BEHOLD
YOUR GOD Chapter 4 The
Character of God and the Ending of The Great Controversy The evidences
presented in the Scriptures confirm the truth that the great controversy
began with the misrepresentation of the character of God. Furthermore,
Satan’s extension and continuation of the struggle has been by the same
means. Thus is revealed the cause and the effect—the cause being the
establishment of an erroneous view of God, and the effect, the proliferation of
iniquitous rebellion.
It is a sound principle that once the cause of a problem has been
established, the remedy for it has been
discovered. Therefore, as certainly as the dissemination of false
concepts of God’s character is the cause for sinful revolt, then as surely
will the presentation of the truth in regard to God provide the remedy by
reversing the result. Thus men are brought back from
sin to righteousness, from mutiny to loyalty.
Therefore, only those who understand these facts possess the knowledge
of where the solution is to be found. Naturally, any person who is a sincere
child of God desires above all else to see the termination of the long dark
misery, the end of revolt and alienation from God, and in turn help others to
walk in the same direction.
Thus, while it is the work of Satan and his followers to wrongfully
represent God’s character so as to intensify the evil revolt against Him, it
is the work of God and His children to correctly reveal God’s righteousness
so as to terminate the insurgence and return the world to the peace and
prosperity of full loyalty to God.
Pre-eminent in this work of divine restoration is Jesus Christ, the
Son of the living God. When He came to this earth, He came, not merely to
save man from the penalty of sin by sacrificing Himself, but to save him by
revealing the character of God in contrast to Satan’s propositions. This is
not to say that Christ’s death upon the cross is unessential to our
salvation. Full recognition is here given to the eternal truth that without
the death of Christ none of us could be saved.
But emphasis must be given to the fact that Christ’s role as the
Revealer of the truth character of God was as necessary to ending the great
controversy and the salvation of the lost as was that supreme sacrifice on
the cross. Jesus came expressly to show God to angels and men exactly as He
is.
He came to do this work at a time when “the earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That
the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back
to God, Satan’s deceptive power was Page 27 to be broken.
This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the
principles of God’s government; He desires only the service of love; and love
cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened. To know
God is to love Him; His character must
be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one
Being in all the universe could do. Only He Who knew
the height and depth of the love of God could make it known. Upon the world’s
dark night the Sun of Righteousness must rise, ‘with healing in His wings.’
Malachi 4:2.” The Desire of Ages, 22.
“The Son of God came to this earth to reveal the character of the
Father to men, that they might learn to worship Him
in spirit and in truth.” Counsels to
Parents Teachers, 28.
It is also written that, “For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8.
Therefore, Jesus came to this earth to reveal the character of God and
to destroy the works of the devil. It is immediately apparent that these are
not two separate works. They are the same work, for the devil’s work to lead
men into rebellion, depends firstly on his deceiving them in respect to the
nature of God. Therefore, to reveal God’s true nature so that the devil is no
longer able to deceive angels and men is to destroy the devil’s works. It
makes it impossible for him to operate.
Even for Christ to accomplish this, was no
easy task. Satan’s deceptions had penetrated far more deeply and extensively
than most suppose. Because we have failed to understand how far things had
gone, we have likewise failed to appreciate the enormity of the task imposed
upon God and Christ in their responsibility of delivering the universe from
the power of Satan. Had it simply been a contest of force versus force, it
would have been over in an instant. God is in the possession of infinite
power against which Satan is able to muster but an infinitesimal force in
comparison. But the question to be settled in the great controversy is not
whether God is physically stronger than Satan. It is the question of the real
nature of God’s character and government. It
is natural to suppose that the Word of God is the last and final authority in
any dispute. How many times have people wished that the Lord would speak
directly and audibly in a problem situation. It is
firmly believed that that would settle the issue right there and then. But
the witness of the ages reveals that the World of God alone is not sufficient
to settle these issues great and small. If it was, then there never would
have been a great controversy.
