The
Infinite, Unfathomable Love of God
and
The Everlasting Covenant
Part 3
Part 3 in this series is Section 1 of The Elijah Message by the late J.
(John) Wilfred Johnson. This is probably the most compelling Elijah message you
will every read. It would do you well to prepare yourself before reading this
treatise, by praying for a bountiful outpouring of the Holy Spirit that you
might fully appreciate this message for all that it truly is. rwb
The
Everlasting Covenant and a Transforming
Knowledge
of God
Section
1
by the late
J. Wilfred Johnson
This manuscript was written by J. Wilfred Johnson in 1968. It
was written for, and sent to, General Conference leaders of the Seventh-day
Adventist church. They forthrightly rejected the teaching of Mr. Johnson, who was
a school teacher, and a first elder of the Canadian Union College church for
about 40 years.
*******
The purpose of the everlasting covenant is to provide the means
for salvation from sin; that is, to provide for complete restoration of
voluntary allegiance to God and to the law of His kingdom.
In the kingdom of heaven no coercion is used to obtain allegiance. There are no
jails and no execution chambers. The discipline of force and fear found in
God’s dealings with people on this earth is a temporary expedient made
necessary by the emergency of sin, and is for use only
while God’s people are still at the level of wayward children. Step by step He
has led the human race through their childhood and
adolescence; and now He is about to let them graduate and assume the full
responsibility for their own decisions. Those who have already chose to fly the
flag of the kingdom of heaven will be led through their final experience of
soul cleansing, and they will be given an opportunity to prove their total allegiance
to be on a completely voluntary basis.
When God gave to man a freedom of choice, He essentially gave to him a share of
His own prerogative and autonomy, and of His throne. For in this gift, man has
an individual independence, a power to operate under his own initiative, to
make his own decisions, and to manipulate the laws of nature for his own
profit.
It was by the power of free choice that sin appeared. God was not in man
choosing to sin. When man sinned, he did so by his own choice and apart from
the choice of God. If God were in man choosing to sin, then God would also be a
sinner. But sin is an abomination to Him; He does not transgress His own law. Therefore man has his own independent power of choice. He
can, within his own sphere, choose to act independently of the choice of God.
When man uses this power of independent choice to transgress God’s law, he
thereby commits sin. (1 John 3:4). Such action is an evidence of lack of
faith or confidence in the righteousness of God’s decisions. Thus, the basic
sin is really doubt of God’s integrity. Thus, conversely, faith in God’s
integrity is basic righteousness, and expresses itself in allegiance to God and
submission to His decisions. That is how righteousness comes by faith in God;
it is faith in His righteousness, which leads to voluntary obedience of His
law. Without faith, therefore, it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews
11:6)
Christ lost His kingdom on this earth when man chose to disobey Him. Eve
believed the serpent’s false statement regarding the integrity of God. Adam
loved his wife more than he loved God, and he chose to sin with her. These
choices showed a disrespect for the integrity of God, a doubt of His honesty
(on the part of Eve) and of His righteousness, and of His justice in placing an
arbitrary restriction upon man’s freedom.
Essentially, God’s character was regarded as being not strictly one of
self-denying love but rather one of selfishness. Such was the doubt of God’s
integrity which was first introduced by Lucifer before the world was created;
and this doubt was the result of self-deception caused by pride and exaggerated
self-interest.
Fundamental sin is doubting the righteousness of God. Originally, this doubt is
fostered by pride of self, which is an evidence of selfishness. When one
deliberately chooses to break through the moral restriction which God has
placed on the operation of the free will, thinking that he will thus obtain
greater satisfaction, he thereby shows his distrust of God’s righteousness and
judgment in establishing that restriction; and he thereby places himself at
variance with the law of life, and he cannot survive except by the merciful
intervention of Christ, the Saviour. The law of life for earth and heaven is
self-renouncing love. (Desire of Ages, 20)
God began to lose His kingdom in heaven before the fall of man, when Lucifer
first began to doubt the righteousness of His character. When Lucifer, and the
angels he influenced, decided to choose independence of God’s law, they robbed
God of His dominion over them.
Not that God was unable to make them obey; He could have forced them. But the
moment God introduces force, He removes from His creatures their freedom of
choice. As long as He operates His kingdom without
coercion, He can reign over His subjects only while they voluntarily choose to
obey Him. When a ‘teen-age lad’ flaunts the authority of his parents, they have
lost dominion over him, unless they resort to force. It is even so with the
kingdom of God. But apparently the gift of free choice to men and angels is
regarded with such value by the Creator that He was willing to give His life in order to preserve it and to restore allegiance on a
voluntary basis. (John 3:16) (cf. Mount of Blessing, 96, 97, 204)
Great Controversy 591 – “God never forces the will or the conscience;
but Satan’s constant resort – to gain control of those whom he cannot otherwise
seduce – is compulsion by cruelty. Through fear or force he endeavours to rule
the conscience and to secure homage to himself.”
It should be evident, then, that the restoration of God’s kingdom in the hearts
of men can occur only when the voluntary allegiance of His subjects has been
restored. It is the purpose of the everlasting covenant to restore this
allegiance.
Heb. 8:10 – “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write
them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a
people.” (Ezekiel 36:25-28)
Jer. 31:33, 34 – “But this shalt be the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel; . . . I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in
their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. . . . I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember
their sin no more.”
Patriarchs and Prophets 372 – “The new covenant was established
upon better promises (than the old covenant) –the promise of forgiveness of
sins, and of the grace of God to renew the heart, and bring it into harmony with
the principles of God’s law. . . .
“The same law that was engraved upon the tables of stone, is written by the
Holy Spirit upon the tables of the heart. . . . Through the grace of Christ we shall live in obedience to the law of God written
upon our hearts.”
Note by Ron: Ellen White defines grace as the Spirit of Christ. This accords with Romans 1:5, where it says that grace is given for obedience and apostleship:
“There must be a
power
working from within, a new life from above, before man can be changed
from sin to holiness. That power is
Christ. His grace [the Spirit of Christ] alone can quicken the lifeless
faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.” (ST, May 28, 1902,
par. 3).
Our
Dispositions Unchanged
If you would be a saint in heaven you must first be a saint on earth. The
traits of character you cherish in life will not be changed by death or by the
resurrection. You will come up from the grave with the same disposition you
manifested in your home and in society. Jesus does not change the character
at His coming. The work of transformation must be done now. Our daily
lives are determining our destiny. Defects of character must be repented
of and overcome through the grace of Christ, and a symmetrical
character must be formed while in this probationary state, that we may be
fitted for the mansions above.--13MR 82 (1891).
{LDE 295.1}
The Glory that
the Father gave to Christ is given to us: “Jesus is waiting to breathe upon all
his disciples, and give them the inspiration of his sanctifying spirit, and
transfuse the vital influence from himself to his people . . . Christ is to live in his human agents, and
work through their faculties, and act through their capabilities. Their will
must be submitted to His will, they must
act with His Spirit, that it may be no more they that live, but Christ that liveth in them. Jesus is
seeking to impress upon them the thought that in giving His Holy Spirit He is
giving to them the glory which the Father has given Him, that He and
His people may be one in God.” Signs of
the Times, October 3, 1892, par. 4.
The Glory that the Father gave
to Christ is given to us: “Jesus is waiting to breathe upon all his disciples,
and give them the inspiration of his sanctifying spirit, and transfuse the
vital influence from himself to his people . . . Christ is to live in his human agents, and work through their
faculties, and act through their capabilities. Their will must be submitted to
His will, they must act with His Spirit,
that it may be no more they that live, but
Christ that liveth in them. Jesus is seeking to impress upon them the
thought that in giving His Holy Spirit He is giving to
them the glory which the Father has given Him, that He and His people may be one in God.” Signs of the Times, October 3, 1892,
par. 4.
“Christ
gives them the breath of His own Spirit, the life of His own Life.” Desire of
Ages, p. 827, par. 3.
“The Holy Spirit is the breath of life in the soul. The
impartation of the Spirit is the impartation of the life of Christ. It imbues
the receiver with the attributes of Christ.” Desire of Ages, p. 805.
“The work of the holy Spirit is immeasurably great. It is
from this source that power and efficiency come to the worker for God; and the holy
Spirit is the comforter, as the personal presence of Christ to the soul.
He
who looks to Christ in simple, childlike faith, is made a partaker of the
divine nature through the agency of the holy Spirit. When led by the Spirit of
God, the Christian may know that he is made complete in him who is the head of
all things. As Christ was glorified on the day of Pentecost, so will he again
be glorified in the closing work of the gospel, when he shall prepare a people
to stand the final test, in the closing conflict of the great controversy. The
prophet describes the enemy’s plan of battle saying:” {RH November 29, 1892,
par. 3}
“They have one God
and one Saviour; and one Spirit—the Spirit of Christ—is to bring unity into
their ranks.” Testimonies, Vol. 9, p.
