Archive for February, 2026

Revival and Reformation

February 19, 2026

OPENING PRAYER THOUGHT

   I shall read the last paragraph from The Mount of Blessing, page 163, after which we shall engage in a season of prayer.

   M.B., pg. 163 — “When we pray, ‘Give us this day our daily bread,’ we ask for others as well as ourselves.  And we acknowledge that what God gives us is not for ourselves alone…. ‘He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully’…. In teaching us to ask every day for what we need, — both temporal and spiritual blessings, — God has a purpose to accomplish for our good.”

   The Institution’s experience is a good illustration of the fact that those who bless others, they themselves will also be blessed.  You know that this Institution began to be built in 1935, right in the midst of the depression, and that its work began with nothing more than a revelation from the Lord.  In all respects its beginning was the smallest of the small and the poorest of the poor.  And while countless individuals and business organizations went bankrupt, it grew and prospered.  It was thus blessed because instead of hoarding its God-given blessings, it most liberally spent itself to bless others.  Since this Institution by unselfishly blessing others from its very beginning to this day, even in a time of depression, has become what it is, then individuals may likewise reap a blessing if they, too, follow the same rule.

   Accordingly we should pray that we be granted an understanding of what it means to say, “Give us this day our daily bread;” and to know that selfishness leads to poverty and that management and liberality lead to abundance; that we as Christians positively know that to take the name of Christ is to do what Christ did — to bless humanity, to let the world know that we are here to do it good, not to be a burden upon it.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 13                          2THE REVIVAL AND REFORMATIONTEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTSSABBATH, NOVEMBER 2, 1946MT. CARMEL CHAPELWACO, TEXAS

   This afternoon we shall start our study where we left off in our previous study of Haggai’s and Zechariah’s prophecies.  Let us turn to

Hag. 2:1-3 — “In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the Word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory?  and how do ye see it now?  is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?”

   As it was in the days of building the typical temple so it must be in the days of building the antitypical, in our days.  From the type is seen that just as the Word of the Lord was then addressed to the governors, to the high priest, and to the common people, so the Word of the Lord today is to be carried to all the people, regardless of rank or station in life.

   The Word of the Lord to all the people in Haggai’s and Zechariah’s day was that the builders should consider to their heart-breaking disappointment that the glory of the temple which they were building was in their eyes as nothing in comparison with the glory of

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Solomon’s temple.

Hag. 2:4, 5 — “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.”

   The Lord assured His people that the love which He has had for them has not diminished, and that His power to deliver and to help was still the same as when He brought their forefathers out of Egypt; as He had not failed His people in those times then He was not to fail them either, and that His spirit was still to be with them.

Hag. 2:6-8 — “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, saith the Lord of hosts.”

   That the prophecy in these verses is yet to be fulfilled, is very obvious, for in the day this temple is built God is to shake the heavens, the earth, and the nations; that their expectation is then to come and that the temple is to be filled with glory; that the builders are not to worry about finances.

   It is true that men control and use the silver and the gold, but it must not be forgotten that it all belongs to God, and that if He has need of it, He is well able to take it and do what He will with it, that the builders

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need not fear a shortage of it if they use it as God would have them use it.

   Since it is plain that the ancient temple was typical of a temple to be built in the day God shakes the heavens, the earth, and the nations, the subject becomes absolutely clear that Inspiration is here speaking of an antitypical temple.

Hag. 2:9 — “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.”

   The promise is that the glory which attended Solomon’s temple, shall be far exceeded by the antitypical one, which is to be built by the church purified, the church during the harvest time, the time in which God shakes the heaven, the earth, and the nations — during the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

   Since these promises were not fulfilled in the day of Zerubbabel’s temple, the subject becomes crystal clear: that they are now to be fulfilled, and since these latter day truths are now revealed to us, we must be the builders of it, the glory of which is to exceed all the glory of the past.  Moreover, the place where this antitypical temple is to be situated is to have peace, and the way that peace is completely to be achieved is told in–

Hag. 2:21, 22 — “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall

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come down everyone by the sword of his brother.”