Once there was only the Word of the living God in existence. There was
no question or dispute over that Word. Then there came the time when that
Word was challenged. As this dissension was developing, God called together
the whole of the heavenly host and spelled out in the clearest terms the constitution
of His government, explaining exactly why the situation was as it was (See Patriarchs and Prophets, 36). Page 28
Thus the word of Satan was met by the Word of God. But it did not
settle the question, as is proved by the even more determined antagonism of
Satan and all who followed after him, because they neither believed nor
accepted that Word. Therefore, time had to be given in which Satan could
demonstrate the true nature of his claims while God and Christ, on the other
hand, would unfold the real character of their position. It is for this
purpose that the Lord has permitted the great conflict to continue through
all these ages, and until that purpose has been fulfilled, the controversy
will continue.
That is, the struggle will go on. Christ shall not return, sin will
not be ended, and death will reign, until both angels and men see for
themselves the real nature of God’s character and government in sharp
contrast to that of Satan. When that point has been reached; when every
question of truth and error is forever settled; then and only then will the
end come. Nor will it tarry beyond that point. In that moment of time when
the purpose has been accomplished, likewise will the termination come.
It is understood by many that the number of the angels whom Satan
deceived was on third of the heavenly host. That is not what the Bible says.
Rather, it states that it was this proportion which followed him. Carefully
note what the Scriptures say. “And his tail drew the third part of the angels.
They turned from the Father and from His Son, and united with the instigator
of rebellion.” “When Satan became disaffected in heaven, he did not lay his
complaint before God and Christ; but he went among the angels who thought him
perfect and represented that God had done him injustice in preferring Christ
to himself. The result of this misrepresentation was that through their
sympathy with him one third of the angels lost their innocence, their high
estate, and their happy home.” Testimonies, 3:115; 5:291.
In these statements no reference is made to the effect, if any, that
Satan’s deceptions had upon the rest. These statements do make it clear that
two thirds of the angels remained loyal to God, and it is naturally assumed
that they therefore were not all influenced by the devils sophistries. We
think this way because we tend to equate loyalty with absolute absence of any
questions. It is true that loyalty is strengthened and perfected with the
dismissal of all doubts and suspicions, but, conversely, their presence does
not necessarily destroy loyalty, though it may weaken it.
The real truth is that every one of the angels was affected at least
in part by the delusions of the great enemy. Uncertainties about God, His
character, and the principles of His government were generated in them to Page 29 the point where
a definite sympathy for Satan’s cause was present. Throughout the long
centuries elapsing between the fall of Lucifer and the cross of Calvary that
state of affairs continued. That period absorbed at least four thousand years
of time and its activities, during which, while not casting aside their
loyalty to God to join Satan’s forces, they served God with definite
reservations and felt that Satan had something of a case to be argued.
“To the angels and the unfallen worlds the
cry, ‘It is finished,’ had a deep significance. It was for them as well as
for us that the great work of redemption had been accomplished. They with us
share the fruits of Christ’s victory.
“Not until the death of Christ was the character of Satan clearly
revealed to the angels or to the unfallen worlds.
The arch apostate had so clothed himself with deception that even holy beings
had not understood his principles. They had not clearly seen the nature of
his rebellion.
“It was a being of wonderful power and glory that had set himself against God. Of Lucifer the Lord says, ‘Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in
beauty.’ Ezekiel 28:12. Lucifer had been the covering cherub. He had stood in
the light of God’s presence. He had been the highest of all created beings,
foremost in revealing God’s purposes to the universe. After he had sinned,
his power to deceive was the more deceptive, and the unveiling of his
character was the more difficult, because of the exalted position he had held
with the Father.
“God could have destroyed Satan and his sympathizers as easily as one
can cast a pebble to the earth; but He did not do this. Rebellion was not to
be overcome by force. Compelling power is found only under Satan’s
government. The Lord’s principles are not of this order. His authority rests
upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the presentation of these principles is
the means to be used. God’s government is moral, and truth and love are to be
the prevailing power.
“It was God’s purpose to place things on an eternal basis of security,
and in the councils of heaven it was decided that time must be given for
Satan to develop the principles which were the foundation of his system of
government. He had claimed that these were superior to God’s principles. Time
was given for the working of Satan’s principles, that they might be seen by the heavenly universe.” The Desire of
Ages, 758, 759.
