the
power
of
wicked
men,
and
was
obed ie nt unto deat h, ev en the d ea th
of the cross. It was
in
faith that
He
uttered
the triumphant
shout,
It
is
finished, and yielded His
spirit
to
His heavenly Fathe r. H is
was
a faith
that worked by love-unmistakably
recogniza ble, easily
measured.
Even
so
must
ou r own faith be
measured.
Which
leads
to ou r
las t quest ion:
Who needs a
measurement
o f f ai th ?
Actually, everybody
does.
God docs not need a measurement
of faith
fo r
His
own
information.
He
can read
the human hear t, bu t
t he in-
habi tants of o ther
worlds cannot.
So-
God needs a
measurement
of faith fo r
justification purposes, to
show
the
wat ch ing wo rld s why
it is safe fo r
Him
to save us.
e as individuals
need something
other than feeling
for a measurement
our own faith
The
world
needs a
measuremen
t
of
faith
in
order to distinguish
between
the
believer and
the
nonbeliever,
and
in
order to distinguish
between pre -
tended faith and
the
real
thing. The
ehurch needs a
measurement
of faith
in
order
to
make
wise assignments
of
responsibility
to church
worke rs . To
send a
person
o f weak
faith
to a mis-
sion field, or even on
a difficult
home bas e assignment, can be a very
costly
mis take . Sometimes there
is
nothing
that
can be done excep t to
replace such persons, which uses up
money.
And we as individuals need some-
thing other t han fee li ng
fo r
a
mea-
surement
of
ou r own faith. Without
it, we might
find
ourselves
disagree-
ing with
God.
It is
no t
inconceivable
that
God might
say to us, Your faith
has been
growing
weaker fo r some
t ime now.
And we
might
answer,
On the
contrary,
Lord.
I f ec i very good abou
my faith.
And when
God says,
Where
is the
evidence?
What
is
your
faith
doing?
a clearer
self-realization will
come to
us.
So-everybody needs
a
measure-
ment of faith, and
this measuremen
is wha t we
call
works
orks
faith can
measure faith but
works re not faith
and cannot play
the role faith
Is this
legalism?
No t
at
all. A work
of
faith
cannot
be called
legalistic
That would
be a
con tr ad ic tion o
terms. Legalism is a work
/lot of
faith
in which no love is present
For example: You ar e
driving
to
work some morning, and
you
find
a
newly erected
s top sign
at an inter
section near
your
home.
You
stop.
Bu
you are not happy about it.
You
are
t hi nk ing, Wha t
s tupid o ff ic ia ls
we
have in this city
There
was no
need
for a s top s ign on
tha
t
corner
This i
ridiculous,
bu t
if
I don't
stop
I
migh
get a
ticket,
so I wil l do it.
You have performed a
work,
bu
this is not a
work
o f fa ith .
It
is
work
of
the
law-legalism.
No
love i
involved.
You had no
desire
to ple 'ls
the
officials
or honor
their
wishes
Yet wit h man 's
laws
this is enough
Man's la
ask
fo r
nothing
more
than
the outward works, the motio/ls
of
the
law.
God's law is different. Suppos
that
you
are goi ng to be baptized, bu
again
you are not h appy ab out it. A
you
enter
the
water
you
are th inking
Wha t a stupid, old-fashioned cere
mony They should
have
gotten
rid
o
this years ago.
It's
going to
get
me al
wet and take al l
of
the curl out of my
hai r. I t' s r id iculous ,
but
if I
don't
d
it I might be lost, so I wil l do it.
Again, you
have
performed
work, but it is a work
/lot
of
faith
No
l ove is involved.
is a work
of law,
motion of law-keeping, legalism. Ma
accepts
this
kind
of
obedience,
bu
God does not. God ins is ts that ou
works mus t be
faith that works b
101 e
He
will not accept empty mo
tions of
law-keeping.
Only t he f ru it
of f ai th t ha t works
by
love
can
be
measurement o f that
spiritual
forc
June 986
l r
irm ound t io
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ords
f
ssurance
llen
llite
Zechariah, th e son of
Berechiah,
the son of
Iddo
th e prophet, began to
prophesy
i n the eighth
month,
in the
second year
of
Darius -only a few
days after the Lord had assured the
I sr ae li te s th rough
Haggai that
th e
glory of
the
house
they were
building
would be greater than th e glory of
the
forme r t emple built
by
Solomon.
Zechariah s
first
message was an as
surance
that
God s word never fails,
and a
promise
of
blessing to those
who hea rken unto the sure word
of
prophecy.
The
Lord
hath
been s ore
dis-
pleased with your fathers, the God
of Israel declared unto Zec har ia h;
therefore
say thou unto
them, Thus
s ait h t he Lord
of hosts: Turn ye unto
Me saith t he Lord
of
hosts and I will
turn unto
you,
saith the Lor d of hosts.
Be ye no t as your f athe rs , unto whom
th e
former
prophets
have
cried,
saying,
Thus
s ai th t he
Lord of hosts:
Turn
ye
now from your evil
ways,
and
from your
evil
doings: bu t they
i not hear, nor hearken unto Me
saith th e Lord. Your fathers , where
ar e
they?
and the
prophets, do they
live forever? But My words a nd My
statutes, which I commanded My ser-
vants the prophets,
did
th ey tak e ho ld
of your f at he rs ? And they returned
and said,
Like as the Lord of hosts
thought to do unto us according to
ou r
ways,
a nd a cc or di ng to our
all irm FoulIdatio l
une
98
doings, so hath He
dea lt w it h
us.
[Zechariah 1:2 6]
The
Israelites
h ad r esume d th e
work
of
the Lord in fai th . The diffi-
culties
under
which they
began
to
labor were
of
a most discouraging
nature. Adversi ty had
a tt ended the ir
efforts to a ttain
temporal prosperi ty.
