Archive for the ‘Elijah Interpretations’ Category

« Older Entries

Isms and the Remedy

October 20, 2024


A PRAYER THOUGHT

   I shall read from The Mount of Blessing, page 166, beginning with the first paragraph.  This reading is based on the scripture, “Forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.”

   M.B. p. 166 — “Jesus teaches that we can receive forgiveness from God only as we forgive others.  It is the love of God that draws us unto Him, and that love cannot touch our hearts without creating love for our brethren.

   “After completing the Lord’s prayer, Jesus added: ‘If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  He who is unforgiving, cuts off the very channel through which alone he can receive mercy from God.  We should not think that unless those who have injured us confess the wrong, we are justified in withholding from them our forgiveness.  It is their part, no doubt, to humble their hearts by repentance and confession; but we are to have a spirit of compassion toward those who have trespassed against us, whether or not they confess their faults.  However sorely they may have wounded us, we are not to cherish our grievances, and sympathize with ourselves over our injuries; but as we hope to be pardoned for our offenses against God, we are to pardon all who have done evil to us.”

   Now, what should be the burden of our prayer this afternoon? — That we might have love for our brethren; that we forgive the faults of others whether or not they forgive our faults, that we confess our sins, regardless what others might do.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14                         11

ISMS, AND THE REMEDYTEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTSSABBATH, NOVEMBER 9, 1946MT. CARMEL CHAPELWACO, TEXAS

   Let me introduce my subject by telling you a simple story.

   Once upon a time six brothers were building a bridge, supposedly to the god of Justice.  The purpose of the bridge was to unite the east with the west.

   They had no difficulty laying the foundations and setting the pillars.  But, lo, when they came to join the east wing with the west one, they found themselves confronted with a phenomenal obstacle: What they had built up during the day was torn down during the night.  This miracle continued day after day.  Finally the brothers sat down in a council meeting to discuss how they might solve their harrassing problem.  Feeling that to quit would be the greatest folly they could ever commit, that it would bring their names into disrepute, they studied and they prayed.

   At long last they concluded that the god of Justice was for some reason displeased with them and that a human sacrifice would appease him.  So it was that they resolved to sacrifice the best one of their wives.  This however, was not to be divulged to the women.  In order to make an impartial and acceptable selection, they further resolved that on the morrow each would instruct his wife to prepare the best possible

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14                         12

breakfast and dinner, and to take the meals to him at the bridge as early as possible.  They were to explain to their wives that they must needs eat and pray at the bridgeside to the glory of the god of Justice, and for the success of their project.  The woman to arrive with the meals first was to be the victim.

   Five of the men, though, did not stick to their solemn oath.  Each of them straightway told their wives what was to be done, and that therefore they should not hurry to the bridge with the meals.

   In the morning, at the appointed time, the men were at the bridge site.  Shortly afterwards they saw in the distance someone coming to the bridge.  For a few moments no one knew for sure who it was, but soon the man who had kept his part of the agreement recognized it to be his wife.  He, of course, immediately burst into tears, and with groans he fell to the ground.  Seeing her husband’s strange behaviour, the wife dropped her basket of food and ran to the scene to learn what was the trouble.  But while she was attempting to comfort her husband, the other five brothers seized her, carried her to a gap in the bridge, and there they cemented her alive.  Now, the brothers confidently expected the bridge to stay up, for they felt that they had done all they could to appease the god of Justice.

   Thus it was that while the five dishonest men that night returned home in happiness, the honest one returned to his home in grief.

   On the following morning, all the men hurried to the bridge, expecting to find it standing intact.  But to their surprise and consternation they found the whole bridge lying flat on the ground!

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14                         13

   Naturally, the incident was rumored throughout the city, and the judges of that city went to see what the great excitement was about.  As they listened to the builders argue and philosophize from cause to effect, they learned that the unfortunate woman was not sacrificed by fair chance, but by fraud!  Thus they judged that the whole disaster was due to the fact that unjust men were trying to build a bridge in the honor of a just god!  The matter was brought to court and the judges finally decreed that Justice must be satisfied, else not only the bridge, but even their city might fall to the ground.  Accordingly, on that very day the five unjust men were executed, and the honest one was made mayor of the city.

   Christians have been building a bridge, so to speak, to the God of Justice for many years.  But they do not seem to be any more successful than were the six bridge-builders.  And for what reason? — For the very same reason the six builders were unsuccessful: Selfish men are engaged in the work, and though they see the need for a sacrifice, yet they somehow always manage to make others do the sacrificing.

   And you remember that though the building of the tower of Babel was counter to God’s will and His order, still all the while the builders worked harmoniously among themselves, their project prospered — their tower skyrocketed.   But when their language was confused and they could no longer understand one another, then the progress of the tower stopped.  And to show them that He was displeased with their project and that He was the One Who had confounded their language, God blasted the tower so that it crumbled to the ground.  That which happened to the bridge happened also to the tower.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14                         14

   Christians are working at cross-purposes among themselves.  One Christian brother is betraying another.  Christian ministers, rather than preaching the Truth, are preaching against one another.  One goes ahead to build up, and another trails behind to tear down.  They do not see eye to eye; nor do they understand one another even as much as did the confused tower-builders.

   Just so long as such selfishness and dishonesty, confusion and animosity, exist among Christians, their bridge and their tower, so to speak, will come to naught as certainly as did the bridge of the six covenant-breakers and as did the tower of the prophet Noah’s mockers.  There is no way of stopping ism trouble without removing the cause — no, no more than a splinter wound can heal before the splinter has been removed.

   You are familiar with the fact that there was no ism trouble in Moses’ day as long as Moses alone interpreted the Word of God to the people.  But just as soon as Korah, Dathan, Abiram and others aspired to Moses’ office ism trouble started.  And the only remedy that even God Himself could find was to cause the earth to open her mouth and to swallow the ism-breathing multitude, the self-appointed representatives of God.

   In our day there is an even greater flood of private interpreters of the Scriptures (the cause of today’s isms) than there was in Moses’ day.  And according to Revelation 12:15, 16, the Lord warns that He will again use a remedy similar to the ancient remedy against today’s ism-breeding flood.  Then some may learn to respect the office of the Spirit of Prophecy.  Let us now read of the fate of

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14                         15

those who chose to continue walking in sparks of their own kindling.

Rev.  12:16 — “…and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up  the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.”

   Here we see that a similar remedy which caused isms to cease in Moses’ day, is again to be used to cause isms to cease in our day, the only means by which harmony can be restored among fellow-members in the church itself, as well as among Christians in general.

2 Tim. 3:16, 17 — “All scripture is given by Inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

2 Pet. 1:20, 21 — “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

   Affirmatively stated, all Scripture, not merely a part of It, is inspired.  Negatively stated, none of It is privately interpreted, for the reason that It did not come of men but of God; that is, as the Spirit of God dictated to men the Scriptures, so the Spirit of God must interpret the Scriptures to men, that no man privately (without Inspiration) is capable of disclosing the sealed prophecies or interpreting any part of them or even capable of understanding their importance after they are interpreted except it be by the gift of the Spirit of Truth “None of the wicked,” therefore,

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14                         16

“shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Dan. 12:10.

   We should now be convinced that as long as this Divine command and principle of interpreting God’s Word is overlooked and abused, and as long as selfishness and bigotry exist among Christians in general and among Bible students in particular, isms will continue to increase, and the strength of the people will continue to be wasted just as was the strength of both the builders of the bridge and the builders of the tower.  Yes, just as certainly as night follows day, just that certain will their efforts come to naught, and their shame be uncovered.

   That we cannot be led into all Truth without the gift of the Spirit of Prophecy, Inspiration symbolically forewarns through the prophet Zechariah.  Let us turn to Zechariah 4, and begin with the first verse.

Zech. 4:1-4 — “And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, and said unto me, What seest thou?  And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and has seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.  So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my Lord?”

   The illustration here exhibited, you note, is an exact reproduction of Zechariah’s symbolism.  In order that our study be simplified and vivid, we shall study the chapter along with the illustration.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14                         17
 

PICTURE
 

   Now let us hear the angel’s explanation of this symbolism.

Zech. 4:5, 6 — “Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be?  And I said, No, my Lord.  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the Word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”

   The angel disclosed two things: First he made known that the symbolism is concerning the Word of the Lord (the Bible) to the servants of God; second, that His Word is revealed, not by man’s might nor by power, but by the Spirit of God.

   Plainly this symbolism as a whole represents the system by which the Lord transmits His revealed Word to His people.  That we might have a thorough understanding of this Divinely designed system, we need to know what each component part of the illustration stands for.  The Spirit of Prophecy gives the clue.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14                         18

In The Great Controversy, page 267 is explained that the “olive trees” represent the “Old and New Testaments;” Testimonies to Ministers, page 188, says that the golden oil represents the Holy Spirit; and on page 337 of the same book, along with Revelation 1:20, says that the seven lamps represent the church, and that the seven tubes (the ministry) convey the oil to the churches.

   Now study the illustration itself as you would study any cartoon.  First of all, the trees represent the Word of God (the Bible — both Old and New Testaments — two trees).

