Archive for July, 2016

Present Truth Questions and Answers

July 30, 2016

Q and A picture

We hope this study has been rewarding to you.  We are providing the references for the correct answer.

1) According to the message what are the three categories of disease?

a) obesity, viral, mal-nutrition

b) Hereditary, communicative, and self-created

c) Gluttony, wrong food combinations, over eating of sugar

Answer- B (Tract -Entering Wedge, p.9)

“THE CAUSES OF DISEASE

 Disease has been identified in three different categories — hereditary, communicative, and self-created (acquired). This being so, then there must be three kinds of sin, three laws to transgress. Two of these laws are found in the Decalogue (Ex. 20:3-17): The first prohibits sinning against God, and the second against our fellowmen. The Third, therefore, is the law of health, the law which forbids transgressing against our bodies.” (Lev. 11; Isa. 66:16, 17).

 

2) Who represents Modern Assyria?

a) Modern Babylon (Religious confusion and sects)

b) United States

c) English-speaking Christian world

Answer- C (1 TG, no.23, p.6)

“At this point let us pause a moment and summarize the characteristics by which this modern Assyria is to be identified.  (1) As man looks at things, she is so great that there is none like her.  She is well instructed in the things of God.  (2) She is oppressive, a hard ruling nation.  (3) She has polluted the sanctuary and has declared the law of God void.  (4) She has piled up wealth by going after it as an evening wolfe goes after its prey.  (5) She harbors the church of God.  (6) She exists in the time the Lord is to manifest His power and destroy all the wicked nations.  (7) She is an Assyria-like nation, widespread, a nation of conquests.

   There is but one people under the sun that answers to all these descriptions, and that people is, of course, the English-speaking people, in whose midst is the church, and from whose midst the Gospel and the Bible flow out to all nations.  As clear as language can make it, the burden of the prophet Zephaniah is for the English-speaking Christian world.”

 

3) What three movements typifies every phase of our work?

a) Zechariah’s, Moses’, and Noah’s

b) Abraham’s, David’s, John the Baptist’s

c) Jeremiah’s, Ezekiel’s, Isaiah’s

Answer- A (1 TG, no.9, p.12)

“The work of these three movements — Zechariah’s, Moses’, and Noah’s — therefore, typifies every phase of our work.

   Here is clearly seen that our God-given work does not consist of preaching alone, but of manual work, too.  There are thousands in the world who are as anxious to preach as are the bears to fill up their stomachs after coming out of their winter hibernation, but there are few who will put their shoulders to the wheel and keep on pushing.”

 

4) Name the five groups of saints that will be in the Kingdom?

144,000, Great Multitude, Special resurrection of Daniel 12:2, Special Res. of Ezek.37:1-14, Resurrection of Rev. 20:6

Answer- (Tract 9, p.65-66)

Five Groups in the Kingdom.   “These groups are (1) the 144,000, Israelites the first fruits of the living, whose “nobles shall be of themselves,” and whose “governor shall proceed from the midst of them” (Jer. 30:21); they shall return to Jerusalem, and stand on Mount Sion with the Lamb; (2) those whom John saw, after the sealing of the 144,000, gathered from “all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues,” during the “great tribulation,”  the “time of trouble such as never was” — the great multitude who go to Jerusalem  before the resurrection; (3) those who arise to everlasting life in the resurrection of Daniel 12:2; (4) those Israelites who shall come forth in the resurrection of Ezekiel 37:1-14; (5) all who come in the resurrection of Revelation 20:6; — collectively, these are all the Israelites and Gentiles who shall return to Jerusalem, possess the promised land, and then the whole earth.”

 

5) Where is the following reference said in the message?

“Such a combination of circumstances will result in a replication of the international church-and-state rule of the Middle Ages, and will relegate to the scrap heap the world’s finest instrument of human liberty — the divinely inspired Constitution of the United States of America.”

a) Great Controversy

b) Tract

c) Jezreel Letter

Answer- B (Tract 12, p.54)

“Such a combination of circumstances will result in a replication of the international church-and-state rule of the Middle Ages, and will relegate  to the scrap heap the world’s finest instrument of human liberty — the divinely inspired Constitution of the United States of America.  Since this development will make the world’s ills worse, it will signalize that the four angels have let loose the winds, and that the 144,000 Israelites are sealed.” (Rev. 7:3-8).

 

6) What number is the Bible connected to?

a) 3 (Father , Son, and Holy Spirit)

b) 5 (Five time messages in the Scriptures)

c) 7 ( The complete word of God)

Answer- B (Tract 3 supplement, p.9)

Number Of The Bible

   “The parable in the twentieth chapter of Matthew, explains that the Bible contains five time messages; namely, “early in the morning,” “the third hour,” “the sixth hour, and the ninth,” “and the eleventh hour,” – five in all. These symbolical calls prove to be all the time-messages in the Bible from the day It begun to be written to the close of probationary time; that is, when these messages are proclaimed to the world, the Bible will be an exhausted book as far as saving any one after that. (This subject is fully proved in “The Shepherd’s Rod”, Vol. 2, pp. 222, 238.) Therefore, the numerical value of the Bible is, Five.”

 

7) How many regimes does the “king of the north” have in history?

 

a) 4

b) 7

c) 5

Answer -C (Tract 12, p.62-85)

http://shepherds-rod.org/Tracts/trac012.html

 

8) In Isaiah 60:1-3 we read. ““Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the LORD rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.” What prophetic time is this describing?

a) After the Lord’s resurrection, the early Christian church

b) The pre-Ezekiel 9 time of “Jacob’s trouble”

c) In the Loud Cry

Answer – C (Shep. Rod, vol.1, p.152)

“This chapter begins with the words “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” The Latter Rain, the Spirit of God, and the glory of His power.  The chapter tells of the ingathering in the time of harvest.  A great multitude composed of all nations, and classes of people, rich and poor alike, from all walks of life; kings and rulers among them, and also the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to the church.  The nation and the kingdom that will not serve them (the church) shall perish.  The multitude gathered here are the ones with the palms in their hands.”  Rev. 7:9.

