Archive for February, 2020

BRIGHT CLOUDS BRING GENTLE RAIN

February 29, 2020

TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, NOVEMBER 30, 1946
MT. CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO, TEXAS

THOUGHT FOR MEDITATION AND PRAYER

I shall read from “The Mount Of Blessing,” beginning with the first paragraph on page 170. This page is based on the scripture. “Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil one.” — R.V.

M.B., pg. 170 — “Temptation is enticement to sin, and this does not proceed from God, but from Satan, and from the evil of our own hearts. ‘God can not be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempteth no man.’

“Satan seeks to bring us into temptation, that the evil of our character may be revealed before men and angels, that he may claim us as his own…. The enemy leads us into sin, and then he accuses us before the heavenly universe as unworthy of the love of God….”

Every temptation resisted, every trial bravely borne, gives us a new experience in character building. The soul that resists temptation through Divine power reveals to the world and to the universe the efficiency of the grace of Christ.

Here is seen that Satan is the great tempter of our souls, that he constantly seeks to make us fall. But he cannot do anything against us if our hearts be right with God, and if we stay within the hedge He has built around us. He can succeed only if we ourselves make it possible. If we willingly yield to sin, we thus voluntarily surrender to Satan. Let us not forget that no one can keep on going his own way and at the same time pray the Lord’s prayer without making a liar of himself. But those who wholeheartedly take the Lord at His word and allow Him to direct their steps, they never go wrong. We should pray to be among this latter class.

BRIGHT CLOUDS BRING GENTLE RAIN

This afternoon we are to study the tenth chapter of Zechariah. To find the time of the fulfillent of its prophecy and of the promises it contains, we need look no further than the first verse of the chapter.

Zech. 10:1 — “Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.”

These figures of speech, you know, are not used by Inspiration promiscuously, the term “latter rain” must have its special and accurate significance. Inspiration chose to use the term “rain”, because rain makes things grow and brings abundant harvest. The term “latter” denotes the last rain before the harvest, the rain that completes maturity and that ripens the grain.

The latter rain of Truth, therefore, is the very last, the one that is to develop the people of God for the harvest, for the time in which God separates the wheat from the tares (Matt. 13:30), the wise virgins from the foolish ones (Matt. 25:1-12), the good fish from the bad (Matt. 13:47, 48),and the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:32, 33). In short, the harvest is the day of cleansing, the day of Judgment, the antitypical

Day of Atonement, the day in which the sinners are cut off. This spiritual latter rain is, therefore, to do to the church just what the natural latter rain does to the field. Without this latter rain the saints could not develop for the heavenly garner, neither could the tares for the fire. By the “latter rain,” therefore, is illustrated the last shower of Truth. And, too, this last portion of Truth must come as freely to every member of the church who lives just prior to the harvest time as does the rain come to every grass in the field.

Just as soon as this final touch of development is accomplished, the sickle is to be put to the precious golden grain. But let us remember that it is not left in the field to rot, it is put into the “barn,” (Kingdom) while the tares are burned, so says the Lord (Matt. 13:30). What is symbolized by the “latter rain? Is it miracle-working Truth, or is it miracle-working power? — The prophet Joel explains that the miracle-working power comes after both the “former and the latter rain.” Says he:

“And it shall come to pass afterward [after the former and the latter rain — Joel 2:23], that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.” Joel 2:28, 29.

Plainly, then, the “latter rain” is miracle-working Truth that causes the saints to mature for the harvest of which the 144,000 are the first fruits (Rev. 14:4). Then, in order to quickly gather the second fruits, God pours His Spirit upon every first fruit saint, (upon “every one grass”) old or young, boy or girl — not upon one here and upon another there.

Obviously “bright clouds” represent agencies conveying Truth which they scatter everywhere in the Lord’s vineyard — over every church member — “every one grass,” wheat or tare.

Literally speaking, dark clouds suggest a very heavy and damaging rain that frightens the beholders. Conversely, bright clouds suggest a gentle rain, the kind that descends in such a way so that the ground can absorb all of it. It does not waste itself.

Spiritually speaking, dark clouds would, therefore, represent a source of dangerous reading matter and too voluminous for one to welcome or to comprehend. But bright clouds stand for a  source of small, easily comprehended Truth-laden publications packed with “meat in due season, “Truth that comes in portions easy to take in, easy to assimilate all of It, and thus to develop the recipient of It for the “master’s” use and for His service.

