WILL THE KINGDOM BE SET UP BEFORE THE MILLENNIUM?

May 25, 2025

“The Great Controversy,” pp. 322, 323, teaches that “not until the personal advent of Christ can His people receive the kingdom….But when Jesus comes, He confers immortality upon His people; and then He calls them to inherit the kingdom of which they have hitherto been only heirs.” Will you please help harmonize the Bible and “The Shepherd’s Rod” with these and other passages in Sister White’s writings in regard to the setting up of the Kingdom?

Answer:

Although the doctrine of the Kingdom may not appear quite so complete under the lens of Sister White’s writings as under the lens of the Rod, one dare not thus superficially reject either, but must the more studiously compare both views of the doctrine under the super-lens of the Bible. He must keep in mind that we are not given license to harmonize the Bible with any other writings, but are charged to measure all others by It.

First of all, in order to do justice to the Scriptures, to Sister White’s writings, and to the Rod the position of each on the subject must be viewed in the light of the Scriptures, which incontrovertibly teach that the Promised Land will be reinhabited by the Lord’s own converted people. (See Isaiah 2; Micah 4; Ezekiel 36, 37; Jeremiah 31-33).

As to Sister White’s statement in The Great Controversy, she is there speaking of the Kingdom complete, after the dead are raised, at the time the saints receive it. This was the only phase of the subject-the consummate phase that Providence had made known when she wrote. Now as the scroll of prophetic Truth has unrolled further since her day, the Kingdom in reality is seen to have an intermediate, Davidian phase, as well as the final one heretofore known.

Besides the prophecies relating to the literal—the Davidian—Kingdom, the Bible contains many other prophetic subjects which the writings of Sister White do not even mention, let alone treat of. And if the Lord does not now reveal them to the church to meet her need today, she will not be prepared for their fulfillment, but will be left to perish in her undone Laodicean condition. These prophecies must therefore be revealed in order to strengthen the church in her final warfare. Otherwise, for what purpose were they written?

No prophet of God has ever forged a complete prophetic chain of events, with no links missing. It has taken many inspired writers to complete the long chain of prophecy. The mind, therefore, which takes the position that Sister White has done what no prophet in or out of the Bible has ever done, does so at the utter disregard of actual Biblical procedure and also of revealed Truth.

She herself says that “no man, however honored of Heaven, has ever attained to a full understanding of the great plan of redemption, or even to a perfect appreciation of the Divine purpose in the work for his own time. Men do not fully understand what God would accomplish by the work which He gives them to do; they do not comprehend, in all its bearings, the message which they utter in His name.”-The Great Controversy, p. 343.

Some persons, being of the parrot kind, utter parrot-like statements, never stopping to think what they say, and seemingly never caring whether their statements stand or fall. Such are they who say that no other event or events can come before, between, or after those set forth in Sister White’s writings.

Should one insist that the continuity of events recorded in Early Writings, pp. 15-17, must be taken as absolute, and that no other event or events can be sandwiched in, then he is getting himself into deep water, for the pages mentioned in no wise even intimate either the seven last plagues or the millennium!

Again: the Jews rejected the Lord because not all of what the prophets taught and wrote was found in the teachings of Moses. “We know,” they said, “that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence He is.” John 9:29.

As no prophet’s writings ever predicted the entire Truth needed by the church to carry her clear through to the Kingdom, and as other prophets followed, either enlarging upon or adding to the prophecies already recorded in the Scriptures, then for anyone to turn down the good tidings of the Kingdom on the grounds that this phase of the Kingdom is not found in Sister White’s writings, is for him to take the same inexcusable and fatal stand as did the Jews. It is to say, “I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” Rev. 3:17. It is this attitude that compels God to spue out of His mouth the lukewarm, satisfied Laodiceans.

The eleventh-hour message has been timed and designed to reveal the Davidian Kingdom rising a new before the appearing of Christ in the clouds. Having no direct light, however on this phase of the Kingdom, The Great Controversy could no more have expressed itself in the definite terms which the message today uses, than could William Miller have expressed himself on the subject of the cleansing of the sanctuary, in such terms as we read in The Great Controversy.

Of necessity, any statements relative to a subject which is still out of sight in the unfolding of the Scroll, are made only in incidental terms of truth as it is at the time seen or commonly understood. And if the common understanding of these incidental statements be wrong, the writer cannot be held responsible for that which he has borrowed from others or seen but very dimly and therefore expressed very indefinitely.

For example, in Christ’s day “the doctrine of a conscious state of existence between death and the resurrection was held by many of those who were listening to Christ’s words. The Saviour knew of their ideas, and He framed his parable so as to inculcate important truths through these preconceived opinions. He held up before His hearers a mirror wherein they might see themselves in their true relation to God. He used the prevailing opinion to convey the idea He wished to make prominent to all….”—Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 263.

This circumstance is natural and common to every writer treating of Present Truth, beginning with the Old Testament writers, and continuing ever since, and will thus be until every component part of the Truth is made known. This is borne out in the work of John the Baptist. He was to proclaim, not the setting up of the Kingdom, but the coming of the King. But in announcing the one, he incidentally had to answer questions concerning the other. When speaking of the coming King, he expressed himself in terms of revealed Truth. But when circumstantially alluding to the coming Kingdom, on which there was no special light in his day, he necessarily expressed himself in terms of the doctrines as then commonly understood.

Nevertheless, when the further unrolling of the scroll revealed that the Kingdom was not to be set up at that time, then the honest, truth-seeking ones did not accuse either John or Christ, but joyously watched the scroll unfold, and jubilantly marched on with the Truth. Not so, though, with the vast majority of the Jews. Their pride of opinion, forbidding them to forgo their errors and to embrace advancing Truth, led them deeper into error.

“Thus it was,” says the Spirit of Prophecy, “that the Jews did in the days of Christ, and we are waned not to do as they did, and be led to choose darkness rather than light, because there was in them an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.”-Testimonies on Sabbath-School Work, p. 66; Counsels on Sabbath School Work, p. 30.