   Here is seen that the whole symbolical set up is for the purpose of depicting the accomplishment of but one thing — of keeping the seven lamps (the entire church membership) supplied with spiritual oil (Bible Truth) so that it might give spiritual light all round about, that the church might lighten the world with the revealed Word of God.  And since the ministry’s duty is to feed the church with spiritual food, the fact is that the seven tubes represent the ministry at work, taking the oil (revealed Truth) from the bowl to the seven lamps, the churches.  Now the truth that in the illustration the tubes (the ministers) do not take the oil directly from the olive trees (the Bible), it positively indicates that the bowl in which the oil is deposited represents the container or the store in which the compilations of Inspired Bible interpretations are stored, and that from it, not from the olive trees, the ministers help themselves with oil and carry it to the seven lamps (to the church).

   The two golden pipes, therefore, can be only a representation of the inspired channels which are capable to extract the oil (light of Truth) from the

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14                         19

trees (from both Testaments) and store it in the bowl (books) for the tubes (ministers) to convey it to the candlestick (to the churches).

   The symbolism, therefore, points out the system which Heaven has ordained for dispensing the Word of the Lord to His church: that the Spirit of Prophecy at work is the only remedy against isms in the church and in the world.

   Those who do not avail themselves of the golden oil, and those who continue ever to hunt for some kind of oil, or whoever try to extract their own, will, of course, drop into the pit when the earth opens her mouth to swallow up the flood.  Then it is that ism-breathers and ism-seekers shall forever pass away.

Zech. 4:8, 9 — “Moreover the Word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you.”

   These scriptures positively imply that there are doubts in the minds of some as to whether antitypical Zerubbabel, or some other shall finish the work which Zerubbabel has started.  Whom does Zerubbabel represent? —

   The Word of God explains that ancient Zerubbabel is a signet, type, at the time God overthrows the thrones of the kingdoms, at the time their armies are destroyed by one “brother” Christians’s sword cutting down another brother Christian.  (Haggai 2:22, 23).  Zerubbabel, therefore, represents God’s servant at a time the crowned kings, “throne of kingdoms,” are overthrown, and in which time one Christian nation

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14                         20

is at war with another Christian nation.  Since the crowned kingdoms are fast passing away, and other forms of governments are taking their places, all proves that antitypical Zerubbabel’s appearance is now due.  And the Lord’s own answer is “the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it.”

Zech. 4:10 — “For who hath despised the day of small things?  for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.”

   The day this scripture is fulfilled, is the day in which the Lord of hosts starts a reformatory work in an apparently very small and insignificant way, and those who despise small and insignificant beginnings will at last rejoice and shall see that antitypical Zerubbabel is the one to direct the work along with all (seven) his helpers.  They are the eyes of the Lord.  What a momentous day!  What a great people!  Evidently they constitute the “stone” of Zechariah Three which we studied several weeks ago, and learned that it has seven eyes, complete spiritual vision.  Obviously this is the stone that smites the great image of Dan. 2:45.

Zech. 4:11, 12 — “Then answered I, and said unto Him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?  And I answered again, and said unto Him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?”

   All these taking place at this particular time, and the prophecies now unfolded, prove that antitypical Zerubbabel must now be here, and that as he has

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14                         21

started the work, he also must finish it.  The fact that Inspiration takes the pains to tell who is to finish the work in itself is proof that there must be active usurpers of his office as there were of Moses’ office.

Zech. 4:13, 14 — “And He answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be?  And I said, No, my Lord.  Then said He, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

   From the angel’s information it is now clearly seen that the symbolism depicts the system of interpreting the written Word of God, and of transmitting It to the church.  The time of which is in the New Testament era, when both trees are in existence.

   Let us now summarize the lesson by the aid of the illustration.  Here we see a candlestick (a church) all of gold, the finest of all candlesticks (no “tares” in it).  It constitutes the remnant (those that are left after the sinners are done away with) which indeed keep the commandments of God, and have the Testimony of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev. 12:17; 19:10).  This fine candlestick is fully trimmed and burning.  The two golden pipes (God’s inspired interpreters) store the golden oil in the golden bowl (Spirit of Prophecy publications).  And the seven tubes (the entire ministry) convey from the golden bowl the golden oil to the seven golden lamps (to the entire laity).

   Under this perfect system of preparing, and dispensing the Word of God, “meat in due season,” to His people, there need be no fear that the reservoir will run dry, or that the lamps will grow dim.  This is the only system, moreover, that can make the church perfect, without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing — a people without guile in their mouths, all seeing eye to eye,

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14                         22

all saying the same thing.  Truly “a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like.” Joel 2:2.   This beyond doubt is the mighty power that lightens the earth, it is the Loud Cry.  Indeed this symbolism reveals the church at the time she is endowed with the Spirit of Prophecy and with the righteousness of Christ.

   Obviously, the system of Bible interpretation, described by Zechariah, is the Lord’s only system.  It is the only remedy for isms and discord among Christians.  Thus it is that His “watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.” Isa. 52:8.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14                         23

 

Posted in Church, Elijah Interpretations | Leave a Comment »

Seven Women take hold of One Man

September 7, 2024

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

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 30                         16

“SEVEN WOMEN TAKE HOLD OF ONE MAN”TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTSSABBATH, MARCH 1, 1947MT. CARMEL CHAPELWACO, TEXAS

   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.”

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 30                         17

   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.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 30                         18

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

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 30                         19

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.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 30                         20

   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.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 30                         21

Posted in Elijah Interpretations, Proper teachings | Leave a Comment »

Two Judgments — For the Dead and for the Living, Part 3 of 3

July 14, 2024


“…Those who train the mind to seize upon everything which they can use as a peg to hang a doubt upon,” says the Spirit of Prophecy, “and suggest these thoughts to other minds, will always find occasion to doubt. They will question and criticize everything that arises in the unfolding of truth, criticize the work and position of others, criticize every branch of the work in which they have not themselves a part. They will feed upon the errors and mistakes and faults of others, ‘until,’ said the angel, ‘the Lord Jesus shall rise up from his mediatorial work in the heavenly sanctuary, and shall clothe himself with the garments of vengeance, and surprise them at their unholy feast; and they will find themselves unprepared for the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ Their tastes has been so perverted that they would be inclined to criticize even the table of the Lord in his kingdom.” – “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 5, p. 690.

“…The separation,” continues the Spirit of Truth, “causes pain and bitterness to both parties. It is the variance which Christ declares that he came to bring. But the converted will feel a continual longing desire that their friends shall forsake all for Christ, knowing that unless they do, there will be a final and eternal separation. The true Christian cannot while with unbelieving friends, be light, and trifling. The value of the souls for whom Christ died, is too great.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 5, p. 83.

 

Believe me, my friend, that if the message of the Judgment for the Living had not been Divinely revealed to us, if it was less serious than it is, if it had not been as clear as crystal, and if we were not commanded to bring it to you, we would not be hunting God’s misled people in the rocks and in the mountains (Jer. 16:16) as it were—we would not have been put under such a heavy burden and expense by going from door to door throughout the Adventist world in order to rescue them from the Laodicean self-deception; neither could we with our human power so nicely take the insults that are thrown at us almost hourly by men and women who profess to be serving God 

“…In this time,” says the Spirit of God, “the gold will be separated from the dross in the church. True godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliancy, will then go out in darkness. Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where we see only floors of rich wheat. All who assume the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteousness, will appear in the shame of their own nakedness…. Those who have been timid and self-distrustful will declare themselves openly for Christ and his truth. The most weak and hesitating in the church, will be as David—willing to do and dare…. Then will the church of Christ appear ‘fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.’”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 5, pp. 81, 82.

 

These Davids whom God is now disclosing to view will soon be calling on you to lay down God’s plans for you. Please receive these servants of God in this layman’s movement with the same courtesy with which you would expect them to receive you.

We come to you with the pure Word of God and all we request of you is to give us an unbiased and unprejudiced hearing when we call on You in your home. Since you see that this letter contains the plain untarnished Truth, then if you hear any one talking against it you can help him by asking him to give you something better on these scriptures if he has it, and if not, to let you alone.

If you are to help the enemies of Truth, tell them their drilling the laity that they have all the Truth, that they need no more, that they have the last message, that the Spirit of Prophecy says so although It says on the contrary, is plain falsehood. Tell them, not the Judgment for the Dead, but the Judgment for the Living is the last message, and they do not have it, and instead of looking for it, they are fighting against it. Tell them that the bible either proves these things so, or It does not; if It does not, then make them tell you where It does not.

The mark of God (Ezekiel 9:4) and the mark of the beast (Rev. 13:16) are here seen to be two opposites as are the two women of Revelation twelve and seventeen—the true and the counterfeit.

The beast we are told is a man (Rev. 13:18). The demand to worship, obey the beast’s command, therefore, is a demand to worship (obey) man in place of God. Both marks are for no other purpose but for to define who is who—who is for God and who is for the beast. Those who obey God’s Judgment message rather than the beast’s decree, receive God’s mark. And those who obey the beast’s decree rather than God’s message receive the beast’s mark.

