Volume 17, Number 8

low ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an

alarm in my holy mountain: let all the
inhabitants of the land tremble: for the
day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a
day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of
clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning
spread upon the mountains: a great people and
a strong; there hath not been ever the like,
neither shall be any more after it, even to the
years of many generations. A fire devoureth
before them; and behind them a flame burneth:
the land is as the garden of Eden before them,
and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea,
and nothing shall escape them. . . . Blow the
trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn
assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the
congregation, assemble the elders, gather the
children, and those that suck the breasts: let the
bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the
bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the
ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch
and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy
people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to
reproach, that the heathen should rule over
them: wherefore should they say among the
people, Where is their God? Then will the LORD
be jealous for his land, and pity his people. Joel
2:13, 1518.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, We are surely
living in the very last hours of the worlds and
the churchs history. It is time we awaken out of
our Laodicean condition! Blow the trumpet in
Zion (the remnant church), call a solemn
assembly, gather the people together, for we are
now facing the end of all things, and the coming
of our Lord. Let us now weep between the
porch and the altar for our backsliding and
apostasy.
Sunday laws are now ominously on our
horizononly awaiting an international crisis
to be ushered in and become law. One more
bomb on American soil will prepare the American people in fear for such legislation. We see
mens hearts failing them for fear of the future.
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in
the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth
distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and
the waves roaring; mens hearts failing them for
fear, and for looking after those things which
are coming on the earth: for the powers of

heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see

the Son of man coming in a cloud with power
and great glory. Luke 21:2527.
The signs of the end are now ominous. Jesus
said, Many are called, but few are chosen.
Matthew 22:14. So very few of the remnant
people are now making the character preparation that will carry them through the time of
trouble.
Probation will soon close suddenly, unexpectedly. See The Seventh-day Adventist Bible
Commentary, vol. 7, 989. God through Inspiration reveals to us what is just ahead in the time
of trouble.
In the day of the Lord, just before the
coming of Christ, God will send lightnings from
Heaven in His wrath, which will unite with fire
in the earth. The mountains will burn like a
furnace, and will pour forth terrible streams of
lava, destroying gardens and fields, villages
and cities; and as they pour their melted ore,
rocks and heated mud into the rivers, will cause
them to boil like a pot, and send forth massive
rocks and scatter their broken fragments upon
the land with indescribable violence. Whole
rivers will be dried up. The earth will be
convulsed, and there will be dreadful eruptions
and earthquakes everywhere. God will plague
the wicked inhabitants of the earth until they
are destroyed from off it.
The saints are preserved in the earth in the
midst of these dreadful commotions, as Noah
was preserved in the ark at the time of the
flood. Christ appears in His glory, and calls
forth the righteous dead. The living saints are
changed, and, with the resurrected dead, are
borne away from the earth by angels to meet
their Lord in the air. The earth is left like a
desolate wilderness. Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 82
83.
September 11, 2001, was a wake-up call to
the world and to all Seventh-day Adventist
leaders, pastors, and laity. There will soon be
revealed in the time of trouble the wrath of
God. The sinful days of Noah are here again.
Sin is reaching a climax. God will be forced to
take the reigns into His own hands. See Testimonies to Ministers, 300. May God now help each
seeker, each obedient child of God, to make the
character preparation that He requires. !

Our Firm Foundation

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The Day of the Lord Cometh

Volume 17, Number 8

It is the mission of Hope International and the

editors of Our Firm Foundation to clearly present
Christ and His truth. The days remaining for
this world are few, and we must work quickly.
We must boldly proclaim the historic truths of
Adventism that place us on so firm a foundation in the midst of this troubled world.
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Administrative Editor: Bill Humeniuk
Managing Editor: Harvey Steck
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Volume 17, Number 8

4
8
12
17
21
24
25
28
29

August 2002

The Purification of Gods Church

Harvey Steck
How will God purify His church? What does Inspiration have
to say?

How Soon Shall We Enter?

Ron Spear
Lessons from Israels Retreat to Egypt

The Christless Religion

Ralph Larson
Are you one of those old Adventist legalists out there?

It Is High Time to Awake!

Bill Humeniuk
Unfolding the prophecy of Revelation 17

Consecration and Diligence in Christian Workers

Ellen G. White
How to be an effective gospel worker

Unity
William Covert
Thoughts on Christs prayer in John 17

The Need of a Spiritual Awakening

Ellen G. White
How to be a church member whom God can use

The Responsibilities of Burden Bearers

Ellen G. White
Lessons from the life of Solomon

Working With the Lord

Anonymous
I forgot to ask the Lord to be with me as I labored for Him.

departments
Defending the Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Newswatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3

The Purification
of Gods Church

relationship until they give decided

evidence that the Spirit of God is
working on their hearts. Review
and Herald, May 21, 1901.
And our responsibility does not
end after people are baptized.
What the church needs is to be
cleansed of those who defile it. The
spirit of reformation must be
kindled among us, and this class
must be converted or be separated
from the church. We entreat those
who have a connection with God to
pray earnestly and in faith, and not
to stop here, but to work as well as
pray, for the purification of the
church. Ibid., June 3, 1880; see also
Testimonies, vol. 1, 117118; ibid.,
vol. 3, 265269; ibid., vol. 4, 516;
ibid., vol. 5, 186; Testimonies to
Ministers, 450.

Harvey Steck

hat about Seventh-day

Adventists? What about
that body of believers that
claims to be the remnant church: Is
it pure of all sin and hypocrisy
today? If not, can we look forward
to a day when Christ will purify
His churchwhen there will be
only genuine memberswheatin
His church? If so, what means will
God use to purify the church? In
this article we will conclude our
study of the Inspired counsel on
this subject.

Our Duty to Guard the

Churchs Purity
In Matthew, chapter 13, Christ
has warned us that in His last-day
church an enemySatanwould
sow tares in His church. In the
same chapter He tells us that the
gospel net will gather in both good
fish and bad. Does that mean we
should be complacent about open
sin? How important is the purity of
the church? Do we have a duty to
work for its purity?
Renewed, purified, sanctified,
the church must be, else the wrath

of God will fall upon them with

much greater power than upon
those who have never professed to
be saints. Manuscript Releases, vol.
7, 263.
One fanatic, with his strong
spirit and radical ideas, who will
oppress the conscience of those
who want to be right, will do great
harm. The church needs to be
purified from all such influences.
Selected Messages, book 2, 319.
No doubt many church difficulties would be prevented if we were
faithful to the following counsel:
Only when the church is
composed of pure, unselfish
members, can it fulfill Gods
purpose. Too much hasty work is
done in adding names to the
church roll. Serious defects are seen
in the characters of some who join
the church. Those who admit them
say, We will first get them into the
church, and then reform them. But
this is a mistake. The very first
work to be done is the work of
reform. Pray with them, talk with
them, but do not allow them to
unite with Gods people in church

While some neglect their duty

to deal with open sin, others
exercise a zeal not according to
knowledge in their efforts to purify
the church. They would remove
those whom they suspect to be
unconverted members before they
follow Christs instruction in
Matthew 18. We have clear warnings that we are not to go about
uprooting the tares, lest we root out
also the wheat:
It should be the earnest desire
of every heart to keep the church
pure, and individually we are to
keep our hearts in the love of God,
and practice the truth daily, that
this may be accomplished. . . . We
are not required to criticise, to
condemn, or root out all that we
suppose to be tares, lest we root
out also the wheat. The church will
not be free from those whose
influence is out of harmony with
that which should characterize the
servants of Christ. The children of
God will be stirred in spirit by the
doings of these unworthy members, and they will desire to do
something to cleanse the church,
that its members may be a light to
shine in the world; but even under
these circumstances, let them be
careful to heed the words of the
great Teacher: Nay; lest while ye
gather up the tares, ye root up also

Our Firm Foundation

Photo: Creatas / PictureQuest

Misdirected Zeal

the wheat with them. Matthew

13:29. . . . In many cases it is
evident that those who are most
zealous to see the church without
blemish, have serious defects of
character which they do not
discern. Because of their own
mistakes and failings, unconsciously to themselves, they may be
doing greater harm than the one
they judge unworthy to remain in
fellowship with the church. Review
and Herald, January 10, 1893; see
also Testimonies, vol. 7, 262; Testimonies to Ministers, 4647; The Great
Controversy, 43.

God Will Purge His Floor

John the Baptist foresaw a time
when God would purge His floor.
He spoke of Christ, whose fan is
in his hand, and he will throughly
purge his floor, and will gather the
wheat into his garner; but the chaff
he will burn with fire unquenchable. Luke 3:17.
Now, notice what we are told
about Christs cleansing of the
earthly temple:
Gods love for His church is
infinite. His care over His heritage
is unceasing. He suffers no affliction to come upon the church but
such as is essential for her purification, her present and eternal good.
He will purify His church even as He
purified the temple at the beginning
and close of His ministry on earth.
Testimonies, vol. 9, 228. (All emphasis supplied unless otherwise
noted.)
After the proclamation of the
first angels message and the Great
Disappointment that followed, only
a handful of faithful believers
remained. God tested the hearts of
those who professed to be looking
for the advent of Christ, and all but
approximately 50 were purged out
of His church by the experience:
God accomplished His own
beneficent purpose in permitting
the warning of the judgment to be
given just as it was. The great day
was at hand, and in His providence
the people were brought to the test
of a definite time, in order to reveal
to them what was in their hearts.
The message was designed for the

Volume 17, Number 8

testing and purification of the

church. The Great Controversy, 353;
see also ibid., 380.
Just as Christ cleansed the
earthly temple twice, He has also
cleansed the Advent movement
once at the beginning, and He will
do it again at the end. Once again,
God will test His professed
peoplethose who claim to keep
the commandments of God, and
the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:12.
When God purges His floorwhen
His people face a life-or-death
decision whether to obey Gods

Friends, are you being sanctified

by the truth? Will you be gathered
with the wheat, or burned with the
chaff?

How God Purifies His Church

This purification, so necessary
for the churchs final victory, is also
referred to as the shaking:
The shaking must soon take
place to purify the church. Spiritual Gifts, vol. 2, 284.
All will be tested by the shaking
to see whether their experience is
genuine:

When God purges His floorwhen His people face a life-ordeath decision whether to obey Gods Word or to follow their
human impulsesthen the genuine wheat will be made plain
for all to see.
Word or to follow their human
impulsesthen the genuine wheat
will be made plain for all to see:
The days of purification of the
church are hastening on apace. God
will have a people pure and true. In
the mighty sifting soon to take
place we shall be better able to
measure the strength of Israel. The
signs reveal that the time is near
when the Lord will manifest that
His fan is in His hand, and He will
thoroughly purge His floor. . . .
The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing
time will be disclosed to view.
There are precious ones now
hidden who have not bowed the
knee to Baal. They have not had
the light which has been shining
in a concentrated blaze upon you.
But it may be under a rough and
uninviting exterior the pure
brightness of a genuine Christian
character will be revealed.
Testimonies, vol. 5, 8081.
Gods people must not only
know His will, but they must
practice it. Many will be purged
out from the numbers of those who
know the truth, because they are
not sanctified by it. Review and
Herald, May 24, 1887; see also The
Great Controversy, 625.

We are living in a time when

life is most precious and most
interesting. The end of all things is
at hand. Startling developments
will be continually unfolding
before us; for unseen agencies are
at work, manifesting intense
activity. . . . Nothing short of real,
genuine faith will survive the strain
that will come upon every soul of
man in these last days to test and
try him. God must be our refuge;
we cannot trust in form, profession,
ceremony, or position, or think that
because we have a name to live, we
shall be able to stand in the day of
trial. Everything that can be shaken
will be shaken, and those things
that cannot be shaken by the
deceptions and delusions of these
last days, will remain. The Youths
Instructor, August 3, 1893; see also
Hebrews 12:2627; Testimonies, vol.
1, 355.
God will use a variety of means
to shake and purify His church.
Here are some of them:
Pointed Messages of Truth
The shaking is not a pleasant
experience. Most of us recoil at the
thought of presenting a pointed
message that might cause division
in the church. However, notice that
we must do this work that Gods

church may be brought into favor

with Him:
The ministers preach smooth
things to suit carnal professors.
They dare not preach Jesus and the
cutting truths of the Bible; for if
they should, these carnal professors
would not remain in the church. . . .
Pleasing fables were taught and
readily received, and hypocrites
and open sinners united with the
church. If the truth had been
preached in its purity, it would
soon have shut out this class. . . .
God had a message for the church
that was sacred and important. If
received, it would make a thorough
reformation in the church, revive
the living testimony that would
purge out hypocrites and sinners,
and bring the church again into
favor with God. Early Writings,
228.

straight testimony called forth by

the counsel of the True Witness to
the Laodiceans. This will have its
effect upon the heart of the receiver, and will lead him to exalt
the standard and pour forth the
straight truth. Some will not bear
this straight testimony. They will
rise up against it, and this is what
will cause a shaking among Gods
people. Early Writings, 270.
Shaken by False Teachers and
HeresiesGod will arouse His
people; if other means fail, heresies
will come in among them, which
will sift them, separating the chaff
from the wheat. Testimonies, vol. 5,
707.
When the shaking comes, by
the introduction of false theories,
these surface readers, anchored
nowhere, are like shifting sand.
They slide into any position to suit

The ministers preach smooth things to suit carnal professors.

