The Hungering and Thirsting are Filled
“Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled;
for Jesus has promised it. Precious Saviour! his arms are open to
receive us, and his great heart of love is waiting to bless us.” {GW92 413.3}
"We
cannot appreciate the truth only in contrast with error; with the dark
background, false doctrines, and error, the truth shines forth clear and
connected, link after link, uniting in a perfect whole; it binds all that is
good and true together, and connects them with heaven." Ms
15a, 1886, p. 1, 4. 5 MR 272.
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Ellen
White said that Satan designs that every reformation movement is accompanied
by fanaticism. That is very true today. Ellen White also said that truth was to
be continually unfolding. As truth has advanced to give us new insights
today, Satan has his henchmen acting like outriders to every true reform
agency. They are as forerunners to muddy the waters of truth and cast
contempt upon God’s servants. You can always mark them by their quest to cast
contempt upon the messengers of truth rather than advancing the cause of
truth. They are more interested in avenging their foolish “peculiarities”
than real truth. Thus, they prove that they love a continuum of revenge more
than they love truth. They do not consider what their declamations do to the
advancement of the cause of truth, nor do they care! They hunger and thirst
more for revenge and accusation than they do the upholding of truth and those
who are trying their best to give all the truth. They are void of the Holy
Spirit. They do all they can to uphold Satan before the throne, day
and night accusing the true brethren of past things they have repented of and
have been pardoned for. And for this reason, their sins will not be
pardoned—because they do not forgive, thus they are not forgiven. “Forgive us
our trespasses AS WE FORGIVE…” Recently
one of these types told me that he tries to be peculiar in any way he can. In
the same week he stated that he does not like the words Holy, Bible and the
use of the title Jesus. That should tell you a lot in and of itself. It is Satan who tries to make truth more peculiar
than God’s Word makes it, so it will appear as foolishness and fanaticism to
the world at large. And to a great extent, his efforts in this arena are very
successful. These
types try to draw attention to themselves by their self-styled peculiarities,
as though real truth is not accompanied by enough valid peculiarities.
Conjuring up peculiar notions of their own invention, they use these devices
in a despotic attempt to contrive a message for God’s people. God does not
give them a message, so they attempt to invent their own. Another
thing the same person told me was that I should not quote any who are in error
on any point. That is not what Ellen White did. She took the truths from men
like Farrar, Wolff, and Edersheim to name a few. In
fact, she even quoted a very serious error of Wolff in citation of a truth,
without even correcting his error. Here is what I speak of: Joseph
Wolff said: “"Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah," he said,
"whose hands and feet were pierced, who was brought like a lamb to the
slaughter, who was the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, who after
the scepter was taken from Judah, and the legislative power from between his
feet, came the first time; shall come the second
time in the clouds of heaven, and with the trump of the Archangel" (Joseph Wolff, Researches
and Missionary Labors, page 62) "and shall stand upon
the Mount of Olives; and that dominion, once consigned to Adam over the creation,
and forfeited by him (Genesis 1:26; 3:17), shall be given to Jesus. He shall
be king over all the earth. The groanings and
lamentations of the creation shall cease, but songs of praises and
thanksgivings shall be heard. ... When Jesus comes in the glory of His
Father, with the holy angels,... the dead believers
shall rise first. 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:32. This is what we
Christians call the first resurrection. Then the animal kingdom shall change
its nature (Isaiah 11:6-9), and be subdued unto Jesus. Psalm 8. Universal
peace shall prevail."--Journal of the Rev. Joseph Wolff, pages 378, 379.