Then, too, spiritual “latter rain” must fall as freely and without cost to the recipients as does literal rain. Thus it is that never before has the world witnessed so much absolutely free literature scattered away as this literature is. Millions! So it is that these small comprehensive publications, the bright clouds, laden with present Truth, are now being scattered as leaves of autumn throughout Laodicea to every church member, “to every one grass” in the vineyard of the Lord.

The final results? “More than one thousand,” attests Inspiration, “will soon be converted in one day, most of whom will trace their first convictions to the reading of our publications.” — “Review and Herald,” Nov. 10, 1885. Accordingly, along with the world’s dark clouds that now hover over those who are pessimistic about the promises of God, there are these bright clouds that hover over the faithful believing and trusting children of God.

 

 

 

 

And so, Brother, Sister, you need not listen to the voices that urge you to shut yourself in from this gentle rain, or to tuck in under someone’s umbrella. Come out and avail yourself of this much needed shower. It is sent to give you the development which you need, and to enable you to survive the great and dreadful day of the Lord, the Judgment for the Living. Delay no longer, get out in the open and let the precious rain fall upon you, let it soak in through and through lest the angels find you unfit for the “barn” and they cast you into the fire along with the tares. Inspiration makes it as clear as can be made that not a soul (not one blade of grass), can be fit for the Kingdom (“barn”) if it fails to absorb this rain of Truth.

How important then that you should avail yourselves of it. No, you cannot afford to stand dry under the umbrellas of Truth-haters. Get out from under their devilish umbrellas lest you lose out eternally, lest you hopelessly cry out, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Jer. 8:20.

Zech. 10:2 — “For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.”

Here is conveyed the thought that this character-building and wisdom and light-importing “rain” that fits one for the society of Heaven, finds the waiting ones listening to idols speaking “vanity”and to diviners telling false dreams, in vain trying to comfort. Will you not heed Inspiration’s Voice and turn away from listening to idols?

Who could they be if not vain self-important Truth-hating ministers that are idolized by the laity, false preachers trying to comfort by preaching falsehood.

Revival and reformation therefore must do their work among both ministers and laity. Indeed the sheep are troubled because there is no real shepherd anywhere, they all have gone their own way!

Zech. 10:3 — “Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for theLord of hosts hath visited His flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as His goodly horse in the battle.”

This verse discloses that the Lord has visited His people with revealed Truth preparatory to separating the goats from the sheep whereupon He is to reward the sheep and punish the goats — the work of the Judgment for the Living. His visit makes His servants as goodly horses in His vineyard.

Zech. 10:4 — “Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.”

The Lord Himself chooses from Judah the “corner” stone (founder), the “nail” (organizer), the “bow” (the Truth, or instrument by which to gain the victory over the Enemy), and every “oppressor” (ruler). With these He builds the house of Judah.

Zech 10:5 — “And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.”

The victory shall be so complete that even the demons who lead our enemies in the conflict, will themselves be confounded.

Zech. 10:6 — “And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them.”

The statements, “I will strengthen,” instead of save, “the house of Judah,” and “I will save”instead of strengthen “the house of Joseph,” imply that the house of Judah is saved before the house of Joseph is, and to save the house of Joseph He strengthens the house of Judah. The page second fruits need to be saved, whereas the first fruits need to be fitted for service. Both are gathered into one place, (the “barn,” the Kingdom). The Lord extends this favor to both of them because He has mercy upon them and will treat them as though they had never caused Him to cast them out.

Zech. 10:7 — “And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.”

The fathers shall rejoice and the children shall see it. He shall thus “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers….” Mal. 4:6.

Zech. 10:8 — “I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.”

“They shall increase,” that is, the second fruits are to be added to the “firstfruits.” (Rev. 7:4, 9).

Zech 10:9 — “And I will sow [multiply] them among the people: and they shall remember Me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again [to their homeland].”

Zech. 10:10 — “I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.”

The elect shall be gathered from everywhere, and shall spread as far as the land of Gilead and Lebanon. But even then, the place shall be too small for them.

Zech. 10:11, 12 — “And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down,and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away. And I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down in His name, saith the Lord.”

That is to say, the gathering of the people is to be unobstructed. Every hindrance is to be, page removed. The reign of sin is to be brought to an end. The nations who have enslaved God’s page people are to be humbled, and their scepters (thrones) are to be no more.

Be strong in the Lord, walk up and down happy and without fear, saith the Lord.

The work that God has begun in the human heart by Divine light and knowledge, must continually go forward. “…Every individual must realize his own necessity. The heart must be emptied of every defilement, and cleansed for the indwelling of the Spirit. It was by the confession and forsaking of sin, by earnest prayer and consecration of page themselves to God, that the early disciples prepared for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the page day of Pentecost.