They dare not preach Jesus and the cutting truths of the Bible;
for if they should, these carnal professors would not remain in
the church.
God is sifting His people. He
will have a clean and holy church.
We cannot read the heart of man.
But the Lord has provided means
to keep the church pure. A corrupt
people has arisen who could not
live with the people of God. They
despised reproof, and would not be
corrected. They had an opportunity
to know that theirs was an unrighteous warfare. They had time to
repent of their wrongs; but self was
too dear to die. They nourished it,
and it grew strong, and they
separated from the trusting people
of God, whom He is purifying unto
Himself. We all have reason to
thank God that a way has been
opened to save the church; for the
wrath of God must have come
upon us if these corrupt pretenders
had remained with us. Testimonies,
vol. 1, 99.
I asked the meaning of the
shaking I had seen and was shown
that it would be caused by the

the tenor of their feelings of bitterness. Testimonies to Ministers, 112.

Notice how God can use both
truth and error for His purposes.
While truth reveals the sin in our
hearts and will bring some to
repentance, error leads others to go
deeper into apostasy, and reveal
the corruption that was already
cherished in their hearts.
Persecution and Fiery Trials
Regarding the early church, we are
told: As long as persecution
continued, the church remained
comparatively pure. But as it
ceased, converts were added who
were less sincere and devoted, and
the way was open for Satan to
obtain a foothold. The Great
Controversy, 44; see also Early
Writings, 222.
Once again, regarding the end
of time, we read: In the absence of
persecution, there have drifted into
our ranks some who appear sound,
and their Christianity unquestion-

able, but who, if persecution

should arise, would go out from us.
In the crisis, they would see force
in specious reasoning that has had
an influence on their minds. Satan
has prepared various snares to
meet varied minds. When the law
of God is made void the church
will be sifted by fiery trials, and a
larger proportion than we now
anticipate, will give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.
Selected Messages, book 2, 368.

Who Will Be Shaken Out?

Inspiration tells us clearly who
will be shaken out of the church:
The church may appear as
about to fall, but it does not fall. It
remains, while the sinners in Zion
will be sifted outthe 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 selfrighteousness and arrayed in the
righteousness of Christ. Ibid., 380.
The church that remains will not
look at all like what we see today.
The severe persecution at this time
will not allow for Gods faithful
people to openly operate conference offices or to direct the work
from any central location. Faithful
ministers, gospel workers, and
medical missionaries will not be
able to rely upon a paycheck; they
will be living and working in faith
that God will direct and sustain
them. Some are teaching that Gods
faithful people will come out of
an apostate church once again, as
has happened in former times.
However, we are told that at this
time God will work in a manner
out of the ordinary:
The Lord will work in this last
work in a manner very much out of
the common order of things, and in
a way that will be contrary to any
human planning. . . . God will use
ways and means by which it will be
seen that He is taking the reins in
His own hands. The workers will

Our Firm Foundation

be surprised by the simple means

that He will use to bring about and
perfect His work of righteousness.
Testimonies to Ministers, 300.
The sinners in Zion who
will be shaken out are described
in a number of other ways:
Those who are not willing to
take a bold and unyielding stand
for the truth and to sacrifice for
God and His cause Early Writings,
50.
Every selfish, covetous
person Ibid., 269.
The careless and indifferent,
who did not join with those who
prized victory and salvation
enough to perseveringly plead and
agonize for it Ibid., 271.
All who wish to draw off
from the body; The jealous and
the faultfinding Testimonies, vol. 1,
251.
Men leaving the faith; Souls
leave the truth Review and Herald,
April 9, 1889.
On the Day of Atonement of the
type, those of Israel who had not
afflicted their souls were to be cut
off from the congregation. Likewise, today, we are to afflict and
purify our souls; we are to know by
experience what it means to sigh
and cry, to cry aloud and spare not.
See Ezekiel 9:4; Isaiah 58:1. If this is
not our experience, we will be cut
off from Gods remnant church, for
He will have a purified church, and
only those who receive His seal
will be a part of it:
In the time when His wrath
shall go forth in judgments, these
humble, devoted followers of
Christ will be distinguished from
the rest of the world by their soul
anguish, which is expressed in
lamentation and weeping, reproofs
and warnings. . . . They are powerless to stop the rushing torrent of
iniquity, and hence they are filled
with grief and alarm. They mourn
before God to see religion despised
in the very homes of those who
have had great light. They lament
and afflict their souls because
pride, avarice, selfishness, and
deception of almost every kind are
in the church. The Spirit of God,
which prompts to reproof, is

Volume 17, Number 8

trampled underfoot, while the

servants of Satan triumph. God is
dishonored, the truth made of none
effect.
The class who do not feel
grieved over their own spiritual
declension, nor mourn over the
sins of others, will be left without
the seal of God. Testimonies, vol. 5,
210211.

Multitudes Lost
Tragically, we are warned that
multitudes will be shaken out
during this terrible ordeal:
Much so-called Christianity
passes for genuine, faithful soundness, but it is because those who
profess it have no persecution to
endure for the truths sake. When

when tribulation or persecution

arises because of the Word, many
are offended. Testimonies, vol. 4,
89.

How to Be Secure
In closing, we must remember
that there is no need of discouragement. If we will choose the straight
and narrow path of repentance and
consecration, we will be secure in
the terrible shaking to come.
Know Gods Word and Obey
ItWe are living in perilous
times, and as we draw near the
close of earths history, there will
be no safety for those who do not
become familiar with the Word of
God. I would warn the disciples of
Christ of the impending days of

The shaking of God blows away multitudes like dry leaves.

Prosperity multiplies a mass of professors. Adversity purges
them out of the church.

the day comes when the law of

God is made void, and the church
is sifted by the fiery trials that are
to try all that live upon the earth, a
great proportion of those who are
supposed to be genuine will give
heed to seducing spirits, and will
turn traitors and betray sacred
trusts. They will prove our very
worst persecutors. The Seventh-day
Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6,
1065.
I was pointed to the providence of God among His people
and was shown that every trial
made by the refining, purifying
process upon professed Christians
proves some to be dross. The fine
gold does not always appear. In
every religious crisis some fall
under temptation. The shaking of
God blows away multitudes like
dry leaves. Prosperity multiplies a
mass of professors. Adversity
purges them out of the church. As a
class, their spirits are not steadfast
with God. They go out from us
because they are not of us; for

peril, and beseech you to prepare

for the time of test and trial; for
everything that can be shaken, will
be shaken. Do we now obey the
Word of God, and live by every
word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God? Are we established
and settled in the present truth?
There is need of closely examining
yourselves whether you are in the
love of God; for except Christ be in
you, you are reprobates. Selfdeception is dangerous, and no one
of us can afford to go on in delusion. The Youths Instructor, May
18, 1893.
They that will be doers of the
Word are building securely, and
the tempest and storm of persecution will not shake their foundation, because their souls are rooted
to the eternal Rock. Manuscript
Releases, vol. 17, 82.
Let us examine our own hearts,
faithfully obey every Word that
proceeds out of the mouth of God,
and work and pray for the purity of
Gods church. !

How Soon Shall We

Enter?

the LORD was against them, to

destroy them from among the host,
until they were consumed.
Deuteronomy 2:15.
For I spake not unto your
fathers, nor commanded them in
the day that I brought them out of
the land of Egypt, concerning burnt
offerings or sacrifices: but this
thing commanded I them, saying,
Obey my voice, and I will be your
God, and ye shall be my people:
and walk ye in all the ways that I
have commanded you, that it may
be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear,
but walked in the counsels and in
the imagination of their evil heart,
and went backward, and not
forward. Jeremiah 7:2224.
At the threshold of the Promised Land, they rebelled against
MosesGods prophet. They
appointed a captain to lead their
return to Egypt and slavery.

Hearts Still in Egypt

Gods people did not sever all
connections with the things of
Egypt. As the result of their lust
and rebellion, they were not ready
for Canaan. They must suffer the
penalty for their rebellion.

But as for you, your carcases,

they shall fall in this wilderness.
And your children shall wander in
the wilderness forty years, and bear
your whoredoms, until your
carcases be wasted in the wilderness. Numbers 14:3233; see also
Psalm 107:40.
During their 40 years in the
wilderness, Israel continued to
multiply in membership. They
seemed to have material prosperity, but it did not lead to the
Promised Land. Increased numbers
and organizational efficiency,
which I am sure took place during
this time, was not a preparation for
Canaan. Spiritual progress alone
would bring the people to an
understanding of Gods requirements.
Israel had all the evidence of
Gods love and protection in
providing for all their needs. In the
pillar of fire by night and in the
cloud by day, God was there, even
in their rebellion.
Some have estimated that it
would have taken 20 tank cars of
water every day to provide for
their bathing, and drinking water
for themselves and their herds.
Remember now, there were about

Our Firm Foundation

Photo: PhotoDisc

or 430 years, Abrahams

seedhis childrenmultiplied in the land of Goshen.
The Pharaohs forgot Joseph, the
miracles of God in preserving
Egypt, the seven years of plenty,
and the seven years of famine. All
Israel were now slaves of their
masters, the Egyptians. God chose
Moses to be His prophet and
Israels delivererto bring them to
Canaan, their Promised Land.
Let us look carefully at the
spiritual problems of His chosen
people of that day. Their history is
carefully recorded in the book of
Psalms.
Such as sit in darkness and in
the shadow of death, being bound
in affliction and iron; because they
rebelled against the words of God,
and contemned the counsel of the
most High: therefore he brought
down their heart with labour; they
fell down, and there was none to
help. Then they cried unto the LORD
in their trouble, and he saved them
out of their distresses. Psalm
107:1013.
They provoked the Lord at
Kadesh. Because of their rebellion,
they spent 40 years wandering in
the wilderness of Zin. The hand of

Ron Spear

2 million souls in the camp. God

brought a river of water out of the
ground for their needs, and
mannaangels foodonto the
ground six days of every week for
their nutrition. God also provided
food for their herds. What great
miracles God provided for His
church in the wilderness!

Advent Parallels
As we study and research the
great gift of the Testimonies for the
Church, we note again and again
the parallels of the Seventh-day
Adventist movement with the
church in Egypt and in the wilderness. In Testimonies, vol. 5, 217, we
find Gods prophet repeatedly
reminding us of these similarities:
I am filled with sadness when I
think of our condition as a people.
The Lord has not closed heaven to
us, but our own course of continual
backsliding has separated us from
God. Pride, covetousness, and love
of the world have lived in the heart
without fear of banishment or
condemnation. Grievous and
presumptuous sins have dwelt
among us. And yet the general
opinion is that the church is
flourishing and that peace and
spiritual prosperity are in all her
borders.
The church has turned back
from following Christ her Leader
and is steadily retreating toward
Egypt. Yet few are alarmed or
astonished at their want of spiritual
power. Doubt, and even disbelief of
the testimonies of the Spirit of God,
is leavening our churches everywhere. Satan would have it thus.
I have been shown that the
spirit of the world is fast leavening
the church. You are following the
same path as did ancient Israel.
There is the same falling away from
your holy calling as Gods peculiar
people. You are having fellowship
with the unfruitful works of
darkness. Your concord with
unbelievers has provoked the
Lords displeasure. You know not
the things that belong to your
peace, and they are fast being hid
from your eyes. Your neglect to
follow the light will place you in a

Volume 17, Number 8

more unfavorable position than the

Jews upon whom Christ pronounced a woe.
I have been shown that unbelief in the testimonies has been
steadily increasing as the people
backslide from God. It is all
through our ranks, all over the
field. Ibid., 7576.
The same disobedience and
failure which were seen in the
Jewish church have characterized
in a greater degree the people who
have had this great light from
heaven in the last messages of
warning. Shall we, like them,
squander our opportunities and

with voice and pen the few who,

following in the providence of God,
received the Sabbath reform and
began to proclaim the third angels
message. Many who should have
devoted their time and talents to
the one purpose of sounding
warning to the world, were absorbed in opposing the Sabbath
truth, and in turn, the labor of its
advocates was necessarily spent in
answering these opponents and
defending the truth. Thus the work
was hindered, and the world was
left in darkness. Had the whole
Adventist body united upon the
commandments of God and the

For forty years did unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shut

out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins
have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly
Canaan.
privileges until God shall permit
oppression and persecution to
come upon us? Will the work
which might be performed in peace
and comparative prosperity be left
undone until it must be performed
in days of darkness, under the
pressure of trial and persecution?
Ibid., 456457; see also ibid., 7277,
94, 99, 160, 226, 297, 535, 601.