So The Great Controversy and Early Writings make the subject of the Kingdom just as clear as the partial unrolling of the scroll permitted the writer to view it, in only one of its phases, at the time she wrote both books.

While The Great Controversy may omit showing that the establishment of the Kingdom and the inheriting of it are two different events, elsewhere the Spirit of Prophecy does do so: While the apostles, it says, “were not to behold the coming of the kingdom in their day, the fact that Jesus bade them pray for it, is evidence that in God’s own time it will surely come.

“The Kingdom of God’s grace is now being established, as day by day hearts that have been full of sin and rebellion yield to the sovereignty of His love. But the full establishment of the kingdom of His glory will not take place until the second coming of Christ to this world. ‘The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under he whole heaven,’ is to be given to ‘the people of he saints of the Most High.”’-Mount of Blessing, p. 159.

Every Christian should remember that as the Truth is ever-advancing It will not be found today where It was yesterday and that therefore Christ’s followers must advance with It. They will not follow the examples of the Jews and the Romans.

When Moses wrote the first part of the Bible, he was not given all the light which God intended to reveal to His people through the ages. With each approaching hour for the Truth to advance, came first one prophet, then another, in a long succession ending with John the Baptist. Then came Christ the apostles, the reformers, William Miller and Sister White, each one in turn teaching truths which could not be borne out entirely by the writings of any one predecessor. To find all the Truth thus progressively revealed, the writings of all must be collaborated.

For instance, in setting forth the law of the Passover, and in commanding its observance Moses wrote: “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats: and ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.” Ex. 12:5, 6.

The reason which Moses assigns for the Passover observance is that it is to commemorate Israel’s going out of Egypt (Deut. 16:1-3). John the Baptist, however, imputes its significance to the coming of Christ, “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29), while the apostles assign it to His crucifixion: “For even Christ our passover,” says Paul, “is sacrificed for us.” 1 Cor. 5:7. And the significance of keeping the Passover, he then attaches to the ordinance of the Lord’s supper (1 Cor. 11:26).

Similarly, Moses did not explain that the Levitical priesthood in the earthly sanctuary (Ex. 40:15) was only a provisional and thus a temporary one, a figure of Christ’s priesthood in the heavenly sanctuary, as the apostles explained (Heb. 6:19, 20; 9:12, 26).

Failing to advance with the advancing Truth, each generation of Jews found fault with its respective prophets, culminating with the apostles and the very Son of God Himself. The Jews justified their criminal actions on the ground that the claims of their prophets, of Christ, and of the apostles, were not founded upon Moses’ writings. So while boasting of Moses’ writings, they denied and killed the prophets who came after him—a solemn warning to us, lest doing as they did, we meet their fate!

The main question therefore is not as to whether Sister White’s or Moses’ or this one’s or that one’s writings contain all the messages for this day, but rather simply as to whether they are found in, and supported by, the Bible.

The Rod consequently does not claim that its message is found in its entirety in the writings of any one particular prophet, but rather in the writings of all the prophets—“here a little, and there a little.” Isa. 28:13.

Let none, therefore, treacherously use Sister White’s writings, as the Jews used Moses’ writings, against the advance of Truth, and to their own eternal hurt. From every angle approached, the Bible clears the subject of the Kingdom, making impossible one’s erring if he follows precisely what the Word says concerning it.

The Rod does not teach either that Jerusalem is to be rebuilt, or that it is not to be rebuilt, as the capital city of the Kingdom, but only that the Kingdom in its beginning is to be set up in the Promised Land. And in confirmation of this truth, Ezekiel prophesies of

A New Division of The Land.

The prophet presents a division of the land entirely different from that in Joshua’s time (Josh. 17): it is to be in strips from the east to the west; Dan is to have the first portion in the north, and Gad, the last portion in the south between the borders of these two are to be the portions of the rest of the tribes; the city is to be in the midst of the land (Ezek. 48).

The fact that such a division of the Promised Land has never been made, shows that it is yet future. Also the fact that the sanctuary is to be there, whereas it is not to be in the earth made new (Rev. 21:22), again proves that this unique setup is pre-millennial.

In addition, the twofold fact that the name of the city is “The Lord is There,” and that its location, according to the division of the land, necessarily must in some respects be different from that of old Jerusalem, shows that Jerusalem of today, the city proper, may not at all be rebuilt as a capital city of the coming Kingdom. (See Tract No. 12 The World Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, 1941 Edition, pp. 52, 53).

If the Bible makes Itself clear on any subject It certainly does so on the subject of the Kingdom. And rightly so, for the Kingdom is the Christian’s crowning hope,

Satan’s Constant Target, the People’s Repeated Stumbling Block.

That the great controversy between Christ and Satan is over this crowning hope, the Kingdom, is seen from the Lord’s repeated instructions in the prophecies, in the types, and in the parables; from Satan’s constant effort to keep the human race out of it; and last, from human beings repeatedly being defeated in their warfare to become heirs of it.

Working determinedly from the beginning to plunge all humanity into hell, Satan conceived his major strategy of misleading them concerning the Kingdom. He succeeded with most of the Jews because they wanted the Kingdom set up before its appointed time or not at all. And he is succeeding with many of the Laodiceans today because now, when the time appointed actually has come, they want to have it later or not at all! What a paradox! What an irony! Indeed, as history repeats itself, so does folly!

The Bible says: “In the days of these kings [the kings that are symbolized by the ten toes of the great image] shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed. …It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms.” Dan. 2:44.

Observe that “the stone” (the Kingdom) does not become a great mountain until after it smites the image, showing that the Kingdom begins in its infancy with only the first fruits, who soon stand on Mount Zion with the Lamb, and who later, after they have garnered in the second fruits of the living, smite the nations; finally there come from the grave the saved of all ages fully to make up the “great mountain”—the Kingdom complete!

