The Purpose of Elijah, Part 1 of 2

April 9, 2016

Victor Houteff

 

“Behold, I will send Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” 

As we all know, the original type Elijah, never died. He was translated to heaven on a chariot and remains there today. So when the Lord promised an end time Elijah, what was the purpose? Let us look into this important area.

Let us first read what brother Houteff said about the Elijah to come.

Since there is general agreement that Inspiration direct from the Throne of God is our only spiritual eyesight, then we should be able to see eye to eye if we let the Spirit of God have His way with us.  Especially so, dear fellow believers, since the time is dead ripe to look into the situation, now that God’s people everywhere are aroused by the questions:

   “Has Elijah the prophet already come?”  “Is the ancient prophet to appear in person himself?”  “Is a group of people to do a work similar to that of the ancient Elijah?”  Or what?

   As no one can in either honesty or impunity stand aloof to the answer which comes from God’s infallible Word, surely you brethren will now give the most serious attention to this urgent consideration, letting nothing distract you from it for you, as well as I, must realize that it means life and eternity to all of us.

   The serious issue to which these questions give rise, demands that we cease fooling ourselves or letting others make fools of us.  If the questions cannot be answered in positive Truth, far better, then, that they be left on the shelf until the scroll unfolds further, than that they be answered by men’s idle tales, which only confuse and confound.

 Now we may ask, Has the scroll unrolled far enough to clear up all these questions?  Is the Spirit of God pleading for us to stop, look, and listen, or are we still to wait?  For the Divine answer let us open our eyes wise to the light of “the more sure Word of prophecy” Itself, now shining more and more on our pathway:

   “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Mall 4:5, 6.

   In the light which this prophecy sheds on the subject, no one can possibly escape the conclusion that a prophet — a person — is to be sent “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord,” and that thus only can there be a group of people in connection with Elijah’s message.  The Scriptures make definite and sure the promise, the time, and the work, also the way to our security in the great and dreadful day, “lest,” as says the Lord, “I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Mall 4:6.

 No one can afford to commit the absurdity of either treating lightly or of kindling sparks of his own on the subject.  We should remember, moreover, that it is not possible that God should leave a one of us in darkness if we want to know the Truth, and if we are mindful of what God would have us to do. (“The Great Controversy,” p… 560).  To the end that this may be the happy experience of all of us, we should pray that the Spirit Who leads into all Truth would direct this effort.

   However, I would remind you, Brethren, that no prophet of God has ever been welcomed by the church.  On the contrary, each in his time was rejected, abused, and most of them were martyred by the ones to whom they were sent — the very ones who were supposed to be serving God!  Indeed, the Lord Himself paid the same price.  For this very reason we must remember that when the last prophet comes he will have the greatest opposition to meet, for Satan well knows that if he loses now, he loses forever. 

What makes Elijah’s work especially hard is that Christendom has long been drilled in the idea that no prophet is to come, that there is no necessity for one, that it has enough revealed Truth to carry it inside the Pearly Gates.

It is therefore only to be expected that the predicted Elijah will be denounced as a false prophet, perhaps even as the anti-Christ, offshoot, or what not. (General Conference Special, p.4-7)

Today unfortunately was have a great confusion, or should we say blissful ignorance of the very last message to come to us as His remnant people. Many us SDA say , “Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming.” Yet is this not what all the other so-called Christian churches are proclaiming? The Lord has specifically sent us a message, unlike them, so that we shall know all about His “next” coming, if we want it that is.  The remnant church has within its reach , great and wonderful prophetic descriptions describing His plans, His methods, and His coming.

Last week we posted of how the Lord led us into His sanctuary to speak of one of the many prophecies (Rev.12) that came directly from the pen of Inspiration–the Elijah prophet.

But the prophet also brought us many other prophetic interpretations, which we shall briefly summarize in this post. But before we do let us remember that the Elijah was to come sometime “before” the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And this being so, obviously, the message must be a preparatory message enabling us to stand in the day of that great and dreadful day. Additionally Elijah was to prepare the remnant to go to the pre-millennial kingdom. This teaching is one of the most awe-inspiring of the whole Elijah message!

Malachi once again sheds light on the purpose of Elijah’s coming.

“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 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.Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.”(Mal.3:1-5)

We see  –

A. Preparatory message given by a messenger

B. A Sudden coming of the Lord to the church 

C. Church purification

D. Loud Cry and True Worship

Ok let us now look at some of the specific areas of Scripture that the Elijah uncovered and how fascinating these prophetic truths are in the Holy Writ. If you take the time to read these references they shall indeed lift us up for a bright future. Or if we have still rejected the last message they may make us uncomfortable due to the solemnity of His church judgment.

  1. The book of Isaiah 

This book shows us the Pre-Mil. kingdom and the church purification . These references are not all in the book of Isaiah but we will point out some of the well-known and clear ones.

The Pre-Mil. Kingdom-  2:1-4, 11:1-16, 14:1-3, Chapter 26, Chapter 35, 49:5-13, 52:7-10, 62:1-12

Church purification- 3:16-24 ,34:5-10, 63:1-6, 65:11-16, 66:15-21

2. The book of Jeremiah

This book also deals much with the Pre-Mil kingdom.

The Pre-Mil Kingdom-  23:1-7, 30:1-22, 32:36-44

 

Next week we’ll look at more prophecies, stay blessed.

 

Posted in Elijah, Elijah Interpretations, Our Lord's kingdom, Victor T. Houteff | 1 Comment »

Truth in the Sanctuary

April 2, 2016

Truth sign

A couple of weeks ago at the local church’s Friday night vespers study, this servant was able to give a study in present truth. It was a short study on the Revelation 12 prophecy. As many of us know we are told by Inspiration that we must have “present truth” now.

“There are many precious truths contained in the Word of God, but it is “present truth” that the flock needs now.”(Early Writings, page 63)

What is noteworthy and remarkable is how the Lord has opened doors for such powerful truth to come into His house at this late hour. Many of us, especially us Elijah messengers, know very well that the Lord’s important  present truth prophetic lessons are rarely spoken of in His church today.

There was many reasons why this occurrence developed. Let us look at this latest development.

We know that our adversary is pulling out all stops to prevent God’s remnant church from getting the all important seal in their foreheads.

Much of the credit goes to the fact that our current pastor is of a “Burean” spirit. The  Bureans  as we recall were a people who did not scoff nor smugly disregard “new truth”.

“Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.” (Acts 17:11)

Pastor A, we’ll call him, has received many things with an open mind and a searchable spirit. As such our email studies and in-person studies have been one of mutual benefit. It has been quite refreshing to experience such willingness to “love the Truth” by a SDA leader. Now, contrast this from my last church.

The leaders there were proudly “rich and increased with goods”. New light/truth was something they were not interested in. “We have it all, we don’t need any more truth, let’s just rehash all the old truths and we’re good to go.” This was their attitude.