Our Kadesh-Barnea
Had Adventists, after the great
disappointment in 1844, held fast
their faith, and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of
God, receiving the message of the
third angel and in the power of the
Holy Spirit proclaiming it to the
world, they would have seen the
salvation of God, the Lord would
have wrought mightily with their
efforts, the work would have been
completed, and Christ would have
come ere this to receive His people
to their reward.
But in the period of doubt and
uncertainty that followed the
disappointment, many of the
Advent believers yielded their
faith. Dissensions and divisions
came in. The majority opposed

faith of Jesus, how widely different

would have been our history!
It was not the will of God that
the coming of Christ should be thus
delayed. God did not design that
His people, Israel, should wander
forty years in the wilderness. He
promised to lead them directly to
the land of Canaan, and establish
them there a holy, healthy, happy
people. But those to whom it was
first preached, went not in because
of unbelief. Hebrews 3:19. Their
hearts were filled with murmuring,
rebellion, and hatred, and He could
not fulfill His covenant with them.
For forty years did unbelief,
murmuring, and rebellion shut out
ancient Israel from the land of
Canaan. The same sins have
delayed the entrance of modern
Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In
neither case were the promises of
God at fault. It is the unbelief, the
worldliness, unconsecration, and
strife among the Lords professed
people that have kept us in this
world of sin and sorrow so many
years. Selected Messages, book 1,
6869.
While the heaven-sent message
that began at the Minneapolis

conference in 1888 led the Advent

movement out of the wilderness of
sin to the very borders of the
heavenly Canaan, the rejection of
that message resulted in a retreat
back into the wilderness again. The
movement itself has not gone all
the way back to Egypt or the
world, but like Israel of old has
only retreated toward Egypt. It is
true, however, that many thousands of individual members have
completed the journey all the way
back to the world. Taylor Bunch,
The Exodus and Advent Movements in
Type and Antitype, 113.
An unwillingness to yield up
preconceived opinions, and to

has already begun in the revelation

of the righteousness of Christ, the
sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is
the beginning of the light of the
angel whose glory shall fill the
whole earth. For it is the work of
everyone to whom the message of
warning has come, to lift up Jesus,
to present Him to the world as
revealed in types, as shadowed in
symbols, as manifested in the
revelations of the prophets, as
unveiled in the lessons given to His
disciples and in the wonderful
miracles wrought for the sons of
men. Search the Scriptures; for they
are they that testify of Him. Ibid.,
363.

As the Israelites failed, because their hearts were still in Egypt,

we have failed because our hearts are still in this world. We
have lost our vision of heaven, and a finished work.

accept this truth, lay at the foundation of a large share of the opposition manifested at Minneapolis
against the Lords message through
Brethren [E. J.] Waggoner and [A.
T.] Jones. By exciting that opposition Satan succeeded in shutting
away from our people, in a great
measure, the special power of the
Holy Spirit that God longed to
impart to them. The enemy prevented them from obtaining that
efficiency which might have been
theirs in carrying the truth to the
world, as the apostles proclaimed it
after the day of Pentecost. The light
that is to lighten the whole earth
with its glory was resisted, and by
the action of our own brethren has
been in a great degree kept away
from the world. Selected Messages,
book 1, 234235.

The Proof of Our Rebellion

The fourth angel of Revelation,
chapter 18, came down to join the
third angels movement and swell
it to a loud cry. Listen to God speak
through His prophet:
The time of test is just upon us,
for the loud cry of the third angel

10

This inspired statement was

written in 1892, four years after the
Minneapolis conference. For more
than 100 years the Seventh-day
Adventist Church has been in the
wilderness like Israel, our counterpart. We are spiritual Israel, and
we are still here because we have
defied Gods orders and plans for
His remnant church. We have
responded in rebellion, insubordination, and apostasy. The proof of
our rebellion is seen in the fact that
we are still awaiting the mighty
outpouring of the latter rain.
When the storm of persecution
really breaks upon us, the true
sheep will hear the true Shepherds
voice. Self-denying efforts will be
put forth to save the lost, and many
who have strayed from the fold
will come back to follow the great
Shepherd. The people of God will
draw together, and present to the
enemy a united front. . . . The love
of Christ, the love of our brethren,
will testify to the world that we
have been with Jesus and learned
of Him. Then will the message of
the third angel swell to a loud cry,
and the whole earth will be light-

ened with the glory of the Lord.

Testimonies, vol. 6, 401.
God will soon do great things
for us, if we lie humble and believing at His feet. . . . More than one
thousand will soon be converted in
one day, most of whom will trace
their first convictions to the reading
of our publications. Evangelism,
693.
Like Israel in their wilderness
wanderings, we have increased in
our membership, organization and
material wealth, but we have
miserably failed to complete the
great commission of the three
angels messages to warn the world
of the coming of our Redeemer and
the soon destruction of the world
by fire. As the children of Israel
failed to enter into the Promised
Land at Kadesh-Barnea, we have
also failed. As the Israelites failed,
because their hearts were still in
Egypt, we have failed because our
hearts are still in this world. We
have lost our vision of heaven, and
a finished work.
Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any
man love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. For all that is
in the world, the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father,
but is of the world. And the world
passeth away, and the lust thereof:
but he that doeth the will of God
abideth for ever. 1 John 2:1517.

Like Will Attract Like

What if the church pursues the
same course as that of Israel?
Our compassionate Redeemer,
foreseeing the perils that would
surround His followers at this time,
has given them special warning:
Take heed to yourselves, lest at
any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and
drunkenness, and cares of this life,
and so that day come upon you
unawares. For as a snare shall it
come on all them that dwell on the
face of the whole earth. Watch ye
therefore, and pray always, that ye
may be accounted worthy to escape
all these things that shall come to
pass, and to stand before the Son of

Our Firm Foundation

man. Luke 21:34. If the church

pursues a course similar to that of
the world, they will share the same
fate. Nay, rather, as they have
received greater light, their punishment will be greater than that of
the impenitent.
We as a people profess to have
truth in advance of every other
people upon the earth. Then our
life and character should be in
harmony with such a faith. . . .
Like will attract like. Those
who are drinking from the same
fountain of blessing will draw
nearer together. Truth dwelling in
the hearts of believers will lead to
blessed and happy assimilation.
Thus will be answered the prayer
of Christ that His disciples might
be one even as He is one with the
Father. For this oneness every truly
converted heart will be striving.
Testimonies, vol. 5, 100101.
Jesus said, For many are called,
but few are chosen. Matthew
22:14.
Only a few in 1888 accepted the
great message and experienced the
righteousness of Christ by faith.
This is the reason for the long
delay. See ibid., vol. 2, 194.

Wake Up!
God is calling to spiritual Israel
to wake up! Will our people now
hear His call and respond?
Many have for years made no
advancement in knowledge and
true holiness. They are spiritual

dwarfs. Instead of going forward to

perfection, they are going back to
the darkness and bondage of
Egypt. Their minds are not exercised unto godliness and true
holiness.

The end of all things is at hand! Let ministers, leaders, and

laity awake to the great crisis that is coming upon the
unprepared as an overwhelming surprise.

Will the Israel of God awake?

Will all who profess godliness seek
to put away every wrong, to
confess to God every secret sin, and
afflict the soul before Him? Will
they, with great humility, investigate the motives of every action,
and know that the eye of God reads
all, searches out every hidden
thing? Let the work be thorough,
the consecration to God entire. He
calls for a full surrender of all that
we have and are. Ministers and
people need a new conversion, a
transformation of the mind, without which we are not savors of life
unto life, but of death unto death.
Great privileges belong to the
people of God. Great light has been
given them, that they may attain to
their high calling in Christ Jesus;
yet they are not what God would
have them to be and what He
designs they shall be. Ibid., 124.

Back To Our Future

H. A. St. John

The end of all things is at hand!

Let ministers, leaders, and laity
awake to the great crisis that is
coming upon the unprepared as an
overwhelming surprise. See ibid.,
vol. 8, 28.

My heart is filled with anguish

when I think of the tame messages
borne by some of our ministers,
when they have a message of life and
death to bear. The ministers are
asleep; the lay members are asleep;
and a world is perishing in sin. May
God help His people to arouse and
walk and work as men and women
on the borders of the eternal world.
Soon an awful surprise is coming
upon the inhabitants of the world.
Suddenly, with power and great
glory, Christ will come. Then there
will be no time to prepare to meet
Him. Now is the time for us to give
the warning message. Ibid., 37.
Truly, we are responsible for the
delay of Christs return, and it is up
to us to decide how soon we shall
enter the Promised Land.
May God help His beloved
church in this great crisis is my
prayer. !

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Volume 17, Number 8

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11

The Christless Religion

wish you could have seen it. The

way those heads swiveled
around toward me, and the way
the wide-open eyes stared at me,
was a moment worth remembering! It happened in a classroom at
the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews
University. After twenty years in
the ministry, I had returned to
work toward my doctoral degree.
Thus, I was that much older than
most of my classmates, who had
just finished college.
As I went from class to class, I
was first astonished and then
displeased by the frequency with
which I heard these young,
inexperienced ministerial students make uncomplimentary
references to those old Adventist
legalists out there in the
churches. There came a day
when I had had enough. I raised
my hand, and when the professor
recognized me I said,
I would just like to say that I
have been ministering to the
Seventh-day Adventist people for
twenty years, and I have never yet
met a legalist among them.

12

Larson

That is what caused the startled

reaction described above. The
professor made a brief comment
about the definition of terms, and
went on with his lecture. One of the
students talked to me afterward,
and left me with the strong impression that there was indeed a need
for a definition of terms. What,
really, is a legalist? I felt that some of
my young classmates did not have
a clue.
I was, of course, familiar with
the term legalist. I had seen and
heard it, countless times, hurled at
our people by the enemies of our
faith. Their reasoning was as
simple as it was senseless. Anyone
who observed the seventh-day Sabbath
was a legalist. Never mind that Jesus
was a Sabbathkeeper, as were the
apostles and the New Testament
Christians. Never mind that the
Old Testament prophets and all of
Gods sincere people of that time
were Sabbathkeepers. They said
things were somehow different
now. In our time, one could, and
should, faithfully observe all of the
Ten Commandmentsexcept the
Sabbath commandment. To observe

the fourth commandment was to be

a cursed legalist, an offense to God.
I had seen much of this strange
reasoning, and wondered if some
of my classmates had been deceived by it.
I gradually learned that theirs
was a greater problem. They were
taking a dim view of obedience to
any and all of the Ten Commandments. They were uncomfortable
with the very word obedience, or
with any preaching about Gods
law. Just love the Lord and let it all
hang out. That was their credo. To
exalt Gods Ten Commandments,
or any other of His requirements,
was legalism. We must face the fact
that this attitude is widespread in
the church today. The scornful,
disparaging term legalist is being
thrown around by people, and
even ministers, who, I am convinced, have no idea what it means.

Inspired Definitions
So, let us go to the inspired
writings for some definitions
beginning with The Desire of Ages,
280: A legal religion can never
lead souls to Christ; for it is a

Our Firm Foundation

Photo: PhotoDisc

Ralph

loveless, Christless religion. (All

emphasis supplied unless otherwise noted.)
Do not pass by this definition
too quickly. What does it really
mean? Just what part does Christ
play in the experience of a true
Christian?
The true Christian looks to
Christ for strength and power to do
His will, and for grace and forgiveness for his shortcomings and
mistakes. His is by no means a
Christless religion. Christ is the
center of his being. He can say with
the Apostle Paul: I am crucified
with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me: and
the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself
for me. Galatians 2:20.
The opposite of this experience
would be the Christless religion
that of a person who looks at Gods
law and decides that it is all that he
needs. He thinks that he can readily
keep the law in his own strength.
He may even think that he has
always kept the law, like the rich
young ruler who said to Christ,
All these things have I kept from
my youth up. Matthew 19:20.
Such a person feels no need of
Christ for either strength or forgiveness. Such a person is hopelessly out of touch with reality. He
fails to recognize the enormous
difference between Gods righteousness and the righteousness of
any human being, even the most
saintly. He needs to give heed to
some more inspired definitions:
Priests and rulers . . . were
satisfied with a legal religion. . . .
They thought their own righteousness
all-sufficient. The Acts of the
Apostles, 15.
They entertain ideas that men
may be saved by their own merit. A
false religion has come in among
us, a legal religion. Manuscript
Releases, vol. 11, 230.
He who is trying to reach
heaven by his own works in keeping
the law is attempting an impossibility. There is no safety for one who
has merely a legal religion, a form
of godliness. The Desire of Ages,
172.