189.
Our Security: “Christ has made
every provision for us to be strong. He has given us His Holy Spirit, whose office is to bring to our remembrance all
the promises that Christ has made, that we may have peace and a sweet sense of
forgiveness. If we will but keep our eyes fixed on the Saviour and trust in His
power, we shall be filled with a sense
of security; for the righteousness of Christ will become our
righteousness.” My Life Today, p. 45.
End note by Ron.
But salvation from sin and restoration of allegiance to the government of God was
also the purpose of the advent of Jesus.
Matt. 1:21 – “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.”
Isa. 9:6, 7 – “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government
shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of
his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and
upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with
justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will
perform this.”
Therefore, the advent of Jesus is an inherent part of the outworking of the
everlasting covenant.
It is significant that the last appeal which Christ ever made to His people,
before relinquishing His former glory and assuming the garb of humanity at the
first advent of Jesus, was an appeal for allegiance to His law delivered
through Moses.
Mal. 4:4 – “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him
in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.”
And the last promise that He ever made to His people while yet in His former
estate, ere His great sacrifice of condescension, was a promise of restoration
of all that had been lost, lest the earth should be smitten with a curse.
v. 5, 6 – “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the
great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers
to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come
and smite the earth with a curse.”
Jesus verified this by saying: “Elias truly shall
first come, and restore all things.” – Matt. 17:11. That this promise was not totally fulfilled by John the
Baptist is evident from a comparison of Matt. 17:11-13 with John 1:21.
All things were not restored by John the Baptist; and the dreadful day of the
Lord was far removed from the people who lived in his day.
The everlasting covenant itself promised the
means whereby its purpose would be accomplished; namely, through a
revelation of the character [love] of God.
Jer. 31:34 – “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every
man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me (cf. John
14:7-9), from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for
I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more.”
Such a revelation was the very purpose of the advent of Jesus.
John 17:26 – “And I have declared unto them thy name (i.e., His character; cf.
Ex. 33:18-23; 34:5, 6), and will declare it; that
the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
God’s character of love has been
misunderstood and misrepresented. A message for this time is to make known His true Character.
Christ’s Object Lessons 415 – “It is the darkness of misapprehension of
God that is enshrouding the world. Men are losing their knowledge of His character.
It has been misunderstood and misinterpreted. At
this time (i.e., the last days; see p. 420 & 421) a message from God is to
be proclaimed, a message illuminating in its influence and saving in its power.
His character is to be made known. Into the darkness of the world is to be shed
the light of His glory, the light of His goodness, mercy, and truth.”
Note by Ron: Nothing demonstrated the love of
God for man more, than the Incarnation of His Son into a human being who will remain
human forever per the Bible and Ellen G. White.
"By His life and His
death, Christ has achieved even more than recovery from the ruin wrought
through sin. It was Satan's purpose to bring about an eternal separation
between God and man but in Christ we become more closely united to God than if
we had never fallen. In taking our
nature, the Saviour has bound himself to humanity by a tie that is never to be
broken. Through the eternal ages He is linked with us. 'God so loved
the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.' [John 3:16]. He gave Him not
only to bear our sins, and to die as our sacrifice He gave Him to the fallen
race. To assure us of His immutable counsel of
peace, God gave His only Begotten Son to become one of
the human family forever to retain His human nature. This is the
pledge that God will fulfill His word. 'Unto us a child is born unto us a son
is given and the government shall be upon His shoulder.' God has adopted human nature in the person of His Son, and has carried the same into the highest heaven. It is the 'Son
of man' who shares the throne of the universe. It is the 'Son of man' whose
name shall be called, 'Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting
Father, the prince of Peace.' [Isa. 9:6]. The I Am is
the Daysman between God and humanity, laying His hand upon both. He who is
'holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,' is not ashamed to call us
brethren. [Heb. 7:26 2:11.] In Christ the family of earth and the family of
heaven are bound together. Christ glorified is our brother. Heaven is enshrined in humanity, and
humanity is enfolded in the bosom of Infinite love." The Desire of Ages, 25.
End note.
Isa. 60:2 – “Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the
people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon
thee.”
But this knowledge of His character of love, while available theoretically to
the new covenant saints by a study of the written Word (John 5:39), does not
come home to the heart in transforming power except through the agency of the
Holy Ghost.
Rom. 5:5 – “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost
which is given unto us.”
Thus, two things are involved in the revelation of God’s character of love to
the new covenant saint:
(1) the theoretical knowledge, as learned
through a study of the written Word, and
(2) the practical experiential knowledge, as
delivered through the Holy Ghost. But when this knowledge is obtained, it will
transform the heart, and thereby fulfil the promise of the covenant.
Christ’s Object Lessons 114 – “The experimental knowledge of God and of
Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, transforms man into the image of God. It gives
to man the mastery of himself, bringing every impulse and passion of the lower nature under the
control of the higher powers of the mind. It makes its
possessor a son of God and an heir of heaven.”
It is to identify the means whereby this revelation will become a personal
possession of the saints, and thus fulfil the terms of the everlasting
covenant, that this manuscript is being written. Such identification is
necessary, else would many of God’s people misinterpret the strange experience
which is to come upon them to purify them and clothe them with the imparted
righteousness of Christ. For it is a paradox that the same experience which
comes to God’s people to purge them will at the same time separate out from
among them those who are unprepared – those who do not believe nor accept the
counsel called forth by the testimony of the True Witness; and it will cause
them to turn against God and His saints and to accuse Him and His saints of
being the cause of their trials. Therefore it is
necessary that the experience be identified and interpreted for what it really
is, in order that those who are willing may be prepared. Unless we all repent
and buy of Him gold tried in the fire, we will be spewed out of His mouth.
(Rev. 3:14-19) But God will do nothing in the experience of His people except
He first reveals it to His servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7) Therefore, He is
bringing it to our attention at this time, for He is
about to accomplish it.
The theoretical knowledge of the character of God comes through a study of His
written Word, but a practical soul-transforming, experimental knowledge of God
comes through a personal experience. When that experience
is received, a personal understanding of the magnitude of Christ’s love is
brought home to the soul by the Holy Ghost, and this will transform the heart.
By beholding we become changed.
Desire of Ages 389 – “It is by beholding His love, by dwelling upon it, by drinking
it in, that we are to become partakers of His nature. . . .
A theoretical knowledge will do us no good.”
2 Cor. 3:18 – “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of
the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord.”
The consequence of a fuller revelation of the glory of the Lord – His matchless
character of self-denying love – is an empowering of a repentant sinner to
cease from sin. For the expulsion of sin
from the life is an act of the soul itself. (Desire of Ages, 466.6) It was by a decision
of the will that Adam brought sin into the world, and it is by a decision of
the will that sin will be expelled.
Yet the full revelation of the love of God will not come home to our hearts and
bring us the power which transforms our hearts until we receive an outpouring
of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain.
Testimonies to Ministers 506 – “By
the power of the Holy Spirit the moral image of God is to be perfected in the
character. We are to be wholly transformed into the likeness of Christ. The
latter rain, ripening earth’s harvest, represents the spiritual grace that
prepares the church for the coming of the Son of Man.”
Note by Ron: Now that the organized once church militant has
removed God, (1SM 204-205) by removing pillar, landmark doctrines regarding the
personality and human nature of Christ, the church is another entity. It is
wherever Christ is found among those who keep His commandments, to wit:
"God
has a church. It is not the great cathedral, (or the super mega church),
neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various
denominations; it is the people who love God and keep His commandments. 'Where
two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in
the midst of them.' Where Christ is even among the humble few, THIS IS
CHRIST'S CHURCH, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity
can alone constitute a church."
Upward Look, p. 315.
End
note.
This is the experience for which God’s true people have long been praying,
striving, and waiting – and wondering why it has not come.
The new birth experience has a progressive application. That which comes by the
first conversion under the influence of the former rain is to provide for
victory over sin – to gain the mastery over every wrong word and action. It is
possible to keep the commandments under the former rain experience. Full
sanctification is attainable under this dispensation.
But before this life-time work of full sanctification is reached (and many
never reach it), the sinner is accepted into the family of God on the merits of
Christ’s righteousness, which is accounted to the sinner and is imputed to him
when he accepts Christ as his personal Saviour. Thus
God sees the sinner as righteous by substitution. Christ makes up for the
sinner’s deficiency with His own divine merit. (cf. 1 SM 382)
1 Selected Messages 215 – “The only-begotten Son of God has died
that we might live. The Lord has accepted this sacrifice in our behalf, as our
substitute and surety, and on the condition that we receive Christ and believe
on Him. The sinner must come in faith to Christ, take hold of His merits, lay
his sins upon the Sin Bearer, and receive His pardon. It was for this cause that Christ came into the world. Thus
the righteousness of Christ is imputed to the repenting, believing sinner. He
becomes a member of the royal family, a child of the heavenly King, an heir of
God, and joint heir with Christ.”