 

9) Right now the Chariot of Ezekiel 1 is being used as–

a) A Prayer center

b) A base of Operations

c) A marking station

Answer– B (Tract 1, p.37-38)

“The fact, therefore, that from the chariot, the Lord commands the prophet to go speak, bear the message, to His people, and that the message totals over 1250 pages of literature published since 1930, unfolding its truth from different angles, solemnly reveals that the chariot, though invisible to human beings (as to “the young man” were the chariots which covered the mountains — 2 Kings 6:17), has already arrived.

And since it is already here, it must of course be the divine instrumentality through which, as a sort of base of operations, the Lord is ordering and directing His work, and through which He shall do so until “this gospel of the kingdom…be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and…the end come.” Matt. 24:14. 

 

10) Satan works through ____________ to control the people

a) Ministers

b) The General Conference

c) Lukewarm SDA members

Answer – A (Testimonies to Ministers, p.472-473)

Says the great deceiver…

“I will influence popular ministers to turn the attention of their hearers from the commandments of God. That which the Scriptures declare to be a perfect law of liberty shall be represented as a yoke of bondage. The people accept their minister’s explanations of Scripture and do not investigate for themselves. Therefore, by working through the ministers, I can control the people according to my will.”

 

11) The word “to pass under the Rod” means

a) To learn the message

b) To make a covenant with God

c) To separate His elect from the multitude

Answer—C ( 2 TG, no. 1, p.7-8)

“And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.” Lev. 27:32.

   To determine the Lord’s part, the tithe, the Lord’s lambs, goats, or sheep, were made to pass under the rod.  Each tenth then was taken and set aside for the Lord.  The statement of Ezekiel twenty, verse thirty-seven, “to pass under the rod,” therefore, means to separate His very elect from among the multitude, from among the “tares,” (Matt. 13:30) or from among the “bad fish” (Matt. 13:47, 48).  And being thus separated, they are counted.  So it is that the 144,000 (Rev. 7:3-8; 14:1) are a separate and numbered company.”

 

12) Many “honest souls” would welcome the sealing message if they did not –

a. Lack backbone and zeal to resist opposition

b. Ignore Bible studies of present truth

c. Read the Scriptures daily

Answer – A

( Unfortunately we lost the reference and cannot find it, though the answer (a) is the true one. When we do we’ll post it)

 

13) As Nineveh was spared by the message to it, also the Laodiceans are saved by—

a. Zealous church membership

b. Evangelism to the world

c. A message to the Laodiceans

Answer– C (TG, vol.2, no. 20, p.26)

“Ezek. 9:4-6 — “And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.  And to the others He said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.  Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.”

   When the day approaches for this scripture to be fulfilled, then its truth must be the “meat in due season” for the people at that time.  Nothing else can take its place.  And so we see that as Nineveh was spared by the message to it, so the Laodiceans can only be saved by the “Message to the Laodiceans.”

 

14) In what book describes Jesus’ traveling from His throne to the Father’s throne in heaven?

a) Early Writings

b) Jezreel Letters

c) Revelation

Answer– A (Early Writings, p.55)

“I saw the Father rise from the throne, [See page 92.] and in a flaming chariot go into the holy of holies within the veil, and sit down. Then Jesus rose up from the throne, and the most of those who were bowed down arose with Him. I did not see one ray of light pass from Jesus to the careless multitude after He arose, and they were left in perfect darkness. Those who arose when Jesus did, kept their eyes fixed on Him as He left the throne and led them out a little way.

Then He raised His right arm, and we heard His lovely voice saying, “Wait here; I am going to My Father to receive the kingdom; keep your garments spotless, and in a little while I will return from the wedding and receive you to Myself.” Then a cloudy chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, surrounded by angels, came to where Jesus was. He stepped into the chariot and was borne to the holiest, where the Father sat. There I beheld Jesus, a great High Priest, standing before the Father. On the hem of His garment was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate. Those who rose up with Jesus would send up their faith to Him in the holiest, and pray, “My Father, give us Thy Spirit.” Then Jesus would breathe upon them the Holy Ghost. In that breath was light, power, and much love, joy, and peace.”

 

15) In Isaiah 55:1  what does the word “buy” the wine and milk mean?

a. Pay with some money , however little to help support the workers in the vineyard

b. Agree to pay the Lord some day in devotion

c. Give something in trade for it

Answer: C (SRod, vol. 1, p.141-142)

“Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”  Though the water is free, the wine and he milk are sold, but there is no set price on it, nor is the exchange made with money.  Something must be given in trade to make the transaction.  What must it be?  The answer is found in the seventh verse, as follows: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: And let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” 

We must forsake our ways and our thoughts, and in exchange, take God’s thoughts and follow His ways.  Isa. 55:8: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.”  Not until after this transaction is made can one please, serve, or understand God, nor can he enter heaven.  When this transaction is made, the thoughts, ways, desires, actions, and the whole human being is changed. 

How do we get God’s thoughts?  Only in one way may they be attained.  God’s thoughts and ways are found in His Word (the Bible).  The man who will follow the complete instructions by the Spirit of God is in a heavenly atmosphere, and walks with God as Enoch of old.”

 

16) In Isaiah 64:1 it says “..they shall build the old wastes..” Who is the “they”?

a. Those who make it to the kingdom in the latter days

b. the 144,000

c. The believers since 1844

Answer: B ( Srod, vol. 1, p.154)

“..in Isa. 61:4 we read: “And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.”  The meaning of this verse is to restore the truth of God which has been trodden down under foot for many generations.  The 144,000–the true Israel of God–are the builders.” 

 

17) The term “Laodicea”–

a. Refers to the last section of the church to be commingled with wheat and tares

b. Is a Greek term meaning “people declaring judgment”

c. Signifies the mission of the last section of the church

d. All of the above

Answer- D (Tract 2, p.35, Tract 3, p.62) (Please review these references)

 

18) The purpose of the scene in Rev. 5 is to –

a. Open the book with the seven seals

b. Bring about the new world order

c. Announce the beginning of Armaggedon

d. All of the above

Answer- A (15 Tract, p.9-10)

“He was taken in vision to see and to write those eventful “things” which were to take place at the time the judicial-like throng of Revelation 4, 5 should actually convene.  As to the other “things,” the things which follow as a result of the event, assured He Who has the “keys of hell and of death,” some were and some were to be (Rev. 1:19); that is, when this divine throng convenes, then some of the “things” that are brought to view as a result of the event, are  already history, while some of them are yet  prophecy — some point back and some point forward.