"The Lord again shall look down upon the earth, and say, 'Behold, it is
very good.'"-- Ibid., page 294. “As the place of His ascension, Jesus chose
the spot so often hallowed by His presence while He dwelt among men. Not
Mount Zion, the place of David's city, not Mount Moriah,
the temple site, was to be thus honored. There
Christ had been mocked and rejected. There the waves of mercy, still
returning in a stronger tide of love, had been beaten back by hearts as hard
as rock. Thence Jesus, weary and heart-burdened, had gone forth to find rest in the Mount of Olives. The holy Shekinah, in departing
from the first temple, had stood upon the eastern mountain, as if loath to
forsake the chosen city; so Christ stood upon Olivet, with yearning heart overlooking Jerusalem. The groves
and glens of the mountain had been consecrated by His prayers and tears. Its
steeps had echoed the triumphant shouts of the multitude that proclaimed Him
king. On its sloping descent He had found a home with Lazarus at Bethany. In
the garden of Gethsemane at its foot He had prayed and agonized alone. From
this mountain He was to ascend to heaven. Upon its summit His feet will rest when
He shall come again. Not as a man of
sorrows, but as a glorious and triumphant king He will stand upon Olivet,
while Hebrew hallelujahs mingle with Gentile hosannas, and the voices of the redeemed
as a mighty host shall swell the acclamation, "Crown Him Lord of all!” Desire of Ages, p. 830. This is a very serious error that should have
been corrected when Ellen White quoted Wolff. It is very possible that Ellen
White did make a correction and it was ignored by the leaders, but this
involves a very serious error in the writings of Ellen White. When Jesus
comes, He will not touch down on this earth. We will be caught up with Him in
the air and shall travel seven days to heaven and will remain there for
one-thousand years. Then the saved will return to this earth with Christ. The reason this error is serious is because
the great distinction between Christ and Satan’s personating of Him, is the
fact that Christ Jesus does not touch down on this earth at the second
coming, but Satan does. This is how we are to know the difference. Willie
White and/or the White Estate should have corrected this grave error many
decades ago. But I use this illustration to show that Ellen White quoted from
those who were in error. Do not Waste Time with the Cavilling There is a time when we must
be patient with those who have never heard the truth. Heaven’s grace still
lingers for them. But that is not true concerning those who have heard and
understood the truth. Another contention of the same
person who says he tries to be peculiar is that he questioned my view that we
should not waste time on those who cavil against the truth. “The perils of the last days
are upon us. Devote not precious time in trying to convince those who would
change the truth of God into a lie. Proclaim the third angel's message. Bear
a straightforward, clear-cut message.” {RH, August 9, 1906 par. 9} "If those who have been
in the church for weeks and months have not learned the straightness of the
way, and what it is to be Christians, and
can not hear all the straight truths of the word of God, it were
better that they were cut off from Israel. It is too late in the day
to feed with milk. If souls, a
month or two old in the truth, who are about to enter the time of trouble
such as never was, can not hear all the straight truth, or endure the strong
meat of the straightness of the way, how will they stand in the day of battle?
Truths that we have been years learning must be learned in a few months
by those who now embrace the Third Angel's Message....There is no need of
milk after souls are convinced of the truth. As soon as the
conviction of truth is yielded to and the heart willing, the truth should
have its effect, the truth will work like leaven, and purify and purge away
the passions of the natural heart. It is a disgrace for those who
have been in the truth for years to talk of feeding souls who have been
months in the truth, upon milk. It shows they know little of the
leadings of the Spirit of the Lord, and realize not the time we are living
in. Those who embrace the truth now will have to step fast. There
will have to be a breaking up of heart before the Lord, a rending of heart,
and not the garment." E.G. White, Manuscript Releases, Vol. 1, p 33-34 (Manuscript 1, February 12, 1854). “Thus I was speaking before a perplexed
company just before I called them to take their stand on the right side. If
some choose another position, let them alone. Labor for those who have never
had the evidence of truth. So long as men hold fast to men, and believe men
in the place of the word of God, you can do little to help them. You are
working against principalities and powers, as is represented in Eph. 6:12.”
{RH, August 9, 1906 par. 10} “We are to revive the truth; to stand in
the truth. Whoever is determined to depart from the faith can not be helped
by you. All your reasoning will be as idle tales.”{RH, August 9, 1906 par.
