Archive for November, 2016

Satan’s Last Deception

November 26, 2016

satan-deception

A couple weeks back, I was having the church lunch and my wife and I happened to sit by a brother we’ll call brother P. He is a well studied SDA brother and even holds a class after Sabbath services. Over the years I have provided him with much material in the form of CD’s, DVD’s and Tracts. But during our lunch it became apparent that the following prophecy from the Spirit of Prophecy is truly being fulfilled right now.

The Last Deception of Satan

Satan is … constantly pressing in the spurious—to lead away from the truth. The very last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). Satan will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to unsettle the confidence of God’s remnant people in the true testimony.—Letter 12, 1890. 1SM 48.3

There will be a hatred kindled against the testimonies which is satanic. The workings of Satan will be to unsettle the faith of the churches in them, for this reason: Satan cannot have so clear a track to bring in his deceptions and bind up souls in his delusions if the warnings and reproofs and counsels of the Spirit of God are heeded.—Letter 40, 1890.

I was familiar with these words of Inspiration but sometimes you witness an experience that reminds you of the clear truth of it. Such was the case with brother P. We started out discussing some Scripture, specifically about the woman of Revelation 17. We went into it and he was quasi convinced (not thoroughly) that the woman could not be the Roman Catholic church solely, but a composite of the world’s history of false religion.

But the conversation soon turned to the subject of how we are saved. He mentioned that we are saved by grace, which I totally agreed with. However I mentioned that we must not have one spot or stain upon our character or we’ll not make the Kingdom. He said , “where do you get that?” I responded from the Testimonies, vol.5, p.214. I didn’t have the Testimonies with me but for explanation it reads–

“Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us as the early rain fell upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost.” 

He responded, “we are to use the Bible first and foremost.”  I concurred but said that SOP was God’s Truth as well and it was under Inspiration. It’s light was a compliment to the Bible and helped us know more of God’s will.

But he genuinely did not appear comfortable agreeing with me that SOP was God’s word. His attitude was if it’s not in the Bible, it’s not worth knowing about. And that is when the aforementioned Inspired words came back to me. I thought  –how true!

Then he proceeded to explain more on how we are saved. He basic ideas were that Christ’s sacrifice covers our sins. This of course is true but as the ol saying goes –“we are saved FROM our sins not IN them.”

I again pointed out that if one has an habitual sin (drinking coffee or tea for example)then that one has a “spot or stain” upon one’s soul and thus is in direct opposition of God’s word as explained by SOP(See Counsel on Diet and Foods, p.425) . Further the Bible is clear on this point I said —

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” (Hebrews 10:26-27)

Satan is pulling out all stops right now as he knows his time is almost over. And the Testimonies give us much guidance on our walk and our ways that will please God. But if one has some sins he cherishes then it will be clear that any Inspired words that exposes them (such as the Testimonies) , are not welcomed.

“..be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23)

To help explain how the SOP writings are needed to help clarify certain areas that the Lord wanted clarified, I asked him –where in the Bible does it say that Ezek. 9 and Rev. 7 sealings/markings are one and the same? He did not know and then I pointed out that this knowledge was given us through Testimonies to Ministers, p.445.  This did not seem to make any important point to him and again, I was brought back to further truth from God’s word–

“.. they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” (2 Thes. 2:10)

We have pointed this out time and again, we MUST love the truth even if it goes against what we have been taught or think. For the Truth is –Christ

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”(John 14:6)

In our closing moments of our SDA probation we must remember that we, as His remnant church will be the “first”  to be judged , when the Lord begins the Judgment for the Living (See Testimonies vol. 5, p.211)

So where would we stand if we disregarded the Testimonies (SOP) ? We wouldn’t know that Ezek.9 and Rev. 7 are one and the same sealing , and that the SDA church is the first to experience God’s judgments. God does not bring His messengers for no reason. His message is to be heeded. SOP explains more about people like brother P–

“If we do our very best to present the truth in its stirring character, crossing the opinions and ideas of others, it will be misinterpreted, misapplied, and misstated, to those who are entertaining error, in order to make it appear in an objectionable light. There are few to whom you bring the truth, who have not been drinking of the wine of Babylon. It is hard for them to comprehend the truth, therefore the necessity of teaching it as it is in Jesus.”—(Review and Herald,  June 3, 1890)

Let us remember that we are under assault from the Satanic forces emerging from all angles.And as we have learned their very last deception is ongoing right now–unbelief in the Testimonies. Many are telling us “forget about SOP.” Ok what if we do? The following is just a small smidgen of what we would not know.