Their fields
were
lying
waste;
their
scant store
of
provisions
was rapidly
faili ng . Yet in the face
of
famine,
and surrounded
by
unf r iendly
peoples they moved
forward
in re-
sponse to
the
call of
God s messen-
gers
and
began
anew
to
restore
the
ruined temple. Such a work required
great
faith,
and
the
Lord gave them
spec ia l assurances
through
Haggai
and
Zechariah that their faith
would
be richly rewarded, and that
His
word would not
fail.
The bui lde rs
were no t
left
to s tr uggle on alon e;
with
t hem were the p rophet s
of
God
helping them; [Ezra 5:2]
and the
Lord
of
hosts
Himself had declared,
Be strong,.
and
work:
fo r I am
with you.
The
Lord,
in mercy, warned
His
people
against the danger o f f al li ng
back into their old ways of negli-
gence and
selfish
indifference. He
revealed to them the necessity
of
worshiping
im
in
the beauty of
holiness.
In
former years some
whose
hearts were polluted with sin
had
sought
to
please
im
with
the
splen-
do r o many r it es
and
ceremonies in
th e beaut i fu l
temple bui l t by
Solomon; bu t th ei r worship was
not
plea sing to th e
God
of
whom
it is
written:
Thou
ar t of
purer
eyes than
to behold evil , and canst not look
on
iniquity
[Habakkuk
1:13]
In th e dark
days
of
apostasy
before the
capt iv i ty
God
had
declared to
His
impenitent people: I
hate, I despise your f ea st days
Though ye offer me burnt-offerings
and your mea t-of fe ri ngs, I will no
accept them:
neither will
I r egard the
peace-offerings
of your fa t beasts.
[Amos
5:21,22]
Fo r I desired mercy
and not sacrifice; and th e
knowledg
of
God more
than
burnt-offerings.
[Hosea 6:6]
The
I s rae l i tes
who were
so
d il igen tl y engaged in
rebuilding th e
Lord s house,
needed to realize con
stantly
that
th e Most High dwelleth
not in temples made with hands; a
saith
th e
p ro ph et , Heaven
is My
throne,
and
earth
is
My
footstool
what house will
ye
build Me? saith
the
Lord: or
what is
t he p la ce
of My
rest?
[Acts
7:48 49] Thus s ai th
the
high
and holy
One that inhabiteth
eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwel
in the high and
holy place ,
w it h h im
also
that
is
of
a
contr ite and
humbl
SPIrIt to revive the spirit
of
th
humble,
and
to revive
the heart o
the con trite
ones.
[Isaiah 57:15]
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In order
that
t he bui lder s
of the
second
temple
might mak e
no mis-
tak es, th e L ord
plainly
instructed
them, in the form of a
parable,
regarding
the
nature of
service
ac-
ceptable in His sight. About a
month
after Zechariah
began
t o p rophesy,
and just three
months af ter th e
pe op le h ad r es umed wor k
on
th e
temple, i n
the
four
and twentieth
day
of
the n inth mon th, in the second
year
o f Dar iu s, came th e
word
of
the
Lord
by Haggai
the
prophet,
saying,
Thus sai th
th e
Lord
of hosts: Ask
now
the
priests concerning
the law,
saying,
I f one bear
holy f lesh in
the
ski rt o f
his
garment,
and with
his
skirt do
touch
bread, or pottage, or
wine,
or
oil
o r any meat, sh al l
it be
holy? And
the pries ts answered and said, No.
Then said Hagga i,
I f
one that is
unclean by a dead body touch any
of
these shall it be uncl ea n? And
the
pricsts
answered
and
said, It
shall be
unclean.
[Haggai 2:10-13]
A soul corrupted by sin is repre-
s en ted by the figure
of
a dead body
in
a
state
of
putrefaction.
All
the
washings and sprinkl ings
enjoined in
the
cer emon ia l l aw wer e
lessons in
parables, t ea ch ing the necessity of a
work
of
regeneration in the inward
hea rt for the
puri f ica tion of
t he soul
dead
in
trespasses
and
sins, and also
the necessity
of
the
sanctifying
power
of the Holy Spirit.
Then
answered Haggai,
and
said,
is this people, and so is thi s na tion
before Me saith the Lord; and so is
eve ry work of th ei r
hands ; and that
which
they o ff er t he re is
unclean.
[2:14]
A mere participation in
religious
services
an d
ordinances
does
not
make
a sinner a Christian. A wicked
man
does
not become
righteous
merely by associating with those
who
fear God. A man is made holy, and
acceptable with God,
onl y when
his
unclean heart is made cl ean by the
grace
of
Christ, through
faith,
and by
obedience to words
of truth
an d
righteousness. A
work
of reformation
and res to ra ti on
must
take
place
in
every heart. Those
who have had
great light an d
many
privi leges may
perform some good
works notwi th -
s tanding thei r refusal to be
saved
in
God s appointed way. But their good
works do not cleanse the soul from
cor rupt ion. Only those who accep t t he
light of
God s
truth,
choosing to
obey
Him, will
be cleansed from the
defilement of
sin.
Having admonished the builders
not to
fall
into the same error
that
had
brought
t he ir for ef athe rs
into
t ri al and
capt ivi ty, and
had resul ted
in the
destruction
of the
first
temple,
Haggai continued:- And now, I pray
you,
consider
from this day and
upward, f rom before a stone
was
laid
upon a stone
in
the
temple of
the
Lord:
since
those days were, when one
came to
an heap
of
twenty
measures,
there were
bu t ten:
when one c ame
to
the pressfat for to draw
ou t
fifty ves-
sels ou t
of
the press there
were
bu t
twenty. I smote you with blast ing and
with mildew
and with hail in
al l
the
labors
of
your
hands: yet ye turned
not to Me saith th e Lord.
