Where is God’s Vineyard Today?

August 8, 2015

Vineyard sign

My Grandfather used to say “Son, there’s a right way to do things and there’s a  wrong way to do things.” This saying truly applies to our work for the Lord in these final hours of our probation. Do it right and the Lord will say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matt. 25:21)

Do it wrong and it will be, “Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.” (Matt 25:26)

So we ask our Title question–Where is God’s vineyard today? Meaning where is God’s true work to be done today for us as Seventh-day Adventists?  Is it doing work like Doug Batchelor and his Amazing Facts team encourages, trying to “save” the world? Is it like Jim Gilley and 3 ABN, with their host of programs aimed at reaching the world and the heathen therein? Let us look squarely at this very important question. For if we do it one way we are rewarded , if we do it another, oh what sad sad end we’ll see.

“Advanced light is shining upon us in these last days. We cannot be accepted of God; we cannot honor him by rendering the same service, doing the same work that our fathers did. In order to be accounted guiltless before God, we must be as faithful in our time in following and obeying our light, as they were faithful in following and obeying the light that shone upon them.”(Review and Herald, April 25, 1893)

“In every age there is a new development of truth, a message of God to the people of that generation. The old truths are all essential; new truth is not independent of the old, but an unfolding of it. It is only as the old truths are understood that we can comprehend the new. When Christ desired to open to His disciples the truth of His resurrection, He began “at Moses and all the prophets” and “expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Luke 24:27.

But it is the light which shines in the fresh unfolding of truth that glorifies the old. He who rejects or neglects the new does not really possess the old. For him it loses its vital power and becomes but a lifeless form.”(Christ’s Object Lessons, p.127-128)

So we see that we,  who are alive today have truths and light that was not necessarily shown to prior generations. This being so, what do you think could be “our” present light? This answer is found in the Scriptures, the rock foundation of our faith.

There is only one place that predicts a messenger (Prophet) to come right before the end of time with new light –The book of Malachi. As some of you faithful believers and students of the Lord’s last message know, this is a message from the Lord’s anti-typical “Elijah” (Mal.4:5). For there is promise of no other to come right before the “great and dreadful day of the Lord.”

So with the above understood, we see that this Elijah message is our “development of truth”  or “message of God.” So if this is so, we need to know why Elijah? As we have done a post already explaining most of this subject (Called-“Why Elijah?”), we’ll simply say that the reason is that –we, the SDA church, have a message that needs to go to us only. We must hear it and abide by it.

The reason the Lord wanted to send an “Elijah” was because his message was the type that we need. Elijah went to his own people to give them a message to repent from their wrongs. Elijah did not go and preach to the world such as Noah or the Apostles did. That is the real reason for Elijah!

Our Lord made it very clear, we the SDA church have need of more  truth and heartfelt repentance. It’s very clearly pointed out in Rev. 3:15-19.

But look around our church, what do we see? Programs and efforts to reach the heathen! The message and truth from Elijah is like water off a ducks back to the majority of our leaders and laity. Because they don’t abide by the Lord’s final message, which is to go strictly to our church, they blindly proceed without Heaven’s authority to bring more and more into the church.

“The Lord does not now work to bring many souls into the truth, because of the church members who have never been converted and those who were once converted but who have backslidden. What influence would these unconsecrated members have on new converts? Would they not make of no effect the God-given message which His people are to bear?” (Testimonies, vol. 6, p.371)

You see we cannot do Christ’s will as a church body while sinners exist in our midst.

“The kingdom of Christ will come; but who are laboring to that end? If those who know the Lord’s prayer would try to take in its meaning and realize its depth and breadth, the Church would be what God desires it to be—the light of the world. Men would have less desire for form and ceremony; for they would seek to plant in the heart those principles that sanctify the character. 

Only when the Church is composed of pure, unselfish members, can it fulfill God’s purpose. Too much hasty work is done in adding names to the church roll. Serious defects are seen in the characters of some who join the church. Those who admit them say, We will first get them into the church, and then reform them. But this is a mistake. The very first work to be done is the work of reform. Pray with them, talk with them, but do not allow them to unite with God’s people in church relationship until they give decided evidence that the Spirit of God is working on their hearts.“((Review and Herald, May 21, 1901)

Wow! Do we see these instructions being followed today? Almost all our Pastors and leaders welcome all comers, when they want Baptism! This is exactly the wrong thing to do. Better to have a very small church, with converted members, than a full church with a majority of unconverted.

You see our Lord has not changed. Back in Joshua’s day He could not take a sinner in the midst (Achan) and His word says the following about this-

” When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.”(Isaiah 1:12-15)

This is why the Lord cannot allow us to work to save the world right now. What would we as Seventh-day Adventists  accomplish? Bring them into the church for the “great and dreadful day  of the Lord” (Ezek. 9) ? Like Inspiration said there are too many bad influences (poor dress reform, lukewarmness, ignoring sins in the midst, etc.) that most likely will cause many to stumble.

Our work right now is to concentrate on His church. We are the ones to be judged first (1 peter 4:17).Who is about to be sprued out, the world? Of course not. And with so much sin in our midst, we cannot afford to whistle while the ship sinks!

The Elijah message is full of ways the Lord wants us to reform. And by learning His final message can we know for certain what is required of us. Sins such as poorly dressing in His sanctuary, passing the money bag around while in His presence during services (see the post “The Collection Box”), women disregarding wearing proper head coverings in His presence (see the post “Little Things Mean Alot”), speaking un-inspired sermons of past truths while he is at the door for judgment, talking business talk on His Sabbath, and on and on it goes!

Yes, there is soon to be a time when the vineyard expands to the world. God’s original intention. But that time cannot come until we as a church body stop sinning (doing those things displeasing to Him). But once He “takes the reins into His own hands” (TM. p.300) His prophecy comes–

“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.” (Prophets and Kings, p.725)

Oh, what a time that will be!

The message explains this reformation–

“Since the church is indeed God’s dearest object on earth, He often has to admonish, rebuke, and chasten her so as to bring her to maintain the high standard which He has set for her. And though her history is but one long, sad record of sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting, yet the Lord has borne with her in the infinite patience and long-suffering of Divine love so beautifully illustrated in the parable of the prodigal son. And finally in this love indescribable, He “gave Himself” (Gal. 1:4) for her in the person of His only begotten Son.

But this supreme sacrifice notwithstanding, she has never yet fully appreciated His undying love for her. Even now, the Saviour pathetically declares that He has somewhat against her, and admonishes her by strong words to repent and sit down with Him in His throne (Rev. 3:14-21), making clear the inevitable fate of all who fail to heed His counsel (Rev. 3:16). But, tragically, she has not heeded it, and so He “brings against ministers and people the heavy charge of spiritual feebleness, saying, ‘I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.”’-Christ Our Righteousness, 1941 Edition, p. 121.

Thus God, in His boundless, all-discerning love for His church, “‘calls for a spiritual revival and a spiritual reformation. Unless this takes place, those who are lukewarm will continue to grow more abhorrent to the Lord, until He will refuse to acknowledge them as His children.”

“‘A revival and a reformation must take place under the ministration of the Holy Spirit. Revival and reformation are two different things. Revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life, a quickening of the powers of mind and heart, a resurrection from spiritual death. Reformation signifies a reorganization, a change in ideas and theories, habits and practices. Reformation will not bring forth the good fruit of righteousness unless it is connected with the revival of the Spirit. Revival and reformation are to do their appointed work, and in doing this work they must blend.’”- Christ Our Righteousness, 1941 Edition, p. 121.

In these inspired statements, three facts stand out in bold relief: (1) God sends this clarion call first to the ministers, and then to the laity; (2) He makes a positive declaration that He will spue out of His mouth all who fail to give heed to it, and to enter into a “spiritual revival and a spiritual reformation”; and (3) He makes clear that such a movement means “a reorganization, a change in ideas and theories, habits and practices.” Clearly, then, the church must experience a threefold change before she can ever look forth “fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners,” going “forth into all the world conquering and to conquer.”-Prophets and Kings, p. 725. (Answerer, vol. 1, Q-2)

In closing, this vineyard work is to be done now within our church, not merely thought about and talked about. The light of what our message truly is, is now before us, will we be “doers” in His church vineyard now?

In the very first publications of the Elijah message– Shepherd’s Rod volume one it begins with,

It is the intention of this book to reveal the truth of the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 7, but the chief object of this publication is to bring about a reformation among God’s people.

Amen! If we read, know and practice this message from the Lord -we can’t help but reform .It’s that powerful! Try going to work for the Lord in the right vineyard and you’ll find Him close and guiding you.

Posted in Church, Warning our brethren, Witnessing | 1 Comment »

Arthur White and his Men Passing the Buck

August 1, 2015

Arthur White

There is an old saying that says he is “passing the buck.” We know this basically means passing the responsibility onto someone else. There is also this one,  “The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.” Arthur White, as we Seventh day Adventists know was the grandson of our prophetess–Ellen G. White. We have been so blessed to have studied her inspired writings and truths from the Lord.