  1. As mentioned the sealing of Ezek. 9 and Rev. 7 are one and the same. John described the sealing, Ezekiel described what happened to those not sealed. Both angles are shown us.(Testimonies to Min. p.445)
  2. What “virgins” mean in Rev.14:4. (Christ Object Lessons , p.406)
  3. What the winds mean in Rev. 7 (Testimonies vol. 5, p.152)
  4. Coffee and Tea drinking is a sin (Counsels on Diet and Foods, p.425)
  5. And hundreds of other Truth nuggets

God’s truth is progressing and for us as SDA, we must know who He has spoken through as His vision of Zech. 4  pointed out last week. Two prophets in the last days are sent–Sister Ellen White and Brother Victor Houteff. Don’t be fooled that their message is  irrelevant and not needed, that’s what Satan wants you to think. God says of those He sends “Listen”. Satan and his workers say, “No need to listen”.

 

 

Posted in Present Truth, Proper teachings, Satan | 2 Comments »

Who is Abaddon and Apollyon, Satan or Christ?

November 19, 2016

Image result for picture of satan as angel of light         Image result for picture of Christ coming in clouds of glory

One of the most noted long running Biblical controversies involves the question — who does Abaddon and Apollyon represent? Generally speaking there is a majority opinion among Bible scholars that it is Satan or one of his angels. Our historical SDA belief is not clear and not much help here.

One of the end time prophecies revealed to us, His remnant church, was the understanding of Zech. 4, the two olive trees (old and new Testament) , the two pipes (God appointed two end time interpreters), seven tubes (ministers) going from the Golden Bowl (the Inspired writings) down to the seven candlesticks (the churches of God). In this symbolism we learn how the Lord’s system of Biblical truth is conveyed and passed down to His people and exposing the path of usurpers and false prophets. For those who wish to review our post on this very important subject , click here- https://godsloveandlaw.com/2014/07/12/zechariah-4-gods-method-of-revealing-truth/

Because Zech. 4 was not properly understood until the Lord sent His last prophet to our church–Victor Houteff, many could not truly know subjects like our study subject. In other words , there are all kinds of man-made ideas floated around as–truth. But let us now sink the mine shaft of truth way down and get some pure golden nuggets of glistening gold from the Golden Bowl.

First, let’s look at the specific Bible verses–

“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.” (Rev. 9:1)

“And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.” (Rev. 9:11)

The following is generally the prevailing opinion concerning Abaddon and Apollyon.

“In Revelation 9:11, Abaddon is described as “Destroyer”,[6] the angel of the abyss,[6] and as the king of a plague of locusts resembling horses with crowned human faces, women’s hair, lions’ teeth, wings, iron breast-plates, and a tail with a scorpion’s stinger that torments for five months anyone who does not have the seal of God on their foreheads.[7]

The symbolism of Revelation 9:11 leaves the identity of Abaddon open to interpretation. Protestant commentator Matthew Henry (1708) believed Abaddon to be the Antichrist,[8] whereas the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary (1871) and Henry H. Halley (1922) identified the angel as Satan.[9][10][11] Latter-Day Saints believe that the use of “Abaddon” in Revelation 9 refers to the devil.[12]

In contrast, the Methodist publication The Interpreter’s Bible states: “Abaddon, however, is an angel not of Satan but of God, performing his work of destruction at God’s bidding”, citing the context at Revelation chapter 20, verses 1 through 3.[13][page needed] Jehovah’s Witnesses as well cite Revelation 20:1-3 where the angel having “the key of the abyss” is actually shown to be a representative of God, one from heaven, and, rather than being “satanic”, is the one that binds Satan and hurls him into the abyss; concluding that “Abaddon” is another name for Jesus Christ after his resurrection.”[14] (Wikipedia)

As we can see there is a variety of opinions. But generally throughout Christendom the belief is that these two titles describe Satan. The noted exceptions are the Methodists ,Jehovah Witnesses and Davidian SDA. However, such ideas most likely are arrived at by thinking that “a star fell from heaven” means Satan and his fall. And then because he falls he now has the symbolical key to hell. Sure seems plausible if one surface reads.

But as we mentioned we are going to go beyond surface reading and understandings into an understanding that is all-encompassing, just as the Lord’s promised restoration shows us (Matt.17:11).