These two different marks, you see, separate the worshipers of God from the worshipers of men. And since Jesus declares that the separation takes place during harvest, and as you now see that the ‘harvest” and the “Judgment” for the living are synonymous terms, then the conclusion is that as the mark of God is urged upon the believers of His Judgment message in the church, and as the mark of the beast is urged upon the worshipers of the beast during the Judgment in the world, the subject becomes clear: The enemies of the Judgment message in the church, and the enemies of the Judgment message in the world are both imbued with the spirit of the beast—both doing the same kind of work against God’s people, first in the church then in the world. The only difference between the two is that in the world the mark of the beast is enforced by civil law, whereas the church it is not, though the enemies against the Judgment message already have done everything in their power to secure the arm of the law against us. It is now left up to every individual member of the church to either take heed to God’s Judgment message and receive His mark of deliverance, or to give heed to men’s vain talk and die under the slaughter weapons of the angels. (JezreelLetter, no. 2, p.9-11)

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

Two Judgments — For the Dead and for the Living, Part 2 of 3

June 30, 2024

As shown before, in the Judgment for the Dead the sinners are separated from the righteous in books only, but in the Judgment for the Living the sinners and the righteous are bodily separated one from the other as Inspiration through the prophet Ezekiel explains:

“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 [the church], 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 [in the church]. And to the others he said in mine hearing, 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 where before the house.” Eze. 9:3-6.

And through the prophet Malachi we are told that the Lord will beforehand send a messenger, and that after he prepares the way, the Lord will suddenly come to His temple (the church) for no reason other than to purify it, especially to purify the sons of Levi, the ministry. See Malachi 3:1-3. Then, says the Spirit of Prophecy, “Only those who have withstood temptation in the strength of the Mighty One will be permitted to act a part in proclaiming it [Third Angel’s Message] when it shall have swelled into the Loud Cry.”—“The Review and Herald,” Nov. 19, 1908. And to this “startling revelation” (“Testimonies to Ministers,” p. 445) the prophet Isaiah adds:

“For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come, and see My glory. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the Isles afar off, that have not heard My fame, neither have seen My glory; and they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.” Isa. 66:15-20.

Since the slaughter predicted by the prophet Isaiah takes place among those who profess to be sanctified and purified (falsely believe to have need of nothing more), and since those who escape from among them are sent to the Gentiles to preach the gospel, five distinct and supremely important points stand out plainly: (1) since the victims of the slaughter are those who against their God-given knowledge indulge in swine’s flesh and other abominations, and since those who escape are versed in the gospel work enough to be sent to preach it to the Gentiles, the slaughter, therefore, is seen to take place in the church; (2) those who escape, according to Ezekiel, are those who sigh and cry against the abominations, and thus receive the mark of deliverance, (3) since they are sent to preach the gospel to the Gentiles after they escape the slaughter, they are “the remnant,” those that are left, the future servants of God; (4) since they are to gather from the Gentiles all their brethren, all that can possibly be saved, they are the ones who finish the gospel work in all the world, (5) since there are two separations—one from the church (Israelites), and one from the Gentiles,—those who escape and those who are gathered in—then the former are the first fruits and the later the second fruits—those of Revelation 7:4, 7-9, one from the tribes of Israel, and one from the Gentile nations.

All these scriptures and many more, my friend, as you plainly see, refer to the purification of the church, to the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5), to the Judgment for the Living and the gathering of the saints—the “harvest” of which every prophet has written, some more and some less. Since this is so you certainly see that our elders are now doing what the priests in Christ’s day were doing, and also what the religious leaders down through the Reformation were doing, and are no less determined to keep this message away from the laity, and to thereby deceive even the very elect, the 144,000, the very first fruits of the harvest, those who are to survive the Judgment “in the house of God” (1 Pet. 4:17), the future servants of God 

If this is not the enemy’s aim behind these hostile Elders’ doings, and if this Truth can be refuted, they would not act like mad men, would not shun discussion with us, would not push us out of the churches in the hope that we cannot come in contact with the laity, would not advise you not to read but burn our literature, would not threaten to excommunicate you for studying this message, but would sit down and refute It if It is incorrect as they sit down with all others that disagree with them.

Can’t you see that the spirit which is now manifesting itself through these Truth-hating brethren is the very spirit which manifested itself through the Jews, and through the enemies of Truth during the Protestant reformation, and also in the beginning of the 1844 movement? Do you not see that because they cannot attack this message on It’s own merits, they get personal, attack the men in charge and resort to character defamation, to gossip and falsehood, to anything in the hope of turning you against the Message and the messenger. The Spirit of Prophecy predicted the crime in these words:

“I saw that the very spirit of perjury, that would turn truth into falsehood, good into evil, and innocence into crime, is now active. Satan exults over the condition of God’s professed people….” – “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 5, pp. 94, 95.

For the Elders to tell the laity what to read and what not to read, who to talk to and who not to talk to, who to let in their homes and who not to, is to make dolts, automatons, and spiritual invalids of them. The Elders should be told that they are taking even heavier burdens upon themselves than did the Jews or the ministers in our former churches while many of us where studying the Advent message. They can be helped if the laity tell them that this is a matter to be decided between the laity and their God; that if any one is to get into the Kingdom he must get there on his own God-given ability. Show them what the Spirit of God says in the following:

“Precious light is to shine forth from the word of God, and let no one presume to dictate what shall or what shall not be brought before the people in the messages of enlightenment that He shall send, and so quench the Spirit of God. Whatever may be his position of authority, no one has a right to shut away the light from the people. When a message comes in the name of the Lord to His people, no one may excuse himself from an investigation of its claims. No one can afford to stand back in an attitude of indifference and self-confidence, and say: ‘I know what is truth. I am satisfied with my position. I have set my stakes, and I will not be moved away from my position, whatever may come. I will not listen to the message of this messenger; for I know that it cannot be truth.’ It was from pursuing this very course that the popular churches were left in partial darkness, and that is why the messages of heaven have not reached them.”—“Counsels on Sabbath School Work,” p. 28.

This is what the phrase “religious liberty” means, my friend. Is this not the proper, honest, and honorable way to deal with the situation? Are you to follow men’s sayings, or are you to follow Christ and His Truth? Tell those hostile Elders that their fight is not against “The Shepherd’s Rod” but against God and against their own souls.(Jezreel Letter, no. 2, p.4-9) 

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

Two Judgments — For the Dead and for the Living, Part 1 of 3

June 9, 2024

The only way for you to escape being taken by wolves in sheeps’ clothing is if you ever remember the fact that the Judgment message, the last before Christ comes the second time, is what made us a people; that is, because the message had come, and because it has to be proclaimed, we S.D.A.’s came on the scene, and we certainly want to stay there until the work is finished. We must not become a back number as did the Protestant churches since they rejected the messages one after another. God forbid that we should be “spued out” and lose so late in the day. And what is the truth of the Judgment?

The JudgmL 1.1ent as you know is in two separate and distinct sections, one following the other—the Judgment for the dead first, and the Judgment for the living last. This we know is so and we must not let subversive influences, even if they be in Seventh-day Adventist’s garb, cause us to lose sight of this truth. Our part of the Judgment message since 1844 has been, as you know, to proclaim the Judgment for the dead, not for the living as yet. What is the Judgment for the dead?

We have been taught by Inspiration that it is to separate the good from the bad, not bodily, but in books, because before the resurrection, the dead have no being, or “portion” “in anything that is done under the sun.”—Eccl. 9:5, 6. This judgment work is to enable the angels to know who is to come up in the first resurrection, in the resurrection of the holy ones (Rev. 20:4, 5, 11-14), and who is to come up in the second resurrection, in the resurrection of the unholy ones. To this end declares Daniel “the Judgment was set, and the books were opened.” (Dan. 7:10.)

 

Thus it is that Inspiration calls the judgment work, “the cleansing or the sanctuary” (Dan. 8:14); that is, each professor of religion that ever died since the beginning of sin, is now judged and the case of each decided either to bring him up in the first resurrection or in the second; either to blot out from the records the name of each impenitent sinner, or to blot out for ever from the Book the sins of each penitent sinner. This has been Heaven’s work since the year 1844, and every informed Seventh-day Adventist knows it.

Now, since the message of the Judgment for the Living is of far greater importance than the message of the Judgment for the Dead, it is but expected that the Bible will have more to say about the latter than the former. This is so because the Judgment for the Living has to do with the living themselves, with the message bearers, rather than with the dead. In importance, therefore, there is no comparison between the two. How will we get the message of the Judgment for the Living?

The answer is clear to all: We will get it in the same way we got the one in 1844. Since it then came through Inspiration and through God’s own chosen instrumentality, it is certain that the additional message (“Early Writings,” p. 277), too, is to come in the same way; that is, by inspiration through God’s own chosen agency. Indeed Truth is never revealed in any other way but by Inspiration. See 2 Peter 1:20.

As we had to hear the old message preached before we accepted it, we will have to hear the new message preached, and how shall we “hear without a preacher” (Rom. 10:14)? And as the old message was unpopular in its beginning, scoffed at, laughed at, ridiculed and scorned by men of station and influence, it is certainly expected that the new message and messengers, too, will be received and treated no better but even worse. Then it was strictly an individual matter, no priest or prelate could meddle with the conscience of the other and so it must be now. Every soul is to make his own decision in his secret chamber with the aid of the Spirit of Truth.