The Spirit of Prophecy is too clear to misunderstand —

“New light will ever be revealed on the word of God to him who is in living connection with the Sun of Righteousness. Let no one come to the conclusion that there is no more truth to be revealed. The diligent, prayerful seeker for truth will find precious rays of light yet to shine forth from the word of God. Many gems are yet scattered that are to be gathered together to become the property of the remnant people of God.” (Counsels to writers and editors, p.35)

So that week prior to the appointment to give the study, I prayed and supped(Rev.3:20) with the Lord on what to speak about. A brother, a fellow Elijah messenger, mentioned  that I should do the Revelation 13, “beast” prophecy. But as I dwelled on that, even to the point of searching more out on that propehcy , something did not click.

What came to me was that the Rev. 13 prophecy is more complicated and therefore with the short time I had scheduled in (about 30-45 minutes) I figured I could not properly cover it. So later the bell sounded–Revelation 12!

This seemed the ideal topic because it is relatively short and easily understood. It’s a beautiful story of how the Lord takes back His church from the “Dragon” who tries to over run the church with his “flood”, ie. unconverted so-called Christians, within God’s remnant church.

Prior to speaking , the pastor and I went into a small room and prayed. Those prayers were heard and answered! As I began to speak and not being accustomed to speaking publicly, I was alittle tight and uneasy. But as the study progressed the Spirit began to guide and the words came forth that were to be spoken.

Once the study concluded my wife and I handed out supplemental papers on this Rev. 12 study so that they could further review what was said about it.

Back to the point of the Pastor. The Spirit of Prophecy makes a startling statement —

“Unless the ministers are converted, the people will not be.” (Testimonies, vol. 4, p.445)

Once we have a leader (Pastor or Head Elder) who shows that they love the Truth more than anything else, we stand on good ground that the flock is in good hands. Now, contrast this will a uncoverted Pastor or Head Elder.

I left the prior church about 1 and half years ago because I could see the writing on the wall. The church, headed by the Pastor, was stuck in slow gear and often–neutral! And to confirm that Inspiration is spot on with the above quote, the current pastor was responsible for bringing into the church sanctuary  serious abominations. See this post — https://godsloveandlaw.com/2016/01/02/a-sda-christmas-celebration/

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?(Ezek. 34:1-2)

Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?’As for My flock, they must eat what you tread down with your feet and drink what you foul with your feet!'”(Ezek.34:18-19)

Despite the many shepherds who are “feeding themselves” within our beloved SDA church today, there exists some who are willing to “listen” to the Truth and for this we can truly praise the Lord. Being an Elijah messenger it really brings true joy to be able to go up before the people and give present truth, which the flock is hungering for. I can tell you not one person was asleep during the vespers study.

During the day, prior to that evening’s service, my wife and I spoke about what I’d speak about. In our conversation she mentioned that she could record the presentation but I told her no, as I did not want attention drawn to myself. To look like the presentation was rehearsed or set up for a certain purpose. But once I got up and began she said that the “Holy Spirit told me to do it” so it was recorded. So pray for this servant’s ministry that the Lord will continue to open doors so that His final message to us will go before the people, enlightening and encouraging, helping them to “stand ” in the”great and dreadful day of the Lord.”

May the Lord’s word arouse us and guide us!

The Rev. 12 study — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9q2xzskHR8

 

Posted in Proper teachings, Witnessing | 3 Comments »

“Woe is Me!”

March 26, 2016

Sad woman

This week we had a conversation with a lady, we’ll call sister G. As I listened the Spirit started to guide me that something must be said about her situation that we may see how the  “rubber meets the road”. In other words, God’s promises can be believed in and followed, or they can be neglected and no blessings shall be received.

In Malachi we read of God making a sure promise to us–

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Mal.3:10)

Here we see that our King makes a promise that if we do this–He will do that. But we see it’s a co-partnership, a mutual cooperation agreement.

As I listened to sister G, I couldn’t help but think “You are not receiving blessings because you stubbornly ignore the message of hope and instruction the Lord guided me to tell you.”

You see, sister G is a serious student of present truth, yet in our many conversations I have pointed out several times that if we obey His word then we get blessings. In our last conversation she lamented about her bad, even awful circumstances. This and that was all against her. My mind continued to dwell on why she was not receiving blessings. I point blank told her that she needs to “get with the program”.

The word in James tells us that we should act on what we learn —

“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22)

Our Lord gave us a great example of the poor old lady–

“Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more than all the others into the treasury. For they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” (Matt.12:41-44)

What a truly remarkable sight! An old lady having but little to live on came through and STILL gave what little she had.

Being in the work of present truth, it is often remarkable that some of those who profess present truth don’t even keep current with their account! What a sad sad situation. Knowing the great lights of His word, the present truth for us today, yet not doing what they should do. The basics are just that–basic. Meaning that we fool ourselves if we think we can just “know” the Truth and not apply it.

Our gracious Lord made sure that we as His end time people would know exactly where we should stand on this issue of being faithful, even if we, like the poor old lady have nearly nothing to give.

IS SMALL INCOME TITHE EXEMPT?

Question No. 158:

   As my income is very small, am I not exempt from paying tithe?

Answer:

   God designed the plan of systematic benevolence so as to make it as equitable to the poor as to the rich, no more a tax on the mite than on the million. And we know of no Scriptural authority for exempting from tithe any income, however small. All, poor as well as rich, are given the privilege of returning to the Lord His own. Many with a “mite” income are paying both first and second tithe, and in return are receiving a rich bestowal of blessing.

   Thus reason forces the conclusion that if one is not obliged to receive charity help in addition to his income (whatever its source) to cover his living expenses, then for him not to pay tithe is to cheat Himself of the abundant blessing which attends a faithful regard for the royal privilege of being one of God’s stewards. (Answerer, vol. 5, p.86-87)
 

Now let me give a personal example. Before I committed to being faithful to paying Tithes into His storehouse(s) my repair business was–so so. I did fairly good but not gangbusters. Shortly after beginning my payback to the Lord, per Malachi instructions, my business really started to take off. Today, I have the number one ranking in my field (most positive reviews) in our city (close to 400,000).

I see this as no accident, the Lord has often rewarded me in a financial way that I sometimes think “this is really a clear payback to His Malachi promise.” During the week I watch ALL income that comes in and I keep a running daily tally. Then at the end of the week (Friday evening) I add it up and put away the Tithe and mail it out to “present truth” organizations. But as His word says “Tithes AND offerings” I put away a little more as well.

See this post for “storehouse” recommendations —

Who really is a Davidian Seventh-day Adventist?

 

Back to sister G. As she laments of her condition, and all others like her, they have only one person to blame–their selves. The Spirit of prophecy describes the point in a dramatic way–

“They keep their possessions from doing good in the cause of God. They claim that these are their own, and that they have a right to do what they please with their own; and souls are not saved by judicious efforts made by them with their Lord’s money.