11} “Let not souls be drawn into Battle
Creek. Warnings are to be given. A
message similar to that borne by John the Baptist is to be heard. But
beware of men; for they will seek to divert the mind from the necessity of
heeding the true issues for this
time. Carry on the work now for
those who need the truth, and who have not resisted evidences of the truth
for fallacies and scientific imaginations.” {RH, August 9, 1906 par.
7} “I was directed by a messenger from
heaven not to take the burden of picking up and answering all the sayings
and doubts that are being put into many minds."Stand as the
messenger of God anywhere, in any place," I was bidden, "and bear
the testimony I shall give you. Be free. Bear the testimonies that the Lord
has for you to bear in reproof, in rebuke, in the work of encouraging and
lifting up the soul; 'teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world.'" {RH, August 9, 1906 par. 2} “After the vision I prayed aloud with
great fervor and earnestness. My soul was strengthened; for the words had
been spoken: "Be strong, yea, be strong. Let none of the misleading
words of ministers or physicians distress your mind. Tell them to take the
light given them in publications. Truth will always bear away the victory. Go
straight forward with your work.” {RH, August 9, 1906 par. 3} "If the Holy Spirit is rejected,
all my words will not help to remove, even for the time being, the false
representations that have been made, and Satan stands ready to invent more.
If the evidence already given is rejected, all other evidence will be useless
until there is seen the converting power of God upon minds. If the convincing
impressions of the Holy Spirit made in the past will not be accepted as
trustworthy evidence, nothing that can be presented hereafter will reach
them, because the bewitching guile of Satan has perverted their
discernment." {RH, August 9, 1906 par. 4} “It is Satan's plan to produce
these variances, to keep our minds on dissensions and unprofitable problems
until the last woe shall come upon the world. Time now is too precious to be
lost through confusion. Proclaim to the world that Christ is soon coming.”
{RH, August 9, 1906 par. 13} I have given you examples of
unprofitable problems in citing the example of how on my forum, a person
brought up the fanatic notions that he did not like the use of the word Holy,
the word Bible, and the use of the title Jesus. These are foolish
distractions used by Satan to cause variances that keep our minds on
dissension and unprofitable problems. The person also expressed the notion
that we should teach only the truth and not quote truth expressed by those
who deal in error. That was not Ellen White’s methodology. She quoted truths
from many sources who believed and taught serious errors. She said that we
cannot truly appreciate the truth unless it is contrasted with error. If we
dealt only on the positives truths, we could not sigh and cry for all the
erroneous abominations which sighing and crying is a condition for being
sealed (Ezekiel 9:4). Chap. 309 - For the Hungry and Thirsty
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for
they shall be filled. Matt. 5:6. {AG 317.1}
Would that you could conceive of the rich supplies of grace and power
awaiting your demand. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be
filled. We must exercise greater faith in calling upon God for all needed
blessings. {AG 317.2}
The strength acquired in prayer to God, united with individual effort
in training the mind to thoughtfulness and caretaking, prepares the person
for daily duties and keeps the spirit in peace under all circumstances,
however trying. The temptations to which we are daily exposed make prayer a
necessity. In order that we may be kept by the power of God through faith,
the desires of the mind should be continually ascending in silent prayer for
help, for light, for strength, for knowledge. But thought and prayer cannot
take the place of earnest, faithful improvement of the time. Work and prayer
are both required in perfecting Christian character. {AG 317.3}
We must live a twofold life--a life of thought and action, of silent
prayer and earnest work. . . . God requires us to be living epistles, known
and read of all men. The soul that turns to God for its strength, its
support, its power, by daily, earnest prayer, will have noble aspirations,
clear perceptions of truth and duty, lofty purposes of action, and a
continual hungering and thirsting after righteousness. {AG 317.4}
Let us realize the weakness of humanity, and see where man fails in
his self-sufficiency. We shall then be filled with a desire to be just what
God desires us to be--pure, noble, sanctified. We shall hunger and thirst
after the righteousness of Christ. To be like God will be the one desire of
the soul. This is the desire that filled Enoch's heart. And we read that he
walked with God. He studied the character of God to a purpose. He did not
mark out his own course, or set up his own will. . . . He strove to conform
himself to the divine likeness. {AG 317.5}
There is no excuse for defection or despondency, because all the
promises of heavenly grace are for those who hunger and thirst after
righteousness. The intensity of desire represented by hungering and thirsting
is a pledge that the coveted supply will be given. {AG 317.6} There are certain conditions upon
which we may expect that God will hear and answer our prayers. One of the
first of these is that we feel our need of help from Him. He has promised,
"I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry
ground." Isaiah 44:3. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,
who long after God, may be sure that they will be filled. The heart must be
open to the Spirit's influence, or God's blessing cannot be received. {SC
95.1} March 26, 1894 Principle Never to be
Sacrificed for Peace. The
Love of God a Constraining Motive Mrs. E. G.