Volume 17, Number 8

Repentance for sin alone

cannot work the salvation of any
soul. Man cannot be saved by his own
works. Without Christ it is impossible
for him to render perfect obedience to
the law of God; and heaven can
never be gained by an imperfect
obedience; for this would place all
heaven in jeopardy, and make
possible a second rebellion. Signs
of the Times, December 30, 1889.
The Lord is not pleased to have
man trusting in his own ability or
good deeds or in a legal religion, but
in God, the living God. The Ellen
G. White 1888 Materials, 375.

to work their way to heaven by

their own righteousness. Isaiah
testified of them in his day: But
we are all as an unclean thing, and
all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags; and we all do fade as a leaf;
and our iniquities, like the wind,
have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6.
The Jewish leaders of Christs
day had this legal, Christless
religion, trying to earn their way to
heaven by their works. They were
fully confident that they could do
it. They felt no need of either Christ
or His righteousness. The apostle
Paul was much like them until he

A legalist . . . fails to recognize that his performance would

have to be absolutely flawless from birth to death in order to
have any weight in the scales of heaven.

Our own works can never

purchase salvation. The Desire of
Ages, 280.
More could be added, but
surely this is enough to establish
the basic facts: A legal religion is a
religion in which there is no Christ.
A legalist is a person who practices
this Christless religion, thinking
that he needs neither forgiveness
from Christ nor the enabling power
of Christ. He fails to recognize that
his performance would have to be
absolutely flawless from birth to
death in order to have any weight
in the scales of heaven. The utter
impossibility of this has been
plainly pointed out by Gods
messenger.
And I would say again, as I said
to the class at the Theological
Seminary, I have never met a
member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church who could be so
described. Not one of my Adventist
acquaintances would claim to hold
any concept at all of going to the
kingdom of God on his ownwith
no help from Jesus Christ.

As Filthy Rags
The Bible, of course, provides
many examples of persons who
were in this tragic condition, trying

was confronted by Christ on the

road to Damascus. Their
righteousnesses were indeed like
filthy rags, as Isaiah had said.
Some people find this a little
hard to take. They accept the fact
that their sins are as filthy rags, but
surely not their righteousnesses.
What about their kindness to their
neighbors, their sincere and fervent
prayers, their selfless devotion to
service to God? Are these all filthy
rags?
Yes, by comparison.
By comparison with what? Let
Gods messenger answer: They
had been trusting in their own
righteousness. Now they saw it as
filthy rags, in comparison with the
righteousness of Christ, which is
alone acceptable to God. The Ellen
G. White 1888 Materials, 268.
Stop and think for a moment.
Are we ready to say that our
experience or performance, on any
point, is equal to that of Christ?
Consider, for example, our spirit of
forgiveness. How would it compare with that of Christ, who
actually prayed for the Father to
forgive those who were nailing
Him to His cross? We have to
recognize that this is so far above
and beyond anything we, of

13

ourselves, can do that there is

really no comparison. Yet, we must
have this spirit of forgiveness in
order to qualify for a place in the
kingdom of God. The same would
apply to any other aspect of our
Christian experience. Our righteousness must be equal to the righteousness
of Christ. That is the only righteousness that God will accept. How can
we ever hope to have such righteousness?

in which he argues that Christians

sin because God wants them to sin.
According to him, God is too wise
to let Christians have complete
victory over sin. He and his followers would, of course, denounce any
effort to be victorious over sin as
legalism.
We cannot deny that the strange
reasoning of these sin-loving
Christians is creeping into our
church. That is why some members

The same identical action can be either legalistic or an act of

true faith and obedience, depending on the attitude of the
heart.

The Way of Obedience

Do not despair. There is a way,
but only one way. We can receive it
as a free gift from Jesus Christ
when we accept Him and obey
Him. Put these two scriptures
together:
Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
Acts 16:31.
He became the author of
eternal salvation unto all them that
obey him. Hebrews 5:9.
The word obey as in the
above scripture is an offense to
many of the Christians of our time.
They bristle and cry, Legalism at
any mention of the principle of
obedience, or of the law of God. To
such persons even our efforts to
strengthen our faith are considered
to be an element of legalism.
Consider these words by theologian Neal Punt in his book, Unconditional Good News, 137: As paradoxical as it may seem, imperfect
faith is evidence of our union with
Jesus Christ.
Imperfect faith goes with
imperfect conduct. This is very
close to saying that some sin in our
lives is evidence of our union with
Christ. There can be great confusion on this point. I have in my
possession a paper written by a
Seventh-day Adventist theologian

14

and even some ministers do not

hesitate to hurl the epithet legalist at those of us who still believe
in the principle of obedience as
expressed by Jesus in the words, If
ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15), and echoed by
the apostle John: This is the love
of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are
not grievous (1 John 5:3).

An Attitude Problem
Those ministers and church
members who are so quick to hurl
the epithet legalist at those of us
who still believe in the principle of
obedience are making clear their
ignorance of an important truth,
that legalism is not an action; it is an
attitude. The same identical action
can be either legalistic or an act of
true faith and obedience, depending on the attitude of the heart.
Paul makes this clear in what he
calls an allegory of Hagar and
Sarah in the fourth chapter of
Galatians. He refers to the birth of
Ishmael to Hagar, and of Isaac to
Sarah, and describes the first
experience (of Hagar) as legalism
and the second (of Sarah) as faith.
But we must delicately and
chastely ask, Was the action of
Abraham that resulted in the birth
of Ishmael any different than the
action of Abraham that resulted in

the birth of Isaac?Of course not.

His action was identical in both
cases. Why, then, was one legalism
and the other faith?Because of
the different attitudes in
Abrahams heart. In the case of
Hagar, Abraham was relying on his
own ability. There was no faith
needed or exercised. In the case of
Sarah, he was relying on the
promise of God, knowing full well
that what he was attempting was
impossible in human ability. Thus,
Paul makes it clear that legalism is
not an action; it is an attitude of the
heart.
This leads to a very important
question: What human being is able to
read the attitudes of the heart?
Obviously none. Only God can
read the heart. So, who is qualified
to judge legalism?Obviously,
only God.
Let us not overlook, however,
an aspect of legalism that is even
more deceptive than the selfsufficient attitude of the Pharisee.
Consider the person who openly
acknowledges his need of Christs
righteousness, yet he is drawn
away by the temptations and
pressures of this world. He does
not make it his first priority to
obtain and maintain a living
connection with Christ, and thus,
he fails to truly live by faith. We are
clearly warned of this attitude of
neglect:
The spirit of bondage is
engendered by seeking to live in
accordance with legal religion,
through striving to fulfill the claims
of the law in our own strength. There
is hope for us only as we come
under the Abrahamic covenant,
which is the covenant of grace by
faith in Christ Jesus. The Seventhday Adventist Bible Commentary, vol.
6, 1077.
Those who have not a daily
experience in the things of God will
not move wisely. They may have a
legal religion, a form of godliness,
there may be an appearance of light
in the church; all the machinery
much of it human inventionmay
appear to be working well, and yet
the church may be as destitute of the
grace of God as were the hills of

Our Firm Foundation

Gilboa of dew and rain. Review

and Herald, January 31, 1893; see
also Testimonies, vol. 6, 417418.
Ministers preaching present
truth will assent to the necessity of
the influence of the Spirit of God in
the conviction of sin and the
conversion of souls, and this
influence must attend the preaching of the Word, but they do not feel
its importance sufficiently to have a
deep and practical knowledge of the
same. The scantiness of the grace
and power of the divine influence
of the truth upon their own hearts
prevents them from discerning
spiritual things and from presenting its positive necessity upon the
church. So they go crippling along,
dwarfed in religious growth,
because they have in their ministry
a legal religion. The power of the
grace of God is not felt to be a living,
effectual necessity, an abiding principle. Selected Messages, book 3,
189.
What is God looking for?
God has given us the rule of
conduct which every one of His
servants must follow. It is obedience to His law, not merely a legal
obedience, but an obedience which
enters into the life, and is exemplified
in the character. The Desire of Ages,
523.
There is no safety for any soul
who has merely a legal religion, a
form of godliness, a round of
ceremonial exactions. To attend
services on the Sabbath, to pray
occasionally or regularly, makes no
one a Christian. The important thing
is to become united to Christ, to believe
in Christ as a personal Saviour, to live
by faith in the Son of God. Signs of
the Times, September 26, 1892.

through lust. Therefore its maxims

are to be studied, its commands
obeyed, its principles, which are
more precious than gold, brought

It was not necessary to explain to an unfallen angel that if you

loved your neighbor you would not steal from him, or lie to
him, or covet his goods, and so on. Unfallen beings needed no
such instruction.
into the daily life. Loma Linda
Messages, 257.
Some will ask, Why do Christians need law? Why isnt it good
enough to just love the Lord and let
it all hang out?
The answer is simple and clear.
It is because of our fallen human
nature. It was not always so. Before
sin entered the picture, and the Fall
of man occurred, such details of
law as we have in the Ten Commandments were not needed. It
was not necessary to explain to an
unfallen angel that if you loved
your neighbor you would not steal
from him, or lie to him, or covet his
goods, and so on. Unfallen beings
needed no such instruction. The
principle of love was enough for
them. Ellen White writes:
But in heaven, service is not
rendered in the spirit of legality.
When Satan rebelled against the
law of Jehovah, the thought that
there was a law came to the angels
almost as an awakening to something
unthought of. In their ministry the
angels are not as servants, but as
sons. . . . Obedience is to them no

echoed, I delight to do thy will, O

my God: yea, thy law is within my
heart. Psalm 40:8. Maranatha, 79.
A final comment on the great
confusion that fills the minds of the
modern Christians who define
obedience to Gods law as legalism, and the misguided Seventhday Adventists who are following
them: They are grossly contradicting
and violating what their own churches
profess.
Francis D. Nichol, in his wellknown book Reasons For Our Faith,
has a chapter entitled The Law of
God in Church Creeds. Here he
presents portions of seventeen
major church creeds, all of which
strongly affirm the principle of
obedience to Gods law as the duty
of faith for all Christians. Six of
them contain a clear declaration
that this principle is not contrary to
the grace of the gospel but complies with that grace.
So, let us not be disturbed by
those who recklessly throw around
the word legalist, and let us take
our stand with Jesus who said:
Thy law is within my heart. !

Pathways to Health and Happiness

Thy Law Is Within My Heart

Therefore, let us give heed to
the counsel of Gods messenger:
Both Old and New Testament
Scriptures teach the principle of
obedience to the commandments of
God as the terms of securing that
life which measures with the life of
God; for it is through obedience that
we become partakers of the divine
nature, and learn to escape the
corruptions that are in the world

drudgery. Love for God makes

their service a joy. So in every soul
wherein Christthe hope of
glorydwells, His words are re-

Ellen G. White
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Volume 17, Number 8

15

Throughout this earths history, God has entrusted to His people the
task of bearing witness to all the sad, lonely, angry, sick, hurting people
of this world. What are Gods methods for this endeavor, and how can
we better fulfill the mission we have been given? Let us strive to live
for Him and to share His goodness with everyone we see each day.

Bible Marking
Sanctify the Lord God in your
hearts: and be ready always to give
an answer to every man that asketh
you a reason of the hope that is in
you with meekness and fear.
1 Peter 3:15. We need to be able to
give an answer for our faith.
Marking your Bible can give you
the edge you need. It takes work,
but the rewards are worth all the
effort.
We pray that you will be blessed
by these studies. As you mark them,
may you be encouraged to spend
more time in Gods Word and to
search out the hidden things of
God. Always be sure to look for
opportunities to share them with
others.
The Editors

Photo: Corbis

Bible Marking Directions

16

On a blank page in the front

or back of your Bible, write the
study title, the code, and the first
reference. This months entry
would appear as follows:
Children of Promise,
CP1: Deuteronomy 7:68.
Turn to the first verse and
write the comment (if you wish
to use the comments), and the
next reference in the margin near
it. If the comment is long, you
can write it at the top or bottom
of the page, with an asterisk or
the code of the study to refer you
to it.
Turn to the next text and repeat the process until you reach
the end. Beside the last text,
write End CP.
Go through the study to
check for broken links.
Share the study with others!

Children of Promise
Code: CP
CP1: Deuteronomy 7:68.
In choosing Israel, the fewest people, God had a plan.
CP2: Isaiah 43:910.
He intended that His people would be a light to the rest of the world.
CP3: Exodus 19:46.
By following Gods directions, Israel was to become a wonderful
witness of His power and His grace.
CP4: Nehemiah 1:89.
When the Israelites strayed into disobedience, God gave them a choice,
to either return to Him or be scattered among the heathen.
CP5: Daniel 9:56, 1012.
After long patienceeagerly awaiting the repentance of His people that
He might gather them back to HimselfGod finally allowed them to be
taken into Babylonian captivity.
CP6: 2 Chronicles 6:3739.
When Israel repentedconfessing and turning from their sinsGod
permitted them to return to their own land.
CP7: Daniel 9:24.
God gave Israel 490 years to demonstrate their change of heart and
willingness to obey Him.
CP8: Daniel 9:2627; see also Matthew 23:3624:2.
Because they returned to their former ways, God told them that Jerusalem and their temple would be left desolate.
CP9: Matthew 21:43.
Jesus sadly told the wayward people of God that the kingdom would
be taken away from them and given to others who would bear His
fruits.
CP10: 1 Peter 2:710.
Peter tells us to whom the kingdom has now been given.
CP11: Romans 9:8.
Paul clearly defines who are now the children of the promise.
CP12: Galatians 3:2829.
What a privilege and opportunity we have been given!
CP13: 1 John 5:34.
If we love God, we will, by faith, overcome in every area of our lives,
and then our witness of Gods power and His grace will be more
effective. !