The same work, only in greater degree, must be done now. Then the human agent had only to ask for the blessing, and wait for the Lord to perfect the work concerning him. It is God who began the work, and He will finish His work, making man complete in Jesus Christ. But there must be no neglect of the grace represented by the former rain.

“Only those who are living up to the light they have, will receive greater light. Unless we are daily advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues, we shall not recognize the page manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. It may be falling on hearts all around us, but we shall not discern or receive it. — “Testimonies to Ministers,” p. 507.

Since this Truth is so vitally important do not let any enemy against revealed Truth confuse you. If he tries to convince you against this Truth, you take him to task — make him give a more page Biblical interpretation of these scriptures. If he cannot give you something better or as good, then tell him to mind his own business and you will mind yours.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 17, p.1 – 11

 

Posted in Elijah Interpretations, Present Truth | Leave a Comment »

Helpful Videos

February 22, 2020

Image result for Prophecy videos

Some may not be aware of our other ministry work. We have two YouTube channels where we bring updated videos on Bible prophecy and the Elijah message. We’d like to offer some links to certain videos that may be helpful in your Bible knowledge and walk.

1 —  THE SCIENCE OF SUCCESS

We discuss one of the message Tracts where it talks about fulfilling God’s work He would like you do to. We discuss prayer and supping and knowing the difference.

2 —  THE SUNDAY LAW DEATH DECREE

We discuss the upcoming Sunday law and the surrounding circumstances to come.

3 — THE SHEPHERD’S ROD HISTORY

We go over the basics of the Rod message and some history in its formation.

4 — WHO IS ADADDON AND APOLLYON?

We discuss what long time beliefs are about this great puzzling question.


5 —  INTERNATIONAL HIERARCHY 

We discuss what kind of current world system we have and how Satan is largely working out his devious plans and how it will soon change.

Posted in Final Events, Present Truth, Proper teachings, Prophecy study, Revelation teachings, Sunday law, Useful sites | Leave a Comment »

The Snake

February 15, 2020

Image result for Al wilson the snake

Some of you may remember a chart-topping smash hit from Al Wilson back in 1968 called “The Snake”. Not only did it have a catchy beat but the lyrics had a solemn story of deception. The following are the haunting lyrics —

On her way to work one morning
Down the path alongside the lake
A tender-hearted woman saw a poor half-frozen snake
His pretty colored skin had been all frosted with the dew
“Oh well,” she cried, “I’ll take you in and I’ll take care of you”

“Take me in oh tender woman (come on in)
Take me in, for heaven’s sake (come on in)
Take me in tender woman,” sighed the snake

She wrapped him up all cozy in a curvature of silk
And then laid him by the fireside with some honey and some milk
Now she hurried home from work that night as soon as she arrived
She found that pretty snake she’d taken in had been revived

“Take me in, oh tender woman (come on in)
Take me in, for heaven’s sake (come on in)
Take me in tender woman,” sighed the snake

Now she clutched him to her bosom, “You’re so beautiful,” she cried
“But if I hadn’t brought you in by now you might have died”
Now she stroked his pretty skin again and then kissed and held him tight
But instead of saying thanks that snake gave her a vicious bite (oh…)

“Take me in, oh tender woman (come on in)
Take me in, for heaven’s sake (come on in)
Take me in tender woman,” sighed the snake

“I saved you!” cried the woman, and you bit me even while, and you know your bite

is poisonous and now I’m gonna die! “Oh shut up silly woman” said the reptile with a grin “Now you know darn well I was a snake before you brought me in”

“Please take me in, oh tender woman (come on in)
Take me in, for heaven’s sake (come on in)
Take me in tender woman,” sighed the snake
sighed the snake

Take me in tender woman

The purpose of why we are highlighting this song/lyrics is because President Trump has repeatedly used these words in some of his political rallies for over 3 years now. The latest usage was in his New Hampshire rally this week. As he read back the words of the hit song, he used the excuse that the story was about “immigration” implying that some immigrants are like snakes who want to come in and then do bad things. But we think there may be a much more subtle reason, a subtle prophetic reason.