   The first and most important thing that takes place in this solemn assembly, is the opening of the book.  It should be remembered, too, that the book is sealed with seven seals (Rev. 5:1).  It being in seven sections, each section individually sealed, seven seals in all are consecutively broken, permitting each section to unfold its own contents:

The first seal, or section of the book, discloses the things of Revelation 6:2; the second, the things of verse 4; the third, the things of verses 5 and 6; the fourth, the things of verse 8; the fifth, the things of verses 9 to 11; the sixth, the things of verses 12 to 17 and of chapter 7; the seventh, the things of chapters 8 to 22.  That the seventh seal contains chapters  8 to 22 is immediately seen by the fact that each chapter is connected with the conjunction “and.”  In other words, The Revelation, save for the first five chapters, is but a reproduction of the things which were on record within the seals, and which as a result of the breaking the seals were pictorially displayed in John’s sight.”

 

19) According to the message what is man’s greatest test?

a) The decision to stand for present truth

b) The temptation of diet

c) Whether to sigh and cry for abominations done in our life and the church

Answer- A (Tract 3, p.9)

“Always man’s greatest test, and one which has ever involved almost an instantaneous decision, has been in the unrolling of the scroll — in the eclipse of a past message by a new one, — present truth. On every such occasion each one has had to decide: Shall I heed the new and unpopular truth and walk in its light, joining with those who are despised by nearly every religious leader in the land? or shall I allow myself to be deterred by the decision and counsel of the ministry in my church?”

 

20) If God’s storehouse is not doing all things right according to our perceptions, the messages tells us–

a) Make your complaint and if the organization does not correct it, send it to where you feel is best

b) Withdraw from Tithing and use the money for your own personal ministry

c) Continue to Tithe, knowing that you are being judged for what you do and they will be judged for what they do

Answer-C ( Answerer, vol. 4, Q-98)

“Question No. 98:

   Should we pay our tithe to the “storehouse” if we know that it is not used rightly?

Answer:

   Knowing that our tithe belongs to God’s storehouse, our greatest burden should be to see that it is faithfully paid there. Nowhere in the Bible do we find that the Lord has laid upon any tithe payer the policing of the channels through which these funds pass.

   The Lord’s treasury is under His control, and if He Himself should not see fit to correct an abuse in the handling of His money, certainly we could not correct it however hard we might try. If we guard carefully that part of His work which He entrusts to us, our only concern will be to find out where His “storehouse” is, and then faithfully to deposit His money there. He has not made us responsible for its use; that, He will personally take over–even as He is now “taking the reins in His own hands.”

   When the Promised Land was divided among the twelve tribes of Israel, the tribe of Levi received no land for an inheritance, as did the eleven tribes. Instead, the Lord decreed that the tithes of the other tribes were to go to the Levites. This was their inheritance. It was actually their own. And just as they, as the tithe receivers, had no right to dictate to the others, the tithe payers, what to do with their own increase after it had been tithed, so the tithe payers had no right to dictate to the tithe receivers what to do with the tithe. Each tribe was itself to be accountable to the Lord for that which He had entrusted to it. Thus it must be today.”

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Present Truth Questions

July 23, 2016

Q and A picture

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15)

We’d like to present 20 questions that will help gauge the level of knowledge one has on various present truth subjects. Next week we’ll present the answers. Enjoy.

1) According to the Elijah message what are the three categories of disease?

a) Obesity, viral, mal-nutrition  b) Hereditary, communicative, and self-created  c) Gluttony, wrong food combinations, over eating of sugar

2) Who represents Modern Assyria?

a) Modern Babylon (Religious confusion and sects  b) United States c) English-speaking Christian world

3) What three movements typifies every phase of our work as Elijah messengers?

a) Zechariah’s, Moses’, and Noah’s  b) Abraham’s, David’s, John the Baptist’s  c) Jeremiah’s, Ezekiel’s, Isaiah’s

4) Name the five groups of saints that will be in the Kingdom?

_________________________________

5) Where is the following reference said in the message?

“Such a combination of circumstances will result in a replication of the international church-and-state rule of the Middle Ages, and will relegate to the scrap heap the world’s finest instrument of human liberty — the divinely inspired Constitution of the United States of America.”

a) Great Controversy  b) Tract  c) Jezreel Letter

6) What number is the Bible connected to?

a) 3 (Father , Son, and Holy Spirit)  b) 5 (Five time messages in the Scriptures)   c) 7 ( The complete word of God)

7) How many regimes does the “king of the North” have in history (found in the book of Daniel)?

a) 4   b) 7   c) 5

8) In Isaiah 60:1-3 we read– “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the LORD rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.” What prophetic time is this describing?

a) After the Lord’s resurrection  b) The pre-Ezekiel 9 time of “Jacob’s trouble”   c) In the Loud cry

9) Right now the Chariot of Ezekiel 1 is being used as–

a) A Prayer center b) A base of Operations c) A marking station

10) Satan works through ____________ to control the people

a) Ministers b) The General Conference c) Lukewarm SDA members

11) The word “to pass under the Rod” means

a) To learn the message b) To make a covenant with God c) To separate His elect from the multitude

12) Many “honest souls” would welcome the sealing message if they did not –

a) Lack backbone and zeal to resist opposition  b) Ignore Bible studies of present truth  c) stop reading the Scriptures daily

13) As Nineveh was spared by the message to it, also the Laodiceans are saved by—

a) Zealous church membership  b) Evangelism to the world  c) A message to the Laodiceans

14) In what book describes Jesus’ traveling from His throne to the Father’s throne in heaven?

a) Early Writings  b) Jezreel Letters  c) Revelation

15) In Isaiah 55:1 what does the word “buy” the wine and milk mean?

a) Pay with some money , however little to help support the workers in the vineyard  b) Agree to pay the Lord some day in devotion  c) Give something in trade for it