Even he who attains to the expulsion of sin from his life and gains the victory
is still dependent upon the substitutionary righteousness of Christ for
acceptance with God. For the best obedience that man can offer while in his
sinful body is still inadequate to meet the divine standard. Man’s
righteousness is still as filthy rags in God’s sight.
This is so, because under the former rain the transformation of the heart and
cleansing of the soul temple is not completed. Prior to 1844 our High Priest
was still in the first apartment of the sanctuary; not until after 1844 was
that sanctuary scheduled to be cleansed. Under
the former rain, we are to cleanse our soul temples of every defilement by
laying aside every cherished sin. This we must do before we can receive the
latter rain. Inasmuch as the leopard cannot change
his spots, neither can we change our sinful natures. We may indeed cease to
sin, and this is the soul cleansing referred to under the former rain
experience; but we accomplish this under the continued contrary pressures of
the sinful nature. In this experience we offer the sacrifices of righteousness
and place our trust in the Lord.
But after 1844 our High Priest entered
the most holy place to minister on our behalf the merits of His shed blood in
order to provide the total transformation of our sinful natures and to totally
cleanse us from the complete record of all sin on our physical bodies, thereby
removing the former pressures and bodily urges to sin and restoring us to the
original purity of our first parents before the fall. This is the ultimate application of the new birth experience. It
is the Messenger of the Covenant coming suddenly to His temple in the latter
rain who cleanses and purifies the sons of Levi. (Mal. 3:1-3) Not until this
occurs has the everlasting covenant fulfilled its purpose in our lives.
Christ will not come until the church is prepared to meet Him. The time for
mastery over self and sin to occur and for the image of God to fully appear in
His people is now, before Jesus comes. In fact, Jesus cannot come to receive
His people until they do attain the likeness of His character.
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour
to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself
ready.
Christ's Object Lessons, 69 – “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.
It is the privilege of every Christian, not only to look for,
but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Note that the hastening of the coming of the Lord is not here portrayed as
depending on the extensiveness in spreading the gospel; it is dependent on the
intensiveness of the gospel’s effect upon the heart of each individual. The
purpose of spreading the gospel to all the world has no meaning with reference
to the coming of the Lord unless it is spread for a witness. And unless that witness of the character of
God transforms the heart, the spreading of the gospel to all the world will not
hasten the coming of Jesus. (cf. Matt. 24:14).
Therefore, the time for the experimental knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ
to come to His people is now. This is present truth.
Christ’s Object Lessons 415 – “The last message of mercy to be given to
the world is a revelation of His character of love.” And if our eyes were
anointed with eyesalve, we would readily see that
this is the basic message represented by the mighty angel of Revelation 18 in
the loud cry, which exposes and destroys for all time the false charges of the
evil one against the character of God. The confusion of Babylon concerning the
true nature of God’s justice, mercy, and love, some of which still exists even
in the minds of His own people, is dissolved. The deceptions of the evil one are unmasked. Babylon falls. (This is not the only meaning
of the fall of Babylon).
An experience awaits the people of God at this crucial hour, an experience
which will give them a personal revelation of God’s most amazing character of
self-denying love, which love will
constrain them to obey Him. (2 Cor. 5:14).
The experience is to be found in the Word of God.
Christ’s Object Lessons 114 – “This is the knowledge (i.e., the
experimental knowledge of God and of Christ) which is obtained by searching the
Word of God.”
But, of course, we have already searched the Word of God; some of us have
searched it all our lives. And we have still not found the experimental
knowledge by which we become transformed into the image of Christ and gain full
mastery of our sinful nature. I know that we have not found it, because if we
had found it, we would even now have been in the kingdom. (cf. COL 114)
One reason we have not found it is because it is an experimental knowledge, a
knowledge learned by experience. We have failed to recognize that the Word of
God, while delivered mainly through the written Word of the Scriptures, is also
delivered through two other books: the book of natural science, and the book of
experience in God’s dealings with us.
Christ’s Object Lessons 125 – “The great storehouse of truth is the Word
of God – the written Word, the book of nature, and the book of experience in
God’s dealing with human life.”
The knowledge of God promised to all of us by the everlasting covenant (Jer.
31:34) is yet to come to us by a personal experience. We are to learn to know
God by sharing in His experience – the experience which He underwent
voluntarily for our sakes, in order to spare our lives
and grant us probation and to provide us with the means of salvation. That
experience involved intense and unfair suffering, a suffering revealed to our
dull senses by His death on the cross. Through
partaking of His sufferings we will be made obedient.
Education 263 – “The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the
pain that, from its very inception, sin has brought to the heart of God. Every
departure from right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach
His ideal, brings grief to Him.”
A personal knowledge of the kind of suffering which our continued sin brings to
the Son of God, combined with a personal knowledge of His enormous
self-sacrificing love for us, is the incentive which motivates our obedience.
But we will not realize experimentally the extent of that love until we share
in the suffering which it caused Him to accept for our sakes. Obedience comes
through accepting the discipline of God.
The Discipline of God
In an effort to raise a child into the ways of perfection, a parent exercises
discipline over that child. God deals with His children in a similar way.
Heb. 12:7-11 – “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons: for
what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave
them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of
Spirits, and live? For they (our earthly parents) verily for a few days
chastened us after their own pleasure; but he (God) for our profit, that we
might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward
it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto
them which are exercised thereby.”
While the fathers exercise discipline over their children after their own
pleasure, God does not do it for this reason alone; He does it for our sakes,
to create in us the image of His righteousness and to bring about our partaking
of His holiness. This is the means whereby we are made holy.
Have you been discouraged because you have not become perfect? Have you tried
so many times and failed? Have you felt that you would never be able to
succeed?
v. 12, 13 ibid. – “Wherefore lift up the hands, which hang down, and the feeble
knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turn
out of the way; but let it rather be healed.”
And would you like to know how it will be healed?
Isa. 53:5 – “. . . and with His stripes we are healed.”
We have generally assumed this to mean that because He accepted the stripes for
us, we will be completely relieved of any permanent consequences of our own
sins. Nevertheless, we must here be willing to open our eyes in stereoscopic
vision of this most pertinent truth. For while Jesus did in fact bear the
consequences of our sins and suffered the pain which they caused, yet He
permits us to taste of that experience, to share in those sufferings, in order
that we may learn by experience a little of what it costs Him to provide the
forgiveness of our sins. Remember, the
everlasting covenant promises a revelation of the character of God and the
forgiveness of sins. (Jer. 31:33, 34):
Jer 31:33 But this [shall be] the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will
put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be
their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his
neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all
know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for
I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
The revelation of God and the sufferings of Christ are intimately related; for
it is by sharing the suffering of Christ that we learn by experience the true
nature of His love for us – a love which would impel Him to suffer such
ridiculously unfair and intensely severe emotional pain in
order to forgive our sins and provide our escape from such a penalty of
those sins. The stripes whereby we are healed are those same stripes with which
He was afflicted.
Whose stripes were they, really, by which Christ was smitten?
Isa. 53:3-5 – “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was
despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne
our grief’s, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with His stripes we are healed.”
Therefore the peace and security and prolonged life which we enjoy is ours at
the price of His chastisement, His suffering. And this suffering is not confined to the cross of Calvary, nor to
Gethsemane, nor to the few years of His earthly ministry. It began at the
inception of sin and continued for centuries down to the cross. (See Ed.
263, quoted below on this page).
On the cross He bore the sins of the world.
Desire of Ages 752 – “The guilt
of every descendant of Adam was pressing upon His heart.”
Heb. 9:28 – “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.”
But subsequent to the cross, He has also
continued to suffer because of the continued sins of His people, those who
receive Him as their Saviour and are born again into His family. Any parent
suffers when his son disobeys him and brings disrepute upon his name. So it is with Christ, our High Priest, who bears the burden
and stigma of our continued sins. Let me quote again:
Education 263 – “The cross is a
revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin
has brought to the heart of God. Every departure from right, every deed of
cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him.”
Could it be that the cross is primarily a representation designed to penetrate
our limited comprehension with the truth of the real and prolonged sufferings of
Christ? If He died for my sins, which were not even committed at that time, how
could my sins, which did not even exist, have caused Him any suffering then? At
that time, He bore the sins of the world; He suffered once for these by the
offering of Himself. (Heb. 9:25-28) Now
He suffers vicariously as He bears the confessed sins of His acknowledged
people.