In the face of these clear-cut and repeatedly chronicled prophecies, may no one be so foolish as to say, as did the Jews in response to Ezekiel’s prophecies, “The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off” (Ezek. 12:27), thereby bringing upon his head the same dreadful doom.” (Answerer, vol. 2, Question 42)

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WHAT SAITH THE SPIRIT UNTO LAODICEA ?

May 10, 2025

Does not Laodicea in her lukewarmness present in a consummate way the dangerous condition which the apostle Paul warns against when he says: “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall”?

Answer:

Sacred history is repetitious with the tragic lesson that when a people go wrong, as did Israel in Elijah’s and again in Christ’s time, they are no longer sensible of their being wrong. Likewise repetitious is the even more tragic lesson that such a people have always misconstrued God’s efforts to bring them to a realization of their errors. So once they are led astray from the teachings of the prophets, and captivated by new and magnetic human leadership, their liberation and correction become almost impossible. (See Prophets and Kings, pp. 121-126.)

In varying ways, the fatal weakness which has characterized every Movement, from that of Israel to that of Laodicea, has been in “laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works.” Heb. 6 :1. And what is still more basic, and more urgently to the point, is that each Movement alike failed to progress from one message to the next, and to go on to reach its final goal of transcendental attainments in divine knowledge.

Instead, each fell from the heights of its own early rich experience, back down to spiritual poverty, because it failed to keep pace with the Truth. Each Divinely called Movement came to a standstill where it contentedly satisfied itself that it was yet in the sanctified steps to the Mount of Perfection, that it was “flourishing, and that peace and spiritual prosperity” were “in all [its] borders” (Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 217), when in reality, quite the opposite was the truth. So follows Laodicea, thinking she is all right when she is all wrong.

Never in the violent history of this sin-deluged world has so great a danger and so great a necessity confronted the church. In this all-enveloping peril, “what does God say in regard to His people ?–‘But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.’ (See also Isaiah 43.) These are prophecies that will be fulfilled.”—Testimonies to Ministers, p. 96.

“What greater deception can come upon human minds than a confidence that they are right, when they are all wrong !” – Testimonies, Vol. 3, pp. 252, 253.

Again, it is written in Proverbs 29 :18 (margin), “Where there is no vision, the people is made naked.”

Here in more extensive relief is the picture of a people who have indeed lost their “vision” (the supernatural guidance afforded by the living voice of the prophetic gift resident among them), but who realize it not. More amazing still, they have evidently introduced their own inventions (idols) as substitutes for the things of God. This they have done so gradually that they are quite as unaware of it as they are that many have not availed themselves of the volumes of the Spirit of Prophecy- their very “eyesight.”

And where others have had these volumes of vision lying all around them, they have let them go either unread or unheeded and therefore “unappreciated.”-Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 217. Thus it is in this sense more than in any other that they have become blind-no longer even expecting any further revealed truth to give power and force to their message (Early Writings, p. 277). Yet they still flatter themselves that they are in the inner circle of God’s favor!

“The message of the True Witness finds the people of God in a sad deception, yet honest in that deception. They know not that their condition is deplorable in the sight of God. While those addressed are flattering themselves that they are in an exalted spiritual condition, the message of the True Witness breaks their security by the startling denunciation of their true condition of spiritual blindness, poverty, and wretchedness. The testimony, so cutting and severe, cannot be a mistake, for it is the True Witness who speaks, and his testimony must be correct.”—Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 253.

If the thinking processes of the Laodiceans were not in dire need of a complete Spiritual overhauling and re-orientation, they would not “think they are all right when they are all wrong,” think that they are “rich” when in reality they are desperately “poor”-destitute of truth and righteousness!

Accordingly, nothing but a message with “healing in its wings” will heal the Laodicean mind of its spiritual sickness. In this hour of the church’s crisis, “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.”-Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 81. Why?- Because they have the promise that “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.” Zech. 13:1, 2.

“For in that day every man shall cast away his idols…which your own hands have made unto you for a sin….Turn ye unto Him from Whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.” Isa. 31:7, 6.

“In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.” Zech. 12:8.

The Spirit’s Voice through Isaiah is now also crying aloud: “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean….How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” Isa. 52:1, 7.

The same Voice through Nahum also pleads: “Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.” Nah. 1:15.

But in all her history, the church as a whole has never accepted a message from heaven. The call therefore comes to each individual member. Each must decide for himself. No one should allow himself to be influenced by another. And “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….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.”—Testimonies on Sabbath-School Work, p. 65; Counsels on Sabbath-School Work, p. 28.

“But we see that the God of heaven sometimes commissions men to teach that which is regarded as contrary to the established doctrines. Because those who were once the depositories of truth became unfaithful to their sacred trust, the Lord chose others who would receive the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, and would advocate truths that were not in accordance with the ideas of the religious leaders. And then these leaders in the blindness of their minds, give full sway to what is supposed to be righteous indignation against the ones who have set aside cherished fables.

They act like men who have lost their reason. They do not consider the possibility that they themselves have not rightly understood the Word. They will not open their eyes to discern the fact that they have misinterpreted and misapplied the Scriptures, and have built up false theories, calling them fundamental doctrines of the faith.”-Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 69, 70.

Since the Laodiceans are already in the greatest deception, then for any one of them to decline to investigate a claimant to truth for fear of being deceived in so doing, is to stultify reason. To investigate and to study is one’s only salvation—his only hope of getting out of his present “sad,” “terrible,” “fearful” deception (Testimonies, Vol. 3, pp. 253, 254, 260), and his only hope of protection in keeping him from plunging into the abyss. So he must study as never before!

And in so doing he will find that this is the beginning of the very message he must have in order to clear the scales from his eyes and break the invisible, but none-the-less real, shackles of inertia and self-exaltation in which the Enemy holds him bound.“ (Answerer, vol. 1, Question 5)

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Why do the SDA leaders leave out the Isaiah 2:2-3 prophecy? (Part 2)

April 26, 2025


To continue with our series, we’ll discuss more about the “great bypass” as it were. The SDA leaders bypassing the end time prophecy of the Gospel Kingdom. “

Let’s look again at one of the references we showed in part one.