Brother Don Adair , 84, is one of only two (as far as we know) living people who were a part of brother Victor T. Houteff’s original Mt. Carmel Davidian camp in Waco, Texas. He wrote of his personal testimony called , “A Davidian Testimony”. This was made for a couple of reasons. The Waco disaster in 1993 had recently occurred and he wanted to explain that those “Branch Davidians”(David Koresh and his followers) were not the same in beliefs and doctrinal points as the original Davidian Seventh-day Adventists.

He also had opportunity to give his testimony of how he came into the Davidian movement. Much history is given and for those who wish to get a good background of the early days, I highly suggest the book.

Here is Don’s personal testimony of his encounter with Arthur White. 

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AUTHOR STUDIES WITH TWELVE SDA YOUNG PEOPLE

One day in 1975 I received a phone call from a Seventh-day Adventist brother named Jack Lord, who heard that I was giving Bible studies. He asked me to come to Washington, D.C. and tell him and other SDA brethren what I was teaching. I accepted the invitation and with the Council’s approval, I drove up there in my 1967 Ford sedan. He lived with the Risosin brothers (four of them) in an apartment of a large rental complex, and I stayed with them.

They worked as house painters; and since they worked during the daytime, I would prepare their evening meal, after which the other listeners would come over for Bible studies. After I gave them about three studies, all twelve decided by then either for or against the Shepherd’s Rod message. Six believed in the message and would hear more studies; while the other six (one of which was bro. Jack Lord) had rejected it, but they didn’t want the others to believe.

It was during one Bible study on a Sunday that I realized the six unbelieving brethren intended to do something to stop the other six from believing. At the end of the study one brother said that the six believers were only listening to what Don was teaching, and they should hear what a Seventh -day Adventist minister has to say about my studies.

So I told them that I had no problem with that and asked him, “Who do you want them to hear?” and he said “Elder Arthur White”, whom we all knew was the grandson of Sis. White, the prophetess of the SDA church. Since they all had to work the next day, I told them that tomorrow  (Monday) I would drive up to the office of the General Conference Headquarters and ask Elder White to come to our Bible studies and refute the SRod.

AUTHOR ASKS ARTHUR WHITE TO COME AND PROVE THE SHEPHERD’S ROD IS WRONG

The next morning I drove to the General Conference Headquarters and the SDA church, and the receptionist asked if she could help me. I told her that I had a problem and needed to speak with Elder Arthur White about it. She told him and he came out, and invited me into his office, and after I had sat down he said in a friendly tone, “What can I do for you, young man?”

I told him there were twelve young people studying the Shepherd’s Rod message, and that six of them believed and six of them did not believe; and that the six unbelievers wanted him to come to the studies and prove that it was wrong. he said that he thought the Shepherd’s Rod message had died out; but I told him, “Oh no, it is still going strong.” he said he put away his Shepherd’s Rod literature, and had not studied it for a long time, and would need some time to review a few points.

I told him that we would all be glad to wait a few days for him to study. After thinking a few moments, he asked, “Who is the teacher?”  I said, “I am the teacher!” He said, “what, you are the teacher, and you want me to come and prove it wrong?” I said, “Sure, if you can prove its wrong, then I can give up being a Davidian and join the church.”

When he realized who I was, he considered me an enemy not a friend, and he said indignantly, “You know all that man Houteff did was criticize the church and say evil things about our ministers.” And I quickly replied, “I know of someone who rebuked the Seventh-day Adventist church ten times greater, especially the evils of the ministers, even far more than Bro. Houteff did.” He looked at me in great surprise with an expression on his face that seemed to ask, “who is that person?” And I pointed to a large picture he had on the top of his file cabinet, and said “Sister White, your grandmother!” He knew what I said was true, and he sat back in his chair in deep thought, apparently thinking of what he was to do about my unusual request.

Finally, he called into his office another minister from another room; and right after he asked him if he would go to my Bible studies and prove the SRod message was wrong, the phone rang. While he spoke on the phone, this minister asked me, “What does the Shepherd’s Rod teach?” I thought, “How can he prove it wrong if he does not know what it teaches?” So I told him briefly some very deep things about the slaughter of Ezekiel nine, the kingdom, the seals and trumpets. I could see that he was shaken up by what I was saying, because it was all new to him; and he knew that he was  not prepared to refute it.

Then while we were still talking, Elder White finished answering the phone, and he asked the minister if he would go and prove the Shepherd’s Rod wrong; and he said, “Arthur, I don’t think that I am prepared at this time to go.” So Elder White said to me sternly, “Come with me young man.”

ARTHUR WHITE LEADS AUTHOR TO OFFICE OF DR. HYDE

He led me out of his office up the stairs to the office of Dr. Hyde; and as he left, he said to the receptionist, “Take care of this young man.” When she asked what I wanted, i told her I had a problem and I needed his help. She wrote down my name on the register, and told me that I could see him at one o’clock that afternoon. as I opened the door and was about to leave, she said, “Oh, by the way, what is the nature of your visit?” as soon as I told her briefly about the six unbelievers  who wanted him to come to our studies and prove the SRod wrong, she immediately said, “Oh, I forgot, Dr,. Hyde has another appointment  at one o’clock and he cannot see you.”

And when I told her I would gladly come later, she kept insisting  that he would have no time left that day to talk to me or for the rest of the week. Finally, in desperation, she said, “Come with me,” and led me across the hall to a man sitting at his desk; and said to him, “take care of this man’s problem.”

He was cordial to me and asked me to sit down. He immediately asked me what he could do to help me, and I explained in detail about my problem and my visit downstairs with Elder White; and he seemed to show some interest. Then he asked me, “What does the Shepherd’s Rod teach?” So again, I explained to him in more detail, because I had a little more time (probably because they were trying to find Dr. Hyde).

Finally, we were interrupted when the phone rang, and after he answered and listened briefly, he said, “Sure I understand.” Then in closing the conversation, he said, “Yes sir, I will do that,” and hung up the receiver. Then turning to me he said, “That was Dr. Hyde, and he said to tell you that we cannot help you.” And before we could continue, I spoke to him in a determined voice to dispute Dr. Hyde’s refusal to help, and said “Wait a minute, I know that the General Conference has organized an institution which they call the Religious Defense Department, and that the General Conference should send someone to my studies to defend the six believers against the teachings of the Shepherd’s Rod!”

He was surprised at my demand, and admitted that the department did exist; but he could not explain why Dr. Hyde or someone from the Religious Defense Department could not and would not defend the six brethren. Instead, he told me that Dr. Hyde said it is the duty of the local ministers to defend the laymembers.

And as he opened the door for me to leave, he said that I would have to ask one of them to help with my problem. His answer proved that the General Conference leaders were afraid of the SRod message, because they knew they could not prove it wrong. And rather than have this fact exposed to the laity, these highest officials in the Seventh-day Adventist church deliberately shifted their own responsibility onto the local ministers, whom they knew couldn’t prove it wrong either.”

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Brother Adair goes further into the story showing that the six unbelievers still did not give up, rather they tried one more time with an Elder from the General Conference experienced in religious matters. This too backfired as this Elder agreed to study but within a few minutes of being in the room to study, changed his mind and told them he didn’t have time for “every offshoot deception that comes along.”

Those young men who wanted help from the “brethren of experience”  were left empty handed. Why? As brother Adair said they knew it could not be proven wrong. The Lord’s Rod (Micah 6:9) is now and was then, His message that causes a “shaking” amongst us SDA. We must all be accountable to God individually and by the story above, even if your relative was a prophetess, it makes no difference with God. You and I alone must “love and accept the Truth”.

So what lesson can we gleam from this story? What comes to mind is Arthur’s grandmother and her  inspired words. Sadly, from what we gather from the story is that the apple apparently fell  far from the tree. The tree of Truth. —

“Those who allow prejudice to bar the mind against the reception of truth cannot receive the divine enlightenment. Yet, when a view of Scripture is presented, many do not ask, Is it true–in harmony with God’s word? but, By whom is it advocated? and unless it comes through the very channel that pleases them, they do not accept it. So thoroughly satisfied are they with their own ideas that they will not examine the Scripture evidence with a desire to learn, but refuse to be interested, merely because of their prejudices.” (Testimonies to Ministers, p.105-106)

“Now as in former ages, the presentation of a truth that reproves the sins and errors of the times will excite opposition. “Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” John 3:20. As men see that they cannot maintain their position by the Scriptures, many determine to maintain it at all hazards, and with a malicious spirit they assail the character and motives of those who stand in defense of unpopular truth. It is the same policy which has been pursued in all ages. Elijah was declared to be a troubler in Israel, Jeremiah a traitor, Paul a polluter of the temple. From that day to this, those who would be loyal to truth have been denounced as seditious, heretical, or schismatic.” (Great Controversy, p.458)

“..beware of rejecting that which is truth. The great danger with our people has been that of depending upon men and making flesh their arm. Those who have not been in the habit of searching the Bible for themselves, or weighing evidence, have confidence in the leading men and accept the decisions they make; and thus many will reject the very messages God sends to His people, if these leading brethren do not accept them.” (Testimonies to Ministers, p.106-107)

Posted in The spirit of predjudice, Witnessing | 2 Comments »

Tears in a Bottle

July 24, 2015

Tears in a bottle

Growing up, some parents have scolded their young boys with the false counsel, “Boys don’t cry, girls do”. This is especially true of the “Macho” type men who see crying as a weakness. Is that true? What about the creator of our world? Did He cry privately and openly?