Heb. 6:4-6 – “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have
tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And
have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they
shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to
an open shame.” Compare:
Mount of Blessing 9, 10 – “Jesus says, ‘I, if I be lifted up from the
earth, will draw all men unto Me.’ John 12:32. And as one is drawn to behold
Jesus uplifted on the cross, he discerns the sinfulness of humanity. He sees
that it is sin which scourged and crucified the Lord of glory. He sees that,
while he has been loved with unspeakable tenderness, his life has been a
continual scene of ingratitude and rebellion. He has forsaken his best Friend and abused heaven’s most precious gift.
He has crucified to himself the Son of God afresh and pierced anew that
bleeding and stricken heart.”
The impossibility of being again renewed to repentance is not in the fact
itself, but in the sense that we will not be able to bring ourselves to afflict
the Lord anew with the stripes from our sins. We will loathe ourselves for
doing Him such an injustice, and we will find it next to impossible to come
again to Him and ask His forgiveness. Yet the only way we can be forgiven is to
come again to repentance and permit Him to bear the affliction. And the
covenant says He will forgive our iniquity even unto seventy times seven.
But the effect on us is to humble us to break our spirit. We must fall upon the
Rock and be broken.
The above passages reveal that the sufferings of the cross are renewed in the
heart of Christ because of our waywardness, and He bears the reproach of His
failure to save His people from their sins, contrary to His promise. You see, He cannot save His people from their sins
until they themselves voluntarily choose to refuse to sin. For sin is an
independent choice of man; were God to compel man to obey, man would have no
choice; hence his obedience could not be righteousness.
Desire of Ages 466 – “In the work of redemption there is no compulsion.
No external force is employed. Under the
influence of the Spirit of God, man is left free to choose whom he will serve. . . . The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself.”
We have not been earnest enough in our
efforts. “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” – Heb.
12:4. When we fully realize the nature of the stripes with which we afflict the
lowly Saviour every time we sin, we will loathe ourselves for our iniquities.
Instead of basking in the peace and security of sins forgiven [as does mainline
and nominal Christianity], we will afflict our souls as we come to the
sanctuary to offer our sacrifice [on this, the antitypical Day of Atonement].
O yes, we know our sins are forgiven when we confess and repent; this is the
promise of the new covenant; but with too little concern we lean on this
prerogative, [and] we take unfair advantage of this precious gift, and we
continue to afflict and crucify the Son of God. (Read also Early Writings
268, last half of page).
Truly, we were not there at Golgotha to crucify Him on the cross; so we may say He did not suffer for our sins. But the cross reveals the suffering which
He endures in all ages since sin began and until it ends. This is the reason He
asks His people to cease from sin; for He cannot lay down His priesthood [and
come for us] until and unless we cease from sin. Therefore, He is a priest
forever. (Heb. 7:17, 21, 25) In all future ages He will faithfully be there
to bear the affliction if sin should ever arise again. This is the price of our
eternal security.
But sin will not arise a second time
(Nah. 1:9); for it will be conquered under the most trying of circumstances,
midst the most severe temptations.
It is true that Christ will lay down His priestly robes during the time of the
seven last plagues, but this is to demonstrate that His saints can stand before
a holy God without an Intercessor, through the severest trials of the closing
hours. They will not bow down to the beast nor his image, nor receive his mark
in their foreheads at this time. If they can stand this, they will readily be
able to stand in heaven where there is no temptation. In fact, those who go
through this experience [to the end—the 144,000] will be fitted themselves for
the priesthood, for they will be priests unto God for one thousand years during
the millennium. [Only they enter the temple on Mt. Zion—Early Writings,
19 and Rev. 3:10-12—made pillars in the Temple].
This is brought to light in Revelation 20:4-6. Here it states that those
who have refused to worship the beast and his image, and who have not received
his mark in their foreheads or in their hands, are the ones who have been
beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and that these shall have their part in the
first resurrection, and they shall live and reign with Christ a thousand years
as priests. Nevertheless the image of the beast is not
set up until the last generation; and those who refuse to worship him at this
time are the hundred and forty-four thousand, who live through to translation.
They alone enter the Temple on Mount Zion and sing the son of Moses and the
Lamb, which is the song of their experience of deliverance. (EW 19; GC 649;
Rev. 14:1-3)
Yet the text says these have been beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the
word of their testimony. If they have previously died but are now present in
the last generation to go through the final conflict, it is obvious that they
must have had a part in the first resurrection before the final conflict.
Furthermore, unless the 144,000 are resurrected saints, they could not fulfil Hebrews
9:27, which says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this
the judgment.”
(The question of the resurrection of the 144,000 will be dealt with more fully
later).
But Jesus cannot be released from His renewed sufferings of the cross and the
work of His priesthood as long as we continue to sin.
He does not cast us off; He chooses to continue to bear the pain. And the
reason He cannot be released is that you and I have not yet learned to love Him
enough to cease from sin.
John 14:15 – “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
John 14:23 – “If a man love me, he will keep my words.
Drinking the Cup
How are we going to learn to love Him? We do not love someone whom we have
never seen and with whom we are not acquainted. Only by beholding, observing,
getting to know someone, do we experience the growth of love for that one. That
is precisely how we will learn to love Christ.
That is why the last message of mercy is a revelation of the true character of
God! When we see that character, we will abhor ourselves for our iniquities,
and we will not be able to bring ourselves to sin. (cf. Christ’s Object
Lessons 415)[1]
But how can we be brought to see the lovely Jesus as He really is? By being
permitted to share, to partake of, the sufferings of Christ, SO THAT WE MAY
LEARN BY EXPERIENCE WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE COST TO HIM to bear our sins and
grant us release from their penalty, and to give us peace and security and
eternal life. That is how it is done.
Gold is precious; but pure gold cannot be obtained without a refining process.
This process requires heat. Only when the extreme heat of the fire is applied
does the slag come to the top. Therefore, the True Witness counsels the
Laodiceans to buy of Him gold tried in the fire. This gold is faith and love
[or faith that works by love—EGW]. We are counselled to buy faith and love
tried in the fire. (Desire of Ages 280; Christ’s Object Lessons 160)[2]
The fullness of this experience will be unique to the Laodiceans, because in
their lives exists the opportunity and privilege to obtain the supreme
cleansing of the soul temple, which occurs on the Day of Atonement. Faith is
the victory (1 John 5:4), and the love of Christ will constrain us to obey, as
it did the apostle Paul (2 Cor. 4:14).
But there is a price to pay for this faith and love; it must be purchased.
Nevertheless, faith is a gift, and love is a gift. This appears to be
contradictory; but it is just another one of those things which must be viewed
with binocular vision in order to see the harmony.
The kind of faith and love (gold) which leads to perfection and purification is
that which has been tried in the fire. The price we have to
pay to obtain it is a surrender of self to the will of God, a personal and
total submission to the refining process. Only insofar as we do this will we be
refined. This is the price.
But the gold, and the means for obtaining it, has been provided and made
available for us by the supreme sacrifice of Christ. He paid a tremendous price
to make this purification process available to sinners. He does not charge us
for this; He provides it free of charge. But as long as
the curing medicine remains in the bottle, it cannot cure. The gold of abiding
faith and love cannot be personally appropriated unless we pay the price – the
offering of our personal self surrender. Jesus paved the way before us by
setting us an example; now we too are to take up our cross and follow Him, who
is our example in suffering. We must buy the gold (Matt. 16:24; Rev. 3:18)
Let us be careful not to misunderstand this truth. We are not here talking
about our ticket to eternal life. Salvation consists broadly of two things: (1)
escape from eternal death; and (2) escape from the slavery of continuing in
sin. These two are not synonymous.
We obtain our ticket to eternal life through the imputed righteousness of
Christ. By faith in the merits of Christ’s righteousness as imputed to us, we
are justified in God’s sight and receive membership in the family of God, with
the gift of eternal life. But any man “saved” at this point, (as was the thief
on the cross) is not an overcomer of sin in his own body, as was Christ; and he
obtains eternal life as a child who has not yet grown up into the fullness of
the stature of Christ.
The process of growing up into the stature of Christ is known as
sanctification. A new-born baby is not immediately full-grown; maturity is
reached after many years of development and experience. So
it is with the born-again Christian. The attaining of the image of Christ’s
character is a lifetime process; and heretofore the fullness of His stature has
definitely not been attained by most of God’s people.