Our Firm Foundation

It Is High Time to Awake!

Bill

Illustration: Joe Maniscalco; Hourglass Photo: PhotoDisc

nowing the time, that now it is

high time to awake out of
sleep: for now is our salvation
nearer than when we believed.
Romans 13:11. (All emphasis supplied unless otherwise noted.)
God, in His mercy, is sending
wake up calls to His people. Yes, we
see some movement here and there,
but it appears as if life continues on
as usual. Nonetheless, God calls
for a spiritual revival and a spiritual
reformation. Review and Herald,
February 25, 1902.
Satan always presents the
counterfeit when he sees that the
genuine is about to occur. Is it
possible that a genuine revival is
about to occur, since we see a false
revival being stirred not only in
Babylon but also in the Seventhday Adventist Church? It seems
that people are being told that all
they have to do is to become
justified and love othersthat
sanctification is not a condition of
salvation. The celebration movement, with its uncouth music, is
spreading rapidly. Every wind of
doctrine is blowing, and worldliness is creeping within our beloved
church. All this is false revival, and
oh, how Satan is pleased!

Volume 17, Number 8

Humeniuk

But, before the final visitation

of Gods judgments upon the earth
there will be among the people of
the Lord such a revival of primitive
godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. The
Great Controversy, 464. Yes, a
revival will occur just before
probation closes and the seven last
plagues are poured out.
Let us explore, through the
Spirit of Prophecy, approximately
when this revival is supposed to
begin. When we as a people
understand what this book [Revelation] means to us, there will be seen
among us a great revival. Testimonies to Ministers, 113.
When the books of Daniel and
Revelation are better understood,
believers will have an entirely
different religious experience.
Ibid., 114.
The truths of this book [Revelation] are addressed to those
living in these last days. . . . We are
nearing the time when the prophecies of the book of Revelation are to
be fulfilled. Ibid., 113.
As we near the close of this
worlds history, the prophecies
relating to the last days especially
demand our study. The last book of

the New Testament Scriptures is

full of truth that we need to understand. Ibid., 116.
Notice the word demand. The
Holy Spirit is gently demanding us
to study last-day prophecies for
our good!
God, through His servant, has
revealed something to us in the
preceding quotes about the book of
Revelation. We must seriously
begin studying that book so that
we may understand the truths
revealed therein, which will begin a
revival and develop a different
religious experience among Gods
people by reflecting the character
of Jesus Christ, so Jesus can come.
See Christs Object Lessons, 69.
My dear people, what are we
waiting for? How many of us still
sit down, with the TV and the
computer turned off, and begin
searching into what God requires of
us for preparation in this crisis
hour?
Though no man knoweth the
day nor the hour of His coming, we
are instructed and required to know
when it is near. We are further
taught that to disregard His
warning, and refuse or neglect to
know when His advent is near, will

17

be as fatal for us as it was for those

who lived in the days of Noah.
The Great Controversy, 371. Then the
servant of the Lord said, show the
people where we are in prophetic
history. Testimonies, vol. 5, 716.
Do you understand the significance of these statements, that we
are instructed and required to know?
God, in His gracious, loving, and
merciful way has pulled out all the

fall on your knees and plead with

God, then understanding and
preparation will be revealed. God
is anxious to give eyesalve to His
people (see Revelation 3:18) that we
may understand and behold Jesus,
for the very first verse of the
Apocalypse indicates that it is the
Revelation of Jesus Christ to the
last generation, for the last crisis, in
these last days.

I believe that God is calling our attention to where we are in

time, and that it is time for us to pay attention, wake up, and
prepare for a revival and reformation.

stops in warning His people, then,

through the servant of the Lord, He
is begging us, Listen to Me, you
are required to know when My
coming is near if you desire salvation. Do you really desire salvation? Are you hungering and
thirsting for eternity? If so, you are
required to know when His coming
is nearand oh, what a revival and
reformation will follow! Then we
will be truly looking for and
hasting unto the coming of the day
of God! 2 Peter 3:12.
Prophecy, as revealed by Jesus,
shows us the past, present, and
future. As we studyearnestly and
prayerfullywe will understand
where we are in prophetic history.
If you lose confidence in the
Testimonies you will drift away
from Bible truth. Ibid., 674. Oh,
may we, in this crisis hour, cling to
the Bible and the Testimonies, for
they will strengthen us in faith and
purpose for the final conflict, the
loud cry, the close of probation, the
time of trouble, the coming of the
Lord, and finally, translation!

We Need Divine Wisdom

Revelation 17:9 says, Here is
the mind which hath wisdom. We
desperately need wisdom. Daniel
12:10 also states, The wise shall
understand. If you would truly
seek understanding and wisdom
regarding Revelation and Daniel,

18

Before we continue on, please

pray in a special way for the
wisdom that is from above [which] is
first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
and easy to be entreated, full of
mercy and good fruits, without
partiality, and without hypocrisy.
James 3:17. Please read also verses
1316 for a deeper understanding
of verse 17.
I believe that God is calling
our attention to where we are in
time, and that it is time for us to
pay attention, wake up, and
prepare for a revival and reformation.
As you read this article, please
use your Bible. This article is not
designed for a casual reader; it is
designed to awaken Gods people
to prepare now for the end-time
crises and for translation, to show
where we are in time, and then for
you to study it for yourself in
greater detail.

Revelation 17
Now, let us begin our study on
one part of the book of Revelationchapter 17which distinctly
reveals to us how close we are to
the end. This chapter depicts a
worldwide religious/political
union, and in particular the woman
(false church) sitting on a scarlet
beast, decked out with the world,
full of filthiness and abominations
of erroneous doctrines, the mother

of harlots, the mystery of Babylon.

Read also 2 Thessalonians 2:29
and see who this mysterious
woman isthat Wicked, mystery of iniquity. Revelation 17:7
talks about the mystery of the
woman and the beast that
carrieth her. But verses 811 begin
to identify that mystery.
Notice, as God reveals to us,
step-by-step, the chain of events
that leads to the coming of Jesus
Christ. The woman (Babylon, the
false church) is riding the beast
with seven heads, which are
seven mountains and seven kings.
Verse 18 reveals to us that this
woman (a spiritual power) is
controlling the heads (political
powers), revealing how worldly
governments have always been
dominated by the false worship of
gods, images, and the heavenly
bodiesespecially in Babylon and
now papal Rome.
Verse 8 has perplexed many
Bible students by stating, The
beast that thou sawest was, and is
not; and shall ascend out of the
bottomless pit. . . . behold the beast
that was, and is not, and yet is. It
mentions the world wondering at
such changes occurring in this
beast.
Since verses 9 and 10 identify
the seven heads as seven mountains and seven kings, we now
have something to work with. Since
Revelation reveals to this last
generation what has already
transpired, what is occurring, and
what is about to occur, we need to
march through history and identify
the five fallen kings, the one that is,
and the other that is not yet come,
but when he cometh, he must
continue a short space. The
prophetic chart on page 20 will assist
us in following these seven kings,
including the five fallen ones.

The Five Fallen Kings/Beasts

How can we know who the first
five kings are? Turn to Daniel 2:36
41. Here Daniel sees an image,
which represents four kingdoms.
Then, in chapter 7, verses 28,
Daniel refers to four beasts, which
verse 17 clarifies to be four kings.

Our Firm Foundation

Daniel 8:38, 2021 identify the

ram to be Media and Persia [MedoPersia], and the goat to be Grecia
[Greece]. By this time, Babylon is
fallen and gone.
Now, going back to the chart,
who is the first king? Daniel 2:37
states that God identifies Babylon
as the first king, which rose to
power in 605 B.C. Then we see
Medo-Persia rise to power in 538
B.C., and Greece in 331 B.C. These
are clearly identified in Daniel,
chapters 2, 7, and 8. We quickly see
three kings (and kingdoms) that
came and went.
The fourth beast, pagan Rome
a beast as strong as iron (see Daniel
2:40), and dreadful, with great iron
teeth, (see Daniel 7:7)rises to
power in 168 B.C. We do not have
space here to discuss the little horn
power of chapters 7 and 8; however, we see it rise to power. Daniel
7:24 identifies horns as kings,
political powers; but it says this
little horn will be diverse from the
others. Why?Verse 25 says he
will speak against the most High,
and think to change times and
laws, identifying this little horn as
a political/religious powerpapal
Rome.
In A.D. 538, the Heruli, Vandals,
and Ostrogoths were all subdued
and uprooted, leaving the Papacy
in total control and unopposed by
any political or religious power for
1260 years (the Dark Ages) until
A.D. 1798, when the time of the end
began.

The Sixth King/Beast

In 1798, General Berthier of
France took the pope captive,
where he died, thus receiving the
deadly wound of Revelation 13:3.
This action of France also fulfilled
Daniel 11:40, as atheism (the king
of the south) overran papal Rome
(the king of the north) and briefly
rose to power. Atheism is also the
beast that shall ascend from the
bottomless pit in Revelation 17:8.
The servant of the Lord confirms
this in The Great Controversy, 268
269:
The period when the two
witnesses [of Revelation 11:3] were

Volume 17, Number 8

to prophesy clothed in sackcloth,

ended in 1798. As they were
approaching the termination of
their work in obscurity, war was to
be made upon them by the power
represented as the beast that
ascendeth out of the bottomless
pit. Revelation 11:7. In many of the
nations of Europe the powers that
ruled in church and state had for

worship; now divine honors were

paid to the vilest objects. The work
which the Papacy had begun,
atheism completed. The one withheld from the people the truths of
the Bible; the other taught them to
reject both the Bible and its Author.
The seed sown by priests and
prelates was yielding its evil fruit.
Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 192.

In 1798, we have the fall of Romethe fifth beast, the beast

that was (Revelation 17:8), and atheism, under France, rising
to power, making it the sixth beast or king.

centuries been controlled by Satan

through the medium of the Papacy.
But here is brought to view a new
manifestation of satanic power. . . .
Another powerthe beast from
the bottomless pitwas to arise to
make open, avowed war upon the
Word of God. . . .
This is atheism, and the nation
represented by Egypt would give
voice to a similar denial of the
claims of the living God and would
manifest a like spirit of unbelief
and defiance. . . .
A little before the year 1798
some power of satanic origin and
character would rise to make war
upon the Bible. And in the land
where the testimony of Gods two
witnesses should thus be silenced,
there would be manifest the
atheism of the Pharaoh and the
licentiousness of Sodom.
This prophecy has received a
most exact and striking fulfillment
in the history of France.
Notice that the Holy Spirit
revealed a Satanic power rising
around 1798. Atheism, under
France, was that power. For much
more detail, please read the chapter
entitled The Bible and the French
Revolution in The Great Controversy, 265288.
The same master spirit that
urged on the Massacre of St.
Bartholomew, led also in the scenes
of the French Revolution. . . .
Romanism had enjoined image

There you have it with no

speculation or surmising. In 1798,
we have the fall of Romethe fifth
beast, the beast that was (Revelation 17:8), and atheism, under
France, rising to power, making it
the sixth beast or king.

The Seventh King/Beast

Also, remember, another nation
was in its infancy in 1776. The
United States was beginning to rise
in power. This nation is described
more fully in Revelation 13, which
we will not dwell upon in this
study.
Though France waned in power,
atheism continued to live. Communism rose to great power around
the world, especially in the former
U.S.S.R., suppressing the Bible and
the existence of religion as a whole
by severe persecution. In this way
atheismthe sixth beastwas still
a contending power.