Consider
now
from this day upward , f rom th e
four and tw entieth day of th e
ninth
month,
even from the
day that
the
foundation to the Lord s
temple
was
laid,
consider
it. Is
the seed ye t
in
the
b ar n? Yea, as
yet the vine,
and
the
fig-tree, and
the
pomegrana te , and
the olive-tree,
hath
not brought forth:
from this day will I bl es s you. [2:15-
19]
Wonderful
assurance
of divine
favor Never,
never,
by their own
effor ts , could the Israeli tes have be-
come pur e a nd holy. But when,
sinful
and
polluted
as
they
were, th e
sport
of their enemies, and
suffering
be-
cause
of
a
terr ible drought,
they
turned to the Lord
in humil it y o f
heart , confessed
their sins, and
chose
to obey th e te st imon ie s of His
messengers God
recognized
their ef -
fort to carry ou t His instruction, and
He accep ted them as His obedient
children.
He
accepted them not be-
cause
of their
zeal
and
good works ,
but b ecau se
of their faith in
the
power
of the coming Saviour to
cleanse from sin.
he djvjne
orker spends
ljttle
tjme
on
worthless
materjal
On the day when rich blessings
were promi sed the I srae li tes
because
of their faith
and their willing
obedience, a message was
given
to
Zerubbabel, their
leader.
T he
word
of the Lord came unto Haggai,
saying, Speak
to Zerubbabel, governor
of Judah,
saying,
I will sh ak e the
heavens and
the
earth; and I will
o verth row the thr on e
of
kingdoms,
and I will des troy the strength of the
kingdoms
of the h eathen;
and
I will
overthrow the chariots, and those
that
ride
i n th em; and
the
horses and the ir
riders shall
come
down,
everyone by
the
sword
of
his brother. In
that
day,
saith the Lord
of
hosts,
will
I take
thee, Zenibbabel, My servant , t he
son of Sheal tiel ,
saith
t he Lord,
and
will
make
thee as a signet: for I
have
chosen thee, sai
th
th e Lor d of hosts.
[2:20-23]
This persona l tes timony
to Zerub-
babel
h as been left
on record
for our
special
encouragement in time of
trial. Zerubbabel had been sorely
tried
through all the
years
since he
ha d
led th e Israeli te s fo rth from
Babylon. God had a purpose in send-
ing
trial
to His children. He never
leads
them otherwise than
they would
choose to be led
if they could
see th e
end from the beginning,
and
discern
the glory
of th e purpose which th ey
are
fulfilling. He
sub je ct s t hem
to
discipline
to humble them,-to lead
them, through trial
and affl ict ion ,
to
sec their weakness and to dr aw nea r
unto
Him. As they cry to Him
fo r
help,
He respond s, s ay ing, Here am
I
Chr is ti an s a re Chr is t s jewels.
They
are to shine br ightly fo r
Him,
shedding
forth
th e
light of His
loveliness. Their luster depends on the
polishing
they
r ec ei ve . They may
choose to be
polished
or to remain
unpolished. Bu t everyone who is
pronounced
wor thy o f
a
pla ce in
the
Lord s tem ple must su bm it
to
th e
polishing process.
Without
the
polish-
ing
that
the
Lord gives they can
reflect no
more
light than a
common
pebble.
Christ s ay s t o
man,
You are Mine. I
have
bought you . You are now only a
r ough s tone ,
bu t
if you will pla ce
yourself
in
My hands, I
wil l pol is h
you
and
the
luster
wit h whi ch
you
shall shine will bring
honor
to My
name. No man sha ll
pluck
you ou t of
My hand. I will make you My pecu-
l iar t reas ur e. On My corona tion day,
you will be a jewel in My
crown
of
rejoicing.
The divine
Worker spend s
little
time on
worthless
material.
Only
th e
precious
jewels
does he polish
after
the
s imil itude o f
a
palace, cutting
away al l
t he rough
edges.
This process
is
severe
a nd t ry ing; it hurts human
pride. Christ cuts deep into
the
ex-
perience
that
man in his self-suffi-
c iency has regarded as complete, and
takes a
way self-uplifting
from th e
character.
He cuts away the
surplus
sur fa ce , and putting the stone to the
polishing
wheel , presses it close that
all r oughnes s may be worn away
Then, holding the jewel up to
the
light;
the Master
sees
in
it a reflection
o f H imse lf , and
He
pronounces
it
worthy
of
a p la ce in H is casket.
I n
that day, saith the Lord
of
hosts will I
take
thee,
and
wil
make thee
as a signet:
for
I have
chosen thee,
saith
t he Lord
of
hosts.
[2:23]
Blessed be
th e
experience
however
severe, that g ives new value
to the stone,
and
causes it to shine
with
living brightness.
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.
1 will
sift
t e house
of
Israel
am
all nations,
ke as
cor n i s s if ted i
sieve, ye t
shall no t
the
least
{wh
grain fal upon the earth.
Amos 9
Also,
in
an hour that
was
v
critical to His
disciple,
Jesus
Peter,
' inwn
behold,
Sa
hath desire
to...Jlave
you, that he m
sift
you as
whea t: bu
av'e
pra
fo r t
e. at
tliy
faith
fail
n
Luke
2:11, 2
As
we said before,
every Chris
and the
pe Ie
of God,
as
such,
:undergo a s
ecial trial
of
faith. T
test
is
calle
shaking or siftin
has happened in t imes pas t, bu
will
be repea ted
in
a
very spec
sense
on
the
final
stage of history.
TheFC' a 'c
several
different ca
for the fall\n
g
away of
many
m
bers
of the
church,
namely: 1
gious carelessness
an d
indifferenc
per se cu ti on onsequent to th e
forcem ent of the Sunday
law
voluntary superficiality of knowle
of
divine t ruth.
But the main ca
will be
the
disregard
or
refusa
accept, on
the p ar t o f
some,
the
m
sage of Christ to t he Laodi c
church,
a message of repentance
reform.
Because thou ar t lukewarm,
Jesus,
neither
cold
no r
hot,
I
spue thee
out
of My mouth.