Perfection has been reached only in a relative sense. At death, a man has
reached the highest level of which he is capable under his circumstances; God
does not normally take a man before he has attained this level. The imparted
righteousness of Christ is obtained in measure, and not as a unit, in the sense
that Christ makes up for the repentant sinner’s deficiency by His own divine
merit, to whatever extent that sinner is deficient. (1 SM 382)
But in the last generation, God is going to do a work not heretofore seen. He
is going to reassemble [regenerate—more on this in another manuscript] the
members of His body temple and cleanse those temple members from every
defilement. On this antitypical day of atonement, “His Sanctuary” is to be
cleansed, and the glory of the Lord is to arise upon His people. He will impart
to them His righteousness. They will gain the victory over continuing in sin,
and their hearts will be transformed into the image of God. These saints will
attain the full maturity of the re-birth into newness of life. In them divinity
and humanity will be fully united (symbolized by the marriage), as it was in
Jesus. They will attain imparted perfection, and be without fault before God,
and stand before Him as brothers of Jesus and joint-heirs with Christ. They
will no longer need the intercession of Jesus, for God has come to them
directly to sup with them (Rev. 3:20), and to make His habitation in them (Eph.
4:15, 16; cf. V. 12, 13). In the new Jerusalem there is no temple; the
tabernacle of God is with men. (Rev. 21:3, 22)
This is the ultimate experience we are talking about when we speak of buying
the gold of faith and love tried in the fire Attaining this experience is a
matter of taking advantage of the offer made by the True Witness.
Rev. 3:18-21 – “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou
mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the
shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke
and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I
will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that
overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame,
and am set down with my Father in His throne.”
To obtain this experience is a privilege, and it is received on a voluntary
basis. We are called and chosen in the refining furnace of affliction (Matt.
20:16; cf. Isa. 48:9-11); and if we remain faithful (that is, full of faith)
(Rev. 17:14), we will share His throne (Rev. 3:21). If we are unable to endure
the chastening and drink the cup (Matt. 20:20-23), we will be laid aside in the
tomb at whatever stage of perfection we have attained; and Christ will make up
for our deficiency with His own divine merit. (Isa. 57:1; & 1SM 382)[3]
The cost price which made the gold of faith and love available for us was the
cross of Christ – His sufferings for sin. He paid that price. He made a
complete self sacrifice; He emptied
Himself for us. But if we would share in His glory (that is, obtain His
character and become heirs to His heritage), we too must share in His
sufferings and offer the sacrifices of righteousness. We, too, must surrender
all and take up our cross. This is the price.
Rom. 8:16, 17 – “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are
the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs
with Christ; if so be that we suffer
with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (That is, receive the
glorious gifts provided by His sacrifice.” (cf. Matt. 10:38)
Bearing the cross (that is, sharing His sufferings) involves bearing the
persecution of one’s own household.
Matt. 10:34-38 – “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not
to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his
father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against
her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that
loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh
not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy
of me.”
The stereoscopic meaning of this passage is simply that those of his own
household of faith (the members of his own [household] and church) will become
a man’s foes. And the central issue of contention will be the personal
possession of the Spirit of Prophecy [and doctrines held by the SOP as
opposed to mainstream Christianity eg. The definition
of the Holy Spirit, rb]. It is the sword of the Lord
upon His people.
Matt. 10:40, 41 – “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me
receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a
prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man
in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.”
Many will rise up against the testimony of the True Witness, as it comes
through those who will be endowed with the Spirit of Prophecy; and they
will not bear the counsel revealed therein, nor will they accept the servants
of God as servants of God but will regard them as deluded by the devil. It [the Spirit of Prophecy] is the
sword of the Lord which will cause the shaking. Those who have failed to
purchase the gold tried in the fire will not stand the test. “A prophet is not
without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.” (Matt. 13:57).
Perfection Through Suffering
Obedience is learned and perfection is attained
through suffering. To prove this, and lest any should murmur against God for
bringing this suffering to bear upon them, Jesus, the Captain of our salvation,
humbled Himself and subjected Himself to this process in order to become our
example, that we might be able to follow through with the painful process,
having the knowledge and assurance that He has gone the road before and
triumphed.
Heb. 5:8-10 – “Though he were a Son, yet
learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect,
he became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Called
of God an high priest after the order of Melchizedck.”
(That is, after His perfection, He became a priest. He is our example; we too
are to attain perfection and priesthood). See Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6.
Heb. 2:10, 11 – “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are
all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who
are sanctified is all of one: for which cause he is
not ashamed to call them brethren.”
But the kind of suffering whereby Jesus learned obedience was not the
consequence of His transgression; it was the consequence of man’s sins. To share the sufferings of Christ means to share in suffering
which we do not deserve.
1 Pet. 2:19 – “For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God
endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be
buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well,
and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. (cf. Rev.
14:12: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” The faith of Jesus is the faith
which is tried in the fire, and it is the love of Jesus, also tried in the
fire, which enables them to keep the commandments). For even hereunto were ye
called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should
follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guild found in His mouth:”
So we need to be prepared to enter into the fellowship
of His sufferings, for this is the only way we can learn obedience. If there
were any easier way, Christ would have provided it. Only by death to self, by
taking up our cross and following Him, can we rise to the newness of life
without sin. The new heart and the knowledge of God, promised by the
everlasting covenant, come only by the process of sharing His sufferings.
1 Pet. 4:1, 2 – “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the
flesh hath ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time
in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
1st Pet. 5:10 – “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal
glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect,
stablish, strengthen, settle you.”
The reason we need to arm ourselves and brace up to meet this experience is
that the experience is a fiery trial.
1st Pet. 4:12-14 – “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial
which is to try you (to purify the gold), as though some strange thing happened
unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye
are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed,
ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of
Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth
upon you:”
Peter is not here speaking about suffering which is brought on by our own sins.
1 Pet. 4:15 – “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as
an evil-doer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed.”
And when we do enter the furnace and suffer unjustly and unfairly, when our
motives and character are grossly misconstrued (as is the character and motive
of Christ, whose sufferings we are sharing), we should react not with rebellion
and self-defense, but by committing ourselves to Him.
This is where we emulate the “faith of Jesus;” for He depended totally upon the
protection of His Father—even in Gethsemane He rebuked Peter for drawing the
sword. And who could testify to this better than Peter!?
1 Pet. 2:23 – “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered,
he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:” This
is the faith of Jesus which we must emulate. (cf. Rev. 14:12)
1 Pet. 4:19 – “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God
commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful
Creator.”
God has called His people to offer the sacrifices of righteousness and put
their total trust in Him. He has called His people to enter the fiery furnace
of affliction in order to bring about their
purification, the cleansing of their soul temples. This is according to His
will. If we commit ourselves to His keeping, we will then become chosen in the
furnace of affliction. (cf. Isa. 48:10) And if we are faithful – that is, if
our faith in His loving-kindness and mercy and justice remain steadfast in the
face of the terrible ordeal, if we can maintain our implicit trust in Him, then
we become “called and chosen and faithful.” (cf. Rev. 17:14) Then we become
counted among those who have the patience of the saints and the faith of Jesus.
God has put forth the call (Rev. 14:6, 7); we make the choice. And the degree
to which we can remain faithful determines our position. This is the judgment
of the living. Let me explain.
The first angel’s message presents the everlasting gospel and calls God’s
people to fear Him and to give glory to Him, because the hour of His judgment
is come. (Rev. 14:6, 7)
The everlasting gospel is the good news of sins forgiven and the provision for
salvation from sin and from its penalty of eternal death. It is, in fact, the
essence of the everlasting covenant. In view of this marvellous provision, we
are called to fear God and give glory to Him. To fear God does not mean to be
afraid of Him; rather it means to respect and reverence Him for His wonderful
gift to man. To give glory to Him means to give Him credit for what He has
done; to acknowledge Him as a God of love and righteousness.
The reason for His requesting us to do this is that the hour of His judgment is
come. We have long regarded this judgment to refer to the saints, first and the
dead and then the living. That is, we have taken it to mean our judgment – that
we are being judged by Him. And there is no doubt that this is what it means.
Nevertheless, the meaning of this passage is not exhausted by this one
interpretation; for no human mind can exhaust a single passage of Scripture. (Education
171).[4]
A few years ago there appeared in the Review and Herald an article which
presented another view, one which I have personally held for a long time. The
righteous nature of the character of the Godhead was originally challenged by
Lucifer, and it has been consistently misrepresented by him for thousands of
years. In the last generation, the true nature of the character of God is to be
vindicated; His righteousness is to be fully revealed; He is to be justified in
the eyes of His universe. The hour of His judgment (His court trial) is come,
the hour when His witnesses are to come forward and proclaim Him righteous – to
give glory to Him. He has long promised that Jesus came to save His people from
their sins; now that promise is to be fulfilled in the lives of the 144,000.
Their temples are to be fully cleansed. They are to be witnesses at His
judgment, proving that His word is indeed true and that His character is all
that He has claimed it to be.
