New
Evidence Defining The Church That Appears as About
to Fall
Dear Reader,
Ellen G. White, in the letter to Elders Butler and Haskell,
dated December 8, 1886, wrote very pointedly concerning the relationship
between the Jewish Church of Christ's day, and the Seventh-day Adventist
Church. It is from this letter that the oft-used quotation is to be found –- "The
church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while
the sinners in Zion will be sifted out - the chaff separated from the
precious wheat."
But the context in which this statement is made in
the letter is ignored by the omission by the trustees of the Ellen G. White
Estate. The letter is talking about the Church when: "Satan
will work his miracles to deceive; he will set up his power as supreme." It
is stated in the setting when "the decree of national councils" and
"the national laws" shall seek to enforce the observance of the
false Sabbath. (ibid.p. 380). That time is not now. "When it does come, we
will then be able better "to measure the strength of Israel." (See,
Watchman, what of the night?, XXIV, December, 1991, pages 1, 2).
What you are about to read is a MAJOR CLARIFICATION as to exactly what
church appears as about to fall--the church militant structure, or Zion, the
church triumphant WILDERNESS CHURCH DURING THE GREAT TIME OF JACOB'S TROUBLE
AFTER THE DEATH DECREE HAS BEEN ISSUED!
I want to try to make it crystal clear that the church that appears as about
to fall but does not, is further defined by Ellen White as Zion, the church
triumphant, and she says that it is the church during the time of Jacobs
Great Time of trouble that appears as about to fall because it is surrounded
by the enemy out in the wilderness, but God delivers Zion when it appears to
be surrounded and ready to fall. Here is her FURTHER DESCRIPTION of the
church that APPEARS AS ABOUT TO FALL, AND PRECISELY WHEN IT APPEARS AS ABOUT
TO FALL:
"As the Sabbath has become the special point of controversy
throughout Christendom, and religious and secular authorities have combined
to enforce the observance of the Sunday, the persistent refusal of a small
minority to yield to the popular demand will make them objects of universal
execration. It will be urged that the few who stand in opposition to an
institution of the church and a law of the state ought not to be tolerated;
that it is better for them to suffer than for whole nations to be thrown into
confusion and lawlessness. The same argument eighteen hundred years ago was
brought against Christ by the 'rulers of the people.' 'It is expedient for
us,' said the wily Caiaphas, 'that one man should die for the people, and
that the whole nation perish not.' John 11:50.
“This argument will appear
conclusive; and a decree will finally be issued against those who hallow the
Sabbath of the fourth commandment, denouncing them as deserving of the
severest punishment and giving the people liberty, after a certain time, to
put them to death. Romanism in the Old World and apostate Protestantism in
the New will pursue a similar course toward those who honor all the divine
precepts. The people
of God WILL THEN BE PLUNGED INTO THOSE SCENES OF AFFLICTION AND DISTRESS
DESCRIBED BY THE PROPHET AS THE TIME OF JACOB'S TROUBLE. 'Thus saith the Lord: We have heard a voice of
trembling, of fear, and not of peace.... All faces are turned into paleness.
Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like
it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of
it.'” Jeremiah 30:5-7.
“Jacob's
night of anguish, when he wrestled in prayer for deliverance from the hand of
Esau (Genesis 32:24-30), represents the experience of God's people in the
time of trouble. Because of the deception
practiced to secure his father's blessing, intended for Esau, Jacob had fled
for his life, alarmed by his brother's deadly threats. After remaining for
many years in exile, he had set out, at God's command, to return with his
wives and children, his flocks and herds, to his native country. On reaching
the borders of the land, he was filled with terror by the tidings of Esau's
approach at the head of a band of warriors, doubtless bent upon revenge. Jacob's
company, unarmed and defenseless, seemed ABOUT TO
FALL helpless victims of violence and slaughter. And
to the burden of anxiety and fear was added the crushing weight of
self-reproach, for it was his own sin that had
brought this danger. His only hope was in the mercy of God; his only defence
must be prayer. Yet he leaves nothing undone on his own part to atone for the
wrong to his brother and to avert the threatened danger. So should the
follower of Christ, as they approach the time of trouble, make every exertion
to place themselves in a proper light before the people, to disarm prejudice,
and to avert the danger which threatens liberty of conscience."
E.G. White, The Great Controversy, 615,
616.
Here Ellen White directly parallels the time of
Jacob's trouble with the time of God's people after the death decree. This is
when the church appears as about to fall, but God delivers it. We read
further in the chapter:
"As the decree issued by the various rulers of Christendom against
commandment keepers shall withdraw the protection of government and abandon
them to those who desire their destruction, the people of God will flee from
the cities and villages and associate together in companies, dwelling in the
strongholds of the mountains. Like the Christians of the Piedmont valleys,
they will make the high places of the earth their sanctuaries and will thank
God for 'the munitions of rocks.' Isaiah 33:16. But many of all nations and
of all classes, high and low, rich and poor, black and white, will be cast into
the most unjust and cruel bondage. The beloved of God pass weary days, bound
in chains, shut in by prison bars, sentenced to be slain, some apparently
left to die of starvation in dark and loathsome dungeons. No human ear is
open to hear their moans; no human hand is ready to lend them help.
Will the Lord forget His people in this trying hour? Did He forget faithful
Noah when judgments were visited upon the antediluvian world? Did He forget
Lot when the fire came down from heaven to consume the cities of the plain?
Did He forget Joseph surrounded by idolaters in Egypt? Did He forget Elijah
when the oath of Jezebel threatened him with the fate of the prophets of
Baal? Did He forget Jeremiah in the dark and dismal pit of his prison house?
Did He forget the three worthies in the fiery furnace? or
Daniel in the den of lions?
'Zion
said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord that forgotten me. Can a woman
forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of
her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not
forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands.' Isaiah
49:14-16. The Lord of hosts has said: 'He that toucheth
you [Zion in context] toucheth the apple of His
eye.' Zechariah 2:8." The Great
Controversy, p. 626, 1999 edition.
Zion Appears as About to Fall and is Delivered
"When the protection of human laws shall be
withdrawn from those who honor the law of God, there will be, in different
lands, a simultaneous movement for their destruction. As the time appointed
in the decree draws near, the people will conspire to root out the hated
sect. It will be determined to strike in one night a decisive blow, which
shall utterly silence the voice of dissent and reproof. [Zion] The people of
God--some in prison cells, some hidden in solitary retreats in the forests
and the mountains--still plead for divine protection, while in every quarter
companies of armed men, urged on by hosts of evil angels, are
preparing for the work of death. IT IS NOW, IN THE HOUR OF UTMOST EXTREMITY,
THAT THE GOD OF ISRAEL WILL INTERPOSE FOR THE DELIVERANCE OF HIS CHOSEN....
[Zion--His bride--whom the gates of hell will not prevail against, and whom
is the apple of His eye].
With shouts of triumph, jeering, and imprecation, throngs of evil men are
about to rush upon their prey, [church triumphant Zion appears as about to
fall] when, lo, a dense blackness, deeper than the darkness of the night,
falls upon the earth. Then a rainbow, shining with the glory from the throne
of God, spans the heavens and seems to encircle each praying company. The
angry multitudes are suddenly arrested. Their mocking cries die away. The
objects of their murderous rage are forgotten. With the fearful forebodings
they gaze upon the symbol of God's covenant and long to be shielded from its
overpowering brightness.
By the people of God a voice, clear and melodious, is heard, saying, 'Look
up,' and lifting their eyes to the heavens, they behold the bow of
promise.....
It is at midnight that God manifests His power for the deliverance of His
people. The sun appears, shining in its strength. Signs and wonders follow in
quick succession. The wicked look with terror and amazement upon the scene,
while the righteous behold with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance.
Everything in nature seems turned out of its course. The streams cease to
flow. Dark, heavy clouds come up and clash against each other. In the midst
of the angry heavens is one clear space of indescribable glory, whence comes
the voice of God like the sound of many waters, saying: 'It is done.'
Revelation 1617: ibid. p. 635, 636.
In the above statements, Ellen White directly
parallels the time of trouble for the church triumphant with Jacob's personal
great time of trouble when he was surrounded by his enemies.
It is crystal clear from the above account that the church that appears as
about to fall is Zion, the church triumphant, during Jacob's great time of
trouble, after the death decree, and not the professing SDA church militant
at any point in time! Ellen White said that those who think that the church
militant is the church triumphant make a great mistake and most professing
SDAs today are making that great mistake!
"Those who think that the church militant is the church triumphant
make a great mistake." The Upward Look,
152.
Conversely, Ellen White makes it clear that the church militant will be
destroyed by a LITERAL fulfillment of Ezekiel 9, which BEGINS AT HIS
SANCTUARY, Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 211 and the following statements:
"Study
the 9th chapter of Ezekiel. These words will be literally fulfilled yet the time is passing, and the people are
asleep. They refuse to humble their souls and to be converted. Not a great
while longer will the Lord bear with the people who have such great and
important truths revealed to them, but who refuse to bring these truths into
their individual experience. The time is short. God is calling will YOU hear?
Will YOU receive His message? Will YOU be converted before it is too late?
Soon, very soon, every case will be decided for eternity. Letter 106, 1909,
pp. 2, 3, 5, 7. (To "The churches in Oakland and Berkeley, September 26,
1909.)"
E. G. White Manuscript Releases Volume One, p. 260.
Begin at
My Sanctuary -- "Here we see that the church--the Lord's sanctuary--was
the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men, those to whom God had given great
light and who had stood as guardians of
the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust. They had
taken the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked
manifestation of God's power as in former days. Times have changed. These
words strengthen their unbelief, and they say: The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil. He is too merciful to visit
His people in judgment. Thus 'Peace and safety" is the cry from men who
will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God's people
their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These dumb dogs that
would not bark are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an offended God.
Men, maidens, and little children all perish together." E. G. White, Testimonies, Vol. 5, 211.
To the
very letter
“The Lord
reads the heart as an open book. The men who are not connected with God have
done many things after the imagination of their own evil hearts. The Lord
declares concerning them, "They have turned unto Me their back, and not
the face, though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them; yet they
have not hearkened to receive instruction." We are amid the perils of
the last days, the time will soon come when the prophecy of Ezekiel 9 will be fulfilled; that
prophecy should be carefully studied, for it will be fulfilled to the very
letter. Study also the tenth chapter
which represents the hand of God as at work to
bring perfect method and harmonious working into all the operations of his
prepared instrumentalities. The eleventh and twelfth chapters also should receive
critical, thoughtful attention. Let
these prophecies be studied on your knees before God; unless you take up the
stumbling-blocks which by your own perverse spirit you have laid in the way
of many who have been connected with you, God will turn His face utterly from
you and your associates.”{1888 1303.1}
"The
things you have described as taking place in Indiana, the Lord has shown me
would take place just before the close of probation. Every uncouth thing will
be demonstrated. There will be shouting, with drums, music, and dancing. The
senses of rational beings will become so confused that they cannot be trusted
to make right decisions. And this is called the moving of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy
Spirit never reveals itself in such methods, in such a bedlam of noise. This
is an invention of Satan to cover up his ingenious methods for making of none
effect the pure, sincere, elevating, ennobling,
sanctifying truth for this time. Better never have the worship of God blended
with music, than to use musical instruments to do the work which last January
was represented to me would be brought into our camp meetings. The truth for
this time needs nothing of this kind in its work of converting souls. A
bedlam of noise shocks the senses and perverts that which if conducted aright
might be a blessing. The powers of satanic agencies blend with the din and
noise, to have a carnival, and this is termed the Holy Spirit's
working." E. G. White, Selected Messages, Vol. 2, 36.
Sincerely
in quest of all the truth,
Ron
Beaulieu
Here
is the entire context of Ellen White’s statement about what church appears as
about to fall:
MR No. 994 -
An Appeal to Live the Truth and Share It
“For weeks I have not been able to sleep
after half past three o'clock. My mind is deeply exercised in regard to our
condition as a people. We ought to be far in advance of any other people on
the earth because we have greater light and greater knowledge of the truth,
which lays us under increased accountability to advance that light and not
only profess to believe the truth but to practice it. When we do practice the
truth we are then following Jesus, who is the light of the world; and if we
as a people are not constantly elevating, becoming more and more spiritually
minded, we are becoming like the Pharisees--self-righteous--while we do not
the will of God. {12MR 318.1}
We must have a greater nearness to God.
Much less of self and much more of Jesus Christ and His grace must be brought
into our everyday life. We are living in an important period of this world's
history. The end of all things is at hand; the sands of time are fast running
out; soon in heaven it will be said: "It is done." "He that is
holy, let him be holy still," "he which is
filthy, let him be filthy still" [Rev. 21:6; 22:11]. {12MR 318.2}
Let our testimonies be sharpened up; let
us have a firmer hold on God. I cannot refrain from prayer at one, two, and
three o'clock in the morning for the Lord to work upon the hearts of the
people. I think of all heaven being interested in the work that is going on
upon the earth. Ministering angels are waiting about the throne to instantly
obey the mandate of Jesus Christ to answer every prayer offered in earnest
living faith. I think of how many who profess the truth are
keeping it apart from their lives. They do not bring its sanctifying, refining,
spiritualizing power into their hearts. I think how this grieves Jesus. {12MR
318.3}
I think of His great sorrow as He wept
over Jerusalem, exclaiming, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest
them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children
together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would
not" [Luke 13:34]! God forbid that these words shall apply to those who
have great light and blessings. In the rejecting of Jerusalem it was because
great privileges were abused, which brought the denunciation upon all who
lightly regarded the great opportunities and precious light that were
entrusted to their keeping. Privileges do not commend us to God, but they
commend God to us. No people are saved because they have great light and
special advantages, for these high and heavenly favors
only increase their responsibility. {12MR 319.1}
The more and increased light God has
given makes the receiver more responsible. It does not place the receiver in
any safer position unless the privileges are wisely improved, prized, and
used to advance God's glory. Christ said, "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for
if the mighty works which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes" [Matt. 11:21].
{12MR 319.2}
When Jerusalem was divorced from God it
was because of her sins. She fell from an exalted height that Tyre and Sidon
had never reached. And when an angel falls he becomes a fiend.
The depth of our ruin is measured by the exalted light to which God has
raised us in His great goodness and unspeakable mercy. Oh, what privileges
are granted to us as a people! And if God spared not His people that He
loved, because they refused to walk in the light, how can He spare the people
whom He has blessed with the light of heaven in having opened to them the
most exalted truth ever entrusted to mortal man to give to the world? {12MR
319.3}
We are far from being the people God
would have us to be, because we do not elevate the soul and refine the
character in harmony with the wonderful unfolding of God's truth and His
purposes. "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any
people" [Prov. 14:34]. Sin is a disorganizer. Wherever it is
cherished--in the individual heart, in the household, in the church--there is
disorder, strife, variance, enmity, envy, jealousy, because the enemy of man
and of God has the controlling power over the mind. But let the truth be
loved and brought into the life, as well as advocated, and that man or woman
will hate sin and will be a living representative of Jesus Christ to the
world. {12MR 320.1}
The people claiming to believe the truth
will not be condemned because they had not the light, but because they had
great light and did not bring their hearts to the test of God's great moral
standard of righteousness. The people who claim to believe the truth must be
elevated by living it out. Real Bible religion must leaven
the life, refine and ennoble the character, making it more and more like the
divine model. Then will the home be vocal with prayer, with thanksgiving and
praise to God. Angels will minister in the home and accompany the worshiper
to the house of prayer. {12MR 320.2}
Let the churches who claim to believe
the truth, who are advocating the law of God, keep
that law and depart from all iniquity. Let the individual members of the
church resist the temptations to practice evils and indulge in sin. Let the
church commence the work of purification before God by repentance,
humiliation, deep heart searching, for we are in the antitypical day of
atonement--solemn hour fraught with eternal results. {12MR 320.3}
Let those who teach the truth present it
as it is in Jesus. Under the subduing, sanctifying, refining, influence of
the truth of God they are as clean vessels. Let them be leavened with Bible
religion, and what an influence would go forth from them to the world! Let
the individual members of the church be pure, steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the love of Jesus, and they will then be a light to the world.
Let the men standing as watchmen and as shepherds of the flock proclaim the
solemn truth, sound the notes of warning to all people, nations and tongues.
Let them be living representatives of the truth they advocate, and honor
God's law by strict and holy compliance with its requirements, walking before
the Lord in purity, in holiness, and a power will attend the proclamation of
the truth that will reflect light everywhere. {12MR 321.1}
God never forsakes people or individuals
until they forsake Him. Outward opposition will not cause the faith of God's
people, who are keeping His commandments, to become dim. The neglect to bring
purity and truth into practice will grieve the Spirit of God and weaken them
because God is not in their midst to bless. Internal corruption will bring
the denunciations of God upon this people as it did upon Jerusalem. Oh, let
pleading voices, let earnest prayer be heard, that those who preach to others
shall not themselves be castaways. My brethren, we know not what is before
us, and our only safety is in following the Light of the world. God will work
with us and for us if the sins which brought His wrath upon the old world,
upon Sodom and Gomorrah and upon ancient Jerusalem, do not become our crime.
{12MR 321.2}
The least transgression of God's law
brings guilt upon the transgressor, and without earnest repentance and
forsaking of sin he will surely become an apostate. You inquire in regard to
the course which should be pursued to secure the rights of our people to
worship according to the dictates of our own conscience. This has been a
burden on my soul for some time, whether it would be a denial of our faith
and an evidence that our trust was not fully in God.
But I call to mind many things God has shown me in the past in regard to
things of a similar character, as the draft and other things. I can speak in
the fear of God, it is right we should use every power we can to avert the
pressure that is being brought to bear upon our people. I know that were our
people spiritualized by the truth the greatest love would be maintained.
{12MR 322.1}
[We are] not to provoke those who have
accepted this spurious sabbath, an institution of the Papacy, in the place of
God's holy Sabbath. Their not having the Bible
arguments in their favor makes them all the more angry and determined to
supply the place of arguments that are wanting in the Word of God, by the power
of their might. The force of persecution follows the steps of the dragon.
Therefore great care should be exercised to give no provocation. And again
let us as a people, as far as possible, cleanse the camp of moral defilement
and aggravating sins. When sin is making its march upon the people who claim
to be elevating the moral standard of righteousness, how can we expect God to
turn His power in our behalf and save us as a people that did righteousness?
-323-
{12MR 322.2}
All the policy in the world cannot save
us from a terrible sifting, and all the efforts made with high authorities
will not lift from us the scourging of God, just because sin is cherished. If
as a people we do not keep ourselves in the faith and not only advocate with
pen and voice the commandments of God, but keep them every one, not violating
a single precept knowingly, then weakness and ruin will come upon us. It is a
work that we must attend to in every one of our churches. Each man must be a
Christian. {12MR 323.1}
Let the sin of pride be put away, let
all superfluities of dress be overcome, and repentance toward God be
exercised for the highhanded robbery toward Him, which has withheld money
that should flow into the treasury to sustain the work of God in its mission
fields. Let the work of reformation, of true conversion, be set before and
urged upon the people. Let our works, our deportment,
correspond with the work for this time, that we may say, "Follow me as I
follow Christ." Let us humble our souls before God by humiliation,
fasting and prayer, repentance of sin, and putting it away. {12MR 323.2}
The voice of the true watchman needs now
to be heard all along the line, "The morning cometh, and also the
night" [Isa. 21:12]. The trumpet must give a certain sound, for we are
in the great day of the Lord's preparation. All the struggles to carry our
appeals to the highest authorities in our land, however earnest and strong
and eloquent may be the pleas in our favor, will not bring about that which
we desire unless the Lord works by His Holy Spirit in the heart of those who
claim to believe the truth. We may struggle as a mighty man in swimming
against the current of Niagara, but we shall fail unless the Lord pleads in
our behalf. God will be honored among His people. They must be pure, they must be divested of self, steadfast, unmovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord. The Lord will elevate the humblest
soul that trusts in Him. He will unite His power with human effort if that
man will honor Him as did Daniel. But as a people we need the beauty of
righteousness, holiness, and truth. The most harmonious theory will not save
us. The God that ruled in Babylon is the same God that rules now. {12MR
323.3}
There are many doctrines current in our
world. There is many a religion current that numbers its thousands and tens
of thousands, but there is but one that bears the superscription and the
stamp of God. There is a religion of man and a religion of God. We must have
our souls riveted to the eternal Rock. Everything in God's world, both men
and doctrines and nature itself, is fulfilling God's sure word of prophecy
and accomplishing His grand and closing work in this world's history. {12MR
324.1}
We are to be ready and waiting for the
orders of God. Nations will be stirred to their very center. Support will be
withdrawn from those who proclaim God's only standard of righteousness, the
only sure test of character. And all who will not bow to the decrees of the
national councils and obey the national laws to exalt the sabbath instituted
by the man of sin to the disregard of God's holy day, will feel, not the
oppressive power of popery alone, but of the Protestant world, the image of
the beast. {12MR 324.2}
Satan will work his miracles to deceive;
he will set up his power as supreme. The church may appear as about to fall, but it
does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out--the
chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but
nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by
the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the
loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouths.
We must be divested of our self-righteousness and arrayed in the
righteousness of Christ. {12MR 324.3}
Note by Ron: Obviously, the church that does not fall is TRIUMPHANT.
That is the only church Ellen White is speaking of, because she says other
places that Ezekiel 9 will LITERALLY BEGIN AT HIS SANCTUARY of the church
that has been priviledged with great light—the
church militant, Testimonies, Vol.
5, 211. End note.
The remnant
that purify their souls by obeying the truth gather strength from the trying
process, exhibiting the beauty of holiness amid the surrounding apostasy. All
these, He says, "I have graven . . . upon the palms of my hands"
[Isa. 49:16]. They are held in everlasting, imperishable remembrance. We want
faith now, living faith. We want to have a living testimony that shall cut to
the heart of the sinner. There is too much sermonizing and too little
ministering. We want the holy unction. We need the spirit and fervor of the truth. Many of the ministers are half
paralyzed by their own defects of character. They need the converting power
of God. {12MR 325.1}
That which God required of Adam before
his fall was perfect obedience to His law. God requires now what He required
of Adam, perfect obedience, righteousness without a flaw, without shortcoming
in His sight. God help us to render to Him all His law requires. We cannot do
this without that faith that brings Christ's righteousness into daily
practice. {12MR 325.2}
Dear brethren, the
Lord is coming. Lift up your thoughts and heads and rejoice. Oh, we
would think that those who hear the joyful news, who claim to love Jesus,
would be filled with joy unutterable and full of glory. This is the good, the
joyful news which should electrify every soul, which should be repeated in
our homes, and told to those whom we meet on the street. What more joyful
news can be communicated! Caviling and contention
with believers or unbelievers is not the work God has given us to do.
-326- {12MR 325.3}
If Christ is my Saviour, my sacrifice,
my atonement, then I shall never perish. Believing on Him, I have life
forevermore. Oh, that all who believe the truth
would believe in Jesus as their own Saviour. I do not mean that cheap faith
unsupported by works, but that earnest, living, constant, abiding faith, that eats the flesh and drinks the blood of the Son
of God. I want not only to be pardoned for the transgression of God's holy
law, but I want to be lifted into the sunshine of God's countenance. Not
simply to be admitted to heaven, but to have an abundant entrance. {12MR
326.1}
Are we so
insensible as a peculiar people, a holy nation, to the inexpressible love
that God has manifested for us? Salvation is not to be baptized, not to have
our names upon the church books, not to preach the truth. But it is a living
union with Jesus Christ, to be renewed in heart, doing the works of Christ in
faith and labor of love, in patience, meekness, and hope. Every soul united
to Christ will be a living missionary to all around him. He will labor for
those near and those afar off. He will have no
sectional feeling, no interest merely to build up one branch of the work over
which he presides and there let his zeal end. All will work with interest to
make every branch strong. There will be no self-love, no selfish interest.
The cause is one, the truth a great whole. {12MR 326.2}
Well may the question be asked with
earnest, anxious heart, "Is envy cherished, is
jealousy permitted to find a place in my heart?" If so, Christ is not
there. "Do I love the law of God, is the love
of Jesus Christ in my heart?" If we love one another as Christ has loved
us, then we are getting ready for the blessed heaven of peace and rest. There
is no struggling there to be first, to have the supremacy; all will love
their neighbor as themselves. Oh, that God would open the understanding and
speak to the hearts of our churches by arousing the individual members. {12MR
326.3}
The Lord appoints and sends forth
ministers not only to preach, for this is a small part of His work, but to
minister, to educate the people not to be fighters but to be examples of
piety. There are workers in every department appointed to do their work. When
Jesus ascended on high He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. Some have entered the work with a
human commission rather than the divine. They have educated themselves as
debaters, and the churches under their care show the character of their work.
They were not ready, they were not fitted for the
work. Their hearts are not right with God. In short, they have a theory but
not true conversion and sanctification through the truth. The great issue so
near at hand will weed out those whom God has not appointed, and He will have
a pure, true, sanctified ministry prepared for the latter rain. {12MR 327.1}
Our prayer should ascend to the throne
of grace with fervor for the Lord of the harvest to
send forth laborers into His vineyard. My heart
aches as I look around upon the mission fields and see so feeble efforts to
get the truth before the people. No censure can be attached to our leading
men. I believe, brethren, you are one with me in heart, in sentiment, in
regard to our great need, and in the earnest desire and earnest efforts to
meet the mind of the Spirit of God in these things. {12MR 327.2}
Those who are at ease in Zion need to be
aroused. Great is their accountability who bear the
truth and yet feel no weight or burden for souls. Oh, for men and women
professing the truth to arouse, to take on the yoke of Christ, to lift His
burdens. There are wanted those who will not have merely a nominal interest
but a Christlike interest, unselfish--an intense ardor that will not flag under difficulties or cool
because iniquity abounds. {12MR 327.3}
I want to speak to the ears of our
people in America in every church. Awake from the dead, and Christ will give
you life. Souls are perishing for the light of truth as it is in Jesus. We
are standing upon the very borders of the eternal world. Fair-weather
Christians will not be wanted for this work. The sentimental and tasteful
religion is not needed for this time. There must be intensity brought into
our faith and in the proclamation of truth. I tell you, a new life is
proceeding from satanic agencies to work with a power we have not hitherto
realized. And shall not a new power from above take possession of God's
people? The truth, sanctifying in its influence, must be urged upon the
people. There must be earnest supplications offered to God, agonizing prayer
to Him, that our hopes as a people may not be founded on suppositions, but on
eternal realities. We must know for ourselves, by the evidence of God's Word,
whether we are in the faith, going to heaven or not. The moral standard of
character is God's law. Do we meet its requirements? Are the Lord's people
bringing their property, their time, their talents, and all their influence
into the work for this time? Let us arouse. "If ye then be risen with
Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth
on the right hand of God" [Col. 3:1].-- Letter
55, 1886. (Written from Basel, Switzerland, to G. I. Butler and S. N.
Haskell, December 8, 1886.). Ellen G. White, White Estate Washington, D. C.
July 7, 1983 Entire Ms. {12MR 328.1}
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