Rev
tion 3:16
I
asked
the
meaning
of the sh
ing
I
had
seen, she
writes, refer
to
what. had
been
presented
.in
vis
and was
shown that
it
would
caused by th e
straight
testim
called forby the counsel
of
th e T
Witness to
the Laodiceans.
This
will
have i ts
effect upon
h eart o f the receiver, and will
The prophet
Amos
speaks
symbol-
ically of
a
sifting or
shaking of
God s
people, For,
10
I will command, and
Simon,
Simon,
behold,
Satan hath
desired
to
have you,
that he may sift
you
as wheat
They
are
used by
Ellen
White
in r
writings, and one of them, th e
straight
testimony,
is
i nc luded in the
aim
of this magazine,
,at
the top of
page
three in the masthead.
Let
us
take first the shaking.
Ac-
cording
to
the dictionary the
verb t o
sliake
means
to
move some thi ng t o
and fro,
to
cause
to
waver,
to
tremble
1 a xesult of physical or
emotional
disturbance.
The servant of the Lord applies it
to
a
particular experience of shock
that
will
initiate
in the
church
a
process
of selection and apostasy, as
well
S
a
strengthening
of
the faith.
She employs
another s imilar word
to refer to
the
same
experience that
we also find
in the
Bible,
namely, the
sifting.
This word she
employs
in
it s
figurative
meaning when
she ex-
p la in s the act
of threshing. The gra in
is
shaken o r
sifted
in
a sieve, so
that
broken kernels, husks and foreign
par ticles fal l
through
the
mesh
and
the
chaff
is
blown
away.
.
.
> ;
'.:.'. '.6n.eL'Cllly, .when,'.th'e d'isciples were
,. ,.sailing on
the
Sea
of Galilee,
great
tempest,
,
insomuch
the ship
was
covered with the
waves. Jesus
was
. as leep. Those men
.
were exper ienced
fishermen, accus-
wmed
to
sudden
danger s a nd
they
began fighting
the elements
with
a)l
their
strength
and
expertise.
But to no
avail. When they had lost al l hope
of
surviving
the
tempest, all of a
sudden
they recalled that
Jesus
was on board .
When
t hey awoke Him
and told Him,
Lord,
save us:
we per ish,
He calmly
answered, Why are
ye
fearful,
0
ye
of little faith? Then He arose,
and
rebuked the winds and the
sea;
and
there was
a
great calm. Matthew
8:24-26
Tha t unique
experience strength-
ened the
faith of
the
disciples more
than anything else that had
happened
before.
Every child of God, individually,
and
the church,
corporately,
undergo
at
t imes a
special
trial
of faith when
everything
appears to be
unstable
and mov ing, and when
'we
wonder
whether
the
Lord is
s ti ll wit h
us
or
has abandoned us
drifting amid the
tremendous waves
of a
rough
sea.
But
in this way God
fortifies
our
trust in Him when something
unique
. and unu su al oc cu rs in
our personal
, l ife or in t he exper ience of ou r
church, and
we do
not
understand the
reasons
or
the
ultimate implications.
There are two very denomihational
expressions
used
by
t he Bibl e and
by
the pen of i nspi ra ti on tha t have
a
special significance
fo r
us
a t this
time of the end:
t he
shaking or
t he
sifting
on one h and , and
t he
s tr a ight t es timony,
on th e
other.
The
: Sh
aking
h
t ? mnn
: : I
....
: . . . . ;. .
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him
to exalt the s tandard and
pour
forth the straight truth. Some wi ll not
bear
this straight testimony.
They
wil l ri se up
against
it , and
this
is
wha t will cause a shaking among
God's
people. And
sadly
she adds
this comment to
her exp lana
tion, I
saw
th at th e t est imony
of
the T rue
Witness has
not
been half heeded.
The
solemn testimony upon
which the
des-
tiny of
the
church
hangs
has
been
l igh tl y e st eemed, if no t entirely
d is re ga rded . Th is t es timony must
work deep
repentance; a ll
who truly
receive
it will
obey
it an d
be
purified. Early Writillgs 270
Let s analyze these inspired words.
The
vision regarding
the
straight testi-
mony
called
fo r by the message of
Chr is t t o Laodicea aroused
the
keen
interest
of
the hu man instrument
being used
by
God to emphasi ze it to
the
c hur ch . And she was told
tha
t the
message of
the
True Witness would
require the co mm unicatio n of a
straigh
t testimony.
What is the message to Laodicea? A
message that tel ls us that we are luke-
warm
and indifferent regarding
the
two most important problems of our
life, our Christian experience and our
outreach activity to share th e good
news. Also
it
t el ls us
that
we ar e ter-
ribly deceived with respect to ou r
r elat io nsh ip w ith Chr is t a nd to ou r
spiritual condition;
that
we are happy
about our preparation for heaven,
believing that we need nothing, when
in reality we are wretched, miserable,
poor,
blind,
and naked.
But Christ does no t
leave
us i n th is
desperate
condition.
There
is hope. He
offers us
three
infallible remedies to
be totally healed:
the
gold of faith
and
love- the f rui ts of
t he s pir it; t he
These three remedies
we are assured will
heal us
from our
poverty
nakedness
and blindness
white
raiment of
the
righteousness of
Christ-the
forgiveness
of sins and
the
impar ta tion o f
the
cha racter o f
Christ;
and th e
oin tment of
the Spir it
and
the Word of God t o recognize s in
under any disguise. These three reme-
dies, we a re a ssured , will
heal
us
from our poverty,
nakedness, and
blindness,
and make
us fi t
fo r
heaven.
Now,
t he exp re ss ion stra ight
testimony called
fo r
by the
counsel
of
the True Witness-Jesus-implies
tha t the message to Laodi cea needs to
be stressed and taken home by us.
How
do
we go about
giving
th e
straight testimony? Simply by word
and action. By a changed l ife, on the
one hand (repentance an d refor-
mation), and on t he o ther hand by a
spoken or written testimony, trying to
convince o th er s o f our r eal n eed, and
to
plead
with them
to
receive the
message.