As our picture shows, His word says our Lord has faithfully kept all our tears in a bottle. But why? Let us look into this matter and see more about this expression of both joy and sadness.

“You keep track of all my sorrows.You have collected all my tears in your bottle; Are they not in your book?(Psalms 56:8)

Let us look at David, the courageous king who, as we know, did not back down even from powerful lions. In Psalms he writes of his trials , joys and disappointments. Yet we know he showed us that he cried by the writing of Psalms 56:8. Then he lets us know that God has kept track of our crying, the tears are numbered in His book. Wow, our God is one of details and minute observations! Our hairs are numbered and our tears as well!

Let’s face it, we men basically do not like to show our emotions as much as the women do. It’s just not “manly” we think.  This is true to a certain extent. As men we are often looked at as the role model for leadership and strength. David certainly was all this and more. His great leadership and courage impressed our Lord. The Lord said of him, “..I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will” (Acts 13:22).

Yet David had compassion as we saw from his treatment of Saul, and  Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth . Compassion can sometimes show itself in tears. Emotions can get so deep and welled up within that crying comes out, and we “let it out”. Psychologists have long known that suppression of our emotions can have serious consequences to our outlook on life and our behavior.

Our Lord said,  “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).

Crying comes natural to children. They have not developed their “ego” as such and do not care how they look when they feel the need to cry. Our Lord proved that crying was important when the right time calls for it.

“Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!(John 11:34-36)

So we see that the “Man above all men” cried, and that openly! This alone shows that real men, tough men can and do cry.

Allow me to tell of my own personal story. For many years, prior to my conversion in early 2009, I had never cried much. Just didn’t have it in me much. Sure, once in a great while I would tear up watching a movie or such , but generally crying was not for me.

After I came back to the Lord, after being away from Him for decades, I noticed a change in my feelings. This was soon to show itself in an unmistakable way.

To review briefly, I became a Sabbath keeper (obeyer of ALL the Commandments as best I could) after deciding to read the WHOLE Bible from front to back. We as “Christians” are often told that the New Testament was basically all we needed, and that the OT was just history and part of the “old covenant” and no longer had meaning for us like the NT. Yet the OT has tremendous applicable lessons for us today!

After obeying my first Sabbath, I received a sign from the Lord (lights went off and on three times by themselves in my dining room) and from then on have kept His Sabbaths. I joined the local SDA church and was happy to be a part of “God’s people”.

My view was just like the masses– you come to church regularly and live as best you can and you’re good to go. I did not know that the Lord had any ‘final ” message of supreme importance to us. This was about to change.

But I was not content to stay in one place spiritually, I kept searching and studying for greater light. My walk was developing and He was becoming more clear to me. Slowly however I started to notice that we as SDA were not “doing” as much as “talking” about our born again experience. In other words we needed to “walk the walk” if we “talked the talk”. We did a post of this title, see here — https://godsloveandlaw.com/2011/07/09/if-we-talk-the-talk-we-must-walk-the-walk/

Fast forward to a couple of years after I had joined the church. One day I was driving through  a town close to our town and noticed that the local SDA church has several other buildings on their property. I knew that these buildings were part of the SDA property. For some reason (the Holy Spirit no doubt) I noticed a chiropractic office in those buildings. It had its phone number on the outside of the door. I swing back around and took down that number.

Keep in mind that up to this point in my church relations, I assumed that we were truly God’s people. Yes we had some areas to work on but overall I truly felt the Lord was lovingly beholding us as His apple of His eye.

So I wanted to know and confirm that we as SDA were practicing what we preached. The 4th Commandment specifically tells us that “within our gates” we are not to work, or ANYONE is to work–on the Sabbath.

I called the number then and a man picked up the line. I inquired whether they were open on Saturday. He responded, “Yes we are, would you like to make an appointment?” I said, “not now but thanks” and hung up. Within a few seconds my whole being and I do mean WHOLE being was overwhelmed. I basically broke down right there in the truck.

All these thoughts and emotions came pouring out. I felt what I know the Lord feels -WE ARE HYPOCRITES! How could we preach and teach about the Sabbath and yet show the world what hypocrites we were!

“Hypocrisy is peculiarly offensive to God.” (TDG, p.55)

Anyway, my crying was not missed by the Lord. Just about two weeks after this my life changed. I was on the computer after Sabbath and happened to notice a link about the 144,000. Little did I know the Holy Spirit of Truth was guiding me (John 16:13). I listened spell-bound as the real Truth was shown about our church and where it was going! An onslaught of “meat in due season” flooded my soul.

One of those game changing Truths I heard that day was this–

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

I had met my waterloo, my life’s turning point. Brother Rob was now ready to be truly–reborn. His old self was to die that day. I was soon to understand the power of His word, the application of His final pleading message as brought by His messenger, His FINAL messenger to our church.

The message tells us more about sighing and crying–

“..as the sealing message makes its way through the church, only those who awake and reform (sigh) and endeavor to share with others (cry) the light that is shining upon them, receive the seal.  They are then accounted sinless through the perfection of Christ imparted in their behalf until they are given the “new heart” promised in Ezekiel 36:26, after which they will be forever sinless– forever without cause to repent.” (Answerer, vol. 2, Q-22)

So we see that not only is the sins done in the church and our own life to effect us personally,  but that we are to cry aloud (share) the message of the hour, the sealing message specifically for us. Our own reforms are clear evidence that the Lord’s intended “spirit and power” is in His Elijah message (TM, p.475).

While we know that crying today is something we do and has its place, the future will have no such practice–

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”(Rev. 21;4)

In closing, right now the Lord is asking for validation from each of His remnant church members. This validation shows clear unmistakable signs that we are both sealed and obedient, that we truly love Him and hate sin. When the church purification comes, those who are “sighing and crying” will be spared and head for the pre-millennial kingdom. Let us be a part of this!

“And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.” (Ezek.9:4)

Posted in Humility, Sanctification | Leave a Comment »

The Short 100 years after the Millennium

July 18, 2015

short 100 years

Last week we mentioned that the subject of the short 100 years on earth, brought about by the 2nd resurrection of the wicked, was not largely understood. We’d like to delve into this fascinating study to give a more clear view.

First, we’d like to make a correction. Last week we mentioned that this understanding first came by way of the Spirit of Prophecy. However,  although the following comments were made in the “Signs of the Times” in 1893, we are not certain the answer given was from the prophetess. There were several early pioneers who addressed issues on the paper and this may have been someone other than EGW. The reason we feel this is the case is the very last comment “We present the suggestion for what it is worth.” This was not a statement that suggests the inspired prophetess would make.

752 THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. Vol. 19, No. 47. OAKLAND, CAL., MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1893

“Will you please explain Isa. 65:20 and oblige? F. a. L.”

The text reads as follows: “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be destroyed.” A suggested plausible explanation is as follows : The first part of the verse, to the first semicolon, refers to the new earth (see verse 17), and simply declares that there shall be no death in that state. The last part of the verse refers to the wicked which are raised from the dead (see Rev. 20:1-9), and remain upon the earth “a little season,” or one hundred years. During this time the wicked youth will grow up and the hardened sinner will abide, but at the end of that period sin and sinners are no more, while the people of the Lord endure forever. We present the suggestion for what it is worth.”

However, let us note that the Elijah prophet confirms this understanding , therefore it should be authoritative and restoring -truth. Let us read his comments.

“Isa. 65:17-19, speak of the new earth.  Isa. 65:20, is here quoted from the Hebrew translation by Isaac Lesser.  “There shall no more thence an infant of few days, nor an old man that shall not have the full length of his days; for as a lad shall one die a hundred years old; and as a sinner shall be accursed he who (dieth) at a hundred years old.”  It seems this translation makes the meaning of the verse just a little plainer than the King James’. 

The scripture speaks of the time at the end of the 1000 years (millennium) after the resurrection of the wicked.  At that time there will not be any births to infants.  “There shall no more thence an infant of days.” 

The lesson therefore is not so difficult for one to comprehend.  All the wicked are called forth in the second resurrection, whether old or young (at the time of death).  All come up at the same time.  This hour becomes the birth of all the wicked in the second life. 