White.
There always have been, and always will be to the end of time, two
classes on the earth,--the believers in Jesus and those who reject Him. The
truth will be a savour of life unto life to those who believe. However
wicked, abominable, and corrupt he may be, the sinner will be purified by
faith in Him, made clean by the doing of His word. But the same truth will be
to the unbeliever a savour of death unto death. {BEcho, March 26, 1894 par.
1}
Argument will fail to convince the sinner of his responsibility to
God. Learning and talent will fail to convince the soul. But the presentation
of the love of God has a convincing power above that of argument, debate, or
eloquence. The love of Christ, as expressed in self-denial, self-sacrifice,
and death, as He bowed low under the sins of humanity, touches the sympathies
and melts the stubborn heart. The fact that the Son of God, innocent and
pure, suffered for sin; that the guiltless bore the punishment of the guilty,
the just endured the penalty for the unjust, breaks the heart; and as Jesus
is lifted up, conviction strikes to the soul, and the love that prompted the
bestowal of the infinite gift of Christ, constrains the repenting one to
surrender all to God. The seed of gospel truth has been dropped into his
heart; and he beholds a love that is without a parallel, pledging a personal
Saviour, and with Him every needed blessing. "He that spared not His own
Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely
give us all things?" {BEcho, March 26, 1894 par. 2}
Those who receive Christ are melted and subdued by the manifestation
of His love in His humiliation, suffering, and death in their behalf. They
behold Him as their substitute and surety, as pledging Himself to accomplish
their full salvation through a plan that is consistent with the justice of
God, and which vindicates the honour of His law. But there are some who are
stirred with strong emotion as they view the humiliation of Jesus, who shrink
from following in His footsteps when they understand that they must be
sharers in His humiliation and suffering. When Jesus asks the surrender of
self without reserve, when He asks compliance with His government, and that
they shall walk in humble obedience and implicit trust, their nature rebels.
"No," says the proud heart; "we want to keep our
independence." But this is the very thing that Jesus wants you to have.
It was that you might be freed from the slavery of sin that He died on
Calvary's cross. He died that through faith in Him, you might be free indeed,
and stand fast in the glorious liberty of the children of God. {BEcho, March
26, 1894 par. 3}
Contemplate the sufferings of your Redeemer, and you will find that a
check will be put upon sin. Every sin that is committed is a re-enacting of
Christ's humiliation, a re-opening of His wounds. Those who refuse to look
upon Jesus lifted up upon the cross, who will not deny the inclination of
their perverse hearts, who will not give up what they term their
independence, their freedom to serve the author of sin as they please, will
find their hearts filled with bitterness against those who accept Jesus as a
personal Saviour. To them Christians will seem their enemies and injurers,
and the gospel a sword. {BEcho, March 26, 1894 par. 4}
Paul writes. "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto
the world." There is a mutual suffering here presented on the part of
the Christian and the world. The world sees no charm in Jesus, and the
Christian sees in Him matchless charms, and expresses his love, saying,
"Thy gentleness hath made me great." Christians realize the
blessing that comes upon those who hunger and thirst after righteousness; for
they are filled. The blessing comes upon those who desire entire conformity
to the will of God, who desire to know Christ and to reflect His image.
