Let’s face it, recently within the last year or so we have witnessed our world become strange and almost foreign to our prior reality. Indeed, an upside down world. Values have changed, freedoms have been limited, and governments have shifted into restrictive policies. In other words, what are we to expect from all this Covid related retrictions?
Well there is two lines of thought basically — the general worldview and the Biblical view. To know the two, let examine both.
Before we begin with the worldview a pertinent Scripture is applicable.
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.”(Jer. 17:5)
So if we are without God, a typical heathen in other words, we shall have the world view. This view is largely manipulated by the worldwide mass main stream media — BBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, Reuters, AP, etc.
This view today is one of fear. The narrative is that we are under a monster of a disease, a world wide pandemic. This disease is so bad and dangerous that we must get a “vaccine” for it in order to properly be protected. Further, not only a vaccine, but a mask and sometimes two or three over each other!
But common sense is thrown out the window when we see for ourselves the outlandish sight of people out in the open fresh air by themselves wearing masks! Our Lord warned us we have eyes to see and ears to hear and we better start using them!
“If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.”(John 9:41)
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matt. 11:15)
So those who have leaned on flesh (mass media reporting) are showing their allegiance by blind obedience to their strength — man. It is not hard to tell, as when we use our eyes to see, we can see a single person alone driving their car with a mask. This utter blind obedience is shameful to those of us who have used our eyes, ears and mind to KNOW what is really going on.
The following is helpful and enlightening information we should know, as serious students instead of puppets blindly following ridiculous protocols.
The vaccines are nothing more than “Gene Therapies” and the Globalists know that. The worldwide drive to “vaccinate” the world’s population is a ploy to de-populate the world and the Globalist mass media is doing all they can to hide the serious developments arising from these Gene alterating shots.
So this is the world’s view — do as big brother says and follow along as sheep to the slaughter. Although they are the last to say it in these terms that is the bottomline for the heathen. Infact how many of us have heard friends and relatives gladly proclaim “Hey, I got my shots, I’m good to go!”? Well get ready as this experiment may very well end badly.
Now the second view takes God into the situation. After all they KNOW that despite what is going on He is still in charge. His plans WILL NOT fail. This they know and believe.
They see this great folly for what it is, mankind’s desperate attempt to finally have the New World Order. This plan has been around for a long time, at least since the 60’s. But due to the worldwide success of the Globalist’s Covid scheme, they have a bounce in their step now, full of confidence that their mass media has, as the old saying goes, “pulled one over on us.”
Yet God led people know the exact verse that shows the Globalist plans will come to a screeching halt very soon —
“And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.” (Daniel 11:45)
The current “King of the North” the ones who control God’s holy land –Israel, and also the world’s economy, media, etc. are about to be brought down. But let us not think Satan will wink at all this! No,he will then, on cue, switch horses and mount the USA 666 man and the false prophet of Rev. 13. These will be his end time vehicles to go toe to toe against the Lord’s final army (Joel Chapter 2). Our prophetess Ellen White described these final events as “The Great Controversy”.
So unlike the heathen, God’s students know that using our mind, eyes and ears, we can know what to expect and be secure about it. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. (2) And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, (3) Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. (4) And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.” Revelation 7:1-4.
“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. (2) And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: (3) And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
(4) These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. (5) And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” Revelation 14:1-5.
Those who say that this number is symbolic are going against the Word of God because Jesus instructed John on these prophecies.
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servantsthings which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: (2) Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.” Revelation 1:1, 2.
The Bible says that John heard (Rev. 7:4) the number sealed, andlooked (Rev. 14:1), in other words, he saw the 144,000 stand on mount Sion with Jesus, the Lamb. With both his eyes and ears, John witnessed this prophecy to be fulfilled. The Bible goes to great lengths to express that John heard and saw the 144,000, the firstfruits who are redeemed from among men are, in fact, literal.
“Soon we heard the voice of God like many waters, which gave us the day and hour of Jesus’ coming. The living saints, 144,000 in number, knew and understood the voice, while the wicked thought it was thunder and an earthquake. When God spoke the time, He poured upon us the Holy Ghost, and our faces began to light up and shine with the glory of God, as Moses’ did when he came down from Mount Sinai. (par. 1) The 144,000 were all sealed, and perfectly united. On their foreheads was written, ‘God, New Jerusalem,’ and a glorious star containing Jesus’ new name.