Consider carefully certain salient points in this quotation.
“Not until the death of Christ was the character of Satan clearly
revealed to the angels or to the unfallen worlds. .
. . They had not clearly seen the nature of his rebellion.”
“. . . The unveiling of his character was the more difficult, because
of the exalted position he had held with the Father.”
“Time was given for the working of Satan’s principles, that they might be seen by the heavenly
universe.” Page 30
Therefore, even the loyal angels and the inhabitants throughout the
whole of the universe were deceived in part by the sophistries of the great
deceiver. They were not sufficiently misled as to abandon their loyalty to
God, but enough to have a definite sympathy with Satan. At the cross that
last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken.
“Could one sin have been found in Christ, had He in one particular
yielded to Satan to escape the terrible torture, the enemy of God and man
would have triumphed. Christ bowed His head and died, but He held fast His
faith and His submission to God. ‘And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,
Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the
power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which
accused them before our God day and night.’ Revelation 12:10.
“Satan saw that his disguise was torn away. His administration was
laid open before the unfallen angels and before the
heavenly universe. He had revealed himself as a murderer. By shedding the
blood of the Son of God, he had uprooted himself from the sympathies of the
heavenly beings. Henceforth his work was restricted. Whatever attitude he
might assume, he could no longer await the angels as they came from the
heavenly courts, and before them accuse Christ’s brethren of being clothed
with the garments of blackness and the defilement of sin. The last link of
sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken.”
ibid., 761.
Think carefully upon the information contained here, especially in the
last sentence. It was the link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly
world which ceased to exist at the cross of Calvary. It is one thing to have
sympathy for a person, but it is something else to have sympathy between you
and that person.
To have sympathy for the devil and nothing more than that, is to feel
a very real sorrow for him in his inescapable predicament, but at the same
time, giving no countenance to his philosophies, objectives, methods or
behaviors. Every true Christian will feel that sympathy for Satan.
But when sympathy exists between us and the devil, then that is to
allow that he is right at least in a measure. It is to believe, even though
unconsciously, that he has a case, there is success in some of his methods,
and that he ought not to be treated as sternly as he is being dealt with. It would be impossible to give total
allegiance to God while such a sympathy existed
between us and Satan, though we might choose to remain loyal to God
nonetheless. So it was with the loyal angels right
down to the cross of Calvary, for it was there, and not before then, that the
last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken.
But, when that last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world
was broken by their seeing the true nature of his lies against God, they then
saw and understood the character of God as it truly was. Christ had destroyed
the works of the devil in them and, for them, the purpose of Page 31 Page 32 the great controversy
had been achieved. Therefore, if only angels were involved in the struggle,
Satan’s end would have come at the cross. But what had been done for angels
had also to be done for men, for while angels saw the real nature of the
character of God and of Satan at the cross, man certainly did not and still
has not. In fact, it will not be until the time
of Jacob’s trouble that even the righteous people of God will lose their last
link of sympathy with the devil. We may not know it today, but even those of
us who walk nearest to God still have a measure of sympathy with Satan and
his ways. Not until that final testing time will this at last be removed from
us. “The time of trouble is the crucible that is to bring out Christ-like
characters. It is designed to lead the people of God to renounce Satan and
his temptations. The last conflict will reveal Satan to them in his true
character, that of a cruel tyrant, and it will do for them what nothing else
could do, uproot him entirely from their affections. For to love and cherish
sin, is to love and cherish its author, that deadly foe of Christ. When they
excuse sin and cling to perversity of character, they give Satan a place in
their affections, and pay him homage.” The
Review and Herald, August 12, 1884. Also Our High Calling, 321. Because this work has yet to be
accomplished for human beings so that the purpose of the great controversy is
fulfilled for them as it was for the angels, the battle was not terminated at
the cross as it is written: “Yet Satan was not then [at the time of
the cross] destroyed. The angels did not even then understand all that was
involved in the great controversy. The principles at stake were to be more
fully revealed. And for the sake of man, Satan’s existence must be continued.