The Rise of the Eighth Beast

Behind the scenes was the
Papacythe beast that was
(because of the deadly wound it
received in 1798), and is not
(because it was weakened politically and religiously). This beast
was recovering slowly. A new pope
was elected and continued to
progress. In 1929, Mussolini
restored the property that had been
taken away from the Roman
Catholic Church. Vatican City was

19

20

Her former persecutions will

be repeated. The Great Controversy,
581.
That gigantic system of false
religion [the Papacy] is a masterpiece of Satans power. Ibid., 50.
Do you see all this happening
right before your eyes? Revelation
17:12 is being fulfilled right before
our eyes; even now the United
Nationsenabled by the military
power of the United Statesis
working to unite all nations under
one world order. Revelation 17:13
states, These have one mind, and
shall give their power and strength
unto the beast. See also Selected
Messages, book 3, 392393. Yes, the
eighth beast is reviving rapidly,
and the whole prophecy will soon
be fulfilled. The United States of
America, which has been a lamb for
two centuries, is now beginning to
sound like a dragon, and will soon
enforce the decrees of the Papacy.
God has revealed what is to
take place in the last days, that His
people may be prepared. Testimonies,
vol. 5, 452.
I believe we shall soon see
events occurring. Yea, they have
begun with September 11, 2001
when we were attacked by terroristsand with the more recent
developments in Israel and Palestine. These events could quickly be

followed by a financial collapse or

crisis (Ibid., vol. 9, 13); national
disasters (The Great Controversy,
590; Maranatha, 176, 216); and/or
moral corruption (The Great Controversy, 587).
Oh, how we as a people should
study the books of Daniel and
Revelation. Then we would hasten
a revival and reformation that
would bring upon us an entirely
different religious experience, and
prepare us for the final days and
the coming of our Lord. What do
you say?
Because the events are upon us,
let us arise and support the gospel
work. Money will soon depreciate
(see Evangelism, 63), and hoarded
wealth will be worthless (see
Review and Herald, March 21, 1878).
Lay your property on the altar (see
Early Writings, 57); loose every
encumbrance (see ibid., 50, 57).
It is time! Let us awake, and arise
to action! Revelation, chapter 17, is
literally being fulfilled before our
eyes, which means that if we as a
people will better understand
Revelation, there will be a great
revival. Gods true, remnant people
are studying Daniel and Revelation, and a revival and reformation
is soon to follow. Join me in this
study, and may God stir your
hearts in this final movement. !

Our Firm Foundation

Graphics: Kevin H. Patterson

given political sovereignty, and the

healing process of the Papacys
deadly wound began to accelerate.
As the Papacy was gaining power
politically and religiously, it was
fulfilling the yet is of Revelation 17:8. Today, the Papacy
continues to rise to much greater
heights.
On June 7, 1982, President
Ronald Reagan and Pope John
Paul II combined forces to bring the
downfall of communism (atheism).
This cooperative effort was called
the Holy Alliance by Time
magazine, February 24, 1992. In
1989, the Berlin Wall collapsed and
in 1991, the Communist headquarters in Moscow was abolished.
America now stands as the only
superpowerthe seventh beast that
is to continue for only a short time.
See Revelation 17:10. And, according to Revelation, chapter 13, the
seventh beast (the United States)
will restore complete power to the
eighth beast (the papal power),
which is of the seven (having the
characteristics of the seven previous kingdoms or powers).
The Scriptures teach that
popery is to regain its lost supremacy. Maranatha, 194.
The tyranny of Rome will be
exercised, but Christ is our refuge.
Testimonies to Ministers, 206.

Consecration
and Diligence
in Christian Workers

Illustration: Bob Bresnahan; Color: Kevin H. Patterson

reate in me a clean heart, O

God; and renew a right spirit
within me. Cast me not away
from thy presence; and take not thy
holy spirit from me. Restore unto me
the joy of thy salvation; and uphold
me with thy free spirit. Then will I
teach transgressors thy ways; and
sinners shall be converted unto
thee. Psalm 51:1013.
This is one of the most earnest
and contrite prayers on record, and
the Lords response is, A new
heart also will I give you, and a
new spirit will I put within you.
Ezekiel 36:26.

Volume 17, Number 8

Ellen G. White
Create in me a clean heart.
This is beginning right, at the very
foundation of Christian character;
for out of the heart are the issues of
life. If all, ministers and people,
would see to it that their hearts are
right with God, we should see
much larger results from the labor
put forth. The more important and
responsible your work, the greater
the necessity that you have clean
hearts. The needed grace is provided, and the power of the Holy
Spirit will work with every effort
you make in this direction. If every
child of God would seek Him

earnestly and perseveringly, there

would be a greater growth in grace.
Dissensions would cease; believers
would be of one heart and one
mind; and purity and love would
prevail in the church. By beholding
we become changed. The more you
contemplate the character of Christ,
the more you will become conformed to His image. Come to
Jesus just as you are, and He will
receive you, and put a new song in
your mouth, even praise to God.
Cast me not away from thy
presence; and take not thy holy
spirit from me. Repentance as well

21

as forgiveness is the gift of God

through Christ. It is through the
influence of the Holy Spirit that we
are convinced of sin, and feel our
need of pardon. None but the
contrite are forgiven; but it is the
grace of the Lord that makes the
heart penitent. He is acquainted
with all our weaknesses and
infirmities, and He will help us. He
will hear the prayer of faith; but the
sincerity of prayer can be proved

you associate with the young, and

yet have so little desire for their
salvation? Let them see that you
care for their souls. As far as
possible break down every barrier
that keeps them from Christ. Labor
for them in the desk, and at their
homes. Pray with and for them.
Point them to the Lamb of God that
taketh away the sin of the world,
and urge them to come and be
healed.

Their usefulness does not depend so much on wealth or

learning or power as on a willing mind, their consecration to
Christ and His cause.

only by our efforts to bring ourselves into harmony with the great
moral standard which will test
every mans character. We need to
open our hearts to the influence of
the Spirit, and to experience His
transforming power. The reason
that you do not receive more of the
saving help of God is because the
channel of communication between
Heaven and your own souls is
clogged by worldliness, love of
display, and desire for supremacy.
While some are conforming more
and more to the worlds customs
and maxims, we should be molding
our lives after the divine Model.
And our covenant-keeping God
will restore unto us the joys of His
salvation, and uphold us by His
free Spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors
thy ways, and sinners shall be
converted unto thee. The nearer
we live to God, the more we shall
be able to accomplish for our fellow
men; for the Lord will work with
our efforts. Your hearts are too cold
and unimpressible; they should be
all aglow with the love of Jesus.
While hungering and thirsting for
salvation yourselves, you will have
a longing desire to aid in saving
precious souls; and your humble,
pathetic appeals to those out of
Christ will move hearts. How can

22

The Secret of Usefulness

Let labor for souls become a
part of your life. Go to the homes of
those even who manifest no
interest. While mercys sweet voice
invites the sinner, work with every
energy of heart and brain, as did
Paul, who ceased not to warn
every one night and day with
tears. Acts 20:31. In the day of
God, how many will confront us,
and say, I am lost! I am lost! And
you never warned me; you never
entreated me to come to Jesus. Had
I believed as you did, I would have
followed every judgment-bound
soul within my reach with prayers
and tears and warnings.
Ministers, teach the people how
to work. Tell them that their
usefulness does not depend so
much on wealth or learning or
power as on a willing mind, their
consecration to Christ and His
cause. In times past God has used
humble men, and because of their
faith and devotion they have often
accomplished more than many
more pretentious laborers. They
realized their weakness and
dependence upon God; and by
letters, by tracts, by personal efforts
in appeals and warnings, by a wellordered life and godly conversation, they turned many from error

to truth, from the path of transgression to obedience to Gods law. The

mighty power of grace worked
with them, and success attended
their efforts. God hath chosen the
weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
and base things of the world, and
things which are despised, hath
God chosen, yea, and things which
are not, to bring to nought things
that are: that no flesh should glory
in his presence. 1 Corinthians
1:2729.
Two men start out to labor in
the cause of God. One has had
every advantage of education. His
mind is cultivated; his powers are
developed, and he is prepared to
become an efficient worker. But we
look in vain to see the good results
of all the advantages he has enjoyed. Instead of increasing his
usefulness, his education fosters a
feeling of power and self-importance; he esteems himself above his
less fortunate brethren. He does not
continue to store his mind with
useful knowledge, to fit himself for
greater responsibilities. While he
boasts of learning, he does not
labor to the utmost of his ability,
with an eye single to the glory of
God. The other has good natural
abilities, but a limited education.
He is a constant learner in the
school of Christ. The love of Jesus
is in his heart, and he walks
humbly with God. He is unselfish
in thought and purpose, and tries
to do all the good he can. As he
uses the ability he has, his mind
expands. Said the psalmist, The
entrance of thy words giveth light;
it giveth understanding unto the
simple. Psalm 119:130.
The educated man may exalt
himself over his unlearned brother;
but he is like the man in the parable, who hid his talent in the
earth. He has shunned the trouble
and exertion necessary to trade
with his intrusted talent, that he
may be able to return it with
increase; and he will be condemned
as a slothful servant, and dismissed
from the presence of his Lord. But
the one who is faithful in the

Our Firm Foundation

improvement of his talents will

return both principal and interest,
and will hear the well done, good
and faithful servant. Matthew
25:23. The man who blesses society
and makes a success of life, is the
onewhether educated or uneducatedwho uses all his powers in
the service of God and his fellow
men.
In all our churches there are
persons who might be educated
to become workers for Christ. But
there are few who will venture to
go out and labor unselfishly,
trusting all to Jesus. They must
have wages; and even then, if
something offers [presents itself]
that promises greater financial
success, many youth will choose
the worldly employment. They do
not love Christ, and are not
willing to make sacrifices for His
sake.

Need for Self-sacrificing Personal Labor

There is a great work to be done
to warn the world. Let us do what
we can ourselves, and encourage
others to labor. There is certainly a
fault among us, or there would be
more talent developed to unite us
in our efforts for souls. Pray ye
therefore the Lord of the harvest,
that he will send forth labourers
into his harvest. Matthew 9:38.
Have special meetings for the
education of workers. Souls for
whom Christ died are perishing all
around us, and what excuse can we
give that they have never been
warned?
If you would preach fewer
sermons, and do more personal
labor in visiting and praying with
individuals, your ministry would
be more like that of Jesus. We must
have a knowledge of the truth, that
we may be able to meet its wily
opponents; but we have certainly
made a mistake in supposing that
so much depends on long, argumentative discourses. If one part of
your work must be limited, let it be
the discourses; for unless your
sermons are followed by personal
effort, Satan will often catch away

Volume 17, Number 8

the seed of truth sown in the heart,

and the good effect will be lost.
I charge you, Do not do halfhearted work. Some of you who in
the beginning of your ministry
were earnest and persevering have
grown weary of protracted effort
and ceaseless turmoil, and you sigh
for repose, and dream of leisure
and fireside comfort. Some are
greatly overworked, and are
suffering in consequence; and
others, by doing their work negligently, have brought double
burdens upon these unselfish,
thorough, God-fearing workers.

perseveringly, that God may work

in us and by us. In these days of
multiplied popular fables, there is
no way to reach the people only as
God works through our efforts.
Angels are commissioned to be our
helpers. They are passing between
earth and heaven, bearing upward
the record of the doings of all the
children of men.
We can never be saved in
inactivity. The life of Jesus rebukes
every idler. In His strength we may
do much greater and more perfect
work. The promises of God are
rich, and full, and free, and we may

Do mighty strokes for God. There are no compromises to be

made with sin, nor any with timidity and cowardice.

Some are not willing to bear

reproach for Christs sake. Think
what mighty truths God has
entrusted to our keeping, and let
earnest work follow your thoughts.
Do mighty strokes for God. There
are no compromises to be made
with sin, nor any with timidity and
cowardice. The Christian worker
knows no weariness; there is no
drudgery in his Heaven-appointed
work. He enters into the joy of his
Lord in seeing souls emancipated
from the slavery of sin; and this joy
more than repays him for every
self-denial.
Our faith is weak, our sense of
Gods requirements feeble. We
must awake to duty. We must be
endued with power from on high;
we must have a baptism of the
Holy Spirit before we leave this
place. Instead of resting satisfied
with our present attainments, let us
cherish a longing desire that our
unclean lips may be purified, and
touched with a live coal from off
the altar. The words of God to us
must come to the people, not in a
hesitating, doubting manner, but
with earnestness and power. We
must pray more fervently, more

have the power of His salvation

with us. Then, why do we not
believe Him and work for Him? It
is because threads of unbelief are
woven into all the woof [crosswise
threads] of life; but shall we not
now commence to weave in the
precious golden threads of faith?
Remember, This is the victory that
overcometh the world, even our
faith. 1 John 5:4. If clouds hide the
sun from sight, we do not mourn as
though it would never appear
again. Gods dear face of brightness
is not always seen; but we are not
to despond. It is our duty to trust
Him in the darkness, knowing that
His love is changeless. Then, let us
put all our powers into our work;
let us devote our voice and pen to
the service of God, not laboring in
our own strength or to please
ourselves; and we shall see sinners
converted, and God will give us a
rich reward. !
Review and Herald, June 24, 1884.
(Remarks addressed to the ministers assembled in General Conference session at Battle Creek,
Michigan, in their morning meeting
held November 18, 1883.)