To understand the meaning of the “star” and “bottomless pit” mentioned in Rev. 9:1,  we read–

Rev. 9:1-4. “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.  And He opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.  And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.”

   Taking in order the parts (the “star,” the “key,” the “pit,” the “smoke,” the darkness, and the locusts) of this fifth trumpet symbolism, we come first to

The Star.

   Just as did the star of the third trumpet, so this  fifth-trumpet star descended from heaven to earth.  And as the third-trumpet “star” has been conclusively identified as representing the advent of the Bible then this latter one, since it is similar to the former must stand for something the equivalent of It.

   The Bible and Christ being complementary affinities, each the Word of God (John 1:1-14), then the fact that the descent of the first “star” is symbolical of the advent of the Bible, compels the conclusion that the descent of the second star is symbolical of the first advent of Christ.  Moreover, the star is personified as “Him” (masculine in gender), thus being limited to a male person.  And finally Christ Himself gives testimony that He is “the bright and morning star.” Rev. 22:16.  To Him, be it remembered, was given

“The Key of the Bottomless Pit.”

   “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.” Rev. 20:1, 2.

   As Christ is the one who secures Satan’s captivity, thereby ushering in the millennium, He alone can be fittingly symbolized by the “angel…having the key of the bottomless pit,” and by the “star” to whom the “key” was given.  And as the “giving” of a thing to any certain one must precede the having” of it by that one, the verbs “given” (Rev. 9:1) and “having” (Rev. 20:1; 1:18)  point, of course, to two different times.  Obviously, therefore, Christ received the “key” at the sounding  of the fifth trumpet — sometime before the millennium.  Hence at the commencement of the millennium He already has it.

   Christ’s mission being to bring deliverance from the prison house of sin and of death (the bottomless pit), and to do so through the preaching of the gospel,  the key, therefore, must be figurative of the gospel,  the only power that is able to set free those who are  imprisoned in

The “Bottomless Pit.”

   Since the “bottomless pit” of Revelation 20:3 is symbolical of the earth as a prison house during the millennium, then the “bottomless pit” of Revelation 9:1, being identical, must likewise be symbolical of the earth as a prison house at another time.

   This implicitly Biblical interpretation of the “star,” the “key,” and the “bottomless pit,” reveals  that the earth, at Christ’s first advent, had become a prison house (a pit) for God’s people and that Christ came to open it in order to save them.

   The very fact that God’s people are vested with the power to keep open the bottomless pit, then should they be defeated, the pit would be shut and would become a prison house from which there would be no escape unless it be reopened.  And so Satan in the latter days of the Jews, as sacred history records, attacked them, took them captive, and thus shut the pit.  And knowing that when the Saviour should come, He would open it, the dragon therefore stood ready to devour the “child as soon as it was born.” Rev. 12:4. 

But losing sight of the infant Christ, he incited Herod to slay “all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under” (Matt. 2:16), in the hope of making rid of the Saviour.  Under the protection  of Providence, however, Christ was kept from the  bloody hand of Herod.  Then subsequently with the  gospel key, He opened the “pit” and freed His people.  This, He Himself avowed:

   “The Spirit of the Lord,” He declared, is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering  of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18, 19. (Tract 5, p.58-61)

To the names and their meaning we read–

“Rev. 9:11. “And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”

   Genuine Christians, as subjects of the kingdom of Christ, have over them Christ, their King.  Ruling over them in Old Testament time (1 Cor. 10:1-4)  as well as in New Testament time, He is therefore King over them in both periods.  Consequently the Old Testament Scriptures being originally written  in the Hebrew tongue give Him the name Abaddon, whereas the New Testament Scriptures, being originally written in the Greek, give Him the name Apollyon.

   In the blazing light of this symbol, intensifying the illumination from the whole series of symbols of which it is a part, and which no human mind could either have devised or thus rightly interpreted, Christ is clearly seen to be King of His people in both the Old and the New Testament periods, and Author of the Scriptures in both the Hebrew and the Greek.  And from this fact it follows that as He is “the Word” (the Bible in human form), His Hebrew name, Abaddon, is also the name of the Old Testament Scriptures, and His Greek name, Apollyon, is also the name of the New Testament Scriptures.

   Showing that he recognized Christ’s sovereignty over the church not only in the New Testament  period but also in the Old Testament period,  Paul, in his epistle to the Corinthians, declared:  “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were…baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea:…and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Cor. 10:1-4.

   Woe to him who accepts the one Testament and casts aside the other, pays no attention to either, or exalts tradition above both!