How
do
we
go
about
giving the straight
testimony
Simply by word
and action
The straight testimony
will be
given by many
in the church,
since
Ellen White saw
t ha t t hi s will
have
it s effect upon
th e
hear t of
the
receiver, and wi ll l ead him to exalt
th e standard and pour
forth
th e
straight
truth
by mouth and by
example.
.
wish
that
the inspi red comment
would stop r ight t he re ,
but unfor-
tuna tely whi le many will be among
t he receivers , some
will
no t b ea r
this straight
testimony.
hey wil l rise
lip
agaillst i t
and this is
what
will
cause
a
shaking
among
God's
people.
In
other
words,
some
will
no t
receive
e ithe r the
counsel
of the
True Witness
or
th e
straight
testimony of th e
receiver.
They
wil l cal l
it extremism fallat
icism legalism.
They
will
be
trusting
in a
cheap grace, and in
a kind of
faith that does
not wo rk
by love and
change
lives. In their
self-right-
eousness
the
words r epentance and
reformation will
have
a
bad
con-
notation
fo r
them.
They wil l i ns is t
that any effort of
the
will to sur-
render
the
life to Christ, to renounce
self and to overcome
their
worldli-
ness, their lukewarmness and heir
idols
through faith
by
t he g race of
God, is
lack of f ai th in
the work of
the cross.
nfor tuna te ly because these
people
would not
receive the
straight
testimony, they wil l r ise up against
the
message, and this is what
will
cause a shaking among
God's
people.
Some of
them
will turn ou t to be the
worst enemies of the church of God.
Are we
not
seeing some of
this
happening
in
our day , before
ou r
own
eyes? Are we not witnessing increas-
ing groups of ou r
own
bro ther s and
sisters siding
with
a new
theology
and
refus ing the
rebuke and
the ki nd
call
of Jesus who
says,
Be zealous
therefore,
and repent ?
Revelation
3:20,21
But let
this not
be a cause
of
discouragement. It was predicted by
. th e i nspi red pen years ago. The sepa-
ration
within the church
is
happen-
ing, and will cont inue. Let th is f ul -
fillment stimulate us to be bold fo r
the Lord. Let t hi s separat ion help us
to seek a closer experience
with
Chris t, who is ou r
only
righteousness,
and the only
source
of strength
and
spiritual
power.
God help us humiliate ou r souls
before the
Lord,
look for repentance
and
reformation, and be
among
those
who-recognizing their absolu te de-
pendency on Jesus-throw their im-
potence on
the
omnipotent hand of
the Author and Consummator of the
faith who
said,
My
grace
is suffi-
cient fo r thee:
fo r
my strength is
made per fe ct i n
weakness.
(2 Corin-
thians 12:8) Let us march
on
confi-
dently with the
loyal
through the
perils of the last days toward e te rnal
victory.
Truth an Never Die
Truth may be
worsted in
the
fight,
And then i n s co rn pass ed by,
Trampled in rage upon the
sod,
'Neath tyrant's foot and tyrant' s nod;
But sti ll it
holds
the
life
of God,
And truth
can
never die.
Ten
thousand
foes may
plan i ts doom
Beside the open
grave,
Determined
that
i ts hal lowed
light
Must
evermore
be hid
from sight,
Within
the
deepest, darkest
night,
Where
not
a hand can
save.
But a ll in
vain men
whet their
swords,
And rai se their battIe song;
Behold, it rises from the
dust,
The shackles that
would
b ind i t
rust
While al l
the
cords of
bondage
burst,
For truth must conquer wrong.
Still vested with
t he l if e
divine,
Its
fountain
fixed on high,
It faces t ime and sco rn
and
hate,
Careless of
high
or low estate,
Heedless of al l
that
wil ls i ts fate;
For
truth
can never die.
Robert
June
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The eal attle
Biblical
terminology
has been,
making considerable incursions into
the rea lm of pol it ic s recently. Though
not all will
feel concern over
the
pronouncements and act iv it ie s o f the
newly mobilized
right
wing, t he re is
at least
one
catchphrase that is get-
ting
everyone's attention:
Arma-
geddon. Thinking
the
Unthinkable,
they call
it.
The term has multiple
advantages.
Not only does it carry
the
religious connotat ions worth so
much
these
days in
some
circles, but
it also evokes
images
o f con fl ic t
so
severe
as to affect
the
lives of
every
ear th ly inhabi tan t. There is, after all,
nothing so
effective
as plain, old-
fashioned
self-interest
when
it comes,
to drawing attention.
As
always,
th e wrath of
man sha ll
praise
the
Lord.
Through this channel
th e g rea t Hea ve nl y
Opportunist
will
find ways and means to touch hearts
otherwise inaccessible
to
His
message.
But s ti ll , even the
truly
converted,
those l iving above
the level of
selfish
concern,
can find
reason
to inquire
into
the fate of the
world
and th e
meaning
of dreaded Armageddon.
What has
t he Lord revea led? What
do we really know about Revelat ion
16:12-16?
Those
familiar wit h Adv en ti st
prophetic
interpretation
will
remem-
ber
that for more than
a
century
there have
been two
major
views as
to
the
meaning
of this p as sa ge . W hi le
they differ in regard to the degree of
symbolism attr ibuted to
th e
terms
Euphrates, kings of the eas t,
and
Armageddon,
th e
tw o views do
hold
much
in common. See Seventh-
day Adventist Bible ommentary vol.
842, 843)
Without
fal lting those
who favor the limited-symboli
vicw
of Uriah Smith, this
wr
finds more merit in t he pos it i
taken
by James White, inc luding
admonition that
where the
histor
not writ te n, t he student
should
forth
his
proposi tions with
not
much
positiveness.
In brief,
the first view (held
Elder Smi th)
sees t he b att le
of
mageddon
beginning
essentially
a
political conflict and
coming
to
climax when
Chris t and the
armies
heaven make
their
appearance.