23

Unity

24

Covert

As the apostle proceeded with

his epistle, he showed that men, as
to power and success, are nothing,
but that the Lord is everything,
even being all in all. No increase
can result from any mans labor
only as God gives it; and no laborer
can accomplish anything except as
he becomes an instrument in the
Lords hands.
All are to let the mind of Christ
dwell and work in them, and so be
perfectly joined together in one
mind and one judgment. Instead of
an unpleasant, critical spirit, they
are to be so filled with the heavenly
spirit and power that nothing can
resist their work and influence for
the right.
Christ gave the following
promises to those who will labor in
the right spirit: For I will give you
a mouth and wisdom, which all
your adversaries shall not be able
to gainsay nor resist. Luke 21:15.
In the case of Stephen, it was said:
And they [the adversaries] were
not able to resist the wisdom and
the spirit by which he spake. Acts
6:10. If men today will be emptied
of self, and filled with the Spirit, as
Stephen was, they will be moved
by the same power that was
manifested through him.
The same ability will also be
shown in their teaching of Christ,
or in defending the truth. Also their
wisdom in the cause will be as
marked, and their success as great,
as that of this earnest martyr.
But this unity can never exist
until the mind of Christ only,
moves and dwells in the hearts of
all believers. The Lord can be
known only through one mind, and
His will can be wrought only by
one power.
Unity will prevail when the love
that moved Jesus to leave heaven,

and impelled Him in His mission

of salvation, dwells in all hearts.
The unity that shall leaven all
things is that which dwelt in the
Infinite Bosom, and called into
being the universe. The eye that
can behold this unity has that
singleness of vision which fills the
whole body with light. The tongue
that can tell it [this unity] is one
touched with the living coal from
off heavens flaming altar. The faith
that believes it [this unity] is the
faith that abides in the mind of
Christ our Saviour, and passes into
action through the faculties of His
children. The joy that responds to
this theme of glory is that which
emanates from the throne where
righteousness reigns supreme, and
judgment and justice preside
together.
Unity is not manufactured by
efforts, nor produced from resolutions, but is a child born from above,
whose kindred inhabit heaven. Its
goings forth have been of old, and its
continuation will be to everlasting.
Those who shall live eternally must
come into this unity. Division must
cease. Strife must end with all who
will be ready for translation; for
translated ones are going to a place
where there are no divided minds.
Is it not high time for Gods
people to gather together? The
great day of the Lord is fast approaching, and it behooves everyone to seek the Lord that he may be
hid in the time of the coming
storm.
Of course, there can be no
compromises made with error; but
everyone can well afford to surrender his selfishness and bickering,
get rid of his folly, and become one
with the Lord and His people. !
Review and Herald, August 14, 1900.

Our Firm Foundation

Illustration: Gustav Dor; Color: Kevin H. Patterson

esus prayed that His disciples

might be one, even as He and the
Father are one. When this prayer
is fulfilled, the gospel cause will
speedily triumph.
That which, more than anything
else, now stands in the way of this
is selfishnessa desire for preference and first place, or advantage
in things.
Such a spirit manifested by a
person who calls himself a brother
does more to retard the work of
truth than does the opposition of
an avowed enemy.
Christs prayer for believers is
that they may be one in Himthat
the world may believe. Today, the
worlds people fail to believe in
Christ because those who profess
to be His followers fail to reveal
Him. Many non-professors are
looking to see a manifestation of
Christ in the lives of those who
claim to follow Him; but too often
they hear and see that which they
know to be unkind and even
bitterand therefore turn away
discouraged.
In one of his many entreaties for
unity, Paul said: Now I beseech
you, brethren, by the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak
the same thing, and that there be
no divisions among you; but that
ye be perfectly joined together in
the same mind and in the same
judgment. 1 Corinthians 1:10. The
Corinthian church was divided into
factions with reference to the
ministry, giving preference to
different men according to the
estimation that carnal minds placed
upon them. This condition of
things greatly hindered the church
in its work, besides saddening the
hearts of those ministers who were
striving to save sinners, rather than
build up themselves.

William

The Need of a
Spiritual Awakening

Illustration: Bob Bresnahan; Color: Kevin H. Patterson

he words of the apostle Paul

to Timothy, Take heed unto
thyself, and unto the doctrine
(1 Timothy 4:16), may be addressed
to every member of the church of
God. We are not half awake. The
enemy is watching for an opportunity to take Gods standard from
the hands of His people, and place
there his own standard; but they
discern it not. The call comes,
What meanest thou, O sleeper?
arise, call upon thy God. Jonah
1:6. It is high time for us to awake
out of sleep, to cast off the armor of
Satan, and call upon Him who
never slumbers nor sleeps. The
Lord desires men and women to
break their connection with the
enemy, and link up with Christ.
The mistakes of the past have been
enough. Through them minds have
been confused, precious opportunities have been neglected, and time,
which is of more value than gold,
has been wasted. We need now
strong evidence that the Lord is

Volume 17, Number 8

Ellen G. White
with us of a truth. We need to
consecrate ourselves and all we
have to the service of God.
In every church there is need of
a spiritual awakening; for many
who profess to be Christs servants
are obeying the dictates of a natural
heart. They do not the works of
God. They have not a saving faith
in Him whom the Father hath sent.
Oh, if they could only understand
that by their waywardness, their
inconsistency, their half-hearted
service, they are denying their
Redeemer and putting Him to open
shame!
There are many who do not
possess that faith in Christ which
would constitute them lights in the
world. They are satisfied to stand
on a low level. To them the Saviour
says, I counsel thee to buy of me
gold tried in the fire, that thou
mayest be rich; and white raiment,
that thou mayest be clothed, and
that the shame of thy nakedness do
not appear; and anoint thine eyes

with eyesalve, that thou mayest

see. As many as I love, I rebuke
and chasten: be zealous therefore,
and repent. Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear
my voice, and open the door, I will
come in to him, and will sup with
him, and he with me. Revelation
3:1820.
Important events are about to
take place. While the world is
asking in scorn, Where is the
promise of his coming? (2 Peter
3:4), the signs are rapidly fulfilling.
While men are crying, Peace and
safety, sudden destruction is
coming. See 1 Thessalonians 5:3.
The Spirit of God is being withdrawn from the earth, and calamity
is following calamity by land and
by sea. Tempests and earthquakes,
fires and floods, are heard of on
every hand. Only in God can
security be found.
Those whom God has made the
depositaries of sacred truth are to
stand in a pure atmosphere. Few of

25

those who profess to be the people

of God are wearing Christs yoke
and lifting His burdens. Few are
regarded by the heavenly intelligences as laborers together with
God. Many who claim to be Christians have very shadowy ideas of
what the name Christian comprehends.
The kingdom of Christ will
come; but who are laboring to that
end? If those who know the Lords
prayer would try to take in its
meaning and realize its depth and
breadth, the church would be what
God desires it to bethe light of
the world. Men would have less

would lead to entire dependence

on Him and perfect cooperation
with Him.
Christ is followed by the
earnest, the true, the faithful, the
meek, and the pure, while angels
clothed with the panoply of heaven
stand by to guard and enlighten
them, for they are heaven-bound.
But there are those who are often
heard talking doubt and unbelief,
and dwelling upon the terrible
struggles they have had with
infidel feelings. They talk of the
discouraging features of their
experience. This affects their faith
and courage. At times they seem to

Serious defects are seen in the characters of some who join the
church. Those who admit them say, We will first get them into
the church, and then reform them.

desire for form and ceremony; for

they would seek to plant in the
heart those principles that sanctify
the character.
Only when the church is composed of pure, unselfish members,
can it fulfill Gods purpose. Too
much hasty work is done in adding
names to the church roll. Serious
defects are seen in the characters of
some who join the church. Those
who admit them say, We will first
get them into the church, and then
reform them. But this is a mistake.
The very first work to be done is
the work of reform. Pray with
them, talk with them, but do not
allow them to unite with Gods
people in church relationship until
they give decided evidence that the
Spirit of God is working on their
hearts.
Many of those whose names
are registered on the church
books are not Christians. They
have not a genuine experience. If
they were copying their Pattern,
they would pray more and
quarrel less. They would strive to
be laborers together with God.
Their sincere faith in Christ

26

enjoy talking over the arguments of

the infidel, thus strengthening their
unbelief.
What is the reason of this
darkness, this doubt and unbelief?These men are not right
with God, and they are not
dealing honestly and truly with
their own souls. They have
neglected to cultivate personal
piety. They have not separated
themselves from selfishness and
sin. They have failed to study
Christs life of self-denial and
self-sacrifice. They have failed to
imitate His purity and devotion.
The sin which so easily besets
them has been strengthened by
cultivation. By their own negligence they have separated themselves from the company of the
divine Leader, and He is a days
journey in advance of them. For
their associates they have chosen
the indolent, the backsliding, the
unbelieving, the unthankful, the
unholy; and evil angels are their
attendants. What wonder is it that
such are in darkness? What
wonder is it that they are filled
with doubt?

Such persons do not possess a

religion that is pure and undefiled. Their religion is a religion of
circumstances, a religion which
the refining fires will wholly
consume. If those around them
are strong in faith and courage, if
no influence is brought to bear
against them, they are, to all
appearance, strong in the faith.
But let adversity come upon the
cause, let the work drag heavily,
and these souls lose faith, and
hinder instead of helping. When
apostasy and rebellion come, their
voices are not raised in encouragement, saying, The foundation
of God standeth sure, having this
seal, The Lord knoweth them that
are his. 2 Timothy 2:19.
This class should cultivate love
for God and for secret prayer. The
promise is sure, If any man will
do his will, he shall know of the
doctrine. John 7:17. It will not be
received with doubt and hesitancy.
The heart will be filled with an
assurance that will put to flight all
doubt and questioning.
The light that is shining upon us
with ever-increasing brightness
keeps us under obligation to use
every power in Gods service. We
are to grow in grace and in the
knowledge of Jesus Christ, seeking
to find out how we can best glorify
God in the use of our endowments.
It is the duty of every Christian
to vindicate the honor of God by
winning souls to Christ. But where
are the missionaries to answer the
calls that come from all parts of the
world? Only those who place
themselves in Christs school, only
those who are willing to lift His
cross, can be successful missionaries. Men who can be depended on
in the church, who understand its
wants, who strive to keep its
members true to God; men who
pray and keep themselves pure
from the defilement of sin, hating
even the garment spotted by the
flesh; men who do not leave God
out of their reckoningthese are
the men whom God can use. !
Review and Herald, May 21, 1901.

Our Firm Foundation

Photo: PhotoDisc

Another Opinion on the

Current Condition of Christian
Churches
News Item: True Christians, says
radio evangelist Harold Camping,
should not go to church. They
should drop their church memberships, leave their congregations,
and just listen to the radio.
And many of his listeners are
doing what he says. At a conference of some 100 Reformed pastors,
each one reported losing members
because of Mr. Campings teachings.
Mr. Camping, who operates
the Family Radio network, bases
his teaching on his idiosyncratic
end-times theology. Despite his
earlier mistakeshe once proclaimed that the world would end
in 1994he is undaunted in his
millennialist certainty. According
to his allegorical interpretation of
Revelation, he maintains that Satan
has now set up his throne in the
church. This is reflected in the apostasy of churches, bringing judgment
even against faithful congregations.
(All emphasis supplied unless
otherwise noted.)
Does Mr. Camping have a
point? Apostasy does rage in many
churches. Mainline Protestant
denominations have long ago
rejected the authority of Scripture and
have made doctrines such as the
deity of Christ and His resurrection
optional, at best. Even many evangelical and conservative churches
are adjusting their teachings and their
practices to fit the dominant culture,
downplaying doctrine, softening the
Bibles moral demands, and teaching
that the gospel is not necessary to
salvation.

Volume 17, Number 8

At the same time, the moral

failures of so-called Christian
leaders have become a world-wide
scandal. Some Catholic priests are
being exposed as homosexual
abusers of young teenagerswith
the church hierarchy covering up
and enabling their crimes. Gene
Edward Veith, World, April 20,
2002.
End-Time Perspective: Even
among the false prophets of the
churches of Babylon some recognize the fallen condition of these
churches and are not afraid to call
sin by its right name. Yet, many
leaders and laity in the Adventist
church are desperately trying to
change our message emphasis to
make ourselves acceptable to the
evangelical world. We are actually
going to them, asking them to teach
us how to worship God more fully,
and asking them to advise us how
and what to teach our young
people. Is that amazing? We were
called to warn the people and call
them out of Babylon, but now we
are thinking that they are not all
that bad, and even wanting to learn
things from them. The excuse so
often given is that theyre living
up to all the light they have.
Brothers and sisters, let us remember that it is our duty to give them
more light!