 “Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.  As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.  And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”(Daniel 2:41-44)

Notice that “in the days of THESE KINGS the God of heaven willl set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed..” 

This is no small point, infact it gives us great clarity of “when” this kingdom will be set up. As shown in Daniel 2:31-35, Daniel was describing the great image that the king dreamed. Below is that image —

Dan-2-upa7.org

Spirit of Prophecy tells us helpful information about the toes , mixed with Iron and clay.

“We have come to a time when God’s sacred work is represented by the feet of the image in which the iron was mixed with the miry clay..”( 15 MR, p.39)

“Our position in the image of Nebuchadnezzar is represented by the toes..” ( Testimonies, vol.1, p.361)

So we see that today we are living in the time of the ten toes– our present world.  The kings referred to are the rulers today, their governments partly strong and partly fragile. Now notice IN their days, not after their days will God set up a kingdom. That means during our current world this kingdom will be set up! Daniel supports exactly what Ezekiel prophesied , as well as Jeremiah and many of the other prophets.

So with the preponderance of God’s word clearly showing the fact that God will have a kingdom set up in the last days, we can be assured, just as Isaiah said –the word of the Lord shall come from the Holy land.

Is this kingdom a worldwide kingdom? No. The arch enemy will fight it and ultimately counter with the Sunday Law to force many to not accept this kingdom. To correctly label it, we can describe it as the Gospel Kingdom.  The Loud Cry headquarters from which the final message of the Lord shall come.

Let’s look at a striking prophesy by the Lord Himself. Often misunderstood by our SDA leaders.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”(Matt. 24:14)

Let’s rightly divide this word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). When we understand the promises of the Gospel kingdom, we can see that our Lord is talking of THIS KINGDOM, not the heavenly kingdom. You see, in order to make the heavenly we must first come into the earthly one. Those who are alive during this kingdom time will have a chance to “witness” the amazing pentecostal power and beauty coming from there.  A fateful decision will have to be made by every single human alive during this time. No fence sitting!

The SDA leaders almost exclusively teach the aforementioned reference as Christ talking of the heavenly kingdom. So wrong they are!

Isaiah describes some what we will witness and its beauty.

 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.
And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious. It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.” (Isaiah 11: 6-12)

Before some say “Oh that’s talking of the earth made new” –no it is not. How do we know? Notice there are “Gentiles” during this time. In heaven or the earth made new , there shall be no Gentiles. 

Inspiration shows us why.

“There is to be but one family tree in the Kingdom, the tree of Jacob, into which the Gentiles are grafted, as is seen from Romans 11.

This is further shown by the holy city wherein is no Gentile gate, but each of whose twelve gates bears one of the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Hence, the Gentiles are saved through adoption—grafted into the original olive tree, and thus as naturalized citizens of Israel they inherit the Kingdom.( Answerer, vol. 3, p.76)

Ezekiel in Chapter 47 also describes this Gospel kingdom, particularly in the divisons of the holy land. There shall be new boundaries for the twelve tribes. Also the final temple sanctuary shall be built, chapters 40-43.

NOVEMBER 24- TODAY'S READING FROM THE ONE YEAR BIBLE- EZEKIEL 47:1-48:35; 1 Peter 2:11-3:7; PSALMS 119:49-64; PROVERBS 28:12-13 - New Life Community Church

A Rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem? A Look at Ezekiel's Vision in Chapters 40-48 — The Riddleblog

So all of these prophecies will be for a witness of God’s final message of the kingdom. The two armies take the field. The final battle for souls will be from God’s army (Joel 2:1-11) versus Satan’s army –false prophet and his miracles promoting the false Sabbath, Sunday.

There are  generally three reasons the SDA leaders don’t proclaim this truth.

1) They are ignorant of it (not being guided by the Spirit of Truth John 16:13)
2) They say it was conditional (those promises were only for the Jews IF they were good)

3) Ellen White did not teach this Gospel Kingdom in the holy land. Therefore it’s not really applicable.

As most can see these are extremely poor and illogical reasons to brush God’s word away! Infact God , through the Elijah message, addressed this issue —

“Although the doctrine of the Kingdom may not appear quite so complete under the lens of Sister White’s writings as under the lens of the Rod, one dare not thus superficially reject either, but must the more studiously compare both views of the doctrine under the super-lens of the Bible. He must keep in mind that we are not given license to harmonize the Bible with any other writings, but are charged to measure all others by It.

First of all, in order to do justice to the Scriptures, to Sister White’s writings, and to the Rod the position of each on the subject must be viewed in the light of the Scriptures, which incontrovertibly teach that the Promised Land will be reinhabited by the Lord’s own converted people. (See Isaiah 2; Micah 4; Ezekiel 36, 37; Jeremiah 31-33).

As to Sister White’s statement in The Great Controversy, she is there speaking of the Kingdom complete, after the dead are raised, at the time the saints receive it. This was the only phase of the subject-the consummate phase that Providence had made known when she wrote. Now as the scroll of prophetic Truth has unrolled further since her day, the Kingdom in reality is seen to have an intermediate, Davidian phase, as well as the final one heretofore known.” (Answerer, vol. 2, p.74-75)

In closing our SDA leaders are indeed blind as Rev. 3 says, and sadly they “knowth not”. Full of false ideas and bypassing end time events to come! Let us not be fooled as they are, God’s promise is of this Gospel kingdom –get ready and watch. 

Video version —

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Why do the SDA leaders leave out the Isaiah 2:2-3 prophecy?

April 18, 2025

(NOTE: we have added this picture solely for the beauty of it, and don’t neccesarily subscribe to 119 ministries views)

The Apostles assembled one last time in Jerusalem with Jesus and He spoke the following then ascended back to heaven.