“It is our privilege today to become His final witnesses. But we can become
such only if we submit to the cleansing discipline of the cup of His sufferings
and of His baptism. This discipline is a strange and fiery trial; but it will
yield pure gold. The image of Jesus will be perfectly reproduced in His people
– a testimony to the truthfulness of the promises of the everlasting gospel and
new covenant.
Thus, not only are the living saints judged by their actual demonstration of
victory, but their Lord is also judged and His righteous character vindicated
by the same demonstration.
But the fiery trial will be so strange, so apparently unreasonable, that God
has purposed to send a renewed message of interpretation to His people in this
generation. For many would misunderstand it and be tempted to accuse God of
unfaithfulness to His promise of care and protection. For the underlying
instigator of the persecution is none other than Satan; God permits him to do
it. Satan does it in an effort to break the faith of
God’s people in the righteousness and mercy of their King. And without an
understanding of its purpose, some would lose their faith. But God designs that
it should try their faith, and strengthen it. The
fiery trial is a trial that will separate and differentiate, a sword that will
divide. Only those who accept the message for this hour will endure it.
Nevertheless, He does not suffer us to endure
temptation beyond that which we are able to bear, but makes a way of escape. (1 Cor. 10:13) When
the fire gets too hot (and hot it will get), we may ask Him to turn off the
heat. Yet, if we are unable to bear the trial patiently, without murmuring and
complaining, then the trial must be brought upon us again. We must be prepared
to drink another draught of the bitter cup until it produces the desired
effect.
Early Writings 46, 47 – “ If we overcome our
trials, and get victory over the temptations of Satan, then we endure the trial
of our faith, which is more precious than gold, and are stronger and better
prepared to meet the next. . . . We must have on the whole armor of God, and be ready at any moment for a conflict with the
powers of darkness. When temptations and trials rush in upon us, let us go to
God, and agonize with Him in prayer. He will not turn us away empty, but will
give us grace and strength to overcome, and to break the power of the enemy.
Oh, that all could see these things in their true light, and
endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus! Then would Israel move forward,
strong in God, and in the power of His might.
“God has shown me that He gave His people a bitter cup to drink, to purify and
cleanse them. It is a bitter draught, and they can make it still more bitter by
murmuring, complaining, and repining. But those who receive it thus must have
another draught, for the first does not have its designed effect upon the heart.
And if the second does not affect the work, then they must have another, and
another, until it does have its designed effect, or they will be left filthy,
impure in heart. I saw that this bitter cup can be sweetened by patience,
endurance, and prayer, and that it will have its designed effect upon the
hearts of those who thus receive it, and God will be honored and glorified.
(cf. First angel’s message, Rev. 14:7). It is no small things to be a
Christian, and to be owned and approved of God
“We must be partakers of Christ’s sufferings here, if we would share in His
glory hereafter. . . .” “. . . They have the standard
of piety altogether too low, and they come far short of Bible Holiness. Some
engage in vain and unbecoming conversation and others give way to the risings
of self.
We must not expect to please ourselves, live and act like the world, have its
pleasures, and enjoy the company of those who are of the world, and reign with
Christ in glory.” [Ibid, EW 47]
Here, then, is the faith and love tried in the fire. (Rev. 3:18) Only those who
have fortified their minds with the truths of the Bible will be able to accept
the fiery trial without losing faith in the justice, mercy, and love of God.
The trial will cause a separation; some will prove to be gold; others wood,
hay, and stubble. Some will see their suffering as an experimental knowledge of
the love of God, who accepted such suffering for their salvation; others will
see only the apparent injustice of a cruel God. Many will not be able to endure.
This is because they have failed to heed the counsel of the True Witness to buy
this gold and to make the preparation for the marriage and fill their lamps
with oil. Unless their faith has been strengthened by the repeated exercise of
trials, they cannot endure the final fiery test. Only a full, personal,
experiential revelation of the love of God will suffice to motivate and
constrain to a total allegiance. And this revelation comes through sharing the
sufferings of Christ. By personal experience we learn a little of what Jesus
endured for our sakes. And in learning this, we suddenly realize what a
wonderful character of love He must possess, that it would constrain Him to go
to such depths of misrepresentation and persecution and suffering in order to save us. This knowledge, this realization,
bestirs within us a reciprocal love. It wins our allegiance. When we share His
cross in full knowledge of the meaning of that experience, then He is lifted up in our hearts personally, and we are drawn to Him.
(John 12:32) The love of God is born in our hearts. Christ is formed in us.
When this love is strengthened, it impels us to obey every commandment of God.
Christ’s Object Lessons, 378 – “Belief in the propitiation for sin
enables fallen man to love God with his whole heart, and his neighbor as
himself.”
And this love is the fulfilling of the law. (Rom. 13:10)
But the acquisition of faith and love by experience is progressive. And as
these are progressively tested and the tests are
successfully surmounted, they are strengthened. When the development attains a
level sufficient to demonstrate implicit and total trust in God, and to produce
unwavering and faithful allegiance to His commandments, then the full
delivering of the everlasting covenant is experienced.
Nevertheless, it is a long and trying experience, and it will develop the
patience of the saints.
Heb 10:35-38 – “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great
recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done
the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he
that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by
faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."
Heb. 12:1, 2 – “. . .and let us run with patience the race that is set before
us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.”
Jas. 1:2-4 – “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations (trial); Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing."
Rev. 3:10-12 – “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will
keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to
try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast
which thou hast, that no man take they crown. Him that
overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God.” Cf. EW 19 – “Only the
144,000 enter this place (the temple on Mount Zion).”
But this entire procedure cannot be accomplished without the Spirit of God. All
the provisions of the covenant, and the sacrifice of Christ, can be of no avail
without the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Rom. 5:3-5 – “. . .but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation
worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope
maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the
Holy Ghost which is given unto us., For when we were yet without strength, in
due time Christ died for the ungodly.”
The Baptisms of Jesus [From here through the remainder of this
manuscript]
Those who are to attain to an entrance into the temple on Mount Zion [the
144,000 (EW 19)] and to sharing the throne of Christ (Rev. 3:21), must not only
drink of the cup of which He drank (Matt. 26:39), but they must also be
baptized with His baptism. (Matt. 20:21-23) The Scripture reveals three kinds
of baptism by which Jesus was baptized.
All of these apply to those of His followers who are called and chosen and
faithful. (Rev. 17:14)
The first baptism is that of water. Jesus experienced this at the hand of John.
(Matt. 3:13-15) Water baptism is a symbol that the candidate is taking on a new
life and leaving the old behind. In the case of Jesus
it meant that He was no longer to be the carpenter of Nazareth but the Messiah
of Israel.
But water baptism is also an outward symbol that the candidate is to be
anointed by the Holy Ghost and become a partaker of the divine nature. This is
an inward experience which can only be represented outwardly by a symbol. Water
baptism is an outward representation of the baptism of the Hoy Ghost, which is
an inward experience. This is the second baptism by which Jesus was baptized.
The evidence that Jesus was receiving this anointing was given immediately
after His water baptism by John. (Matt. 3:16)
He promised a similar baptism for His disciples, which occurred first at
Pentecost. (Acts 1:5, 8; 2:1-4, 16-18; cf. John 1:33) Subsequent converts were
also to receive this baptism of the Holy Ghost after their conversion. (Acts
8:14-17) The anointing and baptism of the Holy Ghost at this stage was the
former rain experience. There is also to be a latter rain experience. The time
for this experience to occur is now.
But Jesus experienced another baptism. He spoke of this in His answer to James
and John. At this time He asked them if they were able
to drink of the cup whereof He would have to drink and be baptized with the
baptism wherewith He would be baptized. (Matt. 20:22)
The cup was the suffering of emotional pain, of which He would drink the
bitterest draught at Gethsemane and the cross. (Matt. 26:38, 39) James and John
– and all others who are His chosen ones, to be His witnesses – will also taste
of this cup. (Matt. 20:23; cf. 1 Pet. 4:1, 12, 13; 2:19-21)
But Jesus here also refers to a difficult and future baptism wherewith He was
yet to be baptized.
Luke 12:50 – “But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened
(pained) till it be accomplished!”
This baptism was obviously still not consummated. In the associated verses, He
explains the nature of it.
Luke 12:49-53 – “I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be
already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I
straitened till it be accomplished! Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on
earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be
five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father
shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother
against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law
against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law.”
This passage appears to be strangely contradictory in the light of His promise
to bring peace on earth. (Isa. 9:6, 7; Luke 2:14; John 14:27) But the fire
which He kindled is the fire of division and persecution resulting from
variance in acceptance of Him as the Messiah.