At our happy, holy state the wicked were enraged, and would rush violently up to lay hands on us to thrust us into prison, when we would stretch forth the hand in the name of the Lord, and they would fall helpless to the ground. Then it was that the synagogue of Satan knew that God had loved us who could wash one another’s feet, and salute the brethren with a holy kiss, and they worshiped at our feet. (par. 2)” Christian Experience and Teaching, p. 58.
Inspiration says, “the living saints, 144,000 in number,” and that the wicked will try to hurt them violently. That is plain and straightforward language that the 144,000 are literal, “in number,” and will be threatened by the wicked, but the power of God protects them because they have the seal of God.
“We are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Prophecy is fast fulfilling. The Lord is at the door. There is soon to open before us a period of overwhelming interest to all living. The controversies of the past are to be revived; new controversies will arise. The scenes to be enacted in our world are not yet even dreamed of. Satan is at work through human agencies. Those who are making an effort to change the Constitution and secure a law enforcing Sunday observance little realize what will be the result. A crisis is just upon us. (par. 2)
But God’s servants are not to trust to themselves in this great emergency.In the visions given to Isaiah, to Ezekiel, and to John we see how closely heaven is connected with the events taking place upon the earth and how great is the care of God for those who are loyal to Him. The world is not without a ruler. The program of coming events is in the hands of the Lord. The Majesty of heaven has the destiny of nations, as well as the concerns of His church, in His own charge. (par. 3)” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 753.
All events are in the Hands of God, and “He has charge over the concerns of His church.” Since Jesus is here on earth walking up and down in the midst of the churches, then Inspiration is revealing how Jesus will remove the tares from the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination.
“Although Christ is mediator in the heavenly Sanctuary,yet he walks up and down in the midst of the churches on earth…. (par. 5)” The Review and Herald, May 31, 1887.
This sealing or marking is what both John the Revelator, and Ezekiel saw in a vision concerning God’s church. The presence of Christ is here because Inspiration says, “And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.” Ezek. 9:3, 4.
Inspiration says the presence of Jesus is at the threshold of His house (Ezek. 9:3), the church. He commands (Ezek. 9:4, 11) the angel to place a mark or seal in the foreheads of the faithful because it is the unfaithful, the tares that are removed that do not have the seal of God.
“I then saw the third angel. Said my accompanying angel, ‘Fearful is his work. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind, the wheat for the heavenly garner. These things should engross the whole mind, the whole attention.’” Early Writings, p. 118.
“Those that overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, will be the favored ones who shall receive the seal of the living God. Those whose hands are not clean, whose hearts are not pure, will not have the seal of the living God. Those who are planning sin and acting it will be passed by. Only those who, in their attitude before God, are filling the position of those who are repenting and confessing their sins in the great anti-typical day of atonement, will be recognized and marked as worthy of God’s protection. The names of those who are steadfastly looking and waiting and watching for the appearing of their Saviour–more earnestly and wishfully than they who wait for the morning–will be numbered with those who are sealed.
Those who, while having all the light of truth flashing upon their souls, should have works corresponding to their avowed faith, but are allured by sin, setting up idols in their hearts, corrupting their souls before God, and polluting those who unite with them in sin, will have their names blotted out of the book of life, and be left in midnight darkness, having no oil in their vessels with their lamps. ‘Unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings.’ (par. 1)
This sealing of the servants of God is the same that was shown to Ezekiel in vision. John also had been a witness of this most startling revelation. He saw the sea and the waves roaring, and men’s hearts failing them for fear. He beheld the earth moved, and the mountains carried into the midst of the sea (which is literally taking place), the water thereof roaring and troubled, and the mountains shaking with the swelling thereof. He was shown plagues, pestilence, famine, and death performing their terrible mission. (par. 2)” Testimonies to Ministers, p. 445.
John the Revelator calls it a seal, while Ezekiel calls it a mark, but both the seal and mark are the same, and Ezekiel also saw the wicked slain in the church.
“Study the 9th chapter of Ezekiel. These words will be literally fulfilled; yet the time is passing, and the people are asleep. They refuse to humble their souls and to be converted. Not a great while longer will the Lord bear with the people who have such great and important truths revealed to them, but who refuse to bring these truths into their individual experience. The time is short. God is calling; will you hear? Will you receive His message? Will you be converted before it is too late? Soon, very soon, every case will be decided for eternity. Letter 106, 1909, pp. 2, 3, 5, 7. (To ‘The churches in Oakland and Berkeley,’ September 26, 1909.)” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 1, p. 260.