Apostles — “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Jesus– “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has set by His own authority”. (Acts 1:6)

They had learned of the Great Teacher and they knew the Scriptures. Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, Isaiah and the rest. They spoke of a kingdom of glory established on the earth, not neccesarily in heaven. Yes the Bible speaks of a heavenly kingdom but it also speaks of an earthly kingdom BEFORE that. It was a promise spoken over and over again such as —

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the Lord. But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase  I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called:

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’  but, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.” (Jer. 23:1-8)

“Thus says the Lord God: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God.” (Ezekiel 28:25-26)


 “Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.  As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.  And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”(Daniel 2:41-44)

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:2-3)

So with these promises of the Lord, how can any serious Bible student refuse to accept them? Afterall His word will not return void.

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)

We shall indeed learn the full ramifications of the following promise of the Lord —

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:14)

That promise is so misconstrued by our SDA brethren.

Unfortunately most SDA leaders do not proclaim these promises. There is a myriad of reasons and we shall go over them in part 2 (possibly adding a final part 3). This IS the final plans of the Lord and we would be wise to subscribe to these promises. His word is like a beautiful puzzle picture and if we miss placing these pieces in the puzzle picture we shall be held accountable. The Lord is serious about our knowledge of His word and promises.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being a priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” (Hosea 4:6)

With the cares of this world many of us sit watching TV, being on the computer or handheld, or out for entertainment night after night, the Bible collecting dust on the shelve! Let that not be you or I.

…to be continued

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Could DJT play a big role in upcoming prophecy?

April 5, 2025

A while back we did a video on this important topic. Please spend a short while listening to it as DJT needs our focus, not only for political reasons but for prophetic reasons. Be blessed and enlightened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68nXn-GVhNo

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WHICH SANCTUARY IS CLEANSED AND WHAT POLLUTED IT?

March 15, 2025

Brother Victor T. Houteff wrote 5 “Answerer” Tracts. They composed a total of 165 questions submitted to him during his Ministry. We would like to post question no. 48 in Track 3. Be blessed and enlightened!

“Question No. 48:

  Does the word “cleansing” spoken of in Daniel 8:14 refer to a cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary? If so, what polluted it?

Answer:

  Though the sanctuary in heaven and the one on earth are in two different locations, yet the one necessarily involves the other, for both deal with the same sins and sinners. Hence, for one sanctuary to become polluted will as a consequence affect the other. For instance, if some of the members of the church on earth should backslide after once being converted (as did Achan King Saul, Judas, Ananias and Sapphira, and many others whose names were once written in the Book of Life but who though failing to continue in the faith became unworthy of life eternal), they would of course at the same time pollute both sanctuaries. The earthly they pollute by their actual deeds and influence; the heavenly, by having their unworthy names in its books; for while the earthly sanctuary harbors the people, the heavenly houses their records.

  So while there is need of cleansing the earthly sanctuary from backsliders and hypocrites there is need of cleansing the heavenly sanctuary from the sinners’ names in its books. And the proper term for such a work is Investigative Judgment-the work portrayed in Daniel’s prophecy (Dan. 7:9, 10) and in Christ’s parables of the harvest, net, talents wedding garment, and the goats and the sheep.

  However, as the Bible plainly teaches that this special work takes place only once during probationary time (Heb. 9:26), it follows that the records of those who have died throughout the centuries will be the first to pass in review before God, the Great Judge (Dan. 7:9, 10). After these have been examined, then the examination of the records of the living will begin. And as we are told that there are two classes of people in the church (‘’wheat”) and “tares”—(Matt. 13:30), it is evident that the Investigative Judgment (“harvest”) of the dead affects only the heavenly sanctuary.

This is doubly evident when it is remembered that “the dead know not anything” (Eccles. 9:5) but are lying unconscious while waiting in their graves for the resurrection day. But when the Judgment (“harvest”) of the living shall begin, then of necessity the sanctuary on earth will be cleansed from the hypocrites, and the sanctuary in heaven from their names in its records. Both sanctuaries are therefore affected. The cleansing of the earthly is further borne out by Malachi’s prophecy:

  “Behold I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and 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 coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s sope: 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.

  Furthermore, the treading under foot of both the sanctuary and the host, and the casting “down the truth to the ground,” projected in Daniel 8:12, must also be considered. By substituting a pagan priesthood for the priesthood of Christ, and unconverted pagans for the host of God, also by introducing a pagan festal day in place of God’s Sabbath, not only both the heavenly and the earthly sanctuaries but also the doctrines were polluted. So while the two sanctuaries are being cleansed from sinners, Bible Truth is being winnowed from man’s theories and ideas.”

For the complete Track see this link —
https://www.shepherds-rod.org/answerers/answerer3.htm#48

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James 3:1, Our Warning

February 22, 2025

In James 3:1  we read —

“My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.”

Here we read a profound statement and warning. Not only will all receive a close review and judgment of their lives but the “teachers” will be examined even more closely!  That should make any present teacher of God’s word step back and ask “Am I sound in my doctrine? Am I keeping private interpretations out of my teachings? Am I absolutely sure I can be held to account from the Lord on my teachings?

Peter also gives us more —

“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 Peter1:20-21)



Sadly as I experience more time in the Lord’s word and watch our fellow brethren and their teachings, I am more and more alarmed at the lack of knowledge, the lack of respect for the word of God. The carelessness that many of today’s teachers exhibit in videos, written reports and sermons is indeed quite alarming!

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7)

Because we are living in the last days and the message of Elijah  has come (for those who have received it), we should be keenly aware that the Lord gave us counsels on how to “rightly divide the word of Truth” (2 Tim. 2:15)

Basically they are–

1) Go by weight of evidence 
2) Harmonize
3) Mark every word
4) Understand that light progresses

Therefore, we as “present truth” teachers should first and foremost follow counsel.  But is this done? Most of the time, sadly no!  Let us give some examples.