Angels keep a faithful record of every man’s work, and as judgment passes upon the house of God, the sentence of each is recorded by his name, and the angel is commissioned to spare not the unfaithful servants, but to cut them down at the time of slaughter. And that which was committed to their trust is taken from them.

Their earthly treasure is then swept away, and they have lost all. And the crowns they might have worn, had they been faithful, are put upon the heads of those saved by the faithful servants whose means was constantly in use for God. And everyone they have been the means of saving, adds stars to their crown in glory, and increases their eternal reward.” (Testimonies, vol. 1, p.197)

“The truth has taken hold of hearts. It is not a fitful impulse, but a true turning unto the Lord, and the perverse will of men is brought into subjection to the will of God. To rob God in tithes and offerings is a violation of the plain injunction of Jehovah and works the deepest injury to those who do it; for it deprives them of the blessing of God, which is promised to those who deal honestly with Him.” (Testimonies, vol. 5, p.644)

There are three aspects to the Malachi promise.

  1. Pay the Tithes and offerings
  2. Pay it to His storehouse
  3.  Receive God’s bountiful blessings

So it is not enough to just send out Tithes. If we send it to where they are not teaching and dispensing His “present truth” then that so called “storehouse” is not really a legitimate storehouse. And the rich blessings cannot be expected.

The idea that many current churches are not always the place to pay the Tithes was first shown by the Apostles. After the death of Christ, the followers of Christ realized that the Jews had rejected the “present truth” message  that was given from our Lord. Their leaders continued to preach “old” truths. The churches (synagogues) no longer remained God’s “storehouse”, the message of the hour was not proclaimed and instead darkness was inserted in place of light!

One point  that needs to be addressed is the idea that “I don’t need to pay my Tithe to _____ because they do this and that, they aren’t doing the right thing in my opinion.” In other words we justify our withholding the Tithes to His storehouse. This issue was dealt with in the message–

IS IT MY DUTY TO SET RIGHT THE LORD’S TREASURY?

Question No. 98:

   Should we pay our tithe to the “storehouse” if we know that it is not used rightly?

Answer:

   Knowing that our tithe belongs to God’s storehouse, our greatest burden should be to see that it is faithfully paid there. Nowhere in the Bible do we find that the Lord has laid upon any tithe payer the policing of the channels through which these funds pass.

   The Lord’s treasury is under His control, and if He Himself should not see fit to correct an abuse in the handling of His money, certainly we could not correct it however hard we might try. If we guard carefully that part of His work which He entrusts to us, our only concern will be to find out where His “storehouse” is, and then faithfully to deposit His money there. He has not made us responsible for its use; that, He will personally take over–even as He is now “taking the reins in His own hands.”

   When the Promised Land was divided among the twelve tribes of Israel, the tribe of Levi received no land for an inheritance, as did the eleven tribes. Instead, the Lord decreed that the tithes of the other tribes were to go to the Levites. This was their inheritance. It was actually their own.

And just as they, as the tithe receivers, had no right to dictate to the others, the tithe payers, what to do with their own increase after it had been tithed, so the tithe payers had no right to dictate to the tithe receivers what to do with the tithe. Each tribe was itself to be accountable to the Lord for that which He had entrusted to it. Thus it must be today.(The Answerer, vol. 4, Q-98)

So as we know by Scripture that the Lord’s final message right before the “great and dreadful day of the Lord” is His Elijah message, we should not quibble or murmur, leading us to withhold our Tithes. If the organization is proclaiming the message then we must “get on board” and show it by being faithful.

In closing , let each of us remember that God’s promises are a two-way street. He WILL do His part, are we willing to do ours? There is great blessings ready for us to receive!

 

 

 

Posted in Christian walk, God's storehouse, Obedience | Leave a Comment »

“All Things that Offend” (Matt 13:41-43)

March 19, 2016

All things that offend

In Matthew 13:41-43 we read, “The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” 

Here we have God’s Word truly packed with much warning and hope. But there is more to it than meets the eye. We shall go deeply into the ramifications of these powerful and soul awaking Words of God.

The message tells us that each Word of God is very important–

“..those who desire to know the truth must carefully mark every word, otherwise they will never comprehend the truth and, as a consequence, they will be driven by the winds as the waves of the sea until the winds cease blowing (probation closes), and they be left to sink down in their sins as do the waves in the sea.” (Sym. Code, vol. 2, no. 7-8, p.10)

But what have we as SDA been generally taught in regards to our study text? Yes, the second coming of Christ in the clouds. Let us now breakdown these words and see the truth therein.

First we see that the Lord sends His angels to remove those that “offend” from His kingdom. Now, what kingdom is the Lord talking about? It cannot be heaven’s kingdom because there are no offenders there. Neither can it be the new earth for obvious reasons. So that means it must be the earthly kingdom.

Let us note that the offenders are “gathered out” from this kingdom, whereas we know that when Christ comes at the second coming He will “gather out” of the world those that DO NOT offend and take up to the heavenly kingdom.

Do you notice what difference this understanding brings? Therefore this is pointing to the well-known topic that we have discussed so many times in our studies–the Ezekiel 9 church judgment.

Let us also look at the word “offend”. We see that God’s word makes a distinction from offenders and those that “do iniquity”. Not that the two are totally separate but rather God’s word wants us to dwell upon the fact that we can “offend” Him.

So in what way can we offend. Well, we know that for starters God’s word has many warnings and instructions to keep His Sabbath holy. So logically if we get lazy or sloppy we certainly take the chance in offending Him by our carelessness.

“You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths.” (Ezek. 22:8)

Are we dressing proper on His holy day? Are we avoiding business transactions on His holy day? Do the ladies wear the proper head coverings in His sanctuary? Are we avoiding buying and selling on His holy day?

Let us remember that there are basically two duties in our lifetime and they are found in Ecc. 12:13 –

 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” 

Those two duties are very far-reaching, they encompass so much of our life. So in order to avoid offending Him we should have a healthy amount of “fear”. Meaning that instead of saying “oh the Lord loves me I cannot concern myself with such minor issues as proper dress in His sanctuary”, we should be on the side of an overly cautious attitude.

This last week our church invited a youth music group to perform in God’s sanctuary. There appeared about 15 or so youths around 18- 25 years. At least 5 young gals came prancing around in His sanctuary with mini-skirts and high heels. Do we think our God is winking? LET’S GET REAL!

These people have no clue who Christ is and further there probably is NO parent or church leader who will sit them down and show them their offensive behavior. Again the Word of God warns–

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.(Isaiah 58:1)

The Spirit of Prophecy gives us clear warning of “an offended 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)

As we look further in our study text we see that after mentioning offenders His Word mentions the iniquity doers. These would appear to be those who have been established in their sins, those who regularly transgress. As opposed to the offenders who are much more lukewarm and appear to walk upright but still fail to give God glory by doing what He specifically warns us to do through His very last prophet (our current present truth).