   Abaddon, Christ’s name in the Hebrew, signifying Him as a “destroyer,” shows that in the Old Testament period He simply destroyed many of His enemies; whereas Apollyon, His name in the Greek, signifying Him as an “exterminator,” shows that in the New Testament period He will exterminate all the wicked. (What beautiful precision  of connotation in these symbolic appellations!)  And this exterminatory work is vividly pictured in the climactic scene:

   “And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.” Rev. 19:15-18.

   To those, therefore, who accept Christ as their King, He is a Saviour, while to those who refuse to have Him rule over them (Luke 19:14), He is a destroyer.  Hence, accordingly, the curses, or judgments, fall (as the trumpets reveal) upon those who reject the teachings and the authority of the Bible, and who as a result do not have the seal.

   These solemn facts gravely admonish us not to forget the Bible’s warning that our treatment of It will bring one of two results — death or life. (Tract 5, p.69-72)

Christendom has a hard time calling Christ “Destroyer”and “Exterminator”, they cannot fathom the vengeance of Christ to justify His Truth. The Bible calls Him this and we must accept and acknowledge it. Let us not be on the losing end of the soon to come Destroyer/ Exterminator, rather with Godly fear and hope keep living everyday to do as the Word says–

“He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” (1 John 2:6)

 

Posted in Elijah Interpretations, Righteous Anger, Satan | 1 Comment »

Make America Great Again?

November 12, 2016

trump

The world has just witnessed a political phenomenon. A seemingly tremendous long shot has now been elected to one of the most powerful positions in the world–President of the United States. This is like a 150:1 long shot winning the Kentucky Derby. Donald Trump has emerged as our president, the 45th of our nation’s history.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly used the slogan “Let’s make America great again.” He implies that “we” as the citizens of our nation, under his leadership can make this nation great and powerful again. Yet there is One who truly holds in His hands , not only man’s destiny but the world’s destiny.

“Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.” (Psalms 127:1)

We all should know that any “king” (ie. president)  that is set up is not happenstance for we read-

“And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.” (Daniel 2:21)

Many understand Mr. Trump’s clear passion for righting the ship as it were. The so-called “establishment”  has been so entrenched in our political structure that we have become accustomed to large-scale corruption such as politicians getting our national debt into the stratosphere, crime gone amuck in our larger cities, media agendas from the elite, bribes and political favors done without regard for the principle of law and fairness, etc.

So it is only natural to those who have left God out of the equation to look for a type of savior, someone who they think can make our nation’s problems lessen or disappear. In fact Mr. Trump ,along with many others we believe, truly sees himself as that type of savior. He has declared time and again, that “he” can do this and that for our country.

But the Lord’s word has something to say about today’s final events which they don’t know or consider. First, the world’s turmoil is being restrained by four angels, upon the Lord’s command (Rev. 7). This means that it is only because God has not said “release the hold” that the time of trouble such as never was (Dan. 12:1) is not upon the world right now. No politician, world leader, or anyone can bring peace except the Lord Himself.

“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people–everyone whose name is found written in the book–will be delivered.” (Dan. 12:1)

“Him who alone can give life, who can inscribe upon the foreheads the mark or inscription, to whom shall be granted immortality, eternal life. It is the voice of this highest angel that had authority to command the four angels to keep in check the four winds until this work was performed, and until he should give the summons to let them loose.” (Testimonies to Ministers, p.444)

You see brethren, what we are witnessing right now, upon the new excitement of a new president is the age-old human weakness of “making flesh our arm” of strength. God MUST be our leader if we are to have peace and strength both individually and nationally.

We are counselled —

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.”(Jer. 17:5)

The Elijah message also says–

“All seem to think that peace and prosperity depend upon the man they put in the White House. Upon the authority of the Word, though, I stand to tell you that regardless who is put in office there will be no peace and desirable lasting prosperity, for God is left out of the plans which have been devised although He alone can give what we are after.” (2 TG no.41 p.4.)

I happen to personally like the leadership capabilities I see in Donald Trump, yet am reminded by the Spirit time and again that we are on the verge of a world war over Israel. Therefore the idea that our nation is on the verge of a comeback both in world business, leadership and status is a mirage.

How soon could this world war break out over Israel? Simply put the pieces are all in place there right now, Russia, USA, China, Nato, and all the major Arab nations are armed and loaded right now. No one should be asleep now as things are just waiting for the Lord’s command , His “decree”. God’s hand is directing the upcoming fast closing events, not Donald Trump.