T
second
(held by Elder Wh
sees the battle beginning when
united
religious
an d
political
pow
of ear th a tt ack
God's remnant peo
Thc conclusion,
of course, is the
ro
ing
of the
evil
forces
when
the ki
of the
east (Christ and
His
acco
panying hosts)
arrive
amidst the
rors
of
the seventh plague.
Perha ps t he
mos t obv ious
rea
for
favoring
the
second
view
is
difficulty of
p la ci ng t he inter
tional
Sunday
law
in the scena
Ho w
would all the nations of
world, whi le engaged in the m
colossal
conflict of all tim e, s
manage
to agree
among
themselves
extcrminate
th e
observers
of
seventh-day Sabbath?
And co-ope
to the point of setting a specific d
for the implementa tion
of
t hi s de
decree?
At
best, it
sounds unlikely.
is more typical
of
t he Lord' s
struction to us that the
emphasis
not so much on the affairs of
world
as on the affairs of
His chur
Fo r t he
e te rnal r ea li ty o f
the bat tl
not what
happens on the
field of
w
but what happens in the hearts
God's
people.
Especially would
this
truc in the closing scenes
of
ear
h is to ry when
th e
kingdoms
of
t
world are
passing
from existen
ncver aga in
to playa part in the
tivities
of
God's universe.
In
t
l ight then, we
se e
the bat tl e o f
t
great
day of God Almighty as a p
marily spiri tual confl ic t, the de
and all
his
hosts
attacking
Christ
the
person
of
His
saints.
Wa it one
minute, please, I h
you say. What about all the Spi ri t
Prophecy predi t ions of
st r i
warfare , and bloodshed?
Surely
this
is
not
just spiritual conflict .
The point
is well
taken. It
is
tr
in
the last
scenes of
this
eart
history,
war
wil l r age.
Review a
Herald
October
19, 18 97 ) We are
dealing here with some
form
etherealized
combat;
in the last d
there will be t he unmis takabl e, h
rifying reality of warfare
such
never before seen on thi s ear th . E
White s
description
of
great
balls
Oil Firm
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f i re which
sent for th f i e ry
arrows, deadly ins tr ument s of
warfare and th e
impending
destruction
of
thousands
of
cities
sounds very much like
nuclear war.
Sec
Evangelism
29;
Testimonies
vol.
9, 28;
Seventh day
Adventist
Bible
Commentary
vol.
967)
In
any event,
we can be
assured
that
there
will
be a
time
of t roub le such
as
never
was
since
there
was a nation.
But
now
the pendulum
has
seem-
ingly swung
too far.
is
only
logical
to ask, once again, how
a ll nat ions
could conceivably co-operate
in the
enforcing of t he
international
Sunday
la
wand the dea th
decree.
Simple
logic tel ls us they
could
not.
The Battlefield of
th e
Mind
So
where
do we go from
here?
For
the t ime being , let s just stop.
Let s
stop and
recognize once
more
that
the
only really
important
aspects
of
the
battle
o f A rmag eddon
ar e
those
which
tak e p lace
in
the hea rt s and
minds of
men.
All
nations, all earthly
powers, al l
fal se rel ig ions
will pass
from existence; not
so
with human-
kind.
Some
small percentag e from
among th e b illio ns o f earth will
overcome, will
meet
their
Lord in
peace,
and will spend
eternity
with
Him.
They
are
overw
helmed with
consternation,
but
it
is too late
In the
arena of the heart the con-
f lic t has already begun.
The
prelimi-
nary battles have already been
fought, already
won or
lost. For the
choices we
make now, to
a
great
extent,
predetermine
the
choices we
will
make
then. The fai th which will
live t hrough the t ime
of
trouble must
be developed now.
Those who
do
no t
make s trong
efforts
now
to
exercise
persevering faith,
will
be unable to
stand in the
day of
trouble. Signs
0
the Times November
27, 1879
Docs day to day
life
call
fo r
such
faith? will, if you f ollow you r
Lord.
Remember,
He is
your
Trainer,
your Coach.
He
is more concerned to
get you into shape than you are.
When
He prescribes
p.ersevering faith,
rest assured that He will give you op-
portunity to exercise
it.
The
e xp er ie nc e o f
th e
Lord s
servants illustrates
the
point well.
In
the t ime
of trouble,
they
have
held
to
the
truth
even though
a
large
class
who
have professed
faith
in the third
ange l s message have abandoned
them
and gone over to the opposition.
Now it is th at the ir
faith
is
tried.
They entered upon
the
performance
of their duties without
coldly
cal-
cula t ing the consequences
of
speaking
to the people the
word which
the
Lord had
given
them. They have not
consulted
their
temporal interests,
no r
sought to preserve
their reputation
or
their lives.
Yet
when
the s torm
of op-
position
and
reproach
bursts
upon
them, some,
overwhelmed
with
consternation, will
be ready to
exclaim:
Had
we
for eseen th e con-
sequences
of our
words,
we
would
have held our peace. They are
hedged
in
with diff iculties .
Satan as-
sails
them
with f ierce
temptations
They
are threatened with
destruction.
The enthusiasm which animated them
is gone;
yet th ey
canno t turn
back.
The Great Controversy 6 9
Wha t wonderful words- they can-
not
turn back.
Why
couldn t they?
Others had.
Yes,
it s t rue, others had,
but t he o th er s
had
never developed
a
faith
that
was
stronger than their
lovc fo r
self-preservation. They
had
nevcr exerc ised
persevering
faith
in
the
days of ease, and now it
was
too
late, the
difficulties
were
too
grcat, the price too high.
Will you
exercise
a
persevering
faith
today?
in your daily
life?
And
if your
da ily l ife
demands no such
faith, will you allow your Lord to
rna ke
the necessary adjustments?
The
decision is
yours,
bu t
remember,
a ll
the
sophistry
of
Satan
is
bound up in
that one
word,
wait. ..