 

Is it possible for one to lose out when the message of the Judgment for the Living begins to sound, though he did not lose out when the message of the Judgment for the Dead sounded?—The Spirit of Prophecy answers thus: “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.”—”Life Sketches,” p. 196. Yes, this is to be our only fear. Let us, therefore remember, and make positively sure that God is now to lead us in the same way as He did in 1844 and throughout the ages.

Make doubly sure that you follow no other kind of leadership, that you let no man divert your attention from this straight path—that you let no one lead you to believe that God is now leading through every Tom, Dick, and Harry. This we must not forget if we are to emulate and succeed the saints that have gone before us, and if we expect to be saved. If we forget this, then as sure as we stand, men will lead us away from God’s message and turn us against His messengers even as the Jewish priests made their followers turn against Christ. God forbid that we should sin against the Holy Ghost by rejecting His message when It comes to us. Only by strictly following this Divine command can we be led right and survive the Judgment for the Living when it starts to “sever the wicked from among the just.” Matt. 13:49.

What is the Judgment for the Living? and what happens with the righteous, and what happens with the wicked, after they are judged?—In His parables Christ illustrates that the righteous, as good fish, are put into vessels; as wheat, they are put into the barn; and as sheep, they go into life eternal—they are placed in absolute security sealed for eternity. But the wicked, as bad fish, are cast out, as tares, they are burned up; and as goats, they are sent into everlasting punishment. “So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matt. 13:49, 50.

 

Here we see that the judgment work for the living is illustrated in several ways, and is variously called: “Judgment” (Dan. 7:10; Rev. 14:7; 1 Pet. 4:17); “Cleansing of the Sanctuary” (Dan. 8:14); “Purify His Temple” (Mal. 3:1-3); “Harvest” (Matt. 13:30); “Mighty sifting,” “purification of the church,” (5 T., p. 80).

Concerning this judgment work, the Spirit of Prophecy has this to say:–

“…But the days of purification of the church are hastening on apace. God will have a people pure and true. In the mighty sifting soon to take place, we shall be better able to measure the strength of Israel. The signs reveal that the time is near when the Lord will manifest that his fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor…. They have not had the light which has been shining in a concentrated blaze upon you. But, it may be under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine Christian character will be revealed.” – “Testimonies,” Vol. 5, pp. 80, 81.

The fact that the message of the Judgment for the Living is by far more widely treated by all the Bible prophets than is the Judgment for the Dead, is in itself proof positive that it is supremely important. I can, however, treat of it only very briefly in this letter—only give the gist of it… (Jezreel Letter no. 2, p. 1-4)

(to be continued in part 2)




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

A World Wide Stir and Its Results

May 19, 2024

I shall read from The Mount of Blessing beginning on page 183, the last paragraph. 

M.B. pg. 183 — If Christ is in you the hope of glory you will have no disposition to watch others to expose their errors. Instead of seeking to accuse and condemn it will be your object to help to bless and to save. In dealing with those who are in error you will heed the injunction Consider thyself lest thou also be tempted. You will call to mind the many times you have erred and how hard it was to find the right way when you had once left it. You will not push your brother into greater darkness but with a heart full of pity will tell him of his danger.

He who looks often upon the cross of Calvary remembering that his sins placed the Saviour there will never try to estimate the degree of his guilt in comparison with that of others. He will not climb upon the judgment seat to bring accusation against another. There can be no spirit of criticism or self-exaltation on the part of those who walk in the shadow of Calvarys cross. 

From this we see that our need is to pray for Christ to abide in us so that instead of watching for opportunities to accuse or to condemn others and to expose their errors we shall seek every occasion to help them to bless them to save them. We should pray for a deep realization of our own sins pray that the spirit of criticism and self-exaltation be forever banished from us. Then we shall not feel free to mount the judgment seat and accuse anyone. 

TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T HOUTEF,
MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, FEBRUARY 1, 1947
WACO, TEXAS

This afternoon we shall continue our study of the book of Micah. Let us turn to the fifth chapter and begin with the first verse. 

Micah 5:1 — Now gather thyself in troops O daughter of troops: He hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. 

You will notice that besides introducing a number of pronouns — he us they this verse also introduces several different topics: first a daughter of troops then the judge of Israel and a rod. Other subjects are introduced further along in the chapter. 

Now to gain the vision and the lesson that Inspiration is anxious that we should from this scripture it is necessary that we study one subject at a time. And in order to do this we must group the verses according to subjects. Since the subject of verse one is the same as of verses 10-15, we shall quote them connectively: 

Mic 5:1, 10-15 — Now gather thyself in troops O daughter of troops:…and it shall come to pass in that day saith the Lord that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee and I will destroy thy chariots: and I will cut off the cities of thy land and throw down all thy strong holds: and I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: thy graven images also will I cut off and thy standing images out of the midst of thee and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen such as they have not heard. 

-15-

These verses present a group of people — good and bad commingled — whom God is to cleanse. Then the scripture closes with Gods promise to execute vengeance upon the heathen. The mixed group of people wheat and tares very obviously constitute the church that is approaching the time of the harvest (Matt. 13:30) the time in which all idolators are to perish. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just…. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear let him hear. Matt. 13:49, 43. 

We now come to the last part of Micah 5:1. The antecedent of the pronoun He is found in the preceding verse — chapter 4, verse 13. There quickly we see that it is the Lord Himself. Plainly then by the pronoun us Micah means himself and his people — Judah and Israel the church. 

Clear it is that while the Lord with His message of warning and reproofs makes a siege against His people the adversaries gather together in groups to oppose. Such has been the case at the introduction of each newly-revealed Truth. 

The church is logically called daughter of troops because her mother the Jewish church at the time of the introduction of the gospel of Christ gathered together in troops to oppose the Lord. 

-16-

Moreover being smitten in the face rather than in the back the Judge of Israel (Christ) must have been squarely facing them — speaking to them — the reason for which the Jews crucified Him. The verses that follow verse one again confirm the fact that the Judge is Christ. They that smite Him are of course His adversaries His enemies. Concerning them Inspiration says: 

Mic 5:9 — Thine hand shall be lifted up upon Thine adversaries and all Thine enemies shall be cut off. 

According to Christs parables the time His adversaries His enemies of progressive Truth are cut off is at the commencement of the purification of the church at the harvest time. Then according to Ezekiels prophecy the Lord commissions the men with slaughtering weapons in their hands saying 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. Ezek. 9:5, 6. The Spirit of Prophecy confirms this by saying: 

Here we see that the church — the Lords 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 Gods 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 Gods 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. — Testimonies Vol. 5, pg. 211. And through the apostle Peter Inspiration declares: 

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 1 Pet. 4:17. 

Mic 5:2 — But thou Bethlehem Ephratah though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel Whose goings forth have been from of old from everlasting. 

There is no doubt that this verse predicts the birth of Christ the Judge of Israel Whose goings forth have been from everlasting. 

Mic 5:3 — Therefore will He give them up until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of His brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. 

Crucifying Christ and their refusing to return to the Lord there was nothing that could have been done for the Jews at that time but to give them up until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth. 

The pronoun she points to the daughter of Zion (Mic. 4:10). She is to bring forth her children while in the field while in the Gentile lands. Then the time of her sojourning is to end and she is to be delivered. In that day saith the Lord will I assemble her that halteth …and I will make her that halted a remnant…and the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth even for ever. Mic. 4:6, 7. 

-18-

Mic 5:4, 5 — And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God and they shall abide: for now shall He be great unto the ends of the earth. And this man shall be the peace when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces then shall we raise against him seven shepherds and eight principal men. 

When the children of the daughter of Zion return to Mount Zion they are to abide forever. Never again are they to be cast out among the Gentile nations. Never are they to be given up. The Lord is thus to make Himself great unto the ends of the earth. When she that travaileth shall have brought forth then the saints are to raise against the Assyrian seven shepherds and eight principal men that is all Gods shepherds and all His principal men including Christ the eighth. 

Mic 5:6 — And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian when he cometh into our land and when he treadeth within our borders. 

The kingdom of Israel that was destroyed by Assyria and also the kingdom of Judah that was destroyed by Babylon even all the twelve tribes of Israel are to be delivered. –

-19-

And I will declares the Lord make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols nor with their detestable things nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places wherein they have sinned and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people and I will be their God. And David My servant shall be king over them and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes and do them. Ezek. 37:22-24. 

Mic 5:7 — And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord as the showers upon the grass that tarrieth not for man nor waiteth for the sons of men. 

After the Judgment in the house of God takes place then it is that the remnant those that are left are to finish the work of the gospel. 

Those who have trusted to intellect genius or talent will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They did not keep pace with the light. Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. They are self-sufficient independent of God and he cannot use them. The Lord has faithful servants who in the shaking testing time will be disclosed to view. — Testimonies Vol. 5, pg. 80. 

-20-

Then it is that they the remnant of Jacob are to be gathered into their homeland after which they are sent as missionaries to the Gentiles that have not heard of Gods name and of His fame. Thus it is that those who escape alive from the Judgment of the Lord the remnant shall be as dew from the Lord as showers upon the grass. They shall wait for none in their missionary work. They shall bring all their brethren out of all nations for an offering unto the Lord. Isa. 66:15, 16, 20. 

Mic 5:8 — And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who if he go through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces and none can deliver. 

