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Judge For Yourself
The Evil Work Of Its Competitor
Pleadings Of The Holy Ghost
"Prophesied Until John"
Christ's Prayer
Satan's Predetermined Purpose
In Search Of Something Better
From The Pen Of "The Columntator"
The Gifts Of The Spirit
The "Spirit Of Prophecy" Is Virtually
Rejected
The Scriptures Teach The Truth
In Several Ways
The Figurative Mode Of Inspired
Interpretation. Zech.4
Inspiration Explains The Symbolism
Summary Of Zechariah Four
Heaven's Specific Remedy
The Universal Dairy Enables Patrons
To Refuse Evil And Choose Good
Butter And Honey
Of What Are They Symbolical?
The Young Cow And The Two Sheep
The Honey
A World of Butter-Producing Milk
Land To Flow With "Milk and Honey"
His Vineyard Desolate
A Place For Casting Out Saints
Until The Vineyard Is Fully Restored
As The Mustard Seed
"Treading Of Lesser Cattle"
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Choose The Glorious Future
Spared Through "Butter and Honey
"
"A Man Shall Nourish" them
The Spirit Of Prophecy And Its
Counterfeits
Reflections Cast Upon One's Character
Do Not Affect The Truth
A Pseudo Refutation
The Defendant's Answer
When Did The Door Open? When Was
The Thrones Set Up?
The Object Of Setting up The Throne
Two Different Thrones--One Administrative
And One Judicial
Ignorantly Fighting The Truth
Zechariah, Chapter One
To Many But Not To All
Before The Gospel Goes To All
Nations, A Great Slaughter Takes Place
The Lord's Final Plea
What About Women Teaching?
The Conclusion
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2B
Judge For Yourself
The purpose of this tract being to introduce and to deliver free of charge to every honest soul, even to the poorest and to the remotest one of earth, the superabundant product par excellence of the great Universal Dairy, it is therefore necessary to remove from the way of its recipients
The Evil Work of Its Competitor.
Of the many present-day attacks made by this enemy against the dairy's host of patrons, there has doubtless been none so violent as that against the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, the main user of the dairy's product, and especially against the work of the denomination's founder, Mrs. E.G. White, whose writings are known by the organization to be the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev. 12:17; 19:10).
Is it not inconsistent that so much time, energy, and money are spent by various individuals and organizations to give adverse publicity to any one author of religious literature, while overshadowing the world are hundreds of Christian isms and authors, each trying to vindicate a religious view different from the other's? Since there is only one Truth, and since no two
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sects are in absolute agreement as to what it is naturally not all can be right, but all save one must be wrong. Why, then, should Mrs. White's teachings come in for more opposition in proportion to size of following than any of the others?
As every heaven-sent messenger
from Adam's day to this, has been bitterly fought by men professing
to be led of God, then the mere fact of opposition against Mrs. White's
writings would not prove her wrong. And inasmuch as she has become
the main target of opposition today, as were the prophets in their day,
then to determine whether her writings are dangerous and doomed or safe
and sound, we must turn our attention to the oracles of God, which reveal
the past, present, and future. There her work, right or wrong, must
be found. By the prophecies only, can we prove or disprove, know
what we believe and believe what we know, and with safety accept or reject
any message. Otherwise our faith can be founded only upon uncertainties,
-- upon a sandy foundation, -- which will in the end bring us disappointedly
to the Master's "left hand." So to make sure of standing at His right
hand, we must not fail to give earnest heed to the
Pleadings of the Holy
Ghost:
"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a
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dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation." 2 Pet. 1:19, 20.
But the hue and cry of the opposition is, Away with prophecies at this time! For all the prophets and the law
"Prophesied Until John." Matt. 11:13.
If the aforequoted scripture means that there were to be no more prophets after John, then there should have been none since that time. And were this the meaning, then the Scriptures would contradict themselves, for they bear evidence that while Christ was the Son of God, He was also "a prophet." Luke 24:19. And although John the Baptist never wrote a single prophetic utterance, yet he was rated by Christ with the greatest of the prophets (Luke 7:28). Also Matthew, Mark, and Luke, under the Spirit of Inspiration, wrote concerning Christ and His work. Likewise John, Peter, and Paul, and others contemporary with them, prophesied in their own right of many things to come. All these are Scripturally accorded the title "prophet."
Jesus Himself testifies that the book of Revelation is a prophecy, for the angel "who bare record of the Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all
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things that he saw" says: "Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." Rev. 1:2, 3. "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book." Rev. 22:18.
Now the fact that this prophecy was written nearly a century after John the Baptist was beheaded, is historical acknowledgment that the prophets did not cease with him. Thus in misconstruing Matthew 11:13 so as to make John the last of the prophets, the opposition is attempting to substitute for the gift of prophecy in the Christian era, "private" (uninspired) interpretations of the Scriptures. And in doing this, they are led either to ignore or to try to explain away the irrefutable statement of Paul: "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues" (1 Cor. 12:28) -- absolute evidence that the second of the eight gifts to the church in the Christian era, is prophets.
While most of these gifts, especially tongues and governments, are zealously sought after by the Christian churches, the one -- "prophets" -- that was despised by the Jews, is wholly rejected by almost all
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Christendom! Thus the spirit that instigated the killing of the ancient seers at the hand of the Jewish leaders, is today doing virtually the same sort of destructive work through organized opposition.
While ascribing praise and honor to the dead prophets who were slain by the forefathers, the Jews rejected the living prophets, thereby bringing upon themselves the Master's mournful pronouncement:
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets." Matt. 23:29, 30.
Present-day Christians who despise the gift of prophecy in this age, and also deny that the Old Testament Scriptures have any application in the gospel dispensation, are thereby rejecting all the prophets, while at the same time acknowledging that they were the servants of God. So such church-members continue to build and garnish the tombs of the prophets as did the Jews who claimed to believe in Moses but, when tested, were found to be liars. In like manner most Christians today profess to believe the whole Bible, yet teach that all the laws and statutes, all the warnings and condemnations, apply only to the ancient Jews, whereas the graces they eagerly bosom within the Christian church!
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The present-day so-called gift of tongues is gibberish, and is no more the Biblical gift than is Sunday the "sanctified" Sabbath day; and the gift of governments is degenerated into an institution of prerogatives, formalities, goals, and the like, which, in their present low estate, are naught but agencies which in effect militate against the Truth and neutralize the piety of the church. In this state of affairs, do the best of these professed Christians of today seem better than the worst of yesterday's Jews?
"Awake, awake," cries the Word, "loose thyself from the" man-wrought "bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion." Isa 52:2. "Quench not the Spirit," O church of God! "Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thess. 5:19-21.
Do not longer overlook the fact that the gift of prophets is second in order, and the gifts of governments and diversity of tongues are last. Mark, therefore, that those who despise the gift of prophecy but exalt the gifts of governments and tongues, are manifestly pulling the cart from its rear end, and are going in the wrong direction. To them Christ is saying: "Knowest not that thou are wretched and miserable, and poor and blind, and naked.' Rev. 3:17.
Those who on the one hand contend that there were to be no prophets after
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John the Baptist, and who on the other hand profess to believe in the New Testament Scriptures which were written after John's death, are themselves in darkness, and are, by their private (uninspired) interpretations of the Scriptures spreading a cloud of darkness wherever they go. May God have mercy on them all.
In the light of these facts Jesus' statement that "all the prophets and the law prophesied until John," obviously has a wholly different meaning from what has been taught by uninspired men. When it is illuminated by the same Spirit Who indicted it, the resultant interpretation is trouble-free, revealing that Christ separated the prophets into a twofold classification -- those until John and those after him.
Sacred history shows that the prophets in the first division received the Word directly from God through the medium of His Spirit. They were not obliged to prove any part of their prophecies by the writings of the preceding prophets. Whereas the prophets in the second division are appointed by the unction of the Spirit to interpret the writings of the prophets of the first division.
This all-important distinction and division shows that the Old Testament Scriptures contain the light of our salvation for both periods -- Jewish and Christian. And when one considers that the former period
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is called the "typical" dispensation, and the latter the "antitypical," then evidence upon evidence rivets the conclusion that the New Testament gospel is based on the gospel of the Old unfolded.
Since the Scriptures explain that the church in all ages has been led into truth only through the gift of prophecy, the Christian has no choice but to conclude that God's will and plan for this time is just as it was for times past; that is, that the knowledge of salvation be imparted through the writings of the Old Testament prophets, as interpreted by those upon whom, as the scroll unfolds, He bestows the same Spirit by which He moved upon "holy men of God" "in old time." 2 Pet. 1:21. "For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Mal. 3:6.