This SDA brother is teaching that the fall of the Twin Towers was the begining of the judgment of the living. See the specific area of 59:50 mark to 1:15:00 mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJg42_6zm_U&lc=Ugxb6hlZzM4XEYiHr8V4AaABAg.AEpnBeC2G9XAEqiLpya4wW

Then we have a well known pastor, Doug Batchelor, who while discussing the middle east leaves out two of the most central prophecies in end time events —

 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord‘s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:2-3)

Also  the last days great war over Jerusalem as spoken of in Zech. 14:1-8.

Amazing Facts recent video on the happenings in the middle east —

What is concerning is that most of these prvate interpreters are falsely giving final events timelines. The Lord’s message of Elijah clearly and without doubt gives us a straight, clear Biblical guide to end time events to soon occur.

In summary, our SDA church has largely not heeded the counsel of  James 3:1, and as a consequence many Idols (false teachers) are in the midst. We MUST be careful dear brethren if we decide to take the up the duty of teaching. If we are listening to a teacher, we also must ask — “has this teacher accepted the final message of Elijah?”  If not, he is likely to instill private interpretations, a thing forbidden in the Lord’s word. Then such “itching ears” will fall victim to their Idol, such as the followers fell for Korah in Moses’ time.

For those who wish to start their course in studying this final message of Elijah, see this link and commence. Be blessed.

Home

And as always, we are here for anyone who has any questions on the Elijah message or any prophecy:

palmguy@dc.rr.com

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The World is ready for a BIG Upheavel

February 15, 2025

“Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.” (Test. for the Church, vol. 9, p.11)

Do  you have your seat belts on?  The world is soon to be jolted by TWO big events happening concurrently. What are they you ask?

The Lord’s final message of Elijah tells us plainly —

“O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.”

   Here in prophetic utterance is not only a promise to purify the church when modern Assyria is being crushed, but also a suggestive statement as to what constitutes “meat in due season” for men today; and as to what movement they are to enlist in if they would make sure of salvation.  They are enjoined to fix their vision upon the feet of him who brings “good tidings” (message from the Lord), who publishes “peace” (the peace of Christ’s Kingdom), and who declares that while the powers of earth are engulfed in a gigantic war, the wicked in the church shall be cut off, no more to pass through her.  Specifically, the prophet exhorts all penitently to turn unto  the house of Judah (the latter-day Kingdom of Judah — Mic. 4; Ezek. 37:16-22), the church in the purification of which are to be sealed 12,000  out of each of the 12 tribes, as firstfruits.   And he urges the subjects of the kingdom to perform their religious duties and to keep their promises to the Lord.  In short, he admonishes them to give heed to the message of the hour — the message which announces the imminence of the church’s purification, after which, as the promise is, “the wicked shall no more pass through” her, for “he is utterly cut off.” (See also Matt. 13:30, 47-50, Isa. 66:16, 19, 20). (Tract 14, p.22)

Let us slowly, prayerfully and deeply concentrate on the red highlighted words. There is, as we know, a big focus on the middle east now. Since Oct. 7 of 2023 the world has kept it’s eye upon the seriousness of the middle east happenings. This is God’s plan being developed. There is to be a gigantic world war over the middle east, let us read —

“Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst.  For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.  Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.  On that day his feet shall stand fon the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from ithe earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.”(Zech. 14:1-5)

What is the purpose of this war? God must fulfil His promises —

“And for the house of Israel there shall be no more a brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.“Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.” (Ezekiel 28:24-26)

Very few know what the above really means, but let that not be us. Believe in His word, it shall come to pass,

“Isa. 60:10 — “And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in My wrath I smote thee, but in My favour have I had mercy on thee.”

In Ezra and Nehemiah’s time the people of God, the Jews, themselves had to build against great odds, but for the church purified, the Gentiles shall gladly build.  Not only the common people but even their kings are to minister to the servants of God.  Kings are now the bosses, but the day is almost here in which God’s servants shall boss the kings, and the kings shall be glad to be bossed by them.

Isa. 60:11 — “Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.”

   Because of our response to God’s call and because of our rising to shine for Him, many people shall say: “…Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Isa. 2:3.  For this very obvious reason the gates as it were, would have to stay open day and night in order to accommodate the traffic — the incoming saints, the wealth of the Gentiles, and their kings.  Plainly, then, the great need is not the “Harvest Ingathering” campaign, not the multiple collections, not the book sale days — not any goal-raising campaigns — but to take this “golden oil” for our lamps and to “arise and shine” is what the church needs today.

Isa. 60:12, 13 — “For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.  The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; and I will make the place of My feet glorious.” (1 TG, no. 40, p.19-20)

The two big events shall be a world war over the middle east, and the Ezekiel 9 SDA church purification.


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The Fate of Assyria and the Triumph of the Church

January 18, 2025


THOUGHT FOR MEDITATION AND PRAYER

   We shall read from “The Mount of Blessing,” page 180, paragraph one.  The reading is based on the scripture which says, “Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye?”

   M.B., pg. 180 — “Even the sentence, ‘Thou that judgest doest the same things,’ does not reach the magnitude of his sin who presumes to criticize and condemn his brother…. When he thinks he has detected a flaw in the character or the life, he is exceedingly zealous in trying to point it out; but Jesus declares that the very trait of character developed in doing this un-Christlike work, is, in comparison with the fault criticized, as a beam in proportion to a mote.  It is one’s own lack of the spirit of forbearance and love that leads him to make a world of an atom…. According to the figure that our Saviour uses, he who indulges a censorious spirit is guilty of greater sin than is the one he accuses; for he not only commits the same sin, but adds to it conceit and censoriousness.”

   Satan is doing his level best to make us transgress in this respect so that we lose out eternally.  God has delegated no one to be policing another.  Only God through His prophets is to reprove sin, but never to use force of any kind.

   Shall we kneel now, and pray for a realization that our duty is not to criticize others or to magnify their faults, but to speak and practice the Truth?  Further than that, Brother, Sister, we need not go.  The rest is up to our audiences and associates.  Let them decide for themselves what is best for both soul and body.  Truth need not be poked down the throat.