While Gods people are as dew and as showers to the righteous (Mic. 5:7) they are to the wicked as lions among beasts and flocks of sheep. In other words their gospel will save the penitent but destroy the impenitent. 

Mic 5:9-14 — Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries and all thine enemies shall be cut off. And it shall come to pass in that day saith the Lord that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee and I will destroy thy chariots: and I will cut off the cities of thy land and throw down all thy strong holds: and I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: thy graven images also will I cut off and thy standing images out of the midst of thee and thou shalt no more worship the work of thy hands. And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. 

These verses can mean only one thing and that is that God will thoroughly purge His floor. He will take the fan in His hand and blow out the chaff He will destroy the sinners that are among His people. In thus purifying His church He will create a clean people a united and zeal-filled ministry. Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice He declares with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion. Isa. 52:8. 

-21-

Mic 5:15 — And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen such as they have not heard. 

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 1 Peter 4:17, 18. 

That we miss no part of the lesson in this study let us recapitulate the main points. 

To begin with a group of people — good and bad commingled — are brought to view. They as we have seen constitute the church that is approaching the time of harvest in which the wicked are to be severed from among the just. (Matt. 13:49). 

While the Lord with a message of warnings and reproofs makes a siege against His people the adversaries gather together in groups ( troops ) to oppose. Then they are to be cut off. The horses (leaders) shall be cut off (discharged) and the chariots (gathering places) destroyed. Gods people are to be thoroughly purged of sin and sinners and only the penitent are to be left. They are the remnant of Jacob who shall not do iniquity nor speak lies neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down and none shall make them afraid. Zeph. 3:13. They are to be gathered into their homeland from thence to go as missionaries to the Gentiles. To the penitent they are to be as dew and as showers but to the impenitent as lions among beasts and flocks. 

-22-

So the stir caused by Truths siege of the church and Its adversaries warring against It that is already beginning to arrest the attention of the world is to result in the cleansing of the church temple. Mal. 3:1-3

Thus is the Lord to finish His work on earth gather His people destroy the sinners and the heathen alike. Necessarily …the days of purification of the church are hastening on apace. God will have a people pure and true. — Testimonies Vol. 5, pg. 80. Depth of mercy can there be Mercy still reserved for me? Can my God His wrath forbear Me the chief of sinners spare? 

I have long withstood His grace Long provoked Him to His face Would not hearken to His calls Grieved Him by a thousand falls. There for me the Saviour stands Shows His wounds and spreads His hands God is love I know I feel Jesus weeps and loves me still. 

Posted in Elijah Interpretations, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

A Review of Doug Batchelor’s “Pinnacle of Prophecy” Series

November 18, 2023

There have been over 500,000 views on YouTube of the series entitled “The Pinnacle of Prophecy” and over that viewership on Facebook. Pastor Doug Batchelor, who needs no introduction, has produced a series of 14 studies on different end-time prophecies. It is supposed and implied that Amazing Facts and their leader are authorities enough to give us a “pinnacle” or top-rated and knowledgeable explanation of these prophecies. But is that so? In our analysis of some of this series, we’ll carefully look at what Doug interprets from these prophecies.As present truth believers, we know the message of the hour says —“..the two golden pipes, which carry the golden oil from the trees to the bowl, are the only two mediums which God has employed since 1844 A.D. to interpret the Scriptures.” (  5 SC, no. 1-5. p.3)

Is Doug one of those pipes? Does he have the light of God to interpret the prophecies for us? We shall carefully examine his studies and see first hand.

In our first report, we’ll examine report no. 14, entitled “Satan’s Mark of God’s Seal?” We’ll quote his comments and then compare them to what the message says. We’ll discuss the high points or noteworthy remarks and label him –DB.

To prep his speech and explain the “Key” to knowing prophecy, DB begins by telling us how you and I can interpret prophecy–

DB – “We’ve told us along the way, the key to understanding these prophecies in Revelation are the stories in the Bible. Out of 404 verses in Revelation 278 are found in the Old Testament. That’s where the keys are.”

We need to point out something profound right here. The Scriptures say something completely different concerning unlocking prophecy, let us read —

 “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”(2 Peter 1:19-21)

So are we to think that everyone is “holy”, a prophet of God, able to interpret the prophecies? Apparently, DB thinks so. For he makes no distinction between who is private (not a prophet) and God’s prophets. In other words, God’s very important “Key” is thrown out for DB’s — any and all can privately interpret the prophecies with studious effort! This sets the stage for great error to come in.

DB–  “In the days ahead everybody is going to be marked one way or another…. There are only two roads… We want to know what God’s seal is. We either have the seal of God in our foreheads or the mark of the beast.”

We know this is not accurate here because many (those within the SDA who fail to get the mark of Ezekiel 9) will get neither the mark nor the seal, but are to be slayed. So not “everybody” will get one or the other. Doug bypasses the very important prophetic event of our Lord’s next “sudden” coming (Mal. 3:1-5) and subsequent church judgment (Ezekiel 9 and Isaiah 66:15-21). This leaves a large prophetic hole in his study of the seal/mark as we shall see.

DB then brings up Isaiah 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.”

 

DB then goes on to explain this Scripture applying to today’s multitude of Christian sects. This is true for today’s application of the prophecy to the world due to the hypocrisy. Yet DB fails to state the context or REASON why God places this worldly hypocritical setting there. This prophecy helps us to know the “time of the season” we are living in today to prepare us for what God is soon to do with our church! The context as seen in verses  2 to 6 shows WHY we should know the time we are living in. The full contextual explanation is found in 1 TG, no. 30  —

“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.”

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 30, page 17

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.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 30, page 18

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

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 30, page 19

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.”

Instead of applying the context of Isaiah 4:1 to our church and the soon-to-come church purification, he cuts out God’s intended meaning and simply applies it to the world with no applicable lesson to our SDA church. Clearly proving God’s word — “knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1:20-21)

Next DB  asks–  “What is the seal? We want to know that.”  “Seal the Law among my Disciples (Isaiah 8:16). Have you noticed the connection between the seal and the Law? The seal of God can be found in the Law of God.”

DB then goes into the point that the seal of God is found in the 4th Commandment. A well known SDA doctrinal teaching. True, we as Adventists have always taught this basic doctrine but the scroll  has unrolled since our prophetess’ time. There is a “present truth” understanding here on the seal or mark for us today, let us read  more about present truth–

“In every age there is a new development of truth, a message of God to the people of that generation. The old truths are all essential; new truth is not independent of the old, but an unfolding of it. It is only as the old truths are understood that we can comprehend the new. When Christ desired to open to His disciples the truth of His resurrection, He began “at Moses and all the prophets” and “expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Luke 24:27. But it is the light which shines in the fresh unfolding of truth that glorifies the old. He who rejects or neglects the new does not really possess the old. For him it loses its vital power and becomes but a lifeless form. ” (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 127)

So while DB does accurately describe the “old” understanding of the seal for God’s people, an understanding held for over a century by our church, he neglects to expound upon the present truth of this seal upon God’s people today. To his credit he does mention Ezekiel 9 but he neglects the application God would have us to understand today. But God is faithful! He indeed made sure we understand this seal or mark.

“WHAT IS THE SEAL?

Question No. 21:

What is the seal of God upon the foreheads of the 144,000 (Rev. 7:3)? Is it the Sabbath seal or something else?

Answer:

Being sealed in Christ “with that Holy Spirit of promise,” after having “heard the word of truth” (Eph. 1:13; 4:30), the saints are consequently sealed by Present Truth–the truth preached in their own day.

“The seal of the living God,” the Truth, by which the 144,000 are sealed (Rev. 7:2), is a special seal, being the same as “the mark” of Ezekiel 9. (See Testimonies to Ministers, p. 445; Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 267; Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 211). It demands one’s sighing and crying over the abominations which defile him and which desecrate both the Sabbath and the house of God, especially against selling literature and raising goals during Sabbath services. As the saints have this seal or mark on their foreheads, the angels will pass over them, not slay them. It is equivalent to the blood on the door post on the night of the Passover in Egypt. The angel is to place a mark upon the foreheads of all who by sighing over their own sins, and over the sins in the house of God, show fidelity to the Truth. Then the destroying angels will follow, to slay utterly both old and young who have failed to receive the seal. (See Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 505.)

So, the former seal enables the receiver to rise from the dead in the resurrection of the just, while the latter seal enables the sighing-crying one to escape death and forever to live for God.” (2 Answerer, p. 31-33)

DB then goes on to emphasize that the Sunday Law is coming and all, including the SDA must have God’s seal or mark. However this again is falsely leading our people to a comfort or should we say, ignorance of that secretive coming of Mal. 3:1-5 and His judgment of  Ezekiel 9 and Isaiah 66:15-21. Thus many SDA won’t be around to even see and experience God’s sealing or marking. A false leading of the SDA chain of prophetic events!

DB — “So what is this seal, we want to know that. As a matter of fact, I think it’s more important that we know what the seal is than the mark. Because you don’t want to be an expert in the mark and get the mark, you want to be an expert in the seal, amen.”

No, the final message of Elijah tells us all about the mark. This mark must be disquished from the Sunday law mark! Let us read —

 

“Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, “Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a [deadly weapon in his hand.” And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn [at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”

To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city and kill;[do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. Utterly[slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple. Then He said to them, “Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” And they went out and killed in the city.  So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, “Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?”

Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!’ And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head.”

Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, “I have done as You commanded me.”(Ezekiel 9:1-11)


Yes, we want to know all about this mark because God sent us , by way of His prophetess, the following counsel on this mark —

“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.(Manuscript Releases, p. 260)

Instead of just quoting Ezekiel 9 about the mark as DB does and then applying it to the coming of Jesus in the clouds, we are to KNOW about it for it will affect EVERY SDA , before the Lord’s coming in the clouds and even before the mark of the Beast (Sunday Law). Once again we can see that DB fails to instruct us as to the lessons God has for His people in these last days. The prophetic timelines are incorrectly pointed out and will only lead to us failing to obtain that “extra oil” (Matt. 25:8-9).

Summary —

There is little doubt that Pastor Doug Batchelor has not “rightly divided the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Showing that “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20). God’s intended lessons concerning the seal or mark MUST be rightly understood by us SDA because —

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17)

 

“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.” 

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.” (Testimonies, volume 5, p.211)

In giving his presentation did DB give our church warning of this beginning judgment in God’s church? Did DB give us a warning that we must study and know what the end time “mark” will be for us SDA? No. Instead, assumptions and false teachings are given that “everybody”, including ALL SDA members will soon experience the times of the Sunday Law and be able to say yes or no. Not true, the message of God through His Elijah prophet is that the soon-to-come Ezekiel 9 judgment is come upon His church PRIOR to the Sunday Law, and only those who “sigh and cry for all the abomination done in the church” will escape. They are to be the — 144,000. Solemn and the Truth.

“Mark this point with care: Those who receive the pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, represented by a mark by the man in linen, are those “that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done” in the church. Their love for purity and the honor and glory of God is such, and they have so clear a view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, that they are represented as being in agony, even sighing and crying. Read the ninth chapter of Ezekiel.” (Testimonies, volume 3, p.267)

 

Posted in Elijah Interpretations, End times, Ezekiel, Final Events, Present Truth, Prophecy study, The 144 | Leave a Comment »

WHEN DOES THE HEBREW YEAR BEGIN?

September 16, 2023



“Question No. 50:

Can you tell us the Hebrew New Year’s day, and the days of their sacred feasts, in terms of our Roman calendar?

Answer:

While leading the Hebrew host from bondage to freedom, the Lord was firmly establishing them in the truth of all things, including the truth of the day on which the year begins, of the day on which the month begins, and of the day on which the week begins. Obviously, the Hebrew religion had largely to do with the days of the week, of the month, and of the year.

The Hebrews were forever to keep holy, (1) not a seventh, but the seventh, day of each week, the Sabbath; (2) the days from the fifteenth to the twenty-first day of the first month, the Passover week; (3) the fiftieth day after the sheaf of the first fruits was offered, the Pentecost; (4) the tenth day of the seventh month, the Atonement; (5) the days from the fifteenth to the twenty-first day of the same month, the Feast of Tabernacles; and (6) the feasts of the new moons. Thus the All-knowing One, He who created the heavenly bodies and knows the very moment He set them in motion to govern the day, the month, and the year, decreed that the holy feasts

Answerer Book 3, page 9

be observed in the very month and on the very day on which they were first ordained.

And He appointed the “lights in the firmament… for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (Gen. 1:14), by the movements of which He fixed each solar and each lunar date, so that it could never be lost sight of. Then to make doubly secure against such a loss. He “spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.” Ex. 12:1, 2.

Thus we see that His great and never erring timepiece for earth, the earth’s own invariable movements, fix the day and the year; whereas the moon’s revolving round the earth makes the months.

But the Roman New Year, January 1, finds its establishment, not in the movements of the solar system, but in the notions of mythology. Consequently, as the date does not coincide with either the vernal or the autumnal equinox, or with either the summer or the winter solstice, then should earth’s inhabitants ever lose count of the day, and need to recover it, they would be helpless to do so.

To prevent His people from bringing upon themselves such a catastrophe, and to have them intelligent as to the time the year begins, the Lord gave to Moses the sacred yearly calendar, which cannot be lost or miscalculated

Answerer Book 3, page 10

so long as the earth remains. He told him that the day which preceded the exodus was the fourteenth day of the first month; and that forever thereafter, they were to commemorate the Passover on that very night each year, the night following the fourteenth day. Thus was the Lord re-stablishing the creation calendar, reaffirming that the year begins on the day of the vernal equinox, on which spring, the first season of the year, commences, and on which the sun and the moon were created (the fourth day from the beginning of creation)–the only point in time at which, in the very nature of things, the year could begin. And so it is that the Passover, the Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles (the three most important feasts in the year), besides other feasts, are controlled by the solar year and by the lunar month; the weekly Sabbath by the day on which creation began; and the year itself by the vernal equinox, the immovable sign-post.

Beginning its first month of the year with the first new moon, at, or after, the vernal equinox, March 20-21, it puts the fourteenth day, that on which the Passover lamb was to be slain, on April 3. Once for all, is seen the utter impossibility of the Roman month’s having the slightest thing to do with fixing the time of either the Passover or the sheaf offering, and thus not the slightest thing to do with reckoning the time of either the crucifixion or the resurrection of Christ.

Answerer Book 3, page 11

This is more graphically seen from the corre- spondence of the sacred events which came in the spring of the year A.D. 31, the year Christ was crucified, with the sacred events which came in the fall of the year A.D. 27, the year in which He was baptized, as viewed diagrammatically:

Image of the Sacred year and its main feasts

Answerer Book 3, page 12

This chart enables us to see that just as one solar season matches another (the vernal eguinox matches the autumnal equinox, and the summer solstice, the winter solstice), in like fashion the sacred feasts of one season match the sacred feasts of another season: the tenth day of the first month, the separation of the unblemished lamb from the flock (Ex. 12:3), corresponding to the tenth day of the seventh month, the work of Atonement, the separation of the righteous from the unrighteous, signifying in both events a day of judgment, a day of separating the holy from the unholy; the sixteenth of the first month, the day Christ was crucified, corresponding to the sixteenth of the seventh month, the day He was baptized, showing that His watery grave foreshadowed His grave in the tomb; the eighteenth day of the first month, the resurrection, corresponding to the eighteenth day of the seventh month, the first day of the wilderness temptation; His forty days of victorious ministry to His disciples, corresponding to His forty days of victorious conflict with Satan; and His disciples’ preaching the gospel after the Pentecost, corresponding to His preaching the gospel after the wilderness temptation.

To establish the date of His baptism as the sixteenth day of the seventh month, we need only to consider, aside from the coincidences the fact that the “more sure word of prophecy’ certifies that He was to

Answerer Book 3, page 13

preach three and a half years, and then be “cut off.” Dan. 9:26. And as He was crucified on the sixteenth of the first month, he must have been baptized for the ministry just three and a half years before, on the sixteenth day of the seventh month.” (3 Answerer Book, p. 9-14)

Posted in Elijah Interpretations, God's signs, Prophecy study | Leave a Comment »

THE GREAT PARADOX OF THE AGES

September 3, 2023

 

TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, JANUARY 10, 1948
MT. CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO, TEXAS

TEXT FOR PRAYER

Break Up The Fallow Ground

I shall read from page 56 of “Christ’s Object Lessons”:

“Throughout the parable of the sower, Christ represents the different results of the sowing as depending upon the soil. In every case the sower and the seed are the same. Thus He teaches that if the word of God fails of accomplishing its work in our hearts and lives, the reason is to be found in ourselves. But the result is not beyond our control. True, we can not change ourselves; but the power of choice is ours, and it rests with us to determine what we will become. The wayside, the stony-ground, the thorny-ground hearers need not remain such…. The soil once overgrown by thorns can be reclaimed only by diligent labor. So the evil tendencies of the natural hear can be overcome only by earnest effort in the name and strength of Jesus. The Lord bids us by His prophet, ‘Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.’ ‘Sow to yourselves in righteousness; reap in mercy.’ This work He desires to accomplish for us, and He asks us to cooperate with Him.”

We shall now kneel and pray that we may ever be awake to the Voice of the Spirit of God; to know that although we cannot change ourselves, yet the power of choice is ours; to ever remember that God has created us free moral agents, that we ourselves are responsible for our hardness of heart; to let Him break up our fallow ground so that we may sow to ourselves righteousness; to know that through prayer and study we can keep awake our desire for spiritual things.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 22, page 16

THE GREAT PARADOX OF THE AGES

Zech. 6:1-8 — “And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my Lord? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four Spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and He said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. Then cried He upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the noth country have quieted My Spirit in the north country.”

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 22, page 17

 

(Picture above)

 

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 22, page 18

The paradox in this prophetic symbolism is with the fourth chariot, you see: It is hitched to two teams, the grisled and the bay, one team trying to take it in one direction (south), and the other in another direction (to and fro through the earth)! What is to become of the chariot, and which of the teams is likely to take it? That is the paradox, for they cannot both have it unless they walk together. As this is a paradoxical symbolism, it has been a mystery ever since the prophet wrote it, and as it is now disclosed for the first time, Inspiration obviously is forewarning someone of something very serious that is taking place at this particular time. What can it be?–

The prophet Zechariah was as anxious to know as we are, for he asked, “What are these, my Lord”? And to his question came the answer, “These are the four Spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of the whole earth.”