All who would accept Him and demonstrate that acceptance by living “godly in
Christ Jesus” would suffer persecution. (2 Time. 3:12) They too must be
baptized with the baptism of fire. John the Baptist said:
“Matt. 3:11 – “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but he that
cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:[5] Whose fan is in his
hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the
garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
This is clearly a reference to the purging and shaking of His people, to the
purifying and singling out of the sons of Levi, the 144,000 priests. And it is
here called a baptism of fire. It is expressed again quite plainly in Early
Writings, as follows:
EW 67 – “I saw that those who of late have embraced the truth would have to
know what it is to suffer for Christ’s sake, that they would have trials to pass
through that would be keen and cutting, in order that they may be purified, and
fitted through suffering to receive the seal of the living God, pass through
the time of trouble, see the King in His beauty, and dwell in the presence of
God and of pure, holy angels."
“As I saw what we must be in order to inherit glory, and then saw how much
Jesus had suffered to obtain for us so rich an inheritance, I prayed that we
might be baptized into Christ’s sufferings, that we might not shrink at trials,
but bear them with patience and joy, knowing what Jesus had suffered that we
through His poverty and sufferings might be made rich.” [EW 67].
But what is it that brings the fiery trial of purification upon the saints? It
is the same thing which brought the fiery trial upon Jesus. Not as though He
needed the trial for purification. O no! He was already pure. But He humbled
Himself to the ordeal of His sufferings in order to
pave the way for us to endure that trial which is the only means whereby we
could become purified. Had He not gone that road before, we would lose our
faith during those severe experiences and count Him to be an unjust and
unmerciful God. That is why He accepted His cross. It was a revelation of His
love for us. And that is why we will accept our cross; it is a revelation of
the love we bear for Him.
But what was it that brought on His trial? In doing always the will of His
Father, Jesus set Himself at variance with the leaders of His people; and He
brought on division, misunderstanding of His true motives, and the fires of
persecution among His own people and brethren and relatives. His message, the
Word of God, was sharper than any two-edged sword; and it divided asunder. (cf.
Heb. 4:12) It is not with pleasure that God brings the sword of His mouth upon
His people. (cf. Ezek. 21:9-13) The pain which this brings to Him is His
deepest sorrow; and it caused Jesus to publicly weep. Not often do men weep;
and then, seldom in public. Why did He weep?
Luke 19:41-44 – “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over
it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least
in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that
thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep
thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy
children within thee; and they shall not leave thee one stone upon another;
because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”
At the time Jesus spoke these words, he was riding into Jerusalem on a colt;
and the multitude were rejoicing and praising God with a loud voice – but some
of the Pharisees asked Him to rebuke those people. Jesus answered that if the
disciples were to hold their peace, the very stones would cry out. (see v.
28-48) It was at this point that He wept.
Why did He weep? Because Jerusalem, His chosen people, would not receive Him;
they did not recognize Him. Yet it was not for His own sake that He wept, but
because He knew the sad consequences of rejection of the only One who could
bring salvation to Jerusalem and save it from destruction. Only the sword of
His mouth could bring the words of eternal life. Yet He knew that this sword
would become to those who refused its truth a destroying weapon. (cf. Ezek.
9:1-6)
When He was in the temple, teaching, the chief priests and elders came to Him
asking by what authority He did so. In reply He challenged them to tell whether
the baptism of John was from heaven or of men. But they dared not answer that
question either by “yes” or “no.” Then Jesus spoke to them two parables, both
of which taught that others would receive the kingdom before they would;
publicans and harlots would go in before them. He spoke of the stone which the builders
rejected. (Read Matt. 21:23-46).
As John came in the spirit and power of Elias as the forerunner of the first
advent of Jesus, calling the Jews and Jerusalem to the baptism of repentance,
to prepare them to receive their Messiah and the baptism of the Holy Ghost in
the early rain; even so is someone promised to come in the spirit and power of
Elias as the forerunner of the second Advent, calling modern Jerusalem to
repentance and reformation, in preparation for the sudden coming of the Holy
Ghost to His temple by the baptism of fire in the latter rain. Jerusalem (God’s
church) will then again have the opportunity of accepting or rejecting the
message which comes by him. Men may again challenge the authority of the
messenger and question his teaching. (TM 475; 4 BC 1184)
Should all Jerusalem choose to reject the messengers preceding the coming of
Christ to His temple in the latter rain, the Lord would come to smite the earth
with a curse. This He clearly disclosed in the last words of the Old Testament,
the last words ever delivered through His prophets before laying down His
eternal heritage to become an everlasting sacrifice on behalf of man. (Mal.
4:6; Mark 9:12; cf John 1:21 and Luke
9:30) But that same text verily promises that he who shall come to restore all
things will have a message that will bear its fruit. And the word of prophecy
is certain and sure. Therefore, as in the days of John many came to repentance,
and as in the experience of Jesus all that the Father gave Him came to Him;
even so, today, those who are called by the Sprit of Truth, and who choose to
follow their Master all the way, will respond and be found faithful. But these
must share in the experience of Jesus and receive of His baptisms – of water,
and of the Spirit, and of fire.
The third baptism of Jesus represents an immersion in emotional pain and sorrow
resulting from the misunderstanding, the slander, and the persecution, caused
by His speaking forth the plain words of truth to His own people. In speaking
forth His testimony, He must unavoidably make it appear to them (because of
their own blindness and bigotry, not because of the truth) that He was a false
prophet operating under the power of the prince of devils. (Matt. 10:25; 12:24)
And their rejection of Him as their Messiah, and of the prophets who foretold
His coming, seared and stung His sensitive soul. Thus
also will the souls of His saints be seared and stung; and they will weep
between the porch and the altar.
Early Writings 64 – “His life was one of toil, sorrow, and suffering; He
then gave Himself for us. Those who, in Christ’s stead, beseech souls to be
reconciled to God, and who hope to reign with Christ in glory, must expect to
be partakers of His sufferings here. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious
seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with
him.’ Ps. 126:5, 6.”
Remember, it is the counsel called forth by the testimony of the True Witness
to the Laodiceans which causes the shaking and separating. Not that the words
of truth are to blame, nor the speaking forth of those words; but the hearts of
His beloved people in Jerusalem – His own kindred flesh and blood – are not
entirely right with Him. They have made themselves lukewarm toward Him and
spurned the totality of His love. If they had not done this, they would already
even now have been in the kingdom. But they are not in the kingdom, because
they have not responded wholeheartedly to His appeal, “If ye love me, keep my
commandments.” They do not even acknowledge the extent to which this request
can be fulfilled; nor do they yet recognize His messengers of this truth for
the present hour, whose message would open their understanding, if they would
completely fulfil the conditions for receiving the Holy Spirit, whose
enlightenment would guide them into all the truth for this day of emergency.
Jesus saw His rejection, as expressed in these words:
Mark 10:33, 34 – “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be
delivered unto the chief priests and unto the scribes and they shall condemn
him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: And they shall mock him,
and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him; and the
third day he shall rise again.”
This vision was no doubt in His mind the day He rode the colt into Jerusalem.
It was following this passage that He spoke to James and John of His baptism.
(See v. 34-40) He expresses it again in Matthew 23:37-39.
This experience will have its parallel in our day; for the words of Revelation
eleven will have a renewed application to the two witnesses of the old and new
covenants (which are the old and new testaments). These two witnesses will
again bear their testimony, which is the sword of the Lord; and they will take
the consequences; namely, the baptism of fire. Whoso readeth, let him
understand.
The temple of God is to be measured – the living temple which is to become the
dwelling place of God by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. (cf. Rev. 3:20; Mal.
3:1-3; 1 Cor. 3:16, cf. 6:19.)
Jesus’ emotional suffering in the baptism of fire was not caused only by the
disappointment of His rejection by the Pharisees and leaders of His people, but
because of His knowing that such rejection would cause many blind sheep of the
flock, who were followers of their blind leaders, to also reject Him (Matt.
15:12-14) – and that such rejection would bring upon those people the
abomination of desolation. He knew they would have to suffer the pangs of severe
discipline, and that His chosen ones would have to flee from the sanctuary of
Jerusalem and the shelter of Judea, under most difficult circumstances, when
they should see the abomination of desolation stand in that holy place.
Matt. 23:37-39 – “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and
stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy
children together, even as a hen gathered her chickens under her wings, and ye
would not! Behold your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye
shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the
name of the Lord.”
Matt. 24:14-22 – “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let
him understand) Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let
him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house:
Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe
unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But
pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day: For
then shall great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world
to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened,
there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be
shortened.”
Here is a prime example of a passage of Scripture containing a stereoscopic
meaning – a dual application. If the time of trouble here mentioned, referred
primarily to the physical destruction of the temple and the flight of the
saints from literal Jerusalem in A.D. 70, then the time of trouble spoken of in
connection with the closing scenes of earth’s history could not be as great;
for the passage says there will never again be such a time of trouble. Yet the
Spirit of Prophecy says the final time of trouble will be unsurpassed.