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THE FATE OF ASSYRIA,AND THE TRIUMPH OF THE CHURCHTEXT OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTSSABBATH, JANUARY 11, 1947MT. CARMEL CHAPELWACO, TEXAS

   Let us turn to Zephaniah 3, and begin with the first verse.

Zeph. 3:1 — “Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!”

   The antecedent of the pronoun “her” is found in the thirteenth verse of the preceding chapter.  In it is seen that the “city” here pointed out is Nineveh, the capital city of ancient Assyria.  Now to ascertain whether this Nineveh is actually the capital city of ancient Assyria or of some other Assyria, we shall study the remaining verses of the chapter.

Zeph. 3:2 — “She obeyed not the Voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God.”

   This verse points out the fact that the city and nation here mentioned had the privilege of hearing the voice of Inspiration, of knowing God’s Truth, but has failed to take heed — received not correction, trusted not in the Lord, drew not near to her God.

Zeph. 3:3 — “Her princes within her are roaring lions;

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her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.”

   Her princes, being like roaring lions, must be frightful persons who evidently think “might makes right.”  Her judges are, as it were, evening wolves; that is, they are in business, not to execute judgment, justice, and righteousness, but to catch and tear, to fill their den with prey although they may have more than they know what to do with.  “They gnaw not the bones till the morrow.”

Zeph. 3:4 — “Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.”

   In the language of today this verse would read, “Her teachers are light-hearted, not serious and sober-minded; they are trifling; they are of no account; they are treacherous persons.  Her ministers, rather than having kept the church clean, have polluted it, and have done violence to the law” (have declared It void).

   Thus far is seen that the Assyria of this chapter represents a people who have been well instructed in the things of God, the law and the sanctuary.  But instead of obeying the Lord and ruling justly and righteously, they have greatly transgressed, have gone down into sin as deep as any people can possibly go.

Zeph. 3:5 — “The just Lord is in the midst thereof; He will not do iniquity: every morning doth He bring His judgment to light, He faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.”

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   In view of the fact that God is in the midst of them, they must be well informed in the things of God, well aware that in due season He makes known to them His judgment.  In view of all these, the only possible conclusion one can come to, is that God’s church must be in their midst.

Zeph. 3:6-8 — “I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.  I said, Surely thou wilt fear Me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.  Therefore wait ye upon Me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them Mine indignation, even all My fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.”

   The Lord Himself warns that He has cut off nations, that He has made their towers desolate and their streets waste, that He has destroyed their cities and has left no inhabitants in them.  He points out that all this He did as an object lesson for future good, so that they as a nation might fear Him and receive instruction, that their dwellings not be cut off.  But in spite of these examples, they rise early and corrupt all their doings.  So it is that at long last the Lord arises to the prey, gathers the nations, assembles the kingdoms, and Assyria gets her punishment.

   From this we see that the Assyria under discussion exists in the time of the end, the time in which the

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great and dreadful day of the Lord takes place.  This Assyria, therefore, is an antitype of ancient Assyria just as the Babylon of Revelation 17 and 18 is an antitype of ancient Babylon.

   Assyria, charges Inspiration, is a rejoicing city that dwells carelessly, that says in her heart, “I am, and there is none beside me.” Zeph. 2:15.

   At this point let us pause a moment and summarize the characteristics by which this modern Assyria is to be identified.  (1) As man looks at things, she is so great that there is none like her.  She is well instructed in the things of God.  (2) She is oppressive, a hard ruling nation.  (3) She has polluted the sanctuary and has declared the law of God void.  (4) She has piled up wealth by going after it as an evening wolfe goes after its prey.  (5) She harbors the church of God.  (6) She exists in the time the Lord is to manifest His power and destroy all the wicked nations.  (7) She is an Assyria-like nation, widespread, a nation of conquests.

   There is but one people under the sun that answers to all these descriptions, and that people is, of course, the English-speaking people, in whose midst is the church, and from whose midst the Gospel and the Bible flow out to all nations.  As clear as language can make it, the burden of the prophet Zephaniah is for the English-speaking Christian world.

   God is now saying to Assyria’s capital city, “Indeed, you are doing all these abominations, but you will not thus continue long.  The time is at hand.”  Put a stop to your absurdities.

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Zeph. 3:9 — “For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent.”

   Inspiration for certainty declares that after Assyria receives her punishment, and after the wicked are taken out of his church, then will the Gospel be proclaimed in a pure language (in pure Gospel Truth) that whosoever will, may call upon the name of the Lord, “to serve Him” with heart and soul.  Then it is that “only those who have withstood temptation in the strength of the Mighty One will have a right to proclaim it [Third Angel’s Message] when it shall have swelled into the Loud Cry.” — “Review and Herald,” Nov. 19, 1908.

Zeph. 3:10, 11 — “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My suppliants, even the daughter of My dispersed, shall bring Mine offering.  In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against Me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of My holy mountain.”

   When the Gospel is proclaimed in “a pure language,” then even from the ends of the earth God’s people will come with an offering to the Lord.

   Having removed all who rejoice in her pride the church shall be haughty no more.

Zeph. 3:12 — “I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord.”

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   The fact that He leaves in their midst poor and afflicted people is sufficient evidence in itself that the purification of the church takes place before the Millennium, before Isaiah 33:24 is fulfilled and before He sets up the kingdom mentioned therein.

Zeph. 3:13 — “The remnant of Israel 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.”

   The remnant, those that are left after the purification takes place, shall sin no more.  They shall forever thereafter stand without guile in their mouths.

Zeph. 3:14 — “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.”

   A great day is coming for the righteous, a dreadful one for the wicked.  We, therefore, as children of Zion, are encouraged to sing and shout for joy because we have finally come to the time of God’s great deliverance.

Zeph. 3:15 — “The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, He hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.”

   Surely these revelations of prophecy should encourage every believer to shout with joy as he realizes that the day in which he shall no more see evil is right at hand, that the Lord is to be his only king.

Zeph. 3:16-20 — “In that day it shall be said to Jeruusalem,

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Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.  The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.  I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.  Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.  At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.”