There is to be no natural, or unnatural death, for all must live to the time of the second  death, which is by “fire come down from God out of heaven and devoured them.” Read Rev. 20:7-10.  “And as a sinner shall be accursed he who (dieth) at an hundred years old.”  This scripture predicts the span of life of the wicked after they are resurrected as being 100 years.  “For as a lad shall one die a hundred years old; and as a sinner shall be accursed he who (dieth) at a hundred years old.”  During this 100 year period, the wicked make preparation for their attack on the holy city.  Read Rev. 20:8, 9.” (SRod, vol. 1, p.164-165)

Here we see that God’s purpose is to raise the wicked (all those who ever lived who were unbelievers) to make what they will of the earth for 100 years. They shall ultimately find that their one united desire will be to overtake the glorious kingdom which sits upon the earth in all its majestic glory. Satan shall do his very last deception, complete with mankind’s great historic generals and leaders. In other words , God gives them all the resources and abilities they ever had to unload upon His people and their kingdom, yet we know Christ rises up just as they come to the apron of the city and they are then paralyzed and all bow down in the final acknowledgment of their creator. The world’s historic wisdom forgets Who sits upon the throne! Then fire comes down and destroys them all.

The final bowing of every knee is thus fulfilled —

“For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” (Romans 14:11)

Scripture explains this final short period after the millennium —

“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is  as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” (Rev. 20:7-9)

Our last prophetess beautifully explains this final scenario–

Now Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle for the supremacy. While deprived of his power and cut off from his work of deception, the prince of evil was miserable and dejected; but as the wicked dead are raised and he sees the vast multitudes upon his side, his hopes revive, and he determines not to yield the great controversy. He will marshal all the armies of the lost under his banner and through them endeavor to execute his plans.

The wicked are Satan’s captives. In rejecting Christ they have accepted the rule of the rebel leader. They are ready to receive his suggestions and to do his bidding. Yet, true to his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to be Satan. He claims to be the prince who is the rightful owner of the world and whose inheritance has been unlawfully wrested from him. He represents himself to his deluded subjects as a redeemer, assuring them that his power has brought them forth from their graves and that he is about to rescue them from the most cruel tyranny.

The presence of Christ having been removed, Satan works wonders to support his claims. He makes the weak strong and inspires all with his own spirit and energy. He proposes to lead them against the camp of the saints and to take possession of the City of God. With fiendish exultation he points to the unnumbered millions who have been raised from the dead and declares that as their leader he is well able to overthrow the city and regain his throne and his kingdom.

In that vast throng are multitudes of the long-lived race that existed before the Flood; men of lofty stature and giant intellect, who, yielding to the control of fallen angels, devoted all their skill and knowledge to the exaltation of themselves; men whose wonderful works of art led the world to idolize their genius, but whose cruelty and evil inventions, defiling the earth and defacing the image of God, caused Him to blot them from the face of His creation.

There are kings and generals who conquered nations, valiant men who never lost a battle, proud, ambitious warriors whose approach made kingdoms tremble. In death these experienced no change. As they come up from the grave, they resume the current of their thoughts just where it ceased. They are actuated by the same desire to conquer that ruled them when they fell.

Satan consults with his angels, and then with these kings and conquerors and mighty men. They look upon the strength and numbers on their side, and declare that the army within the city is small in comparison with theirs, and that it can be overcome. They lay their plans to take possession of the riches and glory of the New Jerusalem. All immediately begin to prepare for battle. Skillful artisans construct implements of war. Military leaders, famed for their success, marshal the throngs of warlike men into companies and divisions.

At last the order to advance is given, and the countless host moves on–an army such as was never summoned by earthly conquerors, such as the combined forces of all ages since war began on earth could never equal. Satan, the mightiest of warriors, leads the van, and his angels unite their forces for this final struggle. Kings and warriors are in his train, and the multitudes follow in vast companies, each under its appointed leader. With military precision the serried ranks advance over the earth’s broken and uneven surface to the City of God. By command of Jesus, the gates of the New Jerusalem are closed, and the armies of Satan surround the city and make ready for the onset.

Now Christ again appears to the view of His enemies. Far above the city, upon a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high and lifted up. Upon this throne sits the Son of God, and around Him are the subjects of His kingdom. The power and majesty of Christ no language can describe, no pen portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding His Son. The brightness of His presence fills the City of God, and flows out beyond the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance.(GC p. 664-666)

I have often thought of this fitting end to this solemn and woeful last stance of the Godless of mankind. Upon the encroaching of the kingdom by the people and armies of the Satanic world, all those who fought God’s people in their prior life, either with disdain, distrust or evil actions, will look up upon the high walls of the kingdom city and notice the faces of those they fought against who stand safely and happy within God’s kingdom!

The Lord’s Elijah message gives us more understanding, and shows the case why Isaiah 65:20 is the short 100 year period for the wicked.

Isa. 65:17 — “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”

   Here we are brought down to the time the Lord finally renews the heaven and the earth.

Isa. 65:18, 19 — “But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.  And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.”

We are encouraged to rejoice because Jerusalem, as well as her people, are created for joy.

Isa. 65:20 — “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.”

   Concerning the wicked in the earth made new, who come up in the second resurrection, the resurrection of the unjust (Rev. 20:5), there shall be neither birth nor death among them for one hundred years.  Thus the only children that shall be among them will be those who are raised from the dead.  Consequently both those who are old and those who are young will have lived a hundred years from the resurrection of the unjust to the second death.  Thus the child and the sinner, becoming a hundred years old in the earth made new, shall both succumb in the end of the century.  Then the righteous shall inhabit the whole earth.

Isa. 65:21, 22 — “And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.  They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of My people, and Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.”

   Again we see that the Hereafter is to be as real and as natural as was the Garden of Eden in the day it was created.  So the message of Elijah shall indeed restore all things — all that was lost through sin.

Isa. 65:23 — “They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.”

Much of our labor on this earth is done in vain, and many of our sons and daughters are also born in vain.  But in the earth made new, no one shall labor in vain, and nothing shall be brought forth for trouble.

Isa. 65:24 — “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”

   For the answers to some of our prayers we often wait long, and most of them are not answered as we want them to be.  But in the earth made new there shall be no delay and no disappointment.

Isa. 65:25 — “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat.  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the Lord.”

   There shall be peace all around.  We shall not see men quarreling nor beasts fighting and eating one another.  There shall be real and perfect peace among them all.

   If we could only realize what God has prepared for them that love to study His Word and to walk in His ever-increasing Light, then we would make God’s business our chief interest; then we would no longer waste our energies striving for the material things of life.  They will be added unto us while we diligently labor for the upbuilding of His Kingdom, for He Himself says: “The workman is worthy of his hire.” (Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 44 , p.8-10)    

This small study of the 100 year period is quite thrilling to those of us who thank the Lord often that He sent His end time Elijah to “restore”(Matt 17:11)  and to “interpret” (TM, p.475) His Holy Word.  Oh, let us do all we can to avoid being in the second resurrection, as we see clearly that it will end horribly.

As we learned from last weeks chart study, we the SDA church, will be the first to be judged when the Lord’s judgments start among the living. Now is our time to do all to be within that glorious kingdom!

May God be your strength today, and you make the decision to forgo the sins of the world and come under the umbrella of His last message for His church–His Elijah message.

Posted in Elijah Interpretations, End times | 10 Comments »

Timing of End Time Events

July 11, 2015

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( Click to enlarge)

As we get closer and closer to the revealing of the Lord’s final events, let us look at the above map and the events therein.

We as Seventh-day Adventists are well familiar with the 1844 date. This began our Lord’s coming to the heavenly Sanctuary to begin the judgment for the dead. All those who professed their belief in God began to be reviewed by the Judge. We are fast closing in on Christ’s last review of the dead.

Then there is a transfer of judgement–the dead to the living! As shown in our profile this is when the four winds are let loose, Ezekiel 9 church judgment commences and the 144,000 are united and sealed.

The Elijah message describes in detail this transfer of events–

“…since the distinctive truth of the Investigative Judgment in heaven is the Seventh-day Adventist doctrinal magnifying glass, let us use it on the subject of the separation.

That part of the Investigative Judgment of the living, by which is determined who are to have their sins blotted out and, as a result, be given eternal life, is paralleled on earth by the work of the angel with the “writer’s inkhorn,” who is charged to “mark” (seal) everyone who sighs and cries for all the abominations in Judah and Israel-the church.

And the work of the five others who follow on to slay all who have not the “mark” (seal), is paralleled in heaven by the blotting out of the sinners’ names from the Book of Life. (See Ezekiel 9 Testimonies to Ministers, p. 445; Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 211).

Thus we see that this dual prophetic work of separating the names of the sinners from the names of the righteous in the sanctuary, and separating the sinners from the righteous in the church, is the same as the work decreed in the parables: separating the tares from the wheat (Matt. 13:30); the bad fish from the good (Matt. 13:48); those who have not the wedding garment from those who have it (Matt. 22:1-13), those who have not improved their talents from those who have (Matt. 25:20-30).