God would have ever kept Christendom unified through Inspiration, revealed truth, but uninspired men would not humble themselves and forego their own private interpretations, with the tragic result that they have brought the present shameful sectarian confusion.
Such an anarchy of opinion on the Scriptures existing not only between one denomination and another, but also within the ranks of each one itself, makes clear that they are not led by the Spirit Whom Christ sent to "guide...into all truth" so that all believers in Him might be as one.
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This union through the Spirit, is forcefully taught in
"That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me." John 17:21-23.
Unceasing theological speculations on the Scriptures, with the resultant diversity of opinions and pleasing fables, are continually increasing confusion, dissensions, divisions which spawn conflicting creeds and sects. Whereas Christians should be doing nothing but proving to the world by perfect union that the Father has sent the Son.
Showing that He recognizes only one denomination, Christ said: "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." John 10:16. The existing disunion among Christians of today is not, therefore, fulfilling God's, but
Satan's Predetermined Purpose.
The so-called Christian world of today
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has so far drifted from God's ideal for His church as to have arrived at a point where even Christ's own prayer fails to disillusion them, and to bring them to a realization that their varied beliefs of being all right are sure to be all wrong. Those who are not affiliated with any church, and for whose conversion the churches claim to be fully exerting their means and time, look on with scorn and laughter at this delusion and hypocrisy. Such Christians are only pleasing Satan and cheating themselves and those who watch them.
Satan is leading these quasi-Christian legions to parade as fools before the world, so that through their unconscious folly he may cast reproach upon Christ, and at the same time may make the world believe that the Father has not sent the Son. Unless these disunited ranks awake to their plight, Satan will shortly plunge them headlong into eternal destruction. This everlasting tragedy would be chargeable only to their despising the gift of the Spirit of Prophecy the eyes of the church (1 Sam. 9:9; Isa. 29:10) which alone can see to draw them into a state of oneness, of unbreakable unity.
Shepherds of the churches, in attempting to interpret the Scriptures "privately" (without the Holy Spirit), have set husks before the sheep, and as a result the flocks have been left to forage for themselves
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In Search of Something Better.
Husk-fed Christians, being undernourished, are incapable of rightly judging. Some, therefore, hope to obtain the "something better" from those whom they regard as most faithful; others expect to receive it from those who are regarded as the most learned Doctors of Divinity; while still others think to find it in this or that denomination simply because Father or Mother or some other influential person or relative belongs to it. By these foolish choices that require no exertion of mind or no personal experience, they are ironically, only led again to husks. And the non-Christian world, ever critically looking on, turns in disgust from this and other inconsistent and foolish practices in the Christian scene. Thus believers, instead of converting unbelievers to Christianity, are only driving them further from it!
That others, too, are well aware of this fatal sheep-like, follow-the-bell instinct, is pointedly demonstrated in the hypothetical case of the family seen in satirical caricature
From the Pen of "The Columntator."
"Mary goes to the Bapterian church although she is a member of the Prestian church (having been made to join the church at the tender age of 10, before she knew who the Lord or the Devil really is), but she attends the Bapterian church because
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her step-sister belongs. John goes to the Cathodist church, because most of his customers go there. Jack goes to the Campalian church because his gal does... Patricia goes to the Luthergational church because her school teacher teaches the Sunday school class there. Betty goes to the Bapterian church with her mother, because she ain't old enough yet to know better." -- The Dallas Morning News, Dec. 28, 1940.
Those who are honestly seeking salvation through Christ, must "join" Him by conversion for the Truth's sake; and the only way one can do this, is gladly to welcome all
"And He," says Paul of the One Who alone, through all His gifts, can unify His church, "gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Eph. 4:11-13. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Rev. 3:22.
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Though the Spirit of God has spoken in these certain terms, yet one finds, upon polling the general opinion among Christians, that
The "Spirit of Prophecy" Is Virtually Rejected.
A large class of professing Christians are really saying in their hearts: As long as we believe that there is a God and a Christ, belong to a church, lead honest lives, and do an occasional good deed as opportunity affords, we are on the way to the Holy City. And sad to say, this loose and fatally delusive hope is even in the Seventh-day Adventist denomination.
Sadly, too, though the denomination was founded by the gift of prophecy, its present-day members -- ministers and laity alike -- are at continual variance among themselves over the prophetic gift, just as they are over other matters in the Scriptures. And among those who do hold that the writings of Mrs. White are inspired, the great majority are as ignorant of and as disobedient to them, as are those who profess no faith at all in them.
"The church," she says, relative to this condition, "has turned back from following Christ her Leader, and is steadily retreating
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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. Ministers who preach self instead of Christ would have it thus. The testimonies are unread and unappreciated." -- Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 217.
Yet both classes in the church insist that they are good Seventh-day Adventists! O what exceeding irony that such dreadful inconsistencies in sacred matters have overshadowed the minds of rational beings! Yea, what tragedy! especially when the condition need never have been: for in ample protection against it,
The Scriptures Teach the Truth in Several Ways.
Besides being taught by the literal testimonies of the prophets, the gospel is taught also by figurative prophecies. In our immediate concern, therefore, with the Spirit's teachings as to how God reveals unto men His written Word, we must give consideration not only to the literal but also to the figurative testimonies of the prophets. And as the fourth chapter of Zechariah is a pictorial disclosure of the way in which God reveals His Word, we are led thereto for an exposition of
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The Figurative
Mode of Inspired Interpretation.
Zechariah 4.
"And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is waked out of his sleep, and said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my Lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts...
"And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord. Then said He, These are the Two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." Zech. 4:1-6, 12-14.
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Establishing the time to which this figurative prophecy points, the Lord, speaking through the prophet Haggai, who prophesied at the same time as did the prophet Zechariah, says:
"And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, My servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts." Hag. 2:22, 23.
Meeting its fulfillment at the end of the world when God is to overthrow the thrones and destroy the kingdoms of the earth, Haggai's prophecy shows that Zerubbabel, the Lord's servant is a type of His servants today, who necessarily, therefore, are the antitypical "signet." And as Zechariah's vision, moreover, has never been understood until now, it can be speaking directly only to us at this time. Since, accordingly, his illustration of "the Word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel" is to find its fulfillment today, we ought then to give the most studious attention as
Inspiration Explains the Symbolism.
"This is the Word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel." Zech. 4:6. The method which
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God is to use now, in the time of the end, in communicating with Zerubbabel -- the governors or ministers of His people -- is laid down in the symbolism. So let us carefully decipher it symbol by symbol. When we understand the meaning of the "olive trees," the "candlestick," the "golden bowl," and the "tubes," then the symbolism itself will without controversy explain how the Scriptures, by which God communicates with His servants, are to be interpreted.
As all the books of the Bible meet and end in the Revelation, which is an unfolding of the prophecies, we call the reader's attention to a passage therein, in which John records the office of these olive trees:
"And I will give power unto My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth." Rev. 11:3, 4.
These olive trees are called "witnesses," "anointed ones," "prophets." They were to prophesy in sackcloth for the space of forty-two months. This is a period equivalent to that in Daniel 7:25 and Revelation 12:14; that is, to "a time and times and the dividing of time": "a time" -- one year; "times" -- two years -- "half a time" -- half a year; -- forty-two months in total. It is
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equivalent also to that in Revelation 13:5, "forty and two months"; and to that in Revelation 12:6, "a thousand two hundred and threescore days." In each instance, the time, reckoning by the Biblical rule of thirty days to a month, amount to 1260 days.
When computed in literal time, according to Ezekiel 4:6, these 1260 days of prophetic time are equivalent to 1260 years. Proceeding on the well established fact (see The Shepherd's Rod, Vol 2, pp. 126-139) that this period of time is prophetic of the 1260 years from 538 A.D. to 1798, we are brought to the consequent conclusion that whosoever or whatsoever prophesied in "sackcloth" during this period, is that which is symbolized by these "two olive trees."
The fact that nothing but the Bible Itself did prophesy for the duration of the 1260 year period, -- the Dark Ages of religion, -- automatically shows that the two "olive trees," which the angel said are the Word of God (Zech. 4:6), are figurative of the Old and New Testament Scriptures' prophesying "in sackcloth." In other words, they permitted themselves in self-abasement to be tucked away and left unstudied, although they had power to devour "their enemies," and even "to shut heaven, that it rain not."
And from these two trees (Testaments), as Zechariah saw, the golden oil runs
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through "two golden pipes," which empty themselves into the "golden bowl." Then from the bowl, the "seven pipes," or "tubes," in turn supply the golden "candlesticks" with the "golden oil."