A while back we did the following post —

https://godsloveandlaw.com/2017/10/28/and-his-number-is-666/

In it, we showed how president Trump continually exhibited the 666 hand sign while giving speeches. And as we know Rev. 13:18 speaks of the following —

“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”

Image result for pictures of Trump's' hand signals

Now to be clear, we are not saying FOR SURE that Trump is the 666 man mentioned in Revelation but we do need to be aware of the surrounding circumstances. Below is a recent picture taken in the White House with Sunday keeping religious leaders and Trump.

President Trump surrounded by a large group of worship leaders from across the country whom he invited to pray for him in the Oval Office Friday.

Recently an article appeared with highly popular “prophet” Shawn Bolz.

It read in part — “After Trump took historic action moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Bolz said Trump is going to continue fighting for Israel and establishing more credibility for the Jewish State in the Middle East, partly because Trump isn’t afraid of the backlash. Trump will “fight for Israel until they have a lot more than what they’ve had” in what’s been a hostile environment.”

Other world-renown Sunday leaders such as Billy Graham’s son — Franklin Graham, have been a big Trump supporter as well. So it is clear the close relationship is already there among his constituents, the Sunday worship community. They are all ears, in other words, to what he is saying in regards to religion.

The Sunday keeping community has long believed that in 1948 “God” restored His people (Jews) to their homeland to fulfill numerous prophecies. In Romans 11:25-26 we read–

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles have come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.”

Thus they have totally misinterpreted the Scriptures to say that God will magically force the hearts of the unbelieving Jews there today, to come to Jesus. You might call it a — God spell put upon them! Total Blasphemy!

 

The Lord’s Elijah message does indeed give us the right interpretation of Romans 11:25-26 —

“ALL OR A REMNANT–WHICH?

Question No. 64:

Romans 9:27 says that a “remnant” of Israel will be saved, but Romans 11:26 says that “all” Israel will be saved. I do not understand this. Can you help me?

Answer:

Romans 9:27 is speaking of Israel as a nation, of which only a remnant will be saved; whereas Romans 11:26 is referring to the elect of Israel as individuals, all of whom will be saved.” (Answerer, vol. 3, p.51)

 Jesus was clear about this, as He spoke to the unbelieving Jews —

“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”(Matt. 21″43)

So today Trump is seen as a sort of close friend to the Sunday evangelicals and the Sunday keeping community at large. Afterall he has recently moved the USA embassy to Jerusalem and the leaders of Israel certainly admire him. And just more recently he and Benjamin Netanyahu have compiled an “Israel/Palestine” peace agreement, which by the way, is totally unacceptable from the Palestinian people’s point of view.

To further complicate the relationship with Trump’s religious ties, he is additionally looked at as a modern-day “Cyrus”. This article explains it —

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/11/donald-trump-evangelical-christians-cyrus-king

Going back to the snake song words. Instead of what president Trump is using it as (Immigration illustration) we could very well see it as the following:

The Woman, which we know means God’s people or church in Scripture, and in this case, representing the Sunday keeping church community, taking in Trump and making him popular. Yet someday he may turn around and bite them! Meaning that he may be the 666 man who establishes, along with the false prophet and the Beast system, the mandatory forced Sunday Law religious system.

Those who know the Scripture prophecies, particularly Revelation, know very well that this whole Law will end up forcing all those who accept it — into eternal damnation!

“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” (Revelation 19:20)

So is Trump reading a prophetic statement, concerning himself,  from a song long ago popular called the “The Snake”? Is he, like that snake, playing into their kindness and gullibility? As far as we know he does not know prophecy well, and so he could not even be aware of his own sinister role he plays soon. Only time will tell.

Posted in Delusion, General thoughts, Truth telling vs. lying | 2 Comments »

CHILDREN BORN TO A LEWD MOTHER BRING PEACE AND HAPPINESS IN THE HOME

February 8, 2020

TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, JANUARY 3, 1948
MT. CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO, TEXAS

TEXT FOR PRAYER

Outwit Satan In His Game For Souls

I shall read from “Christ’s Object Lessons,” page 55, beginning with paragraph two:

“Cares riches, pleasures, all are used by Satan in playing the game of life for the human soul. The warning is given, ‘Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him…’ He who reads the hearts of men as an open book says, ‘Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life.’ And the apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit writes, ‘They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which, while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.'”

We are to pray for to overcome the love of the world and to remember that Satan is playing the game of life for the souls of God’s people; to be given grace to work and pray as never before; to overcome the wiles of the Devil; to know that he is no foe to be trifled with, and that Jesus is the Captain Who never lost a battle; that if we enlist His help He will see us through.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 21, page 2

CHILDREN BORN TO A LEWD MOTHER BRING PEACE AND HAPPINESS IN THE HOME

Our subject for today is found in Hosea, chapters one and two. The first and most important thing to ascertain about these chapters is the time in which their prophetic import unfolds. To find this out, we shall read:

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.”