You see my beloved, God does not make a serious move until He clearly warns us through his messengers.

“God does not send judgments upon His people without first warning them to repent. He uses every means to bring them back to obedience and does not visit their iniquity with judgments until He has given them ample opportunity to repent.” (Testimonies, vol.4, p.179)

Soon the Lord will remove “all things that offend”. This means that today, while we are still alive, we must at once decide to watch our steps and if we error, we error on being overly cautious. We do not mean to say that we  must be Pharisaic or extremely legalistic, only that we fear Him in an honest wholesome way.

The Loud cry is almost ready to start and the word says after the removal of the offenders it’s a new day for His people-Praise the Lord!

“Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” (Psalms 1:5)

In the final point of our reference we see the grand glorious hope for those that remain in His kingdom (church) and that is  — “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

The spotless church is then ready to proclaim the final Gospel proclamation to all the world, it is the long awaited–Loud Cry.

“Clad in the armor of Christ’s righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict. “Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners” (Song of Solomon 6:10), she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer.” (Review and Herald, July 1, 1915)

Are you prepared to do all you can to not “offend” the Lord to walk as His word says? How can we know what is required of us today?  It is only by “our” present truth, “our” current message of Truth, that we can know what does not offend Him. Let’s get down to business my brethren , let’s start reading and studying His final message of Elijah, don’t take any chances!

Posted in Present Truth | Leave a Comment »

Hard and Difficult Questions

March 12, 2016

Pharisee entrapment

The Jews of old were no dummies. Many of the Pharisees and scribes were very smart men. They posed tough questions to the King and he squared them away in thorough fashion.

Some of the questions were meant as a form of entrapment. Lawyers, Negotiators, Army generals and even all kinds of evil doers down through history have used this ploy to catch their victim one way or another. But it is even more amazing to see it backfire! Our King turned the tables beautifully when the Pharisees tried to entrap Him with supposed difficult questions.

“And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly: Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?

But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s. And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s. And they were unable to catch Him in a saying in the presence of the people; and being amazed at His answer, they became silent.” (Luke 20: 20-26)

In many of the questions asked of our very last prophet sent to our church,Victor  Houteff, they were hard and difficult.

The following are a few questions where the questions  demanded a solid answer to clear it. May you be blessed.

Question No. 157:

“I am convinced that ‘The Shepherd’s Rod’ is not the message of the hour, because I believe that when a message comes from God, it will not make a separation among His people. You agree with my logic, do you not?

Answer:

To try to convince the questioner by a long-drawn-out article with proofs from the Scriptures, is needless, for the question reveals that the person is not acquainted with past church history. Therefore, the best way to answer his query is to ask him to tell us the number of times God has sent messages to His church that they made neither trouble nor separation among His people. If facts prove his answer, to be in favor of this question, then of course, as Christians, we must change our position, and admit that the SRod is not a message from God. But if past church history, disproves his logic, then, of course, we shall expect from him, as an honest Christian and a seeker for truth, a letter of confession, stating that his logic has not refuted the SRod.

The SRod message according to Ezekiel’s prophecy, chapter Nine and “Testimonies to Ministers,” p. 445, is to accomplish nothing else but to separate the people in the church!

Thus the fact that the message of the SRod brings a separation in the church, is another proof that it is a message from God. (Sym. Code, vol. 3, no.3-4, p.16)

*****************************

Question: “The SRod, Vol, 1, p. 44 says that only the great multitude have palms in their hands, whereas G.C. 646 speaking of all ‘overcomers’ says: ‘In every hand are placed the victor’s palm and the shining harps.’ How are these statements harmonized?”

   Answer: According to SRod, Vol. 1, p. 44, Class number two; namely, the great multitude of Rev. 7:9, have their palms in their hands while they are on earth before being transported to the heaven of heavens. Hence their palms according to John’s vision are symbolic of victory gained. But in the statement from The Great Controversy, p. 646: “In every hand are placed the victor’s palm and the shining harp,” it will be noted that this gift to the saints is not made until they are in heaven — after they have all been transported from the earth. These palms are real but the others figurative.

To prove that the great multitude have their palms in symbol only, and before Jesus finishes His work in the heavenly sanctuary, read Rev. 7:11. Here it states that the great multitude have their palms while the elders and four beasts are still before the throne of the investigative judgment in the heavenly sanctuary. (See SRod, Vol. 2, pp. 189-191.) Therefore, they have their palms while the Investigative judgment is in session-before probation closes.

Furthermore, in regard to the class and the event of G.C. 646, note that in every hand in which is placed the victor’s palm there is also placed a shining harp. Whereas the great multitude have only palms but no harps. Therefore, these are two separate incidents distinct one from the other.” (Sym. Code, vol. 1, no.8, p.10)

****************************

Question: “Early Writings, p. 281 says: ‘The plan of salvation had been accomplished, but few had chosen to accept it. This statement is used very extensively against the doctrine of the ‘great multitude’ as taught by the SRod. Please harmonize it with the latter’s teaching.”

Answer: It is true that the words, “few chosen” often appear in sacred writings. However, it is unbiblical to explain the Word privately. We must let the Scriptures explain themselves. The following example will serve to show how fatal it is to explain the Scriptures by the human way of reasoning.

Says Paul: “But now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” (Heb. 9:26.) If one should expound the above quotation as some expound the words, “few chosen,” he would be compelled to do one of two things; namely, either humble himself as a little child and admit that he does not understand Paul’s writings, or else, separate from divine wisdom, exercise his human judgment and accuse Paul of being wrong in his statement, for the world did not end at the time Christ was sacrificed.

Therefore, let us examine the words, “few chosen,” in the light of the Bible. While Jesus declares that “many be called, but few chosen” (Matt. 20:16), Isaiah by the same Spirit says: “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…A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.” (Isa. 60:11, 22.)

Zechariah, while prophetically speaking of our time, also says: “Many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day.” (Zech. 2:11.) Furthermore, the Lord says: “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. 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.” (Zech. 13:8, 9.)

Moreover, while the Early Writings says: “But few have chosen to accept it,” the same author in The Great Controversy, p. 665, classifies the great multitude of Revelation 7:9 as a company separate from the martyrs and others who are to be resurrected, making it impossible to conclude that the “great multitude” are the resurrected.

Now the question is, if we conclude from the statement in Early Writings, p. 281, and from Matt. 20:16 that only a few are to be saved, what shall we do with Isa. 60:11, 22, Zech. 2:11; 13:8, 9, and The Great Controversy, p. 665? No candid Bible student could from the above statements arrive at any conclusion which would lead him to base his interpretation of the subject on one scripture and wholly ignore the other, but would rather seek to make his final analysis in such a way as to be in perfect harmony with all inspired writings or else confess that he does not have the light on the Scriptures.