As the two olive trees stand for the Old and New Testament Scriptures, naturally the golden oil flowing from them represents "the Word of the Lord" in the Christian dispensation, not as it comes directly from heaven, but as it comes from the Bible.
Unlocking next the meaning of the candlestick, Christ (in revealing the mystery which He showed unto John), says: "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." Rev. 1:20.
In this brief explanatory statement, Christ tells us that the seven churches are represented by the seven candlesticks, thus establishing the truth that a candlestick is symbolical of the church -- he light of the world (Matt. 5:14).
The first part of Revelation 1:20, as already quoted, makes clear that there is an attending angel to each candlestick, and that John was instructed to write, not to the candlesticks, but to the angels who have charge over them. Thus the words, "unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write" (Rev. 3:14), make clear that
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it is the angel who is "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."
This condemnation conclusively shows that the angel is not a heavenly being, but merely a figure of the earthly overseers who have been given charge over the church (candlestick). Their duty, as the symbolism reveals, is to supply the candlestick with oil, and to keep it trimmed and burning -- giving light. Consequently, the candlestick itself symbolizes the membership exclusive of the leadership.
In Zechariah's vision, however, the ministers are represented, not by seven angels, but by seven "tubes." They get the oil from the bowl, and feed it to the candlestick.
Clearly, then, the bowl in which the golden oil is stored, symbolizes the storehouse of Present Truth -- the Word interpreted. The only "storehouse" that contains inspired comments on both Testaments is the books of the Spirit of Prophecy. They, therefore, are the "golden bowl." The symbolism definitely points out that from them the ministers must get the light-producing truth with which to supply the church, so that it may brightly shine in this dark world, drawing to the light "all men" who hate the darkness.
The two pipes through which the oil is carried into the bowl, can represent only the channels (prophets) through whom
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the oil is transferred from the Bible into the bowl, in the period during which both olive trees (Old and New Testaments) live -- the Christian era.
Let the reader take a searching look at the visual illustration on page 18, and he will see the utter impossibility of the candlestick's (the church membership's) and of the tubes' (ministers') themselves extracting oil directly from the olive trees. The interpretation of the Scriptures, therefore, being entrusted to the two pipes (prophets) in the Christian era, it shows that "no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation," but is of inspiration only.
Now, to clinch forever in our minds the truth on this all-important subject, let us view it in a
This symbolic unit, having demonstrated that the Bible can be rightly interpreted only by the Spirit that dictated It, shows that the church can be led into all Truth only by this Spirit-controlled method: through the interpreters (the two golden pipes), who alone are qualified and inabled to bring forth meat in due season (golden oil) from the Scriptures (olive trees) into the storehouse (golden bowl) of Present Truth; and in turn through the ministers (seven tubes), who alone are to pass on from the bowl the oil to the church
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(candlestick), that it might illumine with the light of life this dark and dying world of ours.
Here in pictorial lesson God is unmistakably teaching that He controls the Scriptures and that He reveals them when a need arises, just as Joseph controlled all the grain in the storehouses of ancient Egypt, to hand it out in the time of famine. And as only through him could the Israelites, as well as the Egyptians, obtain grain in time of want, so likewise only from Christ, the King, through His Spirit-filled instrumentalities -- Josephs (His specially appointed interpreters of the dreams and the visions which the Bible contains, whether they be to rebuke and enlighten the church or to forewarn the Gentiles) -- can we obtain the "oil" which God has placed in the Bible.
In revealing through Zechariah's symbolism the inspired method of interpretation of the Scriptures, God has graphically prescribed, for the present-day multifarious religious ills,
The many grievous spiritual epidemics now afflicting the Christian church, are caused in large part by Christians unwittingly wresting, garbling, and perverting the Scriptures. This practice, the Devil has spawned and nurtured in order to head off Present Truth, destroy faith in the Scriptures,
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deceive souls, and increase infidelity, hoping thereby to cut off the human race from the knowledge of the only true and living God, and thus finally from the face of the earth.
Brother, Sister, upon each of us squarely falls the momentous responsibility of deciding whether we will choose to follow the prophets of God in both the Old and New Testament periods, or to join God's adversaries who advocate uninspired interpretations of the Scriptures, and who along with all their sympathizers will, if they continue in their evil course, become guilty, with the Jews, of the shed blood of the prophets.
These solemn considerations will impel all who are honest with themselves and with God, to act in accordance with the solemn verity that He reveals the truth as He chooses. They will lead you to take God's way for your shelter, and thus escape the swiftly gathering storm that is about to burst in all its dread fury upon sin and sinner.
Foreseeing the dark pall of confusion which men today are casting over the Bible, and their wide departure from the plain Scriptural path, as a result of their utter disregard of the gift of prophecy, God is therefore morally bound to make in His written Word some sort of prophetic announcement of this great evil and its outcome, just as He did concerning the
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calamitous fate which befell His ancient people, and concerning their subsequent destiny.
To demonstrate this, let us now, with special reference to the gift of prophecy (its office, and its relation to the ministers as well as to the laity in the New Testament period), examine as to how
"Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good." Isa. 7:14, 15.
It is agreed that the child here spoken of prophetically, is Christ. And according to these verses, He was prescribed a special diet, as was John the Baptist (Luke 1:15; Matt. 3:4). Yet there is no record showing that Christ's diet was ever of literal "butter and honey." There is record, though, that He did eat of all the sanctified foods that were commonly used by the Jews in His time. And "John came," said Christ, "neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil." Matt. 11:18. Thus on the word of the Lord Himself, John did not eat everything that the Jews ate. As a matter of fact he lived on "locusts and wild honey." Mark 1:6. Nevertheless, the Jews found fault, and accused him of being fanatical and out of his mind.
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On the other hand, "the Son of man," says the Lord of Himself, "came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." Matt. 11:19. In these words, showing that He ate whatever lawful food was set before Him, Christ makes clear that He did not confine His diet to literal
As aforestated there is no record showing that Jesus ate actual; butter and honey. But as the prophet's utterance must be correct, the only conclusion possible is that the "butter and honey" are symbolical of something which Christ freely used, and which made Him wise and able to discriminate between good and evil. Inasmuch, moreover, as these two literal articles of food -- butter and honey -- can never in themselves enable anyone to know the difference between good and bad, it therefore becomes doubly settled that they are symbolical. And of course this certitude evokes the question:
The only way to discover what the butter and honey represent, is to determine what enabled Jesus to differentiate between good and evil, and to choose the one and refuse the other -- the reason for His eating them.
The Saviour defeated the powers of evil by being inspired to interpret the Scriptures,
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which enabled Him to say: "It is written." This reveals that the "butter and honey," which empowered Him to "refuse the evil" and to "choose the good," are symbolical of the Scriptures. Thus when He said," I have meat to eat that ye know not of" (John 4:32), He must have referred to Isaiah's "butter and honey."
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; and it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land." Isa. 7:21, 22.
Since the "butter and honey" of verse 15 are obviously intended to provide the key of interpretation for the "butter and honey" of verse 22, plainly, then, the "butter and honey" of both verses represent the Word of God. And because of sequential and natural connection with the butter, we are next led to inquire into the meaning of
The Young Cow and the Two Sheep.
As butter is churned from milk, and as the milk from which this spiritual "butter" is made, comes from the "two sheep" and the "young cow," the truth flows forth that these three milk-producing creatures symbolize three different sources from which the Word of the Lord (butter) is obtained. The cow is young; the sheep are not. Accordingly, the source of the butter, God's
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Word, represented by the young cow, is of later origin than the sources represented by the two sheep. The two-of-a-kind therefore can only represent the Old and New Testament Scriptures; whereas the cow, being larger and younger than the sheep, represents sacred volumes of correspondingly larger proportions and of later origin than the Bible. These volumes manifestly are the latter-day writings of the "Spirit of Prophecy" (Rev. 19:10), which enable their patrons to "refuse the evil, and choose the good," and which bring to them
The key of the interpretation to this "honey" is found in Revelation 10:10. "And I took the little book," says John, "out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter." This honey-sweetness (explained in detail in our Tract No. 5, Final Warning), represents the joy that came to the believers in William Miller's time, through their whole-hearted belief that the Lord was coming in the fall of 1843 A.D. to take them to their home in "the land that is very far off," where their eyes would "see the King in His beauty." Isa. 33:17. But as the day passed, and the expected event failed to materialize, then overwhelming disappointment, as depicted by the little book's turning "bitter," came to everyone who, in honest expectancy, yearningly
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anticipated that long-hoped-for journey through the starry heavens to the city "foursquare" -- the Capital of the earth made new.