As all these equivalent separations take place during the Investigative Judgment, before the wedding, the coronation, the reception of the kingdom (Dan. 7:9, 10, 13, 14), it is evident that the harvest and the Judgment are counterparts and that they take place before probation closes—when the Lord suddenly comes to His temple to “purify the sons of Levi.” Mal. 3:1-3.

And as the Judgment of the dead is followed by the Judgment of the living, so the Judgment of the church is followed by the Judgment of the world. And “if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Pet. 4:17)—when the Great Judge sits upon the throne of His glory, when all the nations gather before Him, when as a shepherd He divides His sheep (Matt. 25:31-46).”

As we have posted many times before, the doubters of which are legion, in our SDA church, do not teach or discuss this very important transfer of Judgment. They are stuck on the judgment of the dead and do not generally have a clue about the judgment for the living. But Spirit of Prophecy shows a real “game changer” in the following Inspired reference.

“The sealing of the servants of God is the same that was shown Ezekiel in vision. John also had been a witness of this most startling revelation.” (TM, p.445)

Here we see that the 144,000 sealings are one and the same as Ezekiel 9. This being so we can then know that the 144,000 are sealed prior to the Sunday law. Here are two most important references that supports this timeline.

In Rev. 7 we find our evidence as to when the sealings/Ezek. 9 are done. It is before the winds are let loose. So what does the winds of Rev.7 represent?

“The time is coming when we cannot sell at any price. The decree will soon go forth prohibiting men to buy or sell of any man save him that hath the mark of the beast. We came near having this realized in California a short time since; but this was only the threatening of the blowing of the four winds. As yet they are held by the four angels. We are not just ready. There is a work yet to be done, and then the angels will be bidden to let go, that the four winds may blow upon the earth. That will be a decisive time for God’s children, a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. Now is our opportunity to work.”

So the winds represent the Sunday law.Hence the sealing/Ezek. 9 take place before the Sunday law. The next reference backs this up as well.

“Just before we entered it (time of trouble) we all received the seal of the living God. Then I saw the 4 angels lease to hold the 4 winds.” (7 BC, p.968)

Although Ellen White was speaking in the terms of “we”, which would appear to say she was one of them, we know as Bible students that she was foreseeing into the future. Much like a reporter living vicariously through their report. We know as present truth believers that our beloved prophetess is sleeping peacefully in the grave but will soon join the servants of God in the final work upon the world.

“Your work, my work, will not cease with this life. For a little while we may rest in the grave, but, when the call comes, we shall, in the kingdom of God, take up our work once more.” (Testimonies, vol. 7, p.17)

Let us now look at the middle of the chart, the most intense part. Once the “great and dreadful day of the Lord” commences, we see many simultaneous events occur.This is the time of gigantic unparalleled happenings worldwide. Words really fail to speak of these colliding of events. The world will be completely changed.

And these all happen rapidly. “The agencies of evil are combining their forces and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.” (Testimonies, vol. 9, p.11)

The Loud Cry, the false Satanic kingdom, the Lord’s Israel kingdom, the miracles, the gathering of the great multitude, the Sunday law, all this and more happens within a few short years!

The world will have witnessed the dreadful end of probation for the SDA church. Amazingly, because of this, there will be two dividing camps in the world. Those that believe the testimony of the 144,000 as God true servants and those who are skeptical and allow themselves to be fooled by Satan’s counter plan.

Let us remember that as they say “hindsight is 20/20” and applies to those who do not know the future, but the Davidians SDA will be proven correct concerning end time events and as such, with the spreading of the prophetic events, videos, blogs, reports, all made prior to the events, this will solidify many truth seekers as to who is truly with God. These will be known as foresight 20/20 people. These 144,000 servants go to work bringing in the final “great multitude”(Rev. 7:9) from around the world. The Lord’s headquarters–Israel, will be the safe haven for all believers.

“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)

Just as the SDA were the first to receive the final warning from a God who is exceedingly angry and fed up with sin, due to the continual abominations through out His church, so too will the world be warned by the 144,000 and should they reject the warning, the final wrath of God is poured out by the 7 last plagues.

So we see that God’s servants have warned two groups, the SDA and the world. Two fateful eternal decisions are made–Eternity or non-existence.

The plagues come upon all those who have rejected Christ, through the message of His servants, and then that glorious “second coming” appears to all the faithful –praise the Lord!

As the chart shows, there will be 1000 years in the heavenly kingdom, at which time the saints will have the privilege of reviewing God’s righteous judgments passed upon all  whomever they will review. The end of this time will be the Lord’s kingdom descending down upon a people who are the raised wicked who were given 100 short years to witness the futility of a world without God.

This short 100 years is briefly mentioned in Isaiah–

“There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.” (Isaiah 65:20)

The short 100 years is generally not well know among us, and we hope to have a post on it soon. The understanding of this originally came from the Spirit of Prophecy.

In closing,  when we carefully study the Bible, Spirit of Prophecy and the Elijah message, we see that the shown chart outline is truly the timing of end time events. Let us determine to be part of this glorious end time world. Yes there will be a two-fold division, but those who make preparations now, and keep their garments clean and walk daily in His Commandments and sigh and cry for all the abominations that are done in their life and in the church–will witness it all!

Posted in End times, Final Events | Leave a Comment »

Go in Between the Wheels (Ezekiel 10)

July 4, 2015

Ezekiel 9

As present truth believers we have known quite thoroughly about the soon to happen prophetic Ezekiel 9 church judgment. Many Elijah message presenters report chapter 9 as they should but leave out the corresponding chapter 10, particularly the first verses.  This is truly the “flip side” or  “other half” to this great and dreadful work of God. But as we shall see,  it shows the glorious result of God’s solemn work and ushers in a “new day” for humanity. Power from on High given.

We shall be looking at the first three verses.

” Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in my sight. Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.” (Ezek. 10:1-3)

Before we go into this section, we must note that it is a continuation of chapter 9. The vision continues and the scene develops. This is important to understand as the Lord shows us the results and reason for the solemn chapter 9  events.

The Spirit of Prophecy illuminates chapter 10 —” In Ezekiel’s vision, God had His hand beneath the wings of the cherubim. This is to teach His servants that it is divine power that gives them success. He will work with them if they will put away iniquity, and become pure in heart and life. The heavenly messengers seen by Ezekiel, like a bright light going among the living creatures with the swiftness of lightning, represent the speed with which this work will finally go forward to completion. He who slumbers not, who is continually at work for the accomplishment of His designs, can carry forward His great work harmoniously.” (SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p.1161)

We notice a forward-looking statement about the work finally going forward with “speed”. In other words, God’s Spirit is poured out initially on those who survive Ezekiel 9. The coals of fire represent His Holy Spirit and is given for the express purpose of finalizing  His work for mankind. The rapid work shall culminate quickly. The Lord explains more–

“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28-29)

Let us look at what the Elijah messages says about Ezekiel 10.

After the sighing and crying ones were marked (which is not to be understood as being consummated in its entirety worldwide before the slaying follows anywhere), the slaughter completed, and the matter reported, the Lord “spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city.” Ezek. 10:2.

   The scattering of the “coals of fire…over the city” represents absolute purification of the heart (Gospel Workers, p. 23) effected by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon those who receive the “mark” — those who escape the “slaughter. “

   Following the completion of the “slaughter,” and just preceding the scattering of the “coals of fire” “over the city,” “the cherubims stood on the right side of the house,…and the cloud filled the inner court.” Ezek. 10:2, 3.  Later they “lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight,” says the prophet. Ezek. 10:19. 

Then subsequently  he saw them again “lift up their wings” (Ezek. 11:22, 23), showing that though they had departed after the separation took place (Ezek. 10:3, 19), they had later returned, and were now departing for the second time. (Tract 1, p.38-39)

You see my brethren, Ezekiel 10 prophesies that the outpouring of the full Spirit of God will take place after the church judgment, not before. That is why false revivals from well-meaning outfits like Amazing Facts, 3 ABN, and a host of others, are running without being sent. They do not truly know the church’s spiritual condition.

“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. “(Ezek.13:2-6)

Oh what applicable Scripture is this! Our leading organizations are not preparing the church “to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.” Neither do they know prophesy correctly. If they would only understand and believe the two very important chapters of Ezekiel 9 and 10, they would know how to help the church “stand” in the day of the LORD’s battle.

Instead it is left with the few , mostly laymen, who feel the burden and solemn responsibility to proclaim the Lord’s next coming, the invisible coming into His churches worldwide for the beginning phase of the judgment for the living.

This has been the Lord’s modus of operation since the beginning. The downcast, the poor, the fishermen, the lowly and humble,  they are the ones who humbly accept His call and go to work. A work that is not popular yet truly needed.

“In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. . . . God will work a work in our day that but few anticipate. He will raise up and exalt among us those who are taught rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the outward training of scientific institutions. These facilities are not to be despised or condemned; they are ordained of God, but they can furnish only the exterior qualifications. God will manifest that He is not dependent on learned, self-important mortals.“–5T 80, 82 (1882).