16) In Isaiah 64:1 it says “..they shall build the old wastes..” Who is “they”?

a) Those who make it to the kingdom in the latter days  b) the 144,000  c) The believers since 1844

17) The term “Laodicea” means–

a) Refers to the last section of the church to be commingled with wheat and tares b) Is a Greek term meaning “people declaring judgment” c) Signifies the mission of the last section of the church

18) The purpose of the scene in Rev. 5 is to –

a) Open the book with the seven seals  b) Bring about the new world order  c) Announce the beginning of Armageddon

19) According to the Elijah message what is man’s greatest test?

a) The decision to stand for present truth  b) The temptation of diet  c) Whether to sigh and cry for abominations done in our life and the church

2o) If God’s storehouse is not doing all things right according to our perceptions, the messages tells us–

a) Make your complaint and if the organization does not correct it, send it to where you feel is best  b) Withdraw from Tithing and use the money for your own personal ministry  c) Continue to Tithe, knowing that you are being judged for what you do and they will be judged for what they do

 

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The Four Winds are Gaining Speed

July 16, 2016

Angel holding winds

In Revelation 7:1-4 we read —

“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.”

In the picture above, we see the utter strength and power needed right now by these four angels. Why? Because the terrible trouble that is to come upon the earth is already starting to show, and the winds are busting through the cracks. Thank God the winds are still held but it is almost time for them to be let loose at God’s command because the 144,000 will be fully sealed and prepared for God’s last work upon mankind.

Recently all of us have seen one mass killing after another, almost now on a weekly basis. The Dallas ambush killings, and now the Paris truck slaughter, are just recent examples of the utter chaos that soon will hit the world. We are seeing more and more world-wide strife now. Yes, the winds are slipping through but the Great I Am is still in control because there is a work to be done and then we are to witness a shocking development within our SDA church.

The Spirit of Prophecy gives us good picture of what is preparing to take place–

“Four mighty angels hold back the powers of this earth till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. The nations of the world are eager for conflict; but they are held in check by the angels. When this restraining power is removed, there will come a time of trouble and anguish. Deadly instruments of warfare will be invented. Vessels, with their living cargo, will be entombed in the great deep. All who have not the spirit of truth will unite under the leadership of satanic agencies. But they are to be kept under control till the time shall come for the great battle of Armageddon.” (Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p.967)

The world is soon to witness the Lord do as long ago He promised in both Scripture and Spirit of Prophecy. Let us read.

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? ( 1 Peter 4:17)

The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn over the sins of others, will be left without the seal of God. The Lord commissions His messengers, the men with slaughtering weapons in their hands: “Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.

Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.”  Here we see that the church–the Lord’s sanctuary–was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men, those to whom God had given great light and who had stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust. They had taken the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked manifestation of God’s power as in former days. Times have changed.

These words strengthen their unbelief, and they say: The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil. He is too merciful to visit His people in judgment. Thus “Peace and safety” is the cry from men who will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God’s people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These dumb dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an offended God. Men, maidens, and little children all perish together.  (Testimonies, vol. 5, p.211)

To be sure, once the judgment of the living begins within our SDA church, these four winds will then be released. There is no more need for God’s final servants to be protected, He will do so Himself. But that means the winds are then to harm the earth and the people, unless the true in heart submit to God’s true worship and the obeying of His 10 Commandments.

Imagine if you will the Super Bowl beginning kick off, or the Indy 500 green flag, or the World Series first pitch. So too the church judgment kicks off the last day events, the final “great controversy” battle for souls. No longer will politics, sports, or any other kind of news be the leading headline makers. This shocking scene as shown to us in Ezekiel 9 will be as real as your breathing right now. It will be spread around the world in front page news as an unheard of disaster and will mystify the unaware masses. This event will swing the world’s attention to the Great I AM, or to the all time great deceiver,  and religion will from there on be the world’s final focus and topic.

Last week we spoke about how Satan has known since the beginning of God’s word that prophecy is extremely important to us. Yet he has tampered with it so much that nearly all of us SDA either know very little about the correct truth of the prophecies or many cases–nothing at all.

One such area is these four winds. The Bible does show winds as strife and conquest in some parts of the Word. For example in Daniel chapter 7 and Great Controversy, p.440, we see that the winds symbolize conquest and world strife. But, when we look at Rev. 7, we see that there is one purpose for the winds to be held, and that is the protect the sealing of God’s servants–the 144,000.

So we need to find out what specifically does the winds mean in this particular instance? It cannot solely mean war or nation conquests as in Daniel because we have had both world wars and conquests of nations and still the 144,000 have not been sealed. Thankfully God provided us a specific reference to show us what these specific winds represent in Rev. 7

“The time is coming when we cannot sell at any price. The decree will soon go forth prohibiting men to buy or sell of any man save him that hath the mark of the beast. We came near having this realized in California a short time since; but this was only the threatening of the blowing of the four winds. As yet they are held by the four angels. We are not just ready. There is a work yet to be done, and then the angels will be bidden to let go, that the four winds may blow upon the earth. That will be a decisive time for God’s children, a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. Now is our opportunity to work.” (Testimonies, vol. 5, p.152)

S0 we see that these winds will form the mark of the beast decree, or otherwise known as the Sunday law. This action will definitely harm the great masses in that religion will be forced upon them. The right to freely practice your faith will curtail. So logically God must hold back actions right now that interferes with us as SDA learning His final message of truth, the message that helps us survive the beginning judgment in God’s house.

Awhile back we did a post called “Backed into a Corner” where we discussed the SDA church’s 501 c-3 tax situation. In it we pointed out how this situation is a “sinister overhang” over the church. Yet this is a perfect example of  potential trouble capable of, yet not now,  harming the church. The reason is that the four winds are still held back and as such this issue is not allowed by God to interfere with our freedoms to learn His final sealing message of Elijah.

This final message of the Lord does not disappoint in regards to thoroughly understanding these four winds. Let us read the following clear, understandable, enriched truth.  In specifically describing Rev. 7:1-4 we read–

Here are brought to view two hurtings about to take place: one by the winds, the other by the angels; and two commands to the angels: one that they restrain the winds, that the winds blow not “on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree” (Rev. 7:1); the other that the angels restrain themselves from hurting “the earth,… sea,” and “the trees,” till the servants of God are sealed. Rev. 7:2, 3). 