The honey-sweetness of Revelation 10:10 standing as it does for great joy resulting from feasting on the Word of God, automatically imparts to the "honey" of Isaiah 7:22 the significance of joy that shall come to all who join in eating the "butter" from both the "cow" and the "sheep," which are now "come fresh." Only those who so do, shall be "left in the land."
This cordial invitation to eat of spiritual "butter and honey," hitherto never paralleled in quantity or quality, is especially extended to those who are inclined to doubt. Accept this unprecedented invitation, my brethren, and you will convince yourselves of the sincerity and judgment which prompts our plea, and will realize at first taste that the product from these noble creatures is all that you need to keep you not only alive and well but also in joy and peace from "henceforth" and forever! And though there is an innumerable multitude to be fed, you need not fear a shortage of food, for The Universal Dairy has
A World of Butter-Producing Milk.
These noble creatures give such a volume of milk that we are compelled to separate
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the cream, and are able to dispense only it. The milk we preserve. This plenitude bespeaks our being blessed with such a fullness of truth (milk) that all we can do is to send out the high points -- the butter or cream. Revealed truth never before having amassed itself into such an inexhaustible store as it has today, completes the evidence that the interpretation of this prophecy is correct, and that The Shepherd's Rod, which contains the truth for this time, has caused the
Land to Flow With "Milk And Honey."
When God promised to lead ancient Israel into a land "flowing with milk and honey," such a condition did not literally obtain in Canaan, so the expression could only have been metaphorical then finding its fulfillment in the fact that there the prophets did prophecy and write the Scriptures, thus flooding the land with "milk and honey" -- truth and joy.
Why stay hungry, my brethren, when there is such a boundless supply of soul-nourishing food at your very hand? If your appetite has not be -- come too jaded, come, then, and feed on this fresh "butter and honey." "Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." Isa. 55: 1. But if, perchance, you have lost your hunger and your taste for truth, call then upon our dispensing representatives. Their services are free of charge and without obligation, and guarantee sure and gratifying
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results. Do not be like those who still persist in boasting that they have all the truth, and have "need of nothing." For the reason that God has sent and is still sending such a store of "meat in due season" is to demonstrate that instead of having "need of nothing," they have need of everything, and that it is their abominations and spiritual destitution which have caused Him to leave
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns." Isa. 7:23.
The fact that this vineyard (figurative of the church -- Isa. 5:7), wherein each vine was once worth a "silverling," has become a place "for briers and thorns," shows that its Husbandman has left it desolate, a type-condition which Christ more fully projected in the following words:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (Matt. 23:37, 38) -- that is, it has become a place whence the divine presence and glory have departed.
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The integrity and perpetuity of the Spirit of Prophecy now being unquestionable, it morally compels us to introduce Christ's own testimony concerning the spiritual condition of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination as recorded by the Spirit of Prophecy:
" 'Can you not see how they have pretentiously covered up their defilement and rottenness of character? "How is the faithful city become a harlot?" My Father's house is made a house of merchandise, a place whence the divine presence and glory have departed! For this cause there is weakness, and strength is lacking.' " -- Testimonies, Vol. 8, p. 250.
Isaiah's vision perfectly corroborates the aforequoted testimony: both prophets could not possibly, except by the same Spirit, lay open the same condition with such absolute fidelity to fact. Thus by Scripture and by logic we are carried to the peak of evidence and of conviction that Mrs. White was inspired by the same Spirit as was Isaiah.
The noteworthy fact that both prophets (Isaiah and Mrs. White) are in such accord with each other as to the exact condition the church is in now, lends twofold concurrence in the indictment that the "house of God" has not only become a house of merchandise and a den of thieves but also
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A Place For Casting Out Saints.
"With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns." Isa. 7:24. In other words, the vineyard has become so desolate, and so overrun with wild beasts (unconverted men), that if a saint would go into it, he would be compelled to carry with him "arrows" and "bows" (the Word of God) for self-protection (Heb. 4:12).
"But His bow abode in strength, and the arms of His hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the Shepherd the Stone of Israel)." Gen. 49:24. "Thy bow was made quite naked,...even Thy Word." Hab. 3:9.
Instead, therefore, of the church's being a refuge, holding out salvation for God's people, it has become a den of thieves and a place for the sheltering of sinners. For as soon as one is seen giving heed to the Lord's protest against the abominations, and identifies himself as a reformer, the wild beasts (the unconverted in the church) are either ready to devour him, as they tried to devour Paul (1 Cor. 15:32), or else to drive him out of the churches' assemblies! Here anyone may readily see why those who are responsible for the abominations are vociferously decrying the doctrine of a pure church.
We need not be surprised at the opposition which God's servants are receiving
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from men of learning and position, for thus it has always been; and now, as in former ages, the presentation of a truth that reproves sins and corrects errors will excite opposition. "Every one that doeth evil," says the Lord, "hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." John 3:20.
As men see that they cannot, by the Scriptures maintain their position, they determine to vindicate it at whatever cost, and as the final resort of a lost cause they indulge in personalities, assailing the character and the motives of those who cross their paths with unpopular truth. Such self-justification is the same traditional defense mechanism which has been resorted to in all ages.
"Elijah was declared to be a troubler in Israel, Jeremiah a traitor, Paul a polluter of the temple. From that day to this, those who would be loyal to truth have been denounced as seditious, heretical, or schismatic. Multitudes who are too unbelieving to accept the sure word of prophecy, will receive with unquestioning credulity an accusation against those who dare to reprove fashionable sins. This spirit will increase more and more." -- The Great Controversy, pp. 458, 459.
"Those who differed from the established doctrines have been imprisoned, put to torture and to death, at the instigation of men who claimed to be acting under the
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sanction of Christ. But it is the spirit of Satan, not the Spirit of Christ, that inspires such acts. This is Satan's own method of bringing the world under his dominion. God has been misrepresented through the church by this way of dealing with those supposed to be heretics." -- Christ's Object Lessons, p. 74.
"Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His Word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for My name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed." Isa. 66:5.
And now because of this, shall we who have the light of Truth betray our trust and shun our responsibilities? "To the servant of God at this time is the command addressed, 'Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.'
"So far as his opportunities extend, every one who has received the light of truth is under the same solemn and fearful responsibility as was the prophet of Israel, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying: 'Son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, and warn them from Me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but
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his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.'
"The great obstacle both to the acceptance and to the promulgation of truth, is the fact that it involves inconvenience and reproach. This is the only argument against the truth which its advocates have never been able to refute. But this does not deter the true followers of Christ. These do not wait for truth to become popular. Being convinced of their duty, they deliberately accept the cross, with the apostle Paul counting that 'our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;' with one of old, 'esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.' " -- The Great Controversy pp. 459, 460.
Because of this deplorable condition, God now commissions His messengers to go with their "bows" and "arrows" and occupy faithfully their posts of duty
Until the Vineyard Is Fully Restored.
"And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns." Isa. 7:25, first part.
That is to say, though the whole vineyard has become full of "briers and
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thorns," God has not forever forsaken it, but will dig it with a mattock, uproot the thorns and briers, and plant it once again with the choicest vines for upon it "He bestows His supreme regard." -- Testimonies to Ministers, p. 15. And after He executes this work, "the fear of briers and thorns" "shall not come thither." Or, literally speaking, during the purification of the church, God's vengeance takes the wicked from among His people! and thereafter keeps them out and preserves Hls church pure forevermore, without fear of its ever becoming polluted again. In thus absolutely uprooting the briers and thorns (the wicked), He precludes even the fear of their returning.
Isaiah's vision clearly focuses on our time, for the wicked have always been in the church and will continue to be there until the final purification, which is soon to take place, and which, according to the Scriptures, is in its beginning to be
"There shall not come hither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle." Isa. 7:25, last part.
The vineyard's being digged with the mattock signifies that the beginning of the work of reformation will progress slowly and that it will require hard labor, but that each "hill" or church locality being
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digged will become a place "for the sending forth of oxen." In brief, at this particular time He will be sending missionaries into His neglected vineyard (church) instead of into the Gentile world.