The only doctrine that, in the present connection, will stand the test and be in perfect agreement with all sacred writings is the one that the “few” are those who were saved during the ages past, which period is figuratively classified in the parable of Christ as the time before the “Harvest.” But in the closing of the world’s history, in the ingathering time — the Harvest — there is to be saved a great multitude.

It is only natural that there were comparatively but few saved in the ages past, because of the fact that that period of time was not the Harvest, and it is likewise just as natural that now “in the end of the world,” — the time of the Harvest (Matt. 13:30), — there shall be a great ingathering of souls which no man can number.

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

As the idea of a great multitude is opposed only to the devil’s plan, let us not therefore work to his interest. (Sym. Code, vol. 1, no.10, p.8)

*******************************

Question: “5 T 216, speaking to the brethren, says that some are preparing for the mark of the beast, but according to the SRod, all unfaithful S.D.A.’s will be destroyed before the mark of the beast. Please explain.

Answer: If the questioner will restudy 5 T 216, she will see that it is not the brethren who are preparing for the “mark of the beast,” but rather “Those who are uniting with the world,” not with the church.  (Sym. Code, vol. 1, no.10, p.9)

********************************

Question: “How do you harmonize the seven kings of Rev. 17:10 with the beast that ‘was, and is not, and yet is’? The SRod, Vol. 2, p. 118 on this subject is not clear to me.

Answer: Do not try to harmonize the seven kings with the seven beasts, but only with the periods which are symbolized by the four metals of the great image of Dan. 2. To these periods add the period before the flood and the one after the millennium as illustrated in the SRod, Vol. 2, p. 84, and you will have a perfect harmony.

The seven kings embrace the entire world’s history from creation to the earth made new. The antediluvian world is symbolized by the first “king.” The empire of ancient Babylon by the second. The Medo-Persian by the third. The Grecian by the fourth and the Roman monarchy by the fifth. Of these it is said “five are fallen.” The king which “is” is symbolical of the period from the fall of the Roman monarchy to the second coming of Christ; that is, the period which now is; namely, Rome in her broken state.

The seventh king which “must continue a short space” is symbolical of the wicked world after the millennium. Thus, there are seven kings; five are fallen (the antediluvian, the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Grecian, and the Roman), but the present world which now “is” comprises the sixth, and the one that is to come after the millennium who is to “continue a short space” will be the seventh and the last. (Sym. Code, vol. 1, no.11,12, p.10)

*********************************

Question No. 56:

 If the church is to be purified before the close of probation for the world and remain pure thereafter without any sinners in it as “The Shepherd’s Rod” teaches, then how do you harmonize this with “Early Writings,” p. 71, which says Some “will come up to the time of the falling of the plagues, and then see that they needed to be hewed and squared for the building”?

Answer:

  There are other statements from the author of Early Writings which bear even more positive evidence that God will, before that time, have a church pure and true. (See The Great Controversy p. 425, Prophets and Kings, p. 725, Testimonies Vol. 5 p. 80; Isa. 52:1-2.)

   As these several statements with reference to a preliminary purification are just as true as the one in Early Writings which seems to negate a purification, one cannot honestly disregard them and give consideration only to it. Let us remember always to observe the inviolable rule that an interpretation of one inspired statement must harmonize with all other related statements.

  Some who are anxious to risk Present Truth on the weight of what one inspired statement seems to say or imply, are thereby presumptuously or very ignorantly overlooking the “weight of evidence.” Others are doing this through shortsightedness, while still others are doing it to prop up certain cherished ideas of their own.

  The basic foundation for the no-preliminary-purification doctrine is built, not upon solid rock, but upon the same shifting sand as that which underlies such as the erroneous ideas of the conscious state of the dead, the eternal torment of the wicked, baptism by sprinkling, Sunday sacredness, and the millennial age of peace on earth.

  Since, Truth is progressive, and since the purification of the church had not yet been revealed when the statement in Early Writings was written, the danger foretold and the counsel given therein could not possibly have been stated in terms other than those then familiarly comprehended. All were thus plainly forewarned that if they continued sinning, then after the close of probation for the world, the plagues, of which they already had some understanding, would be their recompense.

So for the Lord to have explained the matter in Early Writings as He does through the Rod today, He would have had to reveal, out of due time, when Early Writings was being written, the message which is applicable only to the church for today, and which we are now therefore receiving.

  In the last analysis, the unrepentant sinners who are now in the church, may never see the seven last plagues, while others who are now in the world, will in the time of the Loud Cry yet have opportunity to be “squared” for the building, and be treasured with the “living stones,” or else to suffer the consequences of the plagues.

  No one should have difficulty in seeing this now, for all those to whom Early Writings primarily spoke are already dead, though the plagues are yet in the future. Furthermore, there is much more light to come concerning the truth of the seven last plagues, and when it comes, we may again see that we have “many lessons to learn, and many, many to unlearn.”-Testimonies to Ministers p. 30.

******************************

To see all the questions and answers from the “Answerer” publications click here–http://shepherds-rod.org/answerers/index%20answerer.html

 

 

Posted in Elijah Interpretations, Proper teachings, Revelation teachings, Victor T. Houteff | Leave a Comment »

To Vote or Not to Vote

March 5, 2016

Voting

There is no doubt that currently the nation is witnessing a new phenomena. Politics as we know it is being turned on its head. Just look at the two of the leading candidates from the Republican and Democratic side–  Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. This voting season is causing a real uproar.

But with all this mass media coverage, we must step back and put in all into perspective. Voting has been a God-given right as proclaimed by our fore fathers yet our Lord has made this issue clear through His last and final message to us as Seventh-day Adventists.

Let us take a look at this issue as shown in the Lord’s Elijah message.

As we have pointed out many times the “restoring” message is the message that restores all the hazy areas that we are really not sure about such as “Do we as strivers to be among that fateful number, the 144,000, need to concern ourselves with voting and involvement in the political process?”

Let us look at the some direct questions asked about this issue.

IS VOTING BECOMING TO A CHRISTIAN?

Question No. 145:

   Is it right to vote?

Answer:

   As the franchise is one of the inalienable rights of a free people, there cannot be any wrong in exercising it if thereby either the law or offices of the land can be better served. To cast a vote though, which will further such an end, requires conscientious study; failing that, one’s vote can only be unintelligent guesswork, and thus adverse  rather than conducive to good government.

   Those, therefore, who are in no position to devote the time and study necessary to inform themselves on political issues sufficiently to qualify them to vote intelligently on them, cannot  conscientiously cast such a vote.

   Being ministers of the gospel, with our time completely preoccupied with the spiritual interests  of the people, we ourselves are not able to give attention to their political interests also, just as the people’s political representatives are not able to give proper attention to their spiritual needs also. And therefore rarely, if ever, do we see our way clear to vote. (Answerer, vol. 5, p.75)

This really gives us quite a bit to digest. Summarily, we can see that , while it is not wrong to vote, we as faithful  workers in God’s vineyard should not have the time to devote the necessary study to proper voting. It seems there is no doubt the intended instruction is that we do not. At least if we are striving to be among God’s servants.