   Again is seen that in the day the Lord shakes the heavens and the earth, He also destroys the kingdoms of the earth by allowing them to kill one another.  No wonder then that the nations are now engaged in an armament race, and the whole world is on the verge of plunging into the bloodiest conflict ever known.  It is difficult for anyone to come to any other conclusion than that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is at hand.

   In as much as Zerubbabel is a “signet,” a symbol or a type of the builders in the day the Lord shakes the heavens and the earth, then Ezekiel’s description of the mystic temple (chapters 40-47) which is yet to be built, could be the blueprint of Zerubbabel’s antitypical temple.

   “But,” you may ask, “is this idea not contrary to our former belief?” — I admit that it is.  But are we to go on by what we have believed?  or by what the Word of the Lord says?  And for what purpose are those prophecies if we are not to give heed to them?  And why are they now unsealed and brought to our attention if this is not the time in which God is to manifest His power and accomplish all these things?  It should be remembered that we are not the first and the only people who have had to change our way of thinking; we are not the first and only people to discover that God’s plans are the opposite of our plans.  Moses, too, found that his plan for delivering the children of Israel from their Egyptian bondage was not God’s plan.  Likewise God’s plan for the route they were to take in their journey to the promised land was not their plan.  The apostles positively believed that Christ was to set up His kingdom at His first advent, but they,

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too, had to change their belief.  Moreover, since the Hebrews, whom out of slaves God had made kings, had been promised that their kingdom was to stand forever, they were indeed astounded when it went down.  And there have been other surprises all along from the dawn of history.

   The pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination expected the Lord to come as soon as 144,000 converts joined the church, and expected to live to see Him come.  The church membership though, already numbers several times 144,000, the pioneers are dead, and Lord is yet to come.  So the question is not whether we want to change our minds or not, but whether we have to.

   Years ago we were told that “The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness.  Those who are accounted good workers will need to draw nigh to God, they will need the divine touch.” — Testimonies To Ministers, pg. 300.

   As Inspiration unrolls the Scroll it is, of course, but to be expected that it will find us surprisingly ignorant of many things — the very reason that It unrolls.  If we, therefore, fail to exchange our ideas for the Lord’s then what hope is there for us ever to become enlightened and fitted for eternity?  Our ideas are to fall flat, and the Lord’s prophecies are to stand “high and lifted up.”  Our duty is to prove God’s Word correct rather than to hold tenaciously to our preconceptions and misconceptions until God Himself steps in and puts us to shame.

   As Seventh-day Adventists we once boasted that we “know our Bible” but since this group ceased boasting

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it found that it knew very little in comparison to what it knows now, and still I cannot say that I have a sufficient knowledge of the Bible to carry me clear inside the pearly gates.  In fact, I know that I have much more to learn.

Hag. 2:10-13 — “In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the Word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy?  And the priests answered and said, No.   Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean?  And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.”

   Should one who bears the holy oracles of God touch a common thing, that thing would still remain common and unfit to bring to God; but should one whose body is defiled touch a holy thing, the thing would become unclean, unfit to be used for the Lord’s sacrifice.  That is, sanctified man must not bring an unclean thing to the Lord, and unsanctified man must not bring even clean things to Him.

Hag. 2:15-17 — “And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord: Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.  I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to Me, saith the Lord.”

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   By this exemplary experience this scripture teaches that trying to make a living while neglecting to do the Lord’s work, poverty rather than prosperity would be one’s lot.  It is, therefore absolutely essential that present Truth believers first seek the upbuilding of the Kingdom of God and His righteousness if they are to prosper. (Matt. 6:28- 34).  Let us ever remember that if we are completely on the Lord’s side, behind God’s hedge, as was Job, we need not fear anything, not even the devil.