Scriptures point to the next end time event–

“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.”(Zeph. 2:1-5)

Gaza, the well-known area of Palestine here is spoken of and shown to be the center of the Lord’s anger. Ashkelon was also near Palestine, on the northern tip.All this area is foreseen by the Lord to be a “desolation” amid the gigantic war to be fought soon in Israel. So Donald Trump or any of the other world leaders are basically puppets in the Lord’s plan.

The world does not know all this , of course , because they do not know the prophetic Word of God. Their carnal passions and love of the things of the world all cause them to focus on their own human understanding. many right now see Donald Trump as a sort of pied piper who can lead the USA into some kind of “Great America”. But as mentioned this is not what the word of the Lord says.

For us Seventh-day Adventists, we have one of two choices, jump on board the Lord’s prophetic word and plan, declaring belief in his Truth as spoken by His final messenger (present truth), or think and believe like the world by following the current events clueless and not ready for the Great I Am’s “sudden” appearance (Mal. 3:1-5) into His remnant church to begin the final Loud Cry Gospel proclamation.

Donald Trump will soon fade into history as a cog in the Lord’s final plans, let us keep focused on the “Thus sayeth the Lord” and not “thus sayeth man”.

“The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.” (Psalms 94:11)

It is easy to get caught up in all the current political challenging atmosphere, and admittingly I’ve been intrigued as well. However, we should feel a perfect detachment from this scenario, knowing that our Lord has work for us to do and when we engage too much time in all the political hoopla will only serve to waste our precious time instead of preparing God’s people for the very soon approaching church judgement and Kingdom setup in Israel.

“Being ministers of the gospel, with our time completely preoccupied with the spiritual interests  of the people, we ourselves are not able to give attention to their political interests also, just as the people’s political representatives are not able to give proper attention to their spiritual needs also. And therefore rarely, if ever, do we see our way clear to vote.” (Answerer, vol. 5, Q-145)

The current president-elect is simply a cog in the Lord’s machinery. We are to be found working in His “vineyard” not absorbed in the heathen things of this world which lead to a dead-end. 

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matt. 25:23)

 

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The Unpopular Truth Shall Triumph

November 5, 2016

144000

In Revelation 14:1 we read–

“Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.”

Someday very soon the above picture will be reality. God’s word says so.  Yet we as Elijah messengers often think to ourselves that because it seems that so few are interested in the Lord’s final sealing message,there just cannot be found 144,000 among us SDA until a long long time from now.

In our last post for example we relayed how there was no interest in studying a group we are told to “strive with ALL power God has given us”(RH, March 9, 1905) and be a part of, the 144,000. With this kind of lack of interest, and believe me this is typical with  the Elijah messengers, it seems as if Satan has successfully placed our people in a deep sleep and the promised 144,000 won’t be found any time soon. Yet our Lord sent this message to uplift us–

Isa. 66:7 — “Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.”

   The Jewish church, the church into which and by which Jesus was born, Inspiration declares, neither travailed nor had pain; that is, she felt neither need of nor burden for a Saviour, and yet in spite of it, He was born.

   But speaking of the children that are to make up the Kingdom, we read:

Isa. 66:8 — “Who hath heard such a thing?  who hath seen such things?  Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day?  or shall a nation be born at once?  for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”

   Although the Jewish church in Jesus’ day travailed not, yet she brought forth the Son of God!  But when Zion travaileth she brings forth all her children at once, a whole nation!  A miracle in each instance.

   How may Zion travail? — Let us turn to the natural realm: In nature, the mother carries a child, then travails and gives birth to it.  How else, then, in the spiritual realm can Zion travail without first carrying her children before they are born?  To be specific, when one joins the church, she is pregnant with him so to speak.  When she is thus carrying her children, then they shall all be born at once, — they shall all at once receive their second birth, the birth here mentioned.

And as Inspiration makes it clear that they must be born again, they all at the outset must be in the same state of mind as was Nicodemus — ashamed to be seen in the company of present Truth believers, ashamed to be associated with believers of unpopular Truth.

   Plainly, then, our efforts to reach the people with the message of a “second birth” shall not be in vain: Zion shall bring forth all her children, as it were, in one day.  And that is why we cannot be driven to despair or to discouragement.  We are assured that “revival and reformation” will take place among all God’s people, that His word will not return unto Him void.

   Now, who could the children be? — To be children of Zion, they must some day stand on Zion.  They are therefore none other than the “firstfruits” of whom the Revelator says: “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads.” Rev. 14:1.