Though the work, moreover is to have a small hard, mattock-like beginning it will gain speed and will emerge from the mattock stage into the ox-plow stage -- the stage which will see all the believers of Present Truth (except the "lesser cattle") unitedly go forth to dig or plow other "hills" until all the thorns and briers shall be uprooted throughout the land, the ground broken up, and the vineyard restored even beyond its original excellency. Thus reclaimed, it will be a place not only "for the sending forth of oxen," missionaries, but also for the
Both the terms "treading" and "lesser cattle" have two meanings. "Treading" means both to step along and to trample something beneath the feet. "Lesser cattle" means both younger cattle and inferior cattle. Therefore the phrase "for the treading of lesser cattle," taken in the light of the first meaning, respectively, of each of the two terms, must refer to the children and to those newly come to the truth, who may be staying, "treading," about the newly digged hills. Taken in the light of the second meaning of each term, it must refer to the pressing or trampling, "treading"
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to the ground, of all the unconverted who may seek to come into the vineyard. Of this latter class, Zechariah says: "And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth." Zech. 13:3.
The direct application of the scripture, however, is to the latter pair of meanings, and only a secondary thought is that obtained from the former pair of meanings.
This final view of the vineyard compels men to choose either a glorious future or an inglorious end. Our hope is that each will
Because when He finally restores His vineyard, the Lord will nevermore desert it or permit it to be fouled by "briers and thorns," man's joy should be unbounded, causing him to praise God by day and night for His never-failing love! Still more thrilling is the thought that a multitude is now on the very stage of passing from this mortal state into immortality -- never to experience the unconscious state of the dead! May this call stir every reader from his long slumber (Matt. 25:5), and urge him to strive as never before for the "mark" of the living God (Ezek. 9:4).
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"Awake, awake"; pleads the Voice of Love, "put on thy strength, O Zion, put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean." Isa. 52:1.
Be in the class of the five wise virgins, my brethren, and avail yourselves of this extra oil now before your lamps go out and the door closes forever (Matt. 25:10). "Anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." Rev. 3:18. Sigh and cry for the abominations that be done in the church (Ezek. 9:4), that you may prove yourselves worthy to carry the message to her. Then after you have cried out, "O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off" (Nah. 1:15, last part), it shall be said of you, "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace" (Nah. 1:15, first part), and you will be
Spared Through "Butter And Honey."
"For butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land." Isa. 7:22.
O what a soul-stirring assurance! Why should you perish when your Heavenly Father is making such an offer? Believe fully in the Spirit of Prophecy and live forever. "...believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper." 2 Chron. 20:20.
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Have you not yet discovered that, whether it be in ancient or in modern times, all the Bible truths that men have ever learned, have come only through the inspired channel -- the Spirit of Prophecy? How, then, my brethren, can you longer refuse this cordial invitation? Come, eat to the full of "butter and honey," only a taste of which will start you on your way to recovery from your miserable Laodicean condition.
Though the church is now "lukewarm" (satisfied) in her "sad deception," yet if she lets this present opportunity slip from her grasp, the day will come when each member will gnash his teeth in the torment of indescribable sorrow. Yea, and all who deny either the Old or the New Testament Scriptures, or the Spirit of Prophecy, or all three, and who, by remaining in consequent ignorance, comply not with the Truth's requirements, shall not be "left," but shall perish.
If Christ, the Creator of the universe (John 1:3; Heb. 1:2), humbled Himself by believing in all the writings of the prophets, then why should men not, too? Are they greater than He? Will you be among those to whom He says, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken"? Luke 24:25.
If Christ Himself ate "butter and honey" in order to "refuse the evil, and choose the good," how, then, can you expect to learn what is right and wrong if you
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close your eyes lest you see and stop your ears lest you hear, and thus remain in utter ignorance of His will? Without eating His "butter and honey," will not your righteousness be as but the "filthy rags" of self-righteousness (Isa. 64:6)?
Come, my brethren, while there is an abundance of butter for your upkeep, honey to make you glad, and a "golden bowl" full of "oil" to make you "shine." Why any longer languish in darkness, starving on husks, when God bids you become friends with His "young cow" and His "two sheep"? But after all, you need for your own sake, not for theirs, to feed on their butter. So come get it, for, says the Lord,
Here the Lord tells us that the milking of the two sheep and the young cow (the unfolding of the heaven-sent scrolls) is not entrusted to all, but to "a man" (prophet). This means that the one through whom the light is revealed, nourishes these sources of supply by arousing widespread interest in them, thus keeping them alive and producing. And each one who would remain in the land, must give them his steady patronage and be on the alert, of course, to interest others in their lasting, life-giving product.
Knowing that some would deny the Old Testament and others the New Testament
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Scriptures, also that still others would doubt the Spirit of Prophecy, God therefore calls attention to all three. The figures, "a young cow and two sheep," unique in their milk-producing ability, make clear that their product can sustain life for eternity, and that to the "man" who nourishes them are the saints to go for their butter. Then they shall know the difference between
The Spirit of Prophecy and Its Counterfeits.
One may say, "Yes, I believe in the Spirit of Prophecy, but not as you do." Yet if what he believes to be the Spirit of Prophecy does not lead him to "keep the commandments of God" and to know that the testimony of Jesus Christ is the ever-active Spirit of Prophecy (Rev. 12:17; 19:10), then he had better forsake that and accept this, for "he that saith I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 1 John 2:4. Likewise says the Lord: "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James 2:10. "Blessed are they that do His commandments that they...may enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. 22:14.
If, moreover, what such a one believes to be the Spirit of Prophecy is truly it, then it should have revealed the truths herein unfolded. Thus what he accepts
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rather than what we accept as the Spirit of Prophecy would have been confirmed and exalted.
Not long ago a certain minister said: "My conception of the Spirit of Prophecy is different from yours; the prophecies in the Bible are my Spirit of Prophecy." Now so he must say if the Spirit of Prophecy were not ever-active. But if the Spirit of Prophecy begins and ends with the Bible, then all Christians have the Spirit of Prophecy. If this is so, though, why does the Revelation make a distinction between Christians who have the Spirit of Prophecy and those who do not? This minister's idea is, to say the least, illogical, for it puts Revelation 12:17 and 19:10 in the realm of the meaningless.
But what is still worse, this same minister in later speaking to his congregation, made The Shepherd s Rod teachings appear contradictory to Mrs. White's writings, which he then termed the "Spirit of Prophecy"! Yes, it is hard to believe that ministers in whom multitudes place confidence, would be so inconsistent and that these multitudes would be so blind and so ignorant about them!
Throughout these pages, the Spirit of Prophecy has, by the prophetic Word, proved Itself invulnerable to attack. It has vindicated Itself not as a voice beginning with Moses and ending before John the Baptist, but as the ever-living testimony,
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beginning with creation and continuing with the patriarchs Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac Jacob; then with the prophets; next with the apostles; and finally, with the messengers of the Lord in our own day and on. Rising higher and higher with each encounter, as the reader can readily see, It will rise still higher when it is next considered that
Having failed by fair means successfully to refute Sister White's work, some have long been resorting to attacking her character. Do any think that derogation of character makes one's writings untrue? If so, then what will they do with Balaam's prophecy concerning Christ our Saviour? The character of this faithless prophet was so degraded that even while he was coveting gain from the wicked king of Moab, he was in deepest hypocrisy offering up sacrifices to God for Him to curse Israel. Yet while engaged in this perfidy, he uttered the most sublime prophecy of Christ:
"...there shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for His enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have
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dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city." Num. 24:17-19.
Dare any now repudiate Christ just because a wicked prophet prophesied of His coming? Here, every believer in the Word of God is compelled to admit that Balaam's covetous character did not make his prophecies false! How, then, could character considerations today, any more than yesterday, justify one's rejecting the Word of the Lord and thus sinning against the Holy Ghost?
Furthermore, those who resort to personalities will, upon examining themselves, find their own characters sevenfold worse! Yet while they are spending thousands of dollars, and years of hard labor to destroy the people's confidence in the ones against whom they prefer false charges, they in turn plead that the same multitude should accept their teachings, although in reality their own dingy characters make Mrs. White's, by comparison, as white as snow.
But the greatest mystery lies in the fact that multitudes cannot discern this mountainous inconsistency! If Mrs. White's supposedly crooked character makes her writings crooked, then how is it that they make straight, noble, commandment-keeping characters of those who love them? Too, how can we depend on the writings and the speeches of such who descend to the depths to judge her without a hearing,
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while she is lying in her grave unable to defend herself?
They have no more refuted her writings than did the Pharisees refute the teachings of Christ. And as Christ's enemies could not by their criticisms change His character from holy to unholy, neither can Mrs. White's adversaries make her crooked if she is straight. As the true follower of Christ cannot, however, afford to waste his time in either running down or defending human beings, our sole purpose, therefore, is to vindicate the Truth of God, and to expose the fact that the opposition has done nothing more than to demonstrate
To expose this, we need simply to call the reader's attention to their strongest attempt, the one which is the hub of the whole controversy, and which exemplifies their tactics as well as the brand of their refutation. This effort will bring to the surface any error, whether it be Mrs. White's or her opponents'.