Hag. 2:18, 19 — “Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider it.  Is the seed yet in the barn?  Yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.”

   The type teaches that from the day we begin to do the Lord’s work, from that very day will the Lord bless us.

Hag. 2:14 — “…So is this people, and so is this nation before Me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.”

   This verse shows that if we fail to perform our God-given task, then there is no substitute for it.

   As soon as they were told of their fathers’ sins, and of their own, our types gladly conformed to the Lord’s wishes. (See Hag. 1:5-11).  He will in like manner bless us from this day on if we, too, admit our wrong doings, and correct them.

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Hag. 1:12-14 — “Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord.  Then spake Haggai the Lord’s messenger in the Lord’s message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord.  And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.”

   These verses tell us that just as soon as all the people gave heed to the messengers of God, just that soon the Spirit of the Lord stirred their energies, and then immediately all went to work.  We, too, will have just such an experience if we now settle it in our minds that from this hour on we will pay strict attention to the message of God and serve the Lord our God with whole heart and soul.  Let us not put off God’s blessings from us.

Hag. 2:20, 21 — “And again the Word of the Lord came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth.”

   In view of the fact that the Lord is soon to shake the heavens and the earth, is it not imperative that we right now put away hypocrisy?  Let us cease inviting “drought,” “blasting,” and “mildew” upon ourselves.  Let us instead yield our hearts to God and thereby insure unto ourselves joy, peace, happiness and eternal life.  Unless we do this, we shall certainly be shaken out instead of reformed and revived.

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Symbol of Wings and Ribs, Part 2

February 1, 2026

“Arise, Devour Much Flesh”

   “Arise, devour much flesh,” said the ribs to the bear.  (Dan. 7:5.)   The Medo-Persia opened the way for imperial wars, therefore: “Arise, devour much flesh.”  Thus empire after empire plunged into bloody wars.  The ribs in the mouth of the bear cannot mean nations, as some have taught, for nations are symbolized by horns, and not by ribs.  Neither can they denote certain provinces that Medo-Persia could not have conquered, for he has them in his mouth, and it would be inconsistent to suppose that the Persians would have oppressed certain states more than others.  Had that been the case, the bear would have stamped upon them as did the non-descript beast.  (Dan. 7:7.)  The symbol is contrary to such suppositions, and there is neither proof nor lesson that could be derived by any such theoryPlucked the Lion’s Wings

Coming back to the lion, symbol of Babylon, Daniel says: “The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.” (Dan. 7:4.)   “His wings were plucked.”  The symbol denotes the same as the plucking of the three horns from the non-descript beast.  (Dan. 7:8.)  If the plucking up of the horns denotes their kingdom was taken from them, then plucking the wings signifies that Babylon, as empire number two was to pass away, fulfilling Daniel’s interpretation of the

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handwriting on the wall: “This is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.” (Dan. 5:26.)  Therefore, Babylon fell into the hands of the Medo-Persian kings.  Thus his wings “were plucked,” and the Medo-Persian empire, number three, succeeded the lion, number two.Man’s Heart Given to It

After the wings of the lion were plucked, says Daniel: “He was made to stand upon his feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.”  Whatever is meant by the position of the beast and the exchange of heart, its application is after Babylon had fallen under Medo-Persian rule, for he stood as a man after the wings “were plucked.”  If we are to acquire the understanding of the symbol, we must first consider the function of the heart, for the symbol itself must be perfect, otherwise the truth cannot be determined.

   The function of a heart is to preserve the life energy in the body.  Let the heart stop and all is lost.  This most vital organ is a governor of the body.  As an empire is composed of numerous individuals, and their necessities, just so is the living body composed of a multitude of life cells, and all their essentials.  As the duty of a king is to preserve the life energy in his kingdom, also punish or uproot the evil and to supervise the good, just so does the heart.  By contraction and expansion it controls and imparts the flowing, living energy in the form of pure blood.  The evidence gathered thus far Proves that the heart is a fitting symbol of a king.  But we must specify the difference between the human and the beastly heart.  Daniel 4:16, speaking of the penalty that was to fall upon the king before he was driven from his throne to the field with the beasts, says: “Let his heart be changed from a man’s and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.”  After the king’s heart was changed, he lost his reason, and by nature became equal to an ox.  “The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as an oxen and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.” (Dan. 4:33.)