“The Lord reads the heart as an open book. The men who are not connected with God have done many things after the imagination of their own evil hearts. The Lord declares concerning them, ‘They have turned unto Me their back, and not the face, though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them; yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.’
We are amid the perils of the last days, the time will soon come when the prophecy of Ezekiel 9 will be fulfilled; that prophecy should be carefully studied, for it will be fulfilled to the very letter. Study also the tenth chapter which represents the hand of God as at work to bring perfect method and harmonious working into all the operations of his prepared instrumentalities.
The eleventh and twelfth chapters also should receive critical, thoughtful attention. Let these prophecies be studied on your knees before God; unless you take up the stumbling-blocks which by your own perverse spirit you have laid in the way of many who have been connected with you, God will turn His face utterly from you and your associates. (par. 1)” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 1303.
Inspiration says that Ezekiel nine is literal,and since both Ezekiel and John saw the same vision, then it is understood that the 144,000 are literal as well.
“The mark of deliverance has been set upon those ‘that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done.’ Now the angel of death goes forth, represented in Ezekiel’s vision by the men with the slaughtering weapons, to whom the command is given: ‘Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary.’
Says the prophet, ‘They began at the ancient men which were before the house.’ [Ezekiel 9:1-6.] The work of destruction begins among those who have professed to be the spiritual guardians of the people. The false watchmen are the first to fall. There are none to pity or to spare. Men, women, maidens, and little children perish together.” The Great Controversy 1888 ed., p. 656.
“The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn over the sins of others,will be left without the seal of God. The Lord commissions His messengers, the men with slaughtering weapons in their hands: ‘Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.’ (par.1)
Here we see that the church–the Lord’s sanctuary–was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God.The ancient men, those to whom God had given great light and who had stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust. They had taken the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked manifestation of God’s power as in former days. Times have changed. These words strengthen their unbelief, and they say: The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil. He is too merciful to visit His people in judgment.
Thus ‘Peace and safety’ is the cry from men who will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God’s people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These dumb dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an offended God. Men, maidens, and little children all perish together. (par.2) The abominations for which the faithful ones were sighing and crying were all that could be discerned by finite eyes, but by far the worst sins, those which provoked the jealousy of the pure and holy God, were unrevealed.
The great Searcher of hearts knoweth every sin committed in secret by the workers of iniquity. These persons come to feel secure in their deceptions and, because of His long-suffering, say that the Lordseeth not, and then act as though He had forsaken the earth. But He will detect their hypocrisy and will open before others those sins which they were so careful to hide.” (par. 3) Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 211.
“In the ninth chapter of Ezekiel is portrayed the fate of the men of responsibility who have not glorified God by faithfulness and integrity. Read this chapter. Notice especially verses four to six: [quoted]. At the appointed time, the Lord God of Israel will do His work most thoroughly.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 18, p. 183.
According to Inspiration, the 144,000 are the faithful who are delivered when the tares are removed from the church because the 144,000 do not doubt or disbelieve the testimonies of the Spirit of God. They keep pace with the light and are proven worthy to receive the seal of God and are saved into the kingdom of God.
“Strive to Be Among the 144,000.–[Revelation 7:9-17 quoted.] Those whom the Lamb shall lead by the fountains of living waters, and from whose eyes He shall wipe away all tears, will be those now receiving the knowledge and understanding revealed in the Bible, the Word of God. . . . We are to copy no human being. There is no human being wise enough to be our criterion. We are to look to the man Christ Jesus, who is complete in the perfection of righteousness and holiness. He is the author and finisher of our faith.
He is the pattern man. His experience is the measure of the experience that we are to gain. His character is our model. Let us, then, take our minds off the perplexities and the difficulties of this life, and fix them on Him, that by beholding we may be changed into His likeness. We may behold Christ to good purpose. We may safely look to Him; for He is all-wise. As we look to Him and think of Him, He will be formed within, the hope of glory. Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand (RH March 9, 1905).” E. G. White, S.D.A. Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, p. 970.
For further study of the 144,000 and Ezekiel nine, please request our free booklet number two, A Door of Hope for Laodicea.
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