Man as well as angels must see the contrast between the Prince of light and
the prince of darkness. HE must choose whom he will serve.” The Desire of Ages, 761. Therefore, the Saviour
took the work of ending the great controversy one giant step toward its
completion when He revealed the character of God as it is to the angels and
thus exposed Satan for what he is. The progressive development of this is
clearly portrayed in Revelation 12. The original confrontation in heaven with
the resulting removal of Satan from the celestial precincts is described in
verses 7-9. “And there was war in heaven: Michael
and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his
angels. “And prevailed not; neither was their
place found any more in heaven. “And the great dragon was cast out, that
old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth
the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were case out
with him.” Note that it was at this time that Satan
was cast out into the earth. The place from which he was cast out was heaven,
but he still had the opportunity of accosting the angels as they moved to and
from heaven and “before them accuse Christ’s brethren of being clothed with
the garments of Page 33 blackness and the defilement of sin.” The Desire of Ages, 761. But that
activity was terminated when at the cross he was cast down. Firstly he had
been cast out, and then he was cast down. “Christ bowed His head and died, but He
held fast His faith and His submission to God. ‘And I heard a loud voice
saying in heaven. Now is come salvation, and
strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the
accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day
and night.’ Revelation 12:10” ibid. “This reference confirms that the devil
lost tremendous ground through the victory accomplished by Christ during His
life and by His death. The angels were set free from his power. His delusions
no longer had any claim upon their thinking. Their loyalty to God became
stronger and more intense. For these reasons there was indeed great gladness
throughout the entire universe for the salvation which they had gained
through the revelation of God’s character as given by Christ. So it is written: “Therefore rejoice, ye
heavens, and ye that dwell in them.” Revelation
12:12. It is to be noted that this call goes forth subsequent to the casting
down of the old dragon at the cross of Calvary. But the time
for rejoicing in the unfallen universe is no time
for joyous songs upon this earth for very good reason. Firstly, before the
cross, the energies of Satan and his angels had been divided between his
attacks on the angels and on man. But after the cross, he was left to devote
all his power upon the children of men. They now have his undivided
attention. Secondly, his fearful losses sustained
at the cross do not discourage but only madden him into a frenzy of desperate
and determined activity, for he knows that his time is shortened and that he
must work with a feverish madness to stave off the day of his final
obliteration. All of that fury is directed to mankind. Therefore it is
written to those who live upon this earth after the crucifixion, “Woe to the
inhibiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you,
having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Revelation 12:12. The crushing defeat suffered by our
great adversary at Golgotha was likewise a resounding victory for the cause of
righteousness. Ground was gained there which shall never again be lost, for
the angels and the unfallen worlds are now
eternally free from Satan’s deceptive arguments. But while great gains were made, full
recovery had not been achieved. Another great battle must be fought wherein
will be accomplished for man that which had been accomplished for the unfallen universe. The victory will be gained exactly as
it was gained by Christ, for we are to overcome “as He overcame.” See Revelation 3:21. To understand how that last battle is to
be fought and won, we have but to understand how Jesus gained His victory
over the devil. Firstly, we must recognize that the most difficult person to
expose is one who is a deceiver and an accuser. Counter-accusation is totally
ineffective. At best, it only Page 34 Serves to
further confuse the issue, while at the worst it multiplies support for the
initial accuser. The use of force is likewise counter-productive
for it generates sympathy for the one in rebellion through the natural
tendency to take up the cause of the underdog. There is only one way to reveal evil at
its worst and that is for it to be exposed to righteousness at its best. God
is righteousness. His very character is that. Therefore, the exposure of sin
by the revelation of righteousness was the exposure of sin by the revelation
of the character of God. Throughout His lifetime upon this earth,
this is precisely what Jesus revealed every day, all day. To look at Christ
was to see the Father. He exemplified what the Father is and all that He is.