Up to this very day God’s people have never as yet experienced such a complete and absolute security and freedom as set forth in this verse of Scripture. It is, therefore, quickly seen that the subject of the chapter reaches even beyond our time. As we study the chapters verse by verse, the time element will appear still brighter and brighter.

Hos. 1:1,2 — “The Word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jereboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. The beginning of the Word of the Lord by Hosea.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 21, page 3

And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord.”

The prophet Hosea was commanded to take a wife of whoredoms for no other reason than to portray the sad and abominable condition which then obtained in Israel.

This marriage is, of course, only visionary just as is the prophet Ezekiel’s lying 40 days on one side, and 390 days on the other side (Ezek. 4:4-6).

Hos. 1:3-5 — “So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel.”

The first-born son of the prophet’s visionary marriage, you see, was named Jezreel in order to foreshadow that which was to befall the nation — predicting not only the termination of the kingdom, but also the very place in which its army was to be defeated — in the valley of Jezreel. And this destructive evil was to have come upon them for shedding the blood of Jezreel, but obviously not the Jezreel that had just been born and named. Who the slain Jezreel is, we shall see later in the study.

Hos. 1:6, 7 — “And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 21, page 4

But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.”

The ten-tribe kingdom, Israel, was spared until the birth of Lo-ruhamah, but the name of this second child certified that God was to have no more mercy upon the house of Israel, that its end had already come. However, He was to have mercy upon the house of Judah, the two-tribe kingdom, and was to deliver it by a miracle. And that is what happened: an angel slew 185,000 of the assyrian army, and thus God spared the house of Judah (2 Kings 19:35).

Hos. 1:8, 9 — “Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not My people, and I will not be your God.”

The third child was named Lo-ammi to show that God’s mercies were to depart even from the house of Judah. But rather than to let them be subjugated as His people, He first rejected them, whereupon they were no longer His people. The Apostle Peter cites this verse of Scripture as referring to the unbelieving Jews; as a nation they were rejected after the crucifixion of Christ, and were thus no longer His people (1 Peter 2:9, 10). The individuals, though, who did believe in the Lord were reaccepted, and they became “the children of the Living God.” (See Rom. 9:26.)

Now note that this symbolism has thus far taken us prophetically and historically from the days of the house of Israel to the Christian era.

Hos. 1:10 — “Yet the number of the children of Israel

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 21, page 5

shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.”

“Yet,” that is, in spite of the fact that the children of Israel were to be scattered throughout the nations, and rejected, be no longer God’s people, yet in spite of all these, both the descendants of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah (all the children of Jacob) were to be multiplied as the sand of the sea by the time they are reaccepted and thus become the sons of the living God through the Saviour, Jesus Christ.

From this scripture you note that this multitude of sons of Jacob are not the identified Jews of today, but rather the lost descendants of Judah and Israel, of those who were assimilated by the Gentile nations and by the early Christian church by taking upon themselves the title “Christians,” of those who thus lost their racial and national identity. From all these, after having been scattered throughout the Gentile nations, and after having lost their identity, are to come the sons of God that are projected in this allegorical prophecy. Thus many of us who suppose to be of the Gentile nations may at long last discover that we are of the lost tribes of Judah and Israel, and of the apostolic Christian Jews. Though none of us really know our genealogy very far back, yet God Who knows even the number of hairs on one’s head has kept an accurate genealogical record of each of us. So He says: “I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know Me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was orn there. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 21, page 6

the highest Himself shall establish her. The Lord shall count, when He writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.” Psa. 87:4-6.

Hos. 1:11 — “Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.”

Here we are definitely told that in the latter days, God’s saints, without a sinner among them, are to be gathered together from the four corners of the earth, and be organized into a Theocratic government, of which antitypical David is to be the king. Thus it is that “…in the days of these kings [not after their days] shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and It shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” Dan. 2:44, 45.

In another allegorical prophecy, in connection with this one, we are again told:

Hos. 3:4, 5 — “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.”

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 21, page 7

Here again the promises are as plain as words can make them that after the dispersion and captivity, the “many days,” God’s scattered people are then to return to their homeland, and are then to seek the Lord their God, and David their king. Hence, these sons of God are not the identified and unbelieving Jews of today who are trying to make a permanent national home in the Promised Land.