VOTE FOR OR AGAINST PENSION?

Question No. 144:

   Would you please explain your position relative to the pension issues that are now being presented to the public? Do you think they merit our voting on them?

Answer:

   We are admonished that the cause of God “should engross the whole mind, the whole attention.”–Early Writings, p. 118. Consequently, as we cannot conscientiously devote enough time to  the study of these political and economic issues and of their ultimate results, intelligently to pass judgment upon them, we cannot conscientiously vote either for or against them. For our uninformed voting might work hardship and deprivation upon some, while leading others into the paths of idleness and extravagance. “Behold,” says the Lord “this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness.” Ezek. 16:49.

   In the world of today, both its political and its religious interests are far better served by specialists. Only those who have their whole heart and mind in the temporal things of life, who can devote enough time to the study of the world’s economic and political issues, are qualified for participating in such interests.

Those who are heart and soul devoted to the world’s spiritual needs, which are eternal and of far greater importance than the temporal concerns of life that are soon to perish and be forgotten,  can no more serve the world in its economic and political needs than can those who have their hearts and minds engrossed in the temporal things, serve the world’s spiritual needs.

   “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord! Yet He also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back His words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.

Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out His hand both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.” Isa. 31:1-3.  “The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in Him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.” Ps. 64:10. (Answerer, vol. 5, p.73-74)

 

All this points to a greater point, and that is — are we wasting time on earthly temporal matters? The matters that are foreign to our work? Sure, this voting season there is much excitement with all the debates and the national media attention, but what does that get us in our eternal reward?

You see my brethren, we are to be in sacrifice mode, meaning that all earthly time-wasting activities are to be given up as much as reasonably possible for the outreach that we are called to do now. There are souls right within our very own church that will soon perish unless we reach out and warn,educate and enlight them on what the Lord is about to do. The leaders aren’t doing it  so it is up to us.

“Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.”(Psalms 50:3-6)

The message tell us what Satan’s trick is for today —

“.. Satan’s supreme effort at this hour must be to cause the time to be wasted and the work undone.” (Answerer, vol. 1, p. 6, Q-4)

It doesn’t matter to Satan how he gets us–time-wasting, pleasure-seeking, and now–political time spending (TV, online reports and news, etc.). Let us not get side tracked for the great work of calling the great multitude out of Babylon is almost at the door.

“God’s children are to separate themselves from politics, from any alliance with unbelievers. Do not take part in political strife. Separate from the world, and refrain from bringing into the church or school ideas that will lead to contention and disorder. Dissension is the moral poison taken into the system by human beings who are selfish.” {CCh P.316.6}

Posted in Present Truth, Proper teachings | 6 Comments »

A Promise Kept by the Lord

February 27, 2016

Marriage sign

The word of the Lord says —

“God’s way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.” (Psalms  18:30)

The following is my own testimony which I give to encourage and advise that God’s word can be depended upon with total trust.

Brought up in a Catholic Family, I was shown at an early age the value of the family. We had a total of six in our family. Unfortunately like so many homes around the world our family kind of broke up in mid 1970’s.  Dad and mom divorced and life changed.

I had several girlfriends in my life and after about the age of 20 I kind of got away from Religion. Partying and the rewards of this life held sway for decades to come. Fast forward to December of 2008. I picked up the Bible one night and little did I know the Lord was about to become real to me.

A few nights later I came across Exodus where Moses was given the 10 Commandments. A light went off in my head that the Sabbath was from God and we should obey His 4th Commandment, His holy day.

Soon I was baptized into the local SDA church. This was about April of 2009. But being single all my life I had come to the place where I decided that now, being released of my old ways and passions, I should settle down and meet Mrs. Right.

Being an admitted old fashion type, I decided to undertake a search of an “old world” woman , particularly from the Russia area. For some reason I was attracted to them. In March of 2009 , about seven years ago I met Lira.

She was nice looking and seemed quite personable. But being freshly converted in making the Lord’s way my desire, I wanted to use the Biblical principles such as no divorced women and only those who truly were Christians. I knew that many of the eastern women (or most other places) can “play the game” where they declare they are Christian but not have a clue who Jesus was.

So I had email and phone conversations with Lira for a while. But the most important thing I did was to consult the Lord in any final decision on a lady. This I did with Lira.

After a few weeks of correspondence with her, I knelt down one night and prayed the following.

I told the Lord that I had not been a good selector of women during my life and that I needed to let Him make the decision on any woman I was interested in. So I asked the Lord for His answer to Lira.

The word says–

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

I knew that our part in prayer is to ask, and to ask in a correct way. But just as important was to believe and to –watch. So after this prayer  my job was to be on the look out for the answer. Our Lord has always used signs with His people and likewise it is still today. Trouble is that few are truly a believer in His signs. They miss them because they don’t believe He is in that business anymore.

Our Lord Himself told us how important His signs are–

“If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.” (John 10:37-38)

So after a couple of weeks the Lord sent me a dream. In it I was observing what I thought were many circular small white clouds and it was over our local big mountains. There appears many of them. I awoke and thought how strange the dream was. Later I mentioned the dream and what I saw to Lira. She quickly responded, “Those were not clouds they were silver rings.” Wow! I immediately could remember what I saw and they were rings!

The answer had come and it was–yes! For only the Lord could have given her the vision of that dream. At that point there was one last thing for me to do–act upon the Lord’s approval sign. So I then began to get serious about Lira.

This idea of going to the Lord to 1) request His help in authorizing or disproving the marriage 2) waiting for the answer, is solidly backed by His last message of Elijah–

“..the only marriages that God can honor are those which are entered upon only after both parties inquire of Him and receive His sanction.” (Symbolic Code, vol. 3, no.2, p.7)

This is where faith comes into play. Once we get  a response from the Lord we must act with faith upon it. Other wise we are just play acting and not really living out our faith.

So soon I proposed to Lira, and she accepted. Being in  far away country in between Russia and China I knew that certain logistic problems would come up. For instance in order to get a visa to have her come to USA I had to fly around the world and get some pictures together first before we applied for the visa.

Just one small problem, I have Aerophobia–fear of flying. This stemmed from a bad plane ride I had years ago in which the turbulence was quite dramatic. To make the long story short I delayed and delayed with Lira. Soon after 2, 3 then 4 years went by she understandably began to doubt my intentions. Still   I came up with one excuse after another and still she remained committed. Looking back her faith was very solid.

After about the 6th year of our online relationship, and realizing it was a now or never situation, I began to get serious and discovered that there was only  a few ways to get a waiver of the meet in person rule, and one of them was Aerophobia. We found an attorney and hired him. The Lord certainly knew all this and gave us strength to continue the long process. Many times Lira  and I had some serious arguments and it all looked over, yet something held us together.