He demonstrated how the Father relates Himself to the sin problem, to the
sinful, and to those who are His worst enemies. He spelled it out both in His
life and in His teaching. So perfect and complete was the
revelation of the Father as given by Christ that, to Philip’s inquiry,” Lord,
shew us the Father,” He could reply, “Have I been
so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hat
seen Me hath seen the Father, and how sayest thou
then, Shew us the Father?” John 14:8, 9. “All that
man needs to know or can know of God has been revealed in the life and
character of His Son.” Testimonies,
8:286. Extensive study will be given later to
the work of Christ as the Revealer of God’s character. What is being
established now is that by that revelation, Christ was able to signally
defeat Satan to the point where the unfallen
universe was completely and eternally delivered from the power of Satan’s
deceptions. Throughout His lifetime, Jesus revealed
the character of God and as He did so, Satan mustered his forces to break
that perfect revelation. But steadily and faithfully Jesus continued on His
way so that Satan found it necessary to draw even more heavily on his
armament in his desperate efforts to break the witness of God in Christ. At
last, a still undefeated Christ came to the cross to give, in that ultimate
sacrifice, the revelation of the righteous character of God at its glorious,
undimmed best. Eternity will never again be able to provide so complete and
clear a manifestation of God as He really is. It is the central and high
point of history, past and future. It is the pinnacle of all divine achievement
in the resplendent light of which all other is dimmed. Such an unfolding of righteousness at
its very best forced the devil to reveal his own
sinful character at its worst. He had no choice. If he had not attacked
Christ, if he had seen that to do so was to expose himself and had therefore
withdrawn from the battle, he would have lost anyway. His only hope was to
bring out everything in his onslaught and hope that he could break the
witness of the Son of God and man. But he failed, and in that failure he
salvaged nothing so far as the unfallen universe
was concerned. Page 35 They saw that
manifestation of divine light and satanic darkness simultaneously, and
Satan’s cause was lost among them—eternally. What Christ accomplished upon the Cross
never needs to be repeated. What Satan lost there he will never regain, so
now he works desperately to retain what he still has—the minds of men which
were not released from his power at the cross for the simple reason that they
did not see either the fullness of the glory of God’s character or the depths
of the satanic nature there displayed. Thus, for man the purpose of the great
controversy has not yet been fulfilled. Until it is, the struggle must and
will go on, no matter how long that may take. There must again be exhibited
such a complete and full revelation of the righteousness of God, which is the
law and character of God, that Satan will again be forced to display the
fullness of his iniquitous character to the point where even fallen men who have
rejected God’s truth will see the difference and reject all allegiance to his
satanic majesty. But Christ is not returning to this
earth to repeat the demonstration already given. He has other plans. This
full and final display of the merciful, gracious, kind, good, and just
character of God is to be given through His people. Christ will reveal
through them exactly what He personally revealed while upon the earth. Only as He is able to do this will the
purpose of the controversy be finally achieved for men as it was for angels.
Then the Saviour can and will return. The Scriptures are very clear in stating
that it will be the children of God who will give that final revelation of
His character. This is a fact which every Christian must understand if he is
to effectively occupy his appointed place in the concluding events of the
long-standing war. Failure to comprehend this will result in an inadequate
and misdirected preparation which will effectively disqualify such a person
from fighting in that last army of the Lord. It is because this is so that the
following words of warning have been written: “In order to endure the trial
before them, they [the people of God who will live through the final time of
trouble and conflict] must understand the will of God as revealed in His
word; they can honor Him only as they have a right conception of His
character, government, and purposes, and act in accordance with them.” The Great Controversy, 593. This counsel does not say that we who
live in these last times and face that final testing and task would merely be
in a better position to have a right concept of God’s character, government,
and purposes. It does not say this. If it did then it would be largely an
optional matter whether we did or did not understand these things. Either way
we could come through. The statement warns that we do not have
these options. Either we understand correctly the true nature of God’s
character, government, and purposes, and act in accordance with them, or we
will not be able to endure Page 36 the trial before us. To fail at this time and under these
circumstances means that eternal life will never be ours. In the light of
these considerations, the importance
of having an accurate and thorough knowledge of God’s character, the nature
of His government, and the scope of His purposes cannot be overstressed. The final movement of people who will
provide the Lord with the means of making that ultimate manifestation of His
character is prophetically described in Revelation
18:1. “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven,
having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory.” Briefly, it needs to be established here
that this is the final message to be given to the world. Before it, God will
have sent many warnings, instructions, and entreaties, but beyond the
dispatch of this there will be no other. This is plainly attested in the
following quotations: “Revelation 18 points to the time when,
as the result of rejecting the threefold warning of Revelation 14:6-12, the
church will have fully reached the condition foretold by the second angel,
and the people of God still in Babylon will be called upon to separate from
her communion. This message is the last that will ever be given to the world;
and it will accomplish its work.” The
Great Controversy, 390. A complete chapter in The Great Controversy, beginning on
page 603, is devoted to describing the giving of this message of Revelation
18:1-4. The title of the chapter is “The Final Warning.” On page 604 we read,
“These announcements [those of the Revelation 18 angel], uniting with the
third angel’s message, constitute the final warning to be given to the inhabitants
of the earth.” The second point to establish is that
the angel is a symbol. The angels themselves do not come to the earth and
personally deliver these messages. This we understand clearly from the way in
which the first three angels’ messages were given. The Scriptures declare
that they are given by movements of people on this earth. So it will be with
the last message as foretold in Revelation
18:1. The message will be given by a movement of people. This is further certified by these words
from The Great Controversy, 604.