Christians have for centuries preached the Kingdom of God, but it is not as yet clear to most of them whether It is to be as tangible as the earth itself, or whether It is to be something foamy, something floating in space, or what? Inspiration, however, clearly declares that the Kingdom of Christ (the church purified — cleansed, Dan. 8:14) is to be as real as any of the kingdoms of earth.

Now we shall continue our study through Hosea chapter two, because, as I said before, its contents are the continuation of those in chapter one.

Hos. 2:1-3 — “Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah. 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; 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.”

Let us remember that the first chapter brought us down through the stream of time, down to the Christian era. Now, in chapter two our attention is again directed to Hosea’s visionary children, but the prefix “Lo” has been omitted from the names Loruhamah and Loammi so as to change the meaning from no mercy, and not My people, to “mercy,” and “My people.”

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Here in this unique symbolism, fashioned years before the Christian dispensation, Inspiration foreshadowed the grace that was to be given to the people in the Christian era, and that rather than continue to be called Jews, they were to be called by another title — Christians: Mercy, and My people.

The command, “Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah,” in itself explains that God is speaking to Jezreel, (Ammi’s and Ruhamah’s brother), and that Jezreel in turn is to speak to Ammi and to Ruhamah. And the fact that God calls Hosea’s visionary wife His Own wife, the subject becomes still clearer: Hosea, you see, represents God, and Hosea’s wife represents God’s church; Jezreel, the one God speaks to, represents His mouth piece, a prophet, and Jezreel’s brethren, Ammi and Ruhamah, represent the members of the church, both male and female. Now, as Ammi and Ruhamah represent the laity, it is obvious that the mother represents the ministry, those who bring forth converts into the church. Here we have a complete representation of the household of God.

The fact that Jezreel is to urge his brethren, the laity, to plead with the mother (with the ministry, to those who bring forth converts), that she put away her whoredom, the truth clearly stands out that this revival and reformation does not come to the laity through the ministry, but to the ministry through the laity.

The laity is to explain that if the ministers fail to reform, God is to strip them naked — as naked as in the day they were born.

Hos. 2:4, 5 — “And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms. For

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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.”

These verses set forth God’s meaning of grace: that if the “mother” fails to reform, fails to cease from her whoredoms with the world and its practices, then not only the mother but also her sympathizing children will forever fall from grace.

The mother, here we are told, imagines that her unlawful lovers are the ones who supply her with the temporal things of life, and it is her excuse for having anything to do with them.

Moreover, we are again told that while she is thus playing the harlot, she is bringing forth illegitimate children, untrue converts. Here is a warning which in no uncertain terms demands a reformation or else the whole church family, except for those who reform, will be destroyed as completely as ancient Jerusalem was destroyed some years after the crucifixion of Christ.

Hos. 2:6-13 — “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. 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. 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

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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. 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.”

These verses explain God’s way and power to save: Before He calls for reformation He prepares the way: He brings His church to trying and perplexing circumstances from which she can not easily disengage herself. He brings her to a situation similar to which He brought the prodigal. He does this in order that she might be brought to realize where her support in reality comes from, to know for certain that it does not come from her lovers. Then, and then only, may she do the very thing the prodigal did when he came to himself.

In fulfillment of the prophecy contained in verse eleven, God permitted the little horn of Daniel seven to change times and laws, and permitted the saints of the Most High to be in his hand until “a time and times and the dividing of time.” Dan. 7:25.

Hos. 2:14, 15 — “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of

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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.”

Having brought her into as strait and embarrassing circumstances as one can be in, God promises to allure her, and to bring her into the wilderness, there to speak comfortably to her. Specifically speaking, having emerged from the “great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world” (Matt. 24:21), God brings her, not into her vineyard, not in the Promised Land, but into the “wilderness” (into the lands of the Gentiles), there to speak comfortably to her, and to help her reform. After this comforting meeting takes place she is to have her vineyards from thence, and the Valley of Achor for a door of hope; there she is to sing and rejoice as in the days of her youth, and as in the day she came out of Egypt.

The Valley of Achor, you note, is her door of hope — it is the only way out of her predicament. The valley has but one significance: it stands for a thorough purging, for destroying the sinners that are in her midst before possessing the land — her only hope of becoming a decent, respectable wife of God.