The angel’s answer is positive. The chariots, He declared, are the Spirits of the heavens, Who stand before the Lord, and Who are sent to go to and fro through the earth. Plainly, then, these four teams and chariots symbolize four messages (four Spirits) sent from God’s presence. And since all the messages from God are carried to and fro through the earth by the Ministry and the Church, the chariots and their teams, therefore, are seen to symbolize the church at work in four different periods.

The next question is, Where in the stream of time shall we look for this message-laden and trouble-burden church? in our time, in the past or what? The brass mountains give the clue, for the chariots came from between them. We should, therefore, first find out what the mountains symbolize, and

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 22, page 19

where they stand in time. And as the chariots came from between the mountains, one standing to their left (in the future) and the other to their right (in the past), it is necessary to locate them first. The Biblical interpretation of a symbolical mountain is as follows: “Jerusalem shall be called a city of Truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.” Zech. 8:3. The mountains in Zechariah’s prophecy, therefore, as elsewhere in the Bible, are seen to symbolize two governments, churches, very similar in nature (both of brass) and at two different times (one to the chariot’s right and one to their left). Being of brass, a metal that has everlasting qualities, that does not deteriorate, shows that they represent something eternal. Moreover the mountains being of the same symbolical material as that which the feet of Christ (Rev. 1:15) were shown to be (brass), it locates the mountains in the Christian era.

The only such holy governments of God in the Christian era, one in the past and one in the future between which the path of the chariots lies, are the church of the Pentecost with the 120 Spirit-filled disciples, symbolized by the mountain to the chariots’ right, and the church at the second Pentecost (Joel 2:28, 29, yet future) with the 144,000 Spirit-filled disciples standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb (Rev. 14:1), symbolized by the mountain to the chariots’ left.

It is well understood that the church of today is made up of all kinds of materials, not of solid brass — not of true Christians only, but commingled with good and bad — wheat and tares. The truth is therefore obvious: There is to be another such sin-destroying and sinner-sifting Theocracy as the one in the day of Ananias and Sapphira who for sinning gave up the

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 22, page 20

ghost as they fell at the apostle’s feet (Acts 5:1-11).

Plainly, the chariots symbolize the church militant at work between the two Pentecosts.

The fourth chariot being the last, it is to be found operating just before the second Pentecost.

Since the chariots are led by horses, the horses themselves must symbolize the chariot’s (church’s) leadership, and the passengers in the chariots must symbolize the laity.

The symbolism, though, is to disclose the paradoxical situation that exists with the fourth chariot, the last, and hence the Laodicean church with the Judgment message, as her name itself indicates.

The first chariot, you remember, is led by red horses; the second by black horses; the third by white; and the fourth by two kinds — grisled and bay horses. The color of each horse being a mark of species, it must be indicative of their natural and consequential circumstances. And as afore-noted, they are symbolical of the ministry in each segment of church history. The red evidently signifies martyrdom; the black signifies captivity; the white signifies freedom; grisled (an indefinite color, neither black nor white) symbolizes ministers that are neither true Christians nor true Gentiles — hypocrites. The bay, however, denote strength, as the marginal reference points out.

This symbolical prophecy is seen to corroborate history. It points out that the Christian Church at first suffered martyrdom, shown by the color, red. Then followed the Dark Ages of religion when the church

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 22, page 21

was in captivity (black). Following these came the Protestant period, the period of religious freedom (white team). And at last comes the fourth chariot with its bay and grisled teams. The teams are seen to have a controversial struggle over the chariot. Grisled being an indefinite color — neither black nor white, denotes hypocrisy, the kind of which is heretofore unknown, whereas the color, bay, denotes spiritual strength (margin) the kind heretofore unknown.

Since the Church originated in Asia, Jerusalem in particular, the first chariot is seen to have remained there, for it went nowhere. The “north country,” geographically north of Palestine is where the other chariots went; that is, the countries which the Christian nations are now inhabiting. The fourth chariot, though, is supposed to go to and fro through the earth — to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people. But contrary to this, the grisled horses “go forth toward the south country” which, figuratively speaking, would be spiritual Egypt — worldliness.

God’s Spirit having been silenced in the north country, must denote that the messages of God in the north country were generally rejected, especially the one of the forth chariot, which caused the Spirit of Truth to turn away and to bring Truth no more through them — to be silent there — and that, therefore, there is not to be expected any Truth through them.

The double team of horses, and their two kinds of colors, pulling in two different directions are immediately seen to symbolize a double set of church leaders (the Seventh-day Adventist leaders and the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist leaders) unlike in character and aim. Symbolically speaking, the grisled horses, those that appeared first on the

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 22, page 22

prophetic scene, are leading the chariot into Egypt — the worldliness from which they ought to come out rather than go back into. The bay horses, though, are endeavoring to pull away from it and go to and fro through the earth as commanded — to finish the gospel work in accordance with God’s plan. But this cannot take place so long as both teams are hitched to the chariot, for the chariot cannot possibly move in either direction while one team pulls in one direction and the other in another direction.

The immediate necessity, therefore, is to unhitch (discharge) the one, so that the other can be free to go to and fro through the earth as soon as they are told to “Go.” When this happens the paradox will be a paradox no longer.

What put two different kinds of leaders working at cross purposes? — I shall let the Spirit of Prophecy give the answer. Here follows the description of one set of church leaders:

“…Those who have rendered supreme homage to ‘science falsely so-called,’ will not be the leaders then. Those who have trusted to intellect, genius, or talent, will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They did not keep pace with the light. Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock…” — “Testimonies,” Vol. 5, pg. 80.

Obviously, these self-important leaders, who love to slumber in a lukewarm country, are represented by the grisled horses.

We shall now read of the leaders whom the bay

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 22, page 23

horses depict, the ones that come on the scene last:

“…The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing time will be disclosed to view. There are precious ones now hidden who have not bowed the knee to Baal. They have not had the light which has been shining in a concentrated blaze upon you. But, it may be under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine Christian character will be revealed. In the daytime we look toward heaven, but do not see the stars. They are there, fixed in the firmament, but the eye cannot distinguish them. In the night we behold their genuine lustre.” — “Testimonies,” Vol. 5, pp. 80-81.

This is exactly what is happening right now: Those who are rejecting the message that is announcing the Judgment for the Living; those who “did not keep pace with the light,” and are satisfied to stay in antitypical Egypt; the Seventh-day Adventists’ ministry are to be discharged (unhitched); and the “hidden” ones, those represented by the bay horses, the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists’ ministry, are coming to the front. They are now being “disclosed to view,” and are getting ready to take the chariot! Then as soon as they are told to “Go,” they will unhesitatingly and speedily move on “to and fro through the earth” with the message of the hour, the Judgment for the Living.

Now let the founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination concretely explain what and where the south country is:

“I am filled with sadness when I think of our condition as a people…. The church has turned back from following Christ her Leader, and is steadily

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 22, page 24

retreating toward Egypt. Yet few are alarmed or astonished at their want of spiritual power. Doubt and even disbelief of the testimonies of the Spirit of God, is leavening our churches everywhere. Satan would have it thus. Ministers who preach self instead of Christ would have it thus. The testimonies are unread and unappreciated. God has spoken to you. Light has been shining from his world and from the testimonies, and both have been slighted and disregarded. The result is apparent in the lack of purity and devotion and earnest faith among us.” — “Testimonies,” Vol. 5, pg. 217. (Underscored words ours.)

What will unhitch the grisled horses from the chariot? — Isaiah the prophet has the answer:

Isa. 66:16, 19, 20 — “For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many…. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard My fame, neither have seen My glory; and they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.”

Here is projected a slaughter, taking place among those who have been instructed to abstain from unclean meats, but among whom many are violating God’s command. The disobedient, those whose bellies are their gods, including those who sanctify

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 22, page 25

and purify themselves, (the self-righteous) in the gardens behind one tree (behind their Truth-hating minister, Isa. 66:17, margin), are by the Lord Himself removed from among His Truth-seeking ones.

After the transgressors are thus removed, then those who are left, the “remnant,” the escaped ones, become the servants of God and are sent to all the nations, especially to those who have not as yet heard either of God’s fame or the good news of His Kingdom. These escaped ones are to bring to the house of the Lord all their brethren, all that will be converted to Christ — “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues.” They shall stand “before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.” Rev. 7:9.

Thus will the Gospel be finished by those who escape from the Lord’s slaying (Isa. 66:15,16) and God’s people be quickly gathered from the four corners of the earth, happily brought as an offering to the house of the Lord (Isa. 66:19, 20).

Now is everyone’s chance to decide to be either on the one side or on the other, either to reform and be led by the faithful bay horses, or to cling to the self-important grisled horses and stay by them in the south country, there to perish. Here is indeed a momentous decision to be made by every member of the Denomination. It calls for action that will decide the future destiny of the laity as well as of the ministry.