Through the merits of Jesus Christ, they realize that nothing is reserved in
the heart of God for them but the fountain of the water of life,--tender
mercy, loving-kindness, infinite compassion. Jesus changes place with the
sinner who believes, and the Father loves the followers of Christ, even as He
loves His Son. He who receives the truth, has his heart filled with peace and
joy as he contemplates Jesus. {BEcho, March 26, 1894 par. 5}
But how different is the case of him who refuses to receive the
salvation purchased at infinite cost. He refuses to look upon the humiliation
and love of Jesus. He plainly says, "I will not have this man to reign
over me." To all who take this attitude, Jesus says, "I came not to
send peace, but a sword." Families must be divided, in order that all
who call upon the name of the Lord may be saved. All who refuse His infinite
love, will find Christianity a sword, a disturber of their peace. The light
of Christ will cut away the darkness that covers their evil doings; and their
corruption, their fraud, their cruelty will be exposed. Christianity unmasks
the hypocrisies of Satan, and it is this unmasking of his designs that stirs
his bitter hatred against Christ and His followers. {BEcho, March 26, 1894
par. 6} A message similar to John the Baptist A message
stronger than John the Baptist Let not souls be drawn into Battle
Creek. Warnings are to be given. A
message similar to that borne by John the Baptist is to be heard. But
beware of men; for they will seek to divert the mind from the necessity of
heeding the true issues for this
time. Carry on the work now for
those who need the truth, and who have not resisted evidences of the truth
for fallacies and scientific imaginations. {RH, August 9, 1906 par.
7} February 28, 1895 Who are the Sanctified? By Mrs. E. G. White. "God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth." {ST, February 28, 1895 par. 1} Sanctification is not a happy flight of feeling,
not the work of an instant, but the work of a lifetime. If any one claims
that the Lord has sanctified him, and made him holy, the proof of his claim
to the blessing will be seen in the fruits of meekness, patience,
long-suffering, truthfulness, and love. If the blessing that those who claim
to be sanctified have received, leads them to rely upon some particular
emotion, and they declare there is no need of searching the Scriptures that
they may know God's revealed will, then the supposed blessing is a
counterfeit, for it leads its possessors to place value on their own
unsanctified emotions and fancies, and to close their ears to the voice of
God in his word. Why need those who claim they have had special
manifestations of the Spirit, and the witness that their sins are all
forgiven, conclude that they can lay the Bible aside, and from henceforth
walk alone? When we ask those who claim to have been instantaneously
sanctified, if they are searching the Scriptures as Jesus told them to do, to
see if there is not additional truth for them to accept, they answer,
"God makes known his will to us directly in special signs and
revelations, and we can afford to lay the Bible aside. {ST, February 28, 1895
par. 2} There are thousands who are being deceived
by trusting to some special emotion, and discarding the word of God. They are
not building upon the only safe and sure foundation,--the word of God. A
religion that is addressed to intelligent creatures will produce reasonable
evidences of its genuineness, for there will be marked results in heart and
character. The grace of Christ will be made manifest in their daily conduct.
We may safely ask those who profess to be sanctified, Do the fruits of the
Spirit appear in your life? Do you manifest the meekness and lowliness of
Christ, and reveal the fact that you are learning daily in the school of
Christ, shaping your life after the pattern of his unselfish life? The best
evidence that any of us can have of our connection with the God of heaven is
that we keep his commandments. The best proof of faith in Christ is distrust
of self and dependence upon God. The only reliable proof of our abiding in
Christ is to reflect his image. Just so far as we do this we give evidence
that we are sanctified through the truth, for the truth is exemplified in our
daily life. {ST, February 28, 1895 par. 3} There are thousands, yes, millions, who
are making a mistake in their religious life. They make religion a thing
independent of their life, of their thoughts and words, and daily actions.