Since, therefore, as soon as the  servants of God are sealed both the winds and the angels will begin to hurt the question arises as to what the work of the winds and the work of the angels  represent — political strife or something else?  As the nations have always been at war, this two-fold work of hurting could not represent political strife. And as Jesus says that at the time of the end “nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Matt. 24:7), it is clear that the hurting by the winds, also the hurting by the angels both of which are kept back until the 144,000 are sealed, must be figurative of holding back the “time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” Dan. 12:1. 

Accordingly, God’s restraining of the four winds is His holding back the image of the beast’s activity (Rev. 13:15-17) against the saints, while His restraining the four angels that they hurt not is His holding back the executing of His vengeance (Isa. 63:1-4; Jer. 51:18) upon the sinners who trouble the church, until after the sealing of the 144,000 is completed. Being coupled, these two hurtings bring the time of trouble such as never was.

   Revelation 7:1-3, therefore, reveals a two-fold conflict: wicked men against God (the blowing of the winds) and God against them (the angels hurting them).  But though the blowing of the winds and the hurting of the angels after the servants of God are sealed, will bring the “time of trouble,” yet “every one that shall be found written  in the book” “shall be delivered.” Dan. 12:1.

   From these facts we see that this time of trouble is held back in order to safeguard the sealing of the 144,000 servants, lest they, “the very elect,” be brought down to worship the image of the beast, or be killed for refusing.

   Since “in the Revelation all the books of the Bible meet and end” (The Acts of the Apostles, p. 585), the sealing of the servants of God (Rev. 7) must necessarily be found also in the prophecies.  In Ezekiel, chapter nine, is envisioned the marking of those who sigh and cry “for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof” (in Judah and in Israel), and the slaughter of those who do not thus sigh and cry. 

And the fact that God has at no time taken the sinners from among the righteous in Judah and in Israel, shows that this prophecy of purification by slaughter has never been fulfilled.  So, therefore, as the marking is the same as the sealing, the angels’ slaying is the same as the angels’ hurting.

   This hurting and sealing which John saw, and the slaughter and marking which Ezekiel saw are again identified as one and the same: “This sealing of the servants of God is the same that was shown to Ezekiel in vision.” — Testimonies to Ministers, p. 445; Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 211; Vol. 3, p. 267.

   Although the marking and the slaughter (Ezek. 9) include only the church, — Judah and Israel, —  the hurting by the winds and the hurting by the angels (Rev. 7) include all the world — both “the earth” and “the sea,” each of which is indicative of a different locality: the sea, in the realm of nature the storehouse (home) of the waters, is therefore in the realm of symbols the birth-place of the nations — the Old Country, the earth, the opposite of the sea, is correspondingly a domain away from the Old Country.  It is located to John in the symbol of the two-horned beast’s coming up, not out of the sea, but “out of the earth”  (Rev. 13:11), the only place where trees naturally grow. 

And as according to Daniel 4:20-22, trees are figurative of rulers, therefore the trees in this instance represent “the ancient men…before the house” (Ezek. 9:6) — a fact which reveals that in this period, the church’s headquarters are in the two-horned beast’s dominion — the New World, “the earth.”

  In the light of the clear cut facts before us, we see that the main object of the sealing or marking of the servants of God is to cleanse the church from sin and sinners, so that she may be able to stand strong against the image-beast in the time of trouble; and that when this purifying work is completed, “it shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.” Isa. 4:3, 4.

   When this “special work of purification, of putting  away of sin among God’s people,” is accomplished, then “the church is to enter upon her final conflict. ‘Fair as the moon, clear as the sun and terrible as an army with banners,’ she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer.”  — The Great Controversy, p. 425; Prophets and Kings, p. 725. (Tract 8, p.22-25)

These winds as we now understand are symbolic of the Sunday law and the subsequent time of trouble, and the Word shows us in the following very clear and unmistakable  time-table that we must know and prepare for.

1) The sealing takes place before the winds are let loose.

2) The sealing is “one and the same” as Ezekiel 9, the church judgment.

3) The four winds will be let loose after the sealing/judgment upon the house of God (our SDA church).

“Just before we entered it [the time of trouble], we all received the seal of the living God. Then I saw the four angels cease to hold the four winds.” (Maranatha, p.244) 

4) Satan  will then be “wroth” with God’s people and go to make war with them (persecute and ultimately form the Sunday law). For the first time since the early Christian church, the people of God now have a pure church with only converted believers in their midst.

“And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Rev. 12:16-17)

5) The Sunday law shall be put in place soon after the release of the winds. Yet not right away  because of the final proclamation of the Gospel–the Loud Cry.

In closing, what we are witnessing today is the winds beginning to blow, though not fully, and  the world about to take a turn for the dominant subject of religion. As soon as that fateful 144,000th person is found and marked, the winds will be let loose and as they say, “all hell will break loose”. Let’s be ready and learn, obey and practice His final message to us as Seventh-day Adventists. To do otherwise is to be left without the seal and miss out on eternity.

Posted in Final Events, God's sealings, Revelation teachings, Sunday law, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Milk or Meat?

July 9, 2016

Milk and meat

As many of us Bible students know the Bible is full of symbolic terms and ideas. One of those is the describing of God’s word as either milk or meat. This is significant because both of these terms are specific and should be understood in their intended meaning.

When we were babies, was any of us provided a steak dinner? Of course not. Our food for the first few months was largely milk. This provided just what we needed and could handle, we were way too underdeveloped for the stronger foods such as meat. But in the spiritual realm there is an important distinction between these two symbolic meanings–Milk and Meat. Let us look at this important understanding.

In Isaiah we read —

“Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine?Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.”? (Isa.28:9-10)

As a baby we have to grow and as such there comes a time when we have to be weaned off milk. Milk no longer provides all the essentials we need, like more iron and other minerals and especially protein. All this can be correlated to God’s word.