It was in the Valley of Achor that Joshua stoned the last of the sinners in Israel — Achan and his household. Then it was that the Israelite nation was permitted to take the promised land, the vineyard. Just such a purging as this is the church’s only “door of hope,” says Inspiration, her only escape from her present plight. Then she is to return to her former position and grace. Then she is to receive the promised blessing as verily as ancient Israel received hers. That remarkable incident in the Valley of Achor is now seen to typify the purging for the repossession of the promised land — typifying the Judgment for the Living,

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the gathering of the saints, and the destruction of the sinners — the separation of the wheat from the tares, the goats from the sheep, the good fish from the bad fish. The “barn” (Matt. 13:30), connotes the Kingdom here projected as does the Lord’s right, and as do the vessels.

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.”

Yes, rather than be her lord, God is indeed to be her husband, for one can have lords many, but only one husband.

Hos. 2:17 — “For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.”

The names of Baalim are significant of persons possessing selfish characters such as Balaam’s — teachers of religion, prophets who would rather curse Israel than lose the opportunity of monetary gain, or of some other foolish, selfish promotion that exalts and flatters. Such shall then no longer be known by their lordly, high and exalted titles.

When the Church is thus purged of all her idols, then will she find eternal peace.

Hos. 2:18-22 — “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. And I will betroth thee unto Me for ever; 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 faithfullness:

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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; and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.”

These verses plainly show that God’s presence will in that day be in His church, that even the heavens will be listening to God’s voice while He speaks to His people here on earth. The earth shall also hear the “corn, and the wine, and the oil”; that is, the earth shall hear the Truth — Truth that satisfies the soul as does wholesome, and nourishing food. Moreover, not only the corn, the wine, and the oil — the whole Truth — but Jezreel, too, shall the earth hear. Plainly, all these promises are to be fulfilled during probationary time, for they cannot do the earth any good after probationary time is exhausted.

The Jezreel of whose blood ancient Israel was charged guilty, you see, was figurative of the prophets whom Israel rejected and killed. Thus it is that the prophet-hating house of Israel met defeat in the Valley of Jezreel, which by interpretation is the valley of the slain prophets.

Hos. 2:23 — “And I will sow her unto Me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not My people, Thou art My people; and they shall say, Thou art My God.”

To “sow her unto Me in the earth,” means to multiply her children in God’s order after she receives all these promised blessings. Then she will truly have God’s mercy, such great mercy as she has never before obtained. So to those to whom it was said, “Ye are not My people,” it shall then, in grand

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reality, be said, “Ye are the sons of the living God.”

Now that the whole truth of these chapters is disclosed for the first time since the prophet wrote them, and since no prophecy of the Scriptures is of any private interpretation, not by the will of man, but by the will of the Spirit (2 Pet. 1:20, 21), the fact is that God had us in mind (us to whom these chapters are unfolded) when he caused these things to be written. Moreover, since the first verses of the second chapter bring us down to the time of a revival and reformation taking place in our own time, sponsored by God Himself and brought to light through Jezreel, then carried to the church by the laity, is a work that fulfills itself only in this layman’s movement that is now sweeping throughout the Seventh-day Adventist world. This Truth, therefore, stands as high as a mountain that God is now at work, that things are to move according to His Divine purpose. So it is that “they shall hear Jezreel,” and that God Himself shall say to them, “Thou art My people,” and they, too, shall say, “Thou art our God.”

Inspiration thus shows that our efforts with this message are absolutely certain to effect the greatest reformation of all time; that the children’s rebuke to the mother is surely to bring peace and happiness to the household of God. We, therefore, have every reason to be as positive of winning and as anxious to work, as was ancient David when he faced the giant Goliath. Clear it is that children (laity) born to a lewd woman (church) bring peace and happiness in the family of God. You must, therefore, not fail to whole-heartedly and actually join this mighty layman’s movement for revival and reformation throughout Laodicea and to finish the gospel work with a church, “‘…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.” — “Prophets and Kings,” p. 725. You cannot afford to lose out.

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SEVEN WOMEN TAKE HOLD OF ONE MAN

February 1, 2020

TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, MARCH 1, 1947
MT. CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO, TEXAS

OPENING PRAYER THOUGHT

I shall read two paragraphs from page 188 of “The Mount of Blessing.” The first paragraph elucidates on the statement, “Seek, and ye shall find,” the second on the words, “Knock, and it shall be opened unto thee.”

“‘Seek.’ Desire not merely His blessing, but Himself. ‘Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace.’ Seek, and you shall find. God is seeking you, and the very desire you feel to come to Him, is but the drawing of His Spirit. Yield to that drawing. Christ is pleading the cause of the tempted, the erring, and the faithless. He is seeking to lift them into companionship with Himself. ‘If thou seek Him, He will be found of thee.’