I remember one time after a couple bad days of arguing and then thinking “why go on with her?” the Lord sent me another sign only he could show. We had this favorite saying which we would often sign off with, we’d say “love you madly” before ending our conversations. After about a week of not communicating with her I drive to the store one day and in front of me is a car license plate that says “Small heartUMADLY.” It was just one of many reminders that the Lord was guiding and telling us  not to give up.

Finally in November of 2015 we got an approval for the waiver visa. The attorney said this was a very unusual approval as many cannot  qualify for the waiver for one reason or another.

In February of this year Lira boarded a plane and landed in our city late one night. I picked her up at the airport and was very happy and excited to finally meet her and begin our life together. She was all I had hoped and more. The Lord did not disappoint, does He ever?

In our seven-year relationship I made sure that she knew how important God was to our life and that He required honor, respect and obedience. She was a willing learner and has accepted, among other things, the Sabbath, the proper dress in His sanctuary, etc.  Sure, we have much to discuss in God’s plans and lessons but importantly she has agreed to listen.

She knows about the soon to come kingdom set up in Israel and is prepared when the process starts.

I realize that marriage is a lifetime commitment, and with this understanding our life begins as a couple. We ask for your prayers as we embark on this path.

“And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”(Genesis 2:22-24)

Posted in Christian faith, Prayer's answered | 8 Comments »

The Importance of God’s Symbols

February 20, 2016

 

The Word of God is replete with many symbolic pictures through out its sacred pages. The fascination of the deep and heart-moving displays and pictures really should move any and all sincere lover of the Holy Writ.

The usage of these symbols was extensively shown by His last prophet sent to our SDA church– Victor T. Houteff. This week’s post we’d like to show some of the most deep and awe-inspiring charts that the Lord inspired for us as present truth believers.

The Spirit of Prophecy spoke enlightening words concerning these symbols.

“God Himself employed pictures and symbols to represent to His prophets lessons which He would have them give to the people, and which could thus be better understood than if given in any other way.”(Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 211, 212.)

“The Old Testament is the gospel in figures and symbols.” (2 Selected Messages, p.104)

“A correct interpretation of the symbols employed is necessary to an understanding of the message.” (G.C. p.439)

“Impressive symbols were employed to unfold the plan of God.” (Youth Instructor, Dec. 13, 1900)

Let us now review some of the precious charts and a brief description of their import.

Our first chart is the one shown above. It is the Daniel 2 vision. This lesson concerns the last proclamation of the gospel. The stone is symbolic of the 144,000 elect of God “cut out” of the mountain (God’s people/church) and symbolically destroying the worldly kingdoms (feet of the great image) in the end time. The lesson shows that soon the Lord must “take the reins into His own hands.”(Testimonies to Ministers, p.300)

For the study outline see this link –http://www.shepherds-rod-message.org/outlines/dan_2.pdf

Our second chart is concerning Zechariah 6:1-8, the lesson of different Christian Church movements from the days of the Apostles. This prophecy succinctly describes the four main church movements since Christ. The main lesson concerns the last of the  movements–our SDA church. From the picture you can see the unique chariot that has two sets of horses, unlike the other chariots.

The meaning shows that the horses being symbolic of the leaders, has two different type of leaders (grisled and bay horses), both endeavoring to steer the chariot (laity) in two different directions yet they cannot go in the proper direction because they are hitched. Then in verse 7 the Word says —

“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.”

The horses are cut loose (church judgement/separation) and the bay horses are free to go to the “north country” in God’s direction. The Bay horses obey God by going out to proclaim the final Gospel proclamation in truth and righteousness.  The grisled are left behind because they wanted to go to the “south country”,  no more to direct the church.

In describing this paradox of two different sets of horses attempting to lead the chariot in two different directions the message says–

“The dissimilar teams hitched to the fourth chariot, each pulling in a different direction from
the other, show not only that there is a double leadership in the Laodicean church, but also
that the one is opposed to the other in character as well as in purpose.  This condition being a
strange one, the wise will well consider it.  Seeing that the Word of God has spoken it, and that
the symbolism perfectly describes the contest which, before their very eyes, is taking place,
they will tenaciously take hold of the truth.” (Tract 2, p. 37)

For the study link on this one , click here — http://www.shepherds-rod-message.org/outlines/zech_6.pdf

Have you ever wanted to clear up the confusion of the final hours of our King’s life? There are so many ideas bandied about since the Gospels were written about just when did Jesus die and when did he arise?

Many false ideas are put forth but God in His infinite wisdom sent His restoring prophet to restore to us just what happened and when during those final days. The above chart shows the truth as to when things transpired in the last days of His life. How do we know it’s true? Because when you read the report and then look at the corresponding chart, you will see how it all completely makes sense and lines up clearly with Scripture.

The real key to this understanding as the prophet shows is that we must know the meaning of “the heart of the earth”. Many private interpreters have thought this means–buried in the earth. But we all know Jesus was not buried but rather placed in a tomb laying above ground.

For the report read this Tract– http://www.shepherds-rod-message.org/tracts/tract_10.html

In Revelation 4 and 5 we read of the “Seven seals”. The chart portrays what the Scripture pictures as to the seals and their timeline history. No where in all the writings of any writer except from the restoring prophet will one find a most beautiful and clear description of what each of the seals mean. This study will truly bless you once you get into it–I assure you.

For the study of Rev. 4 and 5 see this Tract– http://www.shepherds-rod-message.org/tracts/tract_15.html

You see brethren, these symbols are part of God’s plan to reach us today with His final message. Our Lord warns us, the SDA church that we are in need of more truth (Rev. 3:18). He sent us this more truth, and much of it consists of His symbols in order that we may truly grasp the important lessons we need.

The above symbolic studies are but a few of the bountiful supply of lessons He has given us through  the Elijah prophet. Once we endeavor to study these lessons, we draw closer to God because we see His beautiful plans and workings soon to come. Jump aboard while we still have opportunity!

 

Posted in Elijah Interpretations, Present Truth, Proper teachings | 3 Comments »

Update on the 2015 SDA Christmas Celebration

February 13, 2016

Gay Chorus

On January 2, 2016 we did a post on the Palm Springs SDA church’s Christmas program for 2015. Since then we have seen and heard quite a stir from the Christian community particularly the SDA community. And rightly so. As we pointed out, the presentation definitely did not have the Word of God’s approval. Recently we see that neither does it have the vast general SDA community approval.

Last week we heard from a SDA friend who knows one of the leading Elders from the Palm Springs church. Sister M and I discussed the unfortunate celebration in God’s house and the feedback it has generated on sites such as YouTube. She mentioned that she would be going to the church and wanted to speak to brother P who was a head Elder in the church. She asked for advice on how to discuss this and let him know how many SDA were feeling about what had transpired.