   From the Scriptures it is now clearly seen that in this instance when one joins the church, the church becomes pregnant with that member.  Thus it is that from the time one becomes a member of the church to the time he is “born again,” he is spiritually developing for the hour of this second birth.  Then, after he is “born again” he is still to keep on growing until he becomes a full-grown, matured, spiritual being — a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of Christ, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.  Accordingly, this state of being no one has as yet reached, but the time is now at hand when a multitude shall reach it, for says the Lord:

Isa. 66:9 — “Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth?  saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb?  saith thy God.”

   This scripture endeavors to remove all doubt.  Let us believe the Lord and know for certain that the time for this particular new birth is here and that the Lord can and will make it possible regardless how it may appear to us. (Timely Greeting, vol. 1, no.49, p.7-9)

Oh what a promise! Despite how we see little or no acceptance of His unpopular Truth  a
“nation”, the 144,000, shall come forth in “one day”.

Those of us who are experienced in the Elijah message work know all too well that despite decades of a few main DSDA organizations working to spread this message, the grand total membership from all of these are well below the 144,000. That means that the original type “Elijah” is also our type (anti-type) in saying or thinking the following,

“Then Elijah said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away...I still have left in Israel seven thousand followers who have not bowed their knees to Baal or kissed the images of him.”(1 Kings, 19:14, 18)

We also seem to say to ourselves and sometimes to others that few are following His final message yet as we see there is “7000”, which is a complete number of thousands (7) of which the Lord knows and we don’t. In other words, the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists organizations, although not nearly consisting of the 144,000 now, will be joined by the unknowns, most likely in our SDA churches.

Soon the faithful walking in all the light they know, dress reform, diet reform, worship reform, etc. and having no guile in their mouth will have to come up to speed on the Elijah message in a very short period of time.

“Some of us have had time to get the truth, and to advance step by step, and every step we have taken has given us strength to take the next. But now time is almost finished, and what we have been years learning, they will have to learn in a few months. They will also have much to unlearn, and much to learn again.”(Early Writings, p.67)

But right now the Lord’s message of Elijah is just about as popular as was our King Himself when, after gaining a sizable following many of His followers deserted Him because He declared —

He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him…Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?…From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” (John 6:56,60,66)

The Truth as seen from above can be difficult, strange, and just plain hard to comprehend yet it is still the Truth and must be followed. In Revelation  14:4 we read —

“These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb”

“They follow the Lamb wherever He goes.”?  Yes the Truth that springs from our King, strange , difficult and most unpopular is the 144,000’s path, their passion their hope. Yet it leads them often to be dis-fellowshipped, murmured against, unpopular, seen as strange or overzealous, fanatical and God knows what else. But they continue to follow the Lamb!

Can we imagine back in our King’s day, after He spoke those strange words about eating His flesh and drinking His blood how the masses, particularly the Pharisaic leaders, said things like, “Stay away from this man, he is not right and delusional.”

Apostle Paul knew all too well that the faithful followers would have to bear the burden of unpopularity.

“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” (Gal. 1:10)

Fast forward to today, we see the same sentiments against the Elijah messengers, the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists. The leaders, Pastors, Elders, Deacons, etc., upon the mention of the Shepherd’s Rod, will most likely say, “Stay away from them, they are an off shoot with false ideas and teachings.”

The Truth in both cases took the followers down a path that was unpopular. So today those who are stepping forward with the Lord’s final message of Elijah must lean on the Lord heavily because they will see and feel the rejection that has always accompanied the true believers.

The Elijah message says–
“When a message from the Lord is proclaimed to the church, those who would rather stay with the church than be cast out for the truth’s sake by its unsanctified members are baptized into the church but not into Christ.” (Sym. Code, vol. 2, no.7-8, p.10)

To those who are now a part of this message, our King gives us comfort–

“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. I will gather the afflicted from the solemn assembly; those who were with you, who were bearing a burden of disgrace.Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.” (Zeph.3:17-19)

Um, “outcast”? From what? You got it the very churches that proclaim to be God’s house! The Jews praised the Lord upon removing the offshoots (Christians) from their midst and now today the same blinded leaders think they are doing a good service in dis-fellowshipping and ignoring those who proclaim the Lord’s Rod message (Micah 6:9).

Hang tight all you who are enduring the rejection and ignorance because you proclaim an unpopular Truth, the tide is going to turn shortly.

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