In a booklet published against her interpretation of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, the author says:
"Let us compare these statements of Mrs. White's and see how they compare with the Bible or foregoing scriptures; First the scriptures tell us positively that when Jesus went into heaven he went into the
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presence of God and sat down on his right hand. Mrs. White denies this and says that Jesus went into heaven into the first apartment of the sanctuary and ministered before the veil which was before God for eighteen centuries. How could Jesus be in the presence of God and on his right hand and at the same time be ministering before him with an intervening veil between? Would it not be much better to reject what Mrs. White says on this point and accept the Word of God? If we accept Mrs. White's statement do we not have to deny the Bible?
"If Mrs. White's statement is true that Jesus ministered before God as the priest ministered daily in the first apartment of the earthly sanctuary presenting before God the blood of the sin offering then where was God? Was he not in the second apartment? Can anyone deny that he was there according to the type when the Scriptures teach that he was overshadowing the mercy seat while priests were ministering before the veil daily?" -- The Twenty-three Hundred Day 1844 Doctrine Weighed and Found Wanting p. 44.
Having heard the plaintiff's charge, let us now hear
As the author of the two italicized paragraphs feels positive that the throne of God has always been in the heavenly sanctuary,
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he therefore takes the position that when Christ ascended on High, He could not have sat at the right hand of God anywhere else than in the Most Holy place of the heavenly temple. This position leads him hastily to conclude that Christ, immediately after His ascension, entered into the Most Holy apartment and there sat down at the right hand of God, rather than that He immediately ascended to the right hand of His Father's throne elsewhere in heaven, as Mrs. White's writings explain.
If it is true that God's throne has always been in the sanctuary, then, of course, the position of Mrs. White's opponents is justified, and the error should be exposed. But before we accept them and reject her, let us first ascertain whether or not God's throne was in the sanctuary when Christ ascended on High. To this end, we call attention to two thrones each in a different place.
"After this I looked," says John, "and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the Spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.
"And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight
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like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
"And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
"And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.... And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." Rev. 4:1-6; 5:6, 11.
Belonging only in the Sanctuary, the bleeding lamb and seven lamps therefore show that John was given a preview of a prophetic event to take place in the sanctuary above, when the "door" there was to swing "open." Furthermore, inasmuch as the throne was set up in the sanctuary after the door was opened, there could not have
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been any throne there previously. Accordingly after His ascension Christ did not sit on the sanctuary throne, at the Father's right hand, but rather on the one where was "a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life." Rev. 22:1, 2.
Remember, before the sanctuary throne is the "sea of glass," and before the throne of God and the Lamb is "the river...of Life." Now, only a foolish person would attempt to explain that these two thrones (the one of Revelation 22:1, 2 and the other of Revelation 4 and 5) are one and the same, or that Christ, after His ascension, sat on the throne in the sanctuary.
In connection with the latter throne, there remains to be answered the two questions:
We have already seen that in John's time the door was not yet opened and that the throne was not yet set up. Though these events did not take place then, they must take place before the close of probation, for the Lamb "as it had been slain" was brought there to atone for sinful man -- a work which cannot be done after the close of probation.
Its therefore being a fact that this particular
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throne had to be set up after John's time and before probation's close, then if it were not set up in 1844 A.D., as Mrs. White declared that it was, will her opponents please tell when it was? While waiting for an answer, the reader may consider
The Object of Setting Up the Throne.
John's description of this particular throne, about which were multitudes of angels, the Lamb, the elders, the beasts, and the candlesticks, admits but one conclusion that it is a throne of judgment. It is this same judicial setting that was also shown to Daniel:
"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, Whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burningfire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.... I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days and they brought Him near before Him." Dan. 7:9, 10, 13.
By reading verse 8, the student will notice that the throne which Daniel saw, was set up after the persecuting horn-power
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(which had the "eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things" -- Dan. 7:8, last part) had done its wicked work. The words, "I beheld till the thrones were cast down" (set for use), show that the thrones were not there before; again forcing the conclusion that centuries after Christ's ascension, these thrones were "cast down," "the judgment was set, and the books were opened."
Verse 13 of Daniel 7 and verse 6 of Revlation 5 show that "One like the Son of man" is before the judgment throne, as a lamb slain, ready to atone for sinful men. After the close of probation, however, He is no longer as a sin-pardoning Saviour, but is then as "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS," "out of" Whose "mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations." Rev. 19:16, 15. And further through Daniel, the Spirit explains that during, not before, the judgment, there is "given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: [and that] His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Dan. 7:14.
The Scriptures make clear that while in the sanctuary, Christ receives the Kingdom after "the thrones [are] cast down," and
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after the investigative judgment is completed -- before His second coming. That this is so, is further evidenced by the parable of Luke 19:15, which states that Christ receives the kingdom, and that afterwards He comes to slay His enemies.
Daniel 7:22 shows that the "judgment" was given to the saints of the Most High and that after the judgment, they possessed the Kingdom. Whereas the executive judgment of all the wicked -- of those who did not rise in "the first resurrection" (Rev. 20:5, 6) -- takes place afterwards, while the wicked are in their graves, for, says John: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." Rev. 20:12.
After this judgment, "the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." Rev. 20:13. And "whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Rev. 20:15. "...This is the second death." Rev. 20:14.
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Since there are two judgments, each for a different time and class, and two resurrections a thousand years apart (Rev. 20:5), there are therefore
Two Different Thrones--One Administrative and One Judicial.
The administrative throne is at the head of the "river...of Life" (Rev. 22:1, 2), in Paradise; the judicial throne, at the head of the fiery stream (Dan. 7:10), the "sea of glass" (Rev. 4:6) "mingled with fire" (Rev. 15:2), in the sanctuary. The latter's not having been set up until years after Christ's ascension, precludes the possibility of its being the one upon which He sat at the right hand of God. Consequently, after His ascension, Christ must have sat upon the throne that is at the head of the river of life -- a circumstance which invests the throne with the title, "the throne of God and of the Lamb." From this administrative throne the Father arose, and in a flaming chariot (Isa. 6:1) went into the Holy of Holies within the veil where the fiery stream, the sea of glass, is, and there sat down upon the throne (Rev. 4:2). Following this, Christ also rose up from the same throne and, in "a cloudy chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, surrounded by angels," was brought, not to the right hand of God, but "near before Him" (Dan. 7:13) -- to the
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judicial throne where He was in the sanctuary. Thus was the solemn event signalized in 1844, when the judicial ceremony took place. (This subject is elaborated in our Tract No. 3, The Judgment and The Harvest.)
Here are the simple facts of these prophetic events, and he who doubts the plain truth of them will later have to confess his mistake, but perhaps to no purpose, for then it may forever too late to profit him, though he confess it "carefully with tears."
Now, the reason that God's throne has not always been in the heavenly sanctuary and that it will not always be there, is simply that the sanctuary was built only for the disposal of sin, as one can easily recognize through the service of the earthly. Looking forward to the time that there will be sin no more, John says: "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." Rev. 21:22, 23.
By the chain of facts here linked, the "1844 doctrine," instead of being "weighed and found wanting," now stands more substantial, solid, and sure than ever, showing
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that like oil on water, inspired revelations always rise to the top of private theories, the theories sinking down and away into oblivion. (For further study of Revelation 4 and 5, the Judgment, read The Shepherd's Rod, Vol. 2, pp. 187-201.)
My brethren, be not like the Jews of old, angered against the Truth, hating its blazing light, but praise God for giving you another opportunity to reform while mercy yet lingers. And although heart-felt confession may humble one's pride of opinion, yet it will enhance his character and cause God to exalt him "in due time" (1 Pet. 5:6) with eternal life. If personal opposition to the message has stemmed purely from misapprehension and misunderstanding, engendered not by self-interest but solely by a conscientious desire to avoid error, there is no condemnation to be laid to one's charge: only as one would stubbornly continue to reject evidence, would condemnation be upon him. The unfolding of the prophetic scroll will reveal to all "what manner of spirit" (Gospel Workers, p. 302) they are of -- whether willing to exchange error for truth, or whether determined to identify themselves with the class who will forever be found
Ignorantly Fighting the Truth.
