Why the
Davidians Believe They are the Slaughterers of Ezekiel 9
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Dear Reader, Below is my response to a Davidian, some of whom errantly believe they are the slaughterers of apostate Adventists per Ezekiel 9. ----- Original
Message ----- From:
Ron Beaulieu Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 2:19 PM Subject: Re: [SDAIssues] Re: SLAUGHTER OF MOST
ADVENTISTS WAS PREDICTED BY ELLEN G WHITE Walt, I see where Davidians get the wrong notion
that they are the slaughterers:
The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor
mourn over the sins of others, will be left without the seal of God. The Lord commissions His messengers, the men with
slaughtering weapons in their hands: "Go ye after him through the city,
and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and
young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man
upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were
before the house." {5T 211.1} In the prefigure,
the Romans were God's messengers who did the slaughtering! No one can deny
that! They were God's messengers in a more unusual sense of the word. They
were His messengers of death, His means of breaking in pieces. That surely
did not include any true Christian, because they had all fled to the
mountains of Pella, 3 1/2 years before the slaughtering took place. So
any Shepherd's Rod or Davidian, OR ANYONE ELSE for that matter who
believes he/she, as a faithful Christian, will slaughter anyone, is totally
off base, and that is putting it kindly. There is one
sense where you are correct in interpreting the above statement to mean
in-house slaughtering of Adventists by Adventists, and it will occur by the
prefigure example of the apostates slaughtering one another, to wit: "Satan was
at the head of the nation, and the highest civil and religious authorities
were under his sway. The leaders of the opposing
factions at times united to plunder and torture their wretched victims, and
again they fell upon each other's forces and slaughtered without mercy. Even
the sanctity of the temple could not restrain their horrible ferocity. The
worshipers were stricken down before the altar, and the sanctuary was
polluted with the bodies of the slain. Yet in their blind and blasphemous
presumption the instigators of this hellish work publicly declared that they
had no fear that Jerusalem would be destroyed, for it was God's own city. To
establish their power more firmly, they bribed false prophets to proclaim, even
while Roman legions were besieging the temple, that the people were to wait
for deliverance from God. To the last, multitudes held fast to the belief
that the Most High would interpose for the defeat of their adversaries. But
Israel had spurned the divine protection, and now she had no defense. Unhappy Jerusalem! rent
by internal dissensions, the blood of her children slain by one another's
hands crimsoning her streets, while alien armies beat down her
fortifications and slew her men of war! All the predictions given by Christ
concerning the destruction of Jerusalem were fulfilled to the letter. The
Jews experienced the truth of His words of warning: "With what measure
ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Matthew 7:2. It was
apostates slaying one another in addition to the Romans slaying. That is how
Shepherd's Rod's/Davidians figure in as the slaughterers of God's once chosen
people--they are apostates slaying apostates, and BOTH ARE LOST! Ron In the post
below, Walt is sda4a ----- Original Message ----- From: sd4a Sent:
Thursday, June 19, 2008 6:46 PM Subject: [SDAIssues] Re: SLAUGHTER OF MOST ADVENTISTS WAS PREDICTED
BY ELLEN G WHITE Hi What do you see? " "I know that many think far too
favorably of the present time. These ease-loving souls will be engulfed
in the general ruin. Yet we do not despair. We have been inclined
to think that where there are no faithful ministers there can be no true
Christians, but this is not the case. God has promised that where the
shepherds are not true He will take charge of the flock Himself. God
has never made the flock wholly dependent upon human
instrumentalities. But the days of
purification of the church are hastening on apace. God will have a people
pure and true. In the mighty sifting soon to take place we shall be better
able to measure the strength of Israel. The signs reveal that the time is
near when the Lord will manifest that His fan is in His hand, and He will
thoroughl y purge His floor.
{5T 79.4} The days are
fast approaching when there will be great perplexity and confusion. Satan,
clothed in angel robes, will deceive, if possible, the very elect. There will
be gods many and lords many. Every wind of doctrine will be blowing. Those
who have rendered supreme homage to "science falsely so called" will
not be the leaders then. Those who have trusted to intellect, genius,
or talent will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They
did not keep pace with the light. Those
who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the
flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. They are
self-sufficient, independent of God, and He cannot use them. The Lord has faithful servants, who in
the shaking, testing time will be disclosed
81 to view. There are precious ones now
hidden who have not bowed the knee to Baal. They have not had the
light which has been shining in a concentrated blaze upon you. But it may be
under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine
Christian character will be revealed. In the day time we look toward heaven
but do not see the stars. They are there, fixed in the firmament, but the eye
cannot distinguish them. In the night we behold their genuine luster.
{5T 80.1} The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon
us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed
to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that
be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened
imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of
God and the commandments of men. In this time the gold will be
separated from the dross in the church. True godliness will be
clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliancy
will then go out in darkness.
Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where
we see only floors of rich wheat. All who assume the ornaments of the
sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ's righteousness, will appear in
the shame of their own nakedness. {5T 81.1} When trees
without fruit are cut down as cumberers of the ground, when multitudes of
false brethren are distinguished from the true, then the hidden
ones will be revealed to view, and with hosannas range under the banner
of Christ. Those who have been timid and
self-distrustful will declare themselves openly for Christ and His
truth. The most weak and
hesitating in the church will be as David--willing to do and dare.
