One of our standard Seventh-day Adventist teachings is the idea that soon the national Sunday Law will be put in place and this will cause a “shaking” in the church. In other words, the law will cause only the “true and faithful” SDA to stay with the church and keep worshiping on Sabbath. The weak in faith will capitulate and get the mark of the beast and submit to Sunday worship. Is this true, or will there be a completely different kind of shaking? Let us look at God’s word.
With the world spiraling out of control, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together and see that a dramatic change in our world structure is at hand. And this all plays right into the surface studiers of God’s word. Satan has hood winked us as SDA for so long, we naturally don’t stop and take a good hard look at the situation-what really will cause the shaking?
Is Satan in effect going to cause the shaking by leading man to institute the Sunday Law, or will God Himself take control and cause the shaking? God’s final message of Elijah steers us straight with the following counsel —
“I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen, and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, and will lead him to exalt the standard and pour forth the straight truth. Some will not bear this straight testimony. They will rise up, against it, and this is what will cause a shaking among God’s people.” (“Early Writings,” p. 270.)
“In the mighty sifting soon to take place, we shall be better able to measure the strength of Israel. The signs reveal that the time is near when the Lord will manifest that His fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor.” (Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 5, p. 80.)
Thus, both, the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy explain that He Himself will purify the church, and that when thus purified “the Gentiles shall see” her “righteousness and all kings” her “glory.” Moreover, Christ in the parable explains that it is Satan’s determined purpose to sow the tares among the wheat. (Matt. 13:38.)
As the “Blue Sunday Law” is to be enacted by Satan’s own will, not by God’s, then such a method to purify the church would not only be contrary to every inspired statement but also to Satan’s determined purpose, for his aim is not to bring the tares and then pluck them out, but rather to choke out the wheat by their continued presence.
Neither is his intention to fulfill the prophecies, for that is what he would be doing if he should enact blue Sunday laws, but rather defeat them. Therefore, if the church is to be purified by Satan’s laws he would be doing the work which God has assigned to His servants and which He is to do Himself.
Is Satan working for God’s and His church’s interest or against? If against, he will never do one thing to purify the church or to fulfill the prophecy.
The only thing that would compel him to pass blue Sunday laws and go “to make war with the remnant of her seed” (with those that are left, Rev. 12:17) is the purity of the church when God by the slaughter weapons of Ezekiel Nine takes away the tares which received not the mark, and even then Satan will not enact “blue Sunday laws” until after he has exhausted every other weapon against the church. Therefore, as long as the church remains in her present Laodicean condition, there will be no blue laws or “war” against her, but a bluff only to make her members believe that they are free from his snares and that he is still trying to cause them to fall.
But the worst of it all is in that they are sound asleep, which is shown by the fact that they still think Satan is working terribly hard to fulfill God’s word by trying to pass blue laws and are not aware that he is only playing with them as a cat with a mouse, and the brethren “to whom the Lord has entrusted the spiritual interests of the people” (“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 5, p. 211) instead of sounding the alarm to arouse the church are determined to even silence the voice of the Rod, and thus rocking her to a more sound sleep! (Symbolic Code, vol. 2, no.1, p.9-10)
The shaking is also described in Revelation. The message describes it as follows–
Rev. 11:13. “And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.”
The “hour,” “the earthquake,” the “tenth part,” “the city,” the “seven thousand” slain, and “the remnant” must, to maintain the integrity of the entire trumpet symbolism, themselves be symbolical.
Climaxing the event symbolized “the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.” None but those who “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” can truly fear and give glory to Him. Accordingly in the present connection the remnant is necessarily figurative of the righteous, “the wheat,” in that part of the city which fell. This makes the “seven thousand” slain figurative of the unrighteous, “the tares” therein. Hence, the tenth part stands for the Church which is first purified — in which the bad, the tares are separated from the good, the wheat. Obviously, therefore, the rest of the city is in this instance a representation of the rest of the Christian world — Christendom as a whole.