The Elijah message gives us more light on the circumstances prior and after the “power” of the Spirit is poured out–

As in the natural state of things, the latter rain comes not only to make the wheat grow but also to bring it to its full maturity, so, by spiritual analogy, this Teacher of Righteousness must bring the saints to the full stature of men in Christ Jesus (Eph. 4:13)–fit them for the Kingdom.

But the second phase, that promised power (Joel 2:28) which comes “afterward,” after “the latter rain,” is that for which most Christians are praying without considering that there is a first phase (Joel 2:23)—the “teacher of righteousness,” a final outpouring of Present Truth–which must be obtained before the final outpouring of power can be realized.

It is evident that the part which comes “afterward,” the Pentecostal power, comes to enable the receiver to proclaim the latter truth; and this power will not come until the church as a body, “every one grass in the field” (Zech. 10:1), not a group here and a group there, has joyously assimilated for its spiritual growth all the rain that the Teacher of Righteousness, who has now come, has brought.

But the great question here confronting us is: When can “every grass” every church member, receive this glorious Truth and power? Shall saint and hypocrite share them alike? Inspiration answers:

“By fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many….and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations….and they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles….they shall bring all your brethren…to My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.” Isa. 66:16, 19, 20.

So in the time between the “latter rain” of truth and the “outpouring” of the Spirit’s power, there will be sealed a consecrated number who will escape from among the “slain of the Lord.” In other words, at the first-fruit harvest, when all the sinners have been taken out of the church and the righteous left by themselves as were the 120 disciples in the upper room, then and only then can the Lord finally pour out His Spirit’s power upon all, so that all (all the “escaped” ones) shall prophesy, dream dreams, and see visions.

“And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.” Isa. 4:3-6.

Only after this great purge in the church (described also in the ninth chapter of Ezekiel), will the remnant be equipped to carry their fully blazing, lighted torch of Truth to all the Gentile world. Out of Zion will then go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. The work will then be finished, “cut short in righteousness,” and the Lord will then appear in glory-seen by every eye (Rev. 1:7).(Answerer, vol. 1, Q-12)

In closing, Ezekiel 10 gives us a most exciting future promise. Soon the Lord is to pour out His long-awaited Spirit in full upon His servants. The instruction “. .Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city (Ezek. 10:2)” is right upon us. Are we doing all we can to ensure we’ll be one of the recipients?

Posted in Ezekiel, God's power | 1 Comment »

Following the Devil’s Tracks

June 27, 2015

Sherlock Holmes

Many are aware of the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. His ability to solve crimes and point to the guilty was thorough and successful. Today, we must take the role of old Sherlock as well, as we are facing a huge Spiritual battle. Satan is on the loose and in a terrible and concise manner. He has pulled his troops together and is making his final push to drag as many as possible down with him.

As we have posted many times, Satan has his hands full with his final game plan. This game plan is to befuddle, lam-blast, disguise, disrupt and just downright destroy God’s final message to His church, the Lord’s Elijah message. The SDA as a whole are fast asleep and unaware of this game plan, but the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists are not.

Who does Satan and his minions fear the most? The Davidian Seventh-day Adventists. For he knows they have the truth of the prophecies concerning the “great and dreadful day of the Lord.” The Lord’s final message that, once it is believed by that fateful 144,000th believer, ushers in Satan and his doomed legions final short few years.

Satan, as the Elijah prophet has uncovered through prophetic interpretation,  will soon be “wrath” with God’s people (Rev. 12:15-17), because of the “earth’s” mouth opening (Ezek. 9 church judgment). This can only happen because of the Davidian message being accepted by all those who will. Sadly, we know Inspiration says only 144,000 will  choose to do so. Hence the all out effort to stop this message from reaching the SDA people.

Let us now do as Sherlock would do, look at the evidence piling up pointing out his guilty schemes right now.

The message warns us–

“Moreover, the old Devil has already put all his forces to work, piping pleasing tunes to lure Truth seekers to climb aboard his golden bandwagon.   Its glittering tinsel of truth is already beguiling many with his wares while his captains and generals are to the top of their voices shouting their “Hallelujahs,” “Holy Ghost,” “gift of healing,” “gift of tongues,” “gift of miracles,” and all the rest, although the entire fanfare is devoid even of a spark of life. 

Every wind of doctrine will be blowing, false revivals and reformations will be at their peak.  Everything that can be done will be done to distort the Truth and thus distract and dishearten believers and draw their attention to something other than the message of Elijah.

   Thus will be the Devil’s deal while the day of God is approaching, and while Elijah is making the announcement of it as the scroll unrolls and while the prophecies concerning the day of God are being unsealed.  

His work and his interpretation of the prophecies for the great day will identify him as the promised Elijah the prophet (“Testimonies to Ministers,” p. 475), and this will enrage the Devil as never before.  Nevertheless, one’s only safety will be in the teaching of Elijah, for there will be no other voice of timely Truth and authority to whom one may turn.  Any others will lead their victims blind-folded into perdition.” (General Conference Special, p.7-8)

“And since the Enemy cannot get around the Truth, he does all he can to blacken character and to pick flaws in personalities.” (Ibid, p.8)

So we see that Satan will be enraged as never before and that he cannot do anything successfully to stop the Truth, but he can and will “blacken character” of the messengers.

Recently the world heard about the terrible shooting of the  Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina. The young kid took the lives of many innocent people that evening. But was this haphazard or was it planned by the sinister one?

On July 2nd of this year, we as SDA will have our general conference session. The church leaders will be gathering, along with a multitude of members. As is the custom, church issues will be discussed and voted upon.  A great throng of SDA will gather in one place. The church direction hangs in the balance.

The adversary well knows this and he also knows that God’s faithful servants, the DSDA, are planning on being there to distribute the Elijah message in literature, Cd’s and Dvd’s. So, what better time than right before the world session,  to possess a young kid and get a large shoot up in a church?

How does this tie together? Let us look back at Satan’s prior history. We are very familiar with the disastrous and horrifying events in Waco Texas on February 28, 1993. The religious group known as Branch Davidians were soon known all around the world, but for the wrong reasons. Koresh and his unGodly men, with their perverted lifestyles, were seen as cult figures and anything but true Godly people.

So the net result is that Satan had accomplished his goal– taint the word– Davidian. Why? Because the Lord had inspired His last prophet to His remnant church, the SDA church, a man named Victor T. Houteff, to name the believers in the Elijah message–Davidian Seventh-day Adventists.

But in 1955 when brother Houteff died, the adversary started his plan to counter the message. A man named Ben Roden , who studied under Houteff, decided that he was to be the new inspired leader and his new break away group would be called Branch Davidians.  He added and subtracted many things to the original message. Koresh came along many years later and tried to interject his own teachings into the already usurping Branch movement.

The net result in this mess is that the largely uninformed SDA today, have no clue what the difference is between the Davidian SDA and the Branch Davidians. To them they are one and the same! Meaning all Satan’s dirty work with the fringe group (Branch) are now lumped with the Lord’s true group– the Davidian  SDA.

This being true, and with the recent shooting clearly in mind, there is word among some DSDA that the SDA leaders have warned the local police in San Antonio, about the “Davidians” . They have spread slander that they could do some similar acts and that they should be watched. In other words, they are trying to hamper God’s servants from getting the message out to the people based on slander and falsehood!

The prophet had some stern words for the “Sanhedrin” in our leadership–

“True, the church is God’s church, but those who are in charge of it are no better than the Sanhedrin in Christ’s days.  It is because God has supreme regard for His church that He has thus with His Truth invaded it now as He did invade the Jewish church in Christ’s time, and is thus to reclaim His people by cutting down those who are unlawfully enslaving them, teaching them doctrines of devils as already shown in the paragraphs above, and keeping them from coming in contact with Heaven’s Truth for this time of crises.  Do you see why the General Conference is now no more the voice of God to the people (General Conference Bulletin, 34th session, Vol. 4, Extra No. 1, April 3, 1901, p. 25, Cols. 1, 2) than was the Sanhedrins’ to the Jews in Christ’s time?” (Jezreel Letter, no. 7, p.7-8)

God’s prophetess warned us about the slander that would take place.

“The more you are jostled, misapprehended, misstated, misrepresented, the more evidence you have that you are doing a work for the Master, and the more closely you must cling to your Saviour.” (Testimonies, vol. 8, p.130)

Satan has for centuries used falsehood and slander spreading. Justin Martyr,  the early Christian historian, pointed out how word had spread among the people that “Christians” practiced cannibalism (eating babies) and sexual immorality in their worship services (Dialogue with Trypho,  ch.10, First Apology, p.133).

Not only we can see these devil tracks forming, but I have seen lately the adversaries familiar attacks on a more personal level, upon a sister in our church. Sister M, has been studying the Lord’s Rod message for the last few weeks and we have had some real good studies. Her facial expressions, her expressing of joy in learning prophecies such as Daniel 2 and the subject of the 144,000, have been a joy to me.