   The human intellect does not consist in the external image of mankind, but it rather exists in the human heart.  This thought is very emphatically entertained by the scriptures: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”  Therefore, the symbol (man’s heart) may denote intelligence.  However, the symbol cannot infer human vision, but rather a proper

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understanding of God, for the Bible says: “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.” (Psa. 53:1.) Obtaining a clear vision of the infinite power of the Eternal One is what God calls true education.  The sum of the symbol is, Babylon was forced to acknowledge the existence of the Most High by removing one king (beast’s heart) and setting up another (man’s heart).

   Having made clear what the symbol seems to indicate, we must take a brief survey of the ancient monarchy to see if this interpretation can be fully supported by the symbolical heart.  As the everlasting example set forth by the flood for future generations had failed to teach the Chaldean rulers God’s power and existence, the Creator of mankind in His mercy, patience and long suffering, not willing that any should perish, made a supreme effort to save that nation.  “The Lord is not slack concerning His Promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9.)

   When the dream of the great image was given to Nebuchadnezzar his memory of the object was blotted out, but the impression left in his mind was greatly increased.  After the urgent demand from the wise men had failed to reveal the king’s dream, Daniel, by divine revelation, unmasked the mysterious phenomena by interpreting the dream.  This wonderful miracle should have converted the king and all the wise men of Babylon to the Hebrew worship, for by the power of Daniel’s God they had escaped the death penalty; but there was no change for the better.  Though the king honored God with his lips, his heart drew away from Him.  The king destroyed not the idols in the land, but in his blindness proceeded to set up superior ones; for shortly after the interpretation of the dream he demanded of all his subjects the worship of the “golden image” which he had set up in the plain of Dura.  (Read the third chapter of Daniel.)

   The refusal of the three Hebrews to bow down to the idol, and the miracle by which they were saved from the fiery furnace, had deeply affected the minds of the rulers, but it too, failed to change the king’s heart.  Again he honored the God of gods with his lips but not by his deeds.  The king’s ungodly deeds made it necessary for a supernatural penalty.  Hence a tremendous effort to bring him to a realization of his dependence upon the Creator was necessary.  The dream given him (in Daniel four), of the great tree — a symbol of himself — and its interpretation by Daniel, had convinced the hard-hearted monarch of its truth, and the judgment that was to fall upon him, except he repent.  Daniel said: “Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness,

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and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it be a lengthening of thy tranquility…. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon…. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar; and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.” (Dan. 4:27, 29, 33.)

   At the end of the painful experience, the king said: “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase.” (Dan. 4:37.)  Though he acknowledged the power of the Eternal One, worshiped Him, and uttered words of praise with a most sublime expression, the king failed to surrender his heathen heart and renounce the pagan system of worship.  He failed to embrace the great importance of imparting the knowledge of Jehovah to his posterity for the tranquility and endurance of his kingdom.

   These wonderful experiences were for an object lesson to future kings.  Shortly after the fulfillment of the dream, the kings’ grandson had ascended the throne.  In his heathen custom he ventured to defy the God of gods, and the King of kings, who is able to make oxen out of kings and kings out of oxen, and rulers out of slaves.  “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor the south.  But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another.” (Psa. 75:6, 7.)