The deeper the night for God's people, the more brilliant the stars. Satan
will sorely harass the faithful;
82 but, in the name of Jesus, they will come
off more than conquerors. Then will the church of
Christ appear "fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an
army with banners." {5T 81.2}.....When the
overflowing scourge shall pass through the earth, when the fan is purging Jehovah's floor, God will be the help of His people.
The trophies of Satan may be exalted on high, but the faith of the
pure and holy will not be daunted. {5T 82.1}
Elijah took Elisha from the plow and threw upon him his mantle of
consecration. The call to this great and solemn work was presented
to men of learning and position; had these been little
in their own eyes and trusted fully in the Lord, He would have honored
them with bearing His standard in triumph to the victory. But they
separated from God, yielded to the influence of the world, and the
Lord rejected them. {5T 82.2}" " ________________ "The
crisis is fast approaching. The rapidly swelling figures show
that the time for God's visitation has about come. Although loath
to punish, nevertheless He will punish, and that speedily. Those
who walk in the light will see signs of the approaching peril; but they
are not to sit in quiet, unconcerned expectancy of the ruin, comforting
themselves with the belief that God will shelter His people in the day
of visitation. Far from it. They should realize that it is their
duty to labor diligently to save others, looking with strong faith to
God for help. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much." {5T 209.2} The leaven
of godliness has not entirely lost its power. At the time when the
danger and depression of the church are greatest, the little company who are standing in
the light will be sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in
the land. But more
especially will their prayers arise in behalf
210 of the church because its members are doing after the manner of the world.
{5T 209.3} The
earnest prayers of this faithful few will not be in vain. When the
Lord comes forth as an avenger, He will also come as a protector
of all those who have preserved the faith in its purity and kept
themselves unspotted from the world. It is at this time that
God has promised to avenge His own elect which cry day and night unto Him,
though He bear long with them. {5T 210.1} The command is: "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst
of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that
sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst
thereof." These sighing, crying ones had been holding forth
the words of life; they had reproved, counseled, and entreated. Some who
had been dishonoring God repented and humbled their hearts before Him.
But the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel; although many still
continued the forms of religion, His power and presence were lacking.
{5T 210.2} In the
time when His wrath shall go forth in judgments, these humble, devoted
followers of Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their
soul anguish, which is expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and
warnings. While others try to throw a cloak over the existing evil, and
excuse the great wickedness everywhere prevalent, those who have a
zeal for God's honor and a love for souls will not hold their peace to
obtain favor of any. Their righteous souls are vexed day by day with
the unholy works and conversation of the unrighteous. They are powerless
to stop the rushing torrent of iniquity, and hence they are filled with grief
and alarm. They mourn before God to see religion despised in the very
homes of those who have had great light. They lament and afflict th eir
souls because pride, avarice, selfishness, and deception of almost every kind
are in the church. The Spirit
211 of God, which prompts to reproof, is trampled underfoot, while the servants
of Satan triumph. God is dishonored, the
truth made of none effect. {5T 210.3} The
class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn
over the sins of others, will be left without the seal of God. The
Lord commissions His messengers, the men with slaughtering weapons in
their hands: "Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your
eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids, and
little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark;
and begin at My sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which
were before the house." {5T 211.1} Here we see that the church--the Lord's
sanctuary--was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men, those to whom God
had given great light and who had stood as guardians of the
spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust.
They had taken the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked
manifestation of God's power as in former days. Times have changed. These
words strengthen their unbelief, and they say: The Lord will not
do good, neither will He do evil. He is too merciful to visit His people
in judgment. Thus "Peace and
safety" is the cry from men
who will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God's people
their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These
dumb dogs that would not bark
are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an offended God. Men, maidens, and little children all perish
together. {5T 211.2} The
abominations for which the faithful ones were sighing and crying were all
that could be discerned by finite eyes, but by
far the worst sins, those which provoked the jealousy of the pure and
holy God, were unrevealed.
The great Searcher of hearts knoweth every sin committed in secret by
the workers of iniquity. These persons come to feel
secure in their deceptions and, because of His long-suffering, say
that the Lord
212 seeth not, and then act as though
He had forsaken the earth. But He will detect their
hypocrisy and will open before others those sins which they
were so careful to hide. {5T 211.3} No
superiority of rank, dignity, or worldly wisdom, no position in sacred
office, will preserve men from sacrificing principle when left to their
own deceitful hearts. Those who have been regarded as
worthy and righteous prove to be ring-leaders in apostasy and examples in
indifference and in the abuse of God's mercies. Their wicked course He
will tolerate no longer, and in His wrath He deals with them without mercy.
{5T 212.1} It is
with reluctance that the Lord withdraws His presence from those who
have been blessed with great light and who have felt the power of the word in
ministering to others. They were once His faithful servants, favored
with His presence and guidance; but they departed from
Him and led others into error, and therefore are brought under the
divine displeasure. {5T 212.2}
The day of God's vengeance is just upon
us." Walt |
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