Inspiration addresses the above quote–

“The obvious lesson is that at the time one is converted (born again) to Christ, he is but a babe in the Christian life, and needs for the time being to be fed, as a new born babe, on the “sincere milk of the Word,” that he “may grow thereby.” 1 Pet. 2:2.

   Through the apostle Paul, Inspiration interprets this milk to be “the first principles of the oracles of God.” Heb. 5:12.  And through Isaiah, It asks: “Whom shall He teach knowledge?  and whom shall He make to understand doctrine?”  Then, answering Its own questions, It declares: “Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.” Isa. 28:9.(Tract 14, p.36-37)

This is something we can all relate to. From a personal testimony I remember when I first came into the truth of God’s word, particularly the Sabbath truth, that is all I wanted and desired. The holy 10 Commandments and the Sabbath truth was such an all-consuming subject that I desired little else such as the deeper prophecies.In fact, during the first couple of years during my walk, I actually was a little turned off by those who propounded the prophecies primarily. I thought they were just not that important. But I was a babe, looking back, and the meat was viewed as too much, or not needed.

But as I continued to study, the Great Guider the Spirit of Truth, began to show me the deeper things of the word. This can be pictured as a stair step. We all need to start on the bottom step and walk up one step at a time. But we do need to advance, lest we become stagnate!

Those that stay on a certain step can be likened  to continuing to want to drink milk. This can lead to deficiencies, spiritually speaking of God’s word–His meat.

You see brethren the deeper things, the Lord’s prophecies, are what we as grown ups must have spiritually to grow. Yet what are we given each quarter for our Sabbath school studies?  Mostly milk in the form of our quarterly lesson books. Take a close look at them.

For example the current SDA Adult Sabbath School Bible study guide has lessons such as —

— Justice and mercy in the Old Testament

— Loving your neighbor

— Jesus showed sympathy

Now, these are truths that give us encouragement and good solid lessons, but these are continual to the point of over feeding us milk. We all should know these things because they are foundational and help us to know the basic love of God and of one to another, but there are truths such as prophecies that expound the deep lessons of God’s love in such a way to truly make us awestruck and enlightened with His last day moves to save His church from Satan, who is now in control.

If you don’t think this true, just read Rev. 12 and what Satan has done since the days of Constantine. A worldly flood has nearly overcome the church! See our post here –https://godsloveandlaw.com/2015/03/21/the-church-and-the-dragon/

Only those who are still feeding on milk would not know that Satan has taken over ALL churches , including our own beloved SDA church.

One other note we’d like to point out is that if our study guides do contain mention of some prophecies, they are likely to be interpreted incorrectly or incompletely. Such is the case with our latest quarterly study guide in regards to Ezek. 37 and 47. But there is no reason for such oversight or mistakes. Our Lord provided His messenger with the correct interpretation, if we’ll only seek it out and  prayerfully read it!

“And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” (Isa. 4:1)

Isaiah clearly shows us that in our last days all “seven” women, meaning churches,  universally and completely, are eating their own bread ( a man-made mixture of true and false doctrines and prophecies) yet claiming to be walking as a true Christian. Our SDA church is not excluded.

Satan knows  that if he can lull us to sleep with milk feeding, and hold back the prophecies and their correct interpretations, the people will not know the Lord’s next moves neither his own devious plans.

For instance, nearly all us SDA have been fooled into thinking that the next big move upon the world is the Sunday Law. But those who study the prophecies know well that this cannot be so. So he is playing with us much as a cat plays with a mouse. He’s got all those who fall for his tricks by refusing to want God’s meat, His prophetic words and instructions therein.

Why is this important? Because if we believe that the next move by the Lord is the setting up of the Sunday law,  we then will not expect Him when He “suddenly” comes to His temple (church)(Mal. 3:1-5).

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Mal.3:1)

The word “suddenly” denotes a surprise, an unexpected coming.

Last week we ended our two-part post of Hosea. This is a classic example of what “meat” is. These deep prophetic lessons show us what God has done and will do very shortly to reclaim His church.

Another example is a personal one I’d like to relate. For a good two years now I have attended our local church’s at home studies. Each week we hold a weekly study on God’s word at different homes of our members. But there has been almost a total neglect of prophecies in the studies. Milk is given over and over again. God cannot be pleased about this.

How many of us would want to see our children stay stunted for years and years, even well into the later years of life? Or see our older children still reading comic books and watching cartoons regularly?

The Spirit of Prophecy sheds light on how we must advance and keep pace with the Truth.

“The sanctified soul will not be content to remain in ignorance, but will desire to walk in the light and to seek for greater light. As a miner digs for gold and silver, so the follower of Christ will seek for truth as for hidden treasures, and will press from light to a greater light, ever increasing in knowledge. He will continually grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth.” (Review and Herald, June 17, 1890)

Apostle Paul, speaking the words of the Lord said-

“Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy..” (1 Cor. 14:39)

The final words of our Lord bring home the great important  of prophecy–

“And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev. 19:10)

To be sure Satan knows that prophecies are very important to God’s people. Therefore, to those who do attempt to begin to eat meat, they must be on guard as this area has been tampered with by the great deceiver as well.He knows that the superficial students can buy seemingly plausible ideas yet when looked closely they crumble like a sandy foundation.

“No one is lost for believing a false interpretation of a prophecy before the truth of it is revealed, provided the false interpretation does not draw him away from some other truth.  Such individuals, however, are in great danger because, as history reveals, very few who become thus involved in error are willing to humble themselves by renouncing their errors and accepting the truth when it is made known.  They are consequently in constant peril of sinning against the Holy Ghost.  And being acutely aware of this, Satan misinterprets the prophecies before they are divinely revealed.” (Tract 5, p.7)

The above message is packed with divine instructions. For example, we as SDA members have been led to believe the misinterpreted prophecy of Daniel 2 that claims that the rock that comes from the mountain is Christ. However, the Lord’s final messenger has soundly corrected that false idea. Instead of it being a narrow vision of simply Christ coming on the last day to destroy the world, it is instead a enthralling story of how Christ uses his final army of servants (the rock) to destroy the world’s kingdom symbolically and become a “great mountain” during the Loud Cry.

The prophet also exposed another example of how we can be hood winked into believing false prophecy if we are not serious students.