Therefore, these words of Christ have a deeper meaning than appears on the surface
– even as the servant of the Lord says do all His sayings. (COL 110)
There is also another stereoscopic meaning here. Babylon is a representation of
the fallen churches; but Jerusalem is a representation of God’s chosen church.
Jesus wept over Jerusalem; we have no record that He wept over Babylon. The
servants of God who will bear the straight testimony of the True Witness will
be rejected by members of their own household, of their own family, and of
their own church. They will mourn not only because of the persecution they must
endure, but because they know the severe consequences which will ensue in the
experience of those of their loved ones and brethren who reject the message.
They will be deeply pained to see the complete misunderstanding, misrepresenting
and the reaction on the part of some of their dear ones and friends, and of
their brethren. They will be desolated to see the pain which their message
causes to those friends and loved ones. Think not that it was an easy thing for
Jesus to offend His people. (cf. John 6:61, 66, 67) Then do you wonder
at all, now, why I should find it so difficult to bring you this portion of
God’s testimony to you? Ezekiel 21:1-13 will come to pass; but let not Jeremiah
25:34-36 become true of you.
This is the baptism of fire and division and persecution of which the followers
of Jesus will partake when they go all the way with Him. Will you choose with
Jesus and James and John to go this route? Will you choose to take up your
cross and follow Him? Or will you become one of the persecutors? Brethren, I
implore you to heed the counsel to anoint your eyes with eyesalve,
that you may discern what is the truth in this matter.
The Jews blamed Jesus for bringing dissension into their midst. But He was in
fact bringing them the words of eternal life. His followers today will fare no
better; they too will be accused of bringing in dissension. Satan has brought
forth so many counterfeits in the experience of the Remnant Church that God’s
people are now thoroughly conditioned to reject all innovations. That is why
God’s last day messengers will not relish their task. They do not want to be
branded as dissenters and troublemakers. But impelled by the Holy Ghost and
endowed with the courage of Elijah, they will speak their message; and with a
comparable fear they will shun the threatened retaliation. There will be times
when they will cry to God for deliverance, even day and night. Nevertheless, it
was the threat of Jezebel which drove Elijah to the wilderness, where in his
utter defeat and exhaustion he was fed and strengthened by the angel’s food;
and in this strength he was enabled to go up to the Mountain of God, where he
met His Lord and received the communion of the still small voice. Then he
returned to finish his task. (1 Kings 19:15-18)
Let us read again the warning of the True Witness to us. We are lukewarm. We
think we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. How often
we [as a church] reiterate and publish our great exploits. See the imposing statistics
of our expanding assets. Hear the comforting assurance that we have all the
truth needed to see us through to the kingdom – that there is no new message. I
wonder if our spirit is always right in the sight of God when expressing these
things? If there is no new message, let us note that the old message says: if
we do not repent, He will spew us out of His mouth! Do you believe it?
But He says we are blind and naked. He is not talking about physical blindness;
He is talking about spiritual blindness. And when He admonishes us to anoint
our eyes with eyesalve, He is not talking about our
physical eyes. We need the anointing of the Holy Ghost to enlighten our
understanding of the old truths in a new way. We need the latter rain to guide
us into all truth. (John 16:13).
Neither is He speaking of physical nakedness. He means we lack a spiritual
covering to protect us in the time of trouble. He means we do not have the
white-linen robe of His righteousness; we merely think we have it. If we had
it, beloved, He would not advise us to buy it, would He? And if we had it, we
would now be in the kingdom, would we not? There is then something about the
meaning of the righteousness of Christ which we need to understand or apply in
a manner not yet accomplished. And this something will be dealt with in
succeeding pages at an appropriate time.
Do you then really believe the testimony of the True Witness to the Laodicean
church? I know you believe. But do you have an ear to hear what the Spirit of
Truth is saying to the church in our time – the last of the seven churches?
(Rev. 3:22) If you do, your mind will be attuned to understand the solemn words
contained in these pages, and you will recognize the truth of the statements
which follow.
A true child of God will have sensitive feelings akin to those of Jesus. And
the hardest kind of persecution such a man can bear for Jesus’ sake is the
misunderstanding of his true position and motives by the loved ones of his
household. This statement is literally true. Nevertheless, it has also a
stereoscopic meaning. For a man’s household is the household of his faith –
those who profess to believe the teachings of the church to which he belongs.
(Gal. 6:10)
These also may become his greatest persecutors, even while not recognizing
their actions as such, and even to thinking they are doing him and God a great
favor.
Such is the baptism of fire awaiting the saints. It is the sword of the Lord
upon His people, which causes the shaking. It is a personal experience which reveals
to them with extreme vividness the nature of the sufferings which Christ
endures in order to prepare the way of salvation for
His sheep to follow. And His sheep will hear His voice as the still small voice
of the Spirit of Truth; and they will follow. (John 10:22-27)
The sword of the Lord shall first be upon His people; and it is no easy thing
for Him to bring that sword upon them, because He knows what they must endure
and the effect which the sword will have. But for the joy beyond the cross, He
sends the sword. And of His people, it shall first come upon the principals of
the flock. Not until it has done its work will it become a destroying weapon
upon all who reject the final message of the testimony of Jesus.
When the abomination of desolation is seen to stand in the holy place in Jerusalem,[6] it is time for the saints to flee. For then
shall be their time of trouble such as never was. It is at this time that false
Christs and false prophets will arise in abundance. (See Matt. 24:15-25) And there
is a time of trouble before the final close of probation. This time is rapidly
approaching.
Mark 10:29-31 – “Verily, I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house,
or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for
my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this
time, houses and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands,
with persecutions; and in the world to come, eternal life. But many that are
first shall be last; and the last first.”
Matt. 10:28-41 – “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to
kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body
in hell. . . . Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more
value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him
will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall
deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but
a sword. . . . A man’s foes shall be they of his own
household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me;
and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. He that
taketh not his cross and followeth after me, is not
worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it;
and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find
it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him
that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall
receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name
of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.” [Matt. 10:41]
He receives a prophet’s reward in that he receives the same message as the
prophet; and it becomes his own, to keep and to share.
Matt. 23:34 – ‘Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and
scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye
scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: . . . Verily
I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.”
This prophecy has a renewed application in our generation. And the scourging in
the synagogues does not have to be physical; for God teaches by similitudes.
(Hos. 12:10) Brethren, let us open our eyes!
Sister White makes a statement to the effect that when the messengers of truth
see the reactions to their testimony, they will determine to remain quiet, and
thus avoid the unpleasant controversy. But the power of God comes upon them and
they are impelled to speak forth the truth regardless of consequences. Such
behavior appears to be irrational; and these messengers will be labelled
heretics, fanatics, troublers of the people, deluded servants of Satan, and
even mentally disturbed.
A careful reading of the foregoing material will reveal significant
implications to all whose minds are guided by the Holy Spirit. But to those
whose preconceived opinions bar the door to an expanded understanding, no
renewed meaning will appear. Not until we receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost
will we be guided into a personal understanding of all the truth for this
crucial hour; for such is the work of the Spirit of Truth.
In the outpouring of the latter rain, the Spirit is to prepare the saints for
the final conflict with Satan and for their ultimate meeting with the personal
Christ. This experience of receiving the latter rain is intimately related to
the terms and the outworking of the everlasting covenant. (To be more fully
explained later.) For by it the fiery trial becomes a purifier of silver and of
the gold of faith and love; without it, the dross remains. By it the sword of
the Word fortifies and seals; without it, the sword separates and destroys. When
the fiery trial comes upon us, the true nature of our inmost souls will be laid
bare. Then we come to the parting of the ways.
Let me make one more observation before terminating this section. All prophecy
is for certain sure; it is immutable. But the precise nature of its application
to any particular situation or person is conditional.
It is within the power of your group choice whether and how this prophecy will
apply to you, as a “city” organization; and it is within the power of your
individual choice whether and how this prophecy will apply to you as an
individual citizen in that city. You can determine which conditions shall
prevail, as far as you are concerned.
Nevertheless, you will likely not yet be in a position
to make a rational decision, because major areas of truth have not yet been
covered. Forthcoming sections will bring to light numerous interpretations
which have an important bearing on the experience of the final remnant. An
irrevocable negative decision should not be made until those pages have been
honestly considered and seriously pondered.
*******
(At this point, you may wish to again read through the entire
correspondence and manuscript – slowly, and with deliberate concentration. It
is highly probable that new views will occur to you which you did not discern
during your first exposure. Subsequent sections will add further insight and
enlightenment to these pages.)
*******
MH 478 – “Of all the gifts that heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship
with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty
trust and the highest honor. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not
Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than
John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon.”