But we know Satan and his workers are fighting anyone who boldly starts to embrace the Elijah message and sure enough they were watching our studies. Sister M, in an effort to share her exciting studies and new truth she had learned, called a sister in Los Angeles to share the news. The sister listened to sister M, and then interjected, “Oh no, be careful, that is Shepherd’s Rod teachings. They teach that someday the Davidians will rise up in the church and commit Ezekiel 9 on the people.”

Talk about cold water being splashed in one’s face! Sister M was dumbfounded. She was quite naturally confused. She called me the next day explaining her conversation with the sister. I listened patiently then calmly told her that this was an old false rumor that has absolutely no foundation anywhere in the Shepherd’s Rod teachings. She said she would like to give me the sister’s email and that I should discuss this with her. I gladly accepted.

Long story short , after trying twice to reach out to this sister and have her read back to me the references in the Rod, where the teaching of the Ezekiel 9 church judgment will be performed by Davidians, she never responded. Aloof and blissfully ignorant of her slander!

I am praying, and please do so as well, that our sister M, will see that one of us is not “loving the Truth” but rather their agenda of falsehood and slander.

Satan  started this slander at the very beginning of the message. We read that very early in brother Houteff’s ministry, in the Symbolic News code, he addressed the following.

“It will be seen by the following paragraphs that the enemy of truth is determined that light shall not reach the people (“Testimonies to Ministers,” p. 411), also that he is doing everything to tear down Mt. Carmel Center and the work she is carrying on.

1. “I have been told,” says one, “that Mt. Carmel Center is being builded as a sort of fort where weapons are being stored for the purpose of slaying all the S.D.A.’s who do not accept the message of the Rod.  Is this true?”

Nothing could be quite so absurd as the story which the questioner has been told, and we admonish our brethren not to believe what they are told by Mt. Carmel’s enemies, any more than while they were investigating the Sabbath truth they believed the wild stories told about Adventists.” (Sym. Code. vol, 3. no.11-12, p.2)

The Lord warned us that only those who “love” the Truth, will be saved–

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (2 Thes. 2:10)

This slander spreading sister, and all others like her, will have on their life’s book, the solemn charge of breaking the 9th Commandment unless they repent. If I or anyone else spread a rumor that so and so, or a group of people will soon be murders, and don’t get to the bottom of this accusation to see if these things are based on written proof, we would stand defenseless before God as careless and guilty. Especially as we are accusing God’s servants of such blackness!

And why is Satan so worried about stopping God’s final message to His people? Because he knows prophesy shows us what will befall him and his minions once the church is purified, once God’s mighty warriors go to work. All his henchmen shall no longer “rule over” His people. A new day has begun!

“Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider; With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young;

and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers. And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.(Jer. 51:20-24)

As a matter of duty, I should point out certain current SDA leaders and/or high profile spokemen for the SDA who are active in spreading errors and falsehoods concerning the Lord’s Davidian message.

David Mould  (YouTube)

Ishmael Rodriguez  (YouTube, Personal ministry to counter the Shepherd’s Rod)

Harold Cunningham (Conference leader in Georgia)

Vance Ferrell (Long time SDA writer and reporter)

Of course there are many more, but these are some of the more active ones.

In closing, we can see the old serpent’s tracks as clear as day! The fact that slander has been practiced against a particular group of people within our church should tip-off the honest of heart, that the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist message is truth and it is the one that our adversary fears most. One of the worst impulses of the human heart is to engage in bearing false witness. It is so bad that our Lord has it as His number 9 Holy Commandment. “Thou shall not bear false witness.”

Let us no longer be beguiled by Satan today, but awake and uncover his cunning and sinister tracks!

“The enemy is preparing for his last campaign against the church. He has so concealed himself from view that many can hardly believe that he exists, much less can they be convinced of his amazing activity and power. They have to a great extent forgotten his past record; and when he makes another advance move, they will not recognize him as their enemy, that old serpent, but they will consider him a friend, one who is doing a good work. Boasting of their independence they will, under his specious, bewitching influence, obey the worst impulses of the human heart and yet believe that God is leading them. Could their eyes be opened to distinguish their captain, they would see that they are not serving God, but the enemy of all righteousness. They would see that their boasted independence is one of the heaviest fetters Satan can rivet on unbalanced minds.” (Testimonies, vol. 5, p.294)

(Reminder note: We always color code our messages as follows (except the earlier years messages)– Orange — The Father or Son speaking  Blue–  Scripture/Spirit of prophecy references   Brown- The Lord’s Elijah message writings brought by Victor T. Houteff )

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Posted in Delusion, Satan | 5 Comments »

His Signs and Wonders

June 20, 2015

 

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(Click to enlarge)

This week I have witnessed some of  the Lord’s divine work. He has once again shown that He is with us, He is there for us.  His wonderful signs are to be shown and spread as His word says.

“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)

Here we see that our Lord shows that the Father’s works are real , they do exist. They show real signs and miracles for our benefit. To strengthen us , to uplift us. Signs help us to believe. Of course the Lord does not give them in place of faith, but rather to strengthen our faith.

As some of you who have read the blog for a few years know, I have written about how God has used the Hummingbirds in my life. One of the most dramatic and powerful signs given was written about here –https://godsloveandlaw.com/2011/04/02/god-sends-a-hummingbird/

This wonderful sign woke me up to the fact that a serious idol in my life was to be done away with, lest I remain forever in its snare and not grow in the Truth as the Lord would have.

The Lord said–

“No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.” (Luke 11:33)

 I believe this sign is given to show the Lord’s light (wonder signs) to us all. I am putting this lamp on the stand for all of you to see it. So let us give thanks and praise to Him that speaks to us in diver and amazing ways.

About one week ago I had opened my front room curtains. As I usually do I looked out to see if I could see any of my favorite little friends, the hummingbirds, feeding at their feeder. I did not, but I could see that the feeder was empty, so I made a mental note that later that day I would refill it. Later after work, I forgot to refill the container. Being wrapped up with the work of the day, it had escaped my mind.

The next morning, again I did my same routine and opened the curtains. I looked at the feeder. What?? What is this I thought? Am I seeing right? Then it hit me! The Lord has refilled the feeder with just enough to show the drink had been added! There is no other explanation for this. As we all know, liquid cannot appear from nothing unless the Lord commands it.

Stunned, I got down on my knees and thanked Him for such a wonderful sign. Joy and amazement are the best I can describe my feelings at that moment. But this was something that the Lord had done before, and I know this is to be shown to others as encouragement. He really does want us to know that He works even now, even today.  Not only in silent and unseen ways, but visual insightful ways!

The two pictures above show the views I saw from the living room. The top picture shows the empty feeder as I saw it. The bottom picture shows the red liquid in the feeder as I saw it. To fully explain, this refilling and emptying  has taken place for the last several days and I was able to then take pictures of it.

Signs have played a big part in the Scriptures. We recall the inspiring sign given Abraham’s servant in choosing Rebekah. Let us read this great story.

“Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.  See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.  May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.  The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

 The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”

 “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.  Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.

When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.” And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.”

Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord,  saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”(Gen. 24:12-27)

What I like about this story is the immediate bowing down and praising the Lord after the servant witnessed the faithful sign from the Lord. We all like to be appreciated and who is more worthy of our appreciation than the Lord? His great signs truly lift us up and encourage us.

Some have asked–Why don’t I ever get any signs? My answer would be –have you watched? Are you keeping your eyes open for His speaking to you through them? I truly believe signs are given many times yet we fail to stop and notice them, we run right through them!

Let us not be afraid to go before the Lord in prayer and ask. He knows the depths of our souls and what will uplift us. Pray then watch. Signs may be given in response to a prayer. there may be a person the Lord sends to you that has the answer. There may be a sign from a Billboard, or an article that just happens to address your concern. The important thing to remember is He knows what will reach YOU and how to show it beyond doubt.

Our Lord said ” Only believe.” (Mark 5:36).

Posted in God's signs | 4 Comments »

Getting down to Business

June 13, 2015

Business Man Outdoors Running to the Top of the Bar Graph

Many of us remember the old Kirby vacuum salesmen. They’d come to our door complete with all the material they’d need to make the sale. it’s the old Boy Scouts adage –“Be prepared.” In the business of eternal of life , shouldn’t we also be prepared? If we are a professed worker in His vineyard , we should be prepared for any and all contacts we may make , especially on the Sabbath, before, during and after the services. Here we have the best chance of coming in direct contact with our brethren.

“And Jesus said unto them, ‘Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.”(1 Mark 1:17).

In these very last hours of our probation, we should be looking at ourselves as fishers of men and women. Prepared for the potential clients ,whom the Lord may put in our path. With this thought in mind, let us see how we can become more prepared. A ready and able servant of the Lord, willing to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear..”(1 Peter 3:15).