   The Lord wants us to know that when He turns away our captivity He will also make us a name and a praise among all the people of the earth.  This kingdom of Judah (the church purified and set apart), is therefore, not only pre-millennial, but also probationary.  And how glad we ought to be for the privilege to be among the first of the first fruits.

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THE MORE SURE WORD of PROPHECY

January 4, 2025


“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.” (II Pet. 1:19.)

“And while they [the foolish virgins] went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut . . . Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” (Matt. 25:10, 13.) 

“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” (I Pet. 4:7.) 

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he day devour.” (I Pet. 5:8.) 

“Those who are watching for the Lord, are purifying their souls by obedience to the truth.” “The Desire of Ages,” p. 634.

The Master commanded us to “watch and pray.” We may have the theory of the message so perfect that our hearers are made enthusiastic by our large knowledge of the Scriptures, but does that indicate that we are watching “in all things,” enduring “afflictions,” doing “the work of an evangelist,” and making “full proof” of our “ministry” as the apostle Paul exhorts us to do (see II Tim. 4:5): or praying, as the Master gave command for us to do? The wisest man who ever lived, wrote, by Inspiration, that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” 

To know our spiritual standing, it is well for us to consider some of the things which the Master desires us to watch for. As we are cognizant of the fact that Satan is determined to have us as his victims, then we must heed the first instruction given in the sermon on the mount—that we “be not deceived.” Therefore, our first duty is to make as thorough a study, by the use of both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, of the devices and points of attack which he will use in his warfare to defeat us, as he makes in his study of our weaknesses as points of vantage from which to assail us.

To obey is better than to sacrifice. Obedience to God’s law and principles, both in our spiritual and moral lives, is the thermometer which records whether our spiritual temperature is up or down, and which thus affords Satan the most accurate gauge by which to determine his onslaughts. 

“We need never expect that when the Lord has light for His people, Satan will stand calmly by, and make no effort to prevent them from receiving it. He will work upon minds to excite distrust and jealousy and unbelief. Let us beware that we do not refuse the light God sends, because it does not come in a way to please us. Let not God’s blessing be turned away from us because we know not the time of our visitation.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 5, p. 728. 

“We are taught in God’s Word that this is the time, above all others, when we may look for light from heaven. It is now that we are to expect a refreshing from the presence of the Lord. We should watch for the moving of God’s providence as the army of Israel watched for ‘the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees,’—the appointed signal that Heaven would work for them.”—Testimonies for the Church.” Vol 5 P. 728 

It behooves us, then, to study to know what is truth, what are God’s principles, what are the warnings and instructions given to His people at this time. In daily meditation of these, we shall be equipped to go forward in the Christian warfare, prepared for the darts of the evil one. However, we shall only be able to resist the enemy’s arrows by having our whole attention absorbed in being determined to serve God, and thus we shall know that we are walking in the light “even as He is in the light.” Then when specific calls come to us, we shall recognize in them the voice of our master, or, the voice of the usurper. 

With such a clear understanding, we shall get the vision of how to be like the little child of whom said Jesus, upon placing him in the midst of the company, “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 18:3.)

If our faith in God is as implicit as the faith of a child, we will not be of a halting, doubting spirit. And thus when we receive orders to “Go forward,” regardless of whether or not the way looks clear to us, we will not hold back and wait to see if it is really the way we are to follow, or to see first if the message prospers. 

Just how foolish is such a spirit, we might, in one way, concretely demonstrate, by the following example. Someone who is a stranger to us, and who lives at a distance, for some reason desires that we pray and fast for him with a certain purpose or object in view. We know nothing of the circumstances surrounding his life. However, he requests that we fast and pray. Is it now for us to question and doubt the call because we do not know his Christian status, or is it better to pray for him regardless of our ignorance of his circumstances?

Other problems of major or minor importance continually confront us in like manner, but are we so closely following our Saviour that He can trust us with wisdom from heaven so that we shall at all times give the answer of a man who has the true understanding which comes only from letting God lead? If we are not able to give such an answer, then may Heaven help us to be determined to follow on to know the Lord better each day so that He can class us as the “wise and prudent,” though we be “as a little child.”

We are happy for the call which God has given to us. But are we watching for the many subtle devices, and snares of the enemy in his efforts to cheat us of eternal life, by causing us to lose sight of Jesus just long enough at this most critical hour; when the sealing message is determining what our reward shall be, so as to cause our loyalty to change to disloyalty and our faithfulness to unfaithfulness to that call? Are we holding fast by obedience to God’s commands, as did faithful Abraham, so that no man shall take our crown? Are we lovers of our own pleasures so much more than the lovers of God that we will not obey? Is this watching “unto prayer” “as they that must give account?”

Though we do not know the exact hour in which Christ shall “rise up from His mediatorial work . . . and shall clothe Himself with the garments of vengeance,” yet we do know that He will do so while truth is being revealed (5T 690). Therefore, we must, like “the good man of the house,” be ready for Him, instead of being surprised, when He comes to protect His faithful ones “until the indignation be overpast.” (Isa. 26:20.) 

Paul reminds us that we “are not in darkness, that that day should overtake” us “as a thief.” Also that “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” (1 Thess. 5:4-6.) 

By the Prophet, Hosea, God reveals the closeness of earth to heaven by the fact that the earth hears “the corn, and the wine, and the oil.” Therefore, as this is the condition upon which our close relationship with Christ exists, and Heaven with us, ought we not now as never before make it our great duty to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” while probationary time yet lingers? But it may be argued that the kingdom of God refers to the new earth state, and that we shall be changed from our sinful to the ‘sinless state in the twinkling of an eye. True, but what saith God by His servant? 

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

“Now is the time to prepare. The seal of God will never be placed upon the forehead of an impure man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of the ambitious, world-loving man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of men or women of false tongues or deceitful hearts. All who receive the seal must be without spot before God—candidates for Heaven.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 5, pp. 214, 216. 

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