   The sacred vessels had never before been defiled by any king as in Belshazzar’s drunken feast.  God will forbear until man steps over the boundary line.  This Belshazzar did by bringing the sacred vessels before his lords, concubines, and heathen gods.  At the appearance of the hand writing on the wall his guilty conscience troubled him; his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against the other.  Belshazzar, like his father, ignored Daniel and summoned the wise men of Babylon to interpret the writing; though he should have known their inability to reveal the secret.  At last Daniel was called and at his appearance he said: “This is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.  Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.  Peres; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” (Dan. 5:26-28.)  The priceless experiences of his father that were at his access could have been everlasting blessings, but by ignoring the power of God the king reversed the benefits from a blessing to a curse, and brought a final end to his kingdom.  Every resource to make the lion (Babylon) stand up like a man under the rule of the Chaldean kings had been exhausted, and every effort failed.

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Therefore, the time had come for the Lord to apply the last remedy to the lion kingdom.

   Cyrus, of whom God had spoken by His prophet many years in advance, was granted to enter the capital city of the Chaldean king.  (See Isa. 45:1.)   Babylon as empire number two passed away, and the symbol of the “plucked” wings met its fulfillment.  “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldean’s slain.”  The lion’s heart is a symbol of the heathen king — Belshazzar who was slain — and thus the beastly heart was removed.  Man proposes, but oftentimes another power over which he has no control, disposes.

   Daniel was made first president over the 120 princes because an “excellent spirit was found in him.”  Both Cyrus and Darius were converted to the worship of the true God.  Therefore, the everlasting Arm which intervenes in the affairs of mankind, set up a king of His own choice.

   In this manner the symbols met their fulfillment and the lion “was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.”

   The heart is a fitting emblem of a ruler of a nation.  The contrast between a godly and an ungodly king is as vastly different as between the human and the beastly heart.  The heart is the life-giving energy to the human body, just as a king is the head of a nation.

   After freedom had been granted to the Jews, Cyrus, in his proclamation said: “Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.  Who is there among you of all His people?  His God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (He is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.” (Ezra 1:2, 3.)  This godly influence of the kings of Medo-Persia did not wear out until years later.  The decree made by Cyrus was written in a roll and placed at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes.  Years later the roll being found by Darius, the edict was immediately carried out.  Cyrus had decreed that all should make a free will offering, and the king himself contributed without limit.  He said: “Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses to be given to these men, that they be not hindered.” (Ezra 6:8.)  He further decreed that all the needs to maintain the sacrificial services “be given them day by day without fail.” Then he added “That they may offer sacrifices

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of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.” (Ezra 6:10.)  Nebuchadnezzar professed conversion after his wonderful experience with the God of heaven, and declared: “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest thou?  At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me, and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.  Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His way judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase.” (Dan. 4:35-37.)

   Though the sublime words spoken by the Chaldean king seems to reveal a change of heart, his works showed failure in what his lips proclaimed.  What a contrast between the Babylonian monarch, and the Medo-Persian kings! Nebuchadnezzar declined to set God’s people free, he refused to restore the sacred vessel to the King of heaven; he made no decree for the rebuilding of the house of God; he gave no gift of any kind to the King of kings; he imparted not the knowledge of Jehovah to his people; he left his children and his household to worship the heathen gods of wood and stone; he made no effort to give God the glory, save with his lips.

   Though we have these living examples before us, yet how often we admit by our lips that which is right and true, and make no move to reach for the stretched out Arm of divine love.  Multitudes are aping the standard set by the ancient monarch.  “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” (Matt. 15:8.)

   Though Nebuchadnezzar failed in these sacred things, God, in His great mercy saved the King.  God bore long with the Babylonian king, but “the once proud monarch had become a humble child of God; the tyrannical, overbearing ruler, a wise and compassionate king.  He who had defied and blasphemed the God of heaven, now acknowledged the power of the Most High, and earnestly sought to promote the fear of Jehovah and the happiness of his subjects.  Under the rebuke of Him who is King of kings and Lord of lords, Nebuchadnezzar had learned at last the lesson which all rulers need to learn.” — “Prophets and Kings,” p. 521.

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