“Hence the movement symbolized by the angel coming down from heaven,
lightening the earth with his glory, and crying mightily with a strong voice,
announcing the sins of Babylon.” Next, the question must be raised, “With
whose glory will the earth be lightened?” It is usual to receive the answer, “It
will be the glory of God. “This is correct, but it is not what the verse
says. It says, “. . . another angel came down from heaven,
. . . and the earth was lightened with his glory.” It is the glory of the angel which
lightens the whole earth. It is true that this is also and primarily the
glory of God for it is from God that this glory is Page 37 acquired. But it has been so truly given to the angel
that it has become his own and can be described as being his glory. What is the
glory of the angel and the glory of God? As used in Scripture the word “glory,”
especially in reference to God, has two meanings. To the human mind it is
mostly associated with a dazzling display of physical splendor, and without
question, such an outshining of glory does surround the person and throne of
God. Such a glory as this was witnessed by both Daniel and Isaiah. Daniel
described what he saw in these words, “I beheld till the thrones were cast
down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and
the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame,
and His wheels as burning fire. “A fiery stream issued and came forth
from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand
times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were
opened.” Daniel 7:9, 10. Here is Isaiah’s description of the
heavenly glory of the God of heaven. “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne,
high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. “Above it stood the seraphims:
each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he
covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. “And one cried unto another, and said,
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door moved at the
voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.” Isaiah 6:1-4. But there is a meaning to the word
“glory” other than the outshining of radiant light and pulsing power. When
Moses asked the Lord to show him His glory, the Lord revealed to Moses His
character. Here is God’s response to his request. “And He said, I will make
all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord
before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew
mercy.” Exodus 33:19. At the appointed time the Lord did this,
as it is written: “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood before him
there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. “And the Lord passed by before him, and
proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and
abundant in goodness and truth, “Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the
guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the
children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:5-7. Moses specifically asked God to reveal
His glory. The Lord did not refuse this request. However, in response, He did
not show him the out- Page 38 shining radiance of personal and physical splendor,
but the wonder of His great and lovely character. From this we deduce that
the glory of God is His character. The more the Word of God is studied, the
more clearly this will be seen. When Jesus came to this earth, He left
behind all that glory which was of a physical nature. Physically speaking, He was a very plain and unattractive person
as the prophecy of Isaiah 53:2 describes: “For He shall grow up before Him as
a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no
form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty
that we should desire Him.” Yet despite the plainness of His outward
appearance, He revealed the glory of God to those with the spiritual vision
which would enable them to see it. “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father), full of grace and truth.” John 1:14. John testifies that he, along with
others, saw the glory of the Father in Jesus Christ as He walked as a man
among men. It is certain that the glory seen day by day was not a radiant
outshining of dazzling light. What they saw was that other and more important
glory, the character of God. In Christ’s Object Lessons, 414, the
word “glory” is directly equated with the character in this way, “The light
of His glory—His character—is to shine forth in His followers.” These
references clearly define this other meaning of the word as being a definition of the character of God. In
truth this is His real glory, the one which He knows is the more important
for men to know and emulate. We are seeking these definitions of this
word so as to better understand the meaning of Revelation 18:1. We desire to
know the nature of the glory which shall lighten the whole earth in the last
warning message. Nowhere, in all the prophetic
descriptions of the order of last day events, are we given any picture of God