The opponents of the truth, ignoring Inspiration
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and failing to give the matter painstaking thought, were naturally led to reject the doctrine of the 2300 days; first, upon the excuse that William Miller proclaimed the Lord's coming to earth instead of His coming to judgment; and second, because of being prejudiced against Sister White's Inspiration. But as Miller's religious connections were prominent, God could not have consistently left His people to grope and stumble in darkness concerning his work. Good or bad, it, too, like Sister White's, must be found in the "more sure word of prophecy." 2 Pet. 1:19. So our attention is now called to
"I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." Zech. 1:8-11.
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The "two sheep" and the "young cow" (Isa. 7) are, as already shown, giving a more abundant supply of milk than we can immediately deliver. So in the ensuing study of Zechariah 1, we are compelled just as we were in the study of Isaiah 7, also in that of Zechariah 4, to dispense only the "butter" (cream) and to preserve the milk.
In the vision of Zechariah 1, we note that the "horses" "whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth," have the gift of speech, for "they answered the angel of the Lord...and said, We have looked to and fro through the earth." The obvious import of this symbolism is that these "horses" can talk and that they are serving the Lord in going where He sends them. They therefore can be symbolical only of the Lord's servants, the ministry that is "sent."
Inevitably, then, the symbolism depicts a Movement which goes forth with a message and which, upon finishing its work of going "to and fro through the earth," returns.
Without clashing with logic, one cannot suppose that this symbolism is prophetically descriptive of the gospel workers who are foreshadowed in Christ's prophecy that "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matt. 24:14. For after the horses
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answered "We have walked to and fro through the earth" -- meaning, "We have finished our work," -- the Lord commands them to "Cry yet;" that is, proclaim again! And this command moreover, shows that the Lord was yet to bestow His mercy upon His people, and yet to finish His work of salvation, for He says: "My cities...shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. " Zech. 1:17.
Necessarily, therefore, the "horses" here in view depict a Movement on foot, which is organized to proclaim the gospel throughout the earth. The horses' answer, "We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest," reveals that the movement thought its work finished and probation closed. In other words, it thought that salvation through the gospel had closed and that the preaching of it could no longer make the earth produce converts. (The subject of the symbolism being the production of spiritual life, it necessarily calls for the salvation of souls not for the production of vegetal or animal life.) Whereas, in fact, the Lord commissioned them to "cry yet," showing them that they were mistaken.
To determine whether this symbolical prophecy points to God's servants of the past, of the present, or of the future, one must consult church history. Its pages record
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that the Millerite Movement is the only one which has gone with a message to every Christian mission in the world (The Great Controversy, p. 368), and thought, mistakenly, that in so doing, the last gospel invitation had been sounded to every living creature under heaven, thereby signalizing the close of human probation. On the contrary, the gospel invitation for this time, instead of then being finished, had just begun, and instead of the Lord's coming then to earth, He went to His heavenly temple!
The peculiar set of circumstances surrounding the Millerite Movement prior to 1844, certifies that it is the one which is depicted in the symbolism of Zechariah 1. And it should be remembered that the Lord did not on the one hand attach the warning, "Look out, for these horses are false (mistaken) prophets," or on the other hand rebuke the horses or command them to keep silence, but that instead He commanded them that they cry the more. And the angel of the Lord, in confirmation, declares: "These are they whom the Lord hath sent."
John the Baptist preached that Christ was to establish a literal kingdom at His first advent, and though John was mistaken, the Lord said of him: "There hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist." Matt. 11:11. And in view of the light now shining from the Scripture, anyone can
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see that those who are continually crying out "Wolf! wolf!" in derision of the 2300-days doctrine, are, wittingly or unwittingly, working against God by attempting to silence His voice. They are doing the bidding of him who is trying to conceal the truth that the next after the Millerite movement must proclaim the gospel
The Revelator also having been given a vision of these two movements (recorded in chapters 10 and 11), we direct the reader's attention to the "little book" which he was asked to eat. In his "mouth" it was as sweet as honey, but in his "belly" it became very bitter. This rapt experience, in vision, of sweet foretaste turning into bitter disappointment, exactly foretells the 1844 experience of God's people. Their sweet and all-consuming hope in the Lord's promise, "I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:3), was then expected to become a reality, whereas, instead, it turned into bitter disappointment.
Following this sweet-bitter experience, came the fulfillment of the angel's words: "Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." Rev. 10:11.
Here, too, as in Zechariah's prophecy, the Movement was to "prophecy again" or to "cry yet"; that is, repeat its mission, showing that probation was not closed.
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So on the authority of these scriptures, the movement was again, after the disappointment, to proclaim the gospel, but only to "many," not to "all." Accordingly, the Seventh-day Adventist denomination in its 1844 commission, was to "prophesy" (teach), not to "all," but simply to "many," nations. Necessarily, then, it must receive another commission, one to go to "all nations."
There is, therefore, another message; it is to join the Third Angel's Message, just as stated by the Spirit of Prophecy:
"Then I say another mighty angel commissioned to descend to the earth, to unite his voice with the third angel, and give power and force to his message. Great power and glory were imparted to the angel, and as he descended, the earth was lightened with his glory.... This message seemed to be an addition to the third message, joining it as the midnight cry joined the second angel's message in 1844." -- Early Writings, p. 277.
"When light goes forth to lighten the earth," says the Spirit of Prophecy, concerning the church's reception of the message, and the way in which the Lord shall then work, "instead of coming up to the help of the Lord, they will want to bind about His work to meet their narrow ideas. Let me tell you that 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
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planning. There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God, to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under the direction of the angel who joins the third angel in the message to be given to the world. God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands." -- Testimonies to Ministers, p. 300.
Turning again to the "more sure word of prophecy," in search of the commission to all nations, we also find that
"For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many." Isa. 66:16.
Here we see that very thing -- a great slaughter; and that by the Lord Himself. But what the reader is naturally most concerned to know is where and when this destruction is to take place. Verses 19 and 20 state that those who escape the slaughter, the Lord shall send to all nations that have not as yet heard of His "fame, neither have seen" His "glory."
From the commission to the great world-wide missionary movement which is here brought to view, and which necessarily takes place before the close of probation, the slaughter is plainly seen to have been executed before the "gospel of the kingdom
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shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and...the end come." Matt. 24:14. "And they [the escaped ones] shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations...in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord." Isa. 66:20.
Remember that those who escape the slaughter are the ones who do this soul harvesting. The slaughter, therefore, is the destruction of the "tares" who are among God's people -- the church. Should it be of the heathen (those outside the church), then those who escape would have to be heathen themselves. And such could not either proclaim His glory and His fame or bring all their brethren into the house of the Lord. Neither could there be any nation left to which the escaped ones could go!
Couple with this the fact that those who escape the slaying are they who go to all nations and bring all their brethren (all who are to be saved) into the Lord's house, and you have an unbreakable sequence of evidence that this destruction takes place just before the gospel goes in its final surge to all the world.
Though this engrossing subject is but briefly treated herein, yet for lucidity, harmony, and logic, the truth of it stands peer to any. It gives a prophetic outline of church history from Miller's time to the present day, showing the opening and
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closing of each Movement, also its work and destiny: that is, the mistake attending the Millerite Movement (understanding the cleansing of the "sanctuary" to be the of the earth); the limited commission of the Seventh-day Adventist Movement (authorizing it to go, not to "all" nations, but simply to "many"); its purification (removing the tares from its midst); its being launched as a new, a purified, movement, presenting the church of Christ worthy of His blessed name for the first time since apostolic days. At last a light unto all the world, it proclaims the gospel with a loud cry "for a witness unto all nations:" then comes the finale -- the inevitable end (Matt. 24:14).
This composite pictorial revelation of gospel work and workers, contributed to by the prophets, discloses a church that keeps "the commandments of God" and has "the testimony of Jesus Christ." It is "clad in the armor of Christ's righteousness,...'fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners,...to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer." -- Prophets and Kings, p. 725.
On one hand, the light of Present Truth now enables the eye to see both the work of William Miller and that of Sister White deeply rooted in the "more sure work of prophecy." On the other hand, it lays open the spiritual poverty and nakedness of
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their critics. The Lord's voice is also heard saying against them: "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied." Jer. 23:21.
The eyes of the Lord, piercing everywhere throughout the earth, failed not to foresee these uncalled workers who, notwithstanding His sounding far and near the solemn warning that "the great and dreadful day of the Lord" is here, are in blind defiance trying to out-din the voice of Truth with their mounting cry of "peace and safety." Let us, my brethren, turn our ears from the multitude of voices devoid of the Holy Spirit, and diligently give heed to
"Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say still unto them that despise Me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard His Word? who hath marked His Word, and heard it?" Jer. 23:16-18.