“..the reader’s attention is called to Elder Uriah Smith’s book, originally entitled Thoughts on Daniel and The Revelation, and later Daniel and The Revelation, in which is explained, among other subjects, the subject of “the seven trumpets.”  Here one will notice that Elder Smith is not the original author of the exposition of the trumpets.  The originators were Messrs. Keith, Clark, Barnes, et al.  “Thus far,” says Elder Smith, “Keith has furnished us with illustrations of the sounding of the first five trumpets.” — Daniel and The Revelation, p. 506.

   Then further in the same chapter, and in explanation of Revelation 9:17, we read: “As the Turks discharged their firearms on horseback, it would appear to the distant beholder, that the fire, smoke and brimstone issued out of the horses’ mouths, as illustrated by the accompanying plate.” — Id., p.510.  “Barnes thinks this was the case,” remarks Elder Smith; “and a statement from Gibbon confirms this view.” — ld., p. 510, footnote.

   Thus, plainly, the interpretation of the seven trumpets, as it is found in Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, was not originated by the Seventh-day Adventist denomination.  But their placing upon it their endorsement makes it appear as Seventh-day Adventist doctrine.  In other words, the theories of uninspired men having the S.D.A. stamp of approval, are made to appear to the S.D.A. laity as genuine S.D.A. Bible doctrines. 

This goes to show that the majority of Seventh-day Adventists, right along with others, do not ask, “Is it true, — in harmony with God’s word? but, By whom is it advocated?” — Testimonies to Ministers, p.106.  And if the theory comes through a popular channel, they as a rule unquestionably accept it! (Tract 5, p.7-9)

In the book of Hebrews we find further light on our subject and Paul rebukes those who fail to advance from milk to meat —

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. Everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Heb. 5:12-14)

Wow, strong meat helps us to know good from evil! Sounds like just what the Doctor ordered. Imagine sitting down to a most delicious feast, enjoying all the satisfying nourishment our bodies can take. This is what it feels like to those of us who have tasted His “meat” and found ourselves very satisfied!

In closing my beloved, we should not remain babies and subside on milk only, but get our nourishment from the deep truths of God–the meat of His word. In this way we advance with His truth and spiritually grow up.

 

Posted in Present Truth, Proper teachings, The Spirit of truth | Leave a Comment »

The Meaning of Hosea Chapter One and Two, Part 2 of 2

July 2, 2016

hosea

Continuing with part two of  our study —

Continuing with the same family illustration, and pointing to the Christian era, the Lord commands:

Hos. 2:1 — “Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.”

   Here we see that the names of the two children of chapter 1 are again mentioned, but the first two letters of each name have been dropped:

Lo-ruhamah has become Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi has become Ammi.  Now the fact that these are the brother and sister of Jezreel, bears out the truth that the one whom the Lord commands to speak to them, is Jezreel, the first-born of the three.  He is to deliver the message to his brethren, Ammi and Ruhamah.

 

   Now, what is it all about? — It is not too difficult to see.  The one to whom God speaks, Jezreel, represents a prophet.  His brother and sister, Ammi and Ruhamah, can only represent the church membership, both male and female.  In actuality Jezreel must deliver God’s message to them.  And here is the message:

Hos. 2:2 — “Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not My wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts.”

   The fact that God Himself calls the prophet Hosea’s visionary wife His own wife, reveals that she represents the church, that Hosea represents God, and that while Jezreel represents the mouthpiece of God, Ammi and Ruhamah represent the church membership.  In childhood (Hosea 1), they represent the Old Testament church, the Hebrews, but in their youth, having their names altered, (Hosea 2), they represent the New Testament church, the Christians.

   Now that the laity, at the command of God are through a prophet to plead with the church, therefore, the reformation here called forth is sponsored by Inspiration and carried out by the laity.  It is the long expected revival and reformation to the Laodiceans, and hence a layman’smovement called forth by the revived Spirit of Prophecy.

 

   From this prophecy, you see, the Denomination is by God Himself charged with “whoredom,” with having illicit connections with the world.  This lewdness she must give up if she is to obtain favor with God.

   These are not man’s words, you understand, but God’s.  And should we not be grateful that He is doing everything He can to save us?  The church must repent, says the Lord:

Hos. 2:3 — “Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.”

   The Denomination often boasts of gain in membership (children), but God charges that those whom she brings in are illegitimate children!  And how could it be otherwise if the church herself is corrupted with the world?  What else could her converts be?  What would free them from the worldly influences, if she (the ministry), is herself tainted with the practices of the world?  Indeed her converts cannot be lawful children.

Hos. 2:5 — “For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.”

   The church has gone after the world because she mistakenly thinks that her support comes from worldlings, from her “lovers.”

Hos. 2:6 — “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.”

Here we see that the church proposes, but that God disposes; her plans do not work out as expected — she loses her way as does a ship without chart or compass drifting at sea.

 

Hos. 2:7 — “And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.”

   Again we see that trials and adverse circumstances are for our good, for thus is the church brought to her right senses.

Hos. 2:8-12 — “For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.  Therefore will I return, and take away My corn in the time thereof, and My wine in the season thereof, and will recover My wool and My flax given to cover her nakedness.  And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of Mine hand.  I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.  And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.”

   From these verses we see that it was just such a departure from God that caused the church in her early Christian era to lose her path and all her possessions, including her feast days, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.

   This is exactly what happened when the “Dark Ages” of religion began.  The Pagans in whose clutches the church fell were no more to blame for the church’s going into darkness than were the Chaldeans of destroying Judah and her temple.  The real blame falls on the church herself.  And this should be a lasting lesson to each of us, that we should never again have illicit connection with the world, should never depart from the Lord.

 

   Now, let us read what other experiences the church was to go through:

Hos. 2:13, 14 — “And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat Me, saith the Lord.  Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.”

   Notice that the Lord visits the church not when she is in good spiritual standing with Him, but when she is in her greatest idolatry.  Indeed, He could not visit her at a more opportune time, because only when she is in greatest darkness can she possibly discern light.  And her condition, you know, can never improve unless He should call on her.  Thus it was in John the Baptist’s day, also when the Protestant reformation came, and thus it is today.  God knows how to save.  Saving is His chief concern.