Their religion is a delusion of the senses. Their ideas and principles
presented as sanctification are deceitful workings. Some speak of hearing
voices and of seeing sights of a supernatural character; but there is no sign
in their daily course of action that the Spirit of God has wrought a change
in the natural heart, for they are carnal, at enmity with God's law, and
neither love God nor obey his commandments. {ST, February 28, 1895 par. 4} Nervous excitement in religious matters
is no evidence that the Spirit of God is working upon the heart. We read of
frenzied contortions of the body, of shrieking and screaming in the work of
Satan upon the minds and bodies of men; but the word of God affords us no
example of any such manifestations in connection with those upon whom he
pours out his Spirit. It is clear that distempered fancies, wild outbursts,
and contorted bodily exercises are the workings of the enemy. Yet many think
that the disorder of the mind, which is intensified by the power of Satan, is
a warrant that God is causing these deceived souls to act in so uncomely a
manner. The whole spirit and tone of the Bible condemns men in acting without
reason or intelligence. When the Spirit of God moves upon the heart, it
causes the faithful, obedient child of God to act in a manner that will
commend religion to the good judgment of sensible-minded men and women. The
Spirit of God illuminates the mind with the word of God, and does not come as
a substitute for the word. The Holy Spirit ever directs the believer to the
word, and presents its passages to the mind, to reprove, correct, counsel,
and comfort. It never leads its possessor to act in an unbecoming way, or to
manifest extravagant and uncalled-for developments that bear not the least
resemblance to that which is heavenly, and lower the standard of what is pure
and undefiled religion in the minds of men. {ST, February 28, 1895 par. 5} There was nothing of this character
found in the life or teachings of Jesus. All that is of heaven is pure,
peaceable, refined, and ennobling, free from everything that is extravagant
or fanatical in thought, word, or action. The religion of Christ bears the
heavenly credentials, and when the heart has been impressed with the divine
image, the soul is in harmony with all God's commandments. But the
sanctification that leads its possessors to refuse to study the Scriptures,
and persuades them to believe they know it all, and that there is no advanced
truth for them to accept, is of a spurious order. They are yet carnal, for it
is the carnal mind that is "enmity against God; for it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be." They are deluded by the
adversary of God and man. They have illusions, and a bewitching power is upon
them as they cry out: "I am saved, I am saved. I cannot sin." We
only can distinguish the true from the false by the manifestation of the
graces of the Spirit, which Christ has promised to implant in the heart. {ST,
February 28, 1895 par. 6} Many who claim to be sanctified, who are
yet breaking the commandments of God, and filled with enmity against God, are
boldly presumptuous, and, while disobeying the words of Christ, yet dare to
appropriate the promises given to the loyal and obedient. They have no right
to one of the promises of God, because they do not fulfill the conditions
upon which the promises are to be fulfilled. They will talk of faith and
holiness when their foundation is built up of rotten timbers, and they are
depending on their own self-righteousness. But their presumptuous assurance
is not faith. They do not know what constitutes faith. {ST, February 28, 1895
par. 7} While there are many who lay claim to
the promises of God while they are not fulfilling their conditions, there is
another class who are humble and conscientious, but faint hearted, and they
overlook the precious promises of God that are for their appropriation. They
are continually in fear that Jesus does not love them. They walk in fear and
trembling, and the hand of faith seems too feeble to reach up and grasp and
hold the promises of God. They continually look to themselves to find an
assurance that they are good enough to become the children of God. But to
look to self is to look in the wrong direction. The parable of the Pharisee
and the publican has forcible lessons for both these classes. The Pharisee is
full of self-sufficiency, and rests in carnal security that he is saved,
while the publican has a deep sense of his unworthiness, and stands afar off.