Review
and
Herald September 19, 1893
But What About .
The quest ion remains,
however,
as
to
the
relationship
between predicted
war (seemingly
nuclear war) and the
co-operation
of
the nat ions
in
the en-
forcing
of the
Sunday
law.
Perhaps
the key
is in a
knowledge
of the
devil s
plans.
Some
object
to
a
knowledge
o f e rr or ,
claiming that it
is
only necessa ry
to
know the
truth.
They may
well be right; it is certainly
hard to see a knowledge
o f e rror
as
essential to salva tion. Yet Ellen
White
did
include a chapter
in The Great
Controversy ent it le d t he Snares
of
Satan. She
fur ther
counsels that
There is
nothing
that th e
great
deceiver
fears
so
much
as
that
we
shall become
acqua in ted wi th
hi s
devices. ibid., 516
In
only
a brief sketch, we may
note
that
t he dev il has laid extensive
groundwork
fo- his final
deceptions.
Of particular
import
are the
teach-
ings o f f ut uri sm , which had their
beginnings more than
four
centuries
ago
i n t he Counc il
of Trent .
In
recent
yea rs th es e
concepts
have g ai ned a
larg e fo ll owi ng among
th e
funda-
mentalis t
chu rche s. Hal
Lindsey,
a u
thor
of
the
best-selling
book
The
Late Great Planet Earth
is bu t
one
well-known advocate
of futurism.
But would they not
provide
an excellent
antichcrist?
Futurists
expect
to see t he r ap tu re
of
th e sai nts , th e c onve rs ion
of
the
Jews,
the
g rea t t r ibula t ion , a
last-
day
antichrist , and a l it er al bat tl e
of Armageddon,
followed
by
what
we
know
as the
sec on d co ming .
Timeta
bles and
even
the
order
of
events
vary
somewhat,
depending on
whose interpretation
you follow, bu t
these are
th e
maj or e lement s
of
.
futurist
eschatology.
Does
it not
seem
likely that the
devil
will
take
advantage of
these
er-
rors
that he ha s spent 400 years
developing? His
power, while no
match
for
the weakest
saint
who
calls
upon
the Lord,
is still great, and
only
time
will reveal all the deceptions
which he may employ. In typical
duplicity may he
not
fill the
role
of
th e expected antichrist, and then
abandon those
who
have fol lowed
him in
that
guise
in
order
to play the
role of
the
returning
Jesus Christ?
Such
an event,
following
on the
heels of a limited nuc lear war in the
Middle East, would match well with
futurist
expectations.
Except, of
course,
that
they
would
believe Satan
to be the Son
of
God. Exactly as he
would
wish.
This
is admittedly
conjec-
ture,
but it is interesting
to note
that
there
is a move underfoot by spiritual-
ists that seems to
fit
well with this
possibility.
Peter
Lamesurier,
a French
author
and noted supporter of the occultic
Findhorn Foundat ion, has recently
written a
book
entitled
The Armaged
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Jerry Falwell and the
National Sunday Law
ll
Script
His majo r pr emise is
that
many cul tures
and
religions now
in
existence have
certain
similarities
in
regard
to t he e xp ec te d arr ival
or
return of a divine
being.
Christians
expect Jesus,
th e
Jews
await Messiah,
Buddhists
anticipate
the
reincarna-
tion
of
the
Great
Buddha, Moslems
look for the
return
of Mohammed.
This is
important,
he argues,
not
be-
cause any of these expectations will
be
fulf illed, but because they provide
an a
venue
fo r
more easily
persuading
the peoples
of
th e world to accept
th e
Christ. This
being
is no t to be
confused
with
Jesus Christ--in reali ty
Lamesurier equates th e Christ with
a mighty spirit being named Luc ifer .
e know
him
as
that
old
serpent,
called
the devil ,
and
Satan.
In an effort to meet
the
people
wher e th ey are, The rmageddon
Script calls fo r th e
Christ
to make
his a ppea ran ce i n t he Middl e Eas t ac-
companied by a host
of shining
ones . Advancing to Jerusalem,
Lamesurier
sees him
being proclaimed
ruler of
the
world
by
the adoring
multitudes
of
earth. He closes his
Jan Marcussen
I just came back f rom t alk ing w ith
Jerry
Falwell
at
a mee ti ng he held
at
his university
in
Lynchburg, Virginia .
Hundreds of non-Advent is t ministers
from all over
th e
country were
present , but
my
purpose
in attending
was different from
theirs.
I shook Jerry Falwell's hand and
read him a s ta tement f rom
the na-
t ional magazine Catholic Twin Circle
which says, Al l Americans would do
well to pet it ion the President and the
Congress to make a Federal law-an
amendment
to th e Constitution
if
need be-to r e-es tabl ish the Sabba th
[Sunday] as a national
Day
of
Rest.
(Also
quoted
in
Paci f ic Unioll
Recorder January 86,
page
2)
After r eading it to
him,
I
asked,
How do you feel about this?
He
said,
Personally, I go along
with
it. He believes
that
we should
have a national Sunday law and
that
al l Americans
sho uld p etiti on the
Pre sident and the Congress
until
they
get one. Even though I was sure that
he felt
that
way, I have to
admit
that
I was amazed when he said it.
Jerry
F alw ell ta lk ed
with
me
freely,
even mentioning
the Seventh-
111 rm O lndation June 98
book with t he words ,
The
script is
now written, subject only to last-
minute editing and stage direction.
The stage i tself
(albeit is
yet
in
darkness) is
a lmos t ready .
Down
in
th c pi t
the subterranean
orchestra is
already tuning up. The l as t-minu te
walk-on
parts
are even now being
filled. Most of the
main actors,
one
suspects, have already taken up their
roles. Soon
it
will be time
fo r
them to
come
on s tage ,
ready for th e curtain
to r ise. The
time
fo r action will
have
come.
Th e Word of God assures us that
Lamesurier's expectations will never
come to pass.