"Behold," answers the Lord Himself, "a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in
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fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord shall not return, until He have executed, and till He have performed the thoughts of His heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel and had caused My people to hear My words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings." Jer. 23:19-22.
Obvious it is that the opposition is engendered and nurtured by self-appointed leaders who avowedly laying no claim to "inspiration" are thereby unwittingly crying out that the Lord has not sent them! Yet neither they nor their adherents perceive either the irony or the folly of their position! Hence "sleeping preachers preaching to a sleeping people!" -- Testimonies, Vol. 2, p. 337.
When they find themselves face to face with either the "overflowing scourge" (Isa. 28:18) of the final visitation of "the wrath of God" (Rev. 15:1), they will be stabbed with the tragedy of futile realization. That which now from a distance appears to them, mirage-like, an ocean of grace, will then inescapably engulf them in abysmal ruin -- eternally!
"For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim He shall be wroth as in the valley
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of Gibeon, that He may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act.
"Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth. Give ye ear, and hear My voice; hearken, and hear My speech" (Isa. 28:21-23), lest your hope of grace "be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.
"Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned." Isa. 29:8-12.
"Men and women are in the last hours
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of probation, and yet are careless and stupid, and ministers have no power to arouse them; they are asleep themselves. Sleeping preachers preaching to a sleeping people!" -- Testimonies, Vol. 2, p. 337.
"Doubt and even disbelief of the testimonies of the Spirit of God, is leavening...churches everywhere. Satan would have it thus. Ministers who preach self instead of Christ would have it thus." -- Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 217.
Brethren, because the Lord loves you, and because he is loath to make of you a vessel of dishonor, He addresses this tract to you. We, too, are heart-sick that you have, as the Jews of old, deeply involved yourselves in a war against the Spirit of Prophecy -- a war which you cannot win. In rejecting heaven-sent messages, in ignoring the wise counsel of the learned Gamaliel (Acts 5:34-39), and in persistently trying to support with scriptures your questionable interpretations of the Bible, as do Sabbath-breakers in evading the Sabbath truth, you are following in a course which, if persisted in will lead you to commit the sin against the Hoiy Ghost.
Rather than raising your voices against the truth, raise them in praises of it and of the Lord, for He has charged your folly to your ignorance of the truth. If you return to Him at this final warning, He will gladly receive you and command His servants to clothe you with His best "robe"
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(Christ's righteousness -- Isa. 52:1), set a "ring" on your finger (the evidence of your princehood -- Esther 3:12; 8:2; Gen. 41:42, 43), put "shoes" on your feet (prepare you for the proclamation of the gospel -- Eph. 6:15) and then "bring hither the fatted calf" (welcome you home to His house -- the Kingdom -- to celebrate "the marriage supper of the Lamb" -- Luke 15:23; Rev. 19:9)!
But though our prayers go out for you, they will not be effective if you continue to withstand the Spirit's warning injunctions and pleadings as well as your own convictions, and longer refuse or neglect to acquire a full knowledge of the Bible truths for this time.
(Those who desire further to study Revelation 11, may obtain free copies of our Tracts No. 5, Final Warning, and No. 2, The Warning Paradox, which amass detailed evidence that these three Movements are found in prophecy.)
My brethren, "arise, shine; for the light is come" Isa. 60:1. "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!" That saith, "O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off." Nah. 1:15. Walk in the light, and allow not those who are always questioning and criticizing everything in which they have not a part, to jeopardize your
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eternal reward by their vain questions, such as
When brought face to face with the truth, some act like men who have lost their reason. As fish jump at bait, they foolishly jump at conclusions. And when they are mercifully freed from the hook and given a chance to live, instead of departing from their greedy, selfish policies, and keeping themselves from being caught again, they rush at another bait, only to find themselves hooked again and again. When they find that they have thus repeatedly brought themselves into disrepute, they even then do not resolve to get right and stay right.
Those who get themselves cornered and cut off from every avenue of escape from the truth, instead of surrendering their erroneous ideas, make a desperate effort to dodge out of their plight, through the shift of isolating the scripture: "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law." 1 Cor. 14:34.
This resort, however, only gives sharper point to the truism that it is never fair for one to assume a stand on an issue, solely on the weight of opinion derived from one or two verses, without first considering the verses in the light of the whole chapter,
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yes, even of the entire Bible; for if one's interpretation of the Scriptures is not supported by every sentence of Holy Writ, it is a fallacious interpretation, a blind conclusion, without Bible foundation.
In 1 Corinthians 14, we find that many of the women had gone "mad" (verse 23) over speaking in unknown tongues. Hence Paul is endeavoring to dispel the confusion, not to silence anyone who has an inspired message to deliver. An attempt to stop women from teaching would not be in harmony with the following scriptures:
"And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment." Judges 4:4, 5. "And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; and she was a widow of about four-score and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day." Luke 2:36, 37. Also "Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum" taught Israel (2 Kings 22:14-16). And "Philip the evangelist,...had four daughters, virgins, which did prophecy." Acts 21:8, 9.
So those who think that Paul forbids a woman to teach, are not in the slightest
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bit discrediting and impeaching Mrs. White's office, but rather are unwittingly casting reflection upon Paul's writings -- endeavoring to bring them into apparent conflict with the writings of his fellow-writers of the Scriptures.
Those who carefully study will learn not to jump at baited hooks, but rather humbly to submit themselves to the teachings of the Spirit of Christ if they expect Him to save them from the curse of sin and from the wrath of God.
(As to the consequences of rejecting the prophets of God at this time, study our Tract No. 4, The Latest News for Mother, 1941 edition, pp. 53, 54.)
Just as in the sermon on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit reasoned with the Jews, to save them from eternal ruin, so in these pages He reasons with you, my brethren. In substance He said to them: "As David prophesied of One Who would see no corruption, it could not be possible that his prophecy applied to himself, as you suppose, for his body lies corrupted in his sepulcher to this day. God has raised but One [Christ] without His body seeing corruption" (Acts 2:22-32); therefore He must be the only one to whom David's prophecy can apply.
Peter's reasoning that David's prophecy applies to Christ's resurrection, does not have any plainer supporting evidence than
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this tract does in showing that Mrs. White's writings, along with what is revealed here, are the Spirit of Prophecy -- the "testimony of Jesus." Rev. 19:10. So if you also pursue the dishonorable course which those wicked Jews pursued, will your guilt be any less than theirs? Why, then, so act now as to share in that guilt? Why not instead right now make the better choice, and let the Spirit of God put the same words in your mouths as He did in the mouths of the few penitent Jews, who solemnly inquired, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Acts 2:37.
Be not like the "almost persuaded" Agrippa. Do not go contrary to your convictions, as did Felix, saying: "Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee" (Acts 26:28; 24:25), for says the Lord: "Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts." Heb. 4:7.
Now, brethren, well do you know that you have not in truth been able to refute any part of The Shepherd's Rod. Why, then, continue with your criticism in the "unfolding of truth," until finally you find yourselves irretrievably in the class whose evil works were foreseen and recorded by Inspiration:
"They will question and criticize everything that arises in the unfolding of truth, criticize the work and position of others, criticize every branch of the work in which
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they have not themselves a part. They will feed upon the errors and mistakes and faults of others, 'until,' said the angel, 'the Lord Jesus shall rise up from His mediatorial work in the heavenly sanctuary, and shall clothe Himself with the garments of vengeance, and surprise them at their unholy feast; and they will find themselves unprepared for the marriage supper of the Lamb.' Their taste has been so perverted that they would be inclined to criticise even the table of the Lord in His Kingdom." -- Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 690.
So of the whole matter now, let the saints hear and give heed to
In the fullness of light prevading these pages, the reader should see, as in noonday brightness, that the ever-present Spirit of Prophecy, alone is able to cope with the confusion in the world today, resulting from the many "winds of doctrine."
"Behold," says the Word, "I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." To him shalt thou hearken. "And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall." "Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with His anger, and the burden
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thereof is heavy: His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue as a devouring fire: and His breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err," "because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." Mal. 4:5; Isa. 30:25, 27, 28; 2 Thess. 2:10.
Here it is seen that the prophecies and the correct interpretations thereof are "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect." 2 Tim. 3:16, 17.
Therefore, brethren, settle it once and forever, that with the Lord's help you will no longer be carried away by winds of doctrine that are created and driven by the spirit of error, not by the Spirit of Truth, but that you will always look for, and stand by, the Inspired Word of God -- "the testimony of Jesus," delivered to you by "the Spirit of Prophecy" (Rev. 12:17; 19:10); that you will "hear the rod, and Who hath appointed it." Micah 6:9.
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