In explaining how we must be orderly and an example of proficiency , SOP says-

“God is a God of order. Everything connected with heaven is in perfect order; subjection and thorough discipline mark the movements of the angelic host. Success can only attend order and harmonious action. God requires order and system in His work now no less than in the days of Israel. All who are working for Him are to labor intelligently, not in a careless, haphazard manner. He would have his work done with faith and exactness, that He may place the seal of His approval upon it.” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p.376)

Exactness, a very good word for us.  As we go out into His vineyard there are some things we can do to help our exact work, for starters how about this–

breifcase

I have found this a truly great tool to have when we go to church on Sabbath. Inside the case I have Tracts, Present truth literature, Cd’s and Dvd’s , Bible, Testimonies vol. 1 to 9, highlighter, calling card with my contact info, and the standard pens and note pads.

This is a portable traveling witness tool, plain and simple. We are really salesmen-women doing God’s bidding so why not get serious about it? This reminds me of the old saying, “Those who enjoy what they are doing will be good at what they are doing.”

Some may ask– What about churches we attend where the elders and/or pastor is against the Lord’s message of Elijah (and there are many)? In this case we can load our case with present truth reports comprised of solely SOP and Scripture. For a link to 18 such reports  click here- http://shepherds-rod.org/basic/

You can print these out as individual reports and share them. They cannot be denied by our church because it is from God’s word. Also for those interested, we have about 20 small booklets that the discretionary present truth Elijah messenger can use in these situations. Contact us through the contact info on this page.

Time is so short my brothers and sisters, we must use every avenue at our disposal to reach any that would be in our path, placed there by God. The salvation of our brethren is of our utmost importance.

“The salvation of souls and the interests of the kingdom of God are matters of the highest importance. What object is there that calls for greater earnestness than the salvation of souls and the glory of God? There are considerations here which cannot be lightly regarded. They are as weighty as eternity. Eternal destinies are at stake.” (Testimonies, vol. 2, p.232-233)

As we often say to the world, the SDA church is God’s remnant church. Yet look at part of Babylon, our Jehovah Witness brethren. They are a classic example of preparedness. Almost each Saturday or Sunday we can find them walking around our neighborhoods, complete with briefcases or hand bags which contains their material. Should not we as His end time church do the same in regards to preparedness?

“The school of God does not teach only from its textbook, not merely in the school-room, it teaches the practical as well as the theoretical.  The practical, of course, most men dislike, and some would not take practical training even for a gift.” (Timely Greetings, vol. 2, no.25, p.9)

“Now is our time to labor for the salvation of others. There are some who think that if they give money to the cause of Christ, this is all they are required to do; the precious time in which they might do personal service for Him passes unimproved. But it is the privilege and duty of all who have health and strength to render to God active service. All are to labor in winning souls to Christ.”(To be like Jesus, page 78)

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise.”(Proverbs 11:30)

Let us keep the following counsel , as we the SDA church , not the world,  is about to be sprued out. The souls in our church are worth our every effort.

“Have you so deep an appreciation of the sacrifice made on Calvary that you are willing to make every other interest subordinate to the work of saving souls? The same intensity of desire to save sinners that marked the life of the Saviour marks the life of His true follower. The Christian has no desire to live for self. He delights to consecrate all that he has and is to the Master’s service. He is moved by an inexpressible desire to win souls to Christ. Those who have nothing of this desire might better be concerned for their own salvation. Let them pray for the spirit of service.” (Testimonies, vol. 7, p.10)

“Christ’s followers have been redeemed for service. Our Lord teaches that the true object of life is ministry. Christ Himself was a worker, and to all His followers He gives the law of service–service to God and to their fellow men. Here Christ has presented to the world a higher conception of life than they had ever known. By living to minister for others, man is brought into connection with Christ. The law of service becomes the connecting link which binds us to God and to our fellow men.

To His servants Christ commits “His goods”–something to be put to use for Him. He gives “to every man his work.” Each has his place in the eternal plan of heaven. Each is to work in co-operation with Christ for the salvation of souls. Not more surely is the place prepared for us in the heavenly mansions than is the special place designated on earth where we are to work for God.” (Christ’s Object Lessons, p.326-327)

Our prophetess spoke Inspired words in counseling us that each one of us has a duty to perform , a plan made by God to work in His vineyard. Time is closing rapidly, accounts will soon be settled. Have we made sincere efforts to reach our brethren in the church who stand , for the most part, lost,  and no not that they are “miserable, pitiful, poor, blind and naked”?

“The words of Christ apply to the church: “Why stand ye here all the day idle?” Why are you not at work in some capacity in His vineyard? Again and again He has bidden you: “Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.” But this gracious call from heaven has been disregarded by the large majority. Is it not high time that you obey the commands of God? There is work for every individual who names the name of Christ.

A voice from heaven is solemnly calling you to duty. Heed this voice, and go to work at once in any place, in any capacity. Why stand ye here all the day idle? There is work for you to do, a work that demands your best energies. Every precious moment of life is related to some duty which you owe to God or to your fellow men, and yet you are idle!” (Testimonies, vol. 5, p.203)

In closing, if we are in this game of life to win souls why not –get down to business? Make this God sent job of ours a serious one. As SDA members we all should have this goal right now–

“Let us strive with all power God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand. And let us do all we can to help others to gain heaven.” (Review and Herald, March 9 , 1905)

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The Faith of the Ethiopian Eunuch

June 6, 2015

philip-and-the-ethiopian-eunuch

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place.  And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship  and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.  And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”

 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”  And he said,“How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.  Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
    and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he opens not his mouth.
 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
    Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”

And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.  And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.” (Acts 8:26-39)

When we read this we see such great faith and child like trust! What a humble and willing heart had this Ethiopian. When asked if he understood what he was reading, he did not lie and cover up his lack of knowledge. He was like Nathaniel of whom the Lord said–

 “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, ‘Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!'(John 1:47)

Then the Eunuch continues his strong faith and commits that he is ready to go all out for the Lord, and requests baptism. Oh, how powerful and truly marvelous this simple story of faith. Our Lord said–

“…. 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)

Did not this Eunuch show child like faith? A desire to know the Lord and His ways? Certainly. What really grabs me is his reading of the Scriptures without truly knowing what it says. He sensed from the Holy Spirit that the Good Book was his key to heaven and even if he did not understand it well, he clung to it like a lifesaver!

Are we today showing a child like humble faith? Willing to admit when we don’t know something or willing to be corrected when we are shown from Scripture to be wrong?

As we posted several weeks back, we are active in sending out present truth packages around the world, and just as I am really filled with joy to read about our Ethiopian Eunuch’s faith, I am  regularly filled with joy to hear from some of the believers around the world. Their simple faith and true excitement to receive “meat in due season” truly brings great delight.

Any of us who have taken up the Lord’s Elijah message knows what I am talking about. True joy and contentment , knowing that these people who begin their studies and learn/obey His final message, are in the process of getting their forehead sealed with His Truth. They are the ones who shall be left standing when the Lord “suddenly comes to His temple.”(Mal. 3:1)

 As we are painfully aware, the Lord’s Elijah would be, and still is,  greatly rejected (TM, p.475), but when we see people willing to read and see what has been written, and then to say “Yes, I get it!”– we find great joy. We can only imagine the joy brother Phillip had in seeing his new friend willing to listen to a “Thus us sayeth the Lord” then act on it.

Just like the Ethiopian, we should be ready and willing to “jump in” and receive the Truth. No hesitation, no doubtful back and forth, we know that there is more light that we need. Our Lord said we are miserable , poor, blind and naked.  He knew most of His beloved Laodicean church would not want  His new light in the form of His last message of Elijah.

Isn’t it ironic, that the Ethiopian could not read and comprehend yet could see,  and we as SDA can read and comprehend  yet we are blind! Let us turn from our smug self-complacency to a child like yearning to understand the Lord’s “gold refined in the fire”,  His “new light”–the Elijah message.

In closing , a recent brother’s email shows the Ethiopian faith we should have in investigating new light.

 “Very great bro.I can not belief it! A very very great surprise gift! of great happiness are the two green books which seems to contain almost all the truths and they seem to be the original copies of the materials you have sent me so far! This is a big challenge that i burn extra oil to study very hard and then the message will burn within me giving me a great desire to spread it! it is an indication that God has seen it worthy that i take charge of the Lord’s message here.

This challenge i am ready to take the message forward for it is Christ who will lead me!Bro. i have no words to express my feelings,let alone expressing my thanks giving to you and Christ ,but in the only human language,i say thanks and may God bless you!. occasionally i will be seeking brethren help whenever there will be need to visit anywhere to present the truth.But first i want to really study every night,the only time there no noisy interruptions . blessings brother”

The sanctified soul will not be content to remain in ignorance, but will desire to walk in the light and to seeks greater light.As a miner digs for gold and silver, so the follower of Christ will press from light to greater light, ever increasing in knowledge. He will continually grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Peter 3:18, Review and Herald, June 17, 1890)

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