But
would
they
not
p rovi de a n excellent antichris t ?
Hav ing seen t he t er ro rs of nuclear
war (t he much- ta lk ed -o f l im it ed
variety), the
world would
be eager to
f in d anyone who could bring peace.
Arising
in power, the devil could
easily
defeat
this
antichrist ,
procl aim h imsel f t he
returned
Lord
of
lords, and urge observance
of th e
Lord's day.
Will
it happen that
way?
Perhaps.
As James White would say, Where
day Adventi st
Church
as a
barrier
to
getting a na tional Sunday law. (Like
a
Mordeca
i
in the
ga
te.) He was
saying some rea lly shocking
things,
and
I
knew
that
if
he
had known
who
I was, he would
ha
ve said no more. I
expected
him to
ask
me what church I
p as to re d, a nd I was prepared
to
proudly tell
him, even
though after
what he had said ab out us, his face
might have turned red. But he didn't
ask. Eventually, I
gave
him a
copy of
my book,
National Sunday Law
I
wan ted h im
to
read
it
and
get
the
t hree ange ls ' messages without hi s
prejudice getting in the way.
I learned
that
Falwell has tremen-
dous power over ministers. I sa I them
al l around him.
Judg ing fr om wha t
I
saw there, we must get th e
three
angels' messages to
t he pub li c,
and
especially th e ministers-and do
it
now If we
give
God's
Sabbath
mes-
sage
to
them
in
the
right
way, some
will accept
it ,
and lea d many o th er s
to accept it too. we don' t, they will
go along
in
th e d ev il 's p at h, marke d
out for
them
by men like
Jerry
Falwell,
until
t he y urge
their people
to pe ti tion for a national Sunday law.
the
history
is not written it behoov
us to
speak with no t
too
mu
positiveness.
His
wife
would
ad
The
prophecies
of
Daniel
an
Revclation are to be understood. Th
interpret
each o ther . By t he ir f
fillment
in the se
las t day s, th ey w
exp la in t h ems e lv e s.
The Kre
Collection 105
What then? Is it
futile
to
consid
future
events?
Certainly
not.
e
c
ofte n le arn from
th e
explanatio
that we cannot give, as well as
fr
the
ones we
can. Though there
a
certainly modifications that could
made to the thoughts presented he
it is difficult to
find
allY explanati
of the
Bible
and the Spirit
Prophecy specifications that does
n
involve
at l ea st a s
much pol it ic al a
social turmoil as has
been
depict
here. This is,
after
all, th e most i
portant lesson
we
can
l ea rn . The
c
fusion tha t
would
reign under c
cumstances such as
these
points
ag
to the need of fighting well the r
battle
of
Armageddon-the battle
the
mind and of the heart .
Our
Father
loves these
men and
w
help us get the
Sabbath
message
them.
If
we
don't,
woe
be unto us
Falwe ll s ai d,
I have a
div
mandate to go r ight into th e halls
Congress and
fight
fo r laws that w
save America. He's a fighter.
said, We' re
in
a bat tl e; we' re in
struggle; we' re i n a fight.
He
made
very
plain to
me
that Sunday is
wo
fighting for.
Now
he's f ig ht in g
prayer in
the
schools. Concerning
f ig ht in g f or
Sunday,
he indica
that his timing
will
be determined
people
like
Seventh-day
Adventists
guarantee you this-now is no
time
hide our light under a
bushel
le ar ne d f rom Falwe ll 's
official
(
Fie ld Director
of
the
Liberty
Fed
ation) that they are organizi
thousands
of churches l lov r
country into Moral
Act ion Comm
tees
that
will work for a natio
Sunday law. I know it's shocking,
we don 't h av e to
live
in fear,
or
excitement.
e
need to live in Chr
I tell people, Stay very close to Jes
Make a
total
surrender.
There' s o
one
way we
can
fight the
dev il i n
t
matter-get the three
angels'
messa
ou t
to the
public.
Now is th e
time
Pastor
Marcussen's
book, Natio
SUllday Law which he mention
above is available
from
Amaz
Truth
Publications, P.O. Box 738
Oracle, AZ 85623.
-
7/26/2019 Our Firm Foundation -1986_06
13/32
Preach
the Word
Ellen G White
But continue thou in the things
which thou hast learned
and
hast
bcen assured of, knowing
of
whom
thou hast learned them; and
that
from a
child thou hast
known
the
holy
Scriptures, which are able
to
make
thee
wise unto s lv t ion
through
faith
which
is in Christ
Jesus. All Scripture is
given
by in-
spiration of God, and is profitable
for
d oc trin e, f or
reproof ,
fo r
c orre ctio n, fo r ins t ru t ion
in
righteousness: that the man of God
may be perfcct,
thoroughly
furnished
unto
al l good works. [2
Timothy
3:14-17]
The Word
of God
is like a treasure-
house. t a light
that
shineth in
darkness.
It
is better to
neglect
any-
thing
of a
temporal
nature than to
neglect
to
sea rch the Scr ip tures.
God
has
appointed that t hr ough t he s tudy
of the Bible, important
truth
shall be
communicated
to His human agents.
My heart aches as I see
that
even
among those who c la im to be l ooki ng
for Chr is t s
appearing in the clouds
of
heaven,
there
ar e
those who permi t
the ir minds to be taken up w ith
that
which is merely fictitious. The world
is full of such books, bu t God has
given us a definite
work to
do, and
we are
not
to turn to
side
issu s
and
employ time
and
workers in se ll ing
books
that
g ive no l ight. Christianity
is an
intensely
pr actical thing, and
those who
have
pu t
on Christ should
walk even
as
He walked.
We
should
be wholly engaged
in
the work
of
God.
Seeing
then that all
these
t hi ng s sha ll be d is so lv ed , what man-
ner
of persons
ough
t ye to be in all
holy
conversation
and godliness, look-
ing for and hasting unto the coming
of
the day
of
God?