He does not feel worthy to draw nigh to God, but smites upon his breast in
self-condemnation, and will not so much as lift up his eyes unto heaven to
meet the eyes of the heart-searching God. His cry is one of soul agony,
"God be merciful to me a sinner." Yet this was the one that Jesus
himself declares went down to his house justified. But the Pharisee had no
such divine favor. The publican looked away from himself, for he could see
nothing there in which to trust for salvation. He felt the need of a
physician, and his humble prayer was heard, while the prayer of the boasting
Pharisee was an offense to God. {ST, February 28, 1895 par. 8} The promises contained in the seven
beatitudes are not to be fulfilled to the one who feels self-sufficient, who
turns from the Scriptures of revealed truth to a false theory, crying:
"I am saved, I am saved. I cannot sin." The precious promises of
the beatitudes are for those who feel their poverty of spirit, to the true
mourners, to the meek, to the peacemakers, to the pure in heart, to those who
hunger and thirst after righteousness. It is the weary and the heavy laden
that Christ invites to come unto him, and to them his promise is sure,
"Ye shall find rest unto your souls." But the rest comes in wearing
Christ's yoke, in bearing Christ's burden. {ST, February 28, 1895 par. 9} The Impossibility of Restoring the Once Enlightened 4 It is impossible for those who have once
been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the
Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers
of the coming age 6 and who have fallen[c]
away, to be brought back to repentance. To
their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting
him to public disgrace. Hebrews 6:4. Ellen White stated the same
thing in the following statement: "While
praying at the family altar, the Holy Ghost fell on me, and I seemed to be
rising higher and higher, far above the dark world. I turned to look for the
Advent people in the world, but could not find them--when a voice said to me,
'Look again, and look a little higher.' At this I raised my eyes and saw a
straight and narrow path cast up high above the world. On this path the
Advent people were traveling to the City, which was at the farther end of the
path. They had a bright light set up behind them at the first end of the
path, which an angel told me was the Midnight Cry. This light shone all along
the path, and gave light for their feet so they might not stumble. And if
they kept their eyes fixed on Jesus, who was just before them, leading them
to the City, they were safe. But soon some grew weary, and they said the City
was a great way of, and they expected to have entered it before. Then Jesus
would encourage them by raising his glorious right arm, and from his arm came
a glorious light which waved over the Advent band, and they shouted
Hallelujah! Others rashly denied the light behind them, and said that it was
not God that had led them out so far. The light behind them went out leaving
their feet in perfect darkness, and they stumbled and got their eyes off the
mark and lost sight of Jesus, and fell off the path down in the dark and
wicked world below. It was just as impossible for them to get on the path
again and go to the City, as all the wicked world which God had rejected.
They fell all the way along the path one after another, until we heard the
voice of God like many waters, which gave us the day and hour of Jesus'
coming.... By
this time the 144,000 were all sealed and perfectly united. On their
foreheads was written, God, New Jerusalem, and a glorious Star containing
Jesus' new name." E.G. White, Word to the Little Flock, p. 14. Ellen White said that the
Midnight Cry gave power to the second angel’s message in 1844, in the call to
come out of Babylon. So a violation of those messages now via ecumenical
liaison with Babylon, makes it IMPOSSIBLE to get back on the path to heaven.
This fact coincides with Isaiah 8:12, where it says that those who
confederate with God’s enemies will be broken in pieces, stated three times
to connote the seriousness of this unpardonable sin. There are no other
stated options to being “broken in pieces.” That is how serious these issues
are, but folk continue to play church as though it involved nothing more than
a social club responsibility. Why does this attitude prevail amongst God’s
once chosen people? Isaiah 56:10-12 and Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 211, give the
prime reasons. "I was shown in vision, and I still believe,
that there was a shut door in 1844. All who saw the light of the first and second
angels' messages and rejected that light were left in darkness. And those who
accepted it and received the Holy Spirit which attended the proclamation of
the message from heaven, and who afterward renounced their faith and
pronounced their experience a delusion, thereby rejected the Spirit of God, and
it no longer pleaded with them." {1BIO 260.8} All who reject light, go
into darkness in proportion to the degree of light they reject and for many that
darkness is a deep as midnight during an eclipse of the moon. —rwb |