Lamb-like Beast Asserts Its

Authority Leading Up to
Fulfilling Its End-Time Role
News Item: Washington, May 4
The Bush administration has
decided to renounce formally any
involvement in a treaty setting up
an international criminal court and
is expected to declare that the
signing of the document by the
Clinton administration is no longer
valid, government officials said
today.
The unsigning of the treaty,
which is expected to be announced
on Monday, will be a decisive

rejection by the Bush White House

of the concept of a permanent
tribunal designed to prosecute
individuals for genocide, crimes
against humanity and other war
crimes.
We think it was a mistake to
have signed it, an administration
official said. We have said we will
not submit it to the Senate for
ratification. The renunciation,
officials said, also means the
United States will not recognize the
courts jurisdiction and will not
submit to any of its orders.
In addition, other officials said,
the United States will simultaneously assert that it will not be
bound by the Vienna Convention
on the Law of Treaties, a 1969 pact
that outlines the obligations of
nations to obey other international
treaties. Neal A. Lewis, The New
York Times On The Web, May 5,
2002.
End-Time Perspective: According
to Revelation, chapter 13, there are
only two powers, not three, who
have worldwide influence and are
exercising authority over all the
earth. Through the U.N., countries
are trying to bring everyone under
their collective authority. But
Scripture points to only two
powers, both deriving their sovereignty and authority from one
source, the dragon. Without
making a value judgment as to the
political correctness of this action
by the Bush administration, we see
the U.S. resisting any encroachment
on its sovereignty and its prerogative to exercise authority as it sees
fit on the earth. When we see
things like this transpiring, it
should strengthen our faith in
Gods Word and His messengers.
Jesus said, And now I have told
you before it come to pass, that,
when it is come to pass, ye might
believe. John 14:29.
Let us look up, for our salvation
is drawing very near! Maranatha. !

27

Ellen G. White

fter King David, in the presence of the men in positions

of responsibility in his
kingdom, had outlined his plans
regarding the building of the
temple, he appealed to them to
cooperate with Solomon in carrying forward this work. Who, he
asked of the assembled multitude,
is willing to consecrate his service
this day unto the LORD?
1 Chronicles 29:5.

Willing Service
The response came not only in
liberal offerings of treasures to
meet the expense of the building,
but also in willing service in the
various lines of Gods work. Hearts
were filled with a desire to return
to the Lord His own, by consecrating to His service all the energies of
mind and body. Those upon whom
had been placed burdens of state,
determined to labor heartily and
unselfishly, using for God the skill
and ability He had given them.
Davids exhortation to Solomon,
and his appeal to the burden
bearers of the nation, should be

28

kept in mind by those who are in

positions of trust in the Lords
cause today. In this our day Gods
people will prosper only so long as
they keep His precepts; and those
who bear responsibilities are called
upon to consecrate their service to the
Lord. Conference officers, church
officers, managers and heads of
departments in our institutions,
laborers in the field at home and
abroadall are to render faithful
service by using their talents
wholly for God. The Lord is not
pleased with halfhearted service.
To Him we owe all that we have
and are.

Implicit Obedience
To all engaged in His service,
the Lord gives wisdom. The
tabernacle to be borne from place
to place in the wilderness, and the
temple at Jerusalem, were built in
accordance with special directions
from God. Throughout the ages,
God has been particular as to the
design and the accomplishment of
His work. In this age, He has given
His people much light and instruc-

continued on page 30...

Our Firm Foundation

Illustration: Bob Bresnahan; Color: Kevin H. Patterson

The Responsibilities
of Burden
Bearers

tion in regard to how His work is

to be carried forwardin an
elevated, refined, conscientious
manner; and He is pleased with
those who in their service carry out
His design. Only those who, feeling
their own inefficiency, obey
implicitly the Lords commands,
can be retained in His service.
Uzzah meddled with the ark,
notwithstanding the plain command of the Lord to regard it with
fear and trembling, and to keep it
sacred. He had to be removed from
the Lords work. God changes not.
Today, He is just as desirous as in
the days of Uzzah that men shall
know His ways, and that they shall
reverence the methods He has
outlined for their guidance. They
are to carry out the plans He has
devised. When men feel that it is
unimportant to obey a Thus saith
the Lord in carrying forward His
work, but that their own plans
should be followed, they thereby
evidence unfitness for any position
of trust in His cause. In every effort
to advance the interests of His
work, we must lose sight of self,
and keep in view Gods glory.
Satans propositions appear to
present great advantages, but they
end in ruin. Over and over again
men have found out by experience
the result of choosing to follow the
plans of men rather than the plans
that God has made for us. Will not
others gain wisdom from their
experience? Let us be afraid of any
plans that are not heaven-born.
Often the professed followers of
Christ are found with hearts
hardened and eyes blinded,
because they do not obey the truth.
Selfish motives and purposes take
possession of the mind. In their
self-confidence they suppose that
their way is the way of wisdom.
They are not particular to follow
exactly the path that God has
marked out. They declare that
circumstances alter cases, and
when Satan tempts them to follow
worldly principles, they yield, and,
making crooked paths for their
feet, they lead others astray. The

Working With
the Lord
Anonymous

Illustration: Bob Bresnahan; Color: Kevin H. Patterson

or some time I had prayed for

a burden for souls, and the
Lord heard and answered.
That precious burden motivated
me in several ways, which, thankfully, left little time for self-indulgence.
I distributed thousands of
dollars of free literature per year
from my own budget; held Bible
studies in my home for nonAdventists I had met on the job;
wrote articles for denominational
magazines and secular newspapers; taught vegetarian cooking
classes; held different church
offices; taught Sabbath School; was
on the rotating schedule for hospitality dinners at church; organized
literature distribution and seminar
advertising for the church; contributed to many ministries; lectured
on health, temperance, and current
threats to spirituality; sent books to
prison inmates or strangers whom
the Lord impressed upon me;
maintained regular supportive
contact with souls wavering in
their commitment to Christ;
attended camp meetings, healthtraining seminars, church leadership conferences and committee

Volume 17, Number 8

meetings; hosted whole groups in

my homeand more. All these
things were potentially saving
someone from eternal destruction, I
reasoned. All these things might
add some souls to the Lords
kingdom for His joy, so I put all my
energies into these activities.
All this, and today I realized
that I am a lost soul. Me, the Lords
laborer for the harvest, lost!
Heavens gates will be justifiably closed in my face. Jesus will
reject me when He comes for His
own. I will say, Look at all I have
done for You. Look how hard I
have labored to save the lost. I did
it for Your joyand their salvation.
I exalted You, not me! And He
will say, Away from Me. I never
knew you. See Matthew 7:23. I am
one of those unrighteous ones we
all read about in the Bible!
And He will be correct, of course.
You see, He answered another
prayer of mine, too. I had been
feeling an emptiness inside. I
needed a heart full of Christ, but
mine was still full of self. I was still
sinning. Often I did not feel a
connection to Hima closeness
like I used to. So, when I told Him

that I wanted a closer walk with

Him, that I wanted to walk with
Him like Enoch did to get rid of
that emptiness, He let me know
what was interfering with that
wish.
Fervently, almost feverishly
walking for Him, I was neglecting
to walk with Him. From project to
appointment to meeting to project,
most of my day was filled with
what was, and still is, meaningful
service for humankind. However, I
was doing it by myself. Not necessarily exalting myself, though I still
fight that egotistical battle sometimes, I even exalted the Lordbut
only when I remembered to think
about Him.
I was working for the Lord, not
with Him. Being so focused on
serving the Lord, I forgot to ask
Him to be with me as I labored in
His vineyards. How could I expect
to have a closer walk with Him
when my days were so tightly
scheduled that it usually took
working on at least two worthy
projects at a time just to get them
all done? I raced on ahead of the
Lord, not looking back to see where
He was until the end of the day,
and once again, He would be out of
my sight. It was not that He would
not walk with me. It was that I was
too busy to wait for Him, so I went
ahead on my own. So, when the
Lord says, Away from me. I never
knew you, it will be because I
never took the time to get acquainted with Him.
Working at my intense pacein
my way, not in His wayI was too
busy, too super-organized, to ask
for His advice, His blessing, or His
presence. I left Him behind in my
rush to save the worlds lost for His

29

kingdomas if I could actually do

that. Therefore, He will leave me
behind when He takes His faithful
to heavenunless I change.
Right now, I do not know what
worthy projects or responsibilities to
give up since all of them are important, lest souls die out of His grace
and mercy. Caring passionately,
planting thousands of seeds, and
working to save others, I could not
see that I also needed saving, that I
did not have a relationship with Him
any more than they did. It was not
that I was trying to earn salvation
with works. That idea rarely even
entered my thoughts. Yet, neither
was Jesus in my thoughts very often!

From now on, I want to walk

with the Lord. May it be said of me
as it was written of Enoch: She
walked with God. See Genesis
5:24. So simple, so wonderful. She
walked with God.
So, I hereby resolve, with the
Lords grace and strength, to walk
with Him each day, each moment. I
resolve to talk to Him as we walk
along and to listen when He talks,
to ask His blessing on everything I
do, His guidance on every project I
undertake, and for Him to tell me
what He would have me to do
next. I will ask Him to help me
through difficulties, and also share
my joys with Him. When resting, I

will rest with Him; when working,

I will work with Him; when
studying, I will learn from Him. He
will walk with me, and I with Him.
I will partake of salvations joyous
assurance now, until the Lord
returns to take me back to His
home with Him, along with the
others who have learned to walk
with Him.
Praise to our Lord for leading us
in the paths of righteousness for
His names sake. All we like sheep
have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6), and
the Shepherds crook gently pulls
us back. Praise to our Lord, I am no
longer lost! Amen and amen. !

continued from page 28...

To have the approval of men does

not win Gods approval. Those
who would be acknowledged by
God in the day of judgment, must
here listen to His counsels and be
governed by His will. Only thus
can they receive the rich blessings
that will fit them to receive His
commendation. They must hold fast
to the truth until the end, refusing to
be drawn from their allegiance by
any ambitious projects.

in whom they can repose the

utmost confidence.
In the sixteenth chapter of First
Corinthians we read: Watch ye,
stand fast in the faith, quit you like
men, be strong. Verse 13. Those
who are elevated to official positions in the Lords work are ever to
guard against incurring the guilt of
rash speech, of unfaithfulness, of
betrayal of sacred trusts. And only
so long as they discharge aright
their responsibilities, are they to be
retained in office.
Those who bear responsibilities must be wide-awake. It is not
the man who drifts with circumstances, and who in an emergency
indorses questionable moves,
who wins the respect of his fellow
men and the approval of Heaven.
It is the man who, like a rock
meeting the tide, stands firm
against evil who commands
respect. In a crisis, when many
are not fully decided as to the
right course, the one who moves
steadfastly in the path that God
has marked out, with unshaken
determination carrying out Gods
plans, is the one who wins confidence as a man fit to command.
Those who occupy positions of
responsibility should know what
saith the Lord, and they should
then stand unflinchingly for the
right, stemming the tide of evil. !

inexperienced follow where they

go, supposing that the judgment of
Christians so experienced must be
wise.
Those in positions of responsibility who follow their own way
are held responsible for the mistakes of those who are led astray by
their example. Shall I not judge for
these things? God asks.

Those who occupy positions of responsibility should know

what saith the Lord, and they should then stand unflinchingly
for the right, stemming the tide of evil.

There are those who think that

they can improve upon the plan
that the Lord has given; that they
can mark out for themselves a
course better than the course He
has marked out for them. Such
ones, choosing the things that be of
men, harden their hearts against
Gods leading, and follow their
own way. Unless they repent, the
time will come when they will look
upon the utter failure of their
lifework. Mans wisdom, exercised
without Christs guidance, is a
dangerous element.
Any recognition or exaltation
gained apart from God is worthless; for it is not honored in heaven.

30

Stemming the Tide of Evil

We have not realized fully the
importance of studying the counsel
given by the Lord, through David,
to Solomon, regarding those who
are unworthy of confidence. Those
who prove untrue are to be dealt
with in accordance with the wisdom that God will impart. Never
are Gods servants to look upon
disaffection, scheming, and deception as virtues; those in responsibility are to manifest their decided
disapproval of all unfaithfulness in
business and spiritual matters. And
they are to choose as counselors in
every line of work, only those men

Review and Herald, September 14,

1905.

Our Firm Foundation

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Enclosed is our personal check to

help cover the cost of the many
people who request from you books
or magazines, but they dont have the
money to pay for them.
You have a very good ministry
and help to reach the hearts of many
with Gods Word.
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I want to thank you for publishing such good articles to help prepare
us for Jesus return.
The articles this year have been
so helpful to me. The article by E.
White in the February issue, Hold
Fast and Repent is so good! Im going to run it off and put it on our
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Thank you also for the two articles in the March issue: The Proper
Use and Influence of Words and
Holy ConversationOr Jesting and
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I am a county jail prisoner, over
two years for a burglary charge, how-

Volume 17, Number 8

ever, by divine Providence, this period of time has been a total blessing, as I have come to read and understand our Bible. More specifically
that the Father God, through His
powerful Spirit teaches those whose
hearts and spirits are broken and
contrite with repentance at sin committed against Him!
Your book Final Conflict Between
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From Overseas
I received the five issues of the
January 2002 of Our Firm Foundation.
What else can I say but a million
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I hope and pray that God will
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The National Sunday Law book is
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learned that what belongs to civil

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