Now is your opportunity to act, and it is my wish and prayer that you, and every member of the Denomination,

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 22, page 26

chooses to be on the side which this unveiled paradox of the ages plainly and definitely instructs you to be on. Do not let the grisled horses deceive you any longer. Meet their fair speeches with “Thus saith the Lord.” You take them to task on this strictly Biblical Truth.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 22, page 27

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

THE END OF HUMAN IDOLS AND THEIR WORSHIPERS

July 23, 2023


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

A GEM FOR REFLECTION AND PRAYER

I shall read from Mount of Blessing, page 171, beginning with the second paragraph. This reading is a continuation of our last Sabbath’s reading, based on the Lord’s prayer.

M.B., pg. 171 — “It is not safe for us to linger to contemplate the advantages to be reaped through yielding to Satan’s suggestions. Sin means dishonor and disaster to every soul that indulges in it; but it is blinding and deceiving in its nature, and it will entice us with flattering presentations. If we venture on Satan’s ground, we have no assurance of protection from his power. So far as in us lies, we should close every avenue by which the tempter may find access to us.

“The prayer, ‘Bring us not into temptation,’ is itself a promise. If we commit ourselves to God, we have the assurance, ‘He will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.'”

We shall now kneel and pray that we may realize that sin is blinding and deceiving in its nature; that it leads to dishonor and disaster; and that to be on the safe side, we must not even so much as contemplate yielding to Satan’s suggestions, for once we venture onto his ground we cannot expect God’s protection. Let us also thank the Lord for the comforting assurance that if we fully commit ourselves to him, He will not allow us to be tempted above that we are able.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 18, page 12

THE END OF HUMAN IDOLS AND THEIR WORSHIPERS

This afternoon we shall study Zechariah, chapter 13. Let us begin with the first verse.

Zech. 13:1 — “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.”

The phrase “in that day” points back to preceding events, back to the twelfth chapter. There we find that the event is the great mourning in Jerusalem (chapter 12, verses 12- 14). So “in that day,” in the day of that great mourning, this fountain is to be opened.

To find the time in which the mourning takes place, it is necessary that we go further back into the twelfth chapter. Better still, we should review the chapter from the first verse on, because there are brought to view seven groups of separate and distinct events, one following the other.

The outstanding events of each group are these: (1) Jerusalem is to be made “a cup of trembling” and the nations of the earth are to be “in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.” (2) “In that day” the nations are to gather together against them. (3) “In that day” the Lord is to “smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness,” and He is also to open His “eyes upon the house of Judah.” The governors of Judah are then to say in their hearts, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God.” (4) “In that day” Jerusalem is to be inhabited

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 18, page 13

again. (5) “In that day he that is feeble among them” is to be as David; and the house of David is to be as God. (6) “In that day” the Lord is to seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. He will then pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications. (7) “In that day” there is to be a great mourning in Jerusalem.

Thus one event is contingent upon another, the last of which is the great mourning in Jerusalem. In the day of these events, therefore, the fountain for sin and for uncleanness is opened. Let us now connect Zechariah 13:1 with verse 2.

Zech. 13:1, 2 — “In that day [in the day the great mourning takes place] there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.”

Two things stand out clearly in these verses: (1) that the house of David must come into existence before the cleansing fountain is opened; (2) that the cleansing begins with cutting off the names of the idols, and throwing out of the land the false prophets and the unclean spirits.

In our previous study of the tenth chapter of Zechariah, we learned that these idols are the kind that speak; that they are men. There is no doubt, therefore, that these are ministering brethren who the laity are idolizing. As a result, the laity are blindly following them, and whatever decisions their “idols” make concerning what is truth and what is error, what is sin and what is righteousness, those are the decisions which the laity does carry out. These “idols,” therefore are creating a situation similar to that which the priests, scribes, and

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 18, page 14

Pharisees created in the days of Christ’s first advent. Consequently, the idol-worshipers are not troubling themselves to personally investigate fresh messages, and they are thereby ignorantly following men rather than Christ and His advancing Truth. These, along with the prophets and the unclean spirits, shall pass out of the land.

Zech. 13:3-5 — “And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord; and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive: But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.”

The name of the idols (the flattering titles of men) shall forever be forgotten: Men shall never again be known by such titles. Thereafter neither a false prophet nor an unclean spirit shall be tolerated in the land. In fact, not even a father or a mother will then tolerate their own son to pose as such, but they shall deliver him to the executioners. It shall come to pass that the men who even now are exalting themselves, and, worst of all, are preaching without having been “sent,” shall be ashamed as they see their foolish teachings, predictions, and private interpretations of the Scriptures. No longer will they wear deceitful garments. Rather, they will say, “I am no prophet, not even a pastor, I am only a herdsman, a common farmer.”

The prophet Ezekiel also was given glimpses of this situation: “Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. Ye

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 18, page 15

have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken? Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God. And Mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of My people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.

“Because, even because they have seduced My people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter: say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in My fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in Mine anger, and great hailstones in My fury to consume it. So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Thus will I accomplish My wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it.” Ezek. 13:3-15.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 18, page 16

What a fearful responsibility rests upon those who carelessly handle the Word of God, who pose as soul guardians over the people! Both they and their abominations will fall in the ditch. Indeed, if any reform is needed in Christendom, this one is.

Having now learned better, let us no longer make idols of men; let us no longer give place within us to unclean spirits. Let us rather give the Spirit of God a chance to lead us into His ever-advancing Truth with personal understanding.

Let us be followers of Christ, never again of Paul, of Apollos, or of Cephas.

Zech. 13:6, 7 — “And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in Thine hands? Then He shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends. Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, and against the man that is My fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn Mine hand upon the little ones.”

I have no special comments to make on verses 6 and 7, other than what is commonly understood among Christians. It is plain to see, though, that after the Lord’s shepherd is smitten, then it is that the Lord will separate His people.

Zech. 13:8 — “And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.”

In this separation, according to verse 8, the people are divided in three parts: Evidently they are the saints, the hypocrites, and the heathen. The two latter parts are to be cut off (separated from the saints), and they are to die. Concerning the future of the former third, let us read–

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 18, page 17

Zech. 13:9 — “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on My name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.”

In this connection, the gospel prophet was instructed to write: “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.

“Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger. And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.” Isa. 13:9-15.

To this warning the prophet Zephaniah adds: “And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil. Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 18, page 18

greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

“That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for He shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” Zeph. 1:12-18.

These scriptures are self-explanatory, and they make our subject as clear as crystal: As soon as the house of David is set up, as soon as the first fruits reach Mt. Zion and there stand with the Lamb, the cleansing fountain will be opened. Then it is that the great harvest will begin during which every grain of “wheat” shall be put into the “barn,” but every noxious seed burned (Matt. 13:30). Then it is that every good “fish” shall be put into vessels, whereas every bad one shall be cast out (Matt. 13:48). Then it is that everyone having on the “wedding garment” shall be served the wedding supper, but everyone having not the garment on shall be cast into outer darkness (Matt. 22:11- 13).

In the terms of the parables all this can be summed as follows: Those who successfully aim to be spared as “wheat,” as good “fish,” and to put on the wedding garment, are those who have found the field of great treasure and the pearl of great price and have done all to purchase them.

“So shall it be at the end of the world, the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 18, page 19

from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matt. 13:49, 50.

Solemn times we have come to, Brother and Sister. Now is the time to put on the white garment. Now is the time to buy the field with the great treasure, and the pearl of great price. “Shall you? Shall I?” is the great question that we must quickly settle without other people’s influence or interference.

We should now be able to see how the gospel work is to be finished, and that the idea which we have had about it is merely a human fabrication. It is now clearly seen how sinners are made saints, how God’s great fountain is capable of cleansing all of us, of making us as white as snow if we let Him. So it matters not what we were yesterday, the important thing is what we are to be from today on.

We should not be among that class of people who quarrel over trivial matters, but who do not care to discuss weighty subjects such as this. If we do not come to the knowledge of the Truth, if we do not let it do its intended work in us, how can we ever be fitted to live in the presence of a holy God? You see, believing or not believing in truths such as this, really means something. But to argue, as some do, over a point such as “the three days and the three nights” (Matt. 12:40) with nothing to do about it even if the argument be won, is worse than Pharisaism. The Devil would have us busy ourselves with unimportant matters and with things that we do not understand.

Well, let me tell you something: In 1931, after The Shepherd’s Rod, Vol. 1, came off the press, we published a two-page article in which we said that what God has led us into is either all truth or no truth. Since that time we have published another book and over twenty tracts besides the series of the “Timely Greetings,”

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 18, page 20

all containing doctrinal matter. These publications have been scattered far and wide throughout the Denomination, but to this day the Denomination has not once officially attempted to refute any subject in its entirety. They ever try to take away what we have on these scriptures, but never give us something better. All we have heard or seen is garbling, or some such procedure as followed by first-day keepers while debating with Sabbath keepers.

I know that it is not a Bulgarian from the Rhodope Mountains who has made scholarly Americans scratch their heads. It is not possible that such a one could have shaken the Denomination from center to circumference. If you do not know Who it actually is, then you had better find out without delay.

* * *

These little Weeklies, which cost you nothing, are of priceless worth to you. Read and keep them in your library, for the time will surely come when you will be thankful that you have preserved your copies.

Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 18, page 21

Posted in Elijah Interpretations, Idol worship | Leave a Comment »

« Older Entries