Thus the “earthquake” takes place, not throughout Christendom, but throughout the church from which is separated the firstfruits — the 144,000. And since an earthquake is a shaking then the one in point is figurative of a shaking therein.
Long ago through the Spirit of Prophecy (Early Writings, 270) the S.D.A. church was forewarned of this shaking. And now in the present graphic revelation is seen its fatal end — the destruction of all who do not become affrighted and give glory to God. Figuratively numbering seven thousand, these “slain” in the church comprehend that element which does not sigh and cry for the abominations (Ezek. 9:4), and which as a consequence fails to receive the mark (Ezek. 9:4), or the seal (Rev. 7:3-8), of God’s approbation.
All who compose this class are cut off, leaving the remnant who “were affrighted” — those who have sighed and cried for the abominations, and who have consequently received the mark or the seal, and escaped the slaughter. These are they who “shall sing for the majesty of the Lord” (Isa. 24:14) — give “glory to the God of heaven.”(Tract 5. 112-114)
The “wheat” is to remain from the shaking. Let us not be fooled any longer and help correct those who ignorantly spread Satan’s trick that the Sunday Law will cause the shaking. This ploy takes our eyes off the ball and like Inspiration says, rocks us “to a more sound sleep.”
“The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out–the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place.”–(2 Selected Messages p.380 (1886)
Godsloveandlaw's Blog 
August 15, 2016 at 8:03 am |
very nice article !
April 13, 2019 at 8:32 am |
this book rely shakes
June 29, 2024 at 6:54 pm |
What is meant by the shaking, testing time below?
The days are fast approaching when there will be great perplexity and confusion. Satan, clothed in angel robes, will deceive, if possible, the very elect. There will be gods many and lords many. Every wind of doctrine will be blowing. Those who have rendered supreme homage to “science falsely so called” will not be the leaders then. Those who have trusted to intellect, genius, or talent will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They did not keep pace with the light. Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. They are self-sufficient, independent of God, and He cannot use them. The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing time will be disclosed to view. There are precious ones now hidden who have not bowed the knee to Baal. They have not had the light which has been shining in a concentrated blaze upon you. But it may be under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine Christian character will be revealed. In the day time we look toward heaven but do not see the stars. They are there, fixed in the firmament, but the eye cannot distinguish them. In the night we behold their genuine luster. 5T 80.1
June 30, 2024 at 1:42 am |
In terms of “present truth”, in other words, knowing and believing the Lord’s final message of Elijah (present truth), the term shaking here in that reference is the time of the battle within the church to accpet the Elijah message or not. This time is before the time of the Loud Cry. SOP describes this time of shaking as follows —
“There is to be in the (Seventh-day Adventist) churches a wonderful manifestation of the power of God, but it will not move upon thoses who have not humbled themselves before the Lord, and opened the door of the heart by confessionb and repentance. In the manifestation of that power which lightens the earth with the glory of God, they will see only something which in their blindness they think dangerous, soemthing whcih will arouse their fears, and they will brace themselves to resist it. Because the Lord does not work according to their ideas abd expectations they will oppose the work. “Why”, they say, “should we not know the Spirit of God, when we have been in the work so many years?” — RH, Extra, Dec. 23, 1890.
Further showing that the message of Elijah will be largely rejected we read in TM, p.475 —
“Prophecy must be fulfilled. The Lord says: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Somebody is to come in the spirit and power of Elijah, and when he appears, men may say: “You are too earnest, you do not interpret the Scriptures in the proper way. Let me tell you how to teach your message.”
There are many who cannot distinguish between the work of God and that of man. I shall tell the truth as God gives it to me, and I say now, If you continue to find fault, to have a spirit of variance, you will never know the truth.”
Thus we see that the shaking is really the battle within the church now, whether we accept the Lord’s final sealing message or we dont, resist it. Many SDA leaders have denied the Shepherd’s Rod message. But those who “study to show themselves approved” will accept it.