I mentioned to her that one such clear view on it could be found on YouTube with the following link(arrow) –

In this video the presenter lays charge to the Scriptural standing in the gay celebration. One thing that struck me was the huge views in such a short time– 19, 400.  And the prevalent opinion that it was wrong before the Lord has struck a true note in many — 242 likes and 11 dis-likes.

So after discussing this situation with her, we agreed that she should  “tell it like it is”. In other words,

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” (Isaiah 58:1)

She agreed. Later she called and said that almost before she could get out her words to the Elder he spoke up and said that he totally agreed it was a disaster and that “something will be done about it.” He also said that “90% of the church did not agree with the idea.”

So it appears that the local leadership hijacked the will of the people for their own undetermined reasons (?). Most likely a private agreement was made by a few leaders and woala– the program was decided and put forth.

Now, is this disgrace any more sinful than the young gal prancing in the church in her  mini-skirt and high heels? No it’s not. It’s all sin in God’s house. The whole point is that abominations in God’s house is the prevalent act of the evil one today and those who turn a blind eye to it will not make it through the soon to come church judgment.

SOP provides insight —

“Christ has plainly taught that those who persist in open sin must be separated from the church..” (COL, p. 71)

But instead of “separating” the open sin from the church we have come to embrace it! All the while saying “Hallelujah praise the Lord!” Our “dumb dogs” have refused to bark!

“…”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 vol. 5, p. 211)

The command is: “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.” These sighing, crying ones had been holding forth the words of life; they had reproved, COUNSELLED, and entreated.

Some who had been dishonouring God repented and humbled their hearts before Him. But the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel; although many still continued the forms of religion, His power and presence were lacking. {5T 210.2} In the time when His wrath shall go forth in judgments, these humble, devoted followers of Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their soul anguish, which is expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings.

While others try to throw a cloak over the existing evil, and excuse the great wickedness everywhere prevalent, those who have a zeal for God’s honour and a love for souls will not hold their peace to obtain favour of any. Their righteous souls are vexed day by day with the unholy works and conversation of the unrighteous.

They are powerless to stop the rushing torrent of iniquity, and hence they are filled with grief and alarm. They mourn before God to see religion despised in the very homes of those who have had great light. They lament and afflict their souls because pride, avarice, selfishness, and deception of almost every kind are in the church. The Spirit 211 of God, which prompts to reproof, is trampled underfoot, while the servants of Satan triumph. God is dishonoured, the truth made of none effect.” (Testimonies, vol. 5, p.210-211)

The judgment my brothers and sisters is right upon us, we are not to delay and to begin at once to call out the prevailing sins “done in the midst”, by word of mouth, by study groups, by blogs, by YouTube, by email, by any and all means.

SOP warns us that the do-nothings are the worse offenders in God’s eyes —

“If God abhors one sin above another, of which His people are guilty, it is doing nothing in case of an emergency. Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God.” (Testimonies, vol. 3, p.281)

Our church is in a dire emergency and  true spiritual crisis , the Lord’s sword hangs above it , let us spring into action.

“Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” (Ezek. 18:31-32)

 

 

Posted in Christmas, Church, Sighing and Crying, Warning our brethren | 2 Comments »

What about Ezekiel 43 and 44?

January 30, 2016

Ezekiel picture

Of all the books of the Bible, save the Revelation, perhaps there is none more mysterious or difficult to understand than the book of Ezekiel. As many know, we have shown many reports of the prophetic writings of Ezekiel, particularly Ezek. 9 the church judgment event.

However there is one area of the book that even the most advanced students of the holy Scriptures are often stymied and thoroughly confused. That is the highly mysterious chapters 43 and 44.

The message tells something about this–

“In as much as Zerubbabel is a “signet,” a symbol or a type of the builders in the day the Lord shakes the heavens and the earth, then Ezekiel’s description of the mystic temple (chapters 40-47) which is yet to be built, could be the blueprint of Zerubbabel’s antitypical temple.” ( 1 TG, no.13, p.6)

We see that this mystic temple is “yet to be built”. Implying that it is to be built someday in the future. But there is no definite declaration as it continues “could be the blueprint of Zerubbabels’ antitypical temple.”

Let us now look at the following perplexing Scripture. After describing the future altar of the aforesaid temple the word says —

“And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are  the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering.

And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it. Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.

And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock. When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.

And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD. Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.  Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves.

And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.” (Ezek. 43:18-27).

So there is no doubt that this shows  animal blood sacrifices , as in the days of old. But as we believers in the Christian dispensation know, our Lord was the final and ultimate sacrifice for our sins, right?

After all the curtain was split in two at His death, signifying an end to the earthly customs and requirements of the sacrificial system. We also have this proof in Daniel 9:27–

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it  desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” 

So what are we to make of this potential throwback to the old customs and sacrifices? We can only offer some ideas. If you have any please feel free to add them in comment section.

Obviously we know that as Christ fulfilled the blood sacrifices, these customs and reenactments could only mean a historical lesson in their significance. As the message tells us that the land of Israel will be the future gospel center of the world, for the Loud Cry, there shall be many in the land and once all is underway and the gospel machine is in full gear, the people there in Israel will have the chance to review what history showed as a live portrayal of the sacrificial system.

Concerning the keeping of the feast days the message tells us that the Feast of Tabernacles will be kept in the holy land. It does not say any others will be kept though.

Zech. 14:16 — “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.”

   This sentence of Scripture emphatically implies that all who at that decisive moment refuse to be converted to the Lord, shall perish; only those who worship the Lord at Jerusalem on the feast of tabernacles, shall be spared.” (1 TG, no. 20, p.13)

During this feast, there were numerous animal sacrifices.

“The sacrifices required for the Feast of Tabernacles were tremendous. Beside the daily sacrifices offered in the evening and the morning, there were others offered specifically for the feast (Num. 29:12-38). During the seven days of this feast, the priests were required each day to offer up: two rams, fourteen lambs and a goat for the sin offering (Num 29:12-40).

The number of offerings of bullocks decreased by one each of the succeeding seven days—13 bullocks on the 2nd day, 12 bullocks on the 3rd day …7 bullocks on the 7th day. On the 8th day the special offering was one bullock and ram, seven lambs, and a goat as sin offering. There were a total of 70 bullocks, 14 rams, 98 lambs (or 182 sacrifices) offered during the Feast of Tabernacles.”(By kind permission of  Dr. Lee Warren, B.A., D.D. )

In closing, this future prophesy is definitely a “wait and see” proposition. We do know that there will be at least two annual celebrations of the Feast of Tabernacles (“year to year”) in the pre-mil kingdom.

We also know that God’s word will not return void and we can look forward to being shown the fullness of His word in this mysterious prophesy.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

 

Posted in Ezekiel, The Feast Days | 19 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »