Pro 9:1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she
hath hewn out her seven pillars:
"We cannot now step off the foundation that God has established.
We cannot now enter into any new organization for this would mean apostasy from
the truth.--Manuscript 1290, 1905. Selected
Messages, vol. 2, 390.
In a vision of July 18, 2018,
the Lord showed me that the reason for long-standing ignorance on the Godhead,
was/is a lack of knowledge of the Sanctuary Truth. Mainline Protestantism was
open to Satan’s deceptions via the Trinity Doctrine of Rome, because they did
not possess the light of truth on the Sanctuary Service in Heaven and on earth.
I was shown that the same reason accrues on the part of Adventists who became
ignorant on the Sanctuary Service, as well.
If God’s people had been well
versed in the Sanctuary Service, as Ellen White said they should be, they would
have realized that the Testator Testament Sacrifice had to take place in the
heavenly Sanctuary part of the Atonement, as well as the earthly. In the
Heavenly Sanctuary Sacrifice, the Divinity of the Son of God was involved. He
had to “die” forever, to being, existing in, His former DIVINE ONLY Holy Spirit
FORM. This “death,” of and by itself, met the penalty for the wages of sin,
eternal death. This is how in the Incarnation Sacrifice itself, alone, the Son
of God reached the prescribed limit as a sacrifice. It had to involve a form of
eternal “death,” for while the Testator liveth, the Testament (Covenant) is of
no strength.
Heb
9:16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the
testator.
Heb
9:17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no
strength at all while the testator liveth.
"The darkness rolled away
from the Saviour and from the Cross. Christ bowed His head and died. In His Incarnation
He had reached the prescribed limit as a sacrifice, but not as a redeemer." E.G. White Manuscript Releases Volume Twelve, p.
409.
What is the only “prescribed
limit as a sacrifice” apart from the Cross? It is eternal “death” of the
Testator in some form, for while the Testator liveth, the Testament
(Everlasting Covenant) is of no strength AT ALL while the Testator liveth.
The humanity of Christ was not
the Testator of the Everlasting Covenant. Ellen White said that Christ and the
Father were present at Mt. Sinai when the Everlasting Covenant (The Ten
Commandment Law of God), was given to His “chosen” people:
Father
and Son gave the law at Mt. Sinai: "In union with the Father, Christ
proclaimed the law amid the thunders of Sinai..." E.G. White, The Signs
of the Times, 11-12-94, pr. 07.
“Christ
and the Father, standing side by side upon the mount, with solemn majesty
proclaimed the Ten Commandments..." E.G. White, Evangelism, p. 616.
As I
have stated many times, only one EQUAL with the Father, as the Law giver, could
atone for any breach in the law made by God’s people. The Son of God was/is
that EQUAL. His Holy Spirit Divine Nature is ONE with the ONE HOLY ETERNAL
SPIRIT of the Father. They are both of the same
essence and substance—SPIRIT—ONE ETERNAL SPIRIT. It is the ONE ETERNAL SPIRIT
that makes them ONE GOD.
Jhn 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in
spirit and in truth.
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot
to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
The words “the eternal Spirit,” designate ONE
ETERNAL SPIRIT, and it is that ONE SPIRIT that constitutes ONE GOD.
“The
Jews had never before heard such words from human lips, and a convicting
influence attended them for it seemed that divinity flashed through humanity as
Jesus said, "I
and my Father are one." The words of Christ were full of deep meaning as he put
forth the claim that he and the Father were of one substance, possessing the
same attributes.”—The Signs of the Times, Nov. 27, 1893,
p. 54. {7ABC 437.3}.
The Son of God before His Incarnation, existed with the Father from
eternity. Before His Incarnation, His Divine Nature Holy Spirit, which was of
the same essence and substance as the Father—THE ONE ETERNAL SPIRIT. That ONE
ETERNAL SPIRIT ESSENCE AND SUBSTANCE is all we know about the NATURE of God or
what He consists of. Beyond that, silence is golden. But we know much more
about the personality of the Father and the Son, than what they are made of.
For example, we know that God is love. We know that God gave His only begotten
Son for our empowerment to overcome sin and for our redemption from past sins.
Rom
1:5 By whom we have received grace and
apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
In Romans 1:5, it says that GRACE is given for
obedience and apostleship. Ellen White defines GRACE as the Holy Spirit. So,
the Holy Spirit Divine Nature of the Son is given to us as heaven’s highest
good, crowning gift, for overcoming sin and the lust of the world, II Peter
1:4, to wit:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby
are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might
be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the
world through lust.
His Grace is His Holy Spirit
“They must have His grace, the Spirit of Christ,
to help their infirmities, or they cannot form a Christian character. Jesus
loves to have us come to Him, just as we are—sinful, helpless, dependent.” Faith and Works, p. 38.
What Occurred in the Heavenly
Sanctuary at the Incarnation that Met the Prescribed Limit of a Sacrifice?
"Cumbered with humanity
Christ could not be in every place personally, therefore it was altogether for
their advantage that He should leave them to go to His Father and send the Holy
Spirit to be His successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself divested of the
personality of humanity and independent thereof. He would represent Himself as
present in all places by His Holy Spirit.” E.G.
White, (Manuscript Releases Volume 14 (No’s 1081-1135) MR No.1084.
It was in the Heavenly Sanctuary
Service of the Incarnation Atonement that Christ made the soul of His Holy
Spirit Divine Nature an offering for man’s sin. That offering made the
prescribed limit of a sacrifice—death of the Testator—a FOREVER DEATH to being a DIVINE HOLY SPIRIT PERSON ONLY—to become a human
person forever.
“Christ had stooped to take upon Himself
man’s nature; He was to bear an infinite weight of woe as He should make His soul an offering for sin; yet angels desire
that even in His humiliation the Son of the Highest might appear before men
with a dignity and glory befitting His character.” E.G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 313, 314.
"Thou shalt make
his soul an offering for sin." Isaiah 53:10.
The human soul of Christ could not function
as the Testator, because it was not the human soul of Christ that gave the law
with the Father on Mt. Sinai. Humanity was no part of the Son at the time He
proffered His Holy Spirit soul of His life, at the beginning of His Incarnation
in the heavenly sacrifice.
"Christ
declared that after his ascension, he would send to his church, as his crowning gift,
the Comforter, who was to take his place. This Comforter is the Holy Spirit,--the soul of his life, the efficacy of his
church, the light and life of the world. With his Spirit Christ sends a
reconciling influence and a power that takes away sin.
In the
gift of the Spirit [HIS LIFE--THE SOUL OF HIS LIFE], Jesus gave to man the highest good that heaven could bestow....
The
Spirit was given as a regenerating agency, and without this the sacrifice of
Christ would have been of no avail....
It is by
the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes
a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given his Spirit as a divine power
to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress
his own character upon the church." E.G. White, Review and Herald Articles, May 19, 1904, vol. 5, p. 42.
“Christ had stooped to take upon Himself
man’s nature; He was to bear an infinite weight of woe as He should make His soul an offering for sin; yet angels desire
that even in His humiliation the Son of the Highest might appear before men
with a dignity and glory befitting His character.” E.G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 313, 314.
The wages of sin is
ETERNAL death. How could Christ make His soul, His Holy Spirit, the soul of His
life and the life of His soul, an offering for sin that involved DEATH OF THE
TESTATOR? The answer that God showed me is that SINCE DIVINITY CANNOT DIE, the
Son “died” FOREVER to being His “Divine ONLY”
existence. This met the prescribed limit of a sacrifice per the Testator’s
Covenant (Testament of the Testator).
Two sacrifices: One in the Heavenly Sanctuary | One
on Earth
The heavenly Sanctuary/Atonement involved the
emptying of the Son of all the attributes of His Divinity, namely the three
omni’s.
"7. Made himself of no reputation. Literally,
'emptied Himself.' This emptying was voluntary (see on John 10:17,
18). It was not possible for Christ to retain all the tokens
of divinity and still accomplish the Incarnation. The outworking of this emptying is detailed
in the remainder of Phil. 2:7 and in v. 8. See Vol. 5, p.
918." SDA Bible
Commentary, Vol. 7, p.
155, col. 1.
Phl 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and
took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Phl 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross.
“5. The Subordination
of Christ. Voluntarily assuming the
limitations of human nature at the incarnation, the Lord Jesus Christ thereby
subordinated Himself to the Father for the duration of His earthly ministry
(see ps. 40:8; Matt. 26:39; John 3:16 4:34; 5:19, 30; 12:49; 14:10; 17:4, 8; 2
Cor. 8:9; Phil. 2:7, 8; Heb. 2:9; see on Luke 1:35; 2:49; John 3:16; 4:34; Phil
2:7, 8).
‘Laying aside His royal robe
and kingly crown’ (DA 22, 23). “He voluntarily assumed human nature. It was His own act, and by His own consent.”
(EGW ST Jan 20, 1890; cf 5T 702). “He
humbled Himself, and took mortality upon Him.” (EGW RH
Sept. 4, 1900).
“The Son of God was
surrendered to the Father’s will, and dependent upon His power. So
utterly was Christ emptied of self that He made no plans for
Himself. He accepted God’s plans for
Him, and day by day the Father unfolded His plans” (DA 208; cf. 664. ‘While
bearing human nature, He was dependent upon the Omnipotent for His life. In His
humanity, He laid hold of the divinity of God’”{EGW,
ST, June 17, 1897
par. 8}
The Abraham/Isaac Typology Between the Father and Jesus
I was shown in vision that the
following account describes the time at which Jesus met with His Father for the purpose of the heavenly Sanctuary “emptying,” which
constituted a forever death to His being a DIVINE NATURE HOLY SPIRIT PERSON ONLY:
“Sorrow filled heaven as it was realized that man was lost and
that the world which God had created was to be filled with mortals doomed to
misery, sickness, and death, and that there was no way of escape for the
offender. The whole family of Adam must die. I then saw the lovely Jesus and beheld an
expression of sympathy and sorrow upon His countenance. Soon I saw Him approach
the exceeding bright light which enshrouded the Father. Said my accompanying
angel, “He is in close converse with His Father.” The anxiety of the angels
seemed to be intense while Jesus was communing with His Father. Three times
He was shut in by the glorious light about the Father, and the third time He
came from the Father we could see His person. His countenance
was calm, free from all perplexity and trouble, and shone with a loveliness
which words cannot describe. He then made known to the angelic choir that a way of escape had been made
for lost man; that He had been pleading with His Father, and had obtained
permission to give His own life as a ransom for the race, to bear their sins,
and take the sentence of death upon Himself, thus opening a way whereby they
might, through the merits of His blood, find pardon for past transgressions,
and by obedience be brought back to the garden from which they were driven.
Then they could again have access to the glorious, immortal fruit of the tree
of life to which they had now forfeited all right.” {EW 126.1}
“Then joy, inexpressible joy, filled heaven,
and the heavenly choir sang a song of praise and adoration. They touched their
harps and sang a note higher than they had done before, because of the great mercy and condescension of God in yielding
up His dearly Beloved to die for a race of rebels. Then praise and
adoration was poured forth for the self-denial and sacrifice of Jesus, in consenting to leave the bosom of His Father, and choosing a
life of suffering and anguish, and an ignominious death, that He might give
life to others.” {EW 126.2}
“Said the angel, “Think ye that the Father
yielded up His dearly beloved Son without a struggle? No, no.” It was even a struggle with the God of heaven, whether to let
guilty man perish, or to give His darling Son to die for them. Angels were so interested for man’s salvation that there could be found
among them those who would yield their glory and give their life for perishing
man. “But,” said my accompanying angel, “that would avail nothing.” The
transgression was so great that an angel’s life would not pay the debt. Nothing
but the death and intercession of God’s Son would pay the debt and save lost
man from hopeless sorrow and misery.” {EW 127.1}
“But the work which was assigned the angels
was to ascend and descend with strengthening balm from glory to soothe the Son
of God in His life of suffering. They administered unto Jesus. Also, their work
was to guard and keep the subjects of grace from the evil angels and from the
darkness which was constantly thrown around them by Satan. I saw that it was
impossible for God to change His law in order to save lost, perishing man; therefore He suffered His
darling Son to die for man’s transgressions. {EW 127.2}
Ellen White said that it is impossible for
Divinity to die and that Divinity did not die on the cross. And the humanity of
Christ was not the Testator, so His humanity could not Atone for sin. However,
the human blood of Christ was necessary to demonstrate that He was faithful
unto death in resisting the temptations of Satan, and while taking our sins
upon Himself, He was still able to resist temptation, proving that we can
overcome as He did. We will never be tempted as He was in taking our sins upon
Himself.
The
Humanity Person of Christ Continues Forever
Both persons comprising the Son of God—His
Divine Nature Person, and the Human Person, continue forever. But the “death”
element of the Divine Persons, is the Son’s forever emptying of His humanity of
the omni attributes He had forever possessed in His Divine Only state, to exist
thereafter as a human forever.
"But this man,
because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood."
Hebrews 7:24.
“Christ
has carried His humanity into eternity. He stands before God as the
representative of our race. When we are clothed with the wedding garment of His
righteousness, we become one with Him, and He says of us, “They shall walk with
me in white: for they are worthy.” His saints will behold Him in His glory,
with no dimming veil between.”—The Youth’s
Instructor, October 28, 1897 quoted in The
S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:925. {Hvn 7}
God has adopted Christ’s Human Nature Into
the Heavenly Godhead
“He is our sacrifice, our Advocate, our Brother, bearing our
human form before the Father's throne,
and through eternal ages one with the race He has
redeemed--the Son of Man.” Heaven, p.
73.
“God has adopted human nature in the person of His Son, and has carried the same into the highest heaven. Heaven,” p. 72.
"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.
Eternal Sacrifice of the Son’s
Divine Soul
"The
apostle would call our attention from ourselves to the Author of our salvation.
He presents before us His two natures, divine and human. . .
. He voluntarily assumed human nature. It was His own act, and by His
own consent. He clothed His divinity with humanity. He was all the while as
God, but He did not appear as God. He veiled the demonstrations of Deity which
had commanded the homage, and called forth the
admiration of the universe of God. He was God while upon earth, but He divested Himself of the form of
God, and in its stead took the form and fashion of a man. He walked the
earth as a man. For our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might
be made rich. He laid aside His glory and His majesty. He was God, but the glories of the form of God He for
awhile relinquished. . . .
He bore the sins of the world, and endured the penalty
which rolled like a mountain upon His divine soul. He yielded up His life a
sacrifice, that man should not eternally die. He died, not through being
compelled to die, but by His own free will." E.G. White, SDA Bible
Commentary, Vol. 7a, p. 446.
Adventists have been blessed
with this light on the Heavenly Sanctuary Service which the fallen churches do
not have. So Adventists stand more to blame for their
“wilful ignorance” on the truth of the Godhead. Had Adventists remembered that
there are two Sanctuary Service types, the one in heaven and the one on earth,
they would have realized that the Testator would have had to be sacrificed
first in the Heavenly Sanctuary. They would have realized that the Trinity
Doctrine voids the Sanctuary Atonement in Heaven, by its teaching that there
are three co-ETERNAL persons, when the heavenly Sanctuary Incarnation sacrifice
produced another INDEPENDENT PERSON TO THE GODHEAD: the non-co-ETERNAL humanity
of Christ.
The Trinity Doctrine totally
betrays the heavenly Sanctuary/Atonement Incarnation sacrifice, at which the
Son of God emptied Himself of His Divine Attributes, the three omni’s to become
human forever. This human PERSON became a THIRD PERSON TO THE GODHEAD. Before
the Incarnation there were only two persons to the Godhead.
The Trinity Doctrine teaches
that there are three co-ETERNAL persons. That doctrine thus sweeps away the
entire Christian economy by omitting the Incarnation sacrifice whereby ANOTHER
PERSON—the humanity of Christ, was adopted into the Godhead. If there were
three co-ETERNAL persons before the Incarnation, there would be FOUR persons to
the Godhead after the Incarnation, and that is not the case. There are only
THREE PERSONS to the Godhead, and only TWO OF THEM ARE CO-ETERNAL. The human
person of Christ was NO PART of the Godhead before the Incarnation sacrifice,
so the humanity of Christ could NEVER be co-ETERNAL with the other two persons
of the Godhead.
Why Does Not Rome and Her Fallen
Daughters See This Serious Betrayal of the Godhead? And Much More Important,
Why Did SDA Leaders Not See The Betrayal Element of
the Trinity Doctrine?
Isaiah 56:10-12 gives the answer
to this most serious of all abominations committed by any church in the land.
God proclaims His “watchmen” to be “dumb dogs” who CANNOT UNDERSTAND. In the
Alpha heresy, the dumb-dog SDA watchmen were looking on, but did not seem to
understand the implications of Kellogg’s heresy. They did not understand the
simple fact that if God’s Holy Spirit was in all creatures from creation
onward, sinful humans would not need the Incarnation sacrifice in order to receive heaven’s “highest good,” crowning gift,”
the gift of the Holy Spirit of the life of Christ, because they would already
possess it via pantheism.
Likewise, if there are three
co-ETERNAL persons to the Godhead, THERE HAS BEEN NO SACRIFICE INVOLVING THE TESTATOR,
that reduced Him to being a human PERSON forever, thus
atoning for man’s wages for sin, some form of eternal death of the TESTATOR.
That is the serious truth of the Godhead that I was shown Elijah will teach
regarding the Everlasting
Covenant, Malachi Chapter 3.
Because of the great ignorance
of the dumb-dog watchmen, Isa. 56:10-12, 5T 211, the entire Christian economy
was swept away in 1980, when the SDA General Conference Session voted to adopt
the Trinity Doctrine, Satan’s (Rome’s) Central Doctrine. I was shown that Satan
hates nothing more than the Incarnation Sacrifice of Christ, which Atoned for
man’s sins, by paying an eternal price of “death,” which is man’s penalty for
his breach of God’s law. Thus, if Satan can get man to believe and make a vow
to such a doctrine, he gets man back in his clutches whether they realize it or
not. Their ignorance of this abomination is not an excuse, for if they had been
sincere in their search for truth as for hidden treasure, they would have been
led into all truth, including the most important and fundamental of all truths,
the Godhead.
There is absolutely no excuse
for a lack of the truth on this most fundamental of all issues in Christianity,
especially when any error on this issues sweeps away
the entire Christian economy:
Sanctuary
Gone Atonement Gone -- "In a representation which passed before me, I saw
a certain work being done by medical missionary workers. Our ministering
brethren were looking on, watching what was being done, but they did not seem
to understand. The foundation of our faith, which was established by so much
prayer, such earnest searching of the Scriptures, was being taken down, pillar
by pillar. Our faith was to have nothing to rest upon--the sanctuary was gone, the atonement was gone." E.G. White, The Upward Look, 152.
The
Trinity Doctrine results in the same logical conclusion—If the THREE PERSONS TO
THE GODHEAD ARE CO-ETERNAL, there has been NO DEATH OF THE TESTATOR—NO HEAVENLY
SANCTUARY/ATONEMENT! Thus, the Sanctuary is GONE. The Atonement is GONE. This
heresy, which is world-wide even amongst Adventists now, is the worst
abomination possible, and many Adventists don’t see how this is even important.
"The
spiritualistic theories regarding the personality of God [the Godhead],
followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away the whole Christian economy.
They estimate as nothing the light that Christ came from heaven to give John to
give to His people. They teach that the scenes just before us are not of
sufficient importance to be given special attention. They make of no effect the
truth of heavenly origin, and rob the people of God of
their past experience, giving them instead a false science." E.G. White, Selected
Messages, Bk.1, p. 204.
Dear
Reader, the Trinity Doctrine is nothing more than a spiritualistic theory of
Satan, which reclaims foolish virgins back into his fold, because they have no
excuse for being ignorant of God’s Sanctuary Truth on this most important of
all issues to Fundamental Christianity. Anyone who confesses the Trinity
Doctrine, and members with any church that teaches it, is in effect vowing,
believing and teaching that the heavenly Sanctuary/Atonement sacrifice never
occurred, because there are three co-ETERNAL persons to the Godhead, with NONE
OF THEM HAVING DIED TO ANYTHING. Death in any form would make the Testator
NON-ETERNAL. You cannot speak of one who has experienced death, especially
FOREVER DEATH, as being CO-ETERNAL WITH THE FATHER, for example.
"He
(Christ) suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life
which WAS His." Desire of Ages, p. 25 1 Cor. 11:24-265, cf. John
6:53, 54, Titus 3:5, 6.
"Christ declared that after
his ascension, he would send to his church, as his crowning gift, the
Comforter, who was to take his place. This
Comforter is the Holy Spirit,--the soul of his life,
the efficacy of his church, the light and life of the world. With his Spirit
Christ sends a reconciling influence and a power that takes away sin.
In the gift of the Spirit, Jesus
gave to man the highest good that heaven could bestow....
The Spirit was given as a
regenerating agency, and without this
the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail....
It is by the Spirit that the
heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the
divine nature. Christ has given his Spirit as a divine power to overcome all
hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress his own character
upon the church." E.G. White, Review
and Herald Articles, May 19, 1904, vol. 5, p. 42.
“The incarnation of Christ was
an act of self-sacrifice; His life was one of continual self-denial. The highest glory of the love of God to man
was manifested in the sacrifice of His only-begotten Son, who was the express
image of His person. This is the great mystery of godliness. It is the
privilege and the duty of every professed follower of Christ to have the mind
of Christ. Without self-denial and cross bearing we
cannot be His disciples.” {2SM 185.2}
Without the Heavenly Sanctuary
Incarnation sacrifice which provided for us the Holy Spirit soul of His life
BEFORE THE CROSS, the sacrifice on the cross would have been of no avail,
because there would have been no power to keep us from sinning. The Trinity
doctrine of Rome totally obfuscates that Heavenly Sanctuary sacrifice BEFORE
THE CROSS, by teaching that the Holy Spirit always existed as a third
person—thus, NO INCARNATION SACRIFICE of the Testator’s soul of His life as a
“highest good, crowning gift” for man whereby he is enabled to overcome sin.
And this is how the Trinity Doctrine, as a spiritualistic theory of man
(emanating from Rome), sweeps away the entire Christian economy because it does
not recognize the “highest good, crowning sacrifice heaven can bestow.”
"The Power of God in the
Third Person.--The prince of the power of evil can
only be held in check by the power of God in the third person of the Godhead,
the Holy Spirit.-- Special Testimonies,
Series A, No. 10, p. 37. (1897).
Bible Text Saying the Same Thing:
Acts 3:26 Unto you first
God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away
every one of you from his iniquities.
It is the Holy Spirit of Jesus
that is sent to us to turn every one of us from our iniquities.
"A
new order of things has COME INTO the ministry. There is a desire to pattern
after other churches and simplicity and humility are almost unknown. The young
ministers seek to be original, and to introduce new ideas and new plans for
labor. Some open revival meetings, and by this means call large numbers into
the church. But when the excitement is over, where are the converted ones?
Repentance and confession of sin are not seen. The sinner is entreated to believe in Christ and accept
Him, without regard to his past life of sin and rebellion. The heart is
not broken. There is no contrition of soul. The supposed converted ones have
not fallen upon the Rock, Christ Jesus." E.G. White, Selected Messages,
vol. 2, pp. 18, 19.
The
above highlighted portion is an example of Calvinism--believing one is chosen
and destined to be saved without being truly converted without true repentance
and confession of sin without regard to his past life of sin and rebellion
without a broken on the Rock heart without contrition of soul. This is a form
of Calvinism of saved by grace regardless of any proper choice on the part of
the sinner (predestination).
The Three Independent Persons in the Godhead
“Cumbered
with humanity Christ could not be in every place personally, therefore it was
altogether for their advantage that He should leave them to go to His Father
and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is
Himself divested of the personality of humanity and independent
thereof. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His
Holy Spirit.” E.G. White, (Manuscript Releases Volume 14 (No’s
1081-1135) MR No.1084.
1.
The Father as the ONE CO-ETERNAL SPIRIT
2.
The Son’s Holy Spirit Divine Nature as being of the ONE CO-ETERNAL
SPIRIT
3.
The Personality of the humanity of Christ as divested (separate) from
His Holy Spirit Divine Nature. The humanity of the Son WAS NOT/IS NOT
co-ETERNAL with His Holy Spirit Divine Nature and the Father.
It was the Incarnation Sacrifice
that produced a third person to the Godhead, which person was not/is not
co-eternal WITH THE OTHER TWO PERSONS. So to teach
that there are three co-ETERNAL persons, does away with the heavenly
Incarnation Sacrifice, when the Incarnation began, so that the Sanctuary is
GONE, THE ATONEMENT GONE.
In addition to God’s people
being in a stupor because of lack of study and prayer; lack of heeding the
Laodicean message, and ignorance of the Sanctuary Service, the leading brethren
are not able to understand because they don’t want to obey God. They want to be
like the other fallen churches. They prophesy falsely and “my people love to
have it so:”
COUNTERPART:
"The Lord commanded one of his ancient servants, 'Pray not thou for this
people [Jer. 7:16 and 11:14], neither lift up cry nor prayer for them neither
make intercession to me for I will not hear thee.' The prophet thus describes
the sins which had called forth this fearful denunciation: 'The prophets
prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means and my people love
to have it so and what will ye do in the end thereof?' 'From the least of them
even unto the greatest of them, every one is given to
covetousness and from the prophet even unto the priest, every one dealeth
falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly,
saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace.' The apostles declare that this
state of things will find its COUNTERPART in the last days. Many have a form of
godliness, but in their daily life deny the power thereof. They have ceased to
be convicted of their sins or alarmed at their state. They say in their hearts,
'The church is flourishing. Peace and spiritual prosperity are within her
borders.' The words of the prophet may well apply to these self-deceivers,
'They have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their
abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and
will bring their fears upon them." E. G. White, Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 11-07-82.
COUNTERPART in the last days. Many have a form of
godliness, but in their daily life deny the power thereof. They have ceased to
be convicted of their sins or alarmed at their state. They say in their hearts,
'The church is flourishing. Peace and spiritual prosperity are within her
borders.' The words of the prophet may well apply to these self-deceivers,
'They have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their
abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and
will bring their fears upon them." E. G. White, Second Advent
Review and Sabbath Herald, 11-07-82.
What
you have just read is the Three Angel’s Message in verity, the Righteousness of
what Christ did for fallen man.
"The
third angel's message will not be comprehended, the light which will lighten
the earth with its glory will be called a false light, by those who refuse to
walk in its advancing glory. The work that might have been done, will be left
undone by the rejecters of truth, because of their unbelief. We entreat of you
who oppose the light of truth, to stand out of the way of God's people. Let
Heaven-sent light shine forth upon them in clear and steady rays. God holds you
to whom this light has come, responsible for the use your make of it. Those who will not hear will
be held responsible for the truth has been brought within their reach, but they
despised their opportunities and privileges. Messages bearing the divine credentials have been
sent to God's people the glory, the majesty, the righteousness of Christ, full
of goodness and truth, have been presented the fullness of the Godhead in Jesus
Christ has been set forth among us with beauty and loveliness, to charm all
whose hearts were not closed with prejudice. We know that God has wrought among
us. We have seen souls turn from sin to righteousness. We have seen faith
revived in the hearts of the contrite ones. Shall we be like the lepers that
were cleansed who went on their way, and only one returned to give glory to
God? Let us rather tell of his goodness, and praise God with heart, with pen,
and with voice." E.G. White, Review and Herald, 05-27-90, pr. 6.
In
the Name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
Ronald
William Beaulieu
Chapter 8
Behold Your God by Fred T. Wright
A Perfect Law
The perfection
of God's law stands in marked contrast to the imperfection of the laws framed
by earthly legislators.
The faultiness
and inadequacy of men's laws are marked in two ways at least. Firstly, men are
obliged to constantly enact new laws and to modify or repeal old ones. Things
which the law forbids today, it will permit in the near
future. Behaviour which is allowed in one country is strictly banned in
another.
Secondly, when
kings or congress pass their laws, in order to ensure
that the people will respect the government and obey those laws, they formulate
a list of punishments which they then administer.
But these
things are not true of God's law. It is so perfect and complete that there has
been no modification or addition needed from the day it was first expressed. Its principles are so complete and
all-embracing that, if perfectly obeyed, they are the flawless pattern for both
divine and human behaviour in either the sinless heavenly environment or the
iniquitous situation on earth.
The life of
Christ amply demonstrated the truth of this for He kept His Father's
commandments in conditions so wicked that it was described as the time
"when the transgressors" had "come to the full," Daniel
8:23; the time when "The deception of sin had reached its height. All the
agencies for depraving the souls of men had been put in operation. The Son of
God, looking upon the world, beheld suffering and misery. With pity He saw how
men had become victims of satanic cruelty. He looked with compassion upon those
who were being corrupted, murdered, and lost. They had chosen a ruler who
chained them to his car as captives. Bewildered and deceived, they were moving
on in gloomy procession toward eternal ruin,—to death
in which is no hope of life, toward night to which comes no morning. Satanic
agencies were incorporated with men. The bodies of human beings, made for the dwelling place of God, had
become the habitation of demons. The senses, the nerves, the passions,
the organs of men, were worked by supernatural agencies in the indulgence of
the vilest lust. The very stamp of demons was impressed upon the countenances
of men. Human faces reflected
the expression of the legions of evil with which they were possessed.
Such was the prospect upon which the world's Redeemer looked. What a spectacle
for infinite Purity to behold!
"Sin had
become a science, and vice was consecrated as a part of religion. Rebellion had
struck its roots deep into the heart, and the hostility of man was most violent
against heaven. It was
demonstrated before the universe that, apart from God, humanity could not be
uplifted. A new ele- [70] ment
of life and power must be imparted by Him Who made the world." The Desire
of Ages, 36, 37.
This was the
condition of things when Christ came to this earth. Under those circumstances
He demonstrated that God's law was the only code of behaviour. To do this He kept that law to
perfection thus proving that Satan lied when he declared the law of God was
imperfect and needed to be modified to meet changing circumstances. In this perfect adherence to the
righteous precepts under these conditions, Christ not only proved to fallen man
that the law was not too difficult for him to observe, but that it was the
perfect guide and protection for all those who did keep it.
Consider now,
the second factor in the difference between the law of God and that of man. This difference is that while men have to attach their own formulated penalties to the law,
with God this is not necessary. In His system, breaking the law itself brings
its own terrible fruitage in sorrow, and finally, destruction.
It is not to be concluded that God deliberately
organized it this way. When it is understood why He formed and gave the law, it
will be seen that this is the only way it could be. Essential to
the successful accomplishment of the great aspirations within His creatures, is
the possession of tremendous power. This power was designed for blessing and
benefit only, but, unavoidably, it has in it the potential for destruction.
Being the only way to safeguard against that other and destructive side of
power, law became essential. While
power is handled in strict accordance with law, there is no problem. But let
the law be disregarded and every kind of problem arises. Therefore, God did not formulate a
law with a deliberately built-in system of punishments, but, instead, gave them
a perfect protection from self-destruction. If they choose to set aside that protection then there is nothing to prevent the trouble from
coming. First God gave the power and then the law to enable them to safely
handle it.
Already it has
been shown that compelling power, compulsion, the use of force and such, have
no place in God's work and are never found under His government but only under
Satan's. Likewise it has been seen that God, because
He is interested only in voluntary obedience, gave to every one of His
creatures "full liberty
to yield or to withhold obedience." Patriarchs and Prophets, 48. It would be impossible to give full
liberty to withhold obedience, and then punish a person for exercising the very
freedom given to him. To punish under those conditions is to deny that full
liberty had been given.
There are two
ways in which God could have administered punishments upon those who chose to
withhold obedience. The first method would be to decree what the punishment
should be and then to execute it by His own direct action. This is what the
majority believe God does.
The second
method would be to skilfully and deliberately build into the law, punishments
which would automatically fall upon the transgressor. In [71] modern language
this is called booby trapping. The farmer, for instance, has a patch of
delicious melons growing and he knows that, despite the law forbidding theft,
the young lads of the village will come at night for the feast. So he installs a trip wire attached to a high explosive. He
has built into the law an automatic punishment which will reach out and strike
the lawbreaker apart from the action of the law itself.
This is the
course the Lord could have adopted to avoid the necessity of exercising His own
power in any direct act of destruction.
Whether God
punishes directly by His own action or indirectly by building destruction into
the law, He would still be denying that He had, in reality,
given His subjects "full liberty to yield or to withhold
obedience." He gave the liberty. Therefore He
cannot punish any who exercise what He has given them.
If God used
the first method, it would be a blatant denial of His claim to have given them
full liberty. If He used the second method, then He could well be charged with
having adopted underhand means whereby He could claim that He had not directly
denied their freedom, though in fact, indirectly He had.
God is not
deceitful or underhanded. He is the God of truth. Therefore
it needs to be clearly understood that He did not design a law with built-in
punishments. Every one who is to have a part in the
final presentations of the character of God must come to understand the real
character of God's law. The
awful punishments which do fall upon the violators of God's great principles
are what the law was devised to protect man from, not what it was designed to
bring upon him.
What must be
understood with great clarity is that the law is in no sense God's effort to
protect His own position and authority. God is so completely outgoing, so
utterly devoid of self-interest, self-justification or self- protectionism in
any form, that He could never have formulated the law to save Himself. It is
not something which He has "thought up" as His wish or pleasure
whereby the people could be identified as His subjects, doing His will and
obeying His commands. Far from it! That law is a masterpiece of protection for the people themselves.
It is so wonderfully designed
that obedience to it ensures absolute immunity from sickness, suffering,
sorrow, fear, suspicion, robbery, violence, and death. On the other hand,
violation of its principles guarantees the introduction of these things in
their worst forms.
None of these
things is God's invention designed for infliction on the transgressor.
"The wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23. It is a sound principle,
universally practised, that the servant is always paid by the employer to whom
he renders service. If a worker, having given a month of industrious labour to
Mr. Jones, then went to Mr. Brown to receive his wages, he would be met with an
indignant refusal.
"I am not
responsible for the wages owed to you by Mr. Jones," he would emphatically
say. "I do not pay the money earned by service on your [72] part to
another employer. If you work for me then I will pay you but not
otherwise."
This reply is
reasonable. It is equally reasonable that the same principles apply in the
spiritual realm. Therein are two masters, God and Satan, or more correctly,
righteousness and sin. Neither of these masters pays the wages earned in the
service of the other. The
wages of sin is death and the gift of righteousness is
life.
No one needs convincing
that Satan never pays the gifts of God. All those who live the life of
righteousness, know that they cannot look to the devil to pay even the smallest
proportion of these. God alone can pay the gift of life. Satan has no part in
this whatsoever.
If it is so easily seen that the devil never pays
God's gifts to the righteous, then it should be equally clear that the Lord
never pays the wages owed by sin to its subjects. Sin and Satan alone pay those.
God does not traffic in death for He is the purveyor of life. That is His
merchandise and He dispenses no other. He does not pay
wages in the currency of death.
"Sickness, suffering, and death are work of an
antagonistic power. Satan is the destroyer; God is the restorer." The Ministry of
Healing, 113.
As the
Restorer, "God is working, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, to
keep us alive, to build up and restore us." ibid., 112. The law, then, has not been formed
as an instrument of destruction but of salvation. The unfortunate attitude of
hostility toward the law will be swept away entirely when its true purpose and
role are understood. Then
with the Psalmist, the exclamation of praise will go forth, "0 how love I
Thy law! it is my meditation all the day." Psalm
119:97.
The Holy
Spirit had certainly imparted to the writer of these words a very different
view of the law from that generally possessed by man. He had come to see that the law was not designed for
God's exaltation and protection but for the protection and blessing of mankind.
This we need
also to see. Accordingly our attention will now be directed
to studying God's law as the precious gift of God for man's blessing and
security.
Both the first
part dealing with the relationship of man to God and the second part covering
man to man, were designed along the same lines. Consideration will be given to
the first part initially.
Statement
number one in the decalogue is this: "Thou shalt have no other gods before
Me." Exodus 20:3.
To the average
person this suggests a picture of God concerned about His receiving the homage,
respect, service, and worship which He felt was due to Him. To them, it is as
if He were saying, “I am God and I do not intend that you shall forget that. I
will tolerate no other god in My place for I will share My honour, position and
glory with none. I want, and I demand, exclusive recognition of My sole
authority from each of you. I shall be [73] watching every
one intently moment by moment with a vigilance which never slumbers nor
sleeps. If I find any drifting away from Me, any rendering of homage or love to
another, My anger shall become exceedingly great and I
will come in My fury to punish you without mercy."
This is the view held by this earth's majority. This is how they see God, because if
they were in the same position with the same power, that is how they would
relate themselves to their subjects. But, in fact, a more erroneous view
of God's intent could not be entertained. God had not thought of His honour,
security and safety when He formed that commandment. He was entirely
preoccupied with His subjects and their needs. He knew the danger in which they
were, and to make them secure from it He gave them this and the other commands.
Difficult as
it may be at first to understand, the truth is that it was not possible for God
to create man without a very definite element of danger being involved. Yet,
once careful consideration is given to the objectives of love in bringing the
earth and its inhabitants into existence, it will be perceived that it was not
possible to do this without that threat being in attendance.
It began with the divine purpose to give to man the
precious love-gift of life. There was no obligation upon God to do it. Humanity
should respond only with the deepest gratitude that God had elected to do this.
But to give life was not sufficient. A home must be provided in which those
possessed of this inimitable gift could enjoy such riches to the fullest.
Without a home, existence would be an eternal drifting through super-cold space
with nothing to see or do. This would convert what promised to be everlasting
delight into perpetual horror.
Therefore, the
creation of highly intelligent creatures necessitated the forming of a home in
which they could develop and exercise the splendid powers given to them,
achieving the highest aspirations of their active minds.
That was a
wonderful provision but it was still insufficient.
Both the individuals themselves and the world in which they lived must be
equipped with suitable and sufficient powers to enable them to live their lives
to the fullest potential. The infinitely wise and loving God saw this and
without hesitation installed all those mighty powers in their proper place and
balance. These powers may be grouped into two divisions, those within man and
those outside him in the marvellous world of nature.
The powers in
man may be listed as the power of thought, muscular power, the powers of
speech, ambition, planning, reasoning, invention, love, joy, and so forth. The
powers without in the world of nature are the powers of the sun, moon, gravity,
wind, water, centrifugal and inertial forces, electricity, and many more.
All this
seemingly, would provide the sum of all that could ever be needed to give every
creature the fulness of happiness and joy. After all, what more could man
desire or need? [74]
But it was
still not enough.
It was not
enough because power, though provided by God for only one purpose, the blessing
and prosperity of all His creatures, inevitably possesses the potential of
destruction. Enquiry may be made as to why the Lord did not provide powers that
could not be subverted, but careful thought will show that this is impossible.
Any power which is intended to do only good can also be turned to an evil purpose.
Therefore, God
needed to add one more gift to make the work of creation complete and secure.
That gift was the law. It was something very necessary to man for without it he
had no way of keeping those powers from becoming destroyers. This can readily
be demonstrated by reference to the first commandment, the study of which, in
the light of these principles, will prove that the law was not made by God for
God but for man.
Any one of the
great powers which God has invested in nature for man's blessing can be chosen
to develop this point. Accordingly the sun will be
selected as the example.
Initially, the
sun came into existence in response to the spoken creative word of God. This is
the only way it could, for there is no other power in existence which can
create anything let alone something of the magnitude and power of that flaming
orb. Satan could not do it, neither can man. But, God's work in respect to the
sun and its role did not end with its creation for it cannot fulfil its mission
unaided. It, like all other powers, is totally unintelligent, thus possessing
no capacity to direct its ways. This must be done by a power outside of and
greater than itself under the guidance of a suitable intelligence. The only
power which can do this is the power which made it. That is God's power
directed by the intelligent mind of God. That creative power in turn is
exercised through His Son, Christ, Who not only
"made the worlds," but is constantly "upholding all things by
the word of His power." Hebrews 1:2, 3.
"God is
constantly employed in upholding and using as His servants the things that He
has made. He works through the laws of nature, using them as His instruments.
They are not self-acting. Nature in her work testifies of the intelligent
presence and active agency of a Being Who moves in all things according to His
will." The Ministry of Healing, 416.
"Many
teach that matter possesses vital power,—that certain
properties are imparted to matter, and it is then left to act through its own
inherent energy; and that the operations of nature are conducted in harmony
with fixed laws, with which God Himself cannot interfere. This is false science, and is not sustained by the word of God. Nature is
the servant of her Creator. God does not annul His laws, or
work contrary to them; but He is continually using them as His instruments.
Nature testifies of an intelligence, a presence, an active energy, that works
in and through her laws. There is in nature the continual working of the Father
and the Son. Christ says, 'My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.' John 5:17.
[75] [insert full-page illustration above the following caption]
The mighty
powers at work in nature or harnessed in machinery were given for man's benefit
and blessing but can only be such if under the control of an intelligence
obedient to law.
[76]
"The
Levites, in their hymn recorded by Nehemiah, sung 'Thou, even Thou, art Lord
alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the
earth, and all things therein, . . . and Thou preservest
them all.' Nehemiah 9:6. As regards this world, God's
work of creation is completed. For 'the works were finished from the foundation
of the world.' Hebrews 4:3. But His energy is still exerted in upholding the
objects of His creation. It is not because the mechanism that has once been set
in motion continues to act by its own inherent energy, that the pulse beats,
and breath follows breath; but every breath, every pulsation of the heart, is
an evidence of the all-pervading care of Him in whom 'we live, and move, and
have our being.' Acts 17:28. It is not because of inherent power that year by
year the earth produces her bounties, and continues
her motion around the sun. The hand of God guides the planets,
and keeps them in position in their orderly march through the heavens.
He 'bringeth out their host by number; He calleth them all by names by the
greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth.'
Isaiah 40:26. It is through His power that vegetation flourishes, that the
leaves appear and the flowers bloom. He 'maketh grass to grow upon the
mountains,' and by Him the valleys are made fruitful. All the beasts of the
forest seek their meat from God, Psalms 147:8; 104:20, 21, and every living
creature, from the smallest insect up to man, is daily dependent upon His
providential care. In the beautiful words of the psalmist, 'These wait all upon
Thee. . . . That Thou givest them they gather; Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good.' Psalms
104:27, 28. His word controls the elements, He covers the heavens with clouds,
and prepares rain for the earth. 'He giveth snow like wool; He scattereth the hoar frost like ashes.' 'When He uttereth His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the
heavens, and He causeth the vapors to ascend from the
ends of the earth; He maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind
out of His treasures.' Psalms 147:16; Jeremiah 10:13." Patriarchs and
Prophets, 114, 115.
These
statements teach the active presence of God as the Controller of all the powers
He has installed in the universe for the good of His creatures. But, why is it
necessary for God to do this? Is it because He is determined to keep personal
control over all things? Or is it because it must be so? Why could God not have
set the whole complex machinery in motion and then left it to run of its own
accord from the very beginning? Or why does He not delegate the work to other
hands to leave Himself free from such things?
God does what
He is doing because that is the only way it can be done and certainly not
because of any desire on His part to reserve to Himself any special position.
It was not possible for God to leave all these tremendous powers to themselves
for it is the very nature of power to be unintelligent. The sun is a power of
gigantic proportions, but it has no power to think or to direct its ways and
even if it did, it would still need God to keep it supplied with energy. [77]
Think of all
the various powers in existence—fire, wind, gravity, the tides, hydraulics, and
so on, and it will be seen that not one of them is an intelligence nor could
be. Power and force are just that, while intelligence is designed to control
and guide the powers. Even the physical powers in the human body are not
intelligent. They depend upon the intelligence centred in the brain for control
and guidance.
Therefore, the
mighty sun must have a controller and guide to keep it exactly on its course
and, at the same time, a source of energy to keep it forever fuelled and
burning at a constant level. Should there be no such controlling power, then
think of the possibilities. The sun could swing a little too far out and away
from the earth with the consequence of such tremendous cooling on this planet
that it would freeze solid. On the other hand it could
swing in too close and destruction would come with blazing heat. Again, it
might burn too dimly or too brightly or even explode with the same destructive
results.
Far more than
we do, we need to appreciate how dependent we are upon that sun. If we were to
carefully consider the effect of that power becoming either diminished or
increased, then we would be far more grateful than we are for the Lord's
controlling and sustaining hand in the universe. The same facts and principles
apply to all the mighty powers of heaven and earth.
Having
established the truth that the hand of a mighty controller and energy-supplier
is indispensable for the continuation of our lives upon the earth, we can
proceed to the next question. Why does God do this? Why does He not give it to
one of His mighty creatures to look after, for Him?
The answer is
because He cannot. It required a Creator's power to set it up in the first case
and it requires the same Creator's power to maintain it. Only He can do it. God
gladly gives His creatures whatever He can, but this is one thing He cannot
give, for there is not one of us, angel or man, who can keep those mighty
powers under perfect control.
Therefore, it
is essential that no other god be placed in God's position as the Controller,
Guide and Sustainer of these mighty powers. To do so would be to put there a
being who would have no hope of keeping those things under control. They would
swiftly break out of their course in a holocaust of destruction.
To help in
understanding this extremely important point let the following illustration
serve. One of the biggest commercial passenger aircraft is the Boeing 747. In order to control and direct that tremendous power, a man
must have, through long practice and training, highly developed skills. The law
says that on a flight no one must set another person who is unqualified in the
pilot's place. Suppose that during a flight across the Pacific from Sydney to
Honolulu, a passenger who has never flown a plane before goes onto the flight
deck, overpowers the crew, binds them up securely, and then attempts to fly the
machine to a destination of his own choice. [78]
What is the
inevitable result? That man has no hope of bringing the plane in successfully.
He will not even know how to navigate it across the uncharted oceans and he
will crash the plane, killing every person on board. No one should have any
difficulty in seeing this, especially if he has ever had his untrained hands on
the controls of even a simple light aircraft and tried to bring it in to land.
A 747 is a complex of unintelligent but gigantic powers which must have a
master mind to direct it. Should such a trained and skilled person be taken
from the controls and another untrained one take his place, then certain
disaster is the result.
This is
exactly the situation with this earth and the mighty powers attendant upon it.
God alone, has the power and skill to guide them accurately and safely on their
courses. Should that guiding hand be removed and another attempt to fill its
place, then inevitable desolations would follow. There would be no way to
prevent it. Some may object that God could prevent it. Certainly
He has the physical power to do so, but, in order for that power to be
exercised to prevent that destruction, it has to be in the very place from
which it has been dismissed. Once another god has been put in the place of the
true God, then God can only save the situation by forcing Himself back into the
place from which He has been sent away, and this God will never do. This would
violate the freedom of choice which He Himself gave to His creatures and which
He will never invade even to a hair's breadth.
But how would
it be possible for God to vacate the position of control? How could this be
brought about? Surely, it may be argued, no one could take God's position away
from Him!
It can be done
quite simply and very quickly. What is more, it has been done.
In the Garden
of Eden, Adam and Eve were the rulers and owners of this world in a kingdom
which they held under God and for God. "And God said, Let Us make man in
Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creepeth on the
earth." Genesis 1:26.
While they
retained that dominion, God could and did maintain perfect control over the
sun, the moon, and all the other mighty powers set in their places for the
blessing and benefit of the human family. There was no problem, and the Edenic
pair enjoyed perfect security, comfort and prosperity.
But the time
came when they passed the kingdom into the devil's hands and he became
"the prince of this world." John 14:30. While Adam and Eve had held
dominion under God, Satan did not. He had put himself in God's place and when
Adam and Eve turned to give their dominion to Satan, they placed another god in
the place of the true God. They directly broke the first commandment and thus
removed from themselves the pro- [79] tection the
first commandment was designed to give. Another god was in the place of the
real God and this new god could not control the mighty powers of nature. Sudden
and terrible destruction immediately threatened them.
It may be
objected here that the whole argument is disproved by the fact that the
threatened destruction did not fall upon them that day as God had said it
would. This is true, but that does not make God a liar, nor does it disprove
the argument. God's word was fulfilled for they did die that very day. On the
spiritual side of their natures the life of God, the presence of the Holy
Spirit, died out of them, to be replaced by another spirit, that of the devil.
They would
have also died physically that day, had not the Lord interposed to introduce a
delaying factor, designed in love, to give them a limited probationary period
in which to reconsider their decision. In unquenchable love for the doomed, Christ stepped in to divert the
punishment to Himself. He would take upon Himself, not that which God would
administer to the sinner, but that which the sinner had brought upon himself.
Christ had to
move swiftly for the Lord had warned that "in the day that" they ate
of it they would surely die. Genesis 2:17. Christ had no time to lose if He
would save them. So it is written, "The instant man accepted the
temptations of Satan, and did the very things God had said he should not do,
Christ, the Son of God, stood between the living and the dead, saying. 'Let the
punishment fall on Me. I will stand in man's place. He shall have another
chance'." The SDA Bible Commentary, 1:1085.
Right there in
the Garden of Eden, all nature would have swung wildly out of its course with
increasing ferocity had not Christ stepped in to give the world a period of
probation in which to make a second choice either to serve God or to continue
with another god—the god of death and destruction. When at last the time of
probation is ended with every man, woman, and child having made their choice
for eternity, this is just what will happen. Christ will step out from His place as Mediator and all
nature will collapse in a cataclysm of destruction. Of this final destruction
we shall study much more later.
Now. let a
summary be made of the facts just considered with particular
emphasis being laid on the truth that the suffering and death which
certainly follow the violation of the principles of the law, are not
administered by God directly, nor are even a carefully built-in provision designed
to automatically destroy the lawbreaker. The punishments are the unpreventable outworking of the
removal by disobedience of the protections the laws are designed to give.
Here is that
summary.
It would have
been most unsatisfactory for the Lord to have made us without providing the
supporting powers necessary to give us comfortable [80] living and the
opportunity to develop all the gifts within us. The sun is needed for light and
heat, the forces of gravity for our equilibrium, electricity to open to us the
thousand and one possibilities in communication, electronics and so on. Should
we ponder upon a life without the many gracious provisions of God for our
welfare and pleasure, we would be far more grateful to the Lord for what He has
done.
But, it is
impossible for power to exist without its being at the same time a potential
for fearful and even total destruction. That is the
very nature of power and it can be no other way. The greater the power, the
greater the danger. Therefore, as surely as heaven is a place filled with the
greatest of wonderful powers, it is therefore a potentially dangerous place.
God has no
fear of introducing such peril for He knows that it is completely contained if
the laws are faithfully obeyed. Under the control of laws obeyed, power can only be a blessing but let
the laws be disobeyed and it is nothing but a danger. The destruction which
falls is not directed by God's hands. It is the natural and unpreventable
consequence of the violation of God's law.
These things
must be meditated upon until the purposes and character of God in this are
fully understood; until it is seen that God neither inflicts the punishment by
His own hand nor has it as an inbuilt threat which reaches out to automatically
destroy those who get out of line; until it is seen that the death and suffering is the
direct and unpreventable result of the sin; and that the Lord does only one
thing which is to work to save all from such disastrous results and guide them
forever in those pathways which will ensure them perfect and complete
happiness.
So it is with the violation of the first commandment. What is true of the
results of its violation is true of all the rest. For instance, the second
precept warns against bowing down to worship an image made of material things.
There should be no difficulty in seeing that such an act of worship can only
result in death to the worshipper on the following grounds. Every adoration of
images as practiced by those who break the second commandment is on the basis of their believing that they can and will
obtain all they need for life-support through the idol.
But they
cannot believe that they will receive life through the idol and, at the same
time, receive life from God, for, if they truly believed that God is the only
source of life, then they would never have turned aside from Him to seek it
from, and through, an idol. Therefore, the very fact that they do worship an
idol is their declaration that they have no faith that God can care for them
and that they have turned aside from seeking it from God to find it elsewhere.
What is the only possible outcome of such an action
on their part? God is the only source of life. To turn aside from that life
source and seek it where it does not exist, is to die. God will not kill such a
person. Such kill themselves. There is no fault with God, for He plainly warned
them that [81] they were not to place another god in His place. He is the only
life-giver and life-sustainer.
To illustrate
the point again, think of an aviator who has ascended to altitudes where the
oxygen is too rare to support life so he has to plug
his breathing apparatus into the outlet connected with the oxygen supply. He
has received specific instructions as to which is the correct outlet, but he
deliberately chooses to plug into another socket with no connection to the
supply. What is going to happen to this foolish man? He will quickly die for
want of the essential oxygen. He will die because he has failed to observe the
law. His death will be the direct result of that, and not in any sense the act
of God.
In precisely
the same manner, the man who bows before an idol to seek life from this source
has pronounced his own death sentence. He cannot live, for, by his own choice,
he cuts himself off from the channel of life. There is no fault with God. He
provided the channel for life and warned that if man should discard that and
seek life through an idol or an image, he would find none there and death would
overtake him.
Accordingly,
the second commandment forbidding the worship of images and idols, is perfectly
designed to save God's children from separating themselves from the source of
life to thus bring upon themselves certain destruction.
To take God's name
in vain is to call one's self a Christian or a child of God, a member of His
family thus bearing His name, and yet at the same time to live out of harmony
with the principles of the family. To do this is to separate from the family
and the blessings which can only be obtained while in the family. Again this is but to bring death upon one's self.
The breaking
of the fourth commandment likewise, is removing the protection God has provided
to sustain life. This precept has to do with the great principle of respect for that which is another's. Its violation opens the door to
every kind of trouble and sorrow. To understand this better let us turn to the
second side of the decalogue and study the control of the powers which God has
invested in man himself.
We will choose
the command, "Thou shalt not steal." This is an excellent place to
begin for the commands, "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not
bear false witness," and "Thou shalt not commit adultery," are
but extensions of this commandment. To kill is to steal the life of another
from him, even though such theft does not give the thief the life thus stolen.
The committal of adultery robs a person of his or her life partner and the
bearing of false witness robs a person of his reputation and credibility.
Now we will
see how violation of the command, "Thou shalt not steal opens upon man the
floodgates of woe. Consider the perfect society wherein stealing has never
previously been known. The dwellers in this society have perfect trust in each
other and without fear they leave their homes open at all
times. Locks and bars are neither needed nor known. [82]
Then
there comes the day when one person steps out of the way and steals the
property of someone else in the village. In the depths of the night the householder
is awakened by the stealthy movements of an intruder, who, perceiving that his
presence has been noted, flees, bearing a family treasure with him.
When the
family realizes the extent of their loss and the way in which it was taken,
they are surprised, numbed, horrified and fearful that if this can happen once
it can happen again. The news swiftly spreads through the village and instantly
a change comes over the whole place. The peace and happiness die beneath a
cloud of suspicion and fear. No one knows who has done it
so every one is suspect. Steps are soon taken to bar the openings and lock the
doors so that protection may be obtained against a further visit from the
thief.
In this, the
innocent suffer with the guilty. A simple illustration
from the travel world of today will serve to show
this. There was a time before anyone thought of hijacking an aircraft. In those
days the passengers simply walked aboard and took their places. It was
convenient and pleasant.
But then came
the new era and everything changed. The wrongdoers in this connection are few in number, yet virtually every passenger who seeks to
board an aircraft is now suspect. He must, even though innocent, undergo a
thorough searching both of his hand baggage and his person. He suffers inconvenience
and delay and longs for the return of the days of trust and good will. He is
suffering punishment for the sins of another. But the punishment is not
something which is being meted out by God. It is the direct result of the
crime.
Now let us return
to our illustration of the village. Should more and more people follow the path
of the lawbreaker and become thieves, then the problem will escalate into
destructive proportions. Once the law has been cast aside and its protection
removed, it is then only a matter of taking one step after another. The thief
will not stop at taking merely property. He will take life and murder will
worsen the situation. In order to defend themselves,
the other thieves will resort to violence for self-protection. All this is
precisely what has happened to bring the world to its present state of misery
and woe.
As this is
being written, Beirut in Lebanon is being torn to pieces with a murderous civil
war, while in Northern Ireland, the Irish are slaying Irish with cold-blooded
determination. What a fearfully unhappy situation in which to live. How far
this is from the perfect plan God formulated for the well-being and happiness
of man. Let it be emphasized that none of this woe and trouble comes upon man
by any act of God, but by the natural outworking of the law's being broken. God
designed and gave the law as a perfect protection from all this, but man has
chosen of his own free will to cast aside that protection. Before us, we see
the result. It is only because
the Lord is still able to exercise some restraint over mankind that man
survives [83] at all. Should the law be totally cast aside and anarchy reign,
the extermination of the race by its own hands would be the swift result.
We will not
spend a lot of space considering this important fact for it is not necessary.
It is self-evident that the breaking of the law governing man's relationship to
man brings its own terrible results upon the world. Consider the situation as
it would be today if every man and woman never stole, never lied, never killed,
and in fact, kept all the ten commandments. What a wonderfully happy and secure
place the world would be, not because God had arbitrarily made it so, but
because that is the way keeping the law would make it. This does not mean that
God's presence is unnecessary for such happiness. It is necessary for it is by
His power that the law is kept. He is the fountain of all life and without Him
there is no life.
Consider what
the world would be like and how long mankind would survive if all law was done
away with and every person was a thief, a murderer, an adulterer, a liar, and
so on. It is impossible to think of a worse situation. Every man, so long as he
managed to survive, would live in a state of perpetual terror. There would be
no stability and no security.
As this grim,
totally undesirable picture develops before the mind, ponder and see that the
terrible conditions would not in any sense be the inflictions of God, but the
result of removing the protection afforded by law. Here is the revelation of the cause and effect, and no
charge can be laid to God for any of it.
The final
consideration to be made in this study of the outworking of violated law, is
man's relation to himself. The human body is a wonderfully designed and
constructed mechanism. David, as he came to realize this, praised God in these
words. "I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:
marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." Psalm
139:14.
With David, we
should have a rich appreciation of God's blessings in giving us a body and mind
of such efficiency. Even after almost six thousand years of sin's degradation,
there is still mighty and wonderful power remaining. Such being so, what must
it have been like in the beginning when the electrical energy in Adam's brain
was twenty times as great as it is now?
"God
endowed man with so great vital force that he has withstood the accumulation of
disease brought upon the race in consequence of perverted habits,
and has continued for six thousand years. This fact of itself is enough
to evidence to us the strength and electrical energy that God gave to man at
his creation. It took more than two thousand years of crime and indulgence of
base passions to bring bodily disease upon the race to any great extent. If Adam, at his creation, had not
been endowed with twenty times as much vital force as men now have, the race,
with their present habits of living in violation of natural law, would have
become extinct." Testimonies for the Church, 3:138, 139. [84]
It is
impossible for a body to be made with such power and efficiency without being a
finely balanced piece of complexity requiring obedience to law to keep it in
perfect condition.
The laws which
govern the care of this mechanism are referred to above as being natural laws
and they are, but this does not mean that there is nothing in the moral law to
cover this situation. He who abuses his body, thus lowering its efficiency, is
robbing both God and others of the service which he would render had he the
full powers of mind and body. Consider the enormous loss to the community
through absenteeism from work because of sickness occasioned by careless
disregard of the most simple laws of health.
More than
this, the one who does not observe the laws of health and strength is
destroying himself thereby breaking the commandment, "Thou shalt not
kill." Therefore, while the care of the body mechanism is conformity to
natural law, the breaking of those laws is also breaking the moral law.
Much study
could be devoted to the relation of health and longevity to obedience to
natural and moral law. Such a study would be both interesting and profitable,
but we desire only to make the point that it is not God, but disobedience to
those laws which brings upon the disobedient, whether wittingly or unwittingly
so, a sure retribution.
It is
convincingly self-evident that the man who, for instance, smokes tobacco
products and drinks alcohol, steadily reduces his physical capacities and
brings upon himself destructive diseases.
So clear is
this evidence that even people who have long disregarded the moral law,
recognize the direct connection between prolonged cigarette smoking and the
incidence of lung cancer and early heart failures. More than ever, men can see
that to pursue a certain course of unhealthful living will certainly bring a
harvest of suffering and untimely death.
It is not God
who afflicts poor sufferers with these diseases. They are the unpreventable
result of the sin itself. God cannot and will not, in justice, work a miracle
to counteract these evil effects, but because of this He is not to be named as
the One Who has deliberately sent these punishments upon the people. He has
done all that He can to save them from such troubles. In the first place He
gave man the best body mechanism it was possible to give. Then, recognizing
that man could not get the best out of this gift except by giving it proper
care, the Lord gave him laws to protect it from the effects of wrong living.
Also, God gave man the freedom to choose whether he would cherish and care for
the gift, or treat it with disdain and destroy it.
So whatever suffering should then come upon man
is not the responsibility or work of God. It is the direct effect of man's
works. He has only himself to blame. No charge can ever be laid to God's
account for this.
Such then is
the nature of God's law. It is a marvellously perfect provision by Him to meet
our need, not His. He has not formulated it to assert [85] His authority or as
an instrument whereby He is given the right to punish those who do not obey
Him.
The sinner's breaking of the law is his own act
whereby he removes the divinely provided protection from death and destruction.
Not only is it against God's principles to exercise force to compel or punish
people into obeying Him, but He does not need to, for the removal of sin is
guaranteed by the mere fact that it is, in its own nature, a way of death and
destruction. There is only one life path and that is the one God has mapped out
for His people.
This is true
of our relation to God, in our relation to our fellow men and in relation to
ourselves. When the nature of
the law as it really is, is truly understood, then our obedience to it will be
far more willing and successful.
Likewise, when the character and ways of God are
genuinely comprehended and appreciated, something of the infinite love and
kindness of God the eternal Father, will be perceived, generating sincere
praise and gratitude for His love and wisdom. Then it will be known that God
did not compose that law as the symbol of His authority, imposing it upon us as
the obligation of service to Him, the medium whereby He could exact our service
and homage. It will be realized that the law was made for the children of God,
that perfect obedience to it was the complete saviour from death and
destruction. The truth will be intelligently grasped that when Adam and Eve
cast aside that saviour, then Christ gave Himself to be the Saviour to bring
back the lost and perishing to the safe side of the law.
It will then
be recognized that when men cast aside firstly the law and then Christ as their
saviours, they will have exhausted all that heaven has and can do to save them.
Beyond that limit, God can go no further, for that is the totality of His
resources. This leaves Him with no choice but to grant to each apostate the
total separation with its attendant annihilation which he has chosen. It will
then be discerned with wonder and admiration that the only role filled by God
is that of a Saviour so that men perish, not because He has reached out to
destroy them, but because they have refused His saving efforts.
In summary
then it is right to say that the law of God is the transcript of His character.
God's righteousness and the righteousness of the law are identical so that
God's behaviour is expressed in the precepts of that law. Therefore, His
behaviour is not something to which He has reined Himself as a strict
discipline contrary to His nature. It is the natural expression of the tenets
of the decalogue.
Because this
is the only kind of obedience in which He is interested, He made man in His own
image "both in outward resemblance and in character." Patriarchs and
Prophets, 45. He writes that same law on our hearts so that it is also the
transcript of our characters and we can and do obey the law as He obeys it—a
natural outworking of our inner natures. [86]
Thus we are able to give the only kind of obedience the
Lord can accept—an obedience that is based upon a personal "conviction of
His justice and benevolence." The Great Controversy, 498.
Because the
Lord can accept only a willing obedience given because of our love for Him, He
will never use force to secure our allegiance, but, in perfect consistency with
these principles, gives to all the "full liberty to yield or to withhold
obedience." Patriarchs and Prophets, 48.
As surely as
He gives full liberty to withhold obedience, He can never punish any one of His
creatures for exercising the liberty which He Himself has given.
This means then, that the punishments which do come as a result of turning from God's way are the fruit or
result of our own course of action, not the administration of such things by
the hand of God.
This is better understood when it is seen that God's
law is designed by Him to be a protection from the effects of powers which
otherwise have ceased to be under proper control. Sin and sinners will be
destroyed, but it will be the effect of their own course of action, not the
outpouring of destruction by the hand of God.
[87]
End Chapter 8 Behold Your
God