“‘Knock.’ We come to God by special invitation, and He waits to welcome us to His audience-chamber. The first disciples who followed Jesus were not satisfied with a hurried conversation with Him by the way; they said, ‘Rabbi, where dwellest Thou?… They came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him that day.’ So we may be admitted into closest intimacy and communion with God. ‘He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.’ Let those who desire the blessing of God, knock and wait at the door of mercy with firm assurance, saying, For Thou, O Lord, hast said, Every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Not only that we are invited to seek the Lord but we are assured that our seeking shall not be in vain. Our very desire to come to Him, is the prompting of His Spirit. To this drawing we must yield.

Let us now pray for unwavering faith in His promise that if we seek, we shall find: if we knock, it shall be opened to us

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“SEVEN WOMEN TAKE HOLD OF ONE MAN”

Today we are to continue our study of the book of Isaiah, beginning with the first verse of the fourth chapter.

Isa. 4:1 — “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.”

The first thing we need to know is the time indicated by the term “in that day.” The antecedent of the words “that day” is found in verses 13 and 14 of the preceding chapters of which the fourth chapter is a continuation. These verses point out that “that day” is the Judgment day, the day in which the sanctuary (the church) is cleansed — the harvest day. So, pointing to the day in which we are now living, to the Judgment day, the scripture figuratively reveals that all (for that is what the Biblical number “seven” indicates) the churches have arrived at the place where by their actions they are in reality saying to the Lord: “We want nothing from you but Your name. Just let us be called Christians is all we want from You. We want Your name because it takes away our reproach; that is, if we be called Christians, then what we do can be blamed on You; You get the credit for it.”

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Accordingly, the world has reached the day when God, in order to save the Church, is finally compelled to do something as great and as revolutionary as brought about by the first Advent of Christ. And what could that be? — The remaining verses of the chapter give the answer.

Isa. 4:2 — “In that day [when seven women take hold of one man] shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.”

This verse shows that the time is now ripe for this glorious revolutionizing of the church and of the world. Let us remember that history repeats, and that a dark cloudy day is always followed by a bright one. So this great apostasy is to be followed not by chaos, but by glorious revival and reformation, by glory and prosperity for all the saints who escape the vengeance of a great God. The faithful shall reap a harvest of souls as did the Apostles on and after the Pentecost.

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days [in the Christian era] Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Jer. 23:5, 6.

This very message, therefore, is the message of “Righteousness by Faith” to them that believe. In the day the “righteous branch” is raised, Judah and Israel shall be saved, and they shall dwell safely.

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Yes, the day is here when God’s vengeance is to fall upon His adversaries, and the once trodden-down kingdoms of Judah and Israel are to rise to prominence and power. “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.” Jer. 23:7, 8.

Plainly this is the final harvest of the earth, the gathering of the people from all countries. It is the day in which to sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. This is to be the second and last Exodus Movement. So great will it be that it will entirely eclipse the Movement of Moses’ day. Do we, then, realize that we are on the verge of a new day? — a great day for the faithful and a dreadful one for the unfaithful?

Isa. 4:3 — “And 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.”

This verse clearly shows that while none of the wicked in the church will survive the purification, yet none of the righteous will perish. Indeed, all that are left, will be called holy, and will enjoy even greater security than did His ancient people at the time they left Egypt.

“Behold,…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. But who may abide the day of his

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coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Mal. 3:1-3.

Isa. 4:4-6 — “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. And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.”

“For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.” Zech. 2:5.

Anyone who knows the Bible can see that all these events are premillennial. So it is that this present apostasy is to bring forth the “Lord’s fruitful branch”; that the wicked who are among God’s people are to be taken out of the way, and the faithful, those that escape, are to be the servants of God and reap a harvest of souls, of “such as should be saved,” that the day of vengeance is already at the threshold of the house; that His faithful ones are to be raised to prominence and power; that the greatness and the glory of the movement is to cause the wonders of the Exodus Movement and of the early Christian church to fade into insignificance.

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Brother, Sister, are you prepared to abide the day of His coming? Will it be to you a great and glorious day? or will it be a dreadful day? Will you find yourself at His right, or at His left? Will it be said to you “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world?” or will it be said unto you, “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels”? Will your garments pass His inspection? or will you find yourself cast into outer darkness, there to gnash your teeth?

These are solemn questions that each of us must now answer to himself. If we do not answer them now, then we will have to answer by standing speechless before an angry God. May every one of us be able in that day to say “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” Isa. 25:9.

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