   “God requires certain things of His people; if they say, I will not give up my heart to do this thing, the Lord lets them go on in their supposed wise judgment without heavenly wisdom, until this scripture [Isa. 28:13] is fulfilled.  You are not to say, I will follow the Lord’s guidance up to a certain point that is in harmony with my judgment, and then hold fast to your own ideas, refusing to be molded after the Lord’s similitude.  Let the question be asked, Is this the will of the Lord?  if not, Is this the opinion or judgment of __________?” — Testimonies to Ministers, pg. 419.

    And what is God’s promise now to His church?

 

Hos. 2:15 — “And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.”

   As a result of her vineyards’ being restored, and also of her being given the valley of Achor for a door of hope, the church is to sing as in the days of her youth, as when she came up out of Egypt and lodged in the Promised Land.  What could her vineyard be but her own land?  And if the valley of Achor is for a door of hope to her, what can it be but what it was in Joshua’s time — removal of the Achans of today from her midst (Hos. 2:15)?  Indeed, this is her only hope — in fact, even more so than it was in the day of Israel’s defeat at Ai, the gate to the Promised Land.

   “The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn over the sins of others, will be left without the seal of God.  The Lord commissions His messengers, the men with slaughtering weapons in their hands: ‘Go ye after him through the city, and smite; let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children, and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.  Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.’

 

   “Here we see that the church — the Lord’s sanctuary — was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God.  The ancient men, those to whom God had given great light, and who had stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust.  They had taken the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked manifestation of God’s power as in former days.  Times have changed.  These words strengthen their unbelief, and they say, The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil.  He is too merciful to visit His people in judgment.  Thus peace and safety is the cry from men who will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God’s people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins.  These dumb dogs, that would not bark, are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an offended God.  Men, maidens, and little children, all perish together.” — Testimonies, Vol. 5, pg. 211.

Hos. 2:16 — “And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call Me Ishi; and shalt call Me no more Baali.”

   So it is that after the hypocrites and sinners are taken out of the way, the church shall no longer call the Saviour Baali (Lord), but she shall call him Ishi (Husband).  The significance is that then He will truly be her husband, whereas now He is to her as it were only some great personality.

Hos. 2:18 — “And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.”

     Here is peace, the only peace that one can have today if he so desires.  This is peace overflowing with safety.  The saints, after the sinners have been removed from among them, need not fear beasts, fowls or creeping things of the ground, neither gun nor sword; they shall lie down in confidence and assurance that nothing shall hurt them, for He “Whose fan is in His hand,…will throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matt. 3:12.

 

Hos. 2:19-21 — “And I will betroth thee unto Me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.  I will even betroth thee unto Me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.  And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth.”

   In saying that the Lord will hear the heavens, and the heavens the earth, Inspiration actually says that when these things take place on earth, the Lord is to be in the midst of His people, that He is to speak from earth and His subjects in heaven shall hear Him.

Hos. 2:22 — “And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.”

    To hear the corn, the wine, and the oil is to hear them speak, and since real corn, wine, and oil cannot speak, they must be figurative of spiritual food and drink — figurative of the mighty message in the great and dreadful day of the Lord.  And by the fact that the people of the earth shall hear Jezreel, the mouthpiece of God, it is made clear that the call, “Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Rev. 18:4), will accomplish its appointed work.  Those who come out, go into the aforementioned place of safety.  And those who do not hear Jezreel shall perish as did the Jews who rejected the prophets in their day.

 

   Let us now review our study of today by following this graphic illustration:
 

hosea
 (Click to Enlarge)

Here we see Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah, and Lo-ammi as little children pictorially representing the kingdoms of Israel and Judah in their calamities, a complete but brief history of the Old Testament church and her people.

   Then we see that the letters “Lo” are dropped from the names Ruhamah and Ammi, denoting a change of names — Jews called Christians, — meaning “mercy” and “My people” instead of “no mercy” and “not My people.”  Jezreel’s name, though, remains the same, and as he represents the prophets of God in all times, this shows that they are the descendants of Jacob and therefore we must hear and obey them.

 

   The family as little children representing the people of the Old Testament church, and as youth representing the New Testament church, show that spiritual growth has been made through the stream of time, that they are now grown, able to take “strong meat,” and truly to be the reformers to the church, and the missionaries to the world.

   We also see that the same mother and the same father, along with the same children, represent both the Old and New Testament churches; that the descendants of Jacob in reality are the old olive tree (Rom. 11:24), that the only way the Gentiles can get into the kingdom is for them to be grafted into the old olive tree.  Jew or Gentile, all must join it if they are to be in the kingdom.  This can be done only by our own consent and action now while the Spirit is pleading with us, and while the Lord stands ready to do the work.  No one need be excluded.  No one need remain a lukewarm Laodicean unless he so chooses.  My hope is that all will choose life rather than death.

 

   Next we see that the church as a whole, as a family, is composed of a father, a mother, and of sons and a daughter, that the father is God; that the wife is the ministry (those who bring in converts); that the children are the laity.  We see also that the church (woman) was married to the Lord in her youth, in the day she came out of Egypt; that although the ministry as a whole never advanced from one truth to another, the church (wife) continued by being replaced by new and successive ministers time and again.  And now that she is deep in whoredom, obviously she is again to be replaced by a new ministry, and thus will she become faithful to our Father; that this will be accomplished by taking away the sinners from her midst.  Then will she be given her vineyards, and then will she and all her children live in peace and safety.

   Clearly, then, lewdness shall actually flee away, and this revival and reformation brought forth by this layman’s movement shall accomplish its given work.  And so, you see that as a result of the childrens’ protest, the whole family of God shall live happily in peace and safety forevermore.

(Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 6  P.17-27)

What a beautiful story described in Hosea. The all -loving God gives His all and goes all out to win back “Mother”. Yet she will not return and He must execute , as a last resort, judgment “the valley of Achor for a door of hope” upon His people. Very soon the relationship with the King of Kings shall be one of “Husband and wife”, do we realize the utter privilege that awaits those who are prepared for the Lord’s visitation upon His remnant people, those who have accepted His final message of Elijah?

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