revealing Himself in shining brightness either
personally or through His people on the earth. On the contrary, God is
careful not to work in this way for He is anxious that people will accept the
message of truth because it is the truth and not because of any spectacular
displays. Therefore, it will be the other glory, the glory of character,
which will lighten the earth at this time. A summary of the message of Revelation
18:1, then, is as follows: This is the final message to be given to
the world; The angel is the symbol of a movement of people; The glory of the angel is the glory of the
character of God; It is the angel’s glory and therefore
the character glory within the people of the movement which shall lighten the
whole earth. It is of value to take a text in which symbolic
language is being used and substitute for the symbols the things being
symbolized. This makes the text much clearer. By doing this Revelation 18:1
would read “And after these Page 39 things I saw another movement
of people come down from heaven [not in the physical sense], having great
power; and the earth was lightened with the
glory of the characters of those people.” That character is the character
of God Himself, which has been formed in them through the saving ministry of
Christ in the sanctuary above. For some, real difficulty is experienced
in believing that the character of God is actually reproduced within the believer, so that it
becomes the believer’s character to the point where to look at one is to see
the Other. Yet this is the plain teaching of the Word of God. It is the
teaching of Revelation 18:1 and is further expressed in these beautiful
words: “When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His
people, then He will come to claim them as His own.” Christ’s
Object Lessons, 69. A reproduction
is the same thing all over again. A perfect
reproduction repeats itself to the point where it is impossible to tell the
difference between it and the original. When Christ was upon this earth, it
was necessary to so reveal God’s character as to enable the unfallen worlds to see how great a lie Satan’s
description of God was. That manifestation of God’s character in Christ had
to be so complete and perfect that to see Christ was to see God. If Christ’s
revelation of God’s character had been defective or incomplete in the least
degree, then He could never have succeeded in delivering the unfallen universe from the grip of Satan’s deceptions. That should not be so difficult to
perceive, for all understand the perfection of Christ’s character. It is much
more difficult to believe, as we look at ourselves with all our
defectiveness, that Christ could so reproduce Himself within a human agent that to see that person is to see the very
character and nature of God. Yet, this is how it must be, for if it
required a faultless manifestation
of God’s character to deliver the sinless beings of heaven and the unfallen worlds and thus achieve the purpose of the great
controversy for them, it will require nothing less than the same faultless and complete manifestation
of God’s character to deliver mankind from Satan’s deceptive power and
accomplish the purpose of the great controversy for fallen man. Nothing less
than this will bring the finishing of the work, and this is why “Christ is
waiting with longing desire for the manifestation
of Himself in His church. When the
character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced
in His people then He will come to claim them as His own.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 69. So it will be that “The church, being
endowed with the righteousness of Christ, is His depository, in which the
wealth of His mercy, His love, His grace, is to appear in full and final
display.” Testimonies to Ministers,
18. Not until it is understood that the
finishing of the work can only be accomplished by the manifestation of the
very character of God as that character is, to the point where to look upon
the true child of God in the last days is to look upon the character of
Christ, will there be a true appreciation of the importance of this vital
subject. Page 40 Such an appreciation is essential to
stimulate earnest searching into this great theme—a stimulus which will be
enlivened as the wonderful beauty of God’s character open before our
astonished gaze and we find our lives being changed into the same image from
glory to glory. The closing scenes of the great
controversy are right upon us. Soon its purpose will have been fulfilled for
fallen man as it was for the angels and the unfallen
worlds. In that final and finishing work the true understanding and
manifestation of the character of God, as that character is, will play a role
so vital that without it there would be no possibility of the work being
finished. Let every true child of God then place this topic in its correct
perspective of